He awoke the next morning soft movement in the lab. He sat up, yawning and stretching. "I must have fallen asleep again," he said, thinking it was Ray. "The new pack is almost finished, it'll only take me a little longer to finish."
A glass of orange juice was set in front of him, then he heard a voice that wasn't Ray's.
"What did we agree about not working through the night?" the teasing voice said. Whirling around in his chair, he caught a glimpse of Janine picking up several parts and tools. She was wearing pants again, but today her shirt was different. It was gathered at the front, and as she bent down to pick up another tool, he could almost see straight down it.
Groaning quietly, he turned back around.
"I don't remember having a discussion with you about my time in the lab," he said, trying to pull his mind from the sight still imprinted on it. He realized she hadn't said anything, turning back around, he saw her standing there, a wrench still in her hand, her mind somewhere else.
"Janine?" he prompted. Blinking several times, she glanced around, then looked at him, blushing.
"I apologize. It was someone else. I'll go now."
He reached out, grabbing her arm, before she could leave. Startled, she looked at his hand on her arm, then at him.
"Wait. Are...are you okay?"
She looked at him for a long moment. He could see the sadness in her eyes. Then she smiled, averting her eyes to the table in front of him. "I'm fine. I'm just...tired."
"You know Peter wants to talk to you today."
Her eyes went back to his, and a small smile played on her lips. "Well, I'll have to avoid him, I'm rather well adapt at that."
"Janine, he just wants to help you."
Briefly, he saw the familiar glint of the old Janine in her eyes, as she pulled her arm away, then it was gone.
"There is nothing to talk to me about, I'm fine."
"Janine, you're not. You've been through a very traumatic time and you need to talk to someone about it."
Janine stopped where she was, and turned around, her green eyes flaring. "I know what's wrong with me. And what I need," she said emphasizing the word. "Neither you...nor Dr. Venkman could give me."
With that she spun back around and stormed out of the lab, leaving Egon to stand there very stunned and frustrated.
Well, you just blew that one. The little nagging voice of his said. "Shut up," he muttered.
"Dr. Spengler?" another voice called. Turning around, he saw Aggie there holding a book.
"Yes, Aggie?" She walked into the lab. "Is Janine okay? I saw her rush past as I was walking up here."
"We...had a disagreement."
Aggie brightened. "Well that good right? It means she's willing to talk to someone."
Egon sighed. If only it were that simple. 'What that?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, my grandfather found the pictures." she said putting the book on the table. She opened the book to an already marked page. "You have to see this, it's scary."
As she opened the book, Egon saw what she was talking about. The full page was covered with a color portrait of Michael DeWinter. The man was wearing the clothes of the century, but the face and body language with that of Peter Venkman.
Aggie looked over his shoulder. "It looks exactly like Dr. Venkman."
Egon nodded, his eyes still on the portrait. "Aggie, go get Peter up. If this is the Michael Janine knows, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to have him talk to Janine."
Well, that went wonderfully, she thought angrily. You forget where you are, in front of Egon no less, then you spout out something like that. Now he'll never leave you alone. Worse yet, he's going to insist that Mich...Peter talk to you now. You'll never escape.
Well, that's what they thought. She spotted the door to the basement and rushed towards it, locking it behind her, and leaning up against it. They had to get to the containment unit, but there was a small room in the back with a desk and phone, she'd just lock herself in there and do her work today until she could leave.
"You okay, Janine?"
Choking back a scream, she looked over towards the containment unit. Winston stood there, clipboard in hand, looking at her worriedly.
"You okay?" he repeated. "You look a little upset."
"I'm fine," the words escaped her mouth before she could stop them. He nodded.
"If you're sure.."
"Wait." she said. Winston looked back at her.
"Can...can I talk to you?" Winston put up the clipboard and watched her carefully walk down the stairs towards him. "Sure. But wouldn't you rather talk to Peter?"
She laughed. "I never talked to him before, why should now be different?" She shook her head. That wasn't the reason and she knew it. "Actually, he scares me."
Winston frowned, sitting on the small steps that led up to the containment unit. Janine sat next to him. "Does it have something to do with what happened to you?"
Swallowing nervously, she nodded. Winston reached out, lightly patting her hand. "Janine, if you're uncomfortable with this, you don't have to tell me.."
You are the only person I feel comfortably around anymore," she smiled. "Well, you and Ray."
He frowned, uncomprehending. "You were there..."she started unsteadily. "All of you. You worked in the stables. Raymond was the nicer of the three brothers."
"The other two looking like Peter and Egon." he finished for her. She nodded.
"When I wasn't sending my time with Christopher, I was helping you in the stables or helping Raymond learn to dance to impress the Lady Marianna," she smiled at the memory of those times.
"Why were you spending you time with Christopher?" He asked, remembering that what she'd called Egon when she'd returned, and figuring that was his twin where Janine had been. She looked at him.
"I was his slave," she stated. Winston stared at her unbelievingly.
"His what?"
"His slave. He bought me at the auctions because he needed help in his lab." She didn't go into the other details of why she was bought.
Anger welled up inside Winston. No wonder she'd been fearful and compliant in the hospital when Peter had yelled at the doctor. She'd belonged to them for a while. A new thought entered his mind.
"That bracelet Peter had the doctor get for you..." he trailed off.
Janine smiled, lifting the sleeve of her shirt to show his the gold bracelet attached to her wrist. "This was put on when I was bought. It signified that I belonged to the DeWinter's. Which was good because if anyone had found me, I would've been protected." She slid her sleeve back down. " Don't tell anyone I still wear this, please," she asked him. "I know it sounds weird, but it makes me feel comfortable until I get used to this again."
Not even daring to ask if he wore one to, he changed the subject slightly. "How long were you there, Janine?"
"A little over fourteen months, why?"
"Do you know where you were?"
She shook her head slowly. "It looked like a cross between medieval and renaissance England. But I never asked. The area the DeWinter's oversaw, was called Wintergroves."
"You were only gone here fourteen days." he said. Janine frowned.
"Fourteen days?"
He nodded. "It could have been an alternate reality, I don't have the knowledge for those things, like the others do. But a day here was a month where you were, so it had to be some weird anomaly. I could talk to Ray about it, if you like."
Fear crept into her eyes. "I really don't want Egon and Dr. Venkman to know about this."
Winston nodded. "I can understand that. I'll tell him it needs to stay between the three of us until we can figure out what happened to you. Deal?"
She looked at him, then nodded. "Deal. And thank you."
He stood up, and helped her up. "For what?"
"For listening. And not trying to make me feel at ease. It's going to be a while before that ever happens."
He smiled. "If you need someone to talk to Janine, I'm always here."
She nodded and followed him back up the stairs, her earlier threats forgotten.