It did take Abby and Holtzmann a couple of months to get everything streamlined and ready to go. They both had their cycles figured out, multivitamins were being taken (Abby had to set an alarm on Holtzmann's phone to remind her), and their donor had been picked out. He sounded like an interesting man. Genius level I.Q., product design engineer for a private corporation, and he had quirky habits, which he had listed quite thoroughly. He was a definite nerd and even wore glasses.
It hadn't seemed all that real to the both of them (aside from the bills) until they had went and picked up the first set of frozen sperm. Holtz was up first, and Abby was nervous for her. They had set a vial out to get it to room temperature, and it was almost ready to start the process. Holtzmann was fidgeting as Abby came back into the room. She had already made a comfortable spot on the bed, leaving a couple of large pillows when she could place it under her knees and hips. She was taking deep breaths and blowing them out.
"Nervous?" asked Abby, watching Holtz's pacing.
"All the sudden a pregnancy feels very daunting," said Holtzmann, shaking her hands in front of herself. "Most of my teenage years was spent in denial that I'd ever do such a thing." She grimaced. "My twenties were not much better."
"People change," shrugged Abby. "You know me, I wasn't much for kids either."
"Then why are we doing this again?" said Holtz. Abby laughed softly.
"You tell me. This was your idea."
A beeping noise from Holtz's cell let them know that they were ready to try the unfrozen sperm. Thawing had taken a few minutes.
"I can't do this on my own Abs. Could you help me?"
"I thought you'd never ask," said Abby. Holtzmann beamed happily at her wife and slipped off her boxers, flopping down on the bed and widening her legs after getting comfortable.
"Come at me bro," she said, trying to be cute. Abby went over to the bedside table. The male genetic material and a syringe were at the ready. She took a deep breath and broke the seal on the plunger before checking the temp on the container. It was room temperature at least.
"You ready?" she asked. Holtz closed her eyes and nodded. Abby dipped the syringe base in the sperm and started filling it up as much as possible.
"Can I change my mind?" said Holtz in a small voice.
"Considering we've already paid to do this one and the one this evening and the same thing next week on me, I'm thinking no," said Abby.
"Just checkin'," said Holtzmann. "Shoot me up, baby." The brunette rolled her eyes at her wife and got up on the bed. She got closer to Holtz, who was watching her movements.
"Come here often?" she said in a tease, her voice going husky.
"Often enough," Abby quipped back, the both of them sharing amused smiles. She got between Holtzmann's legs, rubbing a finger across her folds before slipping in two fingers to find her cervix. Holtz laid her head back on the pillows, closing her eyes again. She concentrated her breathing into a pattern to keep focused. Abby stuck the syringe in once she had found it and started pushing down the plunger to release the semen. She caressed Holtz's thigh lovingly to distract her. Once it was all gone, Abby pulled the syringe back out and sat it down on the table.
"You good?" she said softly.
"Fine," said Holtzmann. She wiggled. "That wasn't nearly as sexy as I thought it was gonna be."
"Why am I not surprised," stated the brunette. She kissed Holtz on the cheek. "And just think, you have to do this again in about 12 hours."
Holtzmann made a face. "I suppose a second shot is best to err on the good side of chance." Abby nodded and laid down beside Holtz on her side.
"At least the laying here is the worst part." She paused. "For you, anyways."
"I need to be up and moving," whined Holtzmann. "Lying in bed doing nothing sucks balls." She made a disgusted face, which made Abby snort. She rubbed Holtzmann's bare knee.
"You are increasing your odds of conceiving," she said. "This way all those billions of sperm has an easy path for a little while."
"Hunting down my poor defenseless egg," said Holtz. She rubbed the bottom half of her torso.
"It's okay girl, I know this is going to be a shock to you, but those weird looking things are not actually bad."
"You're talking to your egg now," said Abby with a soft laugh.
"Someone's got to." Holtzmann grinned and nudged Abby. "I'm so glad I have a wonderful wife who is willing to impregnate me," she teased. "I'm such a well kept woman."
"If I recall correctly, this was your idea in the first place," Abby said, taking off her glasses and wiping them on the edge of Holtz's soft cotton t-shirt.
"Babies," teased Holtzmann. "You know you want them." She ignored Holtz's words and stuck her glasses back on. Abby rubbed her abdomen.
"You'll be beautiful pregnant. Really Jills. I can't wait to see them."
Holtz gave Abby a smile. "Thanks Abs."
"You want your boxers?" asked Abby after a moment. Holtzmann nodded and Abby got up off the bed and grabbed the garment. She handed them to Holtz, who nodded her thanks and started carefully sliding them back up her hips. When Abby didn't return to the bed right away, she spoke.
"No cuddling?" she pouted. "I expected to be held after you inseminated me."
"And here I thought you wanted to do this part by yourself?" humored Abby. She already had a feeling that Holtz had planned for her to do it all along. She sat down on the bed.
"You could help a girl out at least with an orgasm. That can help move things along," said Holtz, letting out a small huff.
"I think that can be arranged," smirked Abby. Holtzmann laughed when Abby pulled closer and started kissing her. Her boxers were pushed down once more and fingers were soon rubbing Holtz's clit, much to her obvious pleasure.
Erin sat down primly on the couch next to Holtzmann after grabbing the files she needed for their meeting. They had all gathered on the downstairs sitting area for clients. They hadn't used it often when they had all lived there, unless when they weren't wanting to watch TV or take a nap on the upstairs one, which was definitely more comfortable. This couch meant business, which was why they were meeting. They were going to discuss the hiring of the new candidates for Team Ghostbusters. It was a little awkward for all of them. It felt weird to think that the organization was so much more than just themselves when for a while now they were all that there was.
"So... thoughts?" she asked. They had already weeded out the jokers and people who were just not qualified to handle the equipment. They needed people who wanted to learn and grow their skills. They also didn't need those who were just there for the fame and publicity. They needed people who wanted to work and who had the desire to deal with ghosts, just like they were.
There weren't many. A stack of 12 was all that was left.
"They're all great," said Abby. "Good credentials."
"I like the one that was an engineer," said Holtz. "Mechanical is a good choice to build on."
"Of course," said Patty. "You guys have to stick together."
"Us girls," said Holtz, smirking. "Her name is Jen."
"Do you think we should keep the team just women?" asked Erin, saying what she knew everyone was thinking. "That would eliminate three of the candidates."
When silence only meet her question, Erin sighed.
"I'll take that as a 'we wish we could, but it'd be illegal.'" She sorted through the files and put them back in alphabetical order before laying them down on the coffee table that was lined with old science magazines and paranormal pamphlets.
"We can wait and see what happens after the second round," said Patty. "Because we are interviewing them a second time."
"Without a doubt," said Erin. "So... any absolute favorites?"
"I liked that one... I think her name was Angie?" said Abby.
"Oh right," said Patty, snapping her fingers. "She seemed to be the most dedicated to the idea. Good knowledge of not only ghosts, but the paranormal in general. Like, extensive. And she was a whiz with computers. I'm sure that would be helpful."
"Happens when you own your private computer consulting company," said Holtz, rolling her eyes.
"She did seem the most in tune with what we deal with," Abby said. "Did you see her fingering her necklace? She was wearing a nazar charm around her neck."
"I didn't even notice," said Erin, surprised. "Really?"
"It was set in a sapphire heart."
"Protection from evil," said Patty. "I wonder why."
"Maybe she has personal experience," shrugged Abby. "We'll find out I suppose. I think she should definitely be back. Jen too. We need thinkers and builders. Those were some great projects she had designed and constructed."
"I'm going to live forever," scoffed Holtz.
"You'd better start on that sarcophagus then," smirked Abby. Holtz started stroking her chin in thought.
"Wa-what?" asked Patty, giving Holtz a look. "You want to build a fancy coffin? What the ever living hell?"
"It's a Stargate SG-1 reference. It heals the body and stops aging. It's sort of like a fountain of youth," said Erin. Abby looked surprised at her.
"What? I liked it," Erin whined. "Daniel was cute. And I like science fiction, you know that. How often did we watch the X-Files over and over?"
"I just wouldn't have considered it your cup of tea."
"Samantha Carter," said Erin, holding up a hand. "Personal hero."
"And here I thought Abby was the one who loved blondes," said Holtz. "Erin Gilbert, I think we need to explore more of this side of you." She smirked and draped an arm around her friend.
"Holtz, we're both married. And you might be pregnant."
"Then I can't get even more pregnant."
"So any of the others?" asked Erin, ignoring Holtz beside her on the couch making kissy faces in her direction.
"I think we should consider Beth," said Patty, holding up a file she had just picked out from the stack.
"Why so?" asked Abby, looking at the file after taking it from her.
"A Criminal Psychologist would be helpful. And she has specialties in Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology," said Erin. "I think it would be good to have someone who can analyze a ghost and the situation quickly."
"I can see that," agreed Holtz.
"Okay, I guess I'm calling people," said Erin. She smiled.
"We actually made progress today."
"Scary isn't it?" said Abby, standing up and putting the file back. "We can actually make decisions."
"So rare," said Erin, smirking.
"Do we have any appointments today?" asked Patty.
"A couple this later this afternoon," said Abby. "But not anytime soon. What's up?"
"Good," said Patty. "I'm taking everyone to lunch."
"Ooh, what are we celebrating Patty?" asked Holtzmann.
"Our lives changing," she said. "We're growing the Ghostbusters, we're all happy, and we can pursue the things we want. I think any of those is a good reason to celebrate."
"I think that calls for a glass of wine," said Erin. "Except maybe not Holtz."
"It hasn't been 72 hours just yet," said Holtz. "I need alcohol."
