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The first thing Egon Spengler does when he gets out of the Ecto-1 is pull Janine Melnitz to his chest. They’re all tired and worn… he’s relieved Janine seems to have no memory of the event, not of dying in the near end of the world… he knew she had. Like most of the population of New York, Ragnarok had nearly ended the world… it had ended his world.
Janine Melnitz feels him shaking as a looming silence hangs over them.
“What happened?” Janine whispered before the blonde held her closer, he didn't want to talk. He isn’t sure he needs to… he strokes her red hair with his fingers. He loved her… he wasn’t sure how well he realized that before. He’d been on the verge of death again… and she was the only thing in his mind.
“What’s gotten into you?” She asks, he notices the bandages on the tips of her finger from pricking herself with the pins on their map board.
“Janine… I…” he tries to stammer out. His heart still aches… he almost lost her for good. It was different than when Gozer had nearly brought on the end of the world… at least she had been safe then. Not this time. “I’m so sorry.” Egon whispered, “I’m so sorry…”
“What are you sorry for?” Janine asked, her hand moving up and gently cupping his cheek. He leaned into her hand… just like he had when they’d fought Gozer. He’d been in a little bit of a daze, but he’d so easily fallen into her.
She nearly support his weight, her touch finally enough to make him melt into her. Janine’s red hair still smells like her shampoo…
When they reset the world to what it was, they kept what it was before… Janine was still a little pissed off at Peter… her fingers were still a little bandaged… she still smelled like her.
“I haven’t been honest with you.” He mumbled, taking one of her hands and holding it between them, “Janine… I need to tell you something.”
Her eyes stare at him… she adjusts his glasses with her free hand, “Anything.”
Peter, Ray and Winston are now staring at them. Ray gives Egon a thumbs up… he knows exactly what the blonde ghostbuster is trying to say… if he can ever get it out of his mouth. Janine is staring at him, expectantly… and Egon swallows,
“Janine, you died. The city did… everything was gone in an instant… and… I was going to die as well. And all I could think of that if this didn’t reverse, I was going to die, and all I could think about was how much I regretted not telling you… that I…”
Janine sighed, “Don’t… please.”
He paused. Had he misread her care… he thought she…
“Do you not…”
“I don’t want you to lie because you were impulsive.”
“Janine, I would never lie to you.”
“Why would you say it now if you aren’t?”
“I… didn’t want to lose you.”
There’s a silence that engulfs the firehouse as she moves away from him… quietly saying good night before leaving. Egon was left standing there. He needs a beer, he decided.“Man… I'm sorry about Janine.” Winston says, now that the ghostbusters are a few beers in… as Egon sighs,
“No… Janine was right… It was impulsive. I might not love her.”
“But you do love her.” Ray replied… and Egon looked down,
“I thought she loved me… I must have misread her kindness for love.”Janine kicks off her shoes before going to pour herself some wine. She took a drink before sighing…
She loved Egon. She loved him so much it was painful… and she loved him holding her… and the few times he’d left, she’d missed him…
She finally feels tears fall down her face… if she loved him… why couldn’t she have accepted his love?
She took another drink…
He was so…. Smart and thoughtful… and sweet when he wanted to be… sure he was a bit awkward… and often tensed when she touched him… and often waved her off…
He’d ignored her advances for years…
Maybe it was just impulsive…Egon Spengler continued drinking until he just barely stumbled into bed. He might not have had much experience with woman… but it still hurt. He had thought she loved him… or cared for him at least…
He couldn’t believe he was so wrong… Janine felt like she was drowning… gasping for breath…. It come so quickly and flooded… it was so cold and so fast… she tried to anchor into something, but the force of the water pulled her under. She gasped for air once before getting pulled under by the water. It’s terrifying… when she’s able to pull her head up… she cries for him… for a single second before she’s pulled under again by the water…
She feels like her lungs are on fire… like she’s going to drown… the darkness surrounds her eyes… she wants to scream… or sob… or..,Janine wakes up, sweating and panting for breath. It felt so damn real…
She feels tears fill her eyes… it felt so real… she turned to the landline… the line rang…
‘Janine?’
“I know you probably hate me… and I’m the last person you want to talk to… but stay on the phone with me, please…”
‘Of course…’ he whispered, yawning as he sat with her…
“What are you and Dr Ray working on?” It’s a question that sounds so simple. It was a prompt for Egon Spengler to just talk… she needed it…
So he rambled… about anything he could conjure up…
‘Janine?’ He asked… the line was quiet… she was asleep… ‘I meant what I said… I love you. And I will do whatever it takes for you to understand how much I love you.’
There’s a silent beat… he’s about to hang up when he hears the soft sound that barely makes his heart jump into his throat.“I love you too…”