Hello Friends Fans!

I know it's been a while, but please don't blame me. I found out that I'm pregnant and since then everything was…a mess!

Anyway, a little New Year's gift, a new short ficlet.

I hope you enjoy it.

Rossella

Episode: The One Where the Stripper Cries (10x11)

Waiting for Rachel to come back had never felt so tiring before.

Ross was anxious to meet her, to clarify things.

He didn't even know if he felt so disappointed for finding out that his first kiss with Rachel had in fact been his first kiss with his sister, or because Chandler had kissed Rachel before he had the chance to.

Ross was so caught up in his thoughts, that he didn't notice Rachel come in with Emma in her lap.

"Well, these are four hours of my life that I won't get back." She complained while putting Emma in her playpen.

"How's the stripper?"

Rachel caressed her daughter's face before standing in front of Ross, arms crossed and an annoyed expression on her face.

"Turned out, he was very lucky that we took him to the hospital, apparently he has a heart murmur."

Ross frowned in surprise, "Oh my god!"

"He's gonna be fine, the doctors were incredulous when they found out that he's survived all these years doing that job." Rachel chuckled.

Ross nodded in silence, not very incline to laugh along. It didn't take Rachel long to realize that something was bothering him.

"Are you okay? How was the class reunion?" she finally asked, sitting on the couch next to him.

"Not so good…There was this old mate that both Chandler and I liked when we were in college and…well, we made kind of a pact never to go out with her."

"But Chandler now is married, you are not, and you wanted to break the pact." Rachel read his mind.

Ross smiled for her intuition, noticing for the umpteenth time that Rachel could still read him like an open book.

"Well, yes, but that's not the point. I spoke with her and I found out that Chandler hooked up with her in college, totally breaking the pact!"

"Wow…" Rachel nodded, smiling with approbation. "And why did he hook up with this girl? And believe me, I'm very surprised to find out that you guys were actually able to hook up with anyone, back then…"

Ross glared at her.

"You know, with the hair, and everything…" Rachel tried and explain herself, waving her hand around his face.

Ross shook his head, "Well, it seems that he was seeking for revenge. This pact involved other women that we both liked, and Chandler saw me making out with one of them, uhm, Adrienne Turner, during a party. It was Freshman Year."

Rachel thought about this for a few seconds, "Wait a minute, was that the night Monica and I came visiting you guys?"

"Yes!" Ross almost yelled, causing Emma to look at him from her position. "Sorry, sweetie."

"Ok, so that is why you were nowhere to be found that night?"

"Uhm…maybe." Ross admitted. "You remember not seeing me at all that night?"

"As a matter of fact, I remember nothing. I probably got drunk and…oh, I kind of remember kissing a guy, but…it's all confused, I don't know what happened and the morning after I woke up in your room and Judy came back to fetch us."

Ross thought that a knife in the back would hurt less than this conversation.

"Well…today we kind of figured out who was that guy that kissed you."

Rachel's eyes filled with unshed tears of joy as she stared at Ross with a hopeful expression, "It was you?"

For the first time after coming back from the reunion, Ross felt his heart melting. His eyes roamed over Rachel's face, he couldn't help but smile tenderly. How he wished that Rachel was right.

"No, Rach…I wish. But…uhm…it was Chandler. Chandler's the one who kissed you."

Rachel's expression changed comically. "Chandler?!" she yelled, causing Emma to look at her, this time.

"Sorry, sweetie." she excused herself. "How come he turned to me?"

"Apparently he wanted to get back at me and he thought to do it with the person I liked more than anybody."

Ross tried to tell her this without sounding too concerned, but when he glanced sideways at her, Rachel had a delighted expression on her face.

"I see." She said quietly. "So he decided to hit on me."

"Not only did he hit on you, you kissed!" Ross scolded her.

"Ross, I don't remember! And believe me, if I did, I'd try and forget it!" Rachel argued.

Ross calmed down, "Chandler said that as soon as you started to kiss you fell asleep, that's why you woke up in our bedroom, you slept all night on his bed."

"See? Mystery solved. Anyway, Ross, it's been more than fifteen years, I didn't even remember! Don't tell me you are mad at us for this, and…oh my god, did you tell Monica?"

Rachel was worried about her best friend's reaction, but Ross couldn't lie.

"Uhm…yes, this came out…together with another…little…uhm…detail."

Rachel looked intrigued by his reaction and decided to investigate further, "What? Now you have to tell me."

"No, no, Rach, this is too embarrassing."

"What?" Rachel urged him. "I know you wanna tell me…" she smiled widely.

Ross lifted his hands in a defensive movement, chuckling with nervousness.

"Fine, I'll call Chandler and Monica."

Ross stopped her from standing up, "Ok, all right, I'll tell you. When Chandler told me you passed out in our room, I got back to see if you were all right. I found you sleeping on my bed under a pile of coats…I wanted to kiss you on the forehead, but…you know it was dark and I accidentally kissed your lips."

"So…?"

"So…that wasn't you. You were sleeping on Chandler's bed, instead."

"Who did you kiss?" Rachel asked, squeezing her eyes with curiosity.

Ross closed his eyes, "I kissed Monica." He said in one breath.

Rachel burst out laughing. Hearing Ross telling this story almost made up for the fact that she didn't remember it.

"It's not funny, ok? I was sure that was the night we had kissed for the first time, and yet we didn't."

Rachel stopped laughing, "So why did you never tell me about it while we were together?"

"Uhm…I…I was embarrassed. I stole you that kiss, without your permission. I didn't want you to think I was some kind of a pervert." Ross realized that he still felt as embarrassed as that night.

"I still can't believe you kissed Monica." Rachel shook her head, ignoring what Ross had just told her.

Ross squeezed his eyes with suspicion, noticing that Rachel's reaction wasn't as exaggerated as he had thought it would be.

"Chandler already told you this, didn't he?"

Rachel nodded fast, "A little bit, yeah. He called me while I was coming back from the hospital."

Ross nodded and sneered in annoyance. He promised himself to kill his brother-in-law.

It took them a moment to look back at each other, both beginning to laugh again. Ross sighed heavily, making a mental note to add this day to the list of the most awkward moments of his life.

"So, how come you decided to get in your room and kiss me even if you had just fooled around with that Adrienne girl?"

"Well, when I had the chance I simply couldn't resist." Ross admitted, smiling to himself. "My room, you lying on my bed…kissing you was like a dream coming true."

Rachel smiled in return, "I know what you mean…so that's why you were so bothered before? Because of this Monica thing?"

"No, it's not that…"

"About Chandler and me?" Rachel was incredulous. "Ross, it's been a million years, don't be mad at Chandler. He's the only one of us who remembers, and this should help you understand how memorable that kiss was."

Ross chuckled for her remark.

"I promise you, it means nothing."

"Ok." Ross finally conceded, smiling tenderly at her.

Rachel felt relieved for his reaction and took a moment to check on Emma, who was still playing with her toys.

"So…" Ross ventured to express a thought that suddenly came to his mind. "If that wasn't your most memorable kiss…which one was?"

He asked cautiously, almost fearing that Rachel would answer by mentioning some other guy. Some Tag, or Joshua…if she were to mention Paolo, he would certainly throw up.

Rachel rubbed her chin, thinking hard. She had a soft smile on her lips, probably caused by some memories.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that all our friends think our kiss at the coffee house was the best one. I mean, it took me fifteen minutes to describe it to Monica and Phoebe that night."

Ross's heart made a leap. She was talking about them, excluding other men from her reasoning. He nodded nonchalantly, trying to feign come composure.

"But the night we watched that video of our prom…"

Ross sighed to himself. This statement gave him some courage to look back at Rachel, nodding in agreement. Even her eyes were smiling.

"I don't know, maybe the fact that we were there, with our friends…or maybe it's just because I finally understood what kind of person you really were and that I wanted to be with you…Yes, that's my most memorable kiss."

Ross tried and ease the tension, "Are you telling me that counting all the guys you went out with, if you made a list of Rachel Green's best kisses you would attribute the first two to geeky Ross Geller?"

Rachel chuckled for his joke, but she took his hand in hers. "Ross, in a list of my top ten all the memorable kisses would be attributed to you."

Ross blushed somehow, and he squeezed her hand a little bit tighter, "Well, thank you."

"There's nothing to thank me for, this is just the simple truth. What we had, our relationship, us being together…there was never another man out there like you, I thought this was way too easy for you to see."

Ross wanted to tell her how hardly easy it was for him to understand. To realize that Rachel had loved him so much and he had been so stupid and scared to let her go after making the greatest mistake of his life.

"Hey, while we are on the subject…what about you?"

Ross opted for some hilarity to ease the tension. "Well, I have to think about it. I'm uncertain if I prefer the kiss that Carol gave me to say goodbye after telling me that she was a lesbian or that passionate peck between Emily and me after saying your name at the altar…"

Rachel laughed heartily for his joke. Quintessential Ross Geller.

Ross sighed, "Rach, when you make up a mental image of how being with one a person would be, sometimes that idea creates such high expectations that you eventually get disappointed."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

"That didn't happen with us." Ross clarified. "With you…since the beginning, since our first kiss…everything just clicked."

Rachel smiled softly, touched by his words.

"You remember our first kiss, don't you?"

"The coffee house, sure."

"Nope." Ross grinned. "Remember that night we went to the laundry together and I taught you how to use a washer?"

"Oh, really? I don't think I remember…"

As soon as Ross looked at her in disbelief, Rachel made a mischievous grin to let him understand she was just kidding.

"Of course I remember, and…oh my god!" Rachel put a hand on her mouth. "We kissed that night?"

"You kissed me. And then I…hit my head."

She chuckled, remembering every detail of that night for the first time in a while.

"I know that you weren't in love with me back then, but…I cherish that moment. Definitely in my top ten!" he concluded. Rachel couldn't help but smile for his tenderness.

"And what about your favorite?" Rachel asked, trying to act blasé but too curious to let this be.

"I know there's always been…enthusiasm, between us…"

Rachel chuckled for his choice of words.

"But I think I'd pick a different kind of kiss."

"Really? Which?"

"Our last kiss." Ross finally stated.

Rachel made a mental leap to retrieve that particular memory from the back of her mind, finding out that Ross was talking about the gentle peck they had shared in the delivery room soon after Emma's birth.

A wavering grin appeared on her lips, "Why?" she asked softly.

Ross just shrugged, "It wasn't just about the two of us. It involved you, me, and Emma."

Rachel eventually succumbed to an impulse and stroke his cheek, trying to convey all her gratitude in that gesture.

They both automatically turned their faces to look at Emma, who was still playing quietly.

"You know." Rachel tried and elaborate her feelings. "It doesn't matter what happens or…or – who I am with, who you are with. You are still the sweetest sentimental man I've ever met."

Ross blushed again, adverting his eyes from hers.

"And forget what I've said in the past. I'm glad that Emma is our daughter."

"Yeah. Me too." He agreed, squeezing Rachel's hand tight and smiling reassuringly at her.

At that moment, as if on cue, Emma spoke. "Mom… Da-da?"

Ross and Rachel both stood up at the sounds of their daughter's voice.

"Hey sweetie." Ross took her from the playpen directly into his arms.

Emma smiled delightfully as soon as she noticed her parents smiling and caressing her with such devotion. Ross kissed the little one's forehead, causing Rachel to grin almost ecstatically. Maybe they weren't the more conventional family, but their baby seemed not to care. As long as they were together, Emma felt beloved and safe. And that was all that mattered.

Almost as if reading her mind, Ross spoke softly to his daughter, "Mommy and daddy are here."

Rachel leaned almost imperceptibly her head on Ross's arm while her hand rested on his back. Even if she didn't intend her movements to be so noticeable, she didn't really care.

At that moment all she wanted was to spend some quality time with Ross and Emma.

Looking like a family. After all they had been through, they deserved this.

How long was it, six years since she and Ross have been a couple?

Make it almost seven.

And yet, at times like these, all Rachel could think about was that maybe the past was in the past.

Ross could be irritable and annoying when it came to the stupidest things, but when the going got tough, he always managed to become the responsible caring man she'd fallen in love with. And he was still the most dedicated father she had ever met.

She was more than grateful to still have him in her life, if only for that.

On the other hand, Ross hadn't missed to notice Rachel's gentle touch.

He still didn't know what the future would hold, but things were certainly getting clearer.

For starters, he knew that he would never take this woman off his mind. Rachel was and would always be part of his life, with the (frightening) prospect that Ross would never love anyone else.

But looking at her, making faces to get Emma to laugh and listening to them giggling joyfully, Ross realized something else.

It was time to give the three of them another chance to be a real family.

Not now, not immediately. They had so many things in store in the next few days.

Phoebe's wedding was a priority at that moment; Their friend deserved spending the best day of her life like a queen, supported by the gang and being the real star.

Certainly she didn't need some Ross and Rachel drama to divert the attention from her big day. Even if Ross had a feeling that Phoebe would be ecstatic to know that he wanted to give his relationship with Rachel another shot.

And when he heard Rachel starting to sing Baby Got Back to their baby daughter only to get a big laugh from her, Ross became even more resolute.

He really needed to make up his mind and act. Talk. Do something.

Ross couldn't imagine that only in a few weeks Dr. Green's unexpected heart attack would give him a huge chance to sort his feelings out.