Disclaimer: I don't own Friends.

A/N: Ah! These reviews are just too great. I can hardly believe how nice you guys are.

XXX

Pretty soon midterms popped up in all of their classes, and Rachel spent more and more time in the dorm studying than anything else. She was still shaken from her father's sudden passing, which no one blamed her for being.

Ross's friends threw a surprise birthday party for him in mid-October, right after his actual birthday. He started going to the museum every Saturday to give some extra help.

Monica and Chandler were both suspiciously missing a lot of the time. Rachel and Ross found out why after Thanksgiving break.

"It's me," Ross called after he had knocked on Monica and Rachel's dorm room door.

"Come on in," Rachel offered, and Ross did so.

She was stringing Christmas lights up along the walls of the room, but seemed to have gotten tangled at one point.

"Can you get me out of here?" Rachel asked with a slight blush.

Ross stifled a laugh. "Uh, yeah, sure." He began untangling her. "So where's Monica?"

"Who knows?"

"Man, she's gone all the time."

Rachel nodded. "Where's Chandler?"

Ross shrugged in response, and finished unwrapping the colorful lights she had gotten herself tangled in.

She sat down on her bed slowly, glancing at Ross. "Hey, uh, Ross," she started.

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

"I have a… hunch, let's call it, about where Monica and Chandler might be."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

They both stopped. Ross looked expectantly at her. "Well?" he finally asked.

Rachel stood and shifted slightly from foot to foot. "Okay, now, don't freak out, but uh, yesterday, I was coming back from taking a shower, and I heard Monica talking to someone in our room, so I stopped outside the door to listen."

Ross wondered what this had to do with Chandler. "Uh huh…"

"And so uh, when I stopped to listen, I heard her talking to a guy…and the guy was Chandler!"

The last part of her statement was said in a rush, and Rachel took a step back.

Ross let his mouth fall open. "What? I thought they only hung out when the four of us were together!"

"I know! They were like, talking about how lucky they are that no one knows about them, especially us, because it might make us feel weird!" Rachel sat down. "Chandler actually said he was afraid you'd kick his ass."

"I am goingto kick his ass!" Ross declared, turning to leave.

Rachel jumped up and grabbed his arm to stop him. "No, Ross, you can't just go and try to beat Chandler up. We should confront them."

Ross crossed his arms over his chest. "But… but they're like, sneaking behind our backs!" He gasped. "Chandler said he had a secret girlfriend back home who met up with him outside of school! It's my sister!"

"Lower your voice, Ross."

"It's… gross!"

Rachel rubbed her temple with her hand. "Okay, here's the plan: we're confront them tomorrow. Make sure you've collected yourself by then."

Ross was shaking his head. "Fine," he said, and left in a daze.

His best friend and his sister?

XXX

Getting through the next day had been hard. Rachel had almost let it slip four times that she knew about her friend's secret. She'd always been a gossip; it was just something she couldn't stop doing.

Nowadays she had started gossiping even more, trying to keep her thoughts off of her late father. Out of all of his daughters, Rachel had been closest to Leonard. Sure, he'd pushed her to stay in 'their circle', and to join the sorority Kappa Kappa Delta, and to date men who were planning to become doctors. She knew he'd only wanted the best for her. He'd just never seen that what was best for her was being herself.

Monica was reading a book on her bed, and Rachel glanced over from her position at their small table. There was a knock at the door, and she opened it, since she was closer.

"Hey guys," Rachel said as Chandler and Ross entered, trying to be nonchalant. She gave Ross a look when Monica smiled at Chandler.

"Alright, ready for the movie?" Monica asked, placing a bookmark in her spot and getting to her feet.

Rachel knew they'd have to do the confronting now. "Before we leave, we need to talk to you guys," she said, motioning between she and Ross.

Chandler shrugged. "What's up?"

Ross kept standing there, and after a minute of silence, Rachel couldn't take it anymore.

"We know you two are together!" she burst out.

Monica gasped and Chandler's eyes got wide. Ross and Rachel crossed their arms over their chests at the same time.

"Did you tell them, Chandler?" Monica yelled, turning to her not-so-secret boyfriend.

"No!" he insisted, holding up his hands. "I didn't say anything!"

"I heard you two talking," Rachel interjected. She took a step towards them. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Monica glanced away from them, letting Chandler answer. "It just… happened, and we didn't think it was time to tell people. Since your dad…" He trailed off, and Rachel sighed. "Don't be mad."

Ross looked between his sister and best friend. "So are you two like, really dating? Or are you just fooling around? Because if you're just fooling around, then-"

"We're really dating," Monica cut in. "We were gonna tell you, we just didn't want anything to get weird. I mean, the four of us are so close, and now that Chandler and I are going out, we wouldn't be just four friends anymore."

Chandler took a step towards his best friend. "Are you okay?"

Ross considered. "As long as you don't hurt her, I won't kick your ass," he said, all seriousness.

"I'm not planning to," Chandler promised.

The foursome let those words sink in as they all stood in silence.

Rachel looked at the other three. "So now that this is out in the open, what do we do?"

No one had an answer.

XXX

Christmas came and went, as did the awkwardness that had settled amongst the small group of friends. Ross finally came to an understanding that his best friend really cared for his little sister, and visa versa. January of 1991 rang in, full of new possibilities.

Their newfound relationship also threw Rachel and Ross together even more than before, which was fine by both of them. Each enjoyed the other's company.

"Oooh! I wanna go in here!" Rachel declared as she and Ross walked along the New York City streets. She was paused in front of a store with the cutest purse she had ever seen sitting in the window.

Ross groaned. "Rach, it's dark, and it's cold, and it's supposed to snow, and I'm hungry," he whined.

Rachel had to give him the dark one. It was only five-twenty and already the sun was almost completely gone.

"Fine," she said, and the two resumed their walk.

"So why didn't Monica and Chandler want to get something to eat with us?" Ross asked, spotting the first few snowflakes.

"Some sort of anniversary," Rachel answered. She watched the snow as they slowed their steps down slightly. "They look really good together."

"I guess so," Ross nodded, not really wanting to think of his baby sister in that way. He had to admit she seemed happy, though.

Rachel sighed and stuck her hands into her jacket pockets. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure."

"I'm kind of jealous of them."

Ross did a double-take. "What? You-you want to date Chandler?" he questioned, his voice rising an octave.

Rachel laughed and waved it off. "No! God, no. But I mean, I haven't dated a guy since Joshua last spring. I just sort of… want to be with someone, you know?"

He knew what she meant. "Yeah."

They were silent for a moment, still walking. Rachel didn't even know where they were going anymore. "I know I'm still young and everything, but sometimes I wonder if I'm going to be as happy with someone someday as they are now. Look at my parents: sure, they got married and had kids and a nice house and a nice life, but I wonder…"

She trailed off in thought, and Ross glanced at her. "Wonder what?" he prodded.

"I just wonder if they ever really loved each other."

Rachel knew it was a horrible thing to think about, but she couldn't help it. Her parents had fought for as long as she could remember, and it had only gotten worse as she and her sisters had grown up. During high school, Rachel had been too self-absorbed to really notice anything, but once she had entered college, things had suddenly become much clearer.

Ross didn't seem to know how to respond, so Rachel saved him the trouble by continuing on. "I don't want to just settle for 'nice'. I want to have… everything. You know? Those feelings you get when you just know that being with that person is going to be great."

"You're gonna get it, and you won't be settling for just 'nice'," Ross said. "There's someone out there who's perfect for you, Rach."

"But what if I don't find him?" Rachel asked, not even meaning to. "What if he's like, right there, and I just totally pass him by?" Some snow fell onto her eyelashes, so when she blinked, she saw white.

"Then he'll go after you. He couldn't not notice you."

Rachel knew her cheeks weren't just red-tinged from the cold anymore. "Really?"

"Definitely. He's gonna see you and just think…'whoa'. And then he's going to do anything he can to make you see him, too."

"Like what?"

"Like…taking you somewhere you love, or making a grand gesture of some sort, or maybe just something simple like buying you dinner and giving you good company." Ross cleared his throat, knowing how stupid he sounded.

Rachel smiled a bit and bumped against Ross. She loved the way he said things that made her feel better about her troubles. "Do you believe in soul mates? Or that people have like, other halves?"

Ross scratched the top of his head, which was wet from the snow. "I believe that there's someone out there for everybody, and that you'll find each other eventually. Sometimes it just takes longer than others."

"Thanks, Ross," Rachel said after they had walked in more comfortable silence. The streets weren't too busy, and the number of people outside had decreased since they had left the dorms. The cold had sent most inside.

"For what?"

"I don't know," Rachel replied honestly with a grin. "But all I know is that I feel better, and it's thanks to you."

Ross felt himself blush. "I'm just tellin' it like it is," he said. They passed a pizza place, and Ross halted. "Wanna just grab something here?"

"Sure," Rachel agreed, "Monica and Chandler probably want some 'alone time' anyways." She chuckled.

Not looking amused, Ross cringed. "Okay, I'm happy for them, but let's not discuss that aspect of their relationship, alright?"

"Okay," Rachel laughed out, thinking his embarrassment was cute.

They spent the next forty-five minutes talking and laughing about anything and everything, and when the bill came, he paid her half.

As Ross opened the door for her and they exited into the bustling winter wonderland, Rachel wondered if it was just an accident that his hand gently brushed hers.

XXX