Author's Notes: Hi, readers. This is a birthday present to myself in the form of chapter twelve of "Turnaround." It has some Gary/Callie. It shows Trevor and Phoebe's reunion with their birth father. I am so glad to have finally gotten to this point. It was a while in coming, but it was worth it. Stay tuned for chapter thirteen.

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Chapter 12: Shocking Encounter

Dino bit into his cheeseburger an hour later. He put it down and chewed at a steady pace. He swallowed with a loud gulp. He looked over at Mina, who stirred her spoon in her potato soup. She got a decent amount on it and placed it in her mouth. She chewed quickly before swallowing. She smacked her lips and smiled warmly.

"Good soup, isn't it?" Dino asked with raised eyebrows.

"Definitely," Mina agreed. "Is your cheeseburger—"

"Good? It's the best cheeseburger I've had in a long time," Dino said, grabbing his sprite and taking a long sip. He put it down with a soft sigh. "I would love to come back to this place."

"Me too!" Mina agreed eagerly. "If anything—"

Dino winced when he heard loud laughter. He turned to the booth across from him and Mina as Phoebe tossed a sausage from her four-meat pan pizza toward Gary, who had his mouth wide open. It landed there after hitting her father's upper lip. He chewed it quickly and swallowed with a quiet gulp.

"Nice catch, Gary," Callie complimented and placed her arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks, Callie," Gary responded as he grabbed her hand. "You taught our daughter how to throw well."

"Oh, you better open your mouth again!" Lucky blurted out as Phoebe grabbed another sausage.

"She's about to toss another bomb!" Trevor added.

Ray grabbed a pickle off his burger. "It's now or never!"

Podcast nodded rapidly. "Yeah!"

Gary shrugged and opened his mouth. Phoebe tossed the sausage in which it landed there. The others cheered wildly as he started chewing. Dino emitted an angry growl.

"Could you people quiet down? Some of us want to enjoy our dinner in peace!" Dino shouted while pointing his finger at the group.

"Why don't you back off, buddy? We're just having fun," Ray retorted with a hiss.

"Don't you know it's rude to point?" Lucky added as Gary swallowed.

"It's not as rude as Phoebe tossing food at that wimp's mouth," Dino responded, getting up and going over to the table.

"Gary is not a wimp, jerk!" Podcast hissed defiantly. He clenched his teeth so tightly that it seemed they were about to break. "He is a very brave and nice man."

"He's seen a lot of action lately. He has participated in it too," Lucky added.

"Who are you? How in the hell do you know Phoebe?" Ray demanded.

"Pardon me, old man. My name is Dino Spitz. I am Callie's ex-husband. I am also Trevor and Phoebe's real dad," Dino introduced, turning his nose upward.

"I am Mina Lang," Mina added while standing up. She joined her boyfriend's side with a smirk. "I am Dino's prettier and smarter girlfriend."

Callie, Trevor, and Phoebe gasped shockingly. Ray, Lucky, Podcast, and Gary tensed somewhat. Their hearts beat a little faster. Dino tried not to chuckle, but he couldn't help himself.

"That's right. I am back in the lives of my ex-wife and kids," Dino said with much pride.

"What in the hell brings you and Mina to New York City, Dino?" Callie demanded, anger lining her voice.

Dino glanced at her. "I should be asking you that, Callie."

"I will tell you I am part of the new team of Ghostbusters along with Phoebe, Gary, and Trevor. Phoebe is benched due to her pregnancy. We got new teammates in the form of Oscar, Ronnie, and Jeanette. They are Peter Venkman and Dana Barrett's children," Callie explained swiftly.

"Who in the fuck are the Ghostbusters?" Mina asked confusingly.

"Have you been living under a rock?" Lucky asked incredulously.

Ray crossed his arms. "The Ghostbusters are a professional team of ghost catchers. I was part of the original team along with Peter, Winston Zeddemore, and Egon Spengler. We started in 1984, but we got shut down after being sued for property damage due to Gozer's first defeat. We revived in 1989 as Vigo started his plan to resurrect himself by possessing a child. Oscar was chosen. We stopped Vigo from being reborn. Our business crawled to a standstill. It stopped completely when Egon took off with our equipment and Ecto-1. He died trying to stop Gozer from returning in 2021."

Callie emitted a soft huff. "I knew Egon was my father. I had no idea he was a Ghostbuster until the kids and I moved to Summerville. I found out he kept track of me for much of my life. I met Gary and started dating him. He was fond of Trevor and Phoebe, especially her. Trevor and Phoebe found friendship with Lucky and Podcast. Gary and I ended up being possessed by Vinz Clortho and Zuul. They were Gozer's minions. We defeated Gozer with the help of Ray, Peter, Winston, and Dad's spirit. We moved here in 2023. We confronted and defeated Garraka alongside Janine, Lucky, Peter, Winston, Ray, and Podcast in 2024. We are not exactly friends with Mayor Peck, but we are on very good terms with him."

"Business has been through the roof ever since. Callie and I have been happily married for nearly a year. I adopted Trevor and Phoebe as my own kids," Gary finished proudly.

Dino chuckled while shaking his head in disbelief. Gary narrowed his eyes at him as the man turned his nose upward.

"You think signing a bunch of papers makes Trevor and Phoebe your kids, buddy? It doesn't. They are my kids. I am their father," Dino said and formed a big smirk on his face. "By the way, Mina and I moved here recently. She achieved early retirement. We live in the lap of luxury."

"You haven't been my father in years. You were never Phoebe's father," Trevor said, anger lining his voice.

"The only thing you gave us was life," Phoebe added.

"How dare you two say that!" Dino snapped as he and Mina turned to his children.

"Show him some respect!" Mina demanded.

"Not a chance, bimbo," Phoebe retorted in much defiance. "You think he is a good guy? You're nuts. He treated me like crap when I was younger. He accused Mom of neglecting my brother when she paid attention to me. He cheated on her with several women and got one pregnant. He deliberately avoided visitation to hurt us."

"You take all that back!" Mina responded in a fierce voice.

"It's not happening," Phoebe commented, shaking her head fast. "Every word I said was true."

"You are so jealous of my wealthy girlfriend, Phoebe," Dino said as he pointed his finger at her. He chuckled in a devious way. "I should call you a jealous pregnant slut. It is no thanks to your mother."

Phoebe clenched her teeth, fire flashing in her eyes. She grabbed her water and threw it in Dino's face with a fierce yell. Some splashed on Mina. He spit it out of his mouth. He looked at her in rage.

"You little bitch!" Dino snarled, his hand balling into a tight fist. "You will pay for that!"

Dino was about to go toward the expectant mother when Gary jumped to his feet and went over to him. He grabbed him by his shoulder. He spun him around and took hold of his white t-shirt. He pulled him right up to his face. His eyes flashed with so much fire that it seemed they would shoot flames.

"You better leave my daughter alone if you know what is good for you, you bastard!" Gary threatened fiercely. "She's not a slut! Podcast is her baby's father!"

"You don't scare me, wimp!" Dino responded with a smirk. "How do you know she hasn't slept around?"

"Because she is way better than that!" Gary shouted defensively.

"Punch me. I dare you," Dino taunted and laughed to himself.

"Dad, don't!" Phoebe pleaded, standing up.

"Hey, what's going on here?" a male voice demanded.

Everyone turned to see Hobbie standing a short distance away. He walked up to the group as Gary released his hold on Dino. The duo shot dirty looks at each other for a brief second.

"I demand to know everything," Hobbie said sternly.

"Hobbie, my family and I were just having a little fun when this couple yelled at us over it. This guy introduced himself as Callie's ex-husband and this lady as his girlfriend," Gary explained.

"Your yelling was rude!" Dino retorted with a snarl.

"Most everyone is loud in this place, buddy," Gary snapped, shooting a glare at him. He turned back to Hobbie, his breathing soft and steady. "We gave this couple our reasons for moving here. Dino made some ugly remarks about Phoebe. She got mad and threw her water in his face. I wouldn't let him go near her when I saw he was about to advance on her."

Hobbie looked at Gary more closely. Podcast, Phoebe, Callie, Trevor, Lucky, and Ray swallowed hard. They wondered when he would say something. Hobbie cupped his chin in his hand. He clicked his tongue before running his hand over his face.

"I believe you, Gary," Hobbie said truthfully.

Gary, Callie, Trevor, Lucky, Podcast, Phoebe, and Ray sighed in much relief. Dino scoffed irritatingly, as did Mina. He placed his hands on his sides while shaking his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe you took his word for it," Dino said.

"I know Gary," Hobbie said, looking at him. "He always tells the truth."

"That's too bad, Dino," Gary added with a chuckle.

"I suggest you and your girlfriend leave these people alone. If you don't, I will throw both of you out," Hobbie warned sternly. "Is that clear?"

"Fine," Dino replied with a huff. "Since we already have our check, why don't you get us some to-go boxes? We'll just take our meals home, so we can enjoy them in peace."

"All right," Hobbie said. "I will be right back."

Gary and Dino observed Hobbie walking away. They looked at each other, their eyes narrowing. Gary curled his hands into fists. He flared his nostrils while clenching his teeth.

"I am warning you and Mina, Dino," Gary growled fiercely. "Stay away from my family."

Dino and Mina huffed before heading toward the back. Gary stared after them until they were gone. He heard sniffling and looked at Phoebe, who wiped a tear from her eye.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have—" Phoebe started and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Don't be, Pheebs," Gary interrupted, walking up to her. He pulled her into his arms, hugging her. He listened to her soft crying. "He started all this crap, not you."

Callie grabbed a fry. "By the way, that was good aim."

"It sure was," Podcast agreed.

"He deserved it after what he said," Trevor commented bluntly.

"If you ask me, that guy never got a good whipping to straighten him out when he was a kid," Ray commented truthfully.

"Isn't that the truth?" Callie asked, snickering under her breath.

"Let's forget about that bastard and his bimbo," Gary suggested as Phoebe looked at him. He saw her wipe tears from her cheeks and eyes. "Let's finish dinner."

Phoebe nodded at him. "Okay."

Gary released his hold on Phoebe, who went back to her seat and sat down. He returned to his and seated himself. They and their family proceeded to finish their dinner.