Egon was about to leave to go to the lab to look at ectoplasmic samples. He always liked to look at them for no other reason than having a sense of pride that he had a collection so big. It was one of those things that assured him that he wasn't a failure in times of woe and in time of happiness, it would further add to that joy. But as he was about to go the lab, he felt a tug at his shirt.

It was Janine.

"Egon," she said.

He turned around. The lovely secretary looked as endearing as possible, making it more obvious by fluttering her eyes.

"What is it, Janine?" asked Egon.

"I got you something. I figured that all that ghostbusting and researching deserved a reward." She revealed the object behind her back: A basket of tastefully-assorted wrapped cheese and boxes of different-style crackers all nested inside thin pieces of beige paper made to look like hay. In the center was a miniature bottle of wine that was grown a little further north in the south shore of Massachusetts. The bottle had a yodeling rooster on it along with the brand name and the year that the wine was bottled – 1986 – just two years before. There were two crossed wine glasses carefully positioned in front of the wine bottle.

Egon liked the sentiment and expressed something that was similar to a smile but experts could debate for years as to whether it was, indeed, a smile.

"That's awfully nice of you."

"Why don't we partake in it by my desk, hmm? I mean, it's five-o-clock somewhere and that somewhere is here right now."

Egon looked at his watch. She was off by a few hours. "It's three minutes past eight."

"Even better!"

"I guess I can take a break right now."

The lights were out by where The Ecto-One was parked. The only lighting was by Janine's desk. Whatever ghosts or spirits were lurking – if there were any – would not be lurking there. Indeed, Janine made it less creepy and more festive with her gift to Egon. She sat in her chair while Egon stood by the desk.

Janine twisted open the wine bottle and poured some of the ruby-colored alcohol in one of the glasses.

"For you, Egon," she said when she held it up to him.

Egon sipped some of the wine, taking several seconds to spread the remainder across his mouth after swallowing it. Tangy with the subtlest hint of sweetness.

"Aren't you going to have any?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm not having any. It's all for you."

Egon took another sip, savoring the flavor, but then he felt the injection of horrid realization like needles.

"Janine, what did you do this time?" asked Egon.

"Oh?" asked Janine, trying (and failing) to act more innocent, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Whenever you get me a wine and cheese basket, it's to soften the blow of whatever news you're about to give me. First, it was when you messed with the Ghost Containment Unit. Then it was when you promised those party demons that they could crash here thinking that they were traveling college students. So, what is the news this time."

Janine looked as though she ached to get the correct words out.

"Urg… well…" she said, "A week ago, I was at the store. I looked at the reasonably-priced tomatoes, held them up, felt them and wondered, 'Should I spend my money on these or the locally-grown tomatoes at the smaller market near my house? Well…"

"Cut to the chase, Janine. The suspense is killing me."

"Long story short, I'm pregnant."

A shock coursed through Egon's body, causing him to drop the glass of wine, shattering it once it hit the floor.

"Wow… you didn't even do that when I told you about the party demon college kids."

Egon shook and squeezed as his forehead. There was no way this was real. It must have been an illusion planted in his brain by something supernatural. If it wasn't, then he had REALLY done it this time.

"A… Are you sure?"

"Listen, if you want to see the stick that I peed that gave me the news, I have it right here…" Janine started rummaging through her purse.

"No! Please don't." Egon waved his hands to show that he meant it. He was sick to his stomach to the point where he could feel the wine coming back up. Good thing there were also crackers in the basket. This was a bit like staring down the edge of a cliff. He hyperventilated several times. Feelings of dizziness were taking up space in his mind.

"Are you okay, Egon?"

"Yes… I'm fine… give me a second." He gave his rushing thoughts time to dissipate before he could ask further questions. He also made sure that his lungs could breathe properly first.

"How did this happen?"

"How do you think? We had sex. There's no guessing game as to who the father is since, out of all my sexual partners, you're the one that I don't use a condom with. All it took was for Slimer to mistake my birth control pills for candy and voila."

"I knew it!" said Peter's voice, "That pest has done it this time! He's taken it a step too far!"

Egon and Janine looked to their right to find a silhouette of Peter standing in the darkness. He was audibly eating potato chips.

"Peter, what are you doing here?"

"The TV upstairs is busted, so this is my source of entertainment for now. Kudos to the writing! Such drama going on."

Egon sighed and rubbed his temple. "Can you please leave us alone? This is a personal moment. Surely there are books upstairs?"

"All right, all right. This episode brought to you by Laurie's Seasoned Salt." Peter turned around and headed for the stairwell. "By the way, for such a personal conversation, everyone can hear you."

"They're going to find out about it eventually."

After Peter left, Egon and Janine waited a few awkward seconds for the tone to change back to its original serious.

"So, how do you feel about this?"

"Do you want the honest truth, Egon?"

"Yes."

"I'm over the moon about this!"

Egon was now surprised about this shocking news, although a bit less panicked. "You are?"

"Yes. I just moved into a two-bedroom apartment, so I have room for a baby. Also, I kind of wanted a little version of me and you smooshed together." She made a clapping motion that represented two things being pushed together to make one thing.

This was a serious wakeup call for Egon. This was something that could thoroughly cement his relationship with Janine into something that meant more than what they currently had. He had feelings about her pent up within him that, even through the flirting and one-night stands, had not made themselves known. His brain would blank whenever he would try to say them, something that he felt he should have outgrown once he left his teenage years. Not many people could claim to be good at trapping ghosts but not good at basic emotions.

"Well, I don't know about this…" said Egon.

"Why?" asked Janine, "What's wrong with babies?"

"Well, they're expensive, disgusting and highly demanding."

"So is Slimer but he makes up for it by being cute."

Slimer just so happened to be on the periphery listening in. He had been waiting for the two of them to mention him and he was delighted that Janine called him cute.

Janine noticed Slimer and rubbed his chin. "Isn't that right, Slimer?"

Slimer smiled and closed his eyes with pleasure.

"Hezevoveshombu… yes," he said.

Egon thought about what she said and he admitted that she had a point. Slimer was kept around the firehouse even though he tended to eat everything and Peter despised him most of the time.

"It's just that… I never really pictured myself with a family," said Egon, "I'm passionate about my work and I wonder how much kids would get in the way if I had them."

"Think of it this way, Egon," said Janine, "By having a kid in your life, you're bringing forth a brand-new person full of all sorts of potential. You can bond with them and pass down whatever good values you have. You can watch as they grow into their own person that could be like one of us or both of us or neither of us. Best of all, you have someone who you can think of when protecting the City of New York, someone to motivate you."

Janine sure did sound hopeful. Egon didn't remember the last time he felt hopeful, especially in a place as unpredictable as New York City. It was bad enough that there were drugs and crime but the place was also haunted.

"I don't want to be a part of this if you're not 100% into it," said Janine, "It's not too late for me to swing by the clinic and… you know…"

Now was the time to make a major decision. Whenever a baby was born in Ancient Rome, it was placed at the feet of the father. He ultimately decided whether he would accept the child or abandon it on the hillside. Acceptance of the child brought forth celebration. Abandonment meant that it was just another day and that he could continue on with his life as if the child never happened. Egon couldn't help but see parallels to what he was going through, although this was at a much earlier stage in the child's development.

Millions of men became fathers, so what was he so bothered about? Seeing the whole picture, having a family didn't sound that bad. He figured that at least part of this was his attitude. Either way, he had to come up with an answer quick.

"I'm fine with you having a child, Janine." He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine with you having our child. It's just that I don't handle such dramatic change well, even if I know that I want it. Do you know what I'm saying? It's the unpredictability of it all."

Janine took his hand off of her shoulder. She held his hand in hers while she looked into Egon's eyes. "Lots of people are scared before they take the leap, honey," she said, "If you're able to risk life and limb to defeat an ancient god and restore peace, then you're able to become a good parent. I mean, you and the other guys set a great example already."

"Well, that is true. And you set good examples as well."

The two of them hugged, something that Egon was more than happy to do since he felt uncomfortable with staring at someone else's eyes for too long. Egon was still nervous about the future but Janine was going to be with him during this scary time.

"One thing we need to do is hire a temporary worker to replace you," said Egon.

"We'll get to that when the time is right," said Janine. She looked down toward the area behind Egon. "But first we should clean up this spilled wine and broken glass."