Later that day, Ross went into Central Perk to find Phoebe and Joey on the couch, arguing about the Smurfs, of all things. As they saw him, it turned into a race of who could say, "Brainy Smurf," fastest. Ross just looked at the two of them and shook his head as he went to the counter to get his coffee.

As he sat down Phoebe asked, "Ross, what's wrong? Did you find out the truth? I can see how that would drive you of all people into the dumps."

"Truth?" asked Ross. "What truth would that be?"

"You know, about how the dinosaur bones were placed to throw off people like you by the aliens?" Joey looked at Phoebe with a questioning glance, causing her to ask, "what?"

Ross just shook his head and said, "no. I just miss Rach- Um. Emma. Emma. My daughter."

"Ross, don't you miss Rachel too?"

"Yeah, Pheebs, I guess I do. Probably more than Emma, and that's a lot."

Joey looked at him with sympathy. "Dude, I gave you this advice years ago, and you never took it. I think you should this time."

Ross looked at him warily. "What advice was that?"

"Strip club! C'mon man, it'll really help put things into perspective." Joey's voice rose as he continued, "and you get to see women naked. Ow, Pheebs, why did you hit me?"

She just gave him a harsh look.

"No, Joe, a strip club is not what I need. I just need to think."

Phoebe jumped on the couchand turned to Joey. "Ooh, can I go then? Please, please. Mike won't let me go by myself after that 'Veronica' incident."

Joey grinned at Phoebe and waited for her to continue. Ross saw she was thinking of something else already, and didn't want to prolong it.

"Pheebs, you better tell Joey before his face explodes."

"Later, Joey. I've got slides, and the story doesn't work well without them." Joey just grinned bigger.

Joey snapped out of his reverie and turned to Ross. "Hey, I had a great idea. Why don't you go to Paris for Thanksgiving and surprise Rachel and Emma? Just take a long weekend away from work and go."

Ross's face brightened a little. "You know, that's not a bad idea. Yeah, I can fly over on Thursday morning, meet Rachel at her office and spend the rest of the weekend with her and Emma."

Phoebe started jumping again. "Ooh, you can make it a surprise, and show Rachel how you really feel."

Ross' mind went back to the last time he surprised Rachel at her work, which led to the second worst day of his life, the day before he lost Rachel, which was the worst day. But, this time would be different. This time, he wouldn't set the office on fire. He'd just go in, say hi, and then go see Emma until she got off work.

"Yeah, we'll keep it a secret, okay?"

Both Joey and Phoebe agreed, and Ross went off to make arrangements.

--

"Hey, Mon. We're all set to fly in. I gave Mike the flight info so he can pick us up. Oh, I can't wait to see you guys. I miss all of you." Rachel hadn't sounded this happy since she landed in Paris.

"Yeah, we can't wait either, Rach. We're setting two more places, and if asked, we'll say we invited a couple who didn't have anyone to spend Thanksgiving with." Monica was so pleased that her plans were coming together. This would destroy last year's Thanksgiving.

"Now, you're sure that no one else knows, right? I want this to be a full surprise, not like your surprise birthday party when you turned 30."

"Yes, Rach, no one else knows. And, hopefully, Phoebe won't take her top of this time." Monica had heard the stories and seen Ross' video. Which is a good thing, because she still doesn't remember that night.

They spoke of other things until Rachel had to go back to work.

--

The day before Thanksgiving, Ross walked in the door and gave his sister a hug. "Hey, Mon. I may be late tomorrow. Carol asked me to spend some time with her, Susan, and Ben in the morning, but I should be here by the time we call Rachel before we eat."

Monica grinned over his shoulder, knowing that they wouldn't be calling tomorrow. "Sure, no problem, just make sure you're here by four, that's when Rachel's…calling. Okay?"

"Sure, I'll, um, be here then. If I'm late, it won't be by much."

Monica turned away from Ross back to the counter so she could finish her pies. "Good. Mike should be here about the same time, you know, getting back from his gig."

"Hey, Mon. Why did you make a cherry pie? No one else likes it, except Rachel."

Monica looked stunned, but luckily that look was directed at her Joey Apple Pie. "I, uh, guess I just did it out of habit. You know, since I always made one for her, I just did it, like on autopilot." She was glad Ross was behind her, so he couldn't see her blush.

"Oh, sure. Hey, if you want, one of the other professors loves cherry pie. If you want to save it, I can give it to him Monday." He didn't suspect a thing.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea. You can take it with you tomorrow night."

Ross said his goodbyes and walked out. As he did, he smiled.

She didn't suspect a thing.