A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to leave a review- each one was greatly appreciated. Please keep it up and enjoy the last chapter! (And be on the lookout for another Cody/Bailey breakup fic from me- coming very soon!)

We Didn't Really Want To Eat Snails Anyway

Bailey found him on the starboard deck, watching the sun set all by himself, but she could tell by his expression that he wasn't just enjoying the view; he was deep in thought. "Cody?" she spoke up tentatively, regretting that she had to disturb his peace and have the talk she dreaded having. "Mind if I join you?"

He smiled warmly at her. "Never."

There he went, giving her butterflies with just a look again. She leaned her arms on the rail and allowed herself to enjoy the colorful sunset for just a moment. When she turned back to Cody, he was watching her, the fond expression on his face making her want to cry. "I have to tell you something." She took a very deep breath. "It's about our anniversary. Some things happened that you don't remember."

Was it just her, or did he suddenly look as nervous as she felt? "Can it wait just one minute?" he asked.

Bailey frowned and nodded. At this point, what was one more minute? Confused, she waited while he lifted one hand to her face and brushed her cheek gently with his thumb. Then he leaned in and kissed her gently. It was a chaste kiss, but definitely a solid one; romantic but not demanding. Her eyelids slipped closed and she actually felt beautiful, like she was glowing, being kissed like that right on the deck of a ship on the sea, awash in the orange-pink light of the setting sun.

After a minute Cody pulled away. "I remember." he said quietly.

Bailey's eyes shot open. "You remember? What? Since when?"

"I remember what happened in Paris. London. Jean-Luc. The Eiffel Tower... The breakup." Cody said. "Everything. Some parts are a little fuzzy, but it's all there."

"Since when?" Bailey asked again, shocked.

Cody ducked his head, shamefaced. "I've known for a few days." he admitted. "I started to remember when we were talking about Jean-Luc in your cabin the other day."

Bailey's mouth dried up and she sagged against the railing for support. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Cody shrugged. "Well, at first, I thought it was some kind of bad dream that I was remembering. I thought I was remembering things that hadn't happened, since everyone was acting like they hadn't."

"Your doctor told us not to tell you any upsetting news, and to act normal around you until you remembered on your own." Bailey explained guiltily.

"I figured as much." Cody nodded. "I mean, I realized pretty quickly that I was missing some days of the week, and it all started to fill itself in..."

"So why didn't you tell me then?" Bailey asked softly. When he didn't answer, she pressed him. "If you remember what happened in Paris, why did you kiss me just now?"

"I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry, Bails." he turned away from her, running a hand through his hair, agitated. "It's just... I wanted a clear memory of our last kiss." He turned back and took in the sight of her stricken expression, the tears hovering in her eyes, just waiting to fall, and groaned in frustration. "God, it would have been easier to keep pretending."

"But... but..." Bailey stuttered pathetically. "Aren't you mad at me? For the terrible things I said about you? For Jean-Luc?"

He sighed. "I stopped being mad the minute you walked away from me. I was angry at you, I didn't want to lose you forever."

The tears were falling now, and Bailey swiped at them with her sleeve. "I didn't want to lose you either." she said. "But..."

"But we should talk about this." Cody agreed, evidently seeing where she was going.

"Yeah. That fight meant something. We can't just ignore our problems." Bailey said, allowing him to take her hand and lead her to a nearby lounge chair, where they sat side by side.

"Do you really think I'm that neurotic?" Cody asked, a little defensively. "I know I was a little obsessive, but I just wanted our date to be perfect."

"Do you really think I'm that naïve?" Bailey countered. "A girl can tell when a guy is trying to put the moves on her, even when he's doing it with a French accent."

They locked eyes in a stubborn stalemate for a long moment before they both cracked and smiled.

"You are neurotic, and more than a little obsessive." Bailey pointed out. "And trust me, it gets annoying." She gently covered his hand with her own. "But, taking another girl on a practice date so ours would be perfect is kind of sweet. In a twisted way."

"And you wouldn't be you if you didn't look for the good in everybody. Even tall, smarmy French guys." Cody said in the same conciliatory tone, suppressing a smile.

Bailey snorted and pushed her hair behind her ear self-consciously. "I should have looked for the good in you." she admitted. "I knew you would never cheat. I should have had faith... I guess when you've been with someone for a long time you start to take all the good things about them for granted..."

"And only see flaws." Cody finished. "I'm guilty of that too. I wasn't thinking about how you must be feeling, seeing me with London. I just saw that you jumped to a hurtful conclusion." he sighed. "I'm sorry we let ourselves get this way, Bails."

She nodded. "Me too, Cody. I forgot to consider all the things that attracted me to you in the first place. One of those things was how loyal and kind you are."

Cody turned his palm up so that they were holding hands again. "Do my positives outweigh my negatives?"

Bailey paused for a few seconds. That was the question of the hour, and suddenly it didn't seem like a very hard question at all. "It's not about weighing the positives and negatives." she said wisely. "It's about owning up to our flaws and quirks and realizing without them we wouldn't be us. You wouldn't be you... You wouldn't be the guy I love." She smiled weakly. She had put herself out there, taken her leap of faith, and all she could do was wait anxiously for his response.

He didn't leave her hanging. "I love you too."

The atmosphere of tension surrounding them seemed to disappear suddenly, and Bailey was suddenly breathless with relief and happiness. "Oh, Cody... I was so scared when I heard you were in the hospital. I mean, without you..." She didn't complete the sentence. Without him, she didn't know what she'd do, and it was looking less and less likely she'd need to find out anytime soon.

He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "I know, Bails. I know." he said seriously, before making an attempt to lighten the mood. "I know what you mean. When we broke up I was so lost in my own miserable thoughts I accidentally walked into traffic."

Bailey swatted him gently. "That's not funny."

"Sorry." Cody said, smothering a grin. "But, you know what? Worth it. You're so out of my league."

Bailey laughed at that, remembering how his brother had said the same thing. "Aw, that's not true... although I am pretty hot: according to Zack I'm an 8.2."

"You're higher than that." Cody murmured good-naturedly, nuzzling her temple.

Bailey pulled back slightly, a teasing glint in her eye. "Oh yeah? You mean the two of you use different scales? It's not standard?"

"It's the same basic scale..." Cody grinned. "They're just calibrated differently."

Bailey giggled. "You're such a nerd."

"Uh huh. You love it." Cody taunted, leaning in, his lips inches from hers.

"Oh yeah." The way he was looking at her made her feel like she was brimming with happiness, and Bailey didn't hesitate another second in closing the gap.