Hey everyone!
Well... what can I say... because really nothing can justify leaving you guys without an update for 8 months straight. Hence, I am simply apologising for my erratic behaviour, hoping that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.
And dear guest reviewer, whoever you are, I am really grateful that you didn't give up on me... until atleast July, that is. Hopefully you are still around, for I do owe credit to faithful readers like you for putting up with me. Just so you know, I did want to reassure you, but since you aren't registered, I had no way to do so.
On the bright side though, this story is now almost complete. I'll now regularly update every week and get this story completely published in a month. That's a promise.
Let's get started! :)
11. A start
"So does that mean that I finally get to see him?!" Sam asked Rachel as they made themselves comfortable on the couch in the living room.
"Yes. It does." she replied, smiling fondly at Sam's enthusiasm.
December had almost bade farewell by now, leaving the city with a thin trail of snow which was a rarity in itself. There was an air of festivity all around what with Christmas just over and the excitement of a new year just around the corner. People were busy spending time either at home or flocking around famous tourist places. Regardless, they were with their families. So it came quite as a pleasant surprise to Rachel when Sam made an appearance at her doorstep, with a plum cake and a bottle of wine in her hands. 'Thought I'd just drop by!' she had said. But Rachel knew why Sam had really 'dropped' by for. And she was very grateful for the same.
"It's a pity he couldn't make it to Christmas though." Sam said, cutting a piece of cake for herself.
"Yeah... But he'll be here for New year's! I mean what better day could there possibly be to make a new start, right?" Rachel asked, smiling soulfully.
"True that. Here's to a better tomorrow" Sam replied, raising her glass for a toast.
"To a better tomorrow!" Rachel exclaimed, in unison.
'And to the even better day afters' she thought, bringing the glass back to her lips.
* * *
"Uh oh." Ross said as he lifted the third and thankfully the last baggage off the carousel. This had been the first time that Ross had ended up paying extra money for his baggage. To be fair though, not all the goods he was carrying were his own. Especially not the one which was now rattling suspiciously as he placed it on his trolley.
Having a nasty feeling about the same, Ross opened the bag to confirm his suspicions.
Yup, he was right. His luggage had been manhandled.
"Damn it!" he said, mentally cursing the people responsible for it.
"Crockery?! What the hell was Mon thinking, anyways?" he thought to himself, shaking his head in regret.
He really would have liked to have 'a talk' with the airline and the airport staff, but his conscience reminded him that he had much more pressing issues to deal with. And so, grudgingly, he slowly began labouring his way through the crowd towards the arrivals where he would finally greet... Rachel.
* * *
"God! I'm so excited!" Sam exclaimed, while hopping on the spot like a kid waiting for their favourite store to open.
"You've said that atleast 10 times since the last half hour." Rachel said, while passing a bemused look at her friend.
"Yes, but I can't help myself! I mean, you two, finally getting together. It's just so... romantic, you know! It's almost like a movie or something." Sam said, her voice bubbling with excitement.
"Did I ever tell you that you remind me of a younger version of myself?" Rachel asked, smirking at her friend.
"Duh! Like, ten times already!" Sam replied, rolling her eyes in exasperation. All of a sudden though, her expressions changed as a rather serious look crept up on her face.
"Oh look! That's him, isn't it?" she asked, her eyes following a man who had just entered the arrivals section, while carrying a rather large amount of baggage for just him and a small child atop his cart.
It did not take Rachel too long to realise who Sam was talking about. For she was way too familiar with the figures to miss them.
"Yes. That's him." she replied, her eyes turning a shade or rather shades, deeper.
* * *
The moment their eyes met, Ross forgot all about his irritation at the airport staff, his legs now working harder than before.
"Mommy!" squealed Emma, pointing at her mother with a newfound excitement.
"Yes, honey. We are going to mommy." Ross said, reassuring his daughter and turning his trolley a bit to the right so that he could reach Rachel through the shortest possible path.
The airport, however is not a place where one can simply cut across the distance. And hence, he had to go through several nudges, curses and a full head on collision with an old woman before he finally made through. These things only looked good in movies, he mused. For they were certainly much more messier in person.
"Ross." said Rachel, as soon as Ross's trolley came to a halt a few feet away, while Sam watched the scene with rapt attention.
"Rach." Ross replied, unable to say anything else either.
"Happy new year" she offered, the words coming out in a hurry.
"Happy new year, Rach." Ross replied, still rooted in his spot.
For a moment they just stood there, not knowing quite what to say to each other. Because words simply couldn't convince the emotions they had kept locked in for so long.
Tentatively, Ross took a step closer to her. Rachel did the same, her eyes turning moist and the gap between them reducing to mere inches.
And then it happened. The thing which they had almost done twice in the past six months but not quite.
Closing in, their lips finally met, giving away all the urgency and longing they had held dear for all these months. All of it culminating in a moment which they never wanted to end.
But it had to, more out of their state of breathlesstness than anything factor. That and of course, this one more, tiny little thing.
"So anytime you feel like attending your child, you give me a call, alright?" Sam said, whose expressions had changed from adoring to admonishing.
Embarrassed, they both looked away from each other to see Sam holding a fidgeting Emma who was both confused and hurt by her mother's ignorance.
"Aww sweetie! I'm so sorry!" Rachel said as she lifted Emma up in her arms and consoling her.
"And you must be..." Ross said, turning to face her.
"Sam." she replied, extending her hand.
"Oh right. I have heard quite a lot about you." Ross replied as he accepted the handshake.
"You have?!" Sam asked, enthused.
"Yeah." Ross replied, smiling at her genuine childishness. But then his expressions sobered as he said,
"Thank you for taking care of her. You know, while..." he tapered, feeling a bit awkward.
Sam simply nodded her head saying,
"You don't have to thank me, Ross. After all, that's what friends are for."
* * *
"Ouch! Shit!" Rachel exclaimed, while holding a finger which was bleeding at an alarming rate.
She had simply taken to unpacking the luggage and had only just opened the first of quite a few boxes when her fingers were greeted with a very sharp object. Or rather, objects.
"What happened?" Ross asked, who had bursted out of the shower on hearing her exclaim in agony.
"What happened is that I got cut by one of those extremely sharp objects you had hidden in that box!" Rachel said, while holding her injured hand in the other.
"Oh my God!" Does it hurt?" he asked, once he saw Rachel's bloodshot fingers.
Rachel was about to say something rude when she caught the amount of concern on his face. It reminded her of their 'good, carefree' times all those years ago. So she simply ended up nodding in agreement instead.
"Hang on. I think I have got it here. I always carry a first aid kit with me while travelling. Especially on a long journey such as this." Ross said, as he hurried towards one of his bags and swiftly unzipped several compartments.
"Aha!" he said, getting lucky the fourth time.
Rachel managed a small smile, admiring Ross's usual 'preparedness' for such times. In no time, Ross approached her with a roll of gauze, some cotton and a bottle of antiseptic solution. These were things that Rachel hadn't even thought of purchasing even though she was living here for the past seven months and had been through more than a dozen visits to the local supermarket.
"There you go. Let your hand cleanse under the tap first, and then we'll get on with this. Okay?" He asked, looking at her as one would while explaining a kid.
"Okay." Rachel said, positively giggling. Getting cut didn't turn out so bad after all. She enjoyed being babied by Ross. Until he became a little too overbearing, that is.
Once she was done, Ross gently wiped her hand dry and inspected it for any embedded pieces of glass. Fortunately, there were none. As he begun applying the antiseptic, Rachel said
"I have to ask... Why the hell did you pack shards of glass in your bag? Was this a part of some sort of an anti-theft strategy or what?"
Puzzled, Ross looked at her in confusion before he said,
"What? No! I don't do things like that!" he exclaimed.
Rachel raised an eyebrow, seriously doubting it, which made Ross look away and resume dressing Rachel's wound.
"Well... atleast not anymore. Before that stupid airline manhandled it, it was a decent set of crockery. It was Mon's Christmas present to you." he said
"You've brought presents?!" When were you planning on telling me that?" Rachel exclaimed, now suddenly eager for Ross to be done with the bandage.
"Once I got out of the shower." he replied, now tying the last knot and inspecting his handiwork. Satisfied, he looked up and said,
"But I guess it should have been obvious. Why else do you think I had so much baggage?"
That made Rachel frown.
"I don't think it was. For I had more baggage than you." she said, a tad annoyed.
"Yes, but you see, unlike you I don't own fifty pairs of shoes." Ross replied, smirking.
"I don't own fifty pairs of shoes!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Oh yeah? Then how many do you own?" Ross challenged.
"47." Rachel replied, in a much smaller voice than before.
This time, it was Ross who raised an eyebrow.
"Did you include the bathroom slippers?" he asked.
Quite a few moments passed before Rachel said,
"No"
"Uh huh. Your gym shoes?" Ross asked, knowing just the type of loopholes Rachel's answer had.
This time the pause was definitely longer.
"No"
Ross's smirk was growing wider with every passing moment.
"And those funky sandl.."
Rachel had no choice.
"Alright! Alright! You know me too well." she said, giving up while Ross chuckled at her frustration.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked, the playfulness in his voice replaced by a serious undertone.
"Not much. Thanks." Rachel replied, smiling and heading back towards the bags, eager to unwrap the rest of the boxes.
"Need any help?" Ross asked, as he watched her struggle a bit what with one hand now rendered useless.
"No. My left hand can work just fine." she said, tearing apart at the wrapping determindedly.
Yeah, she was still the same old Rachel. Adorably stubborn and fiercely independent, Ross mused as he took her leave and headed back in to complete his shower.
* * *
There's a good reason why the term 'the time flies by' came into being. Because it truly does. Especially when you don't want it to.
A week had simply 'flown by', and as Rachel had hoped, it indeed turned out to be the best week she had had in a really long time. Together, they had laughed. Sometimes so hard that they would end up with tears in their eyes. Whether it be shopping, touring museums or nurturing Emma, whatever they had done in the past seven days, they had done it together. And hence they had ended up enjoying themselves thoroughly.
"Rach!" Ross called out.
"Coming!" Rachel replied from the nursery.
"I am running late already. Can you please hurry?" he asked.
"Just a second." came Rachel's response.
Today however, their time together had come to an end. For in a few hours, Ross had to take his leave for Charente, which was the very reason why he had been able to come to Paris in the first place. Thankfully, with the quarries being within a half day's drive, Ross had been assured that he would be able to spend atleast one day out of the week with Rachel and Emma. Seeing the past seven months, he knew that this was certainly more than what they both could have asked for. He was about to call Rachel for the third time when she finally hurried into the room, carrying a spirited Emma in her arms.
"What took you so long?" Ross asked, a bit irritated at Rachel's usual lack of timeliness.
"Ems here had an 'accident' waiting for me. You try getting through that faster than me, Mister." she replied, while shooting him an ugly glare.
"You did?" Ross asked Emma in a baby voice, to which she simply let out a giggle.
"She looks cheerful." he said, looking back at Rachel.
"Of course she does. The mischief's already been done." Rachel replied, sounding grumpy.
Ross sighed in exasperation. Rachel. Hated. Changing. Diapers. It was a fact that would probably never change.
"You ready to meet your aunt and uncle sweetie?" Ross asked.
Emma nodded in excitement.
"There you go then." He said, placing the call.
To their surprise, it was picked up almost immediately.
"Hey guys!" Rachel said, to the four people on the other end.
They were barely listening though.
"Oh get out of my way! Is this even working?" Phoebe exclaimed as she tried to get right to the centre of the screen, while being pushed away by an equally stubborn Monica. Chandler and Joey were just behind them, pretty comfortable with their positions as backbenchers.
"Can you see me?" Phoebe asked, still banging heads with Monica.
"Yes Pheebs. We can see you." Rachel replied, smiling.
"Of course she can! For you are hogging the entire screen!" Monica said, unwilling to relent.
"Mon, Pheebs! Stop fighting! We can see everyone." Ross said reassuringly.
With a final glare at each other, they both gave up bashing against each other and turned their focus to the screen instead.
"So how does it feel? Being together after so long?" Monica asked, eager to know their answer.
Before either of them could reply, Chandler said,
"It surely must feel different, right? I mean it's so unlike you!"
Everyone was now looking at Chandler. Including Emma. But that probably was only because he was the one who was speaking.
"What?" he asked, alarmed by the glares he was getting.
"Can't a man speak his mind around here anymore?" he continued.
"Thank you Chandler, for pointing out the obvious. Yes, it feels different." Ross said, while the rest rolled their eyes at Chandler.
"But, it's not a 'bad' different. It's a 'good' one. In fact, it's a..." he trailed.
"It's a 'great' different." Rachel said, completing the sentence for him and took his hand in hers. Ross smiled at her gratefully.
It was a moment before Joey finally voiced the thoughts of the New Yorkers.
"Okay. So you two had sex. Why don't you just say it, huh?" he said, while pointing his fingers accusingly at the pair.
Maybe not.
"Joey! There's a two year old kid here, for God's sake!" Ross admonished, while covering Emma's ears.
"Yeah, right. A two year old kid who had been listening to an erotic song as a lullaby ever since she was two months old. Really convincing, Ross." Joey replied.
Ross was stumped. Joey did have a point.
"No Joe, we haven't." Rachel said.
That did come as a shock to the rest.
"You haven't?!" asked Phoebe, sounding positively upset.
"Yeah. We have decided to take it slow this time, you know. Get to know each other again. Rebuild our trust and confidence. Get back in the groove." Rachel replied, while Ross looked at her with a mixture of respect and confusion.
It didn't take the gang much time to figure it out.
"It's because of your injured hand, isn't it?" Monica asked, barely able to hide her smirk.
"Why can't it be two things at the same time?!" Rachel said, raising her hands up in the air in exasperation.
"That may be the case, but Rachel's right Mon. We are going to take it slow. We are determined to learn from our mistakes this time." Ross said, in defence.
There was a bit of a silence at the other end on hearing that.
"Well... that's... great news, Ross. It really is." Monica replied, while the others seemed to share the same sentiment.
"But enough about us. Tell me about you guys! I am dying to hear the results of Phoebe's ultrasound" Rachel said.
The statement had been enough to set Phoebe on a long ramble which was constantly interrupted with snippets from the rest. In the end, they understood enough to make out that Phoebe was going to give birth to a healthy baby boy sometime in August. That and Chandler's yet another idea finding it's way in the advertisement firm made it to the highlights of the almost hour long chat they had. A chat which Ross had to reluctantly end as the car dispatched to drive him to the quarries had finally arrived.
"I'll be seeing you real soon, Rach. And that's a promise I'll do everything to keep." Ross said as they kissed each other goodbye.
"Say bye to Daddy!" Rachel said to their daughter who was eyeing Ross with a look that suggested a feeling of deceit.
"Goodbye Ems" Ross said, kissing her cheek tenderly. Emma however refused to acknowledge him, looking away in the opposite direction.
Feeling rather sorry about himself, Ross cast a look at Rachel who smiled to reassure him. With a final glance at the room, he was about to take leave when he suddenly turned back and said,
"You know, it's weird."
"What is?" asked Rachel.
"It's only been a week since I left New York. But it feels like a month. Maybe even more." he said.
Rachel simply looked at him, wanting him to continue.
"I mean, I'm barely here but still I have really begun to miss New York." he said, smiling at her.
It was a smile which Rachel returned only half heartedly. And before she knew it, he was gone, heading down the stairs in a jiffy.
Yes, they had been right, she thought, staring at the door which had shut itself closed behind him.
This had been only a start.