Astrocam: Hey guys, so it's been quite a while since I've written any fanfiction. I thought it was about time I uploaded some new stuff. I wanted to start new, so I deleted most of my other fanfictions. This time, though, instead of Naruto, I've decided to try my hand at a Ghost Whisperer fanfic. I have no idea where this story is going, or how long it is going to be. Just bear with me. Don't worry, I will be getting back into writing Naruto soon. I just need ideas. Anyways, enjoy, and thanks in advance for any reviews ^.^ Features Melinda and Eli, so please don't leave any reviews if you do not like either of those characters. I'm an Eli fangirl :P
Chapter One - Trouble Arises
"Ooh, Jim," Melinda Gordon gigged as her husband, Jim Clancy, grabbed her around the waist and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He had just arrived home from a ten hour shift. Melinda had missed him terribly, being alone in that house was not something she enjoyed.
"I've missed you, Mel," Jim sighed into his wife's perfect long, wavy, dark brown hair, dropping his bag to fully embrace her.
Melinda leaned against him for a few moments, thinking how lucky she was to have such a kind, caring, gentle, understanding husband such as Jim. He had to be understanding to be married to her.
She had a special gift. Ever since she was little, she was able to see the spirits of people who had died, but had not crossed over into the light. Her grandmother had passed down the gift to her mother, but her mother denied it, and so the gift had made its way to Melinda.
Melinda's job was to figure out why these spirits were still around, and to help them cross over. However, she could not go to them. They came to her, and they could arrive at the most inconvenient times.
Luckily for her, she'd been able to rest for the past three hours alone in her house, with no unexpected visitors. She'd also pulled a seven-hour shift that day, at the antique store in Grandview that she owned, where she worked with her best friend, Delia.
In fact, she hadn't had a ghost incident in about a week now. She only briefly wondered what was keeping them from her, but wasn't too concerned for the most part. She enjoyed the restful nights, the quiet times with her husband. There were too few of those. Most of the time, they only got to spend the night together. Even then, sometimes Jim worked night shifts, while Melinda worked during the day, so they'd only have a couple hours a day together.
Melinda treasured her moments with Jim. She never took advantage of any moments she had with him, the way most wives did with their husbands.
"Are you hungry, Jim?" Melinda asked her husband, a little distracted by his hands roaming her back.
"Hungry for you," he murmured into her ear. Swiftly, he picked her up off the floor bridal style. She squealed in surprise. He kicked off his shoes, then headed up the stairs with her in his arms.
Once in their bedroom, they quickly stripped off their clothes. Melinda wasn't in the mood for romancing…she just wanted Jim to herself.
She loved making Jim happy when he returned home from long shifts at work. They did not have children, so they didn't have to worry about locking any doors. Melinda was leaning towards possibly trying for a baby soon, but she wasn't ready to take on the responsibilities of being a mother just yet. She knew that Jim wanted children, but he didn't pressure her, which she was also grateful for.
After about an hour of pleasure, Melinda was exhausted. Jim had fallen asleep on top of her, however she wasn't insulted…she thought it was rather funny. She giggled as she pushed him off of her naked body. He remained asleep.
"Melinda," a voice called in the darkness.
"Oh!" Caught off guard, Melinda instantly wrapped blankets around her to cover herself before standing up off the bed. "Who's there?" she asked calmly, once she was sure no perverted ghost would peek at her.
"You don't have to cover. I already saw everything."
"Who are you?" Melinda was frustrated that she couldn't even bask in the aftermath of her and her husband's love making.
A foggy form appeared next to the bedroom window. The only reason Melinda could tell that the ghost was male was because of his voice.
"My family is in trouble. I need you to help them." the figure said.
"Who are you?" Melinda repeated. "Where is your family?"
Suddenly, the entire room started shaking. The bed, the walls, the dresser. Melinda stumbled, grabbed onto the edge of the dresser to keep her balance. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded of the ghost. "Why are you angry?"
"Help my family," the ghost murmured before disappearing.
As soon as the ghost was gone, the room exploded.
Glass shattered inward from the window. The blankets from the bed flew everywhere. The dresser Melinda had been holding on to toppled over, nearly crushing her, but luckily she fell/stumbled out of the way just in time. Instead, she felt a pain in her arm when she accidentally rolled onto a pile of glass.
"Jim!" she cried out in pain, hoping her husband had waken by now.
He was by her side in an instant. "Mel! What's going on?" he shouted.
Tears fell from her eyes as the pain intensified. At that moment, the room stopped shaking, everything was still again. It was almost like an earthquake, but Melinda knew that their house was the only one that had been affected. It was because of the ghost.
"A ghost?" Jim carefully helped her stand. "Are you ok, Mel?"
Melinda nodded, wiping her eyes. "I-I've got glass in my arm…but I'm fine…" Not caring who saw her anymore, she dropped the blankets so her paramedic husband could inspect her wound.
Jim helped her into her night gown, then took her downstairs into the living room to treat her wound.
"I'm sick of these ghosts," Jim murmured as he finished bandaging her up. "I'm sick of them hurting you."
"No, he was just angry, it's not his fault," Melinda tried to sooth Jim. "He told me that he wanted me to help his family so he's obviously very caring."
"Caring? But he doesn't care if he hurts my wife?" Jim finished with Melinda's injury, then stood up, frustrated. "Mel, I love you, but this ghost stuff is getting out of control. I'm tired of seeing you hurt, or having our time interrupted, by some ghost who needs help."
"We haven't had a ghost issue in about a week," Melinda argued. "I figured we were due for one."
"So what, every time there's no ghosts for a while, I shouldn't get my hopes up that they'll leave you alone for good?" Jim was mostly tired from his work, but he'd been holding these words in for a while. Melinda had to know how annoyed he was with the whole ghost situation.
Melinda's big, brown eyes filled with tears again. "Jim, I'm sorry, but this is something I cannot control. You agreed to stay with me through all these times when you married me. Are you second-guessing being with me?"
Jim sighed, conflicted. He hated seeing his wife hurt. He knew that people had hurt her in the past because of her gift, he didn't want to be one of them. "No, of course not, Mel. I love you. I made the promise to stay with you, and I'm going to keep it. I just get tired sometimes. I hope you understand."
She nodded slightly, reaching her arms out to him. "I need you," she whispered. "Without you, I'm nothing."
Jim fell into her arms, and they held each other close for the rest of the night.
"Melinda, you look worried," Delia Banks noted the next day when her and Melinda were tidying up the antique shop. "Something on your mind?"
Melinda sighed. Jim had been unusually cold with her this morning after they'd woken up. He'd kissed her goodbye, as usual, but it wasn't filled with the warmth and desire she often experienced when he kissed her. "Jim's been acting strange lately. Well, it started last night, but I thought he was just tired from work, so I blew it off. This morning, though, he was very distant. Cold. I don't know."
"Uh oh. Trouble in paradise. What's he upset about?" Delia was concerned for her friend. She didn't want to see Melinda hurting over a man.
"The ghost thing. I think it's finally getting to him. After four years of being married to someone who deals with this almost every day, I can understand," Melinda was worried that Jim was slowly falling out of love with her.
"Well, if he really loves you, he'll stay. That's about the best advice I can give a married couple, seeing as I'm not married anymore," Delia laughed a little. Her beloved husband, Charlie, had died a few years back, leaving her with their son, Ned.
Melinda smiled at her friend. "I'm glad you're here, and I have someone to talk to. I think I'd go crazy if I didn't have you."
"I might have to argue with that…you are already crazy," Delia teased. She knew about Melinda's gift. She wasn't fully acceptant of it yet, but she tried to be as patient as she could.
"Hey now. I know that." Melinda grinned as she picked up a box that turned out to be unexpectedly heavy. "Oh, Delia, I might need help with…" she grunted, but before Delia could reach her, the box slipped from Melinda's hands and landed directly on her foot. She yelped.
"Oh, gosh, are you ok?" Delia gasped, running to help her friend.
Melinda yanked her foot out from under the box. "Ouch!" She grabbed her foot, hopping behind the counter. "I think I need to sit down."
Delia was beside her seconds later. "Do you want me to call Jim, an ambulance, is it broken? Bleeding?"
"I don't think it's broken," Melinda murmured, sitting on a stool and rubbing her foot. "It'll probably just be bruised."
"Well take your shoe off and let's see," Delia insisted.
Melinda did as her best friend instructed. Her big toe was a little red, and throbbing, but it seemed to be fine. There were bits of skin peeled off though. "See? Not a big deal. I can still walk on it."
"By the way, I forgot to ask you about the bandage on your arm. We were too busy when you first came in, so I didn't have time to ask. What happened there?" Delia asked curiously.
"Ghost thing last night. That's what got Jim upset," Melinda sighed, resting her sore foot on another stool that Delia had provided for her. "I don't know what made me drop that box just now."
Delia looked at Melinda. "Ghost?" she wondered aloud.
"Probably. Don't tell Jim about this, ok? It's not a big deal, and he'll flip out again."
"I won't. I'll finish tidying up, you just rest."
"Thank you," Melinda leaned her head back against the wall. Was this ghost out to get her? If so…why?
Later that day, Melinda was just about to close up the shop, when a young man came rushing in the door.
"I'm sorry, Miss, but there was something I ordered that I was supposed to pick up today and I completely forgot until now," he panted, coming to a stop in front of her counter.
"Well, just let me know what it was," Melinda grumbled, not enjoying last minute customers. Delia had left an hour ago, and the store had been so quiet that Melinda had decided to close up early. Now, it looked like she had to close as normal.
"It was a doll for my friend's sick daughter. My friend was in here, and she fell in love with it. She purchased it but wasn't able to take it home, because she wanted to surprise her daughter. She gave whoever was working here my name, so that they would know I wasn't trying to scam or anything."
Melinda didn't remember this kind of purchase, but it could have happened while Delia was working and Melinda was on her break.
"I'll go check out back," Melinda told him. "What's your name?"
"Eli James," the young man confirmed.
Melinda nodded, but as she turned her back to him to go find the object, she felt his eyes on her.
This she was used to. Guys very often stared at her, or openly hit on her. She'd had to flip her wedding ring to them more than once since she'd been married to Jim. Jim appreciated that Melinda was good looking, though he did get protective of her if a guy noticed her while he was around. If only he knew about the guys who noticed her when he wasn't around.
The young man at the counter, though, was quite handsome, Melinda had to admit. She didn't pay too much attention to other guys, she didn't need to. She thought Jim was handsome enough. A glance here and there, but never full on staring or ogling.
Melinda reached the quiet back room and searched for a bag with Eli James on it. She did find one, opened it, and inside was the antique doll that he had mentioned.
She returned to the counter where Eli was waiting. "Here you are," she gave a smile.
Eli took the bag, but didn't walk away from the counter. Instead, he looked at her. "Your name's Melinda, right?"
"Yes, how did you know?" Melinda blinked at him suspiciously.
"I'm not sure. I have to go. Bye." Eli backed away from the counter, but just as he was about to open the door to leave, something made him stop in his tracks.
Melinda bristled when she felt the presence of the ghost in the shop. She noticed Eli stopped, too, and turned to face her.
The ghost appeared by the counter, and Melinda pretended like she didn't acknowledge him. She would wait for Eli to leave, or else it would seem like she was talking to herself. She didn't want to appear crazy in front of a customer.
"Melinda, why are you ignoring me?" the man asked. He was still in a foggy form, so she couldn't see any features clearly.
To Melinda's surprise, Eli turned his head towards where the ghost was standing.
She continued to ignore the ghost, though, and smiled at Eli. "Have a nice evening," she told him.
Eli seemed to snap back to reality. He turned back to look at Melinda again. "Oh, right, you too!" he waved at her, quickly rushing out the door, almost slamming it behind him.
"That was weird," Melinda spoke mostly to herself, but the ghost answered her.
"He's different, too. You know you're not just the only one," he said.
Melinda looked at him. "What? He can see ghosts, too?" she asked, surprised.
"No. You'll find out soon enough."
"But he was only a customer, it's not like I'll see him again," Melinda protested.
"Oh, I think you will," the ghost vanished then, leaving Melinda confused and alone in her little store.
Melinda decided not to tell Jim about her encounter with Eli and the ghost. She felt bad for keeping things from her husband, but she didn't want him to stress or worry more than he already was.
A few days passed. Jim warmed up to Melinda again, as she kept any encounters with the ghost to herself. The ghost decided to appear only when she was not with Jim. Melinda figured he sensed Jim's distress.
"So, Mel, anymore sightings of that ghost lately?" Jim asked her one day as they were eating supper.
"Uh, no!" Melinda answered a little too quickly. She nearly choked on a piece of lettuce from her salad.
"Mel!" Alarmed, Jim stood to help her, only to have her wave him off.
"I'm fine," Melinda coughed. She managed to swallow the lettuce. "Sorry. I'm fine. Sit down."
Jim sat, but glared at his wife suspiciously. She seemed jittery lately, and he wanted to know what was going on. "If there's anything you're keeping from me, I would like to know," he told her.
Her eyes widened. "It's nothing, Jim. Everything's fine. The ghost hasn't come back to me yet."
She was lying through her teeth. He could tell. "Right," he murmured.
"Seriously, Jim. You don't have to worry about me," Melinda laughed nervously. Jim was catching on to her, she couldn't hide this much longer. So she quickly changed the topic. "So, how was your shift today?"
"You already asked me that three times," Jim pointed out.
Melinda just smiled at him nervously. She was going to have to get better at lying, it seemed. "Right, I did, didn't I?" she giggled.
Her and Jim continued their usual suppertime small talk, Melinda avoiding anything that had to do with the dead or ghosts. Jim was worried about her…she hadn't lied to him about anything ghost related before. Was it that serious that the ghost was hurting her, and she just didn't want him to stress out over it? Or was there something more involved…perhaps, maybe, another man?
Melinda was working alone in her store the next day, when the door banged open. Startled, she jumped, and looked up to see who it was.
"Oh!" she breathed, trying to slow her heart down. "It's you!"
"Hey, you remember me," Eli said, surprised. "Sorry, the breeze caught the door before I could. My friend's daughter loved the doll, by the way."
Melinda smiled at him. "I'm glad. How is she feeling?"
"She's doing better. She was sick with a high fever, but I think she'll be alright," Eli came over to the counter.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Melinda offered, making sure her wedding ring was in clear view of him, in case he tried anything funny.
Eli clearly saw the ring, but he just smiled back at her. "I know this might sound crazy, and I probably should wait until the third date to ask you this," at this he chuckled, "but I was wondering if you believe in…ghosts?"
Melinda also giggled at his "third date" joke, but stopped when he asked her about ghosts. "Why do you want to know?" she asked him.
"I'm just curious. I'm not going to write you up in a paper or anything, I'm not a journalist. In fact, I'm a psychiatrist."
"Really? That's interesting," Melinda eyed him doubtfully. He had seen her all of two times, and he was already asking her a very personal question.
"In case you don't believe me, here's my business card," Eli fished in his pocket and handed her a small card. "I'm not expecting a call or anything, I'm just proving to you that I'm not some kind of crazy journalist or paparazzi investigating the dirt on everyone in Grandview."
Melinda stared at the card for a few moments. It seemed legit. "I don't…really know you," she said.
"You can get to know me if you want. I mean as friends, of course. I respect that you're…married," Eli pointedly looked at her wedding ring.
"Why are you so interested in getting to know me as a friend?" Melinda was always suspicious around new people.
Eli shrugged sheepishly. "I'm, ah, not very good at this."
"Well, one can always use more friends, seeing as Delia and Ned are my only friends," Melinda reasoned out loud. "I can meet you after I'm off work at five, and we can go for coffee or something, if you'd like?"
Eli's face broke out in a huge (and rather cute) grin. "That would be awesome. Oh, I have to get back to work. I just thought I would drop in and say hello. Uh, well, see you here at five." He waved at her before leaving the shop.
Melinda wondered if it was a mistake to see another man behind Jim's back. She knew if any romantic feelings surfaced on her part, she could just stop seeing Eli. Jim was the only one she needed. It was possible for men and women to just be friends without ever having romantic feelings towards each other.
Right?
Melinda found herself looking very forward to seeing Eli after work that night. She'd called Jim and told him she would be doing inventory with Delia (another lie) so she would be a couple of hours late. She called Delia as well, and told her that if Jim decided to check up on her, that's what she was doing. Delia would lie for her.
Eli showed up a few minutes after five, and so him and Melinda went to the nearest coffee shop. They sat down, asked for a coffee, then they were alone to talk.
"So, you didn't answer my question earlier," Eli pressed. "Do you believe in ghosts?"
"I believe…that some spirits are troubled after they die, why do you ask?" Melinda decided to keep things simple, at least until she got to know Eli better.
"Again, this might sound crazy, but I think I'm being haunted," he murmured so no one could overhear.
Melinda perked up at this. Maybe Eli wasn't as crazy as she'd thought. "Really? What makes you think so?"
"Well, weird things have been happening."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I don't know, something's kind of…leading me towards you. As though you can help."
That would explain Eli's sudden wanting to be her friend. A ghost (perhaps her ghost) had probably showed him something in a dream or given him signs. "So, what did the ghost do?" Melinda asked curiously.
"Ever since my friend's husband died a few months ago, she's been having horrible luck, and so have I. For a while she wondered if someone was playing a prank on her, but then her daughter suddenly fell ill for no apparent reason. The doctors still can't figure it out. I wondered if it was something more than just bad luck," Eli explained. "Then I started having dreams about a beautiful woman."
"What did the woman look like?" Melinda wondered if she would regret asking the question.
Turning bright red, Eli looked down at the table. "You," he whispered. "That's why when I saw you at the antique store, I knew you could help me."
Things were staring to kick into place, now. Perhaps her and Eli's ghost really was one in the same. Maybe her ghost was that of Eli's friend's husband. "I know this might sound…strange," Melinda took a breath. About now was when most of the people she was trying to help decided to flip out at her. "But…I see ghosts. Spirits, of those who haven't crossed over into the light."
Eli looked her in the eyes again. "So, you saw my ghost?"
"I think so. He was in the antique shop the other night when you came in."
"Well, that's a good thing, then. Because I have something I need to tell you," Eli reached across the table and took her hand gently. She didn't pull back. "I can hear ghosts," he said. "I can't see them, but I hear their voice and can talk to them."
Melinda was shocked. She'd thought she was the only one who could communicate with the dead. "How did this happen?" she asked him curiously. She was too fixated on his story to notice that his hand was gripping hers tightly.
"I was involved in a fire. It was a freak accident, but I was near death for a few minutes. I had an out of body experience, and while I was floating I could hear the voices of my dead relatives because I was so close to death, but not quite dead enough that I could see them. I didn't see any light. Just my own body lying on the ground."
Melinda just stared at him. "I'm glad you were saved," she murmured.
"Me, too. But ever since then, I thought I was going crazy. I kept hearing voices that didn't seem to be coming from any source. I asked for help but the doctors just wanted to throw me in a mental hospital. After that, I became a psychiatrist."
It clued in to Melinda, then. "So you heard the ghost at the same time I saw him in my shop?" she asked.
"Yes. I was pretty sure you knew he was there. I did more research about my…gift. I was hoping that I wasn't the only one."
Melinda was almost brought to tears. "All my life," she murmured. "I've been ridiculed, called a psycho, insane…the first guy I fell in love with broke my heart when I told him. Then I met Jim and he was completely open with it. At first he thought it was strange, but once he saw what I could do…"
"…he stayed with you anyway, because he loves you for you," Eli finished for her, sadness in his eyes. "I haven't found that yet."
Smiling with unshed tears in her eyes, Melinda squeezed his hands. "I'm so glad we met. I don't feel so alone anymore. Jim is great, but he doesn't really understand what people like us go through everyday. My best friend, Delia, knows also, but she's still weird about it. Her son, Ned, knows too. He's more open minded though."
"Yeah, people usually don't know how to react to this stuff," Eli sighed. "I'm so glad I could finally get it off my chest and tell someone."
Melinda realized she had found a lifelong bond in Eli. Though they had technically just met, she somehow knew that she could trust him. She just knew that they would be friends forever.