I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!
Wow, two updates in one day. Well two days I guess since its after 3 in the frickin morning! Damn I'm so tired that I can't sleep lol :) thank you all for your reviews! It's really sweet that you're still willing to review after all this time, it keeps me going! Once again-reviews will bring you the next chapter as soon as I wake up! Xx Lolly xX
"You have a really nice house Melinda" Carter said with a smile, she returned it as she unlocked the door "thank you sweetie, make yourself at home, Delia and Ned should be here soon, can I get you guys something to drink?" she asked, Jim smiled "how about...you sit down, and I'll go to get you something to drink" he suggested, Melinda smiled "you don't even know which direction the kitchen is in" she laughed "I'm a big boy, I'll figure it out" he said. As Jim left the two of them alone Melinda turned to Carter worriedly "what happened to you?" she asked frantically "I don't know who they were, they just rushed me on the sidewalk and started yelling about me being an asshole and stuff, I think they were drunk or high or something. Are you okay? Is he your boyfriend?" he asked with a glanced in Jim's general direction "no sweetie, my boyfriends name is Charlie, Jim is just a buddy, he's a great guy I promise, he only yelled earlier because he was worried about the baby" she said with a comforting smile. "Are you hurt? I saw one of them hit you" he asked quietly "I'm fine honey, it was just an accident, the guy wasn't paying much attention"
"Okay...soda for Carter...and I made you some tea Mel, is that okay?" Jim asked as he walked in, she smiled warmly "that's actually perfect, you read my mind" she laughed. "So Carter, I want you to drop by the store okay, whenever you want to, if I'm not there you can call me..." Melinda pulled a little business card with her cell number on it "I don't want you alone for two weeks, okay, you can come by here whenever you want" she said sweetly, he grinned "you're awesome" he replied with a smile as she ruffled his hair affectionately "let me fix that up for ya kiddo" Jim said with a sympathetic smile, "have you got a first aid kit?" he questioned Melinda, she nodded and left to retrieve it from a kitchen cupboard under the sink. "Here you go" she said, Jim took out an alcohol free wipe and cleaned the cut carefully before putting a clear band-aid over the small wound, "all good?" he asked, Carter nodded "thanks man" he said with a smile. Melinda turned the TV on and sat back, "have you seen my mom recently?" Carter asked, Melinda's eyes widened and she shook her head deliberately to let him know that Jim wasn't aware of what she could do "she dropped by earlier actually, she's worried about you" Melinda said softly, Jim was preoccupied with a baseball game and Carter gave her a subtle nod to let her know he understood what she was trying to let him know.
They talked easily over the game and Melinda found herself praying that the night would never end, she loved this...being surrounded by people who cared for her and treated her like an equal instead of a doormat that could just be walked all over. "When's Charlie coming home?" Jim asked curiously. Dream over. Melinda smiled falsely "Saturday, he had two double shifts so it's easier for him to just sleep at the firehouse overnight in case something happens in between shifts" she explained, he nodded, just then the doorbell rang and Melinda could hear Delia telling Ned to behave himself like a 'good little man' she rolled her eyes "the kid's 15, not 5" she mumbled, Carter gave her a knowing chuckle as she got up to answer the door. "Hey honey!" Delia squealed "God, I haven't seen you in like...so long" she complained as she stepped inside and embraced Melinda tightly, kissing her cheek then releasing her, Ned was next and he blushed slightly when Melinda kissed him "you're so tall now" she said as he hugged her, she now fit into his arms like a little puzzle piece "all grown up" he said with a proud smile. "Ha! You wish, you're always going to be my little baby" Delia said as she resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks affectionately, he ducked away from her eager hands and she laughed "hey man, I'm Ned" he introduced himself to Carter quickly "Carter, I actually think I've seen you at school, do you have History with Mr Artell?" he asked, Ned nodded "and Physics with-" "Mrs Harper" the said simultaneously, Melinda smiled warmly, she hoped that they would become friends, that Ned would have someone to talk to and Carter would have someone to look out for him. Delia raised an eyebrow "Melinda Gordon, are you playing match-maker with my son?" she asked suspiciously, "I may have figured out a little play date" she replied slyly "Delia, Ned, this is Jim Clancy" she introduced, they both shook his hand and Delia gave Carter a quick hug which made him smile, he hadn't had a mother or a real family in so long that to be surrounded by these people now amazed him.
"Okay, I'm starving so let's get the menus and order" Melinda said rummaging through a stack of magazines and flyers under the coffee table
-next time...I don't wanna hear it, okay?" Charlie asked through gritted teeth as his thumb stayed firmly against Melinda's soft skin "I'm...ss..sorry" Melinda whimpered between sobsCharlie removed his thumb and pushed Melinda away with one swipe of his muscular arm, she fell to the floor and hit her cheek hard on the corner of their glass coffee table-
Melinda closed her eyes and pushed the memory to the back of her mind, her fingers lightly pressed her cheek and she winced at the pain, even after nearly a month the pain was still here- not helped by the fact that she had been hit so many times since then. "Chinese, Indian, Italian or...Lebanese?" Melinda asked holding up four different menus "I call Chinese!" Delia squealed, "Indian" Melinda said with a grin, "anyone want Italian or Lebanese" "no thanks" they chorused. She passed around the menus with a pen and told everyone to put a star next to whatever they wanted. When it came around to Carter he looked over at her uncertainly "whatever you want honey" she assured him, he smiled and made his pick.
"Dude, what happened to you head?" Ned asked Carter curiously, he shrugged " some assholes from Rockland. Johnny Fielder and his little gang of douche-bags" he explain with disdain, Delia's ears pricked up instantly and she leaned over to Melinda whispered quietly "Johnny Fielder is one of those new 'buddies' I was telling you about. See, I told you these kids were no good, look what they did to Carter" she said worriedly, Melinda bit her lip "Ned, would you mind helping me get some more drinks sweetie?" she asked, he looked up from what seemed to be a comical conversation with Carter and nodded "sure" he followed her into the kitchen and as soon as he got through the door she shut it behind him. "Johnny Fielder. You know him" she stated, her tone was somewhat angry and Ned felt a heavy lump of guilt weigh down his stomach "yeah...he's a friend" he explained "no, Ned, he's not a good person, look what he did to Carter! And he's 21 years old honey, how did you even get to know him?" she asked incredulously, he shrugged "I guess...I was their last Carter" he mumbled. "They beat you up!" she screeched as quietly as she could making Ned wince "well they tried, I fought back and so they figured that I could be...I don't know..like 'one of them' I guess" he said, Melinda shook her head "sit down" she commanded as she pulled out a chair for him, Ned did as he was told and she sat directly in front of him "listen to me Ned, in all the time that I've known you, you have been nothing but a charming, sweet, funny young man. Someone that I love spending time with, who's respectful to others...especially to his mom" she said softly. "Why are you doing this Melinda? I know my mom told you to" he bit defiantly, Melinda wasn't going to get angry though, she lay a hand on his shoulder "your mom didn't tell me to do anything, she has been so worried about you lately, you're distracted, your grades have plummeted, you won't talk to her and when you do you're being rude. Your mother is my best friend, okay? That means when she's hurt, so am I, I don't want you to be the kind of person that does that to people. You're so much better than them sweetie, and you have so many other friends. I just don't understand why you would feel like being with them is worth anything" her voice was questioning and Ned looked up to find her deep brown eyes searching his.
"I just wanted to be a part of something different, I have being known as a good kid all of the time, I just wanted people to see me as like...older and...a little dangerous. I know it's stupid, I mean, I don't even really like any of those guys and I'm pretty sure they don't like me either, I just thought if I could get a better..or worse rep around school them people wouldn't see me as such a golden boy" he sighed quietly and Melinda knew it must have been a relief to get that off his chest. "Ned, you're a wonderful young man, and I don't want anything to change that. Please think twice about it next time they ask you to go somewhere with them, if Jim and I had called the police tonight, they would all be sitting in a holding cell down at the police station. Next time they might not be so lucky, and neither will you, is it really worth it?" she asked. Ned shook his head "no, I guess not" he sighed, Melinda kissed his forehead and stood up to grab some glasses "here, can you carry these please?" she asked handing him bottles of soda, just as she went to open the door Ned stepped in front of her and set the bottles down, Melinda did the same with the glasses and he pulled her into a tight hug "thank you" he whispered, "thank you" she replied quietly, giving her a big smile he opened the door and headed back into the living room, when they got back Jim and Carter were sitting side by side both tilted at an odd angle to the left, Melinda walked around the couch and giggled as she saw the Wii steering wheels in their hands "I can't believe I didn't think of that" she said as they set the drinks down. "Owned!" Carter yelled as his car skidded over the finish line, everyone laughed at the outburst and his cheeks were tinted pink "okay Carter, you think you got skill?" Ned asked as Jim handed him the wheel "just watch me" he replied with a smirk. Melinda smiled, this was al lshe had ever wanted, a family, her best friend...and Jim. Jim was the one problem with this night, not because of anything he had done, because of what she couldn't do, Melinda wanted to curl up against his side and have his fingers running through her hair and when everyone else had left she wanted to be alone with him, just the two of them.
Little did she know, Jim was struggling too, he wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss Melinda when he felt like it, to pull her into his lap and kiss her so deeply that everyone else would want to leave the room, to have her in his arms as he carried her to bed...he shook the inappropriate thoughts from his mind and went back to watching the race, even though he wasn't staring at her wistfully anymore, he was still thinking about her. Always.