:: The Ross & Rachel Saga ::

Ross & Rachel are, without a doubt, totally meant to be together. From the very first episode, we see that the writers decided they would end up together. Here's a brief overview of the Ross & Rachel story.
It all began in the ninth grade. That's when Ross discovered his love for his sister's best friend, Rachel. He watched and longed for her at a distance for many years. When they were both grown and had finished with school, Rachel lost touch and Ross was forced to move on, and eventually get married.
But then, years later, at Central Perk, they met again. Rachel had just run out on her wedding to Barry, and Ross was upset about his wife leaving him to be with a woman. Both were vulnerable, and not at all happy with their lives at that point. But when their eyes met at Central Perk, Ross was once again hooked on Rachel. And that's when it all began...
At first Ross denied his feelings to everyone. He was afraid he couldn't have her, and didn't want to risk getting shot down. So he convinced himself to move on and see other people. He dated some various women, but never really forgot about his feeling for Rach. The guys, of course, new just by the way he looked at her that he was in love with her.
Rachel and the other girls were totally oblivious to the fact, and Rachel dated other guys. This just killed Ross. Then one day, at Rachel's birthday party, everything changed. Without even thinking, while Ross was on his way to China on business, Chandler let it slip that Ross was in love with Rachel. This came as a shock to everyone -- especially Rachel.
After some thought, Rachel rushed to the airport to at least say good-bye to Ross before he left. But she was too late. So she waited, thinking about what to do, until Ross got home. And when his arrival day came, she'd made up her mind to give things a shot with Ross (yay!). So she went to the airport, only to find Ross walking off the plane with a new girlfriend. Rachel was shocked.
So now the roles were reversed. Instead of Ross longing for Rachel, Rachel was longing for Ross. And of course, Rachel was not at all happy the entier time Ross was dating his new girlfriend, Julie. But after a while, she decided to move on. She ended up going out and getting drunk, and leaving a phone message for Ross telling him that "she was over him". Well, when Ross heard this, he was shocked and confused. They ended up getting into a fight, and then having a VERY passionate kiss in Central Perk. That's when, after making a list of con's on each of them, Ross decided to go with his true love, not Julie.
Rachel was of course extatic, and they both looked forward to a relationship. But that's when Rachel discovered the list. She of course got angry, and told Ross nothing would happen between them. Ross was torn apart, and tried, with no success, to get her to give him a second chance. But then on day Monica found an old tape of her and Rachel getting ready to go to their high school prom. In the tape, Rachel discovered how deep Ross's feelings have always been for her, and she gave him the most passionate kiss right there in front of everyone. And that's when their relationship officially began.
Ross & Rachel dated for about a year continuously. We saw their first "I love you's", we saw them dream about plans for their future together. We saw their first everything. They truly were the perfect couple. But when Rachel got a new job, things went awry. Rachel got busier with work, meaning less time for Ross. She had a very attractive co-worker, and Ross was not comfortable with him being around Rachel so much. A lot of jealousy started to brew.
Ross started having more of a relationship with Rachel's answering machine than with her, and he confronted her about it. She was upset with Ross for not understanding, and in a thoughtless remark, she said she thought that maybe they should "take a break". And that's where it fell apart...
After a lot of thought, Rachel decided that she was stupid to let him go, and decided she still wanted to be with him because she really did love him. But Ross thought things between them were completely over. He went to a bar, and was comforted by a girl he'd met at the copy place, where she worked. One thing led to another, and they kissed, then ended up sleeping together.
Meanwhile, Rachel was still under the impression that Ross was just waiting for her to come back to him. She called and left a message, saying she'd be over there to work thigs out with him in the morning. Well, Ross didn't get the message until right about the time Rachel said she'd come by. His copy place girl was still there, and Rachel ended up coming and working things out with Ross while she was still there -- but she didn't know anything about Ross's fling.
Well, unfortunately for Ross, there was a "chain" between Rachel and Chloe, the copy place fling. So, Rachel ended up hearing about it from Gunther. And she was ANGRY! So after a long night of yelling, crying, and begging, Rachel told Ross it was over for good. He was a totally different person to her now, and she could no longer trust him.
Obviously, Ross was crushed by this. But they both tried to move on and date other people. But there was always a part of each of them that belonged to the other.
Everything between them looked like it was over for good, when, at the beach, Rachel uncovered her feelings to Ross once again. She told him that if she was going to begin to trust him again, he had to take FULL responsibility for all that went wrong between them. She decided to tell him this in an 18 page letter -- front and back. Well, it was very early in the morning, and Ross was really too tired to read. But he tried, and ended up falling asleep. He never read the letter. So she asked him "So, does it?". He of course had no idea what she was talking about, and guessed at it. He made the right guess, and ended up saying, without knowing it, that he would take full responsibility; that it DID seem like something he could do. So Rach thought he'd read the letter.
As soon as she was gone, he read the letter and decided that "It so DOES NOT!"...
Eventually Rach found out about all this when Ross snapped and got angry at the idea, and she of course told him it was over -- once again.
Nothing else really happened for a while. Until Ross decided to get married to someone else. This forced Rachel to realize that she still love Ross. So, after telling herself and everyone else that she wouldn't be attending the wedding, she packed her bags and headed for London. She decided that Ross HAD to know about her feelings, and see if he felt the same way about her.
Of course Ross was thrilled that Rachel came to the wedding, not knowing anything of her intentions. But the minute Rach saw him in his tux, she realized that she couldn't go through with it. So she congratulated him, and watched him marry someone else. But there was one slight problem on Ross's part: he said the wrong name in the vows. Instead of taking Emily for his wife, he said Rachel.
Emily wasn't happy. She married him, but then ran out during the reception. Ross tried to convince her and everyone else that his mistake meant nothing, but but Emily wouldn't hear of it. Ross was devastated, and turned to his friends for comfort -- Rachel included. After not being able to find Emily, he decided to wait for her at the airport, just in case she showed up for the honeymoon. But no such luck. He did, however, find Rachel waiting for a flight back to New York. She offered her appologies, and then said she'd see him at home.
Since Ross had two tickets to Greece, and only one person, he invited Rachel to go with him. He said he needed a friend and would love it if she went with him. She agreed, and they headed on the plane. Then Ross discovered he'd left his jacket behind, and went to get it. But just as he was walking back to get it, he noticed Emily standing there watching hime go on their honeymoon with Rachel. She wasn't happy and stormed off. Ross of course ran after her trying to explain.
But Rachel was on the plane by now, and it started to move -- no Ross on board. So after a short vacation in Greece, Rachel returned to an appologetic Ross. She said it was no big deal, but she was actually really mad at him. And then there was Emily. After a LONG time of having Ross chase her around, she finally agreed to move to New York to be with him -- but only if Ross agreed never to see Rachel again.
Ross was very upset about the position she was putting him in, but after a lot of thought, decided he had to try to make the marriage work -- even if it meant losing a best friend.
Rachel wasn't happy with his decision, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she tried to accept it. Ross, however, had a terrible time with the whole thing. He tried one last time to convince her that she could trust him without blocking contact from Rachel. He asked her if she could trust him, becaus eif she couldn't, it would never be a successful marriage. Her answer was no. So that was the end of his marriage to Emily. (Yay!)
Soooo... what next? Well, not much until the gang went to Vegas to see Joey on the set of his movie. That's when Ross & Rachel ended up getting drunk and... hang on to your seats... GOT MARRIED! They didn't even remember it had happened. In fact, they might not have figured it out if Chandler and Monica hadb't seen them run out of the Chappel doors. But anyway, Ross got the marriage annuled... sort of.
As it turns out, Ros decided that he didn't like the idea of being divorced three times, and he just wouldn't end the marriage. He also decided to keep this tidbit of information from Rachel. So she thought it was over, but Ross had kept them married.
That obviously didn't last long, and he tried to ge the annulment WITHOUT Rachel present; she thought that was over and done with. But needless to say, Rachel found out about it from Ross's divorce lawyer, and an angry Rachel demanded that they end it immediately. Ross is now "three divorces guy".
And that's pretty much where we are today! Of course there's been some flirting and moments where we though they might get together again, but nothing has happened since Vegas that has changed their relationship as friends. But we can still hope that our lobsters end up together in the end. It will be a real shame if they don't. Thanks for reading! If you're still confused by the whole thing, you can e-mail me and I'll fill you in!