It was a chilly November evening when the Ghostbusters had received a call revolving around a ghostly team of hockey players reeking havoc at Madison Square Garden, turning the famous arena into a giant icy world of ethereal antics. After slipping and sliding across an ice sheathed floor, rushing through bitterly cold air and dealing with a dozen ghosts playing hockey with the ghost trap, the intrepid quartet managed to ensnare the whole team and lock them away in the ecto-containment unit in the basement of the firehouse.

However the chronic exposure to such otherworldly cold had taken its toll on the Ghostbusters' health.

Dr. Ray Stantz had a small cold that kept him out of his bookstore and in the lab at the firehouse, while Dr. Peter Venkman had to deal with a sinus infection that gave him skull splitting headaches that prevented him from leaving his apartment. Winston Zeddemore had a nasty stomach bug that he couldn't quite shake and kept him bedridden as well. Then there was Dr. Egon Spengler, who refused to admit was ill, isolated himself in his apartment under the guise that he had an experiment he needed to finish.

Ray, wearing a red flannel robe over his white t-shirt and gray sweatpants, could hear how congested Egon sounded over the phone and knew that he was suffering just as much as the rest of the team. "Spengler is still in denial." Ray hoarsely stated as he hung up the phone and blew his nose. "Peter is doing better but Dana wants to keep him home for a few more days and Winston's finally stopping throwing up."

"Well, at least there's some kind of improvement." Janine Melnitz, the ever loyal and fiery receptionist of the Ghostbusters, had volunteered to help Ray at the firehouse until the rest of the team had recovered. Handing Ray a mug of green tea she pressed her hand to his forehead. "Wish I could say the same for you."

"Fever?" Ray asked as he took a sip of the tea, fighting to ingest the drink as his sore throat wanted to rebel against it.

"Yup. Nothing too bad, yet." Janine gave Ray a stern, almost motherly look. "But you do need to take it easy."

"I can handle it." Ray coughed a little as he reached for the phone. "I'm going to call Kylie and-"

"No you're not." Janine put her hand on top of his and kept him from lifting the phone from the receiver. "You're going to go upstairs and get some sleep. If anything happens at the store Kylie knows to call us, not the other way around."

"Yeah, I guess..." Ray's hand didn't budge from the phone though. "Maybe I should call Spengler back, see if he needs-"

"No." Janine persisted as she gently lifted his hand from the phone. "He's grown man, he take care of himself."

"But he's not." Ray coughed a little and sniffed hard. "Egon's alone right now. Peter has Dana to look after him, Winston has his father and step mother staying with him and I have you taking care of me."

"Look, if I stop by Egon's apartment to check in on him in person will that ease your mind?"

Ray nodded once and immediately regretted it as the movement caused the congestion in his head to shift and give him a massive headache. He put his hand to his head and shut his eyes.

"Come on." Janine put her hands under his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Let's get you to bed and I'll stop by Egon's apartment. I'll make some soup when I get back."

"Janine?" Ray almost whimpered as she guided him up the stairs to the second floor.

"Yes?"

"Remind me to give you a raise."

"That won't be a problem." She gave him a sly grin. "Just make sure Dr. V knows about it!"

Wearing a plain white t-shirt and black sweatpants Egon coughed heavily as he sat behind his computer in the modest office of his apartment. The physicist had no experiment that required any immediate attention, he simply didn't want to be bother while ill and didn't want to be a burden to his friends. Being disowned by his family had given him priceless privacy for his work but it had its drawbacks; such as chronic loneliness.

Typing away at his computer Egon coughed again and nearly choked as the coughing fit hit him harder than he expected. Struggling to catch his breath Egon leaned forward in his chair and waited for the violent fit to finally pass.

Opening his teary eyes he stared at his blurry hands and watched as his vision would sporadically slip in and out of focus.

His chest hurt. His head hurt. His entire body was sore from being so sick, yet he refused to acknowledge it. It was becoming more difficult and painful to breath through his heavily congested lungs.

"Water." Egon decided as he stood up on shaky legs and walked slowly from the office and into his kitchenette.

The entirety of his apartment was bare save for the absolute necessities. The kitchenette was small with only the basic appliances and a sink. Putting a clean glass under the tap Egon filled it with cool water and took a slow sip.

Looking over at the stove Egon eyed the tea kettle and decided that tea would be better than just water. With a trembling hand he reached over and filled the kettle under the tap and struggled to turn on the stove, the small flame refusing to ignite.

A wave of dizziness suddenly overwhelmed his mind and he braced himself against the sink to keep himself from falling forward. "Perhaps I should call Ray..." Egon finally admitted as he felt too weak and miserable to try to fend for himself any longer.

The kettle began to overflow with water as Egon lost track of the tap. Water began splashing over the edge of the sink, the nearby counter and stove.

Putting a hand to his aching, spinning head Egon was prey to own misery.

Janine had made her way to Egon's apartment building just a few blocks away from the firehouse and let herself inside. The modest building was far below Egon's means, which never bothered the well educated man as the modest living was beneficial to both funding his experiments and giving him reason to spend more time amongst his friends at the firehouse.

Walking up the two flights of stairs to Egon's floor Janine found his door and knocked softly. "Egon? It's me!"

There wasn't an immediate response, but she wasn't surprised. Egon often failed to notice when someone was trying to get his attention.

The knocking at his apartment door was a seemingly alien noise to the sick physicist as he rarely had visitors spending time at his apartment. Finally able to recognize the sound and the voice Egon responded accordingly.

"J... Janine?" Egon whispered as he shut his eyes and fell to the floor as the dizzy spell won out, dropping the towel onto the open flame of the stove top in the process.

Falling to the floor with a heavy 'thud' Egon laid alone on his side and began shivering on the floor.

"Egon?!" Janine had heard the loud crash through the closed from inside the apartment and fished the emergency key to Egon's door from her purse.

The 'thud' was heavy and there was no following noise which frightened Janine. If something had fallen shouldn't Egon have turned his attention to the source of the noise or at the very least replied to her voice, even if it was through a locked door.

Isolating the correct key she unlocked the door and let herself inside. "Egon? Is everything-"

Seeing Egon laying prone on the floor beside the stove Janine immediately rushed over to him and knelt beside his body. Gently laying her hand down on his back she could feel how warm his skin felt and how horribly he was trembling. "Oh Egon," she softly placed her other hand against his forehead and frowned. "why didn't you tell us you were so sick?"

Ray was laying down on his bed in the bunk room wrapped up in a thick quilt that his Aunt Lois had given him as a Christmas gift several years prior. Too congested to sleep and too sore to lay comfortably Ray rolled from side to side in an attempt to find a position that would allow him to finally drift off to sleep.

It was abnormally quiet in the firehouse. Being the only occupant was very uncommon in itself, but being alone and sick in the massive building gave Ray the opportunity to hear every sound the building made. Creaking pipes, rattling windows, uneven floorboards shifting every time the building swayed in the strong fall wind...

"This place still needs a lot of work." Ray grumbled to himself as he pulled the quilt up over his head and tried to surround himself in warmth. "Need to make a repair list..."

Coughing lightly he closed his eyes and mercifully drifted off to sleep.

"Wonder when Janine will be back..."

Through a difficult and awkward process Janine managed to rouse Egon enough into a state of semi consciousness and helped guide him up from the hard floor and over to the old, worn out blue sofa just a few yards away. Wrapping one arm around Egon's waist and pressing her other hand against his chest Janine let Egon lean heavily against him as she guided his exhausted body toward the much more comfortable sofa.

"Lay down." Janine guided him down onto the couch, moving her arm from his waist to the back of his head. Pushing Egon down into a laying position she helped him to lay flat on his back with his head against a rather large pillow. "Rest. I'm going to help you."

Egon's glassy eyes partially opened into thin slits as he watched Janine walk out of the sitting room and find her way into the bathroom. "Janine... You really are here." He closed his eyes again and let out a soft sigh. "I'm not hallucinating... Good."

Janine returned to the sofa shortly with a cold wet washcloth in her hands. Having already wrung out the excess water she smoothed damp material over Egon's hot forehead and sat on the edge of the sofa near his side.

"Try to sleep." She encouraged with a gentle whisper. "I'm going to help you."

"Janine." Egon spoke her name but never opened his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Because Ray and I were worried." She replied sincerely. "I wanted to check in on you. I'm glad I did."

"So am I."

Janine wasn't expecting such a reply and blushed a little. "Rest for a while. I'll take you to the firehouse so I can watch over you and Ray together."

"You don't have to..."

"You're right, I don't." Janine pressed the back of her hand against Egon's right cheek to gauge his temperature. "But I want to."

"Thank you."

Ray wasn't sure how long he slept, all he did know was that he still felt exhausted and his head was killing him. Pulling the quilt down from his face Ray stared with blurry eyes at the ceiling for a few seconds before pulling the blanket back up. He was chilly. The warmth of the quilt was the only thing that could bring Ray comfort as his body was wracked mercilessly by the cold that had affected every member of the Ghostbusters.

"Did Janine come back, yet?" Ray asked out loud as if he could somehow get a response from the open air. "I hate being alone."

The answer to his question came in the form of the front door of the firehouse opening and shutting shortly afterward. Janine's heels could be heard clicking slowly across the hard floor of the garage as she made her way toward the staircase leading to the second floor.

"Good timing." Ray muttered as he listened to her walking ever closer to the bunk room.

Janine kept her slow pace as she passed through the door with Egon at her side. Egon was still suffering from a fever and some weakness but thanks to Janine helping him at his apartment he had regained just enough strength to endure the car ride back to the firehouse.

"Lay down now, we're here." Janine coaxed as she helped him to lay back on his bed next to Ray's bed. She kept her hand on his shoulder in case he suddenly fell backward or lost consciousness again. "Ray's right here, too."

"Thank you..."

Ray heard Egon's deep voice and pulled the quilt back down from his head. "Spengler...?"

Janine answered on Egon's behalf. "Yeah, he's here. You two are going room together until you're both well."

"It's nice to have some company." Ray joked with a light yet groggy tone.

"I'm going to go make that soup now. And I'm not going anywhere for the rest of the day."

After Janine left the bunk room Ray propped himself upward slightly on his elbows and looked over at Egon. The tall physicist had been covered under a heavy blanket and still had the washcloth pressed over his forehead.

"You look pretty rough there, pal." Ray observed.

Opening one eye Egon managed to look over at Ray. "The same can be said about you."

"Think Winston and Peter are feeling just as lousy?"

"If either them is even a fraction as ill as we are, then yes."

Janine set about in the small kitchenette making her sick friends a pot of soup. The modest cooking space, containing only a few pots, pans and bowls, made it a little difficult for Janine to get everything prepared.

"Grandma's homemade chicken soup." Janine spoke to herself as she walked through the small area and checked every cabinet and cupboard for the items she'd need. "Always worked when I was kid and felt sick, I bet it'll work for them, too!"

After two hours of simmering the family recipe on the stove Janine brought two bowls on a tray into the bunk room and set it down on the small table between the two beds.

Egon was in a deep sleep and didn't rouse when Janine entered the room. Ray on the other hand heard her enter the room and he opened his tired eyes.

"How do you feel Ray?" Janine asked as she pressed her hand to his forehead. His fever wasn't as high as Egon's fever, but it was still lingering. "You still feel warm."

"I'd feel a whole lot better if my damn headache would just let up."

"Think you can eat a little?"

"Not sure, my stomach doesn't feel one-hundred percent right now."

"Could you try a little? It's chicken soup, so it shouldn't be to harsh."

"Yeah, I'll try." Ray struggled to sit upright in his bed again, fortunately Janine was willing to give him a hand. She pulled on his shoulder to help him sit forward before pushing his pillow up against his back for support. "Thanks."

"Here." Janine handed him the bowl with a small amount of steaming soup. "Try to eat a small amount and if you can handle it I'll bring you some more."

"Janine, you're too good to us."

"And don't you forget it." She teased kindly.

As Ray tentatively ate his soup, doing his best to fight back any dwindling nausea for the sake of keeping his strength up, Janine sat on the edge of Egon's bed and softly put her cool hand to the side of his hot face. Egon never stirred from his slumber as Janine watched over him.

"Egon still has a high fever." She stated as she took the washcloth from his forehead so she could refresh it was cool water. She also took Egon's glasses from his eyes and folded them neatly on the nightstand. "Do you think he should take some kind of medication to bring it down?"

Ray stopped eating the soup and looked over at Egon, who was breathing deeply and seemed to be resting comfortably on his head. "What's his temperature right now?"

"I'll go get the thermometer." Janine replied as she walked into the adjoined wash room to retrieve the item and put the washcloth under the tap.

"If his fever breaks one-hundred and three then give him two Ibuprofen. If his fever is less than that then it should be okay to let him sleep through the fever and let his body recover naturally."

Janine shook out the thermometer as she returned to the bunk room and replaced the freshly dampened washcloth over Egon's forehead. "Okay, I'll remember that." Gently she placed the thermometer between Egon's teeth and began counting to sixty, using her watch to keep track of time. "Ray, would you like something for your headache?"

"No, this soup is actually helping quite a bit. Thank you."

"Grandma's soup can cure just about anything!"

"Be sure to thank your grandma for me."

Janine just smiled as she returned her attention to Egon. The sight of finding Egon laying unconscious on his apartment floor was still fresh in her mind and it was enough to keep her on guard as she stayed at her sick friend's side. In all the time she had known Egon she had never heard him complain about feeling ill, tired or sore after a bust. It seemed so strange to be looking over him and seeing him so weak and pale.

"Let's see," she pulled the thermometer from Egon's mouth and read the gauge. "he's at one-hundred and two point seven."

"If his temperature doesn't reduce itself within the hour then go ahead and give him the Ibuprofen. It'll keep his temperature from getting any higher. There should be a bottle in the medicine cabinet."

"Ray," Janine turned to look at the sick engineer as she spoke. "do you think we should be worried about him?"

"I... Did something happen?"

"Well, when I went to check on him at his apartment I found unconscious on the floor. I'm not sure why he passed out, unless it was the fever."

"But you were able to wake him up, right?"

"A little. I helped him over to the couch and gave him the cold washcloth for his fever while he rested."

"I wouldn't be worried Janine." Ray tried to reassure her. He coughed a little and cleared his throat before continuing. "Egon can be pretty stubborn when it comes to his health or needing to rest, but if he was dangerously ill he'd admit himself to a hospital before either of us would have to do it for him."

"I hope you're right."

The next morning Ray felt much better than he had before. His headache was entirely gone and his temperature was almost back to normal. Thanks in no small part to Janine he was well on his way to making a full recovery. Egon on the other hand was still sick. While his temperature hadn't risen to a dangerous degree in the previous evening or through the evening he was still in a deep sleep.

Janine stayed in the bunk room keeping an eye on Egon while Ray checked in on Peter and Winston through phone calls. Peter's sinus infection wasn't severe but he was still miserable, while Winston was also on the road to recovery thanks to his dad and step mom taking care of him.

"I just got off the phone with Winston," Ray whispered as he joined Janine in the bunk room. "he'll be back tomorrow."

"What about Dr. V?"

"According to Dana he's still suffering from one nasty headache but he's getting better. He should be back in two or three days."

"That's good, it's a little difficult to keep answering the phone and keep an eye on sick Ghostbusters."

"About that," Ray awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck as he spoke. "when's the last time you got some sleep? Maybe you should go home and relax a little."

"I'm okay, I swear." Janine forced herself to smile as she pushed through her exhaustion. "Honest."

"No, you're tired. Why don't you go lay down for a while. I'll stay with Egon."

Sighing Janine knew that she couldn't pretend to be completely fine when a scientist who had extensively studied human emotion and body language was urging her to take a break.

"Okay. But I'm not going to leave the firehouse, I'll go down into Dr. V's lab and take a little rest."

"Sounds perfect." Ray was appreciative for her cooperation and all of her help.

Slowly Janine rose from the edge of the bed and crossed the bunk room, passing Ray who moved forward and sat down on the edge of his bed to keep an eye on Egon.

"Not sure if you heard me talking a moment ago, but everyone is already on the mend. So don't lag behind us, okay?"

"...Ray?" Egon's voice suddenly filled the room.

"Yeah, I'm here buddy. Do you need anything?"

"No." Egon's hand reached up and pulled the washcloth from his forehead. He realized he wasn't wearing his glasses and instinctively reached over to the nightstand to retrieve them. "How long was I unconscious?"

"About a day and a half. Do you remember passing out in your apartment at all?"

"Vaguely." Egon slipped his glasses in place over the bridge of his nose. "I remember Janine was in my apartment and I know that she brought me here. I don't recall any details from in between the two events."

"Yeah, she found you passed out on the floor when she went to check on you. Afterward she brought you here to recover and had been by your side pretty much every minute."

"She was?"

"Yeah."

"Where is she now?"

"Downstairs. I told her to get some rest so she doesn't end up getting sick from exhaustion."

Egon sat up slowly and pressed his palm against his forehead. "My fever is almost gone. How are you feeling?"

"About the same, I guess. Except I didn't pass out on the floor yesterday." Ray gave Egon an odd look. "But I did have to spend some time alone and that just felt plain weird. This firehouse is never empty."

"What are your remaining symptoms?"

"Mild fever and a very dull headache. What about you?"

"Our symptoms do appear to be identical." Steadily Egon got to his feet and stood still for a moment to judge how weak he actually was compared to how strong he felt. "I'm going to take a shower. I very much dislike feeling ill, I'm certain the shower will help."

"Think you can stand for that long?"

"I hope so. I do not want to pass out for a second time."

"Or pass out while naked."

Egon blushed but didn't say a word as he slowly crossed the room and entered the washroom. After twenty minutes Egon stepped out of the shower and changed into fresh clothes he kept in his footlocker. Ray had since gone back down to the first floor to handle the paperwork from P.C.O.C. dealing with the entire team becoming ill and Janine had finally fell asleep on the little couch in Peter's personal office space.

Making his way down to the first floor Egon silently acknowledged Ray sitting behind Janine's desk filling out paperwork before walking into the small office space. Watching Janine sleeping peacefully curled up on her side he retrieved the the light blue blanket that had been tucked away in the bottom drawer of Peter's filing cabinet. Unfolding the blanket he draped it over Janine, careful not to disturb her.

"Thank you Janine."

-The End