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Steve managed to snag a cup of coffee and check on the kids, who were all thankfully sleeping, before making his way out to the porch, the moon high in the sky. He could see Eddie sitting on the railing, swinging his feet back and forth as he watched the forest. Steve knocked on the wood, making Eddie jump, but he relaxed as soon as he saw Steve.
“Hey, Harrington.”
“Hey, Munson. I’m assuming all’s clear?”
Eddie nodded, twirling the rings on his fingers. “All good, man. Nancy’s shift was good, too. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Good. The kids are still sleeping, I want them to get as much rest as they can, hopefully with no interruptions.”
Eddie chuckled. “Hendrson is totally right, you’re definitely their father, Steve. Somehow Steve Harrington has officially adopted half a dozen children, and I’m still very confused.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m here to cover guard duty so that you can rest. But I can leave, if you want. You can do another three or four hours, can’t you?”
Eddie smiled, though anyone could see that it was worn because of exhaustion. Steve wasn’t surprised, after the four of them had escaped the Upside Down, with Nancy finally being freed from Vecna’s grip, they were all worried, trying to come up with a plan that didn’t get anyone killed. They had decided to stay at Steve’s place to get some rest, but there were still open gates, gates that could let any monster through without warning.
Nancy had said that it was best to keep watch, and Steve quickly agreed. Nancy took the first shift, from ten to one, Eddie the next, from one to four, and Steve would do the morning until everyone woke up. He hated getting the shorter shift, as everyone would probably be up earlier, but Nancy had insisted, saying that, because of the bat bits littering his torso and the tail wounds around his neck, he needed more rest than most of them. Robin had tried to take a shift, but anyone could see that she was super jittery, anxious, and Steve refused. He had to remind her that she needed sleep, as she was one of the smartest here. Thankfully she listened.
Steve was honestly surprised that Eddie was still going strong. He was thrown into this without warning, watched two people die in front of him, and took the reality of the Upside Down like a champ.
Yet, like everyone, no matter how incredible, he needed rest. Eddie looked just about to collapse, and was clearly trying to hide it with a joke. Steve didn’t have to guess, he knew the strategy well.
“Just go get some sleep.” Steve urged. “There’s a couch in the living room with your name on it.”
Eddie grinned, getting to his feet, and gave a dramatic bow in Steve’s direction, paired with a graceful gesture with the hand.
“As you wish, my king.”
Steve huffed, rolling his eyes as Eddie made his way inside, soon leaving him alone with the silence of the night. He pulled up a chair and sat down in it, wincing as his bat wounds screamed in protest. He breathed, closing his eyes as he tried to stop the whine from escaping his throat.
He checked his watch under the outside light, sighing when it showed the time. He couldn’t get more pain meds for another hour. He knew that he could take it, and he had to be keeping watch, anyways.
So he kept watch, sipping his coffee, jumping at every strange sound, keeping his eyes sharp and scanning the area around his house, especially the forest. Anything could come out of the trees and try to kill them, he had to be certain that nothing did. They had enough going on as it was.
He didn’t know how long he sat outside for. His wounds had finally dulled down to a slight throbbing, more annoying than painful, and he could tell that he was falling asleep. His eyes dropped closed, and he forced them open, greedily drinking the last dregs of his coffee. He sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to stay awake long unless he did something, so he got up, grabbed his bat and began to space the porch, swinging the weapon weakly. He began to practice his swings, hoping to face Vecna, to face that monster with the weapon that defeated so many other things like him. He knew, realistically, he would be dead within seconds of getting close to Vecna, but he let himself hope. Max deserved his attempts to save her, even if it was just practice.
He pointed his bat to the forest outside, bringing it back, and letting it flow easily, his wounds tingling in protest. Yet, as his eyes followed his bat, he caught a small blur moving quickly in the night. He walked closer to the edge of the porch, reaching for the binoculars that Eddie left behind, and turned them on. He couldn’t see much in the darkness, but he found it.
Anyone else in the town of Hawkins would say that it was a dog. A stray, lost in the forest, looking for food. Yet Steve knew better. It’s flowery face, thinner body, the moonlight reflection on its slick skin…
It was a demodog.
Steve knew that they hunted in packs, so he looked for another one, yet couldn’t find anything else. It must’ve been alone, or they were smarter and had a plan of attack.
He decided to trust that it was the only one, and one demodog wasn’t an issue, right? Steve hadn’t killed one before, but he had fought them.
He knew that he had to kill it, kill it before it killed them or called its buddies. But he might need backup.
Rushing back into the house, he walked over to awaken Eddie, who was fast asleep. As his hand reached over to wake him up, he hesitated. He couldn’t put anyone else in danger. Eddie had been through enough already, Robin was stressed, and Nancy clearly needed some sleep after seeing Vecna. He wasn’t going to wake up any of the kids for this, either…he had to do this alone.
Steve told himself that he could do it. He was the best prepared, the best suited for the job, and if he died killing this thing so be it. He wasn’t the smart one, or the brave one. He was just the babysitter that could do the heavy lifting. They would be fine without him. In this fight, brains were better than brawn, and Steve knew that he had no brains. He was told it over and over again.
He tiptoed away from Eddie, soon passing Dustin, who still wore his hat in his sleep. Steve couldn’t help but readjust the blanket Dustin slept with, frowning.
“You’ll be okay.” He whispered, looking around to each of the kids sleeping peacefully around him. “You all will be, I promise.”
Then he went outside, bat in hand and determination in his stride, making his way to the demodog, who growled as he stepped closer. They were in the far corner of his yard now, the monster slowly making its way towards Steve, and he stopped, raising his bat in defense.
He knew these things like the back of his hand. He knew that it would pounce any second now.
With a loud snarl, it jumped, running towards him at a breathtaking speed, saliva dripping from its petal-like face.
With his own battle cry, Steve swung the bat, making contact, but this thing didn’t even go down. In a swift movement it had a hold of Steve’s arm, biting down into his flesh, and Steve bit back a scream that burned in his throat, passing the bat to his free hand, slamming the butt end of it on its head, over and over again. As soon as the demodog had let go of him with a whine, Steve could feel warm blood trickle down his arm, sending torrents of agony through his limbs. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter, flicking it on and holding the fire towards it. It squealed, backing away, and Steve swung his bat once again, nailing it right in the head. The attack wasn’t as strong, though, his better arm was the one that was mauled.
Soon the demodog was defenseless, unable to fight back, and Steve was so sure that it was going to run. It couldn’t do anything while he had fire, right? But, as if it gained a bit of confidence, which didn’t seem possible, the demodog dived for him again.
A gunshot rang through the air, and Steve jumped back, the demodog falling dead at his feet, dark blood, almost black, leaking out of its head. Steve looked up to see Nancy not far from him, a gun in her hand. Her eyes were wide, her hair messy with sleep, and she didn’t even have shoes on her feet. Yet Steve had never been so happy to see her.
He didn’t want to die. He was the more logical choice to die but he didn’t want to. He was so happy that he would live a little bit longer.
“Are there any others?”
Steve shook his head no. “Not as far as I could see.”
“Are you crazy?” She asked, anger in her tone as she rushed towards him, gently taking his injured arm and inspecting it. “Why in the world would you do that? You could’ve died! The point of sleeping in shifts was so that none of us would die!”
Steve took in a sharp breath as more pain shot through his body, even down to the bat bites, which he soon realized probably opened again. The cuts in his arms were bleeding at an alarming rate, and he could tell that Nancy was worried.
“I thought I could take it.” Steve managed to say, and Nancy’s steely eyes bore into his. “I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt, so I did it myself.”
“Steve…” She said with a frown. “You shouldn’t have done it alone. You should’ve woken up me, Eddie, or even Robin! You could’ve died!”
“I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.” He said again, tears burning in his eyes, from the pain or Nancy’s concern he didn’t know.
She sighed. “I know. But it was stupid. Really stupid.”
He managed to nod. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”
“I need to patch this up before you suffer from blood loss. Can you walk?” She asked, and he rolled his eyes.
“Nance, I got hit in the arm. Not my legs.”
“Don’t act like this isn’t serious. You’re probably in a lot of pain, I don’t want to push you if you can’t walk.”
Steve couldn’t respond to that. He still didn’t understand her concern for him, after everything that had happened. He was the human punching bag, why didn’t she see that? This happened every time, and it wasn’t going to change. And why did she suddenly care for her ex that she hated?
A part of him wondered if she did still care for him, but he pushed it aside. No matter how much he loved her she wouldn’t love him back.
Nancy cupped his face with her hand, inspecting the sweat of his forehead, sweat that he didn’t even feel.
“We’re going back, and I’m waking up Eddie and Robin so that they could help me patch up your wounds. No complaints.”
Steve’s mouth formed a tight frown, not liking the plan but knowing that he had to go with it. Nancy’s orders.
She led him to the house, her hand holding his as they made their way through the grass and to the door. As soon as they made it inside, she led him to the kitchen. Steve grabbed a cloth and sat down, holding it to the burning cuts. Nancy, after turning on a small light, went into the living room to wake Eddie. Steve closed his eyes, the events that just transpired finally catching up to him.
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Nancy tried not to be upset, it was Steve. Of course he would put his life on the line for everyone else, even if it just meant a few more hours of sleep. It was something that was admirable yet super dangerous. She couldn’t help but feel that she nearly lost him, and she was so, so thankful that she had randomly woken up, a sick feeling in her chest. Somehow she knew that there was danger nearby. Or, she knew that he was in danger.
But it didn't matter now. She needed to patch up his wounds and wake up Eddie and Robin, so that they could help. She didn’t want to patch Steve up alone, she had no clue how much pain he was actually in, and how much help he needed.
“Eddie?” She said, gently shaking him awake as soon as she was close enough to him, her curly haired ally groaning.
“Wheeler? Whatー” He asked, his confused eyes opening, and she shook her head, raising her finger to her lips. She didn’t want to wake the kids, Steve would kill her if she did.
“Kitchen. Now.”
Eddie scrambled to his feet, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he walked in, a small light guiding him.
“Steve found a demodog. Alone.” Nancy explained softly, and Eddie frowned.
“I’m sorry, a what?”
“Demodog. Like a demobat but bigger and walks on all fours.”
“Are you serious? Is he okay?”
“He’s alive. I need your help as I patch up the wounds.”
Eddie swallowed as Steve came into view, the cloth around his arm already bled through. Steve’s eyes were closed, and Nancy rushed over to, slapping his face gently. He opened his eyes, pushing her away.
“I’m awake, Nancy. I’m awake.”
“Good. Eddie’s going to keep an eye on you while I wake up Robin.”
“No. Don’t you dare wake her up.” Steve said angry, though it lacked the bark that Eddie was used to hearing back in school. “She needs sleep.”
“We all need sleep, Steve.” Nancy explained. “But we need someone to help me fix you up, and then keep guard. If there was one of those demodogs they’re surely more on the way.”
“I’ll keep guard.” Eddie offered, and Nancy shook her head.
“No, I need you here. We need to clean the cuts, and Steve’s not going to like that.”
Eddie huffed, crossing his arms in disbelief. “You want me to hold him down. Steve Harrington.”
“It’s either you or Robin.”
Steve chuckled, his smile weak and small. “I’ll go easy on you. It should be okay.”
That didn’t seem to ease Eddie’s nerves a bit. Nancy grabbed a fresh cloth and passed it to Steve, who replaced it, discarding the bloodied one onto the table. Eddie resisted the urge to puke.
“I’ll go get Robin and a first aid kit. You make sure he stays awake.” She said, sending a pointed look to Eddie.
“Sounds good, Wheeler.”
Eddie sat beside Steve as she left, the former king of Hawkins High wincing as he pressed the cloth to his wounds.
“Does it hurt?” Eddie asked, and Steve nodded.
“It’s not even the cuts, though. There’s something else wrong, I think. It hurts when I press down.”
Eddie shrugged. “Then don’t press down?”
“But I have to stop the bleeding.” Steve sighed. “I’ve done this a lot before, Munson.”
“I know. Henderson hasn’t stopped talking about your tendency to get hurt.”
“I’m flattered.”
Steve lifted the cloth from his arm, and Eddie risked another look, ignoring how his stomach did flips at the sight of it. Steve’s brows furrowed as he shakily pointed to a white piece in one of the cuts, and another not far from it.
“Is that you’re bone?”
“No.” Steve said, “It’s not. I think it’s a tooth.”
“A tooth?” Eddie’s voice became high pitched with fear and worry, and Steve rushed to shush him.
“Don’t wake them up! They need their sleep.”
“Alright, alright.” Eddie replied, whispering in harsh tones. “But you have teeth in your arm.”
Steve nodded. “Nancy’ll get them out.”
“Steve! You dingus!” Robin said, rushing down the stairs, and Steve let her wrap her arms around him, tucking her head into his neck.
“When Nancy told me I thought you had died, don’t you dare do that to me!”
“I’m sorry, Rob.” He said. “I’m sorry.”
“Just don’t do that! You’re worth more than that!”
Eddie nodded, casting a concerned glance to the kids, all of whom still appeared to be sleeping. Good.
“I know, I know.”
“Do you? Do you really? We can’t keep on patching you up, one day we’ll be too late and…” Robin sobbed, holding her hand to her mouth as Steve tried to calm her.
“I’ll be fine, Robin. I promise.”
“You better be, Dingus.”
“Robin.” Nancy said, cutting into the conversation. “Eddie is going to help me with Steve, would you be able to watch outside for more of them?”
Robin looked reluctant, glancing at Steve, as if looking for an answer, and he nodded.
“As much as I need you here…we need to protect the kids.” He said, and her lips formed a tight frown.
“Okay. But if anything goes wrong一”
“We’ll get you.” Nancy assured her. “Without hesitation.”
Robin sighed, gently ruffling Steve’s hair before making her way to the porch. Steve watched her go for a second, before turning back to his arm.
“We think there’s some teeth stuck in there, Nance.” He said, and Nancy looked at it closer. She opened the first air kit and took out a pair of tweezers, and he knew that she had seen them, too.
“It looks like there’s two of them.” She said, fully focused, and Steve couldn’t help but feel relieved that she was taking over the task of taking care of him. As much as he hated it, he felt like he was going to pass out, so having her here was a blessing.
He could feel Eddie’s steady hand on his shoulder, and Steve breathed through the pain, clenching his hands as another burst of agony shot through his arm.
“I’m going to take them out.” Nancy continued, putting on a pair of medical gloves from the first air kit. “It’s going to start bleeding out even faster, and it’ll hurt. Eddie, that’s where you come in. You have to keep him awake, and help him through it.”
Eddie looked terrified, but soon held Steve’s good hand in support.
“You can squeeze my hand as hard as you need, okay?”
Steve nodded, knowing that this was going to hurt so, so much.
“Nance?”
“Yes, Steve?”
He gestured to the kitchen. “Could you get another cloth? To stop my…my screaming?”
Her eyes widened in realization, but she rushed to obey. She twisted the cloth into a thick rope made of fabric, handing it to Steve, who put it in his mouth, wrapping it around his head with Eddie’s help, and clenched his teeth in it in preparation.
“Ready?” Nancy asked, and Steve nodded, gripping Eddie’s hand enough to hurt it. But Eddie didn’t seem to mind.
He could feel the moment the tweezers entered the cuts, and he flinched, tears burning in his eyes as Nancy got ahold of one of the teeth and began pulling. A pathetic whimper escaped his throat, and he tried to keep his breathing steady, though it wasn’t working.
“Easy there, big boy.” Eddie said, steadying him as he shook. “You’re doing great.”
Steve screamed as Nancy got the first one out, though it was muffled by the cloth. Blackness blurred his vision, and it took every part of him to stay awake.
“I got it. One more, Steve, just one more.”
He could feel nothing but the pure agony in his arm, and something like water, he didn't know if it was sweat or tears or both, dropped from his face and onto the table.
Eddie wrapped his free arm around Steve’s back, holding his hand so tightly, and Steve couldn’t be more thankful. He knew the instant the other tooth was grabbed, and he sobbed, his leg kicking out as an outlet for the pain, and Eddie rushed to calm him down.
“It’s okay, Steve, just a couple more seconds. A few more seconds, big guy.”
Steve nodded shakily, closing his eyes as a flash of white and black flickered in his vision. His head drooped down to the table, and Eddie helped him hold it up.
“Nancy…”
“I’m close. I’m so close.”
“Harrington?” Eddie slapped Steve’s cheek weakly. “Are you still with us?”
A groan was the only response, but Eddie took it without complaint.
“Done.” Nancy finally said, dropping a long, white tooth covered in blood on the table, where it landed close to the other one. She quickly cleaned Steve’s wounds, causing him to tense up and whine.
“I’m sorry.” She said, focusing on the task at hand. “I’m nearly done.”
Once his arm was finally bandaged, Eddie took the cloth out of Steve’s mouth, helping Steve to his feet.
“How are you holding up?”
Steve’s eyes opened weakly. “Horrible.”
His voice was hoarse and weak, but it was there.
Edide managed a smile. “Good. Henderson would kill me if I let you die.”
Nancy got up and took off the bloodied gloves, watching him with worry.
“You should rest while you can, your bat bites may have opened so you’ll need the energy for when I rebandage them.”
“And when we take down Vecna.” Eddie added, and Steve nodded.
“Yeah.”
Nancy gently lifted Steve’s shirt, where the bandages from before sat. Luckily there was no blood on them, so she counted it as a win.
“Get some sleep, well, get as much as you can. Eddie?”
“Of course, m’ lady.” Eddie helped Steve to the couch, weaving him through the kids, who, thankfully, still slept soundly. Eddie didn’t really know how, Steve was being loud. But who could really blame him? Given the circumstances Harrington held it together well.
Eddie gently put him back onto the couch, throwing a blanket on his as Steve’s eyes closed, easily giving into sleep as his body was too exhausted to stay awake. Satisfied, Eddie stepped away, joining Robin on the porch, and Nancy, who was already beside her.
“He’s knocked out.” Eddie said, and Nancy sighed in relief.
“Good. He needs sleep more than anything now.”
“Definitely, Wheeler. There’s one thing I don’t understand, though. Why in the world would Steve Harrington do that? Recklessly go fight a monster without telling anyone?”
Robin sighed. “I…I don’t know. I think he believes that he’s not worth it, so he sacrifices everything without thought, if it can protect people. He does it so many times…usually we can save him, but not before he gets hurt.”
“Billy, the demodogs, Lover’s Lake…” Nancy listed, and Robin sighed.
“Russians.”
Eddie couldn’t help but be shocked. He didn’t really understand everything, but he now knew that “King Steve” was being so different than he was in high school, even to a point that his life is in danger way too often, all to protect a bunch of kids.
Eddie didn’t want that. They may have been enemies years ago, but they were allies now, maybe even friends.
“We have to find a way to fix that. He needs help.”
Robin nodded. “I’m with you on that, one hundred percent.”
“And, I’m sure the kids will be, too.” Nancy said. “Dustin especially.”
“So, Operation Save Steve Harrington is a go?” Eddie asked, and Robin smiled softly at the name.
“Absolutely.”