This is the last chapter of the story. Taken from the last part of the episode where Ross and Rachel finally come together at the coffeehouse, however - I have used my own imagination as to what happened inbetween the time Ross left the apartment, to where they met again at the coffeehouse. Its what we didnt see on screen, and hopefully you will like my interpretation.

Closing time

She had managed to avoid Ross for the whole day, she would keep looking at the entrance of the coffeehouse to see if he had came in, but he hadnt came in all day, which was strange as he usually did. Not that she was complaining, she didnt particulary want to see him today after what had happened that morning. She could barely believe that she had been so drunkedly stupid to ring him up and tell him her feelings, it was like she was a young teenager again.

Only another two hours before closing time, she almost wished that she had just called in sick today, it would have been much easier because atleast then she wouldnt have to make a fake smile to everybody she served when really she felt like crying her heart out, the only good news was that she was having a 'girly' night with Monica and Phoebe tonight, which always picked her up and made her more cheerful. But then again, it still wouldnt change the fact that she was in love with one of her best friends and she had told him her feelings in the most pathetic way that he possibly didnt want to know her anymore.

She had also been feeling incredibly guilty for behaving so rudely infront of her date the night before, she dreaded to think what he thought of her. She hadnt been exactly good company as she was barely talking to him or considering his presence, she only had one thing on her mind and that was Ross. The guy who she was pretty sure was the man she was supposed to be with but now she would be lucky if he even spoke to her, she had been such a fool by telling him her feelings now, when he already had a girlfriend who he was visibly crazy over. She didnt exactly expect him to break it off with Julie for her, so why tell him? The answer to that was simply, alcohol.

'Julie, are you sure about this whole cat thing?' Ross asked as they stepped out of the cab.

'Oh I see, your having second thoughts now like I was last night...very funny, you made your point Ross...' She laughed.

'No I mean, I know I said what I said last night...but I just think that a cat is a big decision...you know? Its almost like a kid...except it purrs..'

She laughed again. 'Ross, are you ok?'.

'Umm...I'm fine, its just that...why dont we leave it for today? I think we should get a cat when we're both really committed...'.

'But I thought we were?' Julie asked him, frowning.

'Well we are I guess, but still...a cat...its hardly a stable living situation for a cat to switch homes every week...it should be in one home otherwise it might get confused...'

'Are you saying we should maybe...live together?'

'No..No no!' Ross told her, 'Thats not what I meant...oh Julie, do you mind if I go home? Maybe your right, I'm not ok...I'm feeling a bit dizzy and I think I need to just go home, I'll ring you later' He promised before walking away, leaving Julie confused on the sidewalk. 'Ok...ay' she said as she watched him walk away from her into the distance.

She knew something was wrong.

'Shall I make some sangria?' Monica asked Phoebe.

'Oh yes! And some cookies...'. Phoebe said excitedly as she lay on the sofa with a magazine. 'When is Rachel working till tonight?'

'She gets off at about...' she checked her watch, 'she should be getting out about now actually...or closing up atleast' she said.

'What are the guys going tonight?' Phoebe asked.

'I think they might be going to the game...either that or they'll probably be in the apartment playing foozeball or something'. She told her, putting some cookie mix into the bowl, 'Pheebs, could you run over to Joey's and see if he has taken the whisk out of my draw...the last time I saw it was yesterday when I let him lick the chocolate off it...he probably still has it'.

'Sure, infact I might run over to my apartment too and get some films for us to watch tonight, ok?'.

Monica nodded, 'Sounds great..'.

'I thought Ross was coming over at 5?' Joey reminded Chandler.

'Oh your right, well maybe he got caught up somewhere...he was supposed to be going with Julie to get a cat today so maybe thats why hes late...' Chandler figured.

'Hey guys' Phoebe said as she walked in, 'Joey, monica sent me to see if you took the whisk from her drawer yesterday? the one you were licking after she made chocolate cake...'

'I put it back in the drawer' Joey told her.

'Well she couldnt find it just now, are you sure?'.

'Positive. But I might have put it in the wrong drawer or something...'.

'Did you clean it yourself?'. Phoebe asked.

'...Yeah. I cleaned it myself' Joey said, trying to keep a straight face.

'You so didnt clean it Joey did you? You licked it and put it back in the drawer...Monica is just gonna kill you' Phoebe told him.

'She wont kill me if she doesnt find out, it looks pretty clean...what with my tongue cleaning technique' he said proudly.

'JOEY!' They heard Monica yell from the apartment, 'Get your but in here right now!' She shouted again.

'You forgot that Monica has the eyes of a inspector, she can tell if a spoon isnt spin and span...' Phoebe reminded him.

'I'll see you guys later. Have you guys been in the coffeehouse today?' Phoebe asked them.

'I was in there earlier, Rachel was just about to close up..' Joey told her.

'Ok good, she should be home soon then...'.

Ross stormed out of his apartment, still raging with anger. He was now feeling incredibly guilty for how he had left things with Julie, she didnt deserve that, but he just needed to be alone for the afternoon and sort out his head. But he had made his decision, just because Rachel was his biggest ever crush and she may have told him earlier that she had feelings for him too, but he loved Julie, well atleast he thought he did.

That was how much Rachel had thrown him off course, he was even doubting his feelings for Julie who yesterday he was feeling crazy about, and there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that they had a chance together to be happy.

It was 8oclock now, he knew that Rachel would probably still be at Central Perk, and hopefully nobody else was with her because he needed to talk to her while it was just the two of them, he needed to be straight with her. It was too late for him to tell him she had feelings for him, he was happy.

He rehearsed what he planned to say in his head, and as he walked to the coffeehouse, his heart was beating faster than ever.

The rain fell from the sky as he walked across the street to the coffeeshop which he could see was still open, he reached the door and swung it open, to see Rachel cleaning up the bar, 'Sorry we're still---', she turned round, surprised to see him she stopped talking and she looked at the floor.

He stared right at her, 'I didnt get a cat'.

'Oh...thats um...interesting?-'

'No. Its not interesting...its actually completely opposite of interesting...'. He began to shout at her. 'You had no right to tell me you ever had feelings for me...' he blurted out, he was still looking straight at her but her eyes kept wandering away from his, like she was afraid and uncomfortable.

'What?' She yelled.

'I was doing great with Julie before I found out about you..' He shouted back.

'Hey, I was doing great before I found out about you. But Ross, do you think its easy for me to see you with Julie?'. She told him.

He didnt say anything. He just stopped to think about what she had just said, she must have had these feelings for him for a while now, 'You should have said something before I met Julie' He argued back.

'You should have said something to me...you had a whole year Ross, we hung out every night..'.

'Not every night'. Making a very unrelevant point, and she looked at him now as if to accuse him of not having a point. 'Everytime I tried, something got in the way...like italian guys...or ex fiances...or..or...italian guys' he repeated again.

'There was one italian guy Ross, what is your point?' she asked him, throwing her hands everywhere as she talked to him, he noticed she was shaking slightly too, possibly with frustration, just like him.

'The point is...Its too late Rach, I'm with somebody else...this ship has sailed..' He said. None of the things he was saying were in his mind before, but they just seemed to splur out without any thought, she looked away from him now, and shook her head. 'I'm happy...' he told her again.

Was he deliberately rubbing it in? That he was happy with somebody else and she wasnt. 'Ok Ross, you do that...'.

'Fine' he said, walking away without looking at her. He just wanted to get out and calm down, he had made his point now and Rachel would just have to deal with that.

'I dont need your stupid ship...' She yelled out of the door, as he walked away trying not to listen to her.

She shut the door, and banged it shut with her hand. Locking it quickly before she walked away, and suddenly the emotion hit her and she began to sob, she covered her mouth with her hands to try and hide away her feelings, even though there was nobody else there to hide them from.

She just couldnt believe how he could have said those things to her, he couldnt have loved her that much if he could easily walk away from her like that, she felt disapointed and she almost felt abandoned. She cried harder into her hands as she sat on the sofa.

He stopped at the corner of the street, he couldnt just leave her on her own like that, even if he was mad with her right now, he was also mad about her too.

He thought back to high school when he would have gave anything just to have a chance with her, and now she was giving him a chance and he was walking away? He turned back around and began to walk back, he wasnt sure what he was going to do when he got back there but he knew that he couldnt let the night end this way.

He got to the door again, which was now locked. Through the window on the door he saw her sat on the sofa, she was crying because of him. He stared through at her, she wasnt aware of his presence yet so he was sure not to ruin the silence. As she sat on the sofa with her face in her hands, he remembered how crazy he was about her, how her smile could make his day better and how she never failed to give him butterflies in the stomach.

She got up quickly from the sofa, he was still stood at the door, just looking at her as the rain now poured from the sky.

What was he doing back? She wasnt sure, but she could tell by his expression that he wasnt angry anymore.

She took a deep breath and began to walk towards the door where he was still standing, his eyes followed her as she walked closer to him, and closer. Not taking her eyes off him, she unlocked the locks and opened the door, whatever it was that had changed their mood she didnt know, but she knew that she wanted to make it up with him in whatever way he was willing.

She turned the doorknob and pulled the door open, but it wouldnt budge. Taking her eyes off him now, she struggled to open it. 'Try the bottom one..' she heard him say to her, he was still looking at her, even deeper into her eyes now. She was desperate, she was desperate just to open the door and let him into her heart.

She bent down and unlocked it, and then she opened the door. The rain was trickling down his nose and his hair was soaking wet, they looked at eachother for what felt like an eternity, her arms remained open with the door as the breeze came in.

And then, he grabbed her, and they shared the kiss they had both been thinking about in their daydreams. Their lips were firmly pressed together, it was such a frustrated kiss that their lips could have bled from the pressure, but as the seconds passed, it became more relaxed as he moved his hands from her upper waist upto her face, and then he was running his fingers through her hair as she massaged his cheeks with her hands.

It must have been minutes before he slipped his tongue into her mouth, but he did it in a delicate way, he slipped his tongue in slightly to see if she would return it, and she did. She opened her eyes at one point, and his eyes were open now too. Their lips were still locked and he had now moved her away from the door and kicked the door shut, they walked backwards towards the sofa, still kissing and touching eachother shyly but passionately.

She stopped moving her mouth, and he rolled his tongue inside her mouth once more before closing the kiss, his hands were now positioned on her hips and they had both somehow swapped positions as she was now on the side he was originally. He looked at her longingly,as the moment of kissing finished but their hearts were still pounding and they would be lying if they said they didnt want to do more, he felt like moving to the sofa and exploring her more, but he couldnt. She took her hands away from his face, and he brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. She sighed, 'That was...'. she couldnt finish the sentence as she didnt know how to explain how she felt, so she left it the way it was.

He smiled at her, they were still close enough to hear eachothers breathing and smell eachother's scent.

He tried to say something but the words wouldnt come out, he was still trying to catch his breath from the racing kiss. 'Do you...'.

She began to laugh, looking a little shy and embarrassed. 'Shall we just..'.

He nodded, he knew what she meant as he was trying to say it anyway. They both wanted to get back into the moment but they wanted it to be right, and whether Rachel wanted to think of it or not, Ross still had a girlfriend.

'I'll walk you up..' He offered as she began to walk away to switch everything off in the kitchen, he grabbed for her hand and squeezed it, reasuringly to tell her that it wasnt just a moment thing, she nodded and squeezed his hand back.

There was nothing much more to say, it had all been said in that kiss. Their first ever kiss, a moment that would be engraved on their hearts.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Thats the end of the short story, I hope you enjoyed it. I would like to say for the record because I got a review that accused me of not being original with my stories, I made it clear that this story isnt my own and that it was my own interpretation of how the episode would have gone. I thought that including their feelings and thoughts would be enjoyable to read, and I wanted to have a go of writing how I thought things would have gone just before the big kiss, and afterwards.

When the screen went black, we didnt get to see what happened. That was my main purpose for this story and I hope you got that from reading it.

I appreciate all reviews even if they arent positive feedback. xx