Chapter 35

Again, I don't own any of these characters

After a quick phone call to Chef Paulo, everything was set again for New Year's Eve. Again, there was a reservation for six at eight that night. That day, Bailey and Cassie did spend the day at the hotel spa. While they did that, Cody and Zack spent the day in their suite playing video games and watching guy movies. The both loved their ladies, but both were glad to have sometime just to hang out as brothers. And both were looking forward to New Year's Eve.

But before that night, several things happened in Boston. Cody and Bailey were both supposed to have meetings with people after the first of the year. However, that week, both received phone calls asking if they had time that week. So, with that, the both found themselves dressed up a little nicer than usual and headed back into downtown Boston. As they split to go to their separate places, both agreed to meet for lunch later.

As Bailey found herself walking into the main Tipton Animal Shelter in Boston, she began to look around. It wasn't the cold, sterile environment she had feared, but rather, it was very warm and several animals were allowed to roam freely. While she waited on someone at the front desk, she kneeled down to pet and talk to some of the residents. Unbeknownst to her, someone had walked up behind her and watched her interactions with the animals. After seeing enough, this individual finally spoke up.

"Can I help you?"

Bailey stood up and turned around. "Yes. I'm Bailey Pickett. I'm supposed to meet with Dr. Douglas this morning."

"I'm Dr. Douglas, but please call me Bonnie. Rachel Baker has told me all about you, and I'm glad to finally meet you. Lets head back to my office and talk."

"Sure..." Bailey follows Dr. Douglas back to her office and both take seats.

"Well, I can tell you are a natural with animals. Did you grow up with many pets?"

Bailey nodded. "I grew up on a farm, so animals were always around. I spent a lot of time with them."

Bonnie nodded in response. "And any pets now?"

Bailey smiled. "Yes...Porkers, a pet pig."

Bonnie laughed. "A pig, huh? Unconventional, but they do make great pets."

Bailey laughed. "He sure is. Porkers is smart as a whip."

"Good. Half of being a vet is having the animals trust you. From what I've seem just now, I don't think you will have a problem with that. I will tell you, vet school can be daunting. I hope you have a good support system in place."

Bailey smiled again. "The best. My fiance, Cody, is very supportive of anything I do. And while I will be in vet school, he will either be in law school or med school."

"Cody Martin, right?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah...Do you know him?"

Bonnie smiled. "Yes, but I'm not sure if he remembers me. He used to be the producer on London Tipton's webshow years ago. As Ivana's vet, I was a guest on the show once..."

"That's my Cody..."

"Well, from everything I've been told, the Tipton family thinks the world of you. Wilfred speaks highly of you as does London."

Bailey was a little surprised by that. "She does?"

"Yeah, she does. And from what they have told me and from what I've seen myself, I think you would be a welcome addition around here some day."

Bailey smiled. "Thank you! I really appreciate that..."

Bonnie smiled. "Well, there is still some time before that happens. First things first..." She scribbles down a name and a phone number and hands it to Bailey. "An old vet school classmate of mine runs an animal hospital in New Haven. I've already called her and told her I may be sending someone her way. When you get back to school, give her a call. She may have something for you this summer."

"Thank you again. I promise I will do my best!"

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Cody showed up at a doctors office that he had been to twice before. However, this time, he wasn't there as a patient and actually let himself take everything in. The office was very expensively decorated, so Cody figured the clientele was very high class. Of course, with Wilfred Tipton as a client, he wasn't too surprised.

Finally, the receptionist called Cody's name and led him back to an office. As Cody sat there and waited, he looked around the office. Like the lobby, it was very well decorated. But Cody's eyes immediately went to the framed diplomas on the wall. One was an undergrad degree from Yale and the other was the medical degree from Harvard. Cody sighed. Well, he would at least have something to talk about. Eventually, Dr. Miller came and sat down behind his desk.

"Cody, good to see you again."

"You too, Dr. Miller..."

"Please, call me Ron. I understand from George that you are thinking about med school."

Cody nodded. "Yes, sir. Biology is currently one of my two majors."

"Well, from everything I've been told, I know you will be a success at it. I assume you will be looking to go to Yale med school or maybe back here at Harvard..."

Cody paused. "I have no idea yet. All I do know is that my fiancee is planning on going to vet school, so I told her I would follow her wherever she got in..."

Ron nodded and smiled. "I can certainly understand that...My wife got admitted to Harvard business school for her MBA and that's how I ended up in Boston."

Cody smiled. "Exactly. I'll go wherever she needs me to go."

"Its good to see you have your priorities in the right place. Unfortunately, that's rare these days."

"Well, I would do anything for her."

"I know that feeling all too well. Well, George tells me you have been a valuable asset for Mr. Tipton the past couple of years. And he tells me that you are staying in New Haven this summer as well. I understand you are interested in doing something in the medical field. Are you looking for clinical or research?"

Cody paused. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. Working directly with patients would let me see I was making a difference on a daily basis. But if I was doing research, I could be doing something that could help a lot of people some day..."

Ron nodded. "Understandable. Well, I have a friend who runs a research lab in New Haven. If you are interested, I can make a call and get you in to talk to him."

"I would be most appreciative."

"Not a problem. And if you have any questions about the Yale Biology department, don't hesitate to give me a call. The head of the department is an old college buddy of mine."

"I'll keep that in mind..."

After their meetings, Cody and Bailey met back up for lunch to fill each other on what both had found out. It seemed both had leads for their summers, but neither could follow up on them until they returned back to New Haven. So, they just headed back to the Tipton to relax. Plus, Ellie was scheduled to head back to Seattle that next morning, so they wanted to spend some more time with her.

The next day, Ellie said her goodbyes to everyone and headed off to the airport. After she left, everyone hung out at the hotel until it was time for Carey, Cassie and Bailey to head to their hair appointments. While they were doing that, the boys and Arwin just hung out and watched Die Hard again.

That evening, the returned to the same restaurant as the year before. And like the year before, dinner was very good. This year, the restaurant had a dance floor set up, so the three couples made their way to the dance floor.

As they just held on to each other as they danced, Bailey looked up to Cody.

"I love dancing with you."

Cody smiled. "The feeling is mutual..."

"Can you believe its almost 2012?"

"Not really...Especially since it was 2008 that we first met..."

"I know...A lot's changed since that day..."

"Some things have...but others haven't..."

"Like what?"

"Well, then and now, you are still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen..."

Bailey smiled. "You've certainly changed, Sweetie...I remember when I used to have to slouch to be able to look you eye to eye...Now I have to look up."

Cody smiled. "I don't mind slouching either, but now you fit perfectly with my arm wrapped around you and your head on my shoulder..."

"Yes, I do..."

"But, I guess some things have changed though..."

"Like what?"

"Then, I had no idea if you would ever give me the time of day. Now, I can't live my life without you. You are as essential to me as the air I breathe..."

Bailey leaned up and kissed Cody. "I know exactly how you feel..."

Before long, it was getting closer and closer to midnight. The three couples made their way to the outdoor patio to watch the celebration down on the street. Ten seconds before midnight, the count down began as the crowd chanted along with it. When they reached "1" and shouted "Happy New Year!", confetti began filling the air.

But that was lost on three couples on the patio. All three were too busy in tight embraces and lingering kisses with the ones they loved.

To be Continued...