Shawn Barlow stood unnervingly still, staring down at his wristwatch with anxious impatience. He had his back to the giant window that overlooked the airport's runway, his shoulders tensed though his posture made him look as though he was merely relaxing boredly against the wall. He breathed out a weary sigh as he lowered his arm back down to his side after repeating the motion over two dozen times in the past hour he'd been standing there. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his beige jumpsuit and shifted his posture nervously, flashing yet another glance to the doorway across the wide, busy space where the arriving passengers would emerge. He then chewed the inside of his cheek and turned his head toward the huge window behind him, as if he could see anything from there. Nikki's plane had supposedly already landed, but he knew to factor in the outrageously long unloading time and lengthy walking distance she had before he could count on seeing her.

Before he could shift his vacant stare away from the window and back through the crowd of waiting people, Shawn's gaze fell on a small boy about five years old sitting on a bench a few yards away from him. The boy had dark brown hair sticking up every which way and he clutched a half-eaten chocolate bar in his fist while he tugged on his father's sleeve, staring directly at Shawn with an awestruck look on his pudgy little face. Shawn smirked with amusement at the kid's obvious interest and when the frazzled father finally humored his son and looked up in the direction he was indicating, Shawn nodded politely at them both. The middle-aged man lifted up his hand casually and the small boy reacted by increasing the momentum of his persistent tugging. The father looked down at his son and murmured something to him, and when he looked up at Shawn again there was a question in his eyes. Shawn glanced towards the time on the large clock overhead and then back down at the father and son, nodding with a confirming shrug as he removed his hands from his pockets and brushed at the wrinkles in his Ghostbusters' uniform. The father stood up abruptly and lifted his son off the bench, the little boy managing to keep his gaze fixed on Shawn the entire time the man spoke to him. Shawn felt his smirk stretch a little wider as they both approached him, the little boy clinging to his father's hand tightly while holding his forgotten chocolate bar in his other hand at the same time.

"Hey there," Shawn said, pushing himself off the window and turning to face the two of them when they had gotten within speaking distance. He knelt down in front of the little boy, smiling widely. "How's it going there, pal?"

"Hi," The little boy said shyly, moving to half-hide behind his father's leg. His eyes were wide as he took in Shawn dressed in full Ghostbusters' garb merely three feet in front of him. He seemed to remember his chocolate bar then, because he pulled it up to his face and chewed at it absently.

"Come on Mackie, would you quit hiding and speak to the guy please?" His father shifted to the left and the little boy clutched at his pants leg, his chubby face gaping up at Shawn once again. Shawn waved at the boy with a friendly smirk and finally a small smile crept across the kid's face as his shyness eased up a little. The hand gripping his father's pants leg released and he returned Shawn's wave with a halfhearted one of his own.

"Hi!" The kid repeated himself from before with a timid look at his father standing beside him. Shawn offered the kid his hand to shake and he slowly acknowledged the older boy crouched in front of him, placing his small, sticky hand in Shawn's. The little boy tilted his head to the side, regarding Shawn with an intuitive expression as he hit him with the first thing that popped into his little head. "Are you a real Ghostbuster?!"

"Well, yeah I like to think so." Shawn replied wittily with a chuckle. The father smirked with amused embarrassment at his son's rapidly asked question and Mackie goggled at Shawn, looking over his worn uniform with idolizing awe. Shawn finally scratched nervously at the back of his head, ruffling his dark curls as he did so. "When you face as many ghosts as I have, I think anybody could be considered a Ghostbuster."

"Are you catching a ghost here right now?" Mackie asked hurriedly. Shawn chuckled again and shook his head with a sidelong glance at the room full of casually milling people, all of whom still seemed to be waiting for their upcoming flights or some for the people unloading from the plane that had just arrived.

"No, not right now, buddy. But since I've been with the company, we haven't gotten any calls about ghosts here…yet."

Shawn felt himself grin again while little Mackie let out a long and drawn out gasp at the news. He looked up at his father for confirmation and the man shrugged with wide eyed surprise to humor his son's dumbstruck excitement. The little boy's gaze swept the immediate area and Shawn knew exactly what his next question would be as he spoke it.

"Where's the other Ghostbusters?"

Shawn leaned a little closer, pretending to look around secretively before waving Mackie forward. He lowered his voice for effect, and flashed an amused glance at the father who was smiling with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched his son interacting with one of the city's highly-regarded heroes.

"I'll let you know a little secret…the guys are actually across town at the train depot fighting a ghost conductor that's been scaring the locals for the past few months."

Just as Shawn knew he would, Mackie gasped even sharper than the first time and tugged on his father's pants leg again furiously. He whipped his little head back to Shawn who met him with a finger covering his mouth, shushing the little boy like it was a top secret mission.

"There have been trains malfunctioning, cargo being vandalized, and all kinds of unexplained sightings of the spooky old man passing through walls. They left early this morning to go check it out, but it's probably going to be an all day job." Shawn explained, placing a large emphasis on the characteristics of the bust report Janine had recited to them before the four Ghostbusters had left. Mackie's eyes were aglow with his overwhelming excitement and Shawn nodded to convey how serious the Ghostbusters' jobs were. The father cleared his throat and then regarded Shawn with a look of humored puzzlement.

"Lucky you got out of that one, huh?"

"Eh…I've had my share of class four repeaters for the week. Took out one at the library a few days ago. The guys told me they'd fought a ghost librarian there years ago, but this one was a person who must have been an avid reader in their lifetime. Every time some poor unfortunate kid would wander over to a certain section of the library, the ghost would throw a tantrum and run the kid off. Like it didn't like its reading corner disturbed." Shawn rolled up his sleeve to reveal a purple-tinged bruise on his shoulder, drawing out another surprised gasp from the little boy still staring at him in awestruck expectance. "Those books really can leave their mark on ya."

"A ghost did that to you?!" Mackie exclaimed, stepping forward to get a good look at Shawn's bruise. Shawn chuckled and after a moment, rolled his sleeve back down and shrugged coolly.

"More or less, yeah."

"Awesome," The boy breathed, his eyes wide. Shawn smiled to himself and felt his heart swell as he thought about how his job working with the Ghostbusters affected the city and its inhabitants around him. His mind strayed to his former life of serving under his father and his minions as they tormented the living in search of powerful psychics to manipulate for their own motives. Shawn's smile faltered and in his slight daze, he nearly missed the little boy's next rapid-fire question.

"…keep the ghosts?"

"I'm sure he's got stuff to do, Mackie. Let's not bug him anymore, okay buddy?" The father was saying, having noticed Shawn's distant expression. He reached for his son's arm but Shawn quickly shook himself and grinned at the kid in apology.

"Where do we keep them? Well, the bad ghosts have a new home in our containment unit. It's a pretty powerful piece of machinery, and it keeps them from getting out and hurting or scaring anybody else." Shawn explained simply with a sheepish look at the boy's father. The man was scratching at the back of his head wearily, glancing up at the doorway across the space. Shawn too, looked up in time to see that a crowd of people were now beginning to mill through the doorway, toting bags and suitcases in their wake.

"What about the good ones?" Mackie asked, drawing Shawn's attention away from the arriving passengers. Absently Shawn stood up, his gaze scanning for the one face he had been hoping to see for the past week. He felt a tug on his pants leg and glanced back down to meet the little boy's expectant face gazing pleadingly up into his.

"Well, the good ones are handled by…"

"My Mackie boy!" A woman's shrill voice interrupted Shawn's explanation, echoing through the immediate crowd of people gathering around the newcomers. Mackie looked away from Shawn hurriedly, and he pushed past his father to reach the woman who was presumably his mother. A dark haired woman with a bright red suitcase on wheels stooped down and enveloped the boy in her arms. Shawn smiled and looked up once more to scan for Nikki, still not seeing her face through the crowd that moved through the doorway from the ramp.

"Mommy! He's a real Ghostbuster over there! He was telling me about ghosts!" Mackie's little voice carried over to him. Shawn smirked at the boy's excited tone and waved a hand at the woman when she looked up at him curiously.

"Was he?" She replied, appeasing to her son's enthusiasm. The boy's father turned back around to face Shawn, offering him his hand with an apologetic glance as he shook it.

"Sorry about all that. He gets excited seeing the news when you guys are on there. Thanks for all you do." He said lowly. Shawn grinned and nodded as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"It's a pleasure, really. I wouldn't leave this job for anything." Shawn said honestly. He shrugged. "Not just anybody will do it…it's a little much for some people to take."

"I hear that," The man said with a nervous chuckle. He was already half turning back to his wife with Mackie's hand in hers as she approached her husband.

"Give the nice Ghostbuster a hug goodbye, Mackie. We've got to get Mommy's other bag and then we're headed home." The woman encouraged the little boy, clearly worn from her traveling. Mackie did just as his mother said and he attacked Shawn's legs in as big of a bear hug as he could muster.

"Bye Mr. Ghostbuster! You're the greatest!" He cried, his voice muffled in the fabric of Shawn's pants legs.

"Thanks, pal, it was good meeting ya." Shawn said through a lighthearted laugh as he patted the boy's back in the hopes that he would release him if he did so. Mackie gave his legs one more squeeze before he stepped back into his mother's arms, finally remembering the chocolate bar melting in his fist. The father gave Shawn another thankful wave and then ushered his little family in the opposite direction toward the baggage claim, Mackie throwing one final wave after him as he gnawed contentedly on his chocolate bar. As Shawn watched them go, he felt a wave of weariness hit him like a train wreck.

"Somebody's been busy playing the hero," A cheery voice rang out from his left. Shawn turned to see Nikki approaching him from the terminal doorway, her small duffel bag slung over her shoulder with a teasing smirk on her face. "What'd you do, save the world while I was gone?"

Shawn turned fully to face his girlfriend and felt the weariness that had unexpectedly washed over him find its place of origin in her tired face. He crossed his arms over his chest, fixing her with a condescending frown.

"I might have, you've been gone for quite a good while. A lot can happen in a week." He retorted smartly. When she stopped just in front of him he reached out and brushed her long brown hair behind one ear, taking in her weary smile as she leaned into his touch. "Nikki, we've talked about this. No crossing over ghosts on your breaks, okay?"

"What gave me away this time?" She muttered huffily, dropping her duffel bag at her feet to wrap her arms around his torso. She pressed her face into his chest and closed her eyes with a tired sigh as he hugged her tightly to him. "I was trying so hard to hide it."

"You know you can't hide how you're feeling from me," Shawn murmured into her hair with a soft chuckle. "I felt your exhaustion almost a full thirty seconds before I even saw you."

Nikki scoffed and shook her head, finally tilting her face up to his for a quick kiss before he leaned back to examine her at arm's length. He pretended to be scanning her for potential injuries or signs of a ghostly scuffle that sometimes, but very rarely happened in her encounters with lost spirits in need of her assistance. She rolled her eyes and shook his hands from her shoulders, stooping down to retrieve her duffel bag.

"Stupid emotional bond," She muttered with false resentment. She threw her bag over her shoulder and Shawn took his place by her side as they began to weave through the crowd of mingling people making their way through the airport. Nikki took Shawn's hand as they walked, and Shawn resisted the urge to gape around at the extra people that suddenly appeared within his sight in the room at her touch. Her ghost-seeing ability never ceased to amaze him, but witnessing it in such a casual manner at such random moments always left Shawn a little unsettled.

"I don't think it's stupid," Shawn commented, nudging her supportively. "It keeps me linked to you even when you're not around. Like, Friday night when I got this really heavy feeling of irritation. I kept laughing to myself in the middle of the containment unit spot-check with Egon because I could just picture the stuff your mom must have been laying on you to get you so pissed off."

"She missed you by the way," Nikki said cheerfully, through her dark and knowing smirk. "She had a whole other side of her usual argument planned out for you, you're lucky you canceled at the last minute or you'd have definitely gotten an earful."

"She still wants me to quit Ghostbusters? Just because I'm working with your Dad?" Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow. Nikki shrugged, hefting her duffel bag further onto her shoulder as they veered around a corner and headed for the exit. "She knows you're technically still working there too, right?"

"I think it's more of her desperate need to prove 'there's-no-such-thing-as-ghosts.' And no, I just told her that I was working at a bookstore, not that I was still on part-time, as needed at the Ghostbusters."

"If your mom knew that her daughter's boyfriend was a ghost in a previous life, do you think she'd change her way of thinking?" Shawn suggested thoughtfully. Nikki shot him a challenging look and shook her head.

"Well, you're not going to tell her, so we won't get to see what kind of psycho reaction she'd have, now will we?" Nikki smirked over at him smartly. "Besides, I'm sure she'd still want you to come visit down on the farm."

"Farm?" Shawn repeated with a look of disbelieving confusion. Nikki rolled her eyes lightly.

"She's adopted four chickens since the last time I've visited and now she considers herself an genuine farmer." She explained drolly.

Shawn sidestepped to avoid a ghostly hobo standing just by the door with a wickedly distrustful glare at Shawn's nervous smile. Nikki ignored the ghostly man who clearly wasn't in the friendliest mood and who Nikki had spoken to on occasion in the few times she'd been to the airport for her trips to visit her mother. The ghost man was one of the poor unfortunate ones who didn't believe he'd passed on and who refused to let Nikki acknowledge to him that she could help him to cross over and leave the busy and crowded airport for good. She pushed open the airport door with her free shoulder, still managing to cling to Shawn's hand as they both awkwardly exited the building. Shawn squeezed her hand and then released it before he could be overwhelmed with the sight of an even larger stream of ghostly pedestrians shouting and bustling around on the sidewalks outside. When his vision returned to normal, he saw that the sidewalk was still crowded with loads of people calling out for taxis or waiting for their rides, but that all of these people were of the living type. Shawn gestured for Nikki to follow him toward the right where he had paid off a taxi driver to wait for them. Apparently, being a member of the Ghostbusters afforded him small luxuries and such that he was able to procure a slightly less-irritable driver that had agreed to remain loyal to Shawn's promised extra tip.

"What happened to Dad? I thought he was going to try and pick me up this time." Nikki remarked as she slid into the backseat of the car after Shawn had opened it and motioned her inside. Shawn ducked in after her and shut the door, thanking the driver once again and handing him a twenty-dollar bill for his patience. The driver smirked and nodded, swerving onto the road quickly to begin the busy drive downtown toward their well-known destination.

"I'm gonna pretend not to be offended that my presence isn't good enough for you." Shawn joked with fake pessimism. Nikki playfully shoved him and fidgeted with the duffel bag in her lap. "No seriously though, a job popped up first thing this morning and they all went out to take care of it. They probably could have used my help, but if we'd sent Janine to pick you up, then no one would be left at the firehouse to answer the phones, so…"

Shawn trailed off as Nikki nudged him, putting his rambling to a grinding halt. She pursed her lips knowingly and shook her head.

"You know I'm old enough to catch a taxi on my own. Really, I don't mind." She said quietly. Shawn met her gaze levelly and shifted in his seat to wrap an arm around her in the cramped backseat of the car.

"Yeah, but look at what happened just in the short time you were on your flight. If I left you to fend for yourself in the city for a length of time, there's no telling what kind of ghostly wackos would cross your path begging for you to cross them over."

Nikki held up a hand, feigning innocence.

"That poor stewardess had been stuck riding flights for five years…"

"You crossed over the stewardess?!" Shawn said, raising his voice for dramatic effect. He smirked at her when she sighed heavily at his teasing. Clearing his throat, Shawn toned himself down. "Nikki, we've talked about this. Seriously…"

"I'm not overdoing it, Shawn. I swear, she was the only one this week. I did take it easy while I was at mom's, just like I promised I would."

"I'm sorry," Shawn murmured pulling her closer to him, and she scooted over on the seat to oblige him. He shook his head and brushed a caring kiss on her right cheek. "I know I sound like a broken record. I just worry, you know?"

"I know. And I appreciate it, really." She replied softly, leaning her head on his shoulder to blink up at him thankfully.

"I missed you," Shawn admitted quietly after a few seconds of riding through the semi-crowded streets of midday. Nikki nodded, twining her fingers through his again. Shawn held his breath, expecting to find an array of ghosts appearing to him within and around the taxi, but nothing in the immediate area seemed any different to his sight. He sighed in relief and ran his thumb over the back of her hand reassuringly.

"I missed you too." She replied, flashing him another one of her tired smiles. After another few contentedly quiet moments, Nikki made a pondering sound and Shawn glanced over at her where he found her staring down at their joined hands, traces of worry flitting across her face. "Where did the guys have to go this time?"

"The old train station. That repeating conductor has gotten worse and worse and the owners finally came to the unanimous decision to call on our services. The bill was keeping them away for a time, but now they're fed up with having to pay for repairs every now and then. They just decided to go all in and hire us."

"Great," Nikki said through a stifled yawn. Worry lined her face again and Shawn squeezed her hand lightly causing her to smile up at him and force the worry away.

"I'm sure they'll let you double check him once they get him back to the firehouse," Shawn said lightly. He fixed her with another concerned look that melted into a teasing smile. "But not tonight."

"Good enough for me," She relented easily, shifting against his shoulder as the taxi slowed to a stop in the busy midtown traffic.