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!

"No...please...don't..I'm scared" Melinda whimpered in her sleep, Jim rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked down at his watch-3:01am- he ran his hands through his hair and pulled Melinda tighter against him "I'm...so scared...d..'t let him...don't, make him stop" she whispered, Jim clenched his jaw angrily at what he knew she was dreaming about. "He's here...no...please..he's hurting me" with a gasp Melinda sat bolt upright, her chest heaved up and down with her heavy breaths of panic and her eyes were wide and feverish. "You're okay Melinda, you'll be okay" Jim whispered as he pulled her back down "I need to talk" Melinda said quietly, "are you sure you're ready?" Jim asked worriedly, she nodded "I have to" she whispered.

Jim cupped her face with his hands and cradled it gently "I'll listen" he whispered before kissing her, "they put me in the trunk of their car Jim, they were in a hurry because they knew the police would trace our phone call to the house, they called someone and arranged to have a car waiting for us so we could swap. While we were waiting I got sick, he kept taunting me...threatening me, I was terrified. When the other car got there, J.. injected me with something and pushed me back into the trunk, I couldn't feel my arms and legs, I couldn't think straight, and eventually I passed out I guess. I only woke up because he was so...rough, David pulled me out of the trunk, I have no idea how long I was out but it was the next day and it was already dark. That warehouse, it looked like something out of a horror movie, I thought 'If I go in there, there's no way I'm coming out' it was raining...pouring, I thought about how my dad used to let me splash in puddles when I was a kid, about how I fell asleep on the balcony in the rain that night and you brought me inside, I prayed that it wouldn't be the last time I ever saw the rain. It's funny, the things you think you'll miss so much when you didn't even know you really cared about them, it's weird, I kept thinking about every decision I'd ever made, wondering if my life was as good as it could have been, if I'd made the most of everything I had"

Melinda's chest began to hurt and she adjusted herself so she was laying flat on her back, Jim shuffled onto his side and draped his arm over her stomach "I can't imagine...it must have been so hard...to think that..that it could be the end" Jim whispered, "It was at first I guess, but after a while I realised that...death....death would be a gift in comparison to what I knew they were going to do, we got inside and I was feeling so dizzy, I needed the sugar shot, I asked him for help, David...he laughed Jim, he laughed at me. I guess I realised that he really didn't care at all, he had no conscience, David did it again...he made me...he held me down" Melinda began to cry and Jim's heart broke for her "sssh, it's okay, you can stop if you want to" he said softly, Melinda took a deep breath "I cried myself to sleep after a while, what else could I do, there was no way out, everything in there was gray, all different shades of gray, I thought I might go crazy after a while of staring at the same four walls. I've never really been a religious person, I believe in God I guess, but I don't go to church or anything, but I prayed...I prayed every second that I was awake that either I would die before they could hurt me again, or that someone would find me and bring me home. I guess God wasn't listening either" she added the last part in a sad whisper.

"I didn't even know what State we were in, what town. David and Joe must have gone out drinking, when they came back David had this bottle of Vodka, he was screaming at me about what I had done to him and what he was going to do to me, I heard this smash and when I looked up he was holding the top of the bo-" Melinda's voice hitched and the tears started again, Jim just waited silently rubbing circles on the back of her hand as she calmed down "he hit me with it, it was so sharp...I just remember the shock, I couldn't believe that he had done it, the glass slashed through my skin so easily, the pain...oh God, the pain. I couldn't think, I just screamed over and over and over. That night they took me to the bathroom and I tried to run, they left me in there and I couldn't see anyone when I came out, the elevator was just down the hall...I thought I could make it...I was wrong. I got the doors open and I was just stepping in when he caught me...he was so furious, he just kept shaking and shaking me, he was holding my shoulders...I couldn't see anymore, everything was going dark. He threw me....he threw me into a wall, it was like I didn't weigh anything, just one sweep of his arm and I was gone, he was kicking, I remember at that moment trying to think of what I did wrong, I must have done something to deserve it, no one would let that happen to someone good, so I figured I must have done something bad enough to deserve it. He started slamming my head into the floor, it was bare concrete. I could feel myself slipping away and I was so...happy, I thought it would finally be over, I hoped I wouldn't wake up again, I lost hope completely. I remember, just before I passed out, I asked him to do it, to kill me."

Jim shuddered and kissed the top of her head as she took a deep breath. "Water?" he offered, Melinda nodded "please" she answered quietly, Jim helped her to sit up wincing when she did "sorry" he mumbled as he propped her up against the pillows "it's just a little sore still" she replied taking the bottle of water that he was holding out for her, after taking a few sips Melinda set it down and ran her hands through her hair.

"It was...Sunday, I guess, when I next woke up, God I had such a headache, I felt sick, I was tired and bruised, I just remember there was blood everywhere, I couldn't even remember what had happened, there were cuts I didn't remember getting, bruises I didn't remember happening. At one point this siren went past, I thanked God, I was finally being saved, but it went straight past. That's when David made me call you.." she trailed off, Jim took her hand in his and nodded "I remember, God, I was so glad to hear your voice, but you sounded so weak, so broken, it made me sick to know what you were going through, I felt like my hands were tied, so helpless" he sighed and rested his chin on Melinda's head.

"After the phone call he was angry, I don't know why but he was even worse than before, he just kept hitting, kicking, pushing...he cut me. I was going in and out of consciousness I guess, I don't remember all of it, just flashes, bits and pieces of my own personal horror movie. I had some kind of a seizure and it freaked him out, I hadn't eaten in days, I hadn't taken my meds, after that, I don't remember anything until I woke up Wednesday night, what day is it today?" she asked confusedly, Jim chuckled "Wednesday. You were in hospital until Friday when you discharged yourself, you came back here on Sunday, I can't believe you've already been home for a week, it doesn't seem that long to me, I feel like I just got you back" he whispered, Melinda shifted uncomfortably "but you get that I'm not staying, right? I mean...you do understand?" she asked, he sighed "I guess I was hoping you would feel better and change your mind, that's not gonna happen?" he asked sadly "I need to spend some time figuring things out, I need to get away from here, go back home and say goodbye properly, then head somewhere new, somewhere nobody knows what happened, who I am, I'll go back to school I guess, maybe even start performing again, I miss dance so much...and singing, I dream of a day when I can just get up on a stage and not feel like hiding away...when I can stand up proud and show everyone what I want to do" she said surely.

Jim shook his head "how are we gonna say goodbye?" he whispered, "we're going to be okay Jim, you'll find happiness without me, you'll meet someone and fall in love and have a family...everything you ever wanted" she said softly, Jim had tears rolling fast down his cheeks as he shook his head "all I ever wanted is you Melinda, no one else, nothing else. You can't ask me to forget, you can leave and take away the pictures and the phone calls and the girl...but you can't take away the memories. It just doesn't work that way" he insisted, Melinda shook her head "I'm sorry Jim, I don't want to hurt you, but I can't think of any other way for this to work, I can't be a girlfriend right now, I'm terrible at it, I depend on you too much, I shut you out, I won't talk to you, sometimes I won't even let you touch me, is that really what you want? Can you honestly say that when you picture your ideal girlfriend, those are the things that come to mind?" she asked, Jim rolled his eyes "what comes to mind is you Melinda, I love you, I like that you need me, it makes me so happy that I'm the one you lean on, I don't mind the silence, sometimes I don't wanna talk either, I would never hold those things against you Melinda because I know why you are the way you are, you're not a terrible girlfriend, you're the best thing that ever happened to me and if I lose you...it's like losing the best part of myself" he said quietly.

"I love you Jim, but I'm losing myself a little more every second, I was never like this, I was never a shy, quiet, introverted person who had to have people looking out for her 24/7. I was loud and giggly and fun and independent, I had so many friends and I was smiling all the time, I was so lazy that sometimes I wouldn't even wake up until lunch time, now I can't sleep past 4:00am at the latest, this is not right Jim, I'm sick, not just my body, it's my mind too, I'm so tired of trying to be okay, I just need to be alone, no pressure, no expectations, just me. I'm sorry that I'm hurting you, I truly an, and I'll never forgive myself, but I can't just forget what happened Jim, because it happened to me, I was there alone and I need to deal with it alone. I don't expect you to understand, but I want you to believe me when I say that it's better for both of us, I'm not in the right place to deal with anything other than trying to live through each day at the moment. I love you, I'll never stop loving you, but I can't...I just can't" she sobbed.

Jim pulled her gently into his arms and held her gently "I'll miss you so much" he whispered, Melinda looked up at him "me too" she replied, Melinda kissed his chin to make him lower his head before she kissed him properly, they hadn't kissed that way since they had been on holiday at the cabin, on Melinda's birthday. Jim could feel Melinda's tears between them and it only added to his pain "I know I have to let you do this, I know" he whispered against her lips, "thank you Jim, you saved me from the silence, from them, but most importantly...you saved me from myself" she whispered back, Jim nodded "and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, anything to keep you safe Melinda" he tangled his fingers into her hair and kissed her deeply setting her heart fluttering and her breath hitched. Melinda grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pressed herself to him as close as she could without hurting herself "we'll be together again one day Melinda, I won't let you slip away forever" Jim mumbled, she smiled against him "I'll hold you to that" she whispered back.

Hey yall hope you're loving xmas break as much as I am, given me lots of writing time LOL xxxx Please slip me a review if you liked it xx love you guys, you're what keeps me writing xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx