Chương 40: 40. Under any circumstances
A/N: Get ready for a long ass note:
In case you don't read my other current story (which you should, because, like, it's me!), I'll paste my excuse for my absence right down here:
I'm so sorry for not updating for nearly three weeks but I've been dying over school :( I really thought I had it light this year because last semester wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but school really is kicking my ass. So much that I got sick last Saturday and couldn't even finish my project on time. I had to write 40 pages for a book review, check this, by hand , and I haven't actually finished; I got saved because my teacher got into a car crash and has a cast on his leg so he's unable to go to school. I feel terrible for feeling so happy over it, but I'm really not that sorry lol. SCHOOL SUCKS MAJOR ASS! Thank you to everyone who reviewed this while I didn't update, you guys have no idea how bad I felt when I got the e-mails, but I've been SO busy. Also, guess what? Spring Break is coming, so that means I'll have time to write. Please, if you have or know a Sugar Daddy, pass the contact because I need to leave school ASAP.
So, now you know why I've been absent. Once again, I'm very very VERY sorry for being gone for so long, but school is a priority and it kicked my ass until this day.
With that said, this chapter took me weeks to finish because: 1) It's very long. 2) I tried to include all of the present characters' (kind of) POVs. 3) I got writer's block! I got stuck on some parts, and with all the homework I had on, I couldn't concentrate enough to think of following the chapter.
I love you all, and thank you so much for waiting on me. I know some of you love and wait for every chapter, and I've been there, waiting for an update that never comes, but today's the day, folks! Enjoy!
PROMPT: El gets mugged on her way to Mike's; she tries to use her powers but Hopper forbid her from it. Steve saves her and that makes them closer, by Sophia.B (I made it from Mike's, though :D)/ Mike takes care of El when she's hurt, by becc-gallanter (does this count as taking care of her?)/ El gets surgery (she gets sticthes lol, sorry!) by FairyHope031/ Mike playing guitar, by elisiumqueen (we get just a glimpse though, sorry :()
"Hopper!" Flo pounded on the door, voice shrill and urgent, making him jump. "Answer the damn phone!"
"Alright, alright, Jesus," He smashed the butt of his cigarette on the ashtray on his desk, sitting up and taking the phone in his large palm. "Yeah, Chief Hopper speaking, who's this?"
"Hop?" He knew that voice. "It's Steve."
"Harrington," Hopper frowned, his ears sharpening at the tone the boy was using. "What the hell is going on?" He was supposed to be back like half an hour ago.
"It's- uhm—", he blew air from his nostrils sharply, his breaths coming out in pants, and somehow, Hopper knew something bad had happened. "It's El."
His heart stopped.
"Where?" He demanded, ass out of the chair and hat on his head before Steve even finished talking.
"She's in the hospital."
He hung up without another word, heart racing and palms sweating already. He could feel a burn on the back of his neck, but it was nothing compared to the sinking feeling in his chest.
He rushed past Flo, a quick mutter that might be utter nonsense to her by the way the words just stumbled out his lips, but he did not care. He ran to the Blazer, gripped the wheel with white knuckles and then he was off.
1 hour before.
The shouting had become unbearable. She watched with furrowed eyebrows as Mike pretended to do his homework, writing on the notebook before erasing the words with jerky moves of his hand, the page thinning in the place he had been pressing the rubber square back and forth.
From her place on the couch, she could head Karen's shrill voice raise even louder, and she wondered how the woman hadn't popped a blood vessel yet.
"I DON'T CARE!"
The sharp shout pierced the tense air, the thundering snarl scaring her, and Mike dropped every pretense that he hadn't been listening with a harsh pant, leaning in to place his head on his hands against the D&D table.
"Mike." She muttered softly, rising up from her seat as his hands tugged at his hair in frustration.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled brokenly, his eyes heavy and the corners of his lips turned down with sadness. "I thought they had made up already, but—"
"YOU'RE SO USELESS!"
He squeezed his eyes shut, face pinched tight, and she pulled him to her, hugging him and making soothing sounds while he buried his face in her neck, breath harsh and chest bumping against hers.
They were supposed to be doing homework first so they could hang out after, but given the fight that his parents had been having since an hour ago, she could tell he hadn't gotten past the second exercise.
"Maybe we should just go—", he began, his words mumbled against her skin, but they were interrupted by the door to the basement being opened.
"Mikey?" A soft voice said, and then pink little shoes were walking down the stairs.
Holly appeared, eyes puffy, swollen and glistening with the tears streaming steadily down her face, and Mike lurched out of her hold just in time to catch his baby sister. "They're fighting again." The little blonde sobbed against her brother's chest.
"I know, Holls," he rubbed her back, cradling her while she squeezed him tightly. "It'll be over soon, okay? Want to help me do my homework?"
"Mm-hm." Holly nodded, nose red and sniffling, and Mike carried her over to the little table, sitting down with her on his lap.
"MAYBE IF YOU STOPPED SLEEPING ON THAT DAMN COUCH YOU'D—"
"LIKE HOW YOU STOPPED DRINKING? MAYBE WE SHOULD START WITH THAT!"
"DON'T YOU DARE—"
"Do you want to listen to music?!" Mike asked frantically, taking his sister's chin in one hand to make her focus on him. "I have loads of music up in my room!"
Holly just whimpered, burying her face deeper on his sweater, and he leaned his cheek on her blonde head when she started sobbing again.
"Take her upstairs, Mike," El said, putting his pens in his pencil case and his notebook in his backpack. "The room is smaller and the music will drown them out faster."
"I'm sorry," he said again, gulping with a miserable face. "I know I said we could—"
"She needs you right now," she whispered, gesturing to the crying girl on him. "I'm okay, really. I'll just go home."
"Are you sure?" He asked her, standing up with difficulty due to Holly koala-ing him.
"Yes," she kissed his cheek, placing the strap of his backpack in one shoulder when he extended an arm out while he held his sister with the other. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"I'll pick you up," he promised, holding Holly while El zipped her own backpack and swung it over her shoulders. "With coffee."
"And Eggos." She smiled gently, kissing him quickly when he leaned down with puckered lips, and then she waited until he was up the stairs, Holly giving her a weak wave over his shoulder.
She left the Wheeler house through the basement's back door, the loud fight Karen and Ted Wheeler had going on in there muffled to the outside ears by the house's walls, and she frowned sadly when the thought of it being the perfect metaphor for their life crossed her mind.
It was getting late, the sky tainted a deep dark orange with dashes of purple and blue, the sun getting lower and lower with each footstep, and then she was out of the cul-de-sac. Surely Hopper was still at the Station, so maybe she could wait there until he finished his shift. Maybe she could hang out with Flo, or with Steve, if her dad hadn't sent him in one of his 'officer duties' (he loved annoying the younger boy by making him go out to do the most ridiculous things, like get a cat down from a tree, or getting him a pack of Camels, or getting new coffee beans because the coffee maker is running low, Harrington, that's basically a gun without a bullet for an officer).
She walked down the road, bushes and trees making shapes and shadows appear around her even though it was no later than 6:30 pm, but the lampposts were already lit. A shiver went down her spine, and she shook her shoulders with a huff (get over yourself, El), but still quickened her pace.
Something was off.
Her body was aware.
It was something she couldn't put her finger on, but she knew. Her skin erupted in goosebumps and she felt her senses sharpen, along with the pressure on her mind that she fought to get control of.
That's when it happened.
"Hands up!" A man snapped, jumping from the bushes with a switchblade in his hand, the sharp tip glinting in the lamppost's light. "Give me everything you've got!"
Her heart thumped wildly inside her rib cage, her eyes wide and scared as the man cornered her on the side road, her feet dragging her backwards onto the grass and leaves.
Speechless, she could only hold her palms up, the fingertips suddenly freezing. The unfamiliar man was young; not young like her and the boys, or like Steve, but younger than her dad, yes. He was wearing ripped jeans, a dirty jean jacket over a blue flannel, his filthy and greasy blonde hair pinned down by a beany, and he had a long scar running down the side of his jaw. He was saying something, but her heart was hammering so hard she could only hear the blood rushing through her veins, her ears pounding loudly.
"Empty your pockets!" He snapped again, hand out and knife pointed at her.
The anger behind his voice scared her, his demands and crazy eyes making every hair on her body stand up.
"I said empty your pockets!" He snarled, fist clutching the switch blade tighter, and she finally found her voice when he harshly grabbed her upper arm and pulled her towards him.
"No, please!" She cried out. "Help! Help!"
"Scream again and I'll slice your tongue out!" He hissed furiously, and the cold metal against her chin made her gasp and blink startled through her fresh tears. "Pockets. Now!" He barked, his hot breath hitting her face.
She was going to throw up, she could feel it; bile and nerves and fear balling up in her throat, when she remembered she had something to fight with (you have a gift, a monster in a suit once told her).
Every sense in her body was now screaming at her to use her powers. This man looked nothing like the guys in the lab, with his dirty hands, jean jacket and beany, but his actions were those of the bad men. But Hopper's stern voice kept replying in her head, telling her not to use her powers in public under any circumstances.
("Do you want to go back in there?!" He asked angrily after she froze Dustin from falling in the middle of the park. "Because that's what's going to happen if somebody sees! Do not use them! I don't care if the Queen herself requests it, under any circumstances, you will not use your powers. Understand?"
"Not stupid." She mumbled softly, nodding her head up and down, and then he hugged her tightly).
So, against her judgment and against her very instinct, she pulled the only money she had in her pockets—a crumpled 5 dollar bill— and gave it to the man with shaking hands, tears wetting her face and falling on the knife's blade.
"The backpack," he shoved the money in his pockets, looking around the deserted road. "Give me the fucking backpack!"
She had Sostini's essay in there. And her books, and homework. Finals were about three weeks away and she couldn't risk it. "But my homework—"
She cried out sharply when he punched her, busting her lip instantly and making her jaw throb.
"Shut up and give me the backpack now!" He screamed, the knife by her shoulder in a fist and the other bruising her upper arm.
She couldn't help it.
She hated it when people treated her unkindly, and, well, she was her father's daughter.
"Get the fuck off of me!" She struggled desperately, bucking away from him, her torso pushing up against his in a burst of anger to throw him off, but he was heavier and stronger than her.
The air left her lungs when she felt the sharp pain in her side, gasping without sound as the switchblade was inserted in her right side, and she doubled over, falling backwards on the ground with a hard shove from him.
With quick hands, he turned her on her side, not caring about the blood flowing from her open wound as he snatched the switch blade from her.
She was openly sobbing now, her hands pressing against the blood seeping through her pink sweater as she lied on the grass.
The man didn't stop, thrusting his hands inside her pockets to check for more money or any items he found worthy of stealing. He was in the middle of tugging her backpack off, when he spotted the sparkly snowflake against her throat.
"No," she whimpered weakly as he yanked on the silver chain around her neck, one bloody hand reaching up to hold Mike's Christmas present in protectiveness. "Please, don't."
Then a siren wail entered the road.
"Shit!" The man cursed, yanking sharply on the chain to no avail, leaving a red welt on her abused skin.
"Hey!" A scream sliced the air, the voice sharp and familiar, but she was beginning to have trouble breathing, the wound bleeding freely, and she cried out again when the thief shoved her onto her stomach to rip her backpack away. "Back off and hands up, now!"
Crying, she placed a hand on the ground to steady herself, trying to get onto her back again, and that's when she saw him running.
"Holy fuck!" Steve yelled in shock as he realized who was lying there, jumping out from the police car and running after the man who disappeared into the woods, El's backpack slung over his shoulder and the bloody knife tucked inside his pocket.
"Shit," he panted, his face a wild show of panic as he debated between running after the criminal or checking on El first. "Fuck!"
His kids, man.
"Ellie," he breathed out, forehead already shiny with sweat and hands shaking. "El-Jane, Jesus!"
He lifted her sweater to show a bleeding wound, an open crimson line on her otherwise unblemished skin.
"El—"
"He said don't scream and I did," She sobbed, hand on his wrist and the other on her wound, her bloody fingers leaving smears on the back of his hand, but he didn't care. "He said he'd cut my tongue out."
"Ellie, Jesus Christ," she was bleeding. A lot. "I have to get you to a hospital." Who knew where that knife had been; she could get an infection if he didn't hurry.
With some struggle and a lot of 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know it hurts, you'll be okay soon, I promise' when he carried her, he put her in the passenger's seat, the back rest laid back all the way and a Benny's Diner napkin pressed to her wound.
"Keep pressure on it," He was driving fast, siren wailing and blue and red lights on. "We need to stop the blood flow."
El couldn't stop crying. She tried leveling her breathing, but she was so scared. Not even when the freaking Demogorgon jumped out of the wall she had been like this; something about that man shook her. Monsters were real, they were also human, and they lived among them.
"It'll be okay El, I promise." Steve reached out to grip the hand that wasn't holding her side, bloody fingers tangled with his smeared ones. He needed to make her stop crying, or she would start to hyperventilate.
"What did you do today?" He tried distracting her, eyes on her between glances back at the road. I'm in a freaking police car, get out of my way.
"Went to M-M-Mike's."
Shit, he mentally cursed, Wheeler. What a joy it'll be to tell him the news.
Fuck, he cursed again, Hopper.
"Yeah?" The hospital was near; he could see the tall building already, Hawkins' Local Hospital in large blue letters. "How's he?"
"Sad," she whimpered, eyes closed and breath jagged. Don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep, fuck. "Parents are fighting again."
He pulled up into the emergency entry. "You'll be back with him in no time, alright, J?"
He got out, pulled her out of the car and walked into the emergency room. "Help! I need help, please!"
Two nurses ran to him when they caught sight of the young police officer carrying a bleeding teen girl. "Stretcher!"
"What happened to her?" Pink Scrubs blonde asked him, taking El's arm and helping him lay her down on the stretcher that Blue Scrubs rolled in.
"She was stabbed. There was a- a guy, and he had a knife, and he stole her backpack. I- I couldn't catch him!" Steve ran his hands through his hair, watching as Blue Scrubs took El's vital signs and put her on an oxygen mask, the young girl breathing easier when the clear thing was slipped on her face.
"It's not too deep but she's going to need stitches." Blue Scrubs informed Pink Scrubs, lifting El's ruined sweater to inspect her wound.
"Roll her in," Pink Scrubs ordered, jerking her chin towards a set of double doors on the side of the desk. "Clean the wound and put her on morphine. Call Charlie, she's in charge of stitches today."
And then they started rolling her away.
"Wait, wait, wait," He advanced, trying to follow the scared girl who was looking desperately back at him with a pleading look in her eyes. "Hold up!"
"You can't come in, sir." Damn, Pink Scrubs was not on his good side now.
"Excuse me," He huffed, hand gripping the bars on the sides of El's stretcher. "I'm going in with her—"
"Sir—"
"-If you think I'm leaving her for even a sec—"
"Young man, you can't—"
"That's Officer Harrington for you, Pink Scrubs." He finally snapped, glaring at the blonde nurse who was pursing her lips in exasperation.
"Officer Harrington," Blue Scrubs interrupted, voice gentle but urgent. "I need to get her clean and ready. She's still losing blood as we speak. You can come in when you're calmer and she's out of risk."
"But—"
"Steve," El called weakly, and that was enough to shut him up. He leaned down, caressing her hair away from her forehead. "I'll be alright."
He hesitated, looking back at the two nurses. "You sure, El?"
She nodded, tears still shining in her doe eyes, and then they were wheeling her off for good. "Call my Dad."
And with his heart in his throat and tears threatening to spill from his eyes too, he watched her disappear behind the double doors.
"Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling down, down," Mike sung, fingers streaming the strings on his guitar as Simple Minds blared on his Walkman. "Hey—"
"Hey, hey, hey! Ohh woahh!" Holly sung along, voice loud like her brother's as she sat on his bed.
Their parents had quieted down a while ago, but the fight had picked up from where they left it a few minutes ago. Mike was getting tired. His unfinished homework was still packed inside his backpack and the skin on his fingertips was red and burning from the guitar strings, but Holly wasn't crying anymore, so he had to keep going.
Until Steve called.
"What the hell do you want?" He asked annoyed, their parents' voices louder now that he wasn't playing his guitar along with the song, and he saw Holly shift.
"El's in the hospital."
His heart dropped.
"Wait, what?"
"She was stabbed. I found her in Oaks; a guy stole her backpack and—"
"When was this?!" He asked desperately, phone cord stretching as he lunged for his shoes.
"Uh… we got here like 20 minutes ago?"
"And you're just calling me now?!" He roared, fear and panic and anger and fuck! She left alone because of him!
"Mike?" Holly whimpered, startled by his loud voice.
"It's okay, Holly," He tried to smile, but bile was already making a trip up his throat. Nothing about this is okay! "Put your shoes on, we're going out."
"Mike?"
"Wait there, asshole," He snapped in the phone. "I'm coming."
"I'm a police officer, you know, I could have you arrested—"
"Fucking bite me, Steve!"
"She's fine, Mike," Steve sighed on the other side of the phone. "She got some stitches but she's fine now."
"I don't give a damn!" He snarled, voice shaking while he tied his sneakers on. "I should've been there! I should've fucking been there, but my fucking parents—", he stopped short, breath puffing out of his mouth while Holly twirled her pigtails nervously. "My fucking parents."
He hung up, slamming the phone on the receiver and yanking a jacket out of his closet. "C'mon, Holly." There was no way he was leaving her here.
They stopped by her room to get her a jacket, and then he was stomping down the stairs, Holly trailing behind him.
"Karen, we've been over this a million times now-", his dad was sighing tiredly, palm against his forehead while his mom fumed.
"And we'll go over it a million times more!" She snapped, hands on her hips, and Mike couldn't understand how neither of them noticed their two still-at-home children standing literally there.
"Is it so hard for you to be quiet—"
"Is it so hard for you to not be an idi—"
"Jesus Chri—"
"TED! HOW MANY TIME—"
"HEY!" He finally snapped, voice booming and loud and everything he'd been repressing snarling out of his mouth in that very second because, fuck, El was injured and these assholes couldn't stop fighting for even a minute. "DO US ALL A FAVOR AND SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!"
Karen's was stunned, eyebrows up and mouth hanging open in shock. "Michael—"
"El is in the hospital. She was stabbed and I'm going to see her. You know, in case you two can get your heads out of your asses for a second and care about something else that isn't your crumbling marriage."
Ted stood up. "Mike—",
"I'm taking Holly," He snapped, holding onto the little blonde's hand who was hiding her face against his side. "And the car." He snatched the keys from the bowl by the door, and then he was slamming the door behind his sister and him.
"Your hair is a mess."
He chuckled, fingers threading through the strands in light self-consciousness as she blinked drowsily at him. "That's what happens when you're stressed."
"When I'm stressed I get constipated."
"Man," he laughed. "Those pain killers are really showing themselves, aren't they?"
"They sure are, Stevie, they sure are. Did you call Mike?"
"No, I haven't. I'll call him in a minute." He chuckled again at the look she gave him, holding onto her hand while she played with his fingers. "How's your side?"
"Numb," she blurted out, honest in all her splendor. "I can't feel shit."
"You will soon, so enjoy it while you can."
"Experienced this often?" She giggled, red lips tugging up in a grin—wincing when she stretched her busted lip- while she tightened her grip on his hand.
"Har, har," he said sarcastically, knowing she was talking about his little run-in with Billy. "Asshole."
"Excuse me," Charlie, the nice (and hot) nurse who had patched El up and given her a cherry lollipop because you took it like a champ, girl, stepped up from behind the curtain. "There's a very anxious and demanding Chief Hopper outside who told me to get your ass out so he can come in and see his girl?"
"That'll be her dad," he sighed, standing up from the plastic chair they had placed beside El's bed. "You'll be okay, right, J?"
"I'm a champ, haven't you heard?" She smiled up at him, and when he patted her knee and was ready to go, she stopped him. "Steve?"
"Yes, little Hopper?"
"Thank you," she said softly, eyes shining again, and damnit, it was suddenly dusty in the sterile room. "You saved me."
"Any time, kiddo." He smiled gently, leaning down to press a kiss to her cold forehead, and then he was off.
Hopper was pacing behind the double doors when he got out.
"Were you doing brain surgery in there?" He snapped. "Took you long enough!"
"I was making sure your daughter was safe." He snapped back, suddenly on edge. There was a feeling of guilt he had been burying in favor of emotionally supporting El, but now, staring at Hopper in the face, it was out like word-vomit. "I'm sorry."
"I'll make sure it won't happen again, don't worry." Hopper said, pushing past him to walk through the doors.
"No, Hop," He said quickly, following him inside the doors, ignoring the slight protest form the nurse behind the desk. "I'm sorry."
"What on earth for?" Hopper frowned, hard eyes pinning Steve to the ground.
"I let him get away," He confessed, chest tight and guilt on his face. "The guy who stabbed her. He ran away and I let him."
"Why?" Hopper crossed his arms.
"I don't know, I'm sorry—"
"No," the Chief interrupted. "Why did he get away?"
Steve frowned. "Because I stopped to check on El first…" He trailed off when Hopper walked closer to him, his eyes serious but they held a gentleness that soothed Steve.
"Exactly," Hopper told him quietly, his heavy hand on his shoulder. "You chose to save my daughter instead of running after that fucker, and I will never be able to thank you enough, Steve. I owe you."
"You don't owe me anything," He answered, voice suddenly tight. "I know it's a known joke, but those kids… they mean the world to me, Hop, and I know it might sound cheesy and stupid, but El- she's one of my own, you know? And I would never let anything happen to her."
"Not stupid, kid." Hopper told him with a lopsided smile, and Steve had the sudden urge to hug the man, to make him wrap those big arms around him and hold him tightly, like his own father had never done.
But thank God he was strong willed.
"Alright," Hop coughed lightly, patting him on the shoulder. "I gotta go see my kid. She's probably wondering where I am."
"She's probably wondering why she has a nose." He laughed.
"What?" Hopper frowned, staring at him with a look that clearly questioned his intelligence.
"She's kind of high on painkillers."
"Oh, great," the Chief groaned. "And here I am wasting my time instead of gathering blackmail material." They both laughed, and with one last smirk, Hopper walked into the actual ER.
Time to make that call, Steve thought as he headed for the desk again.
"Uh, hi, hello, uh… I'm here to see El Hopper? No, Jane! Jane Hopper! Or El Hopper—Whatever name she's under."
"Uh, are you sure we have the person you're looking for?" The lady at the desk questioned with narrowed eyes.
"Just look 'Hopper' up, please." He huffed, trying to keep his cool, but the sterile smell of the hospital was making him anxious, and Holly trying to get away to go 'see the newborn babies' was not helping.
"She's in there," the nurse informed, jerking her head to the double doors behind them, without looking up from her file. "But only one person is allowed in with her, and the vacant is already filled."
"Who's in with her?" He wondered, peering over the desk to sneak a peek at the file, but it was snapped shut with a short-nailed hand.
"Does it look like I keep tabs on visitors?" The nurse questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Gee, thank you very much!" Mike exclaimed sarcastically. "You sure love to help people!"
He left with a huff, peering over the doors in hopes of casually catching her through them, but Holly tugged on his hand in that exact moment. "Steve."
"What?" He looked down at her to see his little sister pointing at the back of the room, where his sister's ex-boyfriend was walking in with a coffee cup in one hand and a donut on the other.
"Wheeler," He greeted casually, Mike meeting him in the middle of the room where the waiting chairs were. "Little Wheeler," He lifted two fingers from his donut and waved them at holly, who giggled in return. "Wait, that makes you Medium Wheeler."
"Oh, god, shut up," Mike groaned, throwing his head back for good measure. "How is she? Have you seen her?"
"Uh, I would say so, given I was the one who brought her in."
"I meant recently, you ass!" He snapped.
"Hey!" Steve said loudly, lifting one glazed finger from his donut and pointing it at him. "There's an infant present. Watch your language."
"I don't mind." Holly giggled again, fluttering her eyelashes and even twirling around a little, and Mike kind of wanted to gag at the effect Steve had on girls.
"Yeah, I'm sure you don't, little bug." Steve smiled down at her, and then he motioned to the chairs. "She's fine, I told you already."
"I wouldn't call getting stabbed fine," Mike scoffed, sitting down two chairs from him and pulling Holly in the middle one, between them. "What happened?"
"Well," He took a sip of his coffee and offered a bite of his donut to Holly, who eagerly bit into the soft snack. "She told me she was walking down Oaks to get to the main and then go to the Station, when he jumped out of the bushes with a switchblade in his hand. He wanted money, she gave him five bucks, and then he stabbed her. That's when I found her; I thought he… well, he was on top of her, and I thought… but the guy was taking her backpack and when he saw me, he ran away. Took the knife with him too, that's why the wound stretched out and she kept on bleeding."
"Did you saw him? The man?" He asked seriously, mind already playing out the events.
"I don't know who the hell he is," Steve frowned, looking down at his coffee cup. "I didn't recognize his face. Might not be from around here."
"I heard Dad say some people are getting here from the city. Might be one of them."
"I don't know," Steve shook his head with a sigh. "But we'll catch him. I promise you, we'll catch him."
"Yeah," Mike nodded, staring at him. "I know you will." He might be an unbearable asshole, but he knew Steve cared about them a lot. He might love them. And even though he acted like his sole presence annoyed the shit out of him, he cared for the older guy too.
"Am I sensing trust here, Wheeler?" Steve smirked, not even looking away from him when he offered more of his donut to Holly.
"Listen," He sighed. "You might be one of the most annoying people I've ever met, but you care. About us, about people, about this shitty town. I don't know, Steve," Mike shrugged. "After this, I think you deserve my respect and my heart on a silver platter."
Both boys shared a laugh, Holly smiling between them. "I hope the words didn't hurt too much to get out."
"Just some light scratching." Mike joked back, his fingers grazing his throat.
"So, Hopper's still in there?" Steve asked as he gulped from his coffee.
"That nurse didn't want to tell me who's in there with her, but I'm assuming he is." The dark haired boy threw an annoyed glance at the desk, where the nurse was filing her nails without a care.
"I'll get you in," Steve told him, standing up quickly, his eyes on an incoming nurse in light blue scrubs. "Charlie!"
"Officer Harrington," The brunette stopped, eyes on Steve, and Mike had to roll his eyes at the sudden aura that they emitted. "What can I do for you?"
"It's Steve," He smiled, hands on his waist and hair all perfect again. "And yes, could you let Chief Hopper know that El's other half is here and ready to see her?"
"Don't tell him that." Mike's face was flaming, blushing as the nurse looked back at him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"I'll see if we can lure him out," Charlie nodded, eyes on Steve again and hands gripping her note board. "He hasn't left her side."
She was pale. Her rich skin that tanned easily was pale and he was angry about it.
"Hey, kid." He breathed gently, sitting down on the chair next to her bed.
"You're here," El said sluggishly, her eyes heavy like she would drop into sleep any time soon, but she perked up immediately when she saw him. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," He sniffled, eyes glazing when he saw the faint smears of the blood that had stained her hands before, the dark spot on her lip and the bulge of gauze under her hospital gown. "You gave me quite the scare."
"I got scared too," her whisper cracked, fingers gripping the stiff sheets, and red lips pouting slightly. "He stole my backpack. My homework was there, and my books and now I'm going to fail Mrs. Sostini's class because my essay was there!" Tears leaked from her eyes, and Hopper's heart throbbed as he watched her cry.
"It'll be okay," He reached out to hold her, careful of not moving her too much. "I'll personally talk to your teachers so they can give you time to recover and do your homework again."
"What if they say no? Mrs. Sostini's kind of a fucking asshole." She sniffled.
"Language. I have my ways—"
"You're not sleeping with her." El deadpanned, looking up at him.
"I wasn't planning to," He glared, making her laugh wetly. "As I was saying before you decided to be a brat and interrupt me, I have my ways. I can be very convincing, you know?"
"Well, that solves a problem."
"What happened anyway?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows, wanting to hear her full version.
"I left Mike's around six thirty, and I was on my way to the Station, walking through Oaks to cut short and get to the main faster, when a man jumped out. He had a knife," she paused to swallow, fingers tightening on his hand as he clutched hers. "Told me to be quiet and to give him everything I had on me. But then he punched me and… and I wanted to hurt him," she admitted quietly, her eyes glazing with buried fire as she relived the scene in her head. "I wanted to hurt him like he was hurting me."
"Why didn't you do it?" He inquired, frowning as he tried to grasp his bearings. He knew she could get vicious if she wanted to. She had mind powers, damn it! She could've snapped that man in half and he would've made damn sure it looked like an accident.
She furrowed her brows, eyes on him and a confused look on her face. "You said… you said I shouldn't—"
"El—"
"You said no. Under any circumstances, no."
"Jane," He exhaled sharply, and she winced. She was Jane when he was angry or frustrated with her. "You—", he lowered his voice, looking around quickly to see if the privacy curtain would serve its purpose. "You're telling me you didn't defend yourself because I said to not use your… abilities to pull Dustin from a pile of duck shit?"
"You said—"
"I know what I said!" He said sharply, pausing when she flinched back, and he pinched his nose, closing his eyes to breathe and pull himself together. "I know what I said," he searched into her eyes to make her listen. "But when it comes to your security, when it comes to your life, you have my full permission to make a man's head explode if you think he's going to harm you. New rule: if you're in danger, under any circumstances, do not even hesitate. Go for it."
"But you said people might see," she persuaded quietly, doe eyes wide and serious. "It's important to keep them secret."
"You're more important. You're what matters the most to me," he hugged her, kissing her curly head warmly and sighing softly against her when she snuggled her face into his shoulder. "God, I don't know what I would do without you, kid. I'd kill myself."
"Don't say that." El said sharply, pulling back to glare at him.
"I couldn't lose you too."
And then she understood what he meant. He'd already lost a daughter; he couldn't bear the thought of losing another. "You won't lose me," she mumbled, pulling him down with a hand on his neck because she was figuring out if she stretched out she pulled on her stitches, and that hurt. Steve was right, she should enjoy it while it lasted. "I promise I learned my lesson now." She kissed his cheek, the scratchy hairs of his beard a comforting and familiar roughness on her face.
"This was not a lesson, you got fucking assaulted!" He scoffed, pulling back to check her over again. "How many stitches did you get? Was Steve with you?"
"Language," she reprimanded lightly, a dark haired man fleetingly passing through her mind before she tossed him away like the useless heap of bones he was. "Seven, and they let him in when I was already on morphine. He held my hand while Charlie—that's the nice nurse—stitched me up. I could feel my skin tug up while she stuck the needle in." Hopper hissed, making a face and rubbing her hair in a comforting manner.
"Does it hurt?"
"Only when I move too much. How long am I staying here for, anyway? I want to go home." She sighed, closing her eyes and laying back on the pillow.
"You're staying for a few hours, and then I'll be signing you out. Probably for two more hours and then I'll move my influences here and get you home. How's that sound?"
"Like corruption but I'm okay with it."
He laughed again, getting a smile out of her, and then he leaned back on the chair with crossed arms.
"Steve deserves a raise, by the way," She threw out casually, lifting an eyelid to side-eye him. "And he deserves to stop being your errand boy."
"Aww, but he's such a good coffee picker," his smile died when she glared again. "Okay, I know. I owe that to him. Now, about that Mrs. Sostini… she hot?"
"Dad, I'm going to ask you to leave." She pursed her mouth and her nostrils flared, but her lips still hiked in the corners at his hearty cackle. Somewhere around them, a person shushed him, and he sobered up when he remembered they were in the ER.
"You sure you're okay?" He asked quietly, running his thumb on her forehead in soothing circles as she sighed deeply with her eyes still closed, probably drained from the day's events. "You're kind of cold. Do you want me to call someone to get the AC—""Excuse me," Charlie interrupted with a grimace, an awkward smile on her lips and her eyes wandering between Hopper and the sleepy girl on the bed. "Sorry to interrupt but Steve says El's other half is here to see her?"
El gasped, eyes open and bright, and of fucking course the thought of Michael would spring her up. "Tall, dark haired, never-seen-the-sun skin, sharp features?"
"Never-seen-a-hair-cut hair too." Charlie chuckled back to Hopper, earning a grin from him. Steve, was it now? Hmmmm, he hummed mentally, interesting.
"That'd be Mike." El mumbled happily, eyes still hazy but awake enough.
"You can tell him to go home, I'll just stay here—"
"No, Hop!" El gasped, eyebrows drawn in an angry expression.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" He laughed, already standing up from the chair with a grunt. "But I'll be back soon. I don't think they'll let too many people in anymore."
"Mmmm," Charlie interrupted. "I think we can let it slide for you."
"I knew Steve liked you for a reason." El smiled happily, snuggling further down on the bed.
"Holly, stop!" Mike whined, catching his little sister by the waist before she ran after another nurse. "They're not letting you go in with the babies!"
"But I just want to see them, Mike!" The blonde whined back, her hands on his knees as she wiggled on her feet, making Steve laugh next to them.
"Well they're sleeping, so leave them alone!" Mike chuckled, pulling her back to sit on the chair next to him.
"Steve?" Charlie called as she walked out of the double doors, her footsteps light and quick, her brunette hair pulled back from her face in a braid that smacked against her back when she walked, and Steve could feel himself sigh at the sight of her. "Hopper will be out now."
"Oh, great!" Mike jumped from his seat, eyebrows up and eyes wide, but then he looked down to see Holly peering up at him, her legs swinging back and forth. "Uhmm… they won't let her come in with me, will they?"
"No, kids aren't allowed in the ER as visitors." Charlie told him with a grimace.
"It's okay," Steve stepped in. "I can watch her while you're there."
"Really?"
"I'll help," Charlie smiled, locking eyes with Steve (whose heart fluttered). "It's not like I have a job or anything."
"Are you sure?" Mike asked as he caught sight of the Chief.
"Yeah, don't worry."
"Hey," Hopper breathed as he caught up with them. "You can go in now." He placed a hand on Mike's shoulder, giving him a light squeeze.
Mike nodded, twirling his car keys on his fingers, and then he turned to Holly. "Stay with Steve while I'm gone, okay? No running away or playing hide and seek without his knowing. I'll be out later."
"Just go already, Mike," Holly giggled, holding onto Steve's hand as she made him stand up. "Tell El I said hey."
"Okay." Mike breathed out, looking around before he marched on, throwing a look at the nurse behind the desk when he passed through the doors.
"So, Charlie," Holly exclaimed once Mike was out. "Any chance the newborn babies are awake?"
"Some of them might be," Charlie laughed, taking her other hand when the little blonde tugged on hers. "Want to go check?"
"Yes!" Holly exclaimed excitedly, tugging on her and Steve's hands, making them laugh.
"You'll be okay alone for a few, old man?" Steve threw over his shoulder at Hopper as Holly directed them to the door in the back as if she had any idea where the baby area was.
"Not as much as you'll be." His boss snorted as he sat down on a chair, making him flush and look at Charlie who only smiled at him.
"So…" Steve cleared his throat once they were watching Holly coo over the babies through the glass window. "Do you—"
"My off-day is on Sundays." Charlie tugged on the end of her long braid with a nervous chuckle.
"What time do you get out today?"
"My shift ends at one." She grimaced, knowing it was too late for an impromptu date.
"Ahh," He nodded with a sigh. "You must probably be tired after. I'd only want my bed, not even think of dinner or—"
"Or," Charlie interrupted him, nodding with a breathy, excited smile. "I could go for dinner. I can put on hold my bed for a few. Got anywhere in mind?"
"I know this diner that has some of the greatest smoothies I've ever tried; and their fries are to die for."
"Smoothies and fries," Charlie hummed, closing her eyes, and Steve took the moment to appreciate the smooth canvas that was her face, her long eyelashes against her cheeks. "Sounds delicious."
"Sounds like a date." Holly threw over her shoulder, smirking at both with every ounce of Wheeler-ness Steve knew.
"Sounds like a date." Both agreed, laughing together.
"Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic, don't—fuck."
He had been mentally preparing himself for the sigh of his girlfriend on the hospital bed, but actually seeing her was a whole other blow. Her eyes were closed, her chest moving up and down gently with every breath, and her curly hair was a halo around her pale face. He would've though she was asleep if she hadn't opened her eyes the minute he cursed.
"Hey," She mumbled when she saw him standing a few feet away. "C'mere."
His feet shuffled stupidly until he was tugging the blue privacy curtain around them, shielding them from prying eyes as he ignored the chair and sat on the space next to her thighs, cradling her face in his hands with soft moves.
"Hi," He breathed out finally, his throat tight against her chin. "Hi, gorgeous."
"Mike," She could tell he was out of it. She tugged on his elbow, leaning away from him a little so she could see his face. "It's okay."
"No, it's not," He whined, his thumb tracing the bruise on her chin and the scab on her lip as his eyes slowly began to shine brighter against the fluorescent lights above them. "You're hurt."
"Yes, but I'm okay now."
"I'm not."
His voice came out strangled, as if it hurt him to say the words, and he buried his face against her hair with a shudder, kissing her head as his shoulders began to shake.
"Mike—", her lip quivered. She squeezed his wrist while her own eyes began to sting, her voice broken.
"I should've been there," he rushed out against her. "I should've been there and I wasn't and I'm sorry."
"S'not your fault, Mike."
"I know it's not, but if I had drove you home instead of letting you walk alone that fucker wouldn't have found you and you wouldn't be here right now, in this stupid hospital where there's only one nice nurse and in this stiff ass bed with scratchy blankets and- look at you," he sniffled touching her lip. "How am I going to kiss you now if I know I could have prevented-"
"Like this." She tugged him forward, her hand sliding through the back of his hair, and then she was kissing him. The light peck they started with turned into soft kisses, tugging each other's lips until El hissed lightly, moving back from the slight burn on her growing scab. "Mike, it's okay. I'm okay."
Her eyes were serious (a little bit wet and hazy too, but she had been crying through the night and the pain killers were still there), the cold certainty and assurance that she transmitted when she was making a point present in her brown orbs, and Mike nodded, a bit dazed from the kiss—like he always was; that was her effect on him—, gently touching her cheek as his eyes scrutinized every inch of her again.
She was strong; the strongest person he had ever met and he knew she would recover from this, but it still hurt him to see her hurt. El had been nothing but a happy girl since 1984, and seeing her like this, bruised, drained, in a hospital gown and wounded… well, it reminded him too much of the first time they met, and the way she had slipped out of their lives that night in Middle School.
"How are you feeling?" He settled for asking, moving one of her curls around the white pillow as she sighed softly.
"Fine. A little bit sore, and I'm sure it will get worse, but given the situation I'd say it's normal."
He wiggled until he reached the footrest, throwing his hand around until his fingers found the board clipped to her bed that explained her status.
"Let's see," he hummed as he began to inspect her medical record. "Jane E. Hopper, Female, Age 16, Boyfriend: Mike Wheeler, the best boyfriend ev—"
"Mike," she laughed, slapping his knee. "Stop trying to make me laugh. I'll rip my stitches and then I will be in serious trouble."
"Shit, sorry, sorry," He hissed, rubbing her stomach carefully to not touch the bandages underneath. "Penetrating Abdominal Trauma—oh, fancy names around here-, stopped blood flow, cleaned wound with sterile solution, 8 ml of Morphine for pain relief through IV, no found foreign bodies in the wound, 3 centimeters of depth, clean cut, 4 mg of Lidocaine for Local Anesthesia, seven stitches across the wound, covered it with clean bandages. Well," Mike finally said as he tapped the clip board with his car keys. "That was quite the ride you got."
"I just understood they drugged me a bit to numb me and then stitched me up. I don't understand any of that… medical shit." She shrugged, smiling lightly when he outright laughed at her.
"That medical shit is very educative and just saved your life."
"No, Steve did." She rebutted.
"Yeah," He sighed, nodding his head as he returned to his task of arranging her curls around the pillow. "And thank God he did."
She snickered suddenly. "He just met his new girlfriend here."
"Charlie? Yeah," Mike laughed with her. "I bet he already landed himself a date by now."
"Smooth Stevie," She leaned back again, her eyes closed and a deep sigh leaving her lips. "I don't know why your sister dumped him. He's awesome."
"She dumped him for your brother, though." He reminded with a raised eyebrow, a small smirk tilting his lips as he watched her reaction.
"Still," She shrugged a shoulder, the hospital gown slipping a little. "Jon is great but... Steve is Steve."
"Yeah, he's awesome." Mike agreed, thinking of the fluffy haired man. "He's watching Holly right now."
"Holly's here?" El lifted an eyelid.
"Oh, yeah, she says hey." He chuckled, grasping her un-IVied hand and rubbing his thumb on the back of it.
"Are things better at home now?"
He shrugged a shoulder. "Eh. They didn't get a chance to say anything. I practically flew the car here with Holly, so…"
"I'm glad you distracted Holly first."
"I'm glad you're okay."
She could see his home life situation wasn't a topic he desired to approach now, so for his sake, she dropped it.
"Do you want to sleep?" He asked when he saw her start to drift away, her eyes closed for a few silent minutes. "I can go—"
"No, don't go," She mumbled without opening her eyes, clutching his hand tighter. "Stay for a little longer."
"I'll stay for as long as you want me to." He replied in a heartbeat, eagerly turning to her to watch her fall into sleep. He liked watching her sleep, not in the creepy way, but because seeing her so serene and calm soothed him too.
"Stay forever." She whispered.
A tug on his heart and a lopsided love-sick smile were his response. "I intend to."
She fell asleep to the soft sounds of his breathing, the beeping of the multiple heart monitors around the room, and the murmured words that left his mouth as he sang to her.
"Tell me your troubles and doubts, giving me everything inside and out. Love's strange so real in the dark, think of the tender things that we were working on…"
I don't know shit about medical emergencies, so I hope I got something right out of all the crap I had to research for procedures over a stab wound. As always, tell me your thoughts :)
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