It was pouring down rain and the streets were darkened under the night sky as Dr. Raymond 'Ray' Stantz was fumbling with a jar and tire iron on the sidewalk. Working on a bust with only Dr. Peter Venkman as his back-up the duo had been summoned to an old abandoned schoolhouse slated for demolition on the outskirts of the city. The bust itself was simple enough, only two class-3 free roaming vapors, but the drive back to the city was proving itself to be far more difficult and time consuming for the otherwise two efficient scientists.

"Hurry it up, Ray!" Peter rolled down the passenger's side window and yelled at his friend over the thundering rain. "It's getting late!"

The tire iron slipped out of Ray's hands and 'clanged' noisily on the concrete surface beneath his feet. "You know, you could get out and HELP with this..."

"Hey, I'm not the one who hit that pothole!"

"Yeah," Ray picked up the tire iron again and returned his attention to the flat rear passenger side tire still attached to Ecto-1. "but you're the one who insisted on this 'short cut'."

"You're the one who accepted the case!" Peter grumbled as he kicked his feet up on the dashboard and slunk down in his seat. "By the time we factor in time, gas consumption, power charges and entrapment we'll be lucky if we break even on this case!"

Ray grunted as he finally loosened the last bolt on the tire and rolled the damaged wheel away from the vehicle. "I thought we were doing this for the sake of science."

"And I thought we went into business for ourselves." Peter refuted bitterly. "Can't run a business without profit!"

"You wouldn't even HAVE a business to run if it wasn't for me and Egon!" Ray snapped back angrily as he set the replacement tire on the wheel well and crouched down in the pouring rain to secure it in place. "I'm the one who put up the money, Egon's the one who keeps the equipment in check, hell, even without Winston keeping Ecto-1 running you'd have nothing!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter was getting increasingly annoyed and defensive about Ray's remarks.

"It means," Ray grunted again as he tightened the last bolt and lowered the jack under the rear of the hearse. "that without the three of us Ghostbusters wouldn't exist. All you do is run your mouth and piss of city hall! We'd be better off without you! Sometimes I swear you're absolutely useless to the team!"

At those words Peter himself was at a rare loss. He'd never heard Ray speak so harshly about anyone, let alone a friend. Peter looked at Ray in the side mirror attached to his door as the engineer picked up his tools and threw them in the back of Ecto-1 before reclaiming his seat behind the steering wheel.

"Ouch." Peter finally replied as Ray sat down and put on his seatbelt.

Ray was soaked to the bone! His gray jumpsuit was at least five shades darker thanks to all of the rain that saturated the fabric. Ray's hair was damp and dark, loose strands clinging annoyingly to his forehead and near his eyes. As Ray turned the key in the ignition Peter could see his arms trembling from the cold and physical exertion of having changed the tire all by himself.

"Let's go." Ray snipped rudely as he pulled the hearse away from the side of the street and resumed the drive back to the firehouse. "I need to get out of these wet clothes."

Peter wanted to reach over and turn on the heater for Ray's sake but he was still stunned by Ray's comment and a little angry.

The rest of the drive was blanketed in a heavy, awkward silence as the two men refused to speak to one another. The rain created a thick ambience that was disrupted rhythmically by the windshield wipers moving back and forth in a futile bid to clear the glass of the perpetual rain.

Winston Zeddemore was sitting behind Janine Meltnitz's vacated desk and going over some reports when the large garage door of the firehouse opened to allow Ecto-1 to back inside and park for the night. Getting up from the desk he walked over to the drenched vehicle to greet his returned colleagues and noticed immediately through the window that Ray was soaked with rain but Peter was not.

"Hey, what happened to you?" Winston asked as Ray pushed open his door and stepped out of the hearse. "Flat tire. Had to change it."

"Jeez, you look terrible!"

"I feel terrible."

"Go take a hot shower man," Winston encouraged as he watched Ray walk slowly toward the staircase to access the second floor. "I'll look over Ecto-1 for you."

"Thanks..."

Peter quietly exited the vehicle and walked with a slumped posture to his desk in the open office space behind Janine's desk. Sitting down behind his desk he looked around at his office, noting the newspaper clips and photographs of both their failures and successes as Ghostbusters that lined the far walls of his personal space. Every photo showed the team, all of the members not just one man, standing together triumphantly. The newspaper articles detailed their busts and personal conquests, no one man was singled out from the rest of the team.

Dr. Egon Spengler walked out of his private lab next to Peter's office with a large clipboard in his hands and a determined look on his face. Winston had taken the two occupied traps from the back of Ecto-1 to deposit into the containment unit when Egon intercepted him and took the traps for himself to study. As Egon took the two traps he turned on his heels and spotted Peter sitting despondently behind his desk.

"Winston, did something occur during the bust?" Egon asked quietly as he studied Peter's face.

"I don't know the details but I'm pretty sure Ray and Peter are a little steamed at each other."

"What do you know?"

"Ray had to change a tire in the rain and from the looks of it Peter just sat in the car the whole time."

"I see. Where is Ray now?"

"Hopefully showering off and warming up."

"I'll check in on Ray in a few moments to ensure he has gotten ill from being in the cold. I'll also speak with Peter."

"Sure hope you can figure out what's going on between them. I've never known Ray to hold a grudge or Peter to be so... quiet."

Egon nodded once and adjusted his glasses over the bridge of his nose. "I'm certain that whatever has transpired will not last long."

"Good." Winston looked over his shoulder back to Ecto-1. "I'm going to check the car and make sure there wasn't any damage caused by the flat tire. Let me know if you need."

"Will do."

After running a quick scan over the smoking traps and the ghosts within Egon deposited the newly captured ghosts into the containment unit and turned his full attention to Peter. Joining his friend in the open office he sat on the couch next to the desk where Peter still sat and cleared his throat openly.

"Peter. Is there something on your mind?"

Peter just gave Egon an indifferent look before he went back to staring at the numerous newspaper clippings and corresponding photographs.

"A flat tire had unexpectedly inhibited your return tonight. But did something else happen?"

Sighing Peter slouched in his seat and stared blankly at the surface of his empty desktop. "Spengz, do you think I'm a necessary part of the team?"

"That's... an unusual question." Egon crossed his arms over his chest defensively as he tried to gauge Peter's current mental and emotional state. It was unlike Peter to open up about anything, let alone show any form of self doubt. "Are you considering an early retirement?"

"Something like that."

"Peter, what happened tonight? You're obviously upset."

Peter couldn't help but scoff at Egon's claim. "Obviously. Guess if even you can figure out simple human emotions then having a psychologist on the team is pretty useless."

Egon didn't react or respond, yet his eyes betrayed him. The comment on his seeming inability to feel or connect with people on an emotional level was unexpectedly harsh.

"...Sorry." Peter shook his head and continued to stare at his desk. "That was uncalled for."

"Is it safe to say that you and Ray had exchanged similarly uncalled for comments earlier tonight?"

"Yeah." Peter admitted in a hushed tone. "Really got me thinking, you know?"

"May I ask what about?"

"Me."

Egon's brow arched slightly. Dropping his arms he leaned back against the couch and watched as Peter's eyes glistened with welled up emotion.

"Ray was pretty blunt and honest tonight, and I, well, I can't say that he's wrong."

"What did he say?" Egon asked sincerely. A hint of sorrow broke through his voice as he spoke. "Peter, tell me what happened."


Ray sneezed once as he stepped out of the shower and wiped his nose off on a wet towel. As he tossed the towel aside he quickly changed into his dry, warm clothes and stumbled into the bunk room. Sitting down on the edge of his bed he coughed a few times and pressed the heels of his palms against his tired eyes. His head hurt. His arms hurt. Even his chest was starting to hurt.

"Hey." Winston walked into the bunk room with a mug of hot tea in his hand. "Drink this. It'll help warm you up."

Ray lifted his face from his hands and watched as Winston walked over to him. "..Thanks. Chamomile?"

"Ear grey."

"Beggars can't be choosers." Ray lamented as he took the offered tea and sipped it gingerly. His throat was a little dry and scratchy, the hot liquid stung a little but it did help him feel a little warmer. "Get the traps taken care of? How's the car?"

"Traps are clean and the car is fine." Winston sat on the edge of Peter's bed, which was right next to Ray's bed. "How are you?"

"Cold. Tired. Wet." He set aside the mug of tea and pressed his hand to his head and laid down on his bed and sighed. "How are you?"

"Don't change the subject. I know you and Peter are pissed with each other, and I'd like to know why."

Ray gave Winston a thoughtful glance before replying. "Okay. Well, it started when I said something pretty... cruel things to Peter."


Egon listened intently as Peter told the physicist about the conversation he and Ray had shared. A conversation born from frustration and selfish attitudes.

"I can understand why Ray was angry with you." Egon stated honestly as he sat with Peter in the office.

"So you agree? I'm useless."

"No. I didn't say I agreed with Ray, merely I can understand why he lashed out at you."

"Guess it was kind of a... dick move on my part to not help him."

"Precisely." Egon looked over his shoulder as he heard Winston descending the staircase to return to the first floor. "But what he had stated was inaccurate."

"I am important to the team?"

"Very."

"Hate to ask, but, how?"

"You're the one who brings confidence to the team in times of doubt. You also have an unparalleled ability to 'read' people which has proven itself invaluable countless times. Without your assistance our team would've fallen apart long ago."

"Thanks Spengz. You're a real pal."

Winston joined his colleagues in the office. "Hey. Ray's upstairs resting. We had a nice long talk and I just wanted to see if everything is cool down here."

Peter nodded. "Yeah. It will be."

"That's good." Winston laughed a little. "Just, next time there's a flat tire at least get out of the car while it's being changed! Okay?"

"Yeah, deal."


The rest of the night remained uneventful as the rain finally stopped and the sky cleared. The four Ghostbusters slept soundly in the bunk room without any further arguments or harsh comments.

The next morning Ray was the first one awake and making a pot of coffee when Peter sleepily joined him in the small kitchenette.

"Hey." Peter greeted as he pulled a mug out of the cupboard.

"Hey." Ray reciprocated as he poured himself a mug of coffee. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, fine." Peter cleared his voice anxiously. "Look, Ray... about yesterday-"

"It's fine." Ray interrupted quickly as he took a sip of the coffee. "I was just frustrated. I shouldn't have said what I did."

"Actually... I think you needed to say it and I needed to hear it."

"Say... what?"

"I've been thinking a lot lately about how we started this business as a team and how it's only been able to succeed because we stayed as a team. So I'm going to try to do a little more around the firehouse and a little less time running my mouth."

"Don't do that." Ray warned playfully. "You'd either blow up the building or lose your mind!"

"You don't think I can handle a nuclear accelerator without parental supervision?" Peter joked sharply.

"I know you can't." Ray stated boldly as he gave Peter a playful stare.

"Watch me!"

"No! Don't!"

"Afraid?"

"Very." Ray smiled a little at the coy comment. "Why don't you call city hall and bill Peck for the replacement tire for Ecto-1? That'll help up break even on that bust!"

"Hey, yeah..." Peter's eye lit up mischievously. "You're right. I'll even bill him for your pneumonia!"

"But I don't-"

"Shh..." Peter backed out of the room slowly with a finger pressed to his lips. "He doesn't have to know... It'll be our little secret."

-The End