Chapter 1 "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Third week in October, the Monday evening of Janine's premonition)

Song Suggestion: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

Peter

After Janine's premonition and subsequent illness, Egon drove her home in Ecto-One. Meanwhile, Ray and Lucy went to see the new Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, Terminator, with Winston and Maura, leaving me home alone because I didn't want to see it. Instead, I covered the phone for Janine while scheming for another way to see the gorgeous Dana Barrett.

"How can I convince Dana to go out with me," I thought out loud, throwing a baseball upwards in the air with one arm and catching it with a glove in the other.

I removed the glove from my hand and threw it over to my desk, and there was a small noise as it landed.

" First, I discover when she practices with her orchestra, then meet her afterward to tell her about Gozer," I eagerly exclaimed as a smile spread across my lips, having my own private eureka moment, "and then I will ask her out for Thursda evening."

Jumping out of Janine's seat, I shouted, "Yes!" The single word echoed countless times in the empty building. Chuckling, I sat down then retrieved the yellow pages to look up the orchestra's number.

"Tomorrow at nine bye-bye now," I ebulliently replied, hanging up the phone afterward.

"Ms. Dana Barrett, you are about to be astounded tomorrow at eleven-thirty," I declared, feeling thrilled with my small victory in the pursuit of the beautiful woman. I logged into Janine's computer and printed out our schedule for the morning since I told her to take off until one in the afternoon to recover from the vision and working so many hours.

"Ok, one category three at eight, and at ten, a category four. The guys can drop me off after the second one, then I turn on that famous Venkman charm," I stated, grinning.

"I think I am in love with her," I thought as the garage door opened to my surprise.

When Dr. Egon Spengler pulled Ecto One into the firehouse, he came back with the unmistakable "I'm in love with Janine" grin on his long face. He also seemed more dazed than usual. As Iggy exited the vehicle, he said with extreme urgency to me, "Venkman, come on, I need your help."

I gave my close friend a deer in the headlights look as he stood in front of me and I exclaimed, "What!?"

Egon gave me a severe look and repeated his request in irritation. Quickly, I turned on the answering machine for the business, and we strode to the subway station because parking was a huge mess in New York City. While we did, I waited patiently for my friend to explain, but he didn't. Spengler's expression was blank, so I couldn't make any assumptions about what had happened. I didn't know exactly where we were going until we took the exit for Rockefeller Center.

"Iggy," I called as we walked off the subway car as I almost lost him in a sea of people as he determinedly moved forward. After throwing some elbows out, I finally caught up with him and grabbed his arm. Absent-mindedly, he turned around, appearing surprised that I was there.

"What's happened," I inquired.

Egon motioned ahead of me as I strolled with him side by side, annoyed.

" A realization came to me as I waited for Janine to fall asleep after her premonition- I want to take care of her for the rest of my life." he answered, matter of factly, as if he was giving me a straight-forward response to a complex physics problem.

As we strode out of the subway station, we dodged people left and right as we climbed the stairs. Spengs managed quickly to move ahead of me, so I had to jog to catch up, then I stated, scratching my head, "Igg, I don't get it."

"I am going to propose to Janine on her birthday,'' Egon announced with total sincerity, halting in the middle of the sidewalk to the annoyance of the people behind us.

Flabbergasted, I peered into his medium brown eyes with a quizzical expression.

"I am not sure that is a good idea. Did you reconcile already," I inquired slowly.

"No, but I have to ask her on Wednesday," Egon exasperatedly replied.

"Spengs, I don't understand."

"Venkman," he earnestly replied with his brown eyes widened as far as they would go, " I have never been so clear about anything in my life: I am supposed to marry Janine, love, and take care of her for the rest of my life. Everything else is secondary."

"OK, but is this a good idea? You haven't won her over yet," I questioned, knowing that Janine would say yes to his proposal but that she would be rightfully wary. I didn't think that Egon was jumping the gun because I knew that he loved Janine. However, it seemed silly to propose when she wasn't dating him.

"Just trust me, Peter; I know what I am doing," he reassured me with a cunning smile and indicated that we venture into the Jewelry District by a nod of his head to the left. The night air was crisp, and I was happy that I brought a light jacket. Although it was about nine in the evening, there were people everywhere like it was noon, but that was New York City for you.

" Spengs, it's not a bad idea. I just think you should wait a little while until you two start dating again," I elucidated, clarifying my position.

Opening the door, my tall friend curtly nodded in acknowledgment of my comment and stepped inside. There was an enormous display case of diamond rings in a "U" shape on the store's perimeter, but all I could see were dollar signs instead of rings. We started on the left side when an older, well-dressed woman with graying blonde hair greeted us with an amiable grin. "Can I help you find something?"

"Just looking, thank you," my wavy hair friend politely responded with his head down as he scrutinized the diamonds from above.

"Of course, he would look at this scientifically," I thought, snickering a little.

"Peter, as you know, I don't believe one's psychic abilities because of my scientific training," Egon began but ceased as he curiously glanced in the first display case. He didn't like the first few rings as a scowl appeared on his face.

"Yes," I said impatiently, tapping my fingers on the display glass over and over.

"When I saw Janine unconscious earlier today, I almost lost it. I was so distraught that she wouldn't wake up," Egon stated with emotion in his strong voice. with firm decisiveness in his husky voice.

"This year has taught me that all the other stuff in life, like the Nobel and the business even, ultimately, don't matter. Love matters, and my love for Janine is fierce. I have concluded that I'd give up anything for her to be mine, even working as a Ghostbuster if I had to, and I love my job. I want to be with Janine."

Clearing his throat, Egon continued, " When she was recuperating, I realized I have to marry Janine, especially if this premonition comes true. She's my soulmate, Peter."

To my shock, tears emerged in his eyes when they met my own, and he seemed helpless. It was a rare occurrence from him, causing me to feel sympathy towards my close friend.

"Ok, Iggy, I will help you find a ring, but it may take more than just tonight, though. This is a significant purchase, but I am proud of you," I softly stated and put my right hand on his shoulder for a second. I admired my friend's progress in admitting his feelings to other people as he had remarkably improved from a year ago. Egon thanked me quietly and then persisted in examining the rings in the following display.

"Do you know what kind of ring that you want to buy her?"

"No, but I will know it when I see it," Egon confessed, twisted his head to view me, " it has to be a perfect representation of all that is Janine. I may need your help getting her ring size specifically. Tonight, I will be researching diamond rings."

"No worries there, I have a way with Janine; I'll get the information for you," I promised with a sneaky grin.

"Please don't piss her off, Peter, or alert her to what is going on," Egon requested, moving down the display case but giving me a cautionary glance first with his eyebrows furrowed downward.

Agreeing, I pointed at a pretty diamond ring in a princess cut with rubies on each side, "Look at that- it's kinda like Janine-incandescent and fiery."

"Ehhh," Iggy uttered, unimpressed, and moved on after a glance.

As we scoured as many of the multiple jewelry shops for the ideal ring for Janine until they closed, Egon discovered that it might take longer than he expected. Next, we paused by a hot dog stand for a snack before hopping on the subway back home, and the physicist seemed overburdened by the hunt for the perfect engagement ring.

"Don't worry, Egon. You will find the right one," I encouraged him as we sat on the train across from a man who was playing the saxophone.

"There are so many choices," my friend groaned, rubbing his hands on his face, "I had no idea."

"Weren't Janegon discussing marriage before the accident? Didn't you two go shopping for rings," I inquired, jesting with him by using my nickname for them.

"Yes, we commenced a preliminary discussion, but we didn't finish it due to my atrocious decision to break up with her," Egon revealed, after rolling his eyes upward at my mention of their nickname.

"So, in other words, you didn't start ring shopping?"

"No," he stated emphatically, shaking his head back and forth.

We rose from our seats to exit the train at our stop, and I removed a dollar from my wallet to put in the saxophone player's instrument case. I also complimented his skills, and the musician gave me a cheerful smile as a result.

"Do you think she will say yes when I propose, Venkman," Egon despairingly inquired of me with a fretful expression on his face as we climbed the stairs leading us out of the subway station near the Firehouse. The stars twinkled in the dark sky, and I felt slightly mesmerized by them as I craned my neck upwards.

"Without a doubt, but I still think you should hold off until you date again," I responded immediately.

"You are correct, I think, Peter. First, I will win her back on her birthday and then wait a couple of months to propose. I know we are destined to be together now," Egon disclosed after a while, with a shrug of his broad shoulders, " Why did I fight it for so long is beyond me?"

"You are as stubborn as Janine is, Egon," I remarked with a slight smirk on my lips, and he simply agreed, "yes, I know."

"What are your plans for Brooklyn on Wednesday?"

Egon's eyes glinted with exhilaration as he detailed his whole scheme, and I was extraordinarily impressed.

" We may make a lover out of you after all. A scientist with a romantic flair," I stated, with a significant smile, pleased at my friend's thinking.

"I'll do anything I have to do to win, my Janine back," my solemn friend remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I concurred, hurriedly, "is everything set up for your surprise?"

"Tomorrow I have to go to Coney Island to win a giant Teddy Bear and then request Wendy's help with my plan without Janine knowing," my tall friend reported.

"Coney Island?"

"Janine and I went there on a date in early April on a picturesque afternoon before she fell in the accident. This teddy bear was a replica of one that she owned as a little girl that Doris destroyed. Janine was so overjoyed to see it that her whole face lit up like a night full of stars! Anyway, I spent almost an hour shooting hoops in a vain attempt to win it for her because she was so passionate about it. However, I did not obtain it," Egon speculated wryly, wrinkling his nose and pushing his glasses up with his forefinger.

"Oh, so that's why you started playing with us! That makes sense now," I declared, making the connection about the reason he wanted to learn the sport suddenly in April. Although Egon wasn't much of an athlete, Janine had convinced him to learn racquetball, and they both enjoyed playing it together.

"Yes, I have a much better chance now, but if I have to, I also will get the name of the manufacturer of the bear to buy one," he admitted sheepishly.

"So chimerical for your girl, Spengs. I love it," I declared enthusiastically.

"I will do anything in my power for Janine, Peter," he affirmed firmly, "anything."

"Janine loves you, Egon; I do not doubt that," I stated, "it will all work out. You two are in the stars. Just like I stated from day one."

The following day, Tuesday.

Dana Barrett

I left Orchestra practice with Andre Wallace, arguing about the guest director from Germany that spoke limited English, and that's when I saw him. Peter Venkman, a good-looking but frivolous scientist in an orange jumpsuit, kicking around near the breathtaking water fountain outside of the building where we rehearsed. He was the psychologist of the Ghostbusters and was personally in charge of finding information about my case. Following the company's bombshell success, I was tremendously captivated by the TV and the media's coverage of the Ghostbusters catching the supernatural in the city. Yet, they hadn't solved my case.

"Why am I shaking," I wondered as I excused myself from Andre for a second, "is it because of him?"

Dr. Peter Venkman was a tall man with thinning brown hair and soft blue eyes who adored women's attention. Something about him sparked my interest, but I couldn't figure it out exactly. It was evident that Peter thought highly about himself and his dateability. Furthermore, at first blush, he seemed like a man who dated until he has sex with the woman and then dumped her. I felt leary about that fact as I had my share of dating that type of man.

After some witty dialogue between the two of us, I finally inquired about information from my case. Despite myself, Peter managed to charm me, although I tried to hide it as much as possible because I didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

"He's one of those guys," I thought, "the love them and leave 'em type. I can't get involved with someone like that again."

Peter insisted that he wanted to give me the information in private, but I forced him to tell it to me now. Eventually, he obliged me a little then asked me out on a date for Thursday.

"Get a hold of yourself, Dana. He is a childish man in his thirties, not my Prince Charming," I scolded myself, but I couldn't help but feel drawn to Peter Venkman. The attraction was there if I wanted to acknowledge it or not.

Despite my protestations, he didn't know that my heart fluttered in excitement, and my hands were sweaty when he asked me to have dinner on Thursday.

And I wasn't going to tell him a thing.