Disclaimer: I own nothing...except Sam OC.

Important Info: This scene is something I've completely made up. It takes place in between the last chapter and when Peter actually goes to Ray's Occult in the movie. I figured there should be something to fill in character development.

Ray's Occult

It had only been one day since she had talked to Ray but she was already extremely anxious by the next afternoon. Sam hated to wait for anything and this was something she was looking forward to a lot. Like staying awake the night before a field trip; she had too much nervous energy. She had researched the address Ray had given her right away. Being prone to getting lost, she wanted to make sure that she spent Thursday with Ray and not looking for his bookshop.

Feeling slightly like a stalker, Sam had staked out his bookstore earlier that day. It was next to her work, so she had walked the surrounding area. The shop was in a pretty average shopping strip and the sign on his shop was large and caught one's attention immediately. After Sam saw the sign she didn't think even she would have been able to miss it. Sam's thoughts were filled with what kind of clientele shopped there and what kinds of items Ray sold other than books.

The skies had darkened and there was a slight drizzle but nothing could extinguish her enthusiasm. Not wanting to seem too excited to show up, she waited until the early afternoon. With a deep breath in and out, plus a quick pat down of her hair, Sam walked into Ray's Occult.

He was hunched over his desk reading a thick book and hadn't noticed her coming in. Sam gave a small smile and walked the few feet to get to the front of the counter he was sitting behind. 'Well, observation isn't his strong point.' She thought as she stood there and he continued to be oblivious to her presence. Sam took those few moments to examine all the weird jars he had behind his desk and the trumpet with the beads hanging off it to the left that was strung to the ceiling, she was going to have to ask him about that one. The small electric Christmas tree on the counter gave the area a little color. Next she examined the man, it was odd seeing him in normal clothes, Sam had even wondered if Ray wore the jumpsuit in his off time too, although she knew it was a silly thought.

Unable to resist, Sam deepened her voice and said "Do you know were I might find some virgins for my ritual? They are so hard to find in New York City."

This caused Ray's head to shot up with a "Wha...?" on his lips but he quickly stopped when he saw Sam's smirking face.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist. It's just this weather has put me in such a good mood and I was feeling goofy. So, what have you been reading with such concentration?"

Sam didn't know Ray well enough, like the boys did, to not ask him this type of question. Ten minutes later she knew more than she had ever thought she would know about 'Tobin's Spirit Guide'. He continued, well rambled really, about all that he had been researching for a friend. Ray looked so happy talking about it that she felt herself getting excited about it too. Although this sort of thing had never really interested her, she knew that if she hung around Ray enough, it would soon.

"May I ask who this friend is? Sounds really...mysterious." Sam wasn't sure what word best fit the situation but she figured 'mysterious' at least didn't sound rude.

Ray thought for a moment about not telling her, but when was she ever going to met Peter to tell him? "Well, her name is Dana Barrett. Her son's carriage mysteriously took off down the road in broad day light. It obviously wasn't a visible apparition but it did have enough kinetic energy to control something fairly large on the physical plane. She had some problems a few years back with ghosts and I think she just wants to make sure it isn't happening again. This is very different from last time though."

Instead of nodding her head and just going 'Ahh...' like he expected her to do, Ray was surprised when she told him she had witnessed it.

"I was there! I didn't see all of it but I saw the end of the carriage moving on its own. It looked like it was being moved by an invisible force because it stopped so that a bus won't run over it. It definitely wasn't just a run away carriage."

Ray looked like Christmas had come early. The next ten minutes Ray asked her all sorts of questions but he quickly realized that there wasn't much more to the story but it was still more than he had known before.

"Yeah, it all happened so fast. I bet the carriage was only moving on its own for a minute or two and moved maybe a couple hundred yards. She didn't look like she had been chasing it for too long."

Ray nodded his head and made a few notes on a scrap piece of paper. He looked like he wanted to say something but was afraid to ask.

"What's up Ray?" Sam pushed the stool she had grabbed, when her feet had started to hurt, closer to the counter. He looked unsure for a second but then couldn't hold it in any longer. "I know I said we would talk about Zuul and everything but I really want to research what happened to Dana with the new information you gave me. I just know it will probably bore you and I don't want to see rude but..."

Instead of looking disappointed, Sam looked even happier. "Can I help? I don't really know much about this stuff but I'd love to help! Have you eaten lunch? Want me to order something, while you look for the books you need?"

Ray looked even happier if possible and Sam realized it was really easy to make his day. Although she had only been there for about an hour she already felt like they were at ease with each other. 'It's always nice to meet people you instantly feel comfortable with.' She thought.

"In all honesty I haven't even eaten breakfast yet. What you in the mood for?" After saying this he feared she may say 'salad' it had been a long time since he had eaten with anyone but the guys.

"Personally, I was thinking Chinese, or pizza. I can always eat pizza, but maybe Chinese, that way you can read and still eat at the same time."

"Chinese sounds like a great idea. There's a great restaurant a few blocks down from here that's delicious. They deliver so order whatever you want when you call, my treat. I'll have some lo mein, egg rolls and the wonton soup. Here's the number for the place, and you can use the red phone. Thanks again!" and like a shot, he was bounding to the back of the shop. 'Maybe it wasn't really 'bounding' but that was more than just a walk.' Sam gave her order a quick thought and than gave the Chinese place a call.

For the next few hours they helped customers, ate Chinese and researched what had happened to Dana Barrett and her son. Although they did not find much, it was still a pleasant afternoon. Ray was happy to have someone here to bounce ideas off of again. Ray tried to talk to Egon as often as possible but he had been busy lately and Egon was never one to return calls right away. Peter had always been the elusive type even before the big fiasco and Winston had a second part time job that Ray still knew nothing about.

Sam took pleasure in looking though the book shelves while Ray went and looked for more books upstairs. She had never even heard of more than half the books she opened up to look at. She fought the urge to ask Ray about them, she knew that he would answer her questions another time, but for now he was focused on helping Dana. A couple of times the customers coming in gave her weird looks but she greeted them all with a smile and offered to help when she could or to grab Ray from the back or upstairs when she couldn't. He was impressed with her enthusiasm and was surprised that for once his odd hobbies and interests weren't scaring away a normal woman.

As they examined the books they occasionally reached for the same one. The first time it happened and their fingers touched, she gave him an awkward smile with a flush of pink that he hadn't been expecting. The second time he was the one to blush in expectation of her blush, which caused her to avert her eyes with an even bigger blush than the time before. Ray wasn't quite sure what to make out of it.

Sam knew she was being silly by blushing but she felt like a college student studying with a professor she had a crush on. Instead of acting her twenty-seven years she felt nineteen again. He just looked so scholarly with his glasses and pipe plus the sweater vest was almost too much. Ray had a nurturing air around him, as he taught her the basics of ghosts and such, which caused her to glow with a contentment Sam realized she hadn't felt in a long time.

Before they knew it, it was closing time. "Oh my god, it's already seven? Where did the day go?" It was true that the day had been going by fast, but she couldn't believe that she had been at Ray's bookstore for more than five hours.

"Yeah, no kidding. Well time flies when you're having fun." Ray gave her an unsure smile, did she really think what they had been doing was fun?

"Couldn't agree more! But you still owe me a story, buster." Sam called back as she finished putting away the last book.

Ray figured he was probably pushing his luck but he figured he would ask anyway. "Want to come by again tomorrow? Egon is coming by and I'm sure he'd like to met you and talk about what you saw. That is unless you have something else planned?"

"Me, plans? Jcpenney's is only giving me part-time hours even with the holidays and I have yet to met anyone in this city that doesn't weird me out too much to hang with them, excluding you of course." Sam quickly added as she saw his smile waver. "What time you thinking tomorrow?"

"Well, Egon really isn't a morning person, unless he stays up all night, so probably two-ish...? Although you can come earlier if you want." Ray hoped he didn't sound too eager.

"I'll be over at noon with coffee and donuts! Well, it might be too late for donuts but it's never too late for coffee. How do you take it?" Sam asked as she put back on her coat.

"Black for me and if you're going for donuts I'd love a boston crème and pick up a few extra, I'm sure Egon would get mad if we ate them without him." When she gave him a curious look he added, "Even if we finished them hours before he'd still smell them."

Still laughing Sam walked out of the shop while Ray closed up. When they were both finally outside they turned to each other unsure of what to say. After a few silent seconds that stretched out a lot longer than Sam had thought possible she said quickly, "I'll see you tomorrow." She gave a short wave and started to walk off before Ray had the chance to say anything.

So what you think? I'm trying so hard to keep everyone in character so please let me know what I am doing right or wrong. Thanks for the comments I am surprised to see how many people are interested in my story! But than again who doesn't have a crush on Ray?