A/N: The views and numbers in this cold January month. You know what else warms my heart - reviews! I enjoy hearing from you all.
The Manhattan Mall buzzed with evening shoppers waiting to move on with their New Year's Eve plans. The stores were set to close later than normal for the holiday season. It was nearing eleven at night as Rachel bounded down the hall with her assortment of bags. Dateless for New Years, rather than accept a pity invitation from Monica to hang out, she opted for some retail therapy, her favorite kind of exercise. The elevator was in her sight as she pushed forward. "Hold the elevator please!" Rachel called out, immediately regretting her request when she saw who she would be riding with. "Oh," she said curtly, narrowing her eyes at her Monica's older brother and her ex-boyfriend.
"Changing your mind?" Ross asked dubiously, crossing his arms.
A thin line formed on Rachel's mouth. "Nope," she stated. "Staying put."
"Same here."
"You two know each other?" a third voice from the elevator called out. Rachel turned and saw an older gentleman in the corner of the space.
Ross said 'no' as Rachel responded with an 'unfortunately yes'.
"Could one of you press the button to close the door?" the gentleman asked.
Ross stretched one arm over Rachel as she ducked away.
"So which is it?" the man asked. "Seems like you know each other."
Rachel struggled to place her bags down, glaring at Ross. "We knew each other, or at least I thought we did," Rachel shifted herself to try to get comfortable in the small space.
The elevator began its descent to the bottom floor.
"I've known her since high school, not that she would remember," Ross scoffed.
Rachel narrowed her eyes at Ross. "I remember everything," she retorted as the elevator lights flickered, the space coming to a thundering halt. "What's happening?" Rachel screamed.
Ross, closest to the buttons, now all dark, closed his eyes. "The power's gone out; it seems that we're caught between floors."
"I wonder if anyone knows we're here," the gentleman said.
"We cannot be stuck!" Rachel insisted, fear being replaced with indignation.
"Well it seems like the universe doesn't care much for what you think," Ross said dryly, taking a seat on the floor.
"I am not sitting down here," Rachel glowered.
"Suit yourself." Ross turned to the gentleman, offering his right hand. "I'm Ross Geller."
"Felix Jones," the gentleman acknowledged, shaking Ross' hand. "Who's your lady friend?"
"I am not his friend," Rachel pointed out exasperated.
"Her name is Rachel," Ross explained, ignoring her response. "And to answer you're original question, we dated for just over a year, after she spent most of high school ignoring me."
"Well there wasn't much to notice," Rachel interjected with a smirk.
"I take it you two didn't come here together?" Felix ventured.
"You got that right," Rachel muttered. "Does the mall even know we're here?"
"The emergency button doesn't work," Ross noticed, "so we can't exactly call for help. My best guess is that we'll start moving as soon as the power comes on."
"Oh Mr. Scientist thinks he has all the answers," Rachel scoffed.
Ross shook his head. "If the cheerleader who peaked in high school has another idea, she is more than welcome to share it with everyone."
Rachel crossed her arms, saying nothing.
Ross turned his attention to Felix, attempting to get comfortable. "Are you okay over there?"
"I'll be fine," Felix said. "I guess I was in a hurry to get home too. I've got my wife at home."
Rachel's expression softened. "She didn't come with you today?"
"She's homebound at the moment, recovering from chemotherapy treatments."
Rachel and Ross took in a deep breath. "I'm so sorry," Rachel said, the first of the two to speak.
"Marilyn is going to be okay. I wasn't supposed to be out this late, but I lost track of time."
"Happens to everyone," Ross said quietly.
Rachel squatted down next to Felix, ignoring the questionable floor. "As long as she's going to be okay."
Felix nodded. "She's a tough lady, and we've got several other New Year's to celebrate together."
"How did you two meet?" Rachel asked.
"Funnily enough, she was a cheerleader and I was the AV volunteer; we didn't exactly run in the same circles either."
"Ross didn't you do a little audio visual work at Lincoln High?" Rachel asked.
Ross nodded. "I mixed it in with my other commitments."
"So it was prom season, and we were paired together to cover the event," Felix continued. "She already had a date lined up for the event, but I was planning on going alone. Well her date wound up standing her up at the last minute, so I offered to keep her company. After that, we were a couple."
Ross and Rachel shared another, more intimate look. Felix's story shared more than one parallel to their own prom story. The main difference was that at the last minute, Rachel's date Chip did arrive at the last minute.
"A beautiful story," Rachel admired.
"So you two were together since high school?" Ross asked.
"Not quite," Felix laughed. "We drifted apart after college, lost touch for a few years after, and then there was the letter."
"A letter?" Ross asked leaning in. He was afraid to look directly at Rachel, still smarting from the subject of her letter to him after all this time, kicking himself for falling asleep while reading it, and too prideful to admit it.
"What kind of letter?" Rachel ventured, her interest piqued even further.
"Marilyn enjoyed her diary, and she often reflected on the past."
"You don't say?" Rachel said, lowering her gaze.
Ross sensed Rachel's nerves and inched closer to her and Felix.
Felix closed his eyes, continuing his story. "Well there was one letter in particular that developed into a bit of contention between us. It had to do with why we separated in the first place. A who did what to whom scenario."
Rachel felt Ross put his arm around her. She didn't pull away or look him in the eye.
"It's silly at this point, the time that we spent apart," Felix said. "Long story short, we were able to put everything behind us and then we were inseparable – still are."
Rachel felt her eyes begin to sting with tears. "It's a beautiful story," she murmured, digging for a tissue out of her purse. Ross gently rubbed Rachel's back.
"I'm just hoping to make it home before midnight tonight," Felix said, closing his eyes.
"Surely someone at the mall must know that we're here," Ross commented, trying to be reassuring. "If I still had my work pager I would use it to get in touch with someone." The truth of the matter was that between the three of them, there was no device communicating them with the outside world, save the elevator phone that was out of commission.
"So Rachel, what brought you here today?" Felix asked in an effort to lighten the mood.
"Well," Rachel said slowly. "There's this running joke with my friends that I return most of the gifts that I get for holidays and special occasions." She made a point of looking at Ross. "I've even been told that I have no sentiment –"
"Rachel…" Ross attempted to cut her off but she continued.
"And maybe it's true," she shrugged. "Everything in my bag I got from store credit or cash because I'm difficult to shop for." Rachel let out a small laugh.
"I never should have said that about you," Ross said gently, referring to a Thanksgiving argument over Secret Santas and gift exchanges when Ross overheard that Rachel had a habit of returning gifts.
"Look at what I did today, why I'm locked in here," Rachel said, gesturing to her bags. "I returned a sweater that wasn't my color, a purse that clashed with everything, sunglasses that didn't frame my face, jewelry that…well you get the point."
"The point is that you are popular and beloved," Ross pointed out, reaching for her hand.
Rachel accepted his gesture. "Well I am popular."
"And I'm sorry about more than Thanksgiving," Ross said, lowering his head.
Rachel didn't need him to mention the 'more', the copy girl, the letter, the time apart. "Well I'm sorry too," she added quietly. "If I had reacted differently on our anniversary, or if I hadn't of thrown out the idea of a 'break'…" she caught his glance. It was as if they were the only two people in the elevator.
Ross was the next to speak. "You always do have great taste. If I had taken your advice, I might not have needed to come back and do a return on another ridiculous looking suit."
"Color?"
"I would best describe it as salmon," Ross said casually.
"A salmon suit?" asked Felix. "Sounds like a tongue twister."
"Sounds like fashion roadkill," Rachel laughed.
"Everyone in my department laughed too, in the middle of a meeting, so I came here to return it. Nothing else going on tonight. I didn't feel like bar hopping with Chandler and Joey."
"And I didn't want a pity party with Monica and Phoebe," Rachel shrugged.
"Felix, were you shopping for Marilyn?" Ross asked.
"More like our grandkids," Felix corrected. "I'm so out of touch with what all the kids are wanting – trying to buy ahead for next year."
"Well if it's fashion related, come see me anytime," Rachel grinned. "I work as an assistant buyer for Bloomingdale's in the city. So trends and returns really are what I specialize in," she joked.
"But she keeps the things that matter," Ross reminded encouragingly.
Rachel squeezed Ross' hand, grateful for the acknowledgement. "I've got a shoebox full of memories to prove it."
A wistful smile formed on Felix's mouth. "Those memories will keep you going – no matter what happens," he winked at them.
Rachel wanted to press further and ask Felix what he meant by 'whatever happens', but the yellow light of the elevator stopped her in her tracks.
"Lights on," Ross exclaimed, offering Rachel a hand to get up.
Rachel accepted the gesture and watched as Ross extended the same courtesy to Felix.
"Are you going to be okay?" Ross asked Felix, handing him his gift box.
"I am now," Felix said as the doors opened. "How about you two?"
"I'm going to make sure Rachel gets home safe." Ross looked to Rachel for confirmation.
Rachel nodded, secretly glad for the company. "It was great to meet you, Felix." Rachel hugged the older man goodbye.
"You two take care," Felix said, heading out the door.
Ross and Rachel shared a friendly look as Ross picked up Rachel's various bags. "Always a gentleman," Rachel appraised with a smile.
Ross opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a mall security guard, enforcing the very past closing time protocol. Ross nodded in acknowledgement as he ushered himself and Rachel to the mall exit.
Rachel lifted her arm for a taxi. "What time is it?"
"11:45. We were in there longer than I thought."
"I guess we're spending another New Year's Eve together," Rachel said as they slid into the vehicle.
Ross looked at her questioningly.
"Since we're heading home," Rachel clarified. "It'll be more than fifteen minutes in the cab on a busy night like tonight."
Ross nodded. "Happy New Year, Rachel."
"Happy New Year, Ross," Rachel seconded.