Disclaimer: I do not own... a lot. Including Friends.

A/N: I really can't say enough how much I so appreciate you reviewers taking the time to drop positive words and constructive criticisms to this story. I've enjoyed writing it, and I'm glad you've enjoyed reading it :) I'm half-finished with the last chapter now (there are ten in all), so this story will probably be complete by the middle of September.

The adults make an appearance in this one!

XXX

"What color lip gloss?"

Rachel looked back and forth between the two tubes her thirteen-year-old daughter was holding. "Um… the lighter pink one. The darker one will be too obvious," she replied wisely.

Mother and daughter were standing in Emma's room, preparing her for her first big, formal dance that her school was holding for seventh and eighth graders the Friday before Valentine's Day. When Rachel had learned about the dance from her eldest girl, she'd leapt at the chance to help her with every minute detail, and had even decided that they needed a shopping spree to celebrate.

(Ross hadn't been too happy when the prices of what they had bought had come in their monthly credit card bill, but Rachel had smoothed it all over with him by saying, "It's her first dance. Get over it.")

Rachel took a step back as she finished touching up Emma's make-up, and looked her daughter up and down proudly. The girl sure cleaned up well, something Ross always insisted his daughter got from her mother.

"You look radiant," Rachel choked out, tears forming in her eyes at the sight of her little girl in a light-blue, spaghetti-strap dress, black pumps on her feet, make-up on her face, paint on her nails, and her hair done in a half-up, half-down fashion. It was hard to believe this beauty had ever been a tiny little baby at one time.

"Really?" Emma asked nervously, obviously self-conscious as she smoothed the front of her dress down and took another look at herself in the mirror. "I hope we didn't overdo it."

"From what you told me your other friends were going to be wearing, I think you'll fit right in," Rachel assured as she stepped behind her daughter and rested her hands on the younger girl's shoulders.

Emma's cheeks colored as she questioned in an embarrassed voice, "Do you think… I look like you did at my age?"

Rachel smiled softly. "Better. You look as if you belong in a magazine."

"Thanks, Mom," Emma said with a timid grin.

"It's what I'm here for." Rachel was about to wrap her arms around her daughter in a hug, when Emma back away.

"Mom!" she whined. "Something will get messed up if you hug me."

"Right," her mother laughed, and instead kissed her cheek quickly.

The whole moment felt so wild to Rachel. She could recall a similar scene in time, when it was her getting ready for her first big dance, while her mother fluttered around, dishing out suggestions and compliments at the same time. She almost felt as if she was looking into a mirror of the past at herself when she gazed upon her done-up girl.

"Are you ready for your close-up?" Rachel joked.

Emma looked torn. "Is everybody out there?"

"If by everybody you mean your Dad, Sean, Jenny, Monica and Chandler, Phoebe and Mike, Erica and Jack, and Christopher, then yes, everybody is out there," Rachel replied with a chuckle. "Joey would've come, but we insisted he not spend the money on a plane ticket and that we'd just send pictures."

The group of old friends (minus their west-coast sixth part) had coordinated their schedules and made sure to set aside an evening to have dinner as a large group at least once every few months. It had just so happened that the school dance had been set on the same evening as their gathering, giving everyone the chance to see their favorite seventh-grader all dolled up.

Emma took a deep breath, bracing herself. "All right."

"I'll go first and announce your presence so everyone can be poised and ready with their cameras."

"Thanks, Mom," Emma said sarcastically with an eye-roll she clearly had learned from her father.

Rachel shot her offspring one more grin before exiting her cluttered bedroom, going down the hallway, descending the stairs, and appearing in living room, where all the adults was seated with a cocktail.

"Hey, is she ready?" Ross asked as he jumped up from his spot on one of their armchairs.

"Yes," Rachel affirmed, though she sounded slightly distressed.

"How does she look?" Monica questioned eagerly. "Oh, I can't wait to see our little Em all dressed up!"

Chandler rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's not like she's ever done it before," he muttered mockingly.

"What dress did she end up picking out?" Phoebe, not having a daughter of her own, was always willing to help in any girly endeavors that her "nieces" Emma, Jen, and Erica were going through.

"You can see for yourself in a second," Rachel replied, glancing around the brightly-decorated room. "Where are the kids?"

"Watching TV in the basement," Mike answered for the group, referring to the spot in the Geller home that the kids always flocked to if they were there.

"They probably won't care that much anyway," Ross said with a wave of his hand.

"All right. Everyone, prepare yourselves." At Rachel's words, Monica, Phoebe, and Ross all whipped out small digital cameras. Rachel made her way to the bottom of the staircase and called up, "Okay, sweetie, we're ready!" She stepped back to stand beside Ross.

Emma appeared nervously in the doorway, still smoothing down her dress and touching her hair lightly. Monica and Phoebe both began to immediately squeal in girlish ways as they stood to approach the young girl.

"Honey, you look incredible!" Monica gushed, as Chandler grinned at his niece and gave her a thumbs-up.

Phoebe nodded. "The boys are going to be flocking like animals at a watering hole." She waved off the odd looks she got for that comparison.

"Sweetheart… look at you, all grown up," Ross said, his voice growing thick with emotion as he took in his daughter's appearance.

"You look just like your Mom did at your age," Monica insisted.

Emma, quiet up until this moment, beamed at her aunt's words. "Thanks. And I love these earrings," she said, referring to the earrings Monica had given her as a Christmas gift, which were now adorning her pierced ears.

Everyone stood for a moment, admiring her in an easy silence, until finally Emma said, "So, um, I'm gonna go grab my bag and head over to Sarah's." Her friend Sarah from the same grade lived just a few doors away, and the two were carpooling to the dance together, along with Sarah's brother, who was a year older.

"Oh no you don't," Rachel said, grabbing her daughter's arm before she could exit. "You're not getting out of having a few pictures taken first." Emma rolled her eyes in frustration.

Soon flashes were blinking in the Gellar's living room as Emma posed for a photo at least once with each person in the room. The other children were brought up out of the basement to also be included in the picture frenzy, until Emma finally got sick of all the attention and declared she was leaving.

"I'll walk you over," Ross said, and he took his daughter's arm in his and they left the house minutes later.

Rachel sat back on the couch with a plop, blowing some hair out of her face. "Wow," was all she could utter.

"She's grown up so fast," Monica agreed.

"I know, I remember when she was just a screaming bundle of skin," Chandler nodded, and the others glanced at him with slight disgust. "Well, babies' bones develop over time… oh, never mind."

"You've got a beautiful girl there, Rachel," Mike said kindly.

Phoebe patted her friend on the knee when she noticed Rachel's sad mood. "What's up?"

Rachel sighed. "This is just the first step, isn't it?" she questioned the room. "Next thing you know she'll be driving, partying every weekend, drinking up a storm, dating unsuitable boys…"

"Uh, Rach," Monica cut in. "She isn't you."

"She could be!" Rachel shook her head; her friends didn't understand what it was like to watch your oldest child go out into the big, bad world and you couldn't be there to protect them anymore.

Well, okay, technically they did know, since they all had children of their own, but it was different in this case. Emma was the oldest child out of all of them; she was setting the example that the other kids would want to follow.

"Rachel, she's a good kid," Chandler pointed out, obviously in one of his "wise parent" moods.

"Yeah, honey, you and Ross have done a great job, she's going to be fine," Monica chimed in.

"It's just a dance," Phoebe reminded.

Rachel finally put a small smile on her face and a façade of understanding. However, on the inside, she was still a little upset. As Monica had said, she and Ross had done their best to raise her, but now Rachel needed to let go and let her daughter start making her own decisions.

When Emma had mentioned this dance, Rachel had never realized it would make her start worrying about her eldest girl growing up- and maybe away- from her. For the longest time when Emma was still a newborn and toddler, she had seemed to be the only bright thing in Rachel's life.

First dances were a big deal to young girls, Rachel Green-Geller knew.

But to mothers, first dances meant that their young girls were going to be doing something they really had no part in. And slowly, Rachel was going to have to learn to trust, and just let her daughter be.

XXX