Something Borrowed, Something... Blue

An Egon friendship fic

By Fiona Conn

A/N: Yes, I'm getting into Ghostbusters. *g* I actually remember Real Ghostbusters from my childhood. I have to admit, rewatching it, I am beginning to see a pattern in my choice of viewing/reading, and its development through watching the cartoons as a kid! The Egon here is based a little more off movie Egon, though its original basis was going to be cartoon Egon (circa XGB). However, feel free to imagine whichever you want in his place. I'm open to it. =P There are some subtle differences in their characterisation, admittedly -- cartoon Egon is more forthcoming and sterner than the movie version, who is, I feel, rather quieter, more softly spoken. He comes across kind of shy, but definitely very sweet. This is my first GB fic, so, I hope you'll forgive me if my characterisation is a little off. Caitlyn is my original character -- or one of them anyway -- from another GB project I'm working on. This piece is actually important for her, also, as I try to work out HER characterisation and mannerisms. Please feel free to critique her also. : ) Thanks for your time!

***

High above New York, in the orbit of the Earth, a satellite floated past nonchalantly, and the moon ambled slowly by, its back turned to the sun. Even further away, a star shuddered, gasping its last breath, and pulling in on itself. Brief silence, and then tiny particles of light exuded from it, accompanied by clouds of gas and radiation. Its light would not reach earth for thousands, perhaps millions, of years.

On Earth, nobody gazing up at the moonlit night sky would realize or suspect that a star had just died, and in the process, given birth to a whole slew of new ones. As the atmosphere shimmered, the stars appeared to twinkle, as if dancing at a far away disco, tiny to the human – and perhaps even to the ectoplasmic – eye.

The lights of New York drowned out all but the brightest of these dancing jewels, and a sequence easily connected formed the shape of an archer, shooting an arrow across the sky. Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus burned slightly brighter than the rest of the stars, making their magnificent presence felt. Pluto twinkled enviously in response. Antares winked roguishly to anybody who could distinguish it in the glow of the moon.

On the roof of the Firehouse, home and headquarters to the Ghostbusters, a young woman leaned over to glance through the eyepiece on a telescope, watching the skies in silence, and smiling. It wasn't exactly cold, still being the middle of summer. But the skies had at least gotten dark enough to allow her use of the telescope, even if it was very late at night. Nonetheless, somewhere nearby, a flask of hot chocolate sat on a table with her notepad and pen. Laying across a couple of books, a planisphere guided her on what may be visible that night.

She was completely oblivious to the footsteps approaching behind her, being so totally focused on lining up the telescope with Jupiter. She halted now and then to check positioning with a pair of binoculars, still not noticing the approaching figure. He was tall, with dark brown hair peppered with grey streaks, arranged in a somewhat haphazard mass of curls; glasses perched on his nose. He wore dark sand coloured trousers, and a blue sweater was pulled over his shirt, the collar of which poked up. He smiled, regarding the skies for a couple of minutes as the young woman continued to adjust the telescope.

“I see you located Ray's old telescope,” he observed as she straightened up again. The young woman squeaked loudly before covering her mouth, and turning around. Then, with a sigh, she relaxed, her expression turning to one of self-reproach. She murmured something that sounded like, “Oh, it's just you, Professor Spengler...”

As if not noticing her outburst of shock, the man – Professor Spengler – continued, “He had mentioned having lost it some time ago... he'll be glad to know it's been found.”

“Oh, this is Ray's? It was just stuffed away in a closet...” She trailed off, her expression becoming worried, “I – should I not-?”

Spengler held up his hand, silencing her queries. “I'm sure he will have no issue with your continued use of it, Caitlyn.” He smiled slightly, then added, “in fact, I'm certain he would prefer it to be used, rather than living out the rest of its days as a makeshift coat-rack.”

Caitlyn giggled, then turned away to survey at the sky, peering through her binoculars. Stepping aside, she gestured to Spengler, inviting him to take a peek through the telescope.

“Jupiter,” he commented, “and not far from it... Neptune?”

Caitlyn blinked, “really? You can see that?” She was surprised; surely Neptune would be fairly small and ambiguous? Spengler nodded in reply to her question, and peeked through the scope again before waving her over.

“Come take a look,” Spengler twiddled a knob on the side of the eyepiece, bringing it into focus, before moving back a little to give Caitlyn some space to investigate. She had always been the inquisitive type, always questioning – even challenging the things he told her. However, Spengler reflected, he wouldn't have it any other way. She was not only a Ghostbuster, but also a scientist... and his student. He respected her wish – no, need – for answers.

After a minute, he asked encouragingly, “do you see it?”

“I see it!” Caitlyn exclaimed excitedly. “I see Neptune!”

“So long as it's not Uranus you're seeing,” Spengler quipped, “that would be worrying.”

Caitlyn frowned as she turned to look at him. “I – wha – why...” Then, suddenly, she realized that he had been joking. With a groan, she shook her head. “You're awful, Professor. Really, I thought such childish remarks would be beneath you!” Returning her attention to the telescope, she added, “and anyway, that pronunciation is wrong.”

Spengler's expression seemed to fall, his face reddening as he fiddled with his glasses, and cleared his throat. “Yes, I was aware.” Perhaps, he admitted to himself, he really shouldn't be leading her astray with such jokes, and she was right, up to a point. As for the pronunciation, that itself had always been a tricky issue in the astronomical community...

With another gaze up at the sky, Caitlyn shifted the telescope, occasionally checking her alignment with the binoculars. After tweaking the focus on the telescope, she stepped back. “Here, Professor, take a look – what d'you think this is, the star right next to the moon?”

Spengler leaned down to peek into the scope. A particularly bright star winked, dancing next to the moon. “I would say that's Antares, Caitlyn,” he said as he pushed his spectacles back on. “Named for its close rivalry with Mars... although other cultures would know it by other names... however, it is in fact a red supergiant, not a planet. It is much like Betelgeuse in that regard.”

Caitlyn nodded quietly as she stole another glance through her binoculars. Most other people would perhaps have tuned out the ensuing brain dump, but for her, the additional information was, well, comforting. Sometimes, she wondered about the etymology and origins of the names given to stars, to planets, and other celestial objects. That and... she had to admit to enjoying the sense of falling into the usual student-teacher pattern.

She had known him for nearly a year now, having taken his class during her final year of University. Professor Spengler had gone on to become her supervisor when she had needed to write a thesis as a requirement for graduation. He had also become her boss, as a Ghostbuster, and also... her mentor. He challenged her assumptions, offered brief tidbits of knowledge, and guided her – and the others – with his wealth of experience as one of the Original Ghostbusters.

He had even tutored her through her weakness in mathematics, after she had panicked and frozen up one afternoon in the lab when he asked her off-hand to calculate a simple difference between their findings and a benchmark, and subsequently made an embarrassed confession to her weakness. Professor Spengler had been stunned at the time, wondering how on earth she got through her degree without it? When Caitlyn had admitted to relying on her calculator, he simply shook his head. A few days later, she had found textbooks and a notepad with pages marked in centimetre squares, on her table in the lab with a brief note from him. The lessons had frequently been reinforced by their usage in the lab – Spengler had taken to hiding the calculators to make his point. Reflecting on the experience, she was now rather grateful he had.

A grey cloud began to roll across the sky, obscuring the star she had been looking at, and with it, the moon. Caitlyn shivered, and wondered if the sudden dip in temperature had just been her imagination? Slipping the binoculars around her neck, she unscrewed two cups from the top of her flask, opened it, and poured still-steaming hot chocolate into both cups. “Professor?” She prompted, passing him his cup.

“Thank you, Caitlyn,” Spengler smiled, wrapping both hands around the warm cup. “It's been a very long time since I last had the opportunity to stargaze – particularly with Ray's equipment.”

Caitlyn nodded. “It was something I liked to share with my dad, back at home,” she admitted. Spengler raised his eyebrows slightly, as if questioning. Catching his look, she added, “I guess I miss him, yes, but... well, I can't just drop everything and go home, can I?”

“If you wanted to, I would more than understand,” Spengler commented, then took another sip of his hot chocolate. “It's only natural to miss your family.”

Caitlyn murmured her agreement, staring past Spengler, into the distance. “But it would defeat the point of coming out here, though.” Focusing her attention back on him, she added, “when I'm stuck at home, I'm useless, but here... I don't feel like that.”

Professor Spengler nodded, “I can empathise.” A long time ago, his Uncle had asked him back to Ohio, to the Spengler labs, where he had found himself feeling trapped and perhaps just as useless as he could imagine Caitlyn might feel back at home. “I think Janine just paid the phonebill, if you wanted to call home?”

“I think I might,” Caitlyn nodded, and sipped at her hot chocolate. Even if she didn't want to go home, phoning would at least assuage the sensation of being slightly homesick. “I'll get that in the morning, 'cause it's bound to be late where they are.”

“Understood.”

Professor Spengler and Caitlyn stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, still drinking their hot chocolate. The seeming coolness of the air was beginning to become more obvious, as well as her eyelids becoming increasingly heavy. When she had to conceal a yawn, Spengler finally spoke up.

“Go to bed, Caitlyn,” he said, his voice tinted with a gentle sternness. Caitlyn agreed, and went to dismantle the telescope apparatus when she was stopped by Spengler.

“If you leave it up, I think I might take some time to have a peek, myself,” he told her with a small smile. Caitlyn nodded.

“Okay,” she replied and concealed another yawn, before rubbing her eyes.

“Goodnight, Caitlyn,” Spengler said pointedly.

“Goodnight, Professor.”

END