The One Where They Meet Again -- F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Fanfiction

Chapter 7: Uncertainty

~December 31, 2010~ 

THIRD PERSON POV: CENTRAL PERK

Phoebe was sitting in the chair next to her friends' old couch, holding Ellie, when she noticed something odd. Right on the very couch where she spent so much of her twenties, was a little girl, her hair a light honey color in ringlet curls, her complexion light and unblemished. She was of average height. She was, as far as little girls go, pretty, but more in an adorable way. Overall, she was relatively ordinary, and Phoebe probably would have thought nothing about her had it not been for her eyes. They were a stunning turquoise-gray with a dark blue rim around the iris and flecks of green throughout. They sparkled in the light and they were everything Phoebe wanted her own boring gray eyes to be. She knew of only one other person with those eyes. 

But it couldn't be. No. It was New Years' Eve and they lived in the city. Why would they be in Central Perk of all places? No. She was imagining things. 

But the more she looked at the girl (in a totally non-creepy way of course) the more she noticed more and similarities. The way she blew her hair out of her face instead of brushing it away. The way she tapped her foot as she sat in the chair. Phoebe decided she had to ask. 

"Um, excuse me sweetie," Phoebe began, careful not to scare the child, "is your name Emma?" Realizing how creepy she sounded to a little kid who was just looking at a stranger, she tried to make it better, "My name is Phoebe Buffay. I think I might have known your mom and dad, Ross Gellar and Rachel Green when we were younger. Are those your parents?" 

The girl nodded uncertainly.

"Oh my God, I haven't seen you in so long!" she exclaimed, "The last time I saw you, you were just a toddler!" Phoebe stood up, cradling Eleanor, and walked arms outstretched, towards Emma, intending to give her a hug. 

Emma looked scared, and Phoebe retreated.

"Are your parents here?" she asked, trying to divert attention herself. 

Emma nodded again, and pointed over to a high table across the restaurant where Phoebe saw Ross and Rachel, her old friends, people she hadn't seen in years. They looked mostly the same, except maybe a few years older. Ross's hair was a little bit gray and Rachel's smile, so vibrant, now came with the added bonus of a few wrinkles up by her eyes.

Forgetting the previous year when these two people had stood her up and remembering instead the countless hours they had spent on that weathered orange couch together, Phoebe walked and ran over to their table. 

"Hi!" she yelled, waving her hand frantically at the two people two feet in front of her. "It's me, Phoebe!" 

"Oh my God, Pheebs!" Rachel exclaimed softly. She stood up, grunting, revealing her now bulging belly. 

"Rachel! You're pregnant.

"Yeah thanks, I hadn't noticed." Rachel replied sarcastically, embracing Phoebe in a warm, yet somewhat awkward hug. It almost required a yoga move in order to hug a woman eight months pregnant with twins. 

"And Ross!" Phoebe cried with enthusiasm. She pulled him out of his chair and violently pulled him into her free arm (she was still holding Ellie on her hip). 

"Mommy," a soft voice murmured, "I'm hungry."

"Emma!" Phoebe exclaimed, handing Eleanor off to Rachel and picking Emma up excitedly, "I haven't seen you in so long!" she hugged Emma tightly, no longer worried about intimidating her. 

The heartwarming moment was broken when Rachel asked, "Um Pheebs, whose baby am I holding?" 

"Oh," Phoebe said, her voice, for the first time in the exchange, at a normal level. Her excitement dropped and the memories of last New Years came flooding back to her. The hurt that she had felt when her friends had stood her up on what could have been the last time they would have ever seen her. The anger she had felt when her friends had missed the opportunity to meet her beautiful daughter. "Um, this is Eleanor." she said, her voice brooding, with no enthusiasm. "She's my daughter."

"Oh my God Phoebe! I didn't know you had a daughter! She's so beautiful!" Ross exclaimed. 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Rachel asked, feeling the resentment she had towards Monica when she hadn't been informed of of Kate's birth. 

"Well," Phoebe said, "I just didn't think you would have the time," she lied subtly. Any trace of a smile she might have had left her face and she felt a lump rise in her throat. 

Her sadness was soon interrupted by confusion when she heard "WHAT THE HELL?!" 

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(TO BE CONTINUED...)

Please leave any comments you have! Next chapter will be in third person POV again, and it should be up at some point this weekend. Hope you enjoyed!