Chapter 3: Rachel Has Grown Up

Author's Note: I am sorry that it is taking so long to update this, but the crucial event, the great big fat break up between Chandler and Monica, needs careful thinking out, and I still don't think I've got it right. I put up this unusually short (for me) chapter that completes dealing with the Ross-Rachel situation (covered in Ch. 2, which some readers may not realise, since my replacement of the original apology there did not register as an update), and forms an introduction to the Chandler-Monica situation. I hope it will temporarily satisfy for those who have asked for updates (thank you, everyone; I am gratified by your interest).

Disclaimer: As far as I know, there is absolutely no obligation to put a disclaimer in every chapter – once for each story or other item should suffice!

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Phoebe held her breath. Rachel might be okay with meeting Ross again as a friend, but how would she react to this, Ross getting engaged once more to another woman?

She need not have worried. Rachel clapped her hands together and looked very pleased. "Ross, that's great!" she cried enthusiastically. "Congratulations to you both!" Her expression became a little mischievous. "Did you meet over a dinosaur bone?"

Ross grinned, and Charlie laughed. "No, I got appointed to Ross's department," she said. "I had heard of Ross before – who in our field hasn't? – but never met him." She looked at Rachel a little quizzically. "You're the Rachel I've heard so much about?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I was his girlfriend once, and we had this odd kind of relationship afterwards, because we stayed friends and saw each other all the time," she said. "I, uh, don't know quite how much Ross has told you …"

Ross looked a little embarrassed. "Well, to be honest, Charlie got it all out of me, in the end."

"Well, I hope you understand, that is all over," said Rachel rather earnestly to Charlie. "I am glad to see Ross again, as must be obvious, but if you think I'm gonna get all jealous like I did before, and try to break you up, forget it. I really and truly am over Ross, for ever. I thought I was, before our bonus night, but … I guess there was a little something left."

Phoebe regarded Rachel with admiration. She really had matured, to be so concerned with what Charlie might think about the situation between her and Ross. In fact, her whole behaviour seemed calmer and more mature than it used to be, like she had really grown up.

"It sounds like it," said Charlie a trifle drily. "But I appreciate your honesty. It took me a while to get Ross to open up about his past. For some reason he seemed to think it would put me off. But, while it's not the kind of thing that happens to every guy, I think it's all understandable. And I'm used to men with strange pasts. The trouble I had with previous relationships – brilliant men, but crazy!"

"Yeah, Charlie's lowering herself, marrying me," said Ross, grinning. "Her previous dates have been Nobel Prize winners."

Charlie hit him on the shoulder with her fist, but not very hard. "Enough of that, Geller," she said mock-sternly.

Phoebe smiled to see them getting along so well. Just then Gunther, who had moved away to serve customers, returned, looking a little reserved – he had always seemed rather hostile to Ross, Phoebe thought to herself – and was introduced to Charlie, whom he greeted politely but rather abstractedly.

"So, um, do I get to hear any more?" he said, looking at Phoebe. "We haven't reached the big break up yet."

Ross frowned a little, and Phoebe hastened to explain. Ross's frown deepened.

"I don't see what purpose is served by raking over the past," he said rather stiffly.

"Yeah, that was a bad time," said Rachel reminiscently. "Though it did get me back to being friends with Monica. I called her as soon as I heard."

"No one ever told Gunther what went wrong," Phoebe pointed out. "We just, like, vanished on him. He deserves to know something."

Ross shrugged. "Okay," he muttered.

"I'd like to know how the great fight started, myself," said Rachel. "Monica was almost incoherent when she talked about it, and I just couldn't get it straight. I gave up trying pretty fast, in fact, because it seemed to distress her so much."

"Let's sit down, 'cause it's a long story," said Phoebe, nodding her head at the couch and chairs, now vacated. She looked at Ross and Charlie. "You guys wanna order something? Anyone else?"

Gunther left to get the various items ordered, and they all sat down. Ross relaxed on the couch as if he had never left it, with Charlie beside him. He smiled at Rachel.

"You dating anyone?" he asked, as if he really wanted to know. "I hope so. Mark, maybe?" he added. It was said lightly, without a trace of jealousy.

"Oh no, Mark left Bloomingdale's, and I hear he's got married," said Rachel casually, not seeming offended. "But there is this new guy Gavin in the office." She smiled. "He's nice."

Ross beamed. "I'm glad. You should have someone nice. I always thought that."

Rachel smiled back at him. "Yeah, I still remember what you said that time, when you found out I wasn't going to get back with Paolo, after I stupidly slept with him again. Thanks, Ross."

Again Phoebe was struck by her readiness to admit her own fault and her simple acceptance of Ross's words at face value, without making any kind of sarcastic comeback as she would likely have done in the past.

"Okay," said Phoebe, once Gunther had returned and distributed their orders, "well, I've thought about it all, and I've realised, you could see the smash-up coming for days, weeks even. Although she had me for Maid of Honor, Monica was trying to keep everything in her hands – she was never good at delegating – and it was driving her slowly crazy. I guess Rachel knew how to calm her down better than I did."

Rachel sighed and nodded. "We had our fights, but … yeah, I did know ways. But it was hard, even before I walked out."

Phoebe went on, "She knew I was still seeing Rachel, because I needed her input on the Maid of Honor stuff, and while she made a show of accepting this, you could see it still made her kind of mad – that, and knowing that I didn't approve of the way she drove Rachel away, though I never said anything. In fact, she was, like, defensive about the whole thing. Chandler said something to me once, about her not sleeping well, and I think maybe she was laying awake going over and over it in her mind."

Now Phoebe sighed. "And then there was the way Chandler was behaving. He made it fairly clear that he wasn't happy that Monica had broken up our group by getting so mad at Rachel that she walked out, which also screwed up a lot of the wedding arrangements. I think, the way Monica saw it, he should have been helping to pick up the slack. But she had shut him out earlier, when he tried to get involved, and I guess this made him resentful, and though he had not really shown it before, now he began to be sulky. He clearly wanted some kind of, like, olive branch from Monica. But, you know, it went clear against her nature to admit that she might have been wrong, and ask for help."

Rachel nodded and Ross groaned. "Yeah, that's Monica, all right, or rather, that's what she was like then," he said.

"So," said Phoebe, "she had got to where she was absolutely the opposite of relaxed, in fact I've never known her so tense …"