Crabapple Farm:

The Guest Room:

Annabeth walked into the house after that long drive from the city. She had barely fallen asleep when Mrs. Belden had woken her up telling her that they were home. She looked around the farm and felt as if she could actually have a good time here. She had gotten out of the car and walked with the Belden's into there home. She looked at how quaint the house looked from her point of view. It wasn't that big being a farm house and everything, but she knew that she would have to make the best of it for the time being. Mrs. Belden showed her to the guest room and she walked in. there was a small desk where Anna could put her laptop and books. The desk had drawers where she could put her CD player and CD's.

There were bookcases as well and Anna imagined herself putting all the books that she would gather there. She would put picture frames there as well. Anytime she took a picture, she would put it into the picture frame, if it was any good. Anna was always trying to take pictures of just about anything. She remembered one time when she had taken a picture of a bunch of kids sitting around a table getting ready to do some kind of craft that the nuns had set out for them. The picture had come out perfect, as she had put the camera on the 'black & white' setting.

Mrs. Belden told her that dinner would be done within the hour and that if she wanted to, she could go out to the lake and see who was around. Anna nodded and Mrs. Belden left. She heard the woman go into the kitchen and call someone on the phone, probably her kids telling them to come home from wherever they were. She proceeded to put her clothes in the dresser; she put her laptop and camera on the desk and put her CD's, player and batteries in the drawers. She also put her key in the drawer so that she would not lose it. She moved to the book shelves and put some of her books on the shelf, putting the rock she had brought with her against the books so that they did not fall over.

When she was done, she got changed into some shorts and a tank-top and preceded out the door. She was surprised to see so many kids at the house. The kids were all talking at once, probably wondering why they had been called away from the fun. The little boy that didn't seem to be talking noticed her first. He was unable to say anything as the dog next to him started howling, as if someone was intruding in his space. Anna stopped walking and just stood where she was rooted, mostly from shock and a little from fear of what the dog would do. The dog was quieted when a curly haired blonde girl said, 'shut up Reddy!'. The kids turned around to see what Reddy had been barking at and came face to face with Anna.

Meeting The Belden Kids & Friends:

Anna just stood there; she didn't know what to say, let alone how to start even if she did. The little boy moved from the rest of the group and ran to her, hugging her legs in the process.

"I have a new friend to play with, yay!"

"Bobby, she's not your new friend. Who are you actually?"

"I'm, Anna…beth Jackson. Your parents invited me to stay the summer and I've agreed. I was headed to the lake if you don't mind."

"The lake is on our property." A tall red haired boy said.

"Oh, Jim she can go to the lake if she wants to. We just came from there. As soon as Miss Trask came and told us Trixie's parent's wanted them home we came with them. Miss Trask didn't seem to think it was just them that they wanted. I'm Honey by the way."

"Nice to meet you. Look I didn't mean to intrude or anything, but Mr. and Mrs. Belden promised me a summer away from the city and since I've never really been to the country, I couldn't deny the invitations. It sounded like fun and it was a good time to get out and try to be a little normal for once in my life."

"You're not intruding, honest. It just would have been nice to know that you were coming that's all."

"Yeah, moms and dad, it would have been nice."

"We thought it would be best to surprise you kids. Anna, this is our oldest son Brian, our daughter Trixie, her almost twin Mart and our youngest son Bobby. These are there friends Jim and Honey Wheeler, Dan Regan and Diana Lynch. They'll be your companions for the summer if you wish."

"It's nice to meet you all, but I think I need to be alone for a while. Don't worry, I won't go far. See you in a while."

The Run:

Anna grabbed her CD player and put her headphones in then headed out the door and down the stairs towards the lake, where she hoped was some peace and solitude from the ambush she had just been forced into. She knew that if she wanted to, she could go back to the orphanage whenever she wanted to, but hoped that she wouldn't have. Once on flat ground, she took off at a slow pace before quickening her pace. She needed to get her feelings out, yet running was the only way she knew how to do that. She had never really talked about her feelings to anyone, not even the Sisters, who had been like her family all those years the people of the city passed her over.

When she was tired, she stopped running and looked around her. She was in an unknown spot, but figured she could figure out how to get back. Her mind wandered back to when she had still lived with her parents and that unusual pet that they had let her take care of. She wondered if it was still living and wondered what it would do if they ever came in contact with each other ever again. She stood up again, after sitting on the ground for nearly twenty minutes collecting her thoughts and her breath. She put her headphones back in and turned to go back the way she came. Standing in front of her was a fully grown female cougar with three cubs behind her.

Anna pulled out the headphones and sank to her knees, keeping her eyes on the mother at all times. She never made eye contact with her but knew not to take her eyes away for fear she would be attacked. But something about this cougar seemed off. It was as if the cat was trying to show her something that she hadn't seen in the first place. The cat turned to her side, showing her something on her right flank and a smile spread across Anna's face. The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance but Anna didn't care. Her friend had found her after all those years of being separated.

Anna ran to the cat and through her arms around her neck. The cat just stood there, letting it happen. The cat, once a domesticated cougar, had become wild after the car accident that took her best friend from her. She had grown to be a good mother and as Anna sat with the cubs and the friend she had grown to know as a sister when she was a child, the horse hooves came to a stop in front of her. The people on the horses dismounted and stood looking at Anna's smile and the animals around her. Anna stood up with a cub in her arms, looked down at her friend, then back at the Belden kids and there friends who had been tasked with the job of finding her.

"I would like to introduce you to Catori, my best friend when I was still living with my parents, before the car crash. We took her in as a cub and raised her till she was old enough to go back to the wild, but every summer, she would come back to our home and we would have fun together. After the crash, I never saw her again, but my thoughts stayed with her at all times. Can she come back with us?"

"I don't think moms is going to be too keen on letting a wild animal, let alone a cougar live with us in the house. No offense, but she should probably stay out here where she belongs."

"I see."

"But you could visit her whenever you want. I mean we're good at keeping secrets. Trust us; we know how to lie to our parents without them knowing that we are doing it. That's what friends do for each other. I mean if you really want to be friends." Dan said.

"That would be great. And thanks for keeping the secret. If I knew Catori was out here all along I would have tried to get back to her. I raised her when she was a cub, she was like a sister to me, in the odd sense that it is."

"We know what you mean."

Anna put the cub down, bent down and hugged Catori once again before going over to Trixie's horse and being helped up. Catori seemed to know that these humans could be trusted with her sister and so she left. Before leaving, she left a mark on the tree that said that she would meet here everyday to see her sister. Anna had taught Catori how to make marks to say that she was near by when they were growing up together. Then the cat was gone and the group turned there horses around and headed back towards the Wheeler Estate and then Crabapple Farm.

Worried Parents:

Mr. and Mrs. Belden were sitting in the living room, waiting for the kids to come back with Anna. They hadn't known where Anna had run off to, but after four hours of her not coming back, they had sent the kids into the woods to try and find her. Hopefully they had been able to find her and would be on there way back. Bobby was asleep in his room as they did not want to yell at Anna in front of Bobby. The sound of footsteps on the porch brought the adults out of the revere and there eyes to the door.

Trixie opened the door and stepped through. They expected Anna to walk in behind her, but it was Brian they saw next with Anna in his arms. Trixie had her CD player in her hands. The adults were up off the couch and on there feet within a matter of seconds. Worry replaced the anger they had felt minutes before. Seeing Anna in Brian's arms meant that something must have happened. But instead of explaining, Brian stepped into the guest room and lay Anna on the bed, pulling a blanket over her shoulders, then stepped back out of the room, closing the door quietly.

"We found her in one piece mom. She was just sitting on the ground. Quite frankly, I think she didn't want to admit that she was lost. She fell asleep on the way back. She almost fell off the back of Trixie's horse because of falling asleep. She'll be fine." Brian finished.

"Thank god. We thought something bad had happened. The nuns told us to keep an eye on her just in case something did happen."

"What do you mean mom?" Trixie asked.

"The car accident that left her an orphan also took something from her medically, we mean. She only has one lung. We have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't overdo herself and to make sure that her medical status stays in check. We got the number for her doctor who surprisingly spends his vacations out this way. We'll get her checked out tomorrow to make sure she is really okay. He might want to know where she is staying for the summer anyways."

"You guys keep saying 'the nuns'. What are you talking about? I thought Anna was in a group home?" Mart asked.

"She bounced between the group home and orphanage. She has her own room at the orphanage because she has been there for so long. if all goes well this summer, we will have her back next summer and then maybe we'll think about some other plans. But now, you kids need to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be the beginning of a new adventure for Anna and all of you."

"Yes mom, yes dad. We'll see you in the morning then."

Trixie, Brian and Mart went up to there rooms after talking with there parents. They all turned around at the top of the stairs to see there parents check in on Anna. All knew that what had conspired today probably would never happen now that they knew about Anna's medical problems, which just left one problem.

How were they going to get Anna back out into the woods to see her best friend if there parents were planning on watching her constantly? And what would happen if there parents figured out Anna's other secret, about the cougar? Would she be sent back to the orphanage, to be kept away from her best friend and the only real sister she has ever known!