Chapter 31

Again, I don't own any of these characters

Reading week came and went. The entire time, Cody and Bailey devoted spending one day to each of their remaining four classes. And by Friday, both felt prepared. At Yale, finals began that Saturday and and ran through the following Saturday with exams at set times of 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM with the occasional evening exams for large classes. Cody and Bailey were set to take their Biology final first thing Saturday morning. Microeconomics would be the next day, Sunday, at 2:00 PM. Micro was scheduled for Tuesday morning with Organic Chemistry I being their last final on Wednesday night.

And Bill had been right. On one of their breaks, they, for fun, figured up what they needed to get their A's in the classes. Needless to say, they didn't have to do that well. But, that wouldn't be them not to give their absolute bests. And that's what they did. By the end of Wednesday evening, both slumped back on to their couch reveling in the fact that their first semester of college was completed. Of course, they didn't have much time to rest.

On Sunday morning, they were scheduled to meet with Zack and Cassie again at the rest area and head for Boston again. But, they would only be at the Tipton long enough for them to park their cars and catch the hotel shuttle to the airport to catch their flight to Wichita. They all decided that would be easier than flying out of Hartford, and then having to drive from Hartford to Boston on Christmas Day.

But, before they could head home for Christmas, they still needed to do their Christmas shopping. Of course, both had already secretly completed their shopping for each other. Bailey had gone out with Max during reading week and finished her shopping for Cody, and Cody had done likewise with Tapeworm. Now, they just had to finish their shopping for everyone else. The spent all day Thursday in between the school bookstore and the local shopping mall. When they got home, they wrapped up everyone's gifts, separated them in a Kettlecorn pile and a Boston pile and boxed them up. They were still debating whether it would be cheaper to mail the gifts to Kettlecorn or pay to take them on the plane. Eventually, they decided to keep them with them and not risk it getting lost in the mail.

Friday was just spent relaxing around the house and snow flurries began to fall outside. Bailey could only sigh as she watched the snow fly, but Porkers looked up at her as if she was crazy when she wanted to take him out in it. But Cody leaned down and whispered something to him that he hoped would help Porkers avoid more walks out in the snow. Porkers looked at Cody skeptically. There was one important matter to do that day though. The sat on the couch together with one of their laptops watching the newest episode of Yay Me! When London went to her mail bag, she had a surprise waiting for her.

"Okay, our next message is from...Cailey in Connecticut. She tells me that they would like to talk to me about something important..." London looked up. "Well, Cailey, I know you would like to talk to me personally. Everyone does..." London looked back down at the next message. "Ohhh...Cailey is Cody and Bailey...Why are you two interrupting my show again?" London looks back down again. "Yay! They want to talk to me about the wedding!"

After her show was over, Cody and Bailey had a webcam chat with London where they told London that if she agreed to their terms, they would agree to let her air the wedding. London shrugged and said to name their terms. Cody just smiled and said they would have another contract for her after Christmas. London agreed, and they wished each other a Merry Christmas.

Saturday was spent doing laundry and packing up their bags. Outside, snow continued to fall, but it wasn't coming down that hard. Snow was blanketing the ground, but the roads were completely clear. Cody constantly got updates on the weather, and he was concerned with a storm that was possibly due to hit Sunday afternoon. To be on the safe side, he called Zack and suggested they all meet earlier to give them more time just in case. Zack thought Cody was being overly cautious but ended up agreeing. The rest of Saturday was spent hanging around the house.

At one point, Bill stopped by their place with good news for them.

"I just figured you two would like to know you both finished with A's in both my courses..."

Again, Cody and Bailey high fived each other. "Thanks, Bill. We hope we can keep up the good work next semester..."

Bill smiled as he left. "You better! Have a Merry Christmas!"

Knowing that some grades were done now, Cody and Bailey checked the online registrar's website. Bill's grades weren't up yet, but their grades for their labs were. So far, they were four for four with A's so far with Organic Chemistry and Biology yet to be posted.

Sunday morning found them getting up early. Snow was continuing to fall. So, while Bailey was taking care of last minute details inside, Cody was outside sweeping the snow off the back driveway. While he was at it, he swept off Jo and Bill's as well. Soon, Porkers was ready, and they were all packed up ready to head out. About an hour later, they once again met up with Zack and Cassie and began their drive to Boston. Another hour later, they found themselves parked in the parking garage several hours before their flight was scheduled to leave. The briefly spoke with Carey and dropped off their Boston gifts in her suite. Not wanting to dawdle, they were soon in the airport shuttle on their way to Logan Airport.

Several hours later, they found themselves landing in Wichita. As usual, Kurt and Sarah were there to pick them up. As they drove back to Kettlecorn, they all caught up with each other about how college was going. The two couples took turns catching everyone up with the goings on at UCONN and Yale. Both talked about the classes they had just finished and what they were scheduled to take the next semester. After a couple of hours, they found themselves pulling back up to the Pickett farmhouse.

Instead of immediately running into the house, Bailey let Porkers out so he could run around too. After that, Bailey was off like a bullet inside to see her family. Zack just shook his head at his younger brother, and Cody just smiled and shrugged. They proceeded to unload the bags from the back of the minivan and carry them inside. Once inside, they noticed the house was full of family. And for some, it was the first time they had seen Bailey and Cody since their engagement. After rounds of hugs and handshakes, everyone finally got a chance to catch their breaths. After that, Zack and Cassie took their things to a guest room and Cody and Bailey took theirs to Bailey's old room.

After settling in, it was time for dinner. After dinner, everyone else began making their way back to their own homes or out to do something else. Eventually, the only ones left at the table were Cody, Bailey, Maggie, Joe, Kurt and Sarah.

Joe smiled at his daughter and future son-in-law. "Well, looks like your first semester was a rousing success..."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, it was. We just worked together and it turned out great. And we have the same schedule together next year as well..."

Joe laughed. "Won't be too long before we're back up there for another graduation..."

Everyone else at the table laughed except Cody and Bailey who just looked at each other.

Kurt noticed. "Something we're missing?"

Cody turned to Bailey again and she nodded. Cody turned back to his Dad. "It might be sooner than you think..."

Maggie spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"Mom, we may have just completed our first semester of college, but we both already have close to fifty hours of college credit..."

"But, what does that mean?"

"It means that in the eyes of the University, we are first year sophomores.." Bailey paused. "Which also means we could graduate after three years..."

The four adults are silent for a while, but everyone begins to smile. "Well, that's amazing!"

Maggie turned to her daughter. "So, is that what you two are planning on doing?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, we are. That way, we begin grad school a year earlier that we had planned..."

Joe smiled. "Still thinking of pre-vet and pre-med or pre-law?"

"Yeah, we are..."

"Maybe there's a chance we can get you both back here for grad school then?"

Bailey sighs. "I don't think so, Daddy. The only vet school in the state is in Manhattan at Kansas State and the only med school and law school in the state are in Lawrence at KU..."

Joe frowns but nods. "I can see that that won't work...Have you looked at any other possible grad schools then?"

Cody shrugs. "We have a little, but not as much as we will this time next year. Since there are less than thirty vet schools in the country, I've told Bailey I will follow her where ever she gets in...Well, almost anywhere. We don't think its wise for us to try the state of Arizona..."

Bailey nods. "And I've told Cody the same thing. In fact, there has only been one school we have actually looked at up close..."

"Yale?"

Bailey shakes her head. "No, they don't have a vet school..." Bailey pauses. "In fact, there is only one vet school in New England..."

Kurt pauses. "Wait a minute...Are you two talking about...?"

Cody nods. "Yeah...Tufts."

Maggie is confused. "Tufts?"

"Mom, its a university in Boston that has a top 10 vet school and top 20 medical school...Cody's old boss mentioned it to him, and we walked around the campus a bit over Thanksgiving to see what we thought."

Joe nods. "And?"

"Well, we really didn't get a chance to see much as it was closed for the holiday. If we do consider it, we'll go back and take a longer look at it."

"Well, keep us updated as things progress..."

Bailey nods. "Speaking of things progressing..."

Maggie smiled. "Are we talking about the wedding now?"

Cody and Bailey nod. "Yeah, we've made some decisions."

Sarah speaks up. "Is there a date yet?"

"Not a specific one. But, it will be in the summer of 2014...after we graduate college and before we begin grad school."

Joe nods. "Waiting till you graduate college sounds very responsible to me.."

Maggie nods in agreement. "It does. So, are we talking Kettlecorn or Boston?"

Bailey grabs Cody's hand under the table for strength. "Actually...Neither."

Maggie is surprised. "Where then?"

"The S.S. Tipton. We thought it appropriate as that's where we met and fell in love. It just seems right to us that that be where we get married..."

Joe sighed. "I can understand that Bailey, but I'm not sure we can afford that..."

Bailey turns to Cody and he nods. "You don't have to worry about that, Daddy...Its taken care of..."

"How is that?"

"In exchange for letting her webcast our wedding live, London has said she would take care of everything. We've worked out a deal where we maintain total control of it though so its still what we want it to be..."

Joe pauses. "Ohh..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Don't worry, Daddy. You still have one the most important jobs. You have to walk me down the aisle..."

Joe had to smile at that. "Yeah, I guess I do..."

Cody turns to his Dad. "And Dad, you have an important job too..."

"What's that?"

"To make sure Zack doesn't go overboard with the bachelor party..."

And with that, everyone broke out in laughter around the table.

To be Continued...