Authors Note: Here's another chapter. I hope it's not confusing. Thanks for the reviews so far, and I hope you keep them coming. The more reviews I get, the more quickly I'll be inclined to update!!! And as a side-note: I know not many people are happy with the whole Jim-in-Sam's-body thing in the show… Which is part of the reason I'm writing this fic. I've developed my own resolution to that. So… more incentive to keep reading. If you're one of many that wants Jim back in his former (and absolutely gorgeous…lol) body, then you're going to like this story. Enjoy! And Review!
The sound of her alarm clock ripped Melinda out of a restful sleep. She groaned and rolled over, hitting the snooze button without bothering to open her eyes. Then she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her, and a soft kiss was placed on her cheek.
"Good morning, beautiful." Jim's voice rang out.
Another groan. Mel wasn't quite up to speaking yet, not this early, not when she was so rudely awakened by such annoying beeping.
Jim laughed. "Not a good morning?" He asked.
"Still tired…" Melinda mumbled. "Don't wanna get up."
"Then don't." Jim suggested logically. "Go back to sleep."
Melinda rubbed her eye, and then buried half her face in her pillow, causing her hair to tumble over the other half. Jim gently brushed it back into place.
"I wish I could." Mel said. "But I have to work."
"Ah, but you can call in sick." He smoothly stated. "Play hooky and just spend a glorious day in bed with me."
This solicited a genuine laugh from Melinda, and she sat up faced Jim, who had a most charming grin on his face.
"As tempting as that is, I don't think Delia would fall for it." She told him. "And why are you so cheery this morning?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm waking up next to my favorite person in the world for the first time in four months. I'd say that calls for some cheer." He replied.
Melinda smiled and leaned in to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back. Then, after a moment, he deepened the kiss and pulled her down onto the bed with him.
"Jiiim!" She protested, her lips still brushing his. "I have to get up."
He continued to kiss her between words as he spoke. "You don't have to be at the store for almost two hours. We've got time."
The man had a point. And besides, how could she resist him? She had all the time in the world for the man that she loved.
Hours later, at the store, Melinda glanced at her watch as she was checking the inventory on some items she just got in. She had plans to meet Jim for lunch at 1:00pm; it was already 12:30. How did this morning go by so fast? She thought. Oh well, best not to question it…
"Mel?" She heard Delia shout from the basement. "Could you come down here for minute?"
"Coming!" Melinda yelled in return, and got up to see what her friend and coworker wanted.
Melinda descended the stairs to the basement, and found that the lights were off, aside from a flashlight Delia was holding.
"The damn lights went out again." Delia stated. Her voice was dripping with annoyance, but also something else…. Fear? "So I grabbed the flashlight and tried to get to the power box to reset them, and I saw… this…"
She shone the beam from the flashlight onto the brick wall. On it, written in red paint, were the words: "IT'S NOT OVER, MELINDA. YOU WILL BE MINE. YOU ARE THE ONE."
"What does it mean?" Delia asked anxiously.
Melinda simply stood staring, in shock and horror, at the words written in front of her. She'd seen that writing, that red paint, before… It was years ago, but it played in her mind as if it was yesterday.
She walked into Andrea's apartment with Mitch… Afraid of what she would find. She turned on the light, and was terrified at what she saw. Written on all the walls were words in red paint: HATE HER! GET OUT! LIAR. DEAD. MELINDA. ROMANO.
"Melinda, are you alright?" Delia asked, moving closer and putting her hand on Mel's shoulder.
Melinda drew in a ragged breath, and looked away from the words. "It's Romano." She whispered.
"Who?" Delia asked.
Melinda looked at her, and shook her head. "It's a long story… But I think this means that something's coming. And it's not gonna be good."
Jim walked into the store at precisely 1:00, and happily greeted Delia on his way in.
"Hey! How's it going?" He asked, stepping up to the counter where Delia was sitting.
"It's going alright." She replied. "Look at you! I don't think I've seen you this happy in…. well…. Ever! Melinda told me you finally remember things?"
"Yeah, I do. It's about time, right?" He laughed. "Hey, where's Mel?"
Delia's smile faded, and she looked towards the basement door. "She's downstairs." She told Jim quietly, and then leaned in close to speak to him. "Look, something's going on, and she's refusing to talk about it, but I'm getting the vibe from her that we should be worried."
"Yeah. You're getting that too?" He asked seriously.
"Please get her to talk to you." Delia said. "I'm afraid if she doesn't tell someone what's going on soon, we're gonna be finding out for ourselves too late."
Jim nodded, and headed downstairs.
He found Melinda with a bucket and a sponge, harshly scrubbing the wall at the back of the basement. He came up next to her, and looked closely to see what she was working at. Although faded, the words were still there, clear as ever. He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Mel…" He said cautiously. "What's going on?"
Melinda stopped scrubbing, dropped her hands to her sides, and looked at Jim with tears in her eyes.
"It won't go away." She cried.
Jim intuitively knew that she was talking about more than just the paint. He took the sponge from her and dropped it back in the bucket, before pulling her into his arms and holding her closely.
"We're gonna have to talk about this." He whispered.
Jim and Melinda sat on the bench in town square. Jim reached into the bag he had brought from the deli and pulled out a sandwich. He opened the wrapper and took a bite, looking at Melinda out of the corner of his eye. She sat with her hands in her lap, looking down at the ground, obviously lost in thought.
"I brought you a turkey sub." Jim said.
Melinda sighed. "Thanks, but I think I'll save it for later. I'm not hungry."
Jim put his sandwich down, and turned so he was facing her. "You ready to talk yet?"
Melinda turned toward him and grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to keep anything from you…. I'm really not, it's just…" She trailed off.
"What?" Jim asked.
"We've been through so much." Mel said. "The last few months have been the worst time of my life, and now your memory is back and everything should be good… But I'm getting these warnings, and these signs, and I'm just so scared that something's going to happen. And I can't lose you again."
Jim wiped a few tears from Mel's eyes and kissed her, resting his forehead against hers for a moment. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"Tell me about the warnings." He said.
Melinda retold her dream to Jim; the part about the guardian spirit, the part about the lodge and Romano. Jim waited patiently for her to finish, and then he thought about it for a moment before he asked:
"So, do you think Romano was really there when I was shot?"
Melinda lightly shrugged. "I don't know. I was so scared by what was happening that I really wasn't paying attention. And then after you were shot… I didn't see any ghosts for days… " She said quietly. "The spirit said that I need to pay close attention to what surrounds me, and that there's already a lot I've missed. Maybe he was there the whole time and I just didn't see him."
Jim and Melinda were quiet for a minute, both trying to process what it could all mean. Then, Jim broke the silence.
"Mel, whatever happens… Whatever's coming. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Nothing's going to happen to me, and I sure as hell won't let anything happen to you."
"How can you say that?" Mel asked. "After what's already happened… What makes you think that we could stop it?"
"Look at where we are, Mel. I died, and still, here I am. What does that tell you?" Jim said.
Melinda was silent. Jim moved in closer to her, and put his hands on her arms.
"Honey, our love is stronger than anything out there. Our souls are connected, and no matter what life throws at us… We'll be okay. Because we'll always be together. We'll always have each other. In life or in death. There's nothing anyone can do to change that."
Mel threw her arms around Jim, and he hugged her back. She rested her chin on his shoulder and quietly whispered: "I hope you're right."