Ages:

Jim - 30
Melinda - 26
Katie - 1

The wood logs were almost too damp to burn, but Melinda was determined to have a fire lit in the hearth by the time Jim and Katie woke up. So rare were the days that she rose before her husband that she always tried to do just a little more for Jim whenever she could. He always said it was really no problem to rekindle the fire and get breakfast on the table, that he was used to strange hours, but it seemed like she never did anything to help him out.

Her insomnia had only gotten worse, but she just needed to get this ghost crossed over and she should sleep better again. She was hoping maybe she'd get a good nap in later, but the nightmares and increasing restlessness didn't seem to herald anything too far from the norm.

The scraps of linen at the bottom of the fire brought her ever-repeating dream of losing her daughter in a fire back to life just as a shriek echoed through the upper-floor of the house.

She took the stairs two at a time but still didn't manage to make it to her white hand-carved crib before Jim was cradling their daughter in his arms. Katie's fists were clenched tightly around the soft pink blanket that her grandmother Faith had made for her before she was born.

"I'm so sorry, Jim, I didn't want her to wake you," Melinda sighed as she approached her two favorite people, wrapping her arms around his waist. "You just got home an hour ago and you need your sleep."

"Don't worry about it, babe, I was already awake. You kicked me a couple of times before you got out bed this morning." He shrugged, looking at her with a sad smile. "Did you have a bad dream?"

She sighed and that was all the answer he had needed. She didn't want to talk about it yet, even if she could still smell the smoke in her nostrils as though she'd been there, and while it felt real, it had been just another run of the mill nightmare she channeled from a ghost.

"It doesn't bother me, Mel, okay?" He bent down to her level and offered their daughter to her, whom she took with a brief kiss to his lip. "I just want to talk to you."

"I know. Just not right now." She bounced Katie gently in her arms as the little girl pressed a kiss to her lips to mimic what her parents had just done. "Oh, thank you, my sweet Katiebug. I love you too." She chuckled and smoothed the dark down that covered her little girl's head before she kissed her there gently.

"It's getting worse again, isn't it?" His voice was barely a whisper, but she knew exactly what he's talking about. "I know it's hard to ask, but you need to try and set some boundaries. These ghosts are running you down and you can count on me whenever you need to, but I don't want to lose you. Katie and I both need you."

"I know. I know, Jim." She whispered, sighing a little. "I'm trying, I really am, but this one is different... she's just a little girl." Melinda's eyes filled with tears as she looked at her own little girl. "She deserves all the help I can give her."

He nodded and sighed. "I know, Mel. You'll find a way to help her. You always do."

"It's more than that. I need to cross her over for my own good too." She said and leaned in to smell Katie's head. Delia had always it's weird, but she thought her daughter smelt wonderful.

"Katie loves you, and so do I." He lowered his gaze to Katie, who's busied herself by playing with Melinda's hair.

"I think I'm going to call your mom. Things always lighten up when she comes into town," she explained, rubbing the bottom of Jim's back and passing Katie back to him. "I'll try to talk her into coming down next weekend. She hasn't seen Katie in a few weeks."

"I think that's a great idea," he said softly. "Maybe she can watch Katie too... and I can take you out?"

She still hadn't figured out why he put up with her after all these years. "Maybe." She giggled. "If you can find tickets to the new play at the theatre."

"Done," he said and kissed her gently. "I will do whatever you want me to."

"Stay with her for now, and I'll make breakfast for all of us," she said and kissed him briefly again.

Melinda's pancakes would never compare to Jim's, but she'd vastly improved as a cook and she was quite proud of the stack of hearty, fluffy discs that she placed in the middle of a plate. To save time, she cut half of one into bite-sized pieces for Katie. She walked back upstairs to tell Jim that breakfast was ready and just in time for the sunrise.

"There you go, Katiebug…" Jim said softly as she rounded the corner to their daughter's room. "You can do it."

She stopped at the threshold of the door. At first, she couldn't tell much of what's happening; all she could see was Jim bent in half, muttering gently to their daughter. Quietly, she stepped into the bedroom to see the situation better and saw Katie grasped her father's index fingers in either of her fists and take one wobbly step after the other happily.

"What a big girl you are, Katie!" he said, proudly. "Your mommy is going to be so proud when she sees what you can do!"

"Daddeee," Katie giggled at the sound of her father's voice, she began gurgling excitedly and flopped herself down on to her rear. "Daddeeee!"

"Come on, princess," he said gently. "Just a few more steps before breakfast, okay?"

"Jim…" She breathed, finally unable to contain herself. "Is she… is she walking?"

He glanced up at him, his blue eyes bright with pride. "She's trying," he laughed. "Look, Katie, mommy is back."

"Mama!" Katie exclaimed when she saw her and bounced her knees in excitement. "Mama!"

"Yeah, Katiebug," he said softly and gently guided her to face me. "Should we walk over to your mommy?"

Her daughter continued to babble and gingerly rose one foot in front of the other. Jim led her across the floor before letting go at the last minute, just in time for Katie to take three or four wobbly steps to Melinda before she grasped her legs tightly while giggling immensely. Melinda picked her up and held her to her chest.

"Oh, Katiebug, I am so proud of you!" She exclaimed and planted kiss after kiss on her chubby cheeks. "Should we go out for some ice cream? Let's go eat breakfast first, and then we'll get you dressed and go." She explained as they all walk down the stairs. "We're so proud of you."

"So proud," he said as they both kiss her cheeks.