Shelby and Jess were both outside of Peter's office, waiting for their Mother's arrival. Jess was sitting in one of the waiting chairs in deep thought while she was biting what was left of her finger nails. Shelby was pacing in front of Jess while also biting her finger nails. They both came to the conclusion that no matter how much they were trying to hide it, they were nervous about their Mother coming and their way of showing nerves without trying to show them, was biting their nails.

Peter walked out of his office and looked at the two girls in front of him.

"Your Mother just called, she's taking a cab here now and she should be here in about 15 minutes," He said and didn't sound overly excited about Alice coming either.

Peter would never admit to it but he didn't like that Alice still thought what happened to Shelby was his fault. He also didn't like that she was trying to take either of her daughters out of Horizon when it was more than obvious that neither of them wanted to leave or were ready to leave. They both still had too much healing to do and Peter didn't think that they could do that at home, with their Mother.

"Great!" Jess said sarcastically.

"I know she's not your favorite person right now but she's still your mother, Jess," Peter said gently.

"That doesn't mean I have to be happy about seeing her."

"That's true," Peter said and looked to Shelby. "Will you at least try to set an example?"

"Hey, I feel the same way that does. I don't want to see my Mom either," She defended herself.

"Well, unfortunately, neither of you has a choice," Peter reminded and tried to sound gentle again.

"Thanks for reminding me," Shelby replied with a fake smile.

"You'll be okay," Peter said softly and gave Shelby a look that said he really did think that.

"Thanks," Shelby said with a small smile showing on her face.

Peter smiled to both of the girls and walked away. He walked over to Sophie, who was organizing some papers at the front desk. She looked up when Peter came over and sighed deeply as she looked over at Shelby and Jess, who were in clear view to her.

"How are they doing?" Sophie asked in a worried tone.

"They're nervous but that's to be expected," Peter replied with a sigh. "They'll be fine."

Peter always had to be the optimist of that relationship and he knew it. Sophie worried too much and it was something that she couldn't avoid. She always worried about the students but she really worried about Shelby because from the first day she met her, Sophie noticed the mask Shelby had been forced to wear for years and she felt connected to her for some reason.

"Are you sure?" Sophie asked, not fully believing Peter's words.

"Yes," Peter stated. "They will both be fine. They are both strong and can handle this."

"I know that they're both strong but how they came up with their strength is what bothers me. They didn't have a choice but to be strong."

"And they don't really have a choice now either."

"I just hope they can handle this," Sophie said with another soft sigh. "No one should have to go through what they have and are still having to go through at whatever age in life but especially not when they're this young."

"I know. But you're making it sound like they're little kids when they're not. Don't forget that Shelby's done more and has survived more than most 40-year-olds have done. If anyone can handle this, it's her."

"What about Jess?"

"Jess will be fine. She's dealt with a big load too," Peter responded. "Calm down, they'll be fine."

It was still evident that Sophie didn't fully believe Peter's words but she somewhat relaxed anyway. She didn't have a choice but to trust that Peter was correct.

Peter and Sophie's conversation was interrupted by Alice walking in earlier than expected. She told them 15 minutes and she was there in a little less than 10. Peter and Sophie both became alert the moment the saw Alice and stopped their discussion abruptly.

"Ms. Merrick," Peter said and walked around from behind the desk. "You're early."

"Yes, there were no waits on a taxi," She explained with a smile. "Where are my girls?"

"They're right over here," He replied and motioned with her arms where Shelby and Jess were before turning back to Sophie quickly. "Well, it's now or never."

With his final words, he followed Alice to where the girls were and saw that Jess was no longer sitting down and that Shelby had stopped her pacing when they caught sight of their Mother.

Alice pulled both of her girls into hugs and they hugged back though it was obviously reluctantly. When she pulled away, Jess simply stood there with an impassive look while Shelby had a fake smile showing.

"I was hoping that we could all talk in private if that's not too much trouble," Alice said as she looked to Peter, begging with her eyes to be alone with her daughters.

"No," She contradicted quickly. "Anything you can say to us, you can say in front of Peter."

It was obvious that Alice wanted it to be just her and her daughters but with a sigh said, "Very well."

The four of them walked into Peter's office and he closed the door behind them. He would have easily stayed out of the conversation and let the three girls have their 'alone time' but Shelby insisted and he knew that there was no arguing with her once she made up her mind. Even Scott would never be able to get her to budge when she decided something.

Jess sat down on the couch and waited for her Mother to start talking. Shelby didn't bother to try and sit, knowing that she wouldn't be able to sit still. Instead, she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest. Alice stood as well, feeling like she couldn't sit with what she was about to say. And Peter, trying to stay out of the conversation as much as possible, walked behind his desk and sat down in his chair.

Everyone was silent until Alice finally decided to speak.

"I'm sorry," She said softly, almost inaudible. "I know that you both tried to get Child Protective Services on your side so that you two could stay here and that's when I realized how badly I messed up. I'm sorry."

Both of the girls stayed silent still, waiting for their Mother to go on with what she was saying.

"And I'm also sorry to you, Mr. Scarbrow," She said and turned to Peter. "I never should have put the blame on you for what happened to Shelby while she was here. It wasn't your fault. It was that boys fault and he very well knows it."

Alice's voice was starting to shake so she stopped and took a breath. On the plane ride, she tried to think of what to say to make everything up to everyone and after a 5 hour flight, she hadn't thought of the correct words. Still, she didn't think it would be that difficult to apologize to her daughters but it was.

"The main reason I came here was probably what you both think. I can imagine that you think I came to convince you two to stop using C.P.S. and that's right but it's not in the way you both think," She said. "I came here to ask you guys to stop so you wouldn't be going through that trouble."

"What are you trying to say?" Shelby asked carefully.

"I want you two to stay here," Alice explained simply. "You both will stay here and I will join AA to help with my drinking and hopefully, we can all get better first before we try to be a family again."

"Are you serious?" Jess asked as she stood up.

"I don't know what I was trying to do before. I guess I thought that we would heal best as a family but I know that it won't happen. You two need to be here for a while and I need to get help for my own problems. I can't ask you two to stay with me and trust me until I get better," Alice said and looked to Peter. "Now, my only concern is that I don't really have the money right now to keep them both here. The divorce is taking up a lot of our money and Walt's family is very rich so he's probably going to be hiring some of the best lawyers in the country."

"Wait!" Shelby said quickly with a smile. "Walt's family is rich?"

"Yes," Alice replied with a confused look.

"That would mean that Walt's, in a way, rich too, right?" Shelby asked with the smile growing.

"Yes," Alice replied again.

"Mom, you guys didn't by any chance file a prenup, did you?"

Alice smiled at how her daughter was thinking and said, "No, we didn't. When we got married we were naive and thought that we would be together forever so we didn't think we would need one. Shelby, you're a genius."

"I know," Shelby commented with a smirk.

"Still, that will take some time too."

"Yeah but we're still going to have some money after that."

"How much was Walt worth?" Jess asked from next to Shelby.

"Close to 300 thousand, I think," Alice responded.

"Which means you get about 150 thousand," Shelby said.

Peter was still sitting behind his desk and smiled at how the conversation abruptly changed from an apology to getting money. He never understood women very well but those three were really difficult to learn and he wasn't even going to try. He decided instead to stick with what he knew and that was issues concerning Horizon.

"I'm sure we can arrange something until the prenup money comes through," Peter said and walked out from behind his desk.

"Thanks you," Alice replied with Peter and then looked back to her daughters. "Do you two accept my apology?"

"You're getting us 150 thousand dollars, of course we do," Shelby replied with a smile.

"I do," Jess said with a sincere tone.

Shelby was trying to make a joke out of the situation so she could avoid it but she knew she couldn't. She looked at her Mom with a sudden serious look on her face. Shelby didn't know if she should accept her Mother's apology after everything she did to her. Shelby still couldn't help but want to accept it.

"Yes, I accept your apology," Shelby said finally. "Thank you."

Alice smiled down to her eldest daughter and then pulled both of her girls into a hug. It really was a picture to any onlooker. They were a picture perfect family, all with blonde, beautiful hair and all beautiful in themselves. None of the girls could stop tears from coming to their eyes. They were happy tears but still tears none-the-less. Shelby especially didn't want to cry but she couldn't help herself.

"Oh, my girls," Alice said as they all separated from the hug. "I missed this."

"So did I," Jess agreed.

Shelby couldn't find her voice at that moment so she just smiled. She was too happy, too nervous, too something to be able to talk at that moment. What she was feeling was past words. However, her loss of words left abruptly when she remembered Scott and that he still thought they were probably going to be saying goodbye to each other with in the next couple of weeks.

"I have to tell Scott," Shelby stated.

"Typical," Jess teased with a smirk. "We find out we're for sure staying here and the first person you think about is him."

Shelby gave her little sister a look between a smile and a glare. Shelby hated being teased about Scott but she couldn't deny that Jess was correct when saying Scott's the first person she thinks of a lot of the time.

Shelby looked from her sister to her Mom and then to Peter. She wanted to go find Scott and tell him that she wasn't leaving anymore but she didn't want to leave them; especially without their consent.

"Go," Alice said with a smile to her daughter.

"Are you sure?" Shelby asked, showing with her voice that she didn't want to hurt her Mother.

"Yes," Alice pushed. "Go tell Scott that you're staying. I know how important he is to you."

Shelby smiled and turned to leave but stopped herself before opening the door. She turned back and looked at Jess and her Mom for a moment. Shelby's eyes shifted until they fell upon Peter and she smiled again. She ran across the office and over to Peter. She pulled Peter into a hug with more happy tears swelling in her eyes.

"Thank you," She said softly with so much meaning before pulling gently away. "You've always been there for me, Peter. I owe you so much."

Peter smiled down at Shelby and was at a loss of words. He wanted to say something to show how touched he felt by Shelby's words and her actions but he didn't know what to say. All he could do was remember how far she's come. She came to the school almost two years ago with an attitude that could kill and she wouldn't open up to anyone. Then, she opened up and he met this amazing girl who's done more than he could ever dream to do. His smile grew as came out of his memories and looked at Shelby, still standing in front of him.

"Keep doing as great as you are and that will be payment enough," Peter said gently as he found the correct words for the situation. "Now go tell Scott the good news."

Shelby smiled to Peter again and stepped back from him. She turned around and walked out of his office.

Once out of the administration building, Shelby thought hard for several moments, trying to figure out where Scott would be and remembered that it was his period off. She sighed and tried to think of the most reasonable place for him to be and the place that stood out in her mind was the docks.

Shelby went to the direction of the docks, determined to find Scott. She made it there very quickly for she was practically running the whole way. Shelby saw Scott just before the docks and screamed out his name to get his attention as she continued to jog towards him.

Scott's head shot to the direction of the voice but by the time he looked, Shelby was almost right in front of him. He saw Shelby there and was instantly confused by her presence. It wasn't just that she was there when she was suppose to be with her Mother, Peter and Jess but that she had a smile on her face.

Before Scott could even begin to asked, Shelby said, "I'm staying."

Those words were all Scott needed to hear and a huge smile to appear on his face. He wrapped his arms around Shelby's waist while she wrapped hers around his neck. He picked her up and spun them around in several circles before he put her back down and they separated from the hug.

They looked at each other with smiles. They were both so happy that Shelby was staying that words couldn't express the feelings that were running through both of them. They simply stayed in each others arms and held each other, enjoying each other's presence.

(A/N)- First off, thanks for all the the reviews: Melms213, ScottandShelby334, OliverWoodsGurl4life, Link, Many, Hdrox, Ashlyn Alexis, ami-c, this-is-me8907, Leanne, Delia, Kal's Gal, HCLvr, Ghostwriter, CracKHeaDwitskillz and Lucky. I'm happy you all enjoy this story.

Okay, I think I'm going to write a 'Memories' chapter now. I had to write this in between my 'Haunted' chapter and my upcoming 'Memories' chapter 'cause I could not write two S&S meetings is a row like that. I had to have something in between. After I write that, I should have a 'The Truth Comes Out' update that will have lots of drama and then it will be which ever I'm in the mood for.

As always, Please review! I'm not sure how I feel about the chapter.