Disclaimer: All the characters of the Babysitter's Club, and any details recognisable from the books belong to Ann M Martin, and are not mine in any way. Any additional ideas and characters are mine, and please respect them.

Kristy stood near the sidelines, and surveyed her team out in the field. She was sure that they were all going okay, except for Sasha, the little girl way out in right field. She had put her out there until she could find some time to help her play better. Since she had formed Kristy's Krushers 17 years ago, she had wanted to teach all types of kids how to play softball- and she knew, deep down, that Sasha wanted desperately to play as good as all the former team mates she had heard about. At the home plate was Timothy, the son of Bart Taylor, her ex-boyfriend. Bart still coached the team but, as far as she had heard, he didn't do much else besides that, except go to out on the town whenever he wasn't coaching. She didn't envy his girlfriend Tamara, or their son, but she was glad that she wasn't in that situation- thank goodness she had gotten out before he had discovered alcohol...

They had been 17, and had been great friends for 4 years- coaching rival softball teams does it to you. She had been going to a school prom on her own and, on a whim, invited Bart to go with her. One thing led to another, and they ended 'dating' for 6 months. It was an easy relationship- they lived across the road from one another, and were permanently at each other's houses. The BSC members often complained when she was late to meetings, or not going at all, but they also understood. However, things went sour when Bart got drunk at his 18th birthday party in June. He had turned into a sex-obsessed teen, and tried to force himself on her, but she said no.

"What do you mean no? We've been going out for 6 months- why shouldn't we?," he had looked at her flabbergasted, then tried again. She pushed him away, and he fell over into the hedges.

"NO! I'm not ready!" He stared at her for a moment, and then lifted his hand, as if to hit her. By reflex, she punched him the face, kneed him in the groin (thanks to the self defence classes she had taken the previous year) and ran. She didn't know what was going on with Bart, but she blamed it on the alcohol, and readily forgave him- after all, it was only once. How wrong she was- he tried it again 2 weeks later, at his senior prom, and she knew she had to dump him before he really hurt her. Confiding in Watson (her stepfather) she had taken a restraining order out against him and, although he bothered her occasionally when he was home from college, he was over it by Christmas. Apparently, he was dating full time at college until he brought Tamara home, and they had been together for 8 years, had a 7-year-old son and had never married. She and Bart were friends again, although she tended to be wary of him after another ex had told her he had tried to hit her too....

"COME ON GUYS- YOU ARE DOING GREAT!," she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled out. The team had done well this season and she was very proud of them- as she was of all her former teams. She still remembered when she began the team with David Michael, Karen, Andrew, the Barrett kids, some of the Pikes, Jamie Newton and Mariah Perkins. That had been so long ago...Just as Timothy swung the bat, and connected with the ball, she felt a warm lump crash into her shins. She looked down and saw her beautiful 3-year-old daughter Tamsin smiling up at her.

"What's up Tam?" she picked her up, and then something on the field caught her attention. She saw Sasha run in from the right outfield, right underneath the descending ball- could she catch it? She held her breath as Tamsin wriggled, trying to regain her mother's attention. As if in slow motion, the ball landed in Sasha's glove...SHE HAD DONE IT! She put Tamsin back on the ground, and then jumped up and down screaming and laughing. The little girl was only 7, but she had caught the ball! She was suddenly aware of the rest of the sidelines screaming, and realized that Tamsin had wanted to talk- but she had run off. She watched Sasha bask in the glow of her team's praise, and then saw Bart grin at her as Timothy threw his bat down and stomped off.

"Well done Coach- you've beaten us again. Honestly, you should be in Little League," Bart came up to her after the game had finished. Kristy finished putting the gloves and bases away, and grinned up him.

"You know that the Krushers can't always lose, don't you Taylor? It's not like when we were 13, and inexperienced!"

"Yeah, well just wait till the semi finals." She laughed then looked around for Tamsin. Her mother usually babysat, but today Tamsin had wanted to come watch her play, so she had, and was in the charge of 24-year old Karen, who was home from college.

"Hey, great game Kristy. It reminded me of the time Andrew hit that home run...such tension," Karen came towards her, carrying Tamsin. At 24, she was grown up and even more pretty. She had the glasses replaced when she was 16, but the bright blonde hair was still the same, flowing almost down to her waist...like Dawn. She wasn't as talkative as she was- she was channelling all that energy into the drama degree she was studying in New York. She desperately wanted to get into Julliard drama, and the tryouts were in 3 weeks but she had come home to have some well-deserved rest. She had several relationships- including Ricky from her school days- but she was busy with drama at the moment.

"Thanks- I can't believe Sash caught that ball- she was so nervous beforehand," Kristy reached over and Tamsin smiled and jumped into her arms. "Karen, do you mind carrying the helmets?" They walked over to Kristy's car, parked just near the field. Karen put Tamsin in her car seat while Kristy loaded the gear into the backseat.

"Do you want me to drop you off at home?"

"No, its okay. Nancy and Hannie are picking me up in 10 minutes." She was still friends with Nancy and Hannie, and had a slight crush on Hannie's older brother Linnie, who was a chef in Stoneybrook. It was still hard to believe that she, Kristin Amanda Thomas- Brewer, was 30, her stepsister was 24, and all the children she had babysat were grown up. It made you wonder...

"Say hi to Cameron for me," Karen called as she drove off, and Kristy waved in reply. As she drove back to the other side of Stoneybrook, she thought about life after high school, and the BSC.

She had been offered a sports scholarship to college in Chicago and she had grabbed it in a heartbeat. She was so eager to go to college that she had left in July to get into training. She had missed the girls so much- Claudia went to art school in Chicago, Dawn decided to model in California, Stacey went back to New York, Jessi and Mallory had gone to Boston and Mary Anne had stayed in Stoneybrook for a year, before heading off to Stanford, in San Francisco. They had tried to keep in touch for a while, but they had all drifted apart and the only thing they exchanged now was Christmas cards. She had seen Stacey 4 years ago, when she married Sam, but she hadn't seen the others, and Sam and Stace hadn't come back too often.

Meanwhile, she had a blast at college- she had made some friends (not as close as the BSC), but she felt more comfortable with guys and had spent 4 years with the same group of guys. Among them was Cameron, who was not particularly athletic but the group accepted him because he was 'cool'. That, and the fact he was a pre med student, and knew what to do when they injured themselves.

"I don't know why you'd want to hang out with us jocks- all we talk about is baseball, swimming, football and sometimes, the body- but only as a victim of punishment," she had remarked to him one day as they walked to class.

"Well, as a future physiotherapist shouldn't you be a little less hard on your body? I mean, the exhilaration from that home run last weekend was great, but can you imagine what your body would be like in 5 years- particularly as you did that slide to home base?" He looked at her questioningly with his dark brown eyes. As a pre med student, with dark eyes, dark hair and a reasonably toned physique (she had only heard girls say that in class), there were so many things that were appealing about him- and she was surprised that by their third year, he hadn't more than five relationships, all of which hadn't lasted long.

"You are the smartest guy in college, your handsome, funny and kind- how come you don't like having girls swarming all over you?" They had grown surprisingly close over the last few years, and they hung out a lot together- she considered him one of her best friends. Whatever other feelings she had, she buried because she didn't think that he thought of her in any way besides friend.

"I just don't like it, Kristy. It's not my style at all- I'm here to study to become a good doctor- and almost all the girls I know are so superficial. They think it would be great to marry a doctor and have all the accolades that come with being the wife of Doctor So-and-So- but I have enough sense and respect for myself that I won't submit myself to a marriage based on social values." Kristy also knew he was skittish because his parents had gone through a very painful divorce when he was 13- he being stuck in the middle- and she knew, deep down that he still hadn't fully recovered. After a pause, she said

"Almost all girls- how many aren't like that?" she teased, and he turned to look at her as they walked back to campus.

"Only one." He looked at her seriously, and she felt a sudden quiver in her knees.

"Who?"

"You." He then tipped her face up to his and kissed her. As they broke apart, he looked at her, almost as if to see a reaction.

"You are a terrific girl Kristy- you're blunt and often rude, but I see the woman that you are, and the characteristics you are afraid to show, and hide. I love you Kristy." As she looked at him, she knew she loved him too

"I love you too Cam." After that, she felt as if she was on a roller coaster ride of emotions- but it was a happy ride. She introduced him to her family soon afterwards, and the time seemed to fly. She graduated the following year, and had been offered a job back in Stoneybrook, while Cameron had 4 years left to go.

"But I swear I'm going to try and get a job in Stoneybrook." She had flourished back in Stoneybrook, and by the time Cameron graduated, she had a fledgling physiotherapy practice of her own. He successfully found a job at Stoneybrook Hospital, working with Dr Johanssen (Charlotte's mother), and they moved in together near McLelland Street- but their house "isn't as posh as Mom's and Watson" she grinned at Mary Anne, who had come back to visit her parents.

"Its good to see you so happy, Kristy. I thought Bart was the one, but now I know I was wrong." Shortly after her 27th birthday, she found out she was pregnant.

"That's great honey- I always hoped we'd have a baby soon!" Cameron had been ecstatic. "Do you want to get married?" She looked at him and realised that a barrier had been removed, but she felt that he still wasn't ready. She looked him in the eyes

"You still aren't ready for that- I can feel it. And I know I'm not- so why ruin a good thing with a piece of paper?" He had laughed at her

"You know me too well Thomas. What would your mother say- 'living in sin'?"

"Who cares? We're happy, and in 6 months we'll have a little Thomas Lewis junior to love and cherish."

It was an easy pregnancy, and she kept up with her practice and coaching the softball team (she had reconstructed the team once she graduated) right up till the last minute. The only thing marring the occasion was that Watson hadn't been well for the past year, and he had had a fatal heart attack 3 weeks before the baby arrived. It had been a devastating time, but Kristy knew that she would always consider him her father- and, in tribute, she took his last name, adding it to Thomas.

"That's a very noble thing to do- he would have loved it. But are you sure you want to do it?," her mother had looked at her in concern.

"Mom, despite the bad times I gave him, I really loved him and he was more a father to me than my real one was." On July 4, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl whom they named Tamsin Jessica Lewis, after a 2-hour labour, which surprised Dr Cameron, and her mother.

"I guess she has the Thomas genes- always in a hurry to get somewhere." Since that time, it had been a happy three years for the three of them- Cameron was happy at the hospital, Kristy was busy with coaching and her practice, and they both adored their little Tamsin who, although looked like Cam, was beginning to show some of Kristy's characteristics such as bossiness and becoming a tomboy...

She smiled as she pulled into their cosy, three-storey house- they had never wanted to move, and there was plenty of room for Tamsin to play, and for any future children they had. Cameron had obviously gotten off work as he waved at them as he got out of his BMW.

"How are my two favourite girls?" he scooped Tamsin up in his arms, and kissed Kristy.

"Fine- the game was great- we won!" she grinned at him as Tamsin wriggled out of his arms and raced inside to her bedroom.

"How did Bart feel about that?" He knew about their past relationship, and he also knew that Kristy was still wary of him.

"Fine- a bit competitive though...rats, I thought I had checked my mobile before," she pulled her phone out of her bag as it beeped. It indicated a message from Mary Anne- they still talked on the phone a lot. The message read:

BABYSITTER'S MEETING FOR AUGUST 7TH AT 5:00PM AT CLAUDS. WE HAVE SOME SERIOUS BUSINESS TO TALK ABOUT.

"Whose it from, babe?," Cameron slipped an arm around her waist, and glanced over her shoulder.

"The Babysitter's Club is now in session again," she said softly, her mind a million miles away. What was going on? What did Mary Anne (or Claudia) want?