~Disclaimer: I own none of them, I'm just playing with them, and I'll be returning them when I get through. I also stake no claim to any episodes that I use for the Flashbacks. They belong to the writers and FFC.~
~If you haven't found anything worth dying for, then you have never truly lived.~ Unknown
Scott sat on the edge of Shelby's bed. He had just gone to wake her up so they could get on their way to the Solo Cabin. The second he opened the door he knew there was something wrong. She had been tossing and turning, and he knew all too well what dreams were like when they stopped being dreams. He had walked over to the bed, and the second he touched her, she just started screaming. He just held her until the screaming stopped, rubbing his left hand in large circles on her back to calm her down.
After the shaking stopped, Shelby laid back down on her pillows and fell asleep. Scott just watched her rest. He didn't want to disturb her, so he just sat there, one hand on her thigh.
He knew the nightmares would come again, so he just waited. The door behind him slid open, and Daisy strode into the room. "How is she?"
Shelby listened to the counselers talking to Peter. "She'll be fine." He told Hannah. "She's been having a few bad dreams, but she'll be okay."
"What do you want me to tell them?" Hannah shifted and sat down next to Peter on the bed. "Auggie would want to know about this."
Scott furrowed his brow and glanced at Shelby. He wanted to konw what he was thinking. "We don't have to tell Auggie everything. He stood and walked over to the door. "I'm gonna go see if I can find Sophie. Try to get her to wake up." Scott left the room suddenly.
Hannah reached over and touched Shleby's shoulder. "Shell?" She asked patiently, waiting for her eyes to open. "Come on Shell, wake up." Shelby started to stir and her eyes cracked slightly.
Suddenly, Hannah was replaced by Daisy. Shleby didn't know how it happened, or even IF it happened. All of a sudden she was just there. "Hey." Daisy said clamly, reaching out to check the bandage on Shelby's arm. Fresh clothes had been set next to a tray of breakfast foods on the desk beside her. "How ya feeling?"
Her stomach growled, and Shelby reached over for the food. "Truthfully?" She asked, looking up briefly from her cereal. "Horrible. I know that my dream was just that, a dream, but it was just so real." She put her spoon into the bowl and looked at Daisy. "I could feel him coming after me."
The door clicked open, and Sophie entered with her pack. "Go ahead and get ready, Daze. I can take it from here." She slide her pack onto the floor as Daisy stood up. She left reluctantly, trying to promise Shelby that she would be back.
When the door closed again, Sophie turned to face Shelby. "How are you feeling, kiddo?" She asked, attentively re-dressing Shelby's wound.
"Like I'm tired of being asked how I'm feeling." Shelby offered helpfully. She pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and looked up at Sophie. She knew that wasn't the answer Sophie was looking for, but it was the only one she was prepared to give her. After seeing the bandage was secured, Sophie helped Shelby was out of bed.
"Daisy picked your outfits out for you." She said as Shelby pulled her navy blue tank top away from her pale body. "And those are-"
Shelby reached for the blue jeans to pull them off of the shirt. "Queenie's jeans." She finished for her. Tossing them on the bed to reveal a light blue ribbed turtleneck tucked neatly behind a purple tank top. Pulling the tank top over her bra, Shelby's gaze fel on the mirror in the corner. "Could I get any skinnier? She asked her reflection. It took every thing she had not to throw up at the sight of herself.
A hand on her shoulder interupted her thoughts. "I don't want to see you try." Sophie handed her the turtleneck. "Get dressed Slate. You're cabin bound." She turned and grabbed her pack on the way out of the door.
Slate. The word rang through Shelby's head and loud as it could have gotten. Slate. That's what Patty and her friend Alex used to call her. After her first few weeks on the streets she had stayed strong. She was as strong as she had to be to stay alive. As strong as a slate of reinforced concrete. Nothing got through that wall on the streets. Nothing.
* Morning came quickly, and Shelby and Patty were lying on the floor listening to one of the cds that Shelby had bought a few days ago. They both had agreed that Bon Jovi wasn't the greatest band that ever lived, but the music was tollerable enough for them to sit there without complaints after work. They hadn't counted their money yet, it was too early, and it would have required them to get up. Neither girl had even gotten out of the outfits that they had worn to work the night before.
As the final chords of "Runaway" erupted from the speakers, Alex unlocked the front door to the apartment. He walked through the hallway into the scarsely furnished livingroom, searching the furnature for the two girls he always came to see. "Patty? Shells? You guys still alive in here?" He saw Shelby first, laying on the large windowsill. Tossing her a pack of cigarettes he moved and sat in the chair next to Patty. Shelby stood and walked into her room to get changed and bring him his payment for keeping her supplied with cigarettes and other assorted goodies.
"Some wish we weren't." Patty said harshly, rolling over to the cd player and switching the music. The two girls were pretty well off alone, but Alex's father owned a Shipping company and making the big bucks. He insisted on helping them out. After pushing the Aerosmith cd into the player, Patty flopped herself onto the couch. "Kill me, Kill me now." She whined as she popped a fe wpils into her mouth.
Shelby walked back into the room as Patty dropped the pills on the coffee table. "You keep these up," she picked the bottle up and dropped them onto the kitchen counter, "and you won't have to worry about us doing it." She looked like Shelby now. Not the girl who got all dolled up and headed out to see how much she could make to live on. Nor was she the lost little girl that Patty had taken in and shown the ropes of the streets. She was as hard as a rock, solid as reinforced concrete.
"Slate." He said after a moment. Shelby turned around and passed him a beer. She saw the look in his eyes and he explained. "That's what you are Shell. You're as solid as slate."
Patty sat up and raised her hand for a beer. Instead of throwing it, Shelby handed it to her and sat next to her on the couch. Patty looked at the girl who was now noticably younger. "I think that's what I'll call you...Slate." *
Peter had gotten the Cliffhangers all ready to go once Sophie told him about Shelby. Neither one of them thought it was a good idea for her to go, but it was the rules. One down all down, and Shelby would rather die than watch Auggie and Scott fight for the rest of the year. After they had all assembled next to the gazebo, they waited for Shelby. It only took a few minutes.
Her first steps were unsure. It was like she wasn't used to walking. Her tanktop felt snug against her body as she looked down at Juliet's clothes. In a way she was grateful that Juliet was smaller than she was. It saved her the trouble of looking frail, pale and pathetic in front of the group. Then everyone's eyes focused on her. She felt center stage at one of the ballet recitals that she used to participate in. Before...... She shrugged off the thought and grabbed the empty pack from David. "We all set?" She looked up at Peter as if to reassure him that she was going to be fine.
Peter noticed Shelby's change in attitude. He'd seen her pretend before. It usually happened before she self destructed. He said a silent prayer for her as he took his pack from Sophie. " Come on Cliffhangers. We're Cabin Bound."
~If you haven't found anything worth dying for, then you have never truly lived.~ Unknown
Scott sat on the edge of Shelby's bed. He had just gone to wake her up so they could get on their way to the Solo Cabin. The second he opened the door he knew there was something wrong. She had been tossing and turning, and he knew all too well what dreams were like when they stopped being dreams. He had walked over to the bed, and the second he touched her, she just started screaming. He just held her until the screaming stopped, rubbing his left hand in large circles on her back to calm her down.
After the shaking stopped, Shelby laid back down on her pillows and fell asleep. Scott just watched her rest. He didn't want to disturb her, so he just sat there, one hand on her thigh.
He knew the nightmares would come again, so he just waited. The door behind him slid open, and Daisy strode into the room. "How is she?"
Shelby listened to the counselers talking to Peter. "She'll be fine." He told Hannah. "She's been having a few bad dreams, but she'll be okay."
"What do you want me to tell them?" Hannah shifted and sat down next to Peter on the bed. "Auggie would want to know about this."
Scott furrowed his brow and glanced at Shelby. He wanted to konw what he was thinking. "We don't have to tell Auggie everything. He stood and walked over to the door. "I'm gonna go see if I can find Sophie. Try to get her to wake up." Scott left the room suddenly.
Hannah reached over and touched Shleby's shoulder. "Shell?" She asked patiently, waiting for her eyes to open. "Come on Shell, wake up." Shelby started to stir and her eyes cracked slightly.
Suddenly, Hannah was replaced by Daisy. Shleby didn't know how it happened, or even IF it happened. All of a sudden she was just there. "Hey." Daisy said clamly, reaching out to check the bandage on Shelby's arm. Fresh clothes had been set next to a tray of breakfast foods on the desk beside her. "How ya feeling?"
Her stomach growled, and Shelby reached over for the food. "Truthfully?" She asked, looking up briefly from her cereal. "Horrible. I know that my dream was just that, a dream, but it was just so real." She put her spoon into the bowl and looked at Daisy. "I could feel him coming after me."
The door clicked open, and Sophie entered with her pack. "Go ahead and get ready, Daze. I can take it from here." She slide her pack onto the floor as Daisy stood up. She left reluctantly, trying to promise Shelby that she would be back.
When the door closed again, Sophie turned to face Shelby. "How are you feeling, kiddo?" She asked, attentively re-dressing Shelby's wound.
"Like I'm tired of being asked how I'm feeling." Shelby offered helpfully. She pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and looked up at Sophie. She knew that wasn't the answer Sophie was looking for, but it was the only one she was prepared to give her. After seeing the bandage was secured, Sophie helped Shelby was out of bed.
"Daisy picked your outfits out for you." She said as Shelby pulled her navy blue tank top away from her pale body. "And those are-"
Shelby reached for the blue jeans to pull them off of the shirt. "Queenie's jeans." She finished for her. Tossing them on the bed to reveal a light blue ribbed turtleneck tucked neatly behind a purple tank top. Pulling the tank top over her bra, Shelby's gaze fel on the mirror in the corner. "Could I get any skinnier? She asked her reflection. It took every thing she had not to throw up at the sight of herself.
A hand on her shoulder interupted her thoughts. "I don't want to see you try." Sophie handed her the turtleneck. "Get dressed Slate. You're cabin bound." She turned and grabbed her pack on the way out of the door.
Slate. The word rang through Shelby's head and loud as it could have gotten. Slate. That's what Patty and her friend Alex used to call her. After her first few weeks on the streets she had stayed strong. She was as strong as she had to be to stay alive. As strong as a slate of reinforced concrete. Nothing got through that wall on the streets. Nothing.
* Morning came quickly, and Shelby and Patty were lying on the floor listening to one of the cds that Shelby had bought a few days ago. They both had agreed that Bon Jovi wasn't the greatest band that ever lived, but the music was tollerable enough for them to sit there without complaints after work. They hadn't counted their money yet, it was too early, and it would have required them to get up. Neither girl had even gotten out of the outfits that they had worn to work the night before.
As the final chords of "Runaway" erupted from the speakers, Alex unlocked the front door to the apartment. He walked through the hallway into the scarsely furnished livingroom, searching the furnature for the two girls he always came to see. "Patty? Shells? You guys still alive in here?" He saw Shelby first, laying on the large windowsill. Tossing her a pack of cigarettes he moved and sat in the chair next to Patty. Shelby stood and walked into her room to get changed and bring him his payment for keeping her supplied with cigarettes and other assorted goodies.
"Some wish we weren't." Patty said harshly, rolling over to the cd player and switching the music. The two girls were pretty well off alone, but Alex's father owned a Shipping company and making the big bucks. He insisted on helping them out. After pushing the Aerosmith cd into the player, Patty flopped herself onto the couch. "Kill me, Kill me now." She whined as she popped a fe wpils into her mouth.
Shelby walked back into the room as Patty dropped the pills on the coffee table. "You keep these up," she picked the bottle up and dropped them onto the kitchen counter, "and you won't have to worry about us doing it." She looked like Shelby now. Not the girl who got all dolled up and headed out to see how much she could make to live on. Nor was she the lost little girl that Patty had taken in and shown the ropes of the streets. She was as hard as a rock, solid as reinforced concrete.
"Slate." He said after a moment. Shelby turned around and passed him a beer. She saw the look in his eyes and he explained. "That's what you are Shell. You're as solid as slate."
Patty sat up and raised her hand for a beer. Instead of throwing it, Shelby handed it to her and sat next to her on the couch. Patty looked at the girl who was now noticably younger. "I think that's what I'll call you...Slate." *
Peter had gotten the Cliffhangers all ready to go once Sophie told him about Shelby. Neither one of them thought it was a good idea for her to go, but it was the rules. One down all down, and Shelby would rather die than watch Auggie and Scott fight for the rest of the year. After they had all assembled next to the gazebo, they waited for Shelby. It only took a few minutes.
Her first steps were unsure. It was like she wasn't used to walking. Her tanktop felt snug against her body as she looked down at Juliet's clothes. In a way she was grateful that Juliet was smaller than she was. It saved her the trouble of looking frail, pale and pathetic in front of the group. Then everyone's eyes focused on her. She felt center stage at one of the ballet recitals that she used to participate in. Before...... She shrugged off the thought and grabbed the empty pack from David. "We all set?" She looked up at Peter as if to reassure him that she was going to be fine.
Peter noticed Shelby's change in attitude. He'd seen her pretend before. It usually happened before she self destructed. He said a silent prayer for her as he took his pack from Sophie. " Come on Cliffhangers. We're Cabin Bound."