That Monday morning, after Gabby got ready for the day, she was greeted with something that she didn't see the last time she went upstairs to eat breakfast: A thin, red carpet rolled out by the table. Ray, Winston and Peter were already in their jumpsuits. Slimer floated there and smiled. Winston stood in the middle holding a proton pack.

"What is this?" asked Gabby.

"This is the ceremony for the completion of your training," said Ray.

"Come on down!" said Winston.

Gabby walked down the "aisle" slowly and gracefully, although nobody but the three guys and Slimer were watching her. As a witch, she knew about initiation ceremonies. She had given herself one when she decided to become a witch with only the elemental spirits as her witnesses. She had never joined a coven, so she could only assume what an initiation ceremony for a coven could be like, probably much more pomp and circumstance than the one she was currently participating in. Probably more darkness, candles and symbols as well. This daytime ceremony didn't need all that. They weren't trying to channel anything. It had just as much pomp and circumstance as it needed to have.

"Gabriela Bermudez," said Winston, "We are gathered here today to mark the completion of your training and to designate you as an official ghostbuster. Since I was the last person to get hired here before you, it only makes sense that I would be the one to present you with your very own proton pack." Winston lovingly gave Gabby the proton pack, which she carefully took from his hands. She took a look at the heavy, intricate device not believing that she was being entrusted with such a weapon.

"You really wowed us with your training and we look forward to you helping us keep the ghosts at bay," said Ray.

"So, on behalf of all of us, I say… Welcome to The Ghostbusters!" said Peter.

Gabby looked around, expecting something more to happen.

"Is that it?" she asked, "You're not going to ask me to participate in some sort of humiliating hazing ritual to seal my membership into the club?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ray, "We would never do that."

"As somebody who's been through four years of college, I guess my expectations of joining something are… slightly different than yours."

"I think that obstacle course was enough of a humiliating initiation," said Peter. "As for your very own Ghostbuster suit, it will be at least another week before that's finished, so let's just pretend that we presented it to you in a ceremonious fashion, shall we?"

Gabby looked at the proton pack like it was a fancy toy. She wanted to hug it but was smart and cautious enough not to. She didn't need to, though. It was pretty obvious that it was hers.

Soon, Gabby received her jumpsuit, which was the maroon color that she requested. And in the corner was her nametag: Bermudez. Now it was official. From here on out, she would work as a ghostbuster from Sunday evening to Wednesday morning while Egon was at Janine's.

She got the hang of the whole ordeal: Janine would take the call, alert them of the address and press the button to sound the alarm. Sometimes, she would reminisce about having once been in that position but in the high-stress situation of a ghostbuster, there was no time for reminiscing. A ghost had to be busted now.

In her position, she truly appreciated how large and diverse the city was and she was introduced to areas that she either didn't go to often or didn't think that much about. She learned that buildings didn't need to be old in order to be haunted. Hell, ghosts didn't even need to be in buildings. Sometimes, the darkness and ominous fog were enough to drive the spectral beings to come out and play. These spirits were very different from the friendly nature spirits that Gabby knew personally. Part of the thrill was that her lifelong interests in ghosts and other types of spirits was paying off and she was able to see them up close, although it wasn't to become friends with them.

Every time, she held up the proton gun and fired, she felt the rush of power. It wasn't like she had never experienced power before. She was able to conjure up all sorts of things but only in the privacy of her bedroom. This was a power that others were able to witness. She was confident. She was saving the day. Without words, she proclaimed, "Look out World – I'm a lady ghostbuster."

On some days, there weren't very many calls and on others, they were overflowing with ghost-related emergencies. It was exciting and rewarding to answer all these calls but there were times when her body was sore and she just wanted to collapse onto Egon's bed.

Every day, she thanked the gods for the invention of coffee.

Meanwhile, Egon was busy doing his research. Janine's kitchen table had papers sprawled all over it along with a portable computer that was plugged into the nearest outlet. He actually had an easier time concentrating on his work in Janine's apartment than he did at the firehouse, possibly because nobody was watching TV while he was working. What did it take to create a new proton pack? In a way, he wasn't completely alone. He used some of Ray's notes and advice as he made plans for his invention. The proton pack was one thing but what about the outer structure? Should he use a better material for the straps that would keep the proton pack on the person?

Working at Janine's was a bit like working at the Firehouse except instead of being suddenly interrupted by a ghost-related emergency, his work would be interrupted by a needy baby. For the most part, Casey's needs were easily met and he wouldn't cry for terribly long but then there came other instances where Egon had to either consult a parenting book or dial the firehouse to talk to Janine. More often than not, Janine would tell him to calm down and that it was just gas. Funny, he thought. All this fuss over a gas bubble. Babies were strange creatures, so new to the world that they made a big deal out of everything. Similar to how Ray would freak out over a spider and insist that someone else kill it.

Admittedly, there were some days where Egon would dedicate Casey's naptime to getting work done or watching television. And then there were other days where he would take a nap along with Casey, who would sleep on top of Egon's chest while he was laying on Janine's bed. This was nice, he would think. Sometimes, it was nice to lay in a dark room and just live in the moment. Of course, those relaxing times would come to an end when the baby needed attention again.

Egon didn't worship any of the gods – especially not Gozer – and yet he still thanked them for the invention of coffee.

As rewarding as Gabby found her work to be, there were times when she felt that she wasn't treated quite the same as the other ghostbusters. One such moment was when they were chasing after ghosts that had haunted a car dealership. These four transparent, purple ne'er-do-wells floated near the ceiling, looking like they were having a good time.

"There's one over there!" shouted Ray when he pointed to the corner of the room. He fired his proton beam at the corner of the room. The ghosts were quick enough that they evaded every attempt that the ghostbusters made at firing at them.

"Man, it would be great if Egon hurried up and build those new and improved proton packs," thought Gabby. She may have been small but she was also swift, making sure to both run toward the ghosts she was trying to catch and run away from any ghosts that were coming toward her. At certain points, she dodged the ghosts by hiding behind the cars that were displayed in the showroom. She froze, getting a good look at the guys firing their weapons. Finally, Peter got one of the ghosts.

"Got him!" he said, "Ray, you know what to do!"

As the ghost was frozen by the proton beam, Ray slid the trap toward him and it suck him through.

Unfortunately, they weren't quite done, as there were three more.

Gabby heard the sound of the car next to her starting and felt it vibrating. She looked up to find one of the ghosts in the drivers' seat and another one jumpstarting the car through the hood. As they were doing this, they giggled like maniacs. The ghost that jumpstarted the car phased through the vehicle and sat in one of the back seats. The other ghost sat in the passenger seat.

Gabby got up and aimed her proton gun at the ghosts in the car. Before she got a chance to fire, she felt a large hand on her shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, young lady!" said Mr. Cavet, the owner, "I don't want you destroying my inventory!"

Gabby was used to being patient with difficult customers back when she filled in for Janine but, in a high-stress situation like this, she couldn't afford to be.

"Do you want these ghosts trapped or not?" she asked.

Suddenly, the car drove off the display and crashed through the giant glass windows, bringing on a thunderous shattering noise and a rain of clear shards. It was fortunate that none of the ghostbusters were barefoot at that moment.

"Was it any better that those ghosts destroyed those windows and perhaps plenty of other property rather than destroying the car before they could do that?" thought Gabby. It was amazing how people never weighed their options.

"After them!" shouted Winston.

They ran to the Ecto-1, somehow simultaneously agreeing that Peter would drive without actually saying it. This ghost chase was going to be yet another car chase. Peter switched on the siren so that traffic could comply with this emergency.

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUR…. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUR…

Soon, they caught up with the car, which, although it was swerving, was still staying on the road.

"We're putting an end to this joyride, guys!" said Peter. He aimed the proton beam on top of the Ecto-1 at the ghost in the driver's seat. When the beam fired, it broke the glass in the back window as well as the headrest of the driver's seat. As expected, the car came to a full stop since the driver was frozen by the proton beam.

It would only be a matter of time before the other ghosts fled the scene, so the other ghostbusters got out of the car and fired their beams at the other ghosts once they escaped their vehicle. Ray and Winston managed to get the same ghost at once while Peter got the other. The beam on top of the car was still going.

"Gabby, grab the trap!" shouted Ray.

Gabby fished through the Ecto-1 for the trap, which didn't take long. She slid the trap under the ghost that Ray and Winston had captured, sucking it through successfully. She retrieved the trap and set her sights on the one that Peter had. That one was then sucked through. Two down, one to go.

Gabby opened up the passenger door as carefully as possible and immediately stepped away so that none of the proton stream could touch her. The force of the stream would have made her hair blow wildly if it had not been pulled up into a tight bun. She held out the trap and opened it up in front of the driver ghost. She was close enough that the ghost could hardly put up a fight and was sucked in immediately.

Without the ghost there, the proton stream went through the car and made a hole in the hood. Winston quickly ran back to the Ecto-1 and shut the stream off.

"Nice job, guys!" said Ray, "We should let Mr. Cavet know that we did our job."

Back at the car dealership, the four ghostbusters met back up with Mr. Cavet, who had plenty of questions for them.

"Thank you so much!" he said.

"Unfortunately, the car that the ghosts stole was pretty banged up by the time we got through with them," said Winston.

"Well, I'm just glad that they only took off with one car," said Mr. Cavet, "What kind of ghosts were they, anyway?"

Now was Gabby's time to shine.

"According to our guide, those ghosts were classic Class-Two Specters-"

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I was speaking to Mr. Venkman here."

"No problem, sir," said Peter, "I will be happy to fill you in on any details about those ghosts," He looked down at Gabby and patted her head. "Don't worry, I've got this." He then looked back at Mr. Cavet. "Those ghosts were Class-Two Specters…"

This wasn't the only time that this happened. Gabby thought that her knowledge about the paranormal would give way to people taking her seriously, and yet she often got ignored and talked-over. It was true that Peter had a Ph.D. and was therefore a valid authority on the subject… but this car dealer didn't know that. All she could do was sigh and let the smart man talk.

After Peter's explanation, Mr. Cavet did make a request for Gabby.

"Why don't you smile, sweetheart?" he asked, "You just helped these fine gentlemen can a ghost!"

These guys wouldn't be so patronizing if they knew about the powers Gabby had. They wouldn't think twice about what they would say if they knew she could turn them into frogs. Or summon wood spirits to give them splinters. But, no matter how bitter she was, she pledged not to violate The Witch's Reed.

Funny, she thought. Nobody ever told Egon to smile even though he could certainly do that more.