Chapter 35
Again, I don't own any of these characters...well, except the ones I created
Cody and Bailey did give their sworn statements and signed affidavits. With them being about to leave the country yet again, the police and local authorities had to make sure their absence would not cause a problem with the administration of justice. One thing that no one counted on was the would be mugger. The entire way he had been subdued had done a real number on him. While he may have not been the brightest bulb in the world before, he compounded his problems by lamenting what had happened to him in front of several officers. Thus, he learned a lesson the hard way...never admit to your crime in front of the police.
Life back on the S.S. Tipton carried on. However, most of the ship had gained a new respect for Cody. Instead of the studious geek, many saw Cody in a new light. The guys on the ship saw a different, tougher side to Cody. And many to themselves, questioned how they would have acted in a similar situation. Several didn't like the answers they found. Even Zack was forced to look at his brother differently. Sure, he was still the meek and demure brother he had known his whole life. But, Zack now knew there was a part of Cody that would stand up for himself and for Bailey. And like the other guys on the ship, Zack questioned what he would have done in the situation.
Like the guys on the ship, the other girls on the ship paid attention to what had happened too. The ones who did had boyfriends wondered if theirs would stand up to protect them as Cody had for Bailey. Many found themselves envious of Bailey in the fact that her boyfriend appeared to love her that much. The girls who were single now saw Cody in a different light as well. They saw a guy willing to do whatever it took for the woman he loved. Many of these girls begin to smile and give flirty waves to Cody every time they saw him. This was a fact that was not lost on Cody...or Bailey.
Bailey noticed the smiles and waves, and she could feel the jealousy inside of her. She really wished she didn't feel it. To his credit, Cody seemed oblivious to it. The rational side of Bailey knew she had absolutely nothing to worry about. Hadn't Cody proven to her with his anniversary surprise how much he loved her? And hadn't he just risked his own life to protect her? She knew Cody was totally and completely devoted to her. And she knew from the last time that jealousy had reared its ugly head, she needed to talk to Cody about it. That is exactly what she did. And Cody had said all the right things. He had even offered to wear a sign around his neck that said "Property of Bailey Pickett" if that would make her feel better. That had made her smile, but she would never ask him to do that. What he did do warmed her heart. He had written on his cast in large letters, "I Bailey". She grabbed his pen and wrote right underneath it, "Bailey Cody Too". Bailey felt much better, but she vowed if any of these girls pushed too far, she would claw their eyes out. She too was willing to do whatever it took to protect her man.
However, Cody was not as oblivious as everyone thought he was. He noticed the waves and smiles, but did nothing to acknowledge or encourage them. While it was a nice ego boost, he had absolutely no interest in any of these other girls. He loved Bailey, and she was all that he wanted. Cody was willing to do whatever it took to make that fact known. And on top of that, Cody didn't really think he deserved all of the extra attention. He was very uncomfortable with people telling him that he was a hero. To him, he had done nothing heroic. He had merely acted out of instinct to protect Bailey. Why didn't people understand that? He wasn't trying to bring attention to himself, he was trying to make sure nothing happened to the woman he loved. Cody just wanted his life to get back to normal.
And it wasn't just those on the S.S. Tipton who were dealing with what happened. Cody had finally called his mother to tell her what happened. To say that Carey was upset was an understatement. Carey's emotions were all over the place. She went through stages of blaming everyone for her baby boy being assaulted and hurt. She blamed Cody and Bailey for putting themselves in a position for something like that to happen. She blamed Moseby for not watching over them better. She blamed Zack for not taking care of his brother better. She knew she wasn't being rational though. None of them had done anything wrong. Now, the assailant...well he just better hope Carey Martin never got her hands on him. Carey was about to catch the next plane to meet up with the ship to take care of her son. Cody had tried to persuade her that he was fine. Even Zack had to try to talk her out of it. He explained that Cody already had Bailey making a fuss over him. Finally, Carey relented, but said matter of factly that she was going to see them both again real soon.
Kurt Martin's reaction was a little different. If he had been any prouder of his son, he would have burst. Sure, he didn't like the fact that Cody and Bailey had been assaulted. But, he was proud of Cody for the way he had stepped up and took care of the situation. His son was becoming a man and appeared on the precipice of assuming the responsibilities of what that entailed. Kurt had always worried that Cody's non-confrontational attitude would cause problems for him in the future. But now, those worries were put to ease. To Kurt, it seemed like his son was going to be just fine.
The Martins weren't the only parents affected by what had happened. The Picketts too were deeply concerned and troubled. Joe Pickett was upset that his baby girl had been attacked. This was one of the worries he had when he had relented and allowed Bailey to go off to Seven Seas High. What if something happened to her and he wouldn't be there to protect her? Fortunately, she was fine. And Cody had been there to protect her. Joe couldn't decide how he felt about that. While his opinion of Cody had skyrocketed because of this, part of Joe couldn't let go of the feeling that it should be he who protects his daughter. While he knew his little girl was becoming her own woman, he was having trouble accepting that. Sure, he had daughters who were already out on their own with their own lives and families. But Bailey was one of his youngest. Letting go was going to be difficult...especially entrusting her future safety into the hands of a young man he had never met.
Maggie Pickett had been upset to find out what had happened as well. Like Carey Martin, she wanted to get her hands on the mugger. But, the important thing was that Bailey was safe and sound. The same could not be said about her boyfriend, Cody. He had been injured while protecting her daughter. Bailey had told her that Cody wasn't making a big deal of it, but Maggie could tell that her daughter was. After prodding her daughter, Maggie finally got Bailey to confess that Bailey had been scared to death when she couldn't find Cody anywhere. And the thought of something happening to him had shook Bailey to her very core. Hearing this, Maggie gained that clarity that sometimes only a mother can have. She didn't ask her daughter, but merely just stated. "You love him.". Bailey immediately said she did and that Cody loved her too. Maggie smiled and told her daughter that she was extremely happy for them. Bailey then went on to lament about all the looks and waves all the other girls were giving Cody now. Maggie just tried to be the bearer of common sense for her daughter. She reminded Bailey that she had saw something in Cody that made her fall in love with him. Why would she think she was the only one? And then she again reminded her daughter of what Cody had done for her. If he was going to risk his life to protect her, there was no way he was going to listen or react to anything another girl said or did. Bailey seemed to calm at that thought and thanked her mother again for her words of wisdom. After hanging up, Maggie Pickett did feel relieved. She knew now for sure that her daughter was going to be taken care of.
Life did appear to be moving on. And as the S.S. Tipton continued its voyage, the skyline and lights of Tokyo quickly began to fade. While the vision faded, the memories and their implications would last a lifetime.