Ross and Phoebe race to JFK airport so Ross can tell Rachel how he really feels. Once there, they realize Rachel is at Newark airport. Joey’s Chick Jr. and Duck Jr. escape from their box and get stuck inside the foosball table; it has to be torn apart to get them out. Ross and Phoebe get to Newark airport just before Rachel departs. Ross pours out his heart to her, but she leaves anyway. Ross arrives home; a few minutes later, Rachel shows up, having realized she loves him, too.

Ross and Rachel spend part of the night together, their kiss having led to more. Ross decides he wants to be with Rachel, but she views their night together as the perfect way to say goodbye. Monica and Chandler coach Erica through delivery at the hospital, and all are surprised when she delivers twins. Joey buys a new chick and duck as a house-warming gift for Chandler and Monica, the previous pair having gone to that “special farm” for old birds. Gunther confesses him love to Rachel.

Rachel finishes preparations to go to Paris. Monica and Chandler pack up their apartment with the gang’s help. While packing, Chandler finds a pair of fur-lined handcuffs and has trouble tracking down their owner. During a going away party for Rachel, she says individual goodbyes to everyone except Ross; he’s upset and confronts her, leading to a passionate kiss. Erica goes into labor.

Ross visits Rachel’s old boss at Ralph Lauren to try to get her job back, so she won’t have to go to Paris. She decides to stay, but Ross realizes how important Paris is to her, and tells her to go. When the house next to their’s goes up for sale, Chandler and Monica check it out and are disturbed to find Janice as their potential new neighbor. Chandler pretends he’s still in love with her so she’ll think it’s a mistake to move there. Joey’s agent (Estelle) dies, but the gang doesn’t want to tell him, because he’s already upset about all the other changes going on. Phoebe calls him pretending to be Estelle, and Joey fires her. Later, he finds out she’s dead, but Phoebe calls again, leaving Joey freaked out.

Rachel’s lunch interview with Gucci turns out to be right next to her current boss’s table. She doesn’t get the new job; she loses her current one. Meanwhile, Ross is given tenure at his job and his happiness makes Rachel’s misfortune even harder to bear. While moving her stuff out of Ralph Lauren, she bumps into Mark (who caused all the jealousy seven years earlier); he now works at Louis Vuitton and once again knows of a possible job opening for her. Phoebe contemplates changing her surname to Hanigan. Once she find’s out she can change her name to anything she wants, she chooses Princes Consuela Bananahammock, leading Mike to threaten to change his name to Crap Bag. Monica and Chandler take Joey to see their new house. He tries to convince them not to go through with the purchase, until the little girl that lives there helps him understand. Rachel gets a job offer… in Paris.

Joey is auditioning for a play and need to speak French, so he enlists Phoebe to teach him. She tries, but he just can’t get it. Rachel’s father has a heart attack; accompanied by Ross, she goes home to Long Island to visit him. In her vulnerable state, she asks Ross to spend the night and makes her desires very clear. He doesn’t want to take advantage of her, so he leaves. Rachel is angry. Erica (the mother of Monica and Chandler’s future child) comes to New York for a visit. They ask about the child’s father, and find out she’s not sure whether the father is the all American football player, or the convicted murderer who killed his father with a shovel. Joey thinks he can drink a gallon of milk in ten seconds.

Phoebe’s Dad can’t come to the wedding, so she asks Joey to walk her down the aisle; he plays the overprotective father figure a little too well. Phoebe is driven crazy by her wedding planner - - Monica. Chandler and Ross realize they aren’t in the wedding. When one of the groomsmen drops out, they compete for the spot.

Joey’s a celebrity guest on Pyramid; he does horribly until he’s in the Winner’s Circle, where he does very well… until the last clue. Rachel and Monica throw a bachelorette party for Phoebe, but haven’t hired a stripper. When they learn that Phoebe’s counting on one, they make a quick call and hire the first one that is available. He turns out to be short, fat, and old. When Phoebe doesn’t like him, he cries. Ross and Chandler go to a college alumni gathering. They argue about girls from their past, prompting a series of flashbacks to 1987 and their freshman year of college, including a party where Rachel (with her old nose) and Monica (before she lost the weight) come for a visit. Several discoveries are made, including the fact that Chandler kissed Rachel, and Ross (who thought he kissed Rachel) actually kissed Monica.

Rachel and Phoebe spot Chandler with a blonde stranger; Phoebe thinks he’s having an affair. They follow the pair to a house outside the city. They tell the rest of the gang, and then confront Monica and Chandler, forcing the revelation that Monica and Chandler are trying to move to a house outside the city to raise their child. In attempts to convince Chandler and Monica to stay, their friends remind them of all the great memories they’ve had in their apartment in the city (shown as clips from previous episodes).

Chandler and Monica go to Ohio to be interviewed by the birth mother (Erica) of their prospective child. Due to a mix-up, she thinks Chandler is a doctor and Monica a reverend. Monica wants to let the illusion continue, but Chandler insists on telling the truth, which almost costs them the baby. Joey persuades a reluctant Phoebe to set him up with her friend, Sarah. Joey is hesitant to call Sarah for a second date, because during dinner she took some fries from his plate (Joey doesn’t share food). Ross seeks fashion advice from Rachel and Phoebe for an upcoming date (with Joan), so they take him shopping. Their bags get mixed up; Ross ends up wearing a womens blouse — the same blouse Joan is wearing.