.:9:.

To get a letter of recommendation, I'll do anything

"And this will be something that we have to watch for another week or so," Christian Manning said, flipping through papers in his hand. Then he sat up straight and looked Cody in the eye, shifting the papers aside. "Are you sure this is what you want, Cody?"

"To get a letter of recommendation, I'll do anything," Cody admitted. He tapped his hands on the edge of the office chair he sat in across from Christian's desk. "I've worked my whole life for this. And if there's anything I can do to get into Yale, I'll do it."

"I understand that, Cody, but you've already sent out your application. I don't know if sending any more unsolicited letters is going to help much."

Cody lifted a finger. "My application status hasn't been checked yet," he pointed out. "There's still time for me to pad up my application as much as I can. Wouldn't you do the same? If you were trying to pad up a resume for you to get a new job or even to apply to a college yourself?"

The corner of Christian's mouth turned up as he leaned back in his seat. "That'd make sense if I were in the mood to look for a new job. I like where I am at the university." He winced as there was a crashing sound and rapid footsteps. "Though sometimes I could do with a bigger house."

Cody smiled back. He understood what it was like to want to have space of his own—he couldn't think to count how many times he and Zack asked their mom to move to a bigger suite so they could have their own rooms—but there were many times he went to the Manning's house to hang out simply because they didn't have their own space. There was hardly any teens their age at the Tipton anymore, Mr. Moseby always said something about them chasing away too many families but how true was that? And he and Zack were starting to have their own lives enough that Cody was starting to become better with the thought of not going to college with his brother.

Yeah, like Zack could ever get into Yale, Cody thought. Still, when first filling out college applications, there was a point of him that was a little hesitant to do so, knowing Zack would never get there. UMass was a last minute decision, just in case Zack got there, it'd be a safety school. For him or for you? The thought crossed Cody's mind before he shook it away.

"I'm not saying I won't write you the letter, Cody," Christian said. "You've actually been very helpful with my ow studies and research. I just hope you know that, sometimes, wanting something really bad can be very alienating."

"Or a sign of determination."

"That, too." Christian looked at his watch then back to Cody. "I can have the letter done for you in a few days. The end of the week at the latest, once this final experiment is done. But I promise I'll let you know if I have it done sooner."

"Thank you." Cody stood up and stretched out his hand towards Christian, who grabbed it and pumped it firmly.

"Thank you," Christian replied "Without your ideas on analytical chemistry, I may have been stuck on my own research. I'll see you soon."

"Thanks. Bye." Cody walked out of Christian's office and took a step back as Sydney and Aaron ran by, holding onto makeshift rubber band guns high over their heads, racing towards the stairs. Their footsteps thundered before they made it down, seconds before screaming loudly and running back in the opposite direction with Patrick and Noah running after them.

Cody smiled and carefully made his way down the stairs after them, in case he got caught in the crossfire. How many times had Zack managed to shoot him with rubber bands when he wasn't paying attention? And not just rubber bands, hornets; when a thick wad of paper was flung at him, too. Those stinging welts were left on his arms and legs for days. Enough so that their grandparents started to think Cody was consistently getting hives. (Which he was, he was allergic to their flowers and the dust mites didn't help). Still, that was always some fun.

A wistful smile came to Cody's face as he moved to the kitchen to get his shoes before leaving through the garage. He found Crystal standing at the island with bags of food around her, frowning as she moved different sized boxes and cans back and forth.

Cody watched her for a moment before tilting his head to ask, "Crys, what are you doing?"

"I'm rationing," Crystal muttered in reply.

He made a face, stifled a laugh at the intense irritation written all over her face. "Why?"

"So I don't have to go to the store again." Crystal threw her hands in the air. "I mean, dad's paying for it, but do you know how awful it is living with five boys? They eat like their lives depend on it."

"Well, technically, because of their genetic makeup as well as the need for protein, carbohydrates, and—" Cody started to rattle off then stopped, noticing Crystal glaring at him, her hands pressing into the side of the counter. "I mean, as long as they don't eat like Zack, I think you're fine." Then he cringed as soon as the words slipped form his mouth. How many times did he have to bring that up? Zack didn't want to talk about it, why would anyone else? Then he looked at her closer. "You're not just mad about the whole food thing are you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I like to think I know you very well. Not to mention your non-verbal communication skills are telling me that you're frustrated by something. Your voice is tight, your knuckles are turning white as you grab onto whatever item you need, and it looks like you're seconds away from mauling anyone that comes near you."

A sly smile came to Crystal's face. "Well, that might not be too off-base."

"What happened?"

Crystal let out a long sigh, tilting her head back, pressing her hands into the side of the counter. "I went to the athletic office today to sign up for a spring sport." Cody shrugged, not seeing the problem. Unless she had to give a note as to why she couldn't play a sport, which was very unlikely, there wasn't any problems with doing so. As it was, you only just showed up at the first practice for each team. "I signed up for the boys lacrosse team."

"Oh." Cody's eyebrows rose. Then he titled his head to the side. "Well, the other players would be much bigger and stronger than you, so I can see how the coach may be a bit—"

"—Not the coach, Moose," Crystal interrupted. "He was coming out of the office when I was going in and when I explained what I was there for, he started to tell me how it wasn't 'ladylike' and how it's a 'man's sport'."

Ah, now Cody understood.

As much as he thought Moose was a nice guy, he did have a habit of putting his foot in his mouth…and being a little domineering, and being annoyingly good at every sport he tried. Cody sucked in a deep breath, now trying not to let his own irritations get in the way. Or maybe it was jealously. He'd only just started to have a better reputation in school, other than looking and dressing like a 'science nerd' and then along came Moose with southern charm and a smile to match that got everyone's attention.

Bailey had dated him before so was immune to his charms—he still wasn't quite sure how—but Max, Crystal, Riley, Rhuben, and nearly every other girl in the school had fallen for it fast. But there was one fatal flaw to Moose Falcone, having grown up on a farm he had been taught about what was 'men's work' and 'women's work' and what their 'roles' in life were. Cody had seen his mother work long and hard to make sure Zack and Cody had a good life while his father seemed to squander it away. He'd seen his friends' parents take different roles in their lives to raise them as well.

"Well, I can understand his concern," Cody said slowly.

"Coming from the guy who decided to join a beauty pageant?" Crystal shot back.

"It was for a bike! You never get between a man and his bike!"

"Sure thing, Cody."

He didn't like how she was smiling sweetly at her like that. He never did, knowing she was still silently teasing him. But he couldn't disregard the face that he did have some feminine interests. Was it his fault he liked to sew and bake? He liked to skateboard and play basketball just as much, ignoring the scrapes and infections that were to occur. "I'm just saying that I can understand how he'd be concerned. I mean, we just said that the guys you'll be going against are a lot bigger and stronger than you are."

"So? The guys on the team will be the same size, and we'll be working together."

"I know, Crys. I just mean—well, what if you get knocked around? They'll probably target you."

"I'll run fast."

"Why do you want to play anyway?"

Crystal blew out a puff of air, making her bangs fly off her forehead. "Because there's not enough interest for a girls' team," she explained. "I asked, not a lot of girls signed up, not enough money. So I decided to try out for the boys team. I just want to play, Cody, it's no big thing."

"Then why are you making it a big thing?" Cody couldn't help the teasing smile that came to his face, now catching Crystal with it. She rolled her eyes and Cody laughed to himself. "I'm just kidding, Crys, I think you'd do a great job. Better than half the guys even." He thought for a moment. "I don't know if Zack's going to play—"

"—He's not playing?" Crystal's eyebrows came together.

"Well, as seniors we only need to play one sport. He's already missed soccer and I don't know if he's going to skip so he can keep up with his homework."

"Yeah, well, that is important."

"But if he does play, I'm sure he'll do his best to make sure you're protected." Cody quickly backtracked. "Not that you need to be protected, but, you know, you'd have a friend on the team. Tape's doing tennis and you know I'm already filled with the debate team and student council and everything."

"Cody, has anyone ever told you you need to relax sometimes?"

Cody smiled. "All the time. That's what my nightly mediation is for."

She snorted. "Has it worked? I never noticed."

"Ha ha." Cody bid goodbye to her and went out to the garage to slip his feet back into his shoes—not before checking there weren't any spiders residing inside—before walking back to the Tipton hotel. He made it halfway before he heard his name called.

"Cody? Is that you?" He turned around and saw Sadie walking his way, holding onto a dog leash. A golden retriever pulled her forward until she came to a stop next to him. Sadie flashed a smile, wrapping the leash around her hand to hold her dog by her side. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just doing some homework," Cody explained. He decided not to explain how it was more that he was helping a college professor. Trying to explain it would be hard enough, but having that 'huh'? look in response to his excitement? He got enough of that from Zack.

"On a Saturday?"

Cody shrugged modestly. "I love homework."

"You always have. What are you up to now? Grad school?"

Cody smiled. "I could only be so lucky." He nodded towards the leash around her hand. "Getting some walking done?"

"Yeah, just a little." Sadie switched the leash from one hand to the other as her dog walked in a circle around the two, gently sniffing Cody's feet and legs when he wasn't distracted by the patch of grass beside them. "Buster hasn't been on a good walk in a while so I thought I'd take him out."

"Out here?" Hasn't Max said something about her living on the other side of the city.

"We were at the dog park before." Sadie looked up and down the street. "I guess I overdid it a little. I didn't realize we'd walked so far." She scratched the back of her head, blushing. "I'm not really sure where we are."

"Well, the dog park is pretty far from here," Cody said, mentally running through a map of Boston in his head. "That must've been a pretty good walk." He gestured up the road. "The Tipton isn't far from here. We can go over and you can take the bus back. The driver doesn't mind if you have pets on there."

"Really?" Sadie smile a little. "I didn't know that."

"Well, it's not really a thing," Cody said, starting to walk along with her. "Zack and I just snuck a lot of different animals at home, trying to keep them as pets. And we always had to do it through the bus. We stopped when we lost one of our tarantulas and the bus driver nearly crashed into a tree when he found it."

Sadie laughed. "Let me guess, that's why the school bus drivers are always looking at you funny."

Cody nodded. "They can't be too careful." He shrugged, walking along with her, taking large steps over the leash when Buster moved too close, almost entangling them. "Neither can the city bus drivers, taxi drivers, the MBTA drivers, the—"

"Wow, sounds like you've really made your way around Boston."

"Only when we had the time." Cody shrugged.

"I'm sure you must've driven your mom crazy. Or, wait." Sadie tapped her finger against her chin. "That manager guy, Moseby." Her eyes shifted and she added quickly, "He didn't really seem to like Zack much when we'd be at the Tipton." She brushed her hair behind her ears. "Something about not messing around in his lobby or whatever. He seems really aggressive."

"Aggressive isn't the word I'd use. More like mean-spirited. He's as much of a softie as he tries to be imposing. You know what they say about guys who are short, they're always trying to compensate for something. And even then, Mr. Moseby's not too bad. I've gotten to know him over the years and he really does care about people. He just cares about the hotel, too."

"I mean, it's just a hotel."

"To anyone it's a hotel. It's his home as much as it is mine or London's. And he's been taking care of London for years. He's practically a father to her."

Cody smiled wistfully, remembering all of the things they'd been through over the years. How they'd all managed to come together as a family. A sort of dysfunctional family that managed to work together when things got tough. Just like with his own family. How many times had he heard his mom talk about his dad as if he was nothing more than an annoyance? And he'd managed to turn all of that around.

So what was it about his own life that Cody was so unhappy about? He had everything he could've wanted, really. But there was always something for him to fix, to work on. Helping Zack, getting into Yale…

"Well, I guess living in the Tipton is a lot cooler than living with your dad, right?" Sadie's voice brought him from his thoughts.

Cody looked at her as they came to a stop in front of the Tipton. Glancing inside, he could see Maddie and Zack walking through the lobby of the hotel with the daycare kids trailing along behind them. Then further back by the candy counter he saw Esteban and Arwin trying to work on what looked like a fix of the automated luggage cart while Mr. Moseby was listening to whatever London was saying with an air of exasperation in him.

Then he looked at her again and shook his head. "No way. My dad's awesome. Now that he's in Boston for good, I get to see him as much as I want. We're a lot closer than we used to be. Sometimes, I thought I annoyed him as much as I did Zack. 'Cause I'm not into the same things as him."

"I know that feeling," Sadie said. "Being annoying." She clarified after a second of surprise. "Sometimes I really get intense about things, people…it kind of scares them off. Like, I, uh, scared off Zack." She shuffled her feet. "I know things ended badly with us, but I really am sorry for what I did. I was just—"

"—Intense?" Cody supplied.

She nodded and reached down, patting Buster's head. His snout was pressed to the concrete, sniffing loudly. "Yeah. And, I understand what you guys did, too. I'm not mad about anything and, I hope you guys aren't either." Cody pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say in response. One of the few times in his life. A bus pulled up to the curb. "Oh, that's the bus. Thanks for walking me, Cody. I guess I'll see you at school." She waited for the crowd to get off before she motioned her dog to get on and followed after him.

Cody frowned as he watched the bus drive away. He didn't remember ever mentioning to her that he sometimes lived with his dad before she brought it up.

A/N: Well, things aren't going too well now are they? Cody does tend to get mixed up in trying to help people. But that's just his caring nature, I guess.

Cheers,

-Riles