Epilogue

Three years later…

"Mommy, Mommy, I'm hungwy!"

"Emma sweetie, Mommy already told you that you're going to eat over at Cousin Jack and Erica's."

The sound of the doorbell echoed through the apartment and Rachel quickly turned off the stove and hung up her apron.

"That must be your Uncle Chandler," she said, heading out the kitchen towards the front door. The little blond-haired brown-eyes girl excitedly jumped out of her seat and followed her mother out, excited to see their visitor.

"Unca Chanwer! Unca Chanwer!" Emma yelled when she saw him enter the apartment. She immediately ran past her mom into Chandler's awaiting arms and giggled happily when she was hoisted into the air.

"How's my little Emma Wemma? Are you ready for a fun day with Cousin Jack and Erica?" he asked.

"Ya!" the little girl exclaimed and Chandler laughed.

"Hey Chandler," Rachel greeted, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you so much for doing this."

"Oh it's no problem Rach. It's been weeks since we last had Emma over and Monica's been dying to see her," he answered, playfully bouncing her in his arms and making her laugh.

"Well then tell Monica I say thanks too. Oh, and make sure she doesn't forget about our girl's night next week with Phoebe."

"Will do miss," Chandler joked, making her laugh. She turned her attention to Emma who was still giggling her head off from her uncle's bounces.

"Now you be good for Mommy, ok?"

"Ok Mommy," the little girl replied, earning a kiss on the head.

"We'll be over at 10 tomorrow to pick her up," Rachel said to Chandler who nodded. She smiled before returning to the kitchen.

Chandler looked down at the playful little two year-old, now playing around with his shirt collar. Born out of wedlock, most people thought that Emma was going to be raised in the wrong way but those who knew her parents' story knew that she'd have no problem growing up. If anything, Emma had a perfect family with a loving father always willing to put his daughter before anything and a devoted mother who cared about absolutely everything and anything about her child. Plus, two years ago, when the group had found out about Rachel's pregnancy, not once did they question the couple's decision not to get married over the child. After all, they were Ross and Rachel; they always did things differently than everyone else and it worked for them.

Chandler looked back up just in time to see Rachel exit the kitchen and bump into Ross who had just left the bedrooms. The two of them stumbled back a bit before realizing who they bumped into and smiling at each other.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Rachel apologized.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, looking at her for a moment. "Hi, I'm Ross Gellar, the new roommate. I moved in last night."

Rachel stifled a laugh as she accepted his hand. "Rachel Green, nice to meet you Ross."

"Nice to meet you too Rachel." The pair couldn't help but smile at each other through their little charade. "So what's for breakfast?"

"Well I've got some coffee brewing and some burnt toast on the table," she answered, giving him a knowing look. His smile grew.

"Hmm… not too appealing. How about we go out and grab some breakfast?"

"I think that sounds great," she responded. Their eyes met and neither of them could look away until she noticed something that made her giggle. "I think your shirt might be on backwards Ross."

"Is it?" Ross asked, pretending like he was completely clueless as he looked down at the tag hanging out from the front.

"And inside out," she added.

Ross laughed. "Well I better fix that, shouldn't I?" He reached down and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his nicely toned chest and abs. When he slipped his shirt back on he noticed her shyly look away to hide her blush but it was evident she had been staring. When she looked back he smiled mockingly at her in which she playfully slapped his arm.

Meanwhile Chandler watched form the living room, a small smile on his face at the couple's antics. Emma, on the other hand, didn't understand why her parents were acting so strangely and she didn't hesitate in pointing that out.

"Unca Chanwer, why Mommy and Daddy be so weire?"

Chandler laughed. Even at such a young age Emma was extremely attentive and her vocabulary was more extensive than most other two year-olds, obviously picking that up from Ross' side. Meanwhile most of her looks, aside from her eyes and nose, came from her mother's side, although Rachel's expressed countless times how grateful she is that Emma got her those features from her father.

"Well you see Emma, today is a special day for your Mommy and Daddy. Today is their anniversary," he explained. "Three years ago on this day, your Mommy and Daddy realized how much they loved each other and finally got together for good."

"Forever?"

"Yup, forever and ever. Well, at least until they take another break."

"Hey I heard that," Ross said, coming over and taking Emma out of Chandler's hands. He lifted the little girl up in the air before kissing her on the forehead. "Good morning princess."

"Morning Daddy," Emma giggled as he lifted her up in the air again.

"How are you man?" Ross asked, turning his attention to his former college roommate. "Is Westchester treating you well?"

Chandler shrugged. "Same old, same old. The kids are still too young to take them to a Nick's game and Monica's still a neat freak."

"Well that's Monica for you," Ross said and the two men laughed.

Chandler looked around the room to see if Rachel was still around before turning to Ross and giving him a knowing smile. "So… tonight the night, huh?"

Ross smiled. "It sure is. I got the ring right here," he said, patting his pocket.

"You know, I'm not one to judge by why haven't you done this sooner? I mean you guys went three years without getting into any major fights so I don't see why you didn't think of proposing earlier."

He shrugged. "I don't know, I guess we both kind of agreed that we didn't need to get married for us to be together, but I've always known she's wanted a ring and truthfully, I've always wanted to give her one."

"Oh, we all know how much you love doing that," Chandler joked, earning a glare from him. "Ok, ok, but in all seriousness I'm really happy for you guys. After everything you've been through it's about time you tied the knot."

"Yeah I know." Ross looked down at his daughter who was snuggled up against his chest and smiled. Like Rachel, she's always loved attention and sometimes even fought over him with her mother. "You think she'll be able to tell a difference?"

"I think so. She's a lot smarter than most two year-olds."

"Well her father does have a PhD…"

"We didn't call you doctor before and we're not starting now."

Ross laughed and handed Emma back over to her uncle. "Thanks again Chandler, I owe you one."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Just have a good anniversary."

He nodded and smiled before leaning down and placing another kiss on Emma's head. "Bye Emms, Daddy and Mommy will see you in the morning."

"Bye bye!" the little girl waved as Chandler carried her out the door. Ross blew her a kiss and watched as she disappeared down the hall before shutting the door.

When he turned around he spotted Rachel staring at him from the bedroom doorway, dressed in a small white shirt and blue skinny jeans that showed off her legs. Ross looked at her from across the living room and didn't even make an attempt not to stare. She still had that power to completely take his breath away and sometimes he couldn't believe he ended up with someone so beautiful like her.

"Ready to go?" she asked, sauntering towards the front door and purposely swinging her hips.

"Don't tease me Green or we'll never leave this apartment…" he answered, putting on his jacket and helping her put on hers.

She laughed and turned around, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"I love you."

"I love you too. But seriously, let's go, I'm starving."

She laughed as she opened the door, and with that they left hand in hand, starting their anniversary off the right way.

…

The day had passed by pretty quickly but neither of them were complaining. Most of their time had been spent with romantic walks in the park and shopping… among other things. They had attempted to continue their act from the morning a few more times throughout the day but found that it was almost impossible for either of them to resist kissing or holding the other. And so, they had found their fingers interlocked with each other wherever they went and short little kisses were given every few minutes just to remind them of how much they loved each other.

Dinner also came and gone by smoothly as their yearly visit to Amélie was just as delicious as the other years. Of course François was still there, serving them all the best dishes as well as wishing them a happy anniversary with a toast. Later when the bill came by, the couple split the price evenly as Rachel had refused to let him pay after that first year.

And by the time they reached their special place at the top of their hill, the Sun had already set and the stars had come out in full flight. The moon shone brightly above in the dark night sky and with the gentle breeze swirling in the air, everything was perfect, just as it has every year.

Ross sat leaning against the large tree trunk with Rachel comfortably in his lap, their fingers intertwined over her stomach as they watched the stars twinkle above them. Soft music played in the background, now fit with all of their songs as they sat together under the stars. From time to time she'd tilt her head back, asking for a kiss, in which he'd gladly give to her. 'I love you's were also shared once in a while but truthfully they really didn't need to say it to know how the other one felt. Just the fact that they were both there together already said enough.

Suddenly a shooting star shot across the night sky and they both watched the comet fly by in the blink of an eye.

"Quick make a wish," Ross whispered into her ear.

Rachel just smiled, turning around and wrapping her arms around his neck. "But I already have everything I want."

Ross leaned forward and kissed her passionately. When they broke he stared into her blue eyes and caressed her cheek softly.

"Happy anniversary sweetie."

"Happy anniversary," she repeated, pulling him in for another kiss. This one was held much longer as they were both willing to deepen the kiss and let their lips move on their own. So much love and passion was put into their kiss and the world around them seemed to disappear.

All of a sudden the song in the background changed and Rachel broke the kiss, catching her breath while giving him a strange look.

"What?" he asked, also breathing heavily.

"This isn't one of our songs."

"I know, I added it in."

Rachel closed her eyes and listened to the melodic tune, recognizing it as Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight sang by Fred Astaire. She opened her eyes and gave him the same strange look. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the song or that it wasn't good, it's just that all their songs had a special meaning for them and this just wasn't one of them… or so she thought.

"Ross why did you add this song?"

"Because I wanted to do this…" And with that, before she could even comprehend what was going on, he gently lifted her off his lap, standing her up, and going down on one knee right in front of her.

It took a moment for her brain to catch up to all that was happening but as soon as she realized what he was doing, her eyes began to tear up.

"Oh my God…" she gasped, looking down at the man who had so much love in his eyes her heart melted completely.

"Rachel the reason why I chose this song is because years ago I was going to propose to you with this very song playing in the background," he explained, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small blue velvet box which contained the beautiful two carat diamond engagement ring she had found years ago. "And this… this is the ring I wanted to propose to you with and is the same ring I'm proposing to you with now."

Tears streamed down her cheek as she stared at the ring. She had thought it was beautiful the moment she found it in his drawer but now that she was being proposed to with it, it was 10 times more beautiful. The moonlight seemed to illuminate the diamond at the perfect angle to make it glimmer elegantly in the night, and she couldn't believe she was being proposed to by something so incredible. But she had to get something off her chest first.

Rachel bent down on her knees, wiping away the tears from her eyes and holding onto his hands. "Ross, I need to tell you something…"

"That you found the ring in my drawer that day we cleaned the apartment? That you knew about my proposal after Chandler told you? I know Rachel, I know," he said, his smile not leaving his face. "But it all doesn't matter Rachel. None of it does. I want to propose to you with this ring and only this ring because after everything we've been through in the past, I want to finally put that all behind us. So the past will remain in the past but our history will always be with us in the present, and the future."

Rachel nodded and stood back up, her eyes beginning to water again. This time he took her hands in his, looking into her eyes and never losing eye contact as she didn't dare look away either.

"Rachel, you and I have been through so much together. I still remember that day you ran into Central Perk in your wedding gown, but what you didn't know was that right before you came in I had said that all I wanted was to be married again, and now I want to make that true." She laughed softly as he continued.

"You're the love of my life Rachel; you always have and always will be. Even when I used to say that I didn't have feelings for you anymore, I always knew that I'd never get over you. You're the sweetest, nicest, most caring and compassionate person I know. You're so beautiful and you don't even know it and I can't imagine one minute of my life without you. I love you so much Rachel, and like I said three years ago, I will never forget it. You've taken my heart and my soul the moment you walked into that coffee shop. Rachel Karen Green, will you marry me?"

"Oh Ross…" she cried, crouching back down to his height. "Ross, you have no idea how much I love you. I love you so, so much. Honestly I've never gotten over you either because there's never been anyone in my life like you. You're the only one who's ever truly touched my heart and shown me what true love is, and three years ago when you saved me in that car crash, I knew from that moment on I'd never love anyone more than I love you. You're everything I ever wanted and everything I will ever need. I love you so much. Yes, yes I will marry you!"

Tears began falling from his eyes as well as he gently slipped the engagement ring on her finger. As soon as it was on, Ross stood up and swept her up into a deep kiss, their first as an engaged couple. All of their feelings and happiness was poured inside that kiss as they expressed their love for one another the only way they knew how. Their tears slid down their cheeks and mixed together to form small little heart-shaped tears as from this moment on, they would no longer be Ross and Rachel but they would be Ross and Rachel. One entity, one heart and one mind. One love, and one amazing future together.

After what felt like eternity, they finally broke apart to catch some air as they remained in their tight embrace.

"Oh, Emma's going to be so happy," Rachel pointed out.

"I know, and she'll be even happier when she finds out that she can be the flower girl."

"She's going to look so beautiful in her dress."

"Well I know someone who's going to look even more beautiful in hers," he smiled and she smiled back, touching foreheads with his.

They remained in that position for a while, swaying to the music with With or Without You playing in the back. Rachel sighed softly; hugging him tighter, if that was even possible. She never wanted to let this man go because she knew that he'd never let her go.

"Ross," she said suddenly, making him open his eyes. "I think I know where we can have our wedding."

"Really? Where?" he asked, raising and eyebrow.

Rachel smiled and looked around her. "How about right here? Exactly a year from now, right here, in our special place."

Ross looked around and smiled as well, leaning down and kissing her softly on the lips. "I think it's perfect."

"Perfect?"

"Perfect," he repeated and their lips joined together once again.

"I love you," she whispered once they broke.

Ross smiled and leaned forward. "I love you more," he whispered into her ear and with that, she quickly pulled him down for another kiss.

They both had said it.

Everything was perfect.

…

Author's Note: And that will conclude Forgetful Love. I hope you all enjoyed as much as I had enjoyed writing it. Be sure to leave a review before you leave as even though the story's over, I'd love to hear your feedback.

I also want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this story. Whether it be the lack of R&R stories currently or that my writing was decent enough for you to read through it, I was amazed at how much positive feedback I got. Thank you to all those who took the time to leave a review for me as it definitely helped motivate me in continuing. Special thanks goes out to Soumi97 and Sylvannas, two people who really helped me out in pretty much every aspect of this story. Be sure to go check out their stories as well (if they have any :p).

Thanks again for all the support guys. I'll be starting a new story in a couple days so be sure to follow my account for any updates on that.

Thanks again, and I'll see you all next time.

~FE