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!

Thank you for all the reviews for last few chapters xxx Love you guys xx

Ps. This chapter focuses on Melinda and Christopher's relationship because I think it's special and I want to show that, this was really sad to write xxx

Melinda glanced up at Olivia's teary eyes and nodded "are you sure?" Christopher asked softly, Melinda nodded again "sweetheart, you understand that would mean signing release forms to say that we're not your carers anymore, we wouldn't legally be able to look after you anymore" he pressed. Melinda wiped tears from her sallow cheeks and nodded again "right then, well...I guess that's it. I'll make arrangements in the morning" he said coldly, not intentionally being mean, but he sounded detached and unfriendly, Melinda couldn't fight the new wave of tears that flooded her eyes and Jim kissed the top of her head, Olivia glared at Christopher and shot Melinda an apologetic smile "sweetheart, we only want what's best for you, so if you feel like you're ready to go, we won't stop you, and we'll always be here for you...but make sure you think it through, because it can't be undone once you make it official" she said softly, Melinda nodded slowly and took a deep breath "we'll still talk though, right?" Holly whispered, Melinda's eyes welled up and she turned away "I think we should talk about something else" Jim said softly.

"The..uh..doctor said that you could um...go home...I mean...to our house in the morning if you're feeling up to it, since everything went well...they said you should be fine now. That's good, right?" Alexis tried, Melinda nodded distantly and glanced around the room, her eyes locked on Christopher's and she sighed softly "Melinda, I'm sorry...I just..can we talk...alone?" Christopher asked, she glanced at Jim nervously before nodding "Jim, are you staying here tonight?" he asked, Jim looked down at Melinda in his arms and nodded before kissing her head softly "do you need us to stay too? Or would you rather we came back in the morning?" Melinda cuddled closer to Jim and Olivia smiled "we'll be back before 9;00 to pick you up sweetheart, we'll bring you some clean clothes too", "don't worry about that, I packed Melinda a bag before we left, she has clothes for tomorrow" Jim said, Olivia smiled "well done sweety, okay....Melinda?....can I have a hug?" she asked gently, Melinda leaned out of Jim's embrace and winced as her ribs ached "careful" Olivia whispered before wrapping her arms gingerly around her and kissing her neck "I love you honey, I'll see you in the morning, try to get a good night's sleep, we can talk more about you...leaving...tomorrow".

Everyone took turns in hugging Melinda and leaving until it was just her, Mitch and Jim in the room "Melinda, I know we never really got a chance to know each other that well, but you're my sister..and I love you, and you leaving...it won't change that" Mitch sais honestly, Melinda looked up at him with tears in her eyes and surprised everyone...she smiled. A real smile that reached her glistening eyes and warmed her face, she touched a hand over her own heart before holding her arms out slightly to invite him for a hug, "I'll see you in the morning" he whispered in her ear as he held her gently before kissing her cheek and leaving. "I'll uh...should I wait outside?" Jim asked, Melinda looked questioningly at Christopher and he smiled "if it's okay with Mel" he replied, she nodded and Jim lifted her carefully off of his lap and set her back on the bed "I'm just outside if you need me" he whispered before leaving.

"Melinda, I just wanted to say...I..I just- God, this is even harder than I thought!" he said with an exasperated sigh, Melinda watched intently as he closed his eyes and tried to think of the right words to say. "When I came to California.." he began "I was shooting a film in Bev. I didn't plan....I had no intention of going to Olive Crest when I got there, but I was talking to one of my friends and he talked about how he and his wife had just adopted a little boy, Jonathan, he was 4 and a half years old, they showed me pictures of him and told me how well he was doing...-Oh God!...Melinda?" he called anxiously, her face had gone blank and he knew she was having a flashback

-"This will be your room, it's not too purple I hope" Lisa said biting her lip, Melinda stayed silent but gave a slight shake of her head "okay, well, I'll give you a little while to get settled and then I'll pick you up for dinner, everyone eats down at the hall at 7:00, are you okay to be up here alone?" she asked softly, Melinda nodded and turned away from her to look around the room, as she turned in a small circle she took in the butterflies painted on one wall, the glittery painted walls that sparkled as light from the pink desk lamp shone, the light pink carpet that looked as though it had never been walked on, the clean flowery scent that gently floated through the air....and the little boy.

Melinda jumped in surprise as she turned back to find a tiny boy standing in her doorway, he had dark brown curls with natural highlights, radiant caramel skin, light hazel eyes and only his front teeth, he couldn't have been much more than 3 years old. "Hi" he chirped in his young voice, Melinda wiped the tears from her face and gave a small wave "my mama go way, you mama go way too?" he asked sweetly, Melinda nodded slightly, he was wearing a stripy blue and green t-shirt with a cute pair of tiny jeans and baby Nike sneakers. "Wha you name?" he asked, she took a deep breath and gave him a smile "Melinda" she answered "Jonathan...you pwetty" he said, "thank you sweety, you're gorgeous" she said.

Melinda walked towards him and opened her arms "you're not meant to be up here" she mumbled as she picked him up, just then a frantic looking woman ran past her room yelling "Jonathan! Sweety, are you up here?" Melinda stepped out of her room and the woman whipped around "baby! There you are sweety, what did we tell you, no running away in storytime" she scolded softly, he rested his head on Melinda's shoulder and she shuffled uncertainly "Minda" he squealed nodding his head, "oh my god!" the woman yelled "he spoke, he spoke to you...how did you do that?...we've been trying for days...he stopped talking and then..we couldn't make him start again...he SPOKE to you!" she said excitedly, Melinda gave her a nervous smile and patted Jonathan's back "you made a friend Jonny" the woman cooed holding out her arms to him "Minda! He yelled clinging to her tighter, "oh I see, you have a new girl now!" she joked "okay, well, Melinda would you mind coming downstairs with him?" she asked, Melinda eyed her nervously before shaking her head and following. As they reached the bottom of the stairs Melinda tried to lift Jonathan out of her arms but he wouldn't let go...he wouldn't let go-

"He wouldn't let go" Melinda mumbled as she blinked a few times, "who sweety? Who wouldn't let go?" Chris asked frantically "Jonathan" she whispered, "you knew him?" he asked in shock, Melinda nodded but kept silent and Christopher knew that her side of the conversation was over. "Well, as I was saying...they told me about Olive Crest and I told them that my wife and I were guardians to five kids already but I said I'd love to check it out, meet some of the kids and stuff. I went down there the next day and held the new babies, played with the toddlers, had lunch with the teens, it was amazing, everyone there was so kind and loving they really cared about the kids, I could tell. They showed me the book with each kid and their bio, I saw a picture of you and it confused me a little, I asked them why you hadn't been around, if you'd maybe been adopted already but they said no, They told me that you didn't like eating with everyone else so you stayed up your room, they told me that you didn't talk and were very reserved. There was something about your picture, those eyes...you looked so hurt, I could feel it, I told them I wanted to see you but they refused.."

Melinda looked at him questioningly knowing that she had an interview with him before he left back for New York.

"..I know what you're thinking...we did meet. I told them that I was interesting in looking after another child and so they told me everything they knew about you and arranged an interview. I was so nervous, I just kept thinking to myself "what if she hates you? What if she's afraid of you? What if she says she doesn't want to stay with you?" they made that room all comfortable, pillows everywhere and those huge beanbags, I sat and waited on the couch while they went to get you...they had told me you were 16 and so I guess I was expecting someone a little...bigger..you were so small and fragile looking. You walked in holding Lisa's hand, hanging behind a little and you looked so terrified of me...I remember that moment so well... I felt like such a horrible person for putting you through that, my own curiosity was causing you distress and that's the exact opposite of what I wanted. But you came in nonetheless and listened to my nervous rambling...I told you everything I could think of about Lisa and I and the kids, you probably thought I was crazy."

Christopher chuckled and Melinda smiled shuffling across so he could sit on the bed, he sat beside her and Melinda rested her head on his shoulder "I left that day knowing that I had to know you, I wanted to be the one to make you better, to give you a loving home and family and everything else you needed, so I asked Olivia and she...wow, she was ecstatic, she said yes straight away and told me she would start decorating bedrooms that night, she knew that John would be leaving soon and the others were all getting older too... Olive Crest were delighted, a little apprehensive about how you might react, but they agreed that it would be in your best interest to come and live with us. The next two weeks were filled with preparing the kids, the house, the rooms, it was a wonderful excuse for the girls to go shopping every day I guess. I wondered...about Jim, I was scared that he might not deal with it too well since it took him such a long time to settle in with us, he of course wouldn't speak to anyone about it but Mitch told us one day that he had said it would be cool to have a little sister...I guess he wasn't quite expecting for you mean what you do to him. I was so excited when the day came, I couldn't concentrate at work at all, I just kept thinking about your little face and how much I'd love to see a smile on it..."

Melinda looked up as she felt something tap her shoulder, she found that Christopher had tears running down his sun-kissed cheeks and he quickly scrubbed at them with the back of his hand. "I came home and you were standing in the middle of the lounge, I couldn't believe it...you were actually there, I was over excited I suppose, I'm so sorry for scaring you that day honey, I shouldn't have rushed to you like that, but when you spoke to me at the dinner table, oh it warmed my heart to know that you had forgiven me so willingly, so readily. And then it happened..you smiled...at me, I knew right then that if I died, I'd die a happy man Melinda, that was the best gift I could ever ask for. I know that you want to leave...and I guess I have to support that, but when a child moves away from home...they're still your child, it's the same for you Melinda, just because I wasn't there when you were born or you started school or first rode a bike...doesn't mean I don't love you as much as any other father would, and I swear to you, even when the papers are signed and you move on...I never will, you'll always be in my heart, you'll always be my little girl, and I hope that one day you'll come back and show us that you made the right choice, that you're happy and healthy. I'll always love you Melinda....always."