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!

"Kristy's Big Decision"

CHAPTER 10

When I got home that afternoon, Anya and I said good-bye to one another and headed to our respective houses.

The minute I got home, I went to talk to Karen.

I knocked on her door and found her listening to a CD while doing something at her desk.

I was surprised when I heard "Journey to the Past" coming from her CD player. I thought she would be listening to something else since she and our Anastasia were having problems.

"Karen?" I asked. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Karen replied.

I walked into the room and sat down on the bed.

"Karen, can we talk?" I asked.

"Okay."

She came over and sat down next to me and gave me an expectant look.

"Why are you mad at Anya?" I asked. "And why did you ask for Claud to baby-sit you tomorrow?"

Karen sighed.

"Anastasia doesn't like me anymore." She said. Her lower lip started to quiver and I could see tears ready to gush.

"Oh Karen." I said. I held my arms out and she ran into them. "Anya loves you." I assured her. "I think you need to talk to her about this."

"You think so?" Karen asked tearfully.

"I know so." I replied. "This is something you two need to work out together."

Karen nodded. She stayed in my arms for a few minutes before getting up.

She flipped the CD to "Once Upon a December" and returned to her art project.

I patted her shoulder as I left the room to help Nannie make dinner.

I was glad things were looking up for Anya and Karen's friendship.

After dinner that night, I called Anya on the phone.

"Privyet." She answered.

"Privyet. " I replied. "It's me. Listen, you need to talk to Karen."

"I know. " Anya said, surprising me. "I didn't mean to push her aside. It was just all the kids were crowding around me and then Sara asked Karen to help her and…"

"I know. I know you didn't do it on purpose. But you two need to talk. She thinks you don't like her anymore. She's been pretty upset about it."

"I'll talk to her." Anya said.

"Okay. So what did you guys make for dinner?" I asked.

"Tacos." Anya replied. "Alex loves them! We make them with turkey meat so they're healthier."

I laughed aloud.

"What?" Anya asked.

"Nothing." I said. "You need to meet Dawn. We'll invite her to the next meeting."

"Okay." Anya said.

We talked for a few more minutes before Anya said she had to go and tuck Alex in bed and Karen called me to read her a story.

We said good-bye and the phone call ended.

Climbing the stairs to Karen's room, I smiled to myself. I was glad Karen and Anya would be friends again soon.

To my surprise, Karen chose another book for us to read that night.

I didn't argue. We read a few chapters in "Charlotte's Web" together. I had actually missed the book and I was glad to read it again.

"Sweet dreams, Karen. I love you."

"I love you too." Karen replied.

After making sure Karen was warm enough, I left her "Anastasia" CD on "Once Upon a December" and left the room.

I had helped Watson hook up Charlie's old CD player a few days ago. It was old, but it worked like new. I knew Karen would take good care of it and it would hold her over until she got one of her own.

The next morning, I got a surprise when Anya and Alex rang our doorbell.

"Hi!" Alex said with a grin. "Mama and I wanted to surprise you!" With that, she handed over a bag full of breakfast food.

I grinned.

"This is a nice surprise." I said. "Privyet. Come on in. The kids should be waking up soon."

Anya and Alex followed me into the kitchen.

I let Alex help me get drinks for everyone and set the cups down at everyone's places. She was a good helper and I enjoyed her company.

In the middle of setting the table for breakfast, Anya excused herself to take a bathroom break.

I had a sneaking suspicion she was really going to check on Karen to see if she was awake yet.

As it turned out, Anya had really taken a bathroom break. As she was leaving the bathroom, she heard Emily start talking to her plush animals and My Little Ponies.

Deciding to save me a job, Anya went to get her up.

Emily's eyes lit up upon seeing her.

"Privyet, Emily!" Anya said happily. "Are you ready to get up?"

Emily nodded.

"Ana!" She squealed happily.

"Aw, you are so cute!" Anya gushed as she tickled Emily's tummy. This got my little sister squealing with laughter.

Once Anya had helped her pick out an outfit and Emily was ready, she brought her down to breakfast.

As she hit the last stair, she heard a scream from Karen's room.

Knowing she couldn't' leave Emily, she brought her into the kitchen and deposited her in her booster seat.

"Look who woke up." She said.

"Hey Em!" I greeted. "Were you happy to see Anya?"

Emily giggled in response and nodded.

Once Emily was settled, Anya turned to me.

"Kristy, I think Karen had another nightmare. I heard her scream as I was bringing Em down. I think you need to go and check on her."

I nodded.

"Come with me." I said. "The kids will be fine. Mom's nearby."

Anya nodded. She kissed Alex on her head, told her to be good and followed me upstairs.

Getting to Karen's room, I heard whimpers coming from inside.

I instructed Anya to stay back until the time was right. She nodded and remained out of sight.

Walking into the room, I found Karen on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

Her CD player was still on, but it had switched to "Journey to the Past."

"Karen?" I asked. "What happened? Did something scare you?"

I knelt down in front of her, hoping she would talk to me.

Karen raised her tear stained face to meet my concerned brown eyes.

"Anastasia!" She cried, surprising me. "He hurt her! He killed her! He said Da-Dosvedanya and then he pushed her off the…I couldn't help her! It happened too fast!" She was sobbing hard now, her breath coming in gasps.

"Karen? Anastasia's fine. Our Anastasia's fine. She's okay." I tried to reassure her.

"No she's not!" Karen cried. "Rasputen killed her! I saw it!"

"No he didn't." Anya said. She stepped into the room and knelt down beside me so she was facing Karen. "I'm okay. I'm okay."

Karen looked to where the voice was coming from and gasped. She struggled to get out of my lap and I let her go.

She flew out of my arms and into Anya's.

"Anastasia! Anastasia, I thought he…I was so scared! I thought I'd never see you again! I'm sorry I got mad at you! I'm sorry!" She was crying once again as Anya wrapped her in a hug.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Karen. It's okay. I'm the one who owes you an apology. I didn't mean to ignore you. I missed you too." She told her truthfully.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes." Anya replied. She mouthed to me that they would be fine. I got up to leave. "What was this nightmare about, huh?" She asked.

Karen told Anya what she had dreamt about.

As Anya listened, she felt her blood run cold. She had to struggle to stay in the present.

Karen's tearful voice broke her out of her thoughts and memories.

"I thought you were dead!" She cried.

"No." Anya assured her. "I'm fine. I'm okay. Listen, I need to tell you something. But you can't tell anyone else. Alex and Sara know, but they're the only ones."

"Okay." Karen replied. She was curious now.

"Well, it happened when I was nine-years-old. Sara had just tucked me in for bed. I woke up a little while later, but I wasn't in my room anymore. I wasn't even in my house anymore."

As Anya continued her story, Karen grew fascinated by everything Anya relayed to her.

By the time she was done, Karen's blue eyes were as round as saucers.

"So what I Dreamt was real?" She asked. She sounded a little scared.

"Yes." Anya replied. "But as you can see, he didn't succeed."

"I'm glad." Karen said sweetly.

"Me too, kiddo." Anya said as she hugged her close. "Now, what do you say? Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast. I'm hungry."

"Me too!" Karen agreed. She gave Anya a hug and the teenager hugged back.

"Can I talk to Alex about it?" Karen asked as they were leaving her room.

Anya nodded.

"Yeah. But only when you guys are alone or with me or Sara."

"Okay." Karen said earnestly.

When they came back into the kitchen, Karen looked a lot better.

"Everything okay now?" I asked as I set a plate of food in front of both of them.

"Uh-huh." Karen said. She was smiling from ear to ear. She winked at Anya, who gave her a thumbs up in return.

Alex leaned over to her friend.

"Did Mama tell you about..."

"Yeah." Karen replied. "We'll talk after breakfast."

Alex nodded.

After breakfast was over, Karen and Alex went up to her room to talk while Anya and I did the dishes.

"I'm glad you and Karen worked things out." I said as I stuck the last dish in the dish washer.

"Me too." Anya agreed. "Wanna organize a softball game for the kids after lunch?"

"You read my mind." I said with a smile.

It looked like the day was turning out to be a success after all.

I felt better leaving Karen in Anya's care now that I knew they were friends again. And just knowing Karen was happy again was enough to keep my spirits lifted for the rest of the day.