TOW Ross and Rachel

Chapter 11

"I can't believe this is happening" she thought as she paced around the washroom. Her palms were sweating and her mind was going at 100mph. She could not contain her thoughts. Ross was being so sweet tonight but her mind could not stop thinking about the kiss from Trevor. She wanted to kiss him back and that body. "Stop it Rachel, think about Ross he is your husband!" she kept telling herself. She knew that she had to contain her feelings for the night

"Rach are you feeling okay? You look a little down, are you sick? It better not be food poisoning!" Ross stared at her with his big open eyes trying to figure out what was bothering her

"Ross it's okay, I am fine it has just been a long day" she lied. She knew that Ross was just trying his best to comfort her but it was causing more stress and her heart felt like it was split in two. Ross the most kind and caring husband you could ask for (well most of the time) and yet she was thinking about another man. Just change the topic

"So how have the kids been?" she quizzed him

"They have been going well, the boys have their Christmas concert tomorrow night so we can go to that at the school. Emma has started dance lessons and is making more friends at school. Elizabeth is getting healthier and eating more, you missed her one year birthday but it was a blast at the museum with a Barney themed birthday. I will show you the video when we get home" Ross said filling in Rachel with all of the other details of the kids and how Howard had been suspended from school for punching someone a month earlier

"Oh god Ross, that's terrible! Why did you not tell me?" she looked concerned

"I just did not want you to worry about it, besides it is all settled down now and the teachers say he is fine" Ross said relieved that Rachel was not too mad

Ross and Rachel finished up their food and on the way home Ross was getting worried because he had not told Rachel the whole truth about Howard. He was a good boy but liked to roughhouse too much, He was only 6 and would probably grow out of it but lately he had been acting out at home as well. Ross wanted the evening to go smooth so he was hoping that Howard would be on his best behaviour.

As they walked into the front door the kids ran up "Mommy! We missed you so much!" and they gave Rachel each a hug. Rachel saw Elizabeth in her chair and picked her up and gave her a pat on the back. It felt good to be home.

"Rachel, how's it going?" Phoebe said

"It's going good, thanks for watching the kids for us it really means a lot, how is it going with you?" Rachel smiled and gave Phoebe a hug

"It's good, me and Mike are both doing well. I don't know if Ross has told you but we are moving to Florida. He got a job playing the piano for musicians and plays for the Miami performing arts center. While I found a job at a massage parlor down there. It will be great with all the sunshine and beaches down there. Plus Mike will be doing something that he likes instead of the boring office job he is doing now selling god knows what. Plus I heard that the schools down there are great so that will be good for our growing family. We already got a house in Homestead so it will be a bit of a commute but we can go to the beach in less then an hour" Phoebe said smiling at the thought of palm tress and cool ocean breezes. "I better get going, lots of packing to do since we are moving in a few weeks"

"That's great Pheebs! Plus, now me and Ross have an excuse to go down to Florida" Rachel laughed feeling genuinely happy for them. "Thanks again for taking care of the kids, we are going to miss you guys but we promise we will visit" Rachel said as Phoebe walked out the door in a rush to get back to packing

Rachel turned around and there was Ross smiling with a cake that said Welcome Back Rachel. It was butter pecan pie which was one of her favourites, a lot better then lemon meringue

"Ross that is so sweet, thanks" she said as she sat down and grab a slice of pie. "Mmmh it is so good" she said barely getting the words out as she shoveled more pie into her mouth

"Rachel, I better get going to bed and the kids should go to bed as well" Ross said as he checked the time. "Everyone has a big day tomorrow and after tomorrow it is Christmas break!" Ross said as he tucked in his chair and walked into the washroom to brush his teeth and head to bed.

Not everyone gets a Christmas Break Rachel thought, anyway she got the dishes and started to clean when she heard noise coming from the television. "Kids you heard Daddy, time to go to bed. I can't wait to see the Christmas concert tomorrow!" she said while turning off the TV

"MOM I was watching cartoons! I don't want to go to bed! You can't make me do anything" Howard shouted at her. "You were not even here for a while and you can't boss us around! Plus, Dad let us watch cartoons before bed" his voice filled with rage, pretty intense even for a six-year-old

"I know I was gone for a while and I missed you guys a lot. But even daddy said it was time for bed and you will have plenty of time to watch cartoons during the Christmas break. Santa will be here soon" Rachel tried in a feeble effort to get Howard to listen

"NO!" Howard shouted and started running around the room throwing toys and blankets around.

"Howard Green! I am going to count to three and you will go to bed and if you do not do it then you will be grounded. One, two..."

At that moment Howard stomped to bed in an angry tone. Each step he tried to make louder then the last one. "Kelly was nicer" he screamed at her. Rachel sighed and picked up the toys and started to clean up. She looked over at the time of 11:30 realizing that she had to be up for 6:00am the next day for work. She tucked in Emma and Elizabeth while Ross put the boys to bed. "Who was Kelly?" she thought

"Howard seems to have calmed down" Ross said as he entered the bedroom.

"Ross thanks for putting the kids to bed, Howard said something about Kelly being nicer? Who Is Kelly Ross?" she said with a look of concern in her eyes

"Rach, Kelly is just a student from the paleontology department. During the Christmas party that I hosted she showed up and brought the kids presents which were Hot Wheels and Barbie. I was really drunk and might have err um accidently kissed her, you know we were under the mistletoe" Ross face flushed in embarrassment but at least he got the truth out there

"It's okay Ross, there is something I need to tell you as well" her face got pale when telling the story "Remember earlier today when I got stranded in Albany? Well the guy that rescued me was named Trevor. Well Trevor kissed me after he fixed my car saying A pretty little thing like you's bound to have already been snatched up" Rachel blushed remembering the moment though it did feel good getting it off of her chest.

"Well he is right" Ross laughed then his face grew concerned "Have we really grown this far apart that these situations do not bother us?"

"Yeah, I agree we have kind of drifted apart. Ross, I think we should take a vacation when the kids are off school, say the first week of January. This year has been so stressful with work and Elizabeth's health we just need some downtime to recharge and reconnect. What do you think?" She struggled through the emotions of remembering the year that was.

"I think it would be really good for us, Joey has been saying that he is missing us and wants to see the kids. Plus, as you know he and Hannah got engaged and are having their wedding the second week of January. We could go for two weeks and take the kids to Disneyland and stuff for the first week. Joey said we could stay at his place too, he got a huge house now with his success in Hollywood. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah that sounds great, I will plan it out after work tomorrow. I can't wait and it will be nice to see everyone again at the wedding. Gosh I have not seen Mike, Monica or Chandler since I left for Buffalo" Rachel marvelled at how long it had been

End of Chapter. Please R/R and PM me your suggestions! Next Chapter will be Joey's wedding and the Friends all meet up in LA. What will happen? I should have it done by the end of the week or early next week.

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