third person pov
"and here's little ben nodding off..." the group 'awes', watching ross flick through photos of his newborn son. rachel is curled up tightly against him, pouting at the photos.
"awww look at aunt monica's little boy!"
"oh, look, he's got ross's haircut!" phoebe exclaims and rachel takes the picture.
"oh, let me see! oh, god, is he just the sweetest thing? you must just want to kiss him all over!" she fawns, stroking the photo gently. ross watches her closely, practically drooling over her.
"that would be nice." he mutters, and chandler makes a 'pfft' noise. gianna glances up from the coffee she was drinking beside joey, raising an eyebrow at chandler.
"pardon?"
"nothing, just a little extra air in my mouth. pfft. pfffft." chandler stumbles, wandering towards joey and gianna to escape rachel. the waitress hands joey his check and his eyes widen slightly.
"hey, chan, can you help me out here? i promise I'll pay you back." he asks, looking up at the man beside him.
"oh, yeah, right, okay...including the waffles last week, you now owe me...17 jillion dollars." chandler's reply was sarcastic, gianna shooting him a look before taking the check from joey.
"I will, really. I'll pay you back this time."
"and where's this money coming from?" gianna asks, handing the money to joey.
"well....I'm helping out down at the nyu med school with some...research."
"what kind of research?" ross calls loudly, overhearing the conversation as they continued to look at photos of ben.
"oh, just, y'know...science."
"science. yeah, I think I've heard of that." gianna teases, everyone now looking at joey for an answer. he sighs,
"...it's a fertility study." rachel laughs, the group's jaws dropping open.
"oh, joey, please tell me you're only donating your time." monica mentions.
"alright, come on you guys. it's not that big a deal. really, I mean, I just go down there every other day and...make my contribution to the project." there was a shared grimace before joey continues. "hey, hey, but at the end of the two weeks, I get seven hundred dollars." the group nods, glancing at each other before phoebe speaks.
"ooh, wow, you're gonna be making money hand over fist!"
*
the night of rachel's birthday, monica, phoebe and gianna were setting up decorations and food for their gathering. gianna was finishing tying balloons down and hanging streamers whilst monica and phoebe continued with the food.
"okay, we got the cole slaw, we got the buns..."
"we've got the ground-up flesh of formerly cute cows and turkeys, ew..." phoebe interrupts, handing the meat to monica who grimaces slightly. gianna finishes hanging a streamer by the door as it opens, joey and chandler entering with a bag of charcoal.
"men are here."
"we make fire. cook meat." joey adds, both of the boys adopting a deeper voice. gianna stood on a chair watching them.
"then put out fire by peeing." chandler continues. "no get invited back." he adds, glancing at gianna on the chair.
"very macho." she teases, looking down at the boys. joey goes to sit at the table as she speaks again. "could the men help me down please?" chandler is relatively quick to place the bag of charcoal down and offer his hand to gianna. as she steps down, her free hand lands on his shoulder, his arm reacting by winding behind her back. it looked like they were about to waltz.
"oh joey, melanie called, said she's gonna be late." monica intterupts and the pair separate softly, smiles soft as they glance up at each other.
"oh, ok."
"so how are things going with you two? is she becoming your special someone?" gianna teases, waving her hand like a fan in front of her eyes.
"i don't know, she's uh...she's pretty great." joey nods, leaning back as gianna rubs her brother's shoulders lovingly.
"yeah? what does she think of your little science project?" monica asks, mixing the cole slaw.
"what, you think i'm gonna tell a girl i like that i'm also seeing a cup?" the group chuckles softly at joey's response, gianna making her way over to the fridge.
"man's got a point."
"well, the tough thing is, she really wants to have sex with me." joey adds, shaking his head in despair.
"crazy bitch." gianna laughs at chandler's sarcasm, watching his take a sip of his beer.
"yeah, well, i still got a week left to go in the program, and according to the rules, if i want to get the money i'm not allowed to conduct any...personal experiments, if you know what i mean." he explains, glancing across the group. gianna steps closer to him and squeezes his shoulder.
"joey...we always know what you mean."
*
some time had passed, the boys beginning the fire out on the balcony whilst phoebe and monica finished the sides. gianna had made herself comfortable on a chair outside with the boys, glass of wine in hand and a blanket wrapped around her.
inside, ross stepped through the front door with luggage in his hands.
"hey."
"hey."
"how long did you think this barbeque was gonna last?" phoebe teases, looking between ross and the bags.
"i'm going to china."
"jeez, you say one thing, and..."
"youre' going to china?" monica repeats in disbelief, placing her bowl down.
"yeah, i-it's for the museum. someone found a bone, we want the bone, but they don't want us to have the bone, so i'm going over there to try to persuade them to give us the bo-it's a whole big bone thing." he begins explaining, giving up as he notices the girls expressions. "anyway, i'm gonna be gone for like, uh...like a week, so, uh if you wanna reach me, you can't. so here's my itinerary..." he hands a sheet of paper to monica. "um...here's a picture of me-"
"ooh let me see!" phoebe exclaims, taking the photo from ross.
"could you take it to carol's every noe and then, and show it to ben, just so he doesn't forget me?"
"yeah." monica nods, wrapping her brother in a half hug.
"hi, ben. i'm your father. i am...the head. aaaaahhhh...." phoebe acts, holding the photo up to her face before seeing ross staring at her. "alright, this barbeque is gonna be very fun."
"oh, no, she's out having drinks with carl." monica replies, going back to stirring.
"oh." ross pauses. "hey, who's carl?"
"you know, that guy she met at the coffeehouse." monica continues.
"no."
"oh, well, see, there's this guy she met at the-"
"-at the coffee house, right."
"so you do know who he is!" phoebe exclaims, stopping what she was doing to find ross staring at her. "sorry."
"okay, i'm gonna go say goodbye to the guys." ross starts to walk towards the balcony.
"oh, hey, y'know what? tell them that bone story." phoebe calls and ross doesn't even bother to send her a dirty look, instead climbing through the window.
"hi."
"hey!" ross sighs, looking to the boys and gianna. she sat in the corner behind the fire, chandler beside her, hand flat against the back of her chair to lean on.
"...i have to go to china."
"the country?" joey asks excitedly, and ross glances dumbfounded at him.
"no, no, this big pile of dishes in my mum's breakfront." ross jokes, glancing back to gianna and chandler. "do you guys know who carl is?"
"uh, let's see...alvin...simon...theodore...no." gianna hits chandler softly at the hip after his joke, not noticing him glance down at her adoringly, his hand slipping to rest behind her head on the chair.
"well, rachel's having drinks with him tonight?"
"oh no! how can she do that when she's never shown any interest in you?!" joey exclaims, ross glaring at him not so subtly.
"forget about her." chandler nods, gesturing with his beer.
"he's right, man. please. move on. go to china. eat chinese food." joey continues.
"course there, they just call it food."
"yeah...i guess, i don't-i don't know. alright, just...just can you give her this for me, ok?" ross stammers, handing gianna a small gift bag and she nods softly.
"listen, buddy, we're just looking out for you." joey places a hand softly on ross' shoulder.
"i know."
"we want you to be happy. and i may only have a couple beers in me, but....i love you, man." joey continues, wrapping ross in a hug.
"i'm still on my first. i just think you're nice." chandler nods, ross giving a manly nod in response before he bids farewell through the window.
*
"anyway, that's when me and my friends started this whole fruit basket business. we call ourselves 'the three basketeers'." joey's girlfriend melanie sat on his lap, telling the group about her business.
"like the three musketeers, only with fruit."
"oooohhh." rachel now sat at the table, leaning hard against her hand as they listened to melanie. gianna leaned against the back of chandler's chair, listening to the conversation.
"ok, how does everybody like their burgers."
"oh, no, no, no. presents first. food later." rachel jumps up from her chair and makes her way into the living area. the group follows behind, gianna sitting closely beside chandler as melanie and joey occupied the other end of the couch. "ok...i'm guessing this is from..." rachel holds a fruit basket in her hands, glancing over at melanie. "well, thank you, melanie."
"okay, this one right here is from me." chandler points out excitedly, pushing a gift bag toward rachel and throwing a cheeky grin back at gianna.
"okay, ah, it's light..." she shakes it "...it's rattles, it's..." rachel's face falls slightly as she opens it. "travel scrabble! oooh, thank you." she smiles, handing the box back to chandler. he glances behind to gianna, her bottom lip slipping out slightly to pout at him. softly she reaches over and wraps her hand around his bicep and pulls him back into the couch, her chin resting on his shoulder, their attention back on rachel. "this one's from joey....feels like a book. think it's a book...and....it's a book!" rachel exclaims dejectedly when she opens the present.
"oh, it's dr suess!"
"that book got me through some tough times." joey nods, melanie stroking the back of his neck.
"there is a little child inside this man!"
"yes, the doctors say if they remove it, he'll die." chandler jokes and gianna hits his leg softly, trying to hide the smile on her cheeks.
"who's this from?" rachel asks, picking up the small gift bag in front of her.
"oh, that's from ross." gianna smiles, watching rachel open it excitedly.
"oh...oh my god. he remembered."
"remembered what?" phoebe asks, the group trying to see what rachel was holding in her hand.
"it was like months ago. we were walking by this antique store, and i saw this pin in the window, and i told him it was just like one my grandmother had when i was a little girl. oh! i can't believe he remembered." rachel sighs, feeling her heart flutter.
"well, sure, but can you play it on a plane." chandler offers, patting the scrabble box.
"oh, it's so pretty. this must have cost him a fortune." phoebe adds, reaching across gently to turn rachel's hand to see the pin.
"i can't believe he did this."
"come on, ross? remember back in college, when he fell in love with carol and bought her that ridiculously expensive crystal duck." chandler laughs, the group all staring at him.
"what did you just say?" rachel chokes, almost frozen as she watches chandler closely. gianna sits back, letting go of chandler's arm to move closer to her brother.
"ahem..um...crystal duck."
"no, no, no, the um, the 'love' part?" chandler begins to panic as the realisation sets in for rachel.
"f-hah...flennin..."
"oh my god..."
"oh no no no no no...." chandler mutters, rubbing his temples.
"that's good, just keep rubbing your head. that'll turn back time." gianna scolds, patting chandler's thigh as he panics more. rachel sat silently on her chair, staring at the pin in her hands.
*
"i mean, this is unbelievable." rachel mutters, now standing and pacing beside a panicking chandler.
"i know. this is really, really huge."
"no it's not. it's small. it's tiny. it's petite. it's wee." chandler replies, pacing beside rachel.
"nuh-uh. i don't think any of our lives are ever gonna be the same ever again." phoebe continues, shaking her head as she goes to the kitchen.
"ok, is there a mute button on this woman?"
"i think this is so great! i mean, you and ross! did you have any idea?" monica smiles, taking rachel's hands gently.
"no! none! i mean, my first night in the city, he mentioned something about asking me out, but nothing ever happened, so i just..." rachel quickly sits beside joey, gianna watching from the kitchen with phoebe. "well, what else did he say? i mean, does he, like want to go out with me?"
"well, given, that he's desperately in love with you, he probably wouldn't mind getting a cup of coffee or something?" joey offers, holding melanie on his lap.
"ross? all this time? well, i've got to talk him!" rachel stands quickly, heading towards the kitchen.
"h-he's in china!"
"the country!" the boys exclaim, trying to stop her from leaving.
"no, no, wait. his flight doesn't leave for another forty-five more minutes." monica points out, holding ross' itinerary.
"what about the time difference?"
"from here to the airport?" gianna laughs, watching chandler through his hands up in despair.
"yes! you're never gonna make it!" he continues, watching rachel approach the door for her coat.
"rachel, what're you gonna say to him?" monica calls, standing beside gianna.
"i-i-i don't know."
"well then maybe you shouldn't go."
"he's right, cause if you're just gonna, like break his heart, that's the kind of thing that can wait." joey adds to chandler's plead, hoping rachel wouldn't leave.
"yeah, but if it's good news, you should tell him now."
"i don't know. maybe i'll know when i see him." rachel mutters, phoebe takes the photo of ross and holds it to her face.
"here, look, alright. does this help?"
"noooo...look, all i know is that i cannot wait a week until i see him. i mean, this is just too big. y'know, i just i've gotta talk to him. i gotta..ok i'll see you later." rachel stammers, opening the front door.
"rachel, i love you! deal with me first!" chandler exclaims, grunting in defeat when rachel closes the door behind her. gianna is quick to hit his arm as she walks past, putting her rubbish in the bin.
*
rachel had returned a few hours later, tired and unsuccessful in her attempt to speak to ross at the airport.
"uh, so, rach...did you wanna save this wrapping paper, i mean, it's only a little bit torn...so are you gonna go for it with ross or should i just throw it out?" gianna glares at monica's question, her attempt to inadvertently ask rachel about ross.
"i don't know, i don't know..." rachel repeats, taking the wrapping paper and placing it in the bin. "i thought about it all the way there, and i thought about it all the way back...and uh, oh, you guys, y'know, it's ross. y'know what i mean? i mean, it's ross." rachel groans, sitting at the table.
"sure."
"i don't know. i mean, this is just my initial gut feeling...but i'm thinking...oh i'm thinking it'd be really great." the girls burst into a flurry of excitement, crowding around rachel at the table.
"oh my good, me too! oh! oh, we'd be like friends-in-law! y'know what the best part is? the best part is that you already know everything about him! i mean, it's like starting on the fifteenth date." monica exclaims, cheering beside rachel. gianna's lip twitches slightly, faulting her excitement for rachel and turning her focus onto herself.
"yeah, but y'know, it's...it would be like starting on the fifteenth date." she mutters, taking a seat beside rachel.
"another good point."
"no, i mean, i mean, when you're at the fifteenth date, y'know, you're already in a very relationshippy place. y'know, it's...you're committed." gianna continues slowly, staring at her own hands gesturing on the table top.
"huh?"
"well, i mean, then what happens if it doesn't work out?" phoebe asks, looking down at rachel.
"why isn't it working out?" monica questions quickly.
"i don't know...sometimes it doesn't."
"is he not cute enough for you?" monica is quick with her continual questions.
"no!"
"does he not make enough monkey?"
"no, i'm just..."
"maybe there's someone else." phoebe interrupts and monica's jaw drops.
"wha-"
"is there? is there someone else?"
"no! there is...there is no one else!" rachel stammers.
"then why the hell are you dumping my brother?!" whilst rachel and monica argued, gianna kept staring at the table. she'd come to the realisation, albeit through her friends that maybe her and chandler wasn't ideal. maybe.
*
a week had gone by, and rachel hadn't stopped thinking about ross and what to do, however, she decided to see carl again. perhaps she just needed to forget about it.
gianna, on her way to see monica had decided to stop by the boys apartment and walked in to find chandler surrounded by fruit baskets.
"wow, someone's hungry." she teases, setting her coat and purse on the counter.
"well, i could never get enough vitamins y'see?" chandler replies, gesturing to the fruit around him. "banana?"
"uh, no thanks." she laughs softly, chandler placing the banana down beside him instead. "have you see joey?"
"no, he went down to the med school..." chandler pauses, shifting in his seat.
"oh, okay."
"where are you off to? you look all-"
"-look what?" gianna is quick to interrupt chandler, immediately glancing down at her outfit.
"no, no, no! i just mean, you're more dressed up than normal..." chandler chooses his words carefully, quickly jumping from his chair and walking towards the counter with a hand in his pocket.
"oh...right." there's a pause. "oh! monica and i are going to the movies before ross comes back." chandler nods, swiping his hand across the counter opposite gianna. "did you want to come?" chandler laughs gently, glancing back around the apartment.
"joey and i are watching the basketball later," he pauses, noticing gianna's lips turn down slightly, eyes glancing to the floor "but uh, another time? just us. i'll even let you pick." gianna tries to hide the smile tugging at the corner of her lips, her nose scrunching cutely. chandler has to resist every urge to kiss her right there and then.
"yeah, i'd like that."
"gianna, we're going to miss the movie!" outside the door, monica yells for gianna to hurry up.
"i'll see you later?"
"sure." chandler smiles softly as gianna shuts the door behind her, suddenly realising the number of fruit baskets there really were in the apartment.
*
whilst rachel was on her date with carl, she finally understood how much she wanted everything to work out with ross. so, she left, taking a cab to the airport in the hopes he would scoop her up after getting off the plane, and they would share a romantic kiss, one for the ages.
and in the apartment, everyone else awaited their return, watching movies and playing board games, all hoping it would finally happen.
*
not edited.
note:
SEASON ONE IS FINISHED BABY!! thank u all so much for the love and support so far! there was a little longer between this chapter and the last because i've been trying to find and rewrite my plan so i feel organised!
a little psa, i am away in a remote location in the next week, so there won't be any chapter uploads, but i may have time do some writing. i thought i would finalise season one before i left!
i hope all u lovelies are well, staying hydrated and healthy. if you haven't eaten today, grab something to eat and something to drink and reread this story, or another i've written for some 'you' time! i'm proud of u no matter what!
stay safe my loves <3
pipes