Author's Note: Well it's been a week or so since I've updated. Sorry about that, things have been kinda crazy in my life. But here's the new chapter! I hope you like it. Please leave me reviews!!!

Melinda felt strange… She could barely move. It felt as if her limbs were weighed down… even her eyelids felt too heavy to open. After a few moments of struggling, she finally broke through the grogginess enough to open her eyes. It was bright… She squinted against the sheer whiteness of her surroundings. She could feel someone standing beside her bed. Assuming it was Jim, she smiled and slowly turned her head. Standing there, though, was Romano.

Melinda shot up in bed, hugging her knees against her chest as if making herself smaller would protect her against him.

"Go away!" She begged.

"We can keep doing this the hard way, Melinda…. Or you can choose to join me now." Romano said.

"I'll never join you." Melinda said angrily.

Romano laughed. "As you wish…."

Jim was slouched in one of the hospital's waiting room chairs when the doctor approached him. Jim slowly stood up, trying to read the doctor's expression, but having no luck.

"I'm sorry, I realized I never got your name." The doctor said to Jim. "Mr…..?"

"Lucas." Jim replied. "Sam Lucas. How is Melinda?"

"Mr. Lucas." The doctor said. "When I examined Melinda more closely, I found that she had a few small pieces of glass embedded under the skin on her arm. They'd hit an artery, which is what caused her bleeding to be so severe. We removed the glass surgically, and closed up the wound, so now Melinda just has to rest and recover."

Jim took a moment to let the doctor's words sink in. "She's gonna be okay, right?" He finally asked.

"Yes." The doctor responded. "She'll be fine. You can see her now, if you like. She's in room 314. Although with the painkillers we've given her, there's a good chance she'll be out for the night."

Jim nodded, as he was already walking away, heading to see Mel. "Thanks, doc!" He called over his shoulder.

A minute later he was walking through the door to room 314, expecting to see Melinda lying in bed, fast asleep. Instead, she was sitting up in bed, backed as far against the side rail as she could get, curled up and crying.

"Mel?!" Jim said, rushing to her bedside. He quickly sat down beside her on the bed, and took her face in his hands to get her to look at him. "Mel, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Romano…" Melinda cried, and sniffled loudly. "He said…. He told me…."

"Romano?" Jim interrupted, his voice full of concern and fear. "Is he here? Now?"

"No." Mel said. "He just disappeared. But I'm scared, Jim… He keeps saying that he's going to get me to join him. And he's so powerful…. I don't think there's anything I can do to stop him."

Jim hugged Melinda tightly. "You're not giving up." He said softly but firmly.

"I can't fight him." Mel whispered. "I'm not strong enough."

"Then I will." Jim said.

Mel pulled back and looked at him, a puzzled expression on her face. "How?" She asked.

"By never leaving your side. I'm gonna stick to you like glue. There's not much he can do if I'm right there with you." Jim said. Then, he added, his voice tinged with doubt. "Right?"

Melinda only looked down. She just didn't know anymore…

Jim held Melinda in his arms, and there were a few moments of silence before he spoke again.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I don't know." Mel said quietly. "Kind of dizzy and weak… And really tired."

Jim sighed, and kissed the top of her head. "It's the painkillers." He murmured. "And you lost a lot of blood. You should try to sleep for a while."

Melinda nodded, and Jim helped her lay down before he sat down in a chair beside her bed. He smoothed her hair back from her face, and kissed her on the forehead as she closed her eyes and instantly dozed off.

Late the following evening, Melinda was released from the hospital. Both she and Jim were exhausted when they got home, so they immediately went up to bed. Melinda fell asleep right away, but Jim's mind was racing too much to allow him to rest. He couldn't stop thinking about Romano. Since the previous night, Mel had been especially quiet and withdrawn. She wouldn't talk about it, but he knew that it was because of what Romano had said to her.

He was scared; he knew that Romano was planning something, and based on what he had already done, Jim didn't even want to imagine what was going to happen next. He only wished there was some way he could stop it. He wanted to take Melinda away, far from Grandview and all the troubles that had been plaguing them for so long, but he knew deep down that it would make no difference. It would follow them wherever they went. But there had to be something he could do…. He thought about it until his mind couldn't even focus on the thoughts anymore, and he finally drifted off to sleep.

Jim awoke the next morning to the sound of raindrops tapping against the bedroom window. Before he even opened his eyes, he reached over to put him arm around Melinda, but he only made contact with the bed. His eyes shot open, and he saw that Mel wasn't there. Sitting up, he looked around the room, but she was nowhere in sight. He called her name, but heard no response. So he got up and began to search the house. She wasn't in the bathroom, nor was she in the living room. He was starting to get worried when he walked into the kitchen and saw her sitting at the table, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea.

"Mel!" He exclaimed, his voice a combination of anxiety and relief. He quickly walked over and wrapped his arms around her from behind, careful not to hurt her arm, and placed a series of kisses along her temple and cheek.

"Jim, what's wrong?" Melinda asked quietly.

"I woke up and you weren't in bed… I got worried." Jim admitted.

"Sorry." Mel said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jim crouched down in front of her so he could look her in the eyes, and noticed that she still looked exhausted. Her face was pale, and her eyes looked a little bit puffy with dark circles underneath them. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah." Mel said, taking his hands in hers. "I just have a headache… Couldn't really sleep any more."

Jim put the back of his hand to her forehead and then against her cheek, leaving it there to rest. "You feel a little warm. Did you take anything?"

"Yeah, I took some ibuprofen when I woke up." She told him, and saw the concern in his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing."

Jim nodded, and lightly kissed her on the lips. "Alright. But if it gets any worse, you let me know." He said, giving her a serious look.

"I will." She said, and then looked towards the clock on the stove. "What time is it?"

"It's quarter to eight." Jim replied.

"I have to be at work in a little over an hour." Mel mumbled, and stood up slowly. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"No fair, how come you always get first dibs?" Jim protested, also rising to his feet.

A mischievous grin began to spread across Melinda's face. "Because, ladies first!" She said, playfully shoving him before she began to walk out of the room. "But…. If you really can't wait…. I suppose I can make room." She winked at him over her shoulder, and ran up the stairs.

Jim's lips curled in a half-smile as a look of understanding came over his face. "Oh, I definitely can't wait." He called and chased after her.

It was a slow day at the shop. It was already 1:00pm and they'd only had a handful of customers, so Melinda decided to sort through some boxes while Delia made a run to Villiage Java to grab them some coffee. Delia had suggested that Melinda close up shop for a few minutes and come with her (mainly because Jim had called her to tell her what had happened a couple of night before, and asked her to keep an eye on Mel) but Melinda stubbornly insisted that she would be fine on her own for a few minutes. She needed the quiet; she didn't want to say anything and worry her friend, but her headache had only gotten worse over the course of the day.

She was putting some antique vases on a shelf when Romano appeared behind her.

"You're time is running short, Melinda." He said malevolently.

Melinda turned around and glared at him. "You don't scare me, Romano."

Romano laughed. "You can't fool me. I can feel your fear. It's what makes me strong."

Melinda put a hand to her head. She was suddenly feeling really dizzy, like the room was spinning faster and faster. "Stop." She said weakly. "Just go away."

He only came closer to her. He stood right beside her and whispered in her ear, "I never go away. I'm always here. I always have been. You can't escape me."

And with that he disappeared, and Melinda slid to the floor, fighting to stay conscious.

A minute later, Delia entered the shop with the coffees for her and Melinda. She placed them on the counter; it was a moment before she saw Melinda, sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, her head in her hands. Delia rushed over and knelt down beside her.

"Melinda! Honey, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly, putting her hand on Melinda's shoulder. She was trembling, her hands over her face, slumped with her arms resting on her crossed legs. She didn't respond but Delia could hear her quick, panicked breathing and it was scaring the hell out of her.

"Melinda, talk to me, please! What's going on?"

Melinda didn't move, but her voice came through her hands, muffled and shaky. "Delia…"

"That's it, I'm calling Jim." Delia said.

"No!" Melinda cried out as her head quickly shot up. Then, another wave of dizziness hit her and her head dropped back down into her hands.

Delia grabbed Melinda's shoulders, afraid she was going to faint any minute.

"Please." Mel whimpered softly. "I can't…"

Delia wouldn't let her finish her thought. "Melinda, I have to. I promised him if anything happened I would call him immediately."

Melinda didn't respond, so Delia pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit the number to speed-dial Jim. In just five minutes he was running through the door.

Melinda still hadn't moved from her position on the floor. Delia had tried to get her to a couch to lay down, but she just wasn't getting through to her. She was completely out of it.

Jim ran to Melinda and dropped down to the floor in front of her. He put his hands on her shoulders and shot Delia a questioning glance.

"I ran to get coffee and she was like this when I got back. She's barely responding to anything I say. I don't know what's wrong." Delia quickly told him.

"Has she lost consciousness at all?" Jim asked.

"Not that I know of…" Delia replied.

Jim looked at Melinda closely. "Mel? Honey? Can you hear me?"

"Jim." Mel whispered, and tried to lift her head, but it was just spinning too much. He helped her sit up, and she leaned against the wall behind her weakly. Jim put his hands on either side of her face, and then pulled one back quickly and felt her forehead with it.

"God, you're burning up." He said softly.

Tears began to stream down Melinda's face, and she let out a quiet sob.

"Hey… Hey, don't cry." Jim said, wiping away her tears. "It's gonna be okay."

"No." Mel said, her voice broken.

"What?" Jim asked. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"It's Romano." Mel cried. "It's him…. He's doing this. It's not gonna stop."

Mel threw herself into Jim's arms, and he held her as she shook and cried. He looked at Delia, who was standing there watching fearfully, not understanding what was going on.

Delia saw the fear in Jim's eyes, which made her even more afraid for her friend. The same thought was going through all three of their minds': how can you stop a murderous ghost who won't go away?