Hey, guys. Ready for this chapter? Please enjoy. And for those of you who like other endings than this one, don't worry. The story is not over. Have an opened mind. Now, read on!

DISCLAIMER: Ghost Whisperer is not mine. I really wish it was, though.

Jim made his way to his car, silently deciding where he wanted to eat. About a foot away from his car, Jim collapsed to the ground, after being struck on the head by something hard and heavy. The impact was gradual. And the last thing on his mind…

…Melinda.

_o_

He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, but somewhere deep in his mind, he knew it had been quite a while. As he slowly returned to reality, Jim realized that he was in an uncomfortable position, bringing him pain in more places than his head. Suddenly, a rush of cold splashed over him, conveying him to a rude awakening. Ice water dripped from his hair and face, making him sputter a bit as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Good, you're awake." came a malevolent voice, one all too familiar.

Jim coughed a nasty cough, followed by a groan from all the pain it emanated. Achingly slow, he lifted his face to look at his captor; he wasn't surprised to find it was none other than Sam. And it was in that moment, he realized he was tied to a chair. Of all the luck.

"What the hell?" Jim spoke in a groggy manner. "What am I doing here?"

"Oh," Sam chuckled. "Well, you see, I figured Melinda won't come to me voluntarily, so I decided to blackmail her, all the while blackmailing you, too. Genius, isn't it?"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Jim asked, obscurely pulling on his restraints.

"I plan on using you to lure her here, threatening to kill you if she refuses. And then, when she's here, you'll have no choice but to watch her give in to me." Sam smirked as he paced the room in front of Jim.

"I rather you kill me. She'll never come here." Jim spat.

"Oh, she'll come. Because if I kill you, I'll have to kill her, too. You do me more good alive, Jim. This is how the suffering works. I'm done with you being Mr. Big Shot." Sam walked behind Jim and pulled his hair painfully, making him wince. "Now, I'm going to hold your phone to your ear, and you're going to tell her to come. Got it?"

When Jim didn't answer, Sam pulled on his hair harder. Jim winced again.

"No." he said bravely.

Sam wouldn't have it, though. His fist came flying towards Jim's stomach in a painful blow. Jim leaned over, groaning, but Sam pulled his head back, and did it again.

"Are you going to do it now?" Sam urged.

"Go to hell." Jim strained.

Sam moved to the front of the chair Jim was tied to and punched him brutally in the jaw, making Jim's head fly back. Blood trickled from his mouth and down his chin. Jim turned his head to the side, spiting out the blood. Sam stood there, waiting for his cooperation.

"That the best you got?" Jim spoke in a weak voice, but there was determination behind it. He wasn't going to let Sam have Melinda that easily.

Sam punched him again, then again in his stomach. Jim tried to resist the pain, but it was getting stronger every time.

"You know what, this is getting boring." Sam sighed in frustration. "I'll just call her myself."

Jim was panting by this point. He rolled his eyes at Sam's stupidity. Sam took his phone and scrolled to Melinda's name in his phonebook. He pulled out a gun from a back loop of his belt and pointed it at Jim's head.

"Let's see what your wife's doing." Sam smiled evilly, putting the phone to his ear.

_o_

Melinda just arrived in the parking lot of the company. Her lunch with Andrea was eventful, and now that she was full, she was more excited to see Jim. On her walk to the front doors of the building, her cell phone began to ring. Rummaging through her purse, she found her phone and looked at the caller ID.

"Jim?" she asked herself, glancing up at the building before answering. "Hello?"

"Melinda." a voice spoke. Her blood ran cold.

"What the hell? Where's Jim?" panic washed over her.

"Oh, he's right here, but he's unable to come to the phone right now." Sam smirked. "If you want to see him, I suggest you listen closely."

"What did you do to him? What do you want?" she gritted her teeth.

"I want you to follow some directions. First, do not bring the police into this. If I hear any sirens, I will shoot Jim." Sam threatened. Melinda's stomach filled with ice. "Secondly, my plan won't succeed until you are here. So, I expect to see you in a half an hour."

"Don't do it, Melinda!" she heard Jim yell. Then, she heard Sam hit him violently over the head.

"Don't hurt him!" Melinda pleaded. "I'll come! Just tell me where."

Sam gave her directions to his hide out and hung up without another word. Melinda couldn't think straight with all the panic twisting inside her. But, she knew if she didn't show up, Sam would surely kill Jim. The thought of Jim dead brought tears to her eyes. Melinda quickly ran to her car and punched the directions into her GPS navigation system.

_o_

"Good news, Jimmy. Melinda's on her way." Sam smiled as he put his gun back in his belt loop.

Jim was struggling to breathe through the pain that shot within his whole body. He slowly lifted his head to look at Sam.

"How do you suppose this all will go?" he rasped.

"Oh, you'll find out soon." Sam answered.

Jim was going in and out of consciousness, but he had to stay awake. He had to see Melinda one more time before he slipped out forever. He had a feeling he wouldn't be alive much longer. The beating he received earlier was starting to take him over, it wouldn't be long now, before he stopped breathing completely.

"I'm going upstairs to bring her down here. Don't go anywhere." Sam laughed hysterically. "Like you could move at all."

Once Sam was out of sight, Jim shook his head.

"That guy is fucking idiotic." he said before he began coughing.

_o_

Melinda pulled up in front of an old abandoned house in the woods. The exterior looked like just a slight wind could send it tumbling. She hesitantly climbed out of her car and took a deep breath. She hoped this would work out in her favor. Taking a few steps closer to the house, her heart began to pound in her chest.

"It's okay, Melinda. Everything will turn out fine." she tried to calm herself.

It wasn't working; her heart continued to thump furiously against her rib cage. Suddenly, Sam was standing on the worn out porch, smiling like a psychopath, and that scared Melinda even more. She finally stepped foot on the porch, her body shaking slightly.

"Melinda, I'm so glad to see you." Sam said. "You look great."

"I'm not here to see you. I want to see Jim." she spoke, hoping to sound braver than she felt.

"Patience, sweetie." he said.

Melinda rolled her eyes at the nickname and followed him into the house. He lead her into the basement, where it was almost pitch black.

"Could you maybe put on a light or something? I can't see." Melinda said, walking carefully, as to not trip on anything.

"Alright, alright." Sam flipped a switch and light flooded the room.

Melinda looked around and her eyes immediately found Jim, unconscious, tied to a chair, and covered in a little blood. She silently gasped and ran over to him. She gently cupped his face in her hands as tears stung her eyes.

"Jim, wake up. Come on, wake up, baby." she spoke sternly through her tears. "You said you wouldn't leave me."

His eyes moved under his lids before they opened slowly. He looked up to see Melinda's tear-stained face a few inches away from his beaten one. He cracked a slight smile.

"I told you not to come here." he spoke quietly.

"I told you not to get hurt." she sobbed before kissing him gently, despite the blood on his face.

"Aww, now isn't that sweet." Sam mocked them.

Melinda pulled away from Jim and looked at Sam. She was still crying a bit, but now she was furious.

"What the hell do you want from us?" she shouted.

"I want to feel like a winner, like Jim. I am so tired of being in his shadow. Ever since we were freaking kids, I had to be second best. Jim was always on top, the hotshot. Could I ever be number one? No, you just had to steal it from me." Sam looked at Jim. "You got the grades, the friends, the girls, the praise! Everything I ever wanted, you took for yourself! Even when we started the fashion company, together, all credit went to you. No one looked at me, no one appreciated what I did. All they saw was you."

Jim couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never noticed that he was the one to get the kudos, and Sam just stood there, in the background. He never noticed how much it hurt Sam to live in the shadows of Jim's glory. Now, he had somewhat of an understanding to why Sam was trying to ruin his life. But, why ruin it? Why not talk to him about how he felt. Sam never mentioned the ache of not being Mr. Big Shot. How was that Jim's fault.

"I wished you did it all on purpose. That would be easier to deal with. But, to know that you get all the fame without ever pushing it, it's like I'm cursed to watch you live the dream I always wanted." Sam was angry and miserable at the same time. "Now, you can watch me take everything you worked hard for."

Sam pulled Melinda to him. She struggled against him, trying to get out of his grasp.

"Melinda!" Jim yelled with all the strength he had left. "Let her go, Sam!"

"This is all I need to tear you down." Sam grinned. "Enjoy this."

Sam pulled Melinda's head to his and kissed her. Jim yelled at him to stop. She hit him repeatedly, trying to push him away. She finally pried her lips from his.

"Get off of me!" she continued to struggle.

"You better cooperate," Sam pulled out his gun and pointed it at Jim. "or he gets it." Immediately, Melinda became still. Sam smiled. "Good. Now, kiss me if you want him to live."

"Don't do it, Melinda. I rather die." Jim said.

"I can't let you die." tears fell from her eyes as she looked at Sam.

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to Sam's. She couldn't help but feel disgusted. The only thing she thought of was how they would get out of this. She hoped it worked. Melinda wove her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. More tears fell down her cheeks, knowing Jim's heart was breaking. Sam wrapped his arms around her waist, getting lost in the kiss. She continued to distract him as her right hand slowly made its way to the gun in his hand. Just a few more seconds…

Melinda took the gun from his hand and quickly pointed it to his head, breaking the kiss. Sam dropped his arms from her body. Melinda kept the gun to his temple as she wiped her lips in disgust.

"You can't kill me." Sam smiled evilly. "You're not a criminal. You don't have it in you."

Melinda kept her resistance up, not listening to what he was saying. She just focused on the gun in her hand. It was the only upper hand she had at the moment, but she hoped she wouldn't have to go there.

"Don't tell me what I can or can't do. You don't know me." she spat.

"Then shoot me. What are you waiting for?" Sam challenged.

Melinda didn't respond. She just wished this was all over soon. How did she get herself into this mess? Just a few months ago, she was safe. She didn't have to worry about being by herself. She didn't have to keep looking over her shoulder all the time. She didn't have to hold her breath every time she left her home. She was free.

As Melinda began to get caught up in her musings, Sam took his chance. He grabbed the gun and pointed it at her. Melinda stood frozen; she lost her confrontation.

"I told you to cooperate." Sam said before he shot her in the leg.

"MELINDA!" Jim yelled, trying to break through his bounds.

She screamed and fell to the floor, clutching her leg. Blood poured out from the wound above her right knee.

"Now, how does that feel, Jim? To see your life be controlled by someone else." Sam spoke nonchalantly, like it was nothing.

Jim didn't listen. He continued to fight. He used all the strength he could muster, all the strength he had left in his body and pulled on the ropes. Sam was standing over Melinda, who was crying from the pain. Jim broke one hand loose and stood up from the chair. Still gathering his strength, he swung his tied down hand at Sam, sending the chair to knock him over. The wooden chair broke into pieces as Sam fell to the floor. Jim shook off the loose pieces of wood off his hand and kneeled down to Melinda, panting heavily.

"Melinda, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm…fine." she tried to sit up.

Suddenly, Sam grabbed his gun and stood up.

"That was a bad choice." he commented before pulling the trigger.

"JIM! NO!" Melinda screamed as bullets penetrated Jim's body.

He fell beside Melinda, not moving an inch. He was dead.

"No! Jim, wake up. Please, you promised." Melinda forgot about the pain in her leg, which was now being dominated by the pain in her heart.

She shook Jim, trying to wake him up, but he wouldn't open his eyes.

"You don't need him. You have me." Sam smiled, moving closer to her.

Wow, this was some kind of chapter, right? How did you all like it? Please, tell me what you think. Review. Thanks guys.