"Nikki! I'm so glad you called!" Ally's cheerful voice cried out as soon as she'd opened the apartment door. Nikki's hand was still poised from the one brief knock she'd been able to make and Ally's round face brightened as she quickly enveloped the girl in a crushing hug like she'd known her forever. Her eye must have caught on Shawn who'd been standing just behind Nikki, because the shorter girl lifted her head, causing her wild red curls to tickle Nikki's face. Nikki drew back suddenly, her nose itching and Ally hastily released her. Her friendly grin didn't waver as she looked from Nikki to Shawn and back again. "Well, come in! Come in!"

"Thanks," Nikki said, trying to stifle her uncomfortable surprise at the warm, familiar way she'd been greeted despite being a near stranger to the other girl. She and Shawn entered the apartment and Ally shut the door quietly behind them.

"I thought about calling you a few times, but I figured you were super busy…" Ally's excited voice yammered on as she trailed after them and then met them face to face when Shawn and Nikki stopped in what appeared to be the girl's living room. A small two-person sofa with a bright blue throw covering the back rested on one wall opposite an average sized television. They stood on a thick, plush rug placed in the direct center of the floor in a blue matching the color of the throw blanket on the white couch. There was a small, white painted wooden table with two matching chairs in one corner of the room next to a hallway that led to the rest of the apartment, and there sat a young man around Ally's age. He rose as the visitors' gazes landed on him and he nodded politely as Ally gestured for him to join her in greeting her guests. "Mitchell, come over here! I told you the Ghostbusters were coming."

"You don't look like Ghostbusters," Mitchell's quiet, but formal voice remarked as his mouth curved upward into a teasing smirk. He offered Shawn his hand to shake and then directed his attention to Nikki. "Where's the ugly costumes we usually see you all in on the news?"

"Dry-cleaners," Nikki joked as she took a step toward the other couple. Though the real reason they weren't in uniform was because Nikki didn't want to treat this encounter as just another bust – she'd been surprised that Ally had opened up to her that night at the Crystal Skull, so she wanted to approach this as a favor for a new friend.

"Nice place you've got, for this side of town. How long have you lived here?" Shawn asked conversationally. Nikki elbowed her boyfriend chidingly and he gave her a dumbfounded look before Ally's tinkling laughter filled the silence.

"Just a year or two. Mitchell wanted a change from England. I never really got around to settling into Bristol anyway."

"And you picked New York?" Shawn scoffed jokingly.

"Something just drew us here." Mitchell answered with a shrug. He extended his arm to Nikki with a curt nod.

"Nice to meet you," Nikki smiled sheepishly as she reached for Mitchell's proffered hand, and she was surprised when he grasped hers first as if he were impatient. A nervous tingle spread up her wrist as soon as his hand gave hers a polite squeeze in greeting and she couldn't hide her speculative stare from shooting to his face for confirmation. He had one of his dark eyebrows lifted in curiosity and in the next second he just as quickly let his hand release hers, his smirk widening with something like relief.

"You can see them too, can't you?" Nikki blurted out before thinking. Mitchell's blue-green eyes widened and his gaze shifted from her to Ally and then back again. His thin arms crossed over his chest challengingly, and he tilted his head as if trying to study her.

"Of course he can!" Ally said with a bubbly laugh. Her bright red curls bounced as she darted forward and took Nikki's hand, producing a similar tickling feeling along Nikki's arm like goosebumps. Ally's warm hazel eyes brightened as she clearly was able to feel the same sensation. She turned back and took Mitchell's arm with a wide smile. "That's what drew us together, actually."

"That's sweet," Nikki said affectionately. She found herself leaning closer towards Shawn who put a hand on her back as if reminding her of their purpose in visiting. She glanced up at him with a thankful smile and then cleared her throat quietly to rouse the couple from their reminiscing.

"…and lo and behold he was there too, and it was almost like we were following the same ghost!" Ally quickly finished. Mitchell was staring down at her fondly, a hint of a blush creeping into his stark white complexion. His deep black, shoulder length hair was almost as curly as his fiancé's though he kept his pulled back into a small ponytail on the nape of his neck. He glanced up abruptly when Ally finished telling the quick notes version of how they'd met each other, flashing Nikki and Shawn a knowingly apologetic grin.

"Tourists," He said with another shrug. He unhooked his arm from Ally's fond grip and rubbed his hands together as if he were warming them up. "She came all the way to Bristol during her senior year in high school and ventured away from the rest of her tour. Part of my job was to maintain the groups as they toured the city. When I saw the ghost leading her away, I couldn't believe there was another person on the planet as open to the supernatural as I was."

"That seems to be the recurring thought," Nikki related, nodding dismally. "I thought I was alone all throughout my life, having to figure things out on my own. My dad brought me up the first few years of my life telling me that ghosts were all around us and that we shouldn't always fear them like the movies and ghost stories try to promote. But then my mom divorced him for encouraging all the ghost talk. She took custody of me and I didn't really get to see him again until a few years ago. By then, I'd underhandedly developed this method of being a Crosser –" She flashed a look to Shawn who grinned at her use of the name he had coined for her the night before. "And since I've been here in the city with my dad and the other Ghostbusters, they've been helping to nudge me along."

"Wow," Ally breathed, her hand pressed to her chest with a heartfelt look of adoration on her face. "I mean, you said you had mom issues but I didn't know that she tried to…to stifle your powers…"

Nikki's relaxed smile faltered and she felt her chest give a little tug of emotion as her thoughts ventured to her mom and the many years she had endured living with her. She was perhaps the biggest skeptic when it came to ghosts and she'd completely resented Ray Stantz for using Nikki's formative first few years to encourage her ghost sightings and stories. On many occasions, Nikki had up and left the room whenever Meredith Stantz had started in on one of her Anti-Ghostbusters spats.

"You called, dear?"

An older woman entered the room, a large mixing bowl embraced in her arms as she steadily stirred at the contents with a wooden spoon. Nikki's gaze shot up to the lady, instantly taking in her completely normal appearance.

She had long auburn hair that cascaded slightly past her shoulders in medium curls. Her teased bangs covered her upraised red eyebrows as she took in the guests staring back at her. Her simple teal colored pants and white shirt was covered with a pink lace-trimmed apron splattered with flour. Her lips were parted in an 'O' of surprised and her eyes darted to Ally who turned around with a lighthearted roll of her eyes.

"Mom, how nice of you to join us," Ally said, her voice still trilling with a light easiness. Mitchell turned as well, stepping away from Ally and back towards the small table he'd previously been sitting at to allow the woman full entrance to the room. "I was going to tell you we had company."

"I can see that now," The woman answered with a slow, welcoming smile. Her kind gaze drifted back over to Nikki and Shawn as if sizing them up. "Are you going out on a double date or something? Because I can put a hold on dinner if that's the case…"

"Oh no, no, nothing like that." Ally said with a lighthearted smile. Nikki felt Shawn brush his arm against hers and realized he was trying to connect to her and see what she could see. She glanced up at him and watched his features slowly cool in relief at the sight of the unusually calm ghost woman. "Mom, this is Nikki Stantz and her fiancé, Shawn…"

Shawn coughed and Nikki felt his arm stiffen against hers as he nervously shook his head. Nikki laughed as the other three people directed their attention to the young couple making contradictive chuckles.

"Just a boyfriend over here," Shawn corrected with an embarrassed smirk. Nikki nudged him, still maintaining the physical contact so that he could continue to observe the ghost woman's reaction.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Working to be a fiancé though, yes?" Ally's mother remarked, her voice soft and supportive. She winked and tilted up one side of her mouth in a weary smile. Shawn grinned uncomfortably and Nikki found herself mirroring his reaction, her face warming in a deep blush.

"Mom…please don't embarrass the guests." Ally chided her ghost mother as normally as she would if her mother was still alive. Nikki couldn't help but feel like that was exactly the case, although Shawn's careful attentiveness kept her on high alert of the ghost in the room. She steadily held out both of her hands towards the ghost woman who eyed her with quiet confusion. Her gaze shot to Nikki and Shawn who patiently waited for whatever Ally had planned. Though a few nights ago Ally had stated to Nikki that she wanted her gone, Nikki's heart ached at the thought of sending away this clearly content woman who had chosen to stay and watch over her daughter even after her demise. Ally stretched her hands out a little further towards her mother and nodded, indicating the bowl she still held in her grasp.

"Ally…" Her mother murmured, her wide eyes quickly scanning the newcomers. "…who are these people?"

Nikki swallowed back the lump in her throat and opened her mouth to explain, but Ally beat her to it, her tone gentle but forceful.

"They're from the Ghostbusters–"

"Ghostbusters?!" The woman repeated with a gasp. The lights in the room blinked, but other than that, no other spirit-caused energy charged the space.

"Mom." Ally's voice lowered, not unkindly. Her arms shifted as Nikki detected her wariness. "You know we've talked about this…"

The ghost woman's shoulders sank, her cheerful hospitality waning as her smile faded into one of sour accusation and then sadness. Her arms gave up the mixing bowl to Ally as if robotically controlled and she lowered her head to the blue rug beneath her feet.

"Ally…I know you think I sheltered you too much when I was alive, but I wanted only to protect you…from what could happen. This world…it could be dangerous. And Mitchell…" Ally's mother glanced at the young man leaning against the table beside her. "Seeing him by your side warms my unbeating heart. You need each other…but I just wish…"

Nikki could sense the torn emotions of the ghost woman as she tried to voice her argument. According to the fearful expression on her pale face, Ally had clued her mother in on her desire for her to move on. But like any devotedly protective parent, she seemed to be in denial.

"If this is about boundaries…" The ghost woman's voice climbed an octave, her words cracking with hurt. Ally shook her head as she handed the mixing bowl over to her fiancé who took it gently and set it on the table without a sound. The girl stepped closer to her mother and reached out as if to touch her face. But before she could make physical contact, her mother's image rippled as if Ally's hand were trailing through the surface of a pond. Ally's arm fell back to her side and her jaw clenched tightly, her eyes welling with building tears.

"It's about you, Mom." Ally whispered quietly. She didn't take her eyes off her mother as she slowly pointed over to where Nikki and Shawn stood observantly. The dead woman stared at her daughter as her image solidified, her own face pinched together with brokenness. "It's been years since I've been able to hug you or even hold your hand for comfort. Words are one thing…heck, food is another…but Mom…"

"Ally, please…" Her mother's voice squeaked as she dissolved into tears of her own. Ally swiped a hand across her cheek where a river of tears had started to fall. She looked as if she were about to reach out for her mother once more but thought better of it and clenched her hands together, wringing them slowly as she shook her head.

"Mom…I miss you…"

"And I've told you time and time before, I'm right here…"

"No." Ally said firmly, standing a little straighter in defiance. Nikki's heart wrenched at the ghost woman's broken expression as she faced down her daughter, not caring who else was in the room. Ally shook her head slowly and bit her lip. She was about to try and speak again in defiance but she stopped herself for a moment and looked down at her hands, causing her heavy tears to slip down her cheeks and fall to the rug at her feet. "No Mom, you're not. You're not here."

Nikki felt Shawn press his hand against the small of Nikki's back as if to gently nudge her forward to break up the heart-breaking argument ensuing between the mother and daughter. Nikki hesitated only a moment, gauging the tension in the room before she broke away from her boyfriend's touch and stepped forward. She heard his sharp intake of breath as his connection from her Sight faded away at the same instant his hand fell away from her back. Nikki didn't know what Ally's mother appeared as to Shawn, but it apparently was a far cry from the homely woman standing tearfully in front of her.

"Your daughter's right…" Nikki said, forcing her voice to remain calm and reassuring. Nikki held her hands clasped together in front of her, feeling the warmth radiating from them as she stepped closer to the woman. She turned her tear-filled gaze on Nikki once more, hugging her arms to herself protectively at her approach.

"Nikki, was it?" She asked, her voice wavering. Nikki stopped just a few feet away from her, closer now than the woman's own daughter would get to her. Nikki offered her a sympathetic smile and the ghost woman flashed her an ironic frown as she darted a look of betrayal to Ally who still hung her head, her shoulders trembling.

"Yes ma'am." Nikki said softly. The woman turned her attention back to Nikki and stiffened her arms, hugging them tighter around her middle. "Ally only asked me here to help you. We met the other night and started talking…we're from the Ghostbusters, yes. But we've changed from what I'm sure you knew us as."

"You don't capture ghosts anymore? Why keep the name then?" The woman's voice turned bitter. Ally put a hand to her face to stifle a sob at her mother's harsh tone. Mitchell kept his arm around her shoulders and stared between Nikki to the ghost woman who he seemed to genuinely be able to see as normally as she could.

"Yes, we do still catch ghosts," Nikki admitted slowly, holding the woman's gaze steadily. "But only if they're a threat. For the ones who understand and are wanting to move on, we've started offering an alternative option. That's the only reason Ally even considered asking me to come over here."

The woman studied Nikki ponderingly for a long, quiet moment before she blinked and her expression softened a bit. She glanced over to Ally who finally raised her face to return her mother's gaze. She shifted forward on the plush rug and her mother did the same, taking a step toward her daughter as she lowered her hands to her sides.

"It's going to be alright?" The woman phrased her reassurance as a question, directed at Nikki though she didn't turn away from Ally and Mitchell. Nikki nodded and then voiced her confirmation.

"Yes, each ghost I've crossed over…I can feel their peace as they're leaving this plane. I like to think it's like letting go of your worries, and moving on to peace and better things. It'll be okay…" Nikki said, catching Shawn's eye when he moved a few steps closer to her for support of what she was about to do. Nikki smiled at him gratefully and lifted her face back towards the quiet goodbyes just in front of her.

"Julia…thank you…" Mitchell murmured curtly but with a million words speaking through his emotional eyes. The ghost woman, Julia, nodded with a sad smile stretching across her pale face. She reached up as if to touch his face and he closed his eyes as her palm hovered by his jawline fondly. After a second she moved her hand to Ally who still shook with timid sobs. Julia rested her ghostly hand against her daughter's shoulder and waited patiently for Ally to look up at her.

"Will you be okay?" Julia whispered, her eyes looking for one final reassurance. Ally's small lips were pursed as she tried to hold herself together and Julia took her lack of response as just what it was – hesitation. She shifted on the blue rug, her ghostly feet leaving no imprints in the thickness of the rug's plushness like the living people's did. Julia moved her other hand to Ally's other shoulder, where it hovered over it as well with her inability to touch her. "You can handle stove without burning your dinners? You'll keep this place spotless in case of guests?"

Nikki smiled warmly at the motherly worries Julia was bringing up in her last few moments. Ally sniffled and tried to smile reassuringly for her mother.

"Yes…and in case of fires, we'll make sure to keep our shoes and keys by the bed."

"And don't forget the rent –"

"– is due the first Monday of every month." Ally and Mitchell recited simultaneously. They both smiled and Julia nodded with renewed tears.

"Okay." She whispered. "Okay…good…good girl."

Julia stooped and brushed a ghostly kiss over her daughter's cheek before stepping away from the couple, holding her hands to her chest fondly. Ally's tears now slipped silently down her face as she leaned back against Mitchell's comforting embrace. Julia swept her gaze over the couple for a few seconds more and then finally turned her attention back to Nikki where she was waiting patiently, her own eyes filled with emotional tears.

"They'll be okay," Nikki reassured the woman once more, gently breaking her hands apart and exposing the warmth and light supernatural glow radiating from her palm. Julia nodded to herself as she considered Nikki's simple gesture. She slowly reached for Nikki's proffered hand and looked once more back at her daughter and Mitchell as her hand met Nikki's.

"I know they will," She whispered as the warmth overtook her. Nikki froze at the familiar tingling sensation and warm breeze that swept up in a sort of cyclone that mellowed out across the other spectators in the room. When the room returned to its normal temperature, Nikki finally allowed herself to exhale and slump her shoulders forward wearily. Shawn stepped up and let her lean on him in her sudden tiredness and she smiled thankfully up at him as she brushed her remaining tears away.

"Mom…" Ally breathed with a soft squeak. Nikki glanced over at her new friend, seeing her awestruck gaze fixed on the space just in front of Nikki where her mother had just been standing. Her shining hazel eyes moved to Nikki curiously, the sadness of her mother's departure overwhelmed by what Ally clearly viewed as a near-impossible phenomenon.

"I…I can't feel her anymore…" Mitchell spoke up, surprising them all. Ally hugged his arms around her tighter, the last of her tears slipping down her face as she made a show of looking around the room for anything out of the ordinary just to make sure. Mitchell's gaze shot to Nikki who smiled reassuringly with a curt nod, her eyelids heavy. Mitchell's eyebrows pinched together thoughtfully and then relaxed in an upturned look of relief. "She's really gone."

The realization finally hit the both of them in the next instant as his words registered. Ally and Mitchell stood clutching each other with their renewed sobs shaking their shoulders. Nikki felt her own eyes well up again halfheartedly as she witnessed their relief and Shawn in turn held her closer as well, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"She's at peace…" Ally sobbed, sniffling. She pulled her face out of Mitchell's shoulder long enough to shoot a hopeful look in Nikki's direction. "That's what that feeling was?"

"Yes," Nikki confirmed with a gentle nod. Ally bit her lip and looked up at Mitchell levelly for a moment before pulling away from him to cross over to Nikki. Shawn let his arms fall away from her slowly, careful to make sure she had her footing in her weakened state. Ally's cheerful, optimistic expression from before was slowly beginning to crawl its way back to her face through her emotional tears and she dove forward to envelope Nikki in a grateful embrace.

"Thank you…thank you, Nikki…" She murmured into Nikki's shoulder. Nikki smiled to herself. It had been a long time, if ever, since someone had thanked her so emotionally for crossing over a ghost. She screwed her face thoughtfully, wondering if someone had ever been as personally attached to a ghost like poor Ally had. She wrapped her arms sympathetically around the other girl, realizing that it was almost as if Ally had lost her mother not only the once, but also a second time.

"Well…would you two like to stay for cookies?" Mitchell cleared his throat, trying to ease the emotions in the room. Nikki smiled as she noticed that in the few moments since her crossing, Julia's cookies had baked to near-perfection in the kitchen down the hall. The warm aroma wafted throughout the room, creating a calm, endearing assurance throughout the group of people gathered there. Ally gently peeled herself off of Nikki with an apologetic wince and swiped both hands across her cheeks to clear away the runny mess her makeup had run into. Nikki glanced back at Shawn who was eyeing his watch warily but she didn't wait for him to decline.

"Sure, I'd love to try one of Julia's cookies." Nikki accepted quietly, enjoying the homely scent of the fresh baked cookies. Shawn huffed almost imperceptibly behind her and she flashed him a teasing look. "I'm sure they'll be okay without us at the firehouse for another half an hour or so."

Ally smiled and squeezed Nikki's hand gratefully, leading her over to the sofa against the wall. Nikki flopped down against the arm of the sofa wearily her legs nearly giving out beneath her. Shawn quietly made his way over to sit beside her while Ally gave Mitchell a gentle nudge towards the hallway to retrieve the cookies to share with their guests. Ally pulled one of the wooden chairs away from the small table and turned it to face her new friends as she perched on it with renewed hospitality.

"I'm sure we'll owe you a lot more than cookies, but until the Ghostbusters' bill comes in hopefully this will tide you over."

Nikki leaned forward from the couch and rested her hand over Ally's. The red-haired girl's face crumpled into a look of intense gratefulness as she took in Nikki's chiding denial.

"Consider it a favor. It was your mother, after all. Most ghosts I get to cross over don't have as close ties to the living world anymore. This was a new experience for me." Nikki said with a supportive smile. Ally blinked and her eyes began to shine once more before she and Nikki were both redirected to Mitchell's reemergence with a tray full of steaming hot and melted chocolate chip cookies.