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The night was cold, and Jonathan held Will tighter in his arms. He still felt shaken at the memory of Will screaming the way he did. His hands tightening around his mom’s neck.
He still couldn’t fully comprehend that all that had actually happened.
Nancy opened the door for him, and he stepped through with Will still in his arms. The inside of the house was quiet. Too quiet.
The house should never be quiet with the kids around. Jonathan was just starting to panic, the feeling cold and horribly familiar, when his eyes landed on the couch.
The kids were curled up together, sleeping. Safe. He didn’t even realise how worried he was until he felt the relief.
He realised Steve Harrington had been sat on the floor in front of the couch, leaning back into it, but now he was moving towards them. It still felt odd to Jonathan that him and Steve Harrington were, not friends, but allies. Brought together by monsters and an alternate dimension.
Steve had reached Nancy, and Jonathan turned slightly to go and lay Will down somewhere, but a sharp gasp from Nancy caused him to turn back.
“Oh my God, Steve!” She said loudly, staring at him. Her voice made the kids start to stir.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Steve replied, “The kids are fine.”
“What happened to you?” Joyce asked, concern spilling from her voice. Steve turned his head slightly to look at her, and Jonathan caught sight of his face.
His stomach dropped. Steve’s face was covered in dried blood and bruises. He could barely make out his actual skin underneath the damage.
Jonathan’s arms were growing tired, and he quickly walked over to his mom’s room and placed Will gently on the bed. He closed the door behind him as he walked back out to the living room.
“What happened?” Nancy was asking. Her voice was firm. She reached up a hand to Steve’s face, but he brushed it away.
“It was Billy Hargrove.” The voice came from behind them, and the older kids turned to see Dustin standing up from the couch. The others were right behind him.
“Where’s Will?” Mike demanded, “Is he okay?”
“Will’s fine, honey,” Joyce said softly, “We got it out of him.”
“Hang on,” Jonathan cut in, speaking for the first time since entering the house, “What happened with Billy Hargrove?”
He looked at Steve, but for the first time he noticed that his eyes were slightly dazed. He had a concussion, no doubt. He turned and looked back at the kids instead for answers.
“Billy came here,” the redhead - Max - explained, “He was looking for me, but he got angry when he saw Lucas. He doesn’t like Lucas.”
“Billy was threatening to kill him,” Mike jumped him, “He had Lucas pinned up against the wall.”
“He hurt you?” Joyce asked Lucas, her voice trembling with anger.
“No,” Dustin spoke up, “Cause Steve started beating the shit out of him.”
“Language,” Nancy said automatically.
“But then Billy smashed a plate over Steve’s head,” Max continued, “And then Steve passed out. And Billy kept hitting him.”
“He did what?” Nancy’s voice was tight with fury. Jonathan didn’t even need to look at her to know that her eyebrows would be pinched together in that way that happened when she was angry.
“And then what happened?” Jonathan pressed.
“Max injected him with Will’s sedative stuff,” Mike said, “And he passed out.”
“It was pretty badass.” Lucas was looking directly at Max, a small smile spreading across his face.
“Not as badass as Steve though,” Dustin interjected. He had a look of defensiveness on his face, as though he was desperate to make them all understand the extent of Steve’s actions.
Jonathan knew that Steve was never getting rid of these kids now.
“Where’s Billy now?” Joyce asked the kids.
“We don’t know,” Lucas spoke up, “He was gone by the time we got back”
“Lucas!” Max cried out, turning to face him. Mike and Dustin sighed in annoyance.
“Damn,” Lucas muttered, realising what he had let slip.
“‘Got back’? Where did you go?” Jonathan demanded. Honestly, these kids were impossible. They had been told to stay put. Was it really so hard? Steve was supposed to keep them in check.
Although he had been unconscious, Jonathan thought, so it wasn’t really fair to blame him.
“It wasn’t Steve’s fault,” Dustin said quickly, as though he could read Jonathan’s mind.
“It was our idea,” Mike admitted, “We wanted to go to the tunnels and burn them. To help Will.”
Joyce gasped. “You kids went down to the tunnels alone. With fire? Do you know how dangerous that is?”
“Well, we weren’t alone,” Lucas said, “Steve was with us. He woke up on the drive there.”
“Who drove?” Nancy asked. Her voice was quiet but powerful enough to silence the kids for a long moment.
“I did,” Max eventually spoke up.
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Jonathan said, trying to keep his anger in check, “You kids thought it was a good idea to go down into the tunnels and burn them, and you decided to drag Steve along with you, despite the fact he is clearly injured-“
“We didn’t drag him,” Dustin corrected him, “He chose to come.”
“It’s not like you gave him much choice,” Nancy shot back, her voice getting louder, “Was he supposed to just let you kids go down there on your own?”
“We told you to stay here and wait for us to get back!” Jonathan was shouting, his mind actually struggling to understand how the little shits thought this was a good idea.
“We had to help Will!” Mike yelled, stepping closer to Jonathan. “He’s our friend!”
“Could you all stop shouting?” Steve asked pathetically. His voice was quiet and slightly slurred. The kids all looked at him guiltily. Jonathan looked at him too, and saw that the guy looked even worse, if that was possible.
“Maybe you should sit down,” Nancy suggested gently. Her hand was on Steve’s arm, as if to steady him. She didn’t wait for Steve’s response, but instead guided him to sit on the couch. She sat beside him, her hand still on his arm.
The kids moved away a little, and looked at each other.
“We’re sorry,” Dustin said quietly, “We just wanted to help.”
“I know you did,” Nancy sighed. She turned her attention onto them. “Are you all okay?” Her gaze lingered on Mike for a moment longer, only moving back to Steve once all the kids had nodded that they were okay.
They seemed at a loss, and Jonathan decided to take charge.
“Okay, you four, sit down over there and stay put.” The kids sat down where he told them to obediently. “Mom, you should stay with Will, at least until Hopper and El come back.”
Joyce nodded slowly. It worried her that there was an injured child in her house, but she knew that Nancy and Jonathan would be able to take care of everything. And she was still deeply anxious about Will.
Jonathan watched her walk into her bedroom, satisfied that someone was keeping watch over Will in case something happened.
He turned his attention back to Steve. Nancy was trying to touch his face, but he pulled away.
“M’fine,” he mumbled. Steve was definitely not fine.
Jonathan turned on the kids, who were whispering to each other now. He picked one at random.
“Dustin. Go fill a bowl with water.” Dustin did as he was told.
Jonathan crouched down in front of the couch. Steve’s eyes were unfocused but after a moment they landed on his face.
Jonathan carefully brushed back a few loose strands of hair from Steve’s forehead. His fingers grazed the bruised skin, and Steve murmured something incoherent. Jonathan was struck again by just how awful he looked.
“You said Billy smashed a plate over his head?” Jonathan asked the huddle of kids.
“Yeah,” Mike responded shortly. Then, “Is he going to be okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” Nancy reassured her brother, although her words were fringed in uncertainty.
Dustin came back with the bowl and some cloths. He put it on the floor beside Jonathan, then hovered.
“Go sit down,” Jonathan told him. The last thing he needed was one of the kids standing over his shoulder.
Jonathan dipped one of the cloths in the water, and wrung it out. He lifted it up to Steve’s face, then hesitated. He steeled himself, and began to clean away the blood as gently as he could.
Steve hissed in pain, his head moving away from Jonathan’s hand slightly, and Nancy shushed him quickly.
“Sorry, man,” Jonathan said quietly, genuinely meaning it. He still didn’t really like the guy (or so he told himself), but that didn’t mean he wanted to see him in pain, especially pain that Jonathan had inflicted.
It felt so surreal to him that only a year ago he had fought Steve, beating him up almost as bad as Billy had done today. The pure rage he had felt in that moment was something he had never experienced before.
And then Steve came to his house, calling through his door that he just wanted to ‘talk’. And he had walked straight in on him and Nancy’s fight with the demogorgon. And instead of running away, like he would have always assumed Steve Harrington would have, he stayed and fought the monster with them. And without Steve there, Jonathan and Nancy would probably have died.
Since then, there’s been a strange understanding between them. They never spoke, but they didn’t fight anymore either. And the camera that Nancy had given him last year… Jonathan was fairly sure Steve had something to do with that.
He had, however, gotten much closer with Nancy. He spoke with her often, when he was dropping or picking Will up from her house, but that had been nothing compared to the last few days they had spent together.
They had been shocked, of course, to see Steve emerging from the forest with their brothers’ friends earlier today. Jonathan had honestly been surprised when he heard how quickly Steve dropped everything to help Dustin and the others.
And he had stayed in the house as they cracked Will’s code, and Nancy had been able to come with him and his Mom to help with Will because Steve had offered to stay with the kids.
And the way the kids, especially Dustin, spoke about him… how he had fought Billy to protect Lucas, some kid he barely knew, and then still followed the kids into the tunnels later, despite the injury.
Actually, if Jonathan’s new understanding of Steve was true, he had no doubt Steve would be leading the kids through the tunnels, not following.
Jonathan could hardly believe that the dazed and bleeding person in front of him was the same guy who called Nancy a slut and broke his camera a year ago.
Jonathan worked slowly, washing the blood off Steve’s face as carefully as he could. It only made his face look worse, because the bruises stuck out jarringly against his pale skin.
Had Steve always been that pale?
“Okay,” Jonathan breathed, as he let the cloth drop back into the red-tinged water. He had done a pretty good job.
Nancy’s hands reached out to hold Steve’s face, her fingers running over the bruises gently.
“How bad does it hurt?” She asked him, the words coated in concern.
Steve squinted at her slightly.
“It’s not so bad,” he mumbled, leaning back further into the couch.
Nancy’s hand found its way into Steve’s hair, and Steve let out a sudden cry as her touch connected with a spot of dark red. He moved away from her slightly, but Nancy’s hand moved with him.
She parted the hair as carefully as she could, ignoring the pang in her heart as Steve let out a pained groan, and she felt a spot of sticky warmth.
“Jonathan,” she said softly, and Jonathan stood and moved over to her, his gaze landing on the blood.
“The plate,” he said, and Nancy nodded. The wound looked bad, and Jonathan thought that it might not be a good idea to try and clean it.
“Should we take him to a hospital?” Nancy asked, turning her head to face Jonathan. Her eyebrows were drawn together in worry.
“No,” Steve said, the word shockingly clear. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not ‘fine’,” Dustin spoke up from his spot on the floor. It seemed like the mention of hospitals had caused the kids to focus on the three older ones again.
“You’re not,” Jonathan agreed, directing the rest of his sentence to Nancy, “But I think it’s best we keep him here for now. When Hopper gets back we’ll get his opinion.”
“Shouldn’t he be back by now?” Mike asked, “What if something’s happened? What if something happened to El?”
“I’m sure El’s fine,” Nancy soothed, “They’re just delayed. Don’t worry.”
“And are you sure Will’s okay?” Lucas pressed, “Are you sure you got it out of him?”
“I’m sure,” Jonathan said firmly. He didn’t think he would ever be able to unsee the black particles ripping out of Will’s throat.
“Look, it’s getting late, maybe you kids should try and get some sleep,” Nancy suggested, but Dustin shook his head quickly.
“No. Not until you’re sure Steve’s okay.”
“He will be okay,” Nancy said firmly, as though the power of her words could make the fact true.
“We shouldn’t have taken him into the tunnels. What if we made it worse?” Dustin continued, remorse sneaking into his voice.
Jonathan thought that he was absolutely right, but he didn’t want to say so and make Dustin feel worse.
To his surprise, Steve spoke up.
“Don’t beat yourself up Henderson,” he mumbled, the irony of his words not lost, “I chose to go down there. And it was a pretty good idea.”
“Don’t encourage them,” Nancy warned, but her hand was placed comfortingly on Steve’s. Even though the two were newly broken up, Jonathan could see that Nancy still had a deep affection for Steve.
He was okay with that. Steve was a good guy.
When he looked back at his face he realised that Steve’s eyes had slipped closed. Nancy had noticed too. She gently patted Steve’s cheek, and he slowly opened his eyes again.
“Don’t fall asleep,” she said softly, “You’re not supposed to sleep with head injuries.”
“I’m tired, though,” Steve told her, sounding pathetic in a way that made Jonathan’s heart twist.
“I know, but just hold on a little longer, okay? Just until Hopper gets back.”
Steve hummed in agreement, but Jonathan wasn’t sure how much of what they were saying to him was getting through. He seemed to be losing lucidity by the second.
Jonathan knelt down in front of the couch again.
“Hey, Steve,” he said quietly, “Look at me.”
It took Steve a moment to drag his gaze onto Jonathan’s face. Jonathan stared directly into his eyes. They were slightly glassy and unfocused, but the pupils were even.
Jonathan relayed this to the rest of the group. It was a good sign. He hoped.
Dustin stepped forwards, pushing Jonathan out the way. He held three fingers directly in front of Steve’s face.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” He demanded.
“Three. Christ, Henderson, it’s not that bad.” The words were slightly slurred, but coherent.
Dustin seemed satisfied, and moved away again.
“Do you feel nauseous or anything?” Nancy asked.
“No,” Steve responded.
“How bad is the pain,” she continued, “Scale of one to ten.”
“I don’t know,” Steve murmured, “Like a seven? I’m fine, though.”
And suddenly it seemed like Steve was trying to stand up from the couch. He didn’t seem to be getting very far, but Jonathan put his hands on the other guy’s shoulders, holding him down.
“Don’t do that,” he ordered, “Just stay still.”
Headlights suddenly blossomed outside.
“It’s them!” Mike shouted, running to the door, the other kids right on his heel. Steve winced at the loud noise.
Mike threw open the door, and outside Hopper was slamming the door of his truck. He walked up to the door, holding Eleven in his arms. The girl looked asleep.
“Oh my God, El!” Mike was saying, his hands grabbing at her in Hopper’s arms, “Is she okay?”
“Relax, kid,” Hopper said, pushing past Mike to come fully inside the house, “She’s fine. Just asleep.”
“And the gate,” Lucas demanded, “Did you close it?”
“Yeah. The gate’s closed. It’s over.”
Jonathan watched Hopper survey the room, looking at the four anxious kids. Then his gaze landed on Nancy, Jonathan and Steve, and Jonathan saw Hopper pause for a moment.
Then he was striding through the house. He went into Will’s room, and laid El down on his bed. He walked back out, closing the door behind him with a glance at Mike that clearly told the kid to not disturb her.
Hopper came back into the living room, and Jonathan stood to let him crouch down in front of Steve. Steve barely seemed to notice.
“What happened?” Hopper asked, turning to look at Nancy, but before she could respond, Max cut in.
“He got into a fight with my brother. Billy Hargrove.”
“Billy smashed a plate over his head,” Dustin added.
“And then the kids dragged him out to the tunnels,” Nancy said coldly.
Hopper stared at her. “What?” he said loudly. He looked over his shoulder at the four. “You went into the tunnels?”
“We did it to help Will,” Mike said hotly.
“It’s a long story,” Nancy said quickly, her tone clearly saying that now was not the time to go into it.
“And Will? Joyce?” Hopper pressed, turning his gaze on Jonathan.
“They’re fine,” Jonathan reassured him, “They’re here.”
Hopper looked back at Steve. He reached forwards to gently feel the bruises, causing Steve to hiss again. Hopper turned his head to the side, finding the bloody spot in his hair quicker than Nancy and Jonathan did.
He pulled a flashlight out his pocket, and shone it in Steve’s eyes, then told Steve to follow his finger as he moved it through the air in front of him. He then began asking Steve simple questions about his name and where he was.
Jonathan was impressed at how quickly and efficiently he moved, as though this wasn’t the first head injury he had dealt with.
Once done with his inspection, he straightened up.
“We didn’t know whether to take him to a hospital or not,” Jonathan explained, “We thought it might be best to wait here for you.”
“You did the right thing, kid,” Hopper told him, “He’ll be fine. He’s got a concussion, I think, but it should be safe to let him sleep. He needs to stay here though. It’s not safe for him to be on his own right now.”
“Of course,” Jonathan said. That much was obvious.
“And what about you?” Hopper said, turning on the kids.
“We’re staying,” Dustin told him determinedly. The others all nodded.
“I’m not sure-“
“I really can’t go home.” Max interrupted Hopper, “Billy might be there.”
Hopper seemed to consider this for a second. Jonathan knew these kids were not willing to leave, not while Steve was hurt and El and Will were here.
“My Mom really won’t mind them staying,” Jonathan said. The kids were all quick to agree, pleased to have Jonathan on their side.
“Your parents-“ Hopper argued, but this time Nancy cut him off.
“I’ll go call them,” she offered, “There’s really no point telling them to go home. They’re not going to.”
“Alright,” Hopper relented. “I’m going to talk to Joyce. If you two have everything covered here?”
Nancy and Jonathan reassured him that they did, and Hopper went into Joyce’s bedroom, where she was still with Will.
“Well, come on then,” Nancy said, patting Steve’s hand in farewell as she stood and moved away into the hallway where the phone was. The kids trailed after her.
Jonathan was left alone in his living room with a concussed Steve Harrington.
“Tired,” Steve mumbled again, and Jonathan realised just how out-of-it the guy actually was.
“Well, you’re allowed to sleep now,” Jonathan told him, though he wasn’t sure if Steve was following what he said.
Jonathan carefully guided Steve to lay down on the couch. He looked exhausted, and his eyes were slipping closed before Jonathan had even taken his hands off him.
Jonathan sat down on the floor next to Steve’s head, listening to him breathe. It had been a long day for them both, but at least all that alternate dimension stuff was over now.
Steve’s breath hitched briefly, and Jonathan twisted round to look at him. He wondered how much pain he was really in. And why that thought made something in his chest ache.
Without really thinking about it, Jonathan’s hand went out to gently brush back the hair from Steve’s face, careful to avoid the spot where the plate had made contact. Steve’s face seemed to relax more, and Jonathan felt some of the worry in his chest unravel.
And for a while, he stayed like that, sat on the floor, with one hand resting in Steve Harrington’s hair.