Work Text:
1994 - Nashville, Indiana.
“She’s asleep?” Mike asks his wife as she walks into the kitchen.
“Yeah, finally” El says with a yawn. Sara, their daughter has been crying for at least thirty minutes before she finally fell asleep in Els arms.
Mike slid one of the plates of food he had prepared for her on the kitchen island. He brought over his plate and sat next to her.
They had moved to Nashville just before they found out El was pregnant. It was a small walkable town with a small population. They’d bought a cute cabin close to town, one with 2 bedrooms and a beautiful backyard with lots of flowers. The September months brought cooler temperature and wind chills and glossy red, orange, and yellow leaves.
Sara was born just a month ago now, on August 7th. She was this little thing, wrapped up in a tight pink swaddle, with rosy cheeks and thin brown curls.
Sara had her own nursery that they’d painted a deep violet color. There was a wooden rocking chair, a hand-me down fron Joyce. There were already a million stuffed animals and a million little clothes for Sara - all gifts from their friends.
They were both exhausted. Mike had been at work all day and El was home taking care of their newborn. There were dark circles under the both of their eyes, looking over towards Saras crib, just a few feet away. They didn’t talk over dinner like they usually did, they just lazily ate their food.
The sound if rain slammed against their home, sounding as heavy as hail. When they finished their food Mike picked up both their plates and put them into the sink. Then lead the two of them to their bedroom, pulling up the quilt and letting El slide into their cushy bed. He crawled in right beside her, spooning her.
—-
Theres a pounding sound at the door.
“Jesus christ what time is it?” Mike asked - his voice thick with sleep, jerking his head too look over at the alarm click. The alarm clock read: 11:07 PM. They’d only been asleep for around twenty minutes.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
They both jump at the insistent knocking. With a groan, they’re kicking the quilt off of themselves, and Mikes immediately out of bed. and marching towards their front door. El checks on Sara before walking to Mike. Sara’s still sleep.
Mike looks through the peep hole first and then looks back at El with a concerned look on his face. He grabs the door knob, still hesitating for a moment.
He swung the door open, the door knob squealing, letting in the smell of rain. There stood Dr. Owens.
“What are you doing here?” Mike said in a defensive tone.
Els heart dropped to her stomach the second she saw him. He had said that they were done working together, that he would get out of her hair and leave her alone. She would finally get to be normal.
She desperately wanted to settle down - her and Mike just being normal. A cute wooden house in a small tight-knit neighborhood. Away from Hawkins, but not too far that Hopper and Joyce couldn’t easily come to visit.
She thought every thing was finally over. Her and Mike had been living together for five years now, they have a baby, they have a family.
“I’m sorry, to show up unannounced and at such an unreasonable time, but it’s important.” Owens told them. He started to walk into their house, out of the rain, and sat down on one of their living room chairs.
“Hawkins Lab, for the last few nights the lights been coming on.” Owens said, getting straight to the point. El grabbed onto Mikes arm, pulling herself close to him.
“So? Why should that matter?” Mike replied, eyebrows furrowing downward angrily.
“We want El to come with my team and I to make sure everything is okay. That’s all.”
“No. She’s not going back there, I don’t understand why she would even need to be there?”
“Incase something is happening there, she should to know what’s going on.” Owens said causally. The rain got heavier, pounding on the shingles on their roof.
“No. I she shouldn’t have to relive her trauma, for what? A light? I don’t understand why this couldn’t have been a phone call in the first place,” Mike barked, his tone becoming angrier with every word.
“So is that a no, on coming with me? I understand, really, but you have to understand that-“
“No, it’s not.” El said. Mike turned to her, mouth open slightly.
“No El, you don’t have to go back there. It’s probably nothing-“ Mike said, eyes widened and staring at her.
“Mike that’s not-“ El argued back, still clinging tightly to him.
“Look, I know that this is a big choice to make,” Owens began. “I’m driving back to Hawkins in the morning. You have my number, call me when you decide.” He stood up from the chair and walked towards the door and waved goodbye to the couple. He opened the door, the rusty hinges squealing, and went back out into the rain.
In a matter of three minutes, their entire life had been uprooted.
They were silent. Staring forward at the doorway. Mike speaks first.
“El. You can’t go.”
“Why? What if they’re doing something with the upside down? What if they’re doing more experiments on people?” El responds. Mike grabs onto her hands, pulling her down onto their couch with way too many throw pillows. They sit closely next to each other, holding hands.
“Owens team can find that out, okay? You don’t to go all the way to Hawkins to look for something that probably isn’t even a big deal. It’s probably some teenagers breaking in or something.” He reasoned.
“What if they find something? Then what?” El questioned him, stopping his train of thought. “Mike, I need to be there to end it if it’s something bad.”
His eyes soften, his body weakening into the ugly patterned couch cushions. His leg is bouncing up and down and his hands are gripping hers even tighter.
“El cmon…you have to stay. You can leave Sara. You can leave me.” His breath speeding up, getting anxious. His hands feel sweaty intertwined with hers.
“Mike.” El said while putting her hand in his bouncing leg. “It would only be for a few days. I’ll come back home after. Then we can be normal.” His face buzzes and his hands shake. He feels cold, but also way to hot. The sound of her voice pounds within his ears and rings. The sound makes his heart race and his lip quiver.
“We’ve been saying that ‘all the bad stuff is over and we can relax’ for years. But it never ends El. If we give into this then the cycles just gonna repeat and-“ He’s having a full blown panic attack now.
“Mike, love, slowdown. It’s okay relax relax. I’m here it’s okay.” She said while moving to sit in his lap, pulling her arms around him and pulling him into a close hug. His head falls to her shoulder, nuzzling his way into the crook if her neck. His hands wrap sound her torso, gripping onto her night-shirt.
“Shh…” She whispered into his hair. He whimpers against her, the noise vibrating against her skin. Shes placing kisses messily onto the crown if his head and to his forehead.
“It’s okay Mike, I love you. It’s okay.” Running slow circles on his back with one hand, and scratching his head in the best way.
He’s hiccuping now, but he’s calming down. He burrows himself further into their embrace. She’s so warm around him, his legs feel freezing against her warm tanned skin.
His breathing is calm now - creating silence between the couple. She wiggles further into his lap while keeping her arms around him.
He lets out a long deep breath that relives the heavy feeling in his heart. “El, tell me you won’t go. Please don’t leave again.” His hands clumsily hold onto her back and head, pulling her as close as possible.
She’s silent, simply looking up at him. She bites the skin of her lip, so hard he thinks it might bleed. The horrible silence in the room feels to heavy that it might swallow him whole. It makes the pit and his heart hurt even worse then before. Tears prick his eyes again, but they’re caught by the soft fabric of her striped long sleeve before they can fall.
She pulls away from him, her own eyes now teary. She can’t stand to see him like this; going fron so defensive and confident to feeling so small and helpless.
She cups his face, but before she can speak Sara starts fussing from the crib in their bedroom. They’re both up quickly, walking hand and hand to her nursery.
Sara’s is wailing now, so loud that it rings and burns in their ears. El is quick to pick her up and rock her back and forth in her arms.
Sara pauses, looking up at her mom. She has Mikes eyes. Soulful and curious, with dark fluffy eyelashes. She has his freckles, dotting her cheeks and nose.
El holds her tenderly within her arms as she continues to rock her back and forth. Mike comes closer behind her, pressed up against her, looking down at their daughter.
Mike pulls a stray hair that had fallen from Els ponytail, looping it behind her ear. She turns to him, letting him put his arm around her. He leans down a kisses her cheek, her eyes now following his.
“I love you.” He says her, his eyes and nose still a little red from earlier.
“I love you too Mike, so much.” She tilts her head upward and he leans down to kiss her lips.
The kiss is slow - it makes them feel whole. It’s sickeningly sweet. He’s here, Shes here, Saras here.
Sara’s eyes flutter close and El puts her back down into her crib. Mike leans down to kiss her forehead. He then shuts off the lights in her room as him and El leave the room. The rain has stopped now, their home is completely silent.
They walk to their bedroom together with Mikes arm around her waist - pulling her close to him.
They lazily fall into bed together, holding each other. “I won’t go with Owens.” She mumbled into his shoulder. He let out a shakey sigh of relief in response. He kissed the top of her head as they both drifted to sleep.