Chapter 17

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

Carey continued staring at Zack in shock and awe. She wasn't quite sure what to say, and suddenly, the room started spinning on her. With the last bit of energy she had, she stumbled over to the couch and sunk back into it. But her eyes never left Zack. And Zack wasn't sure what to say either...especially with the funny expression on his Mom's face. Carey just kept looking at him...really looking at him.

She finally managed to gasp out. "You really are Zack..." The next thing Zack knew, she fainted. Immediately, he ran over next to her and began trying to shake her awake.

"Mom! Mom! Wake up!"

Carey's eyes fluttered back open, but she just looked at him again.

"Zack?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Mom. Its me."

"But...but...but how?"

He sighed. "Well, turns out Cody and I were both on our ways to the University of Texas for a camp – him for math and me for basketball..." Zack continued telling her about how he and Cody had met and then the plan they devised. "So, I ended up back here in Boston, and he's out in Seattle. We both wanted to get to know the parent we never knew..." He paused. "...Are you mad?"

Carey burst in to tears and just pulled him into a tight hug. "Of course not, Honey. I'm not mad at all..." She pulled back and smiled at him. "I mean...look at you. You're so grown up! The last time I saw you, you were just a baby..."

"Well, that was a long time ago. And a lot of years where I've grown up without a Mom. No offense, Mom, but the idea you and Dad had to separate us totally sucks!"

She nodded. "I know. And you're right. It does suck. But now that everyone knows about each other, I promise you will do something to fix the mess that your father and created so long ago..."

"Really?"

"Really. But you are right about one thing. We have to go to Seattle right now. You and Cody have to switch back places. Legally, you are the responsibility of your father while Cody is my responsibility. It doesn't make it right, but that's the way the court system is."

Zack nodded. "I guess so."

Carey just looked at him again. "How did I not notice that you weren't Cody?"

He smiled. "I wouldn't worry about it. So far, only two people were able to figure it out. And both times it was my fault for being stupid."

"Yeah? Who?"

"The first was Woody. He asked me about some Ferran guy, and I told him I had know idea who he was talking about..."

Carey laughed. "Yeah, I would have saw through that too. Cody's a huge Ferran Adria fan. Who else knows?"

"Moseby. Turns out his little cake baking thing was a stunt to test his theory. And I would have gotten away with it if he hadn't overheard me talking on the phone to Cody...about all things...getting busted."

Carey nodded. "So, he didn't fare much better either, huh?"

"Actually, he has. As far as I know, the only person who's busted him was Addison. I had to tell you the truth or Moseby was. Woody and Addison had both agreed to keep our secrets..."

She smiled. "Addison...I bet she's grown up into such a lovely young woman..."

He nodded. "She has. I guess you'll get to see for yourself here shortly..."

"That's right. I need to schedule time off and get us booked on a flight to Seattle as soon as I can..." But before Carey could finish her thought, there was a knock at the suite door. She got up to answer it and found Mr. Moseby standing there grinning.

"Mr. Moseby...just the person I was about to go looking for..."

"Let me guess. You need time off to head to Seattle..."

Carey nodded. "Exactly. I understand you've met my other son, Zack."

"I have. I must say. I knew he existed due to your next of kin forms, but if I hadn't overheard him talking on the phone, I wouldn't have been any of the wiser."

"Well, I have to switch him back with Cody, so..."

Moseby finished her sentence. "You need to head to Seattle. Done and done. You've been given time off for a family emergency, and the Tipton jet will be waiting to take you to Seattle first thing in the morning..."

Carey just looked at him in surprise. "I don't understand..."

He grinned again. "Just helping out a friend. Besides, when I agreed to take my new position in the company, Mr. Tipton promised me some favors..." He paused. "Even though I had to remind him who I was when I made the phone call a little while ago..."

Carey laughed. "Well, while Mr. Tipton might not miss you around here, everyone else will. No one more than London I bet..."

Moseby sighed. "Probably not. I'm going the same place she is to continue to watch over her..."

"Oh..."

"Exactly. Anyways. I hope everything works out for everyone." He turned to Zack. "And Mother wanted me to tell you that she loved the cake. So, you might have some talent there after all..."

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

With that, Moseby left, and Carey turned back to Zack. "Well, I guess that gives us one last night just to ourselves. How about a mother/son day for just the two of us?"

Zack smiled. "I'd really like that. I just hope this isn't the last one of these."

"I promise. It won't."

For the rest of the day, Carey and Zack just hung out together really getting to know each other. And like everyone else who had met both of the twins, she was quickly learning just how different her boys were. But that didn't matter to her. She loved them both equally and really did look forward to getting to know her other son better. When it came time for them to call it a night, both were sad that there day together was coming to an end.

Seattle, Washington

Cody did his best to calm himself down after hearing what Meredith's nefarious plan was. He vowed to himself that no matter what else happened, that woman would marry his father over his dead body. But he did his best to try to put those thoughts on the back burner for the time being. He had a big evening planned, and he wanted to make it as perfect as possible. So, after showering and dressing in the nicest clothes he could find in Zack's closet, he was checking himself out in the mirror. He didn't know where it had come from, but Cody was glad to find a sweater vest hidden in a drawer. And as he was doing one final glance over of himself, he heard a whistle behind him. Turning, he saw Addison smiling at him.

"You clean up pretty well. Though, when your grandmother gave that sweater vest to Zack, I thought he said he was going to burn it..."

Cody laughed. "I'm glad he didn't. It was the only thing I could find the seemed appropriate."

"So, tonight's the big night. I'm glad you aren't letting the craziness of the past couple of days around here stop you from going on it..."

"Not a chance of that. I've been looking forward to this all week. Besides..." He looked around to make sure no one else was around. "...everything else is being taken care of..."

"Good. I saw Meredith earlier, and she gave me a look like I was beneath her."

Cody smiled. "Don't worry, Addison. She'll be gone soon. And besides, she's the one who would have to look up to see you...even if you do interrupt moments I wish you hadn't..."

She laughed. "Sorry about that. But, if you're a good boy, maybe you'll get another chance tonight..."

"We'll see. Alright. I'm off."

Cody headed out, but not before stopping to 'borrow' some roses from the bushes behind the house. Making his way over to Bailey's house, he rang the door bell. But instead of Bailey answering it, a large, intimidating man opened the door. And from the look he was giving him, Cody suddenly felt scared.

"Ummm...I'm here to pick up Bailey..."

The man just kept glaring at Cody until a blonde woman pushed him aside. And she was actually smiling at him.

"Don't mind Clyde here. He likes to intimidate anyone who tries to date one of our daughters. I'm Eunice, and you must be Cody."

Cody nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

Clyde finally spoke. "Cody? I thought his name was Zack?"

Eunice just shook her head. "No, this is that Martin boy's twin brother. You remember Bailey telling us all about it last night, remember?"

Clyde was confused. "Huh?"

Eunice shook her head again and sighed. "I knew we should have made you turn the TV off so you would focus. I'll explain everything to you again later." She turned back to Cody. "I must say...when Bailey told us the whole story, I thought I was listening to the plot of a Lifetime movie..."

Cody smiled. "I know, but unfortunately, its actually my life. But I can't be too disappointed because I might not have met your daughter otherwise. That alone has made this all the worthwhile..."

"Awww..."

At that moment, Bailey came down the stairs, and to Cody, she looked amazing. He couldn't help but stare in awe and found himself tongue tied. She made her way over to the door and smiled at him. Finally, Cody was able to hold up the flowers.

"These are for you..."

She just beamed at him. "I've never been brought flowers before. Thank you so much, Cody. They're beautiful!"

"You're very welcome."

Bailey turned to her Mom. "Would you put these in some water, Momma?" Eunice took the flowers, and Bailey turned back to Cody. She grabbed his arm. "Lets go!"

As they headed out, they took their time walking towards the restaurant. And as they walked, they continued to talk.

"Okay...your Dad looked like he wanted to rip me to shreads."

Bailey sighed. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind, but I told Momma and Daddy the truth. Unfortunately, I don't think Dad was paying attention. He thought you were Zack..."

"I don't mind..." He laughed. "Glad to see someone bought that I was Zack though..."

She laughed too. "True I guess. So, did anything happen after I left earlier?"

Cody shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I have it under control. I just want to focus on tonight..."

She stopped them in their tracks. "Cody...what happened?"

He sighed and told her of Meredith's phone call he overheard. Bailey just smiled at him. "Well, now we know that she does have bad intentions and don't have to worry about hurting an innocent person."

"Yeah, I just wish I had thought to record what she said with my cell phone. I'd have definite proof to cancel the wedding if worst came to worst..."

Bailey paused and kept smiling. "Who says you don't?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know you didn't record it, and I know you didn't record it, but we're the only ones who don't. And that includes Meredith. If she gets out of line, just show her your phone and mention you have a recording of an interesting conversation..."

Cody grinned. "Bailey, I know I've said it before, but you really are a genius!"

"Thank you. Now, how about we forget about that and focus on our evening?"

"Consider it done."

Dinner was interesting but still delicious. Trying the cuisine and customs of other cultures was something they both enjoyed immensely and vowed to do again soon. The movie was wonderful as well. Of course, it didn't matter to them that they were two of six people in the entire theater. As they walked out of the theater, they were still laughing and talking about the movie in Japanese. They took their time heading back to Bailey's house where they took their time saying goodnight.

Cody smiled. "I don't think I've ever had a more enjoyable evening. I got to try new food, see a funny movie and practice my Japanese all while getting to do it all with a beautiful lady..."

Bailey smiled back. "I know exactly how you feel. I had a lot of fun too." She paused. "We will do this again sometime..."

"Yeah, we will. If I needed more motivation to make our plan work, I definitely have it now..."

"Me too..."

He sighed. "As much as I don't want to, I should bid you a goodnight. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah we do..." She grinned. "You've met my parents. Time for me to meet your Mom..."

"Yeah, it is..." Cody leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Bailey."

"Goodnight, Cody." She leaned in to kiss his cheek too, but she decided that wasn't what she really wanted to do. Instead, she leaned in and caught his lips with her own. And though he was surprised at first, Cody returned the kiss almost immediately. When they finally pulled back, both paused and rubbed their lips with their fingers.

"Wow..."

Bailey giggled. "Right back at you..."

He grinned at her. "I take it back...this is my best day ever."

Back in Boston, Massachusetts

That night, Carey had a nightmare. In it, she was meeting Kurt again for the first time in years, and it was going horribly. In it, he was yelling at her for breaking up their family and told her that he hated her. And that dream shook her to the core. In fact, by five that morning, she decided to go ahead and get up for the day. After she had cleaned up and fixed breakfast, she was still feeling jumpy and nervous. So, she decided one little drink would help calm her nerves. Well, one lead to two and two lead to four. By the time Zack woke up the next morning, he could tell that his mother was feeling no pain. So, he had her lay down on the couch while he want to clean up.

When he came back outside, Carey was sawing logs. Zack sighed and pulled out his phone.

"Woodchuck, I need some help and you're the only one here I can turn to. Pack a bag. You're going to Seattle with me!"

An hour later, Woody was there, and between the two of them, they got all of their bags downstairs before heading back upstairs to help Carey get downstairs. The Tipton airport shuttle was waiting on them, and they helped get Carey into the van before she passed out again. Woody turned to Zack.

"I'm guessing you and Cody are finally switching back, huh?"

Zack sighed. "That's what Mom thinks. I'll tell you the whole story later..."

"What about Maya?"

Zack shook his head. "I don't know, Woody...I just don't know..."

To be Continued...