Egon thought about what Janine said, about how the other guys were far more supportive of her during this time than he was. Really, he should have seen this coming. The first hint was how they reacted to the news of her pregnancy…

One year earlier, Egon was sitting on his bed in the sleeping quarters. As the other guys gave him attention, he was bubbling with excitement, or at least he was fifty percent sure that it was excitement. He was not always one to give a big, convincing smile.

Ray bounced on his bed with glee.

"I can't believe you and Janine are having a baby!" he said.

"I can't believe it, either," said Egon, "But we're both happy. We're looking forward to this next exciting chapter in our lives."

Peter sat on Egon's bed right next to him and leaned uncomfortably close to Egon.

"Do I hear wedding bells in the background?" he asked.

"One thing at a time, Peter," said Egon.

"We're gonna be big brothers!" cheered Ray, "Er, I mean… we're gonna be uncles! I mean... we're gonna be… godfathers? What are we going to be to this kid, exactly?"

"Nothing, Ray!" said Egon, "You're going to be nothing to this child!"

The other guys leaned back at this sudden turn of emotion and gave their own looks of concern.

"Sheesh, Egon," said Peter, "What crawled up your butt and bit you on the inside?"

Egon sighed.

"I'm sorry, guys," said Egon, "I am happy. I genuinely am. But I also have these other emotions swirling around in my head that I don't know what to do with."

"That's perfectly understandable, Egon," said Winston, "After all, when a baby enters the picture, the only thing that changes is everything."

"You're not exactly helping, Winston."

"Babies are a happy occasion," said Ray, "Sure, there's going to be some sacrifices you need to make and you're not going to have as much energy or free time as before but you've got to take the bad changes with the good changes."

"And what are these good changes?"

"Uh… you're going to get a baby out of it?"

"Don't worry, Egon," said Peter as he rested his hand on Egon's shoulder, "You have plenty of time to prepare for this. Once the little guy or girl arrives, you'll be ready. Everything will fall into place. Everything will make sense. And then, you'll wonder why you even worried in the first place. That's the thing about pregnancy. It gives you some leeway."

Egon felt a little better. He didn't entirely understand what Peter was talking about but figured that he would once that magical moment happened months from now. Certain events in one's life were bound to be hijacked by overpowering emotions; rationality be damned. This would be one of them… hopefully.

"Hey, guys!" said Ray, "I figured that if we can't be this baby's brothers or uncles or godfathers, then we can invent a new name for the role we can fill! How about… shleppins?"

The other guys looked at each other with uncertainty.

"Uh…" they said.

"How about… Verligs? Should this kid call me 'Verlig Ray?'"

"I think a verlig was a creature that we fought once," said Egon.

"Well, shoot. I'm not good at making up words. Do you guys have any ideas?"

But Peter was wrong. Somehow, Egon felt even less prepared when Casey was born. Then again, Peter didn't know any better. It wasn't like he had a kid. He must have gotten this information from second-hand sources. Also, it was easy to be happy about a new baby when it wasn't your primary responsibility.

Egon may have run away from fatherhood but he most likely would not have to worry about Little Casey ending up like Frankenstein's monster. Casey not only had Janine and her family nearby, he also had the other ghostbusters. They showed care and concern for the child, even though they had no blood ties to him. Hell, they even called themselves his "uncles." In the end, they didn't agree on any made-up term and just went with "uncle." Egon knew that Ray had a big heart but times like this showed that Winston and Peter had hearts that were just as big. That was what family was supposed to have.

So where was Egon's heart in all this? The answer may lie in events that were even further back than last year.

The answers lay in his childhood. How did his own father treat him? It wasn't like his father treated him like a houseplant, right?

He thought back to when he and his twin brother Elon were around five years old. Their aproned mother brought them into the office of their father. The office was an elegant one – a mahogany desk with a globe displayed next to it. Inside that desk were special commemorative pens and office supplies that were stored neatly, nothing that a small child was allowed to touch. Next to his desk was a stuffed tropical bird that was displayed in a manner where its wings and beak were open. Their father's degrees and honors were proudly displayed on the wall. It looked more like something out of a museum display than it did an office that was regularly used.

Their father sat at his desk writing notes, keeping out the outside world. That is, until his wife came in with their sons.

"Carl, Honey," said their mother, "I'm feeling tired right now. Can you spend some quality time with the boys?"

Carl looked up from his work, giving a stare of "Really? Now?"

"I suppose I could," he said. It seemed like, no matter which situation he was in, he always sounded professional.

It also seemed like, no matter the situation, their mother was always tired.

Egon and Elon spent the next ten seconds looking around the room and then eventually at their father.

"Hmm…" said Carl, "What sort of things do you boys like?"

"I… er… I like…" said Egon in a voice that was almost too quiet to hear.

"I like sunshine!" blurted out Elon.

"Well, that's just fantastic," said Carl, "Because I know exactly what to do with you two." The man stood up and walked toward his sons. He brought them to the large window with open, flowing curtains, a window letting in ample sunshine. "Sit down."

Egon and Elon did as he said and sat cross-legged on the carpet. The sunshine did feel nice.

Carl left the room for a little bit and then came back with two glasses of water. He gave one glass of water to each boy.

"There," he said, "You two should be good for another week." He then walked back to his desk and continued his work, not paying any more attention to his children.

Egon and Elon looked at each other, each silently wondering what was going on and what they were supposed to do. Would they get punished if they got up and moved? Were they supposed to drink the water? Frankly, they didn't want to find out.

Oh God, thought Egon. His father did treat him like a houseplant. His father didn't provide him with a template on how to be a father and now, Egon was just as clueless. This memory only brought forth more memories, ones involving his father scolding him for getting a grade lower than an A, ones where his father ignored him if he found an interesting mushroom in the yard or learned a new knock-knock joke. Absent were the memories of his father playing catch with him and Elon or taking them fishing. The only times the man showed anything close to love or interest was when he felt it was deserved, like when Egon and Elon graduated college or when each man founded their own businesses. Egon was repeating his father's mistakes. Like father, like son.

Of course, ignorance of how to conduct oneself as a parent wasn't the only reason behind why Egon was acting the way he was. He couldn't help but think that his emotional distance and over-focus on his work came from a place of shame. The other guys would brag that Egon was the brains of the outfit, and indeed, he was responsible for many of the inventions that the group would use. And yet he was also responsible for an accidental pregnancy. The fact that Janine kept the baby and was happy to become a mother didn't erase this fact.

Even if he did become a responsible parent toward Casey, how was Egon supposed to mold somebody into a proper human when he himself didn't feel like a proper human? For as long as he could remember, he had a hard time understanding others, particularly when it came to social cues and general interests. He would study other humans in the same way that Jane Goodall would observe and make note of chimpanzee behavior. As far as he was concerned, he had to do this. Those mannerisms that seemingly everyone knew didn't come naturally to him. He felt like an alien among his own kind. He felt like only his twin brother, who also had trouble in this department to an extent, truly understood him. Janine was both a blessing and a curse in that she reminded Egon of his humanity, that he had human needs, such as sexual intimacy.

There was comfort in being reminded that you were a member of your own kind. But Jane Goodall would be in for quite a shock if she were to discover that she, too, was a chimpanzee.

Could a person who couldn't "human" correctly bring up a human? Elon had two children but he had a charisma, confidence and other things that would make up for him having the same sort of weirdness as Egon had. Egon had to bring up a child as the person he was in a world with an increasing amount of strife and bad influences and…

THWOMP

Suddenly, the pigeons that were pecking about in front of Egon dispersed into the sky. They had become alarmed by the bird of prey that had pounced on one of them. Egon wasn't one for identifying birds, that was more of Elon's specialty. But he was pretty sure he was looking at a peregrine falcon, a type of hawk that was fond of tall cliffs and therefore fond of the tall buildings in New York City. Its victim lay ruffled and mangled beneath its sharp talons. The bird inspected its prey and then pecked at it a bit. It then flew away with its meal.

That falcon must have killed that pigeon because it was hungry… or because its babies were hungry. Egon couldn't tell if this specimen was male or female but he did know that both parents helped with child-rearing. The fathers didn't just drop off food and leave. They fed their babies and made sure they were safe. In fact, this was true for many species of birds. If a bird can be a loving, caring father, then why couldn't a flawed person like Egon?

The sky was turning increasingly orange. Egon stared at the shadows being cast by the trees and bushes for a few minutes before finally standing up. He was ready to face Janine again. That is, if Janine was ready to face him.