Archive of Our Own ^beta

She’s sitting on the bathroom floor, a pit of dread in her stomach, legs brought up to her chest, arms bracketed over her knees, and a deep sigh escapes her.

Why her?

Why now?

Why them?

Her eyes are blurry with tears, her mind is heavy like a bunch of rocks have been crammed into her skull, and still, she feels sick, bone sick and she just knows they made a mistake, a huge one. Joyce wipes her eyes over and over, but the tears keep on coming, she tilts her head back and takes a moment to breathe in and out, realising she can still smell the setting paint from when they finished the bedroom two weeks ago.

She had only gotten around to deep cleaning the bathroom ready for decorating, and the realisation set in that something was off, that she didn’t quite feel herself and hadn't for a while. Maybe she was dumb to put it down to physical exertion, the move was strenuous enough and rushed, they had been married almost a month by now, a quick ceremony at Hawkins Town hall with the kids and friends once she found out Hopper got them a marriage license before he actually proposed, it wasn’t their first time, both of them, they did the somewhat big wedding so they just wanted something quick and intimate. It was something good to come out of all the bad, at least, worth every ounce of stress to seal it all in a kiss and a couple of signatures. They honeymooned in the city for a weekend, checked out properties in Montauk, naturally leading them to put in an offer straight away for this two bed house that had enough room for guests.

“Joyce?”

She quickly wipes her eyes and returns to organising the cupboard, letting her hair fall over her face.

“Up here!” she calls, voice shaky, a tear falling down her cheek, she wipes it away quickly

The thing about Hopper is he can tell when something is wrong, he knows her too well, too damn well that it's impossible to lie around him.

He walks into the bathroom, her shoulders sink, and he frowns at her on the floor, now as still as a tiger hunting it’s prey.

Except she isn’t hunting, she’s loathing.

“What’s up?”

She opts to lie.

“Nothing,” she whispers, she can’t look up at him, she just can’t “I’m just tired”

“Then why does it sound like you’ve been crying” he whispers, bending down, she falters holding the bottle of bleach midway in the air before placing it down in the cupboard quickly

She can’t help but sob when all the bottles fall out of the cupboard.

“Fucking thing!” she curses, and he places a hand on her back, she actively flinches away

“Joyce, look at me, honey,” he whispers, she swallows, she turns her head “Hey, oh Joyce, come here”

He tugs her into his body, she sobs a little and just holds onto him, his hand brushes up and down her back, trying to soothe her, but she just won’t stop crying.

“Talk to me,” he whispers, she can’t look him in the eye “Joyce you’re scaring me, is it one of the kids, is it someone in Hawkins?“

“No,” she rushes to say "No, no, god no, it’s…”

She stares up at him, she’s so scared, practically shaking in his arms, her jaw trembles a little, and he looks at her with the utmost concern.

“Joyce…is it you?” he looks at her, studying her closely “Is it…are you ok-“

“I don’t know,” she whispers before realising how it sounds “No I’m good, I am, I…”

“Honey, you’re making no sense” he checks her over, she’s not visibly hurt from what he can see "Joyce-“

“I haven’t come on,” she chews the inside of her cheek, he just stares at her, freezing in place

“What do you mean?” he stares at her, even though he knows exactly what she means, she drops her gaze and watches him sit against the bath tub

“I haven’t had my period in a while…” she whispers “I thought it was the change, I am older but-“

He buries his face in his hands, she visibly recoils at that, so he moves his hands because he didn't mean it like that at all.

“Have you been to the doctor?” he asks her, she stares at him “We sorted out the insurance now-“

“Just stop,” she whispers, he frowns “Please”

He studies her closely.

“They do home testing kits now,” she chews her lip “It’s an option”

She moves to put everything back in the cupboard again because somehow it’s easier than looking at him.

“Where do we get them?”

She slowly turns around to look at him, she stares at him like a rabbit in headlights, as if to silently question why he wants to do this now.

“I’ll go now to the pharmacy, they'll have them there, right? I’ll pick up two, three, four, five, however many…”

He scrambles to the floor, and she just watches him go, she turns back to the box in front of her.

She let’s him go.

The lady in the pharmacy was helpful, pointed him in the right direction, he scanned the shelves searching for what he needed but he didn't really know, he's never been in this position before, it's so different now to what it was like years ago. The woman behind the counter walks over to him, she says she’s never seen him before, quickly he explains that he’s new to the area, that he took over as chief. She introduces herself as Susan, they talk, and he picks out three boxes with the information she gives, pays for them, she tells him good luck and congratulations if it’s positive, he doesn’t say anything back, how could he?

He doesn't know what to think, hell, he doesn't even know what his wife is thinking about all this because he rushed out of their home feeling suffocated.

Hopper drives home and sits in his car on the drive for a solid ten minutes, thinking and contemplating. Although they have been together a couple of years, they haven't even been married a month, and life is throwing them another curveball, there’s no peace for them, really. He wonders what’s going through his wife’s head, fear probably, anxiety too and a great deal of stress.

Diane was like that with Sara.

Sara, his sweet girl, gone way too soon.

Jesus he needs a beer to even confront those thoughts, he’s in a better place now though, two sons to dote on and spoil, the same two sons who view him like a dad, accept his support for everything they do and support everything he and Joyce do. They know he loves them both without the need for him to be labelled as their dad, it’s unspoken but accepted deep in their hearts.

Joyce always said there was something special about that, how they're loved unconditionally by someone who has helped them through so much, how he’s the best version of a father they’ve ever had. When she said that he asked for a picture of them both to match the one he has of Joyce and El on his desk at work, she offers it up like a golden egg, something he will cherish until the day he dies.

When he gets through the front door, he toes off his boots and pads up the stairs, smiling softly at Joyce asleep on her side, snoring softly, she looks exhausted, and he realises how much of a weight this must be off her shoulders to have it out in the open. He dumps the paper-bag on the armchair in the corner of the room and opts to take the load off for her by packing away some more boxes and cleaning the bathroom.

She wakes with a stretch and hums when she turns around, he’s lying there with his hat over his eyes to block out the light, she turns over and he reaches out for her, pulling her against him.

“Musta dozed off,” he groans a little, she closes her eyes “Sorry I went off earlier, it was just a bit of a shock”

“It’s ok it’s not every day your almost menopausal wife tells you she think she might be pregnant,” she sighs a little, stretching “I’ve done this before Jim and I know the signs like I know the back of my hand, my boobs hurt, the headaches, the food aversions…”

He sucks in a breath.

“We know nothing yet,” he says diplomatically, she nods, it’s true they really didn’t

“I have my kids Hop, two boys and a girl,” she looks into his eyes, he smiles at the acknowledgement of their daughter that they shared “So much loss in that alone but so much happiness too, going through this again, it scares the shit out of me I can't lie”

He hums a little, nodding, he understands but he doesn't know what to say.

“Did you get the tests?” she asks, voice small

He nods towards the bag, and she gets up, she goes through it.

“You don’t have to take them now” he offers, she looks at him and frowns “We can wait a little, carry on talking if you'd like?”

“Sooner I take them, sooner we can work out what we want to do,” she says quietly, he bites his lip and watches her bring the bag into the bathroom with her “The sooner we know”

“Ok then,” he nods “Do you need anything, some water maybe?”

“No, I’m good,” she says, poking her head around the bathroom door with a smile “Thank you though”

She shuts the door, and he paces the space outside of it, he rubs the back of his neck and then he smiles at a picture of El and Will on the wall. He laughs a little at how Jonathan groaned at the idea of Joyce wanting to show off her kids on the staircase wall, Hopper briefly remembers snarking back and forth with him about it while they hit nails into the plasterboard to secure the picture frames.

It’s the little things that bring a smile to his face.

He reaches out for the picture, it was at Joyce’s home in California, he’d been there once after the rift closed, El’s room was still the same as when they left it, all of her things were there gathering dust like time stood still and none of the past ever happened. He spotted the diorama on her desk, and Joyce told him the story, he sobbed into her shoulder, and she just held him close as he grieved, as they both grieved.

They packed up El’s things, marked the boxes with her name and promised to take them wherever they would call home, the rental van was crammed full of boxes, Joyce’s things, his things too, the boys as well. The things she kept for him, he smiled at that because she really had no need, he died, but she still kept them to keep him close to her until she found him in Russia. Sara’s box, his photos he had promised one day to show to El, and the bittersweet memories that they held.

They never got a chance to go through them though, yet another thing stolen from that poor girl as well as her life.

“Hey” Joyce whispers, he turns around and puts the picture back on the wall “You ok?”

“I should be asking you that,” he hums and frowns a little at her standing there fiddling with her hands “Hey?”

She looks up at him.

“We have to wait,” she chews her inner lip “It takes some time”

He nods.

God, he needs a smoke, she said they’re quitting officially now that they’ve moved.

“There are more pictures somewhere,” she says and Hopper turns to look at her “There’s a whole shoebox of Jonathan’s polaroids, I'll show you them one day”

“Yeah?”

She nods, she still can’t quite look him in the eye.

“Joyce-“

“Jim” she bites her lip, staring up at him with scared eyes “I’m sorry, for this, I don’t-“

“Joyce,” he shakes his head “Honey, you don’t need to apologise ok? We both did this, it’s both our faults and we could be getting ahead of ourselves here as well”

She nods.

"Are you ok?" he asks her, she looks up at him and stares into his eyes "Can I get you something to eat, something to drink? I could make you some tea, maybe?"

"Hop, I'm ok," she whispers "Are you ok?"

He drags a hand down his face, and that tells her that it’s a lot to process.

She checks her watch and sighs a little, anxiety gnawing away at her heart.

"Is it time to check it yet?"

"Yeah," she swallows "I just…I don't know why I'm scared, I know the answer deep down I just…don't know if I trust my judgement right now"

"You're usually right," he offers up, she laughs a little at that "Hell Joyce, you're always right it's scary sometimes"

She laughs again and moves to the bathroom, she follows him and picks up the test, she frowns a little and looks at the instructions before turning back to him.

She nods, and he breathes out.

"Jesus" he sits on the closed toilet, burying his face in his hands "Positive?"

She nods again, silent.

"All of them?"

She reaches for the other tests and nods.

"Jesus…" he trails off, she turns to him and closes her eyes "Are you ok?"

She shrugs and moves to the bedroom, she sits on the edge of the bed and rubs the back of her neck, the nausea creeping into her being once more.

"Beside the nausea," she whispers "I feel ok, physically, mentally…not so sure"

He moves to sit next to her, he places a hand on her back and stares at her closely, she presses her palms to her face and lets out a groan of annoyance.

"I'm forty seven" she mutters, he watches her closely "This shouldn't happen"

"We have been going at it like rabbits"

"Not helpful, Jim" she mutters under her breath

"Oh god," Hopper looks at her, eyes wide, she frowns a little "Oh my god-"

"What now?"

"Our wedding night…" he trails off, she grunts again annoyed "You don't think it was then-"

"Please stop talking," she whispers "You're making me feel sick"

He presses his lips together, he strokes her back gently and studies her closely, she crawls back onto the bed and curls on her side facing the window that looks out over the sea. He joins her, curling around her body, she lets him hold her, it's nice to be held, she realises, absorb the gentle touch of someone who loves her. She never realised how starved of that she had been since they started living together permanently.

"This changes nothing, Joyce," he whispers "How I feel about you, us…it changes none of that"

"It changes everything Hop," she shakes her head "It changes me, it changes us even if you don't think it does, I'm old Hop, Jesus, I last did this shy of thirty, we're not spring chickens…and the risks, all the risks are high as shit"

He shifts behind her.

"Then there's Sara," she whispers, swallowing "Something could happen, and I know that's why you're being the way you are right now, weird, distant but close and Hop…"

She shakes her head.

"We have to face facts," she says quietly, he nods "I don't know what to do about this, at all"

"I think first we need to get you to a doctor," he murmurs, she shudders a little "Weigh up the options, talk to professionals about this with your age and everything else…"

She swallows and nods.

"But before all that, we just need to take a moment to breathe," he tells her, she nods "In and out, slow, we'll go for a walk along the beach later, yeah? Clear our heads…"

She smiles to herself and nods.

Joyce will never tire of salt air hitting her lungs, it's nice to be by the sea, she's never really been in that situation before, being trapped in Hawkins her whole life was so restricting, in California they never went to the beach at all in the eight months they were there. Will always said that it was always such a waste, El didn't like the idea of sand getting everywhere and as for Jonathan, he was distant, in his own head really and she kicks herself every time for letting grief overtake her and not seeing things for the way they were back then. Her boys were grown now, they did their own thing, she just had Hopper, and she hates how her mind takes her to a place where she can imagine herself and Hopper walking along the beach, their child between them both, a tiny hand in hers and a tiny hand in his, and god it seems so perfect on paper, but she knows in reality they might not get the chance.

"We should get a dog," he says, and Joyce laughs a little, it's an odd request "Think about it, we could go on evening walks along the beach, god it would be so perfect"

"You think?" she looks up at him, he nods

"I know," he grins, she laughs a little and rests her head against his arm "You know this situation we're in doesn't have to be bad, not until it turns bad"

"I know," she chews her lip "I'm still processing it"

"What do you think El would think of this place?" he asks her, Joyce hums a little, she hadn't given it much thought

"She'd love the house, the city," Joyce lists, nodding "She'd like to look at all the pretty lights in the night sky from the skyscrapers, the sound of the waves hitting the shore"

Hopper smiles.

"I miss her," she says quietly "A lot"

"Me too, baby," he kisses her on the head, she smiles a little "Are you going to be ok if I go to work tomorrow?"

"I'll be fine, Hop, I’m not dying," she whispers, he nods and kisses her on the head "I might ring around to see if we can find a doctor or something"

"I have a list," he mumbles "At work, for victims"

She looks at him.

"Might help us get started," he smiles a little "I'll bring it home at lunch tomorrow, station’s not far"

"Ok," she nods "Sounds like a good start"

He hopes it is.

Two days later she's calling endless clinics in the city trying to find the right fit for them, the debilitating nausea hits the day after so Hopper leaves her a water bottle on the side as she opts to camp out in the bathroom that morning. The same thing happens for the next few days, they book an appointment to talk to someone, she's unsure if she'll make the journey there, but either way, they needed to get her seen.

She sits on the examination bench, trying not to wretch at the sterile smell in the office, she yawns and winces a little as her jaw clicks, that alone serves her enough to tell her that she is way too old to be doing this. Joyce holds her arm out and she watches as her blood pressure is taken, she watches the needle pierce her skin to take her blood and then shudders out a breath as she lies back, securing the paper sheet over her knees, she stares up at the ceiling.

"You ok?" Hopper asks her, she turns to him and breathes out a little, she takes his hand and looks up at the ceiling, she winces a little "You in pain?"

"No," she shakes her head "It's just uncomfortable"

He nods and watches the doctor, she turns to look at the screen, and Joyce follows her gaze, her heart twisting at the sight of their child.

"Is that it?" she points, and the doctor smiles, nodding "Crazy"

"You're further along than I thought," the doctor explains, and Joyce frowns a little "You're almost out of the first trimester, ten weeks, nausea should ease off soon hopefully"

Joyce swallows and stares at the screen, Hopper follows her gaze as they both take it all in.

She turns to look at him and she sees the answer in his eyes, the longing, the need to see this through, it changed everything and a tear slid out of the corner of her eye, but him, no he was full on crying at the sight in front of them both.

"Hey" she reaches out to wipe his tears "Tell me what you're thinking"

"We made that," he looks at her closely, she nods and turns back around "Between us, something…we made a life even at our old age"

She smiles a little, now unsure what to do as they just stare at the image in front of them, it's so grainy and unclear, the doctor points to different parts of that grainy image displayed to them and Joyce smiles a little.

For once she's speechless.

Hopper’s offer of going out to eat after the appointment makes her empty stomach growl, she agrees on the promise she can get chicken nuggets and tomato sauce stating it would do her the world of good, that thought alone makes her stomach rumble again. He drives to some fast food place on the way back home, she's got a folder full of pamphlets that make her feel an immense sense of dread and anxiety but how could they have the opportunity to end this completely, go back to their lives as if nothing happened?

It leaves her mind when the car door opens.

Hopper has a bag with her chicken nuggets and fries, an extra side of onion rings too, she rummages through the bag like a starved animal searching through the trash, she eats quickly and in any other situation, Hopper would find it comical, but this is not the situation. She's quiet, withdrawn, deep in thought as they eat their food. She turns to him, and he can't quite look at her; he decides to drive home, it's all he can do.

"Jesus" Hopper groans, Joyce huffs in annoyance "What's Jonathan doing here again?"

"God knows," Joyce rubs her head "I'm really not in the mood as well"

She loves her son dearly, but she’s tired and is craving a nap. Joyce moves to get out of the car but Hopper places a hand on her arm to stop her.

"We need to talk," he studies her closely, she falters and nods, they really did "Later, obviously…bath and bed? Or we could share the bath, talk…"

He offers it up, and she's tempted, talking, soaking away in the tub really does fill her with calmness, she turns and nods, sliding out of the car, she secures the folder under her arm and draws her hair back while Hopper puts the empty cartons from their food in the trash.

Joyce walks into the house and Jonathan rounds the corner, she gags as soon as she slides her shoes off, shaking her head rapidly at Hopper to get rid of whatever was making that smell.

She passes the folder over to Hopper and rushes to the bathroom, she shuts the door, and Hopper groans at the smell of bacon hitting his nostrils, a big no go for his wife right now and he can't help but feel sorry for her.

"Are you here to steal our food again?"

"I don't have enough money to cover food this week," Jonathan mumbles, shrugging "And before you accuse me of partying, I wasn’t, and I needed the money to pay subway fees"

"Take twenty" he mumbles, grabbing his wallet and pulling out some bills "For food this week"

"Thanks Hop" Jonathan grins at him, groaning when his step-dad ruffles his hair "Is mom ok? She looked green as hell"

"She's fine kid, you probably don't want to stick around though, she's got a stomach bug," he nods at him, Jonathan grimaces and eats his bacon

Joyce walks out into the living room, she gives a scathing look, and as soon as she gets a waft of that bacon again, she's retching into the sink so Hopper grabs her hair to pull it out of her face.

"I'll take this outside," Jonathan looks at them, Hopper nods and gives him a look as he goes onto the porch

"Hop," she whimpers, he hushes her "Remove all traces of bacon from his house, now"

He nods and goes to the fridge, he pulls out the packet, and she gags at the sight of it as he tosses it in the trash, he takes it to the trash can outside, then returns. He guides her over to the couch, and she huffs in annoyance at the waste of good chicken nuggets, onion rings and fries, he grabs her some water, and she guzzles it down quickly, she turns to him and he sits with her.

She curls into his side, moving to rest her head in his lap, he plays with her hair as she pulls her legs up to her chest.

Jonathan walks into the house, he puts the plate in the dishwasher and turns to look at them on the couch, Hopper's got his hand resting on Joyce's forehead.

"I did phone before I came," he says slowly and Hopper smiles up at him "You didn't answer, so-"

"Kid, you can come and go as you please, you don't need to call if you don't want to," he nods at him, Joyce lets out some low, shallow breaths "How are your classes?"

"Yeah good, we're doing a lot of practical work at the moment," Jonathan nods and Hopper smiles at him "It's cool though, we're heading into the city later to play around with some ideas in downtown Manhattan, we're kind of going for a neon eighties vibe, we want to use the signs there"

"That sounds good," Hopper looks down at Joyce, she pinches the bridge of her nose "Why don't you get some rest, Joy?"

"If I move, I will be sick," she grumbles, he nods and plays with her hair, he watches her hug herself

Jonathan grimaces a little.

"Anyway, thanks for the food," Jonathan smiles a little "Usually I'd have the money but-"

"Jonathan it's fine," Hopper smiles at him nodding "It's what we're here for"

Joyce gets up quickly and shakes her head, she makes her way to the bathroom, and Hopper sighs a little, he rubs his head, and Jonathan is quick to pick up on the tension.

"Is everything-"

"Everything's fine, really," Hopper assures him "Nothing for you or your brother to worry about, ok?"

"Ok…" he trails off unconvinced "I don't want to get sick, so I'm just going to go back to my apartment…"

Hopper smiles at him.

"Thanks for the food once more," he confirms, Hopper smiles and gets up

Joyce walks out of the bathroom, and Jonathan pulls her in for a quick hug.

"Sorry I wasn't much fun," she whispers "Do you need to take anything back with you? We have some instant noodles and soup that we'll never use…"

"Uh, yeah if that's ok?" he looks at them both and Hopper goes to find that "Mom are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," she confirms "Stomach bug, as Hop said"

"Right," he's not convinced at all but Hopper returns with a bag full of non-perishables "Thanks Mom, Hop"

"Not a problem, drive safely over the bridge, ok?" Hopper looks at him, Jonathan nods and smiles a little "See you soon kid"

Jonathan hugs him, Hopper frowns, and Joyce smiles at that, tears springing to her eyes and she relaxes immensely when Hopper hugs him back, bracketing his arms around her son.

It makes her ache with happiness and further love for her husband.

He sees Jonathan off on the drive, and Joyce reaches for the folder on the side, she moves to the couch and pulls everything out, studying it closely as Hopper joins her.

"What are you thinking?" he asks her, she turns to him and shakes her head, she brings her fingers up to her mouth, chewing her nails "Joyce, what we saw…"

She takes out the photo, it's really a whole lot of nothing on paper, but that flicker of a heartbeat was enough to make her wonder if they could do this.

They really could try to make it through.

She turns to him and smiles.

"I didn't…that day when we found out…" she swallows "I thought no, there's no way I could go through with this but seeing it like that, all the risks aside, I think to myself we might not be able to eliminate them entirely, for the future too but there's a chance, that small chance that nothing could go wrong and it makes me think Hop…"

"Yeah, me too," he admits

"Why us?" she stares into his eyes "I'm not religious, but god Hop…"

"Yeah," he wipes his eyes, shaking his head at the picture in front of them "Are we considering this, Joyce?"

She laughs a little, wiping her own eyes.

"My boy hugged you today," she looks into his eyes, he reaches out and wipes her tears, his hand clutching the picture "He hugged you Jim, Jonathan hugged you"

"He did," he laughs a little, shaking his head "I love your boys like they're my own"

"And I loved your daughter like she was my own, Hop," she shakes her head, she moves to rest her head against his shoulder "Today, when you saw it, how did you feel?"

"Love," he admits "For you, for what we created…risks aside, there's a chance because there is always a chance that everything could go perfectly, isn’t there-"

"There is"

"To waste that chance…" he whispers "I don't know how you feel, and it's not me going through it, but I don't think I could live with it if we chose not to and we waste that chance"

"It's a risk," she shakes her head "But…I guess we have to ask ourselves if love outweighs the risk"

He kisses her on the head.

"We have time," he tells her, she nods "Not much time, but we have time to think about that"

"Yeah," she nods "Let's take some time"

They took time, a few days, they settled on their decision, so she phoned and got registered with the doctor they went to see before. Hopper watched over her like a hawk, he would not leave her alone, only to go to work, and even then he always checked in with her at lunch. Often she'd be sitting on the back porch on the sun lounger reading a book, smiling softly at the sound of the waves in the distance. He'd bring her something small for lunch, her appetite was increasing again, and she was grateful for that at least.

"I got you a gift"

She frowns and tears herself away from her book, he holds up a bag, and she takes it, studying it closely, she looks inside and grins a little at some more books.

"Clarissa recommended them to me at the station," Hopper grins at her like he's bought the best gift on the planet "I know you're into reading at the moment"

"Yeah," she hums a little, her eyes falling to the brown paper bag he has "What's in the bag?"

"Well, I got you a pulled pork sub with barbecue sauce-"

"Oh I am so glad I married you right now," she snatches the bag and pulls it out, she unravels it and immediately sinks her mouth into it "It's so good"

She's practically drooling, and he moves to sit on the seat.

"I called up the doctor today," she swallows and then takes another bite, he watches her devour it "Booked an appointment for the end of the month to do some tests on the baby"

He nods and smiles at her, she groans as she takes another bite, nodding.

"You've got sauce all over your mouth"

"Don't care," she mumbles through her chewing "I was thinking, do you want to do something tonight, I don't know, we could go into the city, go see a movie?"

He hums a little.

"Unlike you"

"I feel good," she shrugs a little "Woke up this morning for the first time in days where I haven't had to camp out on the bathroom floor, so I kind of want to take advantage of it"

He laughs.

"Anything good on?"

She nods to the newspaper on the side, he looks through the adverts at the back of the paper and hums a little.

"Or we could rent something?" she shrugs, he nods "Order something, pick it up, then pick up a movie, then come home"

"You're really feeling better?" he looks at her with a smile, she nods and stands up, she sits on his lap and licks her fingers, she kisses him on the cheek "We can do whatever you want baby, anything you want as you've been through hell and back this past week"

"Don't jinx it," she murmurs, he holds her close and then kisses her on the head "How was work?"

"They're looking for another admin person, we work close with the other precincts in the city, but jurisdiction is a kind of a pain in our ass, especially as it gets hotter we need more man power as people do reckless things in a busy city"

She nods and pouts her lips.

"Wanna come work for me?"

"Hell no," she shakes her head, he laughs a little at that "We'd get no work done, and you know it"

She reaches for her lemonade, she guzzles it down, and then draws him down for a kiss.

"How long have you got?" she toys with the buttons on his shirt, biting her lip and looking up at him with wide eyes, he groans a little

"You're really feeling better, huh?" he chuckles softly, she shrugs "For you, I can make time"

She slides off his lap and tugs him off the chair, up the stairs to their bedroom.

Joyce kisses him on the cheek and then waves him off back to work, he'll be fifteen minutes late, but she knows her husband can talk himself out of any situation given the chance. She's surprised when thirty minutes later Will pulls up onto their drive behind her car, she hums a little when he walks into the house. He hugs her quickly and Joyce hugs him back before hounding him with a million questions about college. He rolls his eyes and expects nothing less at this point, but he shows her some photos of this fancy dress night they had at his place.

"Jonathan said you were sick" Will looks at her, Joyce stops in her step, she turns around and looks at him closely "Stomach bug-"

"Yeah, I feel a bit better now," she says slowly because she does feel better in herself "I'm not contagious anymore, you don't need to worry"

"Mom," he pulls a face "That's gross, I'm surprised Hopper didn't get sick"

She chews her lip.

"That man has the strongest immune system known to humanity," she laughs a little and passes him a grilled cheese "I know you've been living off instant noodles and pasta so eat up"

"Mom," Will whines "I can cook, you know"

"I know, but you probably choose not to because it's too much effort," she laughs a little "I was your age once, you know"

"I'm glad you're better, though" Will smiles at her, Joyce smiles back

"Yeah me too," she confirms with a small smile "Show me some more pictures, come on, I want to see some of these paintings you've been working on"

“Actually, Mom…” he trails off and she narrows her eyes “Could I stay the night?”

“Yeah of course, honey,” she hums a little “Is everything ok with your housemates?”

“Yeah, it’s just…” he shrugs “It’s fine mom, it’s just nice to have a break sometimes”

“I can imagine,” she softens “Guest room is all set up so make yourself at home, just don’t drink Hopper’s beers he’s a bit of a grump at the moment and works kicking his ass”

Will laughs a little and heads upstairs, Joyce sighs, knowing the idea of her and Hopper’s date night is well and truly over.

Her husband is never surprised when he hears the sound of his step son’s voice, in fact, it puts a smile on his face entirely. He enters the living room and Joyce smiles up at him, Will too, they’re watching a movie, he can’t work out what it is, but he knows his and Joyce’s date night is well and truly off. It doesn’t matter, he loves spending time with her kids, he gets the pack of cards out and they start up a game.

“I’ll start on dinner,” Joyce announces after the third game “Shephard’s pie sounds good?”

“Yeah, that’s good,” Will smiles “Thanks, mom”

Hopper smiles at him and then gets up to grab a beer, he grabs Will one too and tosses it towards him.

“Mom said that you’d be grumpy if I had one of these,” Will chuckles and Hopper looks at Joyce, she bites her lip and then grins “But thanks for sharing, Hop”

“Not a problem, just the one though I am the Chief, but I do need to set a good example sometimes. Now tell me about some of your ideas…”

Stirring the ground beef made her want to gag, she stands there, her hand balled into a fist as she rests it against her mouth. Hopper comes in and takes over, she’s grateful so she goes to sit with Will. He offers her a swig of beer, but she grimaces and shakes her head, the smell immediately hits her stomach, making her almost gag again.

They eat, and later that night he draws her up a bath, she hums a little and thanks him before undressing and sinking down into the water. Hopper sits by the tub and watches as she closes her eyes, he grabs her body wash and rubs it into her legs. He then grabs her shampoo and wets her hair, rubbing it into her scalp until it’s sudsy. Joyce yawns over and over, so he lathers conditioner into her hair and then rinses that out too. Using both hands, he helps her out of the tub, drying her off, he’s so attentive, he always has been but it’s more now, he’s not just taking care of her, he’s taking care of his unborn child too.

The tears rush to her eyes at that thought, and he frowns.

“Hey” he whispers, brushing the pad of his thumb against her cheekbone “What’s up?”

“It’s you,” she whispers and he frowns

“Have I done something wrong?”

“No, no, god no Hop, you’re just so kind, so…I just love you,” she shrugs and lets out a small laugh, he softens immediately, reaching out for her

He pulls her against his body, he reaches out for her pyjamas and helps her into them, kissing her on the forehead.

“You didn’t get into this situation alone,” he murmurs “We both did, think of this as me doing my part, or trying to make the hard part that bit easier for you”

“I love you,” she says it again, he softens

“And I love you,” he murmurs “To the moon and back, through heaven or hell, where the stars meet the night sky and all that shit, I love you”

“That makes no sense,” she chuckles and draws him in foe a kiss “Another reason why you’re my husband…”

All he can do is grin at that.

When she hits the three month mark, the nausea eases off completely, and ravenous hunger fulfils Joyce’s entire being. The doctor said it was a good thing, the tests came back as normal as they could do, and Hopper proudly kept the sonogram in his wallet ready to show off at any given opportunity once they told the boys. Every day she catches him staring at it in the privacy of their home, he’d say small but perfectly formed and Joyce says give it six months and she swears she won’t be feeling that way, neither will he with her complaints. He chuckles and always draws her down onto his lap, kissing her softly as both sets of eyes stare at the picture.

They know they need to tell the boys, they both dread that because how do you tell your adult sons that they’re getting a baby brother or sister. With the way things are going, it’ll be taken out of their hands soon enough. Hopper gets the meat from the butcher, he says they’ll cook on the grill outside mainly to keep the meat away from Joyce; she’s delegated to salad duty as a result.

“Hey” Jonathan yawns as he walks into the house “Wine for mom, beer for you”

“Oh,” Hopper falters “You didn’t have to go to all this effort”

“I have a job now,” he reasons “Let me splurge”

“Splurge away, kid” Hopper laughs and hums a little, Joyce clocks the wine and looks at it with a pout “I didn’t realise you raised a wine connoisseur Joy”

“You forget Nancy’s a phone call away,” she teases lightly, Hopper snorts “Shame I can’t crack this open, it sounds amazing and it would go lovely with the pork steaks”

“Next year,” he murmurs, resting his hands on her hips as Jonathan walks into the room

“Hey honey,” Joyce kisses him on the head as she pulls him in for a hug “How are you doing?”

“Yeah, good, you know how it is,” he shrugs and Joyce softens a little “Max and Lucas got engaged”

“What?” Joyce’s eyes widen and Jonathan nods with a grin “They’re a bit young, surely”

“It’s not illegal, but they are indecisive, so they’ll probably change their minds,” he narrows his eyes and Joyce hums a little “Also, Nancy’s invited you guys to Karen and Ted’s Independence Day party”

“Jesus,” Hopper groans at the thought “I’d rather stick pins in my eyes”

Jonathan laughs and Joyce rolls her eyes.

Will walks through the door and drops a bag of donuts on the counter, he hugs Joyce and then Hopper.

“I was just telling Mom and Hop about Max and Lucas”

“Oh yeah?” Will grins “They pulled it forward last I heard, it’s at the end of August now but then again Dustin is not a reliable source”

“Seriously?” Jonathan laughs, Will nods "I guess it's not really surprising"

“Anyway, I called Lucas you know to congratulate him because that's what friends do, he wanted to know the cheapest hotel in the city as Max wanted to come here on a honeymoon as if I know that information…they need time to get a marriage license so I suggested Vegas and you can imagine how that went down”

“Will,” Joyce scolds and he grins at her

“Not my fault they’re eloping, is it, they’re almost as bad as you and Hop with that,” he smirks and Jonathan nudges him “It’s open invite too, bring your own drinks, reception at lovers lake…every persons dream”

“William,” Joyce scolds and Jonathan practically cackles “Behave and stop judging”

He holds his hands up and grins once more.

“Come help me grill before you annoy your mom more,” Hopper nods at him, Will snorts “Give you a chance to make something other than noodles and soup”

Will drags his feet out to the porch, and Jonathan follows.

All Joyce can do is smile at her blossoming family, for the first time, she actively rests her hand on her belly and thinks this might work out.

They sit and eat, and the boys can immediately sense the shift in tension, they're being awkward, they're both being weird. Jonathan watches as Hopper grabs his mom’s hand, and that tells him everything he needs to know.

Something was wrong.

“We wanted to talk to you about something, it’s kind of huge so…the floors open to ask questions of course” Joyce looks at Hopper, he smiles a little and gives her hand a squeeze “A couple of months ago we found out some news-“

“Is that why you were sick ‌forever?” Will asks quietly and Joyce nods “You’re not dying are you-“

“God no,” Hopper shakes his head “It’s kind of, I the opposite?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Joyce reasons and the boys stare at her blankly “We uh, called you here today because it's soon going to be impossible to hide, so…”

It clicks with Jonathan immediately.

“Oh, my god!” he gasps and Will frowns “Oh my god mom, are you…are you pregnant?!”

Hopper smirks a little, and Joyce bites her lip before turning to her son.

“Uh yeah,” Joyce gives a quick look at Hopper “Yeah I am, honey”

“Mom,” Will croaks “That's…”

“Crazy, we know,” Joyce laughs a little breathlessly “We didn’t think it was possible at all and then it just clicked that something was going on and now we’re here so…six months give or take you’ll be big brothers”

“Oh my god,” Jonathan shakes his head in disbelief “This is crazy, mom that’s…”

“Yeah,” she laughs a little “We pretty much had the same reaction as you both”

“A brother or sister eighteen years younger than me, right?" Will shakes his head, Joyce nods "Crazy, so crazy"

"Look we expect nothing from you guys ok? You're adults now you know, not that we would expect anything from you guys if you were kids but…we don't expect babysitting or anything, this is solely on us," Hopper explains briefly and Joyce smiles a little at him "Be as involved as you want ok? Completely your choice"

"Everyone is going to freak out about this," Jonathan laughs a little "Unless you want to keep it to yourselves?

"We haven't really decided," Joyce murmurs, reaching out for the salad bowl "But maybe keep it on the down low for a little while longer you know…it's just with my age, there are a lot of risks involved still, we just want to be careful really"

"Yeah, that's fine, we won't tell anyone," Will nudges Jonathan and he nods "It's kind of cool, I guess, having a brother or sister that's going to be almost twenty years younger than me"

"You think?" Hopper smirks, Will shrugs "It's ok not to know how to feel too"

"Everything's definitely ok though?" Jonathan asks, looking at them both "You're healthy, the baby's ok right…?"

"Yeah, everything's fine so far," she confirms "We have a picture if you guys want to see, if you're interested, of course?"

"A picture?" Will frowns

"Yeah, of the baby," Joyce hums a little and Will looks intrigued so she gets up to get it from the living room, she sits back down and passes it to Will

"That's…" Will pulls a face "It doesn't look like a baby"

Jonathan takes the picture and beams at it.

"No, I see it," Jonathan nods and Joyce smiles a little "That's the head, right? Then body…then the legs here"

He points, Joyce nods with a grin.

"Oh ok" Will hums and frowns, craning his head to look at the picture "It's not very big"

"Doctor said it's about the size of a peach now," Hopper grins, shrugging "I think it's kind of nice to think about it like that, adds a bit of realism"

"Yeah, I guess," Will confirms "When are you due?"

"Early January," Joyce mumbles and shrugs a little "Just after Christmas, but if it follows in both of your footsteps it'll be early”

"And if it comes early, you might have a Christmas baby," Jonathan grins, Joyce groans at the thought and buries her head in her hands "Either way, if you need any help with anything, give us a call"

"Thanks, kid," Hopper nods at him, Jonathan smiles a little "I guess we need to decide whether to go to Karen's party"

Joyce groans in annoyance.

"We're going if that helps," Jonathan says slowly, Will nods "We were going to share the drive, don't want to pass up on free food and drink"

"I'm glad you're doing it for the right reasons," Joyce rolls her eyes, and Will laughs a little

"It's not just that though, Jonathan's pining after Nancy again," Will says and Jonathan kicks him under the table, glaring at him "Come on, they're not stupid"

"You two are back on then-" Hopper starts

"No!" Jonathan turns to Hopper, he holds his hands up and Joyce grins "We just haven't seen each other since Will's graduation, Robin's also going, Steve too, Dustin's doing the drive and so is Mike, everyone's going to be there and I just think it would be nice to see everyone again because it's been months"

“It hasn’t been months,” Joyce pulls a face

“See, he’s pining after Nancy-“ Will starts before Jonathan kicks him again

"We'll think about it," Hopper hums "Now how about we get out the playing cards and start up a game again?"

"Poker?" Jonathan offers, Will nods "Will's pretty damn good at it now"

"Not as good as your mom," Hopper drones "She rolled everyone when we were kids, let's see if you can keep up with her and if it's in the genes"

Joyce laughs a little and gets up to grab some more lemonade, she turns and smiles at Hopper, he winks at her and finally, things seem to be settling down.

On the first Monday of July, they decide to take the car ride back to Hawkins, Joyce falls asleep for three hours, they stop off for food routinely on the way. It's hot, and she's fanning herself with the map, muttering that pregnancy in the summer was no joke, Hopper places his hand on her thigh and promises her they can stop off at the next diner and get her a slushie. She huffs and groans, grumbling complaints, and Hopper's just grateful he's an expert at reading road signs because taking that map away from his wife right now would put his life on the line. It nears three in the morning when they arrive in Hawkins, Joyce is bone tired and hops out of the car to rush in and use the bathroom. Hopper laughs a little and gets started on the bedsheets, soon enough Joyce falls onto the bed, head pressed into a pillow as Hopper opens the windows, letting her rest.

She wakes around ten the next morning, ravenous once more, and he's forced to feed her the snacks they had in the car for breakfast.

"Where d'ya wanna go first?" Hopper mumbles, yawning "I wish we never came now"

She sighs.

"Me too, I miss our bed," she mumbles and closes her eyes, she rests a hand on her belly and he stares at her closely "I'm starving"

"Diner first?"

She hums and nods.

"Sounds perfect, we should get a move on though, everything's closing early according to Will for the fireworks," she whispers rolling off the bed, she looks through her clothes and pulls out a summer dress "What do you think?"

"Sexy," he grins and watches her undress, he walks over to her and drops a kiss on her lips, his hands resting on her belly "Kiddo’s popped the last few days"

"Hm," she hums "Same thing happened with Will around this time"

He smiles a little at that, he drops his head to kiss her belly.

"Get any lower and we won't make it to the diner," she gives him a pointed look, he snorts and watches as she pulls the dress over her head "Hair is going up, it's too hot"

She pulls it back, securing it with a hair tie.

"You look perfect," he nods, she sighs a little and stretches her back "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," she mumbles "Just starting to feel like my body's not my own, it's a weird feeling to feel after not having this for so long, I'm ok I promise it's just…it's taking a lot to get used to"

"What can I do to help?" he offers, and she softens a little, she draws him down for a kiss, and he rests his hands on her hips

"You're doing enough," she promises and kisses him softly "Now feed us please"

He laughs a little.

They go to a diner on one of the routes out of town, away from prying eyes, it didn't stop people from recognising him though, they had only been gone a couple of months. Joyce orders pancakes with syrup, and a milkshake as it was hot, he orders a black coffee, bacon and eggs, he watches her dig into her food, and she finishes way before him, a hand resting on her belly. He smiles at her, and she kicks him under the table, he kicks her back, and she laughs a little before sighing softly. He asks where she wants to go, and she says they should just go to the Wheeler's as she's fed up with being in the heat, so Hopper drives them there, he rests his hand on her belly as they pull into the drive the exact same time Nancy does, he offers her to go first so he parks behind her.

"Hey!" Nancy grins, and Hopper smiles at her "How are you guys?"

"Good thanks Nancy" Hopper hums, and Joyce steps out of the car, she slides her hand into his as they walk to the back door, Nancy lets them in

"Mom!" Nancy calls "Joyce and Hopper are here!"

She turns and smiles before her jaw drops a little.

"Joyce-"

"Shush, let your mom freak out a little," she gives a nod, a smirk toying on her lips as Nancy hugs her "Hey it's ok, we're good-"

"This is amazing news," Nancy sighs softly, shaking her head "Congratulations"

Karen rounds the corner and smiles at Joyce, her jaw drops, and Joyce bites her lip as she studies her closely, she pulls Joyce in for a hug, and Hopper brushes his hand through his wife's hair.

"Joyce," she pouts her lips and she grins up at her "How far along-"

"Actually, not that far" she laughs a little "Hop's been taking real good care of me so…just entered the second trimester"

"Oh Joyce" she cups her face in her hands, Joyce laughs a little and hums when Karen pulls her in for a hug "Congratulations, really, come sit, both of you"

She gestures for them to follow her, they go downstairs and out the back of the basement.

"Joyce!"

"Hey Sue, I heard about Lucas and Max…" she shakes her head as she pulls her in for a hug "You must be so proud"

"It's an understatement, he's so happy, Max is a sweet girl," she reasons and studies her closely before smiling "Congratulations, both of you"

"Thank you," Joyce softens and turns her head when Mike and Nancy rush out

"I don't believe Will is getting a little brother or sister, Nance, that's crazy," Mike says and Hopper slings his arm around Joyce's shoulder, giving the boy a pointed look "Oh my god!"

"Walked into that one, you idiot," Nancy shoves him and grins at Joyce "Say congratulations to Joyce and Hopper-"

"Congratulations," Mike nods and then shoves Nancy, Holly rushes downstairs and barges between Mike and Nancy before sitting down at the picnic table

Joyce turns to Hopper and bites her lip.

"How long until we can get out of here?" she asks and he kisses her on the forehead "This was a mistake Hop, we never should have-"

"Hey it's ok…" Hopper whispers and gives her a look, he looks around "You're the pregnant one, make an excuse"

"An hour," she murmurs "I'll stay for an hour, then we're out and going for our own private celebration, louder than the crickets-"

"Behave," he warns her, groaning a little and giving her a quick squeeze of her hip

"Hey!" Jonathan walks out with a crate of beers, "Hi mom, Hop"

"You didn't call us last night," Hopper gives them a look, and Jonathan sighs a little, he looks at Will who holds his hands up

"I know, we crashed at Steve's for the night-"

"You crashed at Steve's?" Nancy groans and Jonathan nods "I thought you were pissed off at him for his endless line of lovers"

"He had an empty pad, so we crashed, he's coming over later with his new girlfriend-"

"What number is this?" Will asks and Jonathan thinks for a moment

"Ten, I think, might be eleven," he shrugs and Will snorts "He says she's the one this time"

"He said that about number five," Will pulls a face, so Jonathan shrugs

Hopper guides Joyce to a chair, he sits and she sinks down onto his lap so he can hold her close, she fiddles with the buttons on his shirt and gags when Ted pulls the meat out of the packet and slaps it onto the grill, she buries her face in his chest.

"It makes me wanna puke, the meat," she grumbles, he brushes a hand up and down her back softly "I need to get out of here"

She slides off his lap, and Hopper follows her, so Jonathan takes his seat, he finds Joyce in the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand, she drinks it and buries her face in her hands.

"Hey" he whispers, placing a hand on her back "Were you sick?"

"No, no I'm ok," she coughs a little "Just raw meat sometimes still gets me, when it peels off the plastic-"

She gags at the thought.

Karen walks up the stairs and Joyce shudders out a breath as Karen grabs a can of ginger ale, she passes it over, and Joyce cracks it open, guzzling it down.

"All good?" she looks at her sympathetically

Joyce shudders out a breath as Will comes up to look at her closely.

"Are you ok mom?" he asks, she nods and buries her face in her hands "You don't look good, maybe you should rest"

"I'm ok honey, your sibling hates raw meat, I'll be fine," she assures him and Will looks at her sceptically "Thanks for checking in on me though, really"

She hugs him, and Will hugs her back.

"As long as you're ok" Will studies her closely, she smiles

"Why don't you lie down in the guest room?" Karen offers, Joyce frowns "You look tired"

"I might just take her back to the cabin, Karen," Hopper looks at Joyce, she gags a little and turns to the sink, he pulls her hair out of her face "Once she's got the thought in her head…"

"Yeah," Karen grimaces a little "Might be for the best, do you guys need anything?"

"I can run out and get something, sorry to dip out on you-"

"Not a problem" Karen smiles and tugs Joyce in for a hug "Come by tomorrow, yeah, if you feel better?"

"I'll try," she says quietly and slides her hand into Hopper's, they walk out of there

He guides her to the car, and she gets in, pulling her belt across and resting her head against the cool glass, he rests his hand on her belly, rubbing it soothingly.

"The heat doesn't help"

"I know," he whispers, "Cabin's in the woods so it should be pretty cool there"

She nods tiredly and lets him drive.

He hauls her into his arms noticing she was asleep so he carries her in there and places her on the bed, he crawls onto the bed with her holding a glass of water, he brushes her hair out of her face and she opens her eyes fanning herself so he goes out to the shed and grabs a fan, he sets it up on the nightstand and it blows on her face, she softens as he lies down with her, she rests her head on his chest.

"It's out in the open now," she whispers, he smiles a little to himself, letting his eyes fall shut

"I'll put in my request for leave this week," he mumbles, she smiles to herself and takes his hand "Boy or girl?"

"Seriously?" she laughs a little, he shrugs "What do you want?"

"A baby would be nice," he murmurs, she snorts a little "I don't know, I just…when I close my eyes I just picture a little girl with your brown hair, my blue eyes, and two pigtails to boot"

Joyce smiles to herself and lets that thought settle in her head.

"It's kind of like the lottery, isn't it," Hopper shifts a little, she hums "Just a fifty-fifty chance either side"

"I like those odds," Joyce murmurs, he smiles and nods

"I like them too"

When it gets hotter, Joyce finds herself spending more and more time in their yard, she plants flowers and waters them every day, attempting to grow cucumbers and strawberries too. Hopper comes home from work every day at lunch, and they eat together, their house isn't far from the station really, he enjoys making the journey even if he only gets to see her for forty minutes either side; it becomes routine. She's growing her hair out, and it makes him smile every time he sees her braid it to get it out of her face.

"Hey" Joyce smiles and peers over her sunglasses, he walks to sit on the lawn with her "Garden looks good, huh?"

"Very pretty," he confirms "Yellow and purple flowers, El's favourite"

She softens a little.

"Hm…" Joyce whispers and he runs his hand over her belly "I wonder what she would think of all this?"

"The baby?"

She nods slowly.

"I think she would have found it cool," Hopper murmurs, Joyce nods "You're burning babe"

"Ugh," she huffs and reaches for the sunscreen, she lathers it all over herself "I was taking a break because it was getting hot, I just couldn't be bothered to move to the lounger"

He gestures for her to shuffle over, so he hauls her into his arms and places her down on it, she draws him down for a kiss, and he bends down beside her.

"Anything I can get you on the way home?"

She hums for a moment.

"I can't think of anything," she says quietly, he nods and grins at her "What?"

"I just know you're going to call me at the station with a list of things," he laughs a little, she pouts her lips as tears spring to her eyes "Don't cry…"

"I'm not even sad," she huffs, she cocks her head the side with a thoughtful look on her face "Did you get time off for the scan?"

"I did, the whole day actually," he grins, she hums a little "Thought anymore about the gender?"

"I kind of want to find out," she bites her lip, he stares at her and nods slowly "Is that bad of me, I never got to with the boys and…"

"We can find out," he says "Keep it to us, we don't have to tell anyone, do we?"

She smiles and nods, she pulls him in for a hug and shifts over, they share the lounger, and he runs his hand over her belly, resting it there.

"I felt Will move around this mark," she offers up, Hopper hums a little "Jonathan took his sweet time though, didn't feel him properly until I was almost six months"

"Sara was the same," he kisses her on the side of the head "Took her sweet time"

Joyce closes her eyes.

"Can you take the afternoon off?" she asks, he rolls his eyes "I've missed you, you've been pulling doubles all week"

"I know, baby, just think of the extra money," he whispers "Just helping the guys out as one of my detectives got shot the other day"

"I know," she huffs "I'm just being needy"

"We need to go shopping at some point," he closes his eyes "So much to do, huh?"

"I have a box of Jonathan's and Will's baby things, I might go through them, there are some cute pictures in there you might like to see"

"Yeah?" he laughs, she grins and kisses him softly "Be careful using the stepladder in the garage, ok?"

"I'll be fine Hop, it's not like I'm wearing stilettos, is it?"

He rolls his eyes and checks his watch.

"You have to go?" she pouts her lips, he hums

"Five more minutes"

"Ten?" she tries to compromise

He gives in easily.

"Fine, ten," he brushes his hand over her belly, she rests her hand on top his nuzzles into his chest

Evenings are now filled with barefoot walks on the beach and the contemplation that maybe they should get a dog, she's open to the idea so Hopper grins at her and teases how he knew she'd come around to it, she makes him promise no puppies, a rescue will do. He laughs a little at her giving in so easily, jibing that she’d make a great dog mom. They take a long walk and then loop back around using the street to their house. As soon as they get in, she's drawing him in for a kiss and takes him to bed like it's an unwritten ritual.

They lie there with heated skin, the net curtains flying around in the evening wind. She curls into his body, drawing him down for a kiss before humming as he cups his hand against her belly, he smiles to himself and buries his face in her neck.

"When did that start?" he whispers, she laughs a little and shrugs

"I think it loves the sound of your voice," she whispers "I felt things before, but…nothing big"

"Scan tomorrow," he yawns, she nods and lets him rest his head on her shoulder, "Grateful for the day off, could make a day of it in the city if you'd like?"

"Maybe," she whispers "If it goes well"

"Why do you think something will go wrong?" he looks at her closely, she cups his jaw and closes her eyes

"I don't know," Joyce shrugs "I just feel like luck is never on our side Hop, and things have been going too well"

He softens and returns to resting his head on her shoulder, his hand moving back to the side of her belly, he turns his head to kiss her skin softly.

"At least we don't have to go to Lucas and Max's reception as they pushed it back again," he reasons, Joyce hums softly in agreement "The thought of having to go to it with a baby, though is arguably worse…"

"Yeah," she says slowly "It's a lot"

"A good excuse though," he considers "A get out of jail free card"

She laughs and bites her lip, he cups her jaw, and they look down at her belly, she smiles now and then before turning into his chest, she kisses him there, and he cups the back of her head.

"Sleep," he whispers, she nods tiredly "Love you, both of you"

His hand moves to the side of her belly again, she smiles to herself and lets sleep pull her under.

At the last minute, she opts out, wanting to keep the element of surprise, she's relieved when everything seems to be going smoothly, she grimaces at the idea of a glucose test and frequent monitoring due to her age. Hopper promises he'll be there every step of the way, she’s grateful for having a partner who wants to be involved. She's pissed off about it the entire day, and he laughs a little when they head further into the city using the subway, they check out some stores and he's surprised when Joyce settles on a pine crib straight away, matching changing table too. He smiles a little at that, and then they go for food before returning home. She dumps her purse on the couch and sighs a little, stretching her back.

"I might take up crocheting," she tilts her head to the side, Hopper frowns a little confused "I need a new hobby before I read the entirety of the library"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she huffs and scratches at her belly, she rolls her shoulders and goes to grab lemonade "Is there any chocolate?"

"Uh…" he looks through the pantry "No"

"Oh," she pouts her lips, he looks at her closely "Hop…"

She flutters her eyelashes and he’s grabbing his wallet and car keys to go and get what she wants.

Joyce moves to sit outside and sinks down onto the sunlounger, he joins her when he returns and sits on the end of it, pulling her feet into his lap, rubbing them gently as she eats her chocolate.

The phone goes off and he frowns and goes to answer it so Joyce just closes her eyes, she rolls her t-shirt up just so it was on top of her belly, letting the sun beam down onto her skin.

"Everything ok?"

"No, uh…" Hopper chews his lip and she stares at him full of concern "They need me at work, urgently, there's been an incident, a flag on some gang that's operating in another jurisdiction, they’re desperate for back-up"

"Hop, please come home to us," she looks worried, and he cups her face in her hands

"It's just back-up, it's not our jurisdiction ok?" he studies her closely, she looks close to tears so he pulls her in for a hug "Joy…I’ll be ok"

"I just want you to come home to me," she hiccups "To us"

"I know, and I will," he brushes the backs of his fingers against her cheek "I have to go, so…"

She nods and bites her lip.

"I love you Joy"

She swallows.

"I love you too"

She's surprised when an hour later Jonathan walks through the front door, it doesn’t take her long to put together that Hopper must have called him from the station to be with her. Sometimes she wished this pregnancy didn't make her such a skittish mess. He cooks her something to eat that evening, she can't stomach it though, but the food did look good, and after one bite the entire plate was demolished. Jonathan studies the new scan picture and he grins at her, she points things out and Jonathan hums a little as he watches her hand rub against her belly.

"Are you in pain?"

She frowns and looks down at her hand.

"No honey, it's just kicking away in there, liked your pasta," she grins and he laughs a little "Might have to get you here more often to cook it, this kid is lazy"

"Lazier than us?" he asks, Joyce hums a little

"You were lazy, Will wasn't," she chuckles softly "Kept me up all night he did, apple juice made him move for hours, ice cream for you, and this one loves their brother's pasta sauce"

"I'm glad to make them happy," he offers, she smiles a little and then stares into space "He'll be fine mom, really, he's good at his job, look at all the shit he put up with in Hawkins"

"Yeah," she swallows "I guess nothing can compare to that"

The front door goes and Hopper walks through it, she quickly rushes to greet him and hugs him before pulling away.

"What the hell happened to your face, Jonathan get the first aid kit," she orders and shakes her head, he stumbles into her arms "Hey, hey what happened?"

"Just…" he sits down and groans a little "I'm ok, I am really, it was just a lot"

She sits with him and places a hand on his back, he moves to place his hand on her belly and she places hers on top.

"I forgot how big the raids can get here when multiple precincts are called it's just a lot sometimes" he says quickly and Jonathan passes the first aid kit over

She pulls out some gauze and shakes her head as she dabs it against his lip, he flinches a little so she grabs his head to hold him still.

"Want a beer?" Jonathan offers, Hopper groans "There's some bourbon on the wine rack too, I think"

"Yeah give me some of that," he nods, Joyce studies him closely, worry etched in her face "I'm ok Joyce, really it's just a lot…shock to the system, I'm good, I promise just a little in shock"

"You're out of practice" she mumbles, shrugging "It's ok Hop"

"Are you ok?" he asks, she softens

"I'm ok" she nods and kisses him on the cheek "I won't kiss you on your mouth, I don't want to hurt you"

Jonathan returns with a glass and some ice, he passes the bottle over and Hopper tips some of it out.

"Baby ok?" Hopper asks her, she nods and guides his hand towards the kicks "Good evening to you, kid"

"We were both worrying about you all evening," Joyce whispers "Hopefully now your kid will settle"

She tuts and stands up, stretching her back as she walks to the kitchen to get herself some water, she guzzles down the glass and then opts to get some crackers, she smears spread on them and then eats them before returning to the couch.

"Do you want to stay the night?" Joyce offers "Or are you ok driving back-"

"I'm ok mom, I'm going to head out," he nods "You're welcome for the pasta"

Joyce stands up and hugs him, she hums a little before laughing at her belly starting to get in the way, Jonathan chuckles too and then heads for the door.

"Bath and bed," Joyce points at Hopper "Need you fighting fit for work tomorrow because no doubt you have a shit ton of paperwork to do"

She tugs him up, and he pulls her into his body, his hands resting on her belly so she tilts her head to the side.

"I have something to come home to," he whispers "Four people that I love, I'm not going through that away"

"I know," Joyce nods "I just worry sometimes, the job means a lot to you, it means a lot to your soul and…it's a good thing Hop, a focus and I just want our child to grow up knowing her daddy"

"Her?" he looks at her with a brow raised

Her nose crinkles.

"Just a feeling," she murmurs, he laughs a little "Or he will grow up to know his daddy…either way, this child will know what it's like to be loved by their father"

He presses his forehead against hers and smiles.

"My boys never had that," she looks into his eyes "You've given them the best gift of all to know what love is as a father"

"I love your boys and I love you," he promises "I'd walk through fire to save either one of them"

Joyce pulls away, she turns her head and backs off a little, she goes into the kitchen and reaches into the cleaning cupboard, she pulls out a manilla envelope she stashed there.

"When…" she tries to swallow down the tears "When we were in Hawkins, when Will was in the final year of high school, all that time we spent together me, you and him while Jonathan was here in the city, he uh…I've been saving this because this is something huge but after Will found out about the baby he gave me his blessing to give you this and I was going to give this to you at Christmas, or on your birthday"

She holds the envelope, and he studies her closely, he takes it from her.

"Will wanted you to have this but he wanted me to give it to you, Jonathan knows about it too so we're not blindsiding him, we'd never do that"

He tears it open and he frowns at the legal paperwork in front of him, she offers a weak smile and chews her lip as he reads it, he takes a step back with tears in his eyes.

"I could have lost you tonight if it went the other way and then I realised that life is way too short," she stares at him closely as he flicks through the paperwork "Will's signed it on the day he turned eighteen but if you don't want to that's ok too-"

"Joyce," he sobs a little and she nods, she rushes over to him and holds his shoulders "Joyce, this is…"

He looks into her eyes, she nods.

"He really wants me to adopt him?" he studies her closely "Like change his name, make him mine in the court of law and…doesn't Lonnie need to agree with this?"

"He's eighteen," Joyce whispers "It's his choice Hop, he chose this, he wants this"

He hugs her and Joyce laughs a little, she softens against him and he kisses her on the head, she pulls away, cupping his face in his hands.

"You don't have to decide now"

"I do, turn around"

She frowns and turns around, she gathers her hair up in her hands and drapes it over her shoulder, she feels him write against her back, marking his signature on the dotted line, and she smiles at that.

"If you want to talk to him about it before we process them, he said that's ok too," Joyce whispers "Maybe we could invite the boys around when they're next free, go through it together"

He sniffles, and holds her close.

As September starts, the boys are well and truly busy with study more-so than the summer classes they were taking, Joyce prepares for the baby and Hoppers engrossed with training the new rookies and getting the most out of them so he can have a substantial paternity leave. They make vague connections in their town, the neighbours opposite invite them around for drinks, they live on a small gravel path that leads down to the beach, and everyone from the five houses that are on this path were invited. Joyce brings homemade cookies, and Hopper brings a crate of craft ale knowing they needed to start building connections here. Helen and Andrew are great hosts, they have a couple of older kids too that she points them in pictures all over their walls to Joyce, Callie and August, the same age as Will and Jonathan and Joyce realises it's ok to leave the past behind and make new friends.

Their neighbours are kind, genuine people, they offer them both boxes of hand me downs and Joyce takes them up on the opportunity, so they pencil in a date before retiring home for the evening.

Joyce makes tea and smiles when Hopper appears behind her, he lifts up her belly and she sighs softly.

“That’s nice,” she closes her eyes “Jonathan and Will are coming tomorrow”

“Busy weekend”

She hums.

“Kicking like mad in here,” she says slowly and Hopper smiles a little, kissing her on the neck “I had a call from Karen before you came back from work”

“Is she ok?” he rests a hand on her belly, smiling at the quick succession of tiny kicks against his palm

“She’s worried about Mike,” she chews her lip and he nods slowly “Thinks he’s struggling again”

“Poor kid,” Hopper whispers, Joyce sighs a little and picks up her tea, she moves into the living room and sinks down on the couch “I get why he’s struggling too, going through all these huge life moments and…its getting close to the anniversary isn’t it”

“Yeah,” she swallows “It is”

She rests her head against his shoulder, he places his hand on her belly.

She frowns a little and shifts.

“You good?” he asks her, she huffs a little and shrugs

“He thinks she’s alive,” Joyce starts and Hopper rubs his chin “That she's out there somewhere living her best life”

“Grief works in different ways,” Hopper starts and Joyce bites her lip

“I dream about her sometimes,” she doesn’t know why she’s just laying all of this out “They’re so hyper-realistic”

“Aren't pregnancy dreams usually like that? When Diane was pregnant with Sara, I swear she dreamt crazy shit too”

“Yeah, I did with Will too, I don’t know, it just feels different,” Joyce yawns and groans a little “I’m so uncomfortable all of a sudden”

She stands up and he watches her closely.

“Bath?” he offers and she nods

That weekend, the boys arrive surprisingly early, they offer to help Hopper with the nursery as the furniture got delivered earlier in the week. Joyce makes them food, and they get started, giving Hopper time to talk to Will and Jonathan about the papers Will wanted him to have. Joyce chills on the couch with a new book in her hand, she falls asleep, snoozing with the book against her chest, so when Hopper finds her, he picks it up, sliding the bookmark into the page and decides to leave it on the side. He grabs a blanket and covers her with it.

"I think my engine needs more oil," Will whispers as they walk through the kitchen, Hopper nods "I don't suppose you would know how to…"

"We can go to the store, buy some engine oil," Hopper nods and smiles, Will turns and looks at his mom "She's ok kid, she's just tired"

"It must be exhausting when you think about it, growing another human inside of you," Will considers, and Hopper hums in agreement "At least the nursery is done"

"True, you should have heard your mom last weekend when I was giving the room a fresh lick of paint," he laughs and Will grins "She was watching me like a hawk"

"She's like that," Will considers "Sometimes she's such a perfectionist"

Hopper grins.

"Don't I know it," he says and then moves to get a glass of water "Put this on the table, yeah? She'll want it when she wakes up"

"Sure," Will walks into the living room and places the glass down "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?"

He walks back into the kitchen and Hopper hums a little, grabbing the bread, he begins to make them each a grilled cheese.

"I'm not sure, I mean your mom seems to think it's a girl"

"I guess that would be cool," Will considers as Jonathan walks into the kitchen, he leans against the counter "A sister"

"You found out?" Jonathan asks and Hopper shakes his head

"No, we didn't, your mom has a feeling thought," Hopper grins at him, and Jonathan nods with a smile "And she's always right, so take that as you will"

"I was thinking, do you want to process the papers, we could all go together?" Will offers "Although I'm not sure mom will make it out of the house without falling asleep"

Jonathan chuckles at that, and Joyce walks into the kitchen, she pouts her lips and makes her way over to Hopper, wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"Good nap?" he asks, she nods and then sits down at the table, Jonathan sits with her "Want anything else added to this, Joy?"

She contemplates it for a moment before looking through the fridge, she pulls out some chocolate spread, she places it next to Hopper, and then bites her lip.

"Seriously?"

She shrugs and grins.

"Ok then," Hopper grabs the tub and smears chocolate spread into it, Joyce sits down and yawns again while Will sits next to her "Was just talking with Will and Jonathan about going to process the papers?"

"Oh yeah?" Joyce hums "When were you thinking?"

"Maybe like, next week when we're all free, we could all go together, go for food after?" Will suggests and Joyce nods, resting a hand on her belly

"Yeah, it sounds good," Joyce yawns once more, humming when Hopper places a plate down in front of her "You're the best"

"That is gross," Jonathan pulls a face and Will grimaces, Joyce shrugs "How can you even want that?"

"I don't want it," Joyce laughs a little "Your brother or sister does"

She takes a huge bite and groans, nodding, Will laughs a little and shakes his head at his brother, who just looked a little grossed out by the whole thing.

Towards the end of September, they get the papers processed at the town hall. Hopper's happy, so happy and it just makes Joyce feel at peace. He's working hard at the moment, so hard, training new cops and making sure everything's set in the lead-up to Christmas. Joyce finds herself sitting on the rocking chair in the nursery reading endless books, she takes up knitting and crocheting, smiling when she creates a pair of baby booties before moving onto some harder pieces. She finds herself contemplating a lot of things, staring at the crib and wondering what it's going to be like doing this again after not doing it for so long.

She decides to get in the car and drive to the station, armed with a tub of cookies she baked that morning.

"Hey Joyce!" Clarissa smiles at her, she grins back "How are you? We haven't seen you here in ages"

"I'm good, I brought cookies," she grins and Clarissa takes them off her hands "For you and the guys obviously, is Jim around at all?"

"Yeah, he's in his office, he's in a bad mood today, so be warned," Clarissa laughs a little and Joyce rolls her eyes at her husband being a grump "We've been taking bets as to who goes in there"

"Paperwork day?" she laughs a little, the girl nods "Well let's hope I can make the rest of your day easier for you"

She opens the office door, and she hears Hopper groan before he looks up at her and smiles, she shuts the door behind her and moves over to him.

"Hey baby," he pulls her down onto his knee "You didn't have to come all this way"

"The guys out there said you were in a bad mood," she comments with a pointed look "Everything ok?"

He nods and leans back in his chair.

"Better now I've seen you," he kisses her on the forehead "Had a good day?"

"Tiring," she says "Kid's getting bigger, long day for you?"

He nods and sighs a little, tipping his head back, and she pouts her lips, resting her head against his shoulder as he rests his hand on her belly, smiling a little as the baby moves to his touch.

"I just have to make some difficult decisions with the prosecutor," he shakes his head, she pouts her lips "Got a meeting later so I may be home late"

"It's ok," she softens "Anything I can help you with?"

He shakes his head and smiles a little.

"Just look after yourself and the kid," he murmurs, pressing his lips against her head "That'll help me good, knowing you're both ok"

She yawns and hums a little as there's a knock on the door, and Clarissa walks into the room, she places a piece of paper down on his desk, and he grabs it.

"Can't one of the guys do this?" Hopper says quietly, Clarissa shakes her head

"Neighbours asked for the Chief, sorry Jim," she grins and Joyce bites her lip when Hopper groans "It's just a welfare check, it'll get you out of his office and hopefully put you in a better mood"

He sighs and turns to look at Joyce, she pulls him down for a kiss when the door shuts.

"She has a point," she murmurs, shaking her head softly "You're being a grump Hop"

"You took away my smokes," he pouts his lips "What's a man to do to be happy?"

"It was a mutual decision," she scowls and slides off his lap, shaking her head "Now do your job, I'm going home to wash baby clothes"

"Hmm," he hums "I'll see you later, honey"

He blows her a kiss and catches it, pressing it to her heart.

Later that evening she gets a call from Hopper, he sounds sad when he says he might be later than he originally thought and she can't help but feel like something's happened. She makes her way to the station and lets herself in just as Clarissa is leaving, she stops her in her tracks and says to go easy, Joyce nods and offers a weak smile before heading to her husband's office, she frowns at him burying his face in his hands and groaning. She pulls out two containers of food and some cutlery, he sighs softly and draws her down for a kiss.

"You know that case I was working before…" he looks at her, she nods slowly "I shouldn't even be telling you this but I just…"

She places a hand on his leg, he looks at her and shakes his head.

"It's ok," she whispers "Who am I actually going to tell?"

He leans back and closes his eyes, she leans back too and drapes a leg over his.

"We had a witness for this case, he was an old guy, was terminal, anyway we lost him, and I've been scrambling around the to try and form a case without his statement in court"

She nods slowly.

"Anyway, that welfare check today was for him and…we lost him, case is starting to crumble," he tells her and Joyce softens a little "It's not that I need a big break you know? I've done all that shit, I'm top dog around here"

He shakes his head, she softens.

"Anyway, I sent the rookies to notify the family, get some experience in you know after the check?"

She nods and listens.

"This guy had two collies," he laughs a little and shakes his head "We had to take them to a shelter, no kill shelter obviously because I don’t agree with that shit, begged them to take the dogs because the family wouldn't take them"

"Jesus" she rubs her head

"Life is so short, Joy," he looks at her, resting his hand on her belly "I just want to do good and make the most of it"

She drops her gaze and nods slowly.

"Could we take the dogs?" she asks and he frowns at her "I mean we talked about it, didn't we, getting a pet? Give them a home?"

"You want to take on these two dogs with a baby due in a couple of months?" he laughs a little, she shrugs and grins up at him "Seriously?"

"It'll give me some company at home," she reasons and he hums a little, closing his eyes "Would it be that bad?"

"You really want to?" he looks at her, she nods slowly "You do realise collies need a lot of exercise, we have no idea the temperament of these dogs-"

"They lived with a dying man, Hop," she laughs a little "Did you see him going on marathons every day?"

He tilts his head, knowing she has a point.

"We can go and see them tomorrow, let me call the rescue for the fifth time today," he says and she hums as he gets up to make the call

The next day they take the ride to the shelter, Joyce falls asleep on the journey there, and he's not even surprised at that alone. He watches as she wakes when he parks the car, she gets out and stretches her back before taking his hand as they walk into the shelter, he shows his badge and Joyce hums as they're guided to a side room, she sits down and hums a little when the shelter worker brings in the dogs on two leashes.

"This is Darcy and Duke, Joy…" Hopper grins as she pulls towards him "Remember me, huh? Hey Duke…"

He jumps up, resting his paws on his leg, Darcy backs off and goes to see Joyce, she smiles and strokes her head slowly as her tail wags.

"Hey…" Joyce giggles and bites her lip, she jumps up and licks her face, causing Joyce to grimace "We're here to take you to your new home, huh?"

She barks and Duke immediately checks Joyce out, she strokes both of them and grins when Duke licks her face, she giggles and nods.

"Hop, they're lovely," Joyce pouts her lips "Yes, you're both lovely"

Both of them jump up to lick her face, and Hopper places a hand on her head, laughing a little as she scrunches her nose up, holding them both in her arms.

"I'll go and see the guys at the front desk," he says and she grins a little "We'll stop off on the way back at the pet store"

Hopper passes the money over for the adoption fee and Joyce holds the leashes in her hand, the dogs tug towards the car and she laughs a little at their excitement, they climb in the back and curl up together so Hopper drives them to the nearest store. They grab a cart and load up the car with beds and food for them both, Joyce gets them each a new collar and new leash as well as sort out some tags for them both with their address and number. She says they should register them with a vet, and Hopper nods, saying they can do that from home. They get the dogs into the house and they look around, running all over the place, and Joyce smiles a little at that as Hopper sets up their beds in the living room for now.

Darcy jumps up on the couch and rests her head on Joyce's belly, causing her to raise her brows.

"Tea?" Hopper offers her, she hums and nods, idly stroking her "We can take them out for a walk later, I do have to be in court this afternoon though"

"I'll be ok with them," she grins and smiles when Duke joins them both on the couch too "I might try, and take them for a walk myself"

"I think they're trained," Hopper says, he grabs a handful of dog treats and they immediately get off the couch "Sit"

They both sit, so he rewards them.

"Down?" he hums and both dogs lie down, wagging their tails and Joyce smiles at that "They're toilet trained too, don't worry, this guy had collies all his life, he knows how to handle them"

"They're cute," she whispers and Hopper bends down to stroke them both "Maybe they want to go in the yard"

Hopper hums and opens the sliding doors, both dogs rush out, and Hopper chucks a ball for them, they fight over it and Darcy rushes back in, dropping it in front of him, nudging it forward with her nose.

Joyce giggles and watches as Hopper throws it outside again.

"Your tea," he says and places it down beside her, she sits cross legged on the couch "We should probably call the boys and tell them we adopted two dogs"

Joyce nods slowly, grinning.

"I can do that, you need to get your uniform on ready for court," she huffs a little, rubbing her belly "Hop, this baby is huge"

He frowns and walks over to her.

"I'm bigger than I was with the boys," she whispers "What if I can't push it out?"

He laughs loudly, shaking his head at her, grinning and she pouts her lips.

"I'm going to need stitches" she huffs, he rolls his eyes at her and sits beside her, Duke drops the ball on Joyce's foot and she picks it up, she throws it out into the yard from the couch "Everything better be in full working condition down there otherwise I will blame you for all of this"

"And here was me thinking that we got in this situation together," he teases softly, she closes her eyes and smiles to herself "You'll be ok, might mean it comes early"

She gives him a scathing look.

"I don't want to birth a ten pound baby," she grumbles

"Not gonna happen, Joy," he kisses her on the side of the head "You're tiny"

She narrows her eyes, and he holds his hands up.

"In a good way," he covers and Joyce just shakes her head slowly "You'll be fine, it'll be ok, you'll be ok, alright?"

She groans and looks at him, he presses his lips against her forehead and smiles to himself, he rests his hand on her belly, and she lets out a yawn.

"Have a nap," he says "Take a load off, just relax or get in the tub for a soak"

"Yeah, and when you're finished in court, can you go to the store and get me some chocolate and cake, baby really wants cake," she hums and Hopper nods "And one of those cookie tray things too, that sounds so good right now"

"Anything else?" he's writing it down on his notepad, she hums and shakes her head "Ok then, I will try and remember to stop off"

"Hm thanks baby," she draws him down for a kiss

"You enjoy the kids," he winks, she giggles and hums when Darcy and Duke sit up on the couch with her "Rest and put your feet up, yeah?"

"Yeah"

The days for Joyce are filled with beach walks, she buys herself some walking boots and a big winter coat so she can take the dogs out, they run along the beach and chase after a ball. In a way, she doesn't think life can get better than this. November rolls around, and the boys finally find some free time to come and visit. They meet the dogs and Joyce grins at that, they love them and she knows they'll go out of their way to look after them both when it's time to have the baby. She spends her afternoons knitting and watching TV, she looks at job ads in the newspaper to see if there's anything that takes her fancy but there's nothing really, she maybe thinks about starting up babysitting again, she did that for a while before she had Jonathan and keeps that thought lingering in the back of her head for the future.

Hopper works really hard but as it gets closer to the festive season things naturally slow down at the station, he can come home more and they spend time getting everything ready, Joyce deep cleans the house, well in her nesting phase and then packs the bag for the hospital for when it's time.

Jonathan calls by and the dogs rush to greet him, she chuckles at that and then smiles up at him from the floor where she was organising baby clothes.

"Hey," she smiles "I didn't think you would stop by before Christmas"

"Everyone's bailed for Thanksgiving, Steve's got his new girl, Nancy's working for the extra money, Robin's also working, so can I come here?"

"Of course, honey," she hums and holds her hands up "Help your mom up"

He chuckles and pulls her up, she draws him in for a hug.

"I was thinking we could take the dogs for a walk, they're getting a little antsy," she hums as Darcy drops a ball on Jonathan's foot, he grins and picks it up, he tosses it down the hall "But first I need to put these clothes away"

She heads upstairs with them in her arms, she climbs the stairs and Jonathan follows her, she passes him the pile of clothes and then watches as she takes them back to put them away.

"Has Hop got Thanksgiving off?" he asks and Joyce shakes her head

"No, he hasn't but it's ok though, I was just planning on having a junk food night to be honest," she chuckles lightly "Baby is craving grease at the moment"

Jonathan grimaces a little.

"What's your brother up to?"

"I'm not sure, you know what he's like…last minute as always"

Joyce snorts.

"He gets that from me, I think," she shrugs and then nods "Pass us that box"

Jonathan slides it across the floor, she tears it open and rests her hands on her hips as she loads diapers into the changing table.

"Let me do this, then we can go for that walk," she confirms, Jonathan smiles and decides to help her

They go for a walk along the beach, Jonathan throws the ball, and Duke rushes into the water, Joyce explains that she has towels in the porch to dry them both off. She asks about work, knowing he got a new job recently, he says he has this job as a runner working on a film set, she smiles at that and squeezes his hand. They walk along the beach and she says that it's weird that this time next year they'll be walking here with a baby, Jonathan asks how she feels about it, she says it's weird, she was dreading it but now she's kind of excited.

"How's Hop finding it?" he asks gently, Joyce hums a little

"He's ok, he's engrossed in work at the moment, he's working so hard so he can have Christmas off and be here for it," she confirms, Jonathan nods "He's just him you know, he is excited about it, so tired at the moment though but I think he can't wait until the baby's here for some time off"

"Yeah, I don't blame him, he works really hard," Jonathan hums and laughs a little when Darcy drops the ball in front of him "They're obsessed with balls, huh?"

"Don't tell them, but I got them a tube of tennis balls each for Christmas"

"You're such a dog mom, it's unbelievable," he grins, she nudges him and brings out her flask of hot tea "You come prepared, huh?"

"Always, if it's a nice day and sunny, we sit on the rocks just there, me and the dogs, I read a few chapters of my book and then go home"

"Pretty perfect, huh?" Jonathan teases, she nods

"Yeah, it really is," she confirms "But you're welcome to stay here for Thanksgiving, you might have to share the pullout with your brother though"

"We can set up the cot that's in the garage," he considers "I know it's somewhere, me and Will can have the living room, it'll be fine, mom"

"It might be worth getting that out actually," she says quietly, he nods

"We can do that when we get back, put it in the cupboard under the stairs, it'll be fine," he smirks and Joyce nudges him softly before groaning at the dogs chasing after each other "Do they always do that?"

"Yeah, when Duke gets the ball first, Darcy is a little shit to put it mildly," she huffs and Jonathan whistles, they stop and rush over to them, dropping the ball in front of Joyce

Jonathan bends down and throws it for them.

"Mom?" he starts, and she turns to look at him, pulling her heat down a little "Will you get Hop to call me when it happens?"

She softens immensely.

"Of course, honey," Joyce pouts her lips a little, "Actually, I was wondering if you'd watch the dogs, or at least come around to feed them and let them out"

"Yeah, that's cool, I can do that," he confirms with a grin "They're great, I'm glad you got them"

She hums and smiles.

"Me too"

Thanksgiving brings both Jonathan and Will to their home, Hopper's working a double so the majority of his squad can have the day off. The boys bring food, Will makes homemade pizza, and both Joyce and Jonathan are forced to pick out their toppings. It's great, they play games, and Jonathan makes cocktails for him and his brother, mocktails for Joyce. She feels a little bad that Hopper's missing out on it all really, but she knows he's working hard to protect their town, their community.

"This is really good," Joyce confirms as she drinks her drink, Jonathan grins "Seriously, where did you learn how to make these?"

"I got a class for cheap in the city," he shrugs and Will grins at him "It's amazing the deals you can find, really"

Joyce frowns a little and places her hand on her belly, Will narrows his eyes at her.

"Are you ok, mom?" he rushes over to her and she nods, closing her eyes "Are you in pain, shall I call dad-"

The words die on his tongue, and he stares at her wide eyed, she softens a little and smiles at that, she lets out a long breath and nods.

"Yeah, I'm good," she sighs a little "Just running out of room in there, that's all, it gets a little uncomfortable towards the end"

"Yeah, it must be weird sharing your body with another human," Jonathan pulls a face at the thought, Will grimaces at that "More snacks, people?"

Will nods and Joyce watches him go into the kitchen, she pats the space beside her, and Will sits up with her so she takes his hand.

"He won't mind you know," she studies him closely "Hop, if you call him dad to his face"

"I know, I know…" he drops his gaze "He's been more of a dad to me than…my actual dad, I'm just scared I'm going to scare him off, that's all, just don't tell him"

Joyce nods slowly and leans back against the couch, Darcy walks down the stairs and sits in her bed, Duke joins her, and they curl up together.

"Another game?" Jonathan grabs the cards and Joyce nods, Will moves to sit on the floor "Don't let mom win"

"I swear you cheat," Will scowls at her and Joyce giggles, she reaches for her hand and leans forward "If Hop can't beat her, we have no chance"

"Hey don't put yourselves down," Joyce snorts a little "I'll go easy"

Jonathan scoffs.

"Yeah, because your version of easy is so easy," he drones and Will smirks "If you weren't growing my baby brother or sister, I'd make this a drinking game"

"Don't let me stop you," she laughs "I can just do shots of apple juice or something"

"Ok fine," Will gets up to grab the bottle and a shot glass "You're on"

Hopper comes home to them all still up, they're still playing cards, and he grabs a beer, sitting next to Joyce and looking at her hand, he nods and slides his arm around her middle, she asks how work was and Will slams his hand down on the table causing Joyce and Jonathan to groan, they do another shot each causing Hopper to laugh at the apple juice bottle. Will says he can join the next round if he likes, he says he's going to go upstairs to have a shower, she pulls him down for a quick kiss and he tucks his fingers under her chin as Jonathan places a card down, she follows and then Will does after.

She yawns and says one more round with Hopper and then she's heading to bed.

She lets the dogs out into the yard and then smiles when Hopper appears and sits down with them, Jonathan moves to the floor and they start up another game. When they finish after Joyce wins, again, the boys set up the pull-out and the cot while Joyce heads upstairs to bed with Hopper.

"Hey" she mumbles through a mouthful of toothpaste, he appears behind her and lifts her belly up "That feels so good"

"Your back giving you hell again?"

She nods tiredly.

"You look pretty," he kisses her on the side of the hair "Your hair is so long now"

He gathers it up in his hands, he runs his fingers through it and begins to braid it, she frowns a little and smiles when he reaches for her wrist, he tugs the hair tie off it and secures the braid at the end.

"When did you learn how to do that?" she asks quietly, he hums

"El taught me on a doll, forced me to do it until I got it right" he says, Joyce snorts a little "She wanted me to lean so that when she grew her hair out I could braid it for but then everything happened with Will, then the mall we never got the chance"

"You did that for her?" she softens, he nods

"Couldn't master French braids, that was too complicated," he chuckles and Joyce hums a little "But a simple braid like that is just about all I can manage"

She turns around and hooks her arms around his neck, she draws him in for a kiss, and he brushes his fingers down her back.

"Getting closer now," she sighs softly, he nods and smiles a little "I'm kind of nervous"

"It's been a long time for both of us," he considers, she nods slowly "Clarissa knows the house number ok, she's got it on a sticky note on her computer so…she'll know to pick up straight away if you call"

Joyce sucks in a breath and nods.

"We still have over a month until you're full term, hopefully we can get Christmas out of the way and then…we can be on baby watch and if the kid decides to come late, I will personally give them their eviction notice to make you happy"

"And if they ignore you?"

"I'm the Chief of Police," he snorts "They ignore me and make their mom uncomfortable, they'll be eternally grounded"

She rolls her eyes and pulls him down for a kiss, she sighs softly and hums a little.

"What's going through your head?"

"I don't really know," she says "I kind of feel a little spaced out"

He tilts his head to the side.

"Sleep?" he offers, she nods and closes her eyes at the thought

"Yeah," she nods "Sleep"

Maybe she just needs to be held.

It turns cold quickly, icy too, and Joyce tells him not to use de-icing salt because of the dogs, he nods and tells her to be careful if she's going out, as it’s slippery. She lights the fire and sits on the gym ball her doctor recommended Hopper buy for her, it takes the pressure off her back tremendously. Their last check-up was plain sailing really, they said the baby's measuring well, heart beat was good, and all of her stats were great too, and that was a relief. Every morning she eats her muesli or porridge and watches the local news and grimaces at the thought of snow in January, she hopes it holds off for the entire month but she's unsure it will, the last thing she wants to do is bring her child home from the hospital in such cold conditions. She bounces gently and lets out a long sigh, she decides to do some baking, opting to make cookies, she tries out a new recipe and is pleasantly surprised when they turn out good. The dogs want to go for a walk, so she puts their coats on and they head out to the beach where it was better to walk.

"Hey"

Hopper walks into the house as she's getting ready to go out, she hums and smiles at him.

"What are you doing here?" she frowns "You didn't have half a day?"

"No, I didn't, but…we're really slow, so Clarissa said I should be with you and that I deserve it for all the work I did last month"

She softens.

"She didn't have to do that"

"I know, but she wanted to," he sighs "You heading out for a walk?"

"We are, she keeps kicking the ball under the couch, I'm tired so I need her to burn off some energy before we both go crazy," Joyce mutters as Darcy jumps up at her "Down girl, come on, we're going if dad gets a move on"

"Let me get my shoes and we'll walk," he nods, she smiles and bends down, Darcy licks her face and Duke joins in

"I know daddy's coming with us, yes," she pets them both, and Darcy barks wanting to go out this instant "You're so impatient"

"Come on, then," Hopper brings out Joyce's scarf, he wraps it around her neck and shakes his head "I don't want you catching a chill Joy"

"I know, I know," she says "You can help throw the ball, I'm way too big to bend down and pick it up now"

He snorts.

"Less than a month unless it's overdue," he considers, she nods and hums softly "Exercise is good, I guess, might help get things moving"

"Let's hope," she whispers "I don't want it to come Christmas, Hop, any time after is fine, I can take that but I just want one last Christmas with us and the boys"

He nods and squeezes her gloved hand.

Jonathan calls and asks to stay for Christmas Eve to the New Year, Joyce smiles at the thought of having her eldest close to her, so she nods and says that he's more than welcome to. Hopper cooks now that he's back home at a reasonable time every evening, he brings out this cookbook one of his detectives gave him, and they try some of the dishes. Joyce comes to realise she doesn't exactly feel right at the moment, something is off, so he watches over her so closely, scared to go to work in case something happens.

She's so unsettled, like something is bothering her.

"Can you install the car seat?" she asks him, he hums and nods "I just think…I don't know, it's not…it's in my back, it's a lot, Hop"

"Of course, honey," he kisses her on the head, "Do you want me to draw you up a bath once I'm done?"

She nods tiredly, throwing her head back and groaning.

The phone goes off, so she goes to answer it, sighing as she presses it to her ear.

"Hey mom"

"Oh, hi baby!" she lifts her voice up a bit "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he says, her youngest sounded tired "Just studying a lot, creating a portfolio too, it's a lot"

"I can imagine, is this you asking if you can come for Christmas?"

"Yeah, if that's ok, we're going to do our own little thing at the apartment together tomorrow before everyone travels back home," he explains "Is it ok if I come the day after?"

"Yeah, of course sweetie, I can't say I'll be the best of company, but we can set up the cot in the nursery for you," she offers "Give you a bit of privacy that way"

"It's fine mom, I don't mind sleeping in the living room, Darcy and Duke are good company," he says and she sighs a little at a twinge in her back "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just tired," she says "We can talk more in couple of days, yeah?"

"Yeah," he agrees "See you soon, mom"

"Bye Will," she hums and places the phone back down, she walks out to the drive and shivers "Jesus, it's cold out here Hop"

"Go inside," he points at her, she huffs in annoyance "Joyce it's fucking freezing, inside please"

"Will's coming for Christmas," she says, a tone of tiredness in her voice "Just thought I'd let you know"

"That's great honey, but what isn't great is you being out here in the cold, so inside please," he gives her a look and she pads back inside

He secures the car seat in the back of Joyce's car, he then goes back inside, and she's there just drinking out of the milk carton, so he pulls a face.

"Hop," she looks at him, he walks over to her "I think it's going to come soon"

"It's early," he says quietly and she rolls her shirt up, he hums "You have dropped a lot actually,"

She presses her hand into the top of her belly and huffs a little in annoyance, she puts the milk back and stretches her back.

"What can I do?" he asks her, she stares up at him as tears prick her eyes "Oh, don't cry…"

He pulls her in for a hug.

"I'm just miserable," she complains, he chuckles lightly "It's not funny"

"I know, I know," he reasons, running his fingers through her hair "Sorry, baby"

She shakes her head.

"Bath?" he offers, she nods tiredly "Go on, go upstairs and I'll get everything ready for you, I'll even sit on the floor with you, yeah?"

She nods, tired.

He's on the bathroom floor while she soaks away in the tub, he's got his hand resting on her belly, and she closes her eyes as his fingers dance over her skin, scratching lightly. Joyce yawns and passes her shampoo to him, he wets her hair and rubs it into her scalp, he then washes it out before grabbing her conditioner and lathering it into the ends. He washes it out and then helps her up out of the tub, he dries her off and then grabs her pyjamas, he helps her into them and uses one of his shirts as a top, she yawns and sits on the edge of the bed.

He grabs her hair dryer and dries it, thoroughly.

He bends down in front of her.

"Pain scale?" he asks, taking her hands and she swallows, dropping her gaze to her belly

"It's not too bad," she says "Promise, I just…I hate this end part, hated it with both of the boys too"

He nods, running his hand over her belly.

"I just want to get Christmas out of the way," she says "Then I can focus on whatever is going on in my womb"

He chuckles at that.

"Do you want a push present?" he asks, she pulls a face at him, and he grins "I could find the best bottle of champagne out there, or I could…I don't know, give you something you really want?"

"Seriously?" she looks at him, he nods with a grin "I don't really know what I want, can I think about it?"

He nods and grins at her, she lies on her side so he settles behind her, a hand on her belly.

"Stay in there until after Christmas, you," he taps the side of her belly "You're not allowed to leave before then, ok? Kick if you understand"

"You're such an idiot," Joyce giggles, snorting a little at the end of it "As if this kid listens to anything we say"

"She's like her mom, stubborn"

She turns around and narrows her eyes.

"She?" she challenges him, he groans and buries his face in the pillow "Yeah exactly, you gave me shit for that, Hop-"

"No, I didn't give you shit, I just questioned you," he smirks "Like you're doing now"

"We're equal," she considers, poking his cheek, he grins at her "For once"

"Everything always has to be a competition," he snorts, she rests her head on his shoulder, her hand joining his that rests on her belly "Are we doing points?"

"Points?" she frowns, he nods

"Yeah, when me and Diane had Sara, we did points, when she did something for either one of us on command, we'd get a point"

He studies her closely as her face falls.

"Hey?" he whispers "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad"

"No, no, you didn't, sometimes it just hits me, well it's hit me a lot more recently that this is going to be so different from the boys, having a supportive partner, this kid having a father who actually cares about parenting and not leaving it up to the mother only"

He softens.

"It's just hitting me a lot more at the moment that this situation is real and I'm living it right now, I just wish my boys could have had someone like you in their lives when they were younger"

"They have me now, that's a promise," he says, she nods with a small smile

"I'd get more points anyway," she says, he groans in annoyance "I have the boobs"

"That's unfair," he scowls, brushing her hair behind her ear, she smiles "It's good to see you smiling again, I know it probably won't be for long and that you're uncomfortable as hell but just seeing you smile is a win in my eyes"

She kisses him softly at that.

Christmas is a cozy affair really, Hopper gets a tree discounted so close to the big day, and they decorate it with Will. He's serious about it and it makes Joyce smile, he colour coordinates it to the point Hopper's grumbling in annoyance at the whole thing. That's when Will calls Hopper dad to his face, that's when Hopper almost bursts into tears in front of him when he pulls him in for a hug after he proudly showed off his Christmas tree masterpiece. Jonathan calls by late Christmas Eve and they spend the night playing card games together.

They bring in Christmas day, with a meal that Joyce barely touches, she's not interested in food at the moment, and that makes everyone on edge. They open gifts and Will explains how he commissioned one of his art friends to make a baby blanket for his baby sibling, Joyce almost cries on the spot and he explains how they worked on the embroidered text of their last name on the corner of it.

Hopper notices immediately that it's his handwriting, and Will offers to Jonathan that when they have a first name he can add it above with his own handwriting.

Joyce immediately puts it in the hospital bag.

That night she wakes with a groan, she tosses and turns before moving to sit in the nursery with a glass of water, listening to the sounds of the sea lapping on the shore.

"Hey" he whispers, she shakes her head "I missed you in bed"

"Contractions, I think," she says quietly, he nods and bends down in front of her "Woke me up"

He reaches out to place his hand on her belly.

"Anything I can do?"

"I kind of want the ball up here," she bites her lip "I don't want to wake the boys though"

"I can sneak around them," he says and stands up, she nods and just lets him go because she didn't want to fight, she yawns and shifts in her seat

"Stay in for a few more days," she says quietly, rubbing the crest of her belly, "Just a few more days, honey, then you can come out kicking and screaming"

She rocks back and forth in the chair, smiling when Hopper returns with the ball, she gets up and walks back into their room as he places it down on the floor, she sits on it by the window and looks out.

"Here" he whispers, kneeling down on the floor and rubbing his fingers into her back, she moans softly "Is that pressure ok?"

"Really good," she confirms, nodding "That's really good Hop"

"Think it might be tomorrow?"

"No, this is just back labour," she whispers "Pressure as it gets into position, I had the same with Jonathan, but then again, I did end up having him at home-"

"You had him at home?"

"Yeah, first baby, I was clueless, Hop," she laughs a little, he hums "Lonnie came home and called the ambulance, pushed him out on the bedroom floor with the help of the paramedics"

Hopper smiles to himself.

"He came into the world screaming," she shakes her head, a fond smile on her face at the memory "I was so happy to have him in my arms"

"And Will?"

"Me and Lonnie we were in a good place, although looking back at it now I don't think we were but he drove me to the hospital, he really wanted a girl, one of each is what he wanted so when Will was born…"

"Everything went downhill from there?"

She nods sadly.

"I don't regret any of it and…" she shakes her head "I was going to have my tubes tied actually after that, I had the appointment booked and everything but that day Jonathan was sent home from the babysitter sick so I had to cancel, I never rescheduled and in a way I'm glad because I get to do this with you"

He softens, and she groans a little, pausing in her movements.

"Contraction?" he whispers, she nods and shudders out a breath "What does the folder say?"

"Contractions five minutes apart or something, then if my water breaks we go so…" she shrugs, he nods slowly "When that happen’s we need to race to the hospital and fast because if this kid is anything like Will and Jonathan…"

"Yeah," he nods "Ok, yeah, that's…a good point"

"We're good for now," she says "I had this with Will a week before he was born, stop start labour all the way before it switched up quickly"

"Jesus, you're scaring me that we're not going to get to the hospital on time," Hopper laughs, she takes his hand and squeezes it

"It'll be ok, Hop," she says quietly "I'm just worried in case it snows, obviously, the boys are here, so we're not alone if things pick up quickly"

"Ok, yeah," he nods as she shifts onto the floor, she leans over the ball to look over at him "Wanna try and get some sleep now?"

She shakes her head.

"Not yet," she says quietly "Just stay here with me for a bit"

During the run up to New Years Eve things slow down before ramping up again, Will and Jonathan stay at the house mostly while Hopper goes to work for a few hours each day just to keep the station in check. Joyce is really unsettled and Hopper calls the hospital just to alert them that things might be happening, they get a bed ready for her and that's one less thing to worry about. Jonathan and Will walk the dogs for them, and Hopper just watches Joyce as she tries to labour, it's hard on her, and he can tell she's exhausted at the whole thing.

"Hop," she croaks, he runs his fingers through her hair, his hand moving to her back to rub softly "I think it's today"

She moans softly and buries her face in the couch, he takes her hand and she squeezes it.

"December twenty-ninth," he hums, she nods and yawns "Or thirtieth"

"Yeah," she says "Or thirtieth"

He rolls the ball towards her, she moves to sit on it, holding his hands to help her balance as she whimpers softly, her head hanging a little as her fists clenched.

"That hurt?" he asks her, she nods "You're doing amazing"

"I'll be pissed off if nothing happens, this feels more familiar though," she growls a little "I'm so tired of this bullshit, four days this has been happening on and off, give me a fucking break"

He snorts a little and goes to get her some water, she bounces and smiles when Darcy rushes through the front door, she licks her belly and Joyce runs her hands over her head and ears.

"She knows something's up," Jonathan says as he toes off his boots "She didn't want to walk at all, neither did Duke really"

Joyce reaches out for Jonathan, he takes her hand and gives it a squeeze, Will sits on the couch, and Duke joins him, resting his head on his leg.

She squeezes Jonathan's hand, and Hopper mouths something to him so he nods, she groans and whines a little when her belly tightens.

"What does it feel like?" Will asks

"Like I'm having about ten period cramps at once," she snaps and Will snorts a little, he holds his hands up at Jonathan when he scowls at him "Jesus, neither of you had this level of assholery about you"

"Wow, thanks mom," Will pulls a face, she huffs in annoyance and stands up using Jonathan to help her upright "I'll get the kid to use that as a blackmail tactic when they're older"

She pauses and looks down, her jaw dropping a little, and Jonathan raises his brows, Will hums a little and gets up trying not to laugh when his mom looks at him.

"Don't you blame this on me, mom," Will gives her a look, she whacks him on the shoulder and glares

"Hopper!" Jonathan calls and Will walks out to the car

"Dad!" Will walks outside as he packs the car "Mom's water broke!"

"Jesus, ok," he rushes in from the car and Joyce looks at him, "This is happening then? Will, can you find us some towels?"

She whimpers and he looks at her, Jonathan passes her over to him and she whines a little, shaking her head so he guides her to the car, Will rushes out to pass the towels over and Hopper places them on the passenger seat.

"We need to go, hospital's some drive," he explains and Jonathan nods, he brings him in for a hug "Hey she's going to be ok, maybe start calling people yeah, just close friends?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's…" he nods "Good idea, good luck!”

Hopper drives, and he’s sure Joyce is going to break his hand by the time they get there. She whimpers and he just moves his hand to her belly, soothing softly. She groans and winces, so he says she’s doing good, and that it’ll be over soon. They sit in silence for the rest of the ride as he senses she needs it. They get to the hospital and they’re brought into a delivery room, it’s calm, it’s not that clinical and they knew they picked right, he remembers Joyce’s complaints about Will’s birth seeming so clinical but this was a mix of that with lights that can dim and plenty of space for her to move around for a more natural approach and he is so glad they shopped around for that. She sobs in discomfort as they hook her up to a monitor, they check her over too, blood pressure, vitals, a feel of her belly, and they let her be to labour in peace.

He guides her to the ball, and she sits on it, bending over the bed as he rubs her back through the gown.

“Hmm,” she circles her hips slowly, moaning as he continues to massage her back, she turns to look at the monitor “It’s picking up more, it's stronger now”

“You’re doing well, baby,” he kisses the space between her shoulder blades “So well, I'm so proud of you”

She shudders out a breath, bouncing gently and humming at the feel of his hands on her back, it's so soothing in a way, to have him close like that.

“We haven't talked about names,” she says slowly, breathing out before whimpering “Jesus, this is rough Hop”

“That was a quick one,” he watches her as she grabs a fistful of the sheets “I like Charlie for a boy”

“Could also be for a girl,” Joyce whispers, laughing a little before wincing “Jonathan says we should be millennial about it”

Hopper laughs loudly.

“I think I want to be different with this one, the boys, they're common names really,” Joyce reasons, breathing slow “I want to go with a name you don't really hear”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah”

“Sophie’s nice for a girl,” he reasons, she nods and looks over her shoulder at him “Daniel for a boy, Frankie for a girl, Felix for a boy”

“Oh Felix is nice, you don't hear of many Felix's,” she turns around and he helps her, holding her hands to help her balance “Natasha for a girl?”

“Oh!” he nods, grinning “I like that actually”

She smiles and groans a little, her eyes closing as he holds her hands, letting her squeeze them.

“Lucy?” she suggests “That’s nice, what do you think?”

“Yeah,” Hopper nods “Noah for a boy, Adam for a boy too and Jacob”

“Jake,” she matches and he hums, she looks at the monitor and then back at him “Kyle”

“No,” he shakes his head “I don't like that one”

She nods and studies his face, he smiles at her and then goes to the bag, he gets her out a cardigan and puts it over her shoulders.

“Caroline,” she hums, frowning a little, she whimpers and reaches out for him “Hold on a minute”

He moves back to take her hand as she whistles out a breath, shaking her head, she looks so tired, so he moves to kiss the back of her hand.

“I like Caroline, Catherine too,” he reasons “Catherine Hopper has a nice ring to it, sounds like an author of a book”

She laughs at that, whimpering a little.

“What do you think they’ll like?” she asks when she can finally speak again, he hums knowing he hasn't given it much thought “Hobbies, stuff like that”

“The arts like their mom and brothers,” he reasons “Maybe dance or…theatre like you, singing? Maybe they'll be famous, be on Broadway”

Joyce laughs a little, and a tear rolls down her cheek.

“Hop?”

“Yeah?” he shuffles closer to her, resting his forehead against hers, she groans a little and circles her hips again

“It hurts,” she whispers and he chuckles a little, brushing the backs of his fingers against her cheek “It’s not funny”

“Sorry,” he kisses her on the forehead, she whimpers and he cradles her head close to him as a nurse walks in

They pass her over the gas and she immediately slides it into her mouth. She sobs as it ramps up throughout the evening, time edging closer to midnight, she was doing so well, and Hopper does anything to help, even if he does feel a bit useless. He gets her ice and gets her heat for her back, she rocks slowly, circling her hips on the ball, and Hopper just tells her stories about his time in the academy after ‘nam, what it was like in the city back then. She smiles to herself and says she wants to move back to the bed, exhaustion taking over. He helps her, he helps set it up so she can bend over the top, he rubs her back and soon enough their doctor walks in. Joyce cries out in agony, and Hopper asks what she needs, she turns around and uses him as leverage as a nurse checks herr.

The nurse gives a discreet nod at Hopper, knowing Joyce was very much in the zone, she seemed semi-peaceful right now, so he just kisses her on the forehead, urging her away so he can look into her eyes

“Ready, baby?” he studies her closely, she nods, her hands braced on his shoulders “Do you want to move, or are you happy in this position?”

“Here,” she says, whimpering “It’s less on my back”

He nods.

“I can do it,” she shifts a little, she buries her face in his shoulder, swaying her hips a little “This happened quick, Hop, quicker than Will and that was quick”

“Yeah?” he laughs a little, she nods “If we were ten years younger, I’d have another five with you, Joy”

She pinches him for that comment alone.

He’s so proud of her, really, she holds onto him and gives a long push, muffling her screams in his shoulder, the doctor slides on some gloves and Joyce whimpers, she grabs hold of him harder and uses his body as leverage, panting softly before pushing down once more.

“That’s it,” Hopper whispers into her neck, the nurse studies the monitor “You’re doing so well baby, I love you”

She sobs and kisses him gently, she puts the gas in her mouth, chewing on the mouthpiece as another contraction builds, she moans as she pushes, crying out as the baby crowns fully, a tear rolling down her cheek that he wipes away with the pad of his thumb. Hopper kisses her forehead, and the doctor kneels on the bed, sliding the cord over the baby’s head.

“One more so we can get the shoulders out, Joyce,” the doctor says, and Joyce nods, she rests her hands on Hopper’s shoulders “When you’re ready”

She feels it build, so she nods, sliding the mouthpiece into her mouth as she pushes, the nurse waits behind Hopper, and Joyce gasps when she feels that release from her body.

A loud cry echoes around the room, and she sobs, Hopper does too, kissing her on the head as she kisses his neck gently, trembling almost in his arms.

She moves back, balancing and reaching down, guiding her unborn child through her legs to her chest, cradling close, supporting their head.

“You’ve done this before,” the nurse smiles, and Joyce chuckles

“Last time I'm doing it, that's for sure,” she mutters and Hopper laughs at her before covering his mouth as she holds their baby "Welcome to the world, honey"

Hopper sobs and leans over to kiss her on the head.

“Hop, we did it, we have a baby,” she sobs, looking down and softening at the loud cries that leave their child's mouth, she brushes her fingers over the baby's damp skin

“Joyce,” he wipes his eyes as the nurse helps her back to lean against the bed, she sobs again and cranes, her neck to press her lips against the top of her child's head “Joyce, we have a baby”

She cries even more, nodding as she studies her child, the nurse passes her another blanket, and she laughs a little.

“Hop, we were right,” she sobs, looking up at him through teary eyes “It’s a girl”

He sobs even more, and she does too, tears streaming down her face, he kisses her on the top of her head, and she’s quick to adjust the baby in her arms, letting her latch immediately.

“Joyce,” he sobs, she nods, smiling in awe “I love you so much”

“Jim,” she smiles up at him “I love you too”

He just watches her and brushes her hair out of her face as she feeds their child, the nurse sets up the clamps for Hopper to cut the cord, and he wipes his eyes. His hands tremble when he holds the scissors, the nurse explains where to cu,t that it may be tough at first but it's perfectly normal.

He slices through the tie that binds mother and baby together, Joyce wipes her eyes and the doctor checks her over, Hopper reaches out to place his finger in his daughter's hand, and Joyce smiles up at him.

"You can weigh her now," Joyce looks at the nurse, she smiles and takes the baby, "Go with her"

She nods, and Hopper stumbles over to the scale, the nurse turns the light on and places the baby down on a paper sheet, Hopper laughs a little.

"Guess how much Joy" he looks over at her, she hums a little

"Seven pounds two ounces?" she hums and Hopper grins a little, shaking his head "Just below then, she weighs around the same as Will did, I think"

"Yeah, she's six nine," Hopper says, and the nurse passes the baby back to him after putting a fresh diaper on, she wraps the baby in a blanket too "Hey baby girl"

She wails and Joyce snorts a little as Hopper walks over to her, he passes the baby back to her and she holds her close and shakes her head in disbelief.

"I still can't believe that happened," she laughs, he nods and sits on the edge of the bed, he drops a kiss onto Joyce's head "I didn't expect it to happen so quickly when things picked up"

"I don't think it was that quick," he reasons "It did seem like it was though"

Joyce stares down at her daughter.

"December thirtieth," he murmurs "Another birthday to add into the calendar"

She snorts and shakes her head.

"Bridging the gap between both kids," he suggests, Joyce hums a little "Maybe we can forgive her for coming ten days early"

"You won't be saying that when the sleepless nights start"

He groans at the thought.

A nurse helps Joyce shower and clean up while Hopper snuggles their daughter, she falls asleep on him, and he doesn't have the heart to move her, it gives Joyce a chance to take a quick nap at least before she'd need feeding again. They took it in turns holding the baby and sleeping, they had this reclining chair that Hopper slept on for some of the night while Joyce watched over her daughter, not wanting her to leave her sight. The sun rose and Hopper woke, he hums and stretches, Joyce gets off the bed and goes to the hospital bag, she pulls out a sleep suit with a matching hat, she grabs the baby blanket as well and gets back on the bed.

"I know," Joyce whispers as the baby cries "You need a name, huh?"

She unravels the blanket and then pulls the sleep suit on, fastening the buttons and then securing the hat, she shifts back and rests her daughter against her chest, securing the blanket over them both.

"Is that better, honey?" she kisses the baby on the head, soon enough she settles and Hopper hums a little "You should call the boys"

"Yeah?" he hums, she nods "We can keep it our little secret a while longer?"

She shakes her head.

"I miss them," she murmurs, Hopper nods and stands up "Besides, I know they're excited to meet her deep down, so give them a call, yeah?"

He nods and goes to the phone.

The boys come around midday, Hopper waits for them in the parking lot before grinning at the snacks they brought them both, he's grateful in a way because it meant that he didn't have to pay extortionate prices at the shop nearby. They go up to Joyce's room and they all sign in before they take the walk down a long corridor, he opens the door and steps in, and Joyce smiles a little before grinning at the boys.

"We got you food," Jonathan says with a smile, Will nods and sits on the edge of the bed "Stopped off on the way"

"You're a star," Joyce murmurs, grateful "Come here, both of you, meet your sister"

"Oh!" Will beams "A sister!"

Joyce grins and adjusts the baby in her arms so they can have a look at her, she stretches and Joyce hushes her softly as Will stares at her.

"You can hold her if you guys like, just gotta wash your hands with the gel," Hopper nods and Jonathan goes to do that, Will too "Who knew they'd be excited?"

Joyce raises her eyebrows and shifts over a little.

"Can I go first?" Will asks, Joyce laughs and pats the space beside her "I just have to support her head, right?"

"You'll get it, you can't exactly do it wrong," she hums and passes the baby over, she whimpers and lets out a small sigh as she settles in her brother's arms "She likes you more than your dad"

Hopper groans and Jonathan pats him on the shoulder.

"Maybe I give off good energy," Will reasons and Joyce grins at him, he stands up and then sits in the chair holding his sister "Does she have a name yet?"

"We're still deciding," Joyce shrugs and Jonathan sits on the end of the bed, Will grins down and coos at his sister "We'll think of something, but we're welcome to any suggestions"

"You'll shit on all of them so we're not falling into that trap," Jonathan mutters and Joyce rolls her eyes, she smiles as Will rocks his sister "She's really small"

"She didn't feel that small coming out of me," Joyce pulls a face, grimacing a little "But you were smaller than her actually, Will was the biggest out of both of you to be honest with Hop's height I'm surprised she wasn't bigger"

"She did come early, though," Jonathan says

"Not that early," Joyce laughs a little so Jonathan shrugs "She's going to fall asleep on you Will"

He gently moves his sister so she's lying on his chest, he laughs a little and hushes her softly, he raises his eyebrows when his sister's eyes sink shut.

"You can't move now," Hopper snorts, Joyce hums and Jonathan takes his camera out "I was hoping you'd bring that"

"Don't worry, I won't use the flash," he says and Joyce nods, he bends down in front of Will "Saved up for this one, it's the latest model"

Joyce smiles as he takes a picture, Will smiles and looks down at his sister, smiling so Jonathan takes another before grinning.

"Hold her, Jonathan, she's so cute," Will pouts his lips and Jonathan rolls his eyes, Hopper sits with Joyce and she leans into his body "I'll take a picture of you both"

"Don't break my camera," he warns, Will rolls his eyes

"I'm not going to break it," he shakes his head and passes the baby over, Jonathan sits down and holds her, she whimpers and then begins to cry "She likes me more"

"Shush," Jonathan whispers, Will takes a picture "Don't take a picture of her crying on me, Jesus Will"

He snorts and Joyce smiles, she hums and takes Hopper's hand, giving it a soft squeeze.

"Look, she's settling," Will points out and takes another picture "She needs a name, maybe I should have got you both a book of baby names for Christmas"

"Oh, very funny," Hopper scolds playfully, Will grins and Jonathan passes his sister back to his mom

"Hey baby," she kisses her daughter on the head, she snuggles into her chest so Will drapes the blanket over them both "Thanks, honey"

She hushes her daughter, pressing her face to the top of her head.

"She has that new baby smell," she murmurs, closing her eyes "Did you call everyone yesterday?"

"We called Karen, she said congratulations and that she can't wait to meet her, whatever that means, but she'll let everyone who needs to know back in Hawkins, I think she might call you in a weeks time"

Joyce groans at the thought.

"If you guys are going home, can you give this to the dogs, just so they have your sisters scent," Hopper nods and Jonathan nods, he puts the muslin in his bag "Thanks kid, just want to make sure they have some time to get used to her before we come home"

"Of course," Jonathan grins "And you guys need to think of a name, so we're going to go and walk the dogs, give you time to think"

Jonathan moves to hug his mom, Will follows him and hugs her too, she smiles and Hopper places a hand on her head.

"Come on, I'll walk you out," Hopper nods and Jonathan smiles "Will you be ok with little Miss?"

Joyce nods, kissing her daughter on the head, she pats her back gently and waves goodbye to Jonathan and Will as Hopper leads them out.

He returns to Joyce standing by the window, she has a cup of coffee in her hands, and he pulls her in for a hug from behind, he hums a little at their daughter fast asleep in the bassinet so he goes to make himself a coffee too. Joyce gets back on the bed and she says the doctor might discharge her later, so Hopper nods, it would be good to get out of here when they don't really need to be here. She frowns a little and places her hand on her daughter’s belly, he narrows his eyes and watches her as she thinks.

"Talia," she whispers, Hopper raises his eyebrows, he stands up and looks down at his daughter "Talia, what do you think of that?"

"Talia," he smiles and bends down "Talia Hopper"

She hums.

"Middle name?" he asks and she shrugs a little "Or are we breaking tradition?"

"I was thinking we break tradition," she grins and he nods at her "Do you like it…I mean, it's different, isn't it, or we can keep trying to find something else?"

He shakes his head.

"No, I like it," he nods, smiling as he scoops the baby up into his arms, she looks up at him before closing her eyes "Are you a Talia? Or are you something else?"

"Hop, she doesn't speak," she giggles, he shakes his head

"I'm asking her a very important question, Joyce" he tuts, she snorts a little "She's going to have this name for life, I want her to be happy with it"

"You'd get more of answer out of a brick wall," she grins and Hopper sighs a little, he kisses his daughter on the forehead and stares at her "Life is so easy that age isn't it, eat, sleep, go to the toilet, be cared for twenty-four seven"

He snorts.

"Have it good while you can, kid," Hopper laughs a little, grinning when his daughter stretches in his arms "Talia…where did you come up with that?"

"I don't know Hop, really, it just popped into my head and we wanted to break away from tradition so…it sounds different so I just thought…"

"I like it a lot," he confirms "I think she does too"

"She's a baby Hop," she snorts "She's more interested in sleeping and eating rather than giving a single shit about the name we give her"

"Don't say that," Hopper pouts his lips "She's pretty perfect though, we made a cute kid"

"Yeah," she whispers "Yeah we really did"

The next day they're discharged, Hopper drives ever so carefully home, Joyce sits in the back with the baby, letting her hold on to her finger. They pull up on the drive and Joyce smiles when Hopper grabs the car seat, they walk into the house and Joyce hums at the smell of food, Jonathan rounds the corner and says they've made a lasagne for lunch and Joyce softens at the effort they made. They set the car seat on the table, and Hopper takes the baby out, Will explains the dogs are in the yard, so Joyce nods, she goes to sit on the couch and takes Talia into her arms, cradling her.

"Did you give them the blanket?" Hopper asks Jonathan, he nods "Good, ok, Will let’s try this, bring them both in and hold them by the collar"

He nods and grabs the dogs, he guides them in, and they look at Joyce, she adjusts the baby in her arms, and Darcy nudges Talia's foot with her nose she squirms a little in Joyce's arms.

"Gentle" Hopper pats her side, Darcy whimpers and then goes to her bed, Duke jumps up on the couch and rests his head on Joyce's knee "They seem ok with her"

"Hm, yeah," Joyce whispers, rocking the baby "Thanks you guys, for setting up the swing"

"Not a problem!" Will calls from the kitchen, he walks back out with coffee for them both and Joyce softens "Does she have a name yet?"

Jonathan leans against the wall and Hopper looks at Joyce, he nods so she grins a little.

"Talia," she hums, Jonathan grins and walks over to her, he bends down and studies his sister closely "What do you guys think of that-"

"Like from Batman, right?" Will looks at them, Joyce pulls a face "No? Ok then…"

"Oh Jesus, did we seriously name our kid after a comic book character," Hopper groans and Will snorts, grinning at him "Please tell me she's not a villain"

"Well…" Will scrunches his nose and looks at Jonathan who snorts "She's part of the league of assassins, known as the daughter of the demon so…take that as you will"

"Jesus," he pinches the bridge of his nose "Maybe we should have let them name her"

"Hey stop it!" Joyce scowls, shaking her head "She suits her name, and that's that, so shush, let her brothers geek out a little, yeah?"

"Yeah," Will scowls "It's a cute name though, I like it"

"Yeah, Talia has powers that can slow aging or something, right?" Jonathan looks at his brother, Will nods enthusiastically

"And she's really intelligent," Will confirms "Good at close combat too so you should definitely put her in karate when she’s old enough, it's kind of cool giving her a name like that because we can relate in a way, I don't know it makes me feel closer to her in a way, it's silly really"

"No honey, it's not," Joyce smiles and Hopper sits next to her, he kisses Joyce on the head "It's a good thing, I know you guys are twenty years older than her so any little time you spend with her, we love that"

Will hums and watches his sister as she stretches.

"Lasagne will be done in fifteen or so," Jonathan says and Joyce hums a little "Twenty five if you want me to crisp it up?"

"Oh yeah, that would be good," Joyce nods "I'm going to get a feed in so…if someone could get me a glass of water, that would be great"

She goes upstairs, and Hopper goes to get her some water, he then follows her and hums when she's sitting on the rocking chair in the nursery, he smiles a little and bends down, watching his daughter eat.

"Hey," he whispers, she smiles at him "Kids liked her name even if they did geek out a little"

She giggles and bites her lip.

"I'm happy, Hop," she looks at him, giving a little nod "Really happy, I didn't ever think I could be this happy and you did that, being with you and having our daughter, that's made me so happy"

She wipes her eyes, and he chuckles softly, he takes her hand and kisses it softly.

"I'm happy too, Joy," he whispers, "Our family, it's everything to me, baby"

She sniffles and nods.

"You're everything to me," he nods "You, the boys, Talia…you're everything"

Joyce wipes her eyes.

"Everything and more, I'd walk through fire for all of you because of that love and Joyce…we have a chance to do something beautiful here"

"Yeah," she croaks "Yeah, we really do"

He brings her hand to his mouth, he kisses her finger where her wedding ring lies, she smiles and nods, staring down at her daughter, he cocks his head to the side and smiles.

Finally, they were home.