A/N: Call this a sequel to "Ready or Not," making it the fifth installment in this little series I've started to accumulate. You don't even know how long it's taken me to write this, I've been writing it like two sentences at a time, twice a week, for the past ever lol. It should be a two-parter, but it's not completely finished yet so who knows. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own and am making no profit from the writing of this story.

Bailey Martin shifted positions slightly on the couch before resigning herself to the fact that she was already as comfortable as she was going to get... Of course, in the next few days- maybe even hours!- that would change.

She turned the page of the book she was reading. It wasn't particularly well-written by her standards, but these days any book with the word "baby" or "parenting" in the title was gripping to her. She turned the page again, this time more slowly, becoming aware that she was being watched. Looking towards the armchair beside her, she met her husband's blue eyes. "Cody?"

He jumped to his feet immediately, concern-bordering-on-panic written all over his face. "Is it time?"

"No..." Bailey said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "I was just going to ask you to quit staring at me."

Cody sat back in the chair, but his position was tense, ready for action at any moment. "I wasn't staring at you."

"You've been staring at me for the past ten pages." she complained. "You're making it hard to concentrate."

"Okay, fine, I might have been staring." Cody admitted. "Is it a crime for a man to stare at his wife? Especially when she's the most beautiful woman in existence?" he asked, eliciting a smile from her. "And she just happens to be carrying my first child, who is due to be born at any time now?"

She reached over and patted his knee. "I'm fine, sweetie. Just relax."

"Just relax?"His eyes widened. "How can I relax when I could become a father at any second?"

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Good lord, not any second, Cody. Hopefully I'll be able to provide at least a few seconds' warning." she said dryly.

Cody twisted his hands together. "I know, I know. It's just that the doctor said-"

"He said I'd be ready any day now, I know." Bailey finished. "But being all tense about it isn't going to make it happen any sooner." She went to get up and move over to him, but before she could he jumped up and came to her, sitting beside her on the couch.

"You're the one who should be relaxing, Bails. Don't strain yourself."

She couldn't stop herself from smiling at his sweet, yet paranoid, anxiety. "Cody, calm down. Everything will be fine. We're ready for this, sweetheart." She pulled him in for a hug and leaned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her, accommodating her round figure tenderly. "My room is already reserved at the hospital. The nursery is painted and furnished. My suitcase is all packed, sitting in the bedroom, just waiting to be put into the car."

He rested his head on her crown, pressing soft kisses into her hair. "I know Bails. It's just... I dunno, I guess I'm scared. It's just hard to believe this is finally happening."

"What? Nine months wasn't enough time to get used to the idea?" Bailey quipped.

He laughed. "I'm so excited, Bails." he confessed in a whisper.

She took his face in her hands and kissed him for being so sweet. "I'm excited too." she said.

"We're gonna be parents!"

"And I'm going to stop looking like I swallowed a whole watermelon!" Bailey joked.

Cody nuzzled her neck. "Please, Bails, you look gorgeous."

"Uh huh. The pregnant look is really in vogue these days." she deadpanned.

He rested a hand on her baby bump. "It's a good look for you. You always have this... happy glow. Of
course, I think you always look sexy."

She giggled. "Cody, you silver-tongued charmer. That's not a glow, it's sweat." she scoffed.

He smiled and drew her close, and they kissed again. "So you're saying you're not happy?" he asked as they pulled apart.

Bailey shook her head, running her hands along his shoulders. "I am so, so happy, Cody." she said earnestly. "I've got everything I could ever want..." Her honest expression turned mischievous. "-Except a little peace from your constant staring, so I can finish my book!"

Cody released her and stood up, moving back to his original position. "Okay, okay, I get it." He picked up the newspaper and began half-heartedly skimming the front page.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Bailey smiled, resuming her book. After about half a page she could feel his eyes on her again. "Cody!"

His eyes snapped guiltily back to the text from where they'd been peering at her over the paper. "Yes?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know what you did."

"Sorry, Bails. I'm just nervous!"

"Well you're making me nervous, so stop!" Bailey said in exasperation.

"Sorry." Cody said again, tossing the paper aside and standing restlessly. "It's just... are you sure there's nothing I can do for you? Are you warm enough? Are you too warm? Are you hungry or thirsty? Do you want a foot rub, or-"

"Cody!" Bailey cut him off. "Slow down! Yes, I'm warm enough. No, I don't want a foot rub." She paused, an idea coming into her head. "Although, if you really don't mind-"

"Anything, sweetie. Name it." Cody said eagerly.

"I could use a little snack. Do you think you could grab the crackers and spray cheese for me?" Bailey requested.

"Spray cheese?" Cody scoffed. "We do have real cheese, you know."

Bailey smiled. She had known that her food snob husband would insist on cutting up a block of cheese before he'd consent to use the spray... which was going to buy her a few minutes. "That sounds perfect." she said, and Cody immediately moved toward the kitchen. Just to make sure, she stopped him again. "Oh, and Cody? A cup of tea as well?"

"You got it Bails." Cody promised. "No milk, plenty of sugar?"

"Exactly." Bailey beamed. "You know me so well."

He winked at her before pushing through the kitchen door. "Well, I should."

Bailey grinned at him until he was out of sight. The moment he disappeared into the kitchen, she snatched her cell phone off of the coffee table and scrolled through her contacts until she reached "Martin, Maddie," and pressed send.

Maddie answered on the second ring. "Bailey? How are you?" she gasped. "Is... is it-"

Bailey sighed. "No, no, it's not time. But the doctor thinks it might be today, and Cody is driving me nuts! He's completely freaking out. He keeps hovering over me, watching me like a hawk... Do you think you and Zack could come over and distract him for me for a little while? Don't tell him I called you. Just pretend you both decided to drop by for a visit?"

"Aww..." Maddie laughed sympathetically. "Sure, yeah. We're not up to anything today anyway."

"Thank you!" Bailey exclaimed gratefully. "You are a lifesaver. And listen, when you get here, don't make a big deal about the baby, okay? If you act like it's nothing major maybe Cody will calm down."

"Gotcha. No big deal." Maddie repeated. "We'll be there ASAP. Say, fifteen minutes or so?"

"You're the best!" Bailey told her sister-in-law. From the kitchen, she heard the kettle whistle and realized that her tea would be ready in a minute. "I've gotta go. Remember, the baby is no big deal."

"I get it, I get it. See you soon!" Maddie said.

Bailey ended the call and tossed her phone back onto the coffee table just as Cody came back bearing a plate of crackers and cheese in one hand and a steaming mug of tea in the other. "Be careful, it's hot!" he warned as he handed her the mug.

"Thank you, honey." Bailey said, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes at his unnecessary mothering, and then feeling guilty for her uncharitable thoughts towards him. He couldn't help being so over-attentive; he only did it because he loved her. He was the most thoughtful incredibly-annoying man in the world... how could she not love him back? "I love you." she said, smiling warmly.

"I love you too." he answered meaningfully, sitting back in his chair.

Bailey offered him the plate. "Aren't you going to have any?"

Cody gave a little snort. "No thanks, I couldn't eat at a time like this."

I'm the one who's going to be having this baby! Bailey thought irritably, If I can eat, you can! She sighed, returning to her abandoned book. She couldn't wait for Maddie and Zack to get here.

Another ten minutes of steadfastly ignoring Cody's overbearing behavior passed, and the knock on the front door came not a moment too soon. Bailey jumped up, and so did Cody.

"Sit!" Cody urged his wife, heading for the door himself.

"I'm pregnant, not a dog." Bailey grumbled under her breath as she resumed her seat. Cody opened the door to reveal Zack and Maddie standing in the doorway. "Maddie!" Bailey cried. "Zack! What a great surprise! Come in, come in!"

"Hey bro. Maddie." Cody nodded, greeting them both. "What brings you here?"

Maddie immediately crossed the room and sat next to Bailey on the couch, and the two girls gave each other a kiss on the cheek. "No special reason. We were just in the area and thought we'd drop in and say hi." When Cody looked away the girls exchanged a secret smile.

"This isn't a bad time, is it?" Zack asked, already sitting down in the chair opposite Cody's.

"Not at all, don't be silly!" Bailey said brightly.

"Actually..." Cody hedged. "We might need to leave for the hospital any time now. Bailey's due to go into labor today."

"Really?" Maddie said vaguely. "That's nice."

"Yeah." Zack agreed. "Good for you, Bailey. Hey Code, did you see the Sox game last night? We got robbed, right?"

Bailey nearly laughed at the expression on her husband's face as Cody frowned at his brother and Maddie. "Maybe you didn't hear what I said: Bailey could go into labor at any minute!"

"We heard..." Zack said.

"But it's not such a big deal, Cody," Maddie finished in a soothing voice. "Women have babies every day, don't they?"

Cody looked like he couldn't believe his own ears. "Women do. Bailey doesn't! I can't believe you aren't more excited about this!"

Zack shrugged. "It's not that we're not excited, Codes. It's just that it's not something to get worked up over, you know?"

"Exactly." Maddie agreed. "It's perfectly natural. Everything will be fine."

Bailey exchanged thankful glances with Maddie and Zack. "See, Cody? I told you you were making too much of a fuss about this. Staring at me is not going to make it come any sooner, right guys?"

"Yeah, you might make the kid too self-conscious to come out." Zack quipped.

Cody resumed his seat in the armchair. "Maybe you guys are right."

"Of course we are." Triumphant, Bailey sat back in her seat... only to realize that there were now three pairs of anticipating eyes on her instead of just one. "Oh, come on!"

Maddie clutched Bailey's hand. "How are you feeling, Bailey?"

"You've got your suitcase packed, right?" Zack asked, leaning in.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, we're ready... as soon as the baby is!" Bailey moaned.

"I can't believe I'm going to be an uncle!" Zack said excitedly.

"I know!" Maddie squealed. "And I'm going to be an aunt! This is huge!"

"Hey!" Bailey cried, offended.

"Not you, the baby!" Maddie clarified, giving her a half-hug.

Cody folded his arms and leaned back in his seat, grinning at his wife. "Told you so."

"Urrgh!" Bailey groaned. "Can we please talk about something besides childbirth?"

Maddie smiled guiltily. "Of course."

"Sure." Zack said.

There was a long silence. Despite their best efforts, three pairs of eyes slid invariably to Bailey, like iron shavings to a magnet.

Frustrated, Bailey tossed down her book. "You guys! I'm a pregnant woman, not a ticking time bomb!"

"Well, when it comes down to it, that's really the same thing, isn't it?" Zack joked.

Maddie kicked him in the shin. "Sorry, Bailey. You know he doesn't know when to shut his mouth."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I've noticed that on occasion."

"Hey!" Zack sat up straight, protesting. "I was only kidding- I can keep my mouth shut when it's important... unlike some people I could name." He leveled a glance of mock-accusation at his wife. "Remember how we found out about the baby in the first place?"

Everyone laughed.

"Oh, okay, I guess that was kind of my fault." Maddie admitted with a chuckle. "I wasn't trying to snoop or anything, Bailey, honest. But then... well, you know how it is when you're dealing with London."

"My shoes are killing me..." London whined as she followed Maddie down the hallway of the apartment building. "And we haven't even gotten to the party yet!"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "I keep telling you, just because shoes are expensive doesn't mean they're going to be comfortable. Besides, you're the one who insisted on throwing me and Zack a fancy engagement party. We could have just done like Cody and Bailey did, have a casual little family get-together, open some champagne and hang out in the living room... No foot-crushing Arturo Vitali heels required."

"You and Zack are my best friends. Of COURSE I'm going to throw you an engagement party." London said magnanimously. "And I'll have you know these are Prada... Bad Prada!"

Ignoring her friend's complaints, Maddie rapped on the door to Bailey and Cody's apartment. When there was no response, she opened the door a crack and poked her head in. "Bailey? It's us!"

"I'm still getting ready." Bailey called from the bedroom. "Sorry! Give me five minutes, make yourselves comfortable!"

"Okay, no rush! We're a little early!" Maddie called back. Since Cody was going directly to the party from work, London and Maddie had offered to swing by and pick up Bailey on the way to the reception hall.

London hobbled past her and collapsed onto the couch, removing her shoes. "Oww."

"Maybe you should forget those and just borrow a pair from Bailey." Maddie suggested, only to have London spear her with a glance.

"Wear BAILEY'S shoes? Are you kidding?" the heiress scoffed. "I hardly think cowboy boots or mud-splattered wellingtons are appropriate for the occasion."

Maddie rolled her eyes again, moving over to the couch to assess the damage to London's feet. "Well... oh, wow, London. Those are rubbing your heels raw."

"Ya think?"

As always, it fell to Maddie to propose a rational solution. "I'm sure Bailey and Cody keep band-aids in the house. If I find you a couple to put on your heels, do you think you could handle wearing these for the rest of tonight?"

"Sure." London said, gently prodding at her blistered heels. "S'long as they're not rubbing I'll be fine."

"Okay, hold on." Sighing, Maddie stood and went into the bathroom at the end of the hall. Opening the medicine cabinet, she spotted the bandages immediately and grabbed a few. She pulled off the wrappers, crumpling them up, and was about to toss them into the wastebasket when another discarded item caught her eye. "Oh my god. Oh my god!"

London heard her excited gasp and limped into the bathroom as well. "What's wro-... Why are you picking through Bailey's trash?"

Wide-eyed, Maddie stood, holding up a used pregnancy test. "Look at this."

London frowned and folded her arms. "So? Clearly, she threw it away because it's broken. It's obviously warmer than eleven degrees in here, duh..."

"London." Maddie said seriously, "This is not a thermometer, it's a pregnancy test! And that's not the number eleven, it's two lines!" When London still didn't seem to get it, she spelled it out plainly. "That means positive! Which means Bailey is pregnant!"

London's hands flew to her mouth. "She is?"

Replacing the test in the garbage guiltily, Maddie shushed her. "London, she doesn't know that we know. We have to let her tell us when she's ready, and act surprised, okay?" she grinned. "This is so exciting!"

"I know!" London crowed in a lowered tone. "Bailey's having a baby!"

"But we can't tell anyone." Maddie reminded her sternly. "It's her news. We might even be the first to know. Cody might not even know yet. If the father doesn't know, we shouldn't know."

"Right. The father. Don't tell the father." London nodded, then giggled. "Oh my god, Cody's a father."

"Right... So don't tell Cody. Or anyone else." Maddie stipulated carefully. "I don't even want you to say 'Bailey' and 'baby' in the same sentence, you hear?"

"Of course, of course!" London agreed. "Now don't you think we should get out of here before Bailey wonders why we're in her bathroom, whispering?" She grinned cheekily. "...about a baby?"

Maddie glared at her friend for her intentional breach of the rule, before reluctantly nodding. "Good point." she realized. The two girls went back into the living room, managing to get London's feet sufficiently bandaged by the time Bailey was ready. She looked lovely in her green party dress, but she also looked a little nervous, a little pale. "You okay, Bailey?" she questioned carefully.

Bailey waved off her concern. "Sure am. Just a tiny bit queasy. Must be something I ate." Maddie and London exchanged knowing glances, but Bailey didn't seem to see. "I'll be fine though."

"Really?" Maddie asked sympathetically.

London shot Maddie a wicked grin before asking, "Are you positive?" Maddie glared at her, but the pun seemed to go over the younger girl's head.

Bailey shrugged on her jacket. "Positive." she said with a smile.

Bailey started cracking up. "I forgot she said that! London made an actual pun and I completely missed it!"

Maddie also laughed, shaking her head. "I should have known then that the only way to stop her from opening her big mouth would have been to kill her, then and there."

"It's not even that she told... it's how she said it." Bailey remembered, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye.

"And she'd barely set foot in the hall when she ran into Mom." Cody said with a grin.

"Girls, there you are!" Carey Martin approached Maddie, London, and Bailey as soon as they entered, greeting them each with a hug and a kiss.

"Hey, Mom. Sorry we're a little late." Bailey answered, kissing her back. "My fault."

"Don't be silly, Bailey." Maddie protested. "We're not la- Oh, look, there's the guys." She spotted Zack and Cody across the room and blew her fiancé a kiss.

"Oh, yes, Zack's been waiting to talk to you about something." Carey remembered. "You'd think he hadn't seen you just this morning."

"Ah, to be young and in love." London sighed as Maddie excused herself.

Bailey, too, extracted herself from their little group. "Excuse me for a minute, I need a drink."

"I hear that." Carey nodded. "There's champagne on the table by the wall. Being poured by that very attractive waiter..."

"And there's water!" London offered, a little too loudly.

Both Carey and Bailey gave her weird looks. "Actually, water does sound good." Bailey agreed. "It's a little warm in here."

She left, and Carey and London took seats at one of the tables. "So, London, what's new?" Carey asked amiably.

London pursed her lips, the desire to spill her secret already approaching irrepressible. "Nooooothing." she gritted out.

Carey frowned. "The way you're saying that makes it sound like something." she pointed out. "What's on your mind, sweetie?"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you!" London said, folding like a cheap suit. She grinned widely, leaning in. "You're going to be a grandmother!"

Carey's eyes widened in shock and happiness. "Oh my-! I am? What-?"

"You can't say anything, no one knows yet." London breathed gleefully.

"How did you find out?" Carey's hands were clasped in excitement.

"Maddie just told me." London answered.

Carey's mouth had dropped open. "Maddie?"

"Yeah..." London gave her a weird look. "Anyway, remember, you can't tell anyone you know: if the father doesn't know, we shouldn't know." Placing a secretive finger over her lips, she winked at Carey and stood up, flouncing away from the table.

"And that's how everyone at my engagement party came to think I was pregnant." Maddie finished dryly.