Beautiful Release
by Tina

After hours of staring, she finally picked up the phone and dialed his number.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"How are you?"

A long silence followed.

"I left Carol."

She was speechless. He clutched to the phone tighter, waiting for her response.

"Where are you?"

"At Monica's. She has a spare room, so I'll crash here until I get my own place. I didn't go to work today, so... yeah, that's where I am right now."

She desperately jumped for it, without thinking twice.

"Can I come over?"

He smiled weakly.

"Please."

"Oh, but wait. Will it be OK? I mean, with Monica and all..."

"I promise it will."

"Then I'll be right there, sweetie."

That last bit made his insides tingle a bit.

"OK, see you."

---

Rachel bit her bottom lip and looked down. She hadn't spoken to or seen Monica since that phone call the morning before. Monica was quite possibly the one person out there Rachel could say that had ever been a true friend to her. The past few months had been amazing, reminiscing what they used to have and getting to know the new people they'd become. Rachel had been waking up. Discovering new possibilities to life, with both her and Ross.

She hated knowing she'd disappointed her friend. But maybe if she knew how she felt about her brother, then...

Rachel brushed a single tear away. Was it too weird to think of her as a part of that world? Being Ross' girlfriend, Monica's best friend, hanging out at the coffee house with the others and all that? It was quite different than what reality had always been to her. And maybe that was a good thing.

She looked up and finally knocked. After a few seconds, Ross opened the door. They smiled at each other.

"Hi." She said sweetly.

He took her hands on his and pulled her inside.

"Hey."

Rachel scanned the room quickly, Monica was not there. They kissed softly and Rachel looked down, visibly upset.

"Where's Monica?"

"She's in her room. You wanna... talk to her?"

She kept looking at him, just thinking.

"Later, I guess."

"OK then. Come here, we gotta talk."

She nodded. He led the way to the window through which they passed to go outside, to the balcony. They turned to each other.

She held his hands and unconsciously rubbed a very specific spot, feeling the place where his wedding ring used to be. They looked into each other's eyes, acknowledging the fact he was ready to move on from the failed marriage right away. She broke the look though. She looked down at her own hands, in his, and focused on her left hand. On the designer engagement ring that went perfectly with the wedding band on the same finger.

"So you really left her, huh?" Her voice was very soft.

He watched her for a very long time in silence.

"You know I-" He chose his words carefully. "like you, a lot." He looked down and sighed. "And I wanna be with you very much." He looked up at her and caught a glimpse of that beautiful, yet still very faint, smile of hers. "But I... this separation, leaving Carol... I want you to know that I'm doing this for myself, most of all."

She nodded, knowing that he was telling her that, in part, 'cause he was afraid she wouldn't leave her husband to be with him. Yet, he didn't want her to feel pressured, to leave him just 'cause he'd left his wife. It was a decision she'd have to make in spite of this.

"I'm gonna leave Barry."

His chest filled up with relief.

"Really?"

"Yes. Oh, honey, I..." She looked at his chest, raising her hands up to it, stroking it softly. "We've talked about how we don't know each other very well yet just yesterday, yes, but..." She paused. "I… I'm falling in love with you."

Ross smiled widely and raised her chin up, to get her to look into his eyes.

"Hey... I'm falling in love with you too."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, blissfully. Ross looked away only to check if Monica had come out of her room, make sure she wasn't looking, out of respect, before leaning close and kissing Rachel deeply. After they broke, she kept her hands on his cheek and sighed contentedly. The sound was music to Ross' ear, it stirred so many feelings.

"So, you took the day off?"

He kept his arms around her waist and stroked her lower back.

"Yeah. Told my boss what's going on, he was very understanding. Of course that means a lot of over time in the next few days, but..." Rachel chuckled. "Plus, I'm supposed to pick Ben up from school today. I wanna take him somewhere and talk to him about all of this."

"Oh, right."

"Yeah." Ross looked down. "He was asleep last night when I left, I didn't even get to say goodbye. It's gonna be really weird not having that little guy around everyday."

"I bet..." She eyed him, curiously. "And how was it with Carol?"

"It was... weird and... long." He paused. "She asked me if there was someone else."

Rachel's eyes widened up a bit.

"Oh. And what did you say?"

"I told her that's not what that was about. Our marriage had been dead long before you came along... There was just nothing to push us and make us face that." He brought her closer and smiled sweetly. "'Cause when I'm with someone and in love, I don't cheat. There is nobody else but the one I love."

Rachel blushed a bit, not used to having sweet words directed at her when she was by herself with someone. She didn't know any other way to respond but kissing him again.

Monica left her room and immediately spotted Ross and Rachel out in the balcony, the drapes were fully drawn up. She froze and couldn't help but watch them.

They were so...

They looked so... passionate. And... sweet.

She watched as Rachel ran one of her hands slowly through his hair and then down his back, so softly and... Monica couldn't explain it. She took a deep breath, finally convinced that they really did have something amazing going on. And that they could make something everlasting out of it. Her brother and her best friend. Monica smiled weakly and walked to the kitchen, starting lunch for three.

Ross and Rachel broke and smiled at each other. They hugged. Rachel closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his body against hers, while he kissed her shoulder and finally noticed Monica by the kitchen counter, chopping something.

"Monica's out of her room."

Rachel broke the hug and turned to look.

"Oh."

"Wanna go talk to her?"

"I suppose I... should."

Ross noticed the tension in her and smiled.

"It's gonna be fine. I talked to Monica, she was just worried."

"Hm."

"Hey." She looked at him, he was smiling widely. "She said she was just upset because we weren't doing this right, we were cheating. But from now on, it's gonna be all different. Right?"

She smiled at him.

"Right." She kissed him softly and took a deep breath. "Alright, just give me a minute with her, then."

"OK."

She went inside and he watched her approach his sister.

"Hey."

Monica turned around and smiled weakly at her.

"Hey, Rach. I'm just making lunch. I hope you like mushrooms."

Rachel smiled back.

"Love them."

"Good."

Rachel watched as Monica kept on chopping some garlic.

"Listen, honey, can we talk?"

"Sure."

Monica ceased her actions and reached for a cloth, cleaning her hands as much as she could. Both took seats around the table, across from each other.

"I just... I wanna say I'm sorry for putting you on such position the other night, with Barry. Up until that moment I had no idea just how much I really like your brother and... well, he'd just ended things with me and I was a mess."

"But, Rachel, the things you told me that night, about being so miserable and..." Monica trailed off.

"Well... They're all true. Maybe a bit exaggerated. After all, as I've said, you didn't catch me on my best day." Rachel sighed. "But now..." She quickly turned around to take a peek at Ross, who was smiling at the girls. Rachel smiled back at him and then turned to smile at Monica. "You two have just... showed me how much better my life can be. And simpler, yet so much more full filled. I love you, Mon. And I… love your brother. And I'm gonna leave Barry. And... try to make things work, try to keep myself this happy."

Monica smiled.

"That's all I wanted to hear." Rachel nodded. "I just..." Monica stopped herself, not knowing how to approach the matter. "Ross told me about your little trip to the hospital yesterday. And hm... that night before, when you were here, these pills fell from your purse. I just wanna know if..." She kept looking at her friend. "Is this something I should I be worried about, Rach?"

Rachel shook her head.

"God, I hope not." Rachel said mostly to herself. Monica shot her a confused look and Rachel sighed. "I've been taking some pills for quite some time now. They help me... go through the days, so to speak, sometimes. When I start feeling a bit too..." she looked for the right word "overwhelmed... I..." She trailed off. "I'm toning it down though. I don't need them anymore, right?" She gave Monica a half smile.

Monica half smiled too, but with concern clear in her eyes.

"Whatever happens, I just want you to know you've got people here who love you and care about you very much, OK?"

Rachel nodded.

"I know. Thank you, sweetie."

They hugged. Just as they parted, Rachel's cell phone started ringing.

"Oh, excuse me, honey."

"Sure."

She walked up to her purse and took her phone. Staring at the screen, she didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" She listened to the other side, casually. "Yes, this is she."

Monica watched as Rachel's look suddenly changed. How her eyes became darker, lost. Her lips parted on a silent gasp, so quiet, as if the wind had already been knocked out of her. Monica rose from her seat.

"What?" Rachel's soft voice spoke, as she raised a shaky hand to her face.

Ross climbed out of the balcony and approached Monica in a hurry, sensing something had happened.

"What is it?"

"Shhh!" Monica hit him on the arm, keeping her gaze still on her friend.

"Hm, OK, er, thanks for calling."

Rachel hung up and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"What happened?" Ross asked, approaching her and taking her hand.

She stroked her throat, her mouth running dry.

"Shit…"

I'm mean, I know. Sorry it took more than I expected to post. Life's been… what life is supposed to be for someone my age, anyway. Plus, I was having second thoughts about this. Just bear with me, I know what I'm doing. I think…! Lol. Anyway, please review, it means so much to me:) And thank you SO much, Vero:D