The One With Ross's Truth
The One With Emma's Coming Out Chapter 2
Notes: At family therapy Ross has a breakthrough and admits to Rachel, Emma, Monica and Chandler the story behind his mental breakdown in The One With Ross's Sandwich and how it impacted his relationship with Rachel and Emma.
It had been a few month since Emma and Ross started going to family therapy together. Things were going very well. One night after Ross dropped Emma at home Emma put the key in the door and saw Rachel at the stove cooking dinner.
"Daddy didn't want to come in and say hello to me?" Rachel asked
Emma shook her head. :No, Mom. I have a note for you for Dr. Weinburg though."
Rachel took the slip of paper from her daughter looking very confused. She opened it gingerly.
The note read:
Rachel, Ross has requested that you Chandler and Monica be at the next appointment with Emma. Please call me back as soon as possible to schedule a time. Thank you. Dr. Weinburg.
Rachel looked at her daughter. "What's going on honey? Is everything okay with you and Daddy?"
Emma shrugged. " I honestly don't know Mom. The only thing that comes to my mind is that maybe he wants to talk to all of us about the reason why he didn't want to help out with the child custody. I don't know why else he'd want you Auntie Monica and Uncle Chandler at the appointment and not Carol and Ben. Maybe he has talked to them separately.
"Well this would certainly be a relief after all this time wouldn't it sweetheart?:
Emma nodded slowly. "Yes Mom. it sure would."
Rachel kissed her daughter's head softly. "I'll call Auntie Monica after dinner and see when she and Uncle Chandler are free. Grab a plate.. Everything's ready."
"Okay Mom."
Two weeks later Rachel closed the boutique early due to the counseling appointment being at 3:30pm.
Rachel was surprised to see Jack and Richard also pull in,
Emma smiled at her grandfathers. "Grandpa Jack! Grandpa Richard! What are you doing here?"
Jack Gellar pulled his grand daughter into a tight hug. "Auntie Monica called us. Richard and I are sort of confused about why she wanted us to be here."
Rachel looked at her father in law. "Jack, do you remember how I told you that Ross didn't want Emma to have a male nanny because you thought he was too sensitive?"
"I do."
Rachel sighed. "Personally I think it has a lot to do with that and maybe that is part of why he did not accept Monica's adoption by Richard."
Tears gathered at the edge of Emma's eyes. "I hope we find out why Daddy has been so mean to me and Ben over the years."
Richard squeezed his granddaughter's hand . "Sweetheart , Grandpa Jack and I know how much you and your brother have been hurting. Hopefully today we'll find out why your father has been so cruel to the two of you."
Emma put her arm around her grandfathers. "I love you the two of you so much." she whispered.
Jack kissed Emma gently on the top of her head. "We love you too honey. We'll get to the bottom of things today. I promise."
Once everyone was settled in the counseling office Dr. Weinburg cleared her throat.
"Welcome, as you know Ross has called you here today to talk about why he has acted the way he has acted over the years. He has talked to Carol and Ben separately which is why they are not here. "
Rachel cleared her throat. "Why did he not want to meet with us all together?"
"As I'm sure you know Rachel Ben's last appointment with Ross did not go well."
"Was any decision made about the child custody?:
Ross stared at his ex-wife. "Yes, the child custody agreement that was put in place with Chandler and Monica in 2014 is still in place. The restrictions are not being lifted."
Jack Gellar looked at his son. "Why did your sister call Richard and I here today Ross?"
Ross sighed. "My behavior over the years has impacted my relationship with everyone in this family. I have finally taken accountability for my actions."
Monica let out an relieved sigh. "Thank god Ross. I think this makes everyone relieved and happy."
"So you're not going to have any kind of relationship with Ben Daddy?" Emma asked.
Ross sadly looked at his daughter . "No, honey. Ben does not want me in his life at all. I have bought this on myself and I totally regret my past actions."
Chandler looked around the room. " So why did you call all of us here today Ross? We are so confused."
Ross cleared his throat. "To apologize. You all deserve to hear this as a group. I have hurt all of you greatly. I regret not going to therapy long term after my marriage to Emily fell apart."
Monica and Chandler exchanged a look between each other. "We definitely agree with you Ross." she whispered.
His eyes met Rachel's filled with regret. "We also should have gone to couples therapy Rachel. I really regret not doing that. It would have really helped us"
Rachel let out an exasperated sigh. "Jesus Christ Ross. I tried to tell you this in 2002 but you never fucking listened to me."
Tears filled Ross's eyes. "I know honey. I'm so sorry for not agreeing with what you wanted me to do."
Rachel stood up and wrapped Ross in a strong hug. :I accept your apology sweetheart. I just wish it didn't take you so long to see things from my point of view."
"So your behavior wasn't just because of your co-worker eating your Thanksgiving sandwich?" Chandler said. He held back a snicker at this memory.
Ross shook his head. " The sandwich was a small part of my break down but not the whole cause."
"What else caused your breakdown son?" Jack Gellar asked
Ross looked at his father as tears gathered at the corners eyes. "The stress of trying to please you and Mom and be perfect all the time. I felt like a failure ever since my divorce from Carol."
Monica's jaw dropped. "You never told me this Ross. How come?"
"I was too embarrassed." Ross whispered.
Monica stood up, walked over to her brother and wrapped him in a hug. "Oh honey, I wish you told me and I could have helped you through it. I have gone through the same thing for a long time. That's why I was so overweight for so many years."
"Daddy why did you have so much trouble accepting Ben's sexuality? I am worried this might impact our relationship too." Emma asked.
"I wanted to achieve perfection in all aspects of my life. Including my children. That's why I didn't want Ben to play with a Barbie."
Jack Gellar cleared his throat and looked at his granddaughter. "It was a different generation when your father and Carol got divorced honey. Grandma Judy and I resented her for such a long time for cheating on him with Susan. When Ben came out as gay a few years ago we didn't want our past prejudices toward Carol and Susan to impact our relationship with you and your brother.
Emma looked at her grandfather. "You accept my sexuality though right Grandpa Jack?"
Jack kissed his granddaughter's forehead gently. "Of course I do honey. Who you love doesn't matter to me as long as you are happy I love Trevor as my own grandson and I will love your partner as my own grandson or grand daughter depending on whether you marry a boy or a girl."
"I love you Grandpa." Emma whispered. kissing Jack's cheek.
"I love you too sweetheart. Always."
"Do you think Grandma Judy would too?:
Jack shrugged. "I have no clue Emma. I have not spoken to her since we divorced.. I don't plan to talk to her again because of how she manipulated Grandpa Richard and I for so many years because she was embarrassed by her affair."
Emma looked at Rachel. "Are you going to change the child custody against Daddy Mom?"
"I mean technically you are an adult honey. You can make your own decision, Have you and Daddy been discussing this in your one on one sessions?"
Ross looked at his ex-wife. I owe you so much back pay for child custody Rachel from all that time you were in Paris by yourselves. I will pay you back as soon as I can."
"Why didn't you ever come to Paris to visit Daddy? Uncle Chandler, Auntie Monica, Jack and Erica always did." Emma asked.
Ross let out a sigh. : I really don't know honey. I really regret this and know how much it has hurt you."
" We really resent you for this Daddy, don't we Mom?" Emma asked
Tears gathered at the edges of Rachel's eyes. "Yes, we do honey. Do you still want to have a relationship with Daddy Em?"
Emma's eyes met Ross's. " Daddy, if you're not going to change your mind about disowning Ben where does our relationship stand? Are we even going to have one at all?:"
"Do you want to?" Ross whispered.
Emma looked around the room and her eyes met with Chandler's. She did not reply to her father right away.
"Princess, your father is asking you a question." Chandler whispered.
"Uncle Chandler, you've always been more like a father to me more than Daddy ever has."
Chandler let out a sigh.
"You have my heart always Emma but so does your dad. Won't you please answer his question? I know you're afraid honey. We're all right here for you."
Emma finally looked at Ross with tears at the edges of her eyes. "Do you accept my sexuality Daddy?"
Ross looked at the floor.
"Well Ross, what do you have to say for yourself.? Will you accept our daughter for who she is?" Rachel asked.
" I think our relationship goes deeper than just that Rachel and you know it." Ross said bitterly.
Monica's eyes immediately met with Rachel's and then Emma's"
" Ross your homophobia has impacted your relationship with Ben and as you can see it has impacted your relationship with Emma too." his sister whispered.
"Yes, I realize that Monica. I've been aware of this for a long time."
"So what's your answer to your daughter's question Ross?" Dr. Weinburg asked.
Ross's eyes finally connected with Emma's. My sweet Emma, I will always love you no matter what always realize that."
"I love you too Daddy." Emma whispered.
Ross let out a huge sigh. "I am so glad we've reconnected after all this time sweetheart. I know you've been so excited about restarting our relationship. I regret missing that time in Paris and seeing you grow up. I hate myself so much for this."
There was silence.
Ross cleared his throat. "I love you honey. I always will. After what has happened with Ben's reaction to being disowned I can't accept your sexuality. I've already hurt you enough. and I can't hurt you anymore."
Emma burst into tears. "Why are you such a jerk Daddy? I'm sorry but I am never going to change who I love to fit your idea of a perfect family. I shouldn't have to."
" I'm sorry sweetheart."
"No, I don't think you are. If you were really fucking sorry then you would take what happened with Ben as a learning experience and work that into improving your relationship with me."
Chandler pulled Emma close to him kissing the top of her head. "I'm right here for you baby girl and I always be."
I love you so much Uncle Chandler." Emma whispered.
"I love you too sweetheart. Just let those tears flow." Chandler's eyes which were filled with rage connected with Ross's.
"Monica and I have resented you for so many years.. I thought you were capable of changing. I was clearly mistaken."
"I do love Emma. I love Ben too.
"If you can't see how upset your daughter is then I don't know what else to tell you Ross. All the evidence that you need is right in front of you."
Hot tears were falling down Rachel's cheeks. "All these years I thought that you were working on growing up and maturing. I guess I was wrong. Get the fuck over yourself Ross."
Monica put a comforting arm around Rachel and glared at her older brother angrily.
"Fuck you Ross. I am never going to forgive you for this. Stay away from our family forever."
"But what about Jack and Erica Mon?"
"I can almost guarantee they won't want to have anything to do with you. Ben and Emma are like older siblings to them and they will NEVER forgive you for how much you have hurt them EVER!
"Do you still want the child custody money Rachel?" Ross asked.
Jack Gellar exchanged a glance with Richard and then cleared his throat.
"Richard and I figured something like this would end up happening. Ross, I think you should respect your sister's wishes and leave them alone and leave Rachel and Emma alone too. The damage you have done to our family is not repairable no matter how many apologies you give/. Words only mean so much unless actions back them up."
"That doesn't answer my question about the money Dad." Ross said looking confused.
Richard do you want to take the lead on this one?" Jack asked.
Richard nodded. "Yes, I do. Carol called me up and asked me to ask you to send any child custody checks for Ben to me from now on. Rachel, do you want to do the same thing for Emma?"
Rachel nodded. "Thank you so much Richard. That's an excellent idea."
"Is this okay with you Ross?" Richard asked.
"I wish Carol had consulted with me about this first. When did you talk to her?"
"Last night. I filled Monica and Chandler in about how this is being handled this morning and all of Ben's child custody money will go toward Ben and Trevor's ceremony. "
"Emma, do you want Uncle Chandler and Auntie Monica to take over Daddy's spot in the child custody agreement?" Rachel asked.
Emma nodded. "I wish they'd done that ten years ago Mom. Trust me. They were always there for me when Daddy wasn't."
"We love you so much honey." Monica whispered.
"I love you too Auntie Monica." Emma kissed her godmother's cheek greatly.