Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!
Once again.....I must warn you...the story has some twists and turns coming up in this chapter and future chapters which some of you may not like and some characters may be OOC but I ask you to trust me. Just as Melinda does every day.....I'm going to have to ask you to keep an open mind x I promise you I am a fairytale fan and therefore partial to a happy ending...It just may be a bumpy road to get there x
A/N: Okay....so for the next chapter I'm considering doing an M rated one.....What do you guys think? Let me know in a review xx
"How are you?" he asked, pulling Melinda to the living room and motioning for her to sit down, she sat down on the couch next to him "I'm fine thank you" she answered, smiling "do you want something to drink?" Rick shook his head and bit his lip. "Melinda, there's something I need to tell you" Rick took Melinda's hands in both of his, just like he had at the hospital. When Melinda saw the pained expression Rick's face held, she knew it was something serious, she had never seen him look so sad and what scared her even more was the fact that he wasn't even trying to make jokes.
"Rick what's wrong?" she asked quietly, "Melinda this is gonna be the hardest thing I think I've ever had to do, so please don't say anything yet...I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get through this, there are so many things that I want to say to you........... I actually already told you all of this in the hospital but I kinda get the feeling you were ignoring me" he joked nervously "sorry, that wasn't funny what I meant to say was that you weren't actually conscious at the time..uummm how do say this?....I'm not the prom King of this high school Melinda, I don't have a lot of friends, I like to be alone. I don't like going out, and it completely irritates me when my phone rings and it's...anybody....except for you."
" You came into my office one day, asking a ton of questions, stealing my theories, making me doubt every rational explanation I had ever come up with. I should have felt annoyed....but I didn't...quite the opposite actually, I soon found myself enjoying your company. I actually started praying that a ghost problem would come up just so that I'd have an excuse to see you, I started thinking about you...things that had nothing to do with ghosts. I thought about how you always smell sweet, like flowers...I thought about your shampoo and how I love that your hair smells like strawberries...how your eyes are always sparkling, how your lips look so soft and how I love it when you smile, how you wrinkle your nose a little when I make a less than funny joke. I started relating everything I saw to you and..
...I started to think about you in a way that only Jim should be allowed to..."
Rick paused and looked down, ashamed of his inappropriate feelings. He looked up to see Melinda's face but wished he hadn't when he realised that she was crying "Rick, I don't understand...what are you saying?" Melinda whispered. "I'm saying that you're the exception to all of my rules, you're what makes me smile and laugh, you're what makes me happy Melinda...I'm saying I'm in love with you....and it kills me to know that you don't feel the same." Rick sighed and turned his face away from Melinda in an attempt to conceal the burning tear that was rolling down his cheek. He sucked in a deep breath before continuing " I got offered a job, it's a research programme....I mailed them my acceptance yesterday."
Melinda stood up and crossed the room to the window where she sat down with her knees brought up to her chest and stared outside. "I...I think...I already knew. I wasn't sure but...I guess I could ...feel that love coming from you, in the way you looked at me or smiled. Don't ever think that I don't love you too Rick, of course I do. You're one of the best friends I've ever had-" Rick cut Mel off mid-sentence "best friends!? Don't you get it Melinda? I love you, I love you as so much more than a friend...so much that it makes my heart ache every time I see you with Jim. I hate that you're with him and not me, I hate that I can't just hold you and kiss you and love you.... That's why I have to go Melinda. The job...It's out in South America, Brazil.....I leave next week, my study will be based in the Amazon Rainforest."
Rick walked over to Melinda, she was staring back at him with a panicked look in her eyes. "Melinda I know it's a shock, but I think it's for the best, I'll miss you so much...I'll e-mail you as soon as I can, I don't think I could handle hearing your voice." Melinda was sobbing hard with sadness and fear battling in her brain, Rick knelt down to her level and hugged her tightly whispering in her ear "I'll always love you" before placing a long soft kiss in the crook of her neck. "Rick-..no..you can't.....please don't leave" she choked out, Rick stood up, pulling Mel with him.
"I know you'll hate me for this but I don't think I have the strength to regret it" Rick breathed before leaning forward and touching his lips softly to hers, when he didn't feel her push him away he decided to test the limits. He gently began moving his lips against Melinda's and wasn't surprised when she didn't return the kiss but he decided he wasn't ready to let go just yet, he placed one hand on her waist and pulled her closer and wound the other hand in her hair, revelling in its silkiness. Rick smiled against Melinda's mouth and gently ran his tongue along her bottom lip seeking entrance, he took the opportunity when she parted her lips in a gasp, but she still didn't say no. Their tongues danced as their bodies pressed together until eventually the need for oxygen brought the kiss to an end. Rick stroked Melinda's face, wiping away the tears which were falling freely, then turned and walked towards the door, not noticing the change in Mel's expression.
As the door slammed shut, Melinda could feel the fear rising and spreading throughout her body as she was dragged into a panic attack, her thoughts becoming frantic - he's leaving, Oh God! No no no ...wait..what did I do?! please, he can't...no! Jim will find out and he'll leave. He can't leave me, please, please stop. I have to calm down....but he's leaving! Help me...please help me I can't breathe!- Melinda began breathing heavily in an attempt to calm herself down but only ended up hyperventilating. She ran up the stairs and fell to her knees on the bathroom floor, shaking.
Lights danced in front of Mel's eyes as she tried to wet her face with cold water, which Jim had done to help with her previous panic attacks, but found it wasn't helping so she frantically pulled her Jeans and black t-shirt off, turned the shower on and stood under the harsh spray. The ice-cold water came as a shock and helped to snap her out of her attack, allowing her to relax just enough to let the sorrow take over. She thought of everything Rick had said, what they had just done and how she didn't deserve Jim anymore....she had betrayed him, leaning back against the shower wall, Melinda slid down until she was lying on her side at the bottom of the shower, curled up and sobbing violently.
Jim pulled into the driveway after a long wait in the traffic line, he locked up the car and opened the front door. Quietly setting his bag down, he climbed the stairs two at a time until he heard a strange noise coming from the bathroom. He walked up to the door and heard the shower running, but also what sounded like crying. "Mel are you okay honey?" he asked worriedly before slowly pushing the door open. At first glance he didn't notice Melinda but soon caught sight of his wife laying half naked and curled up on the shower floor, crying. "JESUS, MEL WHAT HAPPENED?" he yelled, rushing to turn the water of and grimacing as the icy spray hit his skin.
"Melinda! Answer me! Please baby, tell me you're okay" he cried, he held his arms out to her but when she made no move to get up he just pulled his own shirt off and dropped to his knees next to her, not caring that he had gotten soaked by the water in the bottom of the shower. "Mel?" he whispered as he gathered her shaking body into his arms holding her as close as their bodies would allow, shivering when he felt her soaking wet and freezing cold form press against him. He picked her up and carried her to their bedroom, using one arm to support her weight he grabbed a huge fluffy towel from the laundry cupboard and draped it over her shoulders. "Melinda you're really scaring me right now" he said as he sat on the bed with Mel in his lap and rubbed her back with the towel "please don't cry, it's okay honey I'm here now. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you on your own. Please stop crying, you're okay now, I promise you're okay." "He's gone Jim" she whispered almost too quietly for him to hear "Rick's gone".
Jim pulled back from Melinda, placed one hand on either side of her face and gazed sympathetically into her eyes "I know sweetie, I know but it's for the best, I promise" he said and pulled her into a kiss, but to his surprise she pulled her face away from him and jumped off his lap "WHAT?! You knew? Oh my God you knew and you didn't tell me!" Melinda screamed. She stormed to her wardrobe and got changed, still crying, she picked up her handbag and pushed past Jim who softly asked "Mel where are you going? Come on honey don't be like this, I was trying to protect you!" Melinda turned around with tears streaming down her face "don't wait up."