Chapter Text
1. "Pull over. Let me drive for a while."
The radio played on between them, her passenger's Dark Side of the Moon cassette. Joyce's mouth was set into a hard line. Mauled by a bear. Fucking lie. She was on her way to Indianapolis to tell Bob's only sibling that he was mauled by a bear.
Her eyelids were heavy and she let out a weak sigh, passing the leaving Hawkins sign. She had been determined to leave tonight, to stay at a hotel, and see Sue first thing in the morning.
"Pull over, let me drive for a while." Came a gruff statement from the passenger side. After the events of the last few days he was deathly tired but as soon as he heard her intention of telling Bob's family, he wouldn't take no for an answer when she insisted on going alone.
"No Hop you need rest, I'll drive." His hand reached for her's on the steering wheel. "Joycie. Let me drive. I know you're exhausted."
Without much protest she pulled over and switched seats with him. He rolled the driver's side window down a bit, upped the volume of the radio just a bit. Then he passed her his fur lined police jacket. "Rest up, Byers." He smiled before she closed her eyes.
2. "It reminded me of you."
They were eating dinner, the Byers and Hop and El, at the cabin when Hop leaned up on one hip, digging in his pocket for something. "Here, this is for you." Hop said, opening his palm to Joyce. In his big hand lay a tiny stone cardinal.
"Hop!" He gave her a small smile. "It reminded me of you. I know your favorite Aunt loved them."
"That she did." She smiled. "She always said they were magical birds."
"Oddly enough I found it on the ground. I guess it was meant for me to find it." He smiled gently. "Maybe that's her sending you a hello."
The kids all went back ti their food, their interests elsewhere. But under the table Joyce lightly squeezed his knee, giving him a small smile. "Thank you, Hop."
3. "No, no, it's my treat."
He hoped it was a comforting thing for Joyce and the boys. Really the things just made his head hurt, but it was determined that once a month there would be a board game night in Bob's memory. Jim was squinting at a brainteaser, trying his hardest to decipher the damn thing. "Bob the brain. You know I always called him that because he was smarter than me." Jim observed. Joyce responded with a sad smile.
The doorbell rang. "Pizza!" Jonathan called. "Hey Will, go grab my purse please-" Jim stood, reaching in his pocket. "Don't sweat it, I got it."
"No Jim, it's my turn to buy dinner!" She protested. "No, no, it's my treat." He said, heading for the door.
"Besides." He said returning to the table with a pile of pizza boxes. "One of these is just for me anyway." He said, referring to the everything pizza he'd gotten. "Your boys and their weird pineapple pizza. Blasphemy." There was a pepperoni and ham for El and Joyce.
El watched him intently as he ate. "Folding?" She inquired. Jim always folded his pizza slices when he ate. "Yeah, people eat pizza all different ways." He explained. He pointed at Will, who was eating his crust first.
"When my little girl was little, she would only eat pepperoni pizza, and she ate it upside down!" He laughed. "Some people eat cold pizza, sometimes for breakfast. People eat pizza all different ways."
She looked around at the table, watching everyone eat pizza from paper towels as they played with the brain teasers.
Jim looked over at Joyce. "I like to think he'd be happy, knowing the kids are having game nights like this and everything." He said quietly. She nodded and swallowed. "I think so, too."
4. "Come here. Let me fix it."
Joyce cursed a blue streak, her finger stinging. The splinter had been sharp, a piece of wood from the work they were doing repairing his cabin. Joyce had insisted on helping, since he helped repair her house after...after she chopped a hole through her wall. After the kids fought the demogorgon in her hallway. She wanted to help.
She shoved her finger in her mouth, sucking the pained skin. "The quicker you get it out, the less it hurts." He said, looking up from where he was rebuilding a bookshelf.
"Uh, I hate removing splinters, makes it hurt worse."
"Come here, let me fix it." He offered. "I'll fix your boo boo."
Joyce pouted at his baby talk, but did it anyway. "Boo boo?" El asked, her eyes squinted in confusion. "A wound. Also called an ouchie or a boo boo if you're talking to a kid."
"Joyce is not kid." She said flatly.
Jim held Joyce's finger. "She's four months younger than me so sometimes I tease her." He explained and Joyce rolled her eyes. "Now Joycie, I want you to look away and sing me a song, okay?"
"This is so stupid!" "Sing, woman!" He fussed as he unfolded his pocket knife.
Joyce turned her head. "Moving forward using all my breath. Making love to you was never second best. I saw the world crashing all around your face..."
Jim dipped his head low to see the big splinter. As she sang, he gently cut into her finger with the tip of his knife. He then squeezed the skin lightly till the wood poked out. He pulled it out gently.
"I'll stop the world and melt with you. You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time..."
"All set." He said, folding his knife and tucking it away. Joyce observed her finger. "Wow, that didn't even hurt, Hop. Thank you." He grabbed her hand, lifted her finger to his lips and kissed it.
"Tradition." He explained. "It was always my job to kiss boo boos. And we have got to talk about your taste in music."
"Not everyone's favorite song has their name in it, Jim."
5. "I'll walk you home."
"I would tell you guys to watch after my girl, but I think it'll be the other way around." Jim laughed, patting Jon's shoulder. "Thank you again for doing this, El has been so excited." He said. "And I have to work so I couldn't stay." Jon nodded.
There was an entire campsite set up around Castle Byers. El, Will, Max, Lucas, Dustin, Mike, Steve and Jonathan all had sleeping bags set up around the fire Jim had started for them.
The sun was beginning to dip in the sky. "You're not camping too Ma?" He asked and Joyce shook her head. "Too old for camping."
"Never too old for camping!" He smiled and offered her his arm. "I'll walk you home." He offered and she took it.
The crisp autumn air blew through their hair as they walked through the woods. In his free hand Jim toted the oil lantern ahead to light their way as it began getting darker. She playfully reached up to run her fingertips through his beard. "Just like a real lumberjack." She teased. "Me, mountain man." He laughed.
"You know, you can crash here tonight. I know the boys are with the kids but I dunno, I'd just feel better if you were close and we needed you."
He raised the lantern once they got in the scope of her porch light and blew it out. "Those kids? They can handle their own and so can you if anything happens." He teased lightly. "I would, but I left my uniform and stuff at home."
There was a pause between them at his driver's side door. She looked up at him, trying to contain the emotion his blue eyes made her feel. "Go get your uniform, come back. I'll even iron it for you." She smiled. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I'd better get back to the cabin, Joycie. I'll take a rain check though. Next time El wants to stay over."
One corner of her lips lifted, a pouty half smile. "Alright. Be careful going home, okay?" He nodded. "Always am. Got too much to live for these days." He smiled warmly as he slid behind the wheel. "Goodnight, Joycie."