A/N: Hello Everyone! This story will be a series of sporadic one-shots about Melinda, Jim, and everyone in between. Just wanted to put that out there, but it may contain some spoilers to some storylines throughout the show, but I am not following canon ghost whisperer much after the season three finale.

The first chapter is meant to be set sometime after Melinda and Jim had decided to have a baby, meaning the year is 2008. I have always hated that the writers chose to kill Jim off even if the storyline was amazing and worth it, there were too many downsides to it. Aiden also wasn't the best character either on the show either, in my opinion, or at least the way the writers wrote him wasn't the best so I've decided I am changing the story a bit without changing the core of the show.

UPDATE 3/6/22: But WOW! It's been eight years since I first published this story! I thought it was time to update my account and edit any errors in my stories :) My oh my do years pass without you knowing haha. To think back to when I first started this story I was a sophomore in high school. I thought it was about time for me to comb through this whole series and edit the little mistakes I have noticed over the years. One of those is that I never named or addressed the miscarriage Melinda and Jim had in this first chapter more than just a few more times throughout the story. I hope to include it more as a growing aspect of Melinda and Katie's relationship since they both struggled with infertility before they started their families along with closing out Aiden to loop in a bit of canon lol. But moving on from that, I'd like to address how thankful I am for every one of my readers, silent or not. I thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my stories. It truly means the world to me.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I've enjoyed writing them all for you. Lots of love and I hope you all enjoy what more I have in store! xx Mariah

Ages:

Jim - 28
Melinda - 24

Melinda lay there on the exam table, breathing as her hands cradled her stomach like she would the baby within. She had grown larger than she had expected, for being twenty weeks with her and Jim's first child. Her stomach was swollen, much like much of the rest of her body, and she fitfully moved around to try and get comfortable, but it was useless.

Nothing was comfortable about lying on a doctor's table right now.

"I don't know how much longer I can wait," she sighed, continuing to look at the ceiling instead of looking at her husband. "I don't see how a concussion test will help. I didn't even hit my head when I fell."

"I don't think it should be much longer. You know they are taking every precaution because you're pregnant, Mel. That's just their job, honey." Jim reassured her, his voice a little scratchy as he yawned.

They had been here for the last six hours in the ER. He was just trying to be positive at this point, but she didn't want to hear it.

She wanted to go home.

There was a slight pause as he cleared his throat before he spoke again. "There could've been a complication with the machine," he added as his hand moved to rest on top of hers that was on her stomach, his leg bouncing nervously.

She knew that he was just as scared as she was and nodded, moving her other hand on top of his, squeezing it. His hand brought hers to his lips for a reassuring kiss that made her worry ease for a moment. "I love you," she said as her eyes fell back to rest on her stomach.

There was only so much he could do. They still didn't know if everything was okay.

"I love you too, Melinda, and hey," he said softly, turning her attention back to his face. "Don't let this fester in your mind, honey. It will only make things worse."

She wished it were that easy, but it wasn't. She needed to know if their baby was okay.

Melinda had fallen earlier the previous morning and Jim had brought her straight to the hospital when she complained that her side hurt. She'd bruised a few ribs, nothing too serious, and they'd gone home without another thought. Even though she was told to take it easy for the next few weeks with Jim already switched to only working nights so he could be with her during the day, it wasn't something to worry about.

However, the next morning it wasn't as easy to stay calm when the baby still hadn't kicked or moved, and Melinda got worried. They had gone straight to the hospital and now six hours later, they were still here and hadn't gotten any real answers.

"Jim," she muttered softly. "I can't shake this feeling of dread."

"I know, honey," he told her, squeezing her hand. "I know. Just try to focus on something else. It's not good for you."

"I can't lose another baby, Jim." She spoke softly, closing her eyes as a few tears ran down the sides of her face. "I just... I can't, Jim."

Jim stood from the chair he was sitting in, taking a step closer to her before he leaned down to kiss her forehead. He reached up with his thumb to wipe a fallen tear as he leaned over her, in an attempt to hug her, and their lips met briefly, but it was short-lived.

The door opened and the doctor interrupted them so Jim pulled back and sat down, crossing his fidgeting leg. "Doctor, it's good to see you again." He said, smiling at her.

"Sorry for taking so long you two," Dr. Morrison said, closing the door behind her. "There was a problem with the machine and we couldn't get the results right away."

"See, I told you." He gloated as she sat up, rolling her eyes at him.

"Rejoice all you want," she sighed, looking over at him with a stern look. "I was just worried."

There was a moment of silence as the doctor logged into the computer, entering a few things before she turned around, and grabbed the file from the table. "Alright, let's take a look at your concussion test results... they seem to be fine, but I want to ask you a few quick questions to be sure." Dr. Morrison said, opening the chart. "You suffered a minor fall, correct?"

"Yes. I slipped on some ice yesterday morning," she explained, for what seemed like the millionth time today. "I fell on my side."

"Yes, that makes more sense. Your results for a concussion are negative," Dr. Morrison said as she closed the file. "So we can move on and see how this baby of yours is doing."

"Oh, good," she sighed, lying back. "I was hoping you'd say that."

If Melinda was being honest, she was hoping that she'd tell her if her child was okay. Not that anything in her chart would be able to tell her that, but she had hoped. This whole day had just been terrible. She wanted it to be over with and wished yesterday had never happened.

Why hadn't she been more careful when she got out of the damn car?

"Okay," Dr. Morrison sighed, turning a machine on before she grabbed herself a pair of gloves. She grabbed the wand and jelly, smiling. "You know the drill."

"I do," she said, sliding her shirt up and over her stomach.

The doctor squirted a drop of the blue jelly onto her abdomen, bringing the wand to it and sliding around.

She knew the moment she didn't hear the heartbeat that something was wrong. Without fail, her child's heartbeat would fill the room every time the wand touched her stomach.

What was different this time?

Dr. Morrison investigated, moving the wand around her stomach slowly. She'd grown too sad to stare at the monitor and looked to the ceiling again. She didn't dare to look at Jim, for she would have been able to read it on his face as he looked at the monitor.

Melinda counted the squares of the office-style-like ceiling, breathing with each number she said in her head, trying to grasp onto something as if her whole world hadn't stopped. She knew the second she had fallen something was wrong. Not only had the baby stopped kicking, like he or she had been doing all morning like usual, but it was like all of the life got sucked out of her.

Jim spoke first, breaking the silence. "What can you tell us doc? Is our baby doing okay?" He asked.

A moment later, the doctor turned the machine off, using her gloves to wipe the jelly from Melinda's stomach and the wand before discarding them. The woman sighed, turning her stool to face them.

"I am very sorry for the both of you..." Dr. Morrison arr spoke slowly, almost as if she was still deciding the right words. "Truly, I am, but your son didn't survive the fall."

Melinda didn't have anything to say, she just continued to look at the ceiling. This wasn't anything she wanted to hear, but it wasn't news. She had had this gut feeling since the moment she woke up that morning.

Jim spoke instead, "Son? We... uh— we hadn't known the gender." He stuttered.

"I'm sorry if that upset you, but I thought it would give you both peace to know. I'll give you both some time alone, and then we can talk about where to go from here." The doctor explained before she turned to leave.

The minute the door closed, Melinda crumbled, her sobs taking over her. Jim's mouth opened a little as he stood, but he was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say? He took a deep breath as he moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.

When he did, he exhaled, and a loud sigh came forth, evidence of his pent-up fears being revealed. She was startled at the sound, her hands going up to rest on his shoulders and trying to rub away the tension there.

"I'm sorry," she said, her face twisting into sorrow again. "This is all my fault, Jim. I shouldn't have been in such a hurry..."

"No. Don't do that, Melinda. You always blame yourself." He shook his head, moving to stand again and pick her up, doing so, and sitting back into the chair he had pulled up. He held her to his chest as she cried, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Melinda, this is not your fault. If anything, it was me. I should've opened the damn door for you. I always do... and I don't remember what I was doing when you fell until it happened."

She shook her head. They shouldn't be blaming themselves. However sad, they couldn't blame themselves for this. "No. We can't blame ourselves," she said curled up in his arms. "We were going to have a son, Jim," she looked up at him, a small smile somehow adorning her face. "You were right."

"I was," he tried his best to laugh and enjoy the moment of enlightenment, but it turned serious and he wiped away a tear of his own. "We should give him a name."

"I have always liked the name Aiden," she said softly.

Jim let out this gush of air from his chest, one that she didn't think he knew he had been holding in, and chuckled. "My father's name? Melinda... that would be," he paused and leaned forward, capturing her lips in a short kiss as he pulled her closer, their foreheads resting on each other. "I love you. That's perfect."

"I love you too, Jim," she whispered, holding him close as they grieved their son. She didn't know what she would do without him here. He was holding her together right now. His strong arms wrapped around her and his lips pressed into her forehead. "I don't know what I would do without you right now. I don't."

He only held her tighter, whispering into her hair how much he loved her. How they would try again. They would try again. They would have their little family someday.