After the necessary evil of story-time, Kate had returned to her apartment. It didn't feel quite like 'home' yet, which did trouble her a little. New York had vampires, vampires couldn't enter someone's home, therefore it was vital to her safety that her apartment become 'home' and bar entry to any hungry vampire that might be in the area. With a sigh, she looked at the little pots that were supposed to be growing flowers along the windowsill, and gave them a little misting of water that was mostly tap-water mixed with a couple ounces of Holy Water that she'd picked up at a local Catholic church earlier in the week. She also spiked all the water that she used for her detested house-cleaning with a little Holy Water.
Granted, she didn't know if it would do much to keep away vampires, but it couldn't hurt. Any tiny bonus in the effort of keeping away vampires and demons from her new apartment could only help.
And on that depressing thought, she began looking for that list that she'd been given from Angel and his group of not-quite deranged helpers. After opening two boxes of movies, a box of music that she'd intended to unpack, and her off-season clothing on the thought that she might have left the list in a jacket-pocket, Kate's apartment was looking far less boxy and more lived in. The list was finally located in one of her seldom-used cookbooks, as a bookmark for a lemon-berry meringue pie.
"Now why did I put that in there?" Kate frowned at the cookbook before remembering the engagement part for her cousin. The one that had ended up unfortunately memorable when half the guests wound up staggering drunk after someone spiked the punch. "Now to make copies for everyone…"
Glancing at the clock, Kate winced. "Tomorrow. They should have some sort of copy-machine at the Ghostbusters' old firestation."
Kate dreamed that she had woke up, with her little windowsill seedlings having turned into a jungle that threatened to overwhelm her apartment. She was searching for something to put the plants under control again- some sort of ultimate coffee or perhaps a mocha, which shouldn't have made sense. She finally found her mug of mocha on what looked like an Aztec alter, beside a couple fist-sized beans and a knife made out of dark smoky glass. When she reached for the mug, it slid to the side, dodging her hand. Several more efforts led to a faint chuckling, as someone dressed in some sort of wrapped kilt, yellow, white and green body paint in threatening looking patterns, and shimmering green-yellow feathers stuck into dark hair faded into view, one hand holding her mug.
The man, who refused to give a name, kept grinning at her as she demanded her mug. That was when she realized that instead of being in an overgrown apartment, she was now standing on a tall stone platform on the top of a hill, overlooking a vast jungle. He wouldn't give her back 'the sacred drink' until she agreed that he could have the next vampire. What he intended to do with a vampire and a glass knife was not her concern. All she wanted to do was drink her mocha…
Waking up, Kate still found herself craving a mocha. Thankfully, she was in her apartment, which was not the top of a stone platform on the top of a hill in the middle of a jungle. The little windowsill pots had only the smallest traces of green peeking through the dirt – a far cry from the over-whelming greenery in the dream. There were no painted Aztec men, with or without knives.
"What a strange dream…" Kate shook her head and staggered out of bed to get ready to face the day.
Facing the day included buying a mocha grande on the way to the Ghostbusters' headquarters with the list. Part of her mind still wrestled with the strange dream, wondering what it meant and what had caused it. By the time she arrived, she had made a few decisions. First, she wanted another mocha. Second, it didn't matter what caused the dream, because she was a rational person who didn't run her life on dreams and omens. Third, she would make certain that she kept her little houseplants trimmed and neat. Fourth, she remembered hearing someone claiming that the Aztecs had believed chocolate to be the food of the gods – a sacred drink. And fifth, she really needed to get a hobby that had nothing to do with crime or dead people, with or without bodies.
Reaching the converted firehouse used by the Ghostbusters, Kate glanced at the small sign listing 'hours of ordinary operation' and let herself into the building. Janine was at the desk, carefully painting her nails. She had on a dress with a wild leopard print in brown and bronze, which might explain the bronze polish that she was putting on her nails. Bold choices, and not what Kate considered normal professional wear.
Kate shook her head as she approached the receptionist that she suspected doubled as a keeper for some of the Ghostbusters. "Do they pay you enough to work so many hours?"
"Of course they do, I'm the one that hired the bookkeeper for this business," Janine smirked. "And the only one of them that Louis likes as much as he likes me is Winston."
"I was assuming that there's a copy machine in this crazy place?" Kate pulled out her list.
"Books full of creepy old things for them to look up for themselves?" Janine took the paper, and stood up from behind the desk.
"Most of them about three inches thick, with the others bigger. I suggest seeing if Venkman can learn by osmosis," Kate paused to imagine the scene. "Next time he says something obnoxious, hit him over the head with one of the books."
Janine chuckled, "I'll remember that. Are these going to need translation?"
"They're all in English, but for some of them it's a couple centuries old, and a lot of them are pretty dry. I didn't ask for any titles in other languages," Kate admitted.
"Egon''s probably the best choice for the list. He and Peter are the best at the technical matters, and Winston's great with the practical details. Rays just pretty good all around." Janine sighed, "There are days when I wish I could find someone else to help with the phones and things, but between the job and the guys…"
"You've tried to find other people and can't keep them," Kate interpreted.
"Bingo."
"I admit that I'd never imagined anyone making a living at this. Finding people that can cope can't be that easy," Kate felt uncomfortable at the realization that she wouldn't have been able to cope a few years ago. Or that there were days when she still wasn't certain she could cope.
"This isn't what I expected when I was twenty either," Janine admitted.
For a moment, Kate considered her own plans from being twenty. "Life doesn't always follow our plans. Especially when the weird stuff, like ghosts and vampires, starts to get involved."
"You can say that again," Janine handed the original list back to Kate.
"I'll let you get back to things. For now," Kate paused and considered. What sounded really good to her on such a nice day? "I think I'll have another mocha. Chocolate and coffee sound good right now."
End part 10.