On this Season
of Friends...
In Manhattan, New York, live six very best friends (you may have seen their TV show!): Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey, Ross and Rachel. Some of these friends have known each other most of their lives and some are new best friends. Ross and Monica are brother and sister and grew up with Rachel. Monica and Rachel were best friends but lost touch after high school. Ross met Chandler in college and they formed a band together. Monica, Ross and Chandler moved to Manhattan when they became adults and that is how they met Joey and Phoebe. Phoebe became Monica's roommate and, across the hall, Joey became Chandler's. The five of them were very close and often spent their time in a coffee shop called Central Perk. One day, Rachel came in dressed in a rain-soaked wedding gown. She had just run out on her wedding. Monica and Rachel were reunited, Rachel moved in and it wasn't long before the group of five best friends became the group of six best friends.
The group got along very well... some more than others. After a couple of years, Monica and Chandler fell in love and got married. Also after a couple of years, and a few of Ross' divorces, Ross and Rachel got together. However, they had a bumpier road than Monica and Chandler. Ross had been madly in love with Rachel his entire life. She never felt the same-that is, until one day Rachel realized how much Ross truly loved and cared for her. The two then became a couple. They lasted for about a year, but then things got complicated and the two went "on a break." Differences in opinions about what "on a break" meant made it impossible for them to get back together. They tried a little while later, but again, they couldn't work out their differences. Even though they never really officially got back together, Ross and Rachel never got over each other. They still flirted and danced around each other. But one night, things got very complicated. After a lot alcohol and laughs, Ross and Rachel forgot their differences and spent the night together... and this is where the story begins.
It's now five months after Ross and Rachel's night of passion. Rachel is pregnant and getting a nice little baby bump. Ross is very excited about having a baby with Rachel. Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey are all very excited that two of their best friends are going to have a baby together and hope that this will finally get them back together. Rachel is excited too, but she can't help but be slightly terrified on the inside. This would be her first baby, and she has the reputation for being the spoiled rich kid, who always had everything done for her. Her friends don't help. Sure, they believe in her and know she will be an amazing mother, but they like to see her flip out, so they tell her crazy pregnancy legends and rumors and try to convince her that they are true. Of course, like any mother-to-be, Rachel gets freaked out by these stories, no matter how ridiculous they are. Rachel is often in hormone and paranoia overdrive, so even though legends are just stupid stories that are told and heard universally, some true and some not true (no one really knows), Rachel can't help but believe them. Whether she hears them on TV or from friends, she worries that these legends will happen to her.
It's a quiet afternoon and Rachel is sitting alone in her apartment, enjoying her secret romance novel. She now lives with Joey since Monica and Chandler are married and live together. She is about to get to her favorite steamy part in the book when Joey walks in.
"Hey, Rach! What are you reading?" Joey smiles suspiciously.
"Oh uh, nothing. It's nothing, just a book," Rachel says as she stashes the book. "What are you up to?"
"Just making a sandwich. You want one?"
"No, thanks."
"Alright, but you're missing out on a Joey Special- salami, ham, turkey, cheese, mayo and peanut butter."
"Ugh," Rachel thinks to herself. "I'm not hungry."
"So, Rach, you'll never guess what I heard today."
"What?"
"My sister's friend's cousin had a baby and it was born an..."
"No! No, Joey. I'm tired of these creepy pregnancy stories. They freak me out."
"Oh, come on, Rach. It's really crazy what happened to this chick's baby."
Phoebe walks through the door and says, "Hey, guys, what are you talking about?"
"This story about my sister's friend's cousin. She had a baby, but the baby was an octopus," says Joey.
"Oh yeah, I heard something on TV today where a woman gave birth to twins, and they were separated at birth," adds Phoebe.
"What? Oh, come on, guys. I'm not in the mood. I just want to relax. And, Joey, that's ridiculous. No human can give birth to an octopus," says Rachel angrily.
"No, it's true," says Joey. "I promise."
The door opens a third time and Monica, Chandler and Ross walk in.
"Thank heavens, Ross. Please tell them to leave me alone. They're trying to freak me out again. They have more of those insane stories and they freak me out, they just freak me out!"
"Whoa, okay. Guys, seriously, let's leave the pregnant lady alone," says Ross.
"Actually, Chandler and I overheard a story today at Central Perk. Apparently, if you mix Drano with your urine, it will tell you the sex of the baby," says Monica.
"True story," adds Chandler.
"What? That's absurd. You can't tell the sex of the baby that way. How would you know anyway, Chandler? Have you been peeing into Drano lately?" says Ross. "But I did hear about a baby, who was born on an airplane."
"Ross," screams Rachel.
"What? The baby gets free air travel for life!"
One by one, Rachel's friends went around and told her the urban legends they had heard.