As the cold weather starts to seep in again, the camp - which has now grown to over seventy people - finds itself faced with many issues. Food shortages and supply use are some of the major ones, but one of the big problems that no one had really anticipated is how to deal with the kids when they're locked up all winter long with nothing to do.

Lucky for them, Shelly holds the answer.

Before the blackout, she worked as a school teacher at an elementary school. The whole thing started with Charlie wanting someone to read with other than Uncle Miles and Shelly - recovered, but still a little touchy - was happy to have something to distract her. Soon the reading evolved into writing, which evolved into math, which turned into history and science.

Before they knew it, Charlie was spending all morning and part of the afternoon with Shelly while the two of them played school. Fortunately for them, Charlie didn't realize that by playing school she was actually putting herself in school. It gave the boys the freedom to hunt and scout for supplies without having to worry about what she was doing or who she was with. And before long, the entire camp wanted Shelly to teach their kids as well.

The oak tree at the edge of camp became known as 'the learning tree'. The kids around camp usually meet Shelly there after breakfast and they work through the mornings with whatever books the boys manage to scrounge up for them. After several trips to local schools and libraries, they've collected quite a bit of textbooks and literature. Shelly loves working with the kids and they all love her. It's very rare that they have an issue during school, but when there is one, it almost always involves Charlie. She's grown to really love Shelly as a member of their family and even though the two girls spend most afternoons together, just the two of them, Charlie tends to get a little jealous when Shelly has to work with some of the other children. And unfortunately, she tends to express herself in typical Miles Matheson fashion.

"Go on, go tell her." Miles says.

Charlie turns back to her uncle with wide eyes. "Do I have to?"

Miles rolls his eyes and ushers her forward with Bass trailing behind. "Yes, now go apologize." He nudges her in Shelly's direction and the soon to be seven year old finally moves. She approaches Shelly, who is sitting beneath the large oak tree reading, and picks awkwardly at the ground with her shoe.

"Hi, Shelly," she mumbles.

The woman puts her book down and looks up at the little girl with a warm smile. "Hello, Charlie."

Charlie turns back to look at her uncle again, scowling when he waves his arms in a 'get on with it' kind of way. She huffs and says quickly, "I'm sorry I said that learning is stupidShelly and that books are dumb."

Shelly bites back a smile and nods. "It's alright, sweetie. I forgive you."

Charlie sighs a big sigh of relief and turns quickly to Miles again. "Can I go play now?"

Miles rolls his eyes but waves his arms. "Yeah, go on, get out of here." She runs off towards Jason's tent. "But don't go far!" He yells after her. She holds a thumbs up high in the air for him to see.

Miles turns to Bass deliberately ignoring Shelly watching them from her tree. "Well, glad that's done. Now I need to-"

"Oh, no you don't," Bass grumbles, pushing Miles in Shelly's direction.

"Do I have to?" Miles whines. But Bass just shoves him towards her, making him stumble awkwardly.

Shelly smiles up at him. "Thank you for having her apologize, Miles. I appreciate it."

He smiles, though it's more like a grimace, and scratches his head. "Yeah, about that... I just wanted to say that..." He trails off, looking to Bass who gives him a 'just do it already' look. "I'm sorry too. It was kinda my fault that she said it, she heard it from me."

Closing her book, Shelly gets to her feet with a smile. "It's OK, Miles. Don't worry about it, really."

He whistles happily and looks over to Bass. "Great! Does that mean I can go now?"

Grinning, Bass shoos his friend away. "Yeah, yeah, go play. Miles growls at him but doesn't protest as he flees the scene.

Now alone, Shelly turns to Bass. "You didn't have to make them apologize. I'm not some delicate little flower, I can handle a little criticism."

He shrugs and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her temple. "I know that, I just... Look, they're my family and if you and I are gonna be - whatever we are - then I want you to be comfortable with them."

Shelly bites her lip thoughtfully. "And here I was thinking that we were just tent neighbors."

Bass wraps his arms fully around her and pulls her close. "Well, I was kind of hoping that maybe we could move on to tent roommates."

She smiles and presses a light kiss to his lips. "I think I'd like that."