Lilies and Stars

Ross Geller proposes to the love of his life, Rachel Green. Two parts.


Author's note: This chapter contains mature content.

It was a Saturday morning in the Geller-Green residence. Ross was up busy in the kitchen making pancakes, Emma and Ben were in the living room watching cartoons and Rachel was still in bed having a sleep in. Having been back together for six months now, it had sort of become a weekend ritual for them and although it meant Ross was always awake earlier than everyone else, it never bothered him. He loved his girlfriend and his two kids more than anything else in the world and nothing made him happier than looking after them.

"Hey, look who finally decided to get up!" exclaimed Ross as he heard the kitchen door open.

"I could get the smell of coffee and pancakes… plus, I was starting to miss you," Rachel cooed, wrapping her arms around Ross' waist.

Ross wrapped his arms around Rachel in return and they softly swayed together. "Well, you woke up just in time as the pancakes are done now."

"I'll get the kids."

Ross loved when Rachel referred to Emma and Ben as "the kids". For the first time in his life, he felt like he had the family he'd always dreamed of and it made his heart feel like it could burst with love. So much so, he would often tell Rachel how he couldn't wait to marry her one day. He was so in love, he couldn't help himself. Today was the day, however, he was going to take the first step in making marriage happen — he was going to propose.

The only thing that Rachel knew was that they would be dropping Emma off and spending the day at her mom's before going out for a romantic dinner at Raoul's in the evening. Between the both of them working full time, raising Emma and Ben and house hunting on the Upper East Side, life had quickly become busy and making sure not to let history repeat itself, they acknowledged just how important it was to spend quality time with one another. Ross' plan came together perfectly.

When Rachel returned to the kitchen carrying Emma and with Ben in tow, the dining table had been set out with a fresh stack of pancakes (both plain and chocolate chip), hot coffee, juice, an assortment of pancake toppings and a beautiful bunch of lilies in the centre. It was set to be a special day, after all.

"Oh, honey, this is lovely! You take such good care of us," Rachel said gleefully. She pecked Ross on the cheek and then set Emma down in her high chair.

"Yeah, this looks good, Dad! I'm starving!" Ben exclaimed as he shoved his fork into the pancakes, picking up as many as he could.

"Dada! Dada!" Emma chimed in. She still couldn't say many proper words, but she was at that age where she was becoming more and more talkative and loved trying to converse.

Rachel lovingly ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, "Yes, baby girl! Daddy made pancakes for us. Aren't we so lucky?"

The family of four ate, talked and laughed, enjoying their morning together. Just as they were almost done, Ross' phone rang. He excused himself from the table to quickly answer it.

"Who was that?" Rachel enquired when Ross came back.

"Hey, listen, it looks like I'm not gonna be able to make it to your mom's today."

Ben took a big gulp of juice to disguise the huge smile that appeared on his face. He had been pestering his dad asking when he was going to propose to Rachel since they'd got back together, so two weeks ago, Ross decided to let his son in on his little secret.

"Oh, why not? She was so looking forward to seeing you!"

"It's the museum. Two guys are out with the flu and they asked if I could fill in to set up an upcoming exhibit."

"You don't really have to go, do you? You haven't worked at the museum in years."

"And deny the good people of New York The Magnificent Mesozoic exhibit? I couldn't do that."

Rachel rolled her eyes and chucked, "Okay, well, just as long as you're not late for dinner tonight. You better make it up to my mom though."

"Of course I won't be late and tell your mom I'm sorry. I'm going to drop Ben back soon and then I'll make my way over to the museum."

"Sure," Rachel replied, nodding her head. "Well, I'm going to take a shower and get ready for the day." She then got up from the table, clearing away some dishes and kissed Ross before she left the kitchen.

"Good luck for tonight, Dad," Ben said cheerfully. With Rachel out of sight, his smile was now in full view.

Ross couldn't contain his smile either. "Thanks, son."


It was now late in the afternoon and Rachel had returned home from her mom's to get ready for her date night with Ross. She was in the middle of putting on her mascara when the phone rang.

"Hey sweetie," Ross said from the other end.

"Hi honey, where are you?"

"I'm so sorry, but this is taking longer than expected. Do you want to meet me at the museum and go to dinner from here? There's no point heading home and then coming back out this way."

"Oh, sure, that's fine. I'll get a cab once I've finished getting ready."

"Great. Thanks, Rach. Sorry for all of this."

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you soon."

"Okay. I'll be in the exhibition hall when you get here. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye, honey."

At the museum, it was actually the planetarium Ross was in. He put his phone back in his pocket and took out another item he had been carrying around — Rachel's ring. He opened the small box and examined the piece of jewellery inside it full of nerves and excitement. It was all happening now. Rachel would soon be on her way and he would propose. Ross took a deep breath trying to calm himself.


Rachel stepped out of the cab and looked up at The New York Museum of Prehistoric History. She smiled. From the beginning of her relationship with Ross to weekends spent here with Emma and Ben, she had come to associate many fond memories with this place and she couldn't wait to see Ross inside. Even after all this time, he could still make her heart skip a beat. Rachel began walking up the steps and when she got to the doorway, was greeted by a tall, sharp-looking security guard.

"Are you Rachel Green?"

"Yes, I am."

The security guard smiled and held the door open for her, "The planetarium is to the left."

"Oh, no, Ross said he was in the exhib—" Rachel stopped dead in her tracks as she came to a startling realisation. "Oh, my God..." she then whimpered.

All of a sudden, Rachel could feel her heart racing a mile a minute. She knew this wasn't going to be any ordinary dinner date. After a moment to compose herself, she nervously smiled back and thanked the security guard.

The museum was dead silent and completely empty, the only thing to be heard were her heels as she walked. Soon enough, Rachel was standing in front of the large door leading to the planetarium. Butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach like crazy, it could've almost made her sick. It was a good feeling though. It was the same feeling when she saw Ross standing there in the rain outside of Central Perk, the same feeling when she found out she was going to have their baby, the same feeling when she'd decided not to go to Paris after all. It was a feeling that she'd only ever felt with Ross.

She exhaled deeply as she opened the door and upon entering, looked around to see the entire theatre filled with lilies and twinkling with stars. Her eyes beamed, but it was the sight of Ross that took her breath away. Standing at the front of the stage and smiling at her from across the other side of the room, Rachel began walking up to him, much like she did after learning about his heartfelt prom gesture many moons ago. Every part of her body was tingling and her legs felt like jelly. The aisle was lined with candles, the flickering glow lighting her way to him, and Fred Astaire's The Way You Look Tonight was playing on the sound system. As she got to the end, Ross held out his hand to help her up the small set of steps and when she turned to stand in front of him, he took her other hand so that now both of hers were in his.

"Hey you," he said.

"Hey you," she replied, smiling through her tears.

"I know it's not exactly a surprise, but I just couldn't picture doing this any other way."

"No, you always said you wanted this to be perfect and this is perfect," she squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"Rachel, every day I wake up and I'm so grateful you chose to stay. I want to spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret that decision and making you as happy as you make me. Watching you raise Emma and seeing how much Ben adores you... I love you, I love being a family with you and I can't wait for our family to grow one day. I know it hasn't always been easy, but we're here now and we've come so far. I'm so proud of us. I always knew we were meant to end up together…"

He took out a little remote from his pocket and held it up to the ceiling. With that, the words "Will you marry me?" lit up and sparkled across the dome. Ross got on one knee and this time from his pocket, took out the small box holding the ring. His heart was pounding so fast, he was almost sure Rachel could hear it.

"Rachel Green, will you marry me?"

Tears were streaming down her face. The grandiosity of the moment was too much to contain her emotions.

She nodded, being unable to speak at first and trying to compose herself, "Yes!... Yes, of course!"

Ross smiled and placed the engagement ring on her left hand. It was a solid gold band with a single striking diamond in the centre. It was classic, it was timeless, it was understated and it was beautiful. It was Rachel.

When Ross got up, he pulled her into a deep passionate kiss before lifting her up into the air, spinning her around. Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist, her hands placed firmly on his cheeks and her adoring gaze on her new fiancé.

As her feet made it firmly back onto the floor, she averted her eyes past Ross to see a picnic set up with blankets, cushions, champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries. It was totally cliché and she loved it.

"It's a little more romantic than juice boxes," he chuckled.

Rachel chuckled back, "Shall we?"

"Let's," replied Ross, motioning his hand toward the setup. He guided her there with a hand placed on the small of her back and then they both sat down and got comfortable.

They popped open the bottle of champagne, fed each other strawberries in between kisses and basked in the blissful feeling of being madly in love. After a while, things got a little more serious when Rachel had something she wanted to get off her chest.

"Ross, can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"Watching you get married to someone else… I couldn't let that happen again. When I got off that plane, I really wanted it to be me this time. I don't think I ever stopped loving you and I'm so sorry I almost left," she spoke softly and with her voice cracking as she remembered the pain she felt when she had frantically made her way to London some six years ago.

"It's always been you, Rach. That's never changed and it never will. We're here now and that's all that matters. I love you." The same words Ross had expressed all those years ago still rung true.

It wasn't always easy for Rachel to speak her true feelings, she could be a bit of a closed book at times, but Ross had always been able to make her feel comfortable and after watching him pour his heart and soul out to her at the airport six months ago, his braveness made her feel brave. They didn't let their egos and pride hold them back anymore. He enveloped her into a deep hug and she held onto him as if she were never letting go. She had an arm wrapped around his head, holding him as close to her as she possibly could, and realising how vulnerable she was feeling, his embrace became tighter to let her know she was safe with him.

After what felt like a lifetime, they loosened their hold to look at one another and her glistening blue eyes told him that she needed him — that they needed each other. Ross kissed her with such intensity, she had to grip her arms around him again just to stop herself from stumbling and she welcomed his tongue into her mouth to freely dance with hers.

Never breaking their kiss, Rachel fumbled with the buttons on Ross' dress shirt and her mid-length dress had found its way up to her thighs as Ross caressed her all over. They smiled at the familiarity of it all, remembering the first time they'd ever made love — in this exact spot — so young and carefree. Now, they were a little older and a little wiser, but with the same fervent desire running through their bodies as it did all those years ago.

"Wait, we aren't going to have school kids walk in on us again, are we?" Rachel asked, lightening the mood a little. Plus, they both needed to catch their breath.

Ross laughed, "No, I made sure of that."

"Good."

With that, Rachel removed his shirt, revealing his muscular arms and chest and feeling instantly turned on, began working on his belt and pants. Once they were off too, Ross unzipped Rachel's dress and she lifted her arms up so that he could wriggle it off over her head. He allowed his hands to roam freely all over her, then they slid underneath her underwear to knead her butt before making their way up her back to unclasp her bra. Ross' eyes lit up at the sight of her bare breasts and he instinctively cupped one in each hand, using his fingers to graze her nipples all while sucking at her neck. The combination of his hand and mouth work felt so good and Rachel smiled at both the pleasure of his touch and at how easy he was to please, then tugged at his boxers, signalling Ross to remove them. Now naked before her, she pulled him down onto the blankets with herself so that he was on top of her small frame and he worked his magic, exploring every inch of the body he couldn't get enough of. He knew every crevice, every freckle, every little thing so uniquely Rachel and yet she always felt new and exhilarating to him. He placed open-mouthed kisses on her left inner thigh with his fingertips softly stroking the other, then gazed up at her as he slowly removed her underwear. It felt like a release to her and now the only thing left between them was the newly placed engagement ring on her hand.

Ross returned in between Rachel's legs, this time working his tongue and fingers on her most sensitive spot, the sensation eliciting loud moans to escape her mouth. She arched her back in pleasure, running her fingers through his hair to urge him on and his hands were fixed to her hips to keep her steady. Not before long, she was well and truly ready for more.

"Ross, please…"

He wasted no time and listened to the desperation in her voice without hesitation. He was certainly feeling it too. Ross made his way back up to her, kissing her along the way and grazing his hands all over her smooth skin before his eyes met with hers. Rachel lifted her head off the pillow to kiss his sweet, soft lips, then reached down to his shaft to return the pleasure.

"Ahh, Rach…" Ross groaned.

She loved the way he grunted her name. He would always put her needs above his own, but it felt good to her to look after him too. Soon enough, however, neither could wait a second longer for one another. They didn't need to worry about a condom as Rachel had decided to go on the pill when she started her new job and so she slowly guided his naked member into herself, the both of them simultaneously letting out moans as her warmth surrounded him. As he pushed in deeper, their kisses deepened too and then Ross settled into a rhythm that drove Rachel crazy.

The lights from above shimmered and danced upon their bodies illuminating their exposed skin and combined with the lush, sweet scent of lilies, it was one of the most enchanting nights of their lives.

"Oh, my God, Ross, deeper..."

He did as he was told and thrust himself in harder with Rachel's hands clawing at his butt, making sure he didn't dare stop.

"I'm almost there…" she whispered breathlessly.

"Me too, Rach… God, you feel so good," Ross replied, groaning into her hair. Knowing he could make Rachel feel this way was enough to send chills down his spine and bring him closer too.

She brought his head up to face hers and looked him in the eyes. "Come with me."

He nodded, then kissed her firmly and lovingly. Although Ross was on top, he loved it when Rachel took control and let him know exactly what she wanted. It only spurred him on and made him more focused on satisfying her. Her pleasure was his pleasure and it drove him wild.

The stars around them soon became blurry flecks of light and as their moans got louder and more frequent and Rachel's thighs tightened around him, they could both feel themselves about to lose it. The build up was drawn out and intense, holding on and making the moment last for as long as they could, but soon enough, it was all out of their control and their connected bodies quivered in ecstasy as they gave in to the earth-shattering release together.

Ross collapsed on top of Rachel, his hot breath on her neck as he panted, and even though she was so much smaller than him, she loved the feeling of his weight completely sunken into hers. She kept him cradled in between her legs and tenderly stroked his back, wanting to make him feel as loved and protected as she felt. When he finally caught his breath, Ross propped himself up on his arms so that he could look at the woman who lay before him and he smiled at how damn beautiful she was. He tucked her sweaty strands of hair behind her ears and she smiled right back at him before they sweetly kissed.

"We're engaged," Ross said, gazing straight into her eyes.

"We're engaged," she confirmed, taking a glimpse at her hand on Ross' neck. Rachel couldn't wipe the smile off her face and felt giddy as she realised that was the first time she'd said that out loud.

Ross rolled off Rachel, so that now he was on his back and she was nestled in his chest. He hugged her tightly from behind, kissing the back of her head, then they looked up at the starry sky together.

"God, it's beautiful. I don't want this night to end," she said dreamily, rubbing Ross' arms.

"It isn't over yet."

"Oh, I know we've still got Raoul's for dinner, but this is different!"

"Actually, we're not going to Raoul's..."

Rachel immediately sat up and turned to look at Ross, "We aren't?"

He sat up too, "I booked us a room for two nights at The Plaza."

"The Plaza?!"

He loved when she got excited. "Mmhmm."

"This close to the holidays? How?!"

"I, uh… I made the booking the week we got back together," he confessed.

Rachel was touched and on the verge of tears for what felt like the millionth time that night.

"What?" she questioned.

"When we got back together, we said this was it and all I could think about was spending the rest of my life with you and making your dreams come true. From that moment, I just knew."

"Ross… I… " Rachel was taken aback and rendered speechless. Then, the words came to her. She looked straight into his eyes with her hands on each side of his neck. "You don't ever have to worry about me regretting anything. Paris was never about the job… it was meant to bring me back to you."

Usually it was Ross who had the way with the words, but there were times when Rachel would say something that completely floored him and he couldn't believe that the woman he loved with every fibre of his being felt the same way back. He simply held her, gently brushing her arms with his fingertips and she lovingly worked her hands down and stroked his chest. Sitting there naked and post-sex underneath the stars, it was a very raw and moving moment between the two and they took it all in, enjoying the stillness and silently acknowledging how much they truly meant to each other.

"Should we freshen up and make our way over to The Plaza now?" asked Ross after a little while, running his hands through her hair.

Rachel smiled and nodded, "I need to go back home and change though. I can't wear a dress intended for Raoul's to The Plaza!"

Ross chuckled at just how well he knew his future wife, "I thought that might be the case. I got Monica and Phoebe to pack you a bag. It's at the hotel already."

"You did? Oh, honey... Wait, what? They know about tonight? Who else is in on this?"

"You can ask me all the questions on the way there. Stanley, the security guard you would've met, is going to kill me if I keep him waiting any longer."

"Ross, honey… Thank you for tonight. All this… it completely took my breath away. I love you so much and I can't wait to marry you."

He smiled sweetly at her and kissed her nose, "As I said, it isn't over yet…"


Author's note: I really was not expecting to be back here a year later writing another fic, but OH MY GOD, THE REUNION. It's been over two months now, but I'M STILL NOT OVER IT. All I wanted was to hear Ross and Rachel got married and had more kids, but we were blessed with that and so much more! The barbershop quartet, the table read of Ross and Rachel's first kiss, the footage of David and Jennifer flirting and their hug filming The Last One and last, but not least, the confession of their MUTUAL CRUSH! I was one of those sceptical fans who never believed it, but now I know why I've never been able to get over them and their insane chemistry! I didn't think it was possible to love this couple even more! Like Jennifer said herself, I have a very special spot in my heart for Ross and Rachel. :)

Anyway, I hope you liked this. Let me know what you thought and fangirl with me over Ross and Rachel/David and Jennifer in the reviews! Chapter 2 coming soon!