There you go! :)
4. Paris
'Welcome to Charles de Gaulle airport. Passengers...'
The announcement rang through the Terminal as Ross slowly made his way through the crowd. Even after sleeping for most of the duration of the flight, he still felt deprived of relaxation. One of the reasons why he had caved into coming to Paris was because he had been pretty confident that facing her head on, all settled in her new life would give him closure. And that he was ready to go through that 'process'. But the restless squirming in the plane had only proved the contrary. As he was thinking this, Emma stirred in his arms. Oh, right. This time he had to let go of his daughter as well. Excellent.
"Ross! Ross! Over here! Over here!" a voice was heard faintly over the throng. That had been enough to set Emma off. But as her eyes finally found her mother's, her emotions made a complete somersault. She began jumping in Ross's arms, desperate to reach out. By then, Ross had spotted Rachel as well, and he was slightly taken aback by her attire. Rachel was dressed like an elite business executive, complete with a stylish yet formal jacket. Ross let out an involuntary whistle. Boy, did she look even more attractive. If such a thing were even possible, that is.
Emma was now in a state of full blown tantrum. As soon as they got close enough, she was switched into Rachel's arms. Rachel smothered her daughter with kisses every where she could, as both cried with tears of joy at the happy reunion. As much as Ross wanted to hug Rachel himself, he restrained from doing so. But he didn't have to wait for long, as he soon found himself locked in her embrace.
"Oh I've missed you so much Ross!" she said, holding him closely.
"Me too, Rach." he replied.
'You have no idea' he whispered to himself as Rachel gently disengaged herself and they turned towards the exit.
Talking about getting closure, Ross had already smelled her hair. It was the same old coconutty aroma he remembered only too well.
* * *
"Oh yeah?!" Rachel asked incredulous as they headed towards the city. Rachel's company had been kind enough to offer them a pick up service at the airport, thus relieving them of the hassle of getting a cab.
"Yeah! All by herself!" Ross answered, beaming as he did so. To his surprise, things were going pretty smoothly. They had quickly settled in to their friendly banter, which had focused mostly on Emma and their friends. Well, that was until Rachel asked the million dollar question.
"So how have you been?" she asked, out of the blue. Though the question had been asked in a casual manner, there was undeniably a serious undertone to the words.
"I've been... fine." he answered, thanking his lucky stars that this time 'fine' hadn't come out all high and squeaky. His abruptly tensed posture, however, had been sort of a give away.
"I mean, come on Rach! We've been talking almost daily, so there's nothing much you don't already know." he continued, defending himself and pretending that he had found the question formal and humorous.
"I'm not so sure about that." she replied, passing a somewhat inquisitive look, to which Ross simply patted his knee in nervousness.
Time seemed to drag on as each waited for the other to say something. Just as Rachel was about to pursue the topic, their car stopped as they finally arrived at Rachel's apartment. Ross couldn't have been more grateful at the timing.
* * *
"Did a hurricane just strike here?!" Ross asked, as he passed a look around the living room.
"Shut up!" Rachel replied, smacking his shoulder in an amicable manner. "The maid has been on leave for a couple of days. She'll be back by Monday."
"Just a couple, huh?" Ross asked, to which Rachel simply rolled her eyes.
"Alright. So what's the plan for today?" he asked, as he made himself comfortable on the couch and Rachel busied herself with making coffee.
"Well, today I think may be we should..." Rachel was interrupted by a call on her cell phone.
"Hello? Yeah, that's me." she answered. After a couple of nods in response to the other end, she suddenly seemed agitated.
"What?! ... But?..." her expressions changed from annoyance to resignation as she finally answered with an okay as she ended the call. She walked over to the couch and held her head in her hands in disappointment. Seeing her distress, Ross immediately sat down next to her and comforted her by putting one arm around her shoulder while the other gently caressed her hand. Even now, this came to him as a reflex, and Rachel seemed to relax a bit in response.
"Who was it?" he asked, concerned.
"Work." she replied, finally turning to look at him. "An urgent meeting turned up and I simply have to be there. Also, there's some fiasco in the marketing department which might take the whole day to clean up!"
On one hand, Ross was indeed disappointed that his already limited time with Rachel was getting cut short even more. On the other, Rachel was feeling guilty enough that he didn't have the heart to make it worse by saying so.
"That's okay, Rach. I didn't sleep well in the flight, so I would've been like a zombie today anyways!" he said, smiling to make light of the current situation. Not that he was lying though.
"Really? I can make some arrangements to get the work done by mid day..." she said, but her voice made it clear that it was highly unlikely.
"Don't worry, Rach." Ross said, smiling understandingly.
Rachel smiled and gave him an apology hug as she stood up and grabbed her keys from the table.
"Hey, are you not even waiting for breakfast?" Ross asked, slight alarmed to se her leaving immediately.
"Not enough time. My damned assistant called me at the last moment." Rachel replied, just as she was closing the door to her apartment.
* * *
Ross's sleep was disturbed by the voice of his daughter in the living room. Rubbing the sleep off his eyes, he quickly made way towards her and comforted her the best he could. She had barely gotten over her mother's absence this morning, and now with Rachel not in sight, it was even more aggravated. Well, she won't have to worry about her mother's disappearance any more, he thought as she gradually quietened. It was now noon time and he was ravenous. But one glance at the kitchen told him that he would have to do something else before he could cook. And that was shopping for groceries.
He was considering simply getting a takeaway from a nearby restaurant when an idea struck him. He could not only fix lunch for himself, but also prepare dinner for them. He thought it was about time that Rachel had a healthy home cooked meal. (The pile of takeaway boxes had been enough of a clue) Besides, he knew that it would make her happy. And he usually didn't say no to things which did so.
Thanks to his shaky yet decipherable French, he located a store within a few minutes. There, he shopped for items that he thought an average kitchen should have, smirking as he did so because even after a month, her kitchen barely had anything more than salt, pepper and a coffee maker.
After satisfying his and Emma's hunger, he also came up with the prospect of making the apartment less of a mess. Being Monica's brother, cleaning stuff was in his blood as well, albeit to a lesser degree. Plus that also gave him something to do rather than sitting all day. He had considered visiting the Louvre alone, but given up deciding that he would enjoy it more if he had company.
He was unwillingly impressed by the apartment leased to Rachel. It was simple, yet elegant. He himself would surely not give up such a place, he thought sighing as he did so. He managed to make the place look decent at around 5, when he decided that he needed a bath. On opening the bathroom, he let out a chuckle. There would be no need to shop for bathroom stuff at least. Rachel was prepared.
* * *
Rachel looked up at her apartment, and a fresh wave of guilt washed over her. Why did the marketing guys had to find this day to mess things up? The day which she was supposed to spend happily with her daughter and her best friend had turned out to be yet another exhausting day of workload. Now she had just this evening and the next day with Ross. She had to make the best of it, she thought to herself as she climbed up the stairs, a fancy bottle of champagne in hand.
On opening the door to her apartment, the first thought which came to her mind was that she had entered the wrong place. For one it was clean and for another, it had the mouth watering smell of lasagne. She stepped back and checked the number. It was indeed her apartment.
" Bienvenue Madame " Ross greeted her with an unsuccessful attempt at a French accent.
Rachel turned to look at him, still in a state of shock.
"What? I thought you would like this." he continued, now feeling a bit unsure about his surprise.
"Like it?!" Rachel finally uttered. "Oh my God! I love it!" she squealed with happiness and hugged him tightly. Ross relaxed as he got the reaction he had been expecting.
"What made you do this?" she asked, still glancing around and taking it all in.
"I don't know. I just wanted to give you a nice surprise. You were feeling pretty let down in the morning, so I thought I'd make the evening special." he answered honestly.
Rachel's eyes filled with adoration as she managed a 'Thank you', her voice too thick to speak further. Ross smiled in response and suddenly they found themselves locking eyes with each other. The moment was brief though, as Emma came running out of the bedroom and clung to Rachel yet again. Ross smiled at the scene, and was relieving Rachel of her purse when he the Champagne bottle which she had brought.
"Champagne, huh?" Ross asked, pointing at it.
"It wasn't just you who wanted to make the evening special." she said, smiling. "I also bought candles. Although I was going to order food, so I must say you beat me to it."
Ross suddenly found the room grow too warm and stuffy.
"Candles... really? Isn't that supposed to be.. like... errrm... romantic?"
"Not necessarily. Just to make it special, you know. Like a moment." she replied, her eyebrows rising to form a crease.
'Balloons are special' Ross thought in his mind. "I really don't think that's a good idea with a toddler around." he said, glad to have found a perfect reason to avoid making things 'romantic'.
"Oh Yeah! You're right. We can't risk it!" she exclaimed, annoyed with herself to not have thought about that sooner.
As they set the table, the expression 'Phew!' ran through Ross's mind.
* * *
"So... I guess I'll sleep in the living room."
Once all the dishes were done and Emma neatly brushed and tucked in, Ross decided it was about time they discussed their sleeping arrangements. Rachel's apartment had a queen sized bed in one bedroom, while the other was at present empty but later would be occupied by a small bed for Emma.
"Don't be silly Ross, you are sleeping in the bedroom with me." she admonished.
"I..." Ross trailed, remembering the last time they shared a bed.
"Oh come on Ross! Did you honestly think that I'd let you sleep in that lousy sofa?!" she exclaimed.
When Ross didn't reply, she continued "What kind of person do you think I am to do that, especially after you've been so sweet to me today?!"
Ross badly wanted to explain it to her that, that wasn't the reason, but couldn't find a suitable way to say it. So instead of hurting her feelings, he simply backed off, thanking her and prepared himself for bed.
As he lay awake, (courtesy of the jet lag) he couldn't help but criticise his current scenario. He had prepared himself for distancing himself from her, yet somehow ended up sharing a bed with her in less than 24 hours of being together. Exactly how difficult it was going to be to say goodbye once more, he had no idea. He had yet again managed to make himself even more vulnerable.
He had been pretty convinced when Phoebe had told him that his visit to Paris would be liking ripping of a bandage. It would sting at first, but only momentarily. And then there would be peace. Now, he had a feeling that this bandage would leave open a bleeding wound.
* * *
"Okay... So we've got the Louvre.." Rachel said, her nose almost touching the page which had a list of the 'must see' places in Paris, as she held it against her face. After a filling breakfast of pancakes and toast and marmalade, they found themselves sitting on the sofa, and all ready to set off to roam the city together.
"The Louvre!" Ross exclaimed in delight. "We have to go there first, Rach!"
"It's just a museum!" Rachel said, disappointed not only because he was choosing it but also because she had not been allowed the chance to rattle out the remainder of her list.
"Just a museum?!" Ross sounded personally offended as he said so. "It's the largest museum of the world. For me it's ... it's like how Paris has been to you."
Rachel saw the look of passion in his eyes and her argument instantly melted. "Fine. But after that, we go shopping!" she said as though daring Ross to disagree.
"Sure, Rach!" he said, chuckling at her expression.
* * *
"Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Islamic, Near Eastern... Aha!" Rachel exclaimed in triumph as she glanced through various collections which the Louvre held.
"What?" Ross asked, confused.
"There are no dinosaurs in Louvre!" she said, as though she had just won a bet.
"And that's a reason to be happy because...?" Ross asked, even more perplexed than before.
"Oh Ross, you know how you get when there are fossils around! All geeky and studious..." Rachel trailed as she remembered tons of occasions when she had tried to tune Ross off droning about his academic interests.
"Well Rach, sure dinosaurs or rather Paleontology is my area of expertise, but all in all I love history as a subject. You'll be surprised by my knowledge on the medieval European art." Ross answered, smug.
Rachel didn't look that happy anymore.
* * *
"So this particular sculpture by Michelangelo..." Ross said, as he yet again stopped at a beautiful piece belonging to the Renaissance period of European history. For the past few hours, Ross had kept an almost continuous stream of commentary, as they passed through the various halls and corridors of the museum. Rachel had not stopped him once, and her face had changed from astonishment to respect at his knowledge. But soon she had grown uncomfortable, not because she found Ross's speech boring, but because of the ever increasing crowd of tourists who were following their every step. She felt like she was some kind of celebrity, and to her surprise it was not a welcome feeling.
"Excuse me?" a person suddenly asked from the back of the crowd.
Ross turned his head to face the crowd, his expression making it clear that he hadn't even noticed the crowd surrounding him in the first place.
"Yes?" he replied, confused.
"Could you please repeat what you just said? I'm sorry I didn't catch the last sentence."
Ross was even more taken aback. He once more cast a look around the busload of people surrounding him, before looking back at him. The guy who had just asked him appeared to be a mix between a tourist and a historian, and it seemed like he had been writing down everything he said. A doctorate student perhaps.
"You have been taking notes?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Errr... Yeah!" the guy answered, confused.
"Sorry, but I'm not the right person. I do have a doctorate in Paleontology, but when it comes to other aspects of history, I'm not an expert. I'm just another enthusiastic tourist." Ross explained, looking a bit embarrased as he did so.
"Oh. I thought you were the curator or something, giving a private tour to your wife." he replied looking somewhat apologetic yet surprised.
Ross blushed more on the wife part of the sentence than the curator.
"Wrong on both counts, man." he replied, smiling.
The guy smiled and turned to leave, just as the rest of the crowd did so, their faces a mixture of surprise and disappointment.
"Hang on!" Ross exclaimed, approaching him before he could disappear.
"Yes?" he asked, turning back and looking confused.
"Did you really think of me as a curator?" Ross asked, not knowing why he wanted to know the answer.
"Not exactly..." he replied, blushing a bit as he did so. "You seemed as though you belonged here. Like, with authority and familiarity. So I was pretty convinced." he said, shrugging.
"Hmm." was all Ross could respond, intrigued.
"Have a good day, Sir." the guy said only half-mocking as they shook hands.
"Good day to you as well." Ross replied, his mind now swirling with possibilities.
* * *
"So, where are we heading now?" Ross asked as they finally made their way out of the museum some time after noon. After the crowd had dissipated, Ross had asked Rachel whether they should visit other places, seeing that they had already been in the museum for hours. Rachel happily agreed to the same. Truth be told, Ross had really not wanted to leave the museum, but the casual statement made by an unknown guy had suddenly made the Louvre emotionally draining. So he had marched out of the place, thinking that a change of scenery would drown all the thoughts springing into his mind right now.
"Errrm... to Place de la Concorde and from there on to Champs - Elysees." Rachel replied, as she hailed a cab for the same.
"I have heard of Champs - Elysees. What's exactly over there?" Ross asked once they were comfortably seated in the back of the cab.
Now, it was Rachel's turn to look smug.
"That my friend, is my Louvre." she replied, with an air of superiority.
* * *
"The day is about to get over and we've barely seen a couple of places!" Rachel wailed, yet again going through her list as they were currently having a late lunch at one of the cafés on Champs - Elysees.
"You honestly weren't thinking that we would be able to see all of those places in a single day right? I mean we could've but where's the fun in rushing from one place to another without actually appreciating it?" Ross stated.
"Well... actually... we would've had two days if it hadn't been for me." said Rachel, in a low voice and lowered her head with a saddened expression.
"Hey... hey Rach" Ross said, moving to take Rachel's hand from across the table. "It's okay, it doesn't matter."
"Really?" Rachel asked, looking up from the table with a hopeful expression.
"We are having fun, aren't we?"
They were having fun. Rachel hadn't thought so, but as it turned out, she did have a good time back at the museum. She had always liked it whenever Ross was passionate about his job and had felt quite proud of him when people had mistaken him as the curator or a museum staff as he fluently described the various collections of the Louvre. His formal attire indeed seemed to emphasise the same. Not to mention that they were attentively listening to every word he said.
Champs - Elysees had undoubtedly been 'her type' of fun. Ross initially had been skeptic at the idea of window shopping through few of the most expensive shops in the world. But later he realised that it also meant that he didn't have to worry about either 'clearing' their bank balances or carrying around tons of shopping bags. Rachel had expertly guided him through an exquisite perfume boutique, followed by another boasting an extravagant collection of watches. Needless to say that various clothing and accessory shops were paid a visit.
But Rachel's promise of 'window shopping' was broken when they reached the Disney store. Both Ross and Rachel made absolute fools of themselves as they ran around, picking up whichever toy or dress they thought their little princess deserved. Subconsciously, each recollected the first time they had shopped... or for a better description effectively emptied the baby store back in New York. As Ross carried the cart towards the billing counter, he had barely been able to keep a check on his emotions not knowing when next would he shop for his daughter.
"Yeah. We are having fun."
"Then that's what matters, Rach." Ross replied, smiling.
* * *
They reached the Eiffel Tower barely in time so as to appreciate it's beauty during the day. Though the lights provided an amazing night time experience, they had agreed that the view during the day had a charm of it's own. After a quick photo shoot, they raced up the Tower through the elevators and reached the topmost viewing gallery slightly out of breath. The view of course was exhilarating. The city could be seen sprawling in all directions, everything made miniscule by the height of the gallery.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked Rachel as they clung to the railing and soaked in their surroundings.
"Yeah." he said, turning to look at her. The setting sun was casting a warm orangish glow on everything it fell. Rachel's face was no exception.
"Not as much as you." he couldn't help but whisper the words as they came out quite spontaneously. Their eyes met, and an unknown force seemed to gradually bring their faces closer to each other. The move was as slow yet as graceful as the sun approaching the horizon. Ross suddenly realised that this was how he had fantasised his honeymoon. Taking Rachel to her dream city. Kissing as the sun set atop one of the most cliché yet one of the most romantic places in the world. A change appeared in their facial expressions. They were no longer smiling or casual, instead they were now intense and passionate. Their lips could've been barely an inch apart when suddenly Emma exclaimed in joy.
The reality of the situation crashed down on both of them. Rachel blushed a deep red as she turned towards her child, who was pointing at a solitary star, now visible high up in the sky. As Ross followed suit, the irony of the sun disappearing down the horizon wasn't lost on him, his lips splitting into a sad smile.
* * *
"Le Jules Verne? Seriously?!" asked Rachel, surprised that they were going to have dinner at a restaurant atop the Eiffel Tower.
"Why not?" Ross replied.
"It's pretty expensive, Ross."
Rachel's statement momentarily put Ross on back foot. Since when did Rachel Green start budgeting?!
"I know. But how many times are we gonna do this anyways Rach? Come on, it's my treat." he said, smiling.
"Wow! This is like the perfect ending to the perfect day! Thank you!" Rachel beamed as she said this.
"My pleasure, Rach. After you." he said, allowing her to lead the way into the restaurant. They chose a family table and Ross went overboard in persuading Rachel to have her favourites, regardless of the cost. What Rachel did not know was that this had also been in the itinerary of Ross's dream honeymoon.
By the time they left the restaurant, there was not a single person in there who would've doubted that they were not a perfectly happy family.
* * *
Night time really didn't seem like a good time to Ross anymore. Because it was a time when a person was left alone with his or her own thoughts. And the added time difference between New York and Paris only added insult to injury.
He really didn't know what he would make of his visit to Paris. The last couple of days had probably been the best days he had had in a long time. The last time he remembered being so happy was when Emma was born. And the time before that was when they had been dating. But this all had been a fantasy, right? Or...
'You seemed as though you belonged here'
Ross doubted whether he would ever forget that person. And it was not just him. Even in New York people had often mistaken them as a family. To his surprise, Paris had been no different. But did he belong there? Sure he loved art history, but that was a mere shadow in comparison with his passion for Paleontology. Yet again, the Louvre was like a paradise for a historian like him. But that was not why he would consider moving to France...
His stream of thoughts was cut short by an image. An image identical to his current position, but with the only exception of it being a happily ever after and not just a one time thing. So what if it was not Scarsdale? Did it really matter where it was as long as it was with her ?
Ross glanced across the bed to see a peacefully breathing Rachel. The moonlight illuminated one side of her body and made her appear even more ethereal. He sighed as the realisation dawned on to him. Though he had come here to remove the bandage, he had somehow ended up supergluing it. As Ross was halfway through turning to his side of the bed, he heard her voice.
"Hey" she said, sounding wide awake, suggesting that she too was having trouble falling asleep. Ross turned back to find her smiling tenderly at him.
"Hey" he replied, returning the smile, surprised to find her still awake.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, genuinely curious.
There was something in her look which made Ross lower his guard for the first time in a month.
"Our future."
Alright, I'll be honest. The information/travelogue and a feeble attempt at French is all a product of haphazard Google-ing. I've never actually been to Paris (though I certainly look forward to it someday), nor have I ever had French as a subject. So please forgive me if you find any inaccuracy/ obvious mistake. It was purely unintentional if so.