Summary: Will a secret Rachel has hidden for 15 years finally come out? If so, will her marriage to Ross be able to survive?
This story takes place in the present time. Ross and Rachel have been married almost a year, and Rachel is 7 ½ months pregnant with their second child. Emma is 3 ½ years old. Monica and Chandler still live in Westchester with their almost two year-old twins. Pheobe and Mike have a one-year old daughter named Sky. Joey is in L.A.
Disclaimer: I do not own Friends!
Miami, FL
Amanda Jones or Mandy as her friends called her, hopped off the school bus at her house on Friday afternoon. She was a fifteen year old on a mission. She had turned fifteen over two weeks ago on March 1, and her overprotective parents had still not let her go get her learner's permit. This just wasn't fair! Her parents never let her do anything fun. She was never allowed to play sports because of their fear she would get hurt. She never got to go to summer camp with her best friend Kristie because it was "too dangerous." She couldn't even go to the mall without her parents! Now, they told her she couldn't get a learner's permit because the roadways were just too dangerous for a fifteen year old to be driving. She had formed a plan. All she needed to get a permit was a birth certificate and an adult. If she could just find her birth certificate, she was sure that Kristie's mom would take her to the DMV in two weeks during Spring Break when she took Kristie. She could not wait to be driving!
Mandy didn't really blame her parents for being so overprotective. It just frustrated her. Her parents were in their mid-fifties, much older than most of her friend's parents. This meant they also acted much older than her friend's parents. Her mother had been forty when she was born. Her parents had tried for over ten years to have children until she came along. She was their little miracle as her parents called it. She knew this was why they wanted so much to protect her. She never complained about camp or sports, but she was determined to drive. She and her parents had been arguing about this ever since she turned fifteen. If they wouldn't let her drive, what would happen when she was ready to start dating? She hoped this would be very soon, if only Josh would call!
Mandy stood in her living room and thought about where her parents would have her birth certificate. She wasn't really sure where to start. The first place she looked was her dad's office, but she didn't find anything but real-estate information (her dad was a realtor.) The next place she looked was her parent's bedroom closet. Still, she found nothing. The last place she thought of was the attic. So, let down the staircase from the ceiling and climbed up.
Everything was covered in dust and pink insulation. She saw a few childhood toys and things she thought her mother had gotten rid of. She guessed her mom couldn't bear to part with her little girl's Barbies when she thought she was too old to play with them. All that was in the attic was seemingly a bunch of junk. Most of which Mandy was sure that her mom had told her dad she would throw out and then secretly kept in the attic. Just as Mandy was about to give up, she saw an old, metal filing cabinet pushed up against the back wall. Just as she was going to check it out, she heard the garage door go up. Her mom was home. She would have to check the cabinet out tomorrow.
Mandy hurried down the stairs and into her room. "Whew! Just made it,' Mandy exclaimed. She sat on her bed and started pretending to do homework. Her mom then came into her room. "Hey sweetie, how was school?" Anita Jones asked her only daughter.
"It was fine mom," Mandy replied.
"I know you're mad at me and your dad honey, but we only have your best interests at heart. You know that, right?" her mom asked.
"Yes, mom I understand," Mandy quickly stated. "Can Kristie come spend the night?" she then asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Sure Mandy. I'll go order you girls a pizza," Anita relented. This was the least she could do for her teenage daughter.
Kristie and Mandy were watching a movie in Mandy's room late that night. "Hey Kristie, I think my parents are finally in bed. Do you want to go help me finish looking for my birth certificate so we can go get our permits?" Mandy asked.
"Mandy, are you sure about this? I mean, won't your parents be really mad at you for telling my mom they said it was okay?" Kristie replied.
"My parents never have to know! " Many reasoned. "Come on, let's go up to the attic and look!"
The girls slowly crept up the stairs as to not wake Mandy's parents. When they got up to the attic, Mandy led Kristie over to the metal filing cabinet in the back corner of the attic. She slowly opened the drawer and started looking at the folders. It was mostly old tax returns and things like that. Just as Mandy was about to give up, she saw a folder in the back simply labeled "Mandy."
"Look Kristie! I think I found something," Mandy exclaimed. She opened the folder and started pulling out what looked like legal documents. She wasn't sure what they all were, but she was sure her birth certificate had to be in there somewhere. Finally, at the very bottom of the pile there it was. "Kristie I found it!" said Mandy as she handed the certificate to Kristie to look at.
"Mandy, look!" Kristie exclaimed. "This says your mother is someone named Rachel Green. Who is that?"
"What?" Mandy asked, while taking the certificate back from Kristie. Suddenly, it dawned on her. She must be adopted! Why had her parents never told her? Why did they call her their miracle baby? Were they every going to tell her? Was this why they were so adamant about her not getting her learner's permit? All the questions flew through her head at a rapid pace. The only thing she knew for sure was that she had to find this Rachel Green, whoever she was.
