Authors note: This story timeline is based around 1991. I'm trying to keep things used in this story based on that timeline, but after 20+ years it's hard to remember what was and wasn't around at that time; so bear with me. I don't own any of the characters, I'm just borrowing them...

Warning...business is starting to pick up and the gratuitous sexual overtones are starting to run rampant in this chapter.

Perchance to Dream

Peter tumbled through the air until he belly-flopped with a thud onto the hard packed earth. It took him a few minutes for him to catch his breath enough for him to push himself up into a sitting position.

He stood up and surveyed his surroundings. The walls were made of stone, and there was no visible exit anywhere; although since there was very little light down here it was hard to see much of anything. Must have fallen through a hole somewhere, but where was I before I ended up here?

He couldn't remember how he came to be here. He tried recalling what he had been doing just before he found himself in this place, but his mind was drawing a blank.

"Ray! Winston! EGON!" He waited but heard no reply. "Anybody?" Silence was his only reply. "Echo!"

"Are you EVER serious?" came a voice from behind him.

He turned quickly and from the shadows a figure slowly emerged. The thrower was resting casually against her left shoulder, the tip disappearing under a lock of red hair. The scowl on her face was unmistakably familiar as she rested her free hand on her hip and glared at him.

"Janine? What are you doing here."

"I should be asking YOU that question; and trust me pal, this ain't no pleasure trip." She brushed past him and ran a hand along the wall behind him. "How the hell am I gonna get outta here."

"Don't you mean how are WE gonna get out of here."

She threw a look of disdain at him over her shoulder. "No."

"Oh, I see. You're still pissed at me."

"Pissed at you?" She returned the thrower to her pack and looked straight up into the dim circle of light that was the only illumination in this place. "Frankly Peter, I couldn't give a flying fuck. I just want to get the hell outta here."

"Where are we, anyway?"

She finally turned to stare at him dead on. "You mean you don't know?"

"No."

"Great!" She threw her hands up into the air. "That's just great. Listen asshole, you got us into this mess and you had better damn well figure out a way to get us OUT!"

"I didn't get us into anything!"

"Oh yeah! And I suppose the next thing thing you'll tell me is that LaGuardia is now offering daily pig service to Schenectady!"

"Pig service to...oh I get it a flying pig joke. Ha ha."

Janine walked forward and grabbed the front of his uniform with both hands. "This isn't a joke Peter! I want out of here. RIGHT NOW!" She emphasized the last two words by giving him two quick shakes.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands off his uniform. "Get your grubby mitts off me you harpy. I don't know what you're so pissed off about, but I had nothing to do with it!"

"You still haven't figured it out yet, have you, chuckle hut?"

"What, the fact that your a clinically insane gnome?" He dropped her hands and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah I came to that conclusion a long time ago."

"I have HAD IT with all of your damn insults!"

"And what pray tell are you going to do about it?"

He saw her right hand pull back, but this time he was quicker. As it came flying towards his face he grabbed her wrist with his left hand. He placed his right hand on the back of her head and stepping forward, planted his lips on her mouth.

This ought to piss her off real good!

He thought to himself, and it'll get her back for the last time she smacked me in the kisser. But Janine wasn't trying to pull away, in fact her left hand was sliding around to his back; trying to pull him closer.

What the hell is this? She should be trying to push me off!

But further thought was cut off as he felt Janine open her mouth and run her tongue along his bottom lip. He dropped her right wrist and grabbed her hip. Pulling her into him, he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss with a slight whimper.

He felt her hands slide in between them and fumble for a moment. Now what's she doing? He wondered as she removed her hands and her torso slightly shimmied from side to side. He finally figured out what had happened when he heard the clink of her pack hitting the ground beside them.

He backed her up into the wall, pressing his body into her and bracing his hands on the stone behind her. She snaked her hands around him and grabbed his ass, driving him further into her while pressing his erection into her hip.

"Janine," he moaned, taking his lips from hers and kissing her on her neck. Starting just below her jaw, he slowly worked his way down.

"Peter," she let out a gasp and ran her hands up his back as he brought his right hand forward to slowly slide the zipper of her pink flight suit down. "Oh God Peter, I want you! I want you so bad!" She cried out as he gently rubbed his hand against the front of her now wet panties.

He was sucking on her neck now as he inserted his hand into her soaking underwear. He slid a finger into her, followed quickly by another and she let out another gasp and she started to grind in time with his machinations.

"Peter, oh God Peter!" She gasped, "Peter, I want you! I want you to...want you to...wake up, Peter! Ooohh...wake up Peter! PETER! WAKE UP!"

He woke up with a start and found himself staring into brown eyes instead of green. "Whhaaa?" He asked groggily.

"Peter, you were dreaming, and what a dream it must have been!" Karen said; gesturing to his erection. "Maybe I can help you out with that." She slid down his side and ran her tongue over his tip before taking him into her mouth.

Peter moaned with pleasured from her ministrations, but as he came, there was a part of him that felt a let down that it wasn't a certain red head getting him off. And that thought freaked him out most of all.

Egon stood leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the people frolicking in the water.

"Miss me already?" A voice purred in his ear.

Startled he jumped slightly and turned to see who had spoken to him. Janine was standing there in that yellow and black bikini she had been wearing the day they had gone off to fight Nexus. Her head was cocked to the side and her hands were clasped behind her back. "Janine! What are you doing here?"

"I should ask YOU that question. Someone report a ghost on the beach?"

Egon looked down at himself and realized he was in his uniform, as he started to look up he realized that as covered up as he was, Janine was NOT. In fact the bikini she was wearing left little to the imagination. He felt his cheeks flush and he cleared his throat before answering. "Ah...I'm not sure, but since I'm wearing my uniform there seems to be a high probability that I'm here on a work related case. Where exactly IS here by the way."

She raised her eyebrows. "You mean you don't know where you are? You feeling ok?" She stepped forward and placed a hand on his forehead and then slowly slid it down to his cheek. "Well you face DOES feel kind of flushed."

The close proximity of Janine, mixed with the fact that she was only covered in the bare minimum of material was making his heart pound, which had also lead to his flushed face. "No, no! I'm fine! I'm just not exactly sure how I came to be here. Wherever here is."

Janine took a step back but watched his face carefully. "You're on Waikiki Beach, Egon."

"Oh", he turned to his left and saw Diamond Head rising in the distance. "So I am. Er. What are you doing here, Janine?"

She narrowed her eyes and spoke very slowly. "I'm on vacation here Egon. Remember, I went to Hawaii and you went to Florida." A frown came across her face as she stepped towards him again. "Egon are you sure you're ok? I think I should take you to a hospital to get checked out."

He grasped her by her shoulders. "No Janine, I'm fine! Really!" His hands slid down her arms to her hands and he grasped them. Holding them in front of him he stared at her perfectly manicured nails and realized how small her hands looked in his. "I think I'm supposed to tell you something." He said quietly, turning her hands over to inspect her palms.

She flipped her hands back over and latched onto his forearms, gently pulling him forward two steps. He was so close to her now he could smell the faint scent of her shampoo on her hair. "What is it? What do you want to tell me?"

"HEY NINI!" A voice shouted as a group of people holding surf boards ran by. "Come out and play!"

Janine's face lit up as she looked into Egon's eyes. "Hey! Wait until you see this!" She released his arms and picked a board up off the sand. She ran towards the water, wading in until she was thigh deep and then she threw the board down into the water next to her.

Egon raced after her. "Janine wait!" He stopped at the edge of the water as a wave gently rolled in and splashed against the tips of his boots.

She turned back with a huge grin on her face. "You'll never believe it! Just watch me!" She jumped on the board and started paddling to catch up with the rest of the people who were already out ahead of her.

"Janine, come back! I haven't told you what I need to say!" but she kept paddling, never turning to look back at him. She was getting further and further away, now. That's way too far out! He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled to her as loudly as he could. "JANINE, COME BACK. YOU'RE GOING TOO FAR!"

A wave was rolling towards her. Her board crested the top of the wave and came down the backside, the wave blocking her from Egon's line of sight. He waited until it had moved far enough so that he could see the water where Janine should be, but she had disappeared. He ran into the water, not caring that he was getting soaked. He scanned the horizon looking for her flaming red hair against the azure blue of the water but he didn't see it.

He whipped around to look back at the beach, hoping a lifeguard was nearby, but the beach was empty. All the people that had been there just a few short moments ago were gone. He looked back out to the water. It was deserted as well! All the surfers and paddle boarders; the children drifting in the currents under their parent's watchful eye. The White sails of the windsurfers mixed with the striped sails of the catamarans...all GONE!

He was alone...utterly alone! And Janine...He had never got the chance to tell her what he had to say to her!

Egon woke up in a cold sweat. He realized quickly that he had been having a nightmare, but it still didn't make him feel better. In fact...

Egon jumped out of the bed and dashed for his cell phone. He entered in Janine's number but stopped himself before he hit the send button. He checked the clock on the nightstand and did a quick calculation.

It was 4 am here, meaning it was 11 pm on Oahu. Not that late, but late enough that to call her because he'd had a nightmare would seem a little ridiculous. He walked over to the desk and as he sat in the chair he placed his phone on the desk.

This was the second dream he'd had about her in as many days. Over the years he'd had dreams about her off and on, but none as vivid as these. In fact that last one had bothered him more than he cared to admit; even to himself.

Deep down he knew what the dream was saying to him. That it was his subconscious prodding him into action. But what he wasn't sure of was, if the dream meant that he was about to loose it all, or if he was already too late.

Ray woke up to a pounding on his door. "Dr. Stanz! Dr. Stanz wake up! There's an emergency!He jumped out of bed and dashed to the door. When he opened it he saw the anxious visage of the owner of the bed and breakfast. She was clutching her robe around her and kept shooting furtive glances down the hallway.

"What's wrong Mrs. O'Toole?"

"Oh Dr. Stanz there's a ghost here! I went down to make myself a cup of tea and this...this...THING was tearing apart my kitchen!"

Ray shot a quick glance into his room. No Slimer. Ray's stomach sunk, a ghost in the kitchen could only mean one thing.

"Oh. help me Dr. Stanz! You've got to get rid of that thing! Please."

"Well I didn't bring any of my equipment with me Mrs. O'Toole, but I'll go down to the kitchen and see what I can do. You just go to your room and lock the door, I'll let you know when it's safe for you to come out."

"Oh thank you. THANK YOU!" She replied over her shoulder as she dashed quickly up the corridor and disappeared. Ray didn't move until he heard her door shut and the lock click behind her. Then he turned and stalked off to the kitchen.

He slowly opened the swinging door of the kitchen and stuck his head in. Over by the refrigerator was a green glob devouring a whole chicken.

"SLIMER!"

"AAAHHHHH" yelled the blob, dropping a drumstick on the floor and flying across the room, smashing into the hanging pots on the pot rack.

"BAD SLIMER! Look what you've done to this kitchen! I told you to lay low!"

Slimer looked abashed. "I sowwy Way."

"Do you have any idea the kind of trouble I'm in for now?" Ray frowned, "I should just put you in a trap right now until the end of vacation!"

The ghost cried out and flew across the room to grab onto Ray's calf. "Pwease Way, I sowwy! Pwease!"

With a sigh Ray relented. "Alright Slimer, just go upstairs and STAY IN THE ROOM THIS TIME! If you leave it again Slimer I WILL trap you until I leave."

The ghostly blob let go of Ray's leg and floated up to eye level. He made a cross his heart gesture across his chest and flew up through the ceiling.

"NO SLIMER ! Not..." Ray was interrupted by the scream of the innkeeper as Slimer suddenly appeared through the floor of her room. To his consternation he heard furniture crash and the bedroom door open and close; followed by the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs and out the front door.

"...that way." Ray finished softly to himself with a roll of his eyes. He quickly surveyed the damage his companion had done to the kitchen. He sighed and rolled up his sleeves to start cleaning up the mess.

Janine walked down the dark narrow hallway. It was so dark she had to walk with her hands brushing against the walls on either side of her so that she could find her way. There was a light towards the end of the hall and she started toward it.

When she got to the end she found herself in a large room with only a spotlight. The spotlight was fixed in the middle of a staircase, which as far as she could see was the only thing this room contained.

At the top of the stairs she could barely make out a female form. "Where am I?" she asked.

"You ask the wrong question," the figure purred. "The real question you should ask is WHAT am I."

"What do you mean?"

"Take a look..." A mirror appeared at the foot of the staircase, and another spotlight highlighted it. As Janine stepped up to it she gasped. The reflection wasn't what she currently looked like, but what she used to look like. Shorter stature, shorter hair; that clunky jewelry and those blue eyes.

She took a step back from the mirror and stared up at the figure, still hiding in the shadows. "What is this?" She pointed at the mirror. "I don't look like this anymore!"

"No you don't, but it's not about what you looked like, it's about who you WERE."

"I don't understand."

"You were independent, you were self-assured. You knew what you wanted for yourself and you knew how to get it. You didn't let people walk all over back then."

"I'm still all those things! And no one walks all over me."

"Oh please!" The figure laughed and descended a step. Janine could make out the ruffles of a full skirt. The fabric was red with gold flowers on it. "That encounter with the lotsabucks didn't just change you physically, it changed you mentally as well. You simper and whimper instead of growl and snarl. You take whatever scraps a man throws at you instead of making him give you what you need. You used to be in charge of your life, now all you do is react to the consequences."

"That is NOT true!"

"Oh but it is true," the voice which dropped an octave lower, purred again. It descended another step. The spotlight fixed on the stairs illuminating it only up to mid-torso. The dress hugged the curves of the womans body. "You lost sight of everything by fixating on ONE thing. By doing that, you lost who you were."

Janine opened her mouth to protest again but stopped. It was true in a sense. She used to be brash and bold. If something had bothered her she used to pipe up. If a guy didn't make a move on her she took the bull by the horns and made the move on him, but now...

Now she sat and waited...and waited. She suffered in silence, instead of vocalizing her needs or wants. When did this happen? When did I become so weak?

"The question now is, what are you going to do about it?" The female took another step closer. The dress was one shouldered, and it showed off a graceful long neck and a creamy shoulder, only the face was still in the shadows now.

The old Janine in the mirror replied. "Ya could nut up and show a little back bone." Janine turned and watched her former self climb out from the floor length frame and approach her. "I'm still in there somewhere cupcake," she said tapping the Janine of now on the chest. "Dontcha think it's finally time to let the tiger outta the cage?"

"How?"

"Whatta ya mean HOW?" The old Janine drew back and crossed her arms over her chest. "You've already started, now ya just need to follow through. Get ya thumb out of ya ass and get ya life back."

The new Janine started to speak but the old Janine waved her hand. "No, just shut up and listen. Look, you need to worry about YOU! Not mom or dad, or Doris. Not Winston or Ray or Peter and especially not HIM. Be selfish dammit! No one else is stopping their life on account of you! You see something ya want then take it! I mean look at ya! You got the looks now honey, and I got the attitude. You put me back in with you and we'll both get what we deserve.

"And how am I supposed to 'put you back in me' as you put it?"

"You know that voice that's been pushing you all these weeks?" The old Janine winked. "The one that's been back sassing Dr. V...Just listen to it more often, huh? We'll both be better off." She started walking backwards towards the mirror. As she climbed back into the frame she said, "just remember baby; Tiger!" She formed both hands into claws and said "Rowr;" before dissolving completely. The glass shimmered once and Janine was left staring at herself in her current form.

Janine turned to the figure that was still standing on the stairs. "Who are you, anyway?"

The female laughed and took another step closer, the light finally revealing the face. Janine gasped at what stood in the pool of light. There was the shoulder length red hair, only now it had blond highlights through it. Gone were the glasses, leaving the emerald eyes to be the focal point of the face.

But the biggest change was what was IN those eyes, and the way she held herself. There was shrewdness to them, and the way she held herself...it screamed on sexy confidence. This was the type of woman that would snap her fingers and get what she wanted.

"I'm you, or rather I'm who you COULD be. You just have to want it."

Janine came awake with a jerk and lay there staring at the ceiling. The face she had just seen in her dream still clear in her mind. "I'm you. You just have to want it," it had said. "I want it," Janine said aloud. "I want it more than anything!"