Chapter Text
The invites were sent and the day was planned. After dropping many hints and subtly asking directly and indirectly to make sure everyone was free Phoebe had managed to set up, what she hopes, is a suitable reward for putting up with her.
Her family was the first to arrive, all three a little confused as they take in the streamers and decorations covering the lab.
"What is this Phoebe?" Callie asks, approaching her daughter as she continues to look around. All the usual equipment is cleared out and put away somewhere, leaving the metal desks filled with presents, balloon and party games.
"Surprise, Ghostbusters party." Phoebe announces flatly, hoping that maybe her mom won't be mad. She could be mad.
Fortunately Callie isn't mad and just hugs her daughter, asking her if she did this herself and then asking why.
Technically Phoebe did have help, Winston helped her move the equipment because she obviously had to ask before messing with his lab, but she did put up the streamers and organise cake.
....She thinks the ice cream cake might be melting at this point.
"You did all this?" Gary asks as Phoebe rolls her eyes, being asked the same question again is not a good start to what she hoped was a 'good time'.
"There are games. I think Lucky will choose to do the shooting one." Phoebe states in place of an answer, subtly referencing the set-up false proton packs in the actual testing room. She didn't want to encourage the actual use of proton packs but they have a brand and she wants to stick to it.
As expected Trevor perks up and starts moving towards the area, distracting the others enough to let them stop question the why's and how's.
Slowly but surely the other filter in, the non-biological members of her family at least have the wisdom to not question the party and highlight her unusual behaviour.
It is kind of them.
As Trevor and Lucky shout as they play with the fake proton packs Phoebe looks at the corner of the room where a group of old people sit.
The original Ghostbusters.
All of them.
...Not quite.
Pushing that thought away Phoebe starts heading towards them, happy with the fact she guessed correctly with what would best suit them at this party.
A place to sit down and talk.
They all have their lives now, busy and tired, but they need to talk and they need to sit.
"Heya Phoebe." Mrs. Barrett greets, smiling up from her position next to Peter.
Phoebe has never seen the woman as Mrs. Venkman and she refuses to now. If anything Uncle Venkman should be Mr. Barrett.
"Hi." Phoebe greets back. Simply out of formality and not in place of an actual greeting. They can see her, they know she's there, why would they need a greeting.
The corner has three sofa's all pushed together, Winston eyeing between them and Phoebe suspiciously as he tries to place where the girl had got them from.
He doesn't actually ask her though and so he will never know.
In front of the sofa's is a table littered with newspapers, pictures and the occasional headshot of the mayor. (Though Phoebe is troubled to remember if he is still the mayor after the 'ice-age' event.)
"What can we do for you kid?" Peter asks, lifting his crayon from the headshot of Walter Peck he had been defacing moments ago.
He's taken to calling her Kid. Probably in place of calling her by her actual name, which he often forgets, or calling her by her last name, that belongs to her grandfather and close personal friend of Peter's who is now dead.
So Phoebe has only several times objected to being called Kid by Uncle Venkman.
"I was checking you were enjoying yourself."
The group looks at her, huffing with warm smiles and varying expressions.
They all think to varying degrees she's too much like her grandfather in that regard. He never seemed like it but he was always kind. Always caring. To people he wanted to care about that is. To his friends.
"All good over here Phoebe, you okay?" Uncle Ray asks.
Phoebe smiles at him before nodding. Parties aren't here forte but with the only real sounds being her family talking and shouting, it's manageable.
"Why are there picture of Walter Peck, Phoebe?" Winston asks, picking up a printed picture to illustrate his point.
Phoebe had thought the reason obvious.
"You all hate him." She states plainly only to be met with mutters and mumbles.
"I'm not blind and I can read upside-down." She tuts, "'Come one, come all to see Dickless the clown. The marvel! What a cu-'"
"And that's enough to prove your point I think." Uncle Ray cuts her off before glancing at Peter and laughing awkwardly.
They wave her away and mumble multiple things but they seem to be enjoying themselves and reassuring her to just enjoy the party so she relents and walks off.
She reminds herself to be more trusting.
If they don't say what they actually mean it's their fault.
Sliding over to where Lars is sat seemingly alone at a table Phoebe pauses for a moment, watching him.
He has a bowl of ice cream cake and is looking at a stack of cups intently.
"You're meant to stack the cups." She helpfully supplies, watching as the para-biologist jumps before realizing it's only her and calming himself.
"I know that. Just waiting for them to make their move." Lars explains, gesturing towards the stack of cups before they jump to life and stack themselves, a red light jumping between them quickly.
Possessor.
Phoebe had heard that Pinfield was working on training Possessor and taking it out of it's cage a lot more as a sort of experiment but she hadn't considered Lars would bring the ghost here.
"Why?"
Lars shrugs, placing his bowl down before resetting the cups into one single stack.
"I...Like playing with Possessor." Lars admits as he rubs his hands together and attempting to beat the ghost in terms of stacking speed. He fails terribly, knocking two cups onto the floor in his haste. He minds that more than Possessor using his spoon to mush the cake into a blob and chuck some on him.
"Ha ha. Don't make me put you in a time out trap!" He warns with one finger pointed at the spoon in his bowl.
Possessor seems to relent then and jump into something in Lars' top pocket, not moving after that.
"Don't worry Spengler." Pinfield huffs with a smile as he sees Phoebe's eyes narrow to where Possessor is now, a flash of the run-down of the ghost's abilities being played in her head. The theory that the ghost can take over parts of a human body coming for a moment.
"Possessor likes playing with me as well." Lars states simply as he pulls out the item in his top pocket and shows it to Phoebe. It's a small rectangular item that takes a moment to be identified fully but after a second Phoebe can see it's a small handheld water game, Possessor jumping from piece to piece in the game to try and put rings on hooks.
"Go get yourself some cake or something kid, it's weird to be hanging around with a ghost and it's babysitter."
"You were my babysitter once." Phoebe mutters, only to be met with an off-handed, "You were a ghost once."
Since that night it would seem Lars has let go of some of his guilt and he's still the only person who will actually talk to her about that night. She makes a note in her head to change that, the others deserve to stop feeling guilt as well
.
Phoebe is half awake, listening to words that she won't remember. She'll wake up and remember they existed, not what they were.
Still, she doesn't mind as much as she would if she was fully awake.
"Do you think she knows?" She hears Venkman ask. He sounds close but she can't remember where she is enough to know how close.
"About what?"
That's Uncle Winston, she knows that. He sounds just as close.
"How much we love her you idiot." Uncle Peter clarifies, not actually meaning that Winston is an idiot. He just likes to insult people a lot Phoebe has found.
-It's one of his defining characteristics. Phoebe knows everyone's.
It then hits her.
They love her...
"Of course. Probably...right?" Uncle Ray starts off strong before doubting himself. He also breaks Phoebe from her tired musing.
"Don't look at me, I don't know what goes on in that girl's head." Phoebe's mum huffs, amused. Phoebe can picture it, the scene if she peaked her eyes open a little, Callie Spengler with both hands raised in surrender at the original Ghostbusters, the old men her father fell in love with and who fell in love with him right back.
"Yes but you're her mother." Gary laughs, probably kissing Callie. Phoebe doesn't imagine that, she doesn't want to.
"And I also love her but whether she knows that is anyone's guess."
It's silent for a while then, Phoebe doesn't hear movement but she also doesn't hear talking so she entertains the thought this might be a dream.
A really boring, entirely dark dream but a dream all the same.
"I think Phoebe likes us in her own way. Why else would she do this?" Trevor breaks the silence, not sounding as quiet or as concerned as the others, being hushed a moment later.
"Free cake." Lucky states, quiet.
"Not for her, she's the one that got the cake." Callie reminds them as Lucky clicks her tongue, forgetting that minor fact.
"Actually she might have stole my card for that...I was being chased by a rather annoying ghost and dropped it, she just took advantage of the fact she had a sort-of adult's card and used it to finance this party." Lars admits, not sounding as bothered as Phoebe thought he would. She hadn't actually used his card, she just HAD his card and was planning to return it after the party just to make him sweat.
It was only meant to be implied card-usage.
"Why would you-...She did what?" Callie asks, Phoebe imagining the para-biologist shrugging.
"We are all here for one reason, besides the cake, her."
A silence follows that Phoebe can't remember turning into eternity until it does.
She wakes up.