Chapter 1
I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.
Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.
The chicken alarm clock went off, and Cody reached over to turn it off. He slowly let his eyes flutter open as he welcomed in the beginning of a new day. As he was letting himself wake up, he could feel Bailey beginning to stir in his arms. She too was letting herself wake up, and she turned to look at Cody.
"Good morning..."
"Good morning to you too, Bails..." Cody yawned. "Did you sleep well?"
Bailey yawned too before nodding. "I did. Is this my morning or yours?"
Cody paused to think. "I think its mine. You grab your shower, and I'll go wake up Charlie and Abby before I head down to let Howie out and begin breakfast..."
Bailey nodded. "Okay, sounds good..." She smiled, leaned in and kissed him. "I love you."
Cody smiled at her. "Love you too..."
Bailey got up and made her way to the master bath as Cody got up and made his way down the hallway to what they affectionately called the kids' wing. With Charlie and Abby both nine years old and Annie and Ben now six years old, they had no need for a nursery anymore. And they would never have a need for one again. Cody had kept his promise to Bailey, and had received a vasectomy. Of course, it was then Bailey's turn to nurse him. And both did laugh at the irony that they had to wait to make love again until Cody was physically able to. Of course, they did have to wait about three full months to make sure he was fully shooting blanks.
And that realization that he was did hit Cody hard. But Bailey was there to hold him and comfort him and convince him that everything would be okay. It didn't make him less of a man, and in her opinion, it made him more of a man for being willing to do it for her. Naturally, Cody had concerns about whether it would affect his performance, but after their first time being together without any protection whatsoever, Bailey told him he had absolutely nothing to worry about in that regard. Eventually, Cody quit worrying about it and focused on the fact that he had a beautiful wife and four beautiful children. He just reminded himself how blessed he truly was.
So, with no need for a nursery, every child now had his or her own bedroom. And as it happened, the boys were on the left and the girls were on the right. Charlie and Ben shared a bathroom while Abby and Annie shared a bathroom. Both Cody and Bailey figured that would make things easier when they got older. Cody made his way to wake Charlie up, and he slowly woke up as well. Cody made sure he was awake and moving before Cody walked across the way into Abby's room. And once she was up and about, Cody made his way downstairs to the kitchen.
As he got the oven burners heated up, he began preparing lunches for all of the kids. Fortunately, all of them were still in the peanut butter and jelly phase, so that made things easier...especially since they all preferred creamy over crunchy. Adding a granola bar, a banana and some pretzels, he finished their lunches and lined up their lunch boxes. Once those were done, Cody returned to the oven to began scrambling some eggs and frying some bacon. After putting some bread in the toaster, he briefly chuckled to himself that they basically went through an entire loaf of bread a day.
And as everything was cooking, Cody paused to reflect on the past couple of years. For as many good times as they had had with their children, their friends and their family, there were moments that brought them great sadness. The first event was the deaths of Uncle Mitch and Uncle Tommy. Both had already passed the century mark, so neither's death was really a surprise. But they missed them all of the same. And both had left provisions to take care of their family. Uncle Tommy had set up an educational fund for all of the children in the family and left provisions for the same to be done for future children as well. And he left his company in good hands. His son Mitchell was going to take over with Ty and Ella being groomed to take control in a few years. Both were now married with children, Ty to Beth with three kids and Ella to Brent. Yes, they had made it as well.
The death of Uncle Mitch was sad as well. To Katie and Zoey, it was saying goodbye to the great grandfather that they wish they had known longer. And Michelle, well, it was the loss of a father that that she was now so used to always being around. And Amy was a wreck for so long. It was losing Mitch all over again, and this time she knew he was really gone and not coming back. But Katie and Zoey were both glad that Mitch had been there for their weddings. Yes, both were married now as well. And like the family tradition, they too were married to their high school sweethearts, Billy and Chas respectively.
But the saddest moments to Cody and Bailey occurred two years ago. In the span of a week, they lost both Grammy Pickett and Ellie. The one-two punch really hit everyone hard. While they were in Kettlecorn for the funeral of Grammy Pickett, Cody got the call that Ellie had gone to bed the night before and never woken up. It was fortunate that Cody and Bailey had each other as they just clung to each other for support and comfort. Plus, they had to try to explain to two seven year olds and two four year olds that they would never see their beloved great grandmothers again. Fortunately, the Pickett family understood they could not hang around Kettlecorn long after the funeral as they had to get to Seattle for another funeral.
Ellie died happy though. She had lead a full life, and she was more than ready to be reunited with her husband, Charlie. As far as she was concerned, her two daughters, three grandchildren and eight grandchildren were all doing great. Yes, Carey's sister Karen finally got married and had a child, a daughter. So, Cody and Zack officially had a maternal first cousin now. Of course, a first cousin who was about twenty years younger than they were. But everyone knew Ellie was were she wanted to be. She was with her Charlie. And she had lived long enough to know her family was going to be alright. She had watched one by one as Cody, Carey, Zack and Karen were all happily married to people who loved and adored them.
And yes, you did read that right. Ellie did have eight grandchildren. The year after Bailey, Max and London were pregnant, Cassie and Addison found themselves pregnant again too. And keeping with tradition, Cassie had twins again too. And keeping with a new tradition, she made Zack get a vasectomy afterwards as well. Their oldest was another son, Patrick Curtis Martin. Zack told his Dad it was after him, but it was really after Curt Schilling. And Cody even joked to Zack that he wondered if Zack remembered they were Swedish and not Irish. Their other child was a daughter, Isabella Madison Martin. The middle name was in honor of Maddie and Addison. And like Cody who know had a Bails, a Gails and a Belles, Zack now had a Cassie, a Lizzie and an Izzy. As for Woody and Addison, they only had a single child again, but this time it was a girl. Woody was now the proud papa of Melissa Olivia Fink (Named after Man of Faith).
Cody was snapped back to reality when he heard Bailey's voice.
"Careful...Don't burn the eggs..."
Cody smiled and turned to her. "Good idea. My mind must have been wandering..."
Bailey smiled back. "Yeah, about what?"
"Just thinking about how lucky I am."
"I know that feeling...Want me to take over while you go clean up?"
Cody nodded. "Good idea. I wish you were joining me though..."
Bailey grinned. "If we did that during the week, we'd have four kids late for school..."
Cody grinned back. "Nine more years, and they'll all be on the boat. And then, just try to stop me from joining you."
Bailey kissed him again. "You sure about that? I'll be 45 then..."
"I'm 100% positive. You just wait...you'll see..." Cody leaned in and returned Bailey's kiss. "Alright, I'll go make sure Charlie and Abby are done in the shower and make sure Ben and Annie are up. Their lunches are already done and packed and ready to go..."
Bailey nodded. "Good. I'll finish breakfast and see you in a little bit."
Cody headed off and Bailey continued to cook breakfast. As she did, her mind began to wander as well. She couldn't be more proud of her little family if she tried. Dr. Douglas had since retired, and Bailey was now the chief veterinarian for Tipton Industries as well as the Director of the Tipton Animal Shelters. Sure, it brought with it more actual paperwork than she would have liked, but she knew she was making a difference. Plus, the bump in pay was quite substantial. And Cody? He was only 36, and he was already the Deputy Chief of the Cardiology Department at Mass General. When Dr. Buckley retired in a few years, Cody would assume the role as Chief. Bailey was so proud of him. And despite how prominent his position he was and how well respected he was professionally, Bailey knew the two titles Cody cherished the most were husband and father.
Despite having four kids under the age of ten, Cody was still as romantic as ever. He made sure he and Bailey still had date nights, and was still always arranging surprises for her. Bailey knew she was extremely lucky. She had friends and co-workers lament to her that they wished their husbands would spend more time with them and less time with the television. But Bailey knew that was never a problem with Cody. And despite her now being in her mid 30's, Cody still let her know constantly how beautiful and sexy she was. It made Bailey feel good to know that her husband still desired her with such an intensity, and she knew he always would.
And as for being a father, Cody was very active. Zack was the head coach of the little league team that Brady, Nathan and Charlie all played on. Zack had gotten the Red Sox to sponsor the team, and Woody and Cody were his assistant coaches. Cody had told Bailey it should be her as she was a much better baseball player that he ever was, but she declined. She was more than happy just to help Charlie practice in the backyard. And Cody was an assistant coach on Ben's T-ball team too. It was a co-ed league, so he was on a team with Annie, Denise and Nikki with Todd coaching and Tapeworm being the other assistant coach. London didn't really like her daughter playing and she was afraid she would break a nail, but she cheered as hard as any parent. And Denise? Well, she inherited her mother's athletic talents and was the best player on the team. And in addition to that, Cody joined Zack and Woody in participating with the Wilderness Scouts. Herself, Bailey enjoyed taking Abby and Annie to ballet and dance class as well as the Wilderness Girls. And Bailey and Cody were always in the front row for one of their performances or first in line to buy cookies. And Bailey had another role she was proud of – she was the president of the kids' school PTA.
Bailey had to smile. As parents, she and Cody almost always had a united front. They knew with it being two on four, they had to. But, all in all, their children were very well behaved. It was only on rare occasions that the Martin 'hooliganess' would come out in them. And like their father was as a kid, they always knew they were wrong and would admit it. In fact, the only time that Bailey could remember that she and Cody had had a major disagreement about the twins was when it came to what school they went to. Bailey laughed as she remember their 'argument'.
"Cody, I think the kids should be in public school. I mean, we're both products of public school and we turned out alright."
"I know, Bails, but we can offer our kids more than we had an opportunity at. Don't you want our kids to have the best education possible?"
"But we went to public school and still went to Yale."
"I know, but we have the financial resources to send them anywhere. I think we should send them to the best academic school in the area."
"But school is about more than just academics, Cody. Its where they will learn all of the social skills they will need in life..."
"But if you remember, it was both of our desires to have the best educational experience that lead us both to Seven Seas High and to each other..."
"I know, and that was one of the best decisions of my life. I just don't want our kids to be around a bunch of snobs like you would find in private schools."
"Do you consider Maddie a snob? She went to Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow."
"Of course not! But Cody, in case you haven't noticed, we really aren't that religious, and we are definitely not Catholic."
"I know..." Cody paused. "What about the Newton Montessori School?"
Bailey paused. She had actually heard good things about it. "Maybe..."
Cody smiled. "That's a start..."
"How about we make a deal? The Montessori school through elementary school, but public school for middle school before they head off to Seven Seas High?"
Cody paused to consider that. "The magnet middle school?"
Bailey smiled. "Of course..."
Cody nodded. "Okay, I think I can agree to that. Bails, I don't mean to be difficult. I just want what's best for our children."
Bailey smiled. "I know, Codykins. And I do too. I just want them to get the full experience like I did. I mean, I got a great education and met the love of my life..."
Cody smiled back. "So did I...Okay, we have a plan."
Bailey had to laugh again. Zack and Woody had given Cody a hard time about wanting to send his kids to the Newton Montessori school. Well, that was until Bailey spoke with Cassie and Addison about it. And they actually agreed that Cody and Bailey's compromise was a great idea. So, now all five kids were in the Newton Montessori School together. Both Zack and Woody would do anything for their kids, but both griped enough about the amount of tuition. Zack even said his undergrad at UCONN was less a year than his kids elementary school. So, Charlie, Abby, Lizzie, Brady and Nathan were finishing up third grade while Annie, Ben, Denise and even Nicole were finishing up kindergarten. Yes, Nicole went to school with them too. London and Todd had finally moved to the suburbs as well. Although they lived near everyone else, their house was as big as the other four houses combined. London still did need her closet space afterall.
Bailey was brought back to the present when she heard the thunder of footsteps coming down the stairs. Her brood was showered, dressed and hungry. And all of them were ready for breakfast. And as they ate, Bailey lined up their backpacks with their lunchboxes. And fortunately, the kids made it easy on them by all having different favorite colors – Charlie green, Abby purple, Annie red and Ben blue – so their backpacks and lunchboxes matched.
And soon after, Cody followed them downstairs too. With his new title at the hospital, scrubs were out, and a shirt and tie were in unless he was in surgery. Bailey brought two more plates over to the table and they all six ate breakfast as a family. That was one thing Bailey remembered from her childhood and insisted on. She wanted her family to eat together as a family. To her, it was a chance for them to discuss what they had planned for the day in the morning, and then discuss what happened during their day at night.
Once breakfast was over, everyone was gathering their things for the day. Cody turned to Bailey. "Is it my day to drop them off?"
Bailey shook her head. "No, you had breakfast and lunches, I have chauffeur duty..."
Cody nodded. "And the bus is dropping them all off at Addison's?"
Bailey nodded in return. "Yeah." Addison and Woody had discovered they could just as easily work from home as from their office, they had graciously volunteered to watch the kids when they got out of school until their parents got home. Even though it was twelve children, Addison still had the energy to keep up with them. Plus, being so close, all of the family pets were always there waiting for the bus to drop them off. Ivana III was still a house dog, but Howie had his own crew to hang out with now – Zack and Cassie's dog, Rondo, Woody and Addison's dog, Porkchop, and Max and Tapeworm's dog, Meatball (They were proud Yale alums, no naturally, he was a bulldog).
Cody helped Bailey herd the kids out to their new minivan and get them buckled in. Once they were, he closed the door before turning back to Bailey.
"Have a good day, Bails..."
Bailey smiled. "You too, Codykins..."
Cody leaned in to kiss her as the kids in the minivan laughed and pointed at them. But neither Cody or Bailey cared. At the least, their kids knew that their Mom and Dad loved each other. After breaking away finally, Cody was about to turn to the BMW when he stopped and turned around.
Cody grinned. "I almost forgot...You know what this June is?"
Bailey paused. "What?"
"Our 15th Wedding Anniversary..."
Bailey smiled. "Fifteen years? Seems like it was just yesterday we were getting married on the boat..."
Cody smiled back. "My thoughts exactly. I was thinking of maybe a family vacation on the boat this summer. Show the kids where Mommy and Daddy met and got married, and be there to celebrate our anniversary..."
"I think it sounds perfect!"
"Good, I'll make some phone calls and make sure I can get those days off..."
Bailey laughed. "Your one step away from being the boss..."
Cody laughed. "Only there...Everyone knows who runs things around here."
Bailey rolled her eyes. "Anyways, its a great idea. I'll put in for the time off too. Since I am the boss, it should be no trouble."
"How is your new junior vet doing?"
"She's doing great. Of course, I kind of expected her to do so...She is your cousin, Katie afterall..."
Cody chuckled. "So glad that Tipton has no problem with nepotism..."
Bailey laughed too. "I know..."
Cody checked his watch. "Well, we both better get going. I'll see you later, Sweetie...I love you..."
"Love you too, Codykins...See you later..."
And with that, both jumped into their vehicles to head off and begin their days. Sure, their lives seemed a bit structured, but that was the way they liked it. Besides, if they didn't with four kids, it would be pure chaos. But still, it had been several years since they had had an adventure – well, not that life with children isn't an adventure – in their lives. And a week aboard the S.S Tipton might be exactly what they needed.
To be Continued...
Author's Note: I was asked to write Chapter 1 to show a normal day in the life of Cody and Bailey with their four kids. Anyways, I can't guarantee a new chapter everyday as I want to stay 5 chapters ahead before posting. Hope everyone enjoys.
