Chapter 14

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

Boston, Massachusetts

That Friday morning, Zack went grocery shopping to get everything he would need. Remembering Cody's warning, he resisted the urge to skimp and buy cheaper ingredients. And having no clue what some of the items on the list were, he actually had to ask someone at the supermarket what plantains were. Once he realized they were just bananas, he just shook his head. Cody could have told him that instead of making him look like an idiot. Once he got back from the store, he got everything ready in the kitchen. About that time, Woody showed up to help him. Zack turned on the laptop's webcam, and there was Cody there waiting on him with Addison next to him.

"Did you get everything on the list exactly?"

Zack sighed. "Yes. I got everything exactly the way you listed it." He paused. "By the way, how did my tests go today?"

Cody grinned. "You should get 'B's on both of them."

"A 'B'! You couldn't have gotten me an 'A'?"

"I could have, but that might have raised questions, don't you think?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Whatever. As long as I passed. Lets get this over with, alright?"

"Fine. Remember...Do everything EXACTLY the same way that I do."

For the next half of an hour, Zack followed Cody's instructions as best as he could. Finally, both twins put both of their cake pans in the oven to let them cook.

Zack sighed. "Finally...a time to catch my breath."

Cody grinned. "Oh no. We have the icing to make now. A word of warning – don't let Woody near it until you've finished icing the cake."

"Hurtful!"

But the next thing Woody knew, the petite girl next to Cody on the screen began laughing. And for the first time, Woody got a good look at her.

"Whoa..."

"Now, lets get started on the icing."

So, while the cakes baked, Cody instructed Zack on how to make the icing. And by the time was done on both ends, the cakes were read to come out of the oven. Cody then showed Zack how to make a double layer cake with icing each layer. And by the time they were done, Zack looked at the one Cody had made and the one he had made.

"Ehhh...close enough."

Cody sighed. "Its...not terrible. It will due though." He paused. "Okay, now that that's done, we can finally talk about the plan I came up with. I think we should tell Mom and Dad what we did and..."

"Mom's coming!" Zack closed the laptop quickly.

Woody just looked at him. "Why do you keep saying she's coming when she's not?"

"Because I need to stall time until Maya gets back and I can tell her the truth. I can't leave until I do that..."

Woody nodded. "Okay, I can understand that, but I don't know how much longer you can hold Cody off. Cody is persistent if anything."

"I know, I know...but I can't leave here without seeing Maya one more time."

Woody paused. "So, was that girl with Cody that Addison girl?"

Zack turned to look at him. "Yes, it was...but don't even think about it!"

"Dang it! She's really pretty."

"Now now, Woodchuck...why don't you go lick the bowls clean?"

Woody's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah!" And with that, Woody turned to the bowls and began going to town.

Zack just shook his head. He headed over to the couch to sit down when the phone in the suite rang. Not really paying attention, he answered it.

"Martin residence."

"Cody, its Mr. Moseby down at the front desk. There's a young lady here at the front desk who says she would like to speak with you."

Zack lit up. Could Maya be back from her trip to see her grandmother already? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to waste any more time wondering. As fast as he could, he ran out of the suite and to the elevator. He began pacing around willing the elevator to get there faster. And as he did, Woody joined him out in the hallway.

"What are you doing?"

"That Moseby guy said there was a girl downstairs wanting to see me. I'm hoping its Maya."

Woody shrugged. "I hope so. I need to be heading home anyways." He groaned. "Mom is making us have a family fun night with Steve..."

The elevator finally arrived, and both boys hopped into it. Zack kept pacing waiting for it to descend twenty-three floors. It finally arrived in the lobby, and Zack looked around everywhere for Maya. But he saw no sight of her anywhere. He was about to go looking for her when he felt himself being dragged behind one of the large plants in the lobby. He turned to Woody to find out why had just done that when he saw a look of terror on his face.

"What did you you do that for?"

"Because we need to hide! That's not Maya here to see you...its Agnes!"

Zack looked at him funny. "Who?"

"She's this girl who has been stalking you...I mean Cody...for three years. She's crazy!"

Zack rolled his eyes and turned around to walk back to the elevator when he found himself face to face with a girl with stringy hair and glasses.

"Codykins! There you are! I wanted to be here when you got back from Texas, but my family went on vacation this past week. Momma's back for you!"

Zack took a step back. He was getting the impression that Woody wasn't too far off when he said she was crazy.

"Look...Agnes...no offense, but I'm already kind of seeing someone else."

She frowned. "And just who is this Jezebel trying to steal my man?"

"Look, I'm not your man...never have been, never will be...but if you want a name, its..." He paused. He needed a name to give her to get her off of his back and so she wouldn't bother Maya. "Bailey...Bailey Pickett."

Agnes just looked at him. "Don't worry, Codykins. I'll deal with this Bailey Pickett in time. You'll see she is no better than that Barbara was. But you go ahead and sew your wild oats, but you'll be back. I guarantee it." Agnes just turned around and stormed away.

Woody finally joined Zack again. "Told you so..."

Zack just shook his head. "I think she needs a room with padded walls."

Woody laughed. "No argument here. She's so crazy, even I wouldn't go out with her..."

Zack sighed. He'd let Cody deal with her later. He had other things to worry about at the moment. He was really missing Maya and hoped she would get back before something else happened.

Seattle, Washington

After finishing cooking, Cody went to get cleaned up again for his night out with his Dad. And going back to Zack's closet, he found a Mariner's jersey hanging in there. Sucking it up, he put it on, but he felt so dirty doing so. He felt like he was betraying his beloved Red Sox but told himself he would make it up to the nation later. But he knew he was going to have to just grin and bear it for the time being. About five o'clock that afternoon, Kurt arrived back home and saw that Cody was ready to go to the game.

He grinned. "You ready to see the M's whip up on the..." He did his best Boston accent. "Red Sawx?"

Cody laughed. "We'll see. The Red Sox have a really good team this year, and the Mariners...well, not so much."

Kurt nodded. "I know. We should never have traded Griffey and the Big Unit or let ARod walk away..."

Cody had a look of disgust on his face. "Especially since he's a Yankee now!"

Kurt laughed. "Very true. Give me fifteen minutes to get cleaned up and changed, and we'll head out..." He paused when he saw the cake sitting on the kitchen counter. "What's up with the cake?"

Cody paused. "Oh...Addison made it. Its...ummm...Sprinkles' birthday."

"Ohh..." He paused. "She made a cake for her cat's birthday..." He shook his head. "I just hope she doesn't eat it all. We don't need to spend the rest of the night trying to settle her down."

Thirty minutes later, Kurt and Cody were off in Kurt's classic convertible and on their way to Safeco Field. And once they got into the stadium, Cody took the time to really look at it. He was so used to the quirks and quaintness of Fenway Park, and seeing a stadium that wasn't almost a hundred years old was kind of surreal. While the modern amenities seemed nice, he felt like there was something missing from the experience.

But Cody's biggest surprise was when he discovered where their seats were. Instead of being down by the field, they were in a luxury box.

"Nice, huh?"

Cody turned to his Dad. "Yeah. I was not expecting this..."

Kurt grinned. "This box belongs to my record label. We should be able to get seats like this anytime we want from now on."

Cody nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Kurt paused. "I guess this as good a time as any. Zack, what do you think of your childhood?"

Cody looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean, Dad?"

"I mean...do you think you had a good childhood?"

"Yeah...I guess so..."

Kurt sighed. "Because it dawned on me while you were gone to Texas that its just been us guys for so long. I mean...I'm worried about the effect its had on you and Addison growing up."

"We're fine, Dad."

"I know. You're both great kids. But I couldn't help but think that maybe it would be nice if you both had a female presence around the house..."

Cody smiled to himself. Maybe his Dad was going to make it easy on him. "Well, I guess that could be nice."

"I think so too. I think having a woman around would have a positive effect on all of us. Watching your interactions with girls, I cringe a little bit. I mean...you're a Martin, so the ladies are going to be attracted to you. But you have to be careful with the way you treat them, Zack. And I think not having a woman around when you were growing up contributed to that."

"I don't know about all of that, Dad. I like to think I treat girls right." Without thinking, he continued. "I mean, I get along great with Addison and Bailey..."

Kurt grinned. "Yeah, about that. What the heck is going on there? I thought there was a cold war brewing there, but since you've been back from Texas, its like you two agreed to start over or something..."

Cody paused. "Ummm...you could say we've reached an armistice so to speak..."

"An armistice?"

He laughed. "Sorry, Dad. Took my world history test today. Guess I still have in on the mind."

"That's right! How did you do?"

Cody grinned. "I believe I passed..."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, both tests were pretty easy once I studied."

Kurt shook his head. "Well, I'm glad to hear that." He laughed. "You know, for a little while there, I thought you were beginning to take after your Uncle Casey..."

That caught Cody's curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"You know...my little brother. The one who always had his nose in a book...of course, he's Dr. Martin now. But he always went for the brainy girls too."

Cody just smiled realizing that was probably where he got his personality from. "You know, I just think heading to Texas changed the way I look at things..."

"Good. Just think of all the good habits you'll pick up if we had a woman around the house full time..."

"I think you're right, Dad. I think that would be good for us..."

Kurt smiled. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that..."

At that moment, it was time to play ball. And being in the luxury suite, they had everything they could want right there with them. But like Cody had predicted, the Red Sox were just too much for the Mariners. And when Big Papi crushed a ball to dead center field, Cody couldn't help himself and jumped up and cheered.

Kurt frowned. "Zack? Did you just cheer for the Red Sox hitting a grand slam?"

Cody paused. "Oh...ummm...I thought the center fielder had jumped up and caught it..." He faked a sigh and sat down. "Dang it!"

Kurt just laughed. "Like I told you...that ain't Griffey out there anymore."

During the seventh inning stretch, Cody headed out to use the bathroom, but when he came back into the suite, he saw his Dad talking to a younger, blonde woman. And when Kurt saw him, he motioned Cody over.

"Zack, I'd like to introduce you to Meredith. She's the publicist the record company assigned to us in preparation for our comeback album. I've been working closely with her all summer. Meredith, this is my son, Zack. He's a regular chip off the old block."

Meredith just looked at Cody and smiled, but for some reason, Cody didn't think it was a genuine one. "So nice to meet you, Zack. Kurt has told me so much about you..."

"I would say the same thing, but this is the first I've heard of you..."

Momentarily, Meredith's smile disappeared before she plastered it back on. Cody wasn't sure, but she didn't look happy. But by then, Kurt spoke up again.

"Anyways, I was talking to Meredith, and we've decided that she's going to be the female presence we all need around the house..."

Cody paused. He was afraid of where this was going, so he needed to find a way to stall. "You've hired her a a part time cook and housekeeper?"

Kurt laughed. "No, not that...I was thinking of making her a part of the family..."

Cody swallowed. "Wow...Dad. I think that's amazing that you've agreed to adopt her. I'm sure Addie and I would love having a big sister..."

Kurt laughed again. "Zack...I'm not adopting Meredith. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes!"

To be Continued...

AN: People on the West Coast can keep earthquakes. This afternoon, I felt the one that hit Virginia. I don't particularly care if I ever feel another one. I'd rather have a tornado personally...at least I can see it coming! Anyways, I guess I should address people who continue to read my stories and complain about my writing...why? To paraphrase the NCAA ad, I'm going pro in something beside fanfiction writing. So, odds are, I'm not really going to listen to people trying to tell me how to write...especially from an anonymous review. Besides, I have modified this story. You know...artistic choice.