Chapter 75

Again, I don't own any of these characters

By the end of the night, several things had been settled. One, Bailey had chosen her wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses. Two, Cody had to drag Zack away from Steve Nash before security had to be called. Fortunately, the lavish treatment in the luxury suite made Zack soon forget about meeting and schmoozing Steve Nash. Woody was attacking the buffet in the suite with a reckless abandonment. Zack, on the other hand was sitting back in a leather recliner watching the game, which was happening live to his left, on a large plasma TV. Cody himself was not turning down any of the complimentary items being given them.

Before London had to move on to her next appointment, she told Bailey that when they met the wedding coordinator in April, they would also pick out the tux style she wanted the guys to wear. And they would wait until early 2014 before they had everyone come down to New York for measurements. Bailey thanked London again for everything before she returned back to their suite. She, Cassie and Addison were hanging out with Porkers when the guys finally returned. It was evident that they all had had a blast at the game. She had to laugh too when Cody told her it was against Phoenix and about their meeting of Steve Nash again.

That night, as they laid in bed together, both were talking about their days.

"So, you found your wedding dress, huh?"

Bailey smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I think its perfect..."

Cody smiled. "I bet you will look absolutely amazing in it. I'm sure you'll leave me speechless when I see you coming down the aisle..."

Bailey laughed. "I hope not! I want you to be able to say 'I do', buster..."

"Oh, I don't think I'll any problem saying that. Now, I may have a problem wanting to say it early..."

Bailey smiled at him. "I think I can overlook that..." She paused. "Speaking of what we say, do we want to do the traditional vows or do we want to make up our own?"

Cody paused. "I can go either way. But it might be nice to be able to add our own personal touches to the ceremony..."

"I feel the exact same way..."

Cody smiled. "So, I guess we just decided to do our own vows..."

Bailey smiled too. "I guess so...But, Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

She grinned and leaned in and kissed him. "You know I love you, but I know how verbose you can get...So, there will be a time limit..."

The last couple of days before New Year's Eve were busy ones. Cody and Bailey had called the Yale registrar to request official transcripts. They had both called their respective employers saying they would return back to work on January 7, work Monday through Thursday and have Friday to take care of the things they needed for class the next Monday. They also gave them their spring semester schedules of Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

On Thursday morning, everyone was gearing up to watch the Patriots game on TV that evening. Everyone was musing that it would be nice to actually go to the game again when London just asked why not go. Well, first, they said they would need tickets. Then, Bailey said that being outside in the middle of winter in a walking boot probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. London just shook her head and said that the luxury suite was nice and toasty. That was all the convincing anyone needed.

To be on the safe side though, Bailey wore an extra pair of socks over her bad foot inside the walking boot. London arranged for them to take a limo down to Foxboro, and instead of freezing like all the other tailgaters, they lounged inside the warm luxury suite.

Unfortunately, as nice as things were inside the suite, outside, they were not so good. Due to the team owner's cheapness, Tom Brady and Randy Moss had both left via free agency. The once mighty Pats were now the poster child for a rebuilding team. And to make matters worse, the fanbase was turning on the owner. They blamed him for not keeping Brady and Moss and for letting the team fall to such depths. Even Woody had to admit that he wasn't sure Art Modell was still that hated in Cleveland, and he had taken the Browns and moved them to Baltimore.

Even thought it was nice to be at the game, the Patriots just couldn't do much against the hated Jets. By halftime, the game was pretty much already over. So, while other fans decided to leave rather that watching a horrible game in the bitter cold, the seven stayed inside the warm confines of the luxury suite. At one point, while Bailey was sitting on Cody's lap, he leaned up and whispered to her and asked if she had packed her Patriots jersey. She just grinned that she had.

Mercifully, the game finally came to a close, and the Patriot's season was put out of its misery. The seven climbed back into London's limo and made their way back to the Tipton. Once back, they called it a night as they all knew the next night would be a late one.

Finally, New Year's Eve arrived. Cody was already dressed in his nicest suit ready to go when Bailey came out of the bathroom in her robe and a towel rapped around her hair.

Cody smiled. "Maybe going out wasn't such a good idea...I think I wouldn't mind staying in..."

Bailey sighed. "Fine by me...Cody, what am I supposed to wear tonight?"

"You'll look amazing in anything..."

"Not with this walking boot I won't. This is the first time I've had to really dress up with it, and nothing looks right...And I can even think of wearing heels with it..." And with that, Bailey sunk into the bed.

Cody went over and sat next to her. "Bails, it'll be okay. I guarantee you'll look beautiful..."

"Thank you, Sweetie..." Bailey sighed. "I just can't wait for next week when I finally get rid of this thing..."

"I know. But just remember, it is less than a week away now. The finish line is in sight. A couple of more steps and it will be all over..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Was that supposed to be a pep talk?"

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, it did..."

"So, you ready to go out and ring in 2013?"

Bailey smiled again. "Yeah..."

Cody smiled. "Lets go have some fun..."

A little while later, they found themselves back in the revolving restaurant overlooking all of Boston. They were seated and ordered their meals. After dinner, their was again a dance floor for people to cut a rug. Bailey still rather sit out fast songs, but Cody was able to drag her out for some slow songs.

As they were dancing, another song began to play.

Bailey smiled at Cody. "I've always loved this song..."

Cody smiled back at her. "Me too...It seems to capture exactly how I feel when I'm with you..."

"I know what you mean...I says things exactly how I want to say things..."

Cody paused. "Hmmm...Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Bailey grinned at him. "Are you suggesting this be the song we dance to for the first time as husband and wife?"

"Exactly what I was thinking..."

"I like it. It seems perfect..."

"So, shall we get some practice dancing to it then?"

"I'd love to..."

They continued to dance with each other through the rest of the song. Cody pulled her a little closer, and Bailey laid her head on his shoulder.

"Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"I promise the next time we dance to this song, I'll be a lot more graceful on my feet..."

Cody pulled back and kissed her. "I don't think you heard me complaining any..."

Soon enough, the crowds were again gathering on the streets below. It was thirty minutes until midnight, and the four couples headed up to the observation level to get a better view of the festivities. As the minutes ticked away, the crowd grew even more and more frenzied. Cody had his arms wrapped around Bailey, and she looked up at him.

"Maybe one year we actually go down there and join the madness?"

Cody smiled. "Maybe...But if we are going to do that, we might as well face the madness in Times Square..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I think I would like that..."

They continued to smile at each other as they heard the crowd grow with even more excitement as it was announced there was one minute left.

"Do we really have to wait for midnight?"

Cody shook his head. "Not in my book..."

Both closed the distance between then, and soon, both had their lips pressed firmly against the others. As they continued to kiss, the sounds of a countdown were background noise to them. Neither could really remember hearing a loud cheer from below, but by the time they finally pulled apart from each other, 2013 was there. If that kiss was any indication, it was going to be a good year.

The End of Part I...

Author's Note: Part 2 will be up tonight at some point. The next semester will return back to some more action and mystery. Part 2 will see Cody and Bailey through graduation from Yale and their final three semesters.

Author's Note 2: I thank all of those who have read my collaboration with Creddie Cailey A Rose by Any Other Name. We believe we have it mapped out now and only need to decide on how we want to end it.

Author's Note 3: It also looks like I will be having another collaboration coming out soon too. I won't reveal my co-author yet, but we should have some fun with it as we think we have a good idea.