Another son. Ross sighed and then took another sip of beer. He looked down to the picture on the apothecary table. It was taken a few weeks ago of him and Ben. For someone who always had the hope of being settled down, he was doing a lousy job. This wasn't how it was supposed to be for a man in his early thirties. He thought by now, he would be settled down with a wife and two kids. Now he finds out, that from the result of a college one night stand , he has fathered another.What made it even worse was the fact that the woman who had the boy was the sister of one of his best friends. Almost ironic, his best friend had just married his own baby sister.
Gina. This was a new twist to the story. She seemed very nice and she seemed fun. But there was only one problem, she wasn't the girl he pictured being with. That was reserved for someone else. He had very fond memories of marrying a girl because he thought he was in love with her. He also remembered how that ended up in his second divorce. Another complication was the fact that him and Rachel slept together just last night. He knew he still had feelings for her.
Slower than he had ever walked, he picked up the phone. "Gina , we need to talk." Ross simply said. "Could you come over.?" Hanging up the phone , he went to his refrigerator and realized he was out of beer.It seemed like a temporary fix to his own problems.
Rachel stood in front of the mirror. She pushed out her stomach and then stuck a pillow under her shirt. Pregnant. It wasn't how she pictured it either. An unwed mother. She could pretend all she wanted how she was a career woman and how she was a success, but deep down she was still the insecure little girl. She wanted to run home to her daddy right now and have him tell her everything was alright. But that was not an option. Her father would be furious, and probably would force Ross to marry her. That it what she would want in the best possible circumstances, to have someone like Ross right now.
"Rachel ,we're getting ready to leave." Monica said as she peeked in the door. Rachel immediately took the pillow from her shirt and pretended to pound it, placing it back on Joey's couch next to Marvin the Martian. "I'm coming." She announced. Out in the hall, stood Phoebe and Joey. Monica had her bag and Chandler had the suitcases.After exchanging hugs and wishing them well, Rachel went back into her apartment and laid down. She was tired. Boy babies take a lot out of you. She was still getting used to the fact that a person was growing inside of her. She went into her bedroom and let her eyelids drop. Ahh peaceful sleep.
Gina dressed very carefully for this talk. She didn't want to look trampy. Michael was in the guest room , looking through a book.
"You look nice mom. Where are you going?" he asked. Gina tried to make up an excuse. "I am going to church." She smiled. "Confession."
Gina had no intention of telling Michael yet. She slipped out the door and then got in a cab.
"Manhattan." She said calmly as she lit a cigarette and clenched it between her teeth.
Arriving at the apartment, she took out her compact and checked her make up. She didn't know what she was trying to accomplish , but she may end up a winner in all this. Smiling , she climbed the steps as her heels clacked up the stairs. She threw her purse over her shoulder and then knocked on the door.
"Come in." said Ross as he welcomed her. Gina slowly walked in. "Nice. Very nice." She said as she surveyed the bachelor's apartment. From the looks of his furniture , he was a man of sophistication. From the looks of his knick knacks and books, he was a man of education. She knew he didn't call her over for just a social visit. Business like she went over to the couch and lit another cigarette . Her nerves had gotten the best of her.
"Please I would rather you don't . Sinuses and allergies." He pointed to the air purifying in the corner. She immediately extinguished the cigarette. "Sorry." She whispered. "Have you got a beer or are you an alcoholic?" Ross thought that was an ironic comment, considering how much he had drank in the past few hours. He got up from the leather couch and brought Gina and him another beer.
Wallowing in the silence as each on watched the other one take a swig, Ross decided to talk.
"Gina I have been thinking." He started. " I want to be tested . It's not that I don't believe you, it's just this whole thing seems so far fetched. I mean I was a freshman in college." Ross said uneasily.
"You don't think you can knock up a girl?" she said defensively.
"No it's just that you arrive here out of the blue and say I am your son 's father. I mean how do I know that maybe you are just trying to find Michael a daddy?"
This infuriated Gina. She had did a godamn good job of raising Michael and she had did it without the help of her judgemental family. She picked up the bottle and threw it at the wall. "How dare you! Who died and made you the judge of all? I do not need anyone's help to raise my son. I have done a damn good job. I just think that Michael is at the critical age. I have never told him anything about you and when I saw you and him getting along so well, I thought that it was my place to tell you about him. I don't need a husband Ross! I just would like Michael to have someone to be what I can't be to him." Ross sank on to the couch and lowered his head .
"Gina , Michael is a great kid. I would love to be his mentor." Ross said .
"His what?" she asked. "You mean like the candy?" Ross just laughed silently after all, this was Joey's sister. "No I would love to be someone he does things with and encourage his love of science. I can do that."
"Well, will you take the test?" she asked. "I gotta admit I hate needles but yes.
About a week following the test, Ross stood with trepidation as he held the manilla envelope in his hand. He would either have a new child or life would return to normal. He took the dinosaur letter opener from his desk in his study and slid it through the flap. Like a snake ready to pop out of the contents , he pulled out the piece of data paper. Scanning he saw one word…positive .. Michael Joseph Tribbiani was indeed his.
As she stood over the toilet, Rachel lifted her hair as she vomited again. She looked around hoping to find no one there. She looked over and saw Joey watching from the door.
"Are you alright Rachel?" he asked concerned. Rachel vowed to herself that she would not tell anyone until she told the father."Yeah I guess with all the running I did for the wedding, I must have a little bit of the flu." Joey stood at the door with a slice of pizza in his hand. The smell was too much for her as she bent back over. Joey put down his pizza and ran to her side . He took his hand and rubbed her back as she threw up again.
"Gina, I am Michael's father." Ross admitted as Gina sat on the couch at Central Perk. It was still early , so there were not that many patrons in the coffee shop. Ross took a sip of his latte and put it down. "I have been up half of the night , trying to figure out how to fix things. " Gina listened intently. "I thought about leaving things the way they are, but that is not how I was raised. I was raised that a man takes responsibility for something like this and does the right thing. Now Gina I am going to tell the story of my son Ben." Ross stretched to get comfortable and then began.
"Ben 's mother and I were married. I thought happily until one day I found out that Carol had not only been having an affair behind my back, but she was having it with a woman."
Gina gasped. "Your wife was a dyke?"
"Yes and when she found out , she divorced me and lived with another woman. Then one night I tried to talk to her , we ended up together and she was pregnant with my son , Ben." Ross continued.
Gina was still in shock. This man really had been through a lot.
"I get to see Ben on the weekends and holidays, I had no say in how he was raised. I vowed to myself if I would be fortunate to have another child. I would be the best father that I could." Ross cleared his throat. "I know I haven't known you for that long. But I want my son to have the family he never had. Gina Tribbiani?" Gina put her hands to her mouth as she saw the man in front of her sink to his knees "It was short notice and I have no ring, but Gina will you marry me?" Gina looked at Ross with tears in her eyes.
The next sound was the shattering of glass in the kitchen as Gunther had seen the whole exchange. Maybe now he would have a chance with his dream girl.
"This can't go on." Said Phoebe as she shook her head. "You are going to have to tell him." She said to Rachel. She stood at the mirror as she applied her makeup to go to work. "Phoebe when the time is right , I will." She said looking at the mirror as each lash was coated with mascara.
"I hope that is soon. I hate to say this, but you are already getting that glow . Trust me when that happens, you can't hold it in much longer.
Rachel sighed and then turned to Phoebe. "Alright Pheebs, you win. I will tell him this afternoon. " She took the cell phone from her purse and dialed his number. "Not home." She said to Phoebe. "Hello Ross, There is something I need to talk to you about this afternoon. I see you aren't home so call me when you get this."
Gina turned to him and began to kiss him as she threw her arms around him. Maybe it was time to settle down and be the perfect little Italian wife . Maybe she could make restitution to her family for all of her mistakes?
"Yes Ross Geller , I will marry you." She whispered in his ear. But the look on his face was not happiness. And the woman on his mind was not his fiancé. It was Rachel.