A/N: Hello all! This is my first fic in the GB Universe, so I hope you like it.

I may not update as often as I (or you) had hoped, but I will try for an update every few months or so. Please be patient!

Eduardo didn't think that he'd find himself in the middle of a snowstorm calling Kylie from a payphone.

Yet here he was.

Mid December and a little after nine pm and he was standing on a street corner, a mile from home, calling her.

"No, not home,", he thought, "Just a place where I used to live...I wasn't even welcome for the most part, so, yeah, not really much of a home..."

He had gotten kicked out again, this time probably for good.

The understanding that he and Carlos (or "Carl" as he liked to be called) had had after he and the team saved Kevin back in October had since turned back into silent animosity.

Beth and Kevin had both tried to mend their relationship, but to no avail.

It hadn't been an argument that had gotten him kicked out this time, at least it hadn't started out like one.

~Three Hours Earlier~

"Hey Uncle Eduardo, what do you want for Christmas?", Kevin asked as he finished his homework while his dad worked on case files and his mom cleaned up after dinner.

"I don't know…maybe a new pair of gloves for work, some socks, and a bottle of that cologne I got last year for Christmas…", he replied, flipping through the channels, "What about you? What do you want for Christmas?"

Kevin's eyes lit up.

"I kind of want a Tamagotchi, but I wouldn't mind a new pair of skates either."

Carl walked into the living room and sat down in his recliner before grabbing the paper off the coffee table and shaking it open, not looking at his brother.

Things had been getting pretty tense between Eduardo and Carl.

Beth entered soon after and began reading one of her books.

Kevin noticed the silence and tried to break it.

"Hey mom, what do you want for Christmas?"

Beth replied and Eduardo didn't hear her.

He and his brother were having a staring contest over the edge of the paper.

"Hey Carlos, you never told me what you wanted for Christmas…", Eduardo said, rolling the 'r' in his older brother's name, reminding him so much of the Hispanic heritage that he'd rather forget altogether (Carlos had almost kicked Eduardo out when he found out that his brother gave Kevin lascalaveritas de azúcar on la Día de Los Muertos).

"What I want is for you to get a real job, shave that goatee off your face, and make something of yourself.", he replied darkly.

His brother always got testy around the holidays because they reminded him of their parents.

Their father had been gunned down in a drive by shooting outside of the precinct where he had worked when Eduardo was only nine and then they had gone to live with their grandmother since their own mother was too consumed by her depression and grief to be a proper parent. Their mother had passed away a year after that, their grandmother telling Eduardo that she had died of a broken heart. Camilla Rivera had actually committed suicide when she overdosed on painkillers, anti-anxiety meds, and sleeping pills, something that Carlos had admitted to Eduardo in a fit of anger years later.

Eduardo could remember the team getting on the topic of their parents on the way back from a bust upstate.

Garrett's mom and dad were married, they lived together and raised him and he still lived with them.

Roland's dad was currently deployed but his tour would be ending soon and his mother kept him and all his brothers and sisters in line (with Roland's help, of course).

Kylie's parents were divorced and the only one who had ever really cared for her was her late Grandma Rose, her parents were, quote, "married to their careers and traveled all over the country", but they sent her money all the time.

"I guess it makes up for them never being around, like they know I can handle myself, but they still make sure I have money to pay rent and fill the fridge, so, in a way, they are putting food on the table and keeping a roof over my head…I still miss them sometimes, but they'll usually give me a call or send me a letter if they're in NYC and we'll go out for lunch or something…What about you, Eduardo? Tell us about your folks…"

He had told them everything, making sure to say that he didn't want anyone's pity for his situation, as it had hardly been in his control, leaving out the part where he lived above his older brother's garage. That truth had come out later.

Before Eduardo could shoot back with his rebuttal, Kevin piped up in his defense.

"But Dad, Uncle Eduardo does have a real job, he's a ghostbuster, and he is making something of himself…and his goatee looks cool…"

"Yeah, I'm a scientist…", Eduardo added when he noticed the dark look in his brother's eyes.

He didn't want Kevin to be on the receiving end of Carl's anger.

It was one thing to alienate your brother when they were used to your alienation, but it was another thing for a father to alienate his own son at a young age.

Beth sensed the rising tension and told Kevin to go upstairs and get ready for bed.

Kevin bade Eduardo good night and went upstairs.

When the bathroom door had shut and the water began running, signaling that Kevin was in the shower, Beth turned to the two brothers and said, "Look, I'm sick of this tension. Work it out, but don't do it in front of Kevin. Take it outside if you have to, just work it out."

Beth went to pass, kissed Carl's cheek and patted Eduardo on the arm.

Carl's glare never wavered.

"So,", Eduardo began, "What are we gonna argue about this time?"

"Let's start with something easy, like why aren't you a cop?"

"It's not for me, man. I'm not you and I'm certainly not Dad.", Eduardo replied.

He saw a muscle in his brother's jaw twitch.

Not a good sign for him.

"I'm a ghostbuster and a scientist…I deal with stuff you couldn't imagine in your wildest dreams of your most terrifying nightmares…"

"That's just a hobby! A childish game!"

"If it's such a game, what if those trolls we blasted had hurt Kevin? I wasn't doing that for kicks, man, I was doing it to save his life… that's one thing our jobs have in common. We both save people."

"Crime in New York will always be here. What if the ghosts suddenly vanish like they did back in '92? Isn't that what put the original ghostbusters out of business? Then what?", Carl got close to Eduardo and poked him in the chest diminutively, "Then what, scientist?", he asked, mocking the way Eduardo called himself a scientist.

"Then I'll work with my team until we find out why that happened…there's always supposed to be a certain base level of PKE activity in the area, without that, there could be a surge and the city could wind up being caught in the crossfire of an all-out paranormal event of apocalyptic proportions…"

"No, I mean what would you do for money?"

Eduardo shrugged.

"I'm resourceful, man, I'd find my way."

Carl scoffed.

"Dad would be so disappointed in you."

"I wouldn't know.", Eduardo snapped back, "He was gunned down almost eleven years ago…I didn't know him like you did."

"Well, he would have wanted you to carry on the tradition of being a cop, that's for sure."

"And I'm sure he would have just loved you abusing your powers like this…"

While their arguments seldom came to blows, tonight just happened to be one of those rare occasions.

Eduardo didn't even have time to react.

Carl swung and it caught him in the jaw.

Stunned, Eduardo shook off the blow before running his tongue along the inside of his mouth, checking for blood.

"Maybe that'll stop you from disrespecting our father."

"And yet, I'll bet mom is sitting on the other side and watching us fight…I'll bet she's upset at both of us for acting this way.", Eduardo replied,

"Even if that were true, she has no right to be upset at us. She lost that right when she dropped us off at grandma's house."

"Are you still mad at mom for committing suicide?", Eduardo asked, "It's okay to feel sad that she's gone but to be stuck in the second stage of grieving doesn't do anyone any good. You gotta work through bargaining, depression, and acceptance now."

"I have accepted that mom is gone.", Carl replied.

Eduardo gave a short burst of sarcastic laughter.

"You've accepted her death about as well as you accepted the fact that Kevin wants to be a ghostbuster and not a cop when he grows up…"

"That's because I don't want him to end up like the real ghostbusters, look at them; denounced by the mayor, forgotten by the city, broken men with broken lives. Look at you and your friends. Garrett: arrogant beyond reason. Roland: wasting his intelligence on the things that go bump in the night. Kylie: if you want the prime example of someone who is still stuck in a stage of grief, look no further. Bet she's suicidal, too. Might want to keep an eye on her. I bet she's trying to be the teacher's pet, huh? You mentioned that she read the book he wrote for the class four times, cover to cover? Then you have that secretary of yours, Janine, was it? She's obviously been carrying a torch for that Spengler hack for so long that I pity the guy. And then there's Spengler and that flying mess of phlegm you all call Slimer. You know how some people can be so book smart that in the real world, they're practically useless because they lack the social skills? That's Spengler for you...All the originals, they're washed up and in other lines of work. This is what you have to look forward to if you continue on this path."

Carl saw he was getting under Eduardo's skin.

"Oh! I almost forgot! And then…then there's you. Eduardo Rivera…You're the dumbest one in the group, I'm still surprised that they haven't kicked you out by now. But that's good for you because at least with them, you have people who care…but how long will that last? All of you are in college, what happens when you graduate? You go your separate ways and you'll be alone again…Nothing lasts forever you know, and you forget that I know your biggest fear…", Carl paused, "Aside from death, you fear loneliness the most…"

Carl glanced down and saw Eduardo clench his fists.

"Oh, and what are you going to do?", he mocked before getting in Eduardo's personal space and pointing to his jaw, "Go ahead. Take a swing…It's only fair…"

Eduardo was ready to swing when he stopped and thought about it.

"No way, man…", he replied, stepping back and sticking his hands in his pockets, "you'd probably cuff me and haul me in for assaulting an officer, give all the boys down at the station something to laugh about…And all that stuff you said about my friends is wrong."

Carl stopped grinning when he realized his brother had figured out his scheme and hadn't taken the bait.

Eduardo continued, however.

He wasn't done talking to his brother.

"I wonder what Officer Gwen would think about that?", he said, naming the woman that his brother was cheating on Beth with and watching the color drain from his face, "That's right, I know all about you and your new partner…"

"Officer Matthews and I are just partners…"

"Oh right, just partners…You remember when Beth was out of town at her sister's house for a week helping with the new baby, that one night when I was supposed to be on call and when Kevin was at a sleepover? I wasn't on call. I saw you and Officer Blondie pull up and I was in the kitchen when you came in, made out with her and took her upstairs. All those 'late shifts'… I wonder if Beth knows… now that I think about it, she probably doesn't… I should go upstairs and tell her everything…she's too nice to be with someone as undeserving as you…"

Before he could climb the stairs, Carl grabbed him by the jacket and yanked him back, face red with rage.

"Out.", he hissed.

"¿Que?", Eduardo asked, reverting to Spanish to further piss off his brother.

"Out. Get out of my house…pack your shit and get out of my garage, too, if you're so grown up with a real job, you can rent your own place."

Eduardo shook his head.

"Fine by me man, I'm gone…I just hope Beth finds out sooner rather than later…If you work it out now, maybe it can be handled quietly so that Kevin never learns the truth…Wouldn't want to alienate your son and wind up just like our father…", Eduardo pulled his coat, hat, and boots from the closet and then said, "Tell Beth and Kevin that I love them and that I'm gonna miss them."

He left before Carl could respond.

He went back to the garage and threw all his possessions into a couple duffel bags and crammed his backpack with his books. He actually took the time to make the bed and straighten up before leaving, anything to delay having to trudge back out into the bitter cold, but trudge he did.

He trudged for a long time before he realized he had nowhere to go.

Garrett's place was too far to walk to in this weather, Roland was probably already asleep by now and with all his brothers and sisters, there was no way he could inconvenience him and his mother like that, the phones were off at the firehouse and since Egon and Janine were finally engaged and were living together, Janine's apartment was no longer an option and they had told the team not to call the private line after hours unless it was a dire emergency.

While his sudden homelessness was unfortunate, it wasn't the four horsemen riding down fifth avenue, so he wasn't going to disturb them.

This left Kylie.

She lived on her own and lived within walking distance, so he rummaged for change and stepped up to the nearest payphone and dialed her number.

"Come on, pick up…", he murmured, hoping it wasn't a bad time.

The snow swirled down around him and he looked up, the streetlight illuminating the air above him like a halo.

"Hello?", came a familiar voice from the other end of the line.

"Kylie, hey, it's me, uh, Eduardo…"

"Oh, uh, hey…what's up, we got a call?"

Eduardo shook his head and then realized she couldn't see him.

"No…I was kicked out…Carlos and I had a pretty bad fight and he kicked me out...if it were any earlier, I'd call Spengler, but it's after hours."

"So… you need a place to stay…"

It hadn't been a question.

"Yeah…I do…"

"What the hell, I still owe you one for not letting that fog eat me a second time…Do you need me to call a cab?"

"Nah, I can walk…"

"So, how close are you to my place?", she asked.

"Not far, maybe half an hour to forty-five minutes away…"

"Good. I'll see you then…"

"Alright, thanks Kylie."

"No problem, you'd do the same if our roles were reversed…so, we even now?", she asked.

Eduardo cracked a smile and chuckled lightly.

"Chica, I will owe you for this one for a very long time…", he replied, "I'll see you soon."

He heard her laugh lightly and murmur something that sounded like, "I'll hold you to it." before she said goodbye and he hung up.

Eduardo took a second to thank the higher power watching over him for Kylie Griffin before he rerouted himself and began walking to her apartment.