Hello everybody! Apparently I'm back! I haven't written narrative texts in a long time so I have lost a little fluency in writing…I hope it gets better with practise.

This fic will be somehow like my first one 'TOW the ski trip', which means The beginning will be a portion of an episode: 'TO After Vegas' and then it's all new; my own alternative continuation to the end of season 5.

Reminder: English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for the possible mistakes you may find.

….

CHAPTER 1

Ross and Rachel entered the restaurant of their Las Vegas hotel completely oblivious to the events that had taken place the night before.

"Hey!" Both of them greeted their friends as they took seat at the table. Rachel nonchalantly poured them both some coffee under the attentive stare of the gang.

"What?" Ross asked, confused by the weird look on his friends' faces.

"Are we gonna talk about what you guys did last night? Or…" Chandler commented in his particular sarcastic tone. Ross and Rachel looked at each other, trying not to freak out.

"I-I don't know." Rachel spoke. "What do you mean 'last night'? Nothing, nothing uh, happened last night." A nervous chuckle left her mouth.

"Yeah!" Ross quickly added.

"Uh-huh! Ross invited us all to watch." Phoebe said.

"What's the matter with you!" Rachel exclaimed as she turned to Ross rather stunned.

"Rach! We weren't gonna miss our friends getting married!" Monica intervened. Rachel gasped in surprise.

"Who got married?!" She exclaimed and looked at Ross who seemed as surprised to hear this as her.

"…You did." Chandler said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?! Hello! We didn't get married." Ross chuckled.

"No, we didn't get married! That's ridiculous!" Rachel added also chuckling. They turned to look at each other and let out a gasp of surprise as they suddenly remembered that they did in fact get married.

"Wait…I remember being in a chapel." Ross said, pressing his eyes with his fingers as to recall the events of the night before.

"Oh my God." Rachel mumbled, covering her face with her hands.

"I—They would not let us get married when we were that drunk!?"

"They let you get married when you're drunk! Most people who get married in Vegas are drunk!" Joey replies.

"Hell, I'm drunk right now!" Phoebe exclaimed, making all her friends turn and look at her. "What? I can't have a mimosa with breakfast?! I'm on vacation!"

"What are you guys gonna do?" Monica asked.

"Well, I guess we will just find a divorce lawyer?" Rachel answered looking at Ross for support.

"Well, I think, I think, Ross already has one. Now, this one's free, right? Because you paid for the first two, so the third one's free." Chandler joked, earning himself a stare of anger from Ross.

"Laugh it up, but the joke's on you. Because we don't need to get divorced, okay? We we're just gonna get an annulment."

"An annulment? Ross!" Joey quickly intervened. "I don't think surgery's the answer here." Everyone at the table eyed him in disbelief but decided not to comment.

"Oh-oh, that's your thing." Phoebe broke the silence and pointed at Ross.

"What?"

"Your thing. Your thing. Y'know? You're the guy who gets divorced."

"Oh yeah!" the rest agreed.

"No-no, that's-that's not my thing!" He exclaimed offended "I do not love getting divorced!"

"Yes you do! This is your third divorce! You love divorce so much you're probably gonna marry it! Then it won't work out and you're gonna have to divorce it, divorcing guy." Phoebe said laughing; the only laughter heard among the table. "I'm so drunk." She stated after feeling a dozen of eyes fixed on her.

"Have you considered calling the book of Guinness records? 'cause you must've a broken some kind of a record here" Chandler added, getting on Ross' nerves.

"Enough with this, we're gonna solve this situation right now, C'mon Rachel" he said, getting up from his seat and grabbing Rachel by her arm.

(…..)

"It is closed" Rachel said, turning the door knob that led to the chapel's lobby.

"It can't be closed"

"Well, it is"

"Let me try" Ross said as he pushed her aside. Rachel folded her arms as she quietly watched Ross turn the knob several times until he gave up. "Damn it! If they're gonna close the chapel they should at least put up a notice! What kind of service is this" He complained as he tried one more time. Rachel stared at him.

"You done?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, Why…Why don't we go ask in reception, they must be informed about the priest's schedule"

"Good idea" Ross said before making his way towards the reception. Rachel followed Ross close behind, silence standing between them. She had a weird sensation in her stomach that she couldn't place; perhaps it was due to the uncontrolled amount of alcohol she had indulged the night before and had yet to leave her system, or maybe just the fact of suddenly realising she was married to…Ross.

"May I help you, Sir?" a woman in an impeccable dark blue skirt suit politely asked.

"Yes, we- we would like to know where we could find the priest, the chapel seems to be closed"

"It is closed during the day; the priest's shift doesn't start until 8pm"

"Excuse me? What kind of chapel is that?"

"Shh Ross, calm down"

"A Vegas one, Sir" The receptionist said with a permanent smile. "But if you're so eager to get marry I will be glad to write down your names and put you next on the waiting-"

"Oh no, no, no, no…" Rachel quickly stopped her. "Actually, we would like to talk to the priest because we need to get an annulment" Ross nodded profusely. "You see…we were VERY drunk last night, we truly didn't know what we were getting ourselves into" Rachel cleared up. The receptionist smiled at them, with a look that showed she had heard that story thousands of times before.

"I'm afraid I cannot help you with that, the priest should be here around seven if you desire to speak with him"

"That's alright, thank you" Rachel politely said as they began to walk back towards the restaurant.

"7pm? Our plane leaves at 4! We cannot wait that long"

"Then we'll have to get the annulment back home"

"No way, we need to get that annulment before leaving; otherwise the guys will be mocking me till god knows when"

"They always mock you anyway" Rachel naively said, but her comment didn't sit well with Ross, whose serious stare began to strangle Rachel's throat. "wha…What do you suggest then? The woman already told us the priest won't be here til tonight"

"….maybe we can go see him at his house, they could give us his address!" He exclaimed as he turned around towards the desk but Rachel grabbed his arm before he could go any farther.

"Are you crazy! What are you a stalker all of a sudden? Calm down and think clearly because your ideas seem taken right out of Joey's head"

"but-"

"But nothing, Can we sort this out later? You pulled me out of the restaurant and I'm starving" Rachel reproached him and then resumed her way towards the hotel's restaurant before he could pronounce another word.

(….)

Back in the restaurant everybody had finished their meal and were enjoying a cup of coffee while Ross explained their situation.

"Why don't you guys change your plane tickets and return to New York with us tomorrow?" Monica suggested.

"Or you could come with us!" Phoebe exclaimed cheerfully. "It'd be a fun trip the four of us in the taxi playing car games, oh oh yes come with us!"

"Yeah…I think we'll go with Chandler and Monica…you see, Rachel returns to work on Wednesday"

"He's right" Rachel quickly added. Crossing the country in Phoebe's taxi…that would near the definition of torture. She thought to herself.

"Whatever, you'll be sorry for missing…the trip of your life" She said, putting emphasis in the last words as her eyes widened. The gang remained silent looking at one another, until Joey broke the tense atmosphere with the squeaking of his chair.

"Joey, you can't take the plate with you" Monica warned him.

"But I'm not leaving, I'm gonna refill my plate with mashed potatoes" The girls observed stunned how he walked to the buffet and eagerly filled his plate again.

"Okay, that's the forth plate he's bringing to the table" Rachel commented.

"Are you actually surprised? This is Joey we are talking about, he eats three family-size pizzas every Friday" Chandler said of his long-time roommate, if someone truly knew Joey that was him.

"Still, that stomach must have a limit"

"He hasn't found it yet. By the way Pheebs" Chandler continued. "It wouldn't be such a bad idea if you bought some adult diapers; you know…all that food has to come out" The three girls pulled a face of deep revulsion while Ross slowly returned the coffee to its spot on the table.

"Ew gross!" Monica exclaimed. Chandler laughed.

"You're lucky you don't live with Joey. You cannot imagine how many mornings I've gone into the bath-"

"Stop it!" Rachel and Monica yelled out at unison. "Do not dare to finish that sentence" Monica added with a threatening look on her eyes.

"O-kay" he said taken aback.

"So…what are you guys gonna do?" Monica asked with her eyes closed and slightly shaking her head to sweep off the unpleasant image her boyfriends had put in her mind. Ross and Rachel shared a look.

"I guess…I'll call the airline and change the tickets for tomorrow. I certainly do not want to return without sorting this out first" Rachel let out a puff of air. She did not agree with that.

"But why?" she asked, turning her body to him "we are gonna get that annulment, what does it matter whether it is here or in New York?"

"I cannot go back home being married for a third time, Okay?"

"But no one will know"

"My lawyer will"

"So what" She said uncomprehending why he was so obsessed with the annulment.

"I got a divorce eight months ago; he will take me for a fool if I return with another failed marriage"

"But this is not even a marriage, it's just a big drunken mistake" Rachel tried to make him see it was not the big deal he believed it to be.

"You guys, stop." Monica intervened. "Fighting will get you nowhere. Rach, the sooner this is solved the fewer headaches it will give you so just let him do whatever he wants…" Rachel sighed as she considered Monica's words. She was right, if this whole unexpected marriage was solved in Las Vegas, she wouldn't have to worry about it back in New York and Ross would stop acting like a paranoid.

"Alright…but you're paying for the extra night" she said pointing at Ross.

"No problem"

…

"There must be a way!" Ross was almost out of himself. What he thought was the solution to his problem turned out to be an even bigger headache. Rachel stood behind Ross quietly observing the scene taking place before her eyes. She would have liked to get involved, try to help, but she had not the least idea about how annulments or divorces worked.

"Son, my job is to join souls in love into holy marriage, not taking them apart" The priest calmly repeated once again. Fifteen minutes and his words still seemed to go in one ear and out the other. Ross had come for an annulment and he was determined to get it.

"The thing is we are not in love, we do not love each other!" a pinch in her stomach. Rachel frowned at her unforeseen reaction. She knew they didn't love each other…not as they used to. Why that strange feeling?

"I'm truly sorry but as I mentioned before, you require a lawyer to deal with your problem" Ross was about to speak again but Rachel soon grabbed his arm and pulled of him.

"Ross, quit it." Rachel said. "He made it clear what his position is"

"I know but-"

"But we're gonna take care of this back home as we should've" she hissed. "Thanks for your attention father. Have a nice day" Rachel said with a polite smile, which he returned, and forcefully pulled Ross out of the chapel.

"You need to stop acting like a child Ross" She tried to sound calm so as not to enrage him more. His eyes were downcast, feeling a bit ashamed of his behaviour. He himself didn't understand why he was so altered; he just couldn't stand his inner voice repeating 'three divorces' over and over with that mocking tone.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what have come over me…" Rachel suddenly felt bad for him.

"Don't worry, Everything will go back to normal when we return home" Rachel's last set out an alarm in his head. His eyes widened and his bottom lip hid between his teeth.

"What, what happened?" Rachel asked, noticing his uneasiness.

"…There's something I forgot to tell you"

"What is it" she asked with a stare, already aware that bad news were coming her way.

"I phoned the airline and…I don't know what happened but…I couldn't change the tickets."

"Did you buy an unchangeable ticket?" she asked through her teeth; her hands resting on her hips in a hostile position as she waited for his obvious answer.

"I might have…" It was almost inaudible but enough for Rachel to explode in rage.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "And we missed our flight! Why didn't you tell me before? Gosh! What's up with you today!"

"I'm sorry; I was so focused on the annulment, I thought everything would be fine by now."

"You should've listened to me in the first place. What are we going to do now, huh?" She asked as she heatedly walked back and forth, one of her hands on her forehead and the other resting on her stomach. There she was, in Las Vegas, married and without a return ticket, too many problems to deal with in such a short period of time.

"We could buy new tickets…?" He softly suggested.

"Will you pay for mine? Because I can't afford another one, it's too expensive"

"I could but…there is a cheaper alternative to get home"

"Yeah, how?"

"Phoebe's taxi" He said, not quite liking the idea himself. But it was the only solution he could find.

"Phoebe's taxi…" she repeated in a soft chuckle. "You know that'll take several days…in a car…with Phoebe and Joey"

"I do know" he replied, already regretting the idea. Maybe he could spend his savings on a couple of new tickets, but it pained him to think about that amount of money that would go to waste. "I do know…but, can you come up with something cheaper than a plane ticket and better than Phoebe's taxi?" Rachel sighed helplessly, not even bothering to give it a thought.

"No…"

(….)

"Yay! I'm so happy you're coming with us" Phoebe said euphorically as she helped Ross put the suitcases inside the truck. "It's gonna be so much fun!"

"Sure it will" Rachel said under her breath.

"All set" Ross informed as he shut the truck "let's get this trip started"

"Goodbye Las Vegaaas!" Phoebe shouted making everyone around turn to look at her. Rachel covered her face in embarrassment. "Alright, get on board, Phoebe's passengers;" She said as she excitedly got on her grandmother's taxi and closed the door. "Put your seatbelt on guys, except you Joey" she said handing him a thin rope. "Here, use this as your seatbelt" Joey took it and clumsily tied it around his waist. "The pilot will proceed to take off in a few seconds. Get ready" Phoebe said with a childish giggle.

"I hope I can sleep all the way through" Ross whispered to Rachel, who was sitting next to him in the back seat.

"I bought sleep pills before leaving the hotel" she whispered back.

"Smart move"

Thirty minutes into the trip…

"Joey, Why are you so uneasy? You're making me nervous!" Phoebe asked as she watching Joey's weird movements from the corner of her eyes.

"I need to pee" Ross and Rachel rolled their eyes.

"This will be a looooong trip back home" Rachel helplessly told Ross.

"I'm afraid so"

…..

So that was the first chapter. It may seem a bit fast-paced but this is just an introduction I promise it will make sense in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it and I'd like to know what your first impression was. If the fic is too bad just tell me 'stop!'