Hello Friends Fans!

Another chapter, this one from season 8.

I hope you like it ;)

Episodes: The One With the Secret Closet (8x14)

"Living with the father of the baby is a little conventional for us." Rachel admitted, already thinking about how good it would be to have Ross to help her with the pregnancy and, mostly, after the baby was born.

"Hey, you always have liked my building. And – there's more room, I mean, you could have a closet dedicated to shoes!" Ross returned, getting excited.

"Oh, you do know your audience." Rachel replied, realizing that having a closet of her own would be awesome. The fashion maniac inside her was already starting to scream at the idea.

"I don't know. Is it crazy?" she asked Ross, feeling that maybe this was going too fast.

"No! No, it's not. Joey, this is a smart idea." Ross stated, standing up.

"Well, I was due." Joey quipped.

"Okay, let's do it. I'll move in." Rachel finally accepted.

"Really?" Ross asked.

She couldn't help but notice how sincerely happy he looked.

"Yeah." She said, with more conviction.

"Oh Rach, that's great. That's great."

And when they hugged, Rachel really felt like this was great. She hadn't felt so excited since she had found out about being pregnant.

"And you know what, don't worry about any of the moving, I'll take care of everything. In fact, I'll start right now." Ross offered, already taking his jacket off.

Joey stopped him, "Ross, Ross. Mona?"

"Un-believable." Ross stated, putting his jacket back on and getting off the apartment.

Even if Ross had just moved out to meet another woman, Rachel couldn't help but staring at the door with a soft smile on her lips.

Of course, Joey noticed this. All he could do was smiling sadly to himself.

It didn't take Rachel long to move all her stuff from Joey's building to Ross's.

In fact, with a little help from her friends, within two days she was already putting away things in her new closet.

"Ok!" Ross's voice announced as he got inside the apartment. "This is officially the last box."

"Thank you." Rachel replied, waiting for him to put the box in her bedroom.

"So, what do you want to do tonight to celebrate the move?" Ross asked when he came back.

"Well, I'm so tired that I think I won't get off this this couch ever again." She joked.

Ross chuckled and sat together with her. Even if he wasn't pregnant, he did feel a little tired.

"God, I didn't remember how comfortable this was." Rachel moaned, relaxing in her spot on the couch.

"I'm glad you like it. Looks like you're going to spend a lo-o-ot of time on it." Ross noticed, thinking that in a few months Rachel would probably breastfeed the baby on that very couch.

"And it's better than the yellow one we had chosen before, uh?" Rachel reminded him.

"You mean the couch that the other residents cut in half while running from the building after you triggered the fire alarm?"

"That's the one!" she replied. They both shared a good laugh at that funny memory.

Ross poured some ice tea in their glasses as their laughter wore off.

"Rach, I'm so happy that you decided to move in with me."

"Me too." She smiled, but soon she changed expression. "I'm…just a bit worried."

"Why?" Ross asked.

"You know, because…it's us. It's not like our relationship has ever been…steady." She intentionally broached the subject.

"I know, but this…this will be good, I promise. Like I said, we can try it on a temporary basis and see how it goes."

"Ok." She smiled again, a bit encouraged by his words.

"By the way, I still have to tell Mona."

"When are you seeing her?" Rachel asked, drinking some of her tea.

"She's out of town, I'll tell her as soon as she's back." He nodded. "It's a bit complicated, I need to spill the beans with calm and tact."

"Like you did when my father yelled at her that I was pregnant with your baby?" Rachel secretly smiled to herself.

To her surprise, Ross chuckled, too, "Dr. Green actually did me a favor. I didn't know how to tell Mona. At least, she found out."

"If you say so – ah!" Rachel startled.

"What – what's wrong? Contractions, again?" Ross asked, a bit worried.

Rachel smiled, "No, no, she's kicking again."

With no further ceremonies, she took Ross's hands and put them on her belly so that he could feel the baby move.

He waited a few seconds without feeling nothing. And then…it happened. He felt his daughter's kick.

The smile that appeared on Ross's face was probably the most tender Rachel had ever seen in her life.

When he felt her again, Ross chuckled, "Wow, she's like a footballer!"

"Yeah?" Rachel asked, tears forming at the corner of her eyes as she got emotional.

"The first time I felt Ben it wasn't so…clear."

The baby chose that moment to give another kick.

"Wow! Calm down, missy!" Ross and Rachel giggled together.

"Maybe she's just happy to hear her father's voice." Rachel almost whispered.

They shared a look worth a thousand words.

"Pretty amazing, uh?" she asked, remembering Ross's words during her first ultrasound.

"Yeah. This is unbelievable. Hard to explain what it feels like from inside, uh?" he wondered, knowing that pregnancy had a totally different perspective for women.

"I think it's the single greatest thing I've ever felt in my life." Rachel agreed. "I got to thank you, for this."

"Why?"

"Well, we kind of put her there together, didn't we?"

They both chuckled.

And Ross eventually realized one thing he still hadn't told her.

"Rach, it just occurred to me…I never mentioned how happy I am that we're having a baby."

"Of course you did."

"No, I mean – when you told me that you were pregnant I overreacted, then my rational side took the lead and I said I would support you for everything – "

"Then your emotional side came out when you asked me to marry you."

Ross ignored her joke, "What I wanted to say is that…having a baby is amazing, but the fact that this is our baby…I mean, it's pretty cool."

Rachel was taken aback by this revelation, sensing an old but never forgotten sensation forming in her stomach.

Like butterflies were flying all around her belly.

Like she was getting warmer by the second.

Like it always happened when she and Ross were together.

"I know what you mean." She admitted. "Maybe this isn't exactly the plan you had in mind when we were a couple, but in the end it's going like you thought it would."

"What do you mean?" he asked, oblivious.

"You said you wanted two kids. A boy and a girl. But you wanted a girl before, so that Ben wouldn't feel to competitive."

When Ross eventually remembered the day he'd said such things to Rachel, his heart almost didn't make it. The day they had exchanged their first I love you.

His sigh didn't go unnoticed by Rachel. They glanced at each other, both involved in their own memories of that day. They smiled at each other, and Rachel blushed.

How could she bring up something like that, thinking that it wouldn't rise all kind of unsolved feelings between them? Was she crazy?

Oblivious to the fact that Rachel was feeling just like him, Ross tried and gain some composure.

He thought about Mona, a very comprehensive girlfriend that he liked and that seemed to like him back. But if he cared about her so much, why did he always forget their dates whenever Rachel was around? Was it just because he felt responsible for her pregnancy? Or was it something else?

There must be something wrong in me, he thought.

Or maybe it wasn't something wrong.

Maybe he simply wasn't ready for that kind of commitment with another woman, now that Rachel was pregnant. Now that she lived with him.

Maybe he simply couldn't let Rachel go.

But could he, ever?

Ross cleared his voice and changed topic, "You know, I was worried that…Joey was more involved with the pregnancy than I was."

"Sweetie, that was just because he was my roommate, I never wanted to replace you."

"I know, I know." He reassured her. "But you know, I already have a part-time kid…I wish I could be in Ben's life much more than I am. I really want to be a huge part of our daughter's life. I want to be there, at any time."

Rachel smiled, getting emotional again, "That's great of you, Ross. And it's going to be like that, I promise. We're living together now, I'm sure that our daughter will have all the attentions she deserves. Actually, I think she's going to be a very spoiled girl."

Ross chuckled.

"And I'm sure you'll be a great father." Rachel nodded solemnly.

"Yeah?" he asked, softly.

"When I found out I was pregnant, knowing that you were the father helped me so much. I never doubted that I wanted to keep the baby. I know you would always be there, for us."

Ross was so touched by her words that he was getting misty, "Really?"

"Of course. I was there, I see how a great father you are to Ben. You taught me how to hold him, hot to feed him and change his diapers…I'm going to need your help so much!" she chuckled.

"Always the selfish." He joked.

"I confess, I was honestly relieved when Joey proposed this cohabitation. Lately I'd been already thinking this could be a good solution, but with Mona and everything…I was afraid to ask."

"Why?"

"I thought you didn't want us here; you've always lived on your own…"

"Well, if I never got a roommate…if I never asked you to move in…it was only because there wasn't the time."

This confession surprised Rachel, "What?"

"When we were together I wanted to ask you. But it was too soon, so I waited. And then…I waited a bit too much. Things got awful between us…and you know the rest."

"You wanted to ask me to move in with you?" Rachel inquired him, incredulous.

Ross decided to be honest, so he nodded with guilt.

Rachel felt nauseous, and not because of the pregnancy. She got a terrible feeling.

"You wanted to ask me on our anniversary?" she asked ruefully, even if she already knew the answer.

Ross shook his head, "It's been a long time, it's – "

"Ross." Rachel urged him. She needed to know.

"Yes." He admitted.

Rachel's inner turmoil could have made the apartment explode.

"You never told me."

Ross shook his head again. "I didn't want to hurt you more than I already did."

And Rachel understood. It would have been terrible to know.

But now, now…

With everything they'd been through, here they were, living together and with a baby coming.

Not together, but together.

She took his hand in hers, "Thank you for telling me now." She stated, trying not to sob. "At least now I know that you never asked because you didn't have time. I always thought that it was because I never do laundry or – or because I don't take out the trash."

They both chuckled to ease the tension.

"Rach, if it was up to me, we would have lived together since day one."

Rachel noticed that the baby hadn't moved in a while, so she decided to take them out of that misery. "I think I'm going to bed, now."

"Of course, you need some rest." Ross agreed, caressing her belly again.

Right then, the baby kicked again.

Ross and Rachel looked at each other with eyes full of love.

Love for their daughter.

Love for each other.

Ross smiled tenderly, a hopeful look on his face, "Maybe a few more minutes?" he begged.

"That's what I was going to say." She smiled.

They ended up spending another hour together on the couch, listening to the baby's movements. Their fingers intertwined for all the time.