Anyway, thanks for the reviews, folks ;) All of you who are always reviewing, I love you D
Disclaimer: I still wish they were mine… I'm sad they aren't...
A New Beginning
Chapter 12. The Phone Call
"Finally" Rachel sighed.
"What?" Ross asked.
"My store are opening this Friday" Rachel said, "They're sending a lot of clothes for me, that way I have something faster, I just have to start thinking of new designs soon, if I don't, I'm gonna loose my buyers"
"Cool" Ross said, "Is there, like a big opening?"
Rachel nodded, "All you guys have to come, the magazines will go crazy and want to take pics of you guys"
"Does that mean I have to look nice?" Ross asked.
"Sweetie" Rachel said, "You always look nice"
Ross laughed, "You too"
"Yeah, but I gotta wear something pretty, and I have to make a speech, not funny"
"I can help you?"
"No, I think I have to do that by myself" Rachel smiled, "But I have to tell people what new they can expect in line for Christmas, I'll have to make up some names.."
"Well, I do know you don't have a line called Phoebe" Ross tried.
Rachel nodded, "Yeah, a ´Phoebe´, that would be nice, and a ´Lily´ of course, I could make a theme, maybe… with lilies?"
"Hmm, that's just not really Christmas-y?" Ross said, "That's snow and stuff"
"Hmm, but what about ´Lena´, that's kind of a shy name, isn't it? Like dark, shy... snow?"
Ross looked thoughtful, "That's an idea, and use dark purple and blue for colours, Lena loves those"
Rachel smiled, "I gotta go work. Can you take the kids out looking for beds?"
Ross nodded, "I sure can do"
"Thanks" Rachel said, and then she kissed his cheek, "You're the best"
--
While Ross was looking at furniture with the kids, Rachel was desperately trying to come up with something new, and she didn't have any luck with it. She drew an outline, and looked at it. She coloured with pencils, but she didn't really get something she loved. Then, she got an idea, party dresses was what she was best at, and it was soon new years, a day when you definitely dressed up. A line with dresses called ´Lily´ wouldn't be that bad, then. She drew a sketch, and looked at it. The upper part, was tight with a deep neckline. The skirt was loose, made of lots of layers of fabric. She kind of liked it when she saw it, she made a note to her seamstress, that there should be a lily, (they could figure out how) on the back and then she put it on her desk to send it. It had to go all the way to London, because all her people were over there. She also drew a normal pair of Jeans with a lot of different blouses and tops, she would mention that as ´Phoebe´.
She was proud of her work, and decided to work on her speech. She wrote a lot about how she was proud to get another store, and how lovely it was to be back in NYC.
--
On Friday, Rachel walked nervously around in the store. There would be a half an hour until people started showing up. Her kids and Ross was standing up against a wall, obviously bored.
"I'm sorry" Rachel said, "But you have to be here to support me"
Clara was the only one who smiled a little, "Mom, we're happy to be here, but we're getting kind of bored"
"Sorry" Rachel said again, "Well later you get to look at the clothes, and I guess some of the rich people are coming to the opening too"
Rachel locked up the door, and a little after, her manager from London came in and shook her hand.
A while after, the store was filled with people, and Rachel was scared when she saw Mark between them.
What is he doing here? Rachel thought. She got Ross to her side, and whispered, "Mark is here.."
Ross looked up and got an angry expression on his face.
"There's nothing we can do, Ross" Rachel said, "Don't talk to him, you're gonna ruin this"
Ross nodded and walked away.
When it was 12 o'clock, Rachel got up at the little scene-thingy, and took the microphone, "Hi, everybody. Thanks for coming today. It's really nice knowing that I have people here in New York too, and I gotta say, I lived her before I went to London, and it's lovely to be back, I have family and friends here. I'm happy that it was capable to open another store, because you only get more buyers with it, huh? Some of the stuff you can expect coming up really soon is a new years line called ´Lily´, I only have one dress right now, but soon there'll be more. I also have a new jeans line called ´Phoebe´" Rachel's eyes cached Phoebes and she smiled, "That's pretty much what I want to say, so with these words, the New York Rachel Green store are officially opened!"
People gave applause and Rachel smiled. Soon they were spread around the store and Rachel got a chat with Ross; "The kids doesn't need to know he's here"
"Of course not" Ross said, "Well, your speech went well, sweetie"
"Thanks" Rachel said, "Uh, I gotta go, I just saw a friend of mine"
She walked away, when she saw June coming into the store.
"Hi June" Rachel said.
"Hi Rachel" June smiled, "Nice to see you, I'm not coming for the dress, but my husband is in here somewhere… there he is!"
"Hi honey"
"Hi Mark" June said.
Rachel felt herself getting sweaty, but she looked at them.
"Mark, this is Rachel" June said.
"I know" Mark said, "We used to work together, right Rach?"
Rachel bite her lip, "Yeah, we sure did. Mark, what are you doing here?"
"What?" June said.
"I'm just here to look" Mark said, "You're my old friend, I'm here for support"
"I don't need your damn support, Mark!" Rachel said, "You've done enough for me already"
"What are you getting at?" Mark said,
"You know damn well what I'm getting at, Mark" Rachel said, "And I thought I made it clear I didn't want to see you again after I quit"
"Are you, like old lovers?" June asked.
"No" Rachel said, "We're NOT!"
"Okay," Mark said, "Can we be friends? I'm sorry for what happened? Didn't you get the money I send you for apology?" he leaned into her ear and whispered, "You was, and are still, so damn hot, I couldn't control myself when I was near you"
Rachel got a little smile on her lips, "I didn't get your money. And let's say we're friends. Then I'll like for you to meet my children… come on, and you sure remember Ross, my ex-husband"
"Yeah" Mark said.
Rachel walked towards her family with Mark and June, "This is Mark and June" she told them, "And these are my children, Jonathan, Rebecca, Clara, Joshua, Rain and Gretchen. Um, and you remember Ross?"
"Hello Mark" Ross said, looking like he was about to burst.
"So you aren't getting together again after you moved back?" Mark asked.
Rachel and Ross looked at each other, "No why would we?"
"Oh, for nothing" Mark said, "You guys were just the perfect couple, that's all"
Rachel smiled at him, "Thank you" she handed him her number, "Call me, I didn't get that apology, not that I need it, but I'll like to talk it through with you"
Ross nodded, "Yeah, me too afterwards"
Mark sighed, "I'll call"
"Bye" Rachel said.
When they left, Rebecca turned to her mother, "Was that Mark?"
Rachel nodded, "Yeah, we need to talk about it"
"Okay"
A man came, "Hi, I'm Clark from ´Celebrity People´, and I'll like to take some pictures of you."
"Hmm?" Rachel said.
"Is this your family?"
Rachel nodded, "Yeah"
"You sure have a lot of lovely children. And is this your husband?"
Rachel sighed, "Yeah, it is"
She cached Ross eyes, they could at least pretend to.
--
When Rachel had been home in about 15 minutes, her cell rang.
"This is Rachel?"
"Hi Rach, it's me, Mark"
"Oh, hi.." Rachel walked into the bathroom, sensing that this call would be private.
"I just wanted to call, like you said. Didn't you get the money?"
"No, and I don't need them." Rachel said, "But I need to talk to you, if we're gonna be friends, there's something I need to ask you about"
"Okay?" Mark said, "What is it?"
"Look, what happened between us that night so long ago, was your fault. I know I didn't ask you to stop, but I didn't ask you to do it either, so I told Ross that…"
"You told Ross? Why?" Mark said.
"I got pregnant.. with Rain"
"Pregnant? You thought it might be mine?"
"Yeah, that's why I had to tell him, but I couldn't tell him I've been cheating on him, even though it was only a one-night stand, and I was drunk, but I was still cheating on him…"
"You haven't Rachel, it was my fault, I led you into it"
"I know" Rachel said, "You actually ruined my marriage. Anyway, the only way I could tell him I had been with you was… that.. you raped me"
"You told him what?" Mark yelled.
"Mark, calm down, I'm sorry" Rachel said, "But I just couldn't tell him, I mean, I'm supposed to tell you to stop when you make a move on me, but I didn't, and that was wrong!"
"I know, I guess I can go a long with it" Mark said.
"Thanks, I'll make sure he doesn't speak of it, I promise…" Rachel sighed.
"About your daughter" Mark said, "You can calm down, I cant have children"
"What?" Rachel said, "That's so great. I.. I mean not for you, but for me! Thank you, Mark!"
"You're welcome, and listen.. since you and Ross aren't a couple, would you like to, ehm, meet me at a hotel some time?"
"Aren't you married?"
"Yes, but I just…"
Rachel interrupted him, "You ruined my marriage, okay? And I'm not gonna do that to you, sorry"
"That's all right" Mark said, "But maybe we shouldn't see each other"
"That's probably a good idea" Rachel said.
"So…" Mark sighed, "Take care, Rach"
"You too"
And with that, she hung up.
She had been cheating on Ross. Once. But she couldn't bring herself to tell him, even though she knew he'd forgive her. He would be disappointed, but he'd also be forgiving.
After all, she had also forgiven him for his mistake in their past.
Chloe.
It was a one night stand too. And she had known it wouldn't happen again.
That's why she had trusted him and married him.
But then her mistake…
--
When she came out form the bathroom, Rain came running saying: "Mom, mom! The doctors called, I'm dads child!"
Rachel spun her around, "I know!"
"You do?" Ross said.
"Mark told me he cant have children" Rachel smiled, "And we talked. We're not gonna see each other anymore"
Ross smiled, "I gotta say that I'm relieved"
"Good" Rachel said, "Now, where's the other children?"
Ross sighed, "Gretchen is at Laura's. Jonathan are sleeping at Dan's. Rebecca and Clara are at a sleepover at Mary's. And Joshua is sleeping at his friends house because there's a football match they wanna watch"
"Yeah" Rain said, "And I'm going to meet Gretchen and Laura, they talked about a sleepover too, at Laura's house, her parents isn't home"
"Well," Rachel said, "Then bye"
"Bye, bye"
--
"Looks like Friday night off, huh?" Ross said, when he and Rachel sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee, 20 minutes later.
"Yeah, that's not something that happens often" Rachel smiled, "All 6 children are sleeping somewhere else. So, what do we do?"
"If you wanna go to the city on a bar or something, then you can" Ross said.
"Why would I want to do that?" Rachel asked, shocked.
"Well, I figured if you wanted to meet a guy, right?"
"No" Rachel said, "I don't need that. We're gonna have fun together tonight, okay?"
Ross nodded, "I also think we should figure out what we want for Christmas?"
"We could be here or in the apartment? Your call" Rachel said.
"How about we invited Monica, Chandler, their kids, Joey, Phoebe, Mike and their kids? Out here?"
"I'll love that" Rachel sighed, "It's gonna be great, you know? Now I can spend Christmas with you guys"
"We're happy that you're back, Rach. It's not just the kids, it's me too"
Rachel smiled at him, "And I'm happy to be back"
"What are we gonna eat for dinner?" Ross asked, looking at his watch, "It's already 7 o'clock"
"Really? I'm not hungry. Wanna watch TV?"
Ross nodded and they walked into the living room. They sat down in the couch together and Ross lay his arm around Rachel.
"It's gonna be good when we can move, huh?" Rachel asked Ross, "I just don't know how many of the kids who is moving with me?"
Ross was silent for a bit, then he said something, Rachel hadn't imagined, "I don't want you to move"
"What?" Rachel turned around and looked at him, backing a few centimetres away from him.
"I don't want you to move" Ross repeated.
"Why wouldn't you want us to move?"
"Not you AND the kids… just you" Ross whispered.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, "We cant live here forever, there isn't space enough… and it's not in the city"
Ross stood up, "So now that's a problem Rach? Why couldn't you buy a house near this? Huh? Now you're taking kids away from me again!"
"Are you blaming this on me? Believe me, if I have thought of anything when I was a kid, I have NEVER EVER wanted to live with my ex-husband after moving back!"
She ran out the room and upstairs to the bedroom, Ross following her. When she saw him coming, she ran into the bathroom instead and tried to hold him out, but he barged in.
"Talk to me, Rach!" Ross yelled.
"No, I wont" Rachel cried, "Go to hell, Ross"
"No, Rach, why did you run away from me?"
"Why?" Rachel yelled, banging the door open, so she could she him, "You blame me! You blame me for taking away your kids! I believe it was you who threw me out!"
"Yeah, but I didn't want you to take away my kids too!"
"I only took 3 of them, you had 2!" Rachel began to cry, "Can't you see that you're being unreasonable?"
"No!" Ross yelled, "I just don't want to loose all this again. It's all I've ever wanted!"
Rachel pointed a finger at him, "You've never wanted this, Ross! You want a wife, who cooks you dinner, and kids who are perfect, you want a marriage. But this isn't a marriage, Ross. This is a temporary thing, I'm not your wife, I cant cook. Our kids are certainly not perfect, and I don't care. We're divorced Ross, okay? We're not married!"
Ross looked slightly hurt, "I don't care about that! I care about what we have! I care about making it work"
"Do you think this is working?" Rachel asked.
"No!" Ross said, "Because we need one thing to make it work!"
"Yeah" Rachel said, "And it's a stupid ring, which I don't want!"
"That's not was I was going to say!" Ross said, pushing her to the wall, "Okay? Listen to me!"
"No, go to hell, Ross! It doesn't matter" Rachel slid down the wall and ended sobbing at the floor.
"Rach?" Ross didn't understand what was going on in her head, "What doesn't matter?"
"Everything" Rachel cried, "I don't care. I just wanna be happy!"
"Aren't you happy?" Ross asked, kneeling down in front of her.
"Does it look like I am?" Rachel said, looking him in the eye.
His face was right in front of hers, and their noses almost touched.
"I don't know" Ross whispered.
"Well, I'm not" Rachel sighed, "And the worst part is that you're so, so happy.."
"Do you think I'm happy?" Ross asked, standing up.
Rachel stood up too, they were still inches from each other, "Yeah"
"I'm not…" Ross whispered, "I need one thing, and that's the only thing which can make me truly happy"
Rachel bite her lip, thinking he was so annoying, "And what's that?"
Ross placed a strand of her hair behind her ear and whipped one of her tears away, "…it's you"
Rachel looked him in the eye. Time stood still. She swallowed a lump, not knowing what went through Ross' head. And finally, he leaned in and kissed her….
Okay, so I thought; "What the hell? We might as well make it a cliché", it's really clichéd, I know, but hope it's okay with you. And also, the Rachel/Mark thing will be explained even further in one of the next chapters, just so you know it. Leave me a review. Thanks. Stessa.