Fantasma... That's Spanish for Love (A Holtzbert Story)

Chapter One - Early Bird Special

It's morning. Holtzmann is the only one at the firehouse. Always the first one in and last one out. She of course is working on a new gadget while jamming out to Shania Twain.

"Alright, now I just need to connect this red wire to this green one and turn this knob and bam- Jillian Holtzmann, you've done it again." She says to herself.

Holtzmann starts to belt along to the music and dance with her new gadget. Little does she know, she's no longer alone. Erin walks in with breakfast and a tray of coffees.

"The best part about being a woman-" Holtzmann sings out.

Erin watches Jillian dance with an amused look on her face.

"Is the prerogative to have a little fun. Oh-" Holtzmann continues.

Erin clears her throat. "Morning Holtz!"

"Oh Oh" Holtzmann turns around. Startled by Erin, she drops the gadget she was working on.

Erin rushes over. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! Is it broken?"

"No, no it's fine. Um, we'd just need to give it a few hours to cool down before we test it or else we may to immediately evacuate this part of Manhattan." Holtzmann says, a hint of a joke in her voice.

"Alrighty then!" Erin says nervously. "Um, I bought you coffee and a bagel. I figured you'd already be here so..."

"Thanks m'lady!" She winks and takes the coffee from Erin.

"And sorry again about that..." Erin points to the gadget.

"Don't worry about it, sugar." Holtzmann waves her hand.

"What is that by the way?" Erin asks.

"It's a proton cannon for our 'bigger jobs'. One blast and all of the ghost nearby will disintegrate." Holtzmann smiles wickedly.

"Oh... Well I look forward to seeing it in action on our next job." Erin smiles.

"Speaking of our next job... that reminds me, I revved up your pack so that it's easier to carry. I remember you complaining about your back so I thought this would be a big help."

Erin smiles, impressed with her friend's kindness. "Aw Holtz, you didn't have to."

"Oh but I did!" Holtzmann says. "Try it on!" She helps Erin put on her pack.

"You really didn't have to- Wow, this is so much better." Erin says feeling the difference in the weight on her back.

"I'm actually working on a smaller design at the moment so soon they'll be even lighter but just as powerful, maybe even more so. But for now, you should be okay." Holtzmann smiles.

"Thank you so much, Holtz! I really appreciate it!" Erin says, pulling the engineer into a quick hug.

"Not a problem! But to avoid any problems, let's not tell Abby or Patty about this. I haven't got around to theirs yet." Holtzmann winks.

Erin chuckles. "My lips are sealed!" She winks back.

Jillian smirks and grabs her coffee. Erin sits at her work station looking over some notes from the case they worked on yesterday.

"So what are you working on today?" Holtzmann asks.

"Well I've been looking over our notes from cases we've had over the last two weeks. Can you believe that in just that short amount of time, we've had over 30 jobs?" Erin asks.

"Over 30 in two weeks?" Holtzmann asks.

"Yes. Unbelievable right? We went from everyone thinking that we were frauds to now being taken seriously. And I don't mean to be all mushy but I'm really happy. I mean, I'm doing work that's mostly being taken seriously and I get to work with the most remarkable women anyone could ever know." Erin says.