Chapter Text
“I find it highly unfair that we all feel as if we haven’t slept in weeks and you’re still as spry and energetic as a spring lamb”, Abby groaned as she let herself fall onto the couch, grimacing at the ache in her back and feet; Holtzmann shrugged and smirked at her, unperturbed by the glare which was levelled her way as she sat down in the nearest comfortable armchair.
“Baaah”, she let out in her best imitation of said spring lamb, earning a snort of laughter from Erin as the physicist moved to sit in her lap; Patty snickered, as well, while Abby just rolled her eyes, but then smiled after all, shaking her head at the blonde’s antics.
“So”, she then said while Erin shifted a bit, in an attempt to get comfortable on her girlfriend’s lap, “we’re all gonna sing Erin had a little lamb then?”
“Ha!” Patty let out while now, it was Holtzmann’s turn to roll her eyes and Erin just smirked, “good one Abby. For real though, Holtzy, I’m jealous, here you are all fresh and not tired while I feel like one walking bruise. Seven busts in four days is definitely too much.”
“Hey, not my fault”, Holtzmann protested, “it’s not like I can control it. But I’ll make up for it and offer to get dinner while you poor ladies stay here?”
“I’ll come with you”, Erin gave back at once, not really surprising her – it had been almost six months since the mayor had reassured them that the military had no more interest in Holtzmann, but still the team worried that this might change again, and none of them was willing to let her go anywhere alone if it could be avoided.
Knowing that arguing would lead nowhere, Holtzmann just smiled and nodded, prompting Erin to rise from her seat on the younger woman’s lap; once it had been settled what they would actually eat, the couple left the firehouse together, Erin holding back a yawn as they walked to the nearest deli, side by side and holding hands.
“You know I would have been fine alone, right”, Holtzmann said as she observed the physicist’s obvious tiredness, “it’s not even ten minutes from the firehouse, and they’ve left me alone since the mayor said they would.”
“Yes, they did”, Erin nodded, “but I just don’t like the thought of having you wander around on your own, even if they didn’t try anything anymore. I’d be nervous every minute you’re gone.”
“And we don’t want nervous Erin”, Holtzmann solemnly replied, making the taller woman smile and nod; the couple shared a brief kiss, then continued on their way to the deli, both of them taking note of the way people were looking at them and excitedly pointing them out to others, but not really caring much, not anymore.
Ever since the bust at Times Square and the defeat of Rowan which had followed it, people not only believed in them, but admired them and their work; this attention had been strange to get used at first, and didn’t make keeping the fact that all four of them were mutants a secret not exactly easy, but at least, Erin thought to herself as another young woman smiled brightly and waved at them from across the street, none of them had mutations which were impossible to hide, knowing of mutants who weren’t quite as lucky.
The one who had to be careful the most was Holtzmann, with her claws and her accelerated healing; Abby had to make sure that no one would see her teleport, and Patty had had a lifetime of practice when it came to avoiding physical contact from skin to skin – and Erin herself had it easiest, something she was well aware of, her mind reading nothing which could be noticed by anyone unless she’d let them notice and her telekinetic powers not something she used all too often, even though she kept getting reminded of the fact that she should practice more.
Smiling, Erin waved back, Holtzmann doing the same, the woman squealing in excitement; this made Erin smile while the engineer snickered to herself, then squeezed her hand, giving her a smile as she spoke up again.
“We came a long way in the past year, didn’t we”, she stated, making Erin smile as well and nod, “when we started this, we were painted as frauds, and now here we are, people waving at us and getting all excited when we wave back.”
“Definitely feels good”, Erin freely admitted, making the blonde smile again; then, they reached the deli and stepped inside, the man behind the counter knowing them as regular customers at this point and greeting them happily.
While Holtzmann gave him their order, Erin made her way to the row of fridges, choosing drinks to along with the sandwiches and some snacks for later; she grabbed two cans of Pringles for her girlfriend, the chocolate Patty liked and Abby’s favourite sour candy, humming under her breath as she returned to her girlfriend’s side, her arms now full with bottled drinks and snacks.
“You need me to take some of that, sweetheart?” Holtzmann wanted to know, making the physicist shake her head; it didn’t take long until the sandwiches had been prepared, and once they had paid and had packed everything up, they walked back to the firehouse, and already from afar, they saw the young woman standing in front of it, nervously glancing left and right and wringing her hands, as if she was unsure if she should knock or ring the bell or maybe just walk in.
“Um, hi, hello?” Erin called out to her, causing her to flinch visibly before she turned to look at them, looking startled for a moment, then almost absurdly relieved as she clearly recognized them as two of the Ghostbusters.
“Hi, hi”, she said, looking around nervously again, making Erin wonder if she thought that someone was watching or following her, “you’re the Ghostbusters right? Um, I need to speak to you, in private…”
“Half of the Ghostbusters”, Erin told her, giving her best to sound soothing and calming while Holtzmann just looked on, all too aware that her eccentric personality could sometimes make people who were already upset feel even worse, “and yes, of course, please, come inside with us, we can talk in private there.”
The woman looked around once more, then nodded and followed them inside; Abby and Patty looked at her curiously while Kevin remained focused on what he was doing at his computer – probably playing Solitaire, since they had taken his e-mail access away months ago, after he had mailed back and forth for days with an alleged Nigerian prince –, and even though the other two Ghostbusters were pretty much staring at her, the woman relaxed visibly the moment the door had closed behind her.
“I’m sorry for just showing up here like that, unannounced”, she said, prompting Erin to give her a kind smile, the physicist knowing all about feeling anxious about such situations, “but I couldn’t risk calling to make an appointment, the whole situation is… somewhat delicate.”
“Have a seat”, Abby gave back, intrigued, wondering what the lady might tell them; they all sat down at the desk they used for talks with their clients, and the woman cleared her throat, shaking her head when she was offered something to drink, taking in a deep breath before she continued speaking.
“My name is Rachel Benson, I’m an intern at Gottreich Memorial Hospital”, she let them know, “I haven’t been there for long but… I’m sure it’s haunted. By more than one spirit, and the administration won’t let us do anything about it.”
“More than one ghost”, Patty echoed, frowning, “at that hospital? Not to say I don’t believe you, Miss Benson – or is it Doctor Benson? – but I know a lot about New York and its history, and I can’t remember anything of note ever happening at that hospital."
“Could be disgruntled former patients”, Erin pointed out, while Rachel didn’t look offended the slightest, to the relief of the four women, “not every haunting is connected to a great tragic event.”
“And if they’re hushing it up now, who says they haven’t done that before”, Holtzmann added, making Erin nod, “have you seen these ghosts?”
“I’ve seen one”, the young woman told them, “I don’t think it was a malevolent one, at least it… she… didn’t try to hurt me. It looked like a little girl, and just stared at me, but it creeped me out. My colleague saw another one, she said it looked like an older guy, and one of the head nurses got attacked by one, it tried to throw her down the stairs. We spoke to administration afterwards, but they wouldn’t hear of it, and wouldn’t let us call you. If they find out I’m here, they might kick me out, but not doing anything… I just couldn’t do that, what if a patient gets hurt? Or a doctor, a nurse?”
“You did the right thing, coming here”, Patty reassured her, making her smile weakly, “and no worries, we won’t let anyone at that hospital know how we got on that case.”
“Thank you”, Rachel sighed, looking so relieved that Erin wondered what she had thought, if perhaps, she had feared the Ghostbusters would storm the hospital and demand to get to work no matter if they were wanted there or not, “I really appreciate that, I love my work there, it’s just… if these ghosts end up hurting someone…”
“We’ll figure something out”, Abby told her, making her smile weakly again, “and we’ll find a way to at least take a look around without them realizing that we know what’s going on there.”
Erin nodded thoughtfully, already having a vague idea; not wanting to discuss it in front of their newest client though, she kept it to herself for the moment, just taking notes as Rachel gave a better description of the ghost she had seen, frowning a bit to herself as she wondered why the administration wouldn’t allow anyone to call them for help.