**another random idea. Someone asked me how much baby-sitting I was gonna do this summer, but the family I sat for last summer moved away, so I got the revolutionary idea of Dr. Madden baby-sitting. Tell me what you think please**
"Diana, are you coming?" Dan yelled up the stairs.
"Yeah," Diana yelled. "Is Chloe here?"
"Chloe isn't coming. Didn't she tell you? She's sick with swine flu."
"Well, this is just great! Who's gonna baby-sit Gabe and Natalie?"
"I will!" a far away voice called. Through the doorway appeared…
"Dr. Madden? Well, okay. Thanks. We'll be back near 11:30 pm. Gabe and Nat go to bed at 9:30, no excuses. If they get hungry, there's fruit in the fridge. Gabe is allergic to strawberries. Nat is lactose intolerant. If something bad happens, the emergency numbers are on the bulletin board in the kitchen. They are not allowed to watch movies rated PG-13 or R, nor can they watch scary movies. For bedtime stories, we've been reading them chapter books. We just finished one last night, so started whatever book you like. Um, is there anything else you need to know? Oh yeah, don't punish them if they do something bad. We'll take care of it. Bye."
Dan and Diana left and Dr. Madden sighed. "Okay, so bedtime is at 9:30. Nothing scary. Gabe is allergic to strawberries… or was it Natalie? I don't remember. Hopefully, they know. Emergency numbers… oh, right there. Now, where are the kids?"
"STOP IT, NATALIE!" Gabe yelled.
"No!" Natalie yelled back.
"I think I know where they are," Dr. Madden muttered. He walked upstairs and found the 2 kids in the playroom. "What's going on?"
"Who are you?" Gabe asked.
"I'm your baby-sitter, Dr. Madden?"
"Where are Mom and Dad?"
"Uh… I'm not sure…" Natalie and Gabe screamed. "Hey, you 2. Everything will be fine. They'll be back in the morning."
"I want them here now!"
Dr. Madden looked at his watch. "6:30? This is gonna be a LONG 3 hours. Do you 2 want to watch a movie?"
"No."
"We could watch Mary Poppins…"
"No."
"The Sound of Music?"
"No."
"The Godfather?"
"The what? I don't wanna watch that!"
"Could we watch Barbie of Swan Lake?" Natalie asked.
"No! Let's watch Twilight!"
"Barbie!"
"Twilight!"
"Barbie!"
"Twilight!"
"Stop it!" Dr. Madden shouted. "If you 2 are gonna argue, I'LL pick the movie. How about we watch, my personal favorite, RENT?"
"What's RENT?"
"Perfect! Come on!"
So they watched RENT and while Dr. Madden went to look at his watch, Natalie tugged at his sleeve. "What's AIDS?"
Dr. Madden stared at Natalie. He didn't know how to explain AIDS to a 7 year old, so he just said, "Hey, do you want a snack?"
"Yes, but what's AIDS?"
"Um, why don't you ask your mother when she gets back?"
"Okay."
Gabe and Natalie ran to the kitchen table and Dr. Madden looked in the refrigerator. "So, do you 2 like strawberries?"
"Yes," Natalie said as Gabe shook his head.
"Do you 2 drink milk?"
"Yes," Gabe said as Natalie shook her head.
"Okay." Dr. Madden gave each of them a few strawberries and a small glass of milk. As he went to put the rest of the strawberries away, he realized Gabe wasn't breathing. "Oh my god!" Dr. Madden looked at Gabe and noticed the half eaten strawberry. "Shoot, I forgot that you were allergic to strawberries. Natalie, do you know how to call for an ambulance?"
"Yes," Natalie said shakily as her face turned pale.
"Could you please call for one?"
"Okay." Natalie got up and threw up on the floor. "Dr. Madden? I threw up."
"I know you did. Go to the bathroom and clean yourself up. I'll call for an ambulance."
So Dr. Madden called for an ambulance. Soon enough, they arrived, took a look at Gabe and said, "We have to get this kid on oxygen! He's going to die!"
Dr. Madden suddenly felt horrible. "How could I have forgotten something like that? Diana is going to kill me."
"Dr. Madden!" Natalie called.
"Yes, Natalie?"
"Is Gabe going to be okay?"
"I don't know. All we can do right now is pray. Now, are you okay?"
"Yes. I just don't digest milk well. Mom says I'm lactose and tolerant."
"You mean lactose intolerant?"
"Yeah."
"Figures." Dr. Madden looked at his watch. "9:15. Want me to read you a story before you go to bed?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." Dr. Madden looked on a bookshelf and found The Crucible. "Want me to read you this?"
"Okay."
Dr. Madden read the whole first act to Natalie and she fell asleep. As soon as Dr. Madden put Natalie in her bed, he heard footsteps downstairs. "Who could be down there?" He walked down and saw Dan and Diana. "Hi."
"Hi," Diana said. "Sorry we're home so early. There was a fight. So, did everything go okay?"
"Sure."
"Did they behave?"
"Yeah."
"Dr. Madden, something is wrong. What happened? You look like you committed a murder. Are the kids okay?"
"Well…"
"Dr. Madden, just tell me."
"Okay. I forgot Gabe was allergic to strawberries."
"WHAT?"
"Hey, I called for an ambulance and they put him on oxygen…"
Diana burst into tears. "Oh my god…"
"He'll be fine."
"How do you know?"
The phone rang. "I'll get it."
"No you won't." Diana answered the phone. "Hello… he is? … okay… thanks… bye." Diana hung up and gave Dr. Madden a death stare. "Dr. Madden…"
"Okay, I'm sorry. I forgot because we were watching RENT…"
"You let them watch RENT?"
"Yeah."
"I'm never hiring you again. And, by the way, thank your lucky stars. Gabe is alive and well. Goodbye, Dr. Madden."
Dr. Madden left. "I wouldn't baby-sit for them again, anyway."
