Later that day, Janine's family came in to see her. Karen Melnitz hugged her youngest daughter gently, and cried. Janine rolled her eyes.
"Mom, I'm fine. You're getting me wet."
"We were so worried," her mother cried, sitting back, clutching Janine's good hand. "When we saw you after those gang members hurt you, I was so worried."
Janine cast a confused eye towards Peter, who was standing behind her family nodding his head furiously. She turned her attention back to her parents.
"Hey, I'm tough. I can handle anything," Her mother smiled at her, sadness in her eyes.
Janine looked around at her family
"What? What isn't anyone telling me?"
Donald Melnitz took his daughter's hand, squeezing it lightly. "Nothing, Janine. Your mother was just worried about you."
The door opened and a nurse walked in. "I'm going to have to ask everyone to leave. Miss Melnitz need some rest. You can come back later this evening."
Karen kissed her daughter's forehead. "We'll see you later honey."
Janine smiled at her parents, then looked at her friends. They smiled as they left also. But there was something wrong. She could see it in everyone's eyes. Something had happened to her, and nobody would tell her.
The lockers had fallen on her, and she was trying to reach for a particle thrower. If she could just reach the particle thrower, she could drive off what ever was chasing her. Above her, she heard a roar. She looked up as lightening crashed overhead, illuminating the creature. She recognized the monster. It was the one the guys had trapped in the cross dimensional rift, after capturing the other with him.
She screamed then, her voice mingling with his roar. With one swoop of his hand, she was flown back, her head and body hitting the side wall with a sickening thud. She felt something crack again. She could taste blood, but she didn't know where it was coming from.
The creature laughed, approaching her. He lifted her up, and tossed her back onto the locker pile. She landed, crying out. It felt like every bone in her body had turned to powder. She couldn't move and the thought that she was paralyzed briefly flashed into her mind, but was quickly thrown out. If she was paralyzed, she wouldn't be able to feel all this pain . The creature floated towards her, laughing softly. Suddenly, Janine knew what it was going to do, and she tried to crawl away, whimpering. But she couldn't move. As the creature's ectoplasm body covered her, she screamed.
Thunder crashed overhead, and Janine screamed, sitting up. The door to her room flew open and the lights came on. Karen Melnitz rushed into the room and embraced her daughter, rocking her slowly. A nurse rushed in, holding a syringe. Janine looked at it and screamed.
"No!" Like a flash, her good hand swung out and smacked the syringe out of the nurse's hand. It hit the floor and shattered. The nurse looked at her, shocked.
"But, Miss Melnitz..."
"No!" Janine screamed at her. "I don't want to sleep, I don't want to calm down, I want to see Dr. Ayres, now!"
The nurse backed up, still looking at Janine, then turned and ran out of the room. Karen looked at her husband. His eyes reflected the thought in hers; Janine knew about the assault.
Karen drew back and looked at her still shaken daughter. Janine finally looked at her mother.
"I was...raped, wasn't I?"
Her mother's eyes filled with tears. "We were hoping you wouldn't remember. We wanted to save you that pain."
Janine dropped her head on her mother's shoulder, and cried.The others came a little while later, and were stopped by Janine's mom.
"She's in with Dr. Ayres. She remembered the rape."
Ray's eyes closed in pain. Garrett cursed under his breath.
"Can we see her?" Peter asked. Karen shook her head.
"She's refusing to see anyone. Except Kylie, she asked to see her when she arrived."
Kylie frowned, glancing nervously at Egon, who was standing behind her, looking as shocked as the others. "Why me? We aren't exceptionally close."
"You were one of the ones who found her. She's hoping you can tell her something. Besides," Karen said, glancing at the guys, "You're the only woman on this team."
Kylie looked at the guys, then followed Karen into the room. Dr. Ayres was just finishing up as the two entered. He moved over to speak to the two women.
"She's beginning to show signs of shock and stress that usually happens to victims of a rape. She's withdrawn, and refuses to talk to anyone. I've suggested a councilor, see if you can talk her into talking to someone."
When he left, Karen looked at her daughter. "Kylie's here, dear."
Janine looked over at Kylie, then at her mother. "I'd like to talk to her alone for a moment, please."
Karen nodded, and left the room. Janine looked back at Kylie. Kylie quickly analyzed the woman in the bed. Janine was sitting up, her left arm still in the shoulder sling, for her shoulder to heal. Her face had healed, but it looked like her emotional state had been broken now. Janine smiled wanly at her.
"I know what you're thinking, I don't want a shrink. What the hell am I suppose to tell them? That I've been raped by a ghost? That would get me a one way ticket to the nearest psych ward until I could 'face my fears, and my tormentors'. I don't think so."
Kylie pulled up a chair, and sat down next to the bed. "So, what are you going to do?"
"Heal, and go back to work. Ignore the looks as long as I can until I either go insane or quit."
"Looks? What looks? Nobody's looking at you."
"Come on Kylie. I saw the looks the guys gave me earlier today. It's the pity look. I can't handle that. From anyone else, my family, it would be fine. But these are the Ghostbusters, these are my friends, my family. I've put up with more of their crap than any wife ever would. I've delt with their injuries. When one of them ever disappeared, I've been a shoulder to cry on. When they've been hurt, I'm the one who helped them, and made sure the others still went on with their everyday lives. I've been a mother, a confidant, a secretary, a baby-sitter, a maid, a friend, I don't deserve this." Janine's eyes filled with tears. Kylie quietly handed her a tissue. She took it gratefully.
" I can't deal with this," she continued. "Not from them."
"I don't think they pity you Janine," Kylie stated. "I don't, we're just worried. Ray, Winston, and Peter were besides themselves with worry, and Egon..."
"Oh God, I can't even bear to see Egon right now," she cried.
"Janine, we're your friends. Let us help you; let me help you," Kylie said.
Janine looked up at her. "You were there when I was found, how bad was it?"
Kylie swallowed nervously. "All we saw were the outer injuries. Egon told us about the assault on the way home. Your mother took him in with her and your dad to talk to the E.R doctor. He heard about the injuries."
Janine closed her eyes in pain. "What else has happened?" she asked. "I still hurt. If I've been out for three weeks, I shouldn't still hurt."
"Janine, please..." Kylie started, until Janine opened her eyes and looked at her.
"Kylie please, tell me everything. I have to know."
Kylie sighed deeply. "We had a guard at your door, twenty four hours. The ghost came back one evening about a week ago, and raped you again. Eduardo rushed in and stopped it but the damage had already been done. The injuries were so severe, it'd ripped out your catheter, and pretty much ripped you open. You were rushed to the operating room, you need stitches in certain areas. Dr. Ayres said you probably wouldn't be able to have children. Your parents weren't told about the last attack. They were told that the injury to you was more severe that they had originally thought. They were told, however, that there was an attempt on you life. We had to explain the new breaks and bruises."
Janine's eyes were closed, tears streaming down her face. "Who was it?"
"His name was Zocodobe. A class nine that the guys had trapped in a cross-dimensional rift. They'd trapped his mate in the Neitherworld, and we figured he'd gotten out and come back for revenge."
"Is he going to come back."
Kylie shook her head. "We've got him. Ray designed a containment trap that can hold a spirit in limbo indefinitely. He's stored in the trap until you're well enough to flush it into the containment unit." Janine looked at her confused. "Peter had stated earlier that he was going to give you the pleasure of dumping the creature down the unit. That's why Ray designed the trap."
Janine wiped her eyes. "Where was Egon?"
"Here. After the second attack, he never left your side. He pretty much lived here until Dr. Ayres threatened to sedate him and lock him a another room so he could get some sleep. He left, but came back about five hours later. When you woke up, Dr. Ayres had just sent him off again. That's why he wasn't here."
Janine closed her eyes again, her body physically weakening. "Kylie, please," she whispered. "Make them understand. I...I just can't see them right now. Maybe later on, but not right now."
Kylie sighed and squeezed the woman's hand once more before standing up. "Okay, but please remember we care about you. You wouldn't let any of them go through this kind of torment alone."
She walked out, slowly shutting the door behind her. Janine laid her head back on the pillows, letting the tears run freely down her face. Her life was over. She couldn't deal with this. In self defense classes, they tell you how to fend yourself from a rapist, when he's human. A ghost can get in any way; you can't defend yourself from that. And what Zocodobe did to her...
Slowly, she moved the blankets to see what he'd done to her. The lower part of her body was bandaged. Her eyes trailed over her stomach. Slowly, she placed her good hand on her stomach, gently rubbing. She could feel the scars from the surgery they had to do on her lungs and liver.
Fresh tears slid down her face as she thought about what Kylie had told her the doctor had said. She could never have children. She'd never thought of how badly she had wanted children until now. When she joined the Ghostbusters, she'd just assumed that one day, she'd get Egon to lower his defenses long enough to marry her, and they'd have children. But now that was never going to happen.
"Oh Egon," she whispered, looking over the rest of her body. She was a mass of stitches, bandages, and bruises. She didn't know how anyone could ever find her attractive again, not that she was before, but at least she thought she had something. Now, she didn't have anything. Her life was over.
Letting her hand fall onto the side of the bed, she squeezed her eyes shut, and cried and screamed out all the rage and despair welling up in her.