Dani, Winston and Janine were standing outside the hospital waiting
for Ray and Egon to get done with their talk. Winston looked at his
watch.
"You don't think they're killing each other in
there, do you?" he asked. "It's been a while."
Winston
smiled a little, "If anyone can get those two back together as
friends, it's Egon."
Dani also smiled and nodded.
"Yeah,
you know, I bet their in their just goofing off while the three of us
stand out here waiting," Janine smiled as well. "But I would
wait forever if it means the two of them made up."
"Yeah,
me too," Dani said.
"Things
will be okay guys," Winston said, "Peter will be walking soon,
and things will be back to normal."
The girls nodded.
In the meantime, Kate had called 911 and also had found Ray and Egon sitting in the
Peter's
room talking. Egon had his arm around Ray who looked as though he
had been crying. She made a mental note to ask them about it later.
"Kate?" Egon asked when she limped inside, "What is
wrong? What happened?"
"Jason...and
Peter..." she gasped, "I called 911, Jason was missing from his
room and Gary was on the floor....someone has him. Peter went after
him."
"Oh my!" Egon stood up, "Come Rayomnd."
Ray
nodded, "We can track him on the PKE. By using the
biorythems."
"Do it," Egon said. The men ran into
Winston and Janine who had finally come inside wondering what was
taking so long.
"What's going on?" Dani asked as she
saw Ray looking at the PKE.
"No time to explain," he said,
"They're in the pool area!"
They all ran towards the pool area together.
"Peter!"
Jason screamed as Peter was trying to get out of the pool. Peter had
finally managed to pull himself out, but the tall black man was right
on top of him. The man went over to Peter and tried pushing him back
in the pool, but Peter was strong. He tried to grab the gun from the
man. The man flung the gun towards the edge of the pool as Peter
grabbed his hand. The man started to go for the gun. The gun was
right by their legs.
"Get the gun Peter!" Jason
screamed.
Peter
couldn't. He was still fighting with the man. That's when it
happened. Suddenly, his leg moved and kicked the gun in the pool
leaving the man unarmed. Peter used his arms and pushed the man in
the pool himself. That was when he heard the cops run in.
"Freese
police!" a familiar voice rang out.
"Sarah!?"
Peter cried.
Sarah Carter had been at a funeral. Peter knew
Winston had been trying to contact her about what happened, but she
was unable to be reached being that the funeral was in the mountains.
Obviously she was back at work today though because she ran into
the pool area along with Winston, Ray, Egon, Janine, and Dani.
Sarah held her own gun out and saw the man grab the gun that was in
the water. He took it out and tried to shoot it, but Sarah was
quicker. She pulled her trigger and shot the man in the stomach two
times. The man fell to the bottom of the pool.
"He
definitely has the right to remain silent." Sarah muttered
and sat down next to Peter.
Egon was helping Jason back in
his wheelchair.
"Are you alright?" Sarah asked Peter.
Peter nodded shakily."Peter!" Jason cried suddenly.
"What?" Peter looked over at him.
"You
moved your leg!" he said.
"No I didn't I...." Peter
looked into the pool.
"The gun was on the side Peter, you moved it! You moved your leg!" he cried happily.
Peter
stared at the gun, then at Egon and Ray as they went over to him.
"I moved my leg..." he whispered. He had tears in his
eyes. "I moved my leg!"
He started crying out of happiness. The guys all went around Peter and hugged him just as happy.
A Few Months Later
"Come on guys, I want to walk out..." Peter was bouncing off the
walls.
"Patients Peter," Egon smiled, "You'll get your
chance in just a few moments, you know hospital regulations are
strict."
"But I'm not in the hospital, it's my
last day of physical therapy," he complained.
Kate pushed
him out smiling, "It's still the hospital Peter," she said.
"Whatever," Peter shrugged and stepped onto the pavement as soon as he was outside. Kate hadn't even stopped the wheelchair yet.
Egon shook his head smiling. Ray was in the car, he was going to drive home. He was smiling a little, but Egon could tell he was still blaming himself. He knew Peter and Ray would have a lot to work out, even though Peter was feeling better.Kate smiled as Peter was limping with the cane she gave him to the car.
"Well, it's good to see that handsome man walking again," she teased.Peter turned around, "So then what's a beautiful women like yourself doing on a Friday night?" he asked.
She
blushed, "Peter..." she said. "I'm married..."
"All
this time?" he looked crushed.
He looked so pathetic Kate
smiled, "Listen, why don't we celebrate someday okay?" she
smiled.
"Sounds good," he kissed her cheek, "Kate, I
owe you...everything..."
Kate smiled, "Hey, it's my job
Peter," she said. "I'm just glad your on your feet and soon
going to be saving the world again."
"It's a living,"
Peter shrugged. He limped over to the car and Egon helped him
inside.
When
they got back Peter noticed the lights were dim again.
"Okay
guys, what's going on?" he smiled.
"SURPRISE!" Janine
and the other's cried.
"What the..." Peter looked around shocked again. "Thanks you guys," he whispered getting choked up.
"This is the real welcome home party Peter," Ray hugged him. Peter smiled.
"It was Raymond's idea," Egon explained.
"Thanks kid," he said hugging him.
"Hey, anything for our hero," Ray smiled. Peter glanced at him, he knew they would have to talk later.Jason
wheeled over to Peter and hugged him.
"Hi Peter!" Jason
said.
"Hey Jason," Peter hugged him back. "Or should I
say Devon?"
Jason giggled, "Yeah, I had you fooled with
the name change, but now that Eric is dead, there's no case, so I
don't have to hide anymore."
Peter smiled, "I'm glad I
could help kiddo. So what will you do now?"
"I'm going
to live with my sister," he said. "She's got a home in Florida
so they're going to send me there," he looked sad.
So
did Peter. It hurt that Jason was moving away.
"Y-You'll
write, won't you?" Devon whispered hugging him.
"Of
course kiddo," Peter said, "I'll even send you some more
stories." He hugged Jason.
Devon smiled and hugged Peter back. Casey had limped over with his cane and tapped Peter on the shoulder.
"So Pete, I want that race," he grinned.
Peter raised his eyebrows, "Your on..." Peter said, "To the stairs and back?""On your mark, get set, go!" Casey started to take off.
"You still cheat!" Peter called following him. Peter was limping as fast as he could. He was limping on his left side and holding the cane with his right hand. Casey was doing the same. When they reached the finish line Devon moved his hands up in the air to end the race as a tie.
"Tie race!" he called out. Peter put his cane down, sat on the stairs and hugged Devon happily.
"I'll miss you kiddo," Peter said. Devon's eyes watered and he hugged Peter happily as well. "I love you Peter." He whispered.
Peter smiled at his father who was sitting on the steps watching them joyfully. A little while later Peter started getting tired, and Egon could tell so he ushered the people out of the room. Charlie hugged Peter, "Get well son, I'll be over tomorrow." Charlie said.Peter smiled and hugged him. "I love you Dad." Charlie hugged Peter back and went outside to haul a cab. Peter watched as his father left. Egon walked over to Peter after the goodbyes were over.
Egon
smiled at Peter, "Ready for bed?" he asked.
"Yeah,"
Peter said, "Thanks for the party guys." He hugged Ray who was
standing next to him.
"You're welcome Peter," Ray said,
"Come on."
Peter nodded. Ray helped Peter upstairs
since Peter was still limping quite a bit. Ray held onto Peter's
waist. Peter smiled, "Thanks buddy." he said.
Ray
nodded quietly.
"Is something on your mind Tex?" Peter asked.
"No, everything's fine." He lied.Peter
shook his head, "Doesn't seem like it pal, you haven't been
yourself."
"What do you mean?" Ray tried to act
normal.
"I
mean, you've been quite since this whole thing started, which isn't
like you by the way, you've also been distant, and you haven't
seemed to be enjoying Ghostbusting as much. Egon told me when your
on a bust you back off completely now, letting whoever is nearest to
the ghost catch him....you're afraid to even throw out a trap..."
Peter hesitated on whether he should go into more detail. He
started to head towards the roof, "Come on buddy....we need to
chat."
Ray yawned and stretched, "I don't think so
Peter, I'm really tired, and you look ready to drop." He said
quickly. Truth was, Ray was afraid if they spoke about it, he would
talk too much and let on that he was leaving. He didn't want to do
that. He had to leave quickly.
Ray helped Peter into bed and Peter smiled at him. "I do want to talk Ray, you can't avoid me forever." He stated.
"I know," Ray whispered as he held onto his stuff Stay Puft Marshmallow man. "Maybe tomorrow, but right now, I'm tired." He was looking down and Peter could tell he was hiding something, but he was too tired to figure it out at the moment. Peter closed his eyes and let the darkness take him.
Something was wrong, and Peter Venkman felt it in the pit of his stomach when he woke up the next morning. He slowly got up and got in his wheelchair. When the guys weren't there to help him, they had the wheelchair that he could use in case he got too exhausted going from one place to another. He didn't want to wake up Egon or Winston right now.
At around midnight, Ray quietly left the office. He left a note for the guys. He sadly left it on Janine's desk.
Dear guys,
I am so sorry to leave suddenly like this, but I felt if I told anyone about it, especially Peter, you all would try and stop me. I love all of you, you're my family, but I feel that I put you in danger. I know you like how I get enthusiastic on busts, and you say I'm the heart of the Ghostbusters, but my heart doesn't feel that anymore. I'm sorry, but I just can't ignore this. Please try and understand. I am taking a plane out west, and finding a new life there. I hope you all understand. I love you guys.
Love,Dr. Ray Stantz
Ray signed the letter and left it on Janine's desk for the guys to find it in the morning. He then hauled a cab to the airport, but found that his flight didn't leave until noon the next day. He sighed and slept in the airport.
The
next morning Peter felt it in his gut that something was wrong when
he woke up. He woke up with his legs hurting, which was not out of
the ordinary. Peter got up to stretch them a little, and he noticed
Ray's bed was empty.
"Ray?" he whispered.
Peter
slowly walked downstairs by himself. This was a first time for him
since he had been home from the hospital. He went to Janine's desk
first to see if Ray left a note, he did. Peter gasped as he read it.
He hit the alarm. Seconds later the others were downstairs as
well.
"Peter? What's wrong?" Egon asked yawning.
"This!" Peter shoved the note in his face. "Ray left us.""What?" Winston cried.
Peter nodded, "This is my fault, I should have spoken to him yesterday."
"Peter, you were tired," Egon said, "There was no way you could have known Raymond felt this way."
"But now it's too late, he's gone," Peter said.
Egon turned on the PKE and set them for Ray's biorhythms. "Perhaps not," he said. "Raymond is still in New York, and I believe I know where. He's at the airport."
Dr. Peter Venkman woke with a start the next morning as a nagging thought in his head told him there was something he needed to do. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and noticed it was almost eight in the morning. Peter looked around the room and saw that Ray's bed was empty, but nothing to instantly panic about. The young man might have just woken up early to get some work done without Egon bothering him. Yet, his mind wouldn't shut up.
Janine walked into the firehouse ready to deal with the problems the day might bring. Or so she hoped. With Peter still on the injured list that meant any jobs needing four people would be shared between herself and Dani. The redhead reached her desk and sat down with a sigh. She noticed a piece of paper lying directly underneath the geode paperweight Dani had bought because she thought it was cute. The secretary picked it up the paper and quickly read it. The woman gasped and hit the alarm button on her desk.
"What the freak was that for?" Melnitz looked to her right to see Dani stumbling out of her bedroom wearing her pajamas. The young woman's blonde hair was in a messy ponytail.
"He's gone, Dani," Janine told him.
"Who's gone?"
"Ray." Egon's cousin stared at her in surprise. A pained expression fell over the young woman's face.
"What? No..."
"Janine, what's going on?" Winston asked as he reached the first floor by taking the pole. He moved over next to the redhead and she handed over the note. The Ghostbuster looked it over. "Oh, man. This is not good."
"Winston, what's the problem?" Egon inquired as he came down the stairs helping Peter down them with his crutches.
"Ray left," Winston answered holding up the note. "He says his heart isn't into it anymore. He's heading out to the West Coast."
"He can't do that," Peter said. The psychologist quickly used the crutches to get to Janine's desk. He leaned against it and grabbed the note from Zeddemore. "Damn it. He knows we don't hate him. Ray is making a big mistake." Dr. Spengler took the note from his friend.
"We must find him immediately," Egon stated. "Raymond must understand he is needed here." He looked back at his cousin who seemed to be in a state of shock before turning back to Peter. "Dr. Venkman, what do you suggest?"
"I
suggest we sit the boy down and talk some damn sense into him,"
Peter told him.
The guys nodded.
Ray
was asleep on one of the chairs at JFK International Airport. He was
waiting for his flight to Chicago. He was going to fly Jet Blue, but
they didn't have a flight for quite a while. Five o'clock they
had told him. So he was going to be there a while. The personnel at
the gate at least gave him a blanket since he had arrived early in
the morning. Ray yawned and slowly opened his eyes when he heard a
familiar voice calling his name.
"Dr. Stantz?" the voice
asked.
Ray looked up, "Mr. Aykroid?" Ray whispered.
Ray rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He smiled when he realized he wasn't. Dan Ackroid. People were crowding around him asking for his autograph. Ray smiled.
Acroid politely asked his fans to leave him alone a moment. He then sat down next to Ray. Dan noticed that Ray looked utterly exhausted.
"Hello Ray, how are you?" he asked smiling."Fine," Ray lied. He yawned and sat up shaking the man's hand."What
are you doing here? On vacation?" Dan asked.
"Sorta,"
Ray whispered.
"Something's wrong, isn't it? What is
it?" Dan persuaded Ray to talk. "It has to do with Peter, doesn't
it...did he get my card?"
"Yes, he did, and he was going
to write you back," Ray answered.
"Okay, so I'll ask again, what's wrong?" Dan persisted.
Ray
sighed, "It's nothing..."
"Sitting here by yourself
at an airport looking like the world is about to end is not
nothing Ray," he folded his arms.
Ray smiled a little,
"You sounded just like Peter when you said that."
Dan
smiled, "I would hope so, and I'm an actor. Where's Bill when I
need him?"
Ray laughed a little.
"So, if this
isn't a vacation than what is it? You don't exactly have the look of
a happy man? Did something happen?" Dan asked. Ray looked at
him. "Well, aside from that. What's going on?"
"Okay, we don't have to talk about it, but Ray, at least think about what you're doing. What you're leaving behind is something big. Bigger than anything most people can imagine," Dan told him. "And those guys. You better not be leaving them without a good reason. I know how you all feel about each other and friendships like that are hard to come by." Dan glanced down at his wedding ring than back at Dr. Stantz after remembering something Peter had mentioned during a recent phone call. "What about your girlfriend? How do you think she's going to feel?" The Ghostbuster didn't say anything. "Look. I gotta go. I just want you to think about this, Ray. You're a good guy and I know you'll make the right decision."
"Thanks, Dan," Dr. Stantz with a half-hearted smile. He shook the actor's hand and watched him walk away.
Ray sighed as Dan walked away. He sat at his chair for a moment just thinking over what Dan had said.
"There he is!" Ray heard a concerned voice. He couldn't help but smile at Peter's timing as he limped over towards Ray.
"Ray, this has got to be one of the most stupid stunts in the history of stupid stunts. And there have been quite a few." He turned around to see Peter and the gang standing behind him.
Ray nearly jumped out of his chair at Peter's tone. That's when he noticed the guys and Janine and Dani walking towards him. Dani had a hurt and concerned look on her face. The guys just looked tired, Ray realized it must have been from running up to the gate, except for Peter. He was surprised, until Peter gave him a look that could kill. Peter was also sitting in a wheel chair that was being pushed by Winston.
"We just spent a $1,000 to get back here and if you come back
home with us that'll be some money well spent." Peter said
trying to look angry, but really wanting him to come back home.
"That's including the wheel chair these guys had to rent me so we
could run," he said.
"Yeah man," Winston said,
"I had to push him all the way from the front."
"We
almost didn't get one, luckily, some old man was returning his."
Janine explained.
Peter got up out of his chair and Janine handed him his cane. "Okay, enough." He said. "I don't need the chair anymore now that we're here." He sat next to Ray. "Ray, we weren't even aloud back here, we had to buy plane tickets buddy. Plane tickets, One-Thousand dollars! That's how much we want you to stay with us!"
Ray
sighed, "You guys don't want me back." He whispered. "I'm
just a danger to everyone."
"But you're not Raymond,"
Egon said. "It's as Peter described it, it was not you
that put us in danger, it was that ghost."
"You can't always blame everything on ghosts," Ray responded. "There have been a lot of accidents that were evidently our fault. Probably mine a lot of the time. Peter might be fine now, but something like this was to happen again than who knows what'll happen."
"That's why we always try to be careful," Winston replied. "Our job is dangerous enough as it is just running around with nuclear accelerators on our backs. If we need to sit down and go over the ideas for a better bust than we will. Accidents can be avoided, Ray. And that's what it was an accident. An accident that will never be your fault. If Peter hadn't done what he did than you'd be street pizza."
"And no one would have wanted that," Dani added almost quietly. She moved to his side and took his hand. "Please don't leave. Not after everything. It wouldn't be right."
"Ray, come on," Janine said, "I really think you're being too hard on yourself. I mean sure, mistakes get made on busts, but that doesn't mean you should quit, besides you're not the only one to make mistakes." Janine glanced at Peter and he gave her a hurt look back.
"Oh, come on, Big J. I'm perfect." Peter said.
Ray smiled.
"That's certainly up for debate," Dr. Spengler said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Raymond, if you do leave Peter will surely be insufferable. You are needed at the firehouse. Not just because you're there to build inventions or research our newest foe. We need you back there because it wouldn't be the Ghostbusters without you. You're family."
"Come on, man," Winston interjected. "Let's forget about this whole thing go home. If you still feel bad about what happened to Peter than you can wait on him hand and foot until he gets better."
Ray smiled a little again. "Yeah..." he whispered. "Okay guys, I'll come back."Peter smiled and hugged him tightly, "Good, cause we would missed you buddy, a whole lot."
"Hey, I have an idea," Dani smiled as well.
"What's that?" Peter asked.
"Well, considering we just paid $1000 to get in here, I was thinking, what if we just took a trip anyway?" she asked. "I mean, we have the tickets, why not?"
"What about a change of clothes?" Janine asked. She pointed at Dani's sweats. "You can get away with wearing that for a day, but two or three might be pushing it." The blonde gave her a sly grin.
"Well, Chicago isn't exactly devoid of shopping," Dani responded. "And it's an excuse to get our boyfriends to pay for stuff."
"Hey,"
Ray protested with a grin. His girlfriend looked at him. "It's a
good idea though." He kissed her gently.
"Let's go
for it," Winston said. The others agreed and they headed towards
the plane.
"Now boarding, flight 543 nonstop to Chicago," the flight attendant announced over the loudspeaker. The guys stood up and waited for their turn in line.
They sat down and smiled at each other as the plane got ready for take off. Ray was staring out the window excited. A vacation, one they needed badly, and he was glad he was taking it with his family.
I would like to thank Briana for the title of this story, and also my beta readers, Enola Jones and
ghostdiva2 for their hard work. This is not the final copy guys, it's not completed with the beta readers yet, but I will have that up soon. It will be mostly the same, only with corrections. Thanks for being patient. ï
