Chapter Text
Paris, six months later
Rachel sat in Café De Flore, enjoying her coffee, as she looked out into the street, as the people rushed by, immersed in their own lives. Paris was an adventure she never hoped or foresaw, but she absolutely loved it. She loved her job at Louis Vuitton, loved watching Emma’s little face light up when she pointed at the Eiffel Tower or when she clumsily said “bonjour” to strangers. There were moments when Rachel missed the little things: Central Perk, Monica’s neurotic dinner parties, and Joey’s ridiculous impressions that always made her laugh, even when she didn’t want to.
Rachel was building a whole new life for her and her daughter. She lived in a lovely apartment complex where the people were really friendly and kind. She made friends, and Emma joined a bilingual nursery that taught both English and French. Rachel was making strides at work; she managed the team that selected the models for the jewellery promotions.
After grabbing another on-the-go coffee, Rachel headed back to the office. She had one more meeting for the day. Then she planned to take off a bit early and pick Emma up a little early, and start their weekend a little earlier. Emma loved seeing the city from the top of the Eiffel Tower; the two would share a chocolate croissant.
The meeting was long and boring, the conference room buzzed with the low hum of voices and the rustle of papers. This was the final meeting before the spring line was locked in. Rachel’s fingers skimmed the edge of the lookbook as she listened intently, but silently, while the reps pitched their collaborations and designers defended their choices. Rachel made a list of the models that she thought would work for the spring collection jewellery. Once the meeting finally ended, Rachel emailed her team the list so that on Monday, they could start contacting the model’s agents.
As she steps out of the office building, the cool air brushes against her face, offering a small relief from the day’s chaos. She’s halfway down the steps when her eyes catch a familiar figure on the bench just outside the entrance.
She pauses.
There, sitting casually with a slight smirk and his signature leather jacket, is someone she hasn’t seen in far too long—her best friend. Her heart skips a beat.
“Is that really you?” she calls out, already grinning as she quickens her pace.
He looks up, his smile widening. “How you doin’?”
She rushes over, eyes wide, laughing in disbelief. “No way. Joey, what are you doing here?”
He stands up from the bench, cool as ever in jeans, a leather jacket, and aviators he definitely doesn’t need in this weather. A script is tucked under his arm.
“Well,” he says, arms open, “turns out the World War I movie that I was in a couple of years ago did really well and now they want are making a film about the Second World War.”
She blinks. “You’re filming here?”
He nods, pulling off the sunglasses with a smirk. “Yep.”
She gasps in shock. “Wow.” She laughs, then steps closer, still not quite believing it. “You didn’t tell me you landed this role.”
“I wanted to surprise you. Plus, I wasn’t sure if you'd be around.” He glances behind her, where a woman is standing on her phone. After wrapping up her call, she comes up next to them and hands Joey a brown envelope and says, “Filming is wrapped up for the day and here is your updated script.” The woman then took the old script off him and handed him the new one, along with a keycard, before she walked off without another word.
Rachel turns back to Joey, “Oh my god, what the hell was that? You don’t even have to talk to women, and they hand you their room keycard!”
Joey laughed, a completely loud and uninhibited laugh, “No, she is just ferrying me around for the next couple of days. And the keycard is for my hotel room.”
“You’re staying in a hotel? Oh, Joey, you know perfectly well that you could stay with me and Emma. Especially after you have done for us. Oh, Joey, please, we would love you stay with us, it would be just like the old day,” squealed Rachel, turning her pleading eyes onto Joey.
Joey looked at her for a few moments, he had always found it really hard to say no to her, especially when she looked at him with her pleading big green eyes. Within moments, he gave up and nodded in agreement.
“This is just perfect. I just finished up for the day as well. Come on, you are coming with me. And on the way, you can tell me everything I have missed back home. And we’ll go grab your bags and check you out after we have picked Emma up,” Rachel grabbed his hand in hers.
“Um, Rach, where are we headed?” Joey asked as he allowed Rachel to drag him along the pavement by his hand.
She hesitates, glancing at her phone. Before slipping her phone into her pocket, and gives him a warm smile. “To pick up Emma. She is going to be so excited to see you. You know she still doesn’t sleep without Hugsy.”
He grins widely, genuinely. “That sounds great. I have missed Emma so much!”
They start walking together, falling into an easy rhythm on the sidewalk, the hue of the sun stretching shadows along the pavement. Rachel fills Joey in on her plans to take Emma to the Eiffel Tower. While he fills her in on news about Monica, Chandler and their twins. Phoebe and Mike and their attempts to get pregnant, and Ross, who is currently dating Julie again.