NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Can't think of anything. So there! LOL

Chapter Two

In the kitchen, Anna sat down on at the kitchen table and greeted Matt, who had followed her and the others.

A disapproving look crossed Chris' face as he saw the mess Chase made on the counter. Before he could say anything, Tempest pointed at her brother.

"Chase did it," she tattled.

"Chase, clean it up."

"Sure Mod," Chase answered, giving Tempest a dirty look as he went to the sink for the cleaning supplies. He got to work, flashing Anna a smile as he went.

Chris took a list off the fridge door and handed it to the babysitter. "All right, Anna, I've left some notes for you. We're going to be at a reception at the Associates Center. I'll leave this right here with you," he said, as Anna nodded. "Okay. Tempest is not to wear her skates in the house.

Matt sat down at the table and pulled his daughter onto his lap. "Now Temper, Anna is in charge, okay?"

The blue-eyed little girl version of Matt nodded. "Sure. Can we go to Menchie's?"

Matt thought for a moment. "Well, that's fine. But don't go to late, okay?" A pause. "Now Chase (who gave Anna another cocky smile, which resulted in an eyeroll from his crush) is going to be staying at his friend Phil's tonight so you won't have to worry about him. Now this one (meaning Tempest) is just getting over a very bad cough."

"It's been over for two weeks," Tempest complained, as Chris took a bottle of cough medicine out of the fridge.

Chris explained, while glancing at his watch. "So we want her to take some of this. Give her a spoonful in about an hour, and another spoonful before she goes to bed." He spotted Chase eating a Nestle Crunch bar and plucked it out of his hands. "Chase, don't eat that. You have zits all over your face."

"Mod!" Chase whined in horror as Anna and Tempest busted up laughing. "Jesus!"

"Language, Junior!" Chris admonished, and the girls laughed harder.

~~~BABY~~~

"Have a good time, guys!" shouted Chase as he, Anna and Tempest stood on the front porch to see Matt and Chris off.

"We should be home by one," Matt assured Anna and her charges.

"Take good care of my baby," Chris added.

Anna hugged the little girl, who'd found her Thor helmet and now had it back on her head. "I'll guard her with my life. Bye!"

Chase added, "Bye." He and the others waved as his parents drove off.

~~~BABY~~~

"Chase, you need to finish cleaning up that mess," Anna said, as she reached over and plucked the Nestle bar out of Chase's hand. Again.

Chase opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a knock. "That's the backdoor," he said, sprinting down the hall to the kitchen. "I'll get it."

Tempest dragged her babysitter by the hand into the living room. "Come on Anna, let's go watch some TV."

~~~BABY~~~

Chase busted up laughing as his best friend made a face against the glass on the back door. He thought about leaving him out there and laughing some more, but he reconsidered and opened the door.

"Look are you spending the night at my place or what?" was the first thing that Phil Brooks said.

"No, not any more," Chase said, just as bluntly before trying to shut the door.

Phil wedged himself between the door and the doorframe. A knowing twinkle was in his green eyes. "Anna's here, isn't she?" he smirked.

"No."

"Yes, she is. I saw that big boat she drives to school parked at the curb. That's why I'm sleeping here tonight."

Chase folded his arms across his chest. "I don't think so."

"Oh, come on." Phil paused and stepped inside. "Did you get her clothes off yet?"

"Don't be crude. Now go home."

Phil snorted and looked at Chase like he'd just sprouted horns. "Oh listen to you. You fall in love and suddenly you're a classy guy."

"I'm not in love!" Chase snapped.

"What's she wearing?"

Chase sighed in exasperation and tried to usher Phil back outside. "Clothes! Now get out."

Phil stopped him. "Wait! You've got to see this month's Playboy because there's a girl in it and she looks exactly like Anna."

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"I'm serious!" Phil exclaimed, as Chase shoved him out the door. "She's got these huge ti-"

Phil's sentence was cut short as Chase shut the door and pulled the shade over it.

Chase slunk back into the living room, where Tempest sat on the couch next to Anna's bag. The little girl looked around slyly before she reached in and pulled out a college brochure. Behind her, Phil was outside, peering through the window and sticking out his tongue.

Anna sat knelt on the floor in front of the TV. "Who was at the door?"

"Stray dog." Chase glanced over his shoulder to see Phil at the window. Quickly, he went over and shut the curtains.

Anna caught Tempest thumbing through the brochure. "What are you reading?"

Tempest glanced up from the brochure. "Are you going to go to college?"

"Huh? Oh, great." Anna got up from the floor and took the book out of Tempest's hands. "Thanks, Grandma," she sighed under her breath as she put the brochure back.

Chase rushed over to the other window in the living room and shut that one as well. "You're going to college?"

" No," Anna shook her head.

"Thank God."

Tempest adjusted her Thor helmet. "Calm down, Chase."

Annoyed, Chase flopped down next to Tempest on the couch and smacked her on the arm. Tempest returned the gesture.

"Guys! Don't make me play referee!" Anna warned her charges, just as the phone rang. "Hold on a second. I have to answer this." Under her breath, she said, "Maybe it's Mike." She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

It was a phone operator. "Will you accept a collect call from AJ?"

"AJ? Uh...okay. Sure."

"Anna! It's AJ?"

"AJ?"

"Anna!"

"AJ, what's wrong?"

"Anna! I'm in trouble!"

Anna giggled in spite of herself. "AJ, you're always in trouble."

"No! I'm really in trouble! I did it!"

"You spiked her Diet Pepsi with Visine?"

"NO! I ran away from home!" In the phone booth at the bus station, AJ bobbed and weaved around nervously while a homeless man peered through the glass.

"You what?" Anna exclaimed into the phone, jumping off the couch. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the bus station downtown."

"AJ! Look, just don't go anywhere."

"I can't! I don't have any money. I spent it all on the cab here. Anna, I need help." AJ jumped as the homeless man banged on the phone booth.

Anna smirked. "No kidding."

"Anna, If I take a cab to the Irvine-Hardy's do you think you could pay for it."

"Oh no, AJ. That's going to be like forty dollars. I don't have forty dollars."

"Well, can you pick me up?" AJ squeaked as the homeless man banged on the glass again.

"I can't, AJ. I'm babysitting."

"Anna I can't call anyone else. My dad doesn't know…he'd kill me if he found out." The homeless man banged on the door again. Anna, I'm begging you. It's really scary here. I've just seen 3 people shoot up, a bald Chinese lady with no pants on, and there's the old guy outside who wants his bedroom slippers-"

The homeless man pounded on the door one more time. "Hey! Get out of my house!"

Angrily, AJ opened the door and shoved his slippers and a knapsack out of the phone booth. "Here! You just moved!" She paused. "Anna, please hurry up and get here!"

"AJ, I've got my grandma's car. I can't drive it into the city."

AJ turned around and squeaked in fear. "Oh my God! There's a man in a trenchcoat with a gun! Get me the hell out of here!"

"AJ, look…just hang up and sit down! Don't move. I'll be there in half an hour."

"Oh please hurry. I think he's going to kill someone, maybe me!" AJ squealed before she hung up.

Back at the Irvine-Hardys, Anna hung up the phone and began to pace back and forth. "I don't believe this. I do not…"

Chase, who was looking at some of Anna's stuff, asked, "Who's Mike? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Yes. Uh, listen guys I have to go downtown. Chase, will you please watch Temper?"

Tempest shook her head. "No way! What if the house explodes?"

"The house is not going to explode."

"You leave him here and it will."

"I will be gone an hour, there and back. That's it, okay?" Anna went to get her coat, and the Irvine-Hardy kids followed her.

Chase asked, "You guys go steady or what?"

"What?"

"Do you?"

"Yes!" Anna threw her coat on and glared at the kids. "Are you two listening to me?"

Tempest had a stern look on her little face. "My Mod is paying you good money to watch me."

"Well Chase can watch you."

"Why would my mod pay you good money for Chase to watch me?"

"Tempest…"

"Why can't we just all go?"

"Because…"

Chase interjected, "Do you like him a lot?"

"No…yes."

Chase smirked. "Well which is it?"

Anna huffed, "Yes, I like him a lot. No, Temper your parents would die if they found out I took you into the city."

"They'd die if they found out you left me here alone with him," Tempest fired back.

"Well who's going to tell them?" Chase and Tempest shared a smile, and Anna realized that they now had her over a barrel. "Anybody have to go to the bathroom?"

Chase and Tempest grinned at their babysitter. "Nope!"

~~~BABY~~~

"Come on, let's go!" Anna ushered the kids out the front door and towards her car. "Now if anybody asks we went for ice cream." She unlocked her door and was about to get in when she was aware of someone in her personal space.

"Road trip?"

Anna squealed in surprise and spun around. "Jesus!"

Phil, grinning like a Cheshire cat, walked over. "Where are you going?"

"Downtown," Tempest piped up.

"Cool! The city?"

"Tempest!" Anna snapped at her charge.

Phil leaned up against the station wagon. "Hey, can I go?"

"No, Phil!" Chase snapped "Go home."

Anna cocked her head. "Who is this kid?"

Tempest giggled, "Stray dog."

"Phil Brooks." Phil straightened up and shook Anna's hand. "And you're Anna Hollenbeck, right?"

"Phil, go home!" Chase snarled.

Phil didn't hear him. "You must be a great babysitter."

Anna didn't hear Phil. "Chase, what is he talking about?" Chase shrugged.

Phil continued, undaunted. "Matt & Chris must really trust you to take little kids into the city alone."

Tempest smiled. "Yeah! Isn't it great?!"

"It is so great," Phil said, as he began to walk away, "That I'm going to get my dad to talk to the Irvine-Hardy's about you."

Chase groaned. "Oh, stop him."

"And then maybe you can baby-sit for me…"

"Anna, stop him!" shouted Chase.

"…and then maybe we can drive off to New York or something just for kicks."

"Anna!"

Anna smacked the hood of her car. "Phil!"

"What d'ya think?"

Anna glanced over to Chase. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Get in the car and run him over," Tempest suggested.

Chase answered, "Let him come."

Anna turned to Chase's smart-ass friend, who was already on the sidewalk. "Phil!"

"Sorry, can't talk, gotta run."

"Phil!" snapped Anna. "Will you just get in the car?"

Phil pumped his fist in triumph and grinned as he climbed into the back seat of the car.

Once everyone was situated, Anna warned her passengers, "Now Chase, Phil, I swear if you give me any grief over the next sixty minutes I swear to God I'll kill you. Dead. Murdered. Stabbed."

Phil cocked an eyebrow. "Raped?"

Anna sighed and shook her head as she started the car. "I am too old for this crap."

Phil snorted in laughter and Chase smacked the back of his head.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: For some reason, my OC drives cars that seem much too big for her to handle. She's either behind the wheel of a van, an enormous SUV, or some really big monstrosity made by General Motors. In this one, she's driving a 1995 Buick Roadmaster station wagon.

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