Almost a month had passed since Rick returned home and everything started to settled back to normal. He and Melinda fell back into their fun and comfortable friendly banter but to Rick's pleasant surprise, they saw each other almost everyday. He also noticed that Melinda didn't roll her eyes almost everytime he flirted with her. He was enjoying whatever it was going on between them.

Rick was putting his office back together at the university. Everything was coming along and he was enjoying himself. He missed the red trim and his name on the door. He missed the old smell of the slate air of the office. He missed the sound of multiple pairs of footsteps pass by.

Knock knock knock

Rick looked up to see Eli walking in.

"There he is!" Eli said with a grin. Rick smiled at his fellow professor and friend. Eli was the man he trusted to help Melinda when he left for the Himalayas. Eli happened to had an near death experience which gave him the gift to hear ghosts but not see them. An added bonus was that Eli had many police friends which helped them both with ghosts. Eli had been a guest teacher for another university and didn't get to greet Rick home right away.

"Eli!" Rick said with a chuckle. The two men shook hands.

"Welcome back Rick. How was your trip?" Eli asked as they sat down. Rick gave him his usual lazy grin as he opened the box on his desk.

"Well it was mostly cold and snowing so it was your usual sabbatical to the Himalayas. I just happened to forget my swim trunks." He said dryly as he slowly started pulling out artifacts. Eli chuckled at him.

"I see you haven't changed a bit Rick." He said shaking his head softly. Rick grinned and shrugged.

"Can't really expect people to change just because they travel half across the world now, can ya?" Rick said putting his artifact on his bookshelf. Eli grinned.

"No I guess not. So if that part of you hasn't changed then I can guess you're still the same man I met a year ago." Eli said. Rick returned back to the box on his desk and dug into it.

"That would be correct!" Rick said matter-of-factly.

"So then, do you still feel the same way then?" Eli asked. Rick furrowed his brows and paused looking up at his fellow man.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he went back to digging. He pulled out a picture frame when Eli spoke.

"About Melinda." Eli said simply. Rick paused as he looked up at Eli. He looked at his friend and he felt weird. He reminded telling Eli how Melinda was the most incredible person he's ever met. Then he looked at the picture in his hand and he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw it was a photo of the two of them with Melinda recieving her plaque of saving the children from Gabriel's attack. He suddenly felt his palms grow sweaty and his stomach flip flop while his heart raced slightly. He swallowed and looked at Eli. Eli raised an eyebrow as Rick thought of a way to answer.

"I uh-"

"Knock knock!" Said a cheery voice suddenly. The two looked up to see Melinda and Delia walking with a white box with a ribbon and a tray of coffees. The women smiled at the men which made Rick very grateful for the sudden surprise. He grinned at Melinda and set the photo face down.

"Hey! What are you guys doing here?" Rick asked as he walked around his desk. The women smiled as Eli stood up. Delia walked over and offered a coffee.

"We are here to officially welcome you back to your old stomping grounds!" She said with a tease. Rick chuckled as he grabbed a coffee and put it on his desk. Delia passed out the coffees and Melinda came up to him. He smiled as he looked at the box.

"Is that a cake or a hat?" He asked hoping she would get his joke. Melinda giggled and shook her head. Melinda smiled fondly as she remembered bringing Ramano's hat to Rick. She distinctively remember Rick swearing while crawling around on the floor looking for his keys only for her to find them hanging by his door. It was Kate once again but she giggled as he got excited about her possibly having a cake.

"It's neither this time." She said. Rick grinned at her and she presented it to him.

"This, is an office warming gift." She said. Rick smiled at the box and pulled at the ribbon. It fluttered to the floor and Rick slowly opened the lid. He grinned as he saw an antique book. He took it out and looked to see that it was an antique poetry book.

"Alfred Tennyson. A classic!" He said looking at the book gently.

"It came in with all of these old books. I thought you might enjoy it." Melinda said looking at the cover. Rick looked up at her and smiled.

"I love it." He said. Melinda grinned at him and a throat was suddenly cleared. The two looked to see Delia and Eli staring at them. Rick coughed and smiled at Delia.

"Thank you both ladies. I shall add it to my shelf." He said holding the book gently. Delia smiled and sipped her coffee. Rick walked over to his shelf and placed the book delicately away on the shelf. Rick then turned and faced the group and clapped his hands together.

"How about we go for lunch? There'sa cafe around the corner with great sandwiches!" He asked. Delia grinned.

"I like the sound of that!" She said. Eli shrugged.

"Why not?" He said. Melinda smiled.

"I'm in!" She said with a smile.

"Perfect! Let's go!" Rick said walking towards his desk grabbing his coat. He quickly threw it on and then smiled at the group. Both Eli and Delia noticed that he smiled just a bit bright at Melinda and he looked at her.

"After you!" He gestured the woman. Melinda walked and Rick followed behind. Delia looked at Eli as they followed behind.

"He hasn't changed a bit, has he?" She asked with a lazy smile. Eli chuckled.

"Not one bit!" Eli agreed. The two chuckled at each other. The two friends followed each other as they caught up to Rick and Melinda.