Hello everyone! Work has been slowing down lately, so I've had lots of time to write! It seems really saddening that I'm coming so close to the end of this fanfiction, but I'm eager to start on my next one! :D So I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll hopefully update again soon!

Keira stirred groggily to the edge of consciousness, hearing the familiar sounds of hospital monitors beeping around her.

"Will she be alright?" Ray's voice broke through her drowsiness.

"Well, with the reopening of her stitches, there was a lot of blood loss. Not as much as when the cut was first made, but still a great deal. The burn on her shoulder should heal with little scarring but it will still be severely sore for a few days." A nurse's voice replied softly.

"Is that all? What about psychological or emotional trauma? That's mainly what I'm worried about." Ray said.

"You say she was possessed?"

"Yes…but don't go around saying that too much. The ghost is confined in one of our custom-made traps, and Winston is taking it back to the firehouse for permanent containment as we speak." Ray explained. The nurse sighed.

"Well, the way I see it, her body is reacting the same way it would be after fighting any other virus. It shuts down for a while to recover. Just give her a while and, if all goes well, she should be fine."

Keira slowly twitched her fingers, cringing at the pain that shot up her left arm. A shrill beeping sounded on one of the monitors to her right and she heard the nurse move to her bedside.

"What's wrong?" Ray's voice sounded closer than he had before.

"Her heart rate is going up. It must be time for another dose of morphine." The nurse said from her side. Keira tried to open her eyes to see Ray but before she could, she felt the rush of the morphine spreading through her system. Her hand relaxed back on the top of the blankets at her side and the beeping of the monitors quieted.

"Now, Dr. Stantz…will you allow us to look at you now? Your friends are all being taken care of, now it's your turn." The nurse said. Ray laughed slightly.

"Sorry, I just-"

"We'll let you know as soon as anything changes with Ms. Jackson's situation." The nurse promised lightheartedly. Keira could hear hesitant footsteps cross the room towards where she speculated the door to be. She could hear the nurse checking the monitors next to her for a few minutes and then she let herself fall back in deep slumber as the morphine kicked in full force.

Keira slowly opened her eyes and moaned at the severe headache that pierced through her temples as the light hit her eyes in her brightly lit hospital room. She raised her right arm weakly and draped it over her eyes. Her muscles were stiff from being motionless for what felt like several long hours.

"Keira?"

Keira hesitantly squinted out from under her arm to where the voice came from. She could see that Egon sat on the edge of an armchair next to her hospital bed, looking like he'd just woken up too. Keira smiled sleepily at him.

"How long have I been out?" She asked, her voice hoarse. She coughed and was surprised at how dry her throat was.

"Uh…well we all were checked in here a little before midnight last night, and…" Egon glanced down at his watch briefly. "It's a little past three in the afternoon now."

Keira blinked in surprise and reached for the glass of water on the table to her right. She took a hesitant sip of it and cringed at the stale taste it had from sitting out for so long.

"That's…that's crazy." She said as she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that she'd slept for so long. Egon smiled.

"Not really. You've been through a lot. It's taken a toll on you." He said gently. Keira nodded slowly as she set the water glass back on the table. She glanced down at her newly bandaged arm, a dull throb the only pain she felt. She also noticed that the slime she remembered coating her shoulders and arms were gone, and that her hair was clean and falling in dark waves around her face. She blinked confusedly at the brand new set of pajamas she wore and then sighed as she fell back against her pillow.

"It…doesn't feel real." She murmured to herself. She glanced up at the ceiling distantly, her right hand now resting against her chest. She could still see Lucille's death clearly in her mind, every detail etched into her memory.

"I'm sure it doesn't. It will probably take a while to adjust back to your normal life…" Egon said slowly. Keira shook her head, thoughts of Matt and her broken relationship coming to mind.

"I don't think I can go back to normal life…" She whispered to herself. Egon was silent for a few moments as Keira continued to stare at the room around her.

"Ray was able to get through the effects of his possession." Egon finally piped up. Keira carefully turned her head to face him. She frowned as something she remembered hearing broke through her memory.

"…He – he had his friends to help him through it." She mumbled. Egon raised his eyebrow thoughtfully.

"You heard him say that?" He asked. Keira blinked confusedly at him.

"What?"

"He said that exact thing to Lucille last night while we were confronting her in the alley."

"I…guess I do remember that. But a lot of that is just…a blur. Like looking back at a dream the morning after having it. I'm just getting bits and pieces." She said slowly. Egon nodded.

"Interesting. Maybe the longer you have to dwell on it, the more you'll be able to recall." He said. Keira stared thoughtfully at the wall behind Egon before moving her gaze back to him.

"W-where is Ray?" She finally asked. Egon looked taken aback by her question. He pointed towards the door casually.

"He's down the hall in his own room. He finally let the nurses take him in to get his injuries looked at earlier this morning. When I was finished with my examination, I told Ray I would come in here and sit with you until he was able to." Egon explained. Keira shrank back against her pillow worriedly.

"Egon…will you tell me something?" She asked softly.

"Sure." He said.

"What happened to you all? What…what did I do?" She asked.

Egon stared at her silently for a long moment. When he didn't answer, she met his gaze and felt tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Ray wouldn't tell me either. But if I was the one that put you all in here…I kinda want to know what happened."

"This kind of thing happens to us all of the time, it's nothing to worry about." Egon said reassuringly. Keira wasn't convinced.

"Tell me what happened." She insisted. Egon levelly met her gaze for a long moment before answering.

"Back at the firehouse, when we were trying to get a controlled confrontation with Lucille…" He started.

"When you all made me lay out on the couch and wait for her to take over?" Keira said, a sarcastic iciness to her voice. Egon nodded and continued.

"She proved to be smarter than we'd originally thought. She attacked Ray, and, knowing that we couldn't hurt her while our friend was in the way, she was able to use that to her advantage. She escaped and, to prevent us from following her, she wrecked the upstairs lab in an attempt to slow us down."

"…Hurting you all in the process." Keira finished for him. He sighed and nodded again. Keira bit her lip as she finally noticed a small, dark bruise coloring Egon's forehead.

"You can't take the weight of what happened on your own shoulders though, Keira. The one who was responsible is now safely confined in our Ecto-Containment Unit back at the firehouse." Egon said gently. Keira stared at him worriedly for a long moment until he broke eye contact and looked behind her.

"Miss Jackson, you're awake." Keira turned and noticed that a doctor had entered the room. He smiled at her as he crossed the room to examine her stats on the monitors next to her. "How are you feeling this afternoon?"

"Just…tired I guess." She said softly.

"Still feeling any pain?" He asked as he made a few notes on a clipboard.

"Not too bad. I'm a little sore but that's it." She said. The doctor eyed her carefully.

"Well…if that's true then I think there's a possibility of you going home later this afternoon, then." He said. Keira smiled wearily and nodded, but as the doctor exited the room, her smile fell as she thought of returning to her empty apartment.

"Can I see him?" Keira asked, turning back to Egon. The man straightened up and shrugged.

"I don't see why not. He's probably almost beside himself worrying about you." Egon said lightheartedly. He stood and walked across the room to the door to fetch a nurse.

"Ray's worried about me…" Keira breathed. She frowned as another memory resurfaced, something Lucille had mentioned to her on the brink of death.

He cares about you…

Keira raised her right hand to her face thoughtfully and brushed her lips with her fingers.

A few minutes later and Keira was unhooked from the numerous machines and walking down the hall by Egon's side. He had a slight limp, which only did more to further Keira's guilt.

"Ray's room is a few doors down on the left." Egon said gently. Keira nodded and slowly continued walking down the busy hallway, crowded with patients in wheelchairs and nurses eyeing her carefully. As she grew closer to Ray's hospital room, a wave of dizziness at the strain she was putting on herself hit her. Egon quickly steadied her, placing a strong hand around her shoulders, careful of her injuries.

"I'm…I'm alright." She said softly and he continued to lead her slowly down the hall. When they reached the slightly open doorway, Keira paused. Egon stood by her side patiently, ready to catch her if she stumbled again.

Keira slowly moved into the doorway and could see that Ray was talking quietly to a doctor, having seemingly just finished his examination. He quickly slipped a clean shirt back on over his head, but not before Keira caught a glimpse of dark purple bruises coloring his side. He turned his head and his face broke into a quick smile.

"Keira, Egon, hey!" He said, as he carefully stood up from the bed. He gave Egon a curious glance.

"She insisted on coming down here herself." Egon explained. Ray's smile grew slightly bigger. Keira eyed him carefully as he limped away from the doctor towards them.

"Just a few bruised ribs, nothing to worry about." Ray said, catching her wary expression. Keira smiled, though from the X-rays behind him, she could see that they were clearly broken in a few places.

"They said something about discharging Keira in a little while. How are things going with you?" Egon asked. Ray shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm free to go, they said. Just need to fill out the paperwork. Venkman has to stay another night, his concussion was pretty bad, so they need to monitor him for a while longer…" Ray said.

"Sorry." Keira said sadly. Ray shook his head.

"No, no, it's not your problem. It just gives Peter and excuse to stay out of work for a few more days. He'll love that." He said lightheartedly.

"Like he would need an excuse." Egon added. Keira smirked.

"What happened to Winston?" She asked.

"He fared better than the rest of us. Sprained shoulder, couple of bruises, but he's a tough guy. He'll get over that in no time. In fact, he's back at the firehouse with Janine taking care of everything there for us." Ray said.

Noticing the guilt-ridden expression stuck on Keira's face, he carefully took her uninjured hand.

"Ready to fill out some paperwork?" Ray asked softly.

"I can take care of that. You both stay here for a few minutes. I'm sure Keira has a few questions for you." Egon said, flashing Ray a knowing look.

Ray looked like he was about to say something, but his colleague had already accompanied the doctor out of the room. He turned back to Keira hesitantly as the room around them grew silent. Her face was cast down to the squeaky clean floor of the hospital room.

"Keira?" Ray asked worriedly. He gently placed his hand under her chin and raised her face up to face him. After a moment, she began to speak.

"…When I was ten years old…I read my first horror novel, 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.' For some reason…I kept thinking about that story this whole time." She said softly. Ray frowned in confusion down at her.

"Why is that?" He asked.

"I just remember…" She lowered her gaze to the bandages around her wrist. "I remembered the ending…how Jekyll finally was able to defeat Hyde. He had to sacrifice himself to prevent Hyde from running rampant any longer."

Ray's eyes were locked on Keira's face with an understanding, weary expression. He remained in silence as she slowly explained herself.

"Lucille was able to stop my attempt when I did this…" She gently lifted her wrist. "But…last night…I was so close to letting go. I could hear you…but it was like you were getting farther and farther away."

"She did that to you, Keira. A possessor feeds off of the energy of their host until their strength overpowers the other. I think as a last second attempt to remain in power over you, she retreated back…"

"She did! That's exactly what she did! She came to me, pretending that she was apologizing for everything she had done to me…and I fell for it." Keira said. Ray nodded in thoughtful silence.

"She must have absorbed the rest of your strength before quickly returning to the fight. But she didn't stay to make sure her job was finished with you, thankfully." Ray said softly, sounding relieved. Keira looked up at him curiously.

"Ray…how did you bring me back? I was so close…" Keira's chest tightened as she remembered how the darkness had seemed to fall over her, making her want to give up and rest in the overwhelming silence surrounding her. Ray squeezed her hand, bringing her back.

"This may sound strange, but I think I have a connection with you. I noticed it first at the hospital yesterday. When Peter and I first arrived to your room, everything was levitating and flying around you. I just reached out for your hand, which may have been stupid in other circumstances, and everything just stopped and went back to normal. So…last night when I was trying to stop Lucille from killing John, I noticed that every time I touched her, it would seem to cause her pain. So I figured…maybe that was the last bit of you that was still in there."

Keira's eyes were filled with tears as she leaned into Ray's chest. His arms instinctively wrapped around her. She closed her eyes, the memory of a kiss she could barely remember coming to mind.

"I remember." She murmured.

"You do?" He asked confusedly as she pulled away slightly to look up at him. She nodded slowly as she stood on her tiptoes and tilted her face up to his. He hesitantly met her lips and Keira's heart thrilled as they kissed in the middle of the hospital room.