Jeremy the Ghost Whisperer
After Elena, the only family he had left, had died after refusing to become a vampire, leaving him all alone, Jeremy Gilbert decided that it was in his best interest to just leave Mystic Falls altogether.
Matt had offered to let him move in with him and close down his house to cut back on expenses and so had the Salvatore brothers and even Bonnie and Caroline but he needed to be alone.
He wanted a fresh start and Mystic Falls was out of the question. So was Denver. He thought he had made a fresh start there but in the end he had been duped by an original and vampires was something he had enough of and didn't want to be around right now.
He was angry too. angry at matt for driving with Elena on that damned bridge, angry at Rebekah for forcing matt to hit the water, angry at Elena for not just choosing to be a vampire already (he always thought she become one when she finally chose one of the brothers), angry at cocky ghost Alaric and angry at himself. He wanted to be rid of his ghosts once and for all.
He had packed a few duffel bags, took Elena's car and drove out of mystic falls in the dead of night without saying goodbye to anyone. His passenger was the usual one. Ghost Alaric that wouldn't leave him alone for a single moment! however Alaric wasn't like the usual ghosts (Anna and Vicki) Jeremy dealt with. After death Alaric had found a way to move stuff, mess with his car radio etc and generally being more of a pain in the ass dead than he was alive!
He was passing by a MacDonalds when ghost Alaric finally left, claiming he missed a big Mac and chili fries, only to be replaced by rose. Damon's vampire friend who had pointed them to her maker.
"Am I interrupting anything?"
She asked him in a calm tone with her thick accent ever present
"nah. Just enjoying the quiet for a moment"
"Having constant companions from the other side is annoying then?"
she joked and Jeremy couldn't help but nod with a chuckle.
"You know, Jeremy, when you're dead you hear things"
"Yah, like what?"
"There is a woman in upstate New York that has your gift. You could stop by and ask for help on how to get rid of us you know"
Jeremy snuck a look at her for a moment. she seemed calm, collected, logical. just like she was at the little while he had seen her when she was alive. Ish.
"There's many of you? I've only seen a few"
she looked around her at something he couldn't see and one corner of her mouth lifted to a mocking smirk
"you have no idea. Her name is Melinda Gordon and she lives in Grandview. you're only 5 hours away"
she informed him before she disappeared leaving him alone in the SUV. He checked his watch. it was 3am, if he didn't stop he could be in NY by 8am.
What did he have to lose?
The sun had broken in the distance when Jeremy arrived in Grandview. It was in the upstate New York like rose told him but it had the feeling of a small town. something told him he could live there if he could afford it.
He stopped at a Cafe called Village Java and asked if they knew a Melinda Gordon. The pretty girl behind the counter pointed him to an antiques store across the square with the pretty white gazebo. Jeremy thanked her, grabbed his coffee and drank the tall plastic cup with only three big gulps. He gathered his courage and walked the short distance to the store.
A couple was arguing in front of the store blocking the entrance.
"You know Sam, if you don't want to believe me that am fine, I can't make you! Just take your stuff and leave"
A woman in her early thirties snapped at a blond man and fumbled with the lock of a store, unlocked it, got inside and slammed the glass door behind her. the man muttered something Jeremy didn't quite catch and walked away.
The store was called 'Same as it never was antiques'.
"Great way to start the day"
Jeremy muttered, rubbed the back of his neck, stretched and pushed the door to the antique store open. a small bell rang as he did so. The woman was behind the counter with big crocodile tears sliding down her cheeks. Jeremy pulled a small package of handkerchiefs from his back pocket and handed it to the crying woman.
His daddy raised him a gentleman.
"Thank you"
She sniffled and took one.
"Feel free to browse around and tell me if you need any help"
She told him and dubbed her cheeks dry. Jeremy bit his lip but didn't move
"actually I don't want to buy antiques"
Melinda's black eyes shot up to meet Jeremy's, she was on guard
"Then what do you want?"
"a ... friend... told me you could help me"
"help you with what?"
Melinda asked her eyes sweeping the room behind him mentally counting ghosts. she counted eight distinct ones and quite a few blobs
"I have a ghost problem. he won't leave me alone"
"ghost problem?"
Melinda parroted surprised at the casual use of the word. Jeremy flinched a little seeing Alaric again on his side, pointing at the teenager and making 'cuckoo' sounds next to him.
"Yeah, I swear I'm not crazy miss, I'm just"
"Haunted"
Melinda finished her eyes trained on a caramel haired ghost woman making a show of shooting herself at the head while watching the most clear male ghost that kept making 'crazy' sounds while pointing at the teenage boy
"I'm Melinda Gordon"
she extended her hand to Jeremy who let a relieved breath
"Jeremy Gilbert"
He said just as a strong wind threw down the wind chimes.
"and that was Alaric"
Jeremy deadpanned.
"Can you help me get rid of him?"
Jeremy asked again. Melinda nodded happy to deal with something to take her mind away from Jim. Sam. Sam-Jim, Jim-Sam, whatever.
"I'll help you cross them into the light"
"The light? What light? And them? Who's them?"
Melinda opened her mouth to tell him he had many more ghosts than just 'Alaric' to worry about but a ghost with long straight hair beat her to it.
"Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he?"
"Watch it!"
Another ghost woman also with straight black hair growled at the first one. Melinda rubbed her temples.
she was going to need both Eli and Oprah to deal with this mess.
A few hours later Melinda had left Delia man the store, had called Eli who was busy with back-to-back lessons and appointments and had taken Jeremy to her house. taking a stranger home was never a good idea but the boy looked ready to curl up on the ground and sleep. her motherly instincts told her to help him.
over pizza Jeremy told her about his ghosts. How he came to see them and what happened since. he took a leap of faith and disclosed to her the truth about vampires, werewolves, hybrids, doppelgangers, sacrifices, vervain and witches.
Melinda told him about her ability, about her grandmother, her mother, her biological father, her step father, her step-brother, her late husband Jim and how his ghost stepped into Sam's body but Sam himself refused to listen to her.
Eventually the two fell asleep on the sofas exhausted over telling the truth freely and unburdening themselves. When Jeremy opened his eyes again, the sun was high in the sky. His watch told him it was right after noon and Melinda was in the kitchen pouring coffee in two mugs and talking to someone he couldn't see.
"hi"
he said a bit too loud, his voice sleep laden. Melinda whirled around smiling broadly and handed him a cup of coffee.
"hey, how did you sleep?"
"great, thanks. um who were you talking too?"
Melinda smiled in a maternal way
"no one that is ready to be seen yet. don't worry"
Jeremy sipped his coffee feeling like a child
"Melinda? why can you see more ghosts than me?"
"in order to see them, they must want you to and you must want them to. I stopped trying to ignore them a long time ago"
Jeremy nodded. the two finished their coffee in silence. from time to time Melinda would nod at something one of the ghosts told her but she remained silent. she wouldn't try to force Jeremy into dealing with all his ghosts at once.
"so... what I do now?"
Jeremy's voice broke through her ears.
"first you need to find out who the ghost is and what they want"
"His name is Alaric Saltzman and he probably wants to bug me for the rest of my life"
Jeremy grumbled.
"why don't you ask him?"
Melinda proposed gently watching Alaric arguing with two women behind Jeremy. Jeremy took a breath and looked over his shoulder seeing all of the ghosts for the first time. he let loose a scared cry before composing himself his eyes widening.
"What the.."
Melinda bit her lower lip hiding her smile. both women turned their backs on Alaric and he shook his head turning around to face Jeremy. slowly and gently Melinda showed Jeremy how to talk to ghosts, how to make truth from what they told him, how to remain calm and in the end how to cross them.
After Alaric was crossed Melinda left the room to let Jeremy work on a few of the other ghosts alone and she made herself busy cleaning the kitchen. She hated cleaning her kitchen and always roped Jim into doing it, luckily she was interrupted by the motherly looking ghost she saw arguing with the other ghost before.
"the scrubbing will be easier if you put some water to boil on the stove eyes first"
Melinda jumped hearing the voice.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you"
the woman smiled apologetically. Melinda shook her head
"It's alright. I don't usually get cleaning tips by ghosts. I'm Melinda and you are?"
"Miranda Gilbert, I'm Jeremy's mom. Thank you for helping him"
Miranda smiled again. Melinda nodded
"it's always nice to meet someone with my gift. Can I help you with something?"
If the ghost of Miranda Gilbert could blush, Melinda was sure that she would
"Could you... keep an eye on him? I don't want to leave him alone, he's still my baby"
without a second thought Melinda nodded
"of course, don't worry about him"
at Miranda's gracious thank you a few tears slid down Melinda's cheeks and after wiping them she made her way towards the living room where a teary eyed Jeremy was saying goodbye to his parents and sister. The caramel haired woman stood patiently to the side examining the photos of Melinda and Jim on a long coffee table.
"Thank you Melinda"
Jeremy's father said softly before taking his wife's and daughter's hands and all three crossed.
"Does it ever get easier?"
Jeremy asked aloud and sat heavily on the floor.
"Not really, no"
Melinda said sadly and joined him. The caramel haired woman sat with them and kept her eyes trained on Melinda but in a friendly way.
"Your mom wanted me to keep an eye on you and I was thinking... would you like to stay here?"
"Here?"
"Jim and I were fixing up the garage to be an adjoining apartment before he died. Its complete and livable and I have so much more to teach you"
"How much is the rent? I'm going to need to find a job too"
Melinda bit her lip and looked down
"I know Village Java hires if you have any experience and as for rent... I'll take your help with the ghosts as compensation"
"Really?"
Jeremy asked elated and when Melinda nodded he did something that was completely out of character. He hugged her tight
"I promise, I'll be the best housemate you can find"
Jenna decided to cut in.
"I can wait till tomorrow, you know Jer. I like being a ghost"
"I love you too Aunt Jenna"
he joked. Jenna reached over and ruffled his hair
"I love you Jer. Oh and Melinda, you should see your doctor. Miranda always cried a lot too during her pregnancy"
The caramel haired woman winked and crossed over in the light. Melinda's eyes widened mentally counting the days since her last period. With Jim's death and the whole Sam drama she had completely forgot about it.
"I'll be damned"
The end