Hello, everyone! Here's the new chapter! Enjoy your reading...keep reviewing!
DECEMBER 31th
It's New Year's Eve and Ross is in his parents house waiting for his children to the party that will happen at night. It's 19h pm when the doorbell rings. It's Rachel with Lauren and Edward. Judy opens the door and doesn't hide her happiness to see her daughter-in-law well, former daughter-in-law now, and her beautiful grandchildren.
"Rachel!" Judy says giving her a warm hug.
"Judy, hi..."
"Hi, grandma!" Lauren and Edward greet her entering the house looking for their cousins and dad.
Judy smiles at Rachel, and just to see the smile of her mother-in-law, Rachel's eyes fill with tears, but she doesn't cry.
"How are you, dear? Judy asks taking one of Rachel's hands.
"Honestly, I've been better..."
"Oh, darling...everything will turn out fine for both of you." she says giving her another hug, and with that Rachel cannot hold back her tears. She really wasn't expecting this reception from Judy and now is blaming herself for reacting that way.
"I hope so..."
They broke the hug and Judy dries Rachel's tears with her thumbs.
"And your parents, how are they? You'll go to their party tonight?"
"They're great, spending New Year's Eve in Paris with my sisters and the rest of the family. I only stayed here because I had to work this past week."
"Don't tell me you're gonna be all alone?!"
"Yeah, well...it's ok."
"No, no, no, it's absolutely not ok, sweetheart! You're gonna stay with us!"
"Judy, there's no need to you..."
"Shhh, Rachel Karen Green-Geller!"
"Uhm...I'm not even dressed up for a big party like this..."
"What a terrible excuse! Go back home, put one of those beautiful dresses of yours and come back here, young lady! I'm gonna be offended if you don't.
"If you insist..."
"I insist!"
"Ok."
"Good. I'll tell Ross to drive you home."
"No, Judy, it's not necessary. I'm with my car."
"Well, ok then."
"Bye, Judy, see you later."
"Bye, bye, honey. Drive safe."
"I will." says Rachel winking at her.
Half an hour later...
Lauren and Edward are talking with Anitta and Henry, Monica and Chandler's children, near the pool.
"So you aren't going to Disney next month?"
"What do you mean, An? Lauren asks intrigued.
"The thing is that you guys always go there in January before classes start again. And since uncle Ross and aunt Rachel broke up, I thought that the trip had been canceled." Anitta explains herself.
"Well, I must confess that I didn't think about it before..." answers Lauren on the verge of tears.
Suddenly, Edward grabs his sister's arm when she's pratically crying.
"OH MY GOD, ED! WE WON'T GO TO DISNEY ANYMORE! THIS IS HORRIBLE!"
"Shut up, Lau and listen to me! Remember last week when dad mentioned something with grandma about us going to Disney?"
"Yeah?" she say drying her tears.
"And remember that he told he would ask mom to let him take us there?"
"So?" Lauren isn't understanding her brother.
"This is PERFECT, Lau!"
"How? We'll go to Disney with dad. What about mom?"
"Stop being silly! We're gonna tell them that we'll go to Disney World, but..."
"I love 'buts!'"
"Shh, listen!"
"Ok."
"We'll go there with dad, but only if mom comes too! Otherwise..."
"WE DON'T GO!" they say together.
"OH MY GOD, ED! You are a genius!"
"I know, I know!"
Some time later...
Ross is with his back to the door talking to Chandler when the doorbell rings. Anitta is running through the house with Lauren, opens the door and sees Rachel standing holding a bouquet of flowers she bought for Judy.
"AUNT RACHEL!" she screams giving her a hug.
At the sound of his ex-wife's name, Ross immediately turns to the door and sees her being embraced by Lauren. He remains without action until Chandler touches his shoulder.
"Earth calling Ross." he says to his brother-in-law.
"Sorry, man. It's just that she looks beautiful..."
"Then go talk to her."
"I'm going."
"Rachel! Good to see you again! And you're a vision in this color!" says Judy complimenting Rachel's fuchsia dress.
"Oh, Judy, thank you! And this is for you, for inviting me." Rachel hands Judy the beautiful orchids.
Anitta and Lauren already left the living room and went outside. Judy thanks for the flowers and tells Rachel she's always welcome at her home.
Rachel then approaches Ross and Chandler and greets to her former brother-in-law first.
"Hi, Chan, how you doing? I've missed you! How's Mon?"
"I'm great, working so hard. Mon's outside, and she's good. She'll love to see you here!"
"I'll go talk to her soon."
"Ok...then I'm gonna leave you two." he winks at his friend while leaving.
Rachel looks at the ground and then at Ross when he talks to her.
"Uhm...I didn't know you were coming tonight."
"Me neighter..." she laughs. "Your mom invited me when I told her that my parents and sisters are in Paris."
"I'm not complaining. It's good to see you again, you know..."
"Thanks." she smiles timidly.
"You look gorgeous."
His compliment leave her speechless, so she just nods her head.
"Uhm...I need to talk to Mon."
"Sure, go ahead."
"See you, Ross."
He keeps looking at her when his aunt stops beside him.
"Your wife always looks phenomenal, sweetie."
"Actually..."
"Ross, son! Come here, quickly!" Judy screams.
"Excuse me, aunt Daisy."
"Sure, darling."
"Mom, what happened?"
"Nothing. It's just that our family doesn't know you and Rachel aren't together anymore. So...help me tonight, will you?"
"What?! How would you explain her absence to all these people if she wasn't here?"
"I don't know, but luckily I don't have to worry about this anymore, because she is here."
"Great." he says ironically.
Outside...
"RAAACH!" screams Monica leaving her cousin Christa alone. Rachel keeps walking towards her.
"Heeey, Mon!" they exchange a hug and Monica takes a step back to take a better look at Rachel's dress.
"You look amazing! This dress is gorgeous!"
"It is really gorgeous, but is a little tight on me. I'll give it to you, if you want."
"Thank you, but you can always adjust it, no?"
"I don't think so. Now tell me, how have you been? I miss you so much."
"Aw, I miss you too, Rach. And so does Ross...like crazy. He really misses you and the kids."
"I know, he already told me, but..."
"Think about it."
"Uhm...how's Jack?"
"He's great. There he is! Loving spending time with his grandchildren. And your parents?"
"They're fine. In Paris."
"Wow! Not bad!"
"Not bad at all!"
They laugh together until being interrupted by Judy and Ross.
"Rachel, darling, can you please come with us to Jack's Office? We need to talk to you about something important."
"Sure. Excuse me, Mon."
"Right."
At Jack's office...
Judy opens the door, they enter and Ross closes it behind him.
"So..." Rachel says waiting for one of them to start talking.
"Rach, apparently we need to act like nothing's wrong between us tonight."
"WHAT?! ROSS, ARE YOU CRAZY?! WHY?!"
"It's not his fault, Rachel. Please try to understand."
"Understand what? What are you talking about, Judy?"
"Our family doesn't know that you two are separating."
"And why not?"
"Well, me and Jack didn't think your break up was that serious, so we decided not to tell the rest of the family, because then we wouldn't have to explain to them a possible reconciliation later. Now they think that everything is okay between you two."
"OH MY GOD! I've never expected anything like this coming from you, Judy! I cannot believe you would put me in this kind of situation! This is so embarrassing! Ugh! You know what?! Thank you for inviting me to your beautiful party, for open your house to me again, but I just can't act like nothing has happened. And Ross, good luck on telling your family that we are over! And, please don't forget to send my love to the kids!" with that said, she left the office and the Geller house. She had never felt so nervous before.
Later that night, Ross is talking to Monica and Chandler about what happened before when his iPhone rings. Hoping it was Rachel, he goes inside to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Geller?"
"Yes, who is it?"
"Officer Avery talking. Your name is the first on the list of Rachel Karen Green-Geller's phone in case of emergency."
"Emergency?! WHAT KIND OF EMERGENCY?"
"A car accident, sir."
"OH MY GOD!"
"Sir, you can stay calm, it was nothing too serious. I'm just calling..."
"Where is she?!"
"She is being taken to Mount Sinai Hospital right now, Mr. Geller."
"Ok, I'm going there. Thank you, Officer."
"I'm just doing my job. Take care, sir."
"Thank you, again."
"What happened Ross?! You look pale!" asks a shaking Monica.
"Rachel got involved in a car accident. I'm going to see her at the hospital now."
"God! I'm coming with you, then!"
"No, Mon, stay here with my children and, please don't tell them nothing. At least not now. I'll talk to them later. It was nothing too serious. She's fine."
"Ok, send her our love." she says wrapping her arm around Chandler's waist as he kisses her forehead.
"I'm gonna tell your parents, guys."
"Ok, sweetie."
Chandler goes outside walking towards Judy and Jack.
"What's up, son?" asks Jack.
"Rachel got involved in a car accident."
"OH GOD! HOW'S SHE? I SHOULDN'T HAVE LET HER GET OUT OF HERE SO NERVOUS AND DRIVING! IT'S MY FAULT! IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HER IT'LL BE ONLY MY FAULT! ROSS WILL HATE ME FOREVER! HE'LL NEVER FORGIVE ME!"
"JUDY! Let Chandler talk. Calm down!" says Jack caressing her shoulders.
"Mrs. Geller, she's fine. The Officer said it was nothing serious."
"Oh thank God! Ross already know?"
"Yes. He's on his way to the hospital now."
"And the kids?"
"They don't know. Ross asked us not to tell them anything yet. So...let's try enjoy the party...for them."
At Mount Sinai Hospital...
"Hello, how can I help you, sir?" asks the receptionist.
"Hi. I'm Ross Geller. My wife was brought here. She was in a car accident."
"I'll check, Mr. Geller. One moment, please...yes, she's undergoing some exams, but soon she'll be transferred to room 305. You can wait here for now and when she's done, a nurse or a doctor can call you."
"Ok. I'll wait, thanks."
A half an hour later, Rachel is in room 305 and Ross is called by a doctor to go see her.
"Mr. Geller, I'm doctor Nolan Ferguson, you can see your wife now."
"How is she, doctor Ferguson?"
"She's going to be fine, she broke her right wrist and has some cuts in her head due to the hit. She is likely to feel pain in the head region during the next days, which is normal. We performed an exam to see if she suffered some sort of trauma, but apparently everything is ok. We also did a blood test, for safety. She will have to spend tonight here and tomorrow I'll have the test results. We gave her medication for her don't feel pain during the night and sleep better, so it is likely that she sleep through the night. I believe she'll be good to go home by the afternoon."
"Right. Is there a way I sleep here too?"
"Sure. We don't have na extra bed, but as you can see, there's a couch right there." Doctor Ferguson says pointing to the left side of Rachel's bed.
"Thank you, doctor."
"Anytime. If you need anything, or she wakes up you just call a nurse."
"Ok."
"Have a good night, Mr. Geller."
"Good night."
The next morning Ross is awake reading The New York Times waiting for Rachel to wake up. He tosses the paper to the side and looks at her. Then she slowly opens her eyes and don't know where she is.
"Rach?" Ross says approaching her bed and taking her left hand.
"Ross, where am I? What happened?"
"You are at the hospital cause you got involved in a car accident yesterday. Nothing to serious."
"My head hurts."
"I can imagine." he says and she smiles to him.
"How are the kids?"
"They are good. I just talked to Ed and told him everything and that you'll be able to get home soon."
"Oh, ok. Thanks Ross."
"Just did my job as a father."
"You're a great one. The best, atually."
Ross gets a little shy and releases her hand.
"Uhm...I'm gonna call the doctor here for him to see you awake."
"Ross?"
"What?"
"Happy New Year."
With everything that happened, he even forgot it was New Year. He smiles and responds sweetly to her.
"Happy New Year to you too."
Doctor Nolan enters the room and takes a look at Rachel. He tells her the she's doing great and that she needs rest at home for at least a week before goes back to her normal activities.
"I'll sign the papers for your hospital discharge and you can go home sooner than we expected, Rachel."
Ross wants to know if she needs someone at home to help her and calls Nolan when he is closing the door. At the same time, the doctor remembers something.
"Doctor! I need to know something."
"Oh sure! I almost forgot to tell you two that your baby is fine."
-END OF THE THIRD CHAPTER-
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's my favorite so far. I loved writing it. Don't forget to leave your kind reviews. They are so sweet and I love reading them. :)