AN: I hope people are still enjoying this. Please review. :)

Disclaimer: The characters from Friends do not belong to me.

Ross twisted his doorknob with a flick of his wrist as he arrived home to his apartment. As he entered his living room he noticed Rachel sitting on the couch, leaning over his coffee table. She was writing on something, her cinnamon hair falling over her face, hiding it from view. She kept her elbows rested on the table but raised her head to look up from her paper at Ross.

At the sight of him in the entranceway, Rachel sat up straighter and tucked her hair behind her ears giving Ross a shy smile. Ross admired the way the outer corners of her eyes crinkled with her smile. Ross returned the smile, happy to see her. He finally withdrew his gaze from Rachel long enough to notice the bags scattered around her.

"What's all this?" Ross asked curiously as her gestured to the bags. He then placed his briefcase on the floor beside his side table and placed his keys in a bowl on the coffee table.

"Sorry about the mess. I stopped by my old apartment and picked up a couple of things," Rachel explained, hesitantly glancing at him.

"Don't worry about it. What are you up to now?" Ross asked as he stepped over a bag and sat on the couch beside Rachel. He loosened his tie slightly as he relaxed, waiting for her reply.

"Um, these are my divorce papers. I stopped by my lawyer's office and picked them up. I'm going to fill them out and then just get my ex-husband to sign them," Rachel explained.

"I know how hard it is to go through a divorce, trust me. So if you need anything I'm here for you," Ross said, sincerely. Rachel looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks Ross. For everything. I really appreciate it," Rachel replied, honestly in her tone.

"I'm glad I can help," Ross said. For a moment Rachel felt tears in her eyes, Ross was just so sweet. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she just stared at the calm expression on his face.

Luckily the phone began to ring at that moment. Ross rotated on the couch and picked it up, turning away from Rachel.

"Hello?" Ross answered.

"Ross, it's Carol," Carol's voice spoke from the other side of the phone.

"Oh hi, what's going on?" Ross asked, inquiringly.

"I wanted to remind you that you have Ben this weekend," Carol said. Ross furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, before recalling these plans. Rachel watched him with interest.

"I completely forgot. Listen, I have company and she really needs my undivided attention right now. I thought it was your weekend," Ross responded. Feeling uncomfortable under Rachel's watch he stood up and paced to his living room window.

"No. Remember, Susan and I have to visit her parents. We're, um, telling them about us," Carol said carefully. Ross felt a pang of discomfort ripple through his body. Anything to do with his ex-wife and her girlfriend still hurt for him to hear about.

"I'm sorry. That completely slipped my mind. But, we did discuss that," Ross apologised, unable to hide his sadness. "When will you drop him by?"

"I'll bring him tomorrow at 10:00," Carol replied, sombrely.

"Okay, I'll, uh, see you then," Ross responded. As much as he loved his son he had hoped he could have this weekend alone with Rachel. She needed him right now, with what she was going through.

Ross and Carol exchanged goodbyes and then Ross walked over to his side table to hang up the phone. As soon as Rachel heard the click of the handset hitting the base, she broke the silence.

"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked softly. Ross glanced down at her, as she still remained seated on the couch.

"Um, well, my son has to come and spend the weekend. I'm really sorry," Ross apologised.

"Ross that's fine. Don't worry about it," Rachel said, dismissing him with a hand wave.

"It's just that I usually take Ben to visit Monica. I'm sure you're welcome to join us if you'd like," Ross suggested, kindly. Rachel just took her focus off of his face, she looked at the floor.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Rachel mumbled. Ross stepped around the arm of the couch and sat down beside her once again.

"What do you mean?" Ross asked as he stared at her with a perplexed expression.

"I haven't seen her in years. We promised to stay in touch, but that didn't happen," Rachel explained, still looking at the ground as the guilt caught up with her. She looked up into Ross' concerned gaze.

"Rach, I'm sure she'll be fine. I bet she'll just be happy to see you again," Ross stated.

"Okay, I guess you know her better than I do. I'll come," Rachel decided.

"That's great," Ross exclaimed.

Rachel still hadn't convinced herself that this was a good idea. It was the reason why she didn't call Monica after Ross had given her her number. She was scared that Monica would be bitter about the way they left things.

Rachel had met Barry in college. As soon as she started dating him, her parents discovered that Barry's parents were in the same country club.

Rachel began spending more and more time with Barry, going to functions their parents attended and making friends within the club. All came at a cost as she had less time for Monica. Eventually they just drifted apart and soon enough they lost touch.

It was as if their years of friendship were forgotten when Rachel started dating Barry. She didn't know how Monica would react to seeing her again.

Rachel decided to stop thinking about that by changing the topic of their conversation.

"So, it must be hard to take care of Ben all by yourself," Rachel spoke, breaking the silence that filled the apartment.

"Actually, the toughest part is not getting to see him every day. It's hard having to drop him off and pick him up," Ross explained.

"I can't even imagine how it feels. I guess I'm lucky my divorce doesn't involve kids," Rachel pointed out.

"I just love having him around though. The time I get to spend with him is always so much fun," Ross said, smiling to himself. Rachel couldn't get a burning question off her mind, she decided to just come out and say it.

"Ross, can I ask you something personal?" Rachel started, watching as he snapped out of his thoughts and became serious.

"Sure, Rach," Ross approved.

"I told you why I'm divorcing my husband. But, why did you divorce your wife?" Rachel asked, hesitantly. Ross hated explaining this story. But he decided that Rachel had shared her personal life, so he should repay the favour. He cleared his throat before he began.

"I got divorced because, my wife turned out to be a lesbian. She cheated on me with another woman and eventually we decided things would have to end between us," Ross explained uncomfortably.

"Wow. I'm so sorry. That has to be tough," Rachel responded, trying to keep the shock in her voice to a minimum.

"It is. It's hard to accept the fact that you married someone thinking it would last forever, only to find out that you pushed them into liking women," Ross said, depressed.

"Ross, I'm sure it's not your fault. If anything it's her fault for not realizing what her sexual preference was before marriage," Rachel reasoned.

"Thanks," Ross simply replied.

A memory was brought to Rachel's attention when she heard Ross' story. She remembered that her friend, she had been emailing over the past few months, had also gotten divorced because his wife was a lesbian. Rachel didn't realize that that was a common problem in marriages.

"Are you sure you want Ben to stay here with us? I mean, he cries at odd hours of the night," Ross said out of the blue. He and Rachel had been sitting there silently for quite a while.

"Ross, really, I don't mind. I mean you're letting me stay with you, I can put up with being woken up by your son," Rachel responded, before yawning. "Speaking of sleep, maybe we should go to bed."

"You're right. I'll take the couch again," Ross responded.

"Ross, I feel bad. I can't let you keep taking the couch," Rachel declared.

"I know this is going to sound really sudden but, I was thinking, what if you moved in with me? I have a spare bedroom that Ben sleeps in on the weekends. But he could sleep in my room and I can furnish that one for you if you'd like to stay here," Ross explained. Rachel's face shone with joy.

"Ross, I would really like that," Rachel stated as her eyes twinkled in the dim light.

"Alright then. In the mean time I'll sleep out here and you can stay in my bed," Ross declared. Rachel began to object, but Ross stopped her when he said, "You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow, you need a good night's sleep. Please, I insist."

Rachel gave in, knowing he was right.

"Fine. Goodnight," Rachel said.

"Goodnight," Ross replied. Rachel got up and departed to the bedroom. Even with all of her clothing she had brought to Ross' she chose to wear his t-shirt to sleep in.

Rachel had merely settled under the blankets when Ross opened the bedroom door a crack and peaked inside. Rachel sat up and looked at him.

"Sorry, I needed a pillow," Ross explained remorsefully.

"Come in," Rachel responded. Ross crept in; he wore only his boxer shorts and a tank top. Rachel reached beside her and grabbed a pillow to hand to him.

"Thank you. Sweet dreams," Ross said, and then with pillow in hand, he turned around and headed for the door. But suddenly a question crossed Rachel's mind.

"Ross?" Rachel called, barely louder than a whisper. Ross had just reached the doorway but he spun around to face Rachel.

"Yes?" Ross answered.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," Rachel stated seriously.

"Okay," Ross answered. He crossed the room and sat next to Rachel on top of the covers. He put the pillow behind his head against the headboard and looked over at her.

"Why are you letting me stay with you?" Rachel asked.

"You have nowhere else to go. I would never leave you without a place to stay," Ross responded.

"But, you barely know me. Why did you let me come over when I gave you that hysterical phone call?" Rachel asked. Ross didn't hesitate for a minute, he spoke the truth.

"I know how hard it is to be alone after a divorce. Luckily I had friends and family to turn to. But you were leaving a life behind, you had no one. I felt like I needed to be there for you," Ross explained, he paused before adding, "And to tell you the truth I was lonely."

"Well Ross, thank you for being there for me. You've been so kind. You've made this a whole lot easier than it was going to be," Rachel said.

"You're welcome," Ross responded, caringly. He locked eyes with Rachel. He remembered back to when their eyes met back in the elevator. She had looked so miserable that day, her eyes seemed empty as if all the life had been drained from them. But now her eyes matched the blue skies after a storm.

Ross couldn't help but feel drawn to her. Ross desperately wanted to kiss her, but he knew it was still a bad idea. They were roommates now, doing anything like that would only complicate things. Not to mention it wouldn't be right to take advantage of her at such a vulnerable time.

Ross decided it was time to leave before his heart took over his body, making him forget all logic.

"Goodnight Rachel. I'm really happy you've saved me from my loneliness and frankly my grief. You're such a great person, I knew that back when you were Monica's friend. You don't deserve all you've been through," Ross said, an embarrassed smile curved his lips.

With that, Rachel hastily closed the space between them, placing an impassioned kiss on Ross' lips. Ross froze before he closed his eyes. The feeling of her soft lips on his was indescribable. She moved a hand to caress his cheek, as Ross placed a hand on her arm, which she leaned on the bed with.

Ross immediately realized he was making a bad decision, but Rachel's lips moving with his own quickly made all other thoughts slip away. The way she gently began sucking on his lip as she threw both her hands around the back of his neck drove him insane.

Not until he felt her tongue brush against his lip did he snap out of it. What in the world was he doing? He didn't want to cross this line with her. No matter how good it made him feel, it wasn't right.

Ross pulled away keeping their faces only inches apart. Rachel realized what he was doing. She knew what they had done was wrong, but she couldn't help herself.

They just looked deep into each other's eyes, letting the heat of the moment wear off. Rachel slid her hands off of him, and sat up straighter. Ross looked at her apologetically.

"Goodnight, Ross," Rachel whispered.

"I'll see you in the morning," Ross answered. Then he quickly grabbed his pillow and left the bedroom. Rachel sat there and touched a hand to her lips.

Ross lay on the couch, wide awake. His high school dream had come true, he had kissed Rachel Green. But even with that in mind, nothing could happen between them now that they were roommates. Even when he wanted it so bad.

…..

Ross pushed the stroller and Rachel walked beside him. I was a wonderfully sunny day. The streets were full of people all enjoying the beautiful Saturday morning.

Carol had dropped Ben off at Ross' apartment that morning and they were now on their way to Monica's.

As they approached Central Park, Ross had an idea.

"Before we head over to Monica's do you want to take Ben to the park for a bit?" Ross asked. Rachel gave Ross a nervous glance, but nodded.

"Sure. We still have time," Rachel said. She tried to sound cheerful but she was a little nervous to be around Ben, since she had no experience with babies.

They entered Central Park. It seemed like it was all families that filled the grassy fields and forest paths. They stopped in a patch of shade under a tree. Ross laid down a blanket for the three of them to sit on, before letting Ben out of his seat. As soon as Ben's feet were on the ground he began running around nearby.

Ross and Rachel sat beside each other on the blanket. Both of them leaned back on their hands with their feet in front of them. They watched as Ben chased grasshoppers and played in the grass. Every so often they would steal a glance at each other.

After a while of running around, Ben ran back to his father. He jumped into Ross' arms, laughing a sweet little laugh as Ross tickled him. Rachel observed them, smiling at their cute father and son moment.

When Ross stopped Ben was out of breath, but he had a huge smile on his face. Ben climbed off of his father's lap and sat on the blanket, watching the trees blow in the gentle wind making the shadows dance across the grass.

Rachel watched as Ben's eyelids became heavy with exhaustion. Ben looked up at her and raised his little arms towards Rachel.

"Up?" Ben asked. Rachel gave Ross a panicked look.

"He just wants you to sit him on your lap," Ross said. "Don't be afraid. You can do it," Ross whispered encouragingly, realizing Rachel must not have experience with kids.

Rachel lifted Ben onto her lap. Ben curled up comfortably in her arms. Rachel slowly began to rock him, gently leaning her cheek against his blond hair.

Ben dozed off in her arms.

Ross and Rachel locked eyes and they both smiled a meaningful smile. It was a beautiful moment; Rachel was proud to begin overcoming her fear.

As she listened to Ben's slow, relaxed breaths something stirred inside her. She never thought of herself as having any maternal feelings, but holding Ben made her realize she did want to be a mother, just not to Barry's kids.

Suddenly from out of nowhere an older woman passed by.

"You two have a beautiful son. What a lovely family," The lady commented stopping for a moment. Before Ross and Rachel could object the lady was already walking away.

The two smiled to themselves. They really looked like a family to those on the outside.

"We should get going," Ross whispered to Rachel as he glanced at his watch. Rachel nodded.

…..

As Rachel helped Ross carry the stroller up the unfamiliar staircase, her nerves began to hit her. She realized that in minutes she would be seeing Monica again, as well as meeting the rest of Ross' friends.

Ross gave the door to apartment 20 a quick knock and soon it swung open.