Kathleen and Friends

Cold shivers ran up and down her spin as Kathleen jogged up the stairs hurriedly. Joey and Erica had convinced her to go down to the café downstairs with them, but the second she stepped out the door, she regretted it.

"And the defendant bails after two minutes and thirty-nine seconds," Joey had commented as Kathleen pronounced her persistent lack of warmth.

They had both looked at him oddly, and as she left with Erica's sweater and Joey's thick coat, they started up a conversation about law and court, Joey obviously having no idea of the terminology involved with both.

Kathleen thought she knew winter, but New York's coldest season was nothing compared to London's. It hardly plunged below 30 degrees, which wasn't that big of a change, but today was particularly horrible, the temperature remaining stubbornly below 20. The sky was black with clouds, and the wind penetrated her four layers of thick clothes effortlessly. Central Perk was only a five second walk away, but it had been enough to give her the chills and fill her pinned up hair with snow.

She put a hand on the doorknob of her apartment with every intention of opening the door, but found it already unlocked. She panicked for a second, but then remembered that Emma had a key, and could be back for lunch.

"Hello?" she called as she walked in, the apartment just as cold as outside to her. She shivered.

"Erica?" a mans voice called, and Kathleen raised her eyebrows.

"No, it's Kathleen. Who's that?"

A young man, maybe 22, 23 appeared from the general area of the bathroom, his hand resting on the wall. He wore stylish designer glasses, and although they distinguished him she could see he bared some resemblance to her roommate. His hair was the same style that Joey wore his, although there was no gel in it, and it fell neatly into place, each strand placed perfectly. He caught sight of her and looked her over, and she was very aware of the fact that her turtleneck, hoodie, sweater and jacket made her look oddly mis-proportioned.

"You must be Erica's twin," Kathleen stated awkwardly, and the boy nodded. He grinned, and Kathleen was forced to smile at the dimples that formed.

"That's what they call me," he laughed easily, and he half-hopped off the step and walked over to where Kathleen was standing. "Jack Garret Bing," he introduced, holding out his hand, adjusting his glasses with the other. Kathleen took it, and he cocked his head.

"So you must be the famous Kato everyone's been talking about."

Kathleen snapped up at the comment. People had been talking about her? "What did you hear from who?" she asked cautiously.

"Well, from Joey- and only that you were really, really hot, and that you were pretty cool – from him it isn't that big of a surprise, but he's a pretty honest guy; he told the truth this time in any case."

Kathleen smiled at the compliment, looking down at the floor shyly.

"Is it really that bad outside?" he commented after a second of silence, nodding towards Kathleen's apparel.

Kathleen looked down at her puffed out body, and she took Joey's coat off, revealing the wool sweater that had 'ERICA' splashed across the front. She took Joey's coat and folded it over a chair. "Yes, but I'm the only who seems to think so," she answered embarrassed.

Jack nodded, his grey eyes tingling with amusement. "Do you know where Ric is, any-who?" he asked, still holding onto Kathleen's hand. She pulled it away from him and started to boil the water.

"Yeah, she's down at Central Perk with Joey… what are you doing?" she asked, watching Jack paw through Joey's coat.

"It's a letter of co-assignment," Jack answered, holding up a folded envelope. "Joe's in retail and I asked him to write one up for me." Kathleen nodded and took a cup out from the cabinet.

"Do you want a cup of coffee?" she asked, and heard Jack's Yes in the background. She took the water off and poured it into the cups, turning around to see Jack staring at her.

He seemed unfazed by the fact he'd gotten caught, picking up the newspaper and unfolding it. Kathleen gave him an odd glance and set a cup down in front of him, "Thanks."

A shiver ran down her spine, and she knew it wasn't from emotional feelings. "I'm going to go get a sweater and a blanket," she excused, and Jack nodded, taking a sip of his coffee, returning to the Entertainment section. He always skimmed the headlines for his Uncle Joey, but had still to spot him.

Kathleen sat on the lounger feeling only slightly ridiculous. She had put on her sweats and the biggest, most oversized hooded sweater she owned, and had wrapped herself into a cocoon with her thick winter blanket.

Jack looked up from the couch and tried to contain a smile as Kathleen hobbled through the living room and curled up into a ball on the lazy boy.

"I think the Marshmallow parade is that way," he commented, jerking his head towards the door. Kathleen glared at him playfully, and he laughed at her face. "I'd offer you my sweater, but it looks like you have enough," Jack said, adjusting his glasses and crossing his legs.

"It still wouldn't help," Kathleen mumbled, feeling her body shiver under the heavy blanket. She curled up tighter, staring hard at the ground, trying not to concentrate on her freezing skin.

They sat in silence for a moment, Kathleen completely oblivious to it, too involved with her heat problem then breaking the ice.

"So you're from England?" Jack ventured, taking a sip of his coffee.

Kathleen snapped out of her trance, nodding. "Yes, London actually. It never gets this cold there," she complained, and she stopped before she started ranting.

"Did you grow up there?" Jack asked, and Kathleen once again nodded,

"Yes, I spent my childhood there with my younger brother, but I moved out when I was 19."

Jack nodded, "I moved here a couple months ago from collage. My parents want me to come home, but Erica got me a deal on an apartment down the street. Did you live alone?"

"No, I lived with my roommate, Benji, for seven years."

"My cousins' name is Ben. Have you met Emma yet?" he asked, and Kathleen nodded, "It's her half-brother. He lives a block and a half north."

"Are they close?"

"They didn't grow up together, but I would say they were pretty close. Ben really protective of her, he's almost six years older then her."

"So how old would that make you?"

Jack's eyes tingled with laughter at the question, and he smiled. "Emma's 24, Mike's 21, Joey's 20, Erica and me are 22; twins, which is a given," he answered in his soft, clear way of speaking. Kathleen nodded, more conscious about her age then ever. She braced herself for the question she knew was coming. "You?"

"Ahh… 23," she lied quickly, and Jack glanced at her, his eyebrow raised.

"Really?" he asked, and she laughed.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Kathleen said, throwing a pillow at him when he started doing just that. It wasn't really a laugh, more like a chuckle, and he grabbed the pillow in the air easily.

"I promise," he finally said, and Kathleen folded her arms and pouted.

"Well I'm not telling you," she stated stubbornly. Jack's eyebrows once again raised at her childishness. "What?" she asked, and Jack laughed again.

"Just tell me," he said easily, and Kathleen looked at him.

"Promise you won't laugh?" she asked again, and this time he kept a straight face.

"Promise."

Kathleen took a deep breath, "… 26."

Jack looked her over, and she could feel her face starting to change color. "That's not that bad," he said finally, deeming she was telling the truth.

"Compared to you and your friends it is," she mumbled miserably. She pushed her head into the bed covers, moaning into them, "I'm cold, I'm old, and I've moved away from everyone else I know that's old and… familiar."

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing."

Kathleen looked up at Jack, "Are you saying I'm old?" she questioned, her voice getting high and indignant.

"No, no, I'm saying – maybe it's not such a bad thing that you moved. I mean, it's only your first day in the city, right?"

"Yeah," Kathleen muttered dryly, "And look at how well I'm adjusting, me, the anti-social, no-friend human marshmallow."

Jack laughed, and shifted on the couch so he was closer to her. "Yeah, but you don't know my friends. They're critical, analytical; criticize anything and everything that moves - they're a bitch to watch reruns with. If you survived the morning with them, you've got friends."

"Still…" Kathleen whined, and Jack stood up.

"No, no, no more ranting about how life sucks just because you moved to New York. New York doesn't like moaners. We've got a bunch of rich, snotty brats for that." He held out his hand for her to take.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Taking you out on a date. To see New York."

Kathleen looked at his hand and then at his face. "But… I'm cold," she protested weakly; his eyebrows went up again, and he laughed at her pathetic excuse.

"I'll get you Thermo packs and you'll wear your warmest clothes," he stated, shooting down her defense.

"Emma invited me to her place tonight-"

Her second excuse didn't get too far, "I'll get you back in time to shower and prep; it's my turn to pick the movie and I'll let you choose… Any other reasons floating around in your head that I can shoot down?" he added, and Kathleen shook her head, taking his hand dejectedly.

"Don't hurt yourself with that enthusiasm," Jack warned, giving her a small push towards her room.

"Go put on your warmest clothes," he instructed, "And we'll stop by the coffee shop for an extra hot, double mocha, hot coco blend before we go," he promised, and Kathleen rolled her head back to look at him before she opened her door and slowly dragged her feet and her huge blanket to the bed.

------------

It wasn't long before Jack managed to get her out the door and down to the coffee house. To Kathleen's surprise, he had indeed found the promised Thermo packs, though from where she didn't know, and had four of them laid out across the table, heated and all, when she came out of the door.

"I can get you more," he said, smiling sweetly.

Kathleen laughed at his face, and tucked two into her shirt.

She'd settled for the warmest pair of pants she owned, Erica's thick sweater, and a coat that closely resembled a parka in areas of 'puffy-ness'.

Jack had laughed at her, said, 'You forgot this,' and pulled a cute hat on her head, wrapping a long scarf numerous times around her neck, tucking it into her coat when he had her nearly suffocated.

They walked down to the coffee house, and Kathleen sat with Erica and Joey while Jack ordered their hot drinks. Erica thanked her brother for showing Kathleen around the city and reminded them to pick up a movie on their way back, Joey giving Jack a big thumbs up as they left beverages in hand.

They started walked down the street, and pretty soon Kathleen had no idea where they were or how to get back to the apartments. It slowly began to warm, and Kathleen periodically stopped to take off her scarf, take away the Thermo packs, unzip her coat, remover her mittens, and so on until all she had left on were pants and the sweater Erica had let her borrow.

Jack was the perfect gentlemen and didn't complain once.

They took a walk through Central Park (which Jack promised they'd return to on the way back, it wasn't that far away from the apartments), went to see the Empire State Building, the Flea Market at Unions Square, and ate falafels as they walked home from the 'Home of the Knicks'.

"And that right there is the Met," Jack pointed out as they walked by a large, old looking building. Kathleen stared up at the impressive architecture.

"What does 'Met' mean?"

Jack smiled at her question, "It's the lazy way of saying the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, and it was built in 1872. We'll stop by there as well sometime; Mike really enjoys going there, although I'm pretty sure he's already seen everything... It's the only part of history he likes, truth be told…"

They took another walk down Central Park, shockingly close to the Museum, and headed back to the coffee house. Or so Kathleen thought until Jack disappeared and called for her through a hidden alcove. She headed off towards his voice, almost getting lost in the process. They picked out a older movie called, "Children of Men," which Jack had already seen but was 'pretty sure' no one else had.

"Has anyone seen my keys?" Mike asked as he dropped down on all fours and started sweeping the couches.

Emma rolled her eyes impatiently, "You've seriously got to be kidding me! You lost them again!"

"I didn't lose them," Mike glared at her, and Kathleen couldn't suppress a laugh, "I just misplaced them."

Emma headed to the bathroom in search of the 'misplaced' keys and Kathleen sat on the stool, leaning across the countertop.

"So when is Emma's Dad stopping by?" she asked, Jack busy in the kitchen behind her. Mike looked up at her for a second, his face scrunched up in serious thought. "Uh…"

"Eight-ish?" Jack said, opening the oven door. Mike nodded,

"Yeah, what he said," and continued looking under the couches, slowly moving onto under the cushions, and under all the papers on the coffee table.

"Right," Kathleen nodded, turning around to watch Jack take out the beautiful looking muffins. The smell of slowly baking goods had long since filled the apartment, making everyone's stomach growl. Joey came out Emma's room, his hair tousled adorably.

"Good nap?" Mike asked, his whole arm eaten by the couch.

"Lost your keys again?" Joey responded instead, and Mike nodded, the tips of his lips curling up into a small smile. "Emma ready to kill you?" Joey continued, and again Mike nodded. "Then yeah, good nap."

Mike threw a wrapped Mini Twix bar at Joey as he sat down on the couch. "Thanks," Joey smiled, holding up the bar and Kathleen couldn't help but laugh.

Joey turned around at the sound, his face lighting up at the sight of her. "Hey! So you decided to come along then!"

Kathleen nodded, "Yeah, Jack convinced me. I have your sweater by the way," she added, and Joey shrugged.

"I'll get it back whenever," he said, and the door opened.

Jack turned around to greet the visitor, smiling when he saw Erica holding up the shiny, jingling keys. "Looking for something Mickey?" she asked, and Mike didn't look up.

"Yeah, have you seen my keys?" he asked, still digging under the cushions.

"Mike?" Erica asked, and Mike finally looked up. He looked up at her questionably, his eyes drifting slowly from her face to her held up hand.

"I love you!" he shouted, getting up and running over to where Erica was standing. He picked her up and whirled her around, bumping into Jack who almost dropped the pan of muffins. "Emma! I found them!" he shouted, kissing Erica on the cheek, taking the keys from her hands. Kathleen laughed, and Mike put the keys in the drawer, then went to sit down on the couch.

"Can you pass me that plate?" Erica asked after her balance returned, and Mike looked around, pointing to himself. "Yes, you, you're the closest one."

Mike shook his head, as if the fact was untrue, "No, I'm not. I'm not here. I'm not even human."

"Then what are you?" Erica asked, playing along, getting up to fetch the plate herself.

"I'm not space… I'm not time… I'm nothing and not anything- I'm the furthest thing away from a living blob of particle matter, and I'm most definitely not the tiny microorganism that lives on the bottom of you're shoes… I'm nothing. I don't exist. I'm a tangent in the space-time continuum and my cells have been destroyed by the gamma rays of the solar system."

"Uh-huh."

"I am… Anti-Matter!" Mike finished dramatically, gesturing a finale with his hands.

"And does anti-matter like to eat more, muffins or toast?" Erica asked dryly.

Joey interjected before Mike got a chance to answer, "Well, I know Joey likes both."

"Well, Erica isn't asking Joey what he likes, is she?"

"And we all know what Joey likes," Emma added on coming in from the bathroom, and Kathleen giggled. Jack looked up at her from his baking, and grinned.

Mike tugged on Erica's sleeve in the living room, "Anti-matter likes Muffins, if anyone cares anymore," he said sweetly.

"Muffins it is," Jack relayed behind the counter, pulling the freshly baked blueberry muffins out of the pan. There was a knock on the door, and Jack looked up for a second, "Can you get that Kate?" he asked, and Kathleen nodded.

She heard the group of friends laughing in the background about something or another as she walked over and opened the door. "Hello?" she asked, and Kathleen's line of view immediately went to the man's hazel eyes. His hair was solidly black, and Kathleen could tell he dyed it from the half-grey hairs that cropped out randomly. She watched as his eyes widened, and he stared at her confused.

"Oh, uh," he stuttered, stepping back and looking down the hall. "Sorry, I must have gotten the wrong apartment," he muttered, shaking his head. "Stupid Ross - don't even know where your daughter lives," he chastised himself, and Kathleen bit back a smile.

"You must be Dr. Geller, I'm Kathleen," there was a scuffling behind her, a loud crash, and she was pretty sure she heard Erica shout, 'Kathleen!' in a particularly shrill voice. "- Erica's roommate," she finished before looking back to see what the commotion had been.

Emma was lying across Joey's lap, her hands stretched out to the door. Erica was on the floor, her foot tangled in the rug. Jack looked the most nervous since Kathleen had met him, holding a muffin in one hand, the pan in the other, and Mike was biting his lip with a pained look. She looked at the scene confused.

"You're Erica's roommate?" Ross asked, still standing outside the door. He was holding a slip of paper awkwardly in the air. "But Erica doesn't have a roommate…" he trailed off, staring at his daughter on the couch, looking back and forth from his respective nephews and nieces.

"Katie," Mike said, his voice forced. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, and Kathleen nodded, a bit bewildered. Mike quickly got up and grabbed her elbow lightly, heading out the door. "Nice seeing you Uncle Ross," he said smoothly, pushing Ross into the apartment, simultaneously closing the door behind him.

"What-" Kathleen started, but she couldn't get the sentence out. A second ago they were all laughing and having fun; why did the mood change so suddenly?

Mike sighed, playing with his hands, his boyish face and curls bouncing. "Uh, I don't know how to tell you this but…"

The door behind Mike opened, and Ross was standing there, looking as confused as Kathleen felt. "Mike-" he started, but Mike cut him off.

"Uh, one sec," he said, pulling the door closed.

"Okay, what the bloody hell's going on?" Kathleen asked wanting to understand exactly what had happened while her back was turned.

Mike hesitated before he started, "Okay, you know Monica?"

"Erica's mom?"

"Yeah," Mike nodded, "Well, Aunt Monica's been trying to force this roommate on Ric, and Ric said that she didn't do roommates, and that she would rather live alone."

Kathleen stared at him. "And that's what all this was about? That she told her mother that she didn't want a roommate, and then offered it to me?"

"Well, first of all, yes, and second of all - it's not exactly that low-key. I mean, it's been going on for a little while, and there have been a couple of really big fights about it… you should have been there spring break a few months ago, it was scary. I'm guessing she forgot to tell you about that…"

Kathleen nodded, knowing exactly how fights with her mother went. "But why does Emma's dad care so much?" she asked, and Mike looked nervously to the door, as if gauging how much time they had left before all hell broke loose.

"Emma's dad is Aunt Monica's brother," he explained.

Kathleen nodded slowly, "But then… why does Joey call her his Aunt as well?" she asked, the fundamentals of her five new friends still unclear. Mike impatiently sat down on the ground, his back against the wall.

Glancing at the door once more. - which was knocking impatiently, his Uncle Ross no doubt - he decided to wing it, "Uh, Emma's dad is Jack and Erica's mom's brother, their dad, Joey's dad, and Emma's dads are like, best friends, my mom, Jack's mom and Emma's mom are like, best friends, and Emma's mom once went out with Joey's dad I think…" Mike replayed what he'd said in his head and nodded. "I think that's right… they're all friends, and even though I'm not really related, I've known them my whole life and stuff, so yeah…" he eyed the door again, and Kathleen nodded, trying to process the information, which was hard due to the constant thump.

The two looked at each other and Kathleen felt herself slowly going insane. "Answer it for Christ sake!" she finally snapped, and Mike opened the door promptly sitting back down on the ground.

"Uh, hi," Ross said, smiling sarcastically. "Can I come in?" he asked in the same tone, and Mike nodded.

Ross walked into the hall and shut the door behind him – Kathleen could see the four nervous faces of the others as the wood swung closed. "Mind telling me what exactly is going on here Mike?" he asked, gesturing around the hall.

"Uh…" Mike said, trailing off into nothingness. Kathleen stood beside him, watching the conversation.

"Why won't my daughter or my niece talk to me?" Ross asked, and Mike looked down.

"What's this I hear about Erica's new roommate?" he questioned further, and when Mike refused to answer once again, Kathleen felt obligated to raising her hand timidly.

"Dr. Geller?" she said, and she knew she sounded pathetic. Ross turned to look at her, as if noticing that she was there for the first time.

"Who are you?" Ross asked, and Kathleen was a little disappointed that he didn't remember what her name was from her introduction less then five minutes ago. Was this the paleontologist Emma was talking about? He didn't seem too bright,

"Kathleen Davis; I'm Erica's new roommate…" she reminded.

Ross stared at her for a second. She looked a little familiar to him, someone he couldn't quite place… Maybe she was some failed actress he had seen in one of Joey's many, unfortunately, failed movies. "Are you from England?" he asked, and Kathleen nodded. There was the intellectual side,

"London, actually. I'm so happy that Erica agreed to let me live with her, I don't know what I would have done without her…"

"She's a good girl," Ross muttered, running his hand through his thinning hair. He didn't know what to do. Monica had been asking Erica to house her friends' daughter for months, and now he knew that she had just recently gotten one. He was obligated to tell his sister, wasn't he?

Kathleen didn't want to get Erica in trouble or anyone for that matter, so she decided to distract him with a topic she was familiar with. "Emma tells me that you're a paleontologist."

Ross immediately forgot about the roommate debacle, looking at the British girl carefully. Her interest seemed genuine, and he ventured the question, "Yes, why?"

She smiled at him, and Ross wondered why there were never girls this pretty interested in dinosaurs when he was her age. Well, there had been Charlie, but he had yet to win the Nobel Prize – darn thing -, and he had Rachel now, but…

"I'm a paleontologist," Kathleen stated happily, and Ross smiled. Finally, someone normal he could talk to!

"Really?" he asked eagerly, "What area do you specialize in?"

Mike looked up at Kathleen and Ross, Kathleen doing absolute wonders. Now maybe they had a chance of withholding the roommate information, and get Uncle Ross to agree not to tell Aunt Monica… Though he could tell Aunt Rachel, who could tell someone, who could tell someone, which would probably get back to Erica's mom; but it would give them some time.

"How long have they been out there?" Emma whispered quietly, worried that if they heard her, they'd suddenly remember there were people inside the apartment, and come back in a rage.

"Seven minutes and thirty-nine second," Jack answered back quietly after quickly consulting his watch, sitting beside Erica, with a comforting hand on her back.

Erica moaned into her hands, her heart speeding at the thought of what her mother would say. "Damnit! I knew this would blow up in my face…" It was one thing to not want to live with someone, but something else if you lied about it.

"Nothing's being blown up Ricky," Jack comforted quietly, and Erica felt a tad bit better. Her brother always had a way of saying things that could make you feel better; he could say, 'You're dying,' and the person would thank him.

"But what if Dad tells Monica?" Emma asked, and Jack glared at her.

"We'll get Ross to promise not to tell her."

"What if Dad tells Mom, and then Mom tells Monica?" Emma persisted, and Jack tried hard to keep his voice level. Emma was defiantly not helping Erica feel better.

"We'll tell him that he can't."

"What if Dad tells Pheebs'-"

"Emma!" Jack said, as close to shrill as he ever got. Erica looked up at her horrified, never realizing that one person could tell so many people, who could tell so many people, who could go on and on and on!

Emma bit her lip, noticing for the first time how much of a help she was being, "Oh."

"Don't worry about it Erica," Joey said warmly, rubbing her arm. "She was going to find out eventually, and at least now, you don't have to tell her."

"And how is she going to feel when she gets a call from Ross and finds out I've been lying to her, and didn't even have the guts to tell her myself!" Erica was shouting by the end of it, and Jack forced her to stay sitting with a strong arm.

"Hey, stop being so negative!" Joey shouted defensively, and Jack held up a hand before it could escalate any further.

"Guys, guys," he intervened, and Erica looked seconds away from tears. "We'll tell Uncle Ross he can't tell Mom because you were planning to tell her at Thanksgiving."

"But I wasn't!"

Emma nodded along with the idea, "It's only a week away, so he should be able to keep it secret for that long… and if you bring Kate to Thanksgiving, then Monica'll get to know her, and maybe when you tell her it won't be so bad…"

When Ross and Katie's conversation started to sound like a foreign language, Mike knew that it was time to go back inside. They opened the door, and Erica was sitting on the couch, on the verge of tears, Jack's arm around her; everyone's head turned towards as one the second the sound reached their ears.

"But, I, wasn't, going, to!" Erica almost shouted. Exactly what she wasn't going to do no one had a chance to ask, Emma instantly getting up and walking over to Ross with a childish,

"Daddy." Ross smiled at her, hugging her warmly.

"How's my little girl doing?" he asked sweetly, and Emma pushed away from him slightly.

"You know I'm 24, right?"

Ross thought for a second, remembering the surprise party they'd held for her. "Eh," he brushed off, hugging her again and kissing her on the cheek.

"Mickey," Jack called, and Mike snapped his head to the voice like a gopher, "Come here for a second?"

Mike nodded, silently wishing Emma and Katie good luck. Emma smiled nervously at him and Katie shooed him away mutely.

"Do you have the photo album Rachel was asking for," Ross asked with no trace of roommate curiosity.

Jack pulled Mike into his room, closing the door behind them for some privacy, "What went on out there?" he whispered.

"Did you know Katie was a paleontologist?"

"What?" Kate was a paleontologist? How on earth did that happen?

"Well, Emma must have said something about Uncle Ross being one, and the second we got out the door, they hit it off."

"Did they start talking like Ross and Claries did at the University Christmas party?"

"Kinda," Jack winced, feeling bad for Mike having to witness such a thing more then necessary, "But," he continued, surprisingly upbeat, "Katie was so much more interesting then Claries ever was… but then they started using bigger words and making stupid jokes, and I kind of stopped listening."

Kate being a paleontologist was something that Jack didn't see coming, but at the moment, was thankful for, "What did Ross say about the roommate thing?"

"I think he completely forgot about it to be honest with you. The first minute or so was intense, but then Katie did her thing, and I'm pretty sure Uncle Ross' warming up to her."

"That's always a plus… We're going to tell him to keep it secret until Thanksgiving at my Mom's house. That's when Erica's going to tell her about Kate."

"Sounds good," Mike nodded, reaching to open the door.

Joey waved to Ross from the couch, sitting by Erica for moral support. The girl was almost hyper-ventilating, and he was most defiantly not a doctor. "Calm down Erica," he said, trying to imitate Jack's voice, but failing. "It's going to be okay."

Erica just stared at him with big, doubtful eyes, and Joey bit his lip. "Okay, maybe not, but we'll be here for you if it isn't." That must have been better right. Erica closed her eyes and the next second her head was colliding with his shoulder.

Emma patted her on the back sympathetically, her hands on a huge album that contained over 300 pictures. Ross smiled when he saw it, coming out of his absorbed conversation with Kathleen. "That it?" he asked excited. Emma nodded, and Ross turned to Kate.

"Em accidentally packed it with all her apartment stuff however long ago, and Rach was looking for it the other day, and couldn't find it," he explained, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"It's family photo album Dad, you don't have to explain you're motives for wanting it." Ross gave her a look and took the album away from Emma.

"And I love you too," he smiled. Kathleen laughed, and Jack came into the kitchen as well, Mike sitting down to try and make Erica as small of a distraction as possible.

"Are you going to stay for the movie Uncle Ross?" Jack asked politely, offering him a muffin.

Ross shook his head and started towards the door, "No, I have to go over to Mon's and help her and Chandler… well, help." He smiled slyly, and Emma once again rolled her eyes.

"With the big surprise, yes, we know," Emma sighed. The big 'Thanksgiving Surprise' that their parents had been working on for the longest time, even though no one really knew what it was about. They even grilled Uncle Chandler, which had surprisingly not worked. He usually spouted out information like a water well in the tropics when they got him all alone and started bribing him…

"Hey, Uncle Ross," Jack called out as Ross was heading out the door.

"Yeah?" Ross asked, looking from Jack to Emma. Emma shook her head, expressing her confusion.

Jack walked up to Ross so that they were close, and he leaned forward, lowering his voice, "Uh, about the whole roommate thing?" It took a second for Ross to nod, and Jack continued, "Erica was planning to tell Mom at Thanksgiving; Kathleen just moved in, and she wanted to do it in person, yah know?"

Ross nodded knowledgably, and Jack smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell her."

"Or Uncle Chandler," Jack added quickly, and Ross hesitated a second before nodding. Chandler would have told Monica in a heartbeat, so Jack was smart to cover all the possible areas.

"Dad?" Emma held up the photo album, and Ross took it gratefully.

"Thanks," he muttered, winking at Jack. Jack nodded, and went to sit on the couch.

"Hey-" Ross stopped as he headed out the door. Emma stared at him, wondering if he'd forgotten something else.

"What?" she sighed impatiently, and Ross gave her a look.

"Kathleen," he called, and Kathleen looked up from the television. He motioned for her to come to him, and Emma looked on confused, hoping he wouldn't embarrass her.

"Yeah Dr. Geller?" she asked politely, and Ross smiled at her.

"Really, Ross is fine," he explained, and scratched his head awkwardly. Emma stared at him, knowing how long it could take him to get a proper sentence out when he was nervous. "Look, uh, I know you've got this interview thing with the museum, but there's an opening at the University… They want someone with experience in the paleozoology department, and if you do well, there's a chance for a promotion later on…"

He trailed off and looked hopefully at her. It wasn't often that he met someone who was so passionate about he same thing he was, and he wanted to get a chance to know her better. If she was Erica's roommate, and already got along so well with the other kids, there was a chance she'd be around for long.

Kathleen looked at him, trying to gauge if he was pulling her leg or not. "Are- are you offering me a job?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well, I'll have to ask but… yeah, I uh, guess I am," he smiled, and Kathleen nodded,

"I'd love to!"

"Great," Emma smiled at the scene, bemused, "I'll call the school tomorrow, and then leave a message with Emma."

Kathleen nodded, waving goodbye to Ross with Emma.

"You're dad's pretty wicked," she commented once they closed the door and Emma looked up at her surprised for a second.

"… Whatever you say," she answered, moving across the room and sitting on the couch. Kathleen followed close behind her, choosing to sit on the loveseat instead. Jack put the movie in,

"Scoot over Kato," he requested, and Kathleen looked up surprised, but did so regardless. Jack settled down next to her, his arm going around her shoulders for lack of free space.

For a second Kathleen's muscles were tensed, but as soon as the movie started, and she looked over to Erica, Emma and Joey all leaning against each other, it occurred to her that all of these friends did it.

She enjoyed the contact and Mike shifting over on the floor half-way through the movie to lean against her legs, sitting jauntily like only Mike could on a pillow. She smiled, realizing that she enjoyed the presence of others around her.

She had a prospectively great job coming, and she was getting closer to the group of people she was happy to call friends. A feeling of loyalty swelled up inside her chest, and she smiled despite the sad scene in the chosen movie.

"You alright?" Jack whispered into her ear, mistaking her happiness for another emotion.

"Perfectly fine," she answered truthfully, leaning her head against his chest. "Perfectly fine."

A/N: Sorry bout the long time to update thing, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review it if you liked it, review if you didn't, I mean, if you hate it and are still reading it, there's probably something you want to say, right? I chose a really bad time to start a story, so the updates may be sparse. I'm ASMing our fall production, and so I leave the house at 7:30 and get back home at 7:00, and usually have hockey later in the night, so, not a lot of time to do anything. Plus there's schoolwork, and that leaves me with no time… and I wanna do Nano in November, so we'll see how that works out… and we're moving soon, so we're starting to pack and have open house on the weekends… ANYWAYS, the point is, I won't be able to write as much as I like, but hopefully you like it, and can bare with me :)

Review!