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!

PLEASE READ……………………………

Soorry I kept you waiting WAY longer than planned :-o It's exam season and everyone's cramming for midterms etc! This chap's nice n long hehe It's the LAST chapter and I really wanted to get it right……Forgive me? *irresistible pout*

Thanks for your reviews guys all the way through and thank you so much for sticking with me, I really appreciate all of the wonderful comments and compliments I have received on this story. I've come to know the site so well I can't believe that this was just my first fanfic, I feel like I've been here forever! It's the end of the 'Shattered' journey but I assure you…you haven't heard the last of me! Can't get rid of me that easily LOL I'll be posting my new story as soon as I finish up and polish it One more great big THANK YOU much love everyone x You Rock x xx Lolly xx

Jim had carried Melinda downstairs when there was a knock at the door, the paramedics strapped her to the gurney and wheeled her out to the ambulance at superhuman speed. A second paramedic team had gone to get Marcus but found him dead, an obvious suicide. Delia decided to stay behind and pack up some of Melinda's clothes before heading over to Mercy General from where Jim had called to tell her that Melinda was still unconscious and being worked on in ICU.

Four hours after arriving at hospital Delia went to get coffee while Jim watched as two doctors and a nurse left Melinda's room. "Mr. Clancy we have to stop meeting like this" one of them joked but Jim, not being in the mood for humour, just glared in response. "I can tell you as much as you want to hear , do you just want to know what condition Melinda's in, do you want a list of injuries, do you want to know how each injury happened?" Jim thought about it for a second and sighed "I want to know everything. Every cut, every scrape, every scratch, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem" he decided. The doctor looked unsure as to how Jim might react but still carried on.

"Okay, we'll go from head to toe……Melinda has a severe head injury, it seems she was thrown against a wall or some other hard surface. This impact caused a minor intracranial haemorrhage, a vessel in the brain ruptured so blood collected around the brain, we performed emergency surgery and managed to stop the bleeding, though it'll be unclear how much damage was caused until she wakes up. She has a Mandibular fracture, which is a fracture of the lower jaw, she was sucker punched for lack of a more fitting term- hit without warning from a close range and with a whole lot of force. This also caused her teeth to cut into the inside of her cheek, that's why she had all that blood running out of her mouth. Jim…uh….the guy nearly snapped her jaw in two….Look I really don't know if this a good idea right now, you've been through enough, you don't need to worry about details right now" the doctor said when he saw how Jims jaw and fist clenched in unison at the thought of his wife being hurt.

"I'm fine…I just need to know what happened." Jim said through his teeth. "Melinda has severe bruising on her neck, an obvious handprint. She was strangled, she passed out but he didn't stop until her heart did…that was how, for all intents and purposes, she died technically….strangulation. The lack of air also led to a partial lung collapse, her breathing became so shallow that part of her lung gave out. This may cause severe chest pain for a while and a real bad cough but those will subside over time. She also has major bruising on her shoulders and arms where it appears she was held very forcefully and seems to have struggled to get free. One of her upper ribs is bruised, we believe that Marcus was leaning on her at some point and according to the size and shape of the bruise, the gun must have been in his pocket."

"One of her lower ribs is broken, badly, he hit her with a hard fist from a very close range. From the bruises on her back it appears that he had her trapped between himself and the bedroom door and swung at her as hard as he could…….just missed the baby. If he had just hit a few inches lower it could have been killed…we believe that may have been his intention. The baby was in distress when Melinda was brought in, her blood pressure rose incredibly high and then dropped almost instantaneously, but we gave Melinda a sedative before surgery and it seems to have helped completely. Her legs are pretty much okay, just a little bruising…most likely the result of a struggle. Given her sartorial state-the severe lack of clothing- we decided to run a sexual assault kit, it came back negative for sperm or spermicide so she doesn't appear to have been raped. We did, however find traces of Marcus' DNA all over her body so she may not have been raped but she was assaulted. Marcus was the one who ripped the shirt open, he bit her lip a couple of times and left smudges of trace all over her, suggesting that he touched her chest and stomach."

"It looks like Melinda and the baby will be able to make a full recovery, it'll be a long one, but a recovery none the less. At least….physically. We understand that Melinda had been suffering from panic attacks during the time that she was being stalked by Marcus, this suggests an incredibly fragile state of mind. we're afraid of how Melinda's going to react to all of this…victims of such terrifying violence are often left with permanent psychological markers. Night terrors, sleep walking, Post traumatic stress disorder, mental illness or even sometimes mental break downs. We're about to go wake Melinda up now so if you want you can come in with us…I know how much it is to take in, but your wife needs you right now. All we can do is hope for the best" Jim followed the doctor into Mel's room where she was hooked up to various drips, monitors and machines.

Looking tiny and fragile in the large hospital bed, Jim could help but think that Melinda still looked beautiful…brokenly beautiful, her face held no evidence of pain or conflict…just peace. Her arms were by her sides and above the sheets, covered in angry purple bruises. Jim took hold of her delicate hand in his as the doctor called her name over and over until she finally opened her eyes. "Ms. Gordon , my name is Dr. Harris, I'm here to talk to you about your injuries, it's okay don't be scared-" he trailed off as Melinda's heart monitor began to beep erratically.

Melinda's eyes darted between the three men in the room, open wide in terror -what happened? Where am I? Jim…Jim is here..-"Jim, I don't remem-"

Melinda was cut off as she was thrown into a vision, a memory

-Look at me Melinda." Jim said with love and ferocity in his voice, he held her face between his hands. I swear to God, I WILL protect you." He said and kissed the top of her head. "Never forget that Melinda…..I WILL protect you."-

"I don't remember what happened, why am I in hospital?" Mel asked, confused.

The doctor took the time to explain Melinda's injuries, leaving Jim to explain how they happened. An hour later and Jim was holding Melinda's hand as she finally fell into a fitful sleep, Delia came into the room carrying two cups of coffee. "How's she doing?" she asked, "not too sure, she's been asleep for about ten minutes and I think she's already having a nightmare, she keeps calling for help" Jim sighed, "I'm worried about her Delia, when she woke up she couldn't remember what happened, how can somebody just lose a memory so easily? The doctor said it's her minds way of protecting her."

As if to prove Jim's point Melinda began to whimper quietly "please, no I don't want this…Jim? Please help me, make him stop. No, please don't." Jim let go of Mel's hand and ran his own through his hair. "Jim, did he…I mean, was she.." Delia asked nervously, unable to get a full sentence out, "she was sexually assaulted, but not raped" Jim said quietly. Delia just gave a small nod in response.

Melinda was unable to relax as her subconscious worked overtime to deal with what had happened, her breathing became laboured as she was held captive in her nightmare

-Marcus walked past Melinda and sat on the bed "I love you Melinda, you know that right? I only want the best for you." Melinda drew in a shaky breath "get out" she whispered, "Get OUT! I'll call the police! And…and Jim's gonna be home any second!" she yelled, failing to sound convincing as she trembled with fear.

"there's no way out Melinda…No. Way. Out."

Marcus let out an animalistic growl, drew back his hand and hit Melinda hard across the face. "IF I EVER LOVED YOU? How dare you ever question that Melinda! You know I never wanted you to get hurt….I guess we can't get everything we want in life huh?" he said. The metallic taste of blood rolled over Melinda's tongue as the impact of Marcus' hand had caused her teeth to cut the inside of her cheek. She gagged as her mouth filled with blood causing it to run out of one corner in a glistening line "please stop, please stop" she whimpered quietly.

"You BITCH!" he spat at her and shoved her backwards so that the back of her head smashed against the bedroom door, Melinda's eyes squeezed shut as she screamed at the excruciating pain. "So you like to take your clothes off huh? Only for Jim or is it a public service?!" Marcus growled yanking her shirt collar so hard that the few buttons she had done up on it were ripped off and it fell open exposing her top half completely.

Marcus held Melinda's head between his hands and forced his lips onto hers "I'm truly sorry that you have to be hurt Melinda, but if I can't have you nobody can!"

He wrapped his fingers around the soft skin of her neck and tightened them into a vice-like grip. He watched in guilt-ridden wonder as Melinda's face flushed pink as though she were blushing at some embarrassing moment, then as the color drained from her face and she became a deathly shade of white. He released her from his grasp and sobbed as her limp form slumped to the floor.-

Melinda woke with a start, gasping for breath and covered in a very light sheen of sweat. Jim got up from his seat next to Delia and sat down next to Mel's bed "are you okay?" he asked softly, "I was so scared Jim" she sobbed "I remember, I was so scared". Jim took her hands in his and whispered words of comfort in her ear until she drifted back to sleep. That night continued in a similar pattern; Delia and Jim sitting by Melinda's side and taking turns to comfort her each time she woke from a nightmare.

A week later, Melinda was moved from intensive care to recovery where she spent three weeks on bed-rest and gentle physiotherapy. Her condition began to improve slowly and steadily and she eventually made it back to full health, with the exception of morning sickness which was now ever-present.

So now after a month in the hospital, Melinda was in the passenger seat of Jim's truck, being driven home for the first time since that day. Along the journey they chatted about everything that had happened since then- Delia and Ned moved house, Ned passed Drivers ED and got his licence, Jim had taken paid personal leave for the next month and Delia was taking care of the store until Mel could return.

Finally they pulled into the driveway and Jim helped her to the door, carrying her bags while supporting her in case she needed help. They unpacked all of their stuff after he gave her a tour of their house which he, Ned and Delia had redecorated- They had painted and rearranged every room in the house, also turning one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery.

Melinda had been given her first ultrasound that week and Delia had bought her a frame as a welcome home present, so the picture was now atop the dresser in the nursery. Mel had finally begun to sleep through the night peacefully and the results were obvious, she now had a beautiful glow about her…even more so than before –I guess it's the pregnancy thing-Jim thought happily. To him all the Victoria's Secret lingerie in the world couldn't compete with the sexiness of Melinda, especially knowing that she was having his baby.

After eating dinner they sat lazily, cuddling by the fire in the living room. "You ready for bed?" Jim asked, noticing that Mel was starting to drift off "mmm" Mel sighed quietly, Jim stood up and gazed down at his beautiful wife.-everything will be okay now, as long as e have each other……I love her so much- Jim picked Melinda up bridal style and carried her upstairs, though she was awake and fully capable of climbing the stairs herself…he just loved how perfectly she fit into his arms. He walked past the bedroom and straight into the nursery, setting Melinda down, putting his arms around her waist from behind and resting his head on her shoulder.

They stood in a silent embrace until Jim finally spoke softly "If I had lost you, I would have lost my reason to be . You've become more than my wife, as if that wasn't enough, you're so much more….I know that now more than ever, because as long as you're here I'm okay…as long as you're here I can breathe. I can't explain it…it's like the whole time you were in the hospital I was holding my breath, going through each day afraid to breathe even once, as if it would change something. Silly I know, but Melinda you are everything to me and I don't ever want to come anywhere near close to losing that again." Jim had tears running down his cheeks by the time he had finished, Melinda turned around and he saw that she too was crying.

"Thank you Jim, you'll never know how much that means to me, I…If I didn't have you, I don't think I would have survived Jim, it's hard to explain but I felt like I had the choice-to get better or to...let go and you were the reason I held on. I could see you, when nothing else was clear, when I was surrounded by darkness you brought light, when I was out in the cold you brought warmth. When I was shattered……you put me back together Jim, so I know exactly what you mean…You're more than my husband…you're my life…my angel." Melinda leaned into Jim's chest and he pulled back, held her shoulders gently and kissed her before undoing the buttons on her short blue summer dress and slipping it over her head, then removing his own shirt and jeans "shower?" he asked softly while holding his hand out for her to take, Mel smiled and placed her hand in his. The shower had become their new favourite place since Melinda had been injured, she was too weak to be able to hold Jim's weight on top of her so they had taken to showering together. Although they couldn't make love yet, this allowed them the same sense of closeness-sex had never solely been about lust for them, it was the joining of two souls, the need to be together…as close as possible.

They shed the rest of their clothes in silence and climbed in under the hot spray. Melinda sighed in content and leaned against Jim's chest and he planted a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I love you so much Melinda" his voice broke as he thought about how close he had come to losing his love and he said it with such reverence that it brought tears to Mel's eyes "I love you too Jim" she whispered. Jim turned her around and kissed her softly on the back of her head, where only a month ago she had been hurt so badly, he then placed a kiss on her neck, where there had been angry bruises from Marcus' hands. After that he moved in front of her and kissed her jaw, where there had been a painful fracture, her arms where she had been held so roughly, her chest where her heart had never given up and under her breast where her rib had been tortured.

They finished up, put on their night clothes and climbed into bed. Jim held Melinda lovingly as they whispered their goodnights and finally he planted a soft kiss on her stomach, where the promise of new life lay, where hopes and dreams came true… their baby. He wrapped his arms tenderly around her, shielding her from life's pain and torment, keeping her safe and loved, keeping her close. Holding his most exquisite diamond, his crystal glass……protecting her and keeping her from ever being shattered again.