So if you're a major Friends fan like me, then you have probably have watched the producers commentary on the series finale DVD. At one point they mention that they were going to have an episode where Ross and Rachel go to Paris for a romantic getaway. I believe they said that this would have been two episodes before the finale. Anyway, they said that they cut this episode because it seemed too unrealistic. Well, this is my take on what that time in Paris may have been like...

Characters are not my property. This is just for fun.

It had been two days since Rachel shared the jaw-dropping news with her best friends... she was offered a job in Paris that she just could not pass up. While they were all a little bit upset by this at first, they couldn't help but try and be happy for her. Ross was having a more difficult time though. Of course there was the reason of his daughter moving several thousand miles away from him. It was hard enough that his son lived fifteen minutes away, but Emma being on another continent was almost too much for him to take in.

And then there was her. Rachel. They had had so many ups and downs over the past nine years. Being together, broken up, and trying to move on. Back together and broken up again. A drunken marriage. An unplanned pregnancy. It all seemed like a script for a soap opera, but instead it had been their lives. Yet, after all that they had been through they had finally reached a place with which they both seemed contempt. They were raising Emma together as best friends, and it was going very well. Emma was a happy and healthy twenty-three month old and neither of them could ask for anything more. But the last two days Ross had not been able to get Rachel out of his mind. Maybe he was just so used to seeing her everyday that getting used to her being gone was weird for him. His best friend and sister were only a few days away from moving to the suburbs too. He figured that these changes were just going to take some time to get used to. But that's not it, he thought to himself. I'm really going to miss her.

With that he went to Ralph Lauren to see if he could help Rachel get her old job back. He begged and pleaded with her boss, Mr. Zelner. After a few bribes, he actually got Zelner to offer Rachel her old job and more money. And Rachel took it. Why not? It seemed to be the easiest thing to do, she thought. Rachel went to see Ross to tell him the news. At first he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She's staying! However, he noticed a bit of sadness in her voice.

"You should go," he murmured with all the courage in his body.

"What?" Rachel asked, as she was a bit startled to hear him say this.

"It's what you want. You should go," Ross lied.

"You really think so?"

"I really do," he lied again, doing his best to cover his true feelings about the situation.

"Alright, I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna go to Paris!"

Ross and Rachel met for a hug that was deeper than one they had shared in a long time. Ross did everything he could to hide his feelings. Rachel was scared, but felt like she was doing the right thing. After all, she and Ross seemed to have moved past the idea of getting back together. This would be a great opportunity for her to move on.

"Wow, I have so much to do. I need to call Louis Vuitton. I've got to find a place to live. I need to figure out how to get all my stuff there," Rachel said quickly as she and Ross came out of their hug. She was breathing heavily.

"Woah, sweetie. Calm down. Everything is going to work out. When are you supposed to start the job?"

"Well, I think I have a couple of weeks so I should have enough time to get set up over there before I start," Rachel said as she started to catch her breath.

"Yeah, it will be fine. I'll help you with whatever you need," Ross replied.

"Aww, Ross. What would I do without you?"

These words sent a pain soaring through Ross's body. The question was, what was he going to do without her?

"Well why don't you let me keep Emma the next few nights while you sort things out. I wanna spend the time with her anyway."

"Ok. I guess I'm going to go call Zelner now and tell him I'm not coming back."

"He'll understand. You deserve a job that you love and that challenges you. I'm sure he'll see it that way."

"Thanks, Ross. I'll call you later and let you know what's going on and we'll figure out the situation with Emma."

And she left. Ross sat back down on the couch and watched his beautiful daughter in her playpen. His perfect little girl that the perfect woman and given him.


It was a rainy day in Manhattan. The somber mood outside was similar to what Ross was feeling inside. Last night he had enjoyed some quality time with his daughter. He knew that this was precious as he may only be seeing her a few times a year from now on.

Ross had made breakfast for Emma and was trying to figure out what he was going to do with her that day. He wanted to take her to the park, but the weather outside made it pretty clear that would not be happening. Emma was playing with her food as she sat in her high chair. Ross was looking through the paper for movies that his daughter might enjoy.

"Oh Emma, how about we go see Kill Bill? I'm sure your mother would kill Ross for that one."

Emma stared at Ross. "Daddy."

"Yeah, sweetie, I'm your daddy."

Emma threw a little bit of her food at him.

"Em, come on don't do that."

As Ross prepared to clean her up, Rachel came bursting through the door. This startled Ross a bit.

"Hey, Rach. Whatca doing here?"

"Oh, well I wanted to tell you that I'm gonna go to Paris in a couple of days to look for a place to live," Rachel said as she picked Emma up out of her high chair. "High baby girl."

"Ok, well, don't worry about Emma. Everything will be covered here."

God, she looks beautiful today he thought. Even with her hair in a simple ponytail and wearing jeans and a t-shirt, she still managed to take his breath away.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something." Rachel was trying to hide her nervous tone. She hadn't slept much last night. The idea that she was going to be leaving her friends behind started to seem so much more real. "Do you wanna come with me?"

"To Paris?" Ross asked with a surprised look on his face. Did she mean permanently?

"To help me find a place to live. So you can see where Emma will be living."

"Oh, well, I uh," Ross started.

"I just thought you would want to know what her environment would be like."

"Well, I guess. I mean I'm supposed to work, but maybe I could get out of it."

"And Louis Vuitton is paying for me to fly over. I already asked, and they'll pay for you too. And they said if we book a hotel they'll reimburse us."

"I have never been to Paris. I guess that this could be kinda cool. Maybe I could check out some of the museums while we're there," Ross said trying to sound excited.

"Yeah, see, you can be a geek in all countries," Rachel flirted.

"What about Emma?"

"Oh, my mom said she'd take her."

"Ok then, I guess we're going to Paris."

This definitely wasn't the way Ross had dreamed he would ever be going to Paris with Rachel. When they were dating, she always talked about how she dreamed of going there to see the sites, try the cuisine, and of course to go shopping. Ross had promised her that he would take her one day. When they were approaching their one-year anniversary, he had started looking at what his options would be for taking her within the next six months. It was a trip he never got to plan.

"Hey, do you think you could book the hotel rooms? I've got a gazillion things to do," Rachel asked.

"Yeah sure. Any part of the city in particular?"

"Well my office is in the 8th district, so I'll probably be looking at apartments around there. I guess anything in that area."

Rachel handed Emma back to Ross.

"Thanks, Ross. All this really means a lot to me."

Ross smiled at her. He knew this is what was going to make her happy, so he really tried to be happy for her.

"No problem."

"Ok, well I need to go. I guess plan on flying out the day after tomorrow."

As Rachel turned around to give her daughter one more kiss, Ross couldn't help but wonder what he had just gotten himself into.