By the time Egon arrived, Gabby had emerged from the bathroom. She didn't look as upset as Winston described her to be but quite a bit of time had passed since the phone call. When they all sat at the table, Egon took a good look at Gabby. Aesthetically, she looked like the normal person she usually was. Egon didn't quite know what to expect when he was told that she was a witch. Maybe perhaps she would show her true form as an old woman with messy hair who used her magic to look young most of the time. It didn't seem like this was the case.

Not only did she resemble her normal self but also her shy, slightly sad self. From the looks of it, she knew exactly what she did. She knew full well that her actions were why the center of the table was charred and indented.

"So…" said Egon, "Winston tells me that you're a witch."

"Th… that is correct," said Gabby.

"I assure you that you have no reason to worry right now. Nobody is going to punish you. Nobody is going to fire you. I just want a better understanding of your… witchcraft. But I'm only willing to have this conversation under one condition."

"And what condition is that?"

"That you do not cast any spells."

"No problem. In fact, you can have my wand to ensure that I don't do that."

Gabby slid the wand over to Egon. He couldn't help but admire the craftmanship on this particular piece of wood. He wanted to ask whether she made it or someone else did but this meeting was not about that.

"First of all, I would like to know what happened this afternoon that alerted the others that you were a witch."

Gabby told Egon the whole story about their ghostbusting mission at Carnegie Hall, making sure not to skimp on any details. Egon listened while nodding every so often.

"We can back her up, Egon," said Ray, "We saw what she did with our very eyes."

Egon looked back at Gabby.

"So, you used your powers to help the others," said Egon.

"That is correct," said Gabby.

"And you saved the lives of everyone and ensured that the ghost orchestra was captured."

"Yes."

"And yet Peter still felt the need to punish you by tying you up and locking you in the storage closet?"

"Well, when you put it that way, you make me sound like a monster," said Peter.

"I figure that this kind of mayhem would eventually happen in my absence. I'm just surprised that it took this long."

"And it turned out I was right to be concerned," said Peter, "This girl here nearly got me struck by lightning."

"And from the way you were acting, I'm not surprised," said Winston. Winston turned to Gabby, who had shrunk a little in her chair. Whatever confidence she had earlier had long since left. "I want to apologize for the whole 'getting you tied up' thing. I just… didn't know what to do in a situation like this. I've never had a coworker who was a witch, you know? I didn't know whether to trust you or to keep you contained and separate from everybody, to treat you like one of the ghosts. All I knew was that I didn't want to do anything to hurt you."

"I understand for the most part," said Gabby, "I'm just a little hurt that, after all this time and after what I did to save you, you weren't sure to trust me."

"Well, I'm not sure what sort of things a witch does. The ones we've dealt with were either ghosts or evil or some mix of both. Do you worship Satan or any other kind of evil being?"

"Yeah, Gabby," said Peter, "Who did you sell your soul to?"

"Nobody," said Gabby. "Satan is a Christian being and he doesn't factor into my practice. I mainly factor in the generic Earth Goddess and Sky God whenever I have a ritual, although I incorporate other gods sometimes."

"So, wait… how many gods do witches worship?" asked Ray.

"Any number. We're very flexible. Sometimes, a god calls to us, other times, we call to them. They're there to help us with our spells."

"It sounds like this is a religion," said Egon.

"Well… it kind of is. Witchcraft isn't just about spells and flying around. It's about dedicating yourself to the gods and spirits. It's about connecting to the earth below and the sky above. It's about controlling your destiny in ways that you didn't think possible."

"Now, when you say you dedicate yourself to the spirits, are you talking about the spirits that we fight on a daily basis?" asked Egon. Egon was hoping for an agreeable answer to this question. He didn't much like the sound of anybody pledging themselves to a being that was out to cause chaos and mischief in the mortal realm.

"We certainly can summon and talk to those kinds but when I say that we dedicate ourselves to the spirits, I'm mainly talking about nature spirits."

"I believe Tobin's Spirit Guide has an entire section on those but I haven't read up on them in a while since I don't think we've encountered any."

"Well, they're shy. They live in the rocks, trees, water, flowers, dirt and anything else you can think of that is natural. And they're everywhere."

"Surely, they can't be everywhere," said Ray, "I understand them being in Central Park but not anywhere else in New York. I mean, this environment isn't exactly what you would call natural."

"When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. Every dandelion that peeks out from a crack in the sidewalk, every thunderstorm that floats by for a prolonged visit, every bit of mold that grows on store-bought bread… all of that are their calling cards."

Egon perked up at Gabby's third example.

"You had me at 'mold,'" he said.

"With that said, I'm mainly talking about the basic nature spirits, the ones that I summon for my rituals."

Ray shook his hands in excitement.

"Oh my gosh!" he said, "I want you to tell me about your rituals! I can't get enough of this stuff!"

Gabby shivered a bit. She looked like she didn't know how to react to Ray's excitement. However, she found her words soon enough.

"My rituals are mainly solitary and deeply personal. I've never been in a position to talk about them, but…"

"You don't have to get into any details if you don't want to," said Ray. "Don't share anything that you're not comfortable sharing. But I've GOT to ask…"

"Yes?"

"What is written in your Book of Secrets?"

"A combination of spells, recipes and incoherent ramblings in Spanglish."

Egon hung onto every word that Gabby said. During her explanation, she was a little more confident, a little less of a mystery. She had her reasons for keeping her secret but she was now among those who were fascinated by what she had to teach, even if Peter did still have his suspicions. This moment made Egon think of what Janine said just moments after Casey was born: "It's weird when you first meet someone who's been with you this entire time."

"You using magic isn't something that I'm terribly concerned with," said Egon.

"It isn't?!" asked Peter.

"No. Clearly, Gabby has shown great restraint in not using her magic as we're talking to her."

"To be fair, I've given you my wand," said Gabby.

"And you've made the wise decision to do that. What I am concerned about is your resume. The resume you gave me during your job interview is supposed to be a snapshot of the skills, training and experience you've gotten throughout your adult life. During your interview, you mentioned your interest in ghosts and demons. Being a witch is a big part of your identity and is also something that you've left off your resume. It makes me wonder whether you've left off anything else important."

"I can assure you, Egon, that I did not leave anything else off my resume. I only kept my magical ability a secret."

Egon nodded his head. "All right. You have not proven yourself deceptive for the entire time I've known you, so I will take your word." Egon didn't have much to worry about. After all, she had only lied by omission. It wasn't like she fabricated an entire field of study for her resume. "I think that your powers have proven very helpful and I would like you to use them whenever you feel the need to."

"That's what I would like to do."

"With that said, I don't appreciate you using your powers in a fit of passion against a coworker during an argument. We will most likely need to replace the table and chair that have seen the brunt of this abuse."

"I am terribly sorry for what I've done. If you need to take that money out of my paycheck, you can go right on ahead." Little by little, Gabby's confidence was disappearing from her posture and her facial expression. Egon didn't think much of it.

"Now, I have to ask… what made you become a witch in the first place? I ask this purely out of curiosity."

Gabby repositioned herself before she explained her origin story.

"Well, I first got into witchcraft when I was around ten or eleven. I was driven to do it when I saw television shows and movies that had witches in them. I saw them as evil but in a way that I couldn't yet describe, I admired them. I looked at my own life and saw how insignificant I was. I am the youngest of three daughters, the other two often talking over me and getting most of the attention. My family was at the mercy of how much business our shoe store would get. Without going into detail, the area where I grew up made me wonder whether or not I had a bright future ahead of me. Everything was uncertain, up to and including what would happen after death.

One day, I was at the library and I came upon a book of spells that looked like it hadn't been touched in years. I took it home and tried them out with the tools that I had… and I was hooked. I discovered what made me happy and why I admired the witches of fiction. By practicing magic, not only would I brandish a certain amount of control over my life, I would also get answers to life's great mysteries. As I learned about other realms and ghosts, I became less afraid of them. I've even made friends with the ghost that lives in my house."

"Did you check out the book that guy used to banish all the chickens on earth that one time?" asked Ray.

"I don't think it was that book. Even since I started practicing magic, I have made sure that I cast spells that would help either myself or other people, which is precisely why I cast the spell that helped us defeat that orchestra ghost. I don't sacrifice animals or babies or any of the sort. I abide by The Witch's Rede, 'An it harm none, do what thou wilt.'"

"It sounds like another variation of The Golden Rule," said Egon.

"That's precisely what it is."

"If I may interject," said Peter as he held up his finger.

"What is it, Peter?" asked Egon.

"A witch using magic to help people is all well and good but we're The Ghostbusters. We have a family-friendly image to maintain. You can't do that with a witch on the team."

"Well, knocking up the secretary doesn't exactly help our family-friendly image, either," said Winston, "No offence, Egon."

"None taken," said Egon. He turned back to Gabby. "Now, before we have you use your powers to aid our ghostbusting missions, I think we need to understand-"

Suddenly, Gabby groaned and pulled at her hair in distress. From the looks of it, she had enough of something.

Egon was startled out of his proposition. He shook his head and blinked several times.

"Is there something wrong, Gabby?" he asked.

"I can't take it!" said Gabby, "Egon, there's something I need to tell you."