Hey everyone, here's a new oneshot, it's a prequel thing to my multichapter fic Something, hope you guys enjoy!

Edit: This is no longer a oneshot, and it is no longer a prequel thing to my other fics. The events of this first chapter also occur in Something, but subsequent chapters will be diverging from that storyline.

April 19th, 1994

"There we go, all done," Dr. Gail Thomas smiled at Shelby after the procedure, writing some notes down on her clipboard. "We'll find out in a few weeks if it was successful." The two of them were in the fertility clinic for the fifth round of IVF treatment. Hiram and Leroy were waiting outside.

"Thanks," Shelby said to the doctor, before hesitating. "Can I ask you something?"

"You want to know why the pregnancies aren't catching?" The older woman asked knowingly, half-smiling at Shelby's slightly abashed expression. "Don't worry, it's a common concern. I've told all three of you before, the chances of successful implantation are affected by several factors. Your test results all came back normal. Your eggs are perfectly viable, no abnormalities with any of your other 'equipment'." She paused for a moment before continuing, flicking through her files. "However, there are some DNA fragmentation issues with the donor sperm. It's making it a bit difficult for a viable pregnancy to occur."

"Is this ever going to happen?" She needed to know soon, she was running out of time. She was graduating soon, and she needed a game plan.

Dr. Thomas hesitated. "It's possible for implantation to be successful, but it's going to take a few tries," she said gently. "I've told you this before."

"I know," Shelby sighed. "Thank you, doctor."

April 24th

Shelby sat outside a small coffee shop, having decided not to go out on a Spring Break outing with her friends. Her roommate Holly had whined for days about it, but Shelby had stood firm. She stirred her drink, wondering what she was going to do if this surrogacy deal didn't work out. Of course she could always get a teaching position somewhere, but that wasn't what she wanted. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice that someone had approached her table.

"Anyone sitting here?"

Shelby looked up immediately to see a man with short dark-blonde hair and warm chocolate brown eyes looking at her with a slight smirk. Her eyes widened, lighting up with recognition. Smiling, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

The smile widened. "You remember me, at least." He pulled out the seat opposite her and sat down. "I saw you sitting here and I thought maybe we could catch up."

Shelby smiled widely as James Walker settled himself in front of her. "It's great to see you. But what are you doing here?"

"I'm on leave for a couple of weeks, and I thought I'd come up here, look up a few people."

"Oh?" Shelby warmed internally before berating herself. Don't be so self-absorbed, you're probably not the one he came to see. Still, it didn't hurt to fantasize. Ugh, she was turning back into her high school self. "Where are you headed afterward?"

"Japan," James answered, lighting up excitedly. "I managed to get a two-year assignment there."

Shelby's smile faltered a bit before she recovered, feeling an irrational pang of disappointment. "Japan, huh? Wow." That was really far. That was on the other side of the world. "That's amazing. I guess you're getting your wish, right?"

"Yeah." He smiled as he took a sip of his iced coffee. "How about you? You're graduating this year, aren't you?"

"Oh yes, you are looking at the future holder of a brand new degree in Education," Shelby said a bit dryly. James just chuckled slightly, and she soon joined him.

"Never thought you'd be a teacher," James noted. He smirked. "Especially after you spent all those years terrorizing those poor educators in high school."

"I did not!" Shelby exclaimed, scandalized. "Well, maybe," she admitted grudgingly. "But you were right there with me."

"Touche."

"But really, it's fine. I mean, it's not really what I saw myself majoring in, I guess," Shelby said with a faint smile, which James returned. He knew what her ambitions were. They'd been together for over a year, and it wasn't as if she'd stayed quiet about what she wanted to do when they were in high school. "But I think I like it."

"Well, you've definitely got a talent for teaching," James said encouragingly. "I mean, who else could have taken that absolutely dunderheaded junior and gotten his grades above a C minus?" he said jokingly.

"Yes, he was absolutely moronic, wasn't he," Shelby bantered, smirking at James' pout before relenting. "But I hear he's doing pretty well for himself, he's even been out of the country. Something I've never been able to do."

James grinned at her. "So what have you been up to, besides drowning yourself in studies?" he asked teasingly. "It's Spring Break, isn't it? The time for partying down in Cabo with all the frat boys?" Shelby almost thought she saw him frown for a second there, but it was gone just as quickly as it appeared.

"As tempting as the promise of a multitude of frat boys were, I declined," she returned. "And aren't you glad I did?"

"Very much so." The teasing tone had left James' voice, and the couple found themselves staring at each other, old emotions suddenly getting dragged up.

Shelby cleared her throat suddenly feeling that the temperature had gone up ever so slightly. "Where are you staying, anyways?"

"Oh, I got a room at the motel over on West."

Shelby nodded. "You should come over sometime," she offered lightly. "I'm sure Mom would love to see you. Dad's on a business trip, though."

"I'd like that," James answered, smiling. "How are your parents, anyways?"

"They're great," Shelby assured him. She checked her watch. "I actually need to get going, I've got some stuff to take care of, but maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully. "Maybe you can come over to our house? If you don't have any plans, that is."

James smiled at her in amusement. "Nothing in particular. I will be happy to come over. I can be there around ten, if that's okay?"

"That would be great."

"All right then. I'll see you tomorrow."

April 25th

"You look happy," Sarah Corcoran noted as Shelby strolled into the kitchen the next morning for breakfast. "What happened?"

"Guess who I met while I was out yesterday?" Shelby asked brightly.

"Who?" the mother asked curiously. Shelby had been withdrawn for a while now. She'd noticed it when her daughter had been home over Christmas, and Sarah knew something was going on. She just didn't know what. And her stubborn daughter wasn't telling her anytime soon.

"James Walker. He's in town for a few days, and we talked a little bit yesterday before I had to go. I actually invited him over today," they younger brunette said happily.

"Wow," Sarah said, surprised. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," Shelby nodded as she made some toast. "Five years, can you imagine that?"

"You're making me feel old," Sarah teased. "How is he?"

"He seems good. Like I said, we're meeting up again later, so we'll get to talk more."

"That's good," her mother said. "You certainly seem a lot happier than you have been in a while," she continued, keeping the teasing note in her voice. But she was really trying to fish for information on what was going on with Shelby. And of course, gossip on her daughter's lovelife was always interesting. She liked James, and had been very sorry that they hadn't worked out.

"I know what you're doing," Shelby grumbled. "My mother the matchmaker. My lovelife is fine, thank you very much."

"Nonexistent isn't fine, dear," Sarah said lightly. Shelby just rolled her eyes. "One of these days, Shelby, your eyes are going to get stuck that way."

"Sure, mom, let's go with that cliché." Shelby quickly finished her breakfast and went back to her room. Sarah watched her go, smiling a bit sadly. She knew her daughter wasn't completely happy. Not yet. She was itching to get to New York, to take her chance on the stage. But they simply didn't have the means to get her there right now. They had enough to be comfortable, sure, but even sending Shelby to college had been a bit difficult financially. They wouldn't have managed it if she hadn't managed to get a partial scholarship to OSU, and even then Shelby had needed to get a job. And now Josh was getting ready to leave too. Sarah knew her daughter was still trying to figure it out. She knew it would work out, though. Shelby would think of something. The girl was nothing if not stubborn.

On the romantic side, Sarah knew nothing was going on. Shelby had been heartbroken when James Walker had left, even if the two of them had decided together to break it off. According to Shelby's roommate and friend, Holly Holliday, Shelby had been with a few guys, but none had lasted. Certainly none had made it so far as to meet Sarah and Tom. Sarah knew her daughter wasn't quite over James yet, and while she was happy that he was back and in one piece, she was a little worried about how this would affect Shelby.

Just then she heard a knock on the front door, and she also heard her daughter open it. Sarah went outside, and found James Walker just stepping in. "Hello, James," she greeted the young man.

"Hi Mrs. Corcoran," James answered with a charming smile. "Nice to see you again."

"None of that Mrs. Corcoran stuff," Sarah chided him with a hug. "It's Sarah, remember?"

"Right," James said, his smile widening as he returned the hug.

"It's nice to see you too," Sarah continued, looking him over. "You're looking good." The thin boy she remembered from five years ago had filled out nicely, standing militarily straight at almost six feet if she guessed right. And quite handsome too, she could see that the soldier was definitely Shelby's type. "Shelby tells me you're in town for a few days."

"Yes, ma'am, I'm on leave. I've got a posting for Japan for the next couple of years."

Sarah's eyes widened in slight surprise. "That's great news," she told him with a smile, before she glanced at her daughter, barely catching the flickering grimace on her face. "Would you two like to have lunch here?"

James glanced at Shelby, who nodded. "That would be great, Mom," she said with a smile.

..

Several hours later the pair found themselves at the local shopping center, looking at movie listings. "There isn't anything good playing," Shelby complained.

"Well, we're not really here for the movie, we're kind of here to beat the heat," James reminded her with a smirk. The sun was out in full force that afternoon, sending everyone indoors to seek the wonderful solace of air conditioning.

"Right."

Another couple of hours later, the couple walked out of the cinema, laughing at the ridiculousness of the rom-com they'd just watched. "Well, you have to admit it was funny," James said.

"Oh, it was funny alright," Shelby answered back. "Meg Ryan's fans two rows down didn't seem to appreciate our amusement, though."

"Sucks for them." James looked around. "Now what?"

"I don't know." The two of them wandered around the mall for a few minutes before James lit up. "What?" Shelby asked confusedly, as James grabbed her arm. She started laughing when she saw that he was pulling her towards an old photo booth. "You are a dork."

"Yeah, I guess I am." He dug in his pocket for some change, pushing them into the slot and then pushing Shelby into the booth. "Smile." The camera took eight consecutive shots with the pair making the craziest faces they could think of.

Then, almost simultaneously, they glanced up at each other. Suddenly amusement died they realized how close they were pressed together in the tiny booth. The two occupants were both quickly hot and out of breath, every thought focused on the other person in the booth.

Then their reverie was broken by a soft whirring sound as the machine ejected a strip of photographs. Shelby and James looked down at the same time, and James distractedly reached out to pick it up. Shelby let her eyes trail on the movement, watching as the muscles in his arm flexed with the movement.

"You want to keep it?" James asked, breaking into her thoughts. Shelby picked it up, sharing another laugh with him as they perused the goofy poses captured in the small photographs. She thought for a second before splitting the strip of eight photos into two sets, handing one to James.

"There." She pulled out her wallet, carefully tucking the strip into a pocket with a smile, watching as James did the same with his own.

"Awesome," James smiled, a bit weakly, as they stepped out of the booth. Shelby returned the smile, almost missing the way his eyes flicked down to her lips for less than a second. He cleared his throat. "I actually need to go soon, I'm meeting my friend for dinner with his sister's family."

"Right," Shelby nodded. "It's okay."

James hesitated for a moment. "Listen, I was wondering, maybe you'd let me take you out to dinner tomorrow."

Shelby blinked. "Yeah. Yes, sure. I'd like that." She smiled at him.

"Great," he said, a relieved smile breaking out on his face. "You know the place we used to go to before? The one just off 31st? Is that still open?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I'll meet you there around seven?" he asked hopefully.

"That would be great," Shelby answered, smiling at him.

"Okay, I'll see you then." He leaned over to brush a kiss onto her cheek before leaving. Shelby stood there absently for a moment, bringing her fingers up to her cheek.

It was happening again, she was falling for him again… Of course, it was debatable as to whether she'd actually stopped… All the feelings she'd tried to get over for the past fucking five years were all coming back in full force, and she didn't know what to do.

April 26th

The next evening, James sat nervously in a small but nice restaurant about twenty minutes away from his motel. He glanced at his watch, laughing at himself a little when he saw that he was fifteen minutes early for his date with Shelby.

Seeing her yesterday had been amazing. He hadn't honestly been holding out too much hope of seeing her. He knew she was graduating that year, and she was bound to be busy. She wasn't even guaranteed to be in Akron at all, since she was going to school in Columbus. But his luck was fantastic, and he'd found her without him even trying. It was almost like he was meant to find her.

And seeing her… it had brought up so much of his old feelings, feelings that he'd thought had died down already. But he knew if he were truly honest with himself, he knew he had never gotten over the brunette. The time he'd spent with Shelby was everything to him, and it had broken his heart to leave her behind five years ago. But he knew it was for the best. He didn't have anything to offer her. He was going overseas, and he knew that there was a very real chance that he wouldn't come back. And he couldn't do that to her, keep her hanging like that, couldn't put her through that. It would be selfish. No, it would be better if she could move on with her own life.

But through all that, there had been a small part of him that had hoped that maybe someday, when things were better, when he could offer her more, maybe…

"Hey."

James looked up, and his breath hitched as he caught sight of Shelby. "Wow." She wasn't wearing anything too fancy, he'd seen her at their prom, all decked out to the nines. But after not having seen her for five years… He cleared his throat. "You look great," he said, smiling at her as he stood up.

"Thank you," Shelby said. He caught the light blush as she laughed, making his heart stop for a second. No, don't do this, this is just an outing as friends, he told himself firmly. They had decided before he left the first time that they would be better off breaking up. But he'd never truly gotten over her…

"I haven't been here in ages," she commented, sitting down in the chair James pulled out for her.

James grinned. "Well then, this will be special." He sat down again, looking over her happily. He'd missed this, the normalcy of just having dinner with someone.

Soon a waiter approached them. "May I take your order?"

"Oh, we're still deciding," James said lightly. Shelby nodded in agreement as she perused the menu.

"How about some drinks, then?" The waiter offered, handing James a separate wine listing.

James glanced at it, then back at Shelby. "Do you want anything to drink?"

To his surprise, she seemed to freeze momentarily. It was just for a second though, and she smiled easily. "No, I'm taking a break from alcohol for now, one too many college parties. I think I'll just have an iced tea, thanks."

"Okay," James answered slowly. She seemed a bit off there, but then he shrugged it off, deciding to take her at face value. "I think I'll have the same." The waiter nodded, before leaving to let them look over the menus. "So, how was your day?"

..

Shelby looked at the mirror contemplatively for a second, tucking a loose lock of hair back. The evening had been perfect, with the two of them catching up on the other after five years of being apart. She had frozen a little at the start though. The offer of a drink had thrown her for a minute, reminding her jarringly of that surrogacy contract. She wasn't supposed to be drinking alcohol in case the treatments became successful. But she didn't think James had minded. And she quickly put it out of her mind.

She walked back to the table after another minute. James smiled at her as she sat back down, and her heart just melted. He was just so adorable with that smile, and those brown eyes of his just made her want to drown. She'd managed to push it down for the past five years, but she had missed him so much.

"You up for dessert?" James asked.

She smiled. "Yeah." Screw her diet, she was going to enjoy herself right now. As full as they were, they decided to split a brownie a la mode. "Remember the last time we were here?"

James smiled. "Yeah, of course. It was our anniversary, right?"

"Right." The two of them had gone out to celebrate the fact that they'd been together for a year. Shelby smiled fondly, remembering that evening. Then her thoughts drifted to what had happened later that night. She looked at James, and she was sure that he was thinking of the same thing. She licked her lips subconsciously, feeling as though the air conditioning had gone out. She saw James' gaze follow the motion, and her heart rate increased ever so slightly.

"You want to come over for a bit?" James asked tentatively.

Shelby looked at him for a moment, undecided. She knew what would happen if she went with James. And while there was a little bit of her telling her that it was probably a bad idea, there was a larger part of her that really, very much wanted to. Needed to. "Yeah."

James called for the bill, paid, and the two of them were in James' rental car in short order. The ride was quick, and before long James was unlocking the room he'd rented for the duration of his stay in Akron. He opened the door and let Shelby in. "Nice," she said, looking around at the decently furnished room.

"Yeah." James closed the door behind him. Then he looked at her, and she felt herself getting lost in him again. Slowly he moved toward her, and she held her ground, waiting, as her breathing picked up. "I missed you so much," James breathed out.

"So did I," she whispered, just as softly, as his hands started to snake around her waist. They were so close now that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. She gulped slightly. Slowly, slowly, she started to move towards him, before their lips finally met. And suddenly it was like an explosion, she couldn't get enough. The kiss deepened, drawing a rumble from James' chest as she ran her tongue against his lips. Hands roamed, and they were on the bed suddenly James resting lightly on top of Shelby.

"Are you okay with this?" James asked gruffly, closing his eyes as Shelby kissed at his neck, running her hands up and down his chest.

She pulled back for a second and their eyes met, brown on green. "Yes."

James instantly surged forward, meeting her lips with his as her hands fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, tugging it off impatiently as soon as she finished. The rest of their clothes followed quickly, and James reached over to his wallet on the bedside table, pulling out a condom. He glanced down at her. "Sure?"

Shelby nodded frantically. "Just – yes – please." She pulled him back down, and James groaned, his hands roving all over her body hungrily, wanting to feel everything. He positioned himself carefully at her soaking entrance, and pulled back to look her in the eye. She nodded, and he bent down to catch her lips right as he pushed into her, closing his eyes at the sensation of her surrounding him. He bit his lip, trying hard not to lose it as she writhed underneath him.

"God." He'd been craving this for so long, ever since he'd left. Getting himself under control, he thrust forward, drawing a sharp cry from the woman under him. James started to move in earnest, and eventually they established a rhythm that suited the both of them – fast and furious.

He shut his eyes. This was heaven. He'd missed this. So much.

Soon enough, James felt Shelby getting close, and he sped up his pace, faster and faster until he felt her clenching around him, crying out his name. He opened his eyes, taking in the goddess in front of him. The sensation was enough to trigger his own climax, and he tensed as he spilled himself into her, his vision blurring as what seemed like every nerve ending in his body fired off at once.

James rolled himself onto his side as the couple came down from their high, collapsing breathlessly next to Shelby, who was breathing equally as hard. "That – that was –"

"I know," she mumbled, turning into his side. "I missed that a lot."

"Same." They were quiet for a few moments. Then James reached down, only to freeze. "Shelby."

"What?"

"Condom broke."

The brunette was quiet for a second before – "It's okay. Don't worry about it."

James nodded after a moment, assuming that she was on the pill. "Okay." The two of them lay there, catching their breaths. Soon enough though, the feeling of being pressed up against one another became too much. "Want to go again?"

Eyes still closed, Shelby grinned. "Yeah."

April 27th

James woke up slowly the next morning, a sense of deep satisfaction settled into his body. He smiled, eyes still closed, at the memory of last night. It had been utterly perfect. He opened his eyes, glancing over at the warm body of his sleeping companion. He smiled as he took in Shelby's sharp features, completely relaxed in sleep. He could never get enough of looking at her.

He'd always been captivated by her features, ever since he'd first laid eyes on her back in high school, and he was suddenly assaulted by memories long past of waking up just like this to the sight of her beside him. He didn't know how long he stayed there, just watching her, before her eyes cracked open. "Hi."

"Hey." James grinned goofily. "Good morning." He moved in to kiss her. Then she pushed him away at the last moment.

"Morning breath," she teased him lightly, and he chuckled. But then she pulled him towards her and kissed him anyway.

"Do you… need to take anything?" he asked unsurely. After the condom had broken that first time, the next times had been done without a prophylactic. He trusted that she was clean, but he was relatively sure that a baby wasn't in either of their plans for the near future.

Shelby shook her head, a slightly wistful smile on her lips. "I've got it covered."

"Okay then." He watched her again for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" James asked softly. "You know I'm leaving in a few days."

"I know." Shelby looked at him. "But can't we just…let it happen? I just know that last night felt right. And you're right, maybe this isn't going to get any further. But why can't we just be together, just for now?" She needed this, needed him, even if it was just for a while.

"So you want to go back to our high school selves?"

Shelby hummed. "Maybe. I just… I miss how we were back then."

"So do I," he admitted.

"I know it won't last, and that we're going to have to go back to before. But…we can make the most of it, now. Then we can go back."

James looked at her searchingly, trying to decide. He wanted this. Wanted her. But at the same time he had his career. He knew he'd give it up for her, if she ever asked him to, but it would be hard. And she'd never be selfish enough to ask that of him, just like he'd never be selfish enough to ask her to wait for him.

He only had three days left before he had to leave. But he needed her too. And he'd take what he could get. "Okay." A flicker of worry entered his mind. "But we'll still be okay, afterwards, right? I mean…as friends."

"Yeah," Shelby nodded. "I mean, after everything, I think we'll always be friends, at the very least."

"Good." He leaned forward again to kiss her, this time more passionately, as he rolled himself so he was partially on top of her. She smiled into the kiss as her hands started wrapping around his back.

If they only had now, they were going to make it matter.

April 28th

Shelby sat again in the café, sipping a coffee as she waited for James. It was just after lunch. They had spent all of yesterday and last night together again, before separating after breakfast since Shelby had a few things to do. She smiled at the memory of the last few days. It had been perfect, with the only shadow being James' looming departure. But they had agreed that they wouldn't think about that. They were going to live the week right in the moment.

She looked up as James crashed down gracelessly in the seat in front of her. "Hey."

He grinned back at her. "Hey." He picked up her coffee, taking a sip.

"Hey!"

James just smiled back, swooping in to give her a kiss. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Nothing much, really," Shelby shrugged. Then she pulled a camera out of her bag. "But I thought we'd take a photo or two. I loved that photo booth, but I think I want something a little bigger," she said, smiling. James grinned back at her happily. "Just need to find someone to take it."

James plucked the camera from her hands, before standing up and tapping a fellow customer on the shoulder. "Hi, excuse me, would you mind taking a picture of me and my girlfriend?" Shelby shook her head at his antics, before her eyes widened. Girlfriend?

The older lady just smiled back. "Of course, young man." She took the proffered object, and James sat back down with Shelby. "Smile." She took a couple of photos before handing the camera back. "You make a lovely couple, the two of you."

Shelby chuckled. "Thank you." She turned back to James. "If we finish the roll we can get them developed today."

"Let's get to it, then." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small packet. He pulled out a few photos, before handing one to Shelby. "Here."

Shelby took the photo. It was one of James in his full uniform, complete with helmet, somewhere out in the desert. "Where was this?"

"Baghdad, Iraq."

"Desert Storm?"

James shook his head. "No, that was after. Desert Storm was in '91, but I went back for another tour last year. Humanitarian attachment, minimal combat."

"Oh." Shelby looked back at the photograph, smiling faintly at the soldier grinning back up at her, still smiling even in the middle of a warzone. She started to hand it back to James, but he pushed it back.

"You can keep it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Let's go make a few more pictures."

..

Over a dozen photographs were taken that day. They weren't professional shots by any means, and the man at the 1-hour developing shop that did their pictures chuckled to himself at the blur in some of the shots and the amateur light angles.

Two at the café, one taken by the elderly customer, and another where James tilted the camera towards himself and Shelby, producing a shot that cropped a quarter of his face out ("At least you didn't completely cut our heads off.").

Several at the park, one of each of them taken by the other, and a third of both Shelby and James taken by a random passing jogger that happened to pass by ("James, you can't just accost people to take pictures like that."). Another taken as the couple lay back on the grass, Shelby holding the camera up to catch both of them. ("How did you do that without cutting anything off?" "It's a skill.")

One on the walk back to Shelby's house. ("You're wasting film." "But you look like a supermodel!")

One taken just seconds after the last, capturing Shelby's eye-rolling exasperation.

Two inside Shelby's house, taken by Sarah Corcoran, with the couple on the sofa completely immersed in conversation, unaware of the photographer. ("Mom!" "You're both just so adorable.")

An hour passed between the last shot and the next, during which Sarah stepped out to visit the store and Shelby and James retreated to her bedroom, leaving the camera alone in the living room.

Finally one last shot, just outside the developing shop, once again taken by James as a selfie. ("At least you didn't crop off any body parts this time.")

..

"Oh my god," Shelby laughed when the picked the pictures up after development. "We look like idiots."

James smiled, looking over the pictures over her shoulder. "Maybe I do, but you look perfect as always."

"How cheesy."

James just grinned, moving in for a quick kiss, making her laugh again. "You want to keep them?"

Shelby nodded. "Yeah, but you should keep some too."

"We can pick later. For now, how about we get back to the motel?" James offered, smiling at her meaningfully. Shelby returned the smile, pushing down the ache at the fact that he was leaving the next day. She knew this was going to end soon, but they could make it last just a little longer.

"Sure."

April 29th

"I'm going to miss you all over again," Shelby sighed into him as he wrapped her in a hug. They were at the bus station, waiting for James' ride to board.

James sighed as well. "Me too."

"You're going to miss yourself?" Shelby teased, drawing a quick laugh from him. "Don't worry, I know what you mean."

"Good." James hesitated for a minute before opening his mouth again. But Shelby beat him to it.

"We're doing the right thing, right?" she said softly. "I don't think either of us can commit to anything right now. And long distance is hard."

"Yeah," James nodded with a sigh. She was right. They both knew it. "But I will miss you so much. But don't worry, if I ever get to New York, I'll make sure to track down whatever Broadway show you're doing at the time," he added, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Shelby let out a laugh. "You better."

The heard the call for James' bus over the speaker, and the sighed, looking at each other again. James gave her a lopsided smile. "Bye Shelby."

"You stay safe, okay?" Shelby said sternly, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Okay." He couldn't promise that, not really. But he'd try. She pulled him into another hug, and he held on tight, because he knew, he just knew he wasn't going to see her again for the longest time. And for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was leaving something important behind. Not just Shelby, but something else, too.

They broke apart, and she kissed him softly on the cheek. Finally, he took one last look at her, locking his gaze onto her green eyes as he tried to memorize the moment. "Bye."

July 1st, 1994

"Well, congratulations, Miss Corcoran," Dr. Thomas announced. "It seems that we finally have a successful pregnancy."

Shelby nodded, sending a smile at the doctor. They had been relatively sure for the past few weeks, and today was the first ultrasound appointment. She'd been puking her guts out every morning for the last few weeks after all, and she'd already tried out a pregnancy test from the drug store. "Thanks." She hesitated. "Can I see?"

The doctor nodded before turning the monitor around to show her the grainy image of the ultrasound. Shelby looked at it uncertainly, unsure of what she should be seeing. Probably seeing the confusion on her face, Dr. Thomas chuckled and pointed to a small blob on the screen. "That's your baby."

"Ah." Shelby stared at the little spot on the image, trying to sort out her emotions. Not my baby. Theirs. She knew that going in. Faced with the reality though, it was a little different. Ever since the pregnancy had been confirmed by the blood test last month there had been some niggling emotion in the back of her mind that she couldn't identify, but it had been simple to push it back. She'd signed a contract, and this wasn't her baby. Seeing this now made it the emotion a little stronger. She pushed it back though.

"I'll just go call the Berrys in, okay?" Dr. Thomas said, moving toward the door. Shelby just nodded absently, and soon enough, the two men were inside, looking eagerly at the monitor. Shelby glanced over at the two Berry men, who were holding hands, happy smiles on their faces. It brought a small smile to her face as well, happy to know that she was making this couple happy by completing their family.

For a second she let herself imagine another room, just like this one. She would be in the same place, with a doctor, maybe the same doctor. But instead of the two men who had hired her to be their surrogate, James would be there. Maybe holding her hand, as the two of them looked in awe at the monitor. It would be their baby on the screen, hers and James'. And instead of the disconnected apathy and apprehension she was feeling right now, she'd be feeling apprehensive, sure, but there would be others – excitement, delight, joy at the fact they were having a child together.

And in a few more months, she'd be in the hospital with James would be right there beside her, holding a small child, maybe with his eyes and her nose, in his arms.

"Can we tell if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Hiram asked eagerly, pulling Shelby sharply out of her imaginings. She sighed, knowing that that scenario she'd just painted would probably never happen. The doctor smiled slightly at the excited man's request, shaking her head.

"It's too early for that," she said.

"Is everything going okay?" Leroy inquired. Shelby was a little surprised at the question. She hadn't even thought that anything might be wrong with her… with the baby. She blamed her scattered pregnant brain. That was how it worked right?

"The baby looks fine," Dr. Thomas assured them. "A little smaller than expected for his or her age, but nothing too significant. If you like, I might be able to let you hear the baby's heartbeat." The two men nodded immediately, Shelby nodding a second later. The doctor set up a few things, and she soon had the equipment ready, and a slow swooshing sound came out. Shelby raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound much like a heartbeat. Then she noticed a lower thumping sound filling the examination room.

Shelby's mind was confused for a moment. Then it sunk in.

That was her baby's heartbeat.

Just like that, all thoughts of it being not her baby left her mind. That was her child. Her eyes started filling up as she continued to listen to the soft rhythm signifying the new life that was growing inside of her.

Suddenly there wasn't anything else in the world except that heartbeat. Right then and there, just like that, she fell in love with her baby.

And then it all came crashing down as she realized what was going to happen.

Oh God, what had she done?

Hey everyone, here's my first attempt at a oneshot, not quite sure how it turned out. Obviously, like I said, it's a prequel to my multichap fic. Hope it somewhat fulfills the requests for a Shelby/James oneshot, I've actually been imagining an AU where she tells him about Ryan, but I think I'll shelve that for now. Might be fun to write, though. I hope it was okay, writing a oneshot is kind of a different experience from writing a multichap. Tell me what you guys thought!

Edit: Now a multichap. See above.