I don't own Shelby or any of the people from the show. Dani is my character, and any other offspring you may encounter. Chapter 1

Shelby picked up her daughter Danielle. Danielle was only a month old and she still had colic. Shelby was getting tired of this game that was played every day and every night.

"Ssh. It's all right, Dani," Shelby said. "It's all right. Oh, please stop crying. Mommy needs a rest. Please stop crying." Shelby was close to tears herself. She had been doing this day in and day out for a month. She was a single mother. Danielle was the product of a drunken one night stand. The guy was definitely not father material so Shelby said adios. She didn't even tell him she was pregnant.

Shelby heard a knock on the door. She turned around and saw Ezra standing in the doorway of her small but adequate house. Shelby had graduated from Horizon with all of her friends and then gone home. She left Jess in Horizon until she graduated. She packed all her stuff and moved away from that horrible trailer. She and Ezra had met up in the same town. They lived only minutes from each other. Shelby had stayed in contact with Juliette and Katherine. The three girls had become closer than ever after they all left. She had completely lost touch with Scott and Daisy, but she wasn't really disappointed. Scott had gone home, and she didn't really expect to stay in touch with him.

She put a squirming Danielle on her hip and went to open the door. Ezra smiled and took Danielle from Shelby. Ezra had been a huge help to Shelby since Dani had been born.

"You look exhausted," Ezra said. "Go get some sleep. I'll take care of Danielle."

Shelby gave him a hug and didn't protest. She got in her bed and pulled the covers tight around her and fell asleep within minutes. She didn't wake up until about 3 hours later. She walked into the kitchen, where she found Ezra feeding Dani a bottle of formula.

"Peter called," he said. He looked so serious that Shelby's blood ran cold. He put his hand on her shoulder and said, "You might want to sit down."

"What happened?" Shelby whispered. Ezra gently pushed her into the nearest chair.

"David's little brother came to Horizon. He and Jess didn't hit it off, just like you and David didn't. Derek thought it would be funny to put some drugs in Jess's food to get her in trouble when Peter and Sophie found out she was high. He put too much in her food and it killed her," Ezra said quietly. Shelby's mouth dropped open and she paled.

"No," Shelby said. "No no no no no. This can't happen. This isn't happening!"

"Peter wants you to come up to Horizon," Ezra said stroking her shoulder. She laid her head on her shoulder. He rubbed her back as she sobbed.

"I just booked us two plane tickets to Washington," Ezra said coming into Shelby's bedroom.

"Two? What about Dani?" Shelby said before ducking into her closet to grab a bigger suitcase.

"She's under 5 years old," Ezra said. "She gets on free. We talked about that before I called."

"I know," Shelby said. "I just didn't think about what I was saying. How many changes of clothes do you think I'll need?"

It had been two days since Peter's call and Shelby had avoided talking to Ezra anymore about Jess.

"Peter's probably going to want to have some kind of service for Jess at Horizon," Ezra said. "I'd pack some formal clothes and some casual clothes. Shelby, are you listening?"

"Yeah, I'm listening. Just making a mental list of what I'll need to bring for Dani."

Shelby stepped out of the cab with Danielle in her arms and Ezra by her side. They were here. Horizon. Her second home.

The door to the lodge opened and Peter and Sophie stepped out. Shelby immediately felt their warmth, even though they were still some distance away. Soon Sophie enveloped her in a warm hug and Shelby found it hard not to cry. Peter shook Ezra's hand and then hugged Shelby while Sophie hugged Ezra.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," Peter said to Shelby. "I'm so sorry." He hugged her again and this time she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Peter rocked her back and forth as Ezra shook his head. She wouldn't let him help, but she would let Peter. Sophie sensed his thoughts and put her arm around him. Her look said it all. You know Shelby. She pushes everyone away.

They all walked up to the lodge. "We want to have a small service or something like that up here for all the kids who knew Jess," Peter said.

"Actually, I was thinking about that," Shelby said, shifting Danielle in her arms. "I want to have the funeral here."