two shadowy figures slunk through the darkness of pre-dawn NY. They paused briefly in front of the dark Ghostbusters Firehouse, re-adjusting the bags that they carried. Seemingly satisfied that it was quiet inside, the two continued to the side alley, to the door there. They stopped there, the slightly taller one shifting his bags to knock softly on the door. A second later, the side door opened a crack, revealing one dark eye.

"The monkeys are coming." The tall one whispered. The person inside made a rude noise, then opened the door to reveal a scowling pale face around the dark eyes. 

"You're late." The person holding the door scolded. "We won't have much time before they wake up."

"You try finding what we needed at this time of night." The shorter, stockier of the two retorted, stepping in. 

"Did you get everything?" The doorkeeper pressed urgently.

"Of course." The taller one scoffed, following his companion. The dark one shut the door behind them, locking it.

"Come on. We've got everything else set up upstairs." They urged, heading for the stairs up to the first floor.

"I can't wait to see Egon's face when he sees what we've been working on." The stockier one grinned as they followed.

"It'll slay him for sure." The taller one agreed. "He won't even know what hit him!"


Dr. Egon Spengler was jolted out of his peaceful slumber by the resident Firehouse ghost shaking his shoulder and gibbering uncontrollably.

"What is it, Slimer?" He yawned, sitting up and peering at the clock. He could just make out the numbers. 5:30 am. A bit early in the morning to be up. Slimer urgently tugged on his shirt, motioning downstairs with his other arm.

"Don't be ridiculous, Slimer. The only people who could possibly be downstairs are Kylie and Garrett. They can take care of it if anything occurs." He assured the spook. 

A muffled scream and a crash from below seemed to prove him wrong. "Or not." He amended, rolling out of bed and grabbing his glasses. Looking around, he spotted the mag-light beside the bed. The proton packs were downstairs; he'd have to make do with this. 

He crept down the stairs, Slimer hovering anxiously around him. The firehouse was completely dark from what he could see, except for a light on in the kitchen. Muffled voices were coming form there. There was another yelp, followed by a second crash from the vicinity of the lighted area. Slimer made a curious noise. 

"I agree, Slimer." He whispered, stealthy moving closer. He slowly moved his head into the door to see what was happening. 

Kylie was sitting in Eduardo's lap, both of them looking fairly dazed as Garrett picked up a ladder. Roland was standing nearby, holding a large bowl of some unidentified liquid. 

"I asked if you were ready, Eddie." Garrett snickered.

"You did not!" Eduardo protested. 

"He did too." Kylie corrected, getting out of Eduardo's lap, holding her head.

"Keep it down." Roland hissed. "We don't want to wake up Egon"

Egon stepped forward into the room. "It's a bit late for that."

Eduardo scrambled to his feet as the other three hastily straightened, staring at him in surprise. 

"EGON!?!"

"What are you doing up?"

He pushed his glasses higher on his nose as he looked at them. "I could ask the same. Eduardo and Roland are not supposed to be here for several more hours." 

"We, uh..." Roland stammered, setting down the bowl.

"It's a surprise party." Kylie blurted. Eduardo and Garrett glared at her.

"Indeed. For what?" He inquired. They exchanged guilty looks between themselves. 

"Happy Anniversary, Egon!" Garrett exclaimed with belated gusto.

Slimer made a confused sound. "Anniversary?" Egon echoed.

"It was one year ago today that we nailed Achria's ugly face." Eduardo explained.

"School starts later this year." Roland added helpfully. 

"We figured we'd throw a party for you, as a way of saying thank you." Kylie continued shyly. "Y'know. For always being there for us and all."

"Teaching us to kick ghost BUTT!" Garrett cheered.

"Allowing us to continue on the legacy." Roland smiled.

"Getting slimed everyday." 

The other three Ghostbusters glared at Eduardo. "What?!" He exclaimed innocently. "It's true!"

Egon smiled at them, bemused, as Slimer giggled. They had grown up a lot in the past year, but some things never changed. "Does Janine know about this as well?" He inquired.

"No." Kylie said. She exchanged looks with the others. "At least we don't think so..."

He nodded. "If it would be acceptable to you, I purpose that you carry on and surprise her when she arrives in a few hours." 

"While you go back to bed." Garrett suggested. "Sorry 'bout waking you Egon, But some of us just don't know how ta keep quiet."

"I wasn't ready!" Eduardo immediately protested. Kylie stifled a giggle.

Egon nodded. "I'll see you in a few hours then."

"'Kay."

"Sleep well."

"Right."

"Could you pretend to be surprised?" Eduardo asked speculatively. 

Egon nodded, smiling. "We'll claim it was all your doing." He said, motioning to Slimer as well. All 4 Ghostbusters looked relived.

"Thanks, Egon."

"Welcome. Good night." He turned and headed back up the stairs, shaking his head. Had it already been a year? The time had just seem to fly by. They had all changed so much, done so many things.

All 4 of his students had grown up into remarkable people. Kylie, who had once been the shyest of the group was no longer afraid of voicing her options, in fact, arguing with them on many occasions. Roland had developed his ability for machines to the point that he often surprised Egon with his ingenuity. Garrett was still the braggart of the group, but he now tempered it, and his temper with experience. And then there was Eduardo. He hadn't shed his slacker attitude, but he had allowed them all to see past that, to the loyalty that lay underneath. 

Even he and Janine had changed. To think that just over a year ago he had been living alone in the Firehouse, with only Slimer and his molds for company. And Janine, she had virtually become the kids, no, the *groups* mother in that time. They weren't kids anymore. 

What change a year had brought. Egon thought as he climbed into bed. It would be interesting to see what would happen in the coming year...

Fin.