Hey, you made it! The final chapter! You survived!!

June 30th, 1987

Peter lay on his bed and pretended to sleep. But he couldn't. Again and again he had to think about the conversation he had with Egon.

Spengler had offered him to end their friendship - as cool and controled as he would've told Peter to take an umbrealla because it rained outside. But then, Peter had seen the hurt and fear in the physicist's eyes. Egon might be a good enough actor to control his face, Venkman thought with a little smile, but his eyes gave him away every time. At least to the ones who knew him a bit better - like his friends.

Egon was his friend for so many years now that it seemed to Peter that he knew Spengler since childhood. Venkman was usually able to 'read' his friend, 'feel' Egon's actions in advance, because he knew him so well. And Peter knew Ray as well as Egon, and just learned to know Winston.

In all the years the four of them had spent together ghostbusting, they had gone through a lot - good and bad times, joy and sorrow. But no matter what they had faced, it had only strenghtened the bond of friendship that kept them together. Their friendship, Peter mused, was like a net, catching them if they fell and giving security. The friendship he shared with Egon, Ray and Winston was something valuable and unique, a treasure Peter kept locked in his heart and which more than once had given him the strength to continue when he himself would've given up long ago. And now the psychologist had to watch the precious gift break apart. Right now there were only cracks, almost invisible, but just a bit more pressure might lead to irreparable damage.

Since Venkman had gone downstairs to answer the phone in the afternoon, he and Egon hadn't talked much. Actually there hadn't been more than a 'Good night' in it. Peter knew that he should do something to break the silence, because it was his job as psychologist to do such things like breaking the silence between two people that were friends. But every time he had tried to talk to Egon, there had been something in Spengler's behavior that had stopped him, made Peter think of what he had done to his friend as a demon. Peter simply wasn't able to approach him properly, as it was neccessary to start a talk.

Suddenly the door opened and Egon entered the bedroom. Shooting Venkman a quick glance, the physicist went over to his bed, climbed into it and a few minutes later Peter could hear the regular breathing indicating that Spengler was asleep.

Half past three - not Egon's normal bedtime, except when he was on a project, of course. But this wasn't Egon on a normal project. This was Egon hiding from someone who had kicked an offer of friendship with bare feet. Peter couldn't surpress a sigh.

Egon heard the sigh and swallowed hard. If he'd only recognized the signs earlier that time, all would be easier now. If he'd known from the beginning that Peter had become a demon, the pain would've become bearable for all of them. Because knowledge was like an antidote against most kind of the problems they had to face now. There would've been no quarrels, no way for Ghenaar to hurt them like that. And most of all, Egon wouldn't have felt so damned helpless.

He had done everything to keep himself busy with work and experiments, hoping to heal the wounds. But as always when things needed to be discussed, silence only deepened the fear to say or do something wrong, and it became even harder to start a talk at all. The blond physicist closed his eyes and pretended to sleep because that was the only thing left to do for him.

Ray woke by the cock's first cry early in the morning. He pried his eyes open, puzzled for a second. This wasn't Ghostbuster Central. Then he remembered where he was. The occultist got up and joined his cousin in the kitchen for coffee. Helping Samantha with the morning work on the farm was the obvious thing to do for Ray, and the younger woman was glad for that help.

While he fed the cows, milked them and cleaned the stables, Ray thought about the last time he had been here - together with his friends. With a smile he remembered how they had crashed into a combine harvester and had to walk the way to Sam's farm. Boy, Peter had been mad like hell - until he learned that Ray's cousin Sam was in fact Samantha and very good looking, too. Or how Egon had fallen asleep at the table, the doughnut he had started to eat still in his mouth. They had carried him to bed. And then the ghosts... the auburn haired man looked at the milking machine and remembered how they had built a sort of containment field from it...

Ray sighed. He missed his friends, knowing that he had to go back before it was too late. They were a team - Peter, Egon, Winston and himself. They had always solved their problems together, found strength in one another. Running away was no solution at all. It might be easier for the moment, but it didn't help.

Maybe, Ray thought, that was exactly what he had to find out: that he could very well do on his own and survive, but without friends, life would be incomplete and very lonely.

When the morning work was done, Ray and Sam started with breakfast. Absentminded, the occultist sipped from his coffee.

"Earth to Ray! What's the matter with you?" Samantha's question startled him.

"What? Oh, Sam - I'm sorry. I was thinking. I didn't mean to..." Ray started to explain, but his cousin stopped him.

"It's all right." She looked at her plate. "I know it's not of my business, but you are so awfully quiet since you came here that I wondered if there's something wrong with your friends."

Ray surpressed a sigh. He had never been good at lying to Sam. "There was, but now I know what went wrong."

"Oh." The young woman just stared at him. Then she smiled. "I always knew that you have your best ideas when you're on vacation."

"Yes." The Ghostbuster grinned. "And usually that are my most stupid ideas, too. Now, can you do me a favour, Sam?"

"You wanna go home, right?" At Ray's astonished expression, she chuckled.

"How did you know...?"

"Maybe I'm a telepath?" Sam suggested.

"That's great! I'm gonna tell Egon - then we can run some tests on you. That would be fun!" he teased her.

"Okay, okay, I just guessed. So, if you finish your breakfast and get your things packed, you can catch the 8.30 bus to the town and get from there go to New York." Smiling, Samantha looked at her cousin.

"Thank you," was all Ray said before he hurried upstairs.

The next day Janine Melnitz came to work as usual. From the moment she entered Ghostbuster Central she could almost feel the trouble that seemed to hover over Peter and Egon. Spengler was hiding in the lab - again, and Venkman worked like a maniac through the paperwork that had accumulated in the past few months. Janine knew that he hated this kind of work, but the psychologist was the most experienced in doing it, so it stuck to him.

When the mail arrived, the secretary placed it on Peter's desk beside the filled doughnuts he took for breakfast - ignoring the annoyed grunt he gave.

"Continue like this, and you'll see what it gets you."

"A raise?" She smiled and went back to the relativ safety of her own desk.

"Secretaries," Peter sighed, loud enough for Janine to hear. "The pest of our business."

"I heard that, Dr. Venkman!" Melnitz yelled with a slight threat in her voice. The psychologist grinned and began to flip through the letters and magazines. One was a postcard from his father, saying that he had moved to another town to start on a new job, now that Peter was doing fine again. 'Typical', Peter thought with a certain sadness. If his father wasn't the rolling stone he proved to be, maybe the marriage of his parents would've lasted longer. Venkman put the card aside and looked for the other mail, trying to fight his gloomy thoughts.

"That's something for my mother's only son," he muttered, when he saw the colorfull advertisements of their neighbourhood travel agency.

'7 days at Malibu Beach for 199 Dollars - Have the time of your life!' it read. The picture showed a white sandy beach and palm trees, an empty place. Daydreaming, Peter imagined sitting on that beach, a drink in his hand. Peaceful and quiet. No ghosts, no demigods, no problems. He surpresed a sigh. Last vacation they had spent in the mountains, and their headquartes ended up demolished by a ghost-family looking for a new home. Life just was unfair. So he rather returned to the image of the beach, and he could almost feel the hot sun burning down on him. But stop - something was missing in paradise. Of course! Pretty girls, lots of them, and all after the famous Peter Venkman. He was just about to picture this, when something wet, cold and slimy soaked through the fabric of his coverall.

"Yuck! Sliiimer!" Peter jumped to his feet, angry that the spud had destroyed that little piece of happiness. "You're toast!"

"Janiine!" Slimer wailed, searching refugee behind the secretary's back.

"Slimer! Peter! Stop it!" Defending herself and the ghost with bare hands against a proton accelerator, Janine didn't seemed to be the slightest bit impressed by Peter's tirade.

After some minutes, Venkman gave in and returned to his office, placing the proton pack beside his desk.

Janine sighed, cleaning herself from ectoplasm. Some things would never change.

Winston arrived at Ghostbuster Central in late afternoon. He was greeted by Janine and Slimer, and he could tell from their expressions that the temperature here at Central must've dropped below zero - only literally, of course.

"Are they doing it again?" Zedmore wanted to know, remembering the time Peter had been comatose.

Nodding, Janine pointed upstairs. "Egon's in his lab and Peter's watching TV."

"Where's Ray? Gone out?"

"He went to visit his cousin Sam, as I learned from Peter. But Ray called to tell that he would be back by eight in the evening." Melnitz put another stack of sheets into the printer to print out the reminders and letters she had written in the morning.

"Hmmm." With a frown, Winston thought about the situation. This wasn't a good position to start a talk. But then, it was worth a try. "I'm upstairs," he announced superfluously when he climbed the stairs to the second floor.

It turned out to be a complete disaster. Peter was as monosyllable as never before, still too deeply confused by his own problems. And Egon didn't even seem to notice that Winston stood there in the lab and tried to talk to him. Frustrated that no one answered to his peace offer, Zedmore went back to the first floor to join their secretary and Slimer.

Sitting down on the sofa in the reception area with a sigh, Winston realized that there was just one thing that could help now - group therapy, as Peter would say.

"Janine, I want you to do me a favor."

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"Please take Slimer with you tonight. I need to have some words with the others and it's no good if the spud's with us then," he quickly added as secretary started to protest. Janine frowned and studied his expression for a second before she agreed.

"Okay, Winston. But it's just for once, I wouldn't let it become a habit in your place. Baby-sitting is not what I'm paid for, ya know..."

That brought a smile to the black Ghostbuster's face. "I know, Janine, I know. But you're the best secretary we ever had."

She grinned sourly. "I'm the only secretary you ever had, you mean."

"Exactly my words." Winston quickly ran for cover. Putting down the phone she was just about to throw after him, Melnitz smiled.

"Don't you say!"

Peter and Winston had waited with dinner until Ray was back. The occultist was hungry after his long ride on the bus and ate with apetite. But as much as they needed to talk their problem over, none of them had the courage to begin with it - though they all were willing to talk. And Egon still hadn't shown up.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'll catch some z's!" Peter suddenly got up and went for the stairs. Winston and Ray stared after him.

"Good night, Pete," Zedmore murmured. Stantz looked at his plate, then sighed and stood up to put his dishes into the sink. Wordlessly, he began to clean them and his colleague joined to help him.

Half an hour later the two men had finished their work.

"I think I go to the lab and say hello to Egon," the auburn haired occultist tried to make the first step. And excusing with Spengler seemed to be a good start.

"I'll come with you." Winston's statement surprised Ray for a moment, but then he nodded. They were in this together, they had to get out of it together. "Okay."

When they passed the last stairs, they could hear Peter's snoring from the bedroom. Both Ghostbusters smiled. They knew that, though he claimed to be on top again, Venkman was still dealing with the aftereffects of the coma and Sleeew's running-down of his body. The psychologist was tired every evening and spent more time on his fitness program in the past couple of weeks than ever before.

Zedmore and Stantz entered the lab and found the blond physicist involved in an experiment. While Winston closed the door, Ray studied the machine Egon had built with interest.

"Were you successful?" he asked out of curiousity. Egon started on his voice. He had been so consumed by his research that he hadn't noticed his friends entering. Now that he turned to face them, Winston and Ray saw the marks of exhaustion and lack of sleep on the lean face.

"Partially. It still needs a lot of work." Spengler fell silent again. His usually brilliant blue eyes were redshot and dull from tiredness.

The three men stood there for a couple of seconds, looking at each other but saying nothing. They knew what they wanted to say, but they didn't know how. Seconds seemed to stretch into hours for them.

It was Winston who couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"You know, this is stupid," he said with forced calmness. "We're grown-ups and should be able to talk about what happened like grown-ups."

First no one answered. They just continued to stare at one another.

"Yes," Ray stated, but then fell silent again. The three Ghostbusters were trapped in their own helplessness.

Zedmore got more and more nervous on that until he rapped out: "Hey, I know I haven't been too friendly to all of you lately, but for Heaven's sake, I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't mean to hurt you."

The silence between them was like poison. Winston shifted uneasy from one foot to the other. He had an uncertain feeling that the situation was getting out of hand. "C'mon, guys, talk to me."

Looking at his friends, he became more and more insecure.

Egon remained stoic, like he had sealed his emotions away.

The muscles in Ray's face tightened. He looked at Winston with big eyes. Everything he had prepared to say on the long bus ride had just gone down the drain.

Then the moment had passed and the other two finally managed to answer.

"You didn't hurt my feelings, Winston," Spengler looked into his colleague's eyes for an instant. "It's only natural that you reacted to what happened by thinking about your... relationship to us."

"Yes," Stantz added. "It wasn't you who turned into a demon and betrayed your friends. You were a victim." His voice became quiet. "I'm sorry for what Rishamnon did to you. To both of you." Studying the features of his friends for a second, Ray said soberly: "I know that I can't change what happened, but I don't want to make the same mistake twice. I should've told you about the risks of my... plan in the first place. Can you forgive me for this - and for endangering you?"

It took Winston a second to sort out his feelings. But then, hadn't he hoped for a chance to put things right? Here it was, and he grabbed for it. Zedmore smiled at the occultist and placed a hand on Stantz' shoulder. "M'man, I'd be a fool not to accep your offer. I'm glad to call you my friend. But don't pull that stunt again without tellin' me first. I'm not keen going to the Netherworld and save your hind once more. Promise?"

"Promise." Ray returned the smile, then looked at Egon who had watched them with a serious expression. "I'm sorry for arguing with you, Egon."

There was something like fear in Spengler's eyes, but Ray nevertheless continued. "I know I already told you, but I want you to know that you were right and I was wrong."

Outside of the bedroom, Peter Venkman listened to the converation in awe. Though he had been asleep when his friends had come upstairs, he had been woken by their voices. It was like a kind of sixth sense, that Peter seemed to feel when his presence was required. But first he listened to what his friends had to say from safe distance, ready to join the conversation whenever it was necessary. So Venkman couldn't see that Egon had paled a bit on Stantz' words.

Spengler's face was a mask of surpressed emotions. "What are you talking about, Raymond?"

"I'm talking about the arguments concerning the wherabouts of Peter. I understand your reasons."

Much to the occultist's surprise, Egon paled even more.

Winston just looked from one to the other. Putting things right was something very difficult, because there was always a chance to cause further damage by telling the truth. Sometimes it was easier to live together with a lie, but in the end it would destroy whatever relationship it should glue.

"What do you think were my reasons?" the blond physicist wanted to know, looking at Zedmore and then at Stantz. At their blank expressions, Egon gave a hollow chuckle. "What do you know about my reasons to insist on sending Peter to a nursing home?"

Ray, as Winston, was unsure what to answer on that. None of them had an idea what Spengler was driving at with his question.

"Because," suggested Ray in a cautious tone, "you knew from the beginning that we couldn't cope with the combined stress of busting and nursing."

"That's only part of it." Egon's voice was devoid of all emotions, mirroring the extreme pressure he was under. In the hallway Peter tensed. What did Spengs mean by that?

"What do you mean by that?" Winston carefully digged deeper, while Venkman grabbed for the doorhandle.

In the bedroom, Spengler took a deep breath. It was now or never. Egon had to put things straight between himself and the others. He couldn't lie to himself any longer and he didn't want to lie to his friends now.

"There is one thing I haven't told you." Checking his two colleagues for signs of knowing he only found query expressions. Egon sighed. "You were right all along, Ray. It wasn't only for practical reasons that I insisted on the home." On his next words he lowered his eyes, avoiding their astonished looks. "The truth is that I couldn't stand the sight of Peter lying there. It made me feel so... helpless, and knowing that he would stay this way scared the hell out of me..." Silently he added, "Peter means so much to me that it was too much for me to deal with the fact that I had lost him and face it every day anew." They would never know what it had cost Egon to admit this, spilling his guts like that.

Outside of the bedroom, Peter's face had lost all color and he let go of the doorhandle. He hadn't had any idea that his coma had brought such pain to Egon. Peter pictured for a change how he would've felt in Spengler's place, and the horror of the scenario was obvious to him now.

"Maybe you won't believe me, but you were not alone with that feeling," Zedmore said in a soft tone, remembering his own anguish at the sight of the psychologist laying comatose in a hospital bed and later in Peter's own bed at Ghostbuster Central.

Because after all these years the Ghostbusters had come as close as brothers and that made them strong and vulnerable at the same time - all of them.

Stantz added gently: "It's true. I was close to loose it more than once. The only thing that kept me fighting was my desperation. Until... until I got that chance to make an appointment with Ghenaar and get Peter out of the deal."

Winston smiled tiredly. "You just made that deal to safe Pete and that bastard of demigod knew it."

Ray nodded, looking at Egon who wore a confused expression. "You're right, Zed. I'm not keen being a demon, y' know."

"But you couldn't let Peter rot in the Netherworld," Egon stated calmly. Now that the foundations were laid they had a chance to really sort things out.

The world started spinning around Peter. The other's words kept ringing in his ears. He didn't want to be the reason for this. An involuntary gasp escaped his lips.

Egon, Winston and Ray spun around. "What was that?" Zedmore wanted to know.

"Peter?" the auburn haired occultist suggested. One could be sure that Venkman always heard things he wasn't supposed to hear. Spengler reached the door first and opened it, looking into the pale face of Peter.

The psychologist calmed his breathing, retreating with as much dignity as he could manage. It was no good. No matter how Peter put it, the only thing he had done lately was causing pain to his friends. The psychologist was frightened.

This had shaken on the foundations of their friendship, and it had survived so far - but at what price? What good was such a friendship for when it only made the participants suffer? Peter swallowed hard and put on his most flippant voice, hearing himself saying the words he never had wanted to say.

"You remember your offer to terminate our friendship, Egon? Well, here's my answer: Yes."

He turned around, fighting the tears that threatened to spring to his eyes. Why had life to be so unfair? Just when he had began to feel really safe and secure some blaze of fate would hit and destroy everything. It was always the same. It had been this way when Peter had been a kid. Just when he had made friends they'd move again and he had to start from scratch. It had continued later on and on, and it hadn't been until he met Egon and Ray that he had established a longer lasting friendship. When the three of them had founded the Ghostbusters it had been like starting from square one again; being thrown out of Columbia had shattered their reputation in scientist's circles completely at that time. But then, they were friends and made their way together. How had Janine put it one day? 'United we stand, diveded we fall.' With Janine and Winston they were now four Ghostbusters and their secretary, and the five of them had a reputation for busting ghosts - and house demolition.

But friendship, security and help - it had all been an illusion and Peter felt he had fallen for it. The reality was that people hurt over each other and the closer you got the more pain you caused.

His friends stared at him dumbstruck and though Egon had been warned, the actual fact that Peter had voiced this left him stunned for the moment. Ray and Winston looked at each other in shock. Did the things they had just admitted to deal with their emotions now backfire on them - and on Peter?

Venkman had made the few steps over to their bedroom and hastily began to put things from his closet onto his bed, getting his suitcase. Unrestrained movements indicated how much out of inner balance he was.

Egon stirred to action. He had to do something. He couldn't allow that Peter blamed himself for something that wasn't his fault. Egon had to stop Peter from thinking that friendship was a one-way trip into pain. Venkman would become a sarcastic, lonely and mistrusting person like he had been when they had first met in college.

When they saw that Spengler went over to the bedroom after Peter, Winston and Ray followed.

The occultist was confused. What had happened in the two days he had gone to Sam's farm? Peter had looked forward to his time alone with Egon, mentioned that this would be an opportunity too good to be left out. And now? Stantz could understand that Peter wasn't pleased by the conversation he had listened to, but that didn't justify this - flight.

Ray had no idea what had caused the psychologist to react like that. Under normal circumstances Peter would've become rather aggressive, not just run away.

Now that it had happened, Winston was almost glad that Venkman had broken the shell he had put around himself. Even if he had wished it wouldn't have been so painful for Peter; but there was nothing he could do about that. The psychologist usually buried his problems inside, didn't confide into anyone, until one day the built-up emotions searched for a vent and Venkman simply exploded. When that happened Peter was approachable at last, willing to talk and willing to listen. If they got to him in time.

"What do you think you are doing there?" Egon asked in a carefully levelled tone that barely covered his feelings of fear.

"What does it look like?" Placing the last of his shirts and socks into his suitcase Peter still didn't face his friend. "I'm packing. I think, a vacation will do nicely for me now. May take longer, dunno."

"Why do you run away from us, Peter? Is it because of what we said in the lab?" Ray probed.

That made Venkman stop packing. He slowly turned around and stared at Stantz first, then at Spengler and Zedmore. "Let's say it was the piece of the puzzle that I needed to get the picture."

Egon's eyes narrowed. "We didn't mean to hurt you,Peter."

Control was something Peter had to struggle for, but somehow he managed to stay calm. "You didn't hurt me. None of you did. The only one who did hurt anyone..." he swallowed, then decided to go on with this. The three of them had to understand that it wasn't their fault, not because he didn't care for them any longer, that he wanted the bond of friendship to be resolved. "Don't you see? All of this just happened because we're friends." Peter grimaced. "If it hadn't been for our friendship, none of you would've pulled such a damned stunt just to rescue me."

Egon did the best not to loose his selfcontrol. "You would've done the same for us."

Peter sneered. "If we weren't friends? I wouldn't be so sure of that."

There was a kind of desperation in the psychologist's voice. He was scared by his own decision to leave the safe haven of friendship, but on the other hand stubborn enough not to admit that he might be mistaken.

"Don't you think you're a bit hard on yourself, Pete?" Winston put in. There was something deeper, more painful behind this he knew, but Venkman wasn't ready to admit it - not to them and not to himself.

"Being responsible for each other is part of being friends."

That made Peter snap. "I need no one to feel responsible for me. I can take care of myself."

"And then can you tell me why you are so upset about that?" Egon pointed with a faint smile.

Venkman frowned. Nuts. Egon had him there. Self-justification was, as the psychologist inside Peter stated, an attempt to justify your actions or feelings if they were controversal to your own selfperception. Peter needed his friends like he needed the air to breath, and he knew that. And Spengler knew that, too. Peter felt cornered. "No way I tell you."

"Let me make a guess, then." The blond physicist wouldn't give in that easy. Not this time. It was bad enough that he had let Ghenaar play his games with them, but he wouldn't let the demigod destroy the friendship he shared with his colleagues. "You have a problem with accepting that we care for you as much as you do for us."

On that Peter blushed. "That's not true. I know that you like me. Everyone likes Peter Venkman. You have no other choice than to like me. And of course I like you bunch of guys, too. You're nice.." "Peter..." "...people - well..." "Peter!" "...most of the time..."

"Peter!" Spengler cut in for the third time.

"Uhm... Yes, Egon?" Venkman fell silent. Ray and Winston watched their friends with tension, ready to add their piece of support when it was needed.

"Stop it." Resting a hand on Peter's arm, Egon looked into a pair of troubled emerald eyes. "You know what I mean. You are not willing to accept that we, your friends, still care for you after what happened. Because, if you accept that..."

"Enough, Egon, I understand what you want to tell me, and I'm really gratefull for that, but I'm very well able to analyze myself. All part of the daily routine, ya know." The psychologist's voice was serious, but there was a trace of flippancy in it. He shook off Spengler's hand.

"Peter, we're your friends, no matter what happens." It was Stantz who made the next attempt to break through Venkman's wall of selfprotection. Right now Peter was vulnerable, as Egon had hit a soft spot, the core of the problem. "You can't run away from that just because you feel responsible for everything. You aren't. Everything I did I would've done for Egon or Winston or Janine as well, if I could've helped them with it. And if you think that I risked my soul for you - yes, I did, and I would do it again. At that point it seemed to be the only way to break the circle. If I had been successful, I would've been gone forever, but it was worth the risk - you were worth the risk."

To hear that was painful for Peter, as he felt that it was the truth. "Ray, please..."

"He's right, m'man. I don't regret going to the Netherworld, nor am I feeling any resentment towards you - or Ray - for what your demons did. I want you to know that I'm sorry for my unjustified distrust." Winston uneasily shifted from one foot to the other. Though he knew these people for quite some time now, he still had his problems with expressing his feelings. Not that he hadn't the words to describe them, it was just... well, one could call it machochism or simply that he was a product of his upbringing. Winston, like most male humans, would rather swallow his tongue than talk about emotions. Especially when it came to the more gentle ones he felt for his friends. "It was stupid and I know that now. It's just a pity that it took me so long to recognize that."

It was quiet for an instant, as everyone thought about what the others had said, trying to get their own feelings in relation to it.

"And it's a pity that it took me so long to realize that this whole thing was a set-up from the beginning." Egon said all of a sudden. "I'm sorry. I should've been able to work it out much earlier if I had approached the case scientifically. It would have spared us a lot of trouble."

The physicist sounded like he was analyzing a mishappened experiment.

While Peter and Winston stared at Spengler in disbelief, Ray gasped. "You can't mean that seriously, Egon. How should you have known?"

"There are certain tests I could have run on Peter when he was comatose. You surely remember that old book 'Demons, Zombies and Others'?" Ray nodded and Egon smiled wryly. "There were different ways to test what sort of paranormal activity has caused a person's state. It would've been a start..."

"And when did you remember that book, Egon? Yesterday? Or the day before?" Zedmore shot in annoyed. "Because what I remember is that we were worried sick about Peter, and that included all of us. especially you."

Spengler shook his head. "But I should have remembered it, that's the problem. I'm a scientist."

"The problem is that you're expecting too much from yourself, Egon." Peter sat down on his bed. "I'm afraid we're all expecting too much from ourselves from time to time. And don't give me that 'I'm a scientist'-crap again. You're not made of stone, Spengs. None of us is."

He gave each of them a caring glance. "If there's one good thing in this whole mess, then it's that I've learned that I've friends. Friends who care for me. Friends I care for. And no-one can ever take that away from me. Maybe we all should try to be a bit more careful in the way we treat each other. And if Ghenaar shows up next time, he'll wish he'd never opened a gateway to our world. Because he has four Ghostbusters to deal with - and a secretary."

"Does that mean that you no longer want to go on... vacation?" Egon asked cautiously. He was still confused over his own mixed emotions and about what had been said. This talk was a beginning. They had just begun to solve their problems.

"That means that I'll go downstairs to the kitchen to fix myself a hot chocolate. If one of you cares to join me, feel free to do so. I think we still have some things to spill..."

"I'm with you," Stantz smiled with relief and Zedmore added: "I could do with some hot chocolate, too. Egon?"

For the first time in weeks, Spengler felt good. A friendship like he and his fellow Ghostbusters shared was strainous sometimes, but it was worth every effort to continue it.

"Sure. But I will fix the chocolate. And don't you dare to spill it!"

New York, in a parallel dimension, September 15th, 2027 12:20 a.m.

Peter Stantz stood in the fields of ruins that had been the Upper Eastside of Manhattan Island. The damage to the buildings and streets was tremendous, and the red haired scientist couldn't even begin to estimate how much the repairs would cost the citizens and the town. An earthquake or hurricane couldn't have been more destructive than the demons of Ghenaar.

Peter remembered how he and Louise had returned to the old firehouse two days ago. It had been absolutely quiet in the third floor lab and everywhere else, too. The first thing he had done had been to check the readings. Louise had looked at him, hoping that it was really over. "They're gone," Peter had announced. "We did it."

The two Stantz had contacted the others, worked their way back to the shelter and were given a wholehearted welcome.

The Ghostbusters had saved New York again - but at what price. Most of the buildings around Central Park were damaged or destroyed, there were tenthousands of casualties and more than 200 deaths to mourn. The Ghostbusters had lost two complete busting teams, and ten of their staff were still missing.

'And why all of this?' Peter Stantz thought angrily, while he watched some people digging for food in the debris of what had been a grocery store. 'Just because one mighty being is bored and uses humans as toys.'

"Damn you, Ghenaar, one day you'll pay for what you've done!"

New York, July 16th, 1987

About two weeks after Peter, Egon, Ray and Winston had had their first clearing talk, things had settled, and most of what had caused conflicts between the four friends was now talked over and laid to rest. And what wasn't solved yet, more talks and time would heal.

Normality had returned to Ghostbuster Central. The four paranormal eliminators were going on busts again, Slimer was getting on Peter's nerves and Janine worked her way through letters, bills and phone calls. In short, everything was like it should be.

Well, not everything had returned to normal. Janine seemed to evade contact with Peter. She limited talks with him to pure necessity and didn't join in their common kind of sharp-mouthed banter. The secretary had thought a lot about what Venkman had risked for her, and now had no idea where to place his action. And that the other Ghostbusters were involved in the deal more or less didn't make it easier.

The consequences of Peter coming to her rescue seemed to be unimaginable, as she now realized how close she and Peter had become over the years. It was late one evening and the secretary was just putting the last letters into the filing cabinet when suddenly Peter stood at her desk.

The others were upstairs, watching TV. Venkman had seen the effects his deal with Ghenaar had had on Janine quite clearly. He knew that he had to defuse her inner conflict or Janine would come to conclusions that wouldn't be acceptable for both of them.

"Hi, Janine. Working on overtime again?"

Melnitz spun around. "Peter! You startled me!"

Then she put the professionalism into her voice that had helped to keep saftey distance between her and her boss. "I've just finished. If there isn't anything urgent, I'm off in five minutes."

Feeling Peter's query gaze lingering on her, Janine added: "I've an appointment - with an old friend."

"As long as it isn't a date," the psychologist smiled. "Egon can be jealous like hell, ya know."

That made Janine smile. "Good to know."

She wanted to say something, but then thought otherwise.

"Well?"

"What?" Janine started, looking directly into Venkman's emerald eyes.

"I said: Well?" The dark-haired Ghostbuster sat down on one corner of her desk as he usually did when he wanted to tease her - or get teased by the secretary.

"Well - what?" she retorted angrily. Then it occured to her that Peter wanted to talk and waited for her to begin. She calmed down and shot him a quick glance before she looked down on the desk. "Why did you risk your life for me?"

Peter shrugged. "Egon would never forgive me if you get hurt."

Grinning, he added: "And there are only a few good secretaries in New York."

Knowing that it was normal for Peter to answer in this evasive way, she gave him a stern look. She wouldn't let him get off the hook this time. Janine Melnitz wanted to know the truth. And Peter told it to her in a very serious manner.

"I would've never forgiven myself if Ghenaar killed you. You're not replacable - as a secretary." Venkman added with a smile, as if the words he'd said before weighed less because of this. But Janine understood why that was all Peter could say without giving their friendship a turn both of them would regret sooner or later. And she was relieved that Venkman saw in her just a friend - as she knew him to be a friend, too. Nothing more, nothing less. Janine smiled.

"I appreciate that. Coming from you, it's a compliment."

"Hey, I'm a psychologist," Venkman pouted, and he blushed slightly. "I'm trained to tell people such stuff."

That made her smile broaden. "Sure you are. And now - would you let me finish my work or shall I stay here all night?"

Grinning, Peter got off her desk. "Everything you ask, Janine."

Before he left for the stairs Janine's voice stopped him. "Anyway, thank you. For everything."

"If I hadn't done it, I'd have ruined my image." He gave her a caring look.

"You're still a jerk, Dr. Venkman, if you mean that," the secretary countered. Peter stuck out his tongue, and she answered the same way.

"And you," Venkman mocked good humoured, "are still a pain in the neck, Miss Melnitz."

End