Chapter Text
It had been over a week.
Over a week of ditching school to sit at the hospital, with whatever hobby she could find before she left the house. Her mom had stopped arguing with her on day 3, Robin was pulling passing grades in every class. A few weeks of missing classes would not kill her, especially since Steve kept bringing her any work she missed. Her mom had finally relented and called the school, ensuring Robin wouldn't be punished for her absences while she was keeping vigil.
Max's mom had only shown up on days 1, 2 and 8. Only for an hour each and the third time, Robin could smell the booze on her breath. She tried not to judge, she could only imagine what Susan must be going throught but...goddamnit, if Max was Robin's kid...well, she'd probably be doing exactly what she had been all week.
Sitting by the bed, for every hour the doctors would let her, and waiting.
Today, Robin had brought one of her notebooks. By no means would she call herself a gifted writer, but she liked writing and coming up with stories. It was a nice escape from the stress of the world, or to make sense of it by writing about someone else going through what she was.
She'd been writing a lot of horror stories recently. Horror stories where a kid with red hair manages to beat the monsters and go on with her life.
Finishing her latest sentence, Robin sighed and closed the book, placing it on the table over Max's bed, before she took the girl's hand.
"Sorry about that." Robin apologised, "Gotta write stuff down as soon as I think of it, or it just goes poof and I'll never think of it again."
As had been the case for the last 10 days, Max didn't respond.
"El's still searching the Upside Down. She seems to think you're still trapped there." Robin sighed. "I'm not sure if that would be better or worse than you being stuck in here." She poked Max's forehead gently. "At least if she found you she could...I don't know, make you wake up. If you're stuck in your head then...I don't know how to fix it."
"Pretty sure we can't. She just has to wake up on her own."
Robin turned at the familiar voice, giving a weak smile as Nancy walked in.
If there was one person visiting as much as her, it was Nancy.
Nancy returned the smile with a tired one of her own. "Still no change?" She asked, walking over to the other seat by Max's bed and sitting down, dropping her bags next to it.
"No. I heard one of the docs say that one of the tests on her brain was still stable, so she's still not brain dead, but no change for the better either."
Nancy nodded and brushed some of Max's hair away from her face. "The kids are gonna visit after class. Mom volunteered to drive them, since Steve's working. I stopped by Eddie's too."
"How's he doing?"
"Still sore and angry about the bedrest." Nancy chuckled, "He said he'd come visit as soon as he's 'off house arrest.'"
"He knows he doesn't have to do exactly what Dustin says right? Especially when the kid's at school?" Robin smirked.
"Yes he does."
"...yeah. He does."
They stayed in a comfortable, if anxious, silence for a few minutes after that. Nancy eventually reached out to hold Max's free hand.
"I called Emerson." She eventually said.
"About what?"
"...I'm gonna defer for a year."
That got Robin's attention. "Are you sure? I-I'm not trying to make you second guess it or anything but...that's a hell of a change of plan and-"
"Breathe, Robin." Nancy interrupted, with a fond eyeroll. "Yes, I'm sure. I told them I'd had a personal tragedy and that I wasn't sure I'd even be able to attend classes, let alone pass them. They were pretty understanding, but they practically jumped to offer me a full year's deferral when I said I would drop out and find a place elsewhere."
"Of course they did, can't lose the start journalist before she even starts."
That got a laugh out of the brunette.
"So what's in the bags?" Robin asked.
"Uh, mostly snacks." Nancy said, picking one of them up, "I figured you probably skipped breakfast again so I got you this." She tossed Robin a wrapped sandwich, egg and cheese.
"Thanks." Robin smiled, unwrapping it. "What's in the other one?" She asked, taking a bite.
That caused Nancy to blush. "Uh...I know it probably won't do any good but..." she reached into the bag, and pulled out a slightly worn teddy bear. "...this was mine. I uh...I got sick, when I was little. Had to do a week in the hospital. I don't remember much but, I remember mom bringing me this." She brushed some of the fur above the bear's eyes with her hand, then gently tucked it under Max's arm. "I know it's stupid but...if she wakes up when we're not here, I didn't want her to feel alone..."
Not for the first time, Robin felt a surge of affection for the brunette. She wrapped the sandwich again, stood and walked around to crouch by Nancy. "I don't think it's stupid." Robin assured, softly. "I think it's sweet."
Nancy sighed and leaned down to rest her forehead against the top of Robin's.
That had started happening a lot over the last week. Nancy and Jonathan had broken up a couple of days after they won. No hard feelings, mutual thing on the understanding that they'd basically been broken up for a while anyway, at least that was how Nancy had phrased it.
Since then, Robin and Nancy had found themselves leaning on each other a lot. Hand holds, little touches and hugs had all become common, especially during their vigils in the hospital.
"Do you think she knows we've been here?" Nancy asked after a moment.
"...I have to believe she does." Robin responded quietly. "I read somewhere that people in comas can hear what goes on around them, even if they don't necessarily remember it when they wake up."
Nancy nodded and wiped her eyes, catching a few stray tears that she hadn't realised were falling. Robin stood up and moved her chair around to sit next to her.
"What did you name it?" Robin asked, as Nancy rested her head on the taller girl's shoulder.
"Never gave him a name." Nancy shrugged, "I never really named my stuffed animals."
"Missed half the fun then."
"Okay then Miss Smartypants" Nancy half-laughed, "What would you have named him?"
Robin hummed and thought for a moment. "I'd have named him Honey, with his fur being that colour. But...I think it's only fair Max gets to name him when she wakes up."
Nancy snuggled closer to her. "Yeah. That seems fair."
Beeping was the first thing she became aware of.
The second thing she became aware of was something soft under her left arm.
The third thing came when she slowly opened her eyes. Said third thing was pain.
Max winced and squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, before slowly opening them again. Her eyes still ached at the light of the room, and her vision was...horrifically blurry, but she could just about make out that she was in a small-ish room, on a bed.
She tried to turn her head and let out a pained gasp as her neck objected to the movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out two humanoid...ish, blobs, one dark haired and one lighter haired, leaning against each other. She squinted, trying to force her eyes to focus, but it just caused more pain and even made her feel a bit dizzy.
What the hell had happened again?
She managed to glance down and saw a much smaller, goldy/brown blob tucked under her hand. She brought her hand up to feel it, running it over soft fur, two small, smooth things and two half-circles on the top.
A teddy bear. Someone had given her a teddy bear.
Again, Max tried to move, but this time the pain was sharper and she couldn't hold back a soft groan.
The dark haired blob seemed to startle, before it faced her.
"Holy shit! Robin, Robin wake up, she's awake." Someone said gently and Max recognised that voice.
"Nancy?" She managed to rasp out. "Robin?"
The darker haired blob moved closer and she felt someone hold her hand. "We're here, you're okay. Robin-"
"Going to get a doc." She heard Robin say, before the lighter haired blur moved out of her field of view.
"What...happened?"
"Vecna, but we stopped him. It's gonna be okay, Max." Nancy assured softly.
"I can't...everything's blurry. I can't see properly." Max said, feeling herself start to panic.
"It's gonna be okay, you're safe, you're gonna be just fine." Nancy moved closer and while Max's vision didn't focus, she could make out a little more. An outline of a face, noticeable curls in the hair, a little more distinction between Nancy's jacket and shirt. Nothing detailed, but more human than blob.
She felt Nancy run a hand through her hair, still repeating soft assurances that she was okay, everyone was safe, Vecna was gone. She brought her free hand over, ignoring the stab of pain as she did so, to hold the bear close to her.
She felt Nancy squeeze her hand slightly, before Robin returned with a doctor.
A week after Max had woken up, she was still in the hospital.
Her mom had visited twice, to bring pyjamas and a few things to make her stay more comfortable, but she hadn't shown up again since.
Too painful, she'd told Robin. Robin had needed a lot of self restraint to keep from slapping the woman at that.
There'd been a litany of tests, almost all of which either Robin or Nancy had held Max's hand through.
Structurally speaking, her brain was intact, though she had suffered some 'stroke-like' damage. The doctors thought that was probably the main cause of her vision issues, since her eyes were healing as well as could be expected. She'd probably never see in extreme detail again, but she should regain at least some vision within time.
Her nervous system was present and correct, and while she would need intensive physiotherapy for at least a year, the doctors seemed optimistic she would regain full or almost full movement, though she would probably need a wheelchair and crutches for at least six months and may need a cane as she got older.
She'd asked if they thought she'd ever be able to skate again. She hadn't been able to see the doctor's smile, but she'd heard it in his voice when he said he saw no reason why not.
Robin had been the one to hug her after that, when she'd cried in relief.
Everyone had visited at least twice: Lucas had brought her flowers and sat with her for hours. Erica had given her another stuffed animal, a badger she'd explained. Dustin had brought her doughnuts and a Hellfire Club t-shirt (she'd hugged him for that.) Mike had sat with her while Nancy had been forced to go home for a nap by Karen and filled her in on everything she'd missed while she was unconscious.
El had squeezed the life out of her with a hug and promised she'd push Max around the skate park as soon as she was out of the hospital, which had gotten one of the first genuine laughs out of the redhead. Will had hugged her and said he was there if she ever needed to talk, while Jonathan had just ruffled her hair and said she was gonna look like a little badass once all her scars healed up.
Steve, in typical Steve fashion, had fussed over her when he'd visited, bringing her an extra pillow so she was more comfortable and a new Walkman so she wouldn't be as bored (no Kate Bush, he'd promised.) And Eddie, finally allowed off of Dustin-ordered bedrest, had brought her a set of DnD dice and the Vecna mini. "You're the only one I've ever seen survive the bastard, so seems fair you keep the mini."
"And the dice?" Max had asked.
"My lucky set. The d20 rolled the death save that saved my first character."
Max made a silent promise to herself to finally play DnD with him at some point.
Today, it was only Robin and Nancy with her.
"You know you guys don't have to be here all the time, I'm sure you've got more important stuff to do." She'd sighed, when the familiar forms had walked in. She'd been wearing glasses for the last couple of days that the optometrist had said would help her regain some of her vision. They were helping...slightly. She could make out facial features now at least.
"We don't have to, but we want to." Robin smiled, ruffling her hair as she sat down. "Someone has to keep you from going mad with boredom, it may as well be us."
"How were morning observations?" Nancy asked, taking Max's file and glancing over it.
"They stole some more blood, poked at my legs again and said something about another x-ray to check my arm's healing right." Max shrugged. "They think I might be able to get out by next week...if they can guarantee I'd be able to recieve care."
"...they'd need to guarantee that your mom could care for you." Robin grumbled.
"Yep. Which...I don't even know if she could. Forget the size of the trailer, she'd need to be able to pick me up and move me from bed to wheelchair, get me to appointments, manage my meds..."
Robin sighed and squeezed Max's hand, "We'll figure something out kid."
Nancy put the file back and took the chair next to Robin, leaning her head on the other girl's shoulder. She glanced down and realised Max was clutching the bear. She smiled, "I thought you'd have gotten sick of that thing by now."
Max pulled it to her chest and hugged it, "I like him. Makes it feel a little less daunting when I'm stuck here on a night."
"You named him yet?" Robin asked, "Wheeler apparently never bothered to"
"You are never gonna let that go, are you?"
"Who doesn't name their stuffed animals!?"
"Me!" Nancy laughed, shoving her playfully.
"Can you two flirt on your own time?" Max commented with a smirk, causing both of the older girls to blush. Max held up the bear and looked at him. She could make out a few more details than she could initially, he had a little bow tie stitched to his neck, a little heart on his paw, that sort of thing.
From somewhere in her mind, she managed to think of something. "...Honey. I'll call him Honey."
Nancy and Robin both went silent.
"...what? Is it a dumb name?" Max asked, a little self conscious.
"No! No, not at all!" Robin immediately assured. "Just uh...I said that. When you were still out."
Max hugged the bear a little tighter, "I guess I must have heard you."
She tried not to tear up when they hugged her.
"Robin? It's 9pm, are you coming for...what's the matter?" Diane Buckley asked, poking her head into Robin's room, only to find her pacing anxiously.
"They won't let Max out of hospital." Robin said plainly, biting on one of her nails anxiously.
"Why not? I thought you said she was improving." Diane walked in and gently caught her daughter's hands so she would stop biting. Robin couldn't always control that habit, even making herself bleed on occasion.
"She is, they want to discharge her and Max wants out so badly but Susan-"
"Susan?"
"-Max's mom, she showed up to talk to them about Max's care and they could tell she was drunk and said they couldn't trust that she would be able to manage Max's needs. She's agreed to enter an alcoholics program, but it could be months before she could take Max and Max is going insane in that bed and-"
"Robin, sweetheart, breathe, it's okay." Diane soothed, as Robin continued to spiral.
"Nancy thought she might be able to stay at the Wheelers." Robin sniffled, as her mom pulled her into a hug, "But Mr Wheeler shot it down. Steve offered, his parents are still away and they wouldn't care anyway, one of us would practically have to drop out to look after her, the Byres don't have the space, the Sinclairs and Hendersons work-"
"Then she can stay here."
Robin pulled back and looked at her mother, stunned. "...what?"
"She can stay here." Diane repeated. "We'll get your dad to clear the junk out of the spare room, I've got my old nursing training so I can look after her while you're at school, and you can help take care of her at night."
"Mom, we can't afford-"
"You let me and your dad worry about what we can and can't afford. I'm sure your father won't mind taking some extra shifts at work and we've got some savings we can dip into for extra food and gas. If it gets you back to school without worrying for your friend, then we'll do it."
Robin practically tackled her mom into a hug. "Thank you."
5 days later, Max was settled into a far more comfortable bed at the Buckley house. Robin, Nancy and Diane had attended every meeting the doctors had asked them to so they would know exactly how to care for Max at home, Susan had signed some forms to release Max into the care of the Buckley's until she was more sober and that had been that.
"You sure you're gonna be okay in here kid?" Robin asked on the first night, as she and Nancy pulled the covers up over the redhead.
"Bed's nicer than the hospital one." Max chuckled.
"That's not an answer, Mayfield." Nancy pointed out, poking Max's head.
"...yeah."
"You hesitated."
"Fuck you and your detective brain." Max said jokingly. "...I'm just...a bit nervous about falling asleep I guess. Everything's starting to feel sort of normal again and it just...it feels like I'm waiting for the next disaster. Y'know?"
"We do know. Very well." Nancy sighed, sitting on the bed next to her. "And I can't promise that there isn't gonna be another disaster, it's Hawkins, God knows what's gonna happen next but...you've got us. Right?" She looked over at Robin.
"Right." Robin assured, sitting on Max's other side. "So if you need us to stay in here tonight, we will. If you need us to tell my mom to shove it and take you for a late night stroll, we will. Anything you need, we got.your back. Okay?"
Max smiled and hugged Honey to her chest. "...okay. Would you guys stay? Just for a bit..."
Robin and Nancy smiled at each other, then lay down on either side of Max, each wrappin an arm around her.
"As long as you need." Nancy smiled.
Max fell asleep within minutes.