Chapter 60

Again, I don't own any of these characters

The next week brought with it even more offers of congratulations. It seemed everyone they had ever known or ever met was calling or texting or emailing. And along side these offers, other people wanted to talk to them too. Numerous newspapers wanted interviews with them. Among them were the Boston Globe, the Yale Daily News, USA Today, and the Kettlecorn Gazette. They both agreed to give interviews to their hometown papers and college newspaper. They feared USA Today would be a little bit much.

The rest of the week was spent just taking it easy. There wasn't work to go to, and classes didn't start until the next week. So, there were several days they headed down to the coast just to enjoy the beach. On occasion, Max and Tapeworm would go with them, and on one day, Zack, Cassie, Addison and Woody came down to go as well. It was good for everyone to have one last bit of fun as soon, they would be back in school.

Monday of the next week brought with it another trip to the Yale bookstore. Again, Cody and Bailey walked out with bags and bags of new textbooks and supplies. They spent the afternoon organizing everything and getting everything ready for Wednesday. Tuesday was just spent trying to get back into their normal routine. Even after being Jeopardy champions, they just wanted to be normal college students.

Of course, that was easier said than done. Even on their first day back on campus, they couldn't help but notice the looks and stares they were getting. The Yale student body basically reacted in one of four ways. The majority were indifferent and didn't care. That suited Cody and Bailey just fine. A smaller group were the ones who thought they could have done a better job than they did and gave Cody and Bailey dirty looks. There was nothing Cody and Bailey could do about that. The third group was the one were people were actually happy for them or so full of school spirit that they were happy Yale won. The fourth group was the scary one though.

This was the group who had seen them on TV and had developed a "celebrity crush." At best, these were annoying. Cody and Bailey just hoped they didn't have to see what the worst case scenario was. In their first class of the day, a group of guys tried to gather around Bailey. She just held up her engagement ring and cleared her throat. Most seemed to get the message. In their next class, it was the opposite. This time, it was a group of girls who gathered around Cody. He decided to see if the same trick Bailey used would work, so he lifter her hand to show the engagement ring and cleared his throat. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well, and Cody had to become more vocal that he wasn't interested.

Returning back home after their Evolutionary Biology class, Bailey and Cody both just slumped back into the couch.

"Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"When will this be over?"

Cody sighed. "Soon I hope..."

"Me too...I actually enjoy just being an ordinary student..."

"I know...But, hopefully our fifteen minutes of fame will be over soon. Just look at Ken Jennings. He was popular for a while and now, nothing..."

"I'm glad neither of us let it go to our heads..."

Cody smiled. "I did tell you all kinds of guys would see just how beautiful and brilliant you are..."

Bailey rolled her eyes. "Please...What about all of those girls who wanted to be part of your harem?"

"Too bad for them. I don't need a harem when I have you..."

Bailey smiled. "And I don't need admirers when I have you..."

"In a few weeks, all of this will blow over..."

"I sure hope so..."

"I know...Lets talk about something else..."

"Okay...What did you think of our classes today?"

"Game Theory seems interesting..." Cody paused and began to laugh. "Can you imagine Zack in that class though? He'd probably walk in thinking it had to do with video game strategy..."

Bailey laughed too. "I can totally see that..."

Well, a good laugh was all they needed to get their minds off of their new found celebrity. They still got looks the rest of the week, but things did begin to calm down after that. Seems everyone decided to actually focus on the fact that they were all back in class. Of course, Cody and Bailey's increased public displays of affection did deter the last of the stragglers.

The first week of classes was in the books, and so far, Cody and Bailey were enjoying their classes. General Ecology seemed like it was going to be a breeze. Game Theory was very interesting. Evolutionary Biology was in some ways a review of other classes they already had taken, but it was a prerequisite. Biochemistry was alright, but the fact that it was prerequisite for med and vet schools kept Cody and Bailey's attention. And American Economic History was extremely interesting especially with all of the inside information the professor brought to the table.

After that, both resumed their routine. The first few weeks of classes went by without anything major happening. They went to class, did their homework and reading, studied for the GRE and MCAT three days a week, and went to work on Thursdays and Fridays. Their first round of exams came and went without any problems. Life was was uneventful and ordinary, and both took great comfort in that.

It was on one Friday afternoon that things changed though. Cody had just pulled up to pick Bailey up at the Animal Hospital. Bailey came walking out when one of the boards of the steps up to the Animal Hospital gave away. Bailey immediate went down, her foot going straight through the step.. Cody immediately jumped out of the SUV and ran up to her.

"Bails! Are you okay?"

Bailey was grimacing in pain. "I don't know..."

Cody stepped around her so he could crouch down and get his hands on her waist. "Alright, I'm going to slowly lift you up, alright?"

Bailey nodded. "Okay..."

Cody slowly lifted Bailey so that her leg wouldn't be subjected to any splinters. Finally, he had freed her foot and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. My ankle hurts a little, but I should be fine..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah...I just want to go home..."

Cody nodded. "Alright, I'm going to help you over to the car, then I'm going to go inside and let them know about the busted step..."

And that's what Cody did. He helped get Bailey situated in the car before running in and letting Dr. Ryan know what happened. She felt horrible and said she would have someone out to fix the step ASAP. She also made Cody promise to take care of Bailey. Cody assured her that he would.

Cody got Bailey home and helped her inside. He got her situated on the couch and took her shoe and sock off. That's when he saw it. Her ankle was starting to get swollen.

"How does it look, Cody?"

Cody looked up at her. "Its starting to swell..."

Bailey's shoulders slumped. "Oh..."

Cody smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'll get the ice pack and ace bandage, and we'll see if that will reduce the swelling. The rest of tonight, you lay back and keep your ankle elevated. Hopefully by tomorrow morning, it'll be fine..."

Bailey nodded. "Okay..."

Cody immediately filled up the ice pack, and used the ace bandage to secure it to Bailey's ankle. After that, he sat next to her on the couch with her foot propped up in his lap.

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

"Thank you..."

Cody smiled at her. "Not a problem...Besides, we could use a night inside lounging around anyways..."

Bailey laughed. "I guess so..."

"Just sit back at relax...Dr. Martin is on the job..."

Later on, Cody got up and made them a light dinner so that Bailey didn't have to get up to eat it. The rest of the night, Cody kept Bailey's ankle elevated and changed the ice in the icepack when it began to melt. Finally, it was time for bed, and over Bailey's objections, Cody carried her from the couch to the bedroom.

"Cody, I could have walked..."

"Until the swelling goes down, I'm not taking any chances..."

Bailey smirked. "Are you going to change me into my pajamas too?"

Cody grinned at her. "I was actually looking forward to that part..."

Bailey just looked at him before she began to laugh. "Alright, fine...But I think you are just being overly cautious..."

"Humor me then...Because when it comes to your health and safety, I don't take chances."

Cody did help Bailey get changed. Then he grabbed a couple extra pillows so Bailey could keep her ankle elevated overnight. One last time for the night, he put new ice in the icepack and re-wrapped her ankle again. Once Bailey was settled in, Cody went back through the apartment and turned off all the lights and made sure the doors were locked. Then, he came back to the bedroom and changed into his own pajamas. Gently, he climbed into bed next to Bailey making sure he didn't accidentally kick her ankle.

"How does it feel?"

"Cold..."

"That's good then...Slow down the blood flow..."

"Cody, you know I love you, but this is nothing. At most, a minor sprain. You'll see..."

"Bails, I hope your right. But until then, I'm not taking any chances..."

Bailey just shook her head. "Alright, but you'll see I'm right about this..."

Cody smiled. "Okay...Goodnight, Bails...I love you..."

"Goodnight, Cody...I love you too..."

Both got comfortable, and soon, Cody was fast asleep. Bailey, on the other hand, was having trouble. Her ankle was hurting more that she was willing to admit. She hoped she was wrong, but her ankle might be more hurt that she had thought. Eventually, exhaustion finally over took her and she fell asleep.

The next morning, Cody woke up to find Bailey still asleep. He got up and took Porkers outside for a brief morning walk. Returning back inside, he could hear Bailey stirring in the bedroom.

"Good morning, Beautiful..."

Bailey looked up. "Hey..."

"How's the ankle?"

"I don't know...I haven't checked yet..."

Cody smiled. "Lets check then...I bet you were right..."

Cody went over and unwrapped Bailey's ankle. But, he didn't like what he saw at all. Instead of the swelling going down, it had actually gotten worse. And on top of that, it was now black and blue with a large bruise.

Cody paused and looked up at her.

"So, how does it look?"

"Bails...It's gotten worse. I'm taking you to the emergency room..."

To be Continued...