Rachel and Joey had decided to not train or do anything competitive through the duration of their stay in Salt Lake. Instead, they marveled at the sights and sounds of the Olympic Village. It was now Thursday, three days after their devastating loss, and it just happened to be Valentine's Day. With the two of them unattached for what seemed like ages, they decided to spend the day together, "as friends." Both knew, however, that they didn't regard the other as just a friend. And today, Joseph thought, is my chance to show her. Ever since that almost kiss they had encountered on Tuesday morning, nothing seemed to bother Joey more than that. And he hadn't had the time or the chance to try again. So he was planning to make his move today.
"Rachel," he asked her as soon as she had woken up, "are you doing anything today?"
She cocked her head thoughtfully. "Well, I was thinking of watching a competition or two"--the two of them had been supporting all the Canadian athletes in their respective events--"but I'm not sure yet. Why?"
He began, a bit nervously, "Well, I was thinking that we could go out and have fun today. Just the two of us, I mean. Since it's Valentine's Day and all, and neither of us really have a Valentine, I figured we could at least spend the day together--you know, just walking around, talking, relaxing, getting away from all this attention the media has been giving us."
Rachel smiled, a sight Joey was accustomed to seeing, even though he knew she was still deeply hurt by the pain of being unfairly judged. And he loved to see her smile, too. Her million-dollar smile lit up her whole face and made her even more beautiful than she appeared to be. "That sounds like a good idea to me," she had happily consented, and off the two of them went.
They had just started to stroll down the Olympic Village's main street when Joey noticed a flower vendor, selling different kinds of flowers. Now, Joey knew that roses were way too unoriginal, and he also knew that Rachel's favorite flower was, in fact, a daisy. So, as they passed it, Rachel tried to continue on but was pulled back by Joseph. "Rach, wait." He quickly bought a daisy before she could turn back around and held it behind his back as she turned around. "What?"
"Here." He presented her with his gift. "I know you like daisies, and I just thought I'd buy one for you." He smiled at her.
Rachel beamed as she took the flower from Joey. "Joey, thank you so much. That's so thoughtful of you." And before she knew it, she had leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. This advance stunned both of them, and Joey took it as a sign that maybe his efforts weren't that futile after all. After an awkward silence, Joseph took Rachel's hand again and they continued on their walk. Soon, they reached a garden filled with colorful flowers. Set against the pristine white of the snow-covered mountains of Salt Lake City, this setting was positively amazing. What Rachel found there, too, was equally amazing to her.
Joey led her around a corner to a tree, under which had been set up a blanket with a picnic basket resting on it. At random places candles had been lit, though it was the middle of the day. "What... what is all this?" Rachel asked in shock.
"It's my surprise for you, Rach. Come on. Sit." Still stunned, Rachel obeyed, and Joseph sat down beside her. "Well, I wanted you to be happy on Valentine's Day, �cause I know how upsetting this week has been, and I know how depressing V-Day can be without someone to share it with, so..." He trailed off, motioning around him. "Is it okay?"
"No," Rachel replied, and Joseph felt like a blow had been dealt to him. But when she beamed again and said, "It's perfect," just the thought of making her happy made him feel a hundred times better. "Oh, yeah. I have a few more things for you."
"Really."
"Yeah. Close your eyes, Rach," Joey told her as he began to pull things out of the picnic basket. He looked over to see if she was peeking--which he knew she would do--and said, "No peeking. It's a surprise."
"Come on, Joey," Rachel whined. "I wanna see!"
Amused, Joey only smiled as he finished pulling out all the items in the picnic basket. "Okay, okay, you can open your eyes now."
Rachel's eyelids fluttered open and she gasped at what she found. Joey was holding up a white teddy bear [with a Canadian flag on its chest, mind you], which was holding a red rose. In his other hand he held a mixed bouquet of white and red roses and daisies, and set in front of him was a dish of Rachel's favorite food. "Happy Valentine's Day, Rachel."
Thoughts swirled in Rachel's head before she could reply. Why was he doing all of this for her? She flashed back to the morning of their interview and how she thought that maybe Joey was trying to be more than a friend. He seemed to be dropping hints left and right that he was interested in a relationship. Is that what I really want?
"Rachel?" Joey's voice silenced her own in her head.
"Oh... Joey, thank you so much," she breathed, taking the teddy bear he was giving to her, giving it a hug, then setting it down to smell her flowers. "They're beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you are," Joseph whispered, somewhat to himself. But Rachel heard. She pretended not to as she inconspicuously looked up at Joey. She knew that she would catch him off guard, but when she saw the way Joey was looking at her, she lost it. Rachel knew right then and there that she was right, and that he cared for her more deeply than a friend would care for a friend. She looked down again and smelled her flowers, stalling for time. What was she supposed to say?
Finally looking up, Rachel caught his gaze, which had changed back to the friendly gaze that she knew. "Joey?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"You just did." He smiled.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Seriously."
"Okay. What is it?"
Taking a deep breath, Rachel asked, "Why did you do all of this for me? Not that I mind, but... I'm just wondering."
Joseph cast a glance sideways, the way he did whenever he was nervous. "Do you really want to know?"
"I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want to know."
"Okay." He exhaled. "Rachel, I did all of this because... well..." Joseph trailed off, trying to find the words to say. Rachel looked at him expectantly, and he didn't know how she would react. With his next breath, he finally confessed how he felt about her.
"Rachel... I love you."
She blinked in shock. "You... what?" Joseph detected a trace of a smile on her face.
"I love you. Je t'aime," he repeated, this time stating it twice, both in familiar English and his native French.
Rachel looked down, taking a moment to collect her thoughts once again. When she looked up, though, she was smiling. "Oh, Joey... I hope this doesn't come off in the wrong way. But listen what I have to say."
He nodded. "Okay."
"I... I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way of our training together, something told me that maybe the chemistry that we and everyone else felt on the ice wasn't just because we could skate well together. I thought that maybe, God had sent you to me not only to save my skating career, but to save me as well. Now I'm not saying that I love you, 'cause I don't..." at this, Joseph felt saddened, though he didn't betray it in his facial expression, "but that doesn't mean that I never will."
"So... what exactly are you saying?" he asked.
Rachel sighed. "I'm saying that I'm still on my way to falling in love with you. But trust me, there's more feeling in here for you than just something I would feel for a friend." She put her hand over her heart. "And I just have this feeling that once I fall in love with you, I'll love you forever." She smiled.
With that, Joseph stood up and pulled her up with him. He smiled brightly as he lifted her up and twirled her around. Rachel laughed with pure joy as he did so and when he set her down again, they were looking into each other's eyes intently. "Just as long as I know you care about me like that, it doesn't matter how high the level of your feeling is. I just need to know that you almost love me." With that, Rachel smiled and said, "Well, if you keep doing what you're doing, I'll be there in no time."
Joey said nothing, but rested his forehead on hers. His arms enclosed Rachel in a protective yet loving embrace, as she held tightly to him. "I love you, Rachel," Joey whispered. "I just hope that soon you'll feel the same."
Rachel looked up at Joey, and the feelings that came to her Tuesday morning flashed across her mind. She had wanted him to kiss her so badly, but wasn't sure how he felt. Now, she knew.
As if Joey could read her mind, he looked down at her and their gazes caught. "I have one more thing to give you, Rachel."
"What?" she whispered.
"This." Joey leaned down, his eyes closing, and gently kissed Rachel. Their first kiss was sweet, soft, and full of feeling. When Rachel pulled away, their eyes opened again, and she smiled. "You know that I've been waiting for you to do that for a long time?"
"Really?" Joey replied, surprised.
She nodded. "And I was so upset on Tuesday morning when Dana interrupted us."
"So was I!" Joseph exclaimed. "That's why I looked so sad."
Rachel lay her hand on Joseph's cheek. "I don't ever want you to be sad, okay?"
He closed his eyes at her touch and placed his hand over hers. "Okay."
"Just to make sure, though, I have to do something then." Without any hesitation, Rachel stood on her tiptoes and kissed Joey again. They got into it a little, as they tightened their embrace and Rachel's foot went up behind her. When they pulled away, she giggled, saying, "Remember when we watched The Princess Diaries?"
Joey nodded, rolling his eyes. "How could I forget?" Rachel had practically coerced him into watching with her.
"Anyway," Rachel continued, ignoring Joey's snide comments, "remember how Mia was always like, �I want a real kiss where my foot pops up, like in the movies,' and then at the end she got kissed and her foot went up?"
"Yeah..."
"Well I kind of had the same dream when I was younger, and though I had a couple of boyfriends, none of them made my foot pop up the way you just did."
Joey smiled. "Really?"
"Yeah!" Rachel smiled. "This has turned out to be one of the best Valentine's Days I've ever had."
"Good, but it's not done yet. You still have to eat your food."
Joey proceeded to sit down, but instead of sitting down next to him, Rachel sat in his lap. "Is it okay if I sit here?"
"Oh, no problem. That way I can do this." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Unless you don't want me doing that," he said in a joking way.
"No, I like it." So they started eating, and Rachel said, "You know what?"
Joseph looked intently at her. "What?"
"I haven't had this in like, three years. But I love it so much!"
"Yeah, I know. That's why I got it for you, Rach."
She bent her head backward so that she saw Joseph upside down. "Thank you so much, Joey. Really. This means a lot to me."
"Well, you mean a lot to me, and I'd do anything for you," he replied, kissing her nose softly. "I'm glad you like it."
They resumed eating in silence, and when they were done, Joey had a puzzled look on his face. "What?" Rachel asked.
"I feel like I'm forgetting something."
"What could you have possibly forgotten? Everything you've done for me today is perfect," Rachel assured him.
Joey was quiet for a few more minutes as he began to put the dishes back into the basket, and when he was finally done, he remembered. "It's my turn to ask you something, Rach," he began.
"Yeah?" She was admiring her bear and had it in her lap, playing with it.
"Well, since we've established that I'm in love with you and that you're in... well, like with me," at that, Rachel laughed, "what are we gonna do now? Are we just going to walk around kissing each other and holding hands without actually really making it official?"
"What, that we're quote unquote �going out'?" Rachel replied, making the quote signs with her fingers.
"Well... yeah."
She shrugged. "If you think that it's going to hurt our media image, then I guess not. It's your call, Joey. But if you really have to ask, you know what my answer is."
"So can I call you my girl now and tell people I've never met that I'm dating the most beautiful, intelligent, caring, talented woman in the world?"
Rachel beamed. "Sure. That would be awesome."
"Okay, then, come here, you." She scooted into his lap again and he kissed her softly. "Thank you," he whispered.
"For what?"
"For making me the happiest Olympian in Salt Lake today."
Rachel snuggled her head into Joey's chest as he held her there for a while. "You're welcome," she finally said. "Just as long as you're happy, then I'm happy."
"Okay." They sat there like that for a long time, reveling in their newfound love.