A/N: Ah, I can't believe you reviewers! You all just make my day. When I read them and you tell me it's affected you in some way, I just feel so glad, because I strive to try and make the readers sort of connect with the characters/situations.

I'm not gonna lie, this chapter is random and is basically Emma learning about Rachel, Monica and Phoebe and some more about their past. Only one more chapter after this... though I might write an epilogue when I find the time, but it'd be a while.

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"So do you feel any older?" Phoebe asked Emma from the back seat of Rachel's car, while Rachel drove steadily through traffic into the city and Monica fiddled with the radio in the passenger's seat.

"Eh, I don't know," Emma said with a shrug. "I definitely don't feel twenty-one!"

"Well, your birthday was only yesterday; sometimes you need to let it sink in," Monica advised, turning in her seat to talk with Phoebe and Emma.

Rachel smiled to herself as they kept chatting in the background. It was nearly impossible for her to comprehend that her oldest child, her Emma, was now legal in the entire sense of the word. She could drive, vote, buy alcohol, and nearly anything else she could ever want. Except maybe rent a car, you had to be twenty-five to do that.

Emma, who was in the middle of the fall semester of her junior year at Duke University, had decided to splurge for a flight home for her birthday weekend, since she had lucked out and didn't have any classes on Fridays and had some days stored away to take off from work. Rachel, Ross, Sean, and Jen were all happy to have her home, as they didn't see her that often during the school year.

In honor of the big day, Phoebe had decided that she, Monica, and Rachel should take the college student out for a drink with "the girls" in the city following her birthday dinner with the gang in Westchester.

"Oh yeah," she said, "we used to have some great girl's nights when we all lived in the city as three single women. Not that being married and having kids is a bad thing," she assured.

Emma smiled shyly. "You know, sometimes… I envy you guys."

"Why's that, sweetie?" Rachel asked as they began joining the hustle and bustle of New York City. Silently, she thanked God that the place they intended to go to was in a quiet area.

"Well, you all have this amazing friendship that's gone on for… ever," Emma admitted. "I really want something like that."

Monica, Rachel and Phoebe all grinned at each other briefly. "Well, you really have to work at it," Rachel said.

"Yeah, it isn't always easy," Monica agreed. "Actually, usually, it's really annoying."

"Especially now that everyone lives farther apart," Phoebe added. "I mean, you all in the suburbs and me in the city and Joey across the country… plus we all have families now…"

"Wow, can you believe we've all been friends for almost thirty years?" Rachel asked, astonished.

"Technically, it's been longer than that," Monica said.

"What?"

"Well, I mean, me and Phoebe and Ross and Chandler and Joey were all friends before you came running in with your wedding dress and spoiled attitude," Monica pointed out with a hint of playfulness at her last words. She turned towards the back seat again and sent a smirk towards Emma and Phoebe.

Rachel was about to retort when she realized: Monica was right.

She'd never considered it in-depth before, but she had to admit now that really it was luck that she had entered Central Perk that wet day and stumbled into an already-existing tight-knit group of five friends. Really, if Rachel was being honest, they could've lasted these three decades without her. They'd done it fine for at least a year before she'd entered their lives, anyway.

"Yes," Rachel finally said, "But then again, how would you have lived without me?"

"Um, also, if Mom hadn't joined your weirdly-dynamical group, she probably never would have ended up with Dad, which would mean we wouldn't be celebrating my twenty-first birthday right now," Emma piped up. She crossed her arms over her chest and surveyed the other three women.

"Now that would be a tragedy," Monica insisted.

"Yeah, I mean, life without Emma Geller? The world wouldn't be able to rotate," Phoebe said cheekily.

"Wait, so you only care that I got accepted into their little clique because it eventually ended up bringing you into the world?" Rachel asked as she spotted a parking spot up ahead.

Emma took a moment in mock-consideration. "Yes," she determined seriously.

"Okay, now we're just talking stupid," Monica said.

Phoebe nodded and said, "Yeah, we haven't even started drinking yet. Let's save the crazy talk for after I've got at least one Long Island Iced Tea in me."

Rachel parallel parked with caution, and once satisfied with her job exited the car with the other women and paid the meter. The four headed down the street towards their destination.

"So have you guys been here before?" Emma asked as they reached the classy bar and entered.

"Just a few times over the years," Monica answered as they found a table and sat down.

Emma took the spot beside her mother and looked at her with dawning realization. "So whenever you said you were going into the city at night for a meeting, you three were getting together at random bars?"

Rachel smiled secretively. "Well, honey, just because we all had families didn't mean we forgot about each other. And we only lied because we didn't want the guys to feel hurt that they weren't invited."

"And it added some mystery and suspense," Phoebe added. "What girl doesn't love that?"

A waiter came over and they ordered their drinks. They were brought over quickly, and Rachel raised her Cosmopolitan for a toast. "Okay, now, I'd like to make a toast to my beautiful, talented, grown-up daughter," she said, her eyes growing a little watery. Emma smiled broadly. "It feels like just yesterday she was a tiny little baby who called for round-the-clock attention, but look at her now: a twenty-one-year-old on the way to receiving her PhD."

"To a wonderful young lady," Phoebe interjected, her Long Island Iced Tea held high.

Monica nodded, raising her Sidecar a little higher. "Who somehow has grown up be completely normal, despite the people who surround her daily," she added with a smirk.

Emma laughed and the four clinked glasses with a, "To Emma!". However, before anyone could take a sip, she halted them. "Wait, wait, one more toast. To my amazing mother, who gave me life and helped make me what I am today. I am eternally grateful for the twenty-five hours it took you to have me. And to all of my aunts and uncles, of course."

Rachel watched her daughter out of the corner of her eye over her drink. It was an incredibly weird feeling to watch her eldest daughter with an alcoholic beverage in hand, smiling and laughing with Phoebe and Monica and acting just like 'one of the girls', especially considering three out of the four of these 'girls' were over fifty. She could recall the first time Emma had ever tasted something other than milk; the first time she ate solid food; the first time she spoke; the first time laughed (well, for her, anyways).

"You guys, thanks so much for taking me out," Emma said happily as she sipped her martini. "I feel so grown up, getting to be included in a girl's night with you three. It's like some sort of privilege."

"We're happy to have new meat amongst our ranks," Phoebe said cryptically.

"So what do you guys usually do when you get together?"

The three older women all smirked at each other. "Usually our lives, work, our families… but mostly… gossip," Monica said seriously, in a very un-Monica-like way that reminded Rachel so much of the days when they were roommates and would stay up all night talking.

"Finally, I get to be included in the gossip!" Emma exclaimed, honestly pleased. "What are we talking about tonight?"

"Anything," Monica said.

"Everything," Rachel added.

"Tonight, do not think of us as your aunts and mother," Phoebe declared, and Rachel noted that they all had already finished their first round of drinks. "Tonight, we're just four friends."

"And, since it's your birthday celebration, we'll start with you," Monica said, and three pairs of eyes immediately zoned in on the college student. "How's that boyfriend of yours?"

Emma colored noticeably and Rachel felt only a hint of awkwardness at discussing her daughter's college boyfriend. "I don't know," Emma admitted, her cheeks flaming in a similar way to her father. "Rob is great, but… it's still sort of new, we're just laying the groundwork. I mean we've only gone out on one date, and it was just for coffee at a local café. He's very gentlemanly."

"Well… that's a little boring for girl's night," Phoebe said as their second round of drinks came. Rachel, having agreed to be the designated driver (though, they weren't planning on drinking too much), grabbed for her simple sparkling water.

"Well then, since it's my celebration, how 'bout I get to ask the questions?" Emma suggested with an evil smirk and glitter in her eyes.

"This could be dangerous," Rachel said with a laugh. "We all know how inquisitive you are."

"C'mon, just answer a few simple questions," Emma pleaded, using the big-eyed pout maneuver.

"Eh, what's the harm?" Monica said, and nodded for her niece to go ahead.

"Okay… how did you all meet?"

"Em, you know the story," Rachel pointed out, remembering the numerous times she and the others had relayed different bits and pieces of their lives before they all settled into family life and everyone still lived in the city.

"I know, but I've only ever heard the abridged version. I want to hear all of it," Emma insisted stubbornly. "Plus, I mean, your lives before you all became domestic must be equal to a soap opera or TV show or something."

Phoebe shrugged. "This could take a while."

"We've got time."

"All right," Rachel relented, moving up close to the circular table they were seated around. The three others did the same and Rachel felt almost as if the noise of the bar had faded away, and the only thing left to hear was her voice. "Well, they all knew each other before I entered the picture-"

"Very rudely, might I add," Monica interrupted with a grin towards her best friend of decades. "We were a happy little group for over a year until your mother came barging in."

Emma seemed riveted, a smile fixed on her face that showed no signs of falling. Rachel knew tonight some things may be revealed that her daughter had never known before about the six adults she loved, but, she figured, the girl was old enough by now.

"Right, I entered their lives in a wet wedding dress. It was in Central Perk," Rachel continued. "And it was established quite easily that I was going to live with Monica."

"How gracious of you," Emma said with a smile towards her aunt.

"Well, we didn't have much of a choice but to let her into our lives," Monica said with a mock-sigh. "She was on the phone with her father, and had told him she was going to stay with me instead of go home."

"And we both lived there together for… how long? Six years?" Rachel questioned.

"Six years," Phoebe agreed, "Because remember, after the marriage fiasco you came to live with me because Chandler moved in with Monica?"

"Right," Rachel nodded.

"Um… marriage fiasco?" Emma asked with interest.

"We'll get to that," Rachel said with a wave of her hand. "Well, so we were roommates, and we really had some great times. Uh, on my first Valentine's Day with them we actually set a trash can on fire in the apartment… but some cute firemen came to save the day. And Pheebs would come and sleep over all the time and the three of us would have these crazy sleepovers… we had a lot of fun being young, single women. I couldn't have asked for anyone better than these two to help me transition into, well, normal life," she said with a grin and a nod to two of her oldest friends. "You know, guys came in and out of our lives, but our friendship always stayed. Of course later it felt like there was a third roommate after Monica met Richard…"

"Was Richard the eye doctor?"

"Yes, the eye doctor who was a whole you older than her," Phoebe affirmed.

Emma laughed. "I can't picture you with anyone but Chandler," she said to her aunt.

"Mm, well, Chandler was still very immature back then. Not that he isn't too different today." Monica winked, then turned her attention to Rachel. "And excuse me, but after you started dating Ross? He was there all the time," she informed Emma.

"Yeah, how long did you and Dad date before breaking up?"

Rachel considered for a moment, and her thoughts flashed back to that horrible night when she'd lost half of herself. Thank God she'd ended up getting it back. "A year."

Phoebe noticed her friend's hesitance. "It was a bad break-up."

"Well they usually aren't fun," Emma agreed in understanding. "What did you guys break up over?"

"That's a story for a different time," Rachel said firmly. She wasn't completely sure she ever wanted her children to know the messy details surrounding her break-up with their father. The only second-generation Geller who knew the truth was Ben, from when he and Rachel had finally discussed it over a pitcher of margaritas.

Emma picked up on her mother's change of mood and hopped over to another subject. "So when did you and Uncle Chandler officially start dating?" she asked Monica, having never heard the complete rendition of that story.

Monica smiled. "Well, it was actually… in London."

"London?"

"Yes, London. At… your father's wedding to his second wife, Emily."

Emma stared at her aunt, and then took a long sip of her drink before looking to Rachel for confirmation. "Emily… the mean British woman?"

"Right," Rachel nodded, and scrunched up her nose. "The British Bitch," she added under her breath.

Phoebe cleared her throat. "But, she doesn't matter now anyway."

"Right, so, um, Chandler and I sort of…" Monica actually blushed. "You're probably going to think it's crazy that a person over the age of fifty is using this phrase, but we… well, 'hooked up'."

Emma's jaw fell and Rachel and Phoebe both burst out laughing. "Oh my God. That's so… unlike you!"

"Hey, we were in a different country!" Monica defended as her friends kept on laughing. "Anyways… we had said it was only going to be a one-time thing, but when we got back to the city… we decided to start dating."

"In secret," Phoebe added. "They didn't tell any of us."

"Well then how'd you all find out?" Emma was smiling and her eyes were bright, and Rachel was reminded of herself as a young twentysomething, eager to hear crazy tales.

"Well, Joey figured it out first-"

"Joey!"

"Yeah, surprising, isn't it?" Rachel nodded. "He kept it a secret for a while, but then one day I picked up the phone and I heard Monica and Chandler having a very interesting conversation-"

"Which you do not need to repeat, thank you," Monica instructed, her face beet-red.

"And then I found out… well, let's just say I saw them doing something you don't want to see them doing," Phoebe said.

Emma stared. "Oh."

"Yeah, we were at your dad's old apartment when he was first interested in buying it," Rachel told her, "and we saw them from the window… that's how your dad found out, too."

"Wow! How long did you hide this for?"

"About six months," Monica replied, embarrassed. "Okay, enough about me. Let's move on! Since this evening seems to be turning into stories of romance, how 'bout Phoebe goes next?"

"Fine, I have nothing to hide. Unlike some people…" Phoebe smirked wickedly at Monica.

"How'd you meet Mike?" Emma inquired in a girly, spill-your-story sort of way.

"Well, it's actually a funny story. See, Joey and I decided to double-date, except we were going to pick each other's dates. So I set him up with a friend of mine, and apparently he had forgotten and at the last second found the first guy named 'Mike' he could get and brought him along to dinner."

Emma was giggling. "That's such a Joey-type thing to do!"

"Wait, it gets better," Phoebe said. "So we go to dinner and they're sitting there making up all of this crap about how they met and how they knew each other way back in high school… well, finally I figured out that they never knew each other, and I stormed out. Then a few days later, Mike showed up at Central Perk to apologize, and we went out… and, well, that's it!"

Rachel looked at her. "Uh, what about the fact that you two broke up because he didn't want to get married, and then he followed you to Barbados and proposed, even though David was going to?"

Emma blinked at Phoebe. "What?"

Phoebe shrugged as she sipped her drink. "Oh, yeah, that too. Okay! Next up! Rach?"

Rachel hid behind her glass for a moment, and then set it down. "Well, there are just so many stories to choose from. And you've heard all of them," she reminded her daughter.

"Yes, but it's girl's night, and everyone is sharing!" Emma smiled convincingly. "What I want to hear about is this 'marriage fiasco'."

Phoebe laughed. "Oh man, that's a good one."

Monica glared at her. "Yeah, at least you were in on the secret. Ross didn't even tell us!"

Emma was looking back and forth, confused. "Mom?"

Rachel took in a deep breath. "Okay, well, you know how I mentioned that your dad and I were on-again, off-again a lot before we finally settled down?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, uh, we all had gone to Las Vegas to visit Joey, because he was doing a movie, which ended up getting shut down anyway… but um, well, your father and I sort of… had too much to drink," Rachel finally admitted sheepishly. She'd never shared this particular story with her children. But, hell, it was her daughter's twenty-first birthday. The young adult was old enough to know the truth now.

"You guys got drunk in Vegas?" Emma asked incredulously. "But that's so… weird. I mean, Dad?"

"Oh, believe me, we were a lot more…"

"Immature?" Phoebe helped.

"Spiteful?" Monica added, and for a second the image of Rachel and Ross with ink all over their faces came to mind.

"Yes, thank you," she said with a glare. "Well, so we had too much to drink… and somehow we got the idea in our heads to get married."

Emma gasped, enthralled. "You didn't!" she squealed, nearly spilling some of her drink onto herself.

Rachel blushed. "Yes… we did."

"Oh my God, you and Dad were married twice?"

"Really, I wouldn't count the first time," Rachel defended, mentally comparing her two weddings to Ross. Well, comparing what she could even distinguish from her drunken haze of the first one, and the elegance of their second.

Phoebe cocked a brow. "Even though he was totally in love with you."

"Yeah, well, we got the divorce and forgot about it; he never mentioned anything about his feelings after that."

"I cannot believe this," Emma said, shaking her head back and forth. "What, did you have other children before me, too?"

"No!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Though, you were a big enough surprise in itself," Monica said. "Oh man, I'll never forget the moment when it all came together and I finally figured it out…"

"Hey, at least you didn't have to cover for her!" Phoebe said.

"Yeah, but everyone thought I was pregnant, including Chandler and Ross!" Monica reminded her friend.

Emma's jaw dropped for the second time that night and she whipped her head around to face her mother. "You had Phoebe lie for you?"

"No! She was just… covering! Until I built up the courage!"

Though on the outside she seemed indignant, on the inside Rachel was laughing at the whole matter. It was hard to believe how different she'd become after finally getting back together with Ross for good. He'd helped her grow up, along with their three children.

"My God! Are these girl's nights usually so scandalous?" Emma was giggling again.

All three older women said, "No," at the same time.

"We had a bit of a crazy past," Monica said.

"That's the understatement of the year," Emma responded.

Phoebe pushed some blonde hair out of her face. "Well, I think it's safe to say you're officially one of us, after hearing all of that!"

"If only you'd reveal a little more about that boyfriend of yours back at Duke…," Rachel prodded, always wanting to be a mother in the know.

Emma sighed. "Okay, fine, fine. And I'm only giving in this easily because I've had three drinks," she announced, and Rachel cringed only slightly. It was her daughter's twenty-first birthday (that seemed to be her mantra for the evening), she could have some fun.

As Emma began going into the details of Robert Pryor, Rachel let the words wash over her and simply stared at her daughter. She was so grown up, so mature, so smart, so beautiful (she, along with her siblings, had lucked out in receiving the Geller nose, as opposed to the Green nose). Had she and Ross really created this amazing human being over twenty-one years ago? It seemed almost impossible now that something this great had ever come from them.

And here they were, celebrating her birthday. She had been on earth for two full decades plus one year. Emma was now really, truly, an adult.

As the young woman laughed along with her two aunts over her new boyfriend's antics, Rachel smiled to herself and had to pat herself on the back, along with Ross and all of the other stable adults set as role models in her daughter's life.

They'd all done a good job.

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