Wedding Blues

By SilverTurtle

Rating: T

**********

Bailey sighed into her glass of wine. The wedding had been lovely, really. But it was never easy letting an old flame go. And Cody had been her first love. Now he was married to his first love, Barbara.

To be honest, she wasn't even sure why she'd been invited to the wedding. She and Cody were friends still, sure, but she didn't think they were particularly close. An email exchanged every month and a phone call once in a blue moon wasn't exactly what she thought of as close, but perhaps he had different standards. Maybe talking science and math with someone in an email counts to him as a close friendship.

Or maybe it was because Barbara had wanted to show every one of Cody's ex-girlfriends that she had won and Cody was hers. That was probably it. She had sneered at most of the women in the reception line. The only one immune to the sneer had been Cody's mother, Carey. Cody hadn't even noticed Barbara's behavior, too busy getting slapped on the back by his brother and friends.

But that didn't really bother Bailey. She didn't want Cody back, so Barbara's snide remarks and victorious look were wasted on her. There was a reason she and Cody hadn't worked out, and it wasn't distance. Their time together had been nice for a while, but then Cody had started becoming someone Bailey didn't really recognize. It had started when he'd been willing to injure her to get out of turning in an essay, rather than tell the teacher he had forgotten to do the assignment, and it had only gotten worse from there. He'd started treating her poorly, ignoring her in favor of 'more entertaining' things, or when he did spend time with her he was never really there. In short, he'd stopped caring. Fallen out of love, just like that. Like a snap of his fingers and he was no longer interested in her.

So they'd broken up. He must have regretted some of the way he'd treated her towards the end because he'd been the one to reestablish contact between them, reaching out with an email apologizing for his behavior and asking to be friends. She'd accepted, he'd been a good friend even before they'd dated, so she was glad to at least have that back. There weren't many people she could talk math or science with and actually have them understand what she was saying, so she was pleased to have him back as a friend.

She had even begun to recognize some of the old Cody in their contact together. Being back in Boston must have reminded him of the person he had been. That or his mother had sternly lectured some sense back into him. She was betting on Carey.

Either way it didn't matter. What mattered was that after reestablishing their friendship she got a letter out of the blue inviting her to the Martin-Brownstein wedding. Cody had never mentioned that he was dating anyone in any of their conversations so this invitation came as quite the surprise. And since Cody was her friend, and she hadn't seen him in years, she had accepted.

Now she was here, in the Boston Tipton Hotel, at the wedding reception.

Alone.

Normally being alone wouldn't have bothered Bailey. She was a self actualized woman and proud of herself. But being at this wedding, where everyone seemed to have someone to be with was starting to wear on her nerves. And she realized that, really, she was pretty lonely.

She sighed into her wine again before taking another long sip.

Just then an attractive blonde tottered up to the bar and claimed a stool beside Bailey, intent on getting a drink though it seemed she'd had several already. She was lithe, with tan skin, and long silky hair.

Bailey wondered which party she was here for, bride or groom. And apparently the filter between her brain and mouth wasn't working because she asked that out loud without even waiting for the lady to get her drink.

Still, the young woman smiled a little wistfully at Bailey and answered in a lightly accented voice, "Groom. You?"

"Groom as well," Bailey nodded. "We used to date," she wasn't sure why she felt it necessary to add that.

"Me too!" the blonde responded enthusiastically, "Well, actually, my sister and I were kind of dating him at the same time, but he could never choose between us. It was alright because we were very good at sharing."

Bailey was startled. Never had she imagined Cody as a two-timer, but the picture this girl painted was giving her second thoughts.

"Though," the blonde said, "we were twelve at the time. And being identical twins, it's understandable he couldn't choose. And it was more of a crush than dating, really."

Oh. Well, that explains that.

"The wedding was so nice." The slightly tipsy blonde said; her drink finally materializing in front of her as the bartender wandered away again.

It was a beautiful wedding, Bailey had to admit, "Really nice," she agreed.

The blonde looked as though she'd found a missing piece of herself as she sighed out, "Really really nice."

"Uh, sure," Bailey said slowly, "I'm Bailey," and stuck out her hand to shake.

The blonde smiled beatifically at her, Bailey felt her breath catch in her throat thinking this girl is gorgeous. "I'm Jessica." She held out her hand and Bailey was surprised at the strength of her grip when they shook hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Jessica replied, her accent musical to Bailey's ears.

Bailey smiled back, "Likewise."

Suddenly Jessica leaned close still holding Bailey's hand, an amused gleam in her eyes, and asked in a hushed voice, "Did you see how the bride was looking at every girl in the reception line?"

"Like she had just pissed all over her territory and would like to rip apart any would-be rivals?" Bailey asked in a low tone trying to get her heartbeat, which had unexpectedly jumped at Jessica's nearness, to slow down again.

Jessica wrinkled her nose at that description, making Bailey think her adorable in addition to stunningly gorgeous, but nodded, "Exactly! As if we'd try to steal him now! He just got married!" The scandalized tone in Jessica's voice made Bailey think the situation even more amusing. "What does she think we'd do? Try to seduce him away from her? Please! He's a wonderful guy, but I wouldn't want someone who could be persuaded away from his bride on their wedding day."

Bailey, again, had to agree. A man like that wouldn't be worth the trouble. "I know," she said, "I think she just wanted to show us that we couldn't have him now, even if we wanted him. It's like we're all naughty puppies that peed on the floor and she's rubbing our noses in it."

"It's funny when you think of it like that," Jessica said as she started giggling.

"Really funny," Bailey replied laughing now.

"Really really funny." And suddenly both of them were laughing hysterically, making little barks and yips at each other, pretending to be naughty puppies.

With the ice broken between them they had pleasant conversations about anything that came to them, from agricultural methods, to fashion lines, to Jessica's twin Janice, to their histories with the Martin brothers. Bailey was shocked that a woman like Jessica would know anything about agriculture or science, but Jessica had pleasantly surprising depths, and Bailey was once more learning that she shouldn't judge books by their covers. By the time Jessica excused herself to use the restroom Bailey considered her a friend, one she was glad to have.

"Hey pretty lady," Bailey heard a smoothly confident voice over her shoulder say, "What're you doin' here all alone?"

She looked and found Zack Martin, brother of the groom and best man, addressing her and looking as handsome in his tux as any man could be.

"Hi Zack," Bailey stood to give her old friend a hug, "It's been a while."

"Sure has," he agreed pleasantly, "Care to dance?"

Just as charming as ever, Bailey thought with a smile, "I'd love to."

He led her out to the dance floor and found just enough space for them to sway together and chat.

"So, kind of surprising isn't it?" Zack asked with a nod towards Cody and Barbara murmuring to each other several yards away.

Bailey nodded, "I didn't even know he was dating when I got the invitation in the mail."

Zack arched a brow at her, "Disappointed it's not you?"

She looked at him startled, "No! No, not at all."

Zack just kept his brow up.

"Really, Zack," Bailey said softly, "There were very good reasons he and I broke up. The only thing I'm disappointed about is that he didn't tell me, himself, that he and Barbara were together again. I thought that, as a friend, he'd have told me something like that. Especially after all that trouble we went through on the boat."

Zack nodded, "Are you at least enjoying yourself, now that you're here?"

Bailey gave him a dazzling smile, "I've had a lot of fun. It was a beautiful wedding. Getting to see you both again, and other people from the ship, and meet people you've known, it's quite the experience. I was just talking with the most interesting girl, Jessica."

"Oh! You met one of the twins! I remember them. Jessica's a great dancer," Zack said, "when she let me lead." He muttered darkly.

Bailey laughed. Same old Zack. "She's been good company tonight. Speaking of company, did you come with a date?"

"I did," he confirmed, his chest puffed out proudly, "I brought my girlfriend, Agnes."

Bailey's eyes must have widened because he looked at her and chuckled, "I know. A girlfriend. Me. But believe it or not I'm in a steady committed relationship."

"That's great. I'm so happy for you, Zack." She pulled him closer and hugged him, smiling hugely.

"Hey!" An angry shout broke their hug, "Who do you think you are trying to take my man?!"

Bailey saw a flash of curly hair before feeling the sting of a hand across her cheek. "Ow! What the hell?"

"Agnes, what—Bailey are you alright?"

"You lost your twin! Well, this one's mine." Agnes slapped Bailey again, "So back off, bitch." The shorter curly haired Agnes took an aggressive stance in front of Zack, now that Bailey had been forcibly removed from their embrace.

She moved to hit Bailey again. Her hand sailed through the air, only to be stopped by Bailey catching her wrist in a powerful grip. "That's enough of that," Bailey said lowly, fury practically pouring off her.

Agnes surprised her by using her other hand to get a third slap in, scratching her cheek. Bailey's grip tightened around the wrist she held and Agnes made a small sound of pain. That was quite enough, the gauntlet had been thrown and she wouldn't be Bailey Pickett if she let a challenge like that go unanswered.

Just as she went to strike back, a body interposed between the two women.

Bailey looked down and found Jessica looking back at her. Jessica's hand skittered across Bailey's stomach, over the curve of her hip, and around her back, pulling herself in tight to Bailey's side. Over Jessica's shoulder she saw Zack's eyebrows shoot up under his bangs, and she knew instantly what he was thinking. And to be honest, she was thinking it too.

Jessica grabbed Bailey's free hand, lacing their fingers together. She stretched up on her tiptoes to speak into Bailey's ear, lips brushing skin, "Bailey," Bailey nearly melted, "she isn't worth the trouble. You don't want to cause a scene."

Bailey was still angry, she tested Jessica's grip on her and found it solid. Jessica squeezed the hand she held and tried again, "Barbara will never let you speak to Cody again if you ruin tonight for her." Apparently Jessica saw that talking to Cody was not big enough incentive to stop her because she pressed even more tightly against Bailey, hand tracing seductive patterns on her back, and whispered in her ear, "Can't you think of better things to do?"

Bailey's knees went weak and her eyes closed without her permission. She most certainly could think of better things to do, and they all involved the blonde currently attached to her. Reluctantly she dropped Agnes' wrist and whispered back at Jessica, "You're evil."

Jessica was smirking at her when she opened her eyes, she said, "You're easy." She kissed Bailey's cheek before stepping back, still holding Bailey's hand. "Come on. Let's clean that scratch up."

Bailey let herself be led to the bar, looking back once to see Zack having words with his crazy girlfriend.

"You poor thing," Jessica cooed as she sat Bailey on a stool and started dabbing at her lightly bleeding cheek with a napkin. It didn't hurt at all, but it was nice to be fawned over, and it gave her the perfect opportunity to study Jessica in a way she hadn't before. She found that she liked what she saw.

"Hey, Bailey," Zack said tentatively as he approached looking sheepish, "Are you alright?"

She smiled at Zack, Jessica's hand was working wonders for how she was feeling at the moment, "I'm fine Zack. This is just a scratch. Girl has to hit harder than a bull can kick to take me. And she wasn't anywhere near that. Remember, I used to wrassle gators for fun."

Jessica looked down at her startled for a moment, they hadn't gotten to that part of Bailey's past, but she moved beyond it, and let her fingers caress any lingering sting from Bailey's cheek.

"Well, that's…uh, good?" Zack said losing his focus for a moment watching the ladies, "I'm sorry about Agnes, she's…"

"Crazy?" Bailey supplied shooting him a sardonic look while Jessica played with her hand.

Zack chuckled, "Little bit. She just gets jealous, a lot."

"Well, I've got better things to do than worry about your crazy girlfriend."

"I can see that," Zack replied, waggling his eyebrows at the two girls suggestively. "You ladies have fun. And don't do anything I wouldn't do!" He added as he sauntered away.

Bailey rolled her eyes, "Like that narrows it down."

Jessica just looked at her amused.

Embarrassed, Bailey cleared her throat. "So, Jessica," she hesitated a moment, but Jessica just looked at her warmly, expectantly, "Uhm, would you like to dance? With me?"

Jessica's smile lit the room, "I thought you'd never ask."

And as Bailey was dragged out onto the dance floor she thought, Agnes is wrong, I do have a twin of my own.

**********

THE END



Notes on the Pairing:

Bailey Pickett is a main character of the cast of Suite Life On Deck. She is a farm girl from Kettlecorn, Kansas and is a friend to Zack and girlfriend to Cody. She is played by Debby Ryan.

Jessica is one of a set of identical twins girls that appeared for seven episodes in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. She is played by Becky Rosso.