Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Little Pink Line
It should have been exciting, but instead the second pink line filled her with dread. Sitting on the bathroom floor, back against the wall, Joyce blankly stared forward. What the hell was she supposed to do? Have the baby? She was in her forties, single, and already struggling to support three children. Having a baby was not something she was even in a position to consider.
Then again, it was Jim Hopper’s baby. The man saved her and her family. He died to save everyone. She loved him, now and forever. How could she just not have his baby?
That was the issue. She would feel guilty either way. Keep it, and Will and El both suffer because money would be extra tight for a long time. Probably even after they both get jobs and move out. Get rid of though, and she would erase the one part of Hopper that was gifted to her. The last trace of his existence, the one little thing he left her.
She did not fully notice, but while one hand gripped the test, the other lay on top of her belly. She was already slightly protective over the baby. That was one of the first signs she had noticed. Of course, there was the classic morning sickness and the weird cravings. Last night though, while spreading cream cheese on saltines and topping them bacon bits, she looked down and noticed where her hand was resting, right on top of her abdomen. It wasn’t something she did all that often. It was like her body was subconsciously trying to tell her that she had another baby to protect now.
The front door opened and slammed close, causing her to jump and bringing her back to reality. “Hello?” She called, standing up.
It was still early, there was no way that Will and El were back home from school yet. Jonathan was supposed to head straight to work after his classes.
“Bleeding!” El anxiously announced, stepping into the bathroom.
“Lucky girl,” Joyce thought to herself, tossing the stick into the garbage.
El, who seemed to be in such a hurry, stopped and looked between the trash can and Joyce. “What do you throw away?”
She thought about lying for a moment, waiting until she was ready and her thoughts were together to say anything about the new addition. However, even though El’s powers were temporarily gone (she had seen her start to slowly regain them by practicing on small objects) that maybe she could sense it. The last thing she wanted was to lose her trust, not now when she needed it most.
“A pregnancy test,” she answered, crossing her arms. “Sometimes women take them when they think they’re pregnant. It tells them whether or not they’re going to have a baby.”
El looked somewhat confused, which did not surprise her. She was there when Hopper attempted to have the talk with her, the birds and the bees. She got some of it, but Hopper sort of insisted that one had to be married to get pregnant. He was really trying to tell her that she shouldn’t have sex until she was married, but either way she got some understanding of the process.
“Pregnant?” She questioned, looking more confused than anything.
“Yes honey, I’m pregnant,” Joyce replied, growing more concerned about the questions that would follow.
She placed her hands on the young girl’s shoulders and lead her out of the bathroom and down the hall to the kitchen. She was sick of just standing there in the bathroom, seeing that test right at the top of the trash can.
“Here, sit down. I think we need to have a little talk,” Joyce instructed.
She saw El pause and look back to the bathroom. “Still bleeding,” she reminded her.
“Go take care of that first then, okay? And then come back and we’ll talk before Will gets back home,” Joyce explained, offering her a small smile.
“Okay,” El responded, returning the smile before leaving the room.
Joyce sat down at the table and sighed. It felt weird talking about this with her teenage daughter. Sure, this was something that was going to affect everyone and the kids did deserve to know everything was happening. It just felt like something that was way over El’s head.
Then again, she remembered when she was younger, Will was in kindergarten and Jonathan in the third grade. It was the spring her and Lonnie were separated, well, he had disappeared after a rather decent Christmas season. She was late, telling herself over and over again that it was stress. It was nothing more than that. She was worried about Lonnie.
She was wrong. She was three months along with no father in sight and endless overdue bills. She told the boys that there was going to be another baby around the house. Will didn’t care much, but Jonathan, her forever mature little man, looked terrified. He never told her what was on his mind, but she had a few ideas. He had some understanding of how money worked, and how they didn’t have any.
Jonathan was nine then. Surely El, now fifteen, would have some understanding. She missed out on a lot of basic things, but she’s managed to catch up on a lot of things. Especially now that she was in school with the other kids.
“I’m back,” El announced, strolling into the room and joining her at the table.
Joyce reached over and took hold of her hand, smiling once more in hopes that it would make this whole conversation easier.
“Before I say anything, do you have any questions about what’s happening?” She asked, feeling that was the easiest way to start this.
El just reached into her pocket and set the test onto the table. She could see that this was the part that fascinated her. In a way, she was grateful. It meant that El hadn’t needed to use one herself yet. On the other hand, that was something that she could have used a few times in high school herself. She had to go to a clinic to get her results.
“You want to know how that works?” Joyce questioned.
“Yes,” El answered.
Joyce sighed, letting go of her hand and taking hold of the test. “Alright, so this,” she said holding it up so that El could see the front of it. “Is a pregnancy test. What you do is you pee on it and then let it sit for ten minutes.”
“Why do you pee on it?” El asked, looking both disgusted and confused.
Joyce repositioned herself to hold the test closer. “Because that’s how it works. You pee on it and then something in your urine dictates whether or not you’re pregnant. If there’s only one line, there’s no baby. If there are two lines, you’re a mommy.”
El studied it for a second and then looked back to Joyce. “Two lines,” she stated.
Joyce just nodded, sucking in her bottom lip. “That’s right.”
“Father?”
There it was, that was the question that she didn’t fully want to explain. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed or ashamed. The answer simply broke her heart.
“Hopper,” she said, looking down at her hands.
El just stared at her, studying her. She felt oddly guilty, as though this were some sort of personal sin against the girl.
It took her by surprise when El leaned forward and tightly hugged her. She wrapped her arms around her and rested her chin on El’s shoulder.
“I love you, sweetheart,” she stated.
“Love you too.”
Joyce pulled back from her and tucked her hair behind her ears. She smiled, knowing full well that at least this baby would grow up in a loving home. Will would certainly be okay with everything going on, Jonathan would be concerned, but she knew he would be supportive. El was truly the one that she was worried about.
“Do you have any more questions?” She offered.
El looked down to her belly, no hesitation as she reached out and rested her hand on it. “It’s a girl,” she flatly announced.
“Yeah?” Joyce softly laughed, slightly concerned.
She was able to relax the second that El retracted her hand and sat back in her chair. It was evident on her face that there was something more on her mind.
“She won’t know Hopper,” El stated.
“Yes she will,” Joyce quickly argued. This was something that she instantly felt passionate about. She leaned forward, taking hold of El’s hands. “We will tell her everything we can about him. Alright? She will know all about how he took you in, the waffles, the movie marathons. All of that. And she will know what a hero he is. Okay? But you have to promise me that you will help me. You got it?”
El smiled, nodding. “Got it.”
“Good. Now make sure you gather every single story you want her to hear. She may never meet him, but she will know who he is.”