Chapter 48

Again, I don't own any of these characters

By this time, Bailey has joined Cody. Steve Nash is still trying to catch his breath, but is doing much better now.

"Mr. Nash, this is my fiancee, Bailey Pickett. Bailey, this gentleman's name is Steve Nash if I caught it correctly..."

Bailey smiles. "A pleasure..."

Steve looks at them both. "Nice to meet you. This is my wife Alejandra." He pauses. "Cody Martin...Why does that name seem familiar to me?"

Cody and Bailey just look at each other. "Ummm...No reason..."

"Well, whatever the reason, I want to thank you again. Please allow us to pick up your tab this evening..."

Cody smiled. "No need. Our tab is already being picked up by the resort..."

"How did you pull that one off?"

"Umm...Well, we're here as special guests of the hotel..."

Steve Nash nods. "Ahh okay..." He pauses. "Wait a minute...I know what it is!"

Bailey and Cody look at each other nervously.

"You two are here part of that Jeopardy thing..."

Cody and Bailey sigh in relief. "Yeah, that's why were here."

"What school are you representing?"

"Yale University..."

Steve nods. "Very impressive...I played ball at Santa Clara before I got drafted..."

Cody looked confused. "Drafted?"

Steve just looks at him. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

Cody shook his head. "I'm sorry...I sure don't. Should I?"

Steve just laughs. "Not unless you follow the NBA...I've just been a two time NBA MVP for the Phoenix Suns..."

"Sorry. I'm a Celtics fan, but that's the extent of it. I'm more of a baseball fan...But I can tell by the Italian leather shoes you are wearing that you must do quite well..." He turns to Bailey and whispers. "What is it with me and pro athletes from the state of Arizona?"

Unfortunately, Steve Nash overhears him. "That's where I know the name Cody Martin! You're the guy who injured Kurt Warner and forced him to retire!"

Cody tried to shush him. "It was an accident!"

"Uh huh..."

"Look, we were playing football, and it was my job to rush the quarterback. There was some accidental contact, and he went down. I didn't know it was going to tear up his knee..."

Steve just looks at him and begins to laugh. "What are the odds? The guy who injures Kurt Warner saves my life. You know, this might get the fans of Arizona off your back..."

Cody shrugs. "While that would be nice, I don't hold out much hope of that. We're trying to keep a low profile while we're here and slip out unnoticed..."

"Just give me the word, and I'll make sure all the press here knows what you did..."

"I appreciate the offer, but today is Bailey and my anniversary. I don't want anything to distract from that. I'll just try to continue to fly under the radar while we're here. Besides, we're here to compete on Jeopardy...if the press knew I was here, I'm afraid they would constantly hound us, and we don't need that while we're trying to concentrate..."

Steve Nash nods. "I can understand that..." He pauses. "When does your plane leave from here?"

"Early Sunday morning..."

"Tell you what. Something may slip to the press about what happened Sunday afternoon. How does that sound?"

Bailey smiled. "That sounds just fine!"

"Well, we'll let you two get back to your anniversary. Happy Anniversary by the way. And thank you again..."

"You're welcome, and good luck to you...except against the C's" Cody paused. "...But if you beat the Lakers, it won't break my heart..."

Steve laughs. "I'll see what we can do..."

Cody and Bailey return to their table just in time for their food to arrive. They tried to put everything else behind them and enjoy their meal. They took turns feeding each other and sharing their meals. When the restaurant found out it was their anniversary, they gave them a complimentary Ooey Gooey Pizzookie – a half chocolate brownie/half chocolate chip cookie served warm with house-made vanilla ice cream and designed for two people to share. Again, they took turns feeding each other. At one point, Cody had a dab of ice cream on the tip of his nose.

Finally, Bailey spoke. "Ready for your gift?"

Cody smiled. "If you are ready for yours..."

Bailey pulled out a small, long wrapped box. "They say the gift for the third anniversary is leather..."

Cody looked amused and began to slowly unwrap the box. Inside, he found a long velvet case, and he slowly opened it. Inside was a skeleton watch with a leather band. He looked at Bailey and smiled.

"I've wanted one of these for forever..."

Bailey smiled. "I know...I was listening. Did you read the inscription?"

Cody lifted the watch out and turned it over. Sure enough, there was an engraved inscription.

"Cody, While the hands of time are always changing, the love I have for you never will. Bailey"

Cody looks back up at her. "Thank you so much, Bails...I love it and I love you..."

Bailey just smiled back at him.

Cody reached down and picked up a rectangular shaped box. "Your turn, Sweetie..." He hands the box to her. "I guess we were thinking alike again..."

Bailey slowly opens the gift, and inside, she finds a beautiful leather jewelry box. "Cody, its beautiful..."

Cody smiled and pulled a second, much smaller box out of his pocket. "I figured you could use something to put inside of it..." He hands the box to Bailey.

She slowly opens it, and finds a similar velvet box to the one Cody found. She opened it, and inside, she found a sliver necklace with intertwined hearts. On on top of each heart was engraved each of their names, and at the bottom, the words 'Together Forever' were engraved. Bailey looked up with the most beaming smile. "Cody..."

"Do you like it?"

"I absolutely love it...Thank you so much..." Bailey gets up, comes over and sits on his lap. She leans down and kisses him. "Thank you for an absolutely perfect anniversary. I love you so much..."

"I love you so much too..."

Bailey smiled. "What do you say we get out of here and see if we can find something to...distract us..."

Cody smiled. "As you wish..."

Since their bill was already taken care of, the both hurried back to their room. Once there, they proceeded to make love the rest of the evening. The next morning, they both woke up still tired, but both had the biggest grins on their faces.

That Tuesday, they took it easy that day. That morning, they went down to the theater and walked around where they would be filming. They were allowed on the stage and even allowed to practice with the signaling buttons. After a little while, both had the use of them down pat.

After that, they decided against trying to cram anymore. Instead, they decided to just hang out by the pool. It was spring break after all. While they were lounging around the pool, both noticed Barbara and her new beau sitting on the other side. So, every once in a while, Bailey would lean over and plant long kisses on Cody. Cody didn't object in the least. Later, Cody and Bailey were relaxing in the hot tub. Bailey could feel Barbara glaring at them again. So, she climbed on to Cody's lap and began making out with him hot and heavy. It wasn't something Bailey normally would do in public, but she felt like giving Barbara a definitive statement that Cody was all hers. Again, Cody didn't object. As they left the pool, Bailey gave a little wave to Barbara that clearly showed off her engagement ring. Back in the room, they did decide on room service and ordered everything they could think of that would be considered brain food.

Finally, Wednesday morning arrived, and they were up and dressed early. They headed down for breakfast. Both were a little nervous, so didn't want to put anything heavy on their stomachs. Both did make sure to eat two bananas so they would have an extra boost of potassium.

Finally, at noon, they showed up with everyone else in jeans and their college sweatshirts. Before they began, they all had to sign confidentiality agreements in which they promised they would not reveal the results of any of the games until after they had been aired. Cody and Bailey didn't have a problem with that as they hadn't told anyone they were coming to film it.

Finally, all of them were met one more time by Alex Trebek.

"I hope everyone is ready...Because its time to play Jeopardy!"

To be Continued...