"Woohoo!" Holtzmann hollered as she entered the firehouse dancing around awkwardly. Abby followed her in, lugging their newly filled ghost trap, with Erin close behind.
"That was amazing!" Abby cheered, "Holtz, nice job capturing this one." She held up the trap proudly.
Holtzmann stopped her silly dancing to do an overdramatic bow.
"And Erin," Abby added, "You can really handle that ghost chipper. You tore the second on to shreds!"
Erin smiled, "Thank you. I just feel bad that Patty was standing behind it."
Patty trudged in right on cue. She was covered from head to toe in ooze. She lingered in the doorway for a moment, "I'm going home and taking a shower." She deadpanned, and like that, she left, leaving a trail of gooey green footprints all the way to her car.
"You know," Erin started, "I thought that all of the paranormal activity around the city would've slowed down after we closed the portal and put everything back to normal. These hauntings are starting to become strangely normal…"
"I agree," Abby chimed in, "Holtz and I spent years trying to track down something supernatural. The first noteworthy thing we ever found was at the Aldridge Mansion."
The two sat there for a moment before Holtzmann interrupted. She grabbed the trap from Abby and propped it up on her shoulder, "Maybe that's because not everything's back to normal." Holtz said with an ominous tone. She made a 'mind blown' gesture with the explosion sound effect and all. She spun around and marched upstairs to her lab.
Abby chuckled and shook her head, "Gotta love that mad scientist."
Erin smiled and agreed, but that thought echoed in her mind; what if everything wasn't back to normal?
"I'm going to see if Kevin has any messages for us, or, at least, if he remembered to take any." Abby said.
Erin took off her proton pack and jumpsuit and hung them up on their proper rack near the front door. The sound of bad 80's music floated down from the second floor, which was an indicator that Holtzmann was working. Erin stood there for a moment, contemplating. Usually, she'd head home, considering how late it was, but something weighing on her mind willed her to stay. Erin had forgotten about Holtzmann's living situation until that moment. She couldn't let her friend sleep in her car again; what if something bad were to happen to her? Erin decided to go talk to Holtzmann and figure out what was going on, and besides, it was always intriguing to see what the mad scientist was up to.
As she started up the stairs, the music got louder and she could hear Holtz singing the guitar solo. The engineer was still in her jumpsuit and focused in on a strange metal contraption. She held tweezers in one hand and was leaning in as close as possible, adjusting the delicate wiring. While her upper half was still and concentrated, her lower half, on the other hand, had a mind of its own. Her hips swayed back and forth to the beat of the music in the awkward, jerky fashion that was so indicatively Holtzmann. Erin couldn't help but smile as she took a seat on a stool across from the engineer.
"What are you working on?" Erin asked.
Holtzmann didn't look up from her work, completely fixated on it, "I'm making some slight adjustments to one of my latest inventions." She held out her spare hand, "Soldering gun, please."
Erin glanced around and saw it laying in a messy toolbox to her left. She placed it in Holtz's hand, and she continued working.
"And what exactly would this new invention of yours be?" Erin pressed on.
"It's a surprise," Holtz smirked, "Needle nose pliers, please." She put down the soldering gun and held out her hand again, still, not looking up from behind her yellow lenses.
Erin returned to the toolbox, fished out the tool, and handed it over.
"Thanks. So, did you need something?" Holtz asked.
Erin shook her head, "Not exactly. I just wanted to see what you're up to; how you're doing."
"Hmm…" the engineer hummed.
"Hmm?" Erin hummed back with a questioning tone.
"I'm just a little surprised, Gilbert. I mean, you're usually barking up Kevin's tree right about now…"
Erin shrugged, "Well right now I'm barking up you're tree tonight. What's new in Holtzmann's world?"
A mischievous smirk spread across her face, "Well, I cut my arm on a sharp piece of metal yesterday… Oh, and there's this itchy, swollen rash I've got on my-"
Erin shook her hands frantically, "Whoa whoa, too much information!"
She just shrugged, "You're the one that asked, Dr. Gilbert. Snack, please." Holtz turned her head slightly to the side and opened up her mouth, her eyes still glued to her project.
Erin was puzzled, but then quickly realized what she wanted when she noticed a Pringles can in the toolbox. She rolled her eyes and popped off the top of the nearly empty can. She grabbed one and put it up to the blonde's mouth. Holtz finally looked up from her work and made direct eye contact as she grabbed the chip from Erin's hand with her teeth, a grin, and a wink. Erin could feel her face get hot and a flutter in her chest, although, she wasn't necessarily sure why. She quickly broke eye contact and tried to look at anything except Holtzmann's mouth. Luckily, Abby came up the stairs just in time to save Erin from her embarrassment.
"Hey guys." She greeted as she reached the top of the stairs.
Holtz munched on her chip and gave a two-fingered salute while Erin waved.
"So," Abby started, "wild investigation today, right?"
"Oh yeah, pretty wild." Erin agreed, her heart rate falling back into sync.
"Well, get ready for another wild one tomorrow. We got an email from this factory. They said that some employees have reported seeing a ghost during the graveyard shift, ironic, I know, and it's been tampering with their machinery. So it looks like we're in for another late one tomorrow. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to head home and get plenty of shuteye for this one. Kevin already went home, so make sure you lock up when you leave."
"Will do." Holtz assured.
Erin and Holtzmann both told Abby good night as she made her way back down the stairs and out of the building.
Now it was just the physicist and the engineer alone in the firehouse. Holtz was bopping around her lab, checking the readings on various contraptions and marking them down. Erin wasn't looking forward to pulling an all-nighter tomorrow night, but she had no doubts she'd be able to do it. You don't become a particle physicist and professor at Colombia University by going to bed at a reasonable time. In her college days, all-nighters were commonplace.
Still, though, Erin had yet to bring up Holtzmann's current living situation, and it was getting awfully late. She decided to just cut to the chase, "Hey, Holtz?"
The engineer stopped writing mid sentence and looked up inquisitively, "Yes?"
"So, you know when I came to wake you up this morning, and you were sleeping in your car?" She continued, fiddling with a lone spring on the table in front of her.
"…Yes." Holtz hesitated.
"I..." This was harder to talk about than she had initially imagined, but she needed to say it, "I know that you didn't lock yourself out."
It took a long while for Holtz to answer. She just pretended to scribble something of importance on her clipboard, "What do you mean?"
"Holtzmann, I know you got evicted. I saw the paper on your door this morning."
Holtz was silent for a moment before she brushed it off, "Well, it was bound to happen eventually, right? Truthfully, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner."
Erin nodded. It was bound to happen, "So, what's your plan now? Do you have anywhere to stay?"
Holtz shrugged, "My car."
"You can't stay in your car," Erin argued, "It's not… you deserve a bed, at least."
"Eh, it's comfortable enough," She went back to examining the scientific equipment.
"But it's not safe." Erin countered, "It's inhumane."
Holtzmann was jotting down numbers, avoiding Erin's gaze, "It's alright; I switched out the windows for bulletproof glass ages ago. Also, it takes cassettes and has-"
"Jillian." Erin interrupted in a calm yet firm voice.
Holtzmann perked up immediately at the sound of her first name. She was only used to hearing it when she was in trouble, and this instance was no exception. Erin hadn't called her Jillian since they became good friends. The radio was still playing, but the room became quiet and tense.
"You can't stay in your car." Erin continued, "I-I can't let you."
Holtzmann sat her clipboard down and moved to the seat across from Erin, "Well then what do you propose, Dr. Gilbert? I already tried getting an apartment at several other buildings, but they've all contacted my previous landlord, and let's just say I'm not exactly a five star restaurant." She removed her yellow tinted glasses. The action was common, but, in this conversation, added a layer of seriousness to Holtzmann's silly persona, "I have no where to go."
Erin didn't even really think, she just spoke, "You can stay with me."
"I don't want to be a burden-"
"You won't." She assured.
Holtz shook her head, "No, really, it's ok, Gilbert. I'm not good company."
Erin placed her hand out on the table between them, "Jillian Holtzmann, you are my friend, and all of the Ghostbusters are my family. I'd do anything for you guys, and you staying at my place for a little while is anything but a burden. It doesn't have to be forever, just until you find a place to stay. Just say yes." She urged.
There was a moment of silence before Holtzmann let out a sigh, "Alright."
Erin was overjoyed, "Yes! Trust me, this is going to be much better than your car."
"Hmm, I don't know, Gilbert," Holtz smirked, "that car is pretty damn comfy."