Pairings: None.

Relevant notes: Super Special 1 Baby-sitters On Board!, future-fic.

A/N: I had the idea of writing about all five original baby-sitters, but I haven't read the Californian Diaries series and didn't feel comfortable writing an older Dawn without much of an idea of what happened to her.

I don't think reading this without having read the above mentioned book before will work, since this includes characters from it, but you can try! I just liked the idea of the girls' cruise-ship friends popping up in their lives again in different ways.

It's Like the Theory About Degrees of Separation

i.

Mary Anne slipped off her shoes and deposited her bags on her bed, next to Tigger. Her cat wasn't little anymore; he was quite a bit rounder and much, much lazier, prone to lying around the house rather than chase invisible things outside.

She headed downstairs to grab a snack. Her final choice- a sugar-free blueberry muffin and glass of fresh orange juice- reminded her of Dawn, and she smiled to herself and made a mental note to call her stepsister that night.

Back upstairs, she nudged Tigger aside with her knee and settled on her bed with her snack and the latest copy of Seventeen. She'd managed to pick it up while Stacey dragged her around the mall and she was looking forward to sitting back with it. Her feet needed the rest after the marathon shopping session with Stacey.

I don't know why I still read this, Mary Anne thought. Nearly every issue was full of the same inane features. She looked idly over the fashion tips before a photo of a pretty girl with a bright smile caught her eye. The face was vaguely familiar, but it was the headline that really jolted her memory: Alexandra Carmody, A Star In the Making.

She glanced through the first few interview questions, which discussed Alexandra's entrance into the music industry, and stopped at the fifth question down.

Q: What was it like growing up with such famous parents?

A: They were that famous? (laughs) It wasn't too bad, I guess... No, that's not true. I hated it when I was younger. It made me try to draw attention to myself all the time. I remember once, we went on a cruise through the Bahamas, and I tricked a girl into believing I was a movie star orphan who had a rich aunt. It turned out that the girl's mother had died when she was a baby... I felt awful. I decided around about then that I'd wait for my turn in the limelight, instead of always looking so desperately for it.

Mary Anne re-read the passage thoughtfully and absentmindedly reached out to stroke Tigger's back. Her cat purred contentedly.

'Pretty cool, huh, Tiggy?' she asked her cat. 'I can't believe she remembers that.'

Tigger purred again, as if in agreement.

ii.

'I'm so sorry to bother you,' Mrs. Pike said, looking a little flustered as she ushered Stacey inside. 'Excuse the smell. Claire's just burned a batch of cookies.'

'Oh, it's fine,' Stacey laughed. 'What kind?'

'Oatmeal and M&Ms,' Mrs. Pike answered, laughing as well. 'She said she wanted to try a 'weird kind.''

'A Pike family tradition,' Stacey said solemnly, and Mrs. Pike laughed again.

'We bought a new computer a few weeks ago,' Mrs. Pike said, lowering her voice as they walked upstairs. 'With so many kids, you're bound to hear daily arguments otherwise. Margo's been on it constantly and we're worried about what she might be doing. We have safety filters set up, of course, and we don't necessarily think she's doing anything wrong, but we'd like an idea of what she's up to when we're not around. It can't be homework since they're on vacation.'

'Don't any of the other kids know?' Stacey asked.

'She hasn't told them anything. We thought that since you've been baby-sitting for her so often lately, she might be willing to talk to you. We'd rather not ban her completely from using the computer and the Internet, but of course, if she doesn't tell you anything, we'll have to seriously consider that option.'

'Okay,' Stacey said. They paused outside a room from which the sound of a keyboard clattering could be heard. 'I'll try my best.'

'Thanks,' Mrs. Pike said gratefully. 'I'd better go check on Claire.'

Stacey knocked lightly on the door and entered with Margo's permission. The younger girl smiled at her in greeting, but Stacey noticed her minimise a window before turning around.

'Hi, Margo. What are you up to?'

'Looking up cookie recipes for Claire,' Margo answered promptly. She stared at Stacey. 'I know why you're here. Mom wants you to find out what I've been doing online.'

Surprised, Stacey nodded. She perched herself on the edge of a chair and looked seriously at the girl.

'She's worried about you, you know.'

Margo sighed.

'If I tell you, will you tell her not to worry anymore?'

'It depends on what it is.'

Margo motioned for Stacey to join her at the desk and opened up an IM window.

'Do you remember Marc Kubacki? He was on that cruise the time we went to Disney World.'

'Are you chatting to him online?' Stacey asked, studying the screen.

'Yes.' Margo hesitated and Stacey looked at her in time to see a blush rise in her cheeks.

'Oh,' Stacey said and she added in a teasing voice, 'Long-distance relationship, huh? How's that working for you?'

'Stacey!' Margo exclaimed, indignantly. 'He's not really my boyfriend.'

'Right.' Stacey knew when to drop a subject. She smiled down at Margo. 'How has he been?'

'He's great! He can do anything the rest of us do now! You can talk to him if you want.'

Stacey took Margo up on her offer and typed out a quick hello and reminder of who she was. Marc replied with enthusiasm, something indicated by multiple exclamation marks. They chatted for a moment, before Stacey noticed Margo's growing impatience and bid Marc goodbye.

'He seems happy,' she commented and Margo agreed. 'I'm going to have to tell your mother what you're doing, but I'll make her promise not to let your brothers or sisters know, alright?' She suspected it was Margo's fear of her siblings' comments that was keeping her so secretive.

'Okay. Thanks, Stacey.'

Smiling to herself, partly from knowing Marc was so well, and partly from the evident crush Margo had on him, Stacey went downstairs and filled Mrs. Pike in on the situation before she headed home.

iii.

Erica grinned at Claudia and pointed at a house not too far ahead. It looked almost like a gingerbread house, Claudia decided, as Erica drove towards it. Well, if you changed a few things. Or a lot of things.

'I have the weirdest cousins,' Erica whispered, even though they were still in the car and no one was with them. 'But Monica isn't one of them. She's pretty cool.'

'She's our age, right?'

'Yup. She loves art. I think half the reason she told me to invite you to her party was so she could see yours.'

'Well, it's right here,' Claudia said, tapping the covered pieces in her lap gently. 'I want to see her art too.'

Erica pulled the car into the driveway and the two girls strolled up the door, juggling artwork, presents and food. They could hear music pounding inside the house, but the doorbell didn't go unheard. It flew open to show a cute guy with blond hair and dark eyes.

'Come on in!' he shouted over the music. 'Monica's in here somewhere!'

'Let's go, Claud!' Erica shouted, and the guy froze, looking over Claudia more carefully.

'Claud? Claudia Kishi?' he asked.

'How'd you know that?' Claudia replied. She studied his face and she had the feeling that she knew him. 'I've met you before, haven't I?'

'Tim Carmody,' he said, grinning. 'The trip to Disney World, remember?'

'Oh my lord!' Claudia exclaimed. 'You look so different!'

'I do?' Tim asked. He shook his head, which she noted was still covered with rebellious curls, and stepped back a little. 'You still look very colourful.'

Claudia laughed and introduced him to a bewildered Erica.

'He was my secret admirer on our cruise to Disney World,' she added. 'He bought his way into my heart. Oh, and he pretended to be a stowaway on the ship.'

Erica seemed slightly confused- or afraid for their sanity- but then she shrugged and gestured for them to continue their conversation. She moved off into the crowd of teenagers, probably in search of her cousin.

'I'd totally forgotten you live in Darien!' she shouted, as the music's volume was raised.

'It's fate!' he informed her, just as loudly, and she smiled.

'Help me carry these and we'll catch up,' she told him, indicating her art, and he did so.

This party might be better than I expected, she thought happily.

iv.

The doorbell rang.

Kristy dropped the last of her sliced banana into the blender and wiped her hands on a dishcloth. She was the only one home, which meant that she had to answer the door despite her growling stomach asking her otherwise. She hurried out of the kitchen as the bell sounded a second time and peered out the window before flinging the door open and revealing a dark-haired boy around her age.

'Yes?' she asked curiously.

'Um, hey,' the boy said, looking slightly uncomfortable. 'Is there a Kristy Thomas here?'

'I'm Kristy,' she told him. She wondered if it was a good idea talking to a stranger when there was no one else at home, especially when said stranger seemed so nervous.

'Oh. I'm Zach. My grandfather is Rudy Staples?'

'Zach?' Kristy repeated, recalling the name from letters from Mr. Staples. She knew it was rude, but she couldn't help asking, 'Why are you here?'

'The thing is...' Zach trailed off and avoided her eyes. In an attempt to make him a little more comfortable, she shut the door behind her and sat down on the doorstep, patting the seat next to her. He accepted her offer, but he still didn't look at her. She felt a sudden stab of fear and wondered whether Mary Anne's habit of thinking the worst was getting to her. Her contact with Mr. Staples wasn't exactly regular, but it hadn't been too long since he'd last sent her a letter.

'Is Mr Staples okay?' Kristy asked, very carefully.

The little she could see of Zach's face suddenly tensed. Kristy shifted to stare at him.

'Zach?'

'No, he's not,' Zach answered. Kristy felt her heart skip a beat. 'He... He died a few weeks ago.'

To her own surprise, Kristy could answer him calmly. Digging her nails into her palms, she questioned him quietly and discovered that Mr. Staples had died of a stroke, during a family reunion.

'We found your letters to him while we were packing up his house. We were going to call you, but Grandad's sister- my great aunt- lives around here and didn't go to the reunion. Mom wanted to tell her in person and drop a few things off. She lives a couple of towns away, but I decided I might as well come by and tell you.'

He passed her a letter and a small box.

'He was planning to send these to you,' Zach told her as she stared blankly at the items. 'He really liked you, you know. I think he was planning to marry me off to you, just so you could be in the family.'

Kristy let out a shaky laugh and Zach smiled as well, very briefly.

'Did you say he died during a family reunion?' Kristy asked, clutching the letter and box tightly. Zach nodded. 'He would have been happy, then,' she concluded softly. 'He told me all the time how much he wished he could see you all more often.'

'Yeah,' Zach said, meeting her eyes for the first time, and she noticed that his were teary. 'I wish we had seen him more too.'

Zach stood up and Kristy followed suit.

'It was nice meeting you, Kristy,' he said, a little sadly. 'Take care.'

'You too,' she said, and Zach flashed her a small smile before disappearing down the driveway.

Kristy watched him leave and then sat heavily down again. She gazed at the box for a moment longer before opening it and finding a tiny dog brooch inside. It was simple, something she guessed he'd known she would appreciate, and the sight of it brought a lump to her throat.

Taking a deep, even breath, she ripped open the envelope.

end