Work Text:
Rachel leaves the bathroom to answer the door, wondering why Joey wouldn't get it after the first knock. When she opens the door, she sees Joey standing there with something concealed behind his back and a pleased expression on his face. She looks behind her, half expecting Joey to be in the apartment, where he would normally be.
She asks what he's doing, and he tells her that he's picking them up for their date. And then, his hand moves from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of pure white lilies.
Rachel takes the flowers, touched by the gesture. In the back of her mind, she's stunned. This isn't even a real date; it's a favor for a friend. But Joey is making an effort to make her happy. Lilies are her favorite flower.
Later, she will look back at this moment and wonder if this is when everything changed. Why did he give Rachel her favorite flowers? Was it a sign she should have noticed of what was to come?
More than two years after that date, Rachel is planning her wedding. She plans to use lilies for her bouquet, of course. They're only more meaningful now, after Joey gave them to her just because he wanted to make her feel special. When she orders them, she can hear the florist's smile from over the phone as she agrees it would be a wonderful choice. Apparently, in addition to Christian symbolism of the Virgin Mary, white lilies mean "it's heavenly to be with you."
Rachel tears up before she specifies that she wants white lilies in her bouquet.
Rachel hands the flowers to Phoebe, her maid of honor, before she clasps Joey's hands in her own. Later, she tosses the bouquet, and his baby sister Dina catches it.