DISC: I DO NOT own any of the chars from BSC. They belong to Ann M. Martin. I Do however own anyone you don't recognize!
Enjoy!

A/N: This chapter starts where the other one left off. Again, it deals with an issue I Think every baby-sitter should know about.

"Kristy's Big Decision"

CHAPTER 8

While we were waiting at my house, Sara was anxiously waiting for someone to tell her about her sister and the Papadakis girls.

A nurse approached her after a while.

"Miss Springer?" She asked.

Sara stood up and gave the nurse her full attention.

"How are the girls?" She asked.

"They're gonna be fine." The nurse named Jeanie said. "We're going to keep Hannie and Sari here overnight just to be safe, but they should be good as new in the morning. I've already called their parents and they're on their way now."

"What about Anya?" She asked.

"Anya will be fine." She said. "She was the least critical of the three. You have a very smart sister, Miss Springer. If she hadn't gotten the children out of the house when she did…You can take her home in an hour or so."

Sara nodded.

"Can I see her?" She asked.

"Of course. " Jeanie said. "Follow me."

Sara did so. She had to know one thing before she saw Anya.

"What happened?" She asked. She had an idea, but she wanted to hear the full story from the nurse.

"Your sister and the children she was sitting for were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning."

Sara was shocked. She had heard of cm poisoning before, but she had never thought it would happen to anyone she loved.

"I suggest the Papadakis' get carbon monoxide detectors as do you. This case wasn't too severe, but we've seen worse."

Sara nodded.

"They're just like smoke detectors. " Jeanie explained. "They just warn you if there's a carbon monoxide leak somewhere just like smoke detectors warn you of fire. You can get them at any drug store or super market."

"Okay." Sara said. She made a mental note to get a few for the house the next time she was out.

When they entered the room Anya was in, Sara rushed to her side immediately.

Jeanie got her a chair and told her she could stay as long as she wanted.

"Once she wakes up fully and is able to drink something without vomiting, you can take her home." Jeanie explained. "I'll be in to check on her in a little while." With that, she left.

Sara took Anya's hand in hers and prayed she would be okay. She was also very proud of her for what she had done for the girls.

It wasn't long before Anya's blue eyes fluttered open. She gave Sara a tiny smile before trying to speak. She was surprised how tired her voice sounded.

"Sara?" She said.

"Hey you." Sara replied. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Tired." Anya replied truthfully. "I still feel sick."

"You're gonna be okay." Sara assured her. "Jeanie said we can go home once you can keep some juice down."

"That's good. " Anya replied. "How are the girls?"

"They have to stay here overnight." Sara explained. "But they can go home tomorrow. Mr. and Mrs. Papadakis are on their way. Anya, I'm very proud of you. You saved their lives."

Anya nodded.

"Can I see them?" She asked.

"After you feel better." Sara told her. "Just try and rest for now. I'll get you something to drink in a little bit."

Anya nodded. She didn't have to be told twice.

If there was one thing she knew, it was that this was one sitting job she wouldn't forget any time soon. She had a feeling the Papadakis' sisters wouldn't forget it either.

When Anya awoke again, she felt Sara combing a hand through her hair and heard her humming a lullaby she used to sing to her when she was little.

This helped her calm down considerably.

"Privyet." Sara said softly once she noticed her sister was awake. "Are you ready to go home?"

Anya was about to say yes, when she felt her stomach twist painfully.

She managed to say Sara's name before the sick feeling grew.

After she was done, Sara helped her sip at some water, but it didn't' stay down.

Jeanie came in to check on her and concluded she would have to stay over night as well.

"Don't worry." She assured Sara and Anya. "This sometimes happens, even to people who aren't exposed to the gas for very long. She'll be fine by tomorrow." She gave Anya some ice chips and some apple juice to try. She also made sure her breathing was okay.

"I'll be right back, Anya." Sara assured her. "I need to call Kristy to let her know what's going on." She kissed Anya's cheek, ruffled her hair and left to call me.

On her way to the phone, she ran into Mrs. And Mr. Papadakis.

She explained as best she could what had happened.

Mrs. Papadakis told her to thank Anya and she hoped she felt better.

After talking to the Papadakis', Sara went to make her phone call.

Meanwhile, back at my house, the kids were playing quietly. They were still worried about what had happened and they were anxious to know if everyone was all right.

Karen was reading her "Anastasia" book quietly to Emily, while Alex made a get well card for her mother.

As for the boys, they were playing some sort of Power Ranger's game in the playroom.

When the phone rang, I picked it up on the first ring.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey Kristy, it's Sara. Listen, I'm still at the hospital. The girls are doing all right, but the doctor thinks they should stay over night just to be safe. The Papadakis' are staying with Hannie and Sari. I'm gonna stay with Anya. She told me I don't have to, but sometimes she can be as stubborn as her name sake."

"Okay." I said.

"Can you do me a favor?" Sara asked.

"Anything." I replied.

"Could you keep Alex there over night as well as Linny? Maybe see if the Pikes can take him if it'll be too much."

"No problem." I said. "I'm sure my parents won't mind. I'll call my Mom's cell now and tell her what happened."

"Thanks," She replied.

"Tell Anya I hope she feels better." I said.

"I will. Dosvedanya." She said. "Oh, one more thing! Tell Alex Anya and I Both love her and that Anya's gonna be okay."

"Will do." I replied. With that, the conversation ended. I was also going to call the members of the BSC to let them know what was going on.

But first thing was first. I had to call Mom.

After I got off the phone with Mom, I put calling the members on hold for a little while.

The reason was, all of the kids-minus Emily-were now crowding around me. They all wanted information.

"Is Mama okay?" Alex asked.

"Is she coming home?" Karen wanted to know.

"Are my sisters all right?" Linny asked. He had joined us after I had hung up with Sara.

"They're fine." I replied. "They have to stay over night, but they'll be home tomorrow. Sara's staying with Anya," I added, seeing Alex's eyes grow wide with fear. "And your parents are with your sisters." I informed Linny. "And the good news is-"

"There's good news?" Linny asked incredulously.

I nodded.

"What is it?" Karen asked.

I smiled around at them all.

"The good news is, you all get to have a sleepover here tonight. Won't that be fun?"

Karen started jumping up and down with excitement, but the others weren't so enthusiastic.

"Alex can sleep In my room!" She exclaimed. She turned to me for permission. "Please, Kristy?"

"She sure can." I said.

Karen grinned from ear to ear.

Alex frowned.

I could see her lower lip starting to quiver.

I Held my arms out to her and Alex allowed me to hug her.

"What's wrong?" Karen asked. "Don't you want to sleep in my room? We could tell stories and play and…" Her voice trailed off in disappointment as Alex let out a sob, followed by another.

"I want my Mama! I want my Mama!"

"Oh Alex!" I said softly. "It's okay. Your Mama will be home tomorrow. And you know what?"

Alex shook her head.

"You can pick the snack we have after dinner. In fact, we can order dinner." I turned to the group around me. "How does pizza sound?"

Everyone agreed to this.

Alex was still upset, so I just hugged her and tried to help her feel better. I knew she was worried about Anya and I didn't blame her.

After the pizza had been ordered, I sat down with Alex in my arms while we waited for it to arrive.

To say the night was a long one would be an understatement.

Dinner went by without a problem. The trouble didn't' start until after dinner.

As we sat down to watch a movie, Alex cuddled next to me and I took her into my lap.

Once the movie was over, I announced it was time for bed for everyone.

I thought with everything that had happened, an early night was what everyone needed.

The minute I said it, Alex's lower lip started to quiver and she burst into tears.

I had a feeling she wasn't used to sleeping without her mother nearby.

I picked Alex up and started swaying back and forth with the little girl in my arms.

I managed to get Karen to sleep without any problems as well as the boys and Emily.

I had a feeling that Alex wasn't going to go down easily. But to my surprise, I was wrong.

She lay down without a problem and was asleep in fifteen minutes.

A half an hour after everyone fell asleep, Alex came downstairs in tears. She had a bad dream and she wanted Anya.

As I tried to calm her down while trying not to wake up Emily, I had a feeling that I was in for a long night.

After I got Alex back to sleep, I called the members of the BSC to let them know what was going on.

I called Claud first since she was the vice president. I knew she wouldn't freak out as much as the others.

"Oh my Lord!" Claudia shouted the minute I was done explaining. She calmed down after that. "Are Anya and the Papadakis girls all right?"

"Yeah." I replied. "They had to stay at the hospital overnight, but they'll be home tomorrow. I have all of the kids here with me now. I sent them to bed early. I figured we could all use an early night. Mom and Watson should be home in an hour. Alex had trouble falling asleep, but she's okay now."

"I can imagine." Claudia said. "I'm glad they're going to be okay."

"Me too." I said. "I still don't even know what happened. I Guess we'll get the full story from Anya at our next meeting."

Claudia agreed with me. We talked for a few more minutes before I said I had to go. I still had to call the others and Claud had an art project she wanted to work on.

I dialed Mary-Anne and Dawn next.

Mary-Anne answered the phone on the second ring.

After we exchanged hellos, I told her everything I knew about what had happened during Anya's sitting job at the Papadakis'.

True to form, Mary-Anne burst into tears in the middle of my explanation.

I didn't blame her though. I was worried myself.

"They're gonna be fine. " I assured her. "The doctor said they could come home tomorrow."

"I know. " Mary-Anne sniffed. "But it's still really scary. I wonder what happened. That reminds me of the time I Had to call 911 for Jenny P."

"I remember that well." I said. "You were so brave. Anya was too. To keep a level head like that when it happened even though she was feeling terrible too, that took courage."

"Anya's so brave." Mary-Anne agreed. She put Dawn on after a few minutes.

I explained everything to her and she kept calm the whole time.

I wasn't surprised. Dawn's usually a calm and collected person in an emergency.

After talking to my friends a little longer, I hung up so I could call Mal and Jessi.

Jessi had returned to NYC for her ballet performance class, so Mal was feeling a little lonely.

Unfortunately, Claire was in the room when I told Mal what had happened. She began crying out of fear for Anya and Mal had to go to calm her down.

I apologized, even though Mal told me it wasn't my fault.

After I was done talking to Mal, I took a deep breath and tried to relax.

I checked on the kids to make sure they were still asleep.

Sitting on the couch fifteen minutes later, I sighed. The day had certainly been a long one.

Even though I was worried for Anya and Hannie and Sari, I felt better knowing they would be coming home tomorrow.

If there was one thing I did know, it was that the next meeting of the BSC was going to be anything but boring…