~ DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, I'm not trying to make money off of them, yada yada yada~
Thank you to all those who have reviewed. I hope you like this part.
Flashbacks have * in front and behind them

I know this one is long, but I couldn't decide where to end it.

"To thine own self be true." ~William Shakespear


Daisy took a deep breath before letting Shelby know that she was in the room. "Yes Master?" She choaked out the last word when Shelby looked up at her. "God Shell, are you okay?" All Shelby could muster was a meek smile. "What did you do to yourself?"

Everything about her seemed different. Her hair was thin and combed straight, and her clothes looked as if they were too big for her. "Is he out there?" Was all she asked.

"Yeah. He's worried about you Shell. We all are." Daisy pulled a chair up to the side of the bed. "You scared the hell out of us."

Brushing the hair out of her eyes, Shelby hoped that she didn't look sick to anyone. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do, and I can't run. I've been running all my life and I can't do it now." She pulled at the shirt Peter had taken out of her pile. For some odd reason, she could have sworn that it was one of Juliet's. "I know that I have to face him sometime, but I'm not sure if I can do it now."

'I know that feeling.' Daisy said to herself. "Then you don't have to see him. Just don't keep cutting yourself over him. He's not worth it."



Outside the Cliffhanger's just sat around looking at each other. No one was ready to see Shelby. No one was even going to pretend they knew what she was going through. They were all just so scared about what she had done. Even Juliet was scared for Shelby. She had always been the strong one. Always taking care of herself no matter what. Even if it meant running away and selling herself on the streets. They had delt with the happy side, the angry side, even the disterbed side, but nothing had prepared them for the self destructive side. "I hope she's okay." Juliet said between sobs, as the days events came back to her.

Auggie wrapped his arms tighter around her. "She will be Jules. She's a fighter." Throwing a sharp glance over at Scott. He had been the reason Shelby had resorted to this. She was perfectly fine until he decided to come back. "Why don't we hold Group here?" He asked Juliet softly. The anger was something in his voice that he had tried to suppress. Shelby had held her own until Scott came. It was up to Auggie to make sure she would be able to hold her own again. No one else realized what Auggie was doing. "What's one of Peter's questions last night? Oh, here we go. One word, how do you feel right now? Jules?"

"Scared. Jessica?"

"Confused. Auggie?"

"Angry. Ezra?"

"Stunned. Scott?"

"Terrified. David?"

"Releaved." David finished off, turning to Auggie. "Now why? Jules?"

Juliet looked into Auggie's eyes. "Shelby's never done this before....Well she's never ended up here before." She turned her attention to Peter. "What if she's not okay? What happens if she's hurt herself too much?" Calming down she looked across the room. "Jess?"

"Like you said she's never gone this far." Jessica curled up into Ezra's lap and allowed him to hold her. "She's been my rock and now she's breaking. Auggie?"

Letting go of Juliet, Auggie looked at Scott. "I'm angry at Scott." He started, watching a look of confusion spread on Scott's features. "It's you're fault she's in here Meat. You deciding that you've had enough of you're dad, doesn't mean we have to drop everything to let you back in. You just left her, and us to pick up the peices of her." Scott noticed the edge in Auggie's voice and decided not to make him do something he'd regret. "It's all your fault that she started cutting in the first place!"

Scott stood and attempted to calm Auggie down. "Hey man, don't pin this all on he here. I didn't mean to hurt her."

"You left her hurt. She hadn't gotten over you coming back into her life." Auggie was half tempted to swing at him. "Damn Meat. You told her you loved her!"


The door to Shelby's room opened slightly, and Shelby looked out into the small hallway. She and Daisy had been listening to the boys yell at each other and she decided to put an end to it. "Jess?" She asked quietly, watching as everyone turned toward her. Jessica hopped out of Ezra's lap and ran over to where she was standing. Jessica brought Shelby to her knees. After hugging her sister for a few minutes, Shelby ran her hand through Jess's hair. "How are you?" Only a few words were audible as Jessica buried her face in Shelby's shoulder. Shelby just held onto her. Finally Jess calmed down and Shelby stood. She looked like an angel, pale and thin. Her light hair fell over her shoulders in straight waves, and it met Juliet's shirt and blended in to it. The faded blue jeans required a belt, and hung on her hips. "Now, anyone want to tell me what's going on out here?"

There was a silent moment, broken only by Peter coughing. "You should be in bed, Shelby."

"I'm strong enough." Was her only reply, looking up a Auggie. "I'm waiting?"

"We were holding Group, and some of us found that we should beat the stuffing out of each other until you felt better." Ezra offered helpfully, recieving threatening glances from both Scott and Auggie. He stood slowly and pulled Shelby into a protective hug. "Are you okay?" He asked her softly, searching her eyes for signs that she would lie to him.

Shelby knew that she wouldn't be able to lie to him. Juliet and Scott maybe, but not Ezra. Or Auggie "I will be. I just need to get some rest." She threw a sideways glance at Peter. "And eat." Peter nodded his agreement. Looking into her sister's eyes she nodded her head. "I will be." Her eyes connected with Scott's and she could see his concern.

"Are you okay?" Scott turned to Shelby. 'Should I hug her? Should I just stand here? Please Shell tell me what to do.' Her eyes plead to him to hug her. So he did. He pulled her into the biggest hug he had ever given someone in his entire life. He didn't want to let her go. "I missed you Shell." He told her in a voice that only she'd heard.

She felt her voice falter, and she just clung to him. He had put her through so my heartache and pain that she didn't know what else to do. "I know you did, cowboy." She said into his shoulder. "I know." She buried her face into his shoulder again, feeling Scott's breath against her neck.

No one had to disturb the image that was in front of them. Shelby had never done anything like that in the years that she had been at Horizon. She had never needed someone as she needed someone as much as she needed Scott. Even though he knew he shouldn't, Peter coughed again. Shelby reluctantly let go of Scott and turned to look at Peter. "Why don't we take the group into your room Shell?" He asked her softly, picking her up and taking her through the door and tucking her into her bed. Then he took the tray away from Daisy and set in front of her. "Eat." Shelby took a few bites then looked over at David.

"Relieved?" She asked smiling. "Why are you relieved?"

Something inside of David clicked and he saw Shelby again. Not the frail immitation of the girl he had been sparing with for the past year he had been at Horizon, but the real thing. The girl who knew his mind, and challenged it. He might have had less than one percent of a chance with Shelby, but he realized that what he wanted from her he already had. "Why am I relieved?" David repeated the question to himself. "Well for one thing, Juliet stopped crying." Shelby just laughed at him. She knew that he didn't want to admit that he had been worried about her. "I'm also relived because we can't go on that moronic quest Peter and Sophie had planned because of the 'down' rule." He exchanged looks with Peter. "One down all down, remember?" He said cheerfully.

The group exchanged glances and all turned to look at Peter. "He has a point." Daisy laughed ironically that David would be the one to call him on his own rule. "And for once it's a valid one."

Peter didn't know what he should do about this. The purpose of the quest was to reunite the cliffhangers. A task that they had come to do all by themselves. Inside he was debating whether or not they needed it. They had pulled through this thing with Shelby togeather, but there was still and underlying hostility between Auggie and Scott. If anything, they were the two the quest would do good. If not everyone else. "Shelby's a strong one. I'll let her decide wheter or not she can go on the quest." He turned to look at the girl sitting on the bed. "Don't push it Shell, but do you think you could make it up to the Solo Cabin?"

Scanning the other faces in the room, Shelby saw a mix of emotions. Scott's face was full of concern, and Auggie's was full of blind madness for Scott. She had to make it up to the cabin. For their sakes if not her own. "I think that the Solo Cabin is a long way away," she saw the looks of hope flicker across Juliet and Jessica's faces. They actually thought she was going to say that she won't go. "I think that I can make it." She squashed the hope in her hand and looked over to the defeated members of the group. "As long as I can take breaks. I'll be fine." She looked over to Auggie and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine."

Everyone could see that Shelby was getting stronger. She'd be back to her old self in time. She didn't need to push it, though. "Why don't we let Shelby get some sleep?" Auggie said solomnly, looking over to Scott. "We can all meet in here for dinner and group. If Peter will let us that is?" He gave Peter a quizical look. A moment passed and Peter seemed to be weighing the decision. Then he nodded. "We're having salsberry steak and mashed potatoes. We've got kitchens tonight, so if you don't want that I'm sure Peter will allow us to bring you some soup and a sandwich."

Juliet knew that Auggie was trying to take care of Shelby. She wasn't jealous of her either. Shelby and Auggie had the same kind of life. Both of them had grown up on the streets, and both of them had gone home to their old ways and come back alive. Auggie might have wanted Shelby once, but the lust had turned to adoration and then to love. He loved her as if she were one of his sisters, and Juliet understood that. "Yeah, we could even bring you some veggies too." She looked over at Peter. "If you wouldn't mind of course?"

Watching the Cliffhanges leave the room, Peter knew that hey had reached and agreement. His Cliffhangers had returned to each other like he knew they would. Most of them were trusting each other again. Then there was Auggie. Auggie took it upon himself to take care of Shelby. He had sat with her at meals when she wasn't strong enough to face the group, and he had been the one to ask if he could watch over her the nights after her first accident. If he didn't know any better, Peter would have thought that Auggie was falling in love with her, but his heart belonged to Juliet. Shelby was just a kindred spirit. She understod everything that had happened to him on the street. She knew how hard it was to run.

Turning out the light on his way out of the room, Peter noticed that Shelby was already trying to sleep. She was going on the hike for the guys. Silently he vowed that she would come back alive. He knew she wasn't strong enough, but he had given her the choice anyway. He knew what she was doing. He knew it all too well.

Shelby listened to the door shut before opening her eyes again. "I don't know how I'm gonna make it through this trip." She admitted to herself. In her own way she was giving up. She wasn't allowing herself to pretend that she could do it. She wasn't giving herself hope. After a few moments, Shelby closed her eyes and slept.


* I told you that I was going to explain the whole Shelby/Auggie thing. Don't hate me for putting them togeather like that. It's not a love thing, and I haven't planned on splitting Auggie and Juliet OR Scott and Shelby.*