Ross and Rachel: What happens next?

Chapter 11

Rachel took a deep breath and began to walk further into the room and closer to Ross. She didn't get much further before she broke down into tears again 'Why can't I do this? I have to be strong for Ross' she thought to herself. Just then Monica returned from calling Chandler, and saw Rachel in the room. She went in behind her and stopped next to her.

"Oh my god...." She started, looking at Ross, "You okay, Rach?" She asked, holding her arm

"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine" she managed to say through her tears

"You can do this, I'm here with you and I'm not gonna leave. Chandler, Phoebe and Joey are on their way" Monica said, trying to reassure her, "Come on" she held Rachel's arm and slowly walked her over to Ross's bed.

He laid there lifelessly but peaceful. There were quite a lot of machines and tubes connecting him up and his face had a few cuts and his neck was in a brace. Rachel stood there for a minute looking at him, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She got hold of his hand, "Ross" she said sympathetically, "I love you so much. Remember that. You're gonna get through this and we're gonna be a happy family again. I need you. Emma needs you. And the new baby needs you. We're not gonna let you go anywhere" the more she said, the harder it was for her to talk. She held his face with her hands and gently kissed his lips.

She came away and looked at Monica. Monica had tears all down her cheeks and she was covering her mouth with her hands so that she wouldn't start crying hysterically. As soon as Rachel saw this, she started crying more. They hugged each other and Rachel rested her head on Monica's shoulder.

"He is gonna be okay, isn't he?" Rachel asked

"Yeah, yeah of course he is" Monica said, trying to smile

A little while later, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey showed up. Monica had gone to the waiting area to get her and Rachel some coffee and she saw them walking up. She ran over to Chandler and hugged him and started crying again

"Thank god you're all here" she said, wiping her tears

"So what's happened to him?" Chandler asked

"He... Umm... Swerved to dodge a cat or something and then her hit a lamp post... The doctor said he could have some brain damage when he wakes up" She broke down into tears again into Chandler's chest, he hugged her tight and the other two started to tear up

"Oh my god.... How's Rachel doing?" Joey asked

"She's a mess. She can barely look at him without breaking down." Monica said

"Poor Rach" Phoebe said, "Where is she?"

"She's in his room. I was just getting us some more coffee, do you guys want any?" Monica asked. They all shook their head, "Ok, well Ross is in here" She let go of Chandler, picked up the coffees and showed them to the room.

They went in and saw Rachel sitting down on a chair with her head on Ross's hand on the bed, asleep. Monica walked over to her to give her the coffee, "Rach? Rach, I have your coffee" she said quite quietly, she didn't really want to wake her because it was quite late now, she was just checking if she was awake.

Chandler, Phoebe and Joey walked in slowly, looking at Ross. They all stood round the bed not knowing what to say. They stood there for quite a while in silence.

A little while later, Rachel woke up. She brought her head up and looked at Ross and then looked over to the otherwise of the bed at Monica.

"You okay, Rach?" Monica asked

"Mhm... I feel a bit better after my nap" she replied, still quite weak

"Rach?" Joey said

Rachel looked to the side and took a double take as she saw them standing there, "Oh... Hi" She tried to smile

Joey walked over to her and put his arm around her, "I just wanna let you know, we're gonna be there for you through this. We're gonna be there to support you when you need it and a shoulder to cry on, I promise" he continued, and smiled at Rachel

She started to tear up, "Does that start now?" she said as she started to cry more. She leaned her head onto Joey's stomach and he put his arms round her, he pulled up another chair and she put her arms around him and her head on his shoulder. "Thank you" she managed to say. Joey smiled at her and hugged her tighter.

Monica, Chandler and Phoebe stood around watching, almost crying. They all wanted to cry just as much as Rachel but they knew they couldn't, because it would make her more upset.

Just then, Ross's hand started to twitch.

"Oh my god, did you see that?" Phoebe said

"What?" they all said

"His hand moved" Phoebe said,

just as it moved again

"Oh my god...." Rachel said, and she got up and got closer to Ross. She stroked his face with her hand, "Ross?"

His eye lids started to move and slowly opened, "Rach?" He said weakly

"Oh my god, Ross! You're awake!!" Rachel said as she kissed his cheek and hugged him

"Oh, thank god you're here, Rach!" he said, smiling at her. Then he looked around.

"Hey Ross, how you feeling?" Monica asked, "Do you remember anything?"

"All I remember is there was a cat in the road and I dodged it an hit my head... The next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital surrounded by all of you" he kind of laughed

Rachel didn't find it so funny, "Don't you ever do that again, ok?! I'd rather that you were safe than the cat!" she said... Then she kinda smiled too.

"We'll give you two some alone time" Monica said, as she gestured to the others to leave.

"You have no idea what I've been through!" Rachel started, "I've been so worried and I've think I've now officially run out of tears for life!" She said

"I'm not sure who's had it worse, me or you" Ross laughed slightly

Rachel smiled at him and then held his hand, "This had made me realise how much I do truly need you. I mean, I knew it already but I've realised I can't cope without you. You are my everything and I cannot possibly live without you... I kept thinking about what I would do if you didn't make it, but I couldn't. It just seemed impossible because, without you, I don't have a future. You ARE my future. If I don't have you, I don't have anything. Don't you dare ever leave me. I love you so SO much, Ross... and I always will"

Ross was speechless for a few seconds, "Aww sweetie, you know I could never leave you. You're my everything too and without you, I'm nothing. I love you more than anything, Rach"

She smiled at him, and then kissed him passionately.