Disclaimer: I do not own Friends.

A/N: I cannot believe these reviews I'm receiving. You all are too kind, and I just hope I can keep pleasing you all as this story continues. Not being a mother myself, I've written this solely on what I've observed in mothers in my own life and other TV shows, books, and movies. I'd hate to find I'm disgracing mothers everywhere ;). Also, thanks to Spence for mentioning my somewhat over-use of sentence fragments. I'll be sure to monitor from now on :) (I seem to not be able to resist them!)

School is beginning very soon again, which sadly means updates of any story I'm doing is going to slow down even more than before. I'm going to have to somehow find the time to write and post new chapters.

This one is sort of short and random. The others after this are better, I promise.

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"I wanna go to camp too!" Jen cried as all five Gellers piled out of the car and into the drop-off area at Camp Stony Brooke in Connecticut.

Rachel grasped her five-year-old daughter's tiny hand in hers and led her towards the back of the car, where Ross was unloading a few bags full of the possessions Emma would need for two weeks at sleep-away camp.

When Emma had first approached her parents in the early spring, posing the idea of letting her go to overnight camp for two weeks during the summer, Rachel had felt iffy about the whole situation. She wasn't sure her daughter was old enough to be gone from them for that long. However, after Ross had assured her it would be fine and Emma had informed them that two of her best friends from school were going, she had agreed.

And now here they were, dropping Emma off at the place where she would be spending the longest time away from her family she ever had.

"That's it," Ross declared as he tossed a large duffel bag onto the pavement. He turned and lifted his sunglasses so he could get a better view of the large camp.

Rachel stood beside her husband, letting Jenny escape from her grasp and rush over to her big sister, who was checking all of her bags to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything while Sean poked around with a stick he had found.

"It doesn't seem so bad, does it?" Ross asked as he turned to look at his wife with a twinkle in his eye. All Rachel had done since they'd agreed to let Emma go to camp was complain that it would be too hot, or too big, or too dangerous, or too close to the water, or too unsupervised, and what if it was like the book Holes?… the list goes on.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Rachel shrugged noncommittally. "I guess not," she mumbled.

Ross wrapped an arm around her waist. "C'mon, she'll be fine. She's going to be twelve in October, it's not exactly like she's a baby anymore. Ben went to camp a few years ago and he came back unscathed."

"I know," Rachel concurred. "It's just… two weeks is a long time. And I mean, neither of us went to camp."

"Well, I was allergic to everything, so I don't think it would've been a good idea for me," Ross pointed out. "Plus, uh, my parents were already paying for Monica to go to fat camp." He paused. "Wait, what are you talking about? You did go to camp."

Rachel stopped and suddenly recalled her own camp experiences. "Oh yeah. I guess I had tried my best to erase it from my memory. Huh." She chuckled at her forgetfulness. Sobering quickly however, she glanced back at their three children. "What if she hates it and calls us and wants us to come get her?"

Ross walked around Rachel so he was standing right in front of her and they could speak face-to-face. "Then we're going to be taking a road trip to Connecticut." He kissed her lightly and then grabbed her hand. "Lets send her off now, huh?"

"Mom! Sean keeps poking me with the gross stick he found on the ground!" Jen yelped as she circled her parents, trying to get away from her brother.

Ross caught Sean by the shirtsleeve as he was passing by him. "Aw, c'mon, it doesn't hurt!" the boy defended.

Emma cleared her throat, and got everyone's attention. "In case everybody forgot, I'm the one that's leaving for two weeks," she announced, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

She grabbed one of her bags and left the rest for her parents, and led the way towards the large group of camp counselors and other campers and their parents saying goodbye. After introducing themselves to the counselors who would be in charge of the camp, she spotted her two friends and waved enthusiastically before turning back to her family.

Rachel smiled a little. "So, sweetie, I guess this is it."

"Yeah, have a good time, sweetheart," Ross said, bending down a little so Emma could wrap her arms around him in a hug. He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too," she mumbled as they disentangled.

Sean stepped up next and stuck his hand out. Emma rolled her eyes and hugged him as well. "I'll miss you, Seany."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, and Rachel chuckled to herself at the seven-year-old, who still thought that girls had cooties, including his sisters.

Jen latched on to her older sister next, and whimpered a little. "Can I stay with you?"

"I'm sorry, Jenny-Bean, but you've gotta go home with Mom and Dad and Sean," Emma told her, giving her a squeeze and purposely using the nickname 'Jenny-Bean' they'd all been using for forever. "I'll write to you, okay?"

"Okay," the younger girl sniffed, retreating back to her parents and grabbing for Ross' hand.

Emma turned her gaze onto Rachel, who bent down to envelop her daughter in a tight embrace. "Have fun, honey. Make sure to check in with us when you can. And remember to use sunscreen if you're going to be outside for a long time, like if you go to the beach or on a hike or whatever you do at camp. And make sure to spray on some bug spray, because those mosquitoes are awful this time of year and I don't want you to be spending all of your time itching and my mother keeps mentioning West Nile Virus and you definitely don't want to get that. Don't forget about the first aide kit your Aunt Monica and Phoebe and I put together for you; there's Neosporin in it if you get a cut. And drink lots of water, it's important to stay hydrated-"

"Mom," Emma interrupted, "I've got it."

Rachel pulled back with a smile. "Okay, okay, sorry."

"Good luck at work," Emma added.

Nodding, Rachel said, "Thanks. I think I'll need it."

After spending over seven years as a stay-at-home mom, Rachel had found herself missing her job and had decided to check around all of the big clothing companies in the city to see if any were hiring at all. Ironically, Ralph Lauren had been looking for someone to work part-time in the women's department, and she had jumped at the chance to apply. There was a new boss, as Mr. Zelner had found something better over the years, and the new guy, Mr. Force, had decided to hire Rachel because she had the most experience already with the company (her past "issues" at Ralph Lauren had luckily been overlooked). It wasn't as good of a job as she had had, but she was hoping to work her way up again, plus there was the added bonus of still being home in the afternoons with the kids.

"All right, well, see you guys in two weeks!" Emma said excitedly, and waved once more at her family before wandering over to her friends with a large grin plastered on her semi-tanned face, her light hair bumping up and down in it's loose ponytail.

"Well, looks like it's just the four of us," Ross said as they got in the car and he started the engine.

"Can I have Emma's room?" Sean questioned from the back seat.

"She's not going to be gone forever," Ross pointed out.

"When can I go to camp?" Jen asked, bobbing up and down in her seat. "Me and Emma can go together!"

"When you're a little older," Rachel replied.

"Last look, everyone!" Ross exclaimed as they slowly drove by Emma and her friends. The three girls waved to the car.

Once out of the camp, Rachel sighed. "Well, that's it. Emma's gone for two whole weeks."

"What will we do with ourselves?" Ross questioned, sending a wink towards his wife. "Maybe we'll have to see if my parents could baby-sit Sean and Jenny overnight so we can have dinner in the city."

Rachel smiled brilliantly. "I think that would be very nice."

However, on the inside, her heart ached just a little.

She'd never spent this much time away from any of her children, or even Ross in all of the years they'd been friends (and then a couple, and then friends, and then married, and then friends, and then roommates, and then married…).

It was Emma's first time going away to camp.

Why couldn't they have started off small, with something like day camp?

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