Episode 25

"Curveballs"

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

Wait...In this story, I created some of the characters, so I will actually own them.

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

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

New Haven

Finally, it was the last week of classes at Yale. That Friday afternoon at five o'clock would signal the end of the semester and also be the beginning of the short reading week before final exams would begin. From then until the following Thursday morning at nine AM, reading week would be in full effect, and Cody and Bailey spent the vast majority of that time holed up in their secret room in the bowels of Sterling Memorial Library. However, this semester, a couple of freshman decided that their room would be perfect for them too. But when they walk in to it on Saturday morning, Cody and Bailey just looked up and stared at them.

"This room is occupied."

"Ummm...Sorry, we didn't know anyone else was in here..."

Cody just kept glaring at them. "Well, we are. We've used this room to study in for the past three years, and we plan on doing the same next year as well. So, you can move on and find your own place to study..."

The freshmen just started walking backwards and closed the door behind them. And once they left, Bailey couldn't help herself but to laugh.

"Please tell me we were never like that as freshmen..."

Cody smiled at her. "I don't think so. But, this is our private spot, and I'm not going to give it up without a fight."

"I know. We have a routine, and I pity anyone who tries to disrupt it." She smiled too. "Of course, we failed to tell them that the library staff gave us a key to this room to use whenever we want. So, they'll be in for a surprise if they think they can get here before us tomorrow..."

He could only nod. "I know. Its like we already have our own room here on campus even before we get our deluxe suite next fall." He paused. "But it does bring up the fact that we are both very comfortable here at Yale. Maybe Tapeworm was right? Maybe we should focus on trying to stay here in New Haven. I mean, I know the school that no longer exists has the best medical school in the country, but Yale's is no slouch..."

She nodded. "True. Its a top five school in its own right, and we already know our way around campus and town. Plus, we would have Gertie and Tapeworm here with us for a few years..."

"And our interviews with Yale's Medical School last week did go very well. Both our interviewers seemed very enthusiastic about us being there and getting accepted."

"Yeah, that was a nice change of pace. But..."

"But what?"

Bailey shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, we've only seen two medical schools up close and personal so far. I say we keep looking and see what else is out there for us. No need for us to decide anything without knowing all of the facts."

Cody nodded. "That's a good idea." He smiled. "But until then, lets get back to studying. I know we only have two finals, but we do want to keep our 4.0s..."

Once the morning of Thursday, May 1st arrived, everything else was forgotten forgotten as it was time for them to begin taking their finals. Fortunately for Cody and Bailey, their final exam schedule that semester wasn't that bad as their two finals were spaced out pretty well. First up was their Biology of Reproduction final, and it would be on that Thursday at 9:00 AM. Once they finished it, the only thing separating them from being seniors was their Bioethics and Law test on Sunday at 2:00 PM. That was all they had left as their work in their other three classes was already completed when they turned in their final papers and projects.

On Saturday and Sunday of reading week, they studied for Bioethics and Law and returned to it following their first exam. Monday through Wednesday were spent studying for Biology of Reproduction. And on Sunday afternoon, when they walked out of their last final, they were both exhausted, but both felt good about how they had done and thought there 4.0s should be safe. And once they were done for the semester, they could spend the rest of Sunday packing their things and getting ready to head back to Boston the next morning.

Fortunately, they weren't the only ones who had finished their semester on that Sunday afternoon. Tapeworm was done then too, so that would make them moving out all the more easier The weekend before, Tapeworm had once again traded vehicles with his Dad and had his truck on campus. So, while Gertie continued to study for her last final on Tuesday morning, the other three spent Sunday evening loading up all of their heavy furniture into the bed of the truck and transported it over to the same storage facility they had used the previous summer.

That night, Gertie took a break from studying to join them for a farewell dinner as it would be the last time they would all be in the same location until the next August.

"So, you two are out of here in the morning, huh?"

Bailey nodded. "After breakfast, we'll load up and get on the road. What about you two?"

Tapeworm spoke up. "I'm hanging around until Gigi's last final is over, and we're heading up to Amherst for a few days before she flies back to Maryland."

Cody laughed. "So, what are you going to do for the next couple of days with no television and nothing else to do? Because right now, our room is completely barren..."

Tapeworm paused as that dawned on him. "You know...I hadn't thought of that yet. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll guess I'll probably hang out down in the basement and watch the big screen down there or play some of the arcade games down there. I would assume it would be pretty empty. I mean, most people still here would probably be studying..."

Gertie just shook her head. "I have a better idea. You can watch the TV up in my room if I can use yours to study in."

He grinned. "Works for me." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Gigi..."

She turned back to Cody and Bailey. "What about you two? What are your plans when you get back to Boston?"

"Well, this week, we have interviews at Tufts on Tuesday, Boston University on Wednesday and UMASS on Thursday. Then, that afternoon, we hop a plane to Kansas City for our interview at KU on Friday afternoon. The week after, we begin work again. And over the course of the summer, we have interviews scheduled at Penn (Philadelphia), Johns Hopkins (Baltimore), Columbia (New York City), Washington University in St. Louis, Brown, Duke, and Cornell." Bailey sighed. "And we're still trying to work out times to visit Michigan and Stanford..."

Tapeworm laughed. "Ummm...I know you guys can drive to the ones here on the eastern seaboard, but the last time I checked, the states of Missouri and North Carolina aren't anywhere near New England..."

Cody could only nod. "We know, but we've worked all that out. Usually, when we head to Kettlecorn, our connecting flights are through Atlanta. Well, not this summer. We scheduled our interviews at those schools we have to fly to around our visits to see Bailey's family. Next weekend is Mother's Day, so we're flying into Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City, Kansas, where KU is, lies just across the state line, and then we'll rent a car and drive to Kettlecorn from there. When we go for Father's Day, our layover city will be Raleigh, North Carolina which is near Durham. We're going to have a day in between our flights so we can knock out our interviews at Duke..." Cody chuckled. "And as if you couldn't guess by now, when we head back for Bailey's birthday, our layover will be in St. Louis, Missouri."

Tapeworm looked back and forth at them in awe. "And here I thought you guys went on a North American tour over Christmas. That sounds insane!"

Bailey laughed this time. "Oh, it will probably get worse. Thank goodness we had so many frequent flier miles built up. And like I said, we're still trying to work it out so that our layover on a flight out to San Francisco to visit Stanford has a layover in Detroit so we can drive over to Ann Arbor and knock out the last two on one trip..."

Gertie shuddered. "After hearing that, I'm glad we're staying here at Yale for grad school."

"Oh, we're still strongly considering Yale too. Its one of two interviews we've already had...and the only one we are acknowledging its existence..."

Tapeworm shook his head. "I think I need a nap after just hearing all of that..."

Cody laughed again. "How do you think we feel? We're the ones who are going to have to actually do it. By the time this summer is over, we're going to really be looking forward to coming back to school just to get some rest."

Bailey nodded. "The one thought that will keep us going will be the deluxe suites we have to come back to."

Gertie smiled. "Tell me about it. I've already told Howie that we should hold on to that suite for as long as they will let us have it."

"Well, if we stay here at Yale, we'll probably try to do the same thing..." Bailey paused and shook her head. "You know...it doesn't feel like it was that long ago that we all finally moved into Berkeley here, but its been two years. And now we only have a year left before we're all supposed to graduate."

"Tell me about it. College has flown by. It feels like it was just yesterday that I returned from Christmas break to find that the pipes in my dorm room had burst. I was actually dreading having a total stranger for a roommate and totally new surroundings." Gertie stopped and began laughing. "But thanks to some shoddy plumbing, I have two wonderful friends and a guy I can't imagine my life without..."

Bailey smiled. "You never know how one moment will forever affect your future. When I left to head for the ship, I had no clue how much that one decision was going to change the rest of my life. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had chickened out..."

Cody shook his head and laughed. "I've got you all beat! If my Mom had never accepted the job at the Boston Tipton, I never would have moved there and met my boy here. And if she had never worked for Tipton, she never would have gotten the employee discount which lead her to being able to send both Zack and I to the boat. Obviously, I wouldn't have met Bailey then..." He paused and smiled. "...and I mean then because I just know I would have at some point. But, if I never went to the boat, Zack might not have gotten me blackballed from the school we shall not mention, and I might be a student there right now. And if I was, I never would have met everyone I did here at Yale. So looking back, I'm thankful Mom took the chance because I can't imagine my life if she hadn't..."

Bailey leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I'm thankful she did too. Remind me to thank her for that when we get back tomorrow morning..."

Gertie checked her watch and sighed. "Unfortunately, as much fun as I'm having right now, I need to get back to my books. My last exam is not going to be any fun at all."

And while she headed back to studying, everyone else returned back to their rooms to finish packing their things. By the time they went to bed that night, Cody and Bailey were all set to leave the next morning. And after a final breakfast with Tapeworm, they loaded up their car and hit the road.

"Next stop, Boston." Cody shook his head and laughed. "Thankfully this car is comfortable. Because, Bails, I have a feeling we're going to be sick of looking at it by the end of the summer..."

Boston

That same morning while Cody and Bailey were saying their last goodbyes and hitting the road to head back to Boston, Zack was still in his bed snoring away. He had gotten out of last final close to eleven o'clock the night before, and he was so exhausted afterwards, he crashed as soon as he got home. And Zack would have continued to have slept the morning away except he was woken out of his slumber by a loud knock at the suite's front door. Grumbling, he rolled out of bed to go find out who it was, and he vowed that whoever it was had better have a good reason for waking him up so early on his day off. But when he opened the door though, he was surprised to see Moseby standing there.

"Moseby? What are you doing here? I'm pretty sure you gave me today off to recuperate from my last final..."

Moseby smiled and nodded. "You're right, I did. But now that you are done with finals, there is something you and I need to talk about..."

Zack just shrugged and opened the door wider so Moseby could walk inside the suite.

"So, what's going on? Is there a problem at work?"

Moseby shook his head. "No, this has nothing to do with London Inns. Actually, my visit this morning has to do with your education."

Zack was confused. "My education? But I just finished finals, and I won't hear anything back from grad schools until next fall probably, this summer at the earliest..."

"I know, this has nothing to do with those either..." Moseby paused. "Zack, do you remember when you came to me several months ago with your concern over the international experience class you are supposed to take?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Zack's eyes went wide as realization dawned on him. "Oh no! I had completely forgotten about that! I guess I had checked that off in my mind as already having been taken care of..." He began to pace back and forth as he was beginning to panic. "When am I going to be able to get that in?"

Moseby just kept his calm and smiled. "Don't worry - its already taken care of. You'll be doing it this summer."

After wiping the sweat from his brow, Zack sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness...I..." He stopped in mid sentence and turned to look at Moseby. "Wait a minute! How will I be doing that exactly? I know I'm not a geography major, but I'm pretty sure that international means outside of this country!"

Moseby couldn't help but to laugh. "Yes, it does. Zack, for thirteen weeks this summer, you will be serving as an assistant to Esteban on the high sees. You will be there for the launch of the S.S. Tipton II, and then be an employee on it for the majority of the summer. And during that time, you will also act as a liaison between the Esteban and myself back here in Boston. Further, you will have the responsibility of being a go to guy for the passengers of London Inns on the boat. You will secure reservations and coordinate activities for them with the ship's regular concierge service and activities director. Essentially, while Esteban while be your boss for the summer, you will be the highest ranking London Inns staff member on the ship..."

Zack looked at him in amazement. "Whoa! So, you're telling me I'm going to be spending the summer hanging out and working on a cruise ship and getting the school credit I need for that class?"

"Pretty much..."

Zack did a fist pump before He paused as something else crossed his mind. "I won't have to work the Smoothie Bar, will I?"

Moseby laughed again. "Not unless you get the urge to. But you won't be gone for the entire thirteen weeks. You will get to come home for a long 4th of July holiday weekend..."

Zack just shook his head and laughed. "Man, this is going to be so awesome!"

"I have to admit. I'm a little envious of you. I wouldn't mind unpacking my old knee socks for a little while myself."

"Moseby, if I may talk for the rest of the world, we're glad that you aren't..."

Marion glared at him. "Easy. Remember, I still run the business aspect of London Inns. While Esteban while be your boss on board the ship, you still have to answer to me. I'll still be your boss too."

Zack just grinned. "Whatever you say, Boss Man..."

"Now, I don't want you to be viewing this as a pure vacation. Beyond your other duties, the School of Hospitality Administration will have a few things they want you to do as well. For one, they want you to keep a journal of your time on board the ship especially as it relates to foreign experiences."

Zack shrugged. "That's cool. I can just pull a Doogie Howser every night before I go to bed..."

"That sound like a good idea. Next..." Moseby was about to continue when he stopped and frowned. "Wait a minute! How do you know about Doogie Howser? That was well before your time..."

"Easy. Barney Stinson is my favorite character on TV, and I've loved NPH's cameos in the Harold and Kumar movies. So, I checked youtube to see what else he had been in, and I found it there. I've been watched episodes there on-line at..." Zack paused and caught himself. "...home on Fridays while I've waited for Maya to get off work. Anyways, did you know you can find old episodes of a lot of old shows there? I mean...I was blown away to see that Tom Hanks used to be in a show where he dressed up as a woman..."

Marion sighed. "Yes, Bosom Buddies. I remember when it aired on TV as a brand new series..." He shook his head. "Anyways, they also want you to do a project on all of the different cuisines you will be exposed to. So, when in port, go out and try the local flavors. Don't stay on board and just hit up the buffets..."

"Consider it done. If you get me a list of places the ship will be going, I'll have Cody make me a list of things to make sure to try."

"Another good idea." Moseby smiled. "I bet he and Bailey will enjoy having this place to themselves for almost three months..."

"I'm sure they probably will. It'll give them a head start on when they'll be living together next year at Yale..." Zack paused as his face went white. "Wait a minute! I'm going to be gone for almost the entire summer!"

"Yeah, that's what I just told you..."

Zack just shook his head as he began pacing again. "You don't understand! They won't have the place to themselves. Maya's dorm is being renovated this summer, and I told her she could move in here. What do I tell her now?"

Moseby didn't have any answers to that, so he left Zack alone so he could think about that. But Moseby did say he would have leave more information for Zack to look over when he had the time. But that was the farthest thing from Zack's mind. A couple of hours later, he was still sitting on the couch racking his brain trying to figure out what he was going to do. He knew to graduate the following year, he was going to have to go on the boat so he could knock out a required course. So not going wasn't an option for him. And once he realized that, He began worrying about how Maya was going to take this sudden news. Would she be upset by it? Would she understand? And what was he going to do about him saying she could live there over the summer when he wouldn't be around? Would she still want to? And even if she did, would she be comfortable living there with Cody and Bailey without him there? Would they be comfortable living there with her without him around too? So, he continued to just sit there and think. And as he sat there, the door to the suite swung open again, and Cody and Bailey pushed a full luggage cart full of their things into the suite.

"We're back!"

But Zack just kept sitting on the couch thinking. He saw that they were back, but he was still so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even bother acknowledging their arrival.

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other and shrugged. "Okay...well nice to see you again too, Bro..."

Zack sighed. "Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now."

Cody frowned. "I thought your last final was last night. Actually, I kind of figured you'd still be asleep right now..."

"Oh, I was planning on that. But Moseby stopped by earlier this morning with news that's completely rocked my world..."

Cody turned to Bailey. "It took him almost three years before he finally fired him. That's a lot longer than I originally thought..."

Bailey rolled her eyes but it was obvious she was trying not to laugh. And once she thought she had been successful at suppressing her laughter, she turned to Zack. "So what did Moseby have to say exactly that's rocked your world?"

Zack sighed again and explained to them everything that Moseby had told him earlier. Cody just shrugged again.

"So? What's the problem? You're going to spend the summer on the new ship. As long as you don't have to be a towel boy, I can't see the downside. I mean, you're getting the college credit you need while while getting to see the world in the lap of luxury. Most people who had that opportunity would be out in the hallway doing cartwheels."

Zack shook his head. "You don't understand. Ordinarily, it wouldn't be that big of a problem." He paused. "But I did something to cause it to be a big problem. Maya's dorm is being renovated this summer like yours is, and I told her she could move in here over the summer."

Bailey was confused. "Okay, so you won't be here. She can still stay in your room. We promise we won't throw any loud parties or be pains in the butt if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm worried about how I'm going to break this news to her and how she's going to take it. She's supposed to finish her last final at 1:30 this afternoon, and I'm supposed to pick her up to take her out to lunch to celebrate. I'm not sure how much of a mood either one of us is going to be in to do that after I drop this bomb on her."

"Zack, you're going to be on the boat for three months - not going to prison for 15-20 years..."

He shook his head again. "You guys don't understand! How would you feel if you two were split apart for three months?"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other and neither one of them liked the that thought at all. "Well, I'll admit I wouldn't be enthused about it. But if I knew it was because Bailey was taking a class she needed to graduate, I know I'd be as supportive of it as I could be. Besides, they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Bailey nodded. "Cody's right. While neither one of us would like it, we would know that in the grand scheme of things, three months would just be a small bump in the road."

Zack just looked up at the two of them. "Because you guys have been together for basically six years and are engaged to be married. Other than your mutual bouts of stupidity, you two haven't been apart in all that time. Maya and I were only together for seven months, then apart for a year and now back together a year. We aren't as...established as you two are."

Cody shrugged again. "I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than you need to be. Besides, you're forgetting the summers of high school when I was here in Boston and Bailey was back in Kettlecorn. We survived those. You and Maya will too."

Zack sighed yet again. "Maybe, but am I the only one who has noticed this is eerily similar to what happened when Maya was offered the chance to go to the Peace Corp?"

Bailey laughed. "I think you are. I don't see many similarities at all. For one, this is something you have to do rather than something she chose to do."

Cody continued. "Two, three months is a lot shorter amount of time than two years."

"Three, the ship is wired for wifi, and you'll have cell phone reception. You two will be able to call each other everyday or talk over webcams. In Africa, not so much..."

"Finally, a relationship can handle that amount of time if its what you both want. Besides, didn't you tell us that you'd be back after six weeks for a long weekend? With that, it will only be two stretches of six weeks without physically seeing each other. Zack, I know you can handle that."

Zack looked up at them both with hope in his eyes. "You really think so?"

They both nodded. "We know so."

He sat back and thought. "Maybe you're right. Would you two do me a favor then?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well, you two don't mind if she still lives here, right?"

Both shook their heads. "We don't mind at all."

"Good. As for the favor I need, I want you two to keep an eye on her for me."

Cody shook his head. "Uh uh. Sorry, Bro. We won't be spies for you!"

Zack rolled his eyes. "No, nothing like that! I mean it would be nice if you two would include her in what you guys are doing every so often. Take her to a movie with you. Take her to a baseball game with you. Let her help with wedding plans. Just do me a favor and make sure she doesn't feel abandoned while I'm gone."

Bailey nodded. "Oh, well we can do that."

"Thank you." He checked the clock on the stove. "I guess I need to get cleaned up then. Now I only have to do the hard part in all of this...actually tell her."

While he headed off to the bathroom, Cody and Bailey began unloading their things from the luggage cart. But before they got to actually unpacking everything, they decided to head out and grab some lunch. And after they ate, they decided to enjoy the only free time they were going to have for the foreseeable future. So, they went for a walk in the park before stopping by the market to get a few things for dinner that evening. Several hours after they left, they finally returned back to the suite. And as far as they could tell, Zack seemed to be gone. While Bailey was setting her paper grocery bags down on the kitchen counter, she happened to notice a pile of mail lying on it.

"Looks like he already got the mail before he left..." She began flipping through them to see if there was anything there for them when she noticed a couple of letters addressed to them. "Ummm...Cody?"

Cody was busy unpacking some items from his bags into the refrigerator. "Yeah, Sweetie?"

She swallowed. "There are two envelopes here with our names on them – from Harvard Medical School."

The Other Side of Town

A little before 1:30 that afternoon, Zack was pulled up his car and parked outside of the building where Maya's last final was being held. And about twenty minutes later, she came out the front door, and when she saw his car parked there, she ran over to it before jumping into the passenger's seat. Fortunately, as Zack drove them to a restaurant, Maya seemed to be on a high from her test and carried their conversation all the way there. But by the time they got to the restaurant, she had finally noticed that Zack was being a lot quieter than normal.

"Alright, Babe...what's up?"

Zack was a little surprised. "What do you mean?"

She smiled. "I know you, Zack. You've got something on your mind. You tend to get a little withdrawn and quiet when you do..."

He sighed. "Well, actually, you're right. I do have something on my mind. You see...Moseby stopped by to see me this morning. Seems like I'm not free from the shackles of summer school after all..."

Maya couldn't help but to laugh. "That's what you get! All those times you teased me have finally come back to bite you in the butt! So, what kind of class are you going to have to take? Will it be a difficult one?"

Zack paused as he realized he shouldn't beat around the bush. He figure it would be like a band-aid - rip it off quickly and the pain wouldn't last as long. "Well, sort of. I'll be taking a class, but none of the work will be done inside of a classroom..."

She frowned. "Outside of a classroom? I thought you finished your last field experience class this semester..."

"So did I, but there is one more I have to do that I had completely forgotten about..."

She just looked at him funny when she suddenly remembered something. "Wait a minute! Is this the one where you need foreign experience?"

Zack just nodded. "Yeah..." He swallowed and then spit it out as fast as he could. "And to complete it, it turns out I'll be spending thirteen weeks this summer working for Esteban...on the S.S. Tipton II..." Once he got it all out, he just looked at Maya waiting to see what her reaction would be.

But her reaction completely blew him away - Maya was smiling at him. "Sounds like fun, Babe. A lot more fun than me sitting through two physics classes..."

He blinked as he was caught completely off guard. "Wait a minute! You're not upset about this?"

"Why would I be? You're doing what you have to do so you can graduate. Yeah, it will suck that I won't actually get to be with you for about three months, but I know you're coming back."

Zack just looked at her before shaking his head. "Okay, this is so not how I thought this conversation would go!"

She laughed. "And why is that?"

"Well, I...you..." He sighed. "I just thought it would be a much bigger issue..."

Maya smiled at him and she grabbed his hand. "I bet you kept thinking of the similarities between this and when I went to Africa, huh?"

"Well, yeah...that's exactly what I did..."

"Completely different situations, Babe."

Zack nodded. "Yeah, that's what Cody and Bailey told me. They got back from Yale not long after Moseby dropped the bomb on me. Oh, and even though I won't be there, they're completely cool with you still living there this summer."

"I'll have to thank them for that. And what they said is true. Zack, you said so yourself – we're both much different people than we were three years ago. I like to think we're both older and wiser now."

"So do I..."

She smiled. "You just better make sure your webcam is working and your cell phone battery is always charged though. I might be calling you several times a day."

He smiled back. "You better."

"Now, is there anything else or can we continue on to celebrate our first anniversary? As far as I can tell, I've only got you to myself for a few more weeks. I don't want to waste a single second of them..."

Zack could only laugh. "Anything you want to do, Maya. I'm just glad you're not upset with me over this..."

"Well, I might not like it, but I know its necessary. Besides, I remember us talking about how we would never try to interfere with each other doing their studies. I know this is a little bit different, but its essentially the same concept."

"Thanks for being so cool about this..."

"Anytime..." But as much as she was smiling and putting up a brave front on the outside, Maya was scared to death on the inside. And if she had been caught off guard by his announcement, she might not have been able to cover so well. In actuality, she had gotten out of her last final about a quarter after one that afternoon. But when she walked out of the classroom, Maya had been shocked to see Moseby standing there. Immediately, Moseby pulled her aside and gave her a quick breakdown of what was going to happen and then told her how much Zack was freaking out about it.

"I know you aren't going to like this, but he really needs to do this to graduate..."

She could only nod. "Yeah, I understand that..."

Moseby smiled back. "But you still don't like it, and I can understand that. But just remember its not for forever. He'll be back before you know it. Now, like I said, he's really worried about how you're going to handle this. I thought if I showed up and told you first myself, it might make things somewhat easier. Maya, I really need you to put on a brave face for Zack here. I need you to let him know everything will be okay - because I truly believe everything will be okay. So, can you do that for me? Can you do that for Zack?"

So, Maya just sat there at the table with Zack smiling and putting on a brave face while doing the best acting job she could. And she tried to convince herself that everything would indeed be okay like Moseby had said it would. Unfortunately, she wasn't having that much luck in doing that.

Zack and Cody's Suite

Almost on pure impulse, Bailey grabbed the envelope with her name on it and tore it open. And once it was, she pulled out the letter inside and began reading it. As she saw what it said, her eyes went wide. Bailey couldn't believe what she was actually reading and her mind began going in about a thousand different directions. But when Cody spoke up, she was forced to snap back to reality.

"What's it say?"

She looked up at him. "Huh? What's it say?" She paused and folded the letter back up. "Nothing. Don't worry about it..."

Cody just studied her face and shook his head. "I'm not buying that for a second. What's it really say?"

Bailey sighed. "I got an early acceptance to Harvard Medical School..." And as soon as she said that, she stuffed the letter back into the envelope and broke eye contact with Cody.

But he could tell there was more. "What else does it say? I get the feeling there's more to it..."

She slumped her shoulders and sighed again. "It says they want to offer me a full ride scholarship with a living stipend as well..."

Cody's eyes went wide. "Wow! Congratulations, Bails...that's amazing!" He smiled and began chuckling. "Looks like I need to focus on getting into BU or Tufts then. We already know what's in my envelope..."

Bailey shook her head. "No, you don't. Cody Bear, this doesn't change anything. Like I said, they could offer me all the tea in China, and I still wouldn't go there. I meant what I said."

"This changes everything! Boo Boo, not only did you get accepted into the best medical school in the country, but they want to pay you to go there! You can't turn that down!"

"Of course I can! After the way they treated you, Harvard can take their acceptance and money and shove it up their..."

Cody cut her off. "Bails, this is an amazing opportunity you can't pass up! You can't let what happened to me affect your decision..."

She just gave him a look. "Oh, yes I can! Cody, I've already told you. I not going anywhere without you going there with me. Like I also told you, we're a team, and this team will not be broken up by anyone or anything! Somethings in life are way more important! Besides, I've had you in almost all of my classes for the past seven years. I love having you there to study with me, and I'm not going to give that up even for Harvard!"

Cody sighed. "But Bails..."

"But nothing! We framed our two acceptance letters from Yale. We'll just take these letters from Harvard and burn them together and roast marshmallows over the flames. That's how serious I am about this..."

"Are you sure, Sweetie? I don't want you to ever regret this..."

Bailey smiled. "I won't. I promise." She picked up his letter. "Now, why don't you open yours and we'll get to burning?"

He smiled back at her. "You open it if you want to. I have no desire to see what's inside. I've had enough of opening letters from schools that tell me I'm not good enough to last me a lifetime..."

She just nodded, and ripped open his envelope too. But when she opened it, she noticed there was something different about it from the one she got. Instead of just the form letter from HMS, there was a handwritten letter on top of it. Quickly, she scanned it, and her eyes went even wider in surprise. "Cody...there is a letter in here from Dr. Hyden himself..."

Cody shook his head and sighed. "Great...He probably wanted to send me a personal note thanking me for wasting his time that day..."

Bailey shook her head and practically shoved the letter into Cody's face. "Read it!"

Reluctantly, he took it from her and began reading it.

Dear Mr. Martin,

Allow me to apologize for the manner in which I conducted your interview on March 17th. I like to think of myself as an old school type of professor who believes that the practice of medicine should be reserved only for the best of the best. As such, I don't think the medical profession is for everyone who thinks they can hack it. So, I conduct my interviews in a different manner than that of my colleagues. Most of the time, medical schools like to weed out people who can't handle it during the first year, but I prefer to begin doing that in the interview process. You see, I view being a doctor as more than wearing a white coat and diagnosing patients. Its about having character and grace under fire.

I purposely put you in an hostile environment to see how you would handle yourself. And to say that you handled yourself well would be an understatement. You took everything I dished out and kept your composure even though I knew I had you rattled. I wanted to see if you would crumble under the pressure because pressure is something that the practice of medicine is full of. Situations can cause it all the time whether it be an uncooperative patient or having to do the right thing even though its not popular. A lot of candidates I interview crack under my interrogations, but you never did. And for that, you have my respect.

And while I'm being truthful, I admit that when your name came up with a red flag, I insisted we interview you anyways and that I be the one assigned to interview you. I wanted to see what you were made of, and as far as I can see, I think you are made of the right stuff to be a fine physician.

With that being said, I would like to welcome you to Harvard Medical School! You are the type of candidate we need more of around here. In fact, I've even nominated you to receive one of our scholarship packages, and the admissions committee has agreed with my recommendation. I hope you will overlook my unorthodox means and not personally hold them against HMS. Like I said before, I think we deserve the cream of the crop at HMS, and I include you in that group. I truly hope to see you here as a member of the incoming class of 2015.

Sincerely,

Dr. Edward Hyden, M.D.

P.S. I too had to have the father of a friend of mine pull strings to get me into Harvard when I was younger too. Unlike you, I probably didn't deserve it at the time. And as for former President Rosenberg, nobody liked him when I went to school with him. We all thought he was an arrogant horse's ass. You stood up to him which makes you A OK in my book!

When he finished reading the letter, Cody looked up at Bailey with confusion written all over his face. "I...umm...huh?"

Bailey smiled at him. "You actually got in, Cody Bear!"

He shook his head. "But...but...but..."

Cody was in such a state of shock that he felt himself getting light headed. So, he stumbled over to the couch and fell back into it. Immediately, Bailey followed him and sat down next to him.

She grabbed his hand. "Cody, are you okay?"

He could only shake his head. "I think so, but I just have no idea what to think about this..."

Bailey nodded. "I can understand that. But this does bring up a big question for us - do we now accept Harvard and try overlook what they did to you? Or do you still want to tell them to shove it and keep looking for the right school for us?"

Cody just looked at her and shook his head. "Bails...I don't know...I just don't know..."

The End of Season Three (To be Continued...in Season Four)

AN: I will post the first episode of Season 4 sometime this weekend.