I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.
Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.
I'm setting this story after My Sister's Keeper
Zack was busy working...well, standing behind the Smoothie Counter, and Woody was sitting there drinking his smoothie. Both were interrupted when Cody came running up to them very excitedly.
"Guys! Guess what!"
Zack smirked. "You found a new moisturizer made with jasmine?"
Cody paused. "Well, yeah...but that's not what I'm excited about..."
Woody spoke up. "What's up then?"
"Its seems the Discovery Channel liked the paper I wrote last year on the oil spill in the gulf, and they want me to be appear on a show about it tomorrow night!"
Woody nodded. "Cool. You're actually going to be on TV?"
Cody paused. "Well...sort of. They want me to appear via a webcam..."
Zack rolled his eyes. "Sounds fascinating..."
Cody just stared at his brother. "It is...and this will look great on my college admissions."
"Whatever...Like you're going to need it. You have a 5.0 and aced the SATs..."
Cody rolled his eyes. "Anyways..." He turned to Woody. "I'm going to do it from our cabin, so if you could...ummm..."
Woody sighed. "Make myself scarce?"
Cody smiled. "Thanks man. I knew you would understand...I need to go find London to see if I can borrow her cameras she uses for Yay Me!"
Meanwhile, in One of a Kind
Bailey was standing behind the counter feeling useless. There were no customers, and she had already straightened everything up and dusted. She couldn't complain though. London was paying her well to do nothing. But she felt that she could be spending her time being a lot more productive. London came out of the backroom and stared at Bailey.
"Where is everybody?"
Bailey sighed. "Its been like this for hours. Maybe you should start carrying clothes in other sizes?"
London gasped. "Why would I do that? Then they wouldn't fit me!"
Bailey just shook her head and rolled her eyes.
London paused. "What's been up with you lately?"
Bailey sighed. "Nothing..."
London shrugged. "At least you didn't have a lookalike trying to take over your life and throw you off the boat..."
"Ummm. London, you're the one who brought her on the boat..." Bailey mumbled under her breath. "And at least she was nice and supportive..."
"I heard that!"
"Well, its true..."
London sighed. "Why don't you just go talk to Cody then? I mean, I know you still love him. What's the problem?"
Bailey shook her head again. "I can't. I missed my chance. He's moved on with his life. If I hadn't been so stubborn before, maybe..."
London shrugged. "Anyways, there is some new merchandise in the back. Can you get the boxes and put everything out?"
Bailey nodded. "Sure. Hopefully, it'll keep me busy..."
Bailey headed for the backroom, and a minute later, Cody came into the store.
Cody smiled. "London, just the person I was looking for..."
London gave him a look. "What do you want?"
"Well, I was hoping I could borrow your equipment for Yay Me! I'm supposed to be on the Discovery Channel because of a paper I wrote, and I'm going to appear via webcam. And since you have the best equipment on board, I was hoping..."
London paused. "And I should do this for you why?"
"Because we're friends?"
London shrugged. "Ehh..."
Cody sighed. "Because if it wasn't for me, there would never be a Yay Me! in the first place?"
"Keep going..."
Cody hung his head. "Because if you do, I'll agree to come back and do one more Yay Me! like you've been asking me to do..."
"Will you let me put you in heels again and let me put make up on you?"
Cody sighed again. "Fine..."
London smiled. "You can pick it up tomorrow afternoon..."
"Thanks, London." And with that, Cody was off again.
Back in the backroom, Bailey was staring at a large stack of boxes that was taller than she was.
"Great. This should be fun..."
Bailey went to reach for the highest box she could reach when the unsteady stack began to wobble and tip over. Bailey could only look on in horror as they all came crashing down on top of her. The next thing Bailey knew, she was laying on the floor of the backroom with boxes all over her. London had heard the crash, and came back to see what happened.
"What are you doing laying down on the job?"
Bailey groaned. "I'm not...These boxes fell on me..."
London shook her head, and came over and started picking the boxes up. Bailey tried to get up when she felt a searing pain shoot through her shoulder. It was so bad, it almost brought tears to her eyes.
"Owww!"
London sighed. "What now?"
Bailey winced. "I don't know...But my shoulder hurts really bad..."
"Are you just trying to get our of working?"
Bailey gritted her teeth. "No, I'm not...I'm just in a lot pain..."
London rolled her eyes. "Fine. Go back to the cabin and ice it down. But I fully expect you to make up your time tomorrow and have everything out on the floor..."
"London...you're too kind."
Bailey held her shoulder and slowly made her way back to her cabin. After getting herself an ice pack, she used an ace bandage to attach it to her shoulder. Once that was done, she made her way over to her bed to lie down. Unfortunately, every time she moved, a searing pain when through her body. And every time she found herself getting the least bit comfortable, something would happen and the pain kept coming back. Even worse, London seemed to have no idea why Bailey was in so much pain.
The next day, Bailey was exhausted. She had hardly slept at all the previous night. And even worse, London didn't seem to care.
"I'm going shopping today, but I expect all of those boxes to be emptied and on the shelf by first thing in the morning..."
Bailey sighed. "I'm on it, London..."
Showering and dressing normally didn't take any time at all for Bailey, but on that day, it took Bailey forever. Even worse, she could only stare at her shoes wondering how in the feathers she was going to get them on. And even worse, she heard a knock at the cabin door.
Bailey sighed and yelled out. "Come in!"
Bailey just closed her eyes feeling pain shooting through her shoulder again. And even worse, when she opened her eyes, she saw Cody staring at her.
"Hey...London told me I could pick up her equipment for..." Cody paused and noticed Bailey appeared to be in discomfort. "Are you okay, Bailey?"
Bailey sighed again. "Not really. Some boxes fell on me at the store yesterday, and now I have to get back there to finish what I didn't get done yesterday..."
"Are you in pain?"
Bailey nodded. "Yeah, my shoulder's been killing me all night..."
Cody paused again. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Bailey thought about that and closed her eyes. "Can you help me get my shoes on?"
Cody checked his watch. He was cutting things close, but still. "Yeah, sure thing."
Cody knelt down to his knees and helped Bailey slip her shoes on. And once he did, he carefully tied them for her. Once done, he looked up and smiled. "All done..."
Bailey smiled back. "Thanks. I wouldn't ask, but..."
"Don't worry about it..." Cody laughed. "Its the least I can do after I was such a pain in the butt patient during that marriage project..."
Bailey laughed too. "You weren't that bad..."
"Oh please. I was whiny. How you didn't end up smacking me upside the head, I have no idea..."
"Well, I could have handled things better myself..."
Cody nodded. "Sometimes, I guess we forget what's really important..."
Bailey just looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, we do..."
Bailey stood up, and suddenly the pain shooting through her shoulder almost brought her back to her knees. Immediately, Cody moved to catch and help her stand.
"Okay, Bailey, I think you really need to go to infirmary...as soon as possible..."
Bailey gritted her teeth to work through the pain. "I can't. I have to get this done or else I think London will fire me..."
Cody paused. "You were hurt while working. If she tries, you have grounds to file a wrongful termination suit against her..."
Bailey shook her head. "I'll just do it even if it takes me all night..."
She shuffled over to grab her purse and name tag. But without thinking, she put her purse on he left shoulder, and the pain was so bad that tears came to her eyes.
Cody shook his head. "No! You are in real pain. You're going to the infirmary right now!"
Bailey paused, but the pain was really bad now. "Okay..."
"Let me grab your purse for you, and I'll walk you down there..."
Bailey looked up at him. "You're going to stay there with me, right?"
Cody paused and checked his watch before looking back up at Bailey. "Of course I am..."
Cody helped Bailey to the infirmary. While they were waiting, Cody stepped outside to make a quick phone call before returning back inside. And when Bailey was taken to the exam room, Cody was right there to let her grip his hand when she needed it. And she really needed it when the doctor popped her separated shoulder back in place. Bailey was given a sling to help take pressure off of her shoulder as well as some pain killers.
Once they were done, Cody helped walk Bailey back to her cabin where he helped her remove her shoes again. After getting her settled on to her bed, he went into her bathroom to get her a glass of water to take her pain medication with. And it made Bailey drowsy. But not too drowsy that she couldn't speak.
"Cody?"
Cody set down on the edge of the bed. "Yeah?"
"Thank you for everything..."
Cody smiled back at her. "My pleasure. Who knows...I may even be able to beat you at darts or ping pong now..."
Bailey laughed. "I doubt it..."
Cody laughed too. "You're probably right. I should stick to things I'm good at like...well, there has to be something I'm good at..."
Bailey closed her eyes as she got even more sleepy. "There are. You're a master chef, and you always stand up for what you believe in...I should have told you that more often though...There are a lot of things I should have told you more often..."
Cody just sat there. "Get some sleep, Bails. I'll check on you in the morning..."
Bailey just mumbled. "Okay..." And the next thing Cody knew, Bailey was sleeping softly. Cody sat there and watched her sleep for a few minutes, seemingly debating something in his head. Finally, he just did it. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before leaving the cabin and locking the door behind him.
The next morning, Bailey woke up and was thankful that her shoulder was feeling a lot better. It was still sore, but no more crippling pain. She realized that the pain killers must have been pretty potent as she remembered having the best dream. Cody had told her that he still loved her and wanted her back. Bailey could only sigh. If only that were true.
Bailey scooted up in bed, and at that time, the cabin door flew open with London walking in carrying several different shopping bags.
"Hey, London..."
London looked over. "Hey...Good job on getting all of those boxes emptied. I knew I could count on you..."
Bailey paused. She didn't remember doing any work yesterday. But her thoughts were interrupted when London addressed her again.
"I see Cody returned my web cam equipment already. How did he say it went?"
Bailey was confused. "What are you talking about?"
London shrugged. "He said he was going to borrow my stuff because he was going to be on a show on the Discovery Channel last night. I assume he picked it up and brought it back when he was done..."
Bailey just looked at London in disbelief. "I didn't know that...He was supposed to be on the Discovery Channel last night?" And to herself. "He never said anything..."
London grabbed her purse. "Anyways, I'm out of here. All that shopping has left me hungry." And with that, London headed back out of the cabin.
Bailey sat back on her bed thinking about what London had just said. Cody had spent most of the night with her in the infirmary. And who put all the new merchandise out? Bailey knew it hadn't been her because the pain killers had knocked her out. And she certainly knew she hadn't done it in her sleep. Bailey had dozens of questions going through her mind and not a single answer. However, she heard a knock at her cabin door. Again, Bailey yelled out for whoever it was to come in. Once again, it was Cody, and had a brown bag with him.
"Feeling any better today?"
Bailey nodded. "Yeah...Much."
Cody smiled. "Good..." He handed her one of the bags with him. "I made you breakfast this morning. I figured it would make it easier on you then making your way up to the cafeteria..."
Bailey smiled. "I appreciate that..."
Cody paused. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. I'll let you get some more rest..." He stood up and was about to leave when he heard Bailey's voice.
"Why didn't you tell me about the Discovery Channel?"
Cody sighed and turned back around. "You needed my help..." He swallowed. "And making sure you were alright was more important than appearing on that silly show..."
Bailey was silent. She felt her heart begin to beat a little faster. Did that mean what she hoped it meant. "And the store merchandise?"
Cody shrugged. "I was pretty wired last night, so I thought I could help..."
Bailey nodded. "Thank you...for everything. I...I can't believe you did all of that for me..."
Cody began hemming and hawing. "Well...I...uhhh...you know..."
Bailey struggled to climb out of bed, and walked over to him. "Actually, I don't know. I hope I know why, but I can't be for sure..." She paused. "Cody, I need to tell you something..."
Cody looked up at Bailey. "What?"
"You remember last week when Willa was on the boat?"
Cody sighed. "How could I ever forget. That was an unmitigated disaster..."
"You remember when you thanked me for playing along?"
Cody nodded. "Yeah..." He paused. "Look, I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I..."
Bailey cut him off. "I wasn't playing along. I was thrilled when you said you were still in love with me. I was about to tell you I still loved you too, but..."
Cody swallowed. "Really?"
Bailey nodded. "Really. I know I'm too late and you've moved on by now, but..."
Cody interrupted her. "Bails, I only moved on because I thought I had to. I never wanted to, but I thought that's what you wanted. I'm still in love with you. That's why when I saw you needed help yesterday, nothing else mattered..."
Bailey smiled. "You still love me?"
Cody smiled back. "Of course I do. I never stopped. I let my anger and stubbornness get the best of me for too long, and I sincerely apologize for that..."
"I did the same thing. My hurt and pain wouldn't let me admit till I thought it was too late that I still loved you. And I'm sorry for everything too...especially for not trusting you when I knew better."
Cody grinned. "How about we put the past in the past and from now on worry about the present and the future?"
Bailey shook her head. "No...we have to remember what happened so we never let it happen again."
Cody thought and nodded. "You're right. Let's remember then, but lets focus on making our present and future better...I mean, if that's what you want. I'm hoping we're talking about us trying again..."
Bailey smiled. "That's exactly what I'm talking about too..."
Cody returned her smile. "Good..."
"I still can't believe you did all of that for me..."
"Because I love you..."
"I love you too..."
"I hope you realize I'm going to kiss you now..."
"You better..."
Cody wrapped his arms around Bailey's waist and pulled her close. "I've missed this..."
"So have I. I'm just glad..." Bailey reached to wrap her arms around Cody's neck but her arm sling wouldn't let her. She laughed. "I guess I'm going to have to learn how to do this one handed..."
Cody smiled. "Well, until the, allow me to help you in anyway I can...Even if it includes instructional videos..."
Bailey gave her famous laugh.
Cody grinned. "I've missed that so much..."
"I've missed having a reason to do it..."
"Remind me to keep giving you reasons to keep doing it..."
Bailey smiled. "Then you better kiss me right now!"
Cody smiled. "With pleasure!"
And with that, Cody leaned in gave Bailey a chaste yet romantic kiss. As they were kissing, the door opened and London was about to walk in. She paused when she saw them kissing, and backed out into the hallway.
She shrugged. "Oh well...Maybe I'll have a happier, more productive Bailey now. Plus, I get to dress Cody up again on my web show. Yay Me!"
