I love Mel/Jim but the whole Jim's soul in someone else's body thing kinda creeps me out, though I'm not really sure why. Anyway this is gonna be AU; it's set after Jim dies but that's the last bit of canon that the story specifically follows. For example Melinda's not pregnant and Jim obviously never comes back as Sam, he crosses over into the light.

I'm trying to use as much American terminology and spelling as I can since it's an American fandom, so please let me know if I make a mistake.

Old Friends and New Ghosts

The chiming of the bell above the door had Melinda sighing in frustration at yet another interruption. The last few days had seen a dramatic increase in sales as the opening of a local music festival had brought in a barrage of new customers. Normally she would have welcomed the distraction, glad of something to take her mind off Jim, but today was different; today she had something other than work to look forward to. Plastering what she hoped was a welcoming smile unto her face, Melinda turned to address her newest patron, tiredness already seeping into her bones despite the early hour. It wouldn't be long until Delia arrived though, and she could go for her dinner break. Stepping towards them, she adopted her best 'business voice' as Ned called it, to welcome them in. Some people thought that it was better to let the customers come to them but Melinda preferred the personal touch.

"Hi, welcome to 'Same As It Never Was.' I'm Melinda, please feel free to look around and ask about anything you see."

The woman who had entered gave her a slightly terse smile to show that she had heard her but made no other attempt at communication. From what Melinda could see she was too occupied with the scowling young girl she was dragging behind her and so she didn't take it to heart. The woman was pretty in a professional way; put together in such a way that she knew she looked good. She was wearing a smart, navy skirt with a pressed white shirt and high heels that added at least five inches to her height. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a severe style that left no way for any stray strands to escape and her features were fixed into a scowl that thankfully didn't look as if it was permanent. It was the girl that caught her attention however, or rather the cute, petulant expression that she wore. She couldn't help smiling at her behaviour as she watched her trail reluctantly behind her mother, obviously bored by her choice of shop. Looking at her, she appeared to be in that awkward transition between childhood and teenage angst explaining her reluctance to be seen shopping with her mom; it was too uncool.

She almost wished she hadn't stopped to watch her after what happened next however, it seemed like whenever she had something important to do a ghost or two would show up and take up all her time. It wasn't that she was getting sick of her gift, quite the opposite actually since it was her main distraction after what happened to Jim; even thinking of him still made her heart ache painfully after all this time despite the happy façade she put on daily for the benefit of those close to her. It was more like the spirits had bad timing, always choosing to appear when she was most busy or troubled, like now for example. Now when she was more desperate to get away from the shop than she had been in weeks.

It hadn't even been that noticeable at first, she had just put it down to her pulling more faces behind her mother's back, but then it had become more apparent as she was dragged to the small area that had been set aside for clothing, to were the mannequins where. At each doll, or doll like object, she passed the girl had begun to flinch; a small gesture that she almost missed until she got to the dummies and it had magnified into twitches that even her mother noticed - or maybe it was the look of pure terror that had come over her daughter's face coupled with her insistent tugging at her hand to try to make her leave. Even then Melinda hadn't realised what was going on - for all she knew the girl had a doll phobia - it wasn't until the girl's mother had turned back away from her in a huff at her daughter's apparently strange and uncalled for behaviour, that she noticed one of her mannequins move towards the girl, or rather her throat, in a threatening manner.

Acting quickly, Melinda marched purposely towards the scene that was now unfolding in front of her. Stepping in between the extended arms of the dummy and the now tearful young girl, she hastily tried to defuse the situation by pointing out the small collection of vintage shoes that she had arranged earlier in the window display, out of range of any dolls or figurines. Thankfully, the woman was more than interested in some of the stock available and readily made her way over, taking her child with her.

Sighing in relief at the close call, Melinda whirled around to face the now inert mannequin, disappointed that all signs of ghostly influence had gone. With the beginnings of a headache building up behind her eyes she strode back towards the counter, intent on finishing the little paperwork she had left, while she kept an eye on her newest customers. Hopefully they would buy something, giving her the opportunity to get their names and address without having to resort to asking painfully awkward and suspicious questions. It was the part she hated most about her gift; trying to get information out of people that didn't trust her or her motives, it wasn't like she could just come out with it straight away and tell them that they were 'with ghost.'

She was pulled from her musings by the pair coming to the counter to be served, smiles on both their faces for the first time since they had arrived.

"Hey, what have you got there?" She asked conversationally, directing her question almost primarily to the young girl.

"Mom's buying me new shoes, aren't they great?"

As she spoke she thrust her latest gain beside the register, happiness written all over her face, her close encounter with the spirit world apparently forgotten.

"They sure are, you're a very lucky girl," turning back to face the mother she powered forward with her investigative skills, intent on helping them before anything else untoward could occur. "will that be all for you Mrs..."

"Thompson, but just call me Margaret and this is Gillian," she answered cheerfully, indicating her daughter with a nod of the head, "and yes thank you, I think that'll be all."

"OK then, but we're due a delivery of some new shoes on Thursday if you're interested," she was bagging their purchases as she spoke, wrapping them carefully as a special touch, "have a nice day."

"You to."

The girl, Gillian, waved to her as Margaret called back in goodbye, but she barely noticed their actions, more intent on the person they were passing as they exited the store. She was a thickset woman with long dark-brown hair and a cheery disposition, dressed in comfortable but presentable clothing of dark dress trousers, heels and a flowing, flower patterned top. She also wore a pair of dark sunglasses but moved them to rest on her head as she entered the shop. Grinning widely at the newcomer, she let out a sigh of relief, lifting her jacket as she prepared to leave.

"Thanks for doing this Delia, I know that it's your day off -"

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't doing much anyway," the older woman cut her off jovially, a bright smile on her face as she caught her co-worker and friend's enthusiasm. "You ready to go?"

"Yep, just need to grab my bag." After grabbing said accessory, Melinda headed to the door, excitement building inside her as her headache disappeared. "I'll see you when I get back and thanks. I mean it."

"No problem, and take your time. There's no need to hurry back."

Waving goodbye to her friend, Melinda strode purposefully from her shop, both her heart and step light. As she made her way through the square sharing greetings with people she knew - both alive and dead - she could feel her apprehension growing. She hadn't seen him in so long after all, and a lot could differ in two years, she knew a lot had changed in her life since she had seen him last, Jim for example...

Shaking her head forcefully as if to physically shake her thoughts from her mind, she turned to happier things like her upcoming lunch. Her footsteps faltered slightly as the restaurant came into sight, her nervousness coming to a head. She pushed on however, wiping any trace of her feelings from her expression as she was determined to see her old friend in good spirits. Picking up a little more speed, she felt her heart skip a beat as she caught sight of the person she was looking for sitting alone at a table near the street – she would have recognised his flyaway blond hair and distracted manner anywhere. Unable to contain her joy at finally seeing him, she called out to him despite still being a good few yards away.

"Rick!"

Waving her hand wildly in greeting, Melinda hurriedly shortened the distance between herself and the now standing professor. Throwing her arms around him once she had bridged the gap, she revelled in the familiarity of him, glad beyond belief that he had come back.

Tell me what you guys think XD.