There was darkness. Gabby could never recall the dreams that she had. They must not have been very memorable. But what she did recall was that there was darkness behind her closed eyes before her restlessness made them open. When she had gone to sleep hours ago, she was on her side. She didn't know how she ended up on her back or why she was fidgeting.

And then her eyes opened. Perched on her stomach was a dark being with resting wings and rounded ram's horns. Its bright red eyes looking towards hers were evil lanterns. Its talon-like hands gripped into her chest. She didn't know what it wanted. All it did while looking at her was lick its chops. She could move her fingers and toes but the rest of her body was frozen to the bed and she was pretty sure that it wasn't just fear doing this. Every time she breathed, it caused pain in her chest.

The creature stopped gripping her body so strongly and at this point, she had a voice again.

"Why are you here?" she asked the demon, "What do you want?"

Of course, the demon wasn't going to answer those questions. It licked its chops again and hissed before disappearing into dark mist. Once it was gone, Gabby could move her body like normal. She checked her digital clock: 3:05 AM. She was frightened but at the same time, tired. Her house never had any dark presence before this moment. She had to devise some sort of spell or magic-infused substance to keep these creatures away. The moon was waning at this time, so she could easily make magic-infused moon water that could banish whatever it was she wanted banished. She wasn't going to do it now, though. She had at least a few days.

When she woke up the next morning, Gabby was sleeping on her side again, just like when she fell back to sleep. There was no demon. There was no suffocation or dark mist. There was only morning light and the sound of traffic outside. She was relieved but still concerned. What had been happening to her dad was now happening to others of the household. She had to take this seriously. Everyone at her job had to take this seriously once she told them.

But the news of that day wasn't all bad. Once she arrived at work, Egon greeted her with the news that Casey Adam Spengler had made his way into the world at 11:51 PM last night. Mother and baby were doing just fine. As with any birth announcement, Gabby was delighted to hear this.

"Congratulations, Papa Egon!" she said as she turned on the personal computer.

"Thanks, but I'm not your Papa," said Egon.

"Well, you are a papa, though."

"Yes. Yes, I am." He took a sip of his coffee from a mug that said "Paranormal: Because normal is overrated." "Now if you don't mind, I'm off to do some important reading."

Funny, thought Gabby. It seemed like he was trying to avoid this subject.

The morning had its fair number of calls but things eventually slowed down. During the slow parts of the day, Gabby continued to draw sigils. She had forgotten the intention of each one but that was the point. At certain points, she crumpled them up and threw them into Slimer's mouth. He was such a weird ghost. How did ghosts eat if they were supposed to be non-physical? That was a question that she could ask Egon on some other occasion.

At the end of the day, she went through the usual procedures of neatening up the desk and turning off the computer.

Peter came through carrying a six-pack of beer in each hand.

"Hey, Gabby!" he said.

Gabby looked up from her desk. "What?"

"We're having a little celebration for Egon upstairs. You want to join us?"

She couldn't believe it. She was being included in something? Was it normal for coworkers who weren't related to you to do this? "Sure. I just have to call my parents and let them know that I won't be home until later. They tend to get concerned about things like this."

"No problemo. Join us upstairs once you're ready."

Eventually, Gabby joined the other ghostbusters in the rumpus room, where the two six-packs of beer were sitting on the table along with bowls of snacks. The guys each grabbed a beer and so did Gabby since she didn't want to feel left out.

"Let's make a toast to Egon!" said Peter. Everyone touched the tops of their beer bottles together in celebration. "To fatherhood! Because sometimes, life just needs to be a little bit more interesting."

Gabby took a sip of her beer. She never much cared for the bitter taste of this beverage. She didn't have much experience with drinking beer since, once she took her lips off the beverage, it started foaming upward and down the side of the bottle.

"Oh!" she said.

"Don't worry about it," said Winston.

Gabby looked at Egon, who was sitting in the same chair that she sat in during her interview. Somehow, he was the least enthusiastic of the bunch. Or was he just happy on the inside? The quest to figure out Egon continued.

"I took a good look at the baby when I dropped Janine and her mother off at her apartment this morning," said Ray, "I don't think we need to worry about him being the pizza delivery guy's kid!"

"Or the mayor's," said Egon.

"I love how his name is a baseball reference," said Winston, "You know that poem, 'Casey at the Bat'?"

"His name makes you think of baseball. But it makes me think of bacteria."

Everyone stopped and stared at Egon as if he had suddenly started growing feathers.

"Would you care to elaborate, E?" asked Peter.

"Certainly," said Egon, "Lactobacillus casei, or L. casei in its diminutive form, is just one strain of lactic acid bacteria that inhabits the human digestive tract. It contributes to digestive processes and is believed to play a roll in correcting ailments such as Crohn's Disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It may have other beneficial purposes but science has not concluded this yet. L. casei is a Gram-positive, nonmotile, nonspore-forming and catalase-negative bacterium. It is often found in fermented dairy products such as yogurt and cheese. Other strains of Lactobacillus are found elsewhere, including Janine's breastmilk."

There was silence from the group. They did not expect a scientific lecture and yet they got one.

"Good to hear that fatherhood hasn't changed you too much," said Ray.

"So how did it feel to hold him for the first time?" asked Peter.

"I-" said Egon.

"I know what you're about to say!" interrupted Winston, "I'll bet when you held him for the first time, you looked into his eyes and felt magic in that gaze. You saw a bit of you broken away and starting anew. You saw potential and hope. By looking at his face, you saw a window into tomorrow. You saw a legacy that you wanted to protect and nurture. You realized that like the grass that grows in springtime or the single-celled organisms that decompose a rotting tree, that you, too, are a part of the Cycle of Life that has been happening for millions of years and will happen for millions more."

Once again, everybody was speechless.

"Wow, Winston," said Gabby, "That was beautiful. You have a poetic soul."

"Thanks. It comes in fits and spurts. Anyway, is that what you were about to say, Egon?"

"No," said Egon.

"Then what were you about to say?"

"I was about to say that I was so nervous that I nearly dropped him."

"Oh."

"What else is there to say about him? He doesn't really do anything other than breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide."

"I don't know about you, but you just made the act of living sound a lot more interesting," said Ray.

"I suppose that isn't all he does. He also expresses displeasure. He seems to be really good at doing that."

"Just like Mrs. Kendrick!" said Gabby.

Everyone laughed.

"That is true!" said Ray.

Although Gabby was unsure as to whether Egon was indeed happy, he still deserved some reassurance during this time.

"Egon," she said.

"Yes?" asked Egon.

"I just want you to know that I have two nieces and a nephew and I have been watching them grow up into their own people with their own personalities. Your child isn't doing anything right now, but I guarantee you, he will become much more interesting as he gets older and he will have much more to offer."

Egon smiled a little bit. "Let's hope you're correct."

"And let's hope that at least a few years passes before he starts disappointing you," said Peter.

Egon's smile faded.

"Relax, E. It's just a joke."

Gabby begrudgingly took another sip of her alcoholic beverage. Now was not the time to tell the guys about the dark presence in her house, not when there was celebrating to be had. She should probably tell them tomorrow. Rather, she should tell them without giving away too much about what she did when everybody was asleep.