Rachel's heart was bursting, hammering right out of her chest. She was surprised Ross didn't open the door just by hearing her heartbeat. She knocked, a bit more forcefully than intended, and in seconds Ross appeared at the door.
"Hey Rachel!" He grinned.
"Heyyyy, Ross. Buddy." She cringed as she playfully smacked his arm.
It was beginning to rain outside. Light patters on the window, dripping down the glass like fragile little angels.
"Well, do you need something important? I was actually just on my way to the store, and it's starting to storm, so…" He trailed off, expecting Rachel to interrupt like usual. But oddly, she kept her mouth shut like it was sealed with krazy glue. Her face paled a little, and beads of sweat popped out along her hairline. "Rachel… Are you okay? Are you sick? Do you need to sit down?" Ross asked.
"No, no, I'm fine." She half croaked, half whispered. She cleared her throat. "Um, actually Ross, this is pretty important. I think you should really sit down for this." She led him inside and sat him down on the couch.
His eyes, oh his eyes, so perfectly shaped seemed to be staring right through her, like he knew exactly what she was about to say. She opened her mouth, but all that came out were a few silent stutters. It was starting to rain harder now, light patters turning into loud plops. She gulped and found her mouth to be unnaturally dry. "Okay, Ross, you know, how… A few weeks ago… You and I… you know..."
"Oh, yeah." Ross nodded. "That was… fun."
"Nice, yeah, pretty nice. Um, but something else kind of happened that night. And you see, it's been kind of hard to deal with, and—"
"Oh Rachel. I know what you're trying to say." Ross interrupted, winking sheepishly.
"You do?" Rachel said hopefully, feeling finally returning to her numb face.
"Of course. You want me back. I'm just so… irresistible. You think we should get back together."
"Um, no…" Rachel said, growing irritated. Why was this so hard? "Ross, I'm pregnant." There. She had put it out there. It was no longer a secret. She breathed a sigh of relief, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Ross froze. A crack of lightning exploded out of the sky, lighting up the apartment. The rain was pouring now, thunder roaring in the distance.
He stuttered, "Wi… What… With who's baby?" He winced, anticipating the painful answer.
"I think that's a bit obvious." Rachel whispered so softly it was practically inaudible. She reached out and grabbed his arm. "And I know this seems crazy to you, and it's scary, I know it is! But I mean, we can make it through this, right?"
"But we used a condom!" He shouted forcefully, his face turning red.
"Ross, Ross! I know! Calm down, you know they don't work all the time."
"WHAT?" Ross was now on his feet, moving quickly towards his bedroom, from which he emerged several seconds later, holding a small box, studying the back of it intently. "Well they should put it in big black LETTERS!" He seemed almost on the verge of tears.
"Okay, how bout I just come back later, after you've had some time to think about this, let it soak in—"
"Oh no! You are waiting right here!" Ross cried, reaching for the phone. As he dialed the condom company's number, Rachel bit her lip, realizing this wasn't going to be as easy as she anticipated. Truth was, she was now dealing with two babies.
~.~
"Phoebe" Monica called from the kitchen.
"Yeah?" Phoebe called back from the couch, where she and Joey sat.
"When do you think you guys will be hungry? I've got grilled cheeses ready for dinner." She said as she stacked the final sandwich on the red platter on the counter.
"Ooo, food." Joey jumped at the sound and grabbed the first 3 sandwiches off the plate and sat down at the table.
"Thanks Mon, but I think I'll wait. I just ate." Phoebe responded, turning her head back to the TV, where a news report on a highway car chase shooting was playing. "Aw, damn that's gotta sting." She winced as the news report showed the driver crashing the car into the trees lining the street, then getting out and running.
"Phoebe, turn that off. It's starting to storm, I don't want to blow the TV out." Monica commanded, her throat tightening up. To her relief, Phoebe did as she was told without question. Monica refused to let herself think about the real reason she didn't want to watch the news report. It was eerily similar to the high speed chase that had ruined her and Chandler's first weekend away together.
Boy had she been mad. She wished she knew then what that weekend had brought them. Their first fight. Their first make-up. Their first initiation of a real relationship. The first time she had realized that she loved… "Chandler." She whispered. It was the first time she had said his name in days.
She just wanted to keep saying it. Over and over, never stopping. She longed to hear his voice, his deep, warm sarcastic voice. Just the thought of it brought tears to her eyes.
No. It was over now. She didn't want it to be over. But it was. She shook the tears from her face and turned and joined Phoebe and Joey at the table. "You're sure you don't want something, Phoebe? I made a lot…" She asked.
"Yes, Monica! I already ate, I told you." Phoebe snapped.
"What's your problem, Pheebs?" Joey interrupted. "I've never seen you in a bad mood."
"I'm not in a bad mood." Phoebe said, noticeably calmer. "I'm just… mad Monica made me turn the TV off." She scoffed, eyeing Monica, hoping her lie sounded convincing enough. She didn't want Monica knowing she had had lunch with Chandler earlier. Especially since they had been discussing what Chandler should say to her tonight.
"Phoebe!" Monica said, taken aback. She opened her mouth to keep talking but was interrupted by the door opening and Rachel walking in, followed by Ross, who was shouting into a phone.
"…This is not quality service! Yes, well, then do not expect my business anymore. Good day sir!" He screeched, slamming his phone on the counter.
"Ross, please." Rachel groaned. "It's not anyone's fault!"
"Woah woah woah, what's going on?" Joey interrupted.
"Well." Ross began, he face turning redder. "Thanks to a faulty condom, Rachel's having a baby. My baby."
The silence that followed thickened the air, Joey and Monica staring in shock, Phoebe rubbing Rachel's shoulder.
"When did you two…" Monica trailed off, wagging her finger between Rachel and Ross.
Rachel sighed, pulling up a seat at the table. "Nothing's going on between us. It was just one night."
"Yes, one, very productive night." Ross added in, sitting down next to Rachel, burying his head in his arms.
"Oh Ross." Rachel sighed rubbing his back. "Don't think you're obligated to be a part of all this, I know it's not something you were planning on—"
"No, Rachel. You don't possibly think you could raise this baby on your own, do you? I have to be there." Ross said.
"We'll all be there." Joey piped up, grinning with half a grilled cheese stuffed in his mouth.
"Aw, Joey." Rachel smiled softly.
"Of course we will." Monica squeaked, standing up and walking over to Rachel. "I can't believe you're having a baby! I'm gonna be an aunt!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around her.
"Um, Monica… You're already an aunt. Remember? Ben?" Ross poked in.
"Shut up this is Rachel's day!" Monica snapped back. Phoebe and Joey snickered, Rachel's eyes warmed with joyful tears and Ross rolled his eyes. He got up to leave.
"Wait, where are you going?" Phoebe shouted after him. "I thought we could celebrate or something."
"I uh, I actually think I'll just go home. I've got a lot of papers to grade."
"But Ross—" Rachel started.
"I've got a lot to do, Rach! I'm sorry. Maybe we can celebrate later this week. Night." And with that he was out the door.
The only noise audible was Joey's chewing. He happily munched away on his sandwiches, till he looked up and noticed all three girls staring at him. His chewing slowed and he asked "What?"
"Go talk to him!" Monica cried, gesturing towards the door.
"Why?" Joey whined.
"He's obviously upset, Joey." Phoebe piped up.
"Yeah and he's not gonna tell us!" Rachel said. "And he trusts you, Joey. Please!" She pleaded with her eyes.
Joey crossed his arms, he was not going to be a puppet in their games anymore. He could stand up for himself. But the burning look in their eyes seemed to set his seat on fire, for he jumped three feet in the air screaming "All right I'll do it!" He stormed out the door, muttering "Better name your baby Joey."
The three girls sat around the table, nibbling on sandwiches, not saying much. The rain continued to gush outside, lightning occasionally lighting up the sky, thunder exploding in the distance. Finally, Monica burst out the question she'd been trying so hard to keep inside. "So how's Chandler doing?"
Phoebe and Rachel exchanged a nervous look. They both stammered for a moment, "Okay" they chorused.
"I mean, I was just wondering. He's not staying here, I wanted to make sure he wasn't sleeping on the streets." She smiled weakly. Phoebe looked down for a minute, so Rachel took over.
"He's been staying at Ross'." She said quietly. "He's doing, okay… I guess."
"Oh." Monica replied, looking down. That was the answer she'd expected, but not the one she'd wanted. Maybe Chandler really didn't miss her. Maybe that was why he'd run away. "Guess that was to be expected." She muttered, grabbing the plates and bringing them to the sink.
"Monica, it's not like he's just bursting happy that you guys broke up!" Rachel said. "But what did you expect? He's been talking about this as much as you."
"Maybe I expected a little more than 'okay'. Maybe I just wanted a little emotion! Okay? I'm not expecting a sob story but at least prove to me that he didn't walk out because he hated me!" Monica didn't realize it till she had finished, but there were tears gushing down her cheeks.
"Monica, no one could hate you." Phoebe said after a moments silence.
A huge crash of thunder shook the building, lightning brightening up the apartment like it was the middle of the day. Rain continued to pound on the windows. Another shake, more rain, more lightening, more thunder. Suddenly, darkness.
Rachel, Phoebe and Monica screamed at the top of their lungs. It was completely black in the apartment, every single light gone out, pitch black outside.
"Shut up!" Monica screamed over them. "Calm down and let me find some flashlights." She began rummaging through drawers, finally finding one and flicking it on. A thick beam of light penetrated the darkness, shining on the kitchen table, Rachel curled up in chair, completely pale, Phoebe sprawled out on the table top, her eyes as big as the moon. "What the hell are you doing, Phoebe?" She asked. "God, just, get up and help me find some candles." She sighed and grabbed two more flashlights from the drawer.
In less than ten minutes, the thee were sitting huddled up on the couch, surrounded by candles and a menorah on the coffee table. The thunderous rain still continued to pour outside, unending.
"I don't think I've seen it rain this hard in years." Rachel finally spoke up.
"Yeah, back when everything was normal." Phoebe said.
"Phoebe!" Rachel snapped.
"Well I'm not just talking about Chandler! I'm talking about… everything." She sighed. "Before all this stuff happened. Before being adults came in the way of everything. We were so close. Now we're all…" She drifted off, leaving the apartment in silence again.
"Different." Monica finished. She heaved a sigh. "Yeah. I know."
"You know when I feel like we were the closest?" Rachel asked. "Back about 7 years ago. God has it really been that long? You know, when Ross and I first got together. Before Chandler and you happened, and this whole baby thing happened. Eventually we all kind of… grouped off. I don't know, maybe everyone gets to this point in their lives, where…You just can't be as close anymore. It's different when you're young."
"You can trust people and not care if you get hurt because you've got all these years in front of you. Now everything feels like a waste of time." Phoebe finished for her. The rain was starting to lighten, the thunder had stopped. But an eerie feeling loomed over all of them. How long they sat there was a mystery, but the rain eventually stopped, leaving the leaky gutter to make the only noise.
"I should probably go. I've got work tomorrow, and a Ross to deal with, and…" Rachel trailed off, grabbing her coat and purse from the floor. She turned and faced her friends. "Good night guys." She smiled and left, with Phoebe shortly after.
Monica sighed, and lay down on the couch. Another night spent alone, but she was getting used to it. The candle lights flickered on the wall, dancing around. Her eyes drifted shut slowly. Then suddenly, a rapid knocking slapped her awake. She sat straight up, then realized someone was knocking on the door. Phoebe probably forgot her coat. She thought, straightening up and waltzing over to the door. As soon as she swung it open, she suddenly realized why she shouldn't have.
"Monica." He said quietly.
A million thoughts were racing through her mind. Why the hell would you do this? Of course he'd come back! No. Why would he come back? Did he come here in the rain? Of course not, he's too wimpy. What am I supposed to say? "Chandler." She said in a voice more squeaky than she'd expected.
"Can I… come in?" He asked softly, barely looking up.
"Um… I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Monica. Please." He said again, softer this time, his eyes begging.
"Alright, fine. Come on in." She replied.