Author's Note:

I've been gone for what feels like a month. I want to update on all my stories much more than that. I've started a cycle of starting and slowly getting to one or the other. Surprise, surprise, I have another story coming up. It will most likely be my least liked one but it's based on a newer version of the film rather than the old.

Now to this story. I'm so thankful my last chapter was received well. I assumed it would either go over well or be one that was tossed aside and replaced as, "Rachel didn't really love Ross." This chapter will be more Joey and Rachel based since it is more between the both of them and she has the worst part set aside. Enjoy.

The stroke of five had hit him faster than he thought. He found himself running to the stage, wiping a bit of sweat from the top of his brow. His eyebrows were pulled together, his breathing uneven as he tapped on the shoulder in front of him.

His eyes were met with the face of Rachel, who smiled at him with a freshly, pink stained smile, her blue eyes still gentle in the way they always had been. And deep down, some part of him thought of all the mornings, where those kind eyes had been his first pleasant thing to see in the world, where times had been so much simpler than two people who hadn't seen or spoken to each other in years.

"Ready to go?"

Joey nodded, motioning towards the back exit that led directly onto the street. The streets weren't as busy now, but he knew they were close to the rush hour, especially since it was winter. He already felt any sweat that he had left over seemed to evaporate and leave a chill that ran up his spine; he was glad that he had brought his coat, something he slipped onto his shoulders and stuffed his hands into.

"So tell me about the life," he began, chuckling softly. "Tell me about the life of Rachel Green."

There was a pillow of air that sprouted from her mouth and appeared pink from the colors along the horizon. "Other than the divorce and losing my only child?" she asked, shaking her head.

He nudged her gently, his look becoming stern when she tossed a glance his way. "Come on. I know you've got a few things going for you and you promised to spill. So spill."

Her eyes wandered as she exhaled heavily, obviously having to put thought more to the positive than the negative. "Well, I got a new promotion, finally. I know why they were hesitant but I was the best for the job." She gave a flick to her hair to toss it back over her shoulder and he couldn't help but smile to himself. Anyone who knew Rachel knew that she was one of the best in the fashion industry. "I'm dating an assistant." She laughed when she saw the look on his face, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. It's not my assistant. The incident with Tag was way too close for comfort anyway."

There was a pause before she began to talk up again. "Emma is going to need braces this year and she's only ten. You know who I blame for that?"

"Ross?"

"Monica, actually." Rachel smiled brightly at him, her arms crossing over her chest to shield her from some of the chill that had swept in. "I'm convinced that some of her genes latched onto my child."

There was a small bit of silence before her hand hit his arm gently, catching his attention. "What about you, Joey? We haven't talked to each other in four years and the last thing I remember was that you were finally going to get hitched to Alex."

Joey paused as he looked to the buildings and found his own, sighing softly as he did. "It just didn't work out. We wanted different things in life and we realized it a little too late. I was ready to settle down, start having kids like everyone else in the group," he explained, kicking a crumbled up cup as he walked, "and Alex didn't really want to start on that yet. And that mixed with my career falling apart, as usual, it was just easier to move back home and get a new start again."

He felt her arm wrap around his, a small sound of sympathy coming from his side. "I'm so sorry, honey." It was the nickname she had called him frequently, but either in the childlike manner or the comforting kind. "Can you believe that we're the only two that never figured it out?"

"Figured what out?"

"The love thing. Like we've been in love, we've had people that gave us good runs, but we never figured it out like Monica and Chandler. The only one who's as unlucky as us is Ross but that's because he marries first and asks names later."

He laughed softly, turning right and coming to the bottom door of his building and holding it open for her. "I always thought that Monica and Chandler were rare. Like you only have that kind of love when you've been swallowing it down for awhile." Wow, look who's talking, Joe.

"Yeah, maybe." She walked up the stairs before him, and he followed, pulling out his keys. "So why did you pick the old building? You could have picked a ton of a places to be and you're back here."

He nodded, climbing the second to last flight of stairs before turning and climbing the last bit before reaching his door. "I wanted a place that felt like home for awhile. After the split with Alex, I wanted things back to the way they were, like before everyone moved and before I went to LA." She fell quiet and some part of him wondered if he had set too much onto her shoulders.

It wasn't exactly public knowledge that he and Alex weren't together anymore. He hadn't talked about it too much and he didn't plan on doing it any time soon. He knew how his friends could be; the person who was either broken up with or doing the dumping was always blamed. And in this case, it was neither.

Once he opened the door, he turned on the light and entered, peeling his coat from his shoulders and setting it on the table. Old habits die hard. Not as hard as Hans Gruber in the actual Die Hard but the point still stood. "What are you feeling for dinner?"

"Something simple; something that says, 'Joey is finally home.'" She sat on one of the chairs at the counter top, resting her elbows on the surface.

He gave a smirk and pulled out his phone, looking through his contacts and pressing the call button. "It's been ten years but I still have their number."

"Who's number?"

"The only place that can make the Joey special the right way." He heard the phone pick up and heard a voice on the other end, listening to the specials. "I'd like the Joey special, actually. Two large pizzas with-"

"Stuffed crust and extra cheese! You're still legendary here, you know. We missed making the usual order for you." It was true, he was one of the regulars, sending hundreds down the drain every few months by ordering so many. "We'll have it there in 35 minutes. The same address you used to live at?"

"Absolutely." He hung up the phone and looked over to one of his oldest friends, a small look of embarrassment flooding over his face. "They still know me down there. I guess my money got spent well." He was quiet for a moment before pulling two beers out of the fridge and holding one out to her. "Since I don't have the fancy stuff that you used to keep in my fridge, deal with a good drink."

She rolled her eyes and took a drink, closing her eyes as she swallowed. "Damn, it's been a long time." She placed a hand over her chest and took a deep breath. "You know, some melon flavored vodka wouldn't kill you and it would help your drink collection."

He laughed and shook his head, his nose wrinkling slightly. "Unless you're moving in again, it will kill me."

The night was winding down, the last slice in his hand when he heard a sniffle. Joey looked up and he saw Rachel wipe something from under her eye. His eyebrows furrowed together, trying to understand why she was upset. "What's wrong?"

She paused, a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes becoming prominent now. "It's just... While this was nice, it'll be the last we see of each other for while, most likely. We spent all that time apart and we can't just mend it back together. I just don't want to go back to friends who didn't talk anymore."

He reached a hand out to hers across the counter, his brown orbs holding her gaze captive with a look intense enough to send the hair on the back of his neck standing up. "Don't worry about me going anywhere. I know that we drifted, but part of it was how much actual distance there was between us. And that distance isn't there anymore. You know where I live, which coffee shop I'll always prefer; don't become a stranger again, Rachel. You can see how well that went for us in the first place. With everything that's going on, we should at least stick together."

And while some part of him meant it as only a friend, the other part meant something more, like he could feel everything he had once felt for her awakening inside him again. He knew he'd have to fight it, have to keep himself in check again, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep himself from falling.