A/N: Speed Demon... not a favorite of mine if I'm being honest. The ghost is just so creepy and annoying lol. I did like the Jimel ghost busting that happened though ;) Enjoy! xx Mariah

Melinda had left the previous day after their daily lunch to travel to the estate sale. It was a six-hour drive and she wanted to be well prepared for the sale, so she left a day early in order to be well rested for the sale.

Jim had been upset he couldn't come along, even after requesting the days off, he hadn't been able to get them and instead stayed behind. He hated being away from her even to work, but two whole days? That was torture for him. He hated how cold the bed was, how quiet the house was without her laugh or cheerful voice. He hated being without his wife who made his day brighter just with a smile.

She only nineteen miles from home. Less than an hour, and he couldn't wait. The fruit stand that she was set on the fact that we'd bought apples there once. He loved her so much. But then she cut out. Static.

"Mel?" He called into the phone. "Melinda? Are you there? Mel?" No response. "Melinda?" He looked at the phone to see that it had failed and immediately pressed redial. "Redial," he muttered over and over again as he pressed the button and held the phone to his ear. "Redial..."

"We're sorry, but the person you are trying to call cannot be reached. Please hang up and try the call again." The phone operator said in its monotoned voice.

"Damn," he muttered and set the phone down.

She must've gone out of the reach of the closest phone towers at the moment. She'd call him back as soon as could.

Jim woke up before her the next morning like he usually did and just gazed at her beauty.

Melinda pouted her lips when she slept and tucked herself into a little ball if she got cold enough, and last night had been a cold one. She'd tucked herself completely into him to keep herself warm last night and he'd enjoyed every moment of it before she completely tucked herself under the blanket and turned away from him.

She needed her sleep, he admitted and kissed her bare shoulder before going to pull himself out of bed.

He needed a shower. He flipped the water on and quickly released his bladder before he hopped in, the water just the right temperature.

He dipped his head under the water, letting it run through his hair and down his shoulders. He regretted not waking her up now, he admitted as he felt himself grow as he did every morning, but usually had to take care of it himself. At least he did now that he had earlier shifts, but he would never wake his wife for something so stupid as a morning hard on.

Melinda sauntered through the curtain, closing it behind her, letting her hands roam up his back.

"Ooh someone's awake," she hummed against his back as he grasped his erection. "Were you thinking about me?"

He threw her a heart-stopping smile over his shoulder before he turned around.

"Guilty as charged?" He whispered. "You were just so beautiful and warm in the bed this morning... but you looked too comfortable to bother so I let you sleep."

He grabbed his body soap and put some in his hand. He began lathering his arms, his upper chest, and stomach.

A heated blush rose from her toes to her eyes. She was allowed to gawk at him, wasn't she? Her mind revolted to what she needed to get done. She had to wash her hair. She pumped the shampoo into her hand and lathered it into her hair, humming softly as she slid past him to rinse it out.

"Let me," he whispered, taking her sudsy hair and rinsing it out carefully before pressing a kiss to the back of her neck.

She reached for his bottle of body wash since she was currently out of her own and lathered up the soap to begin washing her arms. A pair of hands stopped her. She looked back to see Jim, his mouth pulled sideways into that smile she loved.

"This too?" She laughed.

How could she possibly resist that smile that made her heart swell, knees shake and mind numb? She couldn't. She didn't. She shrugged and watched, spellbound, as he scooped the soap from her hands and began to wash her right arm. Strong hands rubbed and swirled their way around her hand and up her arm. Reaching her shoulder, he massaged the shoulder, front and back, then her neck. He then began work on her left shoulder. He mirrored his ministrations on her left arm, then entwined his fingers with hers.

He pulled his head up and their eyes met. His mouth met hers faster than she could track and she let out another sigh. She drank in the kiss, tipping her head up to meet his mouth better. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her firmly to him. She stiffened a little, then moaned as her breasts pressed tightly against his chest. Her own hands rose and twined themselves in his hair. After a few seconds, his strong hands traveled just a bit lower and grabbed at her rear, admiring it with his hands as he pulled her near to him.

"I have to be at work soon," she gasped as his lips wandered over her upper body.

A kiss to her shoulder, one to her neck, another at her chin. He worked his way to her earlobe and nibbled on the skin there. She let out an enjoyable moan.

"And?" He moaned. "Delia will be fine to open alone if you're a few minutes late... she has a key, right?"

"Yeah," she melted into his arms as his fingertips ran up the sides of her torso, barely missing her breasts, but the next time, they didn't. "I guess I can be a little late..."

He pressed his head against her nipple, taking it into his mouth with a flick of the tongue, just a touch of teeth. She didn't bother to try to contain her mewling and she began to assume that she was supposed to react in this manner. He always enjoyed how vocal she could be.

"Oh," she purred. "Jim... make that an I'll definitely be late. I missed you last night."

They were in the kitchen, dressed and talking about the night before which hadn't come up when she'd gotten home. He was finishing off a bowl of cereal and she was spreading cream cheese onto his bagel he would eat after too.

"I just don't remember you ever being haunted by an actual skeleton before," he muttered, shoveling the last bite of cereal into his mouth.

Her husband could eat, always, and it made her smile.

"Oh it was a ghost believe me," she muttered.

"Don't they usually look the way they died the first time they come to you?" He asked.

Oh, Jim, her heart melted. He really did always pay attention to everything she said, especially during their ghostly conversations and she loved that about him.

He never once just pretended to listen. He always did.

"Yeah, so let's not even think about what happened to this guy." She said, spreading more cream cheese onto the bagel.

"How about we stay off that road so we never have to run into Halloween man again?" He suggested, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I love the 'Jim Clancy' simple approach," she joked, smiling at him and twitching her nose a little. "Avoid and deal with the consequences later."

"Avoidance," he said simply. "It's worked for guys, for centuries."

"He said someone was going to die," she said glancing over at him. "That doesn't exactly make me lean toward the option of avoidance."

"Alright, what does it mean?" He asked.

She moved past him, setting the last of his food on the plate and wiping her hands off as she walked toward her coat. "I don't know, I'll try and figure it out." She sighed. "That's what I do, right?"

"How?" He asked, following her.

"Don't know," she hummed softly as she grabbed her coat and purse. "See you for lunch?"

She met him halfway for a decent, abrupt kiss and turned to go, not truly wanting to go to work after their nice morning.

Jim put his arm behind her, stopping her movement to pulled her in for another kiss, one that was just as quick but almost soothed her for having to leave. She smiled at him widely through not only her teeth but through her eyes too. She loved him so much.

"Same time?" He kissed her again. "Same bench?" He asked, smiling down at her.

She couldn't help but laugh at him.

He really didn't want her to go just as much as she didn't want to leave. Her eyes always told him a story that sometimes her lips didn't.

"Yeah, the same one," she grinned at him, turning to leave. "Bye." She pulled her coat on and opened the door, blowing a kiss to him. "Make sure you eat that thing while it's still hot and not gross."

"I will, but wait, Mel." He walked over to her in the foyer and kissed her deeply, letting a little more time escape between them as he made her sure to kiss her properly before she left if he could. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, letting her hand rub the side of his face before pecking him again and slipping from his grasp to open the front door. "See you for lunch, honey."

He waved and watched her drive off before he closed the front door and went to eat his bagel.