"A babysitter? Why do I need a babysitter?"

Abby stood in front of her father as he tied his shoes, "Well ya see, Cree's got the sleepover at Stacy's and your mom has to take care of ya grandma and I'm working nights and you know how it is."

"Daddy, I'm almost nine years old! I can stay by myself!"

He patted her on the head "Of course you could. You won't be able to play with your friends tonight but a new babysitter will be fun" The doorbell rang and her father stood up to answer it, "That must be Risa! I'm gonna let her in and go, I'm late. You be good now."

Abby sighed, "Okay daddy" She quickly sent off a message to Numbah 1 on her new wristband to let him know she was out of commission for the evening and about the babysitter. In case this 'Risa' person turned out to be a teen ninja or something like that.

"Hey! You must be Abby!"

Abby turned to see a teen girl with long wavy brown hair and gray eyes. She was practically dressed in a light pink, tunic shirt, jeans, and boots. She seemed non-threatening, even her faded canvas bag with old cartoon characters on it didn't seem very sinister. Unlike Purses, which Abby KNEW were trouble.

"Hi. Look, you don't need to be here, I'm fine by myself."

Risa looked at her and nodded seriously, "You know, I bet you could. But if you did, you'd miss out on grilled cheese and baked apples with Ice cream! And a movie from my bag before bed or a story from my bag, your dad said you could choose."

Abby weighed her options carefully. She knew the sitter couldn't leave her and probably wouldn't unless forced to. And Risa hadn't given her a reason to want to force her to leave...and she did LOVE baked apples with vanilla ice cream and picking new movies... "I guess I would like baked apples after dinner!"

"Alright! Let me put my bag down and I'll start getting everything around for dinner. You can help if you want!"

"Sure! I can peel apples."

Abby sat beside Risa as they watched 'Kiki's Delivery Service' and ate baked apples, "This is REALLY good! Thanks Risa!"

"Of course! Let me get the dishes and do them up before you get in bed, you can finish the movie. I've seen it hundreds of times."

"Do I have to?"

"I told your dad I'd have you in bed by 9:00 and if you want a story too, like you said, you should probably start getting ready for bed right after the movie."

Abby liked Risa, she was definitely tough but also fair. Which was a rare quality in a teen babysitter, the others were just mean and demanding. Still she had to offer a tiny bit of disappointment, anything else seemed wrong, "Aw okay! I'll get ready when the credits start." The KND operative flopped on her side and yawned.

The dishes clinked in the sink, the credit music played,. and Abby began to doze. She heard the TV turn off and then the player open and shut. Then Abby felt someone lift her up and carry her upstairs and tuck her into bed, "Goodnight Abby."

Abby snuggled in her cover's "G'night Risa."

Risa closed the door and started to go to the guest room that Dr. Lincoln said she could use. She could use an early night and she needed to be up before Abby to make her breakfast.

At around midnight, Risa snapped awake. Somethig was happening

She listened carefully. Risa could have sworn she heard a crash in the kitchen and briefly debated ignoring it and going back to sleep before deciding she should check. Maybe Dr. Lincoln or Cree had come home early and knocked something over or maybe it was a bat. She hoped it wasn't the latter, she didn't like bats.

Risa wrapped herself up in her robe and left the room, hurrying to the edge of the stairs and carefully looked over into the living room and towards the kitchen entrance. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary but she'd better check on that, in case something broke. She had a large bowie knife in her bag that she carried just in case and she took it out before placing the bag against the back wall of the hallway. Risa crept carefully down the stairs and into the kitchen, flicking the light on. Had that been off before?

The window was open. The dish rack had been knocked off the counter, thank goodness nothing but the grill cheese pan had been in it. Was it unlocked and blew open? There was a bit of a breeze on her way over but it wouldn't have knocked the dish pan off. Was it a raccoon?

Risa closed and locked the window before replacing the rack and pan. She walked around the kitchen, knife drawn, checking under and in everything big enough to hide in. Then the teen checked out back where the freezer was. Still nothing.

She locked the back door and walked towards the staircase through the living room, when she abruptly stopped. Risa's mouth went dry and she was suddenly freezing cold in spite of the fact it was an unusually warm September. Someone was going upstairs. Abby was upstairs, they came in through the window, they must have moved quickly in order to hide outside the kitchen, they had started sneaking while she was looking around, they tired out the light to keep from being seen...No. Maybe it was Cree and she broke in on some dumb dare, 'Dare: scare that loser Risa Gardner and your kid sister' real funny Cree. Risa slowly went up the stairs after them. Let's see how funny Cree or whoever it is was when they are on the business end of a knife, "Cree I swear if that's you I'll-"

A shrill scream came from Abby's room. Abby would not scream if it were Cree, Risa felt so stupid she should have called the cops, "I'm coming Abby, hold on!"

A blond boy had hold of Abby out in the hallway and was trying to wrestle her into submission as she kicked and fought, "LET GO OF ME! RISA!"

Risa swung her knife full force at the boys head. It would have seriously injured him, had it connected, but the boy pulled his head down in time. The knife slipped from her hands and stuck in the opposite wall at the other end of the hallway. The boy shouted in surprise and loosed his grip. Risa grabbed hold of Abby and tried to pull her out of his hands, "Leave her alone!"

The tug of war was very brief and both parties landed flat on their backsides, Risa holding Abby. Risa shrieked at the boy, her voice edging on hysteria, "Get out before I call the police! Out!"

The boy stood up, "Give her to me."

Risa struggled to her feet, pulling Abby behind her and backing towards the stairs, the only exit, "No! Get out! Leave us alone, GET OUT!"

"C'mon number 7.4, give her to me and you'll be fine."

Whatthefuck?

"Excuse me? What did you call me?!"

"Not important" The boy pressed a button on his watch and then pulled out a Bo Staff "Give her to me."

"Listen number 0 IQ or whatever I'm not giving her to you-"

Abby blurted, "You're numbah 7.4?! You? You're literally so sweet you could give people diabetes and YOU are number 7.4?!"

Risa sighed, "No, I'm Risa. Risa Gardner and-"

"And you were numbah 7.4! Freakin Special Operations and you BABYSIT?! Why aren't you a Teen Ninja? You should at least be a Teen Ninja!"

"Abby, I'm flattered or insulted or whatever I'm supposed to be by this but you need to RUN-"

Risa smacked painfully into the wall and slumped down, briefly stunned. The right side of her face was throbbing.

"Get out of my way Risa!"

The boy was suddenly jerked back with the feeling of something sharp at his neck- a letter opener possibly-and, oh 7.4 was PISSED this was familiar, this was a mistake, he knew TND should have recruited her or the GKND, he was so DEAD, "Drop The Bo Staff Or Else."

Chad opened his big dumb mouth and asked, "Or else what?"

A memory of 7.4 beating him into the ground after he endangered a younger operative in their sector (before he became leader of the KND and she went into Special Op's) suddenly came back to him as the object dug into his throat, drawing a bit of blood, "I'm sorry, I don't want to know what, please Marisa-"

She knocked him out and immediately flipped, "What was that? How did I do that?! Is he dead? Did I kill him?! I'm so sorry if I killed you!"

Abby yelled from halfway down the stairs, "It was muscle memory! He's fine! C'mon there are more coming, he called for backup!"

Baked Apples Recipe

Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C).

beat/mash the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together until combined. Set it aside

Core the Apples. I recommend an Apple Corer, because they're easier to use, but a sharp paring knife and a spoon work just as well. If you are using a knife, cut around the core, about halfway or 3/4 down into the apple. Use a spoon to carefully dig out the core and any seeds left inside.

Place cored apples in an 8-inch or 9-inch baking pan Spoon filling into each apple, filling all the way to the top. Pour warm water into the pan around the apples. The water helps prevent the apples from drying out and burning.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until apples appear slightly soft. Bake longer for softer, mushier baked apples. The firmer the apple, the longer it will take.

Serve warm with ice cream. Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

The Best apples for this recipe are round and firm. Most people use Granny Smith apples