A/N: Is it a normal time when Melinda doesn't see a few ghosts? Set a few months after the first chapter. I hope you all enjoy xx Mariah

Ages:

Jim - 29
Melinda - 25

Melinda had been caught looking out the front door of her store at least three different times by Delia before she had asked what was wrong. She hadn't had anything to say to her besides that it had been quieter than usual in the spirit world, and that never meant something good was going to happen. But Delia had only shrugged it off like she always did, and they both went back to work.

She hadn't minded at first that there were no random pop-ins or jumpscares throughout her day and had gotten through a productive day at work, but this wasn't normal. She never just had a period of days where she didn't see a ghost or two. In between the random glimpses of things she doesn't understand completely and the random spirits that would ask demanding questions in public, it wasn't normal to just not see anything at all.

Did she want to think maybe they were being considerate? Of course. With everything she had gone through in the last few months it would be nice for the spirit world to be considerate of her feelings, but oh hell, what was she even thinking? Spirits had never considered a damn thing before in her life why would they start now? They always came at the absolute wrong moment, but the entire week had been quiet in that aspect since she had crossed over Mrs. Fitzgibbons the weekend before.

When it came time to lock up and close, Delia went home first, and then she finished up on her own.

Melinda hoped it would give anyone who wanted to speak with her alone a chance to appear. She waited an entire hour after her usual close time to do extra work she'd set aside for months, but no one had made an appearance so she sighed and emptied the front register, and readied the deposit drop before she got ready to leave.

After putting on her coat and grabbing her laptop and purse, Melinda grabbed the deposit bag and headed out. She shut the lights off on her way out and locked the door behind her. Once in her car, she settled in and drove to the bank to drop the deposit bag off, and then went to the grocery store quickly before going home.

It was only seven and Jim would be finished with his evening medical class a little after eight, so that gave her plenty of time to get dinner started and shower. She looked forward to sharing dinner with him before he would eventually have to go to the firehouse for his late shift tonight. Once she got the few grocery bags inside along with her laptop and purse, she unloaded the food into the pantry and fridge.

Melinda left out what she needed to make the soup recipe she had found online and then made her way upstairs. She was in and out of the shower and dressed in something more comfortable quickly, and then headed back downstairs. She cleaned the vegetables off and began chopping the onions and celery by the time Jim walked through the front door.

"Mel? Hey, I'm home." Jim said as he closed the front door. As he approached her he began to chuckle, settling his bag onto the kitchen island. "Oh, I must be dreaming... you are chopping celery sticks and onions. Plus there are chicken breasts and broth on the counter... oh, I really must be dreaming."

"Hey, you," she giggled, ignoring his teasing as she looked up from what she was doing and put the knife down. "How was class?" She resumed the task she'd begun and continued to chop the fresh onion and celery she'd bought at the market earlier. Once finished, she emptied the sliced vegetable pieces into a simmering pot with some butter. "I hope you didn't have too hard of an exam."

"I think my exam went well, but I can only hope it did." He said, coming around the kitchen to hug and kiss her hello. As he pulled away, he produced a bouquet from behind his back. "I did, however, have time to get these on my way home."

He held them out to her, she smiled and brought her face close to take in a good whiff of the fresh smell. "For me?" She asked, a grin spreading across her face as she took them. "You shouldn't have.."

"I just wanted to say thank you for all the help making my flashcards for this exam. It helped me out a bunch," he said, leaning back into her and pressing his lips to hers. "And also thank you for the bag from your store. It's been much easier on my back than the backpack."

She nodded, silencing him completely by sneaking her tongue into his mouth and wrapping her arms around his neck.

The flowers rested against his back as he pulled her into his arms. It was magic, the way his lips connected with hers. His mouth was so warm, the caress of his lips soft. Warmth radiated from wherever his lips touched her, slowly spreading through the rest of her.

"They are beautiful and it was no problem helping the love of my life, you know that," she said as she pulled back, going to check the pot on the stove and move the onions and celery around the butter. "Can you start chopping some of the carrots?" She grabbed them from the counter and handed them to him. "I volunteered to make a soup for the potluck at the community center tonight and I thought that would be an easy enough task with everything you've taught me. I have to drop it by before nine. Maybe you can do it for me on your way in for your shift?"

"And here I was believing all this time that I have been married to you and that you had no cooking abilities at all," he tsked, teasing her again and waving his finger at her. "We can go in together. I was able to get someone to cover for me tonight."

"I can follow recipes," she groaned and rolled her eyes, grabbing the kitchen sheers and walking over to the garbage. She began to cut down each rose stem before she gathered all of the flowers together and brought them to the empty vase on the dining room table. "What happened to your late shift? I thought you didn't think you would be able to get out of it."

"Ramirez is covering for me," he said, beginning to chop the carrots after washing them off. "I may have guilt-tripped him after he called in last weekend for partying too hard. I didn't need the extra hours after having taken an exam today."

"Ah, I knew I liked Ramirez." She said, sitting down on a stool by the island.

"Plus, I covered for him last month when he had a hot date... so he's just returning the favor," he said, clearing the cutting board of the carrot he finished chopping into the bowl he had grabbed next to him, grabbing a fresh one.

"Oh, you've got a hot date?" She laughed, rolling her eyes at him again. She had begun to clean off the chicken breast and slice it up accordingly for the soup. "Who's the lucky gal?"

"Well, I do," he paused, looking up. "If you say yes that is."

She sighed, finishing one chicken breast, and then going to the next. She hadn't planned on going out at all. She hadn't even wanted to make this damn soup for the potluck, but Mrs. Fitzgibbons had asked her to do this for her before she crossed over and it had seemed simple enough. Plus she wanted to watch the latest recorded soap opera on the DVR with a large glass of wine and a pint of ice cream.

"Hear me out," he said, starting to chop again. "Between my double shifts and your... double career, you and I never get to spend the night out on the town."

She shrugged, grabbing the newspaper off the far side of the island, unamused by his offer. "This week has been too odd. First, there aren't any spirits bothering me, and now you want to go out on the town?" Plus she didn't want to go out in the cold. "I think I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that," she muttered, looking up from the crossword she'd started earlier. "The couch already has my name on it. As does the newest episode of General Hospital and a pint of ice cream."

"You can do that any night," he said, clearing the cutting board again. "All I'm asking is for one night with my wife. I miss you."

"I miss you too," she looked up at him, finding a melodramatic pout looking right back at her. "Oh, don't look at me like that. Maybe I just want to have a night in because it's freezing outside."

"Please?" He asked, a well-known smirk spreading across his face and coaxing a red tint to her cheeks. "I never ask you to do anything."

"That's a total lie," she said, but there was something about Jim that made her feel so warm inside.

He woke the pure side of her, the best side, all the facets of herself that only require love to be healthy and whole. She was not simply in love with this man, but truly smitten.

She exhaled, sliding herself off the stool and standing upright. "Well, I guess I have got a hot date..." She tousled her hair, her eyebrows rising with excitement. "What am I gonna wear?" She dashed from the room in a fit of giggles, running up the stairs. "Just remember we have to bring that soup to the community center first, so you need to keep an eye on that!"