Rachel put her hands to her mouth. "No Joey, don't do this." She whispered. "I don't love you." He got up from his knee. "Rachel, you are a nice girl and a good girl. In another place and time, you would be with the man you love." Rachel was impressed. Joey was so poetic and sincere.
"That was beautiful." She sighed. "I didn't know you had the words in you." Joey just shrugged his shoulders. "Nah that was a line from the show last week." Rachel gave him the same looks she had been giving Ross. Joey was to say the least a little bit frightened.
"I just mean that your baby deserves the same chance that Michael is getting. I am a good provider and I know you can't raise this baby alone. Being alone is hard enough, but with a baby it is nearly impossible. My sister Gina had it really rough in California." Joey said sincerely. Rachel looked thoughtfully at Joey. He was her best friend, other than Ross, they got along and were living together and Joey did have a loving heart. Plus it didn't hurt that he was a soap star.
Rachel sighed , got up and walked over to where Joey was sitting. "Okay." She smiled. "My baby does deserve a father." Grinning Joey, slid the ring on her finger. "Well that's that." Rachel hugged Joey and then had a very uncertain look on her face.
In her thoughts…. She could hear herself thinking….Rachel Tribbiani… Rachel Green Tribbiani…. Mrs. Joey Tribbiani?... why didn't that sound right. In her mind she said the name a thousand times and even resorted to doodling it on her pad at Central Perk while she still waitressed. Rachel Geller….. Rachel Green Geller…..Dr. and Mrs. Ross Geller……. That was the name she would forever have in her mind…but Joey was a nice guy and he would make a good husband.
Since they had been back from their honeymoon. Ross had been so preoccupied with his life, that he hadn't even welcomed home his sister and his best friend. With a smile on his face, he slowly opened Apartment 20 and walked in..
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" came the reply from his angry sister. "You are marrying a girl you aren't even in love with or know anything about and the girl you have worshipped your whole life is having your baby." Monica stood with her arms waving.
"Hey you don't know anything about it." Screamed Ross.
"I know this Rachel is in misery and she still has feelings for you, why I don't know, because you are one of the major assholes of all time." Monica yelled.
"Mon, I didn't know about the baby until after Gina told me and I was tested." Ross tried to reason with his sister. "I didn't know , and if I did do you think I wouldn't have proposed to her then? The night of your wedding we slept together in my hotel room." He said softly. Monica drew her hands to her mouth. "I knew it! You thunder stealers!" she screamed and then hit him in the arm and walked away.
"Owww that hurts." Squealed Ross. At that moment, Chandler came from the bathroom. "They could hear you two in Jersey. Now why are you fighting?" Monica went to Chandler and put her arm through his. "They slept together on our wedding night." She said through her gritted teeth.
"What in the hell is the big deal? We slept together on his wedding night and did it in his honeymoon suite after the bride dumped him." Chandler said. "By the way, it looks like the dry spell has ended , huh Geller?" Ross turned to him and put his fists together.
"That's not all. He found out he had a son by Joey's sister and now he and Gina are getting married." Monica continued to seethe.
"Is Gina the one with the ….? Chandler asked as he pantomimed the two large breasts she had. Monica slapped him. Ross nodded and then Chandler smiled.
"You two are pigs. My best friend has gotten herself in trouble and you are making comments about some tramps large breasts." Monica said. "Hey I'd watch it, that so called tramp is going to be your sister in law." Ross defended Gina and then Chandler gave a puzzled look. "In trouble? When did we become a movie from the forties?"
"Mom is going to love her daughter in law." Monica said sarcastically. "Oh she will , because you brought her. She'll like that tramp more than me." She moaned. "And when is she going to meet Mom and Dad?" Monica crossed her arms as she looked at her brother. "I hadn't thought about that yet." Ross said.
Joey and Rachel entered the door of the apartment. At the same time, Phoebe also entered as well. Rachel looked at Joey and then shrugged her shoulders. It would be like taking a bandaid off , one quick pull. When everyone was paying attention, she stood up. "Joey and I have an announcement." Rachel said meekly, almost fearing what was to come. "A few minutes ago, Joey asked me something. He asked me to marry him and I said yes." Her smile was weak as she looked over at her fiancé and then glanced at the ring on her finger. She still couldn't believe she was engaged and had to keep telling herself that.
Everyone sat on the couch and chair , almost in a state of shock. Monica couldn't believe it, neither could Chandler. It felt like everything they had known or believed in was no longer true. There was a deafening silence until someone said something.
"YOU ARE DOING WHAT?" screamed Ross. "You and Him? Joey you are my best friend and you know you couldn't have stabbed me in the back worst." He said shaking his head and heading for the door.
"You have one hell of a nerve , did you expect me to raise this baby alone or expect you to realize what a terrible mistake you're making , and then sit and wait for you to come crawling back to me?" Rachel screamed. "This baby deserves the same thing that your other bastard got. Joey is willing to raise this baby as his own." Rachel said defending herself.
"Over my dead body. That child is mine and when it is born I will have the tests to prove it is legally mine." Ross screamed. "And I will not him or her raised by my former friend."
"You have no say in the matter, you lost that when you decided to tell that boy you were his father and then propose to his mother." Rachel said. "Joey is going to be my husband and stepfather to our child."
Ross was stunned. "Did you say stepfather?" Rachel held her stomach and then got up. "You will always be this baby's father , and maybe in another time or place, you could be with them all the time." Rachel started to sob. Joey stood not knowing what to do , he started over to wards Rachel but then saw Rachel sobbing on Ross' shoulder.
"It could have been so beautiful." She said as tears rolled down her face. "Our baby." Ross held her as everyone watched , including her fiancé, for the first time, he realized something. Maybe he was making a dreadful mistake….
Thanks for all the awesome reviews …. As you can see there is more story ahead… no one is married yet….so to everyone who thinks I am a traitor.. hang on… so if you are loving this please tell me….