Sorry if this one seems short, but I got to writing and couldn't find a good enough stopping point further on. So I guess you'll have to settle with this until I can finish the next one! Enjoy! :)
That night, Winston volunteered to stay with Ray and Nikki in the case that the dark figure came back for another visit. The three of them sat together back at Ray's apartment eating a late dinner of pizza while Winston and Ray told Nikki of past experiences on the job.
"Tell me another one." Nikki said, laughingly. Winston smiled as he thought for a moment.
"Okay…um…there was this one time when we were called out to a circus that had rolled into town for a week or so. We had already had a pretty rough week, and so we headed over to the fairgrounds pretty tired." Winston started. Ray smirked as he remembered the story his friend was bringing up.
"A circus? That's gotta up the creepy factor just thinking about it." Nikki said, intrigued. Winston nodded.
"Yeah, it kinda did. We didn't know what to expect, I mean – they've already got a little of everything – demonic clowns, contortionists that look like they have no control of their limbs, wild animals…" Winston said.
"You just let your imagination get away with you, was what happened." Ray scoffed. "It was a completely normal circus and we got the call in the late morning that day to come by and get rid of the apparition before the performers had to do their show that night. We got there and the place was deserted."
"You mean – the circus people were gone?" Nikki asked confusedly. Ray nodded and leaned towards Nikki, lowering his voice.
"That was the first impression we got of the place. The tents and campers and everything were there but…"
"The people were nowhere to be seen." Winston finished dramatically. Nikki silently glanced between the two Ghostbusters, entranced in the story.
"What happened?" She finally asked when she realized that the two men were taking advantage of the suspenseful mood in the room. Ray glanced at Winston and nodded.
"Well, we ended up walking through the fairgrounds for a good half hour or so, even splitting up to cover more ground. But when we all came together at the big show tent, Egon caught on to a trail of something. We entered the tent and all of the performers were there, scattered around the audience seats and on the stage." Winston said slowly. Nikki frowned.
"Were they just hiding from you, or what?"
"That's the first thought that we all had too." Ray muttered. "But it was more than that. It turned out that a ghost circus had been lying dormant on the fairgrounds and when the real circus set up camp, all kinds of weird stuff started happening."
"The animals would break out of their pens randomly, tents would fall in on themselves, and even some of the performers would disappear and wake up in different places on the fairgrounds minutes later." Winston explained.
"Weird." Nikki murmured thoughtfully.
"It really was. And for a good while, we thought we were going to have to ask the real circus to move because there was just no way we could wrangle a whole entire circus into the few traps that we had on us." Ray said.
"We had to split up, but we did manage it. Hey, why don't you tell her about that one ghost that gave you a really hard time?" Winston smirked. Ray slumped his shoulders and scoffed.
"This ghost gypsy woman was one of the last ones we had to take care of and yeah…like he said I was the one stuck dealing with her." Ray mumbled. Nikki smirked.
"What happened?"
"Well, for one thing, she was speaking in some kind of tongues or something. I had no idea what she was saying but she didn't seem like she was trying to fight me back which was odd to me. She put up a good chase though…I must have circled her tent a dozen times before stopping to rest for a second. When I did, I looked up and noticed that she was standing right in front of me…like she was waiting for me to catch my breath." Ray said softly.
Nikki stared at him for a moment, and then looked at Winston who seemed equally intrigued with the story.
"And then she spoke…or I heard a voice in my mind, at least." Ray continued slowly. He paused, lost in remembering.
"What did it say?" Nikki asked gently, prompting him to continue. Ray looked up at her and his brows furrowed in deep thought as he stared at her.
"She said 'Not many second chances are given. Do not throw this one away.' And, on the spur of the moment, I retorted with something like 'Don't worry, I won't.' and I fired at her. Next thing I know, she was gone." Ray explained slowly. Nikki studied him carefully as his gaze shifted to the empty pizza box on the counter in front of them.
"When did this happen?" Nikki piped up curiously. Ray looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.
"Uh…a few months ago. I remember because when we finally got back to the firehouse that night, Janine had a message from your mom wanting to see if you could stay for a few weeks. Meredith was making plans for her wedding and said you didn't want to stay by yourself while she was on her honeymoon." Ray said slowly. Nikki nodded thoughtfully and fell silent as the two Ghostbusters finished their pizza. After a moment, Nikki smiled halfheartedly.
"Well…this evening took a pretty dramatic turn. I thought we were sticking to funny stories." She said, trying to make light of the edgy story Ray had told. Winston cleared his throat and propped his elbows on the counter.
"Yeah…wow…I don't remember the story going like that, Ray. You told us that the gypsy ghost flirted with you and something about having to use your wits to trap her." Winston said. Ray shrugged and he looked back up at his fellow Ghostbuster apologetically.
"You guys all had cool stories from your own experiences at the circus…I had to dress mine up a bit." He said casually. Winston smirked and raised an eyebrow.
"Hey – I really did try my hand at taming that ghost lion. That was real." Winston insisted as he raised his soda can to his mouth. Ray rolled his eyes good naturedly and smirked.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I'm - "
Both Ghostbusters let out a cry of surprise as Hal leapt up onto the empty barstool at the end of the counter. Nikki burst into laughter as the cat recoiled from the men's reaction and she grabbed him before he could jump back to the floor.
"Was the ghost lion that scary?" She asked with a smirk as she stood up with the cat and tossed her paper plate into the trash can.
"No…the lion I was able to deal with. Your cat is just the worst." Winston joked. Nikki laughed once more and was surprised when it turned into a yawn.
"I think I'm going to shower and maybe try to get some sleep. Guess we won't know for sure if something's going to show up unless I do." Nikki said. Ray nodded solemnly and stood up from the counter as well.
"I'll get a head start on the coffee." He said. He held Nikki's gaze for a moment. "If you need something, don't hesitate to call us."
"I'll leave my door open for a quick escape route." She said seriously. He nodded and she smiled reassuringly at him before turning and heading for her room.
When she had gone to her room and they heard the shower start, Winston looked up at Ray cautiously.
"So what do we need to be ready for?" He asked quietly. Ray leaned against the counter wearily and shook his head.
"I'm not sure. I personally haven't seen anything yet, but this thing has attacked her here twice now." Ray said dejectedly. He threw a serious glance at Winston. "You brought a pack, didn't you?"
"Egon forced me to." Winston scoffed. He thumbed over his shoulder to where the proton pack lay in the armchair along with his duffel bag. "I just hope we won't have to use it in here."
"Yeah, you're telling me." Ray muttered as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Winston grabbed a mug for himself and filled it, then lowered his voice as he looked seriously at Ray.
"You got another meaning from that gypsy's message tonight when you were telling the story, didn't you?" Winston asked. Ray's eyes widened as he regarded his friend.
"I…yeah, actually." He admitted. "I'm glad that it seems I'm getting my second chance with Nikki but…I'm afraid I'm throwing it away."
"Why?"
Ray glanced at Nikki's bedroom door which was open just a crack and he sighed as he set his cup of coffee on the countertop.
"I feel like she knows I wasn't there for a majority of her life and I'm afraid she resents me for it. At first I may have been trying too hard for a connection with her when she came back up here, so I tried to tone it down a bit. But…I think it's having a negative effect on our father/daughter relationship." Ray said quietly. Winston raised an eyebrow.
"So fix it."
Ray glanced up at him miserably and shook his head. He picked his mug back up and took a swig of the hot black coffee, wincing at the bitter taste.
"I can't. She goes back home in less than three days. That's not enough time for anything to change. It's best to just leave things the way they are." Ray said, his voice forcefully cold. Winston shook his head in disbelief.
"Ray…you've seen what Nikki can do. Why don't you open up to her the way she has to you?"
"I can't." Ray said firmly again. Winston was silent as he watched Ray take another sip of his coffee and walk away from the counter. Winston still stood at the counter, surprised at the sudden change that had taken over his fellow Ghostbuster. He bowed his head in silence as Ray switched on the television in the living room, settling down on the couch with his coffee.
"It's gonna be a long night." Winston muttered as he moved to join his friend in the living room.
Nikki lay half asleep in her bed, having spent a good half hour reading to calm her nerves until she felt comfortable enough to sleep. She stared drowsily at her half open bedroom door, noticing that the light from the living room and the distant hushed voices of her father and Winston did little to satisfy her ever-present fear. After a few more moments, she was able to find her eyes drifting closed and her grip on the pillow loosening as she finally fell asleep.