Episode 5

"The Ides of June"

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Wait...In this story, I created some of the characters, so I will actually own them.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

And as to the ones I create, who they are is up to me, so...

Kettlecorn

Cody and Bailey's flight to Tulsa was finally called, and they were soon on their way back to Kettlecorn. And almost as soon as they got there, Cody and Bailey broke the news of them making their final medical school decision to her family. Of course, their choice of Harvard caught her mother and grandmother completely off guard. Naturally, they were curious why they would choose a school that they were both furious with just a month before. So, while Eunice and Grammy both wanted to know what had changed since then and why, Clyde just grinned and winked at Cody. And faced with that barrage of questions, Cody and Bailey simply assured everyone that they were sure of their decision and even went over the list of pros and cons they had made just hours earlier. And hearing their reasons seemed to satisfy Eunice and Grammy's concerns as then then understood why Cody and Bailey had made their choice. And that lead to a mini celebration as they congratulated them on their achieving another high honor and for their scholarships. Of course, Clyde just kept grinning as he realized that with their scholarships that he wouldn't have to find the money to pay for his daughter's continuing education.

But as happy as everyone was about Harvard, they were even more thrilled to hear about the further wedding plans that Cody and Bailey had made. Naturally, Bailey was a little apprehensive about how her sisters would handle London being her sole bridesmaid, but they were all very understanding about the situation and agreed that all nine of them would be a little much. And they completely understood Bailey's fear about upsetting some if she did choose others. On her part, Bailey was relieved everything worked out so well, and almost busted out laughing when Cody whispered to her his thoughts of why everyone was so cool about it.

"Bails...they're getting a free week in Hawaii out of this. I'm sure knowing they still have that takes away any sting there might have been..."

Of course, when it came time for Bailey to show everyone the sketches of her wedding dress, that meant Cody had to make himself scarce. Fortunately, Clyde asked him to help with something out in the barn. And once they got out there, Clyde just began laughing.

"Well, I guess some of what I told you must have stuck, huh?"

Cody smiled. "Yeah, it did. You were right. I decided to use what they did to me as motivation do be the best medical student they've got while I'm there..."

"Good for you...though, you may have some stiff competition in that matter from my daughter and your future wife..."

"That would be fine with me. If someone had to beat me, I would rather it be here. Besides, we inspire each other work harder which we think is a good thing. We feel that if we're fighting together, there's nothing or no one who can get in our way..."

Clyde nodded. "After some of the things I've seen, I can't argue with that..." He paused and teased his future son-in-law. "...but, what were you two thinking with some of those wedding ideas Bailey was talking about? I've never heard of anything like it before. I mean really - sand colored suits and everyone being barefoot?"

Cody shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "Hey, they weren't my ideas! But Bailey seems to like them, and if they make her happy, then they make me happy..."

"Well, as a father, I can't complain about that. I just get a feeling this wedding is going to be like nothing I've ever seen before..."

"Hey, my idea was to elope..."

Clyde laughed. "Yeah, like that was going to happen! You've been around the Pickett women long enough to know better." He shook his head. "Oh well, I guess I won't have to worry about packing my good pair of boots for that trip then. So, it sounds like you guys are almost done planning this thing and have decided on a medical school, and it not even July yet. I guess that frees up the rest of your summers, huh?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I guess it does. But after all the traveling we've done lately, I think I'll enjoy having a break for a little while. You know, give ourselves a chance to rest up before we head back and start our senior years." He paused. "Though, our last two semesters shouldn't be all that bad..."

"Well, you two have definitely earned a little bit of down time." Clyde laughed again. "But you'll want to rest up before next Christmas too. I get the feeling you're going to be busy while you're here..."

Cody looked at him curiously. "Why do you say that?"

Clyde just grinned. "Oh...you'll see. Just make sure you bring your boots and gloves again..."

Boston

After their weekend in Kettlecorn, Cody and Bailey had to leave to head back to Boston on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, there wasn't anything they had to be back for that night, but they did still have to be at work early on Monday morning. However, when they did get back to the Tipton, they found out they had gotten back just in time. Carey and Maya were about to order some takeout for dinner, and they invited Bailey and Cody to join them. So, while they unpacked their bags, Maya went out to pick up their food. And when she got back to Carey's suite, they all sat around the old table there.

Carey had to smile. "I remember when it used to be just Zack, Cody and I around this table. I guess enough time has elapsed that I'm now sitting around it with Cody and both of the women in my sons' lives." She sighed. "I only wish Zack was here with us to make it complete. I like it so much better when I'm surrounded by all of my family..."

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other and nodded. They both knew it was time to break their latest news to his mother.

"Ummm...Mom?"

Carey turned to him. "Yes, Cody?"

He paused. "Speaking of you liking it better when you're surrounded by your family, Bailey and I have some news to tell you in regards to that. But we're concerned that you might make too big a deal of it when we tell you. So, I'm asking you to try to keep your cool after we tell you..."

"What do you mean keep my cool? Why would I make a big deal of being surrounded by my family unless..." Carey looked back and forth between Cody and Bailey and suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Immediately, her face was draining completely of all of its color. "Oh no!" She shook her head. "Please don't tell me that Bailey is pregnant! I'm not ready for that yet!"

Bailey's eyes went wide in surprise at hearing that. "Huh? What? Oh, no, no, no, no! Nothing like that, Carey!"

Slumping in her chair, Carey wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness! Anything other than that I can handle right now..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Geez, Mom. We would know better than just drop a big bomb like that on you! With something like that, we'd build you up to it first. Besides, while are getting married next summer, Bailey and I have a lot we want to accomplish before we would be ready to have kids. We want to wait at least until we get out of medical schools and are entrenched in our residencies." He shook his head. "All we were going to tell you was that Bailey and I have finally decided on which medical school that we're going to attend after we graduate. And that's all..."

Carey was still getting her heart rate back to normal and just nodded. "Well, that's good to know. I'm glad you too are thinking responsible. Now, what school is going to be the lucky one to get you two?"

Cody just grinned. "Well, we're going to take our talents to..." He paused. "...Harvard..."

His mother just nodded and smiled. "That's nice, Honey. And I hear its a very good school, probably the best in the country. I'm..." She paused as it slowly dawned on her the full implications of what her youngest had just said. "Wait a minute! Did you just say Harvard? As in Cambridge? As in just across town from here?"

Bailey smiled. "Yes, he just did say Harvard; No, the medical is actually on this side of the river over in the Longwood Medical next to Brigham & Women's hospital and the Children's Hospital of Boston; and Yes, we will be just across town from here..."

Carey just looked up towards the sky and shouted. "Thank you!" She looked back down at her son and soon to be daughter-in-law and had the biggest smile on her face. "This is going to be so wonderful! I'm going to have both of my boys back here in Boston with me again full time! And I'll have you both across the hall, so I'll be able to see you both everyday!"

Cody had to wince at hearing that. While his mother was happier than he'd seen her in a long time, he had a feeling the next piece of news he told her might bring her back to earth a little. "Actually, Mom, we won't be living across the hall. We're going to look for a place to live within walking distance of campus. We'd prefer not to have face traffic or trains in the morning..."

Carey smile faded. "Oh..."

Maya decided to speak up. "Its actually a really good idea, Carey. I feel the same way about my dorm. Only having to walk, you can sleep later and it just makes everything so much easier. And if they have to study late at night at the library, riding the subway at that time might not be the safest thing in the world..."

"Well, I guess that's true."

Bailey spoke up too. "But the important thing is that will only be fifteen minutes across town instead of a few hours away in another state..."

"That's a good point..." She shook her head and began laughing. "Why am I upset? My son and soon to be daughter-in-law are coming back to Boston! This is the best news I've gotten since I found out Zack was actually going to go to college! We should go out to dinner to celebrate!"

Cody laughed. "Ummm...Mom. We're having dinner right now."

Carey paused. "Oh yeah...We'll, then I'm taking us all out for ice cream afterwards to celebrate. Hurry up and clean your plates and we'll head out!"

And that's what they did. Once they finished eating, Carey went to change and get her purse. And while she did, Bailey turned to Maya.

"Thanks for the backup back there..."

She smiled. "No worries. Its the least I could do after you two have been helping me study this summer. And congratulations to you both on Harvard, and welcome back to Boston." She paused. "I have to admit that I am a bit curious though. I thought you guys told us that Cody's interview at Harvard had been a complete disaster. What happened?"

Briefly, Cody and Bailey explained to her about them getting their acceptance letters and what they said the same day Zack found out he was going to the boat. They went on to explain what they decided to do, and why they finally decided on Harvard in the end.

"We would have told you and Zack about them that day, but we figured you two had enough going on with jim having to leave for the summer."

Maya nodded. "Yeah, I can definitely understand that. I'm not sure I would have been in a condition to have really heard what you said..." She paused as another thought entered her mind. If Cody and Bailey were going to be attending Harvard, maybe it wasn't completely off the table for Zack yet either. But she decided the would wait until he returned to Boston to tell him about it. For one, she wanted to do it in person. And for another, Cody and Bailey getting into Harvard was their news to share with him and not hers. Finally, he didn't want it to be something to weigh on his mind while he was away and could do nothing about it. But that didn't stop her from thinking about the possibilities when she was snapped back to reality when she heard Bailey's voice again.

"You're thinking about Zack right now, aren't you?

Maya turned to her and sighed. "Yeah, I am. I know he'll be home in a couple of weeks, but I can't wait to see him again."

"I bet. I remember the summer after our sophomore years of high school when Cody and I were separated for the first time. I missed him like crazy while he was here and I was in Kettlecorn. And we had to rely on letters and e-mails to keep in touch because he was reluctant to call me..." Bailey laughed. "His voice was cracking then, and it really embarrassed him. I guess he didn't want me to hear him like that..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "It wasn't that bad..." Bailey just gave him a look though, and he sighed. "Okay, maybe it was. But even though I was embarrassed about how I sounded, I still missed Bailey something fierce. I was so happy when it was time to return to the boat so I could see her again."

Bailey smiled at him. "Me too. And then there was the icing on the cake. Cody had grown a few inches and was finally taller than me. I didn't have to slouch any longer..."

Maya laughed. "Well, I don't think I have to worry about Zack's voice cracking or him growing on me. I don't think he would mind though as he's still mad that Cody broke six feet and he hasn't. But I just worry about how busy he's been. Whenever I talk to him, it seems like he's perpetually exhausted..."

Cody laughed himself. "Zack's actually having to work hard on the ship? There is karma!"

After ice cream, Cody and Bailey were ready to call it a night. And its not like their Monday wouldn't be a busy one. Aside from work and even though they had made their decision, Cody and Bailey had to begin making numerous phone calls regarding their choice. The first was to Harvard to formally notify them that they would be accepting both their admissions and financial aid packages. And while they were on the phone, they asked the admissions office if they could mail them some information on housing in the vicinity of the school. After that, it was time to make the calls to the other schools to cancel the future interviews they had left. They decided to be honest and tell them that Harvard had not only accepted them but offered full rides. The other schools weren't necessarily happy, but they did understand that when Harvard offered you a full ride, it was hard to turn down. Next on the list was to call Kurt and tell him of their decision. Naturally, he was ecstatic and proud of them both. Finally, their last phone call was to reschedule their flights for their final trip by to Kettlecorn for Bailey's birthday. Instead of a stop over in St. Louis, they would have direct flights in and out of Tulsa.

With that all taken care of, they knew they were looking at a much more relaxing second half of their summer. And for the rest of that week, they took it as easy as they could. But for Cody and Bailey, taking it easy didn't mean the same thing that it did for other people. And unfortunately for Maya, she got to experience that first hand. One that Thursday evening, she got home from work and found them lounging around on the couch. Cody looked like he was thoroughly engrossed in an episode of Chopped while Bailey was cuddled up next to him reading a book. Those activities would be considered normal enough, but that wasn't really what stood out to her.

When she saw what they were wearing, Maya shook her head. "Are you two both wearing a Forever Lazy?"

(AN: For anyone who doesn't know what these are, they're a few steps beyond a Snuggie. If you still want to know what they look like, Google it or go to the company's website.)

Bailey looked up and smiled. "Yeah, aren't they great? We saw them advertised late one night on TV, and they were offering a buy one get one free deal. Tapeworm and Gertie dared us to order them, so we did. And we're glad we did. We absolutely love them!"

Maya did everything she could not to laugh. "Yeah, they're...interesting alright..." She paused. "Has London seen you both wearing them yet?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

She just grinned. "Just...please make sure I'm around when she does..."

The S.S. Tipton

While it had only taken the ship a week to get to the Mediterranean Sea, it had spend the next several weeks taking its time moving around it from port to port. They had stopped at such locales as the South of France, Monaco, numerous ports in Italy and was currently on its way towards the Greek Isles. And like he had told Maya, Zack spent the almost all of his time constantly on the move doing one thing or another. Well, except for Sunday as they were his day off. Of course, he spent those doing the legwork for his summer school assignment. So, with no actual free time, Zack just grew tireder and tireder. In fact, there were days he actually missed working at the Easy Squeezie. At least there, he would have the occasional down time where he could goof off. But that Friday in particular had been a rough one for him. He had at least walked the entire length of the ship at least three times, and his feet were killing him. By dinner time came around, he could barely hold his head up he was so exhausted.

"Man, you're looking rough, Little Buddy..."

Zack looked up and sighed. "Well, Kirby, if its possible, I think I probably feel even worse than I look."

Kirby smiled. "A lot different being on the ship as a full time employee, huh?"

"You're telling me. I liked it being a student a whole lot better."

"Yeah, it was so much fun having all you kids on board. You guys were such a good group, and I don't know how you all did it, but there was always something going on. I bet I spent half my time getting involved in something or another with you all." He laughed. "I still remember when you all locked yourself down in the boiler room..."

"I remember. And that's one of the things that sucks the most. I miss having everyone else here. I miss seeing Woody get that look in his eyes when he saw the Mexican buffet. And I even miss hearing the noises his body would make at nights after he destroyed it. The other night, I heard an owl and was disappointed to realize that it was really just an owl. I miss seeing Addison on one of her sugar binges and then crashing afterwards. I miss scheming with Marcus on what our next prank will be. I miss London being...well...London. I even miss seeing Cody and Bailey being so nauseatingly sweet with each other that I was forced to make fun of them." He sighed again. "But most of all, I miss seeing Maya every day..."

Kirby laughed. "Well, life at sea ain't for everybody..."

"Tell me about it. I'm starting to realize that all the fun I had before wasn't because I was on the boat, but because I was surrounded by all my friends."

Kirby shook his head and laughed again. "Wow! Cody told me in his emails that you had grown up, but I can see with my own two eyes just how much you have. Guess I don't have to worry about you stealing my uniform again, huh?"

Zack shook his head. "How do you do it, Kirby? I know Esteban has Francesca here with him. But don't you ever miss having...you now...companionship?"

He grinned at Zack. "And what makes you think I'm going without female companionship, Zack?"

Zack paused. "Well, the fact that you have dinner with me almost every night kind of indicated that...am I wrong?"

Kirby kept smiling. "What if I told you the reason I did that was because the woman I'm seeing works during dinner time?"

Zack paused again as a thought crossed his mind. He turned and saw Bertha, the kind yet portly cook smiling at them, and Zack began laughing. "You and Bertha are an item, Kirby?"

"What can I say? She loves to cook and I love to eat..."

"Well, congratulations, Man. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. I'm pretty happy myself."

"But why didn't you tell me this before?"

Kirby shrugged. "I could see you were missing Maya something fierce. I didn't want to rub it into your face that I had my lady here while you were so far away from yours..."

Zack sighed. "Yeah, I can see that. And it does remind me - I'm the only one here who can't be with the one they love..."

"Look at it this way though. In a little over a week, you're heading back to Boston and going to get to see Maya again. And once this summer is over, you'll be back with her full time..." Kirby laughed. "Face it, Zack...your brother isn't the only one who has found his match. Wouldn't surprise me if I wasn't going to be going to another wedding for one of the Martin twins sooner than later..."

Zack's eyes went wide. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Kirby just gave him a look. "Oh please..."

"Don't get me wrong, I love Maya, but I don't think either one of us is quite ready for that yet."

"Maybe not. But answer me this - when you picture your future, she's a big part of it and right there with you, isn't she?"

Zack didn't answer, but he didn't have to. He already knew the answer to that question.

And Kirby knew he did and just laughed again. "See?"

"Yeah, you're right, Kirby..."

"So...what are you going to do about it?"

Zack and Cody's Suite

Without having to go on any more interview trips, that freed up the rest of their summer and left Cody and Bailey with a lot of free time on their hands. And for that first week, they had been content with just going to work before coming home and taking it easy. But by the end of that week, they starting growing a little restless. Sure, every night, they still tutored Maya in physics, but they were really beginning to really miss their own scholastic endeavors. And there was still almost two more months before the fall semester at Yale would begin back on August 27th. And early that next week, it finally came to a head.

"Bails, I know I was looking forward to having some down time, but now that we've had some..." He shook his head. "Is it just me, or doesn't it seem like we could be a lot more productive than we have been lately?"

Bailey smiled. "I don't know about that. I think we've had a very productive summer. We've picked a medical school and we've practically finished planning our wedding. I doubt very many people have gotten done what we have in such a short time frame."

"That's what I mean though. We've already got those done now. Now, we've hit a lull where we have nothing pressing on us to get done."

She paused to think. "Yeah, I can see what you mean."

"And its not that I don't love having down time with you. I do more than anything." He sighed. "I don't know. I can't even formulate what it is I'm trying to say."

Bailey grabbed his hand. "I think I completely understand what you're trying to say. We're both wired to constantly be doing something. Neither one of us likes to be idle for too long."

Cody sighed. "Exactly!"

She grinned. "Well, what would you say if I said I had an idea that would solve this problem?"

"I'd say I'm all ears."

"Well, you know by the end of this calendar year, we'll have to turn in our senior projects in EP&E. And we're already off to a great start. Thanks to our three seminars and the final papers we had to do in each of them, we probably have close to two thirds of our research already done for our big projects. Even if we didn't do anything else before school started, we'd already be off to a good start. But, Cody, Boston is full of university libraries. Maybe we could spend the rest of our summer finishing up the research we need for them?"

Cody's eyes lit up. "I like it! And we could have outlines done to present to our faculty sponsor before the semester begins. If she likes them and signs off on them, all we would have to do the rest of the semester is actually write them. That would give us plenty of time to make edits, turn in a rough draft for review, make more edits and then hand in our final drafts..."

"You're right! And since we're already here in Boston, this would be a good way for us to go ahead and familiarize ourselves with the Harvard Library. And with the nature of our paper, we could check out the medical library there too!" She grinned. "This can be our other project for the rest of the summer..."

He frowned. "Our other project? What was the first one?"

Bailey laughed. "Looking for a place over near the school. I got the information in the mail from Harvard today giving us some leads on housing for next year. I figured we could drive over to the Longwood Medical area on Saturday and take a quick look around and see if there was anything we wanted to follow up on later. I know everywhere is still looking to lease for this fall, but it won't hurt for us to go ahead and look around. Maybe by Thanksgiving, we can get our names in somewhere."

Cody just shook his head and laughed too. "How did I forget that? And doing that on Saturday sounds like a plan to me..."

She teased him. "Well, that's what I'm here for. As your future wife, its my job to constantly remind you of things you've forgotten..."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Works for me. I look forward to all of your 'honey-do' lists when we're older..."

She smiled back at him. "Good. But for now, I say we enjoy the rest of today before we get back to work tomorrow..." She paused and grinned even wider. "What time is it?"

Cody checked his watch. "About six thirty. Why?"

Bailey leaned in and kissed him. "Well, today is one of the days that Maya won't get off work for another hour, so we really do have the place all to ourselves for a little while..."

Boston University Fitness & Recreation Center

That same week was also Maya's last full week of her summer school physics class. Like she had told Zack, her final in it would be on the Tuesday of the following week. So, she would have all weekend to study for it. But as daunting as that seemed, Maya wasn't really all that worried about it. Thus far, she had practically aced all of her homework assignments and gotten A's on the first two tests. And thanks to some quick calculations from Cody and Bailey, she realized she would have to get below a 20 on the final to not get at least a B in the class, and that made her ecstatic. Of course, Maya knew she had an advantage over everyone else in her class in that she had her own private tutors. And while she was appreciative of all of their help, its not to say that it was always easy with those two. For one, they would sometime give her differing ways of doing things that they both felt was superior to the other's method. And for another, she couldn't help but notice how enthralled Cody had been with the new state of the art scientific calculator she had bought for her classes. When she mentioned it to Zack, he told her to just ignore it as Cody had a past history of bonding with them.

But as well as she had been doing in her class, she couldn't wait for her final to get there. Not only would it be the end of the first summer school session, but Zack was supposed to return back to Boston that same day. That thought kept her going even when some of the days seemed to drag by. Fortunately for her, work wasn't being a distraction as ever since she had made it known to Ryan that she had a boyfriend, he seemed to have respected that fact. Well, she thought he had until the Thursday of that week. When they had finished up his session for the day, he hung around the aquatic therapy area to talk to her.

"You know...I'm seriously starting to think you're making up having a boyfriend."

Maya just looked over at him. "And what would ever give you a silly idea like that?"

"Well, I've never met this guy. He's never once showed up here or after class to see you. Those are things a boyfriend would usually do." He grinned. "I know I would..."

She shook her head and sighed. "Not that its any of your business, but he's abroad this summer getting credit for a class he needs to graduate next spring."

Ryan laughed. "Uh huh. Maya, that's the oldest story in the book. Its a second cousin of 'I can't because I'm washing my hair.'..." He shook his head. "Well, I'm not buying it. I really think you don't have a boyfriend, but I can't imagine why you would lie to me about it."

Maya could only rub her eyes before glaring at him. "You know what? I really don't care what you think. I know what the truth is, and that's all that matters to me. Remember, my personal life is none of your business..."

"No need to get upset here, but I see this as a challenge. I am going to prove this supposed boyfriend is nothing but a myth..."

She just sighed and turned back to his file. "Whatever you say..."

Ryan smiled. "You don't believe I can, huh? Well, how about we make it interesting then?"

Maya didn't even bother looking up. "And how would we do that?"

"Easy. If I can prove you don't have a boyfriend, you agree to go out with me...after I'm done being your patient of course..."

Maya looked up and smirked at him. "And if you can't?"

He shrugged. "Then for the rest of the time we work together, I will keep it completely professional and never intrude into your personal life ever again..."

She just looked at him. "Is that all? That's the way its supposed to be anyways..." She turned back to the file but was quickly realizing just how arrogant Ryan really was. If only she could teach him a lesson he'd never forget. And that thought caused her to have a great idea. Maya looked back up at him with a smile on her face.

"How about this? If you fail, you not only will keep our sessions completely professional and never intrude on my personal life again, but you'll also agree to foot the bill for a night out on the town for me and my guy. He gets back to Boston on Tuesday, and I'd like to take him out for a welcome home celebration. I think $500 should cover it..."

Ryan paused at hearing her up the ante. But he was so sure he was right that he just smiled. "Its a deal!"

Maya wasn't done just yet. "So, what kind of proof will it take for you to accept that I really do have a boyfriend? I don't want you trying to back out on this deal when you lose..."

"Hey, if you can get third party confirmation from a reputable source like a university employee, I'll accept it. But you won't be able to because no one can confirm a figment of your imagination..."

Maya didn't respond though. She was too busy thinking with the $500, and how much fun she and Zack were going to have with it.

The Lobby of the Tipton Hotel

On Saturday afternoon, Cody and Bailey were ready to head out to look at prospective places to live in the Longwood Medical neighborhood. They were armed with a map and a list of potential places they thought they could afford with the housing allowance Harvard would be giving them. So, when they got to the lobby, they were about to cross it to get to the elevator to the parking garage when they heard their names being called.

"Bailey! Cody!"

Both turned around to see London quickly walking towards them. "Good! I finally found you two. The wedding planner sent me a message today after reviewing the ideas we had for her. I need to sit down with you two to discuss and finalize a few things as soon as possible. Can you come up to my penthouse right now so we can get this done?"

Bailey shook her head. "We can't right now, London. We're on our way to look at places near Harvard's medical school where we might live next year."

She shook her head. "I still don't understand why you two won't just stay here..."

Bailey smiled. "Because we want to be close enough campus so we can walk. That's why."

"Whatever..." London sighed. "Come with me then. I'll drive you over in my limo and we can talk on the ride over. Just give my driver the directions to wherever you need to go."

Cody and Bailey looked at each other and shrugged. They guessed that would work, and it would save them the worry of having to find a parking space. So, on the ride over to the Longwood Medical Area, they went over everything they needed to and finished up just as they arrived in the neighborhood. And, when they got out the car, Cody and Bailey began trying to match up addresses with the actual buildings on the street.

But London was not impressed at all with what she saw. "This place is a dump! You guys seriously want to live around here?"

Cody laughed and pointed. "Yes, we do. You see the red brick building about a quarter of a mile away?"

London looked over. "Yeah. So?"

"That's the Harvard Medical School. That's where we'll have our classes and where the medical library is."

Bailey nodded. "London, this place is all about location, location, location." She paused as she looked around again. "Though, I admit I'm kind of surprised by the lack of higher quality, more upscale places. I mean...look at that strip of run down houses right there..." She shook her head. "What a waste..."

London was intrigued though. "Why is it a waste?"

Cody pointed again. "You see that that building over there. That's Brigham & Women's Hospital. And next to it is the Children's Hospital of Boston." He pointed in another direction. "And about a half mile that way is Fenway Park."

She paused. "The baseball stadium? So, we're close to where Maddie's family used to live then?"

He paused before laughing. "Yeah, I guess we are. I almost forgot she lived across the street from Fenway."

"But her neighborhood was a lot nicer than this area is..."

Bailey just nodded again. "Like I'm sure this was at one point." She sighed. "If had that kind of money, I'd buy that row of houses over there, completely tear them down and build new modern ones."

Cody nodded too. "You'd make a killing just from doctors working in the hospitals alone. I'm sure they'd love to be within walking distance of their jobs especially on days they are on call..." He shrugged and turned to Bailey. "Oh well, we should start looking and see what might be available to us, Bails. But after seeing this neighborhood up close, I'm afraid we're going to have to hire an apartment search firm to find something close, affordable, and most importantly, that won't fall down around us..."

"I think you may be right, Sweetie. Lets see what there is anyways while were here."

Cody and Bailey began to walk off when they noticed London was still standing there seemingly lost in thought.

"You coming with us, London?"

She shook her head slowly. "Actually, no. I need to make a phone call..."

They shrugged and walked on while London pulled out her cell phone. Immediately, she dialed and waited for the person on the other line to pick up.

"Daddy, its me! I think I've found another way for us to make a boatload of money!"

Boston University Fitness & Recreation Center

It was finally the Tuesday before the 4th of July. Maya had her physics final that morning, and she thought it would have been brutal if she hadn't been so ready for it. Unfortunately for her, she still had to go to work that afternoon before she could head over to Logan to pick up Zack at the airport. And with no lab that day, she was at the fit&rec center by noon. And work couldn't have gone any slower. Every five minutes, she kept checking her watch seeing if it was time for her to leave yet, but it wasn't. Seven o'clock that evening was going to take forever to get there.

Finally, it got to late afternoon, and she could focus on her last task of that day. And after she put Ryan through his aquatic therapy session, she was quick to head to the ladies locker room and change immediately after it was over. As quickly as she could, she wrote up her notes on the session and was out in the lobby ready to hand his folder over the girl working the desk that evening.

"You're getting out of here quick today..."

But it wasn't the girl behind the desk who had said that - it was too masculine. Maya sighed as turned to see Ryan standing next to her. "Yes, I'm supposed to pick my boyfriend up at the airport in about an hour. I'm trying to hurry so I can get over to Logan as soon as I can..."

He shook his head and laughed. "You're really going to great lengths to perpetuate this story, huh? Why don't you just give it up and go out with me this weekend?"

Maya glared at him. "No thank you! I'll be spending this weekend with my BOYFRIEND. I've told you that several times already..."

Ryan was about to respond to her when they both heard a voice behind them. "You heard the lady...she's going to be spending the weekend with me."

Maya's eyes went wide and she quickly turned around. "Zack!"

To be Continued...

AN: Just a quick question - what happened to all of the reviews I normally get? LOL I think I only have 36 through 4 chapters. So, I'm not above shameless pandering for more. So, with that said, chapter 6 will be posted on Thursday night...if there are 50 reviews by then. Okay, I just felt dirty doing that LOL