This ship has sailed.

A story written about TOW Ross Finds Out.

This story is a further insight into Ross and Rachel's feelings, and also my own idea of what happened in the episode that we didnt see on screen.

The character and plots do not belong to me. They are ofcourse from the hit TV show Friends.

Prologue

Ross had been in love with Rachel for years now, and he had finally come to terms with the fact that Rachel would never look at him as more than a friend, it had been hard to accept it but now that he had Julie who was probably the only thing that made him happy at the moment, he wasnt feeling too sorry for himself at the moment. He and Rachel would never be together, and maybe if he put his mind to it - He could begin to get over her, but he wasnt going to lie because he still looked at her everyday like he always did, she never once had failed to make him smile, and ofcourse there were times where he had cried over her. Without her knowing ofcourse, she didnt need to know about his feelings as she didnt feel the same. He knew that. Everybody knew that.

Rachel was up early, for the first time in months she felt upbeat and able to move on with her own life instead of dwelling over what could have been with Ross. She had a date this evening, and nothing was going to ruin that. Monica had kindly set her up with a guy who was recently divorced, so if he could move on from his wife, she could most definately move on from Ross.

'I'll see you down in the coffee house Mon..' She shouted from the kitchen area, Monica was in the bathroom showering,' Ok Rach...'. she shouted back. Rachel grabbed her purse and jacket and headed out of the door, bumping into Chandler who was still in his pj's, 'Did Monica by any chance forget about the whole exercise thing?' He asked her, slapping the newspaper on his head. She shook her head,'Fat chance Chandler...' She laughed.

'A cat huh? We're sure getting serious now arent we?' Ross joked with his girlfriend Julie as they strolled through Central park, hand in hand. 'Do you think we're ready for something like that?'.

'Well if you dont think so we dont have to Ross...'.

'I'm kidding Sweetie!' He laughed, pulling her closely into him, kissing the top of her head. 'I think it's a great idea, why dont we go and get one tomorow?'.

'Really? You dont think it's too soon?' Julie asked.

'Well if you dont want to then..'

'I'm kidding now too Ross..' She laughed.

They continued to walk out of the park till they arrived at Central Perk, where the rest of the gang were already sat having a coffee. 'We can grab a coffee then head back to your place for dinner? I have something very nice for desert...' Ross whispered in her ear as he pressed her against the coffee shop window and kissed her. 'Ross...' She said, a little embarrassed at the fact everybody else could see them, including the gang inside.

'Oh Rachel, Dont look!' Phoebe shouted, pointing at the window where Ross and Julie were busy kissing. Rachel turned around to see what she was referring to, 'Oh cmon you guys, I dont care anymore...I've decided to opt for sanity, and besides...I'm on a date tonight'. She told them, to the welcome of sighs. Not only was Rachel disapointed about not having a chance with Ross, but so was the friends as they were as excited as she was the night she went to work things out at the airport, only to be surprised by the arrival of Julie.

'He can press her against that window as much as he wants...' She said, getting up from the chair to get back to work. 'For all I care...he can throw her through the damn thing' she finished before she walked away, refusing to look at the happy couple coming through the door now. She was kidding herself by saying she didnt care anymore, but she was trying her best to convince herself that Ross was just the Ross she knew a year ago, but everytime she saw him she saw the man she wanted to be with. And everytime she saw Julie, she felt like everybody was laughing because she had lost Ross to another woman who Rachel couldnt quite understand why Ross would have chose to date her.

After her 8 hour shift at the coffeehouse, Rachel was free to leave to go and get ready for her big date. But she was finding herself less excited than she probably should be, she couldnt seem to get Ross and Julie out of her mind now, and their stupid cat.

Getting a cat probably wasnt a big deal, but to her it was as it meant they were getting serious. Next they would be moving in, then they would be married and Rachel would just be a distant memory to Ross. 'Just gotta get over him...' She muttered to herself as she applied her makeup to her face. But she just wished she knew how to get over him, because it wasnt looking good so far.

'Rach, what time are you meeting Michael?' Monica asked her, knocking lightly on her bedroom door before coming in.

'Not till 8oclock...'.

'You look great, new dress?' Monica complimented her.

'Yeah, you got me it...'.

'I did?' Monica asked.

'Well...you bought me that blouse remember? And I took it back and got this instead...' She told her.

Well atleast she was honest, Monica thought. 'So, big date...Michael seemed really excited about the whole thing, he's really nice so I hope you two get on really well...' Monica smiled. Rachel finished her makeup and sighed, 'I guess...'.

'Gee Rach, if you just smiled...your outfit would be complete!' Monica joked, unaware of Rachel's sensivity.

'Smile about what?'. Rachel asked.

'You're going on a date, not to a funeral...'. Monica pointed out. 'What's up?'.

'Oh you know..'.

'Ross?'. Monica guessed. 'Rach...you need to get over him, I know how much you wanted to get with him...and I know how much you want him to want you, but he's with Julie...and we've been over this a hundred times, you need to just go on this date and forget about Ross...Ok?'. She brushed a piece of hair away from her friends face, 'You dont deserve to be this unhappy...'.

She knew Monica was right. 'Thanks Mon, I am excited about this date...I really am, but its hard to not think about Ross...'.

'I know. But I'm telling you now, Michael is a great guy...You'll forget all about Ross when your on the date, So go...go have fun'

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Please review so I know what you all think. :)