Work Text:
The past three weeks have been grueling, especially for Janine. The guys had been busy with back to back calls. She was buried in paperwork and the phones just wouldn’t stop ringing. Also, there had been a few clients who had come into the office in person to pay on their accounts. And later today, the guys had agreed to allow a grade school class to come by on a field trip. Janine had not found the time to set up the refreshment table.
Winston was walking by her desk as he was returning from the basement; he had just finished putting the full traps in the containment unit. “Hey there, what’s wrong?”
She looked up from her paperwork. “I’m never gonna catch up on all this work, the damn phones won’t stop, and I haven’t set up the table for refreshments yet!” Just then, the phone rang again.
“Don’t worry; I’ll take care of all that stuff.” Winston gave her a reassuring smile.
“Thanks, Winston! I’d really appreciate that!”
“Sure! Where’s the refreshments?”
“The tables are in the storage closet in the basement; the food, drinks and stuff are in the fridge in the kitchen! It’s all in paper bags that I shoved into the back. You’ll see them - I wrote “if you open these, you’ll die” in black permanent marker!”
Winston chuckled. “Got it!” He then headed back downstairs to retrieve the tables.
Janine resumed her work.
The school class arrived at the firehouse at 1:00pm. Peter and Ray took them through the firehouse explaining the equipment; Egon would show the class the lab afterwards and explain some of his latest projects. Winston would finish up the tour by showing Ecto-1 to the class, up close and personal.
During this time, Janine was juggling answering the phones while trying to catch up on paperwork. She was hoping to then complete her quarterly report that was due to Peck’s office next week.
One of the children stepped aside from the Ecto-1 tour and asked Janine for a drink. While she was filling a paper cup with water, another child walked up. This little girl was asking for a juice box instead.
Just then, the phone started ringing again. Janine sighed heavily. “Hold on, I’ve gotta get the phone.”
While she returned to her desk to take the call, the two children walked over to the refreshment table. They started helping themselves to the cookies.
Janine hung up and saw the children. “Ok, hold on! Those are for after the tour!” She ran over to the table, trying to persuade the kids to stop. She looked around for the other guys but they were nowhere to be found.
She returned to her desk, grabbed the phone and buzzed the lab. “Egon, can you please come down here and help me with these kids?”
“I’m sorry Janine. I’m in the middle of a project; it really can’t be stopped at the moment.”
Janine sighed. “Where’s Dr. V?”
“I believe he’s currently in the restroom; he really can’t be interrupted either.”
She rolled her eyes. “What about Ray?”
“He’s assisting me with the project.”
“Fine.” She hung up, slamming the phone down. She looked around and saw that the teacher had gotten the two children to return to the group.
Just as she was resuming her work, the tour was over. The group made their way to the table. Some of the kids started pushing each other, fighting over the cupcakes.
The phone began ringing again. Winston was helping the teacher with handing out the refreshments while Janine answered the call.
Finally, the class left, thanking Janine again for the opportunity. She smiled and waved at them as she answered the phone again.
A few minutes later, a reporter with a camera crew walked into the firehouse. Janine had forgotten that Peter had agreed to an interview.
“Hi there, just have a seat please; I’ll let Dr. Venkman know you’re here.” Janine stood and walked upstairs. She knew Peter was in the rec room watching tv. “The reporter is here! They’re downstairs waiting for you.”
“They?!”
“Yeah, she brought the whole damn crew with her,” Janine replied warily.
“Hey, do we have any of those cupcakes or cookies left? It’d be nice if they had something, don’t you think?”
“No, those kids took it all! And these are grown ass people! Let ‘em get their own refreshments!”
“Wow! Who pissed in your oatmeal?!”
Janine put her hands on her hips. “Really?! I’ve been answering the phones, working on invoices, trying to finish a report, all while trying to halfway babysit those kids! I’m a little tired!”
“Ah come on, that’s what we pay you for!” Peter replied nonchalantly.
She glared at Peter before going back downstairs. Janine announced to the reporter and her crew that he would be with them shortly. She then sat back down and resumed her work.
Peter came downstairs within the next few minutes and took the reporter and her crew upstairs to use Egon’s office. It was more quiet there.
Janine had finally completed the invoices and the quarterly report. She sat back to take a short break.
Suddenly, Slimer came barreling down from the ceiling and headed straight for Janine! He had finished his nap and wanted to play.
She jumped up, holding out her hands in front of her to stop him. “SLIMER! NO!”
Too late. She jumped back to avoid getting slimed; however, her desk wasn’t as lucky. Slimer managed to stop himself but not before he had thoroughly slimed her desk, the chair, and her report.
Janine was so angry, she couldn’t form comprehensible sentences. “SLIMER! WHY THE HE….WHAT IS WRONG….I CAN’T BELIEVE…..!!” She ran to her desk and grabbed her purse.
Peter, Ray, Winston and Egon all ran downstairs once they heard all the commotion.
“Janine! What’s going on?” Peter asked.
She stopped and looked at them. Her bottom lip was trembling in anger. “After everything I’ve done around here, and this green buttwipe slimes EVERYTHING! That report is due next week! With everything ELSE I have to do, I’ll never get it done again on time! I’ve HAD IT! I QUIT!” She then turned and began storming out of the door.
“You can’t LEAVE!” Peter screamed. “What are WE gonna DO?!”
Janine simply turned around, threw Peter the middle finger, then left the firehouse.
The guys exchanged worried looks.
“She’ll be back,” Peter casually said.
************************************
It’s been two days since Janine quit and stormed out of the firehouse. Peter was confident that she’d return once she had time to cool off. Ray has been sitting at the desk answering calls; Egon was typing up the notes from a bust they recently handled; Winston and Peter were charging up the packs in case another call came in.
“How much longer are you gonna wait until you call Janine and beg her to come back?” Ray asked Peter worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s not coming back on her own,” Winston added.
“She’ll be back! We’ve just gotta give her some time!” Peter replied.
Egon spoke up from his work at the desk. “I highly doubt that, Peter,” he replied sternly.
“She’s done this before! She always comes back and acts like nothing ever happened!”
“Not this time,” Ray added.
“What’s different this time?” Peter asked.
“She’s completely stressed out,” Egon answered. “She does the work of at least two people, including the cleaning around here; she deals with Peck on a quarterly basis so WE don’t have to; and she always handles the extra things like playing hostess to tour groups with no complaints. Honestly, I don’t see how she gets anything done!”
“Yeah, she’s been doing all of this for the past five years! She’s gotta be tired of it!” Ray said.
“I never asked her to clean up the place,” Peter replied, his tone a bit strained.
“Would we get it done if she didn’t?” Winston asked with a chuckle.
They all nodded in agreement.
“Whaddya want me to do? Go over to her place and beg?” Peter whined.
“Grovel, actually,” Egon said.
Ray and Winston nodded.
Peter released a heavy sigh, rolled his eyes then grabbed Egon by the arm. “Fine. But you’re coming too! She likes you - butter her up for me.”
Egon just rolled his eyes.
“Why don’t we all go? Maybe we can find out a way we can help her?” Winston suggested.
They all agreed and jumped into Ecto-1.
*****************************
The guys arrived at Janine’s apartment. Peter made Egon walk up first. “Go on, you knock. If she sees you standing there, she’ll open the door.”
Egon sighed before knocking.
Janine walked to the door and looked through the peephole. She smiled when she saw Egon. She opened the door but her smile faded when she saw the others standing behind him. “What the hell do you guys want?”
“We want to apologize for whatever it was that caused you to quit, and please come back to work!” Egon admitted.
“Yeah! We’ll do whatever it takes!” Ray added.
“You name it, you’ve got it!” Winston said.
Then, Egon pulled Peter by the arm and pushed him in front of the others. “Do it - what I told you to do at the firehouse.”
Peter frowned, sighed heavily, then knelt down onto the floor in front of Janine. He clasped his hands together and looked up at Janine with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster. “Janine….I am deeply sorry for any suffering that I may have caused you. I truly apologize and if there is ANYTHING I can do to make your life easier at the firehouse, just let me know. Please, please come back to work for us!”
Janine smirked and rolled her eyes. “Good grief! Get up and you guys get inside! I don’t want the neighbors to see!” She stepped aside to allow them entry to her apartment. She then closed the door and folded her arms across her chest. “Ok, what the hell?!”
Egon stepped forward and stood a few feet in front of Janine. “Whatever happened that made you quit, we apologize for it. Is there anything we can do to convince you to come back? I’m not completely sure what exactly happened?”
“Come on, let’s all sit down and discuss it,” Ray suggested.
They all took a seat - Peter, Ray and Egon sat down on the couch, Winston slid a chair over from the dining room area and sat next to the couch, and Janine sat in the recliner. She sat with her hands clasped together in her lap.
Peter noticed how nervous she appeared. “What is it, kiddo?”
“It’s a lot of little things building up to this moment,” she replied softly.
“Like what?” Winston asked gently.
“I can handle the daily stuff: busy phones, invoices, even Peck occasionally. It’s just…..other things…,”
Peter leaned in closer. “What other things?”
She sighed before speaking. “If I have to ask, it doesn’t matter.”
“If you don’t ask, how are we supposed to know?” Egon gently replied.
She raised an eyebrow. “Fair point.” Janine fidgeted in her chair before speaking again. “I guess I just think you guys should know - that you’d see what’s going on - but most of the time, you’re all busy doing something else, so I guess that’s not fair for me to say.”
The guys all exchanged confused looks.
“Would it be too much to ask for you guys to help me with some of the other stuff?! If I’m obviously busy with the phones while we have a group of kids waiting for a tour, could ya at least fill in for me or take over the phones while I do it?! Shit like that!”
“I did help with setting up the refreshments,” Winston gently reminded her.
“Yes, and I deeply appreciate that! It’s the others I’m mostly talking to!” She replied angrily, waving her hand in their direction. “Nine and a half times outta ten, Dr. V is either on a date, setting up a date or getting ready for one! Egon and Ray - you two have your noses so far up a freaking microscope, you’d never hear a nuclear blast if we had one!”
They now all understood and nodded.
“Is it too much to ask for just a little help?! A LITTLE?! When I’m obviously SWAMPED?! I mean, you guys always tell me to ask if I need help, but it doesn’t make a difference unless you actually HELP ME! I know I act like I can handle it all, but what I can’t do is be in five places at one time!”
“I bet Spengs could come up with a way to do that!” Peter joked, but he returned to being serious when nobody else laughed. “Sorry, just trying to ease the tension.”
“Maybe we can hire a temp to help out?” Ray suggested.
“I don’t think we have the resources for that?” Janine replied, giving Peter a questioning look.
“I think you’re right, but I’d have to check with Louis to be sure. But if things are really that busy right now, I’ll figure out something! Hell, I’ll pay someone from my personal account if I have to!” Peter then smiled at Janine, a sincere smile.
“I believe a temp would be a wise investment,” Egon added. “It will also give Janine the flexibility to take some time off - some much deserved time off!” He dared to glance at her, relieved that she was returning a smile to him as well.
“Well, sounds like we have our plan!” Winston happily announced.
“And we can help out too by doing our own chores - laundry, dishes - stuff like that. You’ve been doing that too Janine and we should be helping!” Ray said.
“I guess we have taken for granted how much you actually do for us; I for one deeply apologize,” Egon replied.
Peter, Ray and Winston each apologized as well.
Janine began to cry happy tears; she was truly touched by their willingness to make things right. “I’m sorry…I just….got so…..overwhelmed….,”
Peter stood and walked over to stand beside her chair. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, don’t sweat it. We should be the ones who’s sorry - you’re right, we should’ve seen this.”
“You guys are busy! You don’t have time to see it!”
“We should make the time - check in with you at the very least,” Egon added. He had also walked over and knelt in front of her, his hand gently resting on her knee.
Janine stood, giving Egon a tight hug, then Ray and Winston. Peter had knelt again on the floor in front of her, clasping his hands together. “Will you please, pretty please come back Janine?”
She rolled her eyes and grinned. “Yes, just get the hell up off my floor!”
Peter stood and gave Janine a hug. “Great! We’ll see ya in the morning!”
Peter, Ray and Winston headed for the door, but Egon hesitated. He hung back to speak to Janine privately. The guys gave him a smile and a nod, then walked out, waiting just outside the door.
Egon smiled at Janine, who was standing there smiling back. “I just wanted to let you know….I have sincerely missed your presence these last few days.” His face blushed.
She chuckled. “Yeah, answering the phones can be a real pain in the ass!”
He took her hands gently in his. “That’s not what I meant.”
Janine’s eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean?!”
He cleared his throat before speaking. “I have missed seeing your smile, hearing your voice….I miss you walking into the lab.”
Janine leaned in a little closer. “Oh really? And why is that?” She looked at him with a look of love in her eyes.
He cleared his throat again. “Well, I …. I’ve realized …. I would like to …. Ask you out?”
“Like a date?”
“Yes, just you and I.”
Janine threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “Oh Egon! I’d LOVE TO!”
Egon returned the hug before pulling back to look at Janine. “Good! I’ll make arrangements for this Friday.” He then gave her a slightly mischievous look, his eyebrow arching and his lips curled upwards on one end. “I’ll see to it that your boss allows you time to leave a little early to prepare for the evening.”
Janine giggled. “Wonderful! What can you do about getting me a raise?”
“I can most likely work that out as well.”
Janine’s smile brightened. “I’ll see you in the morning, and I can’t wait for Friday!” She tiptoed and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
Egon blushed and left the apartment, smiling from ear to ear.
As the men settled into Ecto-1 and began their trip back to the firehouse, Peter leaned over in the back seat towards Egon. “How’d it go with Janine? Did that little talk we had on the way over help?”
“Yes, it helped greatly! We are going out this Friday!” Egon beamed back excitedly.
“That’s great, Iggy!” Ray congratulated.
“I’m glad you two finally got it together, man!” Winston happily added.
Egon’s smile changed into a smirk as he addressed Peter. “Yes, which brings me to some business we need to discuss.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “Oh really?”
“Yes. Janine will need to leave work a bit earlier on Friday to allow her adequate time to prepare for our date.”
“Yeah, sure! Of course!”
“Also, she will require a raise as well.”
Peter laughed. “Who do you think you are - a Jedi? Sounds like you’re trying to pull one of those mind control tricks on me!”
“I’m not trying anything - I’m stating what she requires in order to return to work for us.”
“He’s right, Pete! Janine deserves it!” Winston chimed in.
“Yeah! She really does!” Ray added.
Peter smiled. “Yeahhhh, I know. Fine, I’ll talk to Louis about adding it in starting with her upcoming paycheck.” He looked at Egon, narrowing his eyes. “What else does she need?”
“I think that covers it…..for now,” Egon replied, a slight grin on his lips.
“Yeah, anything else she requires, that’s YOUR department!” Peter said with a laugh.
Egon simply smiled with a deep blush coloring his cheeks.