A Place We Once Knew

When You Hear Our Song

o0o0o0o0o0o

If By Chance - Ruth B

I don't mean to be selfish
But my heart breaks every time t
That I see you smile
'Cause I know that it's not me
Who brings it out of you anymore
You found somebody new
You put me in the past
I don't even know if our memories will last
But if by chance it doesn't work out
You'll always have a chance
With me in my world
I wonder what happens when you hear our song
Do you brush it away, or do you sing along?
Do you talk about the future the way we did?
Is there room for me in it?
Is it so wrong of me to hope she breaks your heart?
Is it so wrong of me to pray she tears you apart?
And I know that in the darkest part of you
You pray and hope, and wish for it, too

o0o0o0o0o0o

Rachel woke up in the middle of the night to kisses on her neck and strong arms pulling her close. She looked at the clock - 3:30am. She took a few seconds to gather her bearings. She and Elliot had passed out early that evening because of the jet lag and now their internal clocks were thrown entirely off.

She rolled over, wrapping her arm around across his chest as she nestled closely into his embrace.

"So... what did you think of my friends? They're kinda here all the time... just warning you."

He chuckled. "I think they're great! They're definitely people I would want to hang out with. Except...I did notice one thing".

She sensed the hesitancy in his voice. "What?" she asked, placing a kiss on his chest.

"I got a bit of a weird vibe from Ross - like maybe he didn't quite like me or something."

"Oh, no, I'm sure that's not it. He's going through a lot right now. He just got married, but his wife won't talk to him - it's a long story actually..."

"Oh okay..." His eyes drafted away from her. "If you say so..."

She knew instantly there were hundreds of words behind his simple response. "Honey, what are you saying?"

Honey. She hadn't called a man that since... since Ross.

He peered back at her, his eyes vulnerable and colored with honesty.

"Rachel, I saw the way he looked at you.."

She was silent. She didn't know how to respond.

"Rachel, it's okay, you can tell me..."

She cleared her throat as she ran her hand along his cheek.she wanted him to know that even when she was talking about another man, she was thinking about him.

"Well, we have a uh, a history, I guess you could say."

"A history?"

"Yeah... we used to go out...but we broke up over a year ago. We're just good friends now."

"Ah, I see. Thanks for telling me."

She looked up at him and kissed his lips. That wasn't so bad. He didn't freak out... he didn't get jealous. This was new.

"It's 3:30 in the morning and I'm wide awake... what are we going to do now?"

A big grin spread across his face as his hands began to roam her body. "I can think of a few things I'd like to do..." He rolled towards her, wrapping his arms around her and pulled her body on top of his, pulling the sheets over them.

They made love tenderly and quietly, as not to wake up Monica on the other side of the wall. As much as she tried, she struggled to focus on Elliot. Of course she'd never let him know it, but her mind was somewhere else tonight. She faked her enjoyment as he selflessly worked all over her body to please her. "I saw the way he looked at you.." Elliot's words looped in her mind. What did he mean by that?

Hell, she knew exactly what he meant. The whole world knew what he meant. 

—----------------------------------------

The next day they sat in their usual spot at Central Park with Monica and Chandler. Rachel had cozied up to Elliot on the orange couch who had his arm around her as she laced her fingers between his. They were mindlessly chatting and sipping coffee as the door opened.

"Hey Ross!" Monica said.

Rachel could have sworn that she noticed his eyes fixate on the two of them for more than just a fleeting glance.

"Hey! Guess what? The museum is having a huge benefit next month. Some people from National Geographic are going to be there - we found a bone and now they want to write a big feature about us finding the bone -  it's another big bone thing. But anyway, you guys should all come! It's gonna be fun!"

"Ross, I think you and I have very different definitions of fun..." Chandler quipped.

"Uh, there'll be free booze and dancing."

Monica interrupted Chandler before he could make another joke. "We'd love to come, right Rach?"

She looked at her friends and then at Elliot, who was holding both of her hands in his. "Brace yourself Elliot, it could be a wild night."

He laughed and kissed her hand. "Sounds great, thanks for the invite. I have to go to work now though." He leaned in to Rachel. "I'll see you later tonight" he whispered, giving her a quick kiss on the lips as he got up from the couch. "Bye guys".

As he walked away Monica looked at her with a huge grin, scooting closer to her on the couch. "Rachel, I love him! He's the perfect guy for you! Oh my God, I can totally see it working out with you guys! Has he told you he loves you? Do you want to marry him?Oh, you would have the most beautiful children!"

Ross fidgeted in his chair.

"Monica, slow down. There is food in Joey's refrigerator older than we have been together. We're just taking it one day at a time... but I do really like him", she couldn't help but smile. "He's pretty perfect, isn't he?"

"Oh my God! I knew it! You are so going to marry him!" she yelled, loud enough for the person in the back to hear.

Ross got up from his chair. "I just remembered. I have to go. I have a uh, a thing."

After his quick exit, she turned to Monica, attempting to play it cool and be unaware of the daggers his eyes were shooting at Elliot over the past 3 minutes. "What's with him?"

"Emily called this morning... It's not good. She's being so unreasonable. I don't think she's coming back. I think it's over. He was pretty torn up about it."

"Oh wow. God, I feel so bad for him."

She really did feel awful for him. She knew how much he wanted it to work out, and as much as she didn't want him to get married, she did want him to be happy.

She could feel Elliot stiffen a bit in the seat next to her. She took a deep breath and smiled at him as she squeezed his hand, painfully aware that part of her heart had just walked out the door.