DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody or any of its components.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay! My 2nd OneShot! I'm sure any of my readers (particularly those who read "Break the Mold") will be relieved that they don't have to wait absurd amounts of time for me to update! Please read and review as you feel compelled, and check back for my dedication!

Gray Anatomy

"Maddie, where do babies come from?" London asked, curled up on the couch in her suite living room.

Maddie, who was laying at the other end of the couch, paused before answering. "Are we seriously having this conversation?"

Before London could get in another word, the two were interrupted by the dreaded yet familiar sound of their baby simulator a.k.a. homework crying for what once again appeared to be no reason. Both girls exchanged glances before silently agreeing that Maddie should be the one to tend to the baby; after all, she was the only one who had a remote clue.

Doing her best to contribute, however, London got up and stood beside Maddie, continuing their conversation.

"No, no, I mean where does our baby come from?" London rephrased.

Maddie, who always did her best to remind herself that it was important to be patient with the sheltered heiress and not hold her upbringing against her, was trying her hardest to answer London's random and brainless questions with sincerity rather than sarcasm.

"Uhh… I'm guessing Toys 'R Us. Or some manufacturing company that the nuns crafted to torture us," Maddie replied. "London, could you get his bottle from the kitchen?"

London opened her mouth to ask her next question until it registered that Maddie had sent her on a task, so she retreated into the kitchen briefly, returning with the bottle.

"Wrist!" London stated, grabbing Maddie's arm before she could protest. She aimed the bottle at the other girl's hand and squeezed far more than a few droplets out.

Maddie exhaled. "Well, at least you were closer this time," the blonde said, referring to how London had aimed for her face the first time she tested the bottle.

London's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "I improved! YAY ME!" she rejoiced, clapping her hands together as usual. It was only a second before she suddenly and completely changed gears back into conversation mode. "No, but back to what I was saying before. I don't mean the doll, I mean the baby. How could you and I have this baby if - well, you know - we're both girls?"

Maddie, who was balancing the doll on one arm attempting to feed it, felt a slight rush of warmth to her cheeks and wasn't sure she wanted or knew how to tackle this. "London," she began, "You do know that you and I didn't really have this baby, right?"

London put her hand on her hip and gave Maddie an exasperated look. "Come on, Maddie, I'm not dumb!" she exclaimed, causing Maddie to look up. "What I mean is pretending that you and I decided we wanted to have a baby together, how would we do it?"

Maddie was sure she was turning several shades of red now. "Well, uh, there are lots of ways," she said.

"Like what?" London asked, oblivious to Maddie's discomfort.

"Well… there's artif -" Maddie began.

"But wait, back up, is it okay for two girls to have babies?" London queried, taking the doll from Maddie's arms to fix the sweater she had bought it.

"Wha - what?" Maddie faltered, half out of nervousness, half out of confusion.

"Like two girls, having a baby, they're allowed to do that, right?" she asked, haphazardly rocking "London Jr." back and forth.

Maddie stilled London's arms and gently took the baby away. "He's okay now, let's just put him down," Maddie stated calmly, resting the doll back down and prompting London to follow her over to the couch. "London," she paused, "you've heard of homosexuality, right? People being gay and lesbian?"

London looked down, and Maddie could tell that she was slightly embarrassed. "Well, kind of, I guess. At least I think I have, but I don't know too much about it. It's not like I know anyone that's… gay," she finished.

Maddie laughed, throwing London slightly off. "Yes you do! Everyone does, whether they know it or not. You know Corrie from school?"

"Creepy Corrie?" London asked incredulously.

Maddie smiled. "Yeah. She's a lesbian. Most people at school know, but no one ever talks about it. Catholic school and all."

London's eyes widened. "She is? I didn't know that. Did she tell you?"

"Yeah. Well, Mary Margaret and I had always wondered, and all it took was one game of Truth or Dare. Corrie chose truth, and Mary Margaret went in for the kill. She's really open to talking about it," Maddie finished, seeming more comfortable with the conversation now.

"And you and Mary Margaret didn't stop being her friends, right?" London asked with a hopefulness in her eyes that both confused and warmed Maddie.

"Of course not. It's just who Corrie is. She can't choose where her heart takes her more than anyone else can," Maddie assured her. "Oh, and speaking of which -- she totally has a crush on you in case you couldn't tell!"

"What? No way," London replied in disbelief.

"Yes way!" Maddie giggled. "Don't you think it's odd that she's just a tad more fascinated with you than the rest of the student body?"

"Oh," London paused, perhaps surprised for the first time in her life at the news of someone finding her attractive. "Wow. I feel kind of bad for calling her creepy and weird now."

Maddie gave a slight laugh. "Yeah. Poor girl. I should be the one making sure you'd still be her friend."

London met Maddie's gaze with a sad look in her eyes. "I'm not as mean as I look. I didn't even know she was gay when I called her creepy. I just thought she was obsessed with me for my money like everyone else."

There was a brief pause where Maddie regretted her statement, not discovering the softer, more sensitive side to the heiress until just then. Maddie's sympathetic eyes met London's naïve gaze and there was an unspoken agreement that Maddie had apologized and London had forgiven her.

To transition into another subject, Maddie stood from the couch. "Mind if I put on some music?"

"Sure," London agreed softly. "Nothing too loud, though."

Maddie thumbed through London's CD collection, which was filled with mostly bubble gum pop, punk rock, yet oddly sprinkled with some classical music and more mellow artists. Maddie decided on one of her favorite artists, Sarah McLachlan, and as she pressed play, she heard London speak up from behind her.

"So, uh -" London paused to clear her throat, "How do people know that they're gay?"

Maddie froze where she was for an instant. Being a smart girl, she had an idea where this conversation might lead, but didn't want to jump to conclusions. She couldn't explain or understand why it was making her feel so flustered. She crossed from the entertainment system to the couch and sat beside a nervous London.

"Well," she gulped, "from what I understand, it's just natural. I mean Corrie told me that it's just something she knew, just like straight people know that they're attracted to the opposite sex. She said she knew since she was little, but she told me about a friend of hers that didn't figure it out a little later on. But more or less I guess it's just something people know deep down."

London looked down and nodded before taking a deep breath. "So… you're sure it's not wrong?"

Maddie was clearly nervous at this point as she took a deep breath and exhaled shaky air. "London, where are you going with this?"

The darker-haired girl averted eye contact and spoke softly, concerned that she had given herself away. "What do you mean?"

Redness was splotching Maddie's face like the first strokes on a blank canvas when she cleared her throat to speak once more. "You know what I mean," she punctuated firmly, yet quietly, "And - and I do know where you're going with this. I figured someone had to have seen us, I just didn't know who. And I didn't know you did…" her voice trailed off.

London's head snapped up and her eyes locked with Maddie. "What?!" she thought. "What?" her words echoed in a slightly less frantic tone.

"Well, I mean we were in the locker room, and I told her that anyone could walk in at any time, but, sometimes you just get caught up in a moment."

London thought she was dreaming, but knew the galloping feeling in her stomach was far too intense to be something conjured by the imagination. "By her you mean -- Corrie? You and Corrie?" she dared to ask.

Just as quickly as the color flooded Maddie's face, the heat drained from her complexion, her eyes scanning those of the girl across from her. "You mean you didn't see us? But I thought…"

Before she could say another word, an overwhelmed, sleep-deprived Maddie, broke down in tears, covering her face with her hands.

London instantly slid over as close to Maddie as she could without completely invading her personal space, still defensive and incredibly taken aback. For as long as she had known Maddie, she had never seen her cry, and watching pain and distress in liquid salty form fall from her usually vibrant brown eyes was too much for London to bear.

"Hey! No, Maddie, please, don't cry!" she exclaimed bluntly.

Maddie sniffed a few times before finding her voice. "Look, I just feel embarrassed and vulnerable, and… I think I should go," she exhaled, standing up without maintaining eye contact and heading for the door.

London's body was 10 seconds ahead of her mind when she bolted to the door and stood with her back facing it before Maddie got there. "No! Please… just let me talk to you."

"Listen, I know that Corrie's pretty much out at school, but I'm not ready to be, and I need you to promise me you won't say a word to anyone about what happened," Maddie said, voice trembling.

"I promise," London said, emoting sincerity for one of the first times Maddie had seen. "But… I guess I'm just surprised that Corrie doesn't want to show you off as her girlfriend."

Maddie stopped for a second to register what London said before responding. Was there a compliment in there? "Whoa, wait a sec, Corrie and I are not dating," Maddie clarified. "It's just after she came out to me, I told her that I'd always been kind of confused and curious and so we kissed a couple of times, but I'm not really into Corrie in that way, and I don't think she is, either." Maddie's voice began to soften, "I shouldn't even be talking to you about all of this, I'm sorry. And I know you have no reason to keep my secret, but if you just promise me that you won't tell, I'll leave you alone and -"

London suddenly clutched the back of Maddie's head and pulled the blonde's mouth to hers, knowing that the only way to make herself and her intentions clear to Maddie was to show her. Maddie stumbled toward London and reluctantly held onto the heiress' shoulders only when she knew it was safe.

When the kiss broke, Maddie's shocked expression and silence led London to break it with a short laugh. "Come on, Candy Girl, how many times have I told you that you talk way more than you need to?" she teased.

"Where… did that come from?" Maddie asked, breathlessly.

London cracked a crooked smile, still not positive that Maddie wanted to be kissed by her. "Why do you think I brought up the whole conversation? I had no idea you and Corrie had kissed, I just wanted to know what you had to say about being gay, since you're smart, and to make sure that you weren't going to hate me if I told you that I have feeling for… girls," she stalled.

"Well, I don't hate you. At all, actually. I know we have our differences, but our relationship would be a lot less exciting if we didn't," Maddie smiled.

London dared to reach out and intertwine her fingers with the slightly taller girl. "I guess I've always been worried that you didn't like me, like most people. I know everyone thinks I'm annoying and shallow, but I know that shallow can be fun, too. So, I was afraid if you knew the real me, you wouldn't want to -"

This time it was Maddie who pressed London against the door and sealed their contact with a kiss. "And you say I talk too much?"

"Trust me, we'll barely have time for words to make up for all the times I've wanted to kiss you," London grinned.

Before Maddie could respond, London grabbed her by her uniform tie and pulled the blonde in tow with her as she headed for the couch that the whole what proved to be life-changing conversation started on. London laid on her back and pulled Maddie on top of her, the two both shyly yet fervently exploring each other's bodies with lips, hands, and staggered breaths. Every fight, snipe, and quibble between the two girls over the years was almost like a desperate attempt to release some of the tension that was always there for reasons neither of them knew, and now it was being released in the form of an emotional explosion.

London ran the hem of Maddie's shirt between her fingers for a few moments before painstakingly breaking contact with Maddie's mouth to gain permission before her next venture. "Is this okay?" she asked.

Maddie nodded, her eyes full of passion and anticipation as she frantically reconnected their lips and exhaled deeply when London's hands made their first contact with the skin normally hidden by Maddie's shirt. As London traced the fingertips on one hand upward and the fingertips on her other hand downward toward the zipper of Maddie's skirt, the blonde felt her skin warming and prepared herself for their first erogenous contact.

Right as London reached the curve of Maddie's breasts, both girls were startled into a jump when the distinctive wail of their baby simulator barged its way into their bubble.

While both slightly annoyed and flustered, both girls couldn't help but laugh, Maddie resting her head on London's chest.

London took a deep breath. "So, you're sure that this won't make us one of those?" she inquired, referring first to her taking off Maddie's skirt and then second to the crying baby.

Maddie laughed. "I'm sure. I don't know everything, though. Maybe after we take care of London Jr. we can learn together?" she offered with a coy smile.

For the first time all weekend, London jumped to her feet and rushed to the aid of the baby simulator. "Mommy's coming!"