Every Breath You Take : Ross and Rachel AU (Roschel)

hey angel

"Time of death, 5:32 pm."

Monica and Rachel screamed and cried out for Ross. Every cell in their body felt as if it had been shot and stabbed. The Italian nurse, Gloria, who was Ross's oncology nurse since his first day of chemo, frowned at the scene of the girls mourning this man. This man had been a fighter, always staying strong and positive, cracking jokes when she'd check up on him. She had taken quite a liking towards him. Gloria checked his pulse again, not being able to grasp the fact that this amazing patient of hers was dead. She gasped.

"Doctor! I have a pulse!" All heads turned to Ross. After just a second, his heart monitor returned to its rhythmic beeping, signaling that he was still alive.

"He's a fighter. I'll be back in a short while to take him in for testing." His doctor flashed a smile at the girls, who were crying tears of joy, and exited the room, followed by the team of nurses. Rachel carried Emma to her unconscious father. Monica took the opposite side of the bed, holding her brother's hand, too emotional to say anything.

"Is Daddy okay now?" Emma reached out to touch his cheek.

"Yes baby. Daddy's gonna be okay." Rachel kisses him on the forehead, caressing his hair, then his cheek. "Don't do that to me again, honey," she whispered.

~~~

The whole group of friends now gathered in a small waiting area, awaiting Ross's test results. Sandra Green had picked up Emma, as it was going to be a long night and her young brain couldn't understand what was going on. Rachel sat in a cushioned chair, still in shock of what had happened. She couldn't believe she almost lost him. What ate at her the most was that fact that if he did die, she didn't even get to say goodbye.

"Doctor, how is he?" Joey's voice caught Rachel's attention.

"We ran our tests and I have good news and bad news."

"Start with the bad news," answered Phoebe.

"The tumor that has spread to his liver is life threatening at the moment. We need to operate as soon as possible, preferably within the next few days. I'd say a week from today is our deadline or the next seizure could be fatal. The good news is that the Chemotherapy has greatly minimized the cancer cells in his lungs. But, he needs a liver transplant. Based on our database there are no matches currently available for donation."

"S-so what do we do?" Rachel seemed as if she was completely out of tears. In contrast to the others, she looked like the rock of the group right now.

"The good thing is that only one lobe needs to be donated so the donor could be living. We just need someone with good health, family history, and the same blood type."

The group chimed in, agreeing they would all be tested to see if they could donate.

"Okay, we'll start by taking blood samples right now. He is awake in his room. He's still recovering from the seizure so only one person at a time. The rest can come with me for a blood sample." All heads turned to Rachel, urging her to go see him. She nodded, heading for his room. The hallways and cream colored tile with specks of grey were even more eerie before. Finally coming to stop at his door, she took a deep breath and walked in.

"Hey angel." Ross's voice was quiet and weak. His skin lost it's color and he had an expression even more tired than before. Rachel placed a hand on his cheek, stroking it.

"I thought I lost you." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Would it have been so bad?" Tears had begun to escape from his eyes, he seemed as if he was struggling with every word. Still, he continued. "Look at me Rach, I can't even sit up and hug you. You're always so tired. And look, you've go through a tube of concealer every week trying to cover your tired eyes. You need someone who takes care of you. Sweetie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't take care of you. I'm sorry you have to do this." Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. Would it have been so bad? His words stung her heart. She wanted to tell him how selfish that was but she remembered how he used to say he wanted to fight. He wanted to beat cancer, and now he says dying wouldn't have been so bad. She knew he was hurting. Rachel lifted herself up, resting her chin on his short hair and cradling his head with her arm.

She let him cry until he ran out of tears. Rachel knew he was only vulnerable and open with her so she let him let out his emotions. Ross had bottled up all his tears in front of their friends and his daughter. He had felt grateful for Rachel and how she was always his shoulder to cry on. It was when he felt her touch that he realized this girl would do anything for him and it would tear her apart if he was gone.

If you should return to me,
We truly were meant to be.

~~~

Hehe did you guys seriously think I was capable of killing Ross like that? I admit, I was actually gonna kill off Ross but then I thought of a better storyline if I kept on going and I just couldn't bring my self to write up his funeral and all that other stuff. I initially thought of publishing this much later to y'know, keep you on the edge of your seat but I think that's a little too far lol. Anyways Ross is not dead— yet.

Just kidding.

Don't hate me x
YG