*~*Chapter Four~*~
Melinda wasn't saying a word. She looked totally speechless. Rick wanted her to say something; to shout out "No!" if she was completely turned off by his proposal, but all she could do was stare at him with a shocked expression.
"Melinda, talk to me," Rick prompted.
"I-I..." Melinda stumbled over the words. She was having a hard time expressing what she was feeling inside. The words seemed to be there somewhere, but she couldn't speak.
"Wow," she said softly. "I just never thought you'd ask me... something like this."
Rick really wanted her to carry his child?!
Thinking she was about to refuse him, Rick started to tell her all the reasons why he wanted it to be her. "You're my best friend. I trust you. I can watch out for you when you're pregnant, and I know you won't keep the child; you'll hand the baby over to me and Kate to raise when he or she is born," said Rick. "I'll give you time to think about this... and I... I won't pressure you. So, whatever time you need, please take it."
*Just don't say 'no',* he added silently.
*Ohhhh God! It's just... too much,* she couldn't help thinking.
Her mind was spinning. What was he asking? Could she do it? Could she really be inseminated with Rick's sperm? He was the professor. He was her best friend! He was her partner in all of her ghost-hunting schemes. But what he was proposing sounded so intimate. Suddenly it seemed like they weren't just best friends anymore. They were something entirely different. They were something... more.
She didn't know how to wrap her mind around any of this, but she knew she had to do it. She couldn't say 'no.'
"I'll do this," she said as the words just tumbled out of her mouth. She wanted to do this for Rick. She could feel the urgency deep inside. There was no way she could say "no."
A huge smile broke out on Rick's face and for a minute he was so happy, but then his smile suddenly faded. "Wait!" he gasped. "Won't you need to talk to your husband?"
She already knew that she would have to talk to Jim, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to do this for Rick... more than anything. "I will talk to him tonight, but don't worry. I will do this for you," she stated.
Stepping into his arms, she hugged him tightly. Wanting to stay there, she lingered in his embrace. She just did NOT want to leave his arms. Holding him felt so right.
Rick didn't know what to say or do. Melinda was agreeing to do it, just like that? He had never expected such a quick answer. She hadn't even talked to her husband yet! He wondered what Jim would have to say about the idea. "Let me know," he said as he held Melinda close. He too did not want to let her go. If he could, he would hold her forever... but he couldn't. He had to return home to his wife. He had to talk to Kate.
"Why don't you call or come by tomorrow," he said as he eventually let her go. "After you've had a chance to talk to Jim."
He looked into her eyes as he left it at that. "Now let's see if I can find that book for you..." he murmured.
Something had changed when Melinda had agreed to be the surrogate. As of yet, Rick was unable to figure it out... but he loved a mystery. He was going to solve the one Melinda had presented to him. He just had to decipher all of the clues.