Hi Everybody, I posted this Fic in a Friends Forum a while ago, and I thought I should post it here as well. Hope you like it those who are reading it for the first time.

TOW THE SKI TRIP

"All right Pheebs, your cab's ready." Said Ross after filling the tank with the gas he had brought to save his friends from spending the night in that cold, isolated restroom.

"All right, let's go!" Rachel said right away as she initiated her way to the cab without even looking at him. She was eager to go away from there.

"You're welcome." The sarcasm in his tone didn't go unnoticed by anybody.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you speaking to me or sleeping with someone else?" that was it, her words had angered Ross and both started yelling at each other, just like they had been doing for the past weeks whenever they were together.

"We were on a break!"

"Y'know Ross why don't you put that on your answering machine!"

"Hey-hey, it's valid okay? And I'm not the only one who thinks so, Monica agrees with me."

"What?" Rachel exclaimed looking towards Monica.

"I don't know." She responded quietly.

"That's what you said last night."

"What I said was, was that I understood. Joey's the one who agreed with you!"

"Really Joey?" Rachel asked in disbelief. They all turned to look at Joey who was leaning on the car not paying much attention to the argument that was taking place.

"What?" he asked after some seconds.

"Y'know what, but there is, there is no right or wrong, here." Phoebe intervened.

"No, I think it's very obvious who's wrong here." Rachel said with her arms firmly crossed on her chest.

"Obviously not to Joey." They all turned to Joey again and the same situation was repeated, from that moment they all started yelling at each other, defending their on opinions. Chandler, who was getting more and more uncomfortable by the situation, started dancing in his own nonsense way trying to catch everybody's attention. Phoebe, the only one noticing Chandler's behaviour, tried to stop the fight.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Look what you're doing to Chandler!" they all quit yelling and looked at Chandler, who immediately stopped his movements and Phoebe went on speaking "Yeah, look, we know this is really, really hard for you guys. Okay? You don't, all right you don't have to love each other, okay? You don't, you don't even have to like each other much right now. But please, you have to figure out a way to be around each other."

"Yeah, and not put us in the middle." Joey added

"Yeah, otherwise, I mean that's, that's, that's just it for us hanging out together. Y'know is that what you want?" they both look away, knowing she was right "Can you be civil?"

"Yeah." Rachel said softly.

"I can." Ross said, looking down at his shoes. After some seconds of silence Phoebe spoke.

"Okay. Good, all right, let's get back in the car, 'cause it's freezing, and my chest is unsupported" Phoebe said running towards the cab with her arms wrapped around her chest.

"we'll call you when we get back." Monica said kissing her brother's cheek and feeling bad for leaving him that way.

"Okay."

"Maybe we can like go to a movie or something" Phoebe followed after her.

"Okay."

"Or, or the rodeo!" Phoebe exclaimed excited.

"That would be great." He said. After saying goodbye to his friends he hopped into the car and observed them drive away. When there was no sight of the car he started the car Carol had lent him, but to his surprise and terror it didn't. He desperately pressed the hoot over and over again praying for his friends to hear it.

:::::::::::::::::

They finally reinitiated their way to Rachel's sister's cabin but it hadn't even been a minute when they stopped again, alerted by the sound of a hoot.

"guys I think that's Ross!" Joey warned turning around to look through the back window.

"Pheebs, go back, he might need something" Monica said worried. Rachel let out a sigh of irritation and they all knew the reason but didn't say anything. Phoebe stopped the car and all of them minus Rachel got out of the car. Ross felt relieved seeing his friends again.

"what happened dude?" Chandler asked as he didn't waste time in putting another cigarette between his lips.

"I think the battery is dead…." He replied while he opened the motor tap and looked at it not really knowing what he should do.

"let me see…" said Joey as he put up the sleeves of his jacket and bended over the motor. After some minutes in dispute about the real problem of why the car didn't star, they gave up.

"what do we do now?" "Do you have jump leads, Pheebs?"

"nuh-huh"

"well...I guess we'll have to leave the car here and you'll have to come with us…" Just then Rachel got out of the car, tired of waiting.

"what's taking you so long?" she protested.

"Ross' car does not start…." Monica answered.

"and…?" she said not caring about what she had been told.

"and? You don't expect us to leave him here all alone, do you?" Monica exclaimed a bit bothered by her friend's behaviour. Rachel just rolled her eyes and turned around to walk back to the car, she didn't want to start a fight again.

"Rach wait!" Monica ran after her; she turned around with her arms crossed over her chest and sent her a serious look.

"what?"

"mmh…we were wondering…since Ross' car doesn't work…if he could come with us…" she asked cautiously knowing she wouldn't take the news quite well.

Rachel stared at her friend, disbelieving what she had just asked her.

"how can you even think of that! Of course not!"

"C'mon Rach" she pleaded "we could drive him back home but we are almost in the cabin, if we go back we won't be there till three in the morning at the earliest!" Rachel sighed knowing she was right, but the thought of spending the whole weekend seeing him bothered and scared her above all. "and there is no way we are leaving him here!" Monica quickly added. Seeing she wasn't getting any answer she got closer to her best friend and placed her arm around her shoulders. "honey, I know that what I'm asking for it's very tough after what happened to you two some weeks ago…but you have to understand, we can't leave him here…"

"I know…" she said softly, looking down at the floor.

"so…?"

"I guess he can come…I don't have any other option, do I?" she said resigned. Monica immediately hugged her full of happiness.

"thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"okay, stop it!" Monica kissed her cheek and ran towards the others to tell them the good news while Rachel hopped into the car, not wanting to see him just yet.

They all welcomed the news gladly, except for Ross, who couldn't be sure if going with them was such a good idea. He knew he would have to see her whether he liked it or not, and the thought of being near her and not being able to grab and kiss her whenever he felt like killed him.

"guys I don't think this is a good idea…" they all went serious and looked at him.

"what!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"why should I go, she doesn't want me there…and it will make things worse!...I, I, I'll just wait for the wrecker here…"

"are you crazy or what!" his sister frowned "you're coming with us and that's it"

"Monica you don't understand! We haven't spent more than five minutes together since our break up and all we did was to fight over and over again! I don't think I could go through a whole weekend like that, it'd kill me" the way he said those words broke their hearts, knowing perfectly what he meant since they all had been witnesses of those moments.

"I know it's going to be hard, but try to think positive, maybe these days together will bring you closer again…and who knows, maybe you'll end up fixing things up" Ross sighed, wishing his sister was right, but he didn't hold his hopes too high, Rachel hated him and nothing would change that, but he couldn't blame her, even though his actions had never been intended he felt disgusted with himself. He lowered his head, trying to make the best decision.

"if you're not comfortable you can always call a cab and go back home…but there is no way we are leaving you here tonight" his sister's final sentence convinced him a little bit, and he had to admit that waiting in that isolated, dark place all alone was all but appealing.

"okay, I'll go…" he quietly said, they all smiled to him and walked together to the car. Ross hopped into the car after his four friends were already sat. The room left for him was rather small, since there were four of them sitting in the back seat, but he didn't even dare to complain, afraid she could hear him and reproach him. The drive up to the cabin stayed in complete silence; Chandler and Joey had fallen asleep and Monica was about to follow them; but Ross couldn't sleep, he just stared out the window not really seeing much since the night was very dark and he was sunk in his thoughts, thoughts of her, and wondering how he would handle being so close to her.
He looked at her from the corner of his eyes from time to time not daring to look at her directly, she had her elbow rested on the door, supporting her chin as she also stared out the window, but he knew neither she was paying attention to the landscape passing by,
She was as worried as he himself.

They got to the cabin near ten o'clock; they observed the house as they took their luggage out of the car. It looked big and very nice.

"holy cow! That's a big cabin…How many bedrooms are there?" Chandler asked as they crossed the door and observed the spacious living room.

"mmh…three, we'll have to share them…"

"I call Monica!" Phoebe yelled right away as she grabbed on her arm. Monica shrugged seeing the pleading look in Rachel's eyes. The room filled with silence, given that Chandler and Joey would share the other and there was only one more left.

"mmm this is awkward" Chandler said between coughs.

"I'll sleep on the couch…" Ross offered, speaking for the first time.

"well, that's obvious" Rachel replied sharply not looking at him directly. The tension grew between the group, a situation that was making Chandler especially uncomfortable, so he tried to take a cigarette out of the packet, which he immediately returned after meeting Rachel's killing stare.

"so Monica, what are we having for dinner? I'm starving!" Joey finally spoke.

"Joey I think we should unpack first…we'll talk about dinner later"

"But I'm starving!" he whined.

"just eat some chips or something!" the voices faded as they all, except Ross, walked upstairs towards the bedrooms, carrying their luggage with them. Ross let out a sigh; being there alone made him ask himself once again why he had decided to go with them; the coldness with which she had treated him had let him know she was as upset as the day of their break up, and now, more than ever, he knew she wouldn't forgive him for what he had done whether it had been intended or not. He sighed again as he sat on what was going to be his bed for the next two days.

Rachel closed the door to her room and let her body lean on it; she bit her lip as she tried to compose herself, she was feeling overwhelmed by all the feelings he provoked on her, feelings as contrasting as hate and love, but overall, she still felt hurt, hurt by the man she had trusted the most in the world. With her eyes shut tightly she breathed deeply, fighting to keep the forming tears inside; she had to be strong, she repeated in her head.
Minutes later she grabbed some covers and a pillow and walked towards the girls' room. Monica opened the door.

"hey! What's that for?" she asked referring to the bulge she was carrying on her arms, which almost covered her completely.

"Can you give this to Ross when you go down there?" she asked as she placed the bulge on her hands, not giving her time to refuse.

"why? can't you do it yourself?" Rachel just stared at her "okay, you don't have to say anything, but honey, you can't act this way all weekend…"

"Mon, please, don't give me a lecture…just give this to him when you go to dinner, bye" she said turning on her heels.

"wait! Aren't you coming for dinner?"

"no…I don't feel like eating…" Monica was about to interrupt but she went on "see you tomorrow Mon, if you guys need anything I'll be in my room…"

Monica just sighed as she watched her friend walk back to her room.

She rolled to the other side of the bed once again, hoping this new position would help her fall back to sleep, but Morpheus seemed to have left her that night. Her growling stomach begging for some food broke the silence of the night. It was still too soon to have breakfast but she decided to go for it, that way she wouldn't have to face him later.

She put her robe around her body and crept silently down the stairs. The sun hadn't risen up yet so the house was in complete darkness, just the soft light coming from the fading fire illuminated the living room. The kitchen and the living room weren't separated by walls so taking out the things without making noise had become an impossible mission.

"Rachel" Ross murmured. A yelp escaped Rachel's mouth, startled by the sound of his voice.

"shhh, you're gonna wake up the guys!" he murmured as he got up from the sofa and walked towards her. She got nervous when she noticed he was getting closer to her and then sat on the other side of the counter where she was pouring herself a glass of milk.

"what are you doing up so soon?" he tried to break the ice.

"what do you want, Ross?" she said serious and seeming oblique to his presence, but behind the counter her trembling legs gave her away, being there with him and alone couldn't make her feel any weaker.

"I just wanted to thank you…"

"for what"

"for letting me stay here…"

"it actually wasn't my choice, they made me do it" she sharply answered as she turned towards the cabinets to take some muffins.

"well…thanks anyway" he looked down at his hands resting on the counter, he wanted to tell her so many things but her curt attitude towards him crushed him badly.

"anything else?" she asked holding the glass and the muffins in her hands, ready to go upstairs. He looked at her for a moment; even though it was dark he could still perceive her cold stare, a stare that didn't belong to his Rachel, he didn't see love in her eyes anymore, just hate, and that made his heart ache so much.

"no…"

"good! Bye then…" and just like that she went back upstairs. Ross, still by the counter, buried his face between her hands, blaming himself for not having stayed in that restroom, at least in that place he would have been safe from her indifference and cutting attitude that was making his heart ache so badly.

Rachel closed the door of her room and finally let out the air she had been holding. Her eyes filled with tears, no matter how mad she was at him she didn't enjoy treating him like that.
She left the muffins and the glass of milk on the bedside table and laid back on the bed, she was not hungry anymore and the lump stuck on her throat wouldn't let her swallow anything anyway. She gripped the covers tightly around her body and there, curled up under the protective embrace of the covers she finally broke into tears, just like she had done every night ever since their break up.

….
"Guys you'll have to lend me some of your clothes, I don't have anything here, except for this…" Ross said as he poured some cornflakes on his bowl.
"well that should be Chandler…I just brought two t-shirts and one underwear …"

"you're disgusting, just disgusting!" Chandler said sending Joey a dirty look
"you can borrow whatever you need man" he smiled and slapped his back.

"thanks dude"

"damn it! It's foggy outside! I'm afraid we won't be able to ski this morning…" Monica said coming back to the table where they were having breakfast.

"Where's Rachel?" asked Joey

"I guess she's still sleeping…"

"Should we call her?" Chandler asked

"She already had breakfast…" Ross softly said looking down at his bowl as he put a spoon full of cereals into his mouth.

"what? when?"

"like two hours ago…"

"how do you know?"

"'cause I saw her"

"did you guys talk?" asked Phoebe interested

"if you can call that a conversation then yes…"

"why? What happened?" Monica asked with concern.

"I just thanked her for letting me stay here, and guess what she said? They made me do it!" the rest looked at him with compassion but no one said a word.

"This was a stupid idea! I shouldn't be here, see? She is not coming down because I'm here!"

"she's still hurt Ross…but things will get better…it has to! You have to find a way to get along, otherwise it's gonna be the end of this" said Monica pointing at the group. Just then Rachel entered into the living room, the sudden silence let her know they had been talking about her but she didn't actually care. She smiled to them and walked towards the main door.

"where are you going?" Joey asked curious.

"duh! To ski" she said pointing out her clothes and the skies she was carrying.

"but Rach it's foggy outside" Monica warned.

"don't worry, I know this place as the back of my hand, I'll be fine"

"Rach, you shouldn't go, it's dangerous…" Ross said to everybody's surprise. Rachel turned and stared at him.

"who are you to tell me what I should or should not do?" she said with one hand on her hip and a challenging stare.

"someone who cares about you!" he exclaimed.

"then stop caring, okay?"

"Rach he is right, you can't see properly out there, it'd better if you stayed here…"

"ugh who are you, my parents? I can take care of myself, if you wanna come you're widely welcome, if not, I'll see you at lunch." with that she left the house leaving all of them worried, especially Ross.

"god! When did she become so stubborn?" Monica said.

"guys I'm gonna go after her…I don't care if she gets mad at me, she shouldn't be alone…" Ross said as he got up and put his jacket on.

"good luck with that" Chandler said.

"we've got to do something with these two…they cannot go on like this…it's becoming annoying!" Monica said once Ross was out of sight.

"I know, they are hurting each other so much…" said Joey

"hey! I've got an idea!" Phoebe exclaimed, the rest of them looked at her expecting some crazy Phoebe idea "since we can't skii today, why don't we all go to the nearby village to spend the day? That way these two would be alone and maybe they can fix things up!" she said excited by her own idea.

"yeah! Let's do that! That will make Rachel happy!" Chandler said sarcastically.

"I think it's a good idea" Joey said, the rest directed their gaze to Monica, waiting for her opinion.

"mmmh, I don't know…they keep hurting each other whenever they are in the same room...what will make this time different?"

"I don't know! Maybe they just need to spend more time together alone! Let's just try! They can't get worse than they already are anyway…" after some seconds of silence and thinking Monica spoke.

"okay, let's go! But you'll be the one blamed for this, you know that right?" Phoebe rolled her eyes and nodded. Thirty minutes later they hopped into the car and left the cabin.

...

will post the next chapter tomorrow