TLC Part X

"I'll be fine," Janine insisted to Egon. "You just take care of yourself and I'll see you when you get back."

Winston had been right—Egon didn't want to leave Janine's side, but he knew that this time there was no other choice. All four of them were needed on the bust. It didn't make him feel better about leaving her though. He pulled her close and held on for as long as he could.

"Egon, come on, we've got to get moving," Peter spoke softly. He caught Janine's look of gratitude for the interruption, and as the couple reluctantly parted he added, "The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll be back."

"It's okay," Janine smiled up at Egon. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "I love you."

"I love you too," he answered softly. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Janine smiled as he left, trying to hide the fact that she didn't want him to leave any more than he wanted to go. Peter turned to wink at her before following Egon downstairs. After he disappeared, she sighed unhappily, already wishing they were back. Katherine walked up beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, honey. You've been up and around for long enough today." She was a little worried that Janine didn't try to argue. If Egon had been with her as much as Winston had indicated, then any separation—no matter how brief—was going to be very difficult for her.

"I am a little tired," Janine admitted reluctantly. "I just don't seem to have any energy at all."

"That's perfectly understandable," Katherine said soothingly. "From what Winston told me, you've been a very sick young lady."

Janine nodded and allowed herself to be led back to her makeshift bedroom. "The first couple of days are kind of fuzzy; I just remember that Egon was always right there by me."

"He's a good man, even if I am a little biased," Katherine smiled.

"Yes, he is," Janine agreed as she sat down on the bed. Then she grinned and said, "There is one thing I'd like to do while they're out…"

Egon had never been as glad to see the firehouse as he was when Ecto-1 rolled into the garage. The weather had gotten considerably worse, and they were all cold and tired. At least the bust wasn't as difficult as we thought it was going to be he thought. But after spending a couple of hours in the cold and snow, he was more than ready to come home. And he was still worried about Janine. When they had checked in to say they were on the way back, his mother had assured them that everything was fine, but he would feel better once he saw for himself that Janine was all right.

"Man, am I glad to be back," Winston commented. "This is the last time I want to chase a Class 7 all over Central Park in the snow."

"This is the last time I want to chase anything in the snow," Peter groaned. He was freezing and couldn't wait to hit the shower. "The only redeeming quality of this bust was that none of us got slimed."

"Aw, come on, Peter," Ray grinned. "Central Park was kind of pretty all covered in snow."

Egon barely heard the friendly banter as they got out of the car and headed upstairs. When they reached the second floor, he immediately stopped to check on Janine and smiled when he saw that she was fast asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he quietly went into the kitchen where he was greeted by a deliciously familiar aroma.

"About time you boys got back," Katherine smiled from where she sat at the table. "By the time you all get cleaned up, lunch should be ready. And I imagine that there's someone who really wants to see you right about now."

"I checked on her as soon as I came up," Egon admitted. "She was asleep, and I didn't want to wake her up. She needs to rest."

"She'll rest better if she knows you're here," Katherine answered in a tone that brooked no argument. In a softer tone she added, "I know how much you care about her, Egon. Now go on and let me get this finished up so you all can eat."

"Thanks, Mom." Egon hugged her quickly before returning to the TV room.

Egon sat carefully on the edge of Janine's bed, gently running his hand over her hair. At his touch, she opened her eyes and smiled up at him. "Hi."

"Hi yourself," he smiled back. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I'm glad you did," Janine said softly, sitting up so she could hug him tightly. As she did, Egon was amused to see that she was dressed in the soft pink flannel pajamas he had given her for Christmas. At the time he had thought that Peter's idea of a "pajama party" themed holiday was absurd; but he had played along. Janine blushed when she realized he'd noticed, but she didn't pull away. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Egon held her closer and gently smoothed her hair. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better. I just wish I had more energy," Janine answered. "I still feel really tired most of the time but it seems like all I do is sleep."

"Unfortunately, you're probably going to tire easily for some time yet. Your body has a lot of healing to do still." He tried not to think about how fearful he had been those first two days. "I'm just happy to see you feeling well enough to get frustrated now."

Janine sighed and leaned against Egon, letting him hold her up. "I just... I don't know…"

"Janine, it's okay to let someone else take care of you—especially under these circumstances." He held her tighter for a minute, resting his cheek against her hair. Then he drew back to look into her eyes. "Really. It's okay."

"Egon, I can't help it," Janine whispered into his chest. "You've all been so good to me—and I feel kind of bad for taking you away from work…"

"I don't know if you noticed, but we were snowed in for a couple of those days," Egon remarked dryly, causing her to smile at his attempt at humor. "It's highly unlikely we would have gone out in that weather—and even I couldn't stay in the lab for that long."

"Somehow I doubt that," Janine said, but he could hear the humor in her voice. "I seem to remember having to drag you out of that lab a few times to make you eat—and that's not counting the time I had to ask Peter to help me carry you to your bed after you fell asleep at the worktable."

"Touché," Egon chuckled, remembering the hell Peter had given him for the week following that incident. It had been months before he'd been able to live that one down. "I can imagine Peter had a few choice words to say."

"Well, he did say that you were lucky he'd had a late date," Janine giggled. "But I don't think he really would have just left you there."

"Nah, I'd have covered him up with a blanket first," Peter smirked as he came down the stairs. "How are you doing, kid?"

"Better," Janine smiled back. "I just wish I could get out of bed for a while."

"Uh-uh. No way," Peter said quickly. "Dr. Matheson said strict bed rest for a week, and that's what you're gonna do."

"It's only for a day or two more," Egon added. "But you're still going to have to take it easy for a while after that."

"I really owe you guys," Janine said softly. "I don't know what I'd have done…"

"Don't worry, I'll take it out of your salary later," Peter teased, earning himself a glare from Janine.

"You'd have to pay me first, Dr. V."