And here we are at the end of the road. Thank you to everyone who chose to tag along on the ride - I really appreciate each and every one of you! So now we'll wrap up all this excitement - enjoy, and feel free to let me know what you think!

The paramedics showed up in due order, quickly going to work on the still-unbreathing Sabrina and transporting her and the unconscious Peter to the nearest hospital. The others followed in Ecto-1, at least four of them worried about their friends and all of them bewildered by the fact that no one could find the body of the mage Lau had discovered after the explosion.

Hours passed with no word. Janine was called and came in around dawn, joining the vigil with hugs for her friends and sympathetic looks for the two E-Branch agents. They had been told that it appeared Peter was suffering from an odd form of mild electrocution while the layman's description of Sabrina's problem was that her diaphragm was short-circuiting. "How in the heck did that happen?" Janine asked after the doctor had left the six of them alone once more in the waiting room.

"Spells," Dillinger said shortly. "Peter took one for Sabrina after she shielded me from a shot that was supposed to kill me, and then Sabrina took Vega's next try at me. It nailed her right at the base of the chest, and then she was up and running around not long afterward. I think she pushed herself too hard too soon."

"And now she's paying the price," Lau said, frustrated.

"The paramedics got her breathing started again in the ambulance, and the doctor said she should be fine," Ray said encouragingly, sympathy thick in his tone.

"And Peter should be fine, too, once he basically sleeps this off," Winston added.

"But who knows about brain damage," Lau argued. "She went a long time with other people breathing for her. And even if physically she's all right, what about psychically?"

"Only time will tell, Lau," Egon said sympathetically.

"What's that bag you brought with you, Janine?" Ray asked in an attempt to gently change to subject for a little while.

"It's Sabrina's. It had all those profiles and files. I wasn't sure if the E-Branch team would have time to stop by the firehouse after they were done here so I brought it with me. I hope that's all right." The redheaded woman directed the last comment to Lau.

"That's perfectly fine, Janine. I'm probably going to get Sabrina transferred out of here as soon as she's stabilized, and one less trip will help. Thanks."

Another hour later brought a doctor to say Peter was capable of receiving visitors. Egon, Ray, and Winston jumped on the chance, and quickly followed the man to their friend's room. Janine looked at the two remaining men speculatively as she stood to follow. "Aren't you worried about Sabrina, Dillinger?" she asked the sniper curiously, watching him sit rather impassively next to his commander.

"She'll either be all right or she won't. There's nothing I can do about it now."

"Yeah, but..."

"Don't bother, Janine," Lau interrupted. "That's just the way Dillinger is. I guess you could say he was raised that way."

"That's sad," Janine said quietly before walking away to join her employers.

Finally, about ten o'clock in the morning, Lau and Dillinger were allowed to see Sabrina. They found her lying in her own room, her coloring pale and her eyelids shut. She wore a nasal cannula for oxygen, and monitors were lined up on the other side of the bed. "Wow, she looks so small," Lau whispered as the two men stepped inside.

"She looks like she belongs in a hospital," Dillinger corrected.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing I'm in one, isn't it?" a weak whispering voice said lightly. Sapphire blue eyes fluttered open and Sabrina turned her head slightly to look at her visitors. "Hi, guys."

"Hey, Sabrina," Lau said, his mood immediately lightening. "How are you doing?"

"Breathing is still an effort, but the addiction's still there. I'll be fine."

"It's good to see all my effort didn't go to waste then," Dillinger said with a grin.

"CPR or just mouth to mouth?" A black eyebrow rose.

"Just mouth to mouth."

"What is it with me and chest injuries around Vega anyway?"

"Be glad it wasn't another half clip."

"You do have a point there."

"You really shouldn't be talking so much," Lau admonished sternly.

"You're asking a lot of her, Lau." Sabrina stuck her tongue out at the smiling sniper.

A light knock came at the door. Dillinger tensed and a hand went to a gun, but Lau stilled the action. "Who is it?" the commander called nonchalantly.

"We heard there was a happening party down this way and wanted to crash it," a familiar voice said from the other side of the door.

"Peter!" Sabrina said, a happy smile lighting up her features. "Don't just stand there, Lau, let them in!"

"As long as you stop talking so much!" The Chinese man moved over to the door as the other man in the room relaxed, opening it to reveal the Ghostbusters and Janine standing there, Peter in front of the bunch in a wheelchair. "So come in, come in. I've never seen such polite party crashers before." Lau's grin was wide as he stepped aside and let the newcomers by him.

Egon pushed Peter over to the black-haired woman's bedside. "He wouldn't leave us alone until we agreed to let him come see you," the physicist said wryly. "I told him we had to wait until you were transferred out of intensive care."

"He wasn't happy about that," Winston added.

"Is there some reason I should have been?" Peter asked indignantly. "This lady stuck with me through some rough times and I find out she's been hurt badly enough to be in the ICU. I wanted to make sure she was all right."

"But, Peter, the doctors told you she would be," Ray reminded him.

"Like he ever takes that at face value," Janine said with a roll of her eyes. "He's just as bad if not worse with the three of you. If he doesn't see it with his own eyes it's not good enough."

"I'll be fine," Sabrina whispered. "I've heard Lau's transferring me out of here and into the care of our doctors in Colorado. I'll be back on my feet in no time."

"You better be, lady," Peter admonished gently. "You owe me a date."

Sabrina laughed breathlessly. "That's right. I do, don't I? Will you wait for me?"

The brown-haired man grinned. "You bet I will. It'll just give me time to plan something spectacular, a real Venkman extravaganza."

"Be frightened, Sabrina," Egon warned her. "Lesser women than you have crumbled before the debacle that is the Venkman extravaganza."

"Then I'll probably have fun. Lesser women than me have crumbled before a lot of the things I've done in my life, and I'm having a blast."

"A woman after my own heart!" Peter clutched both hands to his chest dramatically.

"I'm glad you're willing to chance it for a completely different reason," Ray said, his smile wide and his light brown eyes sparkling. "That means you'll be back for a visit and we get to see you again. I was kind of worried about that."

"Thanks, Ray." Sabrina eyed him speculatively. "I just wish there was something we could do for you guys since you were so much help. We couldn't have done it without you."

"Hey, you're paying us, right?" Peter looked over at Lau, who chuckled and nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Then that's more than enough compensation." He winked at the male members of the E-Branch team.

"I suppose," the supine woman said, her voice trailing off.

"Are we tiring you?" Egon asked quickly.

"No, no, I'm fine. I can't always get a lot of air behind what I'm saying, but I'm okay. Say, I didn't get a chance to look through your library at Ghostbuster Central. Have you guys heard of the parapsychologist Victor Lazlo?" Her teammates looked at her suspiciously.

"Sure!" Ray enthused. "He put out some good books before his disappearance in 1984. I can't seem to keep my hands on any copies though. Something always seems to happen to them. But I've always liked them."

"I referenced a number of his papers while I was writing my parapsychology dissertation. Why do you ask?" Egon queried.

"A lot of people I've talked to haven't heard of him, and I like his stuff, too. I just wanted to see if some of the foremost authorities on the supernatural thought as highly of him as I do." It was Peter's turn to look at her suspiciously. "But I have a question for everybody. What happened to Fitzgerald?"

"Who's Fitzgerald?" Winston asked.

"The mage that drew that circle and summoned the demon," Peter explained. "You know, that's an awfully good question. Didn't you guys say that no one found his body when the paramedics showed up?"

"If that's who the lump was I found between the circle and you guys, then yeah," Lau agreed.

"He must not have been as down for the count as you thought, Lau," Dillinger commented.

"And what happened to Hawk?" Peter asked.

"Hawk?" Egon repeated. "As in Sabrina and Dillinger's commander when they first met Vega? Are you saying you encountered his ghost?"

"Yeah. He helped us out a couple of times. He left when Vega teleported us to Union Square Park though. We never saw him after he set us loose."

"Fitzgerald handcuffed us together around a tree after he summoned the gate to Gramzen's realm," Sabrina explained. "Hawk picked the locks for us."

"Do you think he dispersed when Vega was captured?" Ray asked.

"I don't know, Tex. I just don't know," Peter said with a shrug.

"Um, no, I'd have to say dispersion wasn't in the cards," a new voice said from the doorway.

They all turned to face the newcomer, Dillinger reaching again for a gun. A tall man with straight, chin-length blond hair and steel grey eyes closed the door behind him and leaned against it. He wore a plain navy blue sweatshirt, faded jeans, and an older pair of tennis shoes. He smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who are you?" Winston asked suspiciously, recognizing the man that had informed the search party that Vega awaited them near the library and maneuvering between the new man and Sabrina and Peter. He was joined by Lau and Ray, Egon already being there.

"Well, the body says Brandon Fitzgerald, but the spirit says something completely different." He looked down at himself. "It's a taller, younger model actually, but fit." He looked back up at the astonished crowd with an impish smile.

"Hawk?" Sabrina asked breathlessly, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"None other."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Dillinger asked, narrowing his eyes and making a final adjustment to his aim, drawing a bead on the man at the door.

"I'm not sure what I could tell you that you couldn't accuse me of reading somewhere. Fitzgerald was a Spiritech agent."

Ray and Egon shared a quick look before the occultist grabbed the PKE meter from his belt and activated it. "I recorded all the biorhythms I found in the park when we were tracking Peter." He scanned around the room, matching Sabrina, Dillinger, and Lau's to the appropriate signal and filtering them out. "Now that I have everyone I know taken out of the equation, that leaves the mage, Fitzgerald. He was the only other living person in the park." Ray pointed the device at the suspect they were all facing.

"Well, Ray?" Egon asked expectantly.

"The readings I'm getting don't match what I have saved for Fitzgerald. Are you guys sure this is him?" Ray asked Peter, Sabrina, and Dillinger.

"I'd recognize that cocky little smile anywhere," Peter said, his head poking out from around Egon's waist. Sabrina and Dillinger silently nodded their agreement.

The blond physicist leaned over and looked at the meter's display. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully before lifting his own. He pushed a few buttons and turned a few knobs, then grabbed a calculator out of one the pockets in his jumpsuit and keyed in some figures. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe this man is telling the truth," Egon announced as he put both devices away.

"How do you know?" Janine asked with wonder.

"I did some correlations between the biorhythms Ray is picking up now and the readings from the entities we encountered at both the library and Union Square Park. There is a definite parallel between one of the unidentified readings and the ones registered from this man."

"And what does that mean?" Lau asked.

"We have always theorized that there would be a connection between the biorhythms a person had while they were alive and the PKE signature as a ghost. We've seen a few examples, not enough to truly confirm or deny the hypothesis, but they do suggest we're going in the right direction. If this really is Hawk in a living body, his biorhythms would correlate to his PKE signature - and they do. We never picked up Fitzgerald as a ghost, thus we wouldn't have his spiritual energies on file, negating any possibility of making a connection." Egon raised his eyebrows as he concluded his explanation as if to ask if there were any further questions.

"So you're saying that Hawk has taken up residence in Fitzgerald's body?" Dillinger asked, still training his gun on the man. "How did that happen?"

"I'm sure you knew he was casting a spell in your direction, right?" Hawk began to explain.

"Vega told him to do it," Sabrina said softly. "He said something about wanting to wear his gift when he met Gramzen."

"Exactly. I had no idea what was really going on, except that Vega wanted it done, which meant it couldn't be good for anybody involved, especially Dillinger. So, at the last minute, I used what psi force I could come up with and reflected it back on him. Fitzgerald screamed, I felt this weird tugging, and the next thing I knew I was blinking my eyes and breathing. I sat up and saw Lau walking away. That's when I decided I better find out what the hell was going on before presenting myself to anybody. The last thing I needed was to get quizzed by someone I didn't know, or gunned down by someone I did."

"So what did happen?" Ray asked, thoroughly intrigued. Egon as well was listening with intense scientific curiosity.

"From what I've been able to piece together, the spell Fitzgerald was trying to cast would have switched Dillinger's soul with Vega's spirit. In other words, it would have been Vega running around in Dillinger's body while Dillinger's soul would have been sacrificed to Gramzen to open the gate. When I reflected it back, the transfer took place between Fitzgerald and the closest free spirit - me." Hawk sighed. "Unfortunately that means that it was Fitzgerald's soul that opened the gateway and got obliterated in the bargain."

"He brought it on himself, Hawk," Ray said sadly yet sympathetically. "You can't play with magic like that and not be able to accept the consequences. I've been studying it for years - that's just how it works."

"I know. I'm sure it will fade with time, but I'm still feeling a bit of guilt about being the cause of all that. We're talking about the extinction of a soul."

"It'll be all right, Hawk. And I'll help you if you need it," Sabrina said in her wispy voice. "But the big question is: what are you going to do now?"

"Yeah, I'm sure living again hadn't played a big part in your future plans up to this point," Peter added.

"You do realize that Spiritech has no idea what happened to Fitzgerald, don't you?" Dillinger asked speculatively as he finally lowered his weapon.

"I was thinking of that myself, yes," Hawk replied.

"That would suggest a prime opportunity to play the perfect double agent," Lau mused, grinning. "I can't think of anything they could do that would see through this."

"There are a few spells that might be able to see past it all," Ray thought quickly. "But if enough time went by, it would be harder to tell."

Hawk grinned. "I knew there was a reason I was so willing to take my chances and come to you. I need someone to vouch for me with E-Branch. If I play my cards right, I can possibly help topple Spiritech from the inside, and I'd love nothing more."

"With the Ghostbusters' science backing us up, you've got your voucher," Lau said firmly. "We want that, too."

"Are you guys okay with that?" Sabrina asked the four jumpsuit-wearing men.

"Now that I've seen what Spiritech is capable of, I have no problems with that whatsoever," Ray declared staunchly.

"I think the rest of us would go along with that," Peter said with a smile. Egon, Winston, and Janine nodded their agreement.

"I am going to need some training with magic, however," Hawk said thoughtfully. "Fitzgerald is supposed to be a sorcerer, and that wasn't my thing my last go around."

"I don't think we can set you up with an E-Branch arcanist. If they catch wind of that they'll get suspicious," Lau said, thinking hard.

"Hey, what about me?" Ray offered. "I know we've been seen working with you, but if we work it right we can make it look like Fitzgerald has me fooled into spilling some secrets. Like maybe I'd believe that Vega had forced him into all this or something."

Peter laughed. "You have definitely been hanging around me too long, Tex. That has a distinctive Venkman flair about it."

"But it may work," Egon mused. "A few well-worded messages back to Fitzgerald's contacts to suggest he's working on us may even win him some points with his superiors."

"And those will be points he's going to need after this fiasco," Dillinger said with a sardonic twist to his lips. "I think you better go underground for a while, Hawk. Let them think you needed time to recuperate or something. Then you can come back with a new plan to further Spiritech's knowledge by milking the Ghostbusters."

"All coordinated with E-Branch, of course," Hawk said with a smile. "I like it. I definitely like it."

Just then a doctor and nurse pushed the door open and gawked at the crowd gathered in the room. "All right, enough is enough. Everybody out!" the doctor declared. "We need to get Doctor Marconi ready for transfer, and we can't do it with all of you in the way."

"I'll be in contact," Hawk said shortly with a wink and a wave before slipping out.

"Good luck, Sabrina," Ray said as he leaned down to give the Italian woman a quick hug. "I guess I'll see you when you come back for your date with Peter."

"You bet you will, Ray."

Janine was next. "It's nice to see a woman who won't put up with Doctor V's crap," she said as she squeezed the supine lady. "I'm glad you're going to be okay." She rose and joined Ray by the still-open door, where the doctor and nurse stood waiting impatiently. "It was nice meeting you and Dillinger, too," she said to Lau with an impish smile. "Even if he did nearly fry my hair."

"Never came close, Melnitz," Dillinger retorted. "That's not what I wanted to do, so it didn't happen."

Ray laughed. "Bye, Lau, Dillinger." Both redheads left the room.

Winston swept the bangs out of Sabrina's face before getting in his hug. "You're a strong lady. I know you'll be just fine - and more than a match for Pete." He grinned as he straightened to his full height. "Lau, Dillinger, it was interesting working with you two. I never expected to like a government agent, especially one a little hush-hush. Thanks for proving me wrong." He gave a wave and followed the others out.

Egon merely leaned forward and squeezed Sabrina's hand. "It was a pleasure, Sabrina." He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "And thank you for taking care of Peter. I'm sure he needed it more than he'd be willing to admit."

He did, she whispered in the physicist's mind. But he's going to need you just as much. He counts on you to crack his shell for him. So you take care of him, too. She merely smiled at the startled look on Egon's face as he straightened.

The blond cleared his throat. "Yes, well, of course." He gave her a sly wink. "Lau, Dillinger, it's been quite an experience. Good luck in the future, in case we don't encounter each other again."

"I have a strange feeling we just might, Egon. We just might," Lau said with a faint smile.

"Peter, go ahead and say your farewells, and I'll take you back to your room."

"Yes, Mom," Peter said over his shoulder with a smile. Using the bed rail as support, the brown-haired man pulled himself to his feet and leaned over the smiling Sabrina. "Don't mind me," he said dismissively. "That blast I took was like a lightning bolt to my system. I'll be fine, but I'm going to be pretty shaky for a while."

An ebony eyebrow rose. "How did you know I was worried?"

"I saw you flinch as I pulled myself up. You might as well have been wearing a neon sign." He grinned as her smile got wider. "I'm looking forward to our date, so you better be back. It's not nice to disappoint Doctor Venkman."

"I wouldn't do that. I'll be sure to get a hold of you as soon as I'm better and try to set up a time to come back."

"Good. Then there won't be any problems." He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. Her eyes were wide as he straightened and lowered himself carefully back into his wheelchair. "Just a promise of what's waiting for you in New York when you get back," he said with a soft smile.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Lau, it was real. Keep an eye on these two - it sounds like they need it. And Dillinger... you just keep doing what you do." Peter grinned as the sniper laughed a bit and shook his head. "I'll catch you guys later. All right, Jeeves," he called haughtily to Egon over his shoulder. "You may return me to my room now."

"Peter, it is only because we are in a hospital that I am allowing you to get away with that statement in any regard. Don't push your luck." The two best friends moved out of the room and off in the direction of Peter's.

"All right, doctor," Lau said authoritatively as the doctor and nurse entered the room and shut the door. "This lovely young woman needs to get back to Colorado. Let's make it happen."

A week later, the guys had gathered in the lab, all of them involved in various tasks. Egon and Ray were making a few minor modifications to the destabilizer, Winston was recharging the proton packs, and Peter was sprawled out on the couch, looking for all the world like he was just aimlessly leafing through a random magazine but in actuality reading Egon's latest submission to one of the physicist's favorite scientific journals. The psychologist had quite recovered from his ordeal at Union Square, with only a minor random cramp every now and again to remind him of it.

This was how Janine found them when she brought up a large package wrapped in simple brown paper. "Hey, guys, this just came for you," she announced as she walked in the room.

"Wow, what is it?" Ray asked as he came bouncing over to the secretary.

"A box with something inside would be my guess," she responded with a grin. "Open it and find out! Who do you know in Colorado?"

The four of them shared a bewildered look before realization dawned. "I bet I know who it is!" Peter enthused, putting the journal aside and coming over to the table where Ray had brought the box.

"I think we all do, Peter," Egon said dryly as the occultist tore into the paper, making quick work of the packaging and getting to the goodies inside.

"Here's an envelope with your name on it, Winston," Ray said, handing it over to the black man.

Winston tore open the flap and looked inside. He smiled when he saw the contents. "Tickets for the Jaguars! Great!" He pulled out the note that was with them. "'I wasn't sure what else to get you for just being such a sturdy rock to lean on, so I re-read your profile. Those are season tickets. Maybe you can drag the others with you every now and again. Love, Sabrina.' Is that girl great or what?"

The others shared a reluctant look. "That's great, Winston," Peter said slowly. "Really great. I mean it." Winston gave him an elbow to the ribs.

"This box is for you, Egon," Ray said, digging back into the package.

The blond looked at it quizzically before opening the white box very carefully and drawing out the figurine inside. It was about six inches high depicting a brown baby dragon breaking out of its shell. Egon tensed slightly at the sight, remembering the incident with his 'family' dragon when he'd been forced to return the creature back to its magical slumber after accidentally waking it up in the first place, and the others wondered how he was going to react. Then he pulled a small piece of paper out of the box and read it. "Egon," the note began, "I thought you might like this. I call the little guy 'Peter'. I think you know why. Love, Sabrina." He smiled knowingly after he read the note silently and tucked it back in with the figurine to be dealt with later, his demeanor completely relaxed.

"Aren't you going to tell us what she wrote, Spengs?" Peter asked outrageously, seeing from his friend's reaction that it was something between him and Sabrina, but wanting to make sure everything was okay.

Egon looked speculatively at the psychologist and shot a quick look back at the open box. He smiled a touch wickedly. "It's nothing you'd understand anyway, Peter. The commentary is very subtle."

"Are you trying to tell me I can't be subtle?"

"I haven't said anything, Peter." The smile softened into something more genuine.

"But if the shoe fits..." Winston said suggestively. Peter made a raspberry at him.

"Oh, hey, this is for me!" Ray enthused, pulling out the main source of weight in the box. The newspaper wrapping them was quickly torn away, revealing a stack of hardcover books tied together with twine with a folded note on top of the first book. "'I happened across these recently and thought you might like to re-add them to your collection,'" Ray read from the note. "'I highly suggest you don't loan these out as I'm not sure they can be replaced. First editions are always hard to come by. You know, like you! Love, Sabrina.'" The redhead put the piece of paper aside and slipped out the first book. He gasped when he opened the cover. "She was right! This is a first edition! And it's autographed by Victor Lazlo himself! Wow!" He hugged the book to his chest and grinned a mile wide.

"I wonder where she managed to find these," Egon mused. "A complete hardcover collection of Victor Lazlo's works - autographed no less - must have cost her a small fortune."

"Hey, she works for the government," Winston said, still glowing over his own gift. "And as a long-time agent for the CIA. I bet she makes a small fortune."

"And considering what E-Branch does, she sure has the right connections," Ray added.

"Makes you wonder all the same though," Peter said thoughtfully.

"I'm supposed to give you guys the letter that came with the box now," Janine said with a smile. "I love it when I get instructions with your gifts." She handed the sealed envelope to Egon importantly.

"Separate letter just for you, huh, Janine?" Peter asked as the physicist opened the letter.

"Along with a little something for me. Just a secret between us girls," she said haughtily.

"Yes, well, I believe you'll like this part, Peter," Egon interrupted, handing the psychologist a check.

Peter snatched at it and gasped when he saw the number. "Who wouldn't like this? That's a whole lot of zeroes." He whistled appreciatively. "I wonder what VL Industries really is?" he mused.

"Would you like to know what Sabrina had to say?" Egon asked impatiently.

"Oh, sure. Why not?" Peter grinned. "Go for it, big guy. Story time."

Egon shot his friend one last stern look before beginning. "'Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston. I know Peter said that getting paid was enough for helping us deal with Vega, but I figured the rest of you weren't quite that mercenary. That and I knew just the gifts I could give all of you that you would really like. So that's what's in here. There are individual notes to explain anything you may not understand, and if I didn't explain it, there's probably a reason.'

"'Now don't tell Lau, but I also sent along one of my business cards for each of you. I consider each of you my friend, and my friends deserve to know how to get a hold of me whenever they want. In this line of work friends are hard to come by and even harder to keep, but I know you pretty much understand what I deal with on a day to day basis (then again, maybe not, but you've never been in the Basement either). Thank you for being so wonderful to me and the rest of my team while I was there, and being there when we really needed you the most. You did more than we certainly had any right to expect, and I want you to know it was appreciated.'

"'Your Friend In Strange Places,'

"'Dr. Sabrina Marconi.'

"'P.S. Ha, ha! I actually got Lau and Dillinger to agree to write you something! Victory is mine!'

"'P.S.S. Hey, there, guys. I've been told everyone has bounced back quite well from our little adventure and that's really great. I wish you the best of luck as you face the stuff that I would have said only existed in dreams and nightmares before I got involved in this. Just know that there are a few people out here who can relate (and some who wish they couldn't).'

"'Lau Long.'

"'P.S.S.S. I hear you're all still alive and still hard at work, and I guess that's all anyone can hope for. May it continue.'

"'Later,'

"'Captain James Dillinger.'"

"She really is a great lady, isn't she?" Ray asked with a soft smile as Egon folded up the letter and replaced it in the envelope.

"Definitely. A class act all the way," Winston agreed.

"So what are we supposed to do next, Janine, since you got the instructions?" Peter asked, his normal smirk tempered by a barely noticeable gentleness in his expression.

"Peter can have his letter now, and the rest of you should probably get supper ready." The four men stared at her. "Hey, it's in the letter, I swear! She must have known about what time it was going to be delivered!"

Ray silently reached into the box one last time and pulled out the letter that had rested on the bottom beneath all the other presents and the packing that had surrounded them. He handed it to his friend and began to lead the others out of the lab. "I'll take care of dinner," he declared with a sly smile. "There's a new recipe I found in one of my Uncle Andrew's old letters..."

"Uh, no, that's okay, Ray," Winston said as he hurried off after the redheaded occultist. "I was thinking about something my mother suggested actually. I promise!" The two of them left the room with Janine right behind them, laughing.

Egon watched as Peter opened his letter and read it quietly, a fond smirk twisting his lips. Finally he set it down and moved over to the computer, turning it on. "You know, Spengs," he said gently, shifting slightly away from the keyboard, "she's a great lady. I really want to get to know her."

"Then do so. You know how to get a hold of her."

"Yeah." He paused and gazed at the active screen. "She's a supernatural spy, Egon."

"She never hid it from you at least."

"True." He turned back to look at his best friend. "Do you like her?"

Egon chuckled. "Are you looking for my approval? That would be a first."

Peter smiled back. "No, not that. I just want to know what you really think."

"I think she's very special, and she's someone who can relate to you in a way the rest of us can't. She has a similar background, schooling-wise, and she can completely understand what you do for a living and why it's so important to you."

"You guys do that, too. Why is she different?"

"She's on the outside looking in, and can still understand. You've told me numerous times that sometimes it takes multiple viewpoints to make a whole picture. Maybe you need that from her, and can provide it in return. With our clearance, she can tell you some things she could never tell a regular civilian, things that her teammates may not understand her reaction to, having gone through it with her. But I think you know all this already, Peter. Why are you having me repeat it?"

"I guess I wanted to make sure it wasn't just my hormones talking. But I think, more than anything, I want to be her friend. She tried so hard to help me out while we were being held captive, not to mention sticking with me when she knew I was possessed. I want to return the favor. Even after everything she went through, you know what she told me in that letter? If there's ever anything I want a second opinion about after talking it over with you guys, I can go to her. If I just need that outside viewpoint, she's willing to give it."

"That's the kind of person she is," Egon replied gently in response to Peter's bewildered tone. "Maybe you should let her see the kind of person you are, if you truly want to be her friend." He picked up the box with Sabrina's present inside and took a few steps toward the door. "I'll meet you in the kitchen after you finish writing Sabrina," he said with a knowing smile.

Peter returned the expression. "You would know. Hey, Egon," he called as the blond reached the open double doors. Egon stopped and faced him. "Thanks for being there for me. I really do appreciate all of you and what you do for me."

"It's nothing less than you do for us, Peter. That's what this team is all about. Now hurry before Ray outmaneuvers Winston in the kitchen and we end up with something along the lines of haggis."

"Message received. I won't be long, promise." Peter watched Egon leave, shutting the doors behind himself, then turned back to the computer, making his way quickly to the email program. He punched the right buttons to send a new message, typed in the address Sabrina had given him in his letter, and began to follow Egon's advice.

"Sabrina,

"I don't know when you'll be reading this, since you said you were going back on duty (you're going to have to fill me in on how you people do that quick-fix thing for major injuries - there could be some money in it), but I know it needed to be said. Thank you for your letter - it means a lot to me. But even more important is that I make this offer to you: I'll come to you if you come to me. I know you can't tell me everything, but you can tell me more than most people. And I'm willing to listen. Maybe this way we can get to know each other better, and I think I'd like that.

"Let me know when you get back from wherever you're going and we'll set up our date (if you thought I'd forget you are sadly mistaken). Be sure to have lots of details about anything supernatural you might have run into for the kiddies - but tell them afterward. If you start before we'll never get out of the firehouse. I'm really looking forward to this. Write me as soon as you can.

"Peter

"P.S. By the way, the presents were a big success. If I could only figure out what you got Janine... PV"

He tapped the send button, waited for his confirmation, then shut it all down. Peter then walked over to where he had left his letter from Sabrina, pocketed it, and headed for the stairs to the second floor. He'd taken the first step, now he'd wait and see where it would lead him. He had a feeling he was looking at something pretty special with Sabrina, no matter how it turned out, but inside there was already a deep contentment with what he had - three, four with Janine, of the greatest friends one person could ever hope to have. He smiled as that thought crossed his mind and he hurried down to join the laughter he could hear echoing up the stairs.

The End