Hey everyone! I'm so sorry to post this late, i've had a rough week and couldn't write... but i finally managed to write this. I'm sorry again for the wait and hope you'll like this chap.

Thanks everyone for reading and for the fantastic reviews you give me, i love them :)


Chapter 4 ~ An usual end of week, or not... ~

Back home, Jim still had more than an hour before he had to go to work, so they had time to eat together. Mel was setting the table while Jim was cooking, holding the phone with one hand.

A couple of minutes later, Jim walked in the living room and put his hands on Mel's waist to make her look at him.

'So, my mom is ok for Sunday.' he told her softly.

'Really? That's great.' Mel replied happily, smiling.

'Yep. So... you wanna call your mom now?' Jim asked cautiously.

'I... I'll do that after diner.' Mel answered awkwardly.

She started walking away, trying to avoid the talk, but Jim took her hands in his and looked deeply in her eyes. No question needed.

'Ok... I'm a bit stressed about the whole telling my mom thing.' Mel confessed.

'Why? I thought things were fine between you since she told you the truth about... everything.' Jim said, he was about to list the things Mel learned the past year but he realized it could take a while...

'We are, I mean I'm not mad at her anymore, but we aren't exactly best friends either. I can't pretend I'm totally fine with her lying to me during and about my whole life. Besides, even if she says she never judged me, I can feel that she still doesn't get what I do and I can't take any remark from her anymore.' Mel explained, looking intensely at Jim before looking down.

'Melinda.' he said to make her look up at him, squeezing gently her hands. 'I know it will always be difficult with your mom, but it's not like you're going to say that you need her help with a ghost or anything. You're going to tell her you're pregnant, Mel.' Jim said with a huge, comforting, smile. 'I'm sure -and I bet you know it too, deep down- that she will be happy about this. What mother wouldn't?' Jim finished.

'You're right...' Mel slowly said after staying quiet a moment. 'I worry for no reason, I don't know why...'

'Hey, it's ok to worry Mel. She's your mom, you'll always worry about what she thinks of you. Just enjoy the fact that this time, there's no way she's gonna disapprove the news.' Jim say trying to reassure her.

'Ok, I will.' Mel said with a smile. 'And I will call her now, then.' she added, walking to the kitchen table, where Jim had left the phone.

After a few steps she stopped walking, turned her head towards Jim and started walking again but over Jim this time.

'Thank you.' she said giving him a soft kiss.

'No problem.' he replied with a warm smile.

Mel then walked away again, reaching the kitchen this time. She was about to dial her mom's number when she thought of something.

'Hey, Jim? Is Ellis coming with your mom?' she asked loudly.

'Yes, why?' he replied.

'Well, the other day, my mom mentioned this guy she is dating for a while now. Maybe I could tell her to bring him.' Mel explained.

'That would be nice. Is it serious between them?' Jim asked, walking in the kitchen.

'Apparently. It's the first time she called me to tell me about a man she likes, so it must be serious. I'd be curious to meet him.' Mel said with a mischievous smile.

'Ahh... I see, now it's your turn to check who your mom dates.' Jim said laughing.

'Well... yeah!' Mel admitted laughing too.

'Good.' Jim said with a smile.

He kissed Mel on the cheek before leaving her alone to call Beth.

Mel took the phone and went to sit on the couch waiting for her mom to answer while Jim finished cooking diner.

About three minutes later, Mel came back in the kitchen, a kind of surprised look on her face. Jim noticed it when he turned around as she walked in.

'What?' he asked her.

'Oh, nothing. She said she was very happy of the invitation and was already looking forward Sunday. Although she sounded a bit embarrassed when I asked, she said her... boyfriend will come too.' Mel explained.

'So, why this look?' Jim asked.

'I dunno... there was something weird in her voice... She sounded so... cheerful and... nice, I'm not used to see her like this I guess.' Mel said with a half-smile.

Jim smiled at her. He could only imagine how Mel must feel about all this. She had been through so much with her parents that he always wondered how she could have taken everything in and still be the amazing person she was.

Seeing that Jim wasn't cooking anymore Mel looked towards the dinning room. Everything was ready, set on the table.

'Wow, it smells really good!' she said only realizing the great smell in the house.

'Hungry?' Jim asked with a big smile.

'Yeah. Very, actually.' Mel added smiling back.

So they sat at the table, facing each other. Jim had made a nice soup for Mel, knowing, or better, thinking, that it was the only thing she would eat, but it turned out that the great smell had made Mel hungry for Jim's meal too. In the end, Mel ate half of Jim's chicken and part of his salad. Plus her soup. When Jim took their plate to put them in the dishwasher, he looked at her with wide-opened eyes.

'What? We were hungry!' Mel said defensively, resting a hand on her stomach.

'I can see that.' Jim simply said, before taking the rest of the stuff back to the kitchen. 'Now, I'm the one hungry.' he added.

Mel could only see his back, but she knew Jim had a smile on his face.

'Aww... I'm sorry sweetie.' she said with a faked sorry voice.

She got up and joined him, wrapping her arms around his back. Jim hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.

'You have to go soon?' Mel asked.

'Actually... I'm already late.' Jim said looking at his watch.

'Really? How much?' Mel asked, worried.

'Just a few minutes, don't worry. But I have to go now...' Jim said softly, holding her closer, not wanting to leave her.

'Ok.' Mel said with a little voice, pulling away to look at him. 'When will you be home?'

'Around 4am.' he answered as he had an eight hours shift.

Mel nodded before hugging him again.

'I love you.' she whispered to him.

'I love you too, Mel.' Jim answered softly resting his head on top of hers.

A couple of minutes after Jim left, and even though it was only 8.15pm, Melinda went upstairs as she felt very tired. She smiled as she walked in her bedroom seeing a small bouquet of white roses in the little vase she made in Georgia. The piece of paper placed in it only read 'Sleep Well, xxx'. Mel took a minute to smell the flowers, before leaving the room to go take a shower, keeping a big, sweet smile on her face.

When she went under the covers after the shower, Mel thought of what had happened today; meeting Gavin, visiting Andrea and feeling her so close, her mom, Jim...

Maybe it was from this long day, or Jim's amazing diner, or her lack of sleep from the previous days, probably a bit of all, but no matter why, Mel fell asleep only twenty minutes after going to bed and slept all through the night. She sounded so peaceful when Jim came back that he didn't really wake her up. He softly went into bed and took her in his arms so she would feel he was back without waking up. He kissed her hair before falling asleep himself.

A couple of days later, Jim was finally done with the night shifts -for now- so, even if he was working a lot, he and Mel could spend more time together, especially night time...

It was now Friday, Jim's first 'free' day and he was supposed to pick Mel up at her store to go see a movie before a late diner. He walked in the store around 7pm, as Mel had told him she would stay a bit longer so she wouldn't have to work too much this weekend.

'Hey girls.' Jim said nicely, noticing that Delia was still here too.

'Hey.' Mel said, walking over him, smiling. 'Yeah, I told her to go home but she wouldn't leave me working alone again.' she added seeing Jim's insisting look on Delia.

'If you don't want me here, you can just say it.' Delia said sounding offended, before laughing with them.

'Thanks for staying, Delia, I appreciate.' Mel said truly thankful. 'Especially since you're going out with Tim tonight.'

'I... I'm going out with Tim... tonight?' Delia said, a shocked look on her face as she turned to looked at Mel.

'You aren't?' Mel said with a confused look to Jim.

'He didn't tell you anything about a diner at a restaurant tonight?' Jim asked Delia.

'No...' she answered, still very confused.

'Ohh... Sorry for saying this, then.' Mel slowly said with a shy smile.

'It's ok.' Delia only said. She shook her head, trying to get focus. 'So that's why you were insisting so much to make me go home?' she asked Mel with a suspicious look. Delia laughed slightly when Mel nodded awkwardly. 'Ok... You two leave, now. I'll close or you're gonna miss the movie.' Delia said in strong but caring voice.

'Thanks, Delia.' they said before leaving the shop, smiling at her as they closed the door.

'Oh man! Maybe it was supposed to be surprise. He's gonna kill me...' Jim said, not knowing if he should laugh or not.

They were in the line, waiting for a couple of minutes to buy the tickets. Mel looked at Jim, holding the laughs as long as she could, which wasn't long since she laughed twenty seconds later. She tried to stop herself as Jim looked at her, surprised.

'I'm sorry... I'm just thinking about Delia's look when I say it.' Mel explained. 'Gosh, if these two don't start acting soon, we'll have to do something about it.' As Jim looked at her with a confused look, Mel tried to be clearer. 'Oh, come on, it's so obvious that they like each other, a lot, if only they could go past their shyness. They're so sweet together!' Mel finished.

'Ah, ok. I see what you mean.' Jim said finally understanding where Mel was going. 'Well, leave them a bit more time, we'll see where this weekend away thing goes. If they stay where they are now, then we'll do something.'

An hour and a half later, they were walking out of the theatre hand in hand when Jim saw an old woman being pushed hardly by a teen and falling heavily on the ground.

'Oh, my god!' Mel said loudly while Jim ran to the woman...