Chapter Text
“You did good, kid. You did so good.”
Hopper hugged El tightly to his chest, not wanting to let go of the girl he had grown to care so much for. He was terrified when she had fallen limp to the floor after spending all her energy on closing the gate, scared that she was dead. It occurred to him a couple months ago that if anything were to happen to El, he would not be able to continue living. Nothing would be able to fill the void that she would leave in his already damaged heart.
He never intended for things to be this way. His plan was to keep the girl off the radar and give her a helping hand, to make up for selling her out. In all honesty, he had no idea what to do with a kid, a heavily traumatized one at that; it had been so long since Sara that he didn’t think he had it in him to be a father again. Somehow, El quickly found her way into his heart, and it surprised him just how easy it was to love her. If she was dead, he would lose the last piece of meaning he had left in his life.
When he felt her shift slightly in his arms, it was like a weight lifting off his shoulders. He pulled back slightly to inspect her pale face to find blood flowing down both nostrils and her ears. She looked exhausted as she sniffled and sobbed, holding him tightly as if he would leave if she didn’t. As much as he wanted to stay on the floor, holding her forever, he knew they had to get out as soon as possible.
“Okay, kid, we have to leave this place now. I’m gonna carry you, okay?” She gave a small whine in response, prompting him to hoist her up, her legs wrapping around his torso and arms hanging off his shoulders. He gave the closed gate one last look, before pressing the elevator button that raised them back up to the lab.
His muscles were aching and all he wanted to do was sleep for a whole weekend, but he still had to get help for Dr. Owens and make sure El would be alright. He walked back to the stairwell where Owens lay, finding the man to still be conscious, but quickly fading. “Hey, Doc. I’m gonna come back for you.” The scientist simply nodded in return.
Taking the stairs was pure agony for Hopper’s strained legs; he had to grab the railing due to his knees buckling after the first few steps. Finally making it up to ground level, he made his way back to his Blazer, setting El down in the passenger seat. He reclined the seat slightly to make her more comfortable, then grabbed multiple restaurant napkins from the glove compartment to press against her still bleeding nose. The entire bottom-half of her face was covered in blood, some of it already dried.
He looked at the small little girl who had become unconscious sometime during their trip up the stairs. Her gelled hair was messy, random curls reappearing throughout her head as he raked a hand through it gently. When they got back to the Byers’, he would get her properly cleaned, but for now, he settled for wiping off as much blood as he could. It would never fail to surprise him just how much power this tiny kid hid behind her wide, brown doe-eyes and sweet little smile.
The last thing he wanted to do was leave her lying there, however, he still had to go back to get Owens. He found a blanket in the back that he draped over her tenderly, closed and locked the blazer, then headed back to the lab doors before he could choose to stay with her forever.
For a while, it was easy to ignore the bodies that littered the hallway due to the adrenaline rush that was brought to him by the impending danger. Now that he felt himself wearing down, the horrors of what had happened that night truly hit him like a ton of bricks. If he felt nauseous at the horrific display before him, he could only imagine how everyone else was faring. The poor kids. Joyce. Jesus, Joyce. He refused to look at Bob’s body as he walked past it.
His legs carried him to the stairwell once more where Dr. Owens appeared to be unconscious. Well, shit. He realized that he didn’t really have a plan on what to do with the scientist. For now, he would just get him out of the goddamn lab, then figure it out from there. Reaching out an arm, he attempted to rouse the man to make getting him out easier.
No luck. Well here goes nothing…
Hopper hoisted the man into his arms and nearly toppled into the wall. Owens groaned as he stabilized his quivering limbs and readjusted his grip. “Sorry, doc. Underestimated just how shaky I still am.” All he was given in response was a shake of the head, clearly showing that he didn’t mind the short struggle.
It wasn’t easy to make it back up, after all, carrying a kid was much easier than an adult. They had to take multiple breaks in which he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. He wanted to get back to El as soon as possible, but in total, it took almost 25 minutes to finally reach ground level. By the time they got there, he could already hear the whirring of military helicopters approaching. Perfect. One less thing he had to worry about.
He settled Owens onto a bench outside the lab main entrance for the government to easily find him and get medical assistance. “Alright, Sam, take care of yourself. I gotta get the kid out of here before those men land. Don’t forget what we talked about earlier, hm?” After receiving a nod of confirmation, Hopper gave him a farewell pat on the shoulder.
When he got back to the truck, the first thing he noticed was that the napkins that he had pressed against El’s nose were entirely bled through. Immediately, guilt flowed through his veins at the thought of her sitting in the car for about half an hour by herself without anyone to care for her. He snatched another handful of napkins and replaced the old ones that had started sticking to her face.
While wiping her face once more, he realized that her forehead felt extremely warm and though the rest of her face was a ghostly pale, her cheeks were pink with a growing fever. If her excessive bleeding and raspy breathing wasn’t already enough to send him in a panic, now the kid was burning up like crazy. He had to get to the Byers now.
In his rush to leave the lab and all the government men behind them, he had forgotten to radio the rest of the group to let them know that the gate was closed and that they were safe. Thinking only of El, he pushed down further on the gas pedal, desperate to get his kid the help she needed.
----------------------------------------------------
The tension in the Byers’ living room was thick. Everyone had long since arrived back at the house following their close brushes with death, except Hopper and El. Joyce and Jonathan were together in Will’s room, comforting the young boy and getting him comfortable for bed. The rest of them were antsy over the lack of updates from Hopper. They could only assume that El had succeeded in closing the gate if Will was okay, but they couldn’t be sure until the two came back.
Almost everything had been dealt with, leaving them with nothing to do except wait restlessly. They refrained from destroying Will’s map until they were certain that it was all over, but they had all showered and dressed in Will and Jonathan’s old clothes per Joyce’s request (“You kids were in the tunnels! You can’t sit around and contaminate the house!”), patched Steve up to the best of their ability, called their parents and informed them of the last minute sleepover at the Byers, and cleaned up the food that was strewn across the kitchen floor. The deceased demodog in the fridge would have to wait until the next day to be dealt with, much to everyone except Dustin’s displeasure. (“It’s a groundbreaking scientific discovery! He insisted.)
Mike was pacing anxiously by the window, looking out every couple of seconds for any sign of El and Hopper. Steve was passed out on the large cushioned chair, while Max, Lucas, and Dustin shared the couch. Nancy was leaning against the wall, finally cooled down from the lashing she gave the group earlier for leaving the house. They were starting to grow exhausted as the wait seemed to stretch on forever.
Suddenly, a pair of headlights illuminated the room. They all immediately looked outside to be greeted by the sight of a familiar blazer pulling into the driveway. Nancy ran to Will’s room to alert Joyce and Jonathan, while the kids piled out the front door, watching as the truck came to a jerky stop.
Hopper jumped out of the car and ran to the passenger side in a frantic rush. The group was frozen on the porch, their hearts in their throats as they feared the very worst. Only Mike was able to snap out of his unmoving state as he dashed to Hopper’s side, just as he pulled an unconscious, bleeding El out of the blazer.
“El! Is-Is she ok? Is she alive?” he panicked. She looked almost dead, limp in Hopper’s arms as he cradled her and shut his truck door with his hip. He couldn’t lose her again, not after just getting her back. His vision was starting to spot and he felt the world begin to tilt on its axis.
“She’ll be fine, kid.” Mike didn’t think he had ever been more relieved in his life. “Just really drained, that’s all.” Hopper carried her across the lawn to the front door and was immediately bombarded with questions from El’s concerned friends.
“Oh my god, what happened?”
“Is that blood coming out of her ears?”
“Holy shit, is she alright?”
Hopper didn’t have time for this, his arms were growing tired. “Just get the goddamn door for me.” Dustin complied, holding the door open while the rest of the kids moved aside. He stumbled into the living room and headed straight for the couch, plopping El down right away. Nancy had returned with Joyce, who gasped loudly at the state of the girl. “Hop! What happened to her? Did she close the gate? Is it over?”
The room held their breath as they waited for his answer. “Yeah, she closed it. It’s over. She’s exhausted though, and she has a fever.” Joyce quickly rushed next to El, who was still lying motionless on the sofa, and felt her forehead with the back of her palm. It was extremely warm, enough to make the worried woman wince in discomfort. Hopper had begun to take El’s shoes off, while the rest of the kids were crowding around their sick friend.
Beads of sweat were forming all over the girl’s face, her hair was still sticky with gel, and she was covered in dried blood. As much as Joyce wanted to just let her sleep, they had to bathe her to get all the grime off, plus it would probably make her feel much better. It seems Hopper had the same idea, “She needs to get clean,” he turned to the group that was still hovering behind them, “and you kids need to give her space.”
Reluctantly, they backed off, though Lucas and Dustin had to physically pull Mike away from El. With that, Hopper lifted El again and started carrying her to the bathroom, meanwhile, Joyce settled the kids down and recruited the elder Wheeler for assistance. “Nancy, would you help me with her?”
The teen had been hanging back worriedly by the wall in the midst of all the chaos, but now she looked determined and eager to help. “Yeah, of course.” Together, they made their way towards the bathroom, where Hopper was currently attempting to rouse El. She was sitting on the lid of the toilet seat, and her socks, accessories and black jacket were discarded in the corner of the room. While Nancy got the bath started, Joyce rummaged through the cabinets for an extra towel and makeup remover.
“El, c’mon honey, wake up,” the man tried not to panic. If not for his arms keeping her upright, she would’ve fallen over straight to the floor. Her eyelids were beginning to flutter and a groan escaped her lips. “That’s it, you’re okay. Joyce and Nancy are just going to give you a bath, get you all cleaned up, yeah?”
Joyce walked over, “Hop, why don’t you try to find her some old clothes to wear from Jonathan or Will’s room. We’ve got her, don’t worry.”
“Yeah, I’ll check on the boys for you, too.”
“Thanks, Hop.”
As the chief left, she and Nancy held onto El, who was growing more conscious by the second. She started whimpering, a sound that tugged on their heartstrings. Her body shivered with fever and her eyes held a glazed over look. “C-cold…” she rasped, voice barely there from all the earlier exertion.
“I know, sweetie. Let’s get you bathed, then you can rest in my bed for as long as you want.” While Nancy kept the trembling girl upright, Joyce worked to remove the rest of her clothing. When it was time to put her in the bath, she began to whine again as they attempted to lift her off the toilet seat. Her body was completely limp, incapable of making a single effort to stand.
Joyce elected to carry her instead, setting her down carefully into the lukewarm water. The second it made contact with her skin, El let out a hoarse yelp, her shivering worsened by the bath that felt freezing to her. However, they couldn’t make it any warmer if they wanted to keep her temperature down. “I’m so sorry, baby, just try to breathe through it. We’ll go as fast as we can,” Joyce comforted, using a washcloth to scrub her body clean with bubbly, lavender body wash.
Nancy immediately set to work on El’s hair, gently massaging shampoo onto her scalp. The young girl gazed up at the older teen through heavy lidded eyes and slightly blurry vision. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a concentrated stare as she rinsed the gel out of her hair, but once she noticed the girl looking at her, her features softened into something much more tender. She offered a loving smile, “Your hair is so gorgeous, El. I never could’ve guessed it would be curly.” Her hands raked through the damp curls that were forming around her fingertips.
El’s eyes were fluttering once more as she slowly started to slip down into the water. Nancy had to keep rousing her by tapping her cheek lightly, but it would only last a minute before she started nodding off again. After finishing with her hair, the older teen left to go retrieve the pajamas from Hopper, leaving Joyce to wrap up. The dirt and makeup that was caked onto the girl’s pale face was stubborn, but soon, she was finally all clean and ready for rest.
When Nancy returned, they drained the tub and Joyce pulled a half-asleep El out onto the bathroom mat. After drying her quickly with a towel, Nancy started to dress Will’s old, slightly oversized pajamas onto her. Despite the larger size of the clothes making it easier to pull on, it was quite difficult to dress her when she was hanging limp in Joyce’s arms, her limbs acting as dead weight.
As Nancy was pulling the second thick sock onto El’s foot, the girl let out a small groan of pain. A small trail of blood was dripping from her nose, prompting Nancy to reach for the tissues in the cabinet and press one below her nostrils. Instead of slowing down, the nosebleed was starting to pick up and bleed through the paper. “Shit!” Joyce sat her down on the toilet lid again and pressed three more tissues against her nose.
El was growing distressed, her previous sleepiness replaced with panicked cries. The blood was gushing quickly now, new tissues once again replacing red-soaked ones. “It’s alright sweetie, I know it’s scary. Nancy, go get Hopper, please.” The teen nodded and rushed out of the room. El tilted her head back and began to sob loudly.
Joyce gently leaned the girl’s head forward and pinched her nose. “Keep your head down like this, okay? You can’t lean it back.” She tried to soothe her cries, but her attempts were futile. Just then, Hopper came bursting into the room with urgency, immediately kneeling on the floor in front of his kid.
The others stood outside the door in concern, especially Mike, who looked like he was about to break at the sight of El in pain. Nancy ushered them away, assuring them that the situation was under control and that their friend was just scared from her sudden nosebleed. Back in the bathroom, El was gripping Hopper’s arms tightly, still leaned forward with her nose being pinched.
Hopper rubbed her back and whispered assurances, “It’s almost over, kid. After this, you’ll be able to sleep.” A few minutes passed, and the bleeding finally stopped. El’s sobbing had ceased as well, and she once again reverted back to her half-asleep phase. Once they had cleaned El’s face again and ensured that the blood had really stopped, Hopper picked her up and brought her to Joyce’s room.
“We should give her something for her fever before she goes to bed,” Joyce reminded him as he tucked her in. The issue was that it was already a challenge to get El to take medicine when she was awake, there was no way she would be able to right now. Unless…
“What do you have? El doesn’t take medicine well, but maybe until she is ready to take it properly, we can mix it in a small glass of water and have her drink it.” They made their way to the kitchen, where they were once again bombarded by questions from the worried kids. Hopper was glad that El had people that cared about her, but when his first priority was addressing her health, the constant distraction began to grate on his nerves.
“She’s okay, she’s in bed now. If you guys wanna make yourselves useful, why don’t you get us a damp washcloth and a small glass of water?” While the kids rushed to fulfill his request, Joyce searched the cabinet for liquid fever medicine. Mike thrusted a damp washcloth into his hand and proceeded to ask, “Could I go sit with El? I promise I’ll let her sleep.” Goddamn Wheeler.
“No. Kid, I’m sorry that I hid her from you and everything, but this is non-negotiable. Right now, she needs space, you can see her in the morning whenever she wakes up.” He looked displeased at the answer, but regardless, he nodded in understanding. Hopper gave him a pat on the shoulder and made his way back to Joyce’s room.
El looked like she was out, which made Hopper groan. The last thing he wanted to do was keep her awake, but she needed to take the medicine in order to get better. He placed the washcloth onto her burning forehead, the cool temperature against her fevered skin causing her to wake with a gasp.
She opened her eyes slightly, the pain and exhaustion in her eyes made Hopper’s heart clench. Her arms reached up to remove the rag, but he gently kept her hands down. “I know it’s cold, kid, but it’s gonna make you feel better. We gotta get your temperature down. Joyce is gonna bring you some water to drink, then you can go to sleep again.”
As if on cue, the door opened to reveal the stressed mother, drink in hand. She set the bottle of medicine on the nightstand and sat down with them. “Here, baby, I’ll help you.” Hopper propped her head up as Joyce held the glass to her mouth. Surprisingly, El didn’t put up much of a fight, just sipped on the water until the whole thing was down. After the last sip, she almost immediately fell asleep again. The two adults looked down at the little girl they cared so much for.
“Jesus, Joyce. I’m so fucking terrified. When she closed the gate, and she just fell to the floor…I thought she died. I hate seeing her so sick and in pain…” he buried his face into his hands and tried not to cry in front of his friend. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “I know Hop, it scares me too to see her like this. She’s going to be okay, you’ve done a great job with her so far. You’re a great father to her, I can tell how much she loves you.”
The dam in Hopper’s heart burst and the tears started coming. Joyce stayed with him and rubbed his arm as he let out all his built up fears. “I’m sorry, I can’t keep it together,” he apologized after a few minutes of sobbing. “Don’t be. It’s normal as a parent to feel all the things you’ve been feeling. Especially with everything our kids have been through,” she reassured.
Hopper nodded, and took one last look at his kid, his daughter. Her breathing was still raspy, but she was alive. “We should let her rest, and get the others to bed.” They kissed the girl’s warm forehead and left to send the rowdy group to bed, also checking on the still sleeping Will and Jonathan.
Within five minutes, they were all strewn around the living room floor with sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets. Hopper listened as everyone’s breathing evened out one by one, then headed back to El to sleep on the chair beside her bed. If she woke up in the middle of the night, he would be by her side.
----------------------------------------------------
The first thing El registered was the agonizing pounding in her temples. There was a slight buzz in her ears as well. She moaned loudly when she moved just the slightest bit, triggering the pain to spread even further through her skull. The movement caused something to fall off her forehead, but she didn’t know what it was. What happened? Where is she? Where is Hopper? Her eyes opened just a crack, only for her to shut them tightly due to the blinding light of the morning sun.
She felt herself start to panic; she didn’t understand why everything hurt so bad. Swallowing painfully, she attempted to call for Hop, but nothing came out of her mouth. It suddenly occurred to her that she felt extremely hot, however, her legs were too weak to kick off the comforter she was trapped under.
Tears began streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed, and it hurt. Every part of her body was hurting; her head was threatening to split in two, her throat felt sore, her chest was heavy, and her limbs were shaky and aching. She wanted it to stop. Stopstopstopstopstopstopstopstop-
Suddenly, arms wrapped around her body, and she was being moved into someone’s lap. “El, it’s me. It’s Hop. Tell me what’s wrong.” His desperate voice reached for her through the buzzing. She attempted to open her eyes again, but they continued to sting from the brightness of the world around her.
“H-Hurts..” She felt gentle hands on her forehead and cheeks, and jerked away from their coldness. She grabbed the arms that she now knew belonged to Hopper and squeezed them tightly while she whined. They were shaking and filled with anxiety as he looked into her face, terrified of the raw suffering in her expression.
“Where does it hurt?”
“Every-Everywhere..” The protective grip of one arm tightened, while the other reached for something on the other side. Hopper shakily measured out the liquid medicine and held it to her lips, “Here, drink this. It will make you feel better, I promise.”
She puckered her lips and shook her head, refusing to take a sip. Unfortunately, the action made her head pound even worse. Another wail escaped from her lips, sending an aching pain through her throat. It seemed like everything she did just led to more agony. “El, c’mon. I know you don’t like how it tastes, but it’s going to help you. You’ll see, in a bit you’ll feel a lot better.”
This time, El didn’t hesitate. She wanted the pain to be gone already, so she accepted the cherry syrup, despite the throbbing discomfort of swallowing. Hopper winced at her distress and pulled her closer, allowing her to cry into his chest. She was still unsettled, but her breathing wasn’t as fast anymore and she was growing much calmer.
Hopper let out a long sigh, allowing the frantic urgency of earlier to leave his body. The last time he felt like this was with Sara and he had failed her. He would not fail El though. He could not fail another little girl who needed him. There would be thousands, millions of more days for El; all they had to do first was get through this one.
----------------------------------------------------
It was noon by the time almost everyone had awoken. Nancy had taken her job of waking Steve every few hours very seriously, fast asleep now that the kids could take over for her. Since they had thrown away most of the food that was ruined by the fridge mishap, the only option for breakfast was cereal without milk. Dustin had complained about the dry meal, but was quickly shut up by Lucas and Max, who reminded him that it was his bright idea to keep the demodog in the fridge.
At one point, Will finally came out of his room, supported by his mom and Jonathan. He still looked exhausted, but he seemed to be doing much better. They all jumped up and raced to hug the boy, cereal bowls left forgotten. Joyce took in the sight of her son’s friends with a smile. They were such a good group of kids. After Will was settled, they all went back to eating, but Mike was starting to grow anxious.
“When do you guys think El will wake up?” he asked the group.
“Not sure. She looked pretty bad last night; she probably needs lots of rest,” Lucas replied.
Dustin pitched in, “Yeah, remember last year how drained she would get after using her powers? I can’t imagine it was easy to close that gate. It might be awhile until she gets her energy back.”
“So, the nosebleed thing is, like, normal?” Max questioned. It had freaked her out a bit to see the girl wailing in the bathroom as blood ran down her face.
“Yeah, it always happens when she uses her powers,” Mike confirmed, “but I don’t think she was using them last night in the bathroom. That’s what’s worrying me.”
“Maybe it was leftover blood from closing the gate?” suggested Lucas.
“That’s probably it. I can’t help but be nervous though. I mean, it was scary to see her so sick and everything.” The group nodded in agreement to Mike’s statement. They could only hope that El would wake up soon, so that they could talk to her a bit before they had to go home and to school the next day. Will especially wanted to finally meet the girl properly and thank her for everything she’d done since last year.
“Hey, Mom?” Will called. The woman came rushing over from the coffee machine, “Yes, baby, what is it? Is something wrong?”
“Everything’s okay. Could you just check on El and the chief for us?” he asked. She looked hesitant at his request.
“I don’t know…I don’t want to accidentally wake them if they’re still asleep.”
“Could you just open the door a bit and peek?”
Gazing into the faces of the rest of the kids, she knew she couldn’t refuse. They didn’t pitch in, but their eyes were pleading with her to say yes. She sighed, “Alright, I’ll see if they’re up.
Joyce made her way down the hall that led to her room. Slowly, she turned the knob and pushed the door open a crack. What she saw made her heart melt. El was snuggled into Hopper’s lap, her hands clenching the fabric of his shirt. Hop’s hands were stroking El’s hair and his head was tilted to rest against hers. When she opened the door a bit further, it creaked, causing the man to look up in alarm. A hand reached for where his holster would usually be, but he had left it in his blazer after leaving the lab.
He relaxed once he realized it was Joyce, offering her a sheepish look of apology for his reaction and a wide smile. She smiled back just as widely and closed the door before the tears that were stinging in her eyes would start running down her cheeks. It had been a pleasant shock for everyone to learn that the girl was still alive last night, and it had been an even bigger one to learn that Hopper had been the one taking care of her. But seeing them like this now, it all made sense more than ever. They were like two puzzle pieces that didn’t fit anywhere else, yet, connected together perfectly.
El needed a dad and Hop needed a daughter, circumstance bringing the once unlikely pair together. They had saved each other, and Joyce had never seen anything so beautiful.