Beyond Friends Episode Forty Eight "Will You Marry Me"
Guest Stars -
RuPaul as Greta
David Schwimmer as Ross
"Say Yes"
Rachel was in the dark, literally. It was Sunday, the usual date night for her and Ross. It had been that way since they started putting their relationship back together. But yet there was something new about tonight. She could tell from the moment he picked her up from the apartment she and Chandler shared. It was even more evident from the moment he slipped a blindfold over her eyes that it wasnt gonna be an ordinary night.
"What are you doing?" She asked as he delicately pulled the dark silk blindfold over her eyes.
"It's a surprise." He said.
"I gathered." Rachel replied. "Whats happening? I can't see a thing." She waved her hand in front of herself. It was no use. She couldnt even see her hand.
"Then my evil plan is working." Ross said. He started the car up and pulled away from the curb.
"We're moving." She said. As thick as the blindfold was, she could see very faintly the lights of the town. The streetlights that lined the street where she lived. She felt like she knew where she was going. Seeing it was the problem. But somehow sight seemed irrelevant now.
"Ok." Ross said adjusting his seat. Rachel could hear the little metal cranking sounds his seat made. "Today we are going on a tour."
"Tour?" Rachel asked. "What do you mean?"
"Do you remember the first place where we had our first date?" Ross said popping a tape into the player. After a few clicks a soft song started playing.
"Oh! I know this!" Rachel said. "I think its that lovely music from the movie we saw."
"The one with subtitles." Ross agreed. "It was that night when we were making out and you laughed at me. Remember?"
"I'm sorry! You know a guy all your life as just your friend. Then one day hes got his hands on your tush." Rachel reminded him. "How was I supposed to react?"
The car stopped abruptly.
"I'm sorry." She said quickly. "Are we not going out?"
"Sure we are." Ross said. "We just arrived at our destination. Thats all."
She heard the drivers door being opened and closed. She heard the sounds of his hush-puppies flip flopping over to her side of the car. He opened the door. Rachel automatically held up her hand. He took and and guided her out of the car.
"Whoops. Watchout for the curb." He said. She lifted her feet a bit higher to climb over the curb. There was a long silence as he guided her into the mysterious building. It was a bit longer until he stopped in the center of a big room. It felt very large and empty. Rachel, through her blindfold, tried in vain to see where she was. But the dark was even more blinding that the cloth that was in front of her eyes.
"I almost forgot." Ross said. "This is where we had our second date. Ok not date, but I think you know what happened."
"How I am supposed to know that?" Rachel turned her head, as she were talking normally to Ross. "I can't see."
"Here we go." Ross untied the knot behind her head. "Take off the blindfold now." He said.
"Ok." Rachel said taking it off. She slowly pulled it over her eyes,revealing bit by bit of her new surroundings. After she finished taking it off she noticed she was alone.
"Rats." She muttered. "Ross?" she asked. She listened to her voice echo through the room. As her eyes adjusted to the dark she realized she was in the part of the museums auditorium. The one that they used to show the constellations and other wonders of space on the ceiling. Rachel remember they had come there one night. Ross had to fix something with the palentology department. They had intended to go to dinner but Ross took too long so they had missed their reservations. Ross brought Rachel here, they had juiceboxes to drink. They had watched the stars that night, among other things. Rachel smiled at the memory. But there was still the unanswered question of why Ross had brought her here tonight of all nights.
Then a startling bright light surprised her. She brought her hands over her eyes to block the sudden light burst. After a couple of seconds her eyes adjusted to the light. She brought her hands down. Someone had started up the constellation program in the "operations" booth. Rachel looked at all of the "stars" and comets as they flashed above her on the ceiling. She looked down again.
"Ross?" Rachel now yelled over the whirring light machines that swirled just above her head. She ducked once or twice to keep from getting knocked out. She moved out of harms way down onto the main floor near the auditoriums seats.
"Ross!" She yelled again. "Where are you? I'm getting kind of scared for no real reason." She thought.
Then a familiar song started to play through the loudspeakers.
"The world was on fire
No one could save me but you.
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you"
"Do you remember this song?" Ross said over the loud speaker, speaking over the lyrics of the song. He emerged from the operations booth with a hand microphone in his hand.
Rachel nodded.
"It was from the first time we were together." Ross said smiling. "In fact, our relationship was musical, even before we were together." Ross continued as the song clicked off.
"Musical?" Rachel asked as Ross programmed another song into the sound system. "What do you mean?"
"This song meant a lot to us before we were even together." Ross said as the new song played. "Or at least it meant a lot to me."
Rachel listened as the first notes played.
"See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I wait for you
Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait....without you"
"I'm not sure." Rachel said. She shook her head.
"The night I made that horrible list about you, I dedicated this song to you on the radio." Ross said. "I remember what you did when you heard it."
"I called up the radio station, told them what you had done and demanded they stop playing it." Rachel said no remembering.
"Yeah." Ross said. "We went through a lot of good times, weird times."
"Definately." Rachel said as Ross came to her.
"But to tell you the truth, I want to have a lot more of those times. Especially the weird times." Ross said.
"Me too." Rachel said.
They stood silently as the song continued to play
"With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you"
"So that is why I brought you here tonight." Ross said getting down on one knee. "Its us that brought us here tonight."
"Oh my god." Rachel moaned.
"Rachel Karen Green, will you marry me?" Ross asked revealing the engagement ring from his pocket.
"Oh Ross." Rachel said. "I want to say yes."
"Then do it." Ross said.
"But I need to think." Rachel said kneeling beside him. "Can you give me 48 hours?"
"Sure." Ross said. "I waited this long for you." He pulled her close and kissed her. "I'll bring you home and you can think."
"Thank you." Rachel said.
"I'll come back exactly 48 hours later." Ross promised helping Rachel off of her knees.
"48 hours." Rachel agreed.
An hour later
Rachel had been thinking about Ross's proposal for an hour now. She knew she wanted to say yes, but at the same time wanted to stick to the agreement of "48 hours". So now all she had to do was wait till Ross returned for her answer. She hoped Ross would already know before he arrived.
Chandler somehow knew of proposal when she got home.
"Did he ask you to marry him?" He quipped as she came in the door.
"Wha?" She stuttered. "How did you know?"
"I found an empty box on the floor the night I solved Naomis murder." Chandler said. "Apparently he just dropped it and gave you the ring."
"Yeah, he did." Rachel said showing him the ring.
"Oh my god." Chandler said as he took he hand. "I hope you don't put your eye out on that thing."
She laughed. "I know. Its one year of a paleontologists salary. I asked from 48 hours to make my decision."
"And he went along with it?"
"Yeah." Rachel nodded. "But I wont need that long."
"I hope so." Chandler asked. "I hope you make the right choice."
"Me too." Rachel said.
Rachel got off of her bed. She walked past Chandlers empty chair. He had gone out for some videos. She heard a knock at the door as she was about to get a drink. She opened it.
"Hi sugar." Greta said. "I'm your new neighbor." she said as she came in.
"When did you move in?" Rachel asked. "And how did you know I lived here."
"Joey said so. He mentioned it after I said I was moving in here. I thought I owed you a visit. See how you are doing."
"Uh, what I'm doing is trying to make the biggest decision in my life." Rachel said.
"It wasn't the decision to wear those pants, right? Cause you already gone wrong there, honey." Greta said looking at Rachels pants.
"Whats wrong with the pants?" Rachel asked. She shook her head. "Ross asked me to marry him." She said showing the ring to her. "I asked for 48 hours, but I already know what I want to say."
"You want to say yes." Greta said.
"Yea." Rachel said.
"Well good for you." Greta hugged her. "I have seen you and Ross around the studio on lunch break. I have never ever, ever, ever, ever seen two people closer. And I have been around for years honey. I have seen it all. Remember I'm on a soap opera." Greta pointed out. "If you were looking for advice, the only piece I have to give is go tell him you you love him, and you want to be with him for the rest of your life."
"You think so?" Rachel said.
"I know so." Greta said. "This is the real thing, if dont reach out for it now, it will be real gone."
"Okay." Rachel said.
"Thats a girl." Greta said. "Let me know what happens, ok? I hope to be at your wedding." Greta smiled.
"Thanks." Rachel said as she watched Greta stride out the door. "I know what I gotta do."
Rachel looked at her ring. She sighed and waited for the clock to tick.
46 hours and 30 minutes to go
