A/N: So, being bored, I've decided to try a bit of Ghost Whisperer fanfiction. If y'all like this, please review, 'cause I'm in desperate need of motivation xD.

Also, I don't own the show or any part of it. If I did, Jim wouldn't be dead ..

"Melinda?"

A familiar voice called her name, but the brunette hardly blinked. She was staring blankly out the window of her antique shop, and without realizing it her gaze had fixed on a twenty-something, shaggy-haired, and admittedly cute guy. He'd been talking on his cell phone moments earlier, but as if feeling her gaze upon him, had turned towards her a few seconds ago.

"Melinda. If you keep staring at that guy like that, you're gonna give him the wrong idea." Delia Banks, her best friend, spoke again.

Melinda blinked several times, only just now realizing what she had been doing. Embarrassed, she snapped her gaze away, scowling. Beside her, Delia grinned.

"Huh. What would Sam think?"

"Delia." Melinda warned, busying herself by re-arranging the items on the back shelf.

"What?" Delia's eyes widened, her tone teasing. "Just saying—"

"You know, I don't think he'd give a damn." She blurted suddenly. She then paused. She hadn't really meant to speak her thoughts aloud like that, but now she didn't seem to be able to stop. "He doesn't remember. Anything, Delia. And he doesn't feel anything for me, and it hurts…" Melinda trailed off painfully. "…It just…hurts."

Delia watched her uncomfortably. She'd never been good at the whole comforting thing, but right now she seemed to be giving it her best shot. "Come on, you don't really believe that." She stated quietly.

Melinda didn't respond. In truth, she wasn't sure what she believed anymore. There were days when she swore she was about to get the man she'd loved back, but then there were others when Jim…Sam didn't connect with her at all. And really, she wasn't sure which she preferred. It tore her heart in two to see him stare at her blankly when she would try to prompt his memory, but if there came one more day when he came so close to remembering only to pull back, Melinda didn't think she'd be able to take it.

Today had been one of those days. She'd been walking to work, coffee in hand, intending to open early. Yeah. That had gone well.

XX

A scream pierced the early morning air. There weren't many people around, but the few that walked the streets shared the same general reaction. Freeze momentarily, then scramble towards the sound all at once.

Melinda had been closest. The scream had come from a nearby alley, and at first her mind had gone completely blank in shock. Grandview didn't exactly have a high crime rate, after all. None the less, she whipped around and hurried back toward the alley where a small crowd had already gathered.

The scream had come not from the victim, but from an onlooker who had apparently gotten there before anyone else.

A blonde girl who looked about eighteen, maybe a bit older, was slumped on the ground. She did not move, didn't seem to even be breathing. No less than six feet away stood a stunned-looking man, pointing a gun shakily at where Melinda guessed the girl had just stood.

Before anyone else could speak, scream, run, the man went incredibly pale. "I…I didn't shoot…"


And then Melinda realized that indeed, no trace of blood stained the ground. She didn't know what to think.

The cops had been called, and an ambulance was also on its way. Wouldn't take long, seeing as Grandview was a very small town. But Melinda couldn't help holding her breath in anticipation. There was no need to be jumpy…the girl had probably just fainted out of fright. But something was wrong. Very wrong. She could feel it, and she found herself expecting to be face to face with the girl's ghost at any moment.

"Excuse me…please…I know CPR!" An all-too-familiar voice sounded from behind her. Sure enough, Sam came pushing his way through the crowd. They all watched as he knelt down beside the blonde, and got to work.

'It's too late.' Melinda thought miserably, nearly turning away. But then…with a spluttering bout of coughing, as if she'd just nearly drowned, the girl jerked awake. She struggled violently to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Sam.

"Hey, hold on a sec. The ambulance will be here soon." He told her soothingly. "What's your name?"

But the girl seemed unable, or unwilling, to speak. She just stared on ahead blankly, frozen.

The man with the gun had long since dropped it, and Melinda watched as he was taken in by the cops moments later. The ambulance soon followed, taking the seemingly lethargic girl away in a stretcher. The crowd soon dispersed, muttering as they did so, until only Sam and Melinda were left.

Sam was staring blankly after the ambulance, and Melinda approached him cautiously.

"You okay?" She asked softly.

Slowly, Sam turned to look at her. His expression was one of confusion. "I…I never learned CPR."

In that moment, Melinda felt a surge of hope. Maybe Sam didn't know CPR, but Jim did. Maybe her husband's spirit was fighting its way to the surface. She bit her lip, and met his gaze steadily.

As quickly as he had pondered it, Sam shrugged it off with a nervous grin. "Instinct, I guess. Right?"

Her heart dropped. "Right…instinct."

XX

Melinda closed her eyes and swayed slightly as the memory played again and again in her head.

In an attempt to lighten the mood and shatter the awkward silence, Delia spoke again. "Hey, look. I think your not-so-secret admirer's gonna come in. If only all guys were that forward." She joked.

Sure enough, the bell above the door jingled, and Cell-Phone-Guy sleazed his way inside. Melinda didn't even turn around. He kept right on coming, approaching the counter and opening his mouth to speak.

"Hey—"

The guy barely got the first word out before the tell-tale bell above the door rang again, a bit more violently this time. Before Melinda could react, in walked a very shaken looking Sam.

"Melinda."

"Sam…hi." Melinda's attention was completely focused on him now, and behind her Delia cast an amused look at the now offended-looking Cell-Phone-Guy. "What's up?" Melinda prompted.

Sam frowned. "The girl we found today, her name's Elsie Peterson. I went to see how she was doing, and--"

"Yeah?" Melinda raised her eyebrows expectantly. "She's okay, right?" Last she'd seen, they were pumping oxygen into the girl, but they'd told her that she'd be okay.

"Not exactly." Sam grimaced. "She's dead."

So yeah, there you have it. Kind of predictable xD. But it gets better. Please review!