When the four Ghostbusters arrived at the hospital, everyone else was already there. Ray, Peter, and Winston were sitting in a group of chairs next to Egon. An older woman had one hand on his shoulder and the other in an older man's hand. Everyone but Egon looked up when they walked in.
"Does anyone else feel like the outsider here?" Garrett whispered. The older woman left her seat, and approached them.
"You must be the kids," she said. "I'm Janine's mother. Please, call me Karen."
Kylie smiled. "I'm Kylie, that's Roland, Eduardo, and Garrett. I'm so sorry, Mrs. Melnitz."
Karen shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. Egon already told us what happened."
Eduardo frowned uncomprehending.
"How is she?" Roland asked.
"We know her leg's broken, and she has a concussion, and a couple of broken ribs. But other than that...well, we're still waiting." The four followed her to a couple of empty seats. Winston walked over to them.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" he asked.
"Fine." Roland said. "What did Egon tell her parents?"
"A group of gang members broke in and trashed the place. Janine happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," he smiled sadly. "How do you tell her parents that their daughter's been attacked by a ghost?"
The door opened, and a doctor walked out. Janine's parents stood up. Egon looked up at the doctor. The doctor looked at the three, then at the others.
"Could I speak with you, privately?"
Janine's mother nodded, and pulled Egon up along with her and her husband. Egon looked up at her startled, but followed her into the emergency room.
"Is she all right? Can we see her?" Karen Melnitz asked. The doctor held up a hand.
Donald Melnitz tightened his hold on his wife.
"Besides the broken ribs and leg, there was a puncture in her left lung. Her shoulder was dislocated. There were severe wounds and bite marks all over her body." The doctor suddenly looked uncomfortable. "There were also signs that she'd been sexually assaulted."
Karen let out a sob and buried her face in her husband's chest. Egon looked stunned.
"Then you can find who did this, right?" Donald Melnitz asked. "They have that DNA thing, that can catch people like this?"
The doctor shook his head. "There was no semen or skin particles anywhere on her body. We can try to match the teeth marks, but that's about the only thing we have going for us right now."
"Can her parents see her?" Egon asked. The doctor nodded.
"Only for a few minutes. We're transferring her to ICU in a soon as we can."
Donald let go of his wife, and followed the doctor. Karen looked over at Egon, who just stood there. Gently she took his arm.
"Come with us," she said softly. He looked down at her, anguish in his eyes."I couldn't. You need to see her. Really..."
Karen Melnitz slid her arms around the scientist. "She needs you too. Please, come with us."
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her briefly. She let him go, and took his hand. They found Donald already at Janine's bedside. Egon stared at her. She was laying on a stretcher, arms full of IV tubes. Her face was bruised, and she was barely breathing.
Karen walked past him, over to her daughter. She touched her hand, and kissed her gently on the forehead. Then she touched her husband's arm and followed him out of the room. Egon stood there, looking at her. Slowly he walked over to the side of the stretcher and knelt down.
"I'm so sorry, Janine," he whispered. "I should have stayed with you. I swear to you, I'll find the bastard who did this and when I do, he'll wish he'd stayed in whatever hell he came from."
He brushed her check with the back of his hand, then gently kissed her lips. He stood up, and followed her parents out of the room.