Medical Center. VIP Maternity Ward.
"No, it's not a m ust…"
Faced with Rachel's heartfelt words, Adam's mouth twitched. "But Ross is the best choice, right? He's Emma's dad. I doubt he'd want someone else stepping in to help with this kind of thing right now."
"Yeah, forget it," Rachel scoffed, rolling her eyes. "A few days ago, I mentioned we haven't bought any big stuff yet and asked him to come shop for baby things with me. But his mind? Totally hijacked by that flirty little salesgirl. Did he even think about me and our daughter? Nope!"
"Wait, Ross is in love again?" Adam frowned. "At a time like this?"
"If I hadn't gotten upset, he'd already be off with her," Rachel snapped, clearly annoyed. "That sales chick even offered to deliver stuff to our place and asked him out! When I said I didn't want to see that, he swore he wouldn't date her. But if I hadn't said anything? He was all giddy, agreeing to her invite like a kid on Christmas. She casually mentions 'let's hang out sometime,' and he's like, 'Oh, I'm free right now!' Sure, I appreciate him considering my feelings in the moment, but does he think I'm dumb? That's not what 'not interested' looks like!"
"People say 'next time for sure' as a brush-off," she went on. "But Ross? His 'I'm free now' was the real truth spilling out."
Adam chuckled. "If a guy can resist temptation, it shows he's got real feelings. Sounds like he genuinely cares about you and the baby."
"Yeah, or there's another option," Rachel snorted with a smirk. "He's scared my dad'll find out and blow his head off with a shotgun."
"Haha!" Adam nodded, grinning. "Can't rule that out! Though Leonard wouldn't use a gun—he's more of a scalpel guy. Emma's about to be born anyway, and Ross doesn't need certain 'parts' anymore. If he ticks off Leonard, he might just get a slice instead of a shot." 😏
"Better wait till after I pop Emma out to start slicing," Rachel quipped with a laugh. Then she sighed. "But honestly, seeing Ross like that, I doubt he'd even go for it. Such a fake gentleman. Back when he was crushing on me, even if I was pregnant with someone else's kid, he wouldn't be acting this way if I'd said something like that."
"…" Adam just gave a little grimace.
Men, huh? Typical! Always chasing the shiny new thing, never mind the old tears. Not every guy stuck to Adam's motto: "New clothes? Fine. New people? Nah, old ones are better."
Sigh. Being a good guy, Adam sometimes felt a little lonely, a little bleak. Not many dudes got where he was coming from. Lucky for him, he had plenty of awesome lady friends who cheered him on. Otherwise, he'd have been depressed ages ago.
"Adam, help me think of someone else," Rachel said. "I don't want a stranger."
"…How about your old pal Owen Lee?" Adam teased. "If he helps, as long as you bite your tongue and don't scream, I could go grab Dr. Montgomery to deliver the baby right now…"
"Who's Owen Lee?" Rachel blinked, confused. "I don't know him!"
"Oh, just a pro with some special skills," Adam brushed off with a smirk, chuckling to himself.
In a parallel universe, Rachel's old flame Owen Lee had a laundry list of titles: Life-Draining Nerd, Dolphin Lover, Eternal Kidney King… Add Best Midwife to that, and it'd fit. Normal deliveries? Hours of screaming and pushing. With Dr. Lee? Clench your teeth, give a little nudge, and bam—baby slides right out. Too bad this Rachel didn't have her parallel self's luck.
The thought flickered and faded.
"Dr. Duncan!" A nurse popped in.
"Take good care of Miss Green," Adam instructed. "Help her walk around a bit."
This was one of the nurses he'd hired for Alice Gray. Might as well put her to work!
"Don't worry," the nurse assured him. "I've got seven kids—I know how to handle a pregnant lady."
"Perfect!" Adam flashed a grin. "You're on duty for the next few days. Call me if anything comes up."
He couldn't help but shake his head at the American way—either no kids or a whole litter. Look at Sheldon: hates kids and people in general, but when he decides to have them? His goal's 15. Enough for three basketball teams to rotate games! 🏀
"Rachel, this is the nurse I got," Adam said. "Ask her for help if you need anything."
"Thanks, Adam, you're the best…" Rachel beamed, genuinely touched.
"No biggie, just a side perk," Adam replied, mentioning Alice Gray's situation.
"…" Rachel's teary gratitude dried up instantly.
Exactly the reaction Adam was going for. Otherwise, she might've begged him to speed up the delivery!
---
Nighttime.
The baby's dad, aunt, uncle-in-law, uncle, and auntie all showed up.
"Any action yet?" they asked, full of concern.
"Nope, nothing!" Rachel grumbled, frustrated.
"Don't worry…" Ross started to soothe her, but she cut him off.
"Easy for you to say!" she snapped. "You're not the one giving birth!"
"I wish I were a seahorse," Ross muttered, looking wronged. Seeing blank stares, he explained, "You know, seahorses? The dads carry the eggs and give birth."
"Ha, hilarious," Rachel deadpanned with a cold laugh. "If you really wanna help, Adam's got an idea that'd actually involve you. So, you in or not?"
"Anything I can do, I'm there!" Ross jumped at the chance.
Rachel—hormones raging and fierce as ever—spilled Adam's suggestion right there in front of everyone.
"What?!" Ross froze, mortified. "No way, that's not happening!"
"Oh, so it's something you can't do?" Rachel taunted, glancing downward with a smirk.
"No, it's not that!" Ross stammered, flustered. "It's just—we agreed…"
"You made this mess, you clean it up!" Rachel barked. "If you can't handle it, find me someone who can. I'm done waiting—I wanna have this baby now!"
"Monica!" Ross turned to his sister for backup.
"Don't look at me," Monica said, hands up. "I'm in the same boat as Rachel—dying to give birth but stuck. I totally get her, so I'm Team Rachel all the way."
"Phoebe!" Ross pivoted to the last woman in the room.
"Me?" Phoebe pointed at herself, tilting her head with a grin. "Okay, I'll help you out."
"Thank you!" Ross clasped his hands together, grateful.
"No problem!" Phoebe smiled, then looked at him seriously. "I think Rachel's right, though. Why won't you help her?"
"Yeah, why not?" Chandler and Joey chimed in, nodding.
"…" Ross, abandoned by all, looked ready to cry.
"What's all the commotion?" Adam strolled in, laughing.
Ross grabbed him like a lifeline. "Adam, you've gotta help me!"
"I'm cool with it," Rachel interjected. "Convince Adam, and I'll call it a win—above and beyond!"
"…" Ross whipped around to face Rachel's earnest, expectant stare. Then, in his classic Ross denial, he wailed, "Noooo!!!"
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