Chapitre 12: 12. With or Without You
[A/N: Hello all and happy belated merry Christmas! XD I hope those of you who celebrate had a fabulous holiday! I've been a bit busy, hence the delay in updating, so my apologies!
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed this story. It is so motivating to hear that you guys like what I'm doing and are curious to know what's going to happen! I really appreciate it!
I anticipate getting started on the next chapter tonight so hopefully there won't be as much time in between updates but please review and let me know your thoughts/reactions/predictions. It really helps the mojo! :)
With that being said, enjoy! :)]
Chapter 12: With or Without You (by U2)
"See the stone set in your eyes, see the thorn twist in your side. I wait for you..."
. . . . . . . .
Despite the increasing temperatures as the day wore on, the air outside was still quite crisp as Hopper took a long drag on his cigarette, watching the smoke float past him as a gust of wind pulled it along. The parking lot was packed at this point and he was glad he'd moved his SUV earlier when he had the chance, otherwise he probably would've ended up parking a block away from the looks of it. He watched as a small green car pulled into the loop and through the windshield, he recognized the woman's face. Taking one last drag on his cigarette, he dropped the butt to the pavement and stomped it out with his boot. The woman didn't see him, immediately turning into the parking lot rather than pulling around through the ER drop-off loop. Hopper watched as the car circled around through row after row in the parking lot until finally pulling up alongside the sidewalk where he stood. Hopper stepped down off the curb, walking around the car to meet her at her door.
Smoke billowed out from the tailpipe of the old car and he could hear something rattling under the hood. The woman turned the engine off and crawled out of the driver's seat, standing in the crook between the car and her door as she leaned against her car door frame.
"Hey Becky," Hopper greeted her in an even tone.
"So," Becky began, furrowing her brow curiously at the police chief. "You call me up outta nowhere about some big news I just need to know... What's going on?"
"Why don't we go sit down and talk?" Hopper suggested, gesturing to a metal bench over against the concrete walls of the hospital, several paces from the entrance.
Becky quirked an eyebrow. "Alright… Ya know you're freakin' me out a little here…" She said as she hesitantly pushed the car door closed and followed the police chief over to the bench. The metal was cold against her legs, even through her denim jeans, and she crossed her arms, waiting for him to explain what was so important that he was up here in Clarksville and summoning her to a hospital no less.
Hopper sat down on the bench beside her, resting his forearms against his knees and clasping his hands together as he contemplated how to begin this conversation. He only hoped he was doing the right thing.
"Alright," He said after a long pause. "Do you remember when Joyce Byers and I came to your house to try and talk to your sister?"
Becky's incredulous and confused expression only deepened. "You mean, the one and only other time I've met you?" She said sarcastically. "Well, yeah?"
"Okay," Hopper exhaled sharply. "I think there's something you should know… or well, someone you should meet,"
"Who?" Becky asked, her eyes never leaving him.
He paused a moment longer, questioning himself for the last time if this was the right thing to do. As he understood it, Eleven didn't have any other family. Sure, he was pretending to be her dad for the purposes of getting her treated but then what? Where would she go and who would she live with? The obvious answer was to find blood relatives - that's what Child Protective Services would do if they were involved. Becky deserved to know that she had a niece and that her sister was telling the truth. Terry deserved to meet her daughter after everything she'd gone through. And shouldn't this girl know she has real family out there? Besides, if she lived with the Ives' she'd be well away from the lab and less likely to run into any government agents looking for her. It would be safer than staying in Hawkins, surely. Did he feel some strange pang of hesitation? Sure he did. For some odd reason that girl had reminded him of his daughter and to claim her as his own in the hospital struck chords he wasn't anticipating. But still, he was the police chief. This was the right thing to do, according to the law, according to every ethics training class they'd made him sit through in the academy. The fact that she apparently didn't have any record of existing didn't make matters any easier. Getting her a social security number and documentation would be a struggle and they'd have to figure that out at some point. Wouldn't it be easier, better, if she was with her true family? In close proximity to the woman who actually gave birth to her? Even if that woman was more or less a vegetable at this point. At the very least, they deserved to know that she existed, that she was alive, and more immediately, that she was in very serious condition in the ICU. And they didn't need to know she had powers. They didn't need to know anything more than that Terry actually did have a daughter and that she was here.
Hopper inhaled deeply. It was now or never. He hoped he was right. "Your niece,"
Becky stared at him for a minute, her eyes scanning his face, trying to read him as her expression morphed to one of confusion, then amusement. She opened her mouth to speak but the words didn't come right away. "...What?" She said, almost laughing.
Hopper's demeanor never faltered. He maintained his eye contact with her, speaking simply and solemnly. "What if I told you Terry had that baby and she's inside this hospital," He said, watching her dubious expression.
Becky shook her head in disbelief, still laughing hesitantly. "No, that doesn't make any sense," She said, reaching into her jacket pocket and retrieving a pack of cigarettes, fumbling as she pulled one out and stuck it between her lips. "You're shittin' me," She said pointedly as she patted her other pockets looking for a lighter. Hopper pulled one out of his own pocket and offered her a light. Becky leaned in, puffing on her cigarette as the end caught the flame. "Why'd you really call me out here?"
"It's the truth, Becky," Hopper said steadily, returning his lighter to his back pocket as Becky took a long drag on her cigarette and leaned back against the metal backing of the bench. "She just turned up recently and she's in critical condition in the ICU,"
"What the fuck?" Becky shook her head, still having trouble processing this information. "Do you realize how crazy you sound?" She narrowed her eyes skeptically. "That doesn't make any sense," She counted off on her fingers. "There was no hospital record, no birth certificate -"
"It's her, Becky," Hopper shook his head, his voice unwavering.
"Oh yeah?" Becky challenged, taking a deep drag and meeting his gaze. "What proof do you have?"
Hopper sighed. What could he tell her that would convince her but not reveal too much too soon? Now was not the time to tell her about El's powers… if there would ever be such a time. "Look," He began. "I know this is hard to believe. But just like there was no record on the baby Terry lost, there's no record on this girl ever existing either. You said Terry lose her baby in 1971, well this kid is 12,"
Becky paused, her uncertainty pulling her back and forth. The likelihood of this child being her niece seemed impossible. But there was still a part of her that'd always wondered if her sister had been telling the truth all this time. Terry had gone to court for pete's sake over it. After everything that had happened and the lack of evidence and then Terry losing her mind, it'd been easy to dismiss all of her claims as the crazy talk of a drug-riddled mind. A small spark of curiosity rose within her but she pushed it down. It just didn't make sense.
"Excuse me, Mr. Hopper?" The receptionist from the ER desk appeared in front of them, the thin cardigan around her shoulders doing little to keep out the cold as her hair blew with the wind.
Hopper quickly leaned in and whispered into Becky's ear. "Go with me on this,"
"Yes ma'am," Hopper said politely, standing up.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt but there is the matter of payment," She said gently, gesturing to the clipboard in her hand. "You didn't indicate your insurance provider on the forms,"
Hopper shook his head. "She doesn't have insurance," He said simply. "You can just bill it straight to me,"
The receptionist's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Oh, of course," She said apologetically. "Thank you," She nodded respectfully toward Becky. "You must be Mrs. Hopper, I'm very sorry -"
"What? No!" Becky exclaimed.
Hopper placed a hand on Becky's shoulder. "This is my sister-in-law," He explained effortlessly. "Jane's mother is ill, I'm afraid,"
The receptionist's face deflated in sympathy as Becky shot an incredulous look up at Hopper. "I'm quite sorry to hear that," The receptionist offered. "Well, I'll leave you to your business. Thank you for clarifying, Mr. Hopper," She gestured to the clipboard again before turning and heading back into the hospital.
Becky just stared at Hopper, shaking her head. "You're outta your damn mind,"
Hopper sighed, the slightest hint of impatience seeping into his voice. "Look," He said bluntly. "You don't have to believe me and it's fine if you don't. Maybe you'll regret it, maybe you won't. But I'm trying to do what's right here and at the very least you should meet her,"
Becky cast a sideways glance at him, pausing for a moment before sighing in resignation. "Alright, I'll meet the kid," She conceded. "But I still think you've got the wrong family,"
"Well, maybe I do," Hopper muttered sarcastically as he escorted Becky back into the hospital.
. . . . . . . .
After losing connection with his friends, Will had made his way home as quickly as he could. Home was a lot closer than Hawkins Memorial Hospital and without his bike and in the snow, there was no way he'd get to the hospital in a decent amount of time.
His mom was asleep on the couch, still dressed in her work vest after a late night shift at the store, but Barney's incessant barking and scratching at the door as Will unlocked and opened the door caused her to stir.
"Hey honey," Joyce mumbled into the pillow, her eyes still closed as Will darted past.
"Hey mom," He called before turning down the hallway and knocking on Jonathan's door. "Jonathan?" Will called, bouncing on his heels for a moment before his brother opened the door.
"Hey," Jonathan greeted, his hair wild and bedraggled from sleep despite having been up for hours. "I thought you were at the Wheelers'?"
"I was," Will said hurriedly. "But can you give me a ride to the hospital?"
Jonathan's eyes widened with panic. "What, why? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Will insisted, pushing the thought of his slug-vomiting and inter-dimensional travel out of his mind for now. "They -"
"What's this about going to the hospital?" Joyce appeared at the other end of the hall, her hair equally bedraggled and her eyes alert and wary. "Did something happen?"
"They found El!" Will explained, looking back and forth between his brother and mother. "They're taking her to the hospital. Can either of you give me a ride?"
"Oh.. my…" Joyce's hand flew up to her mouth. "Yes, of course," She nodded definitively. "We'll take my car,"
"I'll go, too," Jonathan said, quickly plopping down on his bed and stuffing his feet into his boots.
Will jumped when the phone suddenly began to ring. "I'll get it!" He called, bounding toward the new green phone attached to the kitchen wall. Barney jumped around him, excited by the commotion. "Hello?"
"Dude!" Dustin's voice came over the line. "You're home!"
"Yeah," Will said. "What's up? You guys are at the hospital, right?"
"Yeah, we're here," Dustin replied. "Lucas is on the line, too,"
"Hey Will," Lucas cut in.
"My mom and Jonathan are getting ready then we're heading over," Will said, watching as his mom trotted back into the bathroom.
"Okay, well we're in Clarksville," Dustin said.
"Clarksville?" Will quirked an eyebrow. "Where's that?"
"It's like 20 minutes north of Hawkins if you take route 91," Lucas supplied.
"Damn, I didn't know you were paying attention," Dustin quipped.
"Meh meh eh," Lucas mocked.
"Hey mom!" Will called out, ignoring his friends' banter. "They're in Clarksville,"
Joyce poked her head out from the bathroom doorframe. "Clarksville? Why -" She halted, realization dawning on her. "Is Hopper with them?"
"Is Hopper with you guys?" Will parroted into the phone, then turned back to his mom. "Yeah, he is,"
Joyce's mind whirred but she kept her thoughts to herself. "Alright," She said after a brief pause. "We'll be leaving in two minutes!"
"We're leaving soon, guys," Will said into the phone receiver. "Is El okay?"
"She's in a coma," Lucas replied.
"Mike's pretty messed up," Dustin commented.
"Yeah," Lucas agreed. "He's in there with her now,"
"She's in a coma?" Will repeated, surprised.
"Yeah, medically-induced," Dustin said. "She had brain swelling. She's supposed to be okay but they don't actually know much yet,"
"Really, we haven't been told much yet," Lucas translated, more cynically.
"Alright, let's go," Joyce called out as she blew down the hall and into the living room, grabbing her keys from the spot she'd left them on the coffee table the night before.
"I've gotta go," Will said. "We're on our way,"
. . . . . . . .
Dustin and Lucas returned to El's room moments later to find Mike gently holding her hand. Remnants of tears stained his cheeks and he hastily wiped his face when he heard them come in.
"Is Will okay?" Mike turned as his friends entered the room. "Is he coming?"
"He's fine," Lucas responded. "He's on his way with his mom and Jonathan,"
"How's El doing?" Dustin asked.
Mike shrugged, looking down at her peaceful form. "Fine, I guess,"
"Did Hopper ever come back?" Lucas wondered just as the police chief entered with an unfamiliar woman.
"Who's that?" Mike immediately blurted out.
Hopper shot a warning look at the young boy before introducing his companion. "This is Becky Ives," He said, gesturing to the petite woman who looked as awkward as she surely felt in that situation. "She's a… relative," He offered and Becky fought the urge to roll her eyes. "She came to see El,"
"El?" Becky parroted, confused.
"Short for Eleven," Dustin supplied but the young woman's confusion only deepened.
"Eleven?" She looked to Hopper with wide eyes.
"I'll explain later," He muttered.
"Wait, what relative?" Mike asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Your guess is as good as mine, kid," Becky quipped and Hopper rolled his eyes, huffing in controlled frustration.
"It's possible," Hopper shot a pointed look at the short brunette beside him. "That she may be El's aunt - her real aunt,"
"What?!" Dustin exclaimed, eyes wide in surprise.
"No way," Lucas murmured, one eyebrow raised.
"Says who?" Mike challenged, his brow furrowed defensively.
Becky chuckled, jerking a thumb to the moppy-haired boy. "I kinda like this kid,"
"Alright, that's enough," Hopper said firmly, grabbing everyone's full attention. "I brought Becky in here to meet El so why don't you kids go call your parents and let them know where you are, huh?" He herded them out of the room, Mike reluctantly letting go of El's hand as he shuffled out of the room with his friends.
"Okay," Hopper said, closing the door once the boys were outside. Becky was looking down at the young girl before them, her face contorted in an unreadable expression. Hopper sidled up next to her and glanced between Becky's face and El.
Becky slowly approached El's bedside, staring at the girl's face with a curious sense of recognition. "She looks just like Terry when we were kids…" She said softly, turning to face Hopper. "What happened to her hair?"
Hopper shook his head. "It's a long story,"
Becky turned back to El, crossing her arms and soaking in every detail of the young girl's face. "I thought you were crazy," She chortled, then added more softly, "I thought Terry was crazy…All these years...She was right?" The realization that her sister had been telling the truth all this time and that her baby had actually grown up away from her for years was difficult to swallow. "Is it all true then? Everything she was saying about the government… taking Jane?" Becky turned to Hopper again, her eyes glistening with the threat of tears.
Hopper pursed his lips, then sighed. "Here, come sit down," He gestured to a wooden chair with a dark blue cushion in the corner of the room. "Let's talk,"
. . . . . . . .
Mike splashed water from the bathroom sink at his face, slapping his cheeks to try and shake himself out of the weird fog he'd been in ever since they found El in dire condition. His eyes were red around the edges from crying and dark and puffy underneath from lack of sleep the night before. He knew his friends were outside waiting for him but he needed a minute to get himself together.
The boys decided it made more sense to just call home to Mike's mom to let her know what was going on, skipping over certain details of course. Getting Dustin and Lucas' parents involved would only make things complicated and they expected the boys to be at the Wheelers' house anyway. Since they'd stayed the night at Mike's, if anyone should call home to check in, it would be Mike. But that could wait a few more minutes.
Memories swirled through Mike's head - the ups and downs of his first week with El, the sights and sounds of the Upside Down, her stoic face as she lay in that hospital bed. What was going to happen to her? What if she didn't wake up? The thought frightened Mike and he had to fight with himself to keep from crying again. He'd come into the bathroom to calm down, not fall apart.
Why was this even happening? Why did she have to do this? They could've found some other way to fight the Demogorgon and El wouldn't have been sucked into the Upside Down. They could have made it work.
No, they couldn't. El saved them. She was the only reason they were alive now.
The thought brought on another angry onslaught of tears and Mike growled in frustration, leaning back against the white counter, pawing at his face with the base of his palms.
How was he even supposed to explain what was happening to his mom without her freaking out? He knew his voice would give away the fact that he was sort of a mess. He needed to get it together. He hated how much he'd been crying and he hated the fact that there wasn't anything he could do about it. He was completely helpless, only able to hope and pray that El would pull through. But what if she didn't? What if they didn't get to her in time? He'd have to live with that for the rest of his life and how could he? He'd promised her a life unlike anything she'd ever known before, as far as he knew, and he'd failed. The guilt felt like a wave crashing down on him again and again.
"Mike, are you okay in there?" Lucas knocked on the bathroom door, pushing it open slightly to let his voice through.
"I'm coming!" Mike snapped back, a little more harshly than he'd intended. Sighing, he turned the faucet back on, cupping his hands under the water and splashing his face one more time before drying off with a paper towel and heading back out to the waiting area.
. . . . . . . .
"Through the storm, we reach the shore. You give it all but I want more, and I'm waiting for you..."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone