Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was the worst pain that Steve had ever experienced. Punch after punch, whip after whip, kick after kick. Never-ending blows from all angles. He could feel the blood, dripping down his bare back, soaking into his uniform trousers. 

The main man in the room held up his hands and the assaults stopped, for a brief moment. He was thrown forwards to his knees, concrete threatening to break them. A course hand, gripped under his chin, forcing his face up to look at him. The man wore a smile on his face, "Who...do...you....work for?!" 

"I told you!" Steve cried, "Don't you think I would have said by now if I was a fucking spy! I work at Scoops Ahoy, slinging ice cream for a fucking living!" 

Another harsh slap met his face.

"How did you find us?!" 

"I TOLD YOU! A shipment didn't come in so I went looking for it and ended up in your crazy fucking elevator and-"

"LIES!" Another hit sent him reeling. He hit the ground, back first, sending spikes of pain up his spine.

"Take him into the other room." 

Steve couldn't move, couldn't object, all of his energy spent on trying to keep consciousness but it was fading quickly. He felt two men grab him, under the arms, lifting him up but his legs wouldn't cooperate, dragging behind him as he was carried down the hall. They reached a smaller room where he was thrown to the ground, arms not working, unable to lift up and catch himself. It was so frustrating, why couldn't he move?! The pain was only getting worse and worse, the adrenaline from getting caught quickly wearing off. His eyes wouldn't stay open anymore and his grasp on reality quickly slipped away, fading to black.

Robin had been sitting in a room with two men, who honestly almost made her laugh with their weak threats and attempts of getting information from her. One of the men had something radioed to them and all of a sudden she was on her feet being dragged down a hall. They reached a smaller room where she was thrown to the ground, but there were already people in there. Instead of hitting the ground, she caught herself and rolled against another body. Sitting up and turning over she recognised the shitty uniform instantly, "Steve?!" She exclaimed, "Steve? Oh god, what did you do to him?!" 

She rolled him onto his back, eyes scanning over his bloody and swollen face. "Oh no, oh shit, Steve wake up! Steve! Please, he needs a doctor!" 

"We have the best surgeon here, don't you worry, he will be along shortly." 

The men dragged her and Steve into two chairs, tying them together, before leaving the room.

The door slamming shocked Steve into consciousness again.

"Steve, come on, Steve!" Robin yelled unaware her friend was already awake.

"God, it's so loud." He groaned.

"Oh my god, Steve, how are you feeling?" 

"I feel great," He murmured sarcastically.

"Well, the good news is, they're bringing you a doctor!" 

Suddenly, the door was flung open and two guards walked in, alongside the man from before and a new man, in a long white coat. Well, that was the doctor.

He had a small case which he placed onto the table, unlatching and opening to reveal rows of small vials and syringes. Oh shit. What were they planning on doing? Steve was scared. There wasn't a lot that Steve Harrington was scared of. He was scared of his parents and spiders and that was where the list ends. Well, no, now there was a new addition of being kidnapped and tortured by evil Russians that lived beneath his own town. Cause that was completely normal. 

He watched as the 'surgeon' uncapped one of the many syringes, pouring one of the vials into it, before doing the same with a second, handing it over to someone else. 

"Stay nice and still, wouldn't want to bleed out or anything." The main guy smiled, bending down so that he was close to Robyn. She took the perfect opportunity to spit, right in his face, smirking back at him.

"You-" He chuckled, wiping it off, "You will regret that." 

"Inject them." 

Robin struggled but soon realised it wasn't worth it, I mean, Dustin and Erica were out getting help and it wasn't like they had much to hide right? So it would be fine.

She felt the needle getting pushed into her neck, flinching at the feel of the cold metal pressing through her skin, having to remind herself to breathe.

Steve wasn't faring much better, she could feel him, pressed against her back, body shaking as he was injected with whatever the fuck she had just been subjected to. Reaching back, she felt for his hand, gripping onto it and feeling him squeeze it lightly back.

"We'll be right back," The main guy said once more, walking out, followed by his guards and that 'surgeon'.

"Steve?" 

"Robin?" 

"How are you feeling?" 

"I feel pretty good." 

"So do I." 

"Hey, Robin?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I kinda like it." 

"You wanna know a secret?" 

"Sure?" 

"I like it too!" 

The pair bust out laughing. Robin had never felt like that in her life. No, that was a lie. Once, she vaguely remembered having a high fever and slipping in and out of consciousness feeling this level of floaty and giggly. 

"Morons, they gave us the wrong drug!" 

"Oh, no. There's definitely something wrong with us."

"Somethings wrong with us!" 

"You gave us the wrong thing! Idiots!" 

The door opened and the commander came back in with his two guards, the surgeon making another appearance this time carrying a different bag. Steve and Robin watched as he pulled out various metal surgical equipment pieces, setting them onto a tray.

"Would now be a good time to tell you that I don't like doctors?" Robin chuckled.

"Let's try this again, yes?" The commander said.

Steve nodded slightly, pressing his tongue to his split lip with a grimace.

"Who do you work for?" 

"Scoops." Steve smiled, Robin cackling hysterically behind him, "Scoops Ahoy." 

"How did you find us?" 

"Totally by accident," Steve laughed.

"More lies," The commander said to the surgeon, nodding as he picked up a pair of pliers

"Where are you going with that, doc?" Robin asked, tone getting a little nervous.

He said nothing, just rounding her seat to lean over Steve, grabbing one of his hands and holding out one of his fingers, placing the pliers around the knuckle.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, hey. Wait! Wait! Wait!" 

The commander nodded and there was a sickening crunch as the knuckle was crushed by the pliers. Steve cried out in pain, unable to fully feel it thanks to the drugs but still lucid enough to register what was happening. The doctor moved over to the next finger, clamping the pliers around the knuckle and just as the commander was about to give the signal, Robyn remembered the previous question and yelled, "There was a code! We heard a code!"

Everything paused.

"What code?" 

"The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west. Blah, blah, blah. You broadcast that stupid spy shit all over town, and we picked it up on our Cerebro, and we cracked it in a day. A day! You think you're so smart, but a couple of kids, who scoop ice cream for a living, cracked your code in a day, and now, people know you're here.

"Who knows we are here, little bitch?" 

"Ah, well, Dustin knows." 

"Hey, Steve!" 

"Yeah, Dustin knows!" 

"Steve!" 

They both laughed.

"Dustin, hm? Is that your small, curly-haired friend?" 

"Oh, curly-haired. Great hair. Small. Kind of like a 'fro. Yeah."

"Where is he?" 

"He's long gone, you big asshole. And he's probably calling Hopper, and Hopper's calling the US cavalry. They're gonna come in here, commando-style, guns a-blazin', and kick your sorry asses back to Russia. You're gonna be two pieces of toast."

"Is that so?" 

"Yeah." 

Once more, Robin and Steve burst into laughter, except for a moment, the commander and doctor joined in, then an alarm went off and Robin and Steve were the only ones laughing again. 

The commander grabbed ahold of Steve, the doctor cutting his bonds free and dragged him down the hall into an even smaller room, doubly locking the door, keeping them both inside. A safe. If you will. Something heavy hit Steve over the top of his head and everything went dark. 

Robin was sitting, yelling at the doctor, shouts of "Where are you taking him?" and "You're not getting away with this." when the door burst open and Dustin stumbled through, shoving a metal rod against the doctor's chest, effectively electrocuting him into unconsciousness. 

"Hey, Henderson!" Robin laughed, "That's crazy, Steve was just talking about you." 

"Where's Steve?" He asked, moving to untie her.

"They took him somewhere else when the alarms went off." She giggled.

"Get ready to run." 

Once Robin had been untied, Dustin pulled her to her feet and they rushed back down one of the main halls, the distraction that Dustin had caused to set off the alarm diverting the guards' attention and leaving most places empty. "Come on, we have to get out." 

As they reached the exit they ran into Joyce and Hopper. "Where's Steve?" Hopper asked, heart pausing for a second.

"They took him somewhere else, we don't know where," Dustin said.

"Okay, get her outside, you two stay with her," He said pointing to Dustin and Erica, "Are you hurt?" 

Robin shook her head, "No but Steve was really bad." 

"Shit, okay, Joyce, Murray, you two with me, I'm not leaving without him." 

Originally, Hopper had thought that Steve was just some stuck up kid, from rich parents that liked causing fights and trouble and throwing parties that caused noise complaints. But, after getting to know the kid he realised that it was a lot deeper than that. Flo had told him that Steve had been adopted at roughly age 12 when the Harrington's had moved in. He had been found in the woods, bloody and afraid, and the Harrington's had offered to take him in. But his neighbours had said that they had never seen the Harrington's (asides from Steve) more than once a year. So he already knew that the kid was being neglected and Nancy Wheeler had once come to him, worried about Steve as whenever his parents did return he would disappear off of the face of the earth and when Nancy had gone to visit him - worried - he'd opened the door with a bruised face, begging her to leave. Two weeks later, he was back at school, no sign that anything had happened except for the fact that he had been a little jumpier than usual and the yellow hue of fading bruises, ghosting over his skin. Hopper had made it his goal to look out for the kid, offer him an out when he needed it and he had only taken it once. Hopper would never forget the time that the boy had shown up at his house, blood dripping down the side of his face with wide scared eyes. Neither had said a word, Hopper just brought him inside, cleaned up his face and made him some food and a drink, letting him sleep on the sofa and in the morning he was gone. He never failed to worry about the teen. Especially after Steve had started 'babysitting' El and the other kids he had more of an excuse to be around him. Going to pick her up or when Steve dropped her back, he would make it his goal to start up a conversation and try to find the truth in his lies to make him feel better. It was always, "I'm fine," or "I've been doing well," but Hopper knew he was lying. Steve felt like a son to him and god be dammed if he was leaving him behind.

"We'll find him, Hopper," Joyce reassured.

She too was fond of the boy. Yes, he had gotten into a fight with Jonathon but Steve had personally apologised to both her and her son and he was so good with Will, making him laugh and being an overall great friend for him. He was also so nice to Jonathon and always offered to help Joyce herself with cooking or cleaning because that kid was amazing at cooking. It was worrying, how he spoke about himself though. When he apologised to her for the fight with her son he often went back to the subject of how it was his fault, he knew it was his fault and he would be appropriately punished for it, and even in times that he was over to look after the kids there or things of the such he would constantly ask Joyce if she was sure she wanted him there and promise that the second she changed her mind he would leave, how he 'didn't want to be a burden'. She had mentioned it to Hopper who had sadly shaken his head, words on his lips that he wanted to tell her but knew it wasn't his place. She didn't press any further.

Hopper was filled with desperation. He knew that his daughter was safe, with her friends and Nancy and Jonathon, back at the cabin, to watch over them. They just needed to find Steve. Hopper needed his son.

Chapter Text

The entire lab was in chaos. Alarms blaring, men scarpering to their positions in the drills while trying to follow out various other orders and it was okay because Joyce, Hopper and Murray fit right in with their stolen uniforms. All they had to do was run around, look like they were vaguely worried and everything would be alright, as long as they didn't run into anyone that would give them other orders or try to separate them. The place was practically a labyrinth, hallways leading in every which way yet all somehow leading to the same place. 

They came across a room with a tray full of medical equipment, blood splattered part of the floor and Hopper and Joyce shared a knowing look.

They were getting closer.

There was a long hallway with several metal doors and Hopper knew that they couldn't have gotten far if the torturer had panicked and chosen to quickly hide Steve away. Every door was unlocked except for the final one in the hallway, pressing his ear to the door Hopper could hear movement from inside. He nudged Murray closer to the door.

In Russian, he shouted, "Captain? We need assistance out here! We can beat them but we need your help!" 

Then they stood back and waited. The door unlocked and swung open just in time for Hopper to raise his gun, a bullet flying straight into the asshole's chest. Hopper stepped over him, into the room, breath hitching at the sight. Being Chief of Police, Hopper had seen some things in his time but this - this was beyond fucked. A body lay in the corner, clothes ripped and soaked with blood from the crimson puddle that was forming around him. "Harrington!" Hopper yelled, dropping to his knees, "Oh my god, Joyce, get over here." 

Joyce walked through the door, covering her mouth with a shaking hand as she took in the sight, trying not to throw up. Hopper pressed two fingers against the boy's neck. "His pulse is weak, we need to get him out, now." 

"Steve?! Honey, can you hear me?" Joyce said, tapping the boy's face gently.

Steve groaned, deep in his throat, face scrunching into a grimace at the pain even making a sound made.

"You're alright, sweetheart," Joyce said, smoothing his blood-stuck hair back as Hopper lifted him up gaining another pained noise, "We've got you, just try and stay awake, alright?" 

Steve gave a shaky thumbs up to her, hand barely moving enough to be considered a thumbs up as his head leaned sideways against Hopper's chest. 

Murray almost threw up at the sight of the teen in Hopper's arms, a bloody, bruised mess.

Hopper picked up the pace, hurrying to get to an exit but he was stopped as a door opened and a flood of spies came through. Turning on his heels he moved to pretend it was a simple mistake and that he knew where he was going but turning the corner only showed more Russians marching straight for them. They were cornered. Guns were raised at them and Hopper knew they wouldn't be able to get out of this through force. He stepped in front of Joyce and Murray and cradled Steve closer to his chest, closing his eyes and waiting for the pain to begin. 6 shots were fired at once and then there was silence. He waited for a shot to hit. But they didn't. It was only when Joyce gasped that he opened his eyes. The 6 bullets that had been fired, were hovering mid-air. Suspended, completely stopped in time. None of the Russians were moving, also stopped. Had he died? Was this what death was like? 

"S-Steve?" Joyce whispered, "How...?" 

Hopper looked down at the boy he was holding to see his hand outstretched towards the men in front, shaking with the force it was taking to keep time frozen, yet keep them moving. "You- you need to move, I can't keep time frozen for much longer," He murmured, concentrating.

Hopper was stunned, but there wasn't time to stand in shock, they need to move. He pushed through the crowd of guards, making his way towards the exit.

"I- I can't-" Steve stuttered, barely keeping his head up.

"It's okay, honey, you can stop, we're away," Joyce reassured, wiping away the fresh blood that stained Steve's nose and dripped down from his ears. 

He dropped his hand, falling unconscious instantly.

They reached the exit and Hopper ducked through first, followed by Joyce then Murray who closed the door behind them. Dustin, Robin and Erica sat in Hopper's truck, waiting for them and they rushed over, jumping into it. Joyce sat in the back with Dustin, Steve laying between them with his legs in Dustin's lap and his head in Joyce's. Erica and Robin sat in the very back and Murray and Hopper got in the front.

"We need to get him to Owens, a hospital," Hopper called.

"Yeah, I agree," Joyce replied, using some tissues from her bag that she had left to clean up Steve's face as best she could. 

"Wait, why Owens and not just a regular hospital?" Dustin asked.

"Well, we don't know what drugs they were given and Owens is the only one that knows all about this." 

Hopper decided not to mention that Steve had powers and they didn't know how that might affect him medically.

He didn't know what to think, what to say, I mean what had he just witnessed. He had seen his kid, beaten black and blue on the ground, discovered his kid had powers, like his daughter and know his kid was unconscious and wouldn't wake up as they drove away from a secret Russian lab.

He just hoped they made it to Owens in time.

Chapter Text

El sat, perched on the edge of the sofa, wringing her hands together nervously. She didn't know what to say. She knew that something bad was happening, she felt so- so empty. There was a hole that just kept getting bigger as if something was being lost, further and further from her grasp.

Jonathon was the one to ask her what was wrong, with some prompting from Max who was the one to notice. He made his way over to her, sitting on the floor in front of her and asking her to look at him.

She did as she was told.

"What's up? Are you okay?" He asked, which gained the attention of the others.

"No, there's... something's wrong." She replied, struggling to get her thoughts into words.

Jonathon could tell, keeping his voice slow and gently, like he was talking to a scared animal. Some people might have found that offensive but to El it was comforting. "Can you tell me a little more?" 

"It's- there's a link, from me," She pointed to herself, "To other numbers," She then pointed to her wrist.

Jonathon nodded, urging her to continue.

"I feel the link." 

"So, you're kind of attached to the other numbers?" Lucas asked, earning a light punch to the arm by Max and a whisper of, "Let her speak." 

Eleven nodded, "Yes...attached. One of the links is...breaking? I think. Something's wrong." 

"One of the numbers is in danger?" Nancy deduced.

"Yes. Danger. Bad men." 

"Can you find out where?" 

"I can try." 

She sat in front of the TV, switched to static, as Mike carefully placed a blindfold around her eyes. "If you can't find them, it's okay. Don't force it." Max reminded, sitting back on a chair.

El took a deep breath, letting her mind wander away.

When she opened her eyes, she was in darkness still, but now, she could feel the water around her bare feet. It was cold, yet not uncomfortably so. Just enough to ground her in her surroundings. "Hello?" She called, hearing her voice echoing back to her, "I want to help!" 

The more she walked the more visible a figure became. She couldn't make out any of the features yet but the person was laying on the ground, completely unresponsive to her yelling. Breaking into a sprint she drew closer and closer and just as the features started to become visible, she ran into something. There was nothing in front of her, but all of a sudden she was thrown back, to the floor, managing to stop herself from landing on her back. The jolt loosened her grip on the reality and she was suddenly back in the living room of Hopper and her cabin. Reached her she slipped the blindfold off of her face, trying to calm her breathing as Nancy wiped the blood from her nose with a tissue. "What did you see?" Lucas asked.

"They...wouldn't let me see them." She said, tears rolling freely down her cheeks, "There was a barrier. They're still alive, but, barely." 

"What do you wanna do?" Jonathon questioned, eyes brimming with sympathy.

"Nothing, I can do. Just have to wait." 

Nancy nodded.

El moved to sit back on the sofa again as Jonathon switched TV channels, the pit in her stomach only growing deeper.

Joyce combed her fingers through Steve's hair, she loved his hair. It was something he obviously took care and pride in and seeing it so...flat and clumped with blood was just wrong. The whole situation was wrong yet the fact it was his hair bothering her most made her want to laugh. His face was so pale, skin a clammy white and Joyce would have given anything for him to just open his eyes and tell them that he was alright. But he wasn't. He couldn't die like this. She refused to believe that after fighting monsters and protecting her kids the ways that he had, she refused to believe he would die in the back of Hopper's car. She couldn't let him. 

Joyce was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realise Steve had stopped breathing until Dustin began to scream. 

"HOPPER! HE'S NOT BREATHING!" He yelled, "DO SOMETHING." 

"What do you mean he's not breathing?!" Hopper yelled back, swerving the car to the side of the road.

"He's- oh god," Joyce stammered, "Hopper, he's not breathing." 

The door was wrenched open and Hopper leaned in, pressing his fingers under Steve's jawline once again, feeling for his pulse.

"Joyce, tilt his head back," Hopper ordered, watching as she did as he had said, pressing one hand against his head and hooking her other hand under his chin, tilting his head back between her legs.

Hopper pinched Steve's nose closed, placing his mouth over the kid's and breathing out once, sharp, watching as his chest rose and fell accordingly. He counted to 5 before trying again, another 5 seconds and another try, another 5, another try, another 5, another try.

"Come on Steve," Joyce whispered, using one hand to wipe away at her tears and the other cupping Steve's face, trying to wake him.

It took 12 rescue breaths, 12, before Steve's chest began to spasm. Hopper moved away, tilting Steve's head to the side as he spluttered, lines of red splashing down his front. "Fuck," Hopper cursed, slamming his hand against the car door, "Please, stay with us Harrington, we're almost there." 

He ran back to the front seat, speeding down the road as Joyce cradled Steve closer with one arm, her other arm wrapped around Dustin as he sniffled in the seat beside her.

They had been watching TV, trying to pass time and take things off of Eleven's mind when all of a sudden she cried out like she was hurt. Jonathon was by her side in seconds, waving his hand in front of her vacant staring eyes. "El? Eleven?" Max asked, "What's happening?" 

"I don't know! She's never this before!" Mike exclaimed.

Only a second passed before she blinked, scared by the sudden presence around her.

"What just happened, El?" 

"There was...all of us were there. All of us that are left. I could only see Eight though." 

"You've met Eight before right?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah. It's Seven. There's something wrong with Seven. He was... on the floor... in between us and-, there was blood, a lot of blood. I didn't think Seven was alive! He- He's dying. I think he did die, but then- then he was alive?" 

"He got...resuscitated?" Jonathon suggested, watching as El nodded enthusiastically in response.

"Yes, but, he's not far, I heard- someone said the name Owens." 

"Owens... as in Sam Owens?" Nancy questioned.

"He has powers so... I think so." 

"Do we go to Owens?" 

"I think we should try and get in contact with Dustin and Steve first, then when they get we explain and we go to them," Will said

"Good idea, Lucas do you have your walkie?" 

"It's in my bag!" Lucas was on his feet, running to grab it.

"How's he doing?" Hopper asked, pulling sharply into the parking lot of the hospital, right beside the doors.

"Not good, his breathing's getting shallower again!" Dustin called.

Hopper pulled open the door, lifting Steve out of Joyce's arms and into his own. Cradling the boy against his chest so delicately that Joyce couldn't imagine he was the same guy that had just been fighting Russians underground. They ran inside the building, startling the nurse at the front desk and looking around, Joyce was thankful that the lobby was mostly empty. "We need Sam Owens, now!" Hopper said. The receptionist picked up the phone dialling a number.

"Sam Owens to room 216, stat." 

Then, she stood, making her way around the desk, leading them to a room, just down the hall.

"Here, place him on the bed," She said, drawing back the covers, "Owens will be here in a moment." 

Hopper nodded, watching as she walked away. Erica and Dustin got Robin to sit in the corner where she was mildly hysterical from the drugs.

It was only a couple of minutes before Owens arrived but to Hopper and Joyce, it felt like hours, watching the unnatural slow rise and fall of his chest, praying that it wouldn't stop again.

"Ah! Hopper! What- What happened?!" Owens said, tone changing halfway through from welcoming to shocked.

"Dustin, I need you and Erica to go and wait outside, Murray can you take them?" Hopper asked.

"But-!" Dustin started.

"No! No buts. You wait outside until you're given the all-clear to come back in or I drive you home and don't get to see Steve at all." 

Dustin was silent for a second, looking sadly at Steve before nodding and walking out, closely followed by Erica and Murray.

"What about Robin?" Joyce asked.

"She's not gonna remember any of this." Hopper said, turning to Owens, "This is gonna be a shock but, Steve's like Eleven." 

"What?!" Sam exclaimed.

Joyce walked over to the boy in question, grabbing his arms. It was then that she realised she had never seen him without the thick bracelets and wristbands he wore, it had never been concerning before. Sliding them off of his hands, she inspected the inside of his wrists letting out a choked sob. 

"What is it?" Hopper asked, alarmed.

She held out his arm upturned to that visible, on his wrist, were the numbers.

007

That wasn't the bad part. The problem was the thick white and purple scar that cut straight through the centre of the number, several smaller ones littering the inside of his arms. How had they never seen them before?!

"He's dying," Hopper was the first to speak, "He was captured and tortured, then he used his powers to help us escape and passed out. He hasn't woken up since. He stopped breathing on the way here. We got him back, but... please help him." 

Owens wore a grim expression on his face, "I'll do everything I can." 

Dustin sat in the waiting room, swinging his legs back and forth from where he was sitting when the telltale click of his walkie sounded, muffled by his bag, Lucas speaking frantically followed.

Dustin? Dustin, do you copy?

"I copy, Lucas, Jonathon and Nancy need to drive you guys to the hospital." 

What? Why?

"Steve's hurt, bad. I-... he almost died. He still might." 

Shit. Okay, one second.

There was silence, and Dustin knew Lucas was relaying the information to everyone else.

We're on our way.

Chapter Text

"Steve's hurt." 

Those two words made every pause, hearts missing a beat as they turned to Lucas.

"Dustin didn't say how or anything but it...it's bad."

Within minutes, Jonathon and Nancy had herded the kids into the two cars, driving towards the hospital on the other side of town.

Shortly after Dustin and Erica had left, Hopper and Joyce joined them, neither looking particularly hopeful. "What's going on?" Dustin asked.

"I have no idea, kid. I'm sorry. Owens said it didn't look good, but he and his team are gonna do everything that they possibly can. In the meantime, I need to call your parents and let them know where you are because I don't think they'll appreciate you disappearing." 

"Oh, shit!" 

"Language," Hopper replied absently.

"Can you tell her that I got lost or something and you'll drop me back in the morning?" 

"Sure, Erica, what about your parents?" 

"They think I'm spending the night with Tina, I'm all good." 

Hopper stood slowly, meeting eyes with Joyce, a silent plea for her to keep him updated in case he missed anything while he was gone. She gave a nod and he was off towards the phones on the other side of the room.

Unhooking the phone, Hopper recalled Dustin's mum's number after having to call her several times during sleepovers and hangouts.

He barely registered the fact that he'd punched in the number and let it dial until the familiar voice came through.

"Hello?" Mrs Henderson sounded beside herself with worry and Hopper felt vaguely guilty for not calling earlier.

"Hi, Miss Henderson, it's Hopper. I wanted to let you know that I have your son, he's alright. He and some friends went cycling and they got a little lost. I don't think taking him home while it's dark out is a great idea so if it's alright with you, I'll drop him home in the morning when I take the others back." 

"Oh, thank god! I was so worried. Thank you so much, Hopper, that would be great, and you're sure he's alright?" 

"I'm sure. We'll probably get to you at about 10?" 

"That's perfect. Thank you again, have a good night." 

"You too Miss Henderson." 

Placing the phone back in its holder, Hopper thought for a brief moment about needing to call Steve's parents but that thought was quickly ignored.

Robin's parents would also need to be notified, so Hopper punched in Flo's number.

"Hello?" 

Instantly, Hopper felt guilty again. She sounded half-asleep.

"Hey, Flo, I'm sorry but do you have the numbers of Robin Buckley's parents?" 

"Yeah, they'll be logged in the computer, why?" 

"I need someone to call them and let them know that their daughter is with me, that she's safe, she's not in trouble, her friend got hurt so she's staying with him while he's checked over and I can drop her home in the morning." 

"I'll let them know. Hopper?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Make sure you're looking after yourself too, okay?" 

He was silent for a second, pinching at the bridge of his nose in hopes it would quiet the forming headache, "Thank you, Flo." 

"No problem. Call me tomorrow, if you're not going to be there." 

"Will do, bye." 

Hopper hung up, replacing the phone on the hook and making his way back to the waiting area.

Jonathon and Nancy pulled into the hospital lot, parking on either side of Hopper's truck, getting out and leading the kids inside. The receptionist looked up in shock at the number of people that had just arrived but said nothing. In all honesty, she was still slightly in shock after Steve had been brought in. They lead the kids over to where they saw Hopper, Joyce, Dustin and Erica, the kids and adults immediately separated into two smaller groups, both with the same question.

Will he be alright?

Hopper tried his best to answer their questions but he couldn't tell them what he didn't know himself.

"Look!" He said, "Steve is in bad condition, I know that much. He's being looked after though, this is the safest place for him right now. I don't know anything else but the second I know something, so will you. I promise. For now, we wait." 

He was thankful that the kids were so receptive to it, sitting down in their chairs and staying quiet, just talking amongst themselves, while Joyce, Nancy and Jonathon spoke letting him lean back in his chair, eyes slipping shut as the exhaustion finally washed over him.

10 minutes later, he was awoken by Joyce, shaking him gently, "Hopper? Owens is here." 

He was awake in an instant.

"How is he?" He asked, mentally preparing for the worst. He hadn't been in a situation like this since Sarah.

Owens looked them all over.

"He's gonna be alright."

Chapter Text

At those four words, everyone gave a sigh of relief.

Hopper almost started crying, right where he was sitting and a couple of the kids did so anyway. Joyce's shoulders relaxed and she turned to Hopper with a small relieved smile on her face. "Hopper, Joyce, can I borrow you for a moment?" Owens asked, gesturing to a different room. The two were on their feet, following him after Hopper gave a firm word for the kids to remain put. Owens lead them into a room, shutting the door behind them and gesturing for them to take a seat. "Alright, well, it makes sense," He began, "Steve is...one of them. There are files back at Brenner's lab which, I have been meaning to get, but I don't know what type of security he'll have. I wanted to look over Eleven's files with you but, having Steve's could be useful. We don't even know what his powers do!"

"He stopped time," Hopper interjected, fiddling with his jacket collar.

"Yes, but, from what we've learnt from El, they tend to have first, secondary and tertiary powers, like El has telekinesis and she is able to locate people, one of Steve's powers could be stopping time but...he could have others."

"He's not dangerous," Joyce suddenly spoke, feeling a spike of protectiveness sharp in her chest.

"That was not what I meant to imply, by any means. I don't believe that he is. I'm more worried that he's not going to wake up."

"What?"

"He's in a coma, Joyce. I'm sorry. We can't figure out why, it doesn't seem medical...so."

"You said he was alright!" 

"I know, and I believe that he will be, as long as he wakes up!"

Joyce moved a shaky hand to her mouth, trying to cover the sobs threatening to escape.

"So you think it has something to do with his powers?" Hopper asked, clenching his jaw to stop his own tears.

"It's very likely, yes."

"And finding these files could help."

"I believe so."

"Tomorrow, I'm dropping the kids back to their parents, going to that lab and getting those files."

"I'll allocate some people to go with you."

Hopper didn't the energy to argue.

"How much do the kids know?"

"They don't know Steve's got powers yet just that he got hurt. I-...I'll tell them he's in a coma."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure. Can they-? Can we see him?"

"I'll make an exception for all of you to see him at once. Come and get me when you're ready, I'll wait by the desk."

Hopper nodded, getting slowly to his feet. His body felt so heavy, shoulders weighing down desperation that he hadn't felt in years as it crawled back up into his mind. As soon as the kids saw them they were on their feet, looking on hopefully. Hopper's heart broke at the thought of what he needed to tell them. As he drew closer he began to get bombarded with questions, each one piling up and up and up, pressing down on the guilt over and over until- "Enough!" He yelled, taking a deep breath and lowering his tone, "That's enough. All of you sit down."

"What's-?"

"No, Dustin. I'm about to tell you, so sit." Hopper turned to Joyce, who was still silently crying, Jonathon and Will now stood beside her. "Steve...Steve's in a coma."

He heard one of the kids cry out, vaguely recognising Dustin's voice.

"I'm so sorry. We don't know much more, but when you're ready, we can go and see him."

A body slammed into his side followed by another and another, looking down he saw Lucas, Mike, El and Dustin, gripping onto each other and him in a mock sense of comfort, crouching down he wrapped an arm around them, looking over Mike's shoulder to see, Max, stood a couple of steps away, wringing her hands nervously.

"Get over here kid," He said softly, watching as she rushed over to join them.

They stood, together, trying to live in each other's comfort rather than face the fact that someone was missing for a good five minutes before Dustin declared that he wanted to go and see Steve, reminding the others who quickly agreed. They all walked over to Owens, who took them back down the hall to room 216, holding the door open for Hopper to walk through first. The sight of Steve made him want to vomit.

He looked just like Sarah.

Curled up in the white hospital sheets, almost blending into them he was so pale, he looked so small. It made Hopper realise that he really was just a kid. With the maturity that he showed in babysitting the kids and helping him and Joyce in any way possible, it was so easy to forget that he was only 16. A ventilator was strapped firmly over his mouth, wires connecting to his arms and head from every possible angle. Robin was sat in a chair already, having been given a drug test and kept there for easy monitoring. Hopper sank down into one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs, unable to take his eyes off of the rise and fall of Steve's chest, fearing that the second he looked away, it would stop. "Okay, so, I've spoken to your parents, Dustin, and I'm dropping you all home in the morning. I have business to attend to after that. If you want to come back and see Steve, I'll pick you up at 2 and drop you back at 6, normal hospital visiting times. Do not fight me on this." He said slowly, watching as the kids nodded in his peripheral vision.

An hour or two passed and all of the kids - besides Eleven - had fallen asleep, along with Nancy and Joyce. Dustin was slumped over precariously, almost falling from his seat where he was clutching one of Steve's hands. Jonothan sat, on Steve's other side, absent-mindedly brushing his fringe from his face while Hopper and El were watching his breathing closely, listening to the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. Hopper could feel El falling asleep against him, head slipping down every now and then only to jolt back up seconds later. "Try and get some rest, kid," Hopper whispered, "I promise I'll wake you up if anything happens.

El didn't want to sleep. In fact, it was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to stay up and watch Steve and the feeling of losing a link was still very present. Still, she knew the longer she stayed awake, the less helpful she would be. She couldn't do much if she was exhausted right? Leaning further into her father's side, she let herself slip into darkness.

El opened her eyes, the water was cool against her feet, swirling in the darkness. She could see figures up ahead, making out the body of Eight again.

"Eleven?" She called, "Is that you?" 

"Eight? I'm here." 

She ran forwards, stopping as she noticed the body on the ground between her and Eight.

"He still hasn't moved," Eight whispered, voice tight, "Something's wrong." 

"You can... see him?" 

"Yeah, you can't?" 

"No, it's...blurry." 

"Oh," Eight sounded disappointed, "You were probably too young to remember him but, he liked you. I wasn't in the rainbow room much but when I was he would be sat reading to you. It wasn't in English but, you always seemed to like it." 

The figure flickered slightly.

"I-...I think I remember." 

Eleven could picture a boy, now, no older than 8, sitting on the floor with her, head shaved just as the protocol enforced but she knew his hair was brown. Warm, brown eyes staring back. The language she couldn't think of, slipping easily off of his tongue. Hopper had been trying to teach her the names of other languages but she knew nothing about them. A flash of the inside of his wrist, his number. 

007

"Is it...Seven?" 

"Yes. Do you see him, now?" 

Eleven shook her head.

"Don't worry, you will. The others don't care." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, Nine and Twelve are still alive, I've met them, but they don't care about Seven, they said they have other things to worry about, and no one's been in contact with One for years, so..." 

"So, it's just us?" 

"Yes." 

"Can you- tell me what he looks like?" 

"I can try to. He's got longish brown hair, styled quite nicely despite it being in the water, he has freckles, not very noticeable but he's so pale that they're standing out and there's bruising, all over his face. It's horrific really. He's wearing a hospital gown. There's a split across his lip the whole length and-"

El's blood ran cold.

"And his eye is swollen to the point he wouldn't be able to see if he opened it." 

"You can see him?" 

"No," El began to cry.

"What? What's wrong? Eleven?!" 

"I'm with him. He's my friend. He's...He's Seven?!" 

The figure between them flickered again, this time, staying. She could see him.

The body of Steve Harrington lay at her feet.

She awoke with a gasp.

Chapter Text

Hopper felt El jolt awake beside him, breathing fast and heavy. Before he could ask her she was alright she was on her feet, walking over to Steve and grabbing hold of his hand - that Dustin wasn't holding.

She turned to face Hopper, tears streaking down her face.

"You know, kid, don't you?" Hopper asked.

"Seven." She whispered.

Hopper nodded, thankful that Jonathon had fallen asleep and it was only him and El awake.

"He- I- Eight made me remember." 

"Eight? Wait, what happened?"

El walked back over, sitting beside Hopper.

"Earlier, Eight came to me. She told me that the link was severed and one of us was dying. Said it was Seven. But I couldn't see Seven, I only saw a shadow on the ground. Then the shadow started to flicker and Eight said he was dying. Then just now, Eight told me about him and described what he looked like and I remembered him in the lab and I could see him and it was Steve. He was lying on the floor between us. What's wrong with him?" 

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me that, kid. I have no idea what's happening but I'm hoping the answers will be in the lab." 

"You're going to the lab?!" 

"Yes," Hopper said carefully, "Doctor Owens told us that there are some files that could have some answers as to what is causing this and whether or not it has happened before." 

"It has." Eleven interrupted, seeming shocked by her outburst, "I mean. I think it has." 

"What makes you think so?" 

"He...Papa didn't like him. Well, he did but he always punished him more because Seven was supposed to be perfect. Not bad like Two but...good at everything he did. When he wasn't, one of Papa's favourite punishments was draining his powers till he was exhausted. One time...he fell and he wouldn't wake up and Six had to go and get him," She pointed to her head, "In here." 

"Six had to go into his mind to get him?" 

"Yes." 

"And, do you know where Six is?" 

"She's gone." 

"Gone?" 

"Gone." 

Hopper sucked in a sharp breath, "Alright, try and sleep some more, we'll uh, I'll go to the lab in the morning and try and get those files. We'll help him, I promise." 

El nodded, leaning back against Hopper, fully trusting in his ability to save her brother. 

She let her eyes slip closed once more.

"Eleven?" 

"EL?" 

"Eleven, get up!" 

Jolting upwards, El saw Eight standing over her, hand outstretched. 

"Eleven, he's...he's getting worse." She said, helping her to her feet.

"What do you mean?" El asked, letting Eight take her hand, leading her over to Steve's body, still crumpled to the ground.

"Go closer," Eight whispered, ushering her forwards.

She complied, walking slowly forwards until she was practically over him. He was laying on his side so she wasn't able to see his face. Kneeling in the water, she held onto his shoulder, rolling him onto his back. A gasp escaped her lips, and she had to force herself to stay still and not scramble backwards. Purple vines were crawling out from the water, wrapping Steve's face, one curling over his nose and cheekbones another wrapping his chin, keeping his head firmly pressed against the ground.

"The process is much faster this time, El. You weren't sent in the first time this happened but...it took days for the vines to start appearing," tears lined Eight's eyes, "I don't know how to fix it." 

"What did you do last time?" 

"I didn't do much, just stayed here to monitor him and keep him calm while Six went into his consciousness to find him. I can't do that, Eleven, it's not one of my powers." 

"It is one of mine." 

"What?" 

"I've done it before. Someone was under the influence of a creature from the upsidedown and I needed to find him. I had to go in his consciousness to do that." 

"Okay, that's...that's great news." 

"Why do you sound sad?" 

"El, it took Six almost 2 weeks to get him out. She tried every night and was only able to get through after 1 and a half weeks, then she had to find him in his subconsciousness...it's not even been a day and the vines have begun, I-... I don't think we have time." 

"We'll make the time then!" El said, voice fierce.

"But-" 

"NO! I am not losing him. There are many of us, sitting in his hospital room, right now. If I have the power to get him out, I am gonna do it. If not for the fact he's our brother then for them." 

Eight was silent for a moment, "Okay. I'll help you but you have to follow what I say. If I tell you you need to rest then you will listen to me, got it? If you exhaust yourself on the first night then you won't be able to do anything for anyone." 

"I understand." 

"Good and... I'm not asking you to go back to the lab, but there might be helpful files and-" 

"Hopper is going." 

"Who?" 

"My dad. He and Joyce are already planning to go in the morning to get his files for more information."

"Good, the more help we can get, the better. We'll start tomorrow after this Hopper gets the files. If he gets worse, I'll call for you." 

"How will I know-?" 

"Do you remember earlier, the vision?" 

Eleven nodded.

"I called for you then. For now, get some rest. I'll see you later." 

Everything faded away from view and for a brief moment, Eleven felt herself falling before finally, she sank into the nothingness of sleep.

Chapter Text

Hopper hadn't realised he had fallen asleep until he was roused by talking around him. Robin and Nancy were whispering to each other, Jonathan occasionally chipping in but mostly focused on watching Steve's breathing. Hopper turned his head to look down at his daughter, realising then, her absence. Actually, scanning the room over, he noticed that all of the kids were gone.

"Where are the kids?" Hopper wasted no time in asking, making Nancy jump.

"Oh, uh, Joyce took them down to the cafeteria," Robin answered.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I feel alright, minor headache I guess, the gave us some pretty strong shit," She laughed, "It's only just wearing off. Owens said it wouldn't have any lasting effects though, it was a mixture of a sedative and cannabis."

Hopper nodded, "Right, and, what time is it?" 

"Almost 9 am," Nancy answered.

Hopper nodded again, clambering to his feet and stretching out, "Are you guys gonna be alright if I leave you here?" 

Jonathan gave a tired nod and Hopper smiled at him sympathetically. He knew how close Jonathan and Steve had gotten and that this would remind him of when Will was in his partial comatose state when he was flayed. 

Making his way to the door, he exited the room, reading the signs to find his way to the cafeteria.

It wasn't far from Steve's room, thankfully, and making his way inside he immediately spotted Joyce and the kids, standing off to the side holding an item of breakfast each. El was the first to notice him, tapping Joyce's hand so she knew where she was going before running over to him.

"Good morning, Kid," He said softly, "How'd you sleep?" 

"I saw Eight again!" She wasted no time in saying, this time, however, she sounded almost excited, "I might be able to help Steve!" 

"What do you mean?" 

"This has happened before," She whispered, making sure no one but Hopper would hear, "Papa forced him to drain all his powers and hurt him and he went into a coma. Six was able to go into his mind and find him, bring him back, but... Six... is gone, I already told you this. I have that same power, right. I can go into his mind and help him but there's a problem. It took Six a week to actually get into his mind and another week to find him and bring him back, we don't have that long." 

"Why not?" 

"After a week, purple vines had started to grow over Steve, trying to pull him away from us, into the ground, it's been a day and they've already begun. We had so much less time, so...Eight asked if you could still try and find the files to see if they had any theories that would help in finding him in his state. Eight said she will help from the inside, keeping him calm and comfortable throughout the process like she did last time but... we don't know if it will be enough." 

"It's okay. I'll drop everyone home a little earlier than planned and get the lab as soon as possible." 

Eleven nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

Hopper didn't notice Joyce and the others approaching until a coffee cup was pushed into his hand, Joyce giving him a soft smile. "I didn't know what you'd want food-wise, so I just got you a coffee," She said.

"It's fine," He replied, "I'll eat later." 

She nodded, walking with him back to the room.

They settled back into their previous positions, Dustin pulling his chair a little closer to Steve's bedside now though. Quickly finishing his croissant and grabbing onto Steve's hand again. 

"Right, well, I'm gonna drop you home early, so once everyone's finished -"

"But, Hopper!"

"No, Dustin. When I drop you off, I'll talk to your mother. I know she loves Steve too, okay. I'll tell her what's happening - partially - and then I'll be back to pick you up at two. By then you better have freshened up and had lunch, alright? That applies to all of you." 

None of the kids looked particularly happy with it but thankfully they realised it was for the best and no one objected.

Murray left earlier than them, having his own business to attend to with the promise of coming back every now and then to check in.

Jonathan, Will and El were the three to stay behind Joyce deciding that she would come back to take them a little later as there wasn't room in the car for all of them, Owens being notified so that he could make sure El was fine while Hopper was gone, and everyone else piled into the car. Joyce and Hopper took the front, Lucas, Dustin and Max took the middle - Erica being small enough to fit between her brother and the door - and Robin, Nancy and Mike, crammed into the back.

Dustin was the first drop off, Hopper taking him to the door and pretending to be all humble as his mother thanked him for 'finding him when he was lost and looking after him'. 

After she had ushered Dustin inside, Hopper became a little more serious.

"Miss Henderson... Steve Harrington, I know you're familiar with him, there was an incident, last night. He got hurt, protecting the kids and I'm sorry to have to inform you that he is in a coma. Dustin was with him all morning. I am coming back round to pick up some of the kids at two so that they can stay with him during visiting hours and drop them home after. It's entirely up to you if Dustin can come or not I-" 

"Of course he can go!" Miss Henderson's eyes were watering, "Steve's the closest thing he's ever had to an older brother, I wouldn't keep them apart. Hopper, can you...can you promise me you'll keep me updated if anything happens?" 

"Of course," Hopper nodded, trying to hold himself together as the shorter woman pulled him in for a hug.

"I'll see you again at two. No sooner, no later. Take care of yourself." 

"And you, Miss Henderson," He nodded politely, making his way back to the car hearing the door click shut behind him.

The rest of the houses were a similar situation and soon it was just Joyce and Hopper left in the car, cruising to a building just outside of the main town.

"Are you ready?" Joyce asked gently, as the car pulled into the gravel car park.

"As ready as I'll ever be." 

Chapter Text

Approaching the building, Hopper took note of the other cars parked by the main entrance. Owens had sent people, just as he had said he would.

They were waiting in the lobby of the building, saying nothing, just leading Hopper and Joyce up a hallway, the person in front holding a small, hand-sketched map with the name Brenner signed on the bottom. Hopper's fists clenched unintentionally at the mention of him.

They reached a slightly wider hallway, with doors on either side like a hotel corridor, each door had a number on it. Ranging from 1 to 14. The door with the number 1 etched into it looked like it had been sealed off long before the place had been abandoned but that really wasn't Joyce's concern. Her main worry was the old, dry blood that splattered the walls and ground. What had happened?

Owens had briefly explained that there had been an incident when Eleven had escaped in which everyone inside, aside from her and Brenner had died, it was then that she had run away. He never said how any of them had died but Joyce knew that he had given them proper funerals.

They stopped outside of the door with the number 7 etched into it, slowly pushing it open. "This was his room," One of Owens' team said, "There might be something in here." 

Hopper nodded, stepping through first.

It was tiny, barely enough room to fit him, it was practically a closet. There was a mattress in the corner, blood staining part of it which, was pretty disturbing in Hopper's opinion and lifting it up, leaning it against the wall he noticed a panel, screwed into the floor.

"Does anyone have a screwdriver?" He asked, looking over at the small party.

One of them dug around in the bag that they were carrying, eventually handing over a screwdriver.

Hopper was only slightly impressed, taking it from their hand and leaning down to begin unscrewing the vent. The four screws were already loose as though they had been done up quickly, someone was in a rush. Steve? Taking a deep breath, he removed the final screw and lifted the cover. It was a deeper compartment than Hopper had expected. Two items inside. There was a teddy bear. Small and generic, but stitched into the bottom on the left foot was the word Six, and on the right foot, the word Seven. Beside that was a black and white picture, in it, there were five people pictured. The tallest was a stern-looking boy with light, shaven hair, beside him was another boy, shorter, kinder-looking with darker shaven hair, Hopper smiled. Steve. Definitely Steve. In Steve's arms was a smaller, younger girl who had her arms outstretched towards the camera, the number 011 barely visible on her wrist. Two other girls sat cross-legged in front of them, the first had long black, plaited hair. Hopper was confused, he thought all of the 'experiments' had to have their hair shaven? Unless she had only just been brought in? Either way, he recognised the girl, Eight, from Eleven's description of her. The second girl, he didn't recognise but she had brown, shaven hair and she looked a lot like Steve. He passed the items out, letting Joyce take them from him as he replaced the panel and made his way out of the room. Joyce was smiling at the photo when he turned to face her. "That's...That's him, right? With Eleven." 

Hopper nodded, "Yeah and Eight and two people I don't recognise. The room is- well it's barely a room but...that's all I could find."

"Right, well, let's continue, I guess." 

The group continued onwards, Hopper poking his head through Eleven's door out of pure curiosity. Her room wasn't much bigger but she had a bed. There were no belongings or secrets in her room though.

Continuing on down the hall they came across a room, absolutely coated in blood, the walls were white, like the rest of the lab but there was a wide stripe of rainbow running horizontally around the middle of the walls. The rainbow room. El had talked about it before. There were a couple of what looked like games littered around but Hopper wasn't really paying much attention. There was a two-way mirror at the back so they could be observed, he guessed, that was smashed inwards a large crack spread across the wall behind like something heavy had hit it.

"It's not much further," Someone said, Hopper didn't care.

They had been right though and barely a minute later they were walking into an office type room, full of filing cabinets and broken computers.

"The search begins," Joyce murmured, "I hope they had a good system."

Everyone split, taking a cabinet each. 

Joyce opened the bottom drawer first, finding lots of little books sorted into sections. 

1 - there was a single book, burnt around the edges.

2 - there were a couple of books.

3 - there were two books.

4 - 3 books.

5 - 3 books.

6 - 5 books.

7 - 5 books

8 - 1 books

9 - 3 books

10 - 3 books

11 - 5 books

12 - 2 books

Joyce didn't know how many kids there were but there were only files for 12 of them. 

Picking up one of the books from Seven's folder, she opened it to the front page.

Book #1

Subject: Seven

Age: 6 

Current Evaluation:

12.3 .74 - Seven is currently exhibiting schizophrenic behaviours such as delusions and hallucinations. Seven was brought in two months ago, testing trials are now commencing. 

16.3.74 - Seven believes that he is seeing people that are not there, talking with them and communicating with them just like other humans until he is told that no one else can see them. Then he becomes scared. Often, he is scared of these figures anyway, saying that they look unnatural or that they are bloody and injured.

17.3.74 - Seven had a major freak out in the rainbow room during free time. He seemed scared of the other children and guards, backing away whenever anyone came near and threatening to hurt them. He had to be sedated.

18.3.74 - It has been confirmed that the things Seven is seeing are real. He has communication with the dead. He perfectly described number 14 who died 6 months prior to his entrance. He was able to give a full description of what 14 looked like when she had died, every wound and mark the same and he perfectly described her voice. He said that she kept asking him if he could see her and promising she wouldn't hurt him. I want to know how far this connection with the undead goes.

20.3.74 - Today, we began a series of tests I have decided to call the mausoleum tests. A mile or so south of the lab is a mausoleum, Seven will be locked inside for varying time periods until a change or result is achieved. We began with half an hour. Seven showed no sign of connection or enhanced power, merely despair. He spent the 30 minutes pounding on the door and begging to be let out, yelling that they were going to 'get him' no matter how many punishments he was threatened with. His first punishment was one of the harshest we have given so far, since the verbal assault didn't get far, and electro-therapy doesn't work -due to his connection with electricity - physical violence was the better way. I had guards 1 and 2 beat him with-

Joyce couldn't read anymore, choking back a sob as she slammed the book shut making everyone turn to look at her.

"Joyce?" Hopper said gently, "Did you find something?" 

She pulled the draw all the way out, setting it on the desk. "These books..." She murmured, "Brenner documented everything." 

Hopper nodded, "Okay, so we'll take Steve's files, do we take Eleven's as a safety net?"

There was a pause.

"Well, everything that isn't taken will be kept locked away by Owens until it is needed so...it's up to you." One of the strangers said.

Hopper shook his head, "No, we'll leave it to Owens. It isn't a necessity plus it'll only weigh us down."

"Okay," Joyce agreed, helping Hopper to move the books labelled Seven into a bag," Did anyone else find anything?" 

"I found a couple more of those books but it's from group tasks." 

Hopper took a book opening it.

Test #1

Participants - Two, Three, Four and Nine

Hopper skipped through until he saw a test concerning Steve. It felt wrong to read about the others - disrespectful.

Test #13

Participants - Four, Six and Seven

Rules - Participants must stand in the 3 marked circles and use their powers to push each other out. Any power can be used at any time. No unnecessary violence allowed, or else punishment will be faced.

At commencement, Six created minor earthquakes below Four and Seven, Four fell from his circle, Seven stayed strong. 

Seven retaliated by creating an electrical pulse to cut the lights and summoned an undead which pulled Six from her circle. No harm was dealt.

Seven and Six have a connection. Despite trying to keep them apart their powers remain linked. They refuse to cause harm to each other, no matter the punishment. Their power remains unpredictable.

Hopper closed the book, placing it in the bag with the others. "Yeah, that- that could be useful." 

"I think that's enough for now," Hopper said slowly, picking up the bag, "Unless there's more we needed to see?" 

Owens' team shook their heads.

Making their way back out to the entrance, they parted ways, Hopper and Joyce getting back into Hopper's police truck while Owen's team got into their respective vehicles.

Switching on the radio, to his surprise, Hopper was instantly met with Owen's voice.

"Hopper?! Hopper, come in!" 

Picking up his walkie, with one hand on the wheel he replied, "I'm here, Sam, what's happening?" 

"There's been a development in Steve's condition. It's not good. You need to get here quickly!" 

"We've just finished at the lab, I got to pick the kids up on my way." 

"Okay, that's fine. Just be quick, alright?" 

"I will." 

With a newfound worry, Hopper pulled out of the parking lot and raced off down the road.

Chapter Text

Hopper pulled up to the Henderson house, the final stop he needed to make before he got back to the hospital. Pulling into the driveway, he saw that Dustin and his mother were already waiting. Hopper rolled down his window as Dustin got in the truck, Mrs Henderson passing him a bouquet of flowers, "For when he wakes up." She said softly.

Hopper smiled, "For when he wakes up." 

She waved them off as they pulled out of the drive and back onto the road. 

"Now, before we get to the hospital, I need to tell you guys that I had a call from Owens, saying that Steve's gotten a little worse. He didn't tell me any more than that but I wanted to make sure you knew, alright?" Hopper said as they had begun to pull into the car park.

No one said anything, just nodded sadly in the back.

Walking up through the white halls, Hopper made his way to 216, Steve's room. In his hands, he held the bear, the photo and the bouquet from Mrs Henderson. Stepping inside he saw Jonathan, still sat beside Steve, brushing his fingers through his hair to soothe him just as he was before but now, dark bruises, thick and purple were covering strips of his face, like vines. The vines that El had been talking about, were showing in real life. Hopper's breath hitched as Dustin ran in past him. El stood from her seat rushing over and pulling him out of the room so she could talk to him.

"What's happening?" Hopper asked her.

"I got vision again! Eight called for me. She said he's getting worse quickly, the vines are appearing in real life through bruises. I tried to find him in his mind but I couldn't get through. He doesn't want me to see."

"Alright," He said softly, "We found some books and some files that we'll need to go through but I'm hoping we'll find something that will slow down the developments and speed up you helping." El nodded slowly.

"Does that mean we should tell the others?" El asked.

"I don't know, do you think we should?" 

El hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"I think we should, yes," She said, "If I was in his situation, I would want other people to know the truth. Friends don't lie. Plus, that way, everyone else can help find a solution." 

Hopper nodded, "Okay, I agree." 

Taking her back into Steve's room, he motioned for her to sit down.

"Alright, Joyce, I think it's time they know," He said gently, catching her and everyone else attention.

She nodded, giving him full control.

"So, this is gonna be...a shock. Steve is-" 

El beat him to it.

"Steve is my brother!" 

"What?" Mike said, "He can't be, he's...Steve!" 

"What's that supposed to mean, Wheeler?" Max said defensively.

"He's great, sure, but he's not magic or anything." 

"Yeah cause you'd know, right? Because you're a fucking expert." 

"Yeah, Mike, I will call Mom right now and tell her to come and pick you up, you don't know anything so stop acting like you do." Nancy threatened

"Enough!" Hopper said, "Steve saved Joyce, Murray and my life, we witnessed his power and we've been back to the lab and retrieved his files. He is Seven. The reason he isn't waking up is connected to his powers and apparently, this has happened before but never this bad. We have some files and books from the lab and we need to look through them and try to find anything that might help. Nancy, Jonathon, Joyce and I will go through the books, you guys just... I don't know, El?" 

"Just being here will be good for him. I think he can still hear us now and again so knowing that you're here will keep him calm."

Dustin nodded taking Steve's hand.

"Wait, does he have his number tattoed?" Will asked.

Joyce and Hopper shared a look, "He- uh...well, He does," Joyce said, But, it's a little...disfigured."

"What does that mean?" 

Dustin sucked in a breath, "-Did he...?" 

"He tried to remove it, I think, or, at least cross it out." Joyce felt wrong turning over his arm so everyone could see but she knew it would only be a matter of time before the kids got curious and looked themselves.

She looked at her eldest son seeing the tears in his eyes.

"We're gonna look after him," She whispered, "He's gonna be okay." 

Chapter Text

Nancy took a book labelled;

#007 Progress Journal #2

She opened it and began to read.

Subject: 007

Age: 9

Date brought in - 11.1.74

Current Evaluation:

19.3.77 - Still no progress had been made through the series of mausoleum tests, only disobedience. Seven will not even attempt to talk with the ghosts despite being locked inside for nearly a week with very little water and no food. The next test will last 2 weeks and progress further still.

Nancy was one log in and she was already horrified.

20.3.77 - Seven was punished accordingly. The physical punishments seem to get through better than the verbal or sexual violence however, they will be used accordingly. Seven had been sent to his room to gather strength for tomorrow.

21.3.77 - Seven has been locked down in the mausoleum again. This time we plan to keep him down there for two weeks. He will be given a single cup of water every two days and if worse comes to worst he can have a slice of bread or two of bread.

22.3.77 - The second day and we have heard nothing. No usual yells and begs to be let out. It is mildly concerning but we will wait until tomorrow to make any decisions.

23.3.77 - The screaming began at midnight. Seven has not stopped since. It is now 8 pm and he has begun to quiet down. Not because he is calmer. I believe his throat has torn. The silence is sweet yet mildly concerning, we will wait for a few hours, and then I will send someone in to check on him.

24.3.77 - My suspicions have been confirmed. We sent in a medic and Seven's throat was torn and bleeding. His voice is gone - for now at least. The trial is not stopping, however, it will continue, it will just be a little harder to check on him every now and again.

25.3.77 - Seven has begun to bang his hands and arms against the wall to get our attention. The nurse believes that has badly broken his arm in doing so but no one is going in there for another few days at least. I can't have Seven believing that behaviour like that will get our attention. Still, he has done nothing.

26.3.77 - Our first sign of progress! I was checking the camera and I could hear Seven talking. He was talking to the ghosts in there with him. His voice is shot but he didn't seem afraid. At first, he was trying to get back, away from it but now he's sat on the concrete, talking to them. However, he keeps saying Six, as though he is talking to his sister.

27.3.77 - Seven has been talking to 'Six' all night and all morning. Six is sitting in the rainbow room, training, so she cannot be contacting him in any way. Still, he talks like she is truly there. There also seem to be two other people, a Daisy and a Joseph that are commonly spoken two alongside 'Six'.

28.3.77 - Well, it seems that there is an advancement to Seven's powers. Not only does he see and communicate with the dead but he sees people's ghosts before they die. Seven truly believed that Six was down there with him. She wasn't. Now she may be. Six was killed at 8 am this morning. We don't know by who or what but the children are jumpy. They keep saying that they were seeing a creature in the halls. Seven has been taken out of the mausoleum. He colla psed and seized and the nurses made the executive decision to bring him out even though I wanted to leave him in. He will be punished accordingly for needing to be taken out.

"Didn't you say that Six was the one to save him?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, why?" Hopper replied.

"This is too late then. This is when Six died." 

"Wait!" Jonathan called, "I think I've got it." He began to read aloud.

12.6.76 - Something went wrong. Something went horribly wrong. It was a punishment. I used Seven's powers worse and worse until he couldn't perform from exhaustion, I wasn't expecting him to collapse and I definitely didn't expect that he wouldn't wake up. I do not know what to do. We have moved him to the medical wing but they say that they cannot find the cause of his coma. I can therefore conclude that it was magically induced. He's entirely pale and every now and again his body will start to shake a little, like he's cold, only to stop moments later. Six and Eight are the only two permitted to be there at this moment in time. Six said that Seven has been pulled into his own mind and that she will be able to get him out but she needs someone to help. I do not know if this will work but I'll allow it.

13.6.76 - So far there has been no change. I had been allowing Eleven to visit as she seems fond of Seven and she hasn't begun training yet, she won't for at least another year. Six says that she has been so far unsuccessful but still believes that it will work.

19.6.76 - Six says that she is getting closer now. She is 'in his consciousness'  she just needs to 'find him within it'. I will allow her to continue. 

22.6.76 - Six and Eight are saying that something's happening. Dark lines are beginning to grow over Steve's face and neck. It's progressing. 

23.6.76 - Six is making more progress but I need a backup plan in case this happens again, I've been jotting down ideas in the medical diary of what could help.

Jonathan slammed the book shut, "Do we have the medical diary?" 

"I think so," Joyce said rummaging around in the bag, "I think one of Owens' team found it..ah! Got it!" 

She chucked it over to him and he flicked through the pages until he found #007.

The number of logs made him want to throw up. It was broken bone after broken bone after concussion after 'punishment taken too far'. Eventually though, through his skimming, he found 'power coma'. The handwriting was a little scrawly, definitely not as neat as the progress journals.

1. I believe Seven is able to hear things around him, in his coma every now and then, so familiar - safe - voices talking to him may help.

2. It is possible that he may be able to feel things still so touch and familiar items may help

3. Ice. Seven has a dissociation problem and ice - just placed in his hands - is good to rouse him, this may help.

4. Fire? Fear may wake him?

More notes to be written at a later date - when we know more.

The final suggestion was crossed out and the next log of medical injury was for burn treatment. Jonathon shivered at the thought of why that was.

"So, long story short, familiar - safe - voices and music because he might be able to hear, familiar touch, I guess that might include comfort items as he might be able to feel things and ice. Apparently, he had this dissociation thing and they would put ice in his hands." He summarised.

"Yeah, that's true," Nancy said quietly, "I think I was the only person he told but, when we were dating I started to witness it more and more so he told me." 

"Do you think it's worth a try?" 

"I mean, it can't hurt, as long as we don't leave them there for too long."

"True. So I guess the plan of action is, that El will stay here during the day and then go home to rest during the night. People can take turns visiting and talking to Steve but there has to be at least one other person - other than El - here with him at all times." Hopper said, "As for comfort items," He reached into the bag, digging around for a second before taking out the bear, "We found this, it might help." 

"I-" El paused, "I remember it! Steve always had it with him. He made it with Six when they let us have arts and crafts day!" 

Hopper smiled fondly, placing the bear into the crook of Steve's arm, the hospital gown leaving both arms fully exposed to he would be able to feel it. "I guess...I guess it all starts now then." 

The others nodded, slipping into a comfortable silence.

"El?" 

"EL?" 

"Eleven?!" 

"I'm here." 

The cold water pooled around her feet and she opened her eyes, Eight stood in the centre of her vision, Seven lay on the ground between them.

"Eleven, we have to start now, he's getting worse still. If we don't start now, I don't think we'll have any chance of saving him." 

"Okay-" 

She wanted to say more but the second she blinked and her eyes reopened, she was back in the hospital, leaning against Hopper, everyone looking at her expectantly.

Standing from her seat she sighed.

"It's time." 

Chapter Text

"It's time." 

"Time?" Joyce asked.

"Yes. Eight came to me again. Steve is getting worse. We have to do something now! I'm going to try and get into his conscience, you stay and talk to each other and him now and again." 

"Alright, can we do anything else?" Jonathon asked.

"Um... turn the lights off, keep them off and don't make any noise until I'm gone." 

"How will we know when-" 

"I'll tell you," Hopper said, gesturing for El to take the chair closest to Steve, watching as she sank into it, taking his hand and closing her eyes. 

Silence washed over the room, everyone watching as El sat with her eyes closed, breathing even and calm, waiting for something to happen.

It was when her breathing began to slow down that Hopper nodded, starting to talk again, "So..." He murmured, "Now what?" 

"Now we wait I guess,"  Joyce said softly, leaning back in her seat,

El opened her eyes, finding herself once more in the void. 

"You're here!" Eight said, relief clear in her voice.

"I'm here," El repeated, "What do I do?" 

"Just sit down beside him and do whatever you did with that person you said you did before." 

Eleven nodded walking over to where Eight was sitting in the shallow water, hands gently holding onto Steve's arms, trying to rouse him as if he were just asleep. God, El wished he had only been sleeping. She missed him. 

Reaching out a hand, she began to speak. "Steve? Steve I'm here. I want to help you, just...please let me help you. We need you. Everyone's waiting for you. No one is going to leave you but...but I need you to wake up. Let me help you." 

Her hand grabbed ahold of Steve's and she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

"I- nothing's happening!" She said aloud making Eight, who had thought she was gone, startle.

"This is exactly what happened with Six, you have to take it easy. You might not get anything for the first few days."

"Days?! You said we don't have days." 

Eight nodded sadly, "I know." 

"How long was I-?" 

"Gone...uh...maybe a couple of hours." 

"Hours?!" 

It only felt like a few minutes, half an hour at most. Now she was being told that she'd been gone for hours.

"Head back to your people, get some rest and come back when you're rested, alright? I'll stay here." 

"What about your people though?" El said, remembering Eight's friends.

"I told them what's happening so we're laying low for a few days. They can handle themselves." 

"You rest too." 

"I will, I promise. Get some sleep El. I'll see you soon." 

El awoke with a start, God, she was never going to get used to that feeling. Hopper was the first to notice, turning to face her from where he was standing by the door. "El!" He smiled, "You okay?" 

She nodded slowly, " Yeah, uh, no progress yet."

Hopper gave a sad sigh, eyebrows crinkling with sympathy, "Alright, well, I'm gonna drop the kids home and then I'll come and get you alright? You're gonna stay with Joyce for now." 

El gave him a thumbs up, looking back over at Steve and noticing a new black line spreading across his neck. A scowl spread over her features, watching as Jonathon traced the line gently with his finger, tears in his eyes. Joyce was sat beside her looking more exhausted than El had ever seen, head dropping every now and again, only to snap back up.

"You can sleep, Mom," Jonathon said quietly, "I'll stay up." 

Joyce sighed but knew that she wouldn't be able to change his mind or suggest otherwise, leaning back against the walls and letting her eyes close with a final, "Wake me up if you need me." 

El lay back against her, letting her own eyes shut deciding to rest, just as Eight had suggested.

Just as she was drifting off, she heard Jonathan beginning to talk again.

"God, Steve..." There was a choked pause, "Please...Please, you've got to wake up. We-...I need you." 

She couldn't stay awake long enough to hear the rest of it. Drifting into an uneasy sleep.

Chapter Text

The next few days flew by. The same repetitive motions not really registering for anyone. 

Steve was getting bad. In fact, he was getting really bad. The dark lines had spread over his chest and arms and in the void, El could see they were slowly beginning to pull him down, under the water. He was going to drown if she couldn't figure something out. She seemed to be making process, now, instead of just sitting in the darkness for hours, she would get small flashes of light, like she was almost breaking down the wall but it was just being pulled back up before she could slip through. She knew that Steve wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. Soon, she'd be able to get through the gap and begin her search.

It was 5 days in, 5 days of people coming in and out, talking to Steve or each other. Jonathon didn't leave. Well, he refused to until Joyce and Hopper practically dragged him back to the Byer's place. Even then he was only gone for an hour, just long enough to shower and eat something before he begged Joyce to take him back again. El recognised that there was something between him and Steve. It was just like... like Joyce and Hopper or...Max and Lucas! They were in love? But...they were both men? That didn't make sense. Then again, Robin had told her before that she liked girls and then quickly told her that she hadn't meant to say that. Steve knew, Hopper knew and Joyce knew that Robin liked girls and they thought it was normal...so, she guessed it can't have been so bad for Jonathan to be in love with Steve. Even though people at school said it was disgusting and...and things she wouldn't repeat. But they didn't matter. Hopper said so. All that mattered was that people were happy and not hurting themselves or each other. It wasn't hurting anyone for Jonothan to like Steve or for them to be together so she supposed it was fine. This day. The fifth day was the day that El made a little more progress.

She was sitting in the void, eyes pressed tightly shut when she suddenly felt the ground disappear from beneath her. She was falling. An involuntary scream left her lips but just as soon as the fall had begun, it ended. She hit the cold, ground, taking a moment to ground herself before attempting to sit up. The lights were a bright white, almost blinding. She knew exactly where she was. She was in the lab. Fear gripped her as she slowly got to her feet, hands shaking. Making her way over to the door at the end of the hall, she entered the rainbow room. There was Seven, sitting on the ground, his face was bruised and his body shaking as he cradled...her? A young version of herself, maybe two or three years old was asleep in his arms as he rocked her back and forth. Six was kneeling beside him, running a hand over his back, trying to calm him but to no avail. Neither of them acknowledged her presence. She walked over, slowly, reaching out a hand towards Steve but as soon as her hand got close, she was falling again.

This time the ground was softer, grass. She cracked open her eyes, staring up at the grey sky and trees reaching up into it. She was in the woods? A forest? Sitting up once more she took a second, looking around. Part of her felt like she recognised the area but...at the same time she had no idea where she was. That's when the footsteps started, sprinting towards her. Once again, fear shot through her and she scrambled to her feet, readying herself for a fight. Steve - or - at this point he was still Seven she supposed, burst through the bushes, collapsing onto his knees with a guttural sob. El realised that she had never seen him cry before, not even after Billy had hurt him the year before, not when he had been really sick and Dustin had gone to check in but ended up calling Joyce to take him to the hospital. Still, he didn't cry. But now, he was on the ground in front of her, sobbing so hard he couldn't breathe. He was dressed in the lab wear trousers and long sleeve shirt, blood staining parts of it. She couldn't see any injuries but then again, she couldn't see his face or much of his body.

"S-Seven?" She whispered, kneeling in front of him, "Steve? Can you hear me? Steve, please, you need to come home. Come back with me. Everyone's worried."

There was no response. Not even a sign that he was able to hear her. She reached her hand to touch him, try and get his attention but just like last time, the second her hand drew near, she was falling.

This time, it didn't hurt and she didn't hit the ground. Her eyes flew open and she found herself back in the void once more. Seven- no - Steve lay in front of her, purple vines spread over his face and chest, water now surrounding his face.

"Eleven?" Eight said, looking awfully tired, "Any progress?" 

El nodded, "I- I saw him, in the lab with me and Six and then he was in the forest and- and he was crying." 

"That's-" Eight broke off, face lighting up a little, "That good! You're getting through faster. It's more than Six first got! I-...Go and get some sleep Eleven. I'll call you if anything changes." 

Eleven smiled, nodding to her, "You sleep too." 

"I will, I promise." 

El let her eyes close, waiting until she could feel the cool breeze coming from the window in Steve's hospital room before opening her eyes. Things had changed. When she had gone under, it had only been Joyce, Hopper, Will and Jonathan in the room, now, Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Robin and Max had joined them.

"Hey, Kid," Hopper said, noticing that she was awake. The chatter around her quietened, everyone looking at her, faces hopeful. 

"How'd it go?" Jonathan asked, eyes holding desperation she wasn't expecting.

"I- uh. I made some progress. I don't think he's strong enough to keep me out for long but I managed to get through a little. Eight says it's good." 

Joyce smiled, "That's great news. Are you gonna head home to get some rest then?" 

She looked over to Hopper who nodded. "Yeah, we'll head home. Who's staying tonight?"

"Me!" Dustin said, "I think my mum should be getting here soon. She wanted to see him." 

Joyce smiled, "I think Jonathan and I might stay too but I need to drop Will off with Mike first." 

Jonathan nodded in the corner.

"Right! Well," Hopper said, "Everyone who needs dropping home, say your goodnights and we'll get going." 

They had begun a thing where every day when they came in they would say good morning to Steve and when they left at night they would say goodnight, Dustin said that if Steve knew what time of day it was it could be helpful. Hopper didn't understand how but he went along with it anyway.

He waited for five minutes before heading down to the car with the kids trailing behind him. As much as he didn't want to leave, he knew he needed to be a 'positive role model' for the kids and 'reinforce self-care'. It didn't matter much to him though. He just wanted to sit in the hospital room by Steve, until he woke up. Then, he would never let the teen out of his sight again. He felt like he'd failed as a father. First, Sarah, then he'd upset Eleven and allowed her to get hurt and now Steve was in a coma. He needed his kids. He wasn't going to stop until Steve was alright and he knew that he couldn't stop taking care of El in the meantime. He'd find a balance. He'd stay calm. He'd keep going. For his kids.

Chapter Text

The void seemed...colder.

El felt a shiver ripple down her spine as she walked through the water, towards Steve's body as it lay nearby. The vines had begun to spread again wrapping over Steve's stomach and waist while the ones that had been wrapping around his neck and chin were almost fully submerged, a piece of wood? It looked like, how on earth did she get wood? Had been placed under Steve's head to prevent him from drowning so quickly but because Eight wasn't there she hadn't called Eleven to tell her that Steve was getting worse. It was going so quickly. El knelt down by Steve's side, reaching down to hold his cold hand, lifting it from the water. "I'm here," She whispered, "Are you ready? I'm getting you out." 

She closed her eyes and let all feeling disappear.

When she opened her eyes, she recognised Steve's house in front of her. It was pouring, the sky a deep grey as thunder rolled and lightning split the sky. "Steve?" She called, squinting her eyes as she tried to shield herself from the downpour.

"Steve, are you here?!" 

No reply. 

She took a deep breath before deciding to approach the house. 

Reaching the front steps, she paused, the sound of a car engine rang through the night and there, moments later, Steve Harrington's car pulled into the driveway. Except, two people, a man and a woman, both of whom she didn't recognise sat in the driver and passenger seats. The rain pounding down on the windshield disfigured her view of her. They got out, pulling a small boy with them. "Well, Steven!" The man said, clapping his hands ceremoniously, "Welcome to your new home!" 

Eleven blinked. She had just blinked and suddenly she found herself in the familiar front hall of the Harrington house. Steve often took them over to his because his parents 'went away' a LOT and Hopper said it was probably the safest place for her to meet with the rest of the party. Plus, Hopper and Joyce had always trusted him to look after them and he was great to them, as both a babysitter, friend and an older brother figure. Almost literally her older brother though. Even if she had only just found out.

There was a problem, however. The hallway was...different. The walls were covered in a light blue wallpaper that covered the bottom half of the wall in a vertical wood pattern and above that were blue flowers with a white background. It was pretty. Well, it would have been if there wasn't a huge blood stain spreading across it. The crumpled form of a young Steve Harrington lay below it, curled in a small, shaking ball. "Maybe next time you'll listen to me, Steven!" The man from before spoke, "You need to stop making me do things like this. I don't enjoy hurting you, I don't want to have to punish you but you give me no choice. This hurts me just as much as it hurts you." 

Eleven scowled, muttering a, "Mouth breather," under her breath.

Steve slowly got to his feet, the back of his shirt covered in blood, tears glazing his eyes.

"Y-Yes, Sir." 

His voice sounded...strange. There was a thick accent to it, his voice was nearly unrecognisable. And the way he spoke sounded shaky and unsure. Like he wasn't used to talking English.

"Good," She guessed that the man was his father, "Now, go to your room before I change my mind about going easy on you, you hear me boy?" 

Steve nodded, earning a hard slap across his face.

"What do you say?!" 

"I-" Steve trailed off voice trembling.

"WHAT DO YOU SAY?!!" Mr Harrington yelled, grabbing Steve's shoulders and shaking him roughly, making him cry out in pain.

"Th-Thank you, Sir, I'm sorry." 

El frowned even harder. Why was he apologising? He had done nothing wrong.

His father seemed satisfied, sighing and nodding before pointing to the stairs and watching as Steve scurried away, up them. 

"THIS HAD BETTER BE CLEAN BY THE TIME I GET HOME FROM WORK TOMORROW!" He yelled up the stairs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stared at the bloodstain.

El had long since started crying, even though she hadn't realised it until that moment, body shaking as tears dripped down her face. 

She ran to the stairs, wanting to run up to comfort Steve, but as her foot hit the second step...well, the point was it didn't. She moved her foot up to place it down on the stairs but her foot never hit it, instead, falling through a non-existent gap, her body going with it. She kept falling and falling until her eyes snapped open and she was back in the hospital room. Hopper turned to face her, hearing her gasp as she jolted back into reality, immediately breaking down into sobs. Hopper lunged to her, quickly pulling her against his chest as she cried, holding her head against him. Jonathan sat, where he always was, holding Steve's hand, eyes wide with worry as he watched Eleven panic. Robin was the only other person in the room, sat quietly in the corner, not knowing what to say or do.

She gave Eleven a sad smile as she looked over Hopper's shoulder and Eleven tried to mirror it.

"What happened, Kid?" Hopper asked quietly, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"I-I saw him. Well, not Steve but...memory Steve. He was a kid," She broke off with a sob, "He was a kid!" 

Hopper shushed her, "It's alright, take your time." 

She took a deep breath before trying to speak again. "Steve was...he was covered in blood and his Dad, I think, was yelling at him. Not Papa. I've never seen him before. He said it was Steve's own fault and Steve made him do it. He... bad man." 

Hopper's face crumpled slightly as he struggled to keep his composure. He knew that Steve had had an awful childhood - asides from the lab - and had awful parents and the fact that El had bared witness to any form of abuse was... he didn't really know how to feel about it.

All he knew, was that nothing like that was going to happen to his kids again. Not for as long as he could help it.

Chapter Text

"El?" 

"Eleven?" 

"Eleven please!" 

She snapped her eyes open.

Eight stood in front of her, face pale and eyes wide with fear. Steve was nowhere to be seen.

"Where-" Eleven began, only to be cut off.

"This isn't the main void," Eight explained quickly, knowing El's question but it was said, "This is...it's a means of communication between just us, more direct."

"What's wrong?" El asked, sensing Eight's unease.

"It's Seven," She sighed, "I-...he's drowning." 

"What?!" El shrieked, "What do you mean?!" 

"It's a slow and painful process, it means we need to hurry up. Are you with him?" 

"No, I'm at home." 

"You need to get here, just...just look." 

Eight grabbed her hand, leading her in a direction and El had no idea how she was able to navigate through the darkness. There was nothing to indicate a place that they needed to go or a place that they had been. Eleven trusted Eight though, allowing her to pull her along for a minute.

It was after that minute that Eleven began to see something in the distance it was difficult to see but as soon as Eight noticed it she sped up, so El supposed that was what they were aiming for. It soon became clear that it was a body and suddenly El was aware that she was back in the main void. That was Steve. She wasn't even that close when she noticed the new vines wrapping around his shoulders and winding down his arms. Steve's head, which had been propped up, was now partially underwater, the murky substance beginning to seep into his mouth and his lips had turned a strange blue colour. His face was a stark white and he was much skinnier than when El had last seen him. "How...How long do we have?" She whispered.

"At this rate? Uh...2, 3 days at most." 

"I-I can do it." 

"El, I need you to be prepared for if this doesn't work." 

"It will work! I can find him!" 

"I never said you couldn't, it's just... we might not have enough time. If we don't...if he doesn't..." 

El shook her head in disbelief, "No! We can save him. We will." 

Eight just nodded sadly. 

El closed her eyes, willing herself away and opening them once more to find herself lying in her bed. Jumping up, she ran down the hall to Hopper's room, not even bothering to knock, just barging straight through. That was enough to wake him, rolling over and rubbing his eyes as she made her way over to his bed. "El? Are you okay?" He asked, quickly sitting up and throwing his legs off of the side of the bed.

"Steve, Steve needs us. He's getting worse." She said, eyes watering.

"What happened?" 

"Eight came to me. She said he's drowning. Said he has 2 maybe 3 days left at most."

Hopper's face fell.

"You wanna go to him?" 

Eleven nodded.

"Alright well, it's 6 am, so I guess it's not too bad of a time." He smiled, "Go get dressed, we'll get breakfast on the way." 

Jonathan had been sat, in his chair in that corner as always, gripping Steve's hand like a lifeline. Dustin and Mrs Henderson talked quietly across the room when one of the machines that Steve had been hooked up to began to beep. Steve's body was shaking, the most movement Jonathan had seen in days. He felt sick. This wasn't right. The chatting from across the room stopped and Mrs Henderson jumped up rushing over, Dusting close on her heels. A doctor soon appeared through the doorway, followed by another and another. Jonathan had no idea what they were saying, a jumbled mess of medical terms being spoken at 100 miles per hour but the few things he picked up on, scared him.

"...respiratory distress..." 

"...mild brain hypoxia..."

"...lack of oxygen..."

A new machine was brought in. A ventilator. Steve had been put on one when he was first admitted but had quickly become stable so they had taken it away again. To see him being placed back on was a sad sight. He continued to hold Steve's hand, looking away as the tube was fed down his throat and the mask strapped down.

Owens appeared in the room.

"What's happened?" He asked the nearest doctor.

"He went into sudden respiratory distress, his body won't breathe properly by itself so we have placed him on a ventilator. There's still a possibility of brain hypoxia." 

Sam nodded sadly, "Right, keep him under close monitoring for the next few hours then, we can move him to the ICU if necessary."

The doctors nodded, finishing the hookup and making sure that everything was working correctly before filing out of the room. 

Jonathan wanted to cry, Dustin and Mrs Henderson were crying and he didn't know what to do. He couldn't bring himself to say anything that might comfort them, longing for comfort himself, instead, staying quiet, holding onto Steve's hand and pulling his arm in now too, wanting to be as close as possible.

Only a few minutes after the emergency had happened, Hopper and Eleven walked in through the door. Eleven's face was stoic and the second Hopper's eyes landed on the ventilator he stopped, looking away towards the door like he planned to run away but after taking a deep breath he moved into the room, taking a seat on Steve's other side. Mrs Henderson decided that that would be a good moment to take her leave, giving Hopper a hug before heading out.

"It's affecting him outside of the void then," He said shakily, once Dustin's mother was out of earshot.

El nodded.

"What? What does that mean?" Jonathan said, head shooting up. Dustin too watching on in concern.

"In the void, Steve is starting to drown. The vines are pulling him under the water. I guess...I guess it makes sense that it would affect him here. I'm gonna try and find him again," El reached out, covering Jonathan's hand with her own, "Don't worry." 

Jonathan's face went red and he looked away, turning to look at Steve instead of Eleven who gave him a smile.

El moved away once again, to sit in a seat beside Hopper, reaching out and taking Steve's hand. "I'm gonna find you," She whispered, "I promise."

Chapter Text

El let her hand curl around Steve's cold fingers, closing her eyes as she actively tried to slow her breathing, letting herself slip away - becoming a piece of the background.

The void felt...colder. The wide liminal space made her feel an unease that it hadn't since she had gone looking for Billy. Steve lay a couple of feet away, Eight sat beside him, head down, not yet noticing her, but it didn't feel real. None of it felt right. She stepped towards them, the water pooling around her feet making them numb. "Eight?" She said.

Eight didn't move.

"Eight?!"

Still no response.

She moved closer.

Once she reached their side, she knelt down, moving out a hand to touch Eight's shoulder. The closer her hand got the colder it became. What was happening?

"Eight?" She said again, hand reaching her shoulder.

El had been focusing on Steve's face, waiting for her hand to meet Eight's shoulder to get her attention, but it never did. Looking up, she paused. Where was Eight? She had been sitting, right there, hands cupping Steve's head trying to keep it out of the water but now, she was nowhere to be seen. Looking back down to where Steve was lying, she felt her heart sink.

He was gone too.

The cold crept in even more and she began to shiver, goosebumps running up and down her arms. Why was it so cold?

Suddenly, a light flicked on.

She was sitting in the living room of the Harrington house.

A young Steve Harrington stood in the doorway, a shaking hand on the light switch with bruises and tear streaks staining his face, he looked so scared. El didn't understand. There was nothing there. The house was completely silent. "Hello?" Steve called.

At first, El thought that he was looking at her, that he was able to see but after a moment he shook his head, flicking off the light and walking out. She scrambled to her feet, deciding to follow him. The hall was even colder than the room she had been in and she followed him out to the kitchen where it was even colder still. She thought houses were supposed to be warm? Hers always was and Steve's normally was when she went there.

She watched as Steve walked over to the fridge, looking at the front of it where a small piece of paper was clipped by a magnet. 

Steven,

We're going to be away for a couple of months. We have left you some money for food in the study. 

You are to use the money for food only! We will know if you use it for any other purpose.

The heater broke this morning so it'll be cold but you'll be fine.

Don't do anything stupid.

Steve broke down sobbing, dropping to his knees, and Eleven wanted nothing more than to comfort him, but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't touch him or interact with her surroundings and he couldn't see or hear her. It would be a futile attempt. 

She couldn't believe the message.

He was going to be alone?

For months?

He didn't even have an exact date for when they would come back. 

There was no goodbye, no help, no nothing. Just a 'don't do anything stupid'. It made her so angry. 

How could a 'parent' do that to their child? 

El turned, back towards Steve, blinking in surprise when she found he wasn't there. The house was still cold and the note was still there so it couldn't have been a huge time gap. Or maybe it was. It could have been months after all.

She turned a full circle deeming the kitchen empty, making her way out through the hall once more, reaching the living room.

There.

Steve lay, in the middle of the room, unconscious. His lips and fingers were a purple-blue, the rest of his skin a stark white. 

Hypothermia.

Hopper had taught her all about hypothermia last winter when she was going out with the party, wanting her to know the signs and risks so she would stay safe.

Steve had been living in a freezing cold house for who knows how long and now here he was and there was nothing that she could do to help.

She knew that obviously, he couldn't die here. He was grown up now after all. But seeing him lying there, so still on the ground, was horrifying.

She backed away, fear taking over a little as she turned on her heel and ran through the doorway.

As she passed through it, a sudden blast of warmth hit her.

She was somewhere else.

She was...in school?

She recognised Hawkins High from when she had gone looking for Mike. She was standing in the middle of the hallway in utter confusion. Why was she in school and where was everyone? 

Walking up the hallway, she began to hear voices. Only one she recognised. Steve.

There was another male voice and a female one, drifting down the hall. They sounded angry or...mocking?

She reached a classroom door, peering in.

Steve was pressed against the wall, the unfamiliar guy holding him there by his collar. Steve looked to be...15, maybe? Possibly younger. 

"Who knew?!" The other guy said, "Who would've guessed?!" 

"Tommy, don't...please, don't do this." 

So his name was Tommy. Eleven vaguely remembered hearing that name before.

"Who would have guessed that King Steve Harrington is a dirty fag." Tommy spat, literally.

Steve said nothing.

"Not denying huh? So you are?" The girl spoke.

"I don't have to say shit, Carol." 

Carol laughed, moving forwards so she was right in his face. Suddenly, the smile dropped and she slapped him, hard, across the face. 

Tommy laughed, following the slap with a punch to the other side of his face.

El ran forward as if she could do something, pausing when she remembered it was just a memory. The two beat Steve shouting swears and slurs for a good 20 minutes, seeming to enjoy it with some...sick satisfaction that made El want to throw up.

When they finally left, Steve made no move to get up. What was the point? He didn't have anything to get up for. His only friends, well, 'friends' was a loose term, had beat and abandoned him, he had no parents, not that he knew and his so-called family he only saw one or two weeks a year, when they would come back, beat him senseless and then leave again. Eleven wished he knew at that point how many were going to love and care for him but he didn't have clue., she didn't blame him for laying there, with his eyes closed, wishing to just fade away. She could never blame him for that.

Taking a deep breath, she turned on her heel once more, she knew she had to keep moving, she needed to find him, though she didn't want to leave him. It wasn't exactly her choice.

As she turned, the world began to warp around her, colours blurring together, twisting and sliding across her vision.

The second that she was steady again, she was able to locate herself as being in Steve's bedroom. There was a bathroom attached to his bedroom, the door left wide open where she could hear shuffling and quiet crying from the inside. 

Cautiously, she crept forward, making her way into the bathroom. Steve stood with his back to her, leaning over the sink, muffled sobs left his mouth as he doubled over. El couldn't see what was happening but a sadness weighed down on her shoulders. The room itself just carried this weight. She watched as the sink turned on, clear water turning red as it trickled down the drain. Blood. He was bleeding. Before she could run forward and get a better view, she saw something else drop, hearing a metallic sound echo through the room. What was it? A shiny piece of metal lay at the bottom of the sink.

Steve turned, blood covering the inside of his arm, deep gashes pushed through the skin, and his eyes widened.

"Eleven?" 

"Steve? Steve! You need to come with me you have to wake up!" 

"What? You shouldn't be here you shouldn't be seeing this!" 

"Steve, it's okay, it's okay, just, come with me, please." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Steve, you're in a coma." 

"I'm- I'm what?" 

With both of their backs turned, Eleven and Steve were unaware of the dark shadow, creeping through the bedroom, and peering around the door of Steve's bathroom.

By then it was too late. 

Steve spotted it first, watching as long fingers wrapped around the doorframe and a head poked around, grabbing El who was closer and pulling her behind him, grabbing her hand.

"Eleven, I need you to trust me on this." He whispered, "Please."

"I trust you." 

"Come back for me tomorrow, alright? I'll get us to somewhere safer by then." 

"What?" 

"You're going to leave and I'm going to get somewhere safe for when you return tomorrow." 

The creature took a step into the bathroom, tilting its head at the two.

"On 3," Steve said, confusing El who hadn't been told anything, "1, 2, 3!"

Steve ran at the open window, pulling Eleven behind him just as the shadow figure started to charge at them.

With zero hesitation he flung himself out, Eleven having no time to even think before she was being pulled out after him, falling endlessly. 

A beat passed.

The ground never came.

She watched Steve raise a hand, giving her a salute before her body jolted back into awareness. She was still in the hospital room, Max and Robin sat in one corner, Jonathon and Joyce in the other.

Jonathan raised his head as he saw her jolt Steve's arm as she came to consciousness. 

"Anything?" He asked, exhaustion clear in his voice.

El smiled, "I-I found him." 

"You found him?" Max exclaimed, excited.

She nodded, "He spoke to me. Told me to come back tomorrow when it was safe. I...I think something's chasing him." 

"Shit. Is there nothing we can do?" 

Eleven shook her head sadly.

"No, just...just be here for him." 

Jonathan nodded, he definitely wasn't leaving now.

A nurse had come in to check on Steve while Eleven was in the void, being someone who worked for Owens she didn't question it, just avoided interrupting her by moving her or Steve's hand. She reported dark lines wrapping around Steve's legs now too.

They were running out of time.

Eleven just hoped Steve could stay alive until tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Steve was afraid.

He hadn't expected El to show up. 

In fact, he hadn't even realised that he was in a coma or not in his reality until Eleven had shown up. That's when he remembered. He remembered everything. Hopper, Joyce, Nancy, Jonathan, his kids! He remembered them. HE needed to get back to them. It was in his sixth memory that he had noticed something chasing him. It began as a chill down his spine or a breath of cold air against his neck. It was unnerving, but there was nothing he could actually see so he passed it off as nothing. Then he began to hear footsteps running towards him from behind, seeing shadows moving beneath doors and out of the corner of his eyes. 

Then, it actually started to show itself. A figure, peaking its head around the door, with no discernable features other than bright glowing eyes and glimpses of rows upon rows of sharp teeth. The figure began to show itself more until it was no longer hiding, actively following him around. Steve was now the one to hide.

Occasionally, he would hear these whispers, single words like, "Run," or "Seven," not a lot, but enough to scare the shit out of him. 

Then El showed up and the shadow got that closest it had ever gotten so he jumped out of the window with El to stop it from harming either of them.

When he next awoke, El was gone and he was laying on his bedroom floor, alone.

El sat in the void, fingers curling around Steve's cold hands. "It's time to go," She whispered, "Everyone's waiting for you in the hospital room, you've just gotta wake up, okay?" 

"Eleven?" 

She spun around, facing behind her where the voice had come from. No one.

"Hello!" She called, into the darkness, "Hello?"

"Eleven!" 

There, again, a voice she didn't recognise.

Getting to her feet she spun in a full circle, trying to figure out where the person was.

This time she didn't reply, waiting, watching.

"Eleven!" 

Right behind her.

Spinning to look over her shoulder, she lost her balance, falling.

Down,

           down

                     down.

It felt like only a second had passed before her surroundings became clear.

The Harrington house once more.

She was in Steve's living room, looking at the group of kids gathered there.

Looking at herself.

She remembered this, only a week or two before everything went to shit they had gone over to Steve's as normal to play dungeons and dragons and various other games as a party. Steve had made them homemade pizza and taught them how to do it properly. Something had been wrong. El had known it the whole time she was there, something had been wrong with Steve but she hadn't been able to figure out what. She had tried and tried to find what was wrong but she couldn't get into Steve's head which - looking back on it - should have made her realise he wasn't normal. Eventually, Hopper had come to pick her up and take her back to the cabin. Steve had seemed paranoid, anxious, jumpy - maybe - like he was constantly in fight or flight. She even saw him eyeing his nail-ridden baseball bat in the corner, occasionally resting a hand on the handle as if they were in danger. But, nothing had happened. If something was wrong surely she would have known, or Will, Will might have been able to sense it.

She watched as they were all focused on the board game in front of them, Mike whining and Dustin gloating about something, Steve's eyes flickered to the doorway and an expression of horror morphed his features. He shook his head looking away again with a shake of his head, hands twisting together.

"Steve?" That was Dustin, having turned to see the teen leaning against the wall with his eyes tightly shut. 

Steve blinked his eyes open, looking over at Dustin, "Yeah?" 

"Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine, Henderson, just a small headache."

"Steve," Dustin drew out, wanting something more from him.

"Fine, I'll go and take something now. Does anyone want anything while I'm up?" 

There were head shakes all round. Dustin sighed seemingly satisfied that Steve was going to take something yet mildly upset that he hadn't said anything to begin with.

The world began to warp in front of her, colours intensifying and the lights getting brighter and brighter until it was only white that filled her vision.

She blinked and suddenly, she was in Steve's bathroom once more, watching as Steve rifled through the contents of his medicine cabinet.

There were a lot of bottles there.

Steve gave an indignant cry, slamming any empty bottle on the counter.

"Steve?" She whispered.

No response. 

This wasn't the right Steve, he couldn't hear her.

Taking a step closer she leaned over his shoulder, trying to read the water-smudged label but remaining unsuccessful. On the cap of the bottle (however) were the barely legible words, "To make them disappear." scrawled in Steve's neat handwriting. 

To make them disappear?

What was that supposed to mean?

That's when Steve - or, not Steve - began whispering to himself almost incomprehensive words and sentences.

"No, no, no, no, please, please stop, please shut up, just, shut up." His begging seemed to be useless as he only continued, just like whatever was plaguing him. It was only when the name was mentioned the Eleven realised what was happening.

"I'm sorry, Barbara, I'm sorry, please, please leave me alone." 

Barbara. That was Nancy's friend that had died in Steve's pool, right? A Demogorgon had gotten to her. El vaguely remembered Hopper telling her that Steve could see and hear ghosts. It was one of his 'talents'. Eleven didn't understand how anyone could go through their day-to-day lives seeing and hearing ghosts all of the time and remain - or at least seem - reasonably calm and collected. That's because he wasn't. He was taking whatever had been in that bottle to keep himself from seeing them. But clearly, he had run out. Things were beginning to make sense to her now. That's why he was so paranoid. It must have been just before they arrived that he realised or he probably would have called it off. Eleven definitely would have. 

There was a thud behind her and Eleven turned to see Steve and his father. Steve was pressed against the wall, his father's hand wrapped around his neck as he choked, face turning an awful shade of purplish-red.

"...please-" He whispered, barely audible, "I can't- you're gonna-" 

Eleven watched in horror as Steve's eyes started to close, chin dropping against his father's hand as his fingers - that had been scrabbling uselessly against the wall, slowed in their motions.

In a last-ditch act of desperation, she saw Steve lock eyes with his father, expression hardening before flicking his head back his father instantly being flung across the room. Steve fell to the ground, one hand on his chest the other rubbing his throat as he heaved in breath after uneven breath.

"FREAK!" His father screamed, "YOU FREAK." 

Then everything paused. El could hear footsteps coming up behind her but found herself calm. She already knew who it was. A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder.

"I really didn't want you to have to see that," Steve said quietly, offering her a small smile.

"You're here," She replied, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Yeah," He said, a little shocked but all the more willing as he wrapped his arms around her, "I'm here."

"We're going home." She said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

"Home sounds great," He sighed, "How are we getting out of here though?" 

Eleven paused. She hadn't thought that far. 

"I, uh, don't let go of me, no matter what," She said, grabbing a hold of his hand, tightly, "I'm going to try and get back to the void and if you let go of me, I don't think I'll take you too." 

Steve nodded in understanding, giving her hand a small squeeze.

Closing her eyes, she began to focus, focus on the feeling of water around her feet, the cool darkness of the unknown. A shiver ran down her spine. El shook her head, no that was too cold for the void, she needed to think-

A scream broke her from her thoughts. Steve, still not letting go, was looking down at her, eyes wide and full of tears. Her eyes trailed down and she had to look away quickly to stop herself from throwing up. A long, dark, clawed arm was protruding from Steve's stomach, the outline of a dark figure behind him.

"Oh god, oh my god, Eleven go, please, get us out!" He cried, words slurring together as blood began to soak through the front of his grey shirt.

She screwed her eyes shut, mind racing as she tried to slow her thoughts just enough to think about the water, the frigid air, the darkness the-

Suddenly, they were falling.

Jonathan was sitting in the hospital room by himself- asides from El obviously-, hand gripping Steve's and his head resting forward on Steve's forearm. The heart rate monitor in the corner, that had been steadily beeping away began to change, speeding up, the time between beeps growing shorter and shorter. Jonathan's head shot up, an involuntary scream erupting from his throat as he saw it.

Blood.

So much blood, soaking through the front of his hospital gown.

A couple of doctors and nurses ran into the room, shock crossing their features as they motioned for him to leave, a doctor taking his arm and physically pulling him from the room when he found his legs wouldn't co-operate.

He couldn't say anything. Couldn't think, god, he could barely breathe. 

Sinking to the floor outside of the hospital room, he allowed the tears to flow as colours flashed in front of his eyes. All varying shades of red. Of blood. Steve's blood. Everywhere. It was- It was everywhere.

What had happened?

Chapter Text

"Jonathan?" 

"Jonathan! Look at me!" 

Jonathan's eyes snapped up, Nancy and his mother were knelt in front of him a scared-looking Max stood a little way back.

"There you go Jonathan, breathe with me," Joyce said, eyes wide with concern.

Jonathan's chest heaved, people blurring into messes of colour and shadow around him. He couldn't believe what had just happened. It wasn't real, it couldn't have been. He was dreaming, this was just a big nightmare. It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it-

"This is real, Jonathan, I'm sorry but it's real," Nancy said.

Jonathan broke, sobbing as his mother wrapped him up in her arms.

It took a good 10 minutes before he was calm and coherent again. 

"Jonathan, what happened?" Joyce asked.

When they had come in, all they had seen was Steve's open door, an empty room - asides from who still sat with her hand outstretched, and Jonathan on the floor outside having a panic attack. 

"He- I don't know," He whispered, voice hoarse, "I just- I looked up and he was covered in blood and his heart was going crazy and then there were people rushing in and I think they took him away somewhere."

Max looked down at her feet, scuffing them back and forth as Nancy's hand came up, covering her mouth. "Alright, well, I can- I can ask the front desk, alright?" Nancy said, getting to her feet and rushing down the hallway. 

Eleven stumbled, landing on her hands and knees in the water, Steve was laying out on his front beside her, water staining red. "Steve?!" El cried dropping down beside her.

"Eleven!" A voice called.

She looked up in time to see Eight sprinting towards her.

"El, I was so worried, I couldn't get to you, something was blocking me and- fuck! Is that Seven?!" 

Eleven nodded, "His name is Steve! Please help, he- it got him!" 

Eleven couldn't stop the tears dripping down her face.

"Okay, okay, hold on." Eight grabbed a hold of Steve's shoulders, rolling him over onto his back before jumping back with a cry.

There was a big hole, all the way through Steve's stomach, entrails spilling out into the water. "Oh god, oh no!" Eight murmured, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You need to get him back into reality, now."

"How?"

"I- I don't know-, you know what, you go back, get back to reality and then try and wake him from there, I'll try and wake him from here, okay?" 

Eleven nodded.

"I- I can do that." 

She knelt down, leaning over to press a kiss against Steve's forehead, "We're getting you out of here," before leaning backwards eyes closed waiting to feel the weight of Steve's hand in hers. 

It never came.

She opened her eyes, expecting to still be in the void, dread filling her when she saw she was sitting in Steve's room, the bed missing and blood covering the ground. Jumping to her feet, she rushed out into the hall running straight into Joyce who grabbed her, pulling her into her arms. "Woah, El, hey," She said but El quickly cut her off.

"Where is he? Where's Steve?" 

Nancy sighed, and sat cross-legged beside Max, "He's in surgery, they wouldn't tell me much but they said he's at a high rate of fatality."

El's face crumpled and she allowed Joyce to pull her back into the hug, "What happened sweetheart?" 

"It got him- it- it got him." 

"What got him?" 

"There was something, following us in his mind and it, it got him as we were leaving!" 

Joyce's eyes widened but before she could say anything Sam Owens walked over.

"How is he?" Max asked, scrambling to her feet.

Owens looked at her with a sympathetic gaze, "It's not good. He had a hole through his spine and his stomach. We managed to stop the bleeding and fix his stomach to the best of our ability but there was severe damage to his lower spine and the exit of his oesophagus."

"What does that mean?" 

"It means a number of things but the two main things are, we're unsure if he'll ever be able to eat or walk again." 

"What?!" Max cried.

"I'm so sorry, he's still in surgery for now and they're going to see what they can do to repair his spine but, the percentages are low. As for eating, it's likely that they'll have to put it tube in for him to feed nutrients through, at least for the time being. There's a higher chance of that healing, though it's not for certain. I'm so sorry."

All four of them were crying. Joyce gripping onto them tightly. "I-" She was at a loss for words.

"I'll give you some time to process this. When Steve is out of surgery he'll be brought straight back to his room so you can stay here if you'd like. If you need me you know where I'll be."

Owens walked away leaving a broken family behind.

Joyce knew that she needed to tell Hopper. He had been going back and forth picking the kids up, going to work and then leaving early to pick them up and get them home. At that moment, he was at work, after sitting with the kids - Jonathan was still very much her kid, and she made her way down to the lobby picking up one of the payphones. She called the station, knowing that Flo would be the one to pick up, and, of course, was correct.

"Hello, Hawkin's police, how can I help?" She asked.

"Flo?" 

"Joyce?" 

"Flo, I need to speak to Hopper urgently." 

"Of course, one second," Flo pulled away from the phone yelling, "Hopper! You have a call." 

"Hello?" Hopper's voice came through.

"Hopper, you need to get to the hospital, now, you need to come and be with Steve." 

"Fuck, I'm on my way." 

The dial tone rang.

Chapter Text

Hopper walked down the bright white hallways, rubbing his hands together nervously. Joyce was stood at the end of the hall, outside of Steve's room, pacing back on forth, Jonathan, Nancy and Max sat on the floor while El stood watching them sadly. 

"Joyce?" He called.

"Hopper!" She ran over to him, flinging her arms around him and crying into his shoulder.

"Joyce, Joyce what happened?" Hopper was able to see over Joyce's shoulder into the empty room that had been Steve's.

"He, there was something chasing him and Eleven and it got him. He had a hole through his stomach and back, the full way through. Owen's said that he's in surgery and there's a lot of damage to his spine and oesophagus. He doesn't think Steve will be able to eat or walk properly, he-" Joyce sniffled, breaking off with a quiet cry.

Hopper facade crumpled. He was tired. He was tired of seeing Steve in pain over and over again. He was tired of the kid having no one to look after him properly. He was tired of pretending to be fine with all of it. For the first time in years, he let himself cry, wrapped up in Joyce's arms, his daughter stood a foot away and his son somewhere back in surgery. He let himself break and god it felt good. 

Somewhere along the line, Steve was wheeled back to his room, looking not much different than when he had left, his hospital gown covering his injury. Hopper sat beside him, clutching his hand before turning to El, "Is he supposed to be waking up?" 

"I- I don't know. Eight said he will wake up, but, he was injured during the jump so- I don't know. He's in the void now."

"So he could wake up at any moment?" 

"Yes." 

That was the first sliver of hoper Hopper had felt all day. "Is there any way to help him wake up?" 

"I don't know." 

"Was there anything in the journals?" This time Hopper's question was directed to Joyce.

"We should recheck them." She suggested, moving to the corner where the bag still sat.

Hopper, Joyce and Nancy each took one, Jonathan too shocked to focus on anything but the boy in front of him, breathing slowly on the bed. El and Max were as close as they could be, Max having radioed for everyone to make their way to the hospital.

Hopper went through the medical journal, while Nancy and Joyce went through journals labelled 007.

Medical Entry #368

007

It is the 9th day of 007's coma. Six has reassured us that she will be able to get him out but there are bruise-like marks beginning to cover his face and neck. Eight says that he is going to drown. I do not understand but all she keeps saying is "The Void, it's going to take him." It doesn't make sense.

Another two entries there were unrelated to Steve so he skipped past them.

Medical Entry #371

007

Today, the bruises got worse, it is now covering his chest too. The nurses have reported water in Seven's lungs even though there is no way for it to have gotten there. Eight keeps telling us that he is going to drown.

Medical Entry #372

007

Six returned telling us that she was successful, yet Seven had still not yet woken. She suggested he made need some help to come back into his body again. I have come up with a small list of things that I think could be beneficial.

• Familiar Touch (Human contact, or comfort items.)
• Familiar Sound (Human Voice or Music/Sounds such as rain or frequent weather or ambience of living area.)
• Familiar/Comforting Smells (This could be putting flowers in the room or spraying a familiar perfume or cologne.)
• Hearing the voice of a loved one is the best way to wake someone from a coma - although that isn't very available while he remains in the lab.

That made Hopper angry. Steve had no one to love him and look after him properly at the lab - only to have a mutual care for - then when he escaped things only got worse.

When Steve woke up, Hopper was going to give him the best life possible.

"Hey," he said, "I've found something." 

Reading the list off to the others, they formed a little plan on how to do all of them. Firstly, everyone was on their way so they would be able to talk to him and take turns holding his hands and offering points of contact, Will was also going to bring over a couple of mixtapes from Jonathan's room which they would play to Steve through a walkman. That ruled out touch and sound. Then for smell Robin was going to pick up some flowers from the florist on her way to the hospital. The same flowers that Steve would bring Joyce whenever he came over for dinner or something, that would always sit in a vase, on the centre of the dining table. Not the flowers that were in Steve's house, that his mother would bring back and leave to die in a pot on the kitchen windowsill. They would stay for as long as they possibly could.

So the plan was put into action, everyone rotating physical contact, at least 4 people talking to each other at all times, with one person, talking quietly to Steve. Robin placed the vase of flowers on the bedside table, filling the room immediately with a sweet aroma. Max put one of the cassettes into the walkman, slipping the headphones over Steve so that he would hear the music through one ear.

That is how they stayed for hours, from the moment they arrived, to long after it had gone dark with barely any sign of improvement. The closest they got was Steve's eyes flicking beneath closed lids. Hopper was sitting, holding Steve's hand, everyone around him half-asleep. Max sat on the other side of Steve's bed, holding his other hand, while Jonathan had his hands idly brushing through Steve's flat and now somewhat greasy hair. That was when he felt it, a small squeeze from the smaller hand in his. Max's head shot up from where she was, eyes meeting Hopper's in shock, clear that she too had felt something. Steve had squeezed their hands.

Steve had-

It was the first sign of consciousness they had seen in almost 2 weeks.

Steve was waking up.

Chapter Text

"He-! He squeezed my hand!" Max exclaimed happily.

"Same," Hopper smiled, looking over at her, "Just remember he's been in a coma for a while, so he might not be awake for long if at all. And even then he might not be acting the same, so let's just be gentle."

Hopper squeezed Steve's hand back, once again getting a response.

He kept his eyes on Steve's face, scanning his features closely and watching as his nose scrunched slightly followed by his eyes moving faster beneath his eyelids.

Then, his eyes cracked open.

Only a little, but god it felt so good to see his dark brown eyes, even if they weren't very focused.

"Steve?" He said softly, "You with us, kid?" 

Everyone was rushing forward in a second trying to get closer to him, Joyce and Robin pushing the kids back, trying to give him some room.

"H-Hop'" Came the quiet response.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm right here, Steve, we're all here." 

Steve's grip tightened around his for a moment before relaxing once more as his eyes closed.

"No-" Dustin started to say quickly cut off by Nancy.

"Dustin, he needs to rest. I know you want to talk to him but keeping him awake is only going to make him worse, okay? Maybe he'll be awake for longer next time. This is an improvement!" 

Dustin looked sad but nodded anyway sitting back in his seat.

Steve woke up only an hour later, with a similar situation, this time holding a conversation a little better and allowing a nurse to check him over.

Everyone was made to leave the room while she checked over his surgery sites, being called in again once it was over.

She invited everyone back in with a smile, waiting until everyone was seated before clearing her throat.

"Well," She smiled, "I have some good news!" 

Everyone brightened up at that. They all deserved good news at that point.

"We believe that Steve's back will heal and with the right therapies and practise, he will be able to walk again."

Joyce almost started crying at that alone.

"And his oesophagus?" Robin asked.

"That...we don't think it will heal properly. There's about a 2.4% chance of it healing enough for him to eat again and even then it would only be liquid and soft foods. A feeding tube seems like the only way." 

Robin nodded. It had been expected. They had warned them before and while it was nice to be hopeful, it would hurt more when she was let down.

At least they had the good news. She couldn't imagine Steve never being able to walk again. He was such an active person, constantly moving in some way, whether it was just fidgeting and bouncing on his heels or actually playing sports like basketball.

God, he wasn't going to be able to play basketball again. At least, not for a long time.

The thought almost had her crying again.

Basketball had been his way of coping for a long time. Now it was gone. In one second. 

Hopper was the only person to stay that night as the nurse had told them that Steve was unlikely to wake up as he'd already woken up twice that day which was a great sign but likely very draining for him. Everyone agreed that they would be back in the morning, saying goodnight as usual and leaving, El staying over at the Byer's house. 

Hopper leaned back in his chair, keeping a hand in Steve's should he happen to wake up and need him during the night. It didn't take long for him to fall into a sleep.

It was right behind him.

Breathing down his neck.

Steve turned the corner, sprinting as fast as he could down the long corridor he was faced with.

It was so cold.

He was going to die.

Steve was sure of it this time, legs burning with the force it was taking to keep him moving.

He could hear its footsteps right behind him.

It hadn't slowed at all.

He couldn't keep running.

He couldn't-

He-

Hopper's eyes flew open the second he heard Steve cry out, sitting up in his seat to see Steve, curled on his side with tears dripping down his face, body shaking with heaving gasps, wide brown eyes staring back at him.

"Steve! Hey! Kid, look at me!" He said, getting to his feet and moving closer, reaching down to grab his arm.

Steve shook his head, trying to move away, the word "No" spilling from his lips over and over.

"Okay, I won't touch you, you're okay! Steve, it's me, it's Hopper!" 

Steve's eyes gained a little clarity, looking up at him. Then his arms reached out towards him, eyes welling up with tears once more.

Hopper wasted no time, reaching down and pulling Steve into his arms. He sat on the edge of the bed, lifting Steve's upper body into his lap, being careful not to disturb the wires attached to him. His arms wrapped around Steve's fragile body, wincing at how skinny the boy had gotten, running a hand gently over his back. "You're okay, Steve," He whispered, "I've got you, you're safe, I promise." 

Steve brought up a shaking hand to wipe at his eyes, the heart monitor beeping rapidly.

"Deep breaths, there you go, you've got it."

Steve's breathing slowly calmed, a nurse poked her head around the door to check in, leaving shortly after when she saw everything was under control.

"I'm sorry," Steve whispered.

"Why are you sorry? There's nothing to be sorry about!" 

Steve just shook his head leaning back against Hopper.

The silence was comforting. Knowing that he was safe in Hopper's arms was enough to lull Steve back to sleep.

Hopper, upon realising the kid in his arms was asleep once more, rested his head atop Steve's, pressing his cheek against Steve's hair, letting his eyes close too.

They were safe.

Chapter Text

When Joyce walked into the hospital room she was happy to see Steve, curled up against Hopper, both sound asleep, content in the safety of each other. She placed the coffee that she had brought for Hopper down on the table, moving to sit in the other corner, watching as Jonathan moved to sit on Steve's other side. It was nice to see both so peaceful, God knew that the past few weeks had been anything but peaceful for all of them. Hopefully, now, things would start to look up.

Things began to return back to normal. Hopper had contacted the US calvary who had shut down the whole Russian organisation beneath the mall, leaving them with some calm, finally. Hopper stayed with Steve constantly, Jonathan being his second-most frequent visitor, dropping in every day for as long as he could. The kids had school, but after school, as long as AV club wasn't on, they would come to the hospital room to do their homework, getting help from Steve, tell him about their days or they would set up for their DnD games. Steve didn't mind. In fact, it was quite nice, to constantly have people around him. The last thing he wanted at that moment was to be alone. Dustin and Max would always insist on sitting closest to him, Dustin attempting to teach him how DnD was played and Max just wanted to be near him. Wanted to make sure he wasn't going anywhere. He was happy to reassure her that he wasn't. 

Steve was still in a lot of pain, though he tried not to let it show. His stomach hurt constantly and the loss of feeling in his legs was uncomfortable and occasionally he would forget about his paralysis and try to move them only to be horrified all over again. Steve tried his best to keep himself from crying in front of the kids or letting them see how hopeless he truly felt. He was paralysed! He couldn't play basketball or walk down to the shops or...God, he couldn't drive them to school anymore. That thought always made him sob like he was a child again, burning his hand after his 'parents' left him without teaching him how to use the oven or during Papa's punishments only to be given worse repercussions for the tears. He was completely and utterly useless.

Dustin and Jonathan had been sitting in the room during his first episode, Hopper having just left to go to the bathroom when the pain began. Sharp shooting pain, impaling him through his stomach and his back, ripping the air from his lungs. Steve's hand was in Jonathan's, the two watching and helping Dustin with his homework so when the first spasm of pain began he gripped tightly on Jonathan's hand, involuntarily squeezing down, gaining his attention. The was dizzying and nauseating. So much so that Steve thought he may actually throw up, if he didn't pass out first.

Jonathan looked over at Steve, feeling him squeeze his hand, stomach-dropping when he saw how pale he had gotten, a sheen of sweat shining on his forehead.

"Steve?" He said softly, making Dustin look up, face morphing into one of concern, "What's happening?" 

"I- It...It's fine," He murmured, clenching his teeth.

"No, No, Steve," Jonathan whispered, reaching out his other hand to cup the side of Steve's face, "Talk to us, please." 

"It hurts." He hissed, pressing a hand to his stomach, pressing over the bandages. 

"Do you need me to call a nurse?" 

"I- maybe." 

Steve attempted to curl in on himself, pressing his face against Jonathan's shoulder as Dustin stood, walking over and placing a hand on Steve's back.

"You need to breathe, buddy," He said calmly, "Just some nice, slow, even breaths, can you try that for us?" 

Steve nodded, in too much pain to care how Dustin was talking to him like he was a scared animal. It was actually kind of nice. He sucked in one slow breath between his teeth, eyes screwing shut at the next wave of pain, forcing him to release it in a frightened sob. That's what alarmed them most. Steve never cried. He just didn't. But that one sob sent panic through them both. Jonathan reached over, pressing the 'call nurse' button on the wall beside the bed and Dustin moved to sit up on the mattress beside Steve, grabbing his free hand. "Buddy, keep breathing," He gently reminded, seeing as Steve's chest stopped only to resume in sharp panting breaths. 

Hopper walked in through the door, eyes taking in the scene of Dustin, sat on the bed beside Steve holding his hand and running a hand over his back while Jonathan held his hand and cradled his head against his chest. "Woah, kid!" Hopper said, running into the room, "What happened?" 

"I called for a nurse," Jonathan said, "He was just in a lot of pain all of a sudden." 

Hopper moved to the edge of the bed, crouching down and gently brushing the hair away from his eyes and gazing in concern into pain-glazed eyes. "Steve, can you look at me?" He asked.

Steve's eyes slowly raised to meet his, tears glazing the fear and pain-ridden expression. 

"There you are, you're gonna be okay," He said softly. Hopper wasn't good with words, he didn't know how to comfort people but this was Steve. This was his son and Hopper was going to do anything he could to make him feel better, "We're right here." 

The nurse came in, a sympathetic smile gracing her face as she took in what was happening, "Hiya Honey," She said, "What's going on?" 

"-h'rts." The only word Steve managed to get out, hands gripping Dustin and Jonathan's tighter.

"Alright, I'm gonna administer some more pain killers to your saline but it's going to take 20 minutes or so to take effect, okay?" She explained.

Steve just nodded gratefully, thankful for any relief from his pain.

Hopper watched as the nurse injected something into the IV bag, turning back to them. "I'm going to go and notify Dr Owens, he'll be in shortly." 

Hopper nodded before turning back to Steve. His breaths were still coming out laboured, the pain obvious. "You're okay, kid," He whispered, taking a magazine from the side and using it to gently fan Steve's face. His lips were turning white, colour completely draining from his face as the pain took over. It was awful to watch and definitely even worse to experience but there wasn't much more they could do than keep him comfortable.

20 minutes went by and the pain began to let up, Steve collapsing forward against Jonathan and Hopper who grabbed onto him, lowering him back to lie on the bed just as Owens walked into the room.

"Hey, Steve," He said kindly, "The nurse said you'd been dealing with some pretty severe pains. Are you okay with answering some questions about it now? Or would you rather rest and talk later?" 

"I-" His voice was rough causing him to cough, flinching when it ignited the pain once more, "I'm good to talk now." 

"Alright, so, can you explain where the pain was?" 

"Uh, it was straight through my stomach and back but it kind of spread down my spine and front."

"Right, and what kind of pain?" 

"It was like, stabbing and cramping I guess." 

"Yeah, that makes sense, and final question was it constant or...did it come and go...?" 

"Uh, it was almost constant, I guess there was a moment every now and then where the pain went down a little but never fully."

Owens frowned a little but nodded.

Hopper didn't like that at all.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm afraid this might become a regular thing," He said, cutting straight to the case, "In cases like yours, well, cases of impalation, people often experience the feeling of it happening again. This could be once or twice a month, a week or in unlucky cases, once or twice a day. As we saw today, painkillers are good, and heat is also helpful but that will only be appliable once your wound becomes a scar instead as applying heat to the wound might not be such a good idea cause it would likely cause more irritation than relief. Make sure to eat and drink well on the days that you're having pain because that should help reduce cramping pain."

Hopper sighed. The poor kid never seemed to get a break. 

Owens left them to let Steve get some sleep, promising to come back later to explain more.

2 months after his admission, Steve was fitted for a wheelchair and given the all-clear to leave. Hopper drove him back to the cabin, refusing to let him stay at his house where he would have no support and no safety, that was when they noticed their first problem. The steps up to the front door. Hopper made a mental note that before anything, he needed to build a wheelchair ramp, the cabin needed to be fully accessible, every last inch. Everyone was with them, Joyce, Jonathan, Will, Dustin, Mike, Nancy, Robin, Max, Lucas, Erica and of course, El. Hopper carried Steve inside, Jonathan taking his wheelchair in where Steve was set. Hopper hated the sadness in his eyes. Hopper hated the self-hatred that shadowed his kid's face. Hopper hated that his son had to deal with this.

Hopper hated that he couldn't fix it.

It was beyond his control.

But he was going to do everything he could to make things easier for him.

Chapter Text

A couple of days went by and Steve couldn't get himself out of bed. His body constantly hurt and his fever had returned with a vengeance. He was vaguely aware of people coming and going, occasionally hearing the kids talking or Hopper coming in to check on him, getting him to eat and drink every now and again but eventually, he began to feel better, days gaining an air of cohesion that wasn't there before, being able to stay awake for longer than just an hour or two. Hopper knocked at the door that was cracked open, before making his way inside sitting at the end of the bed. Steve watched as he put his hand on his leg, stomach dropping when he didn't feel a thing.

"Hey, Kid," Hopper said keeping his voice quiet in case Steve still had a headache, the consideration almost making Steve cry then and there, "How are you feeling? You're looking a little better today." 

Steve cleared his throat as Hopper placed a hand against his forehead, murmuring a quiet, "Feel a bit better, I think." 

"That's good. You had us pretty worried."

"S-" Steve went to apologise, cut off as Hopper raised his hand for him to stop.

"No, no apologies. It's not your fault. I'm just glad you're starting to feel better. You feeling up to seeing the kids? They all want to come over after school."

"That's fine," Steve sighed, sinking back against the pillow, "I need to show them that I'm alright." 

"You know...it's okay if you're not, right? I mean...I'd be more worried if you weren't affected by any of this." 

Steve nodded, looking down at his hands.

"Do you feel up to getting out of bed yet? Again, if not that's fine." 

"I think I'm up for it. I should probably shower or something anyway." 

Hopper watched him thoughtfully before nodding, "I bought a chair that just sits in the shower so you can transfer yourself from wheelchair to chair. Robin had the spare key to your house and she dropped off a bunch of your clothes the other day so I put those away in the draws, feel free to rearrange those however you want to, there's a blue towel in the bathroom for you already, feel free to use whatever products you want."

Steve felt overwhelmed with the love he was receiving. It felt...wrong...but it was so nice at the same time. He felt like he didn't deserve it yet it was what he craved so desperately. Sitting up, he took in his surroundings since the first time he was moved inside. He was in El's room? But it was different from how he remembered. Bigger. El's bed was across the room a couple of posters on the walls and a small vanity with clothes drawers at the other end of her bed. Steve himself was sat in a double bed, draws at the end of it, walls bare and bleak. "Where...?" Steve trailed off not knowing exactly what he wanted to ask but Hopper seemed to understand.

"When you got paralysed, I knew there was no way I was letting you go back to that empty house but there wasn't room for you and El in her room so I swapped with El. You and she now have my old room as it was plenty big enough for you two and I have El's because, let's be honest this room was empty while I was in it, now I have a more reasonable-sized room and two kids with plenty of space." 

Steve smiled, "I- I don't know how I can repay you, I-" 

"You don't need to pay me for loving you. Just let me take care of you."

Steve was shocked for a moment. It didn't make sense. He couldn't pay him back? He cared? Although he didn't fully understand, he nodded, allowing Hopper to help him from the bed into the wheelchair. That movement alone made him nauseated and exhausted. Hopper left to give him some space as he got himself some clothes from the draws, just some grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt, making his way to the bathroom. 

Showering was, difficult. Steve had to get himself undressed, and then onto the chair that in itself was enough to make him want to crawl back into bed and sleep for a decade or two, but he couldn't. For the kids. For Hopper. To make everyone else feel better. He just needed to pull himself together.

Getting changed after the shower proved to be even harder, having to manually move his legs to where they needed to go, guiding them into the underwear and trousers, and struggling to lift himself. It took a while and Hopper knocked a couple of times to make sure he hadn't slipped and died or something like that. After a got 10 minutes of struggling, Steve got himself changed, sat back in the wheelchair and got out of the bathroom. He made his way out into the living room, heart warming as he saw that Hopper had rearranged it so that there was space for his wheelchair anywhere he wanted to sit and space for him to easily transfer to the couch should he want to. Hopper was lounging over the sofa, a small smile tugging up the corner of his lips as he saw Steve, dropping again as he scanned his face. "You look pretty pale again, you feeling bad?" He asked.

"Uh, the movement's got me a little unsteady I guess, but I'm alright," Steve replied honestly.

"Okay, well, let me know if that changes at all." 

Steve nodded.

He would.

If it were anyone else, maybe asides from Mrs Byers, then he wouldn't have. Well, he would've nodded, but definitely wouldn't have said if he felt worse. Hopper...made him feel safe. The first adult in a long, long time - since his teacher in 2nd grade - to make him feel like he actually had a say, a choice like he actually mattered.

Steve felt loved.

Chapter Text

The kids had all come over, Joyce, Jonathan, Nancy and Robin joining them. They were all sitting in the living room together, in a small circle. Steve knew what they wanted but he wasn't sure how to initiate it. "So..." Hopper began, deciding to break the silence, "Steve...were all... a little confused."

"Yeah," He sighed, leaning back in his wheelchair as Jonathan reached over the edge of the sofa to grab his hand, "I figured you'd want an explanation."

Joyce nodded sheepishly.

"I just don't know where to start." 

"From the beginning?" Hopper said unhelpfully, cringing at his mistake, "I meant...from the first thing you remembered." 

"Uh, okay, I guess. The first thing I remember is being taken from my parents or my mum at least."

He was young. That much he knew. Everything was a blur around him. There were people at the door, trying to drag his mother away and she was screaming and fighting with them, trying to close the door. He remembered sitting on the floor and sobbing, the lights growing brighter with every loud noise until finally, every light bulb in the house shattered and everything went silent. He remembered looking at the ground, watching as blood dripped down from his nose, onto the wood below. Everything was silent. And then everything was dark.

Joyce nodded sympathetically as he spoke, the kids watching him intently and Nancy and Robin gesturing for him to continue.

The next thing he remembered was waking up in the lab, Brenner leaning over him. That was when the first round of torture began.

Steve couldn't remember much from the lab. He remembered Eleven and a couple of the other kids. Some of the tests. He definitely remembered the mausoleum. Being locked in for hours, then days, then weeks and eventually for a month.

Everyone looked horrified at that.

But clearest of all, he remembered the escape.

Six was dead. His sister - real, biological sister - was dead. And he was distraught. But that never mattered to Papa. Papa called him lazy and useless, using it to up his training. The other kids rarely had to do 1 on 1 training. But Papa said he was different. That was when Papa had locked him in the mausoleum for a full month. When he was let out, he couldn't speak, he couldn't think, and both of his hands were badly broken from hitting the walls and trying to escape. He was malnourished and badly dehydrated, despite being given water every other day and a slice of bread every 10. He couldn't do anything but sit and shake. A trembling started deep in his body that hadn't stopped since he'd gotten out. He knew that Eight was worried - Eleven was too young to understand - but he couldn't bring himself to reassure them like he normally would. He would still hold El, rock her to sleep, still look after Eight when she overexerted herself or got into a fight trying to defend him but he couldn't think. He couldn't speak. 

Eight had had enough of seeing Seven hurt by Papa. Since he came out of the mausoleum, he hadn't had any control over his powers. He had been terrified by everything, ghosts following him constantly, and he wasn't able to stop time or control electricity. Papa was angry. Papa was punishing every day and Seven was going to die because of it. Eight wasn't going to let him die. 

Eight organised it. She would create an illusion of him climbing the fence in the back then, during free time, Steve snuck into the vehicle room, hiding in the back of one of the military trucks. Papa would send people out to look for him - as he had already supposedly escaped - and the military truck would leave the lab. When they stopped, Steve jumped out and run away through the woods, eventually finding himself near the Byer's residence - not that he knew it at the time. Someone had called the police and, Hopper hadn't been the Chief at the time, so the Chief had found him and taken him back to the station. That was where Steve's 'mum' was working as an intern. She took pity on him, asked her husband and they were given permission to look after him until his parents turned up.

Steve knew no English, he didn't know how to act or...anything really but his 'mother' had tried, at first, to teach him what to do. He had gradually learnt English from his parents but they refused to get someone to teach him or buy him a book or anything like that.

Once he had learnt a little more English, his parents put him in Hawkins middle school. He was stupid. He knew it. Everyone confirmed it. Two kids, Tommy and Carol pulled him in instantly. They weren't...nice. Not like that Byer's kid. Steve wanted to be friends with him, but Tommy and Carol said that they would leave him if he did. So he stayed away from him. Tommy and Carol taught him how to be 'cool'. Steve didn't understand. He didn't like it but it made most people like him so he supposed he must have been doing something right.

"I'm so sorry," Steve murmured, reaching up one hand to wipe his eyes as he looked at Jonathan, "I know I've already apologised but...it doesn't feel enough for the things I said...the things I did." 

"Steve, you've apologised, a lot, you bought me a new camera, you looked after Will and the kids when they needed you, defended them countless times, you saved Nancy and me from a Demogorgon, more than once I'm sure, you've done more than enough to make for anything that you may have said. And even if you hadn't, I wouldn't blame you. It's not your fault. You didn't know any better." Jonathan reassured, squeezing his hand.

Steve nodded, though uncertainty flashed in his eyes as he looked away.

"After Tommy and Carol adopted me into their little group, and I started forming my...personality, my parents...got bored, I guess." 

He was 10, almost 11 when his dad first hit him. It wasn't entirely unexpected. They had never been...particularly loving. Harsh words and glares became Steve's norm. Then Steve got into a fight with some kid and they told his 'parents'. His dad was angry. Yelled at him for tarnishing the name of the family that he had been oh so graciously accepted into. Ruining his dad's appearance. Apparently, his dad had wanted more than for him to just sit and listen, not that he'd said that. His dad had hit him across the face, knocking him to the ground, kicking him two or three times once he was there. His mother just sat and watched. He had had a dark bruise over his face, fading after a week or so, but his ribs had hurt more than he could ever show. They had been broken. But nothing was done. He had just been lucky that they hadn't punctured anything. 

After that, it had become a weekly then daily occurrence. Up until they had started leaving. His dad went on long business trips lasting two or three months as his mother would always go with him. Then, when they returned, he would be beaten till he couldn't breathe, letting his 'dad' take out his anger on him. By the time he woke the next morning, they would be gone.

Hopper looked furious, glowering in the corner, "Why didn't anyone say anything, your teachers surely noticed?" 

Steve nodded. "Yes, one of my teachers noticed, but she told the old chief and my dad paid him off."

Hopper looked even angrier, "Your dad...paid off a chief of police...who is supposed to protect- I-" 

"He was a bad person...but you're not." 

"Why didn't you come to me? I don't mean that to be accusatory or judging at all." 

"It's fine. I didn't know you. I didn't know that you would be any better than the old chief. I had no reason to trust you and my parents always managed to convince me that it was my fault anyway so...I didn't see it as a huge problem." 

Hopper sighed, "You realise it now though, right?" 

"If- If that was happening to me what would you do?" Dustin asked.

"I'd get you out, no hesitation, call Hopper, beat whatever son of a bitch was tryna hurt you." 

"So why doesn't that apply to you?" 

"I'm used to it." 

"And? What if I had gotten used to it?" 

"You shouldn't-" He paused.

"Do you get it now?" 

Steve nodded.

"We care about you Steve, you get that right?" 

A pause, for a brief moment, they were scared that he would say nothing, then there came a nod.

He knew now.

Chapter Text

Steve's eyes glanced over everyone once before falling onto something, something no one else could see. His face visibly paled, blinking once or twice before looking back at Hopper.

"Ghost?" Hopper asked cautiously.

Steve nodded, "Yeah, she liked to follow me around the hospital a lot. I just...hadn't seen her since then so, I figured she would have stayed there." 

"What does she look like?" Lucas asked curiously, earning a slap on the arm from Max, "Sorry." 

"It's fine. She's a middle-aged woman in her...late 40's early 50's, she has long dark hair, she's quite short and she died in a fire."

"How do you know that she died in a fire?" Mike asked.

"She's covered in disfiguring burns, I can barely make out her face." 

Everyone fell silent, pity falling over everyone's faces. Part of Steve hated it but another part of him was happy that they cared at all.

"How do you get rid of them?" Hopper questioned, more concerned for his sanity and wellbeing.

"Brenner had me on medications. I don't remember what they were though." 

"Okay, it will probably have been written in the medical diary so I'll get Owen to read through and get you a new prescription for it if that's what you want?" 

"Yeah, I guess that will probably be useful." 

Hopper nodded.

"I guess it would make sense to talk about them now then." 

"Whenever you're ready." 

"After escaping, the ghosts left me alone for a little while, I still saw them obviously but because I hadn't spoken to them, they just assumed I couldn't see or hear them. Then after a fight with my dad, I went to my room and there was a woman, crying and screaming about how her baby was gone. It was so loud. I yelled at her, and told her to shut up for just a moment. And she did, but then it was too late. They all knew. And they started to see me and talk to me and scream at me. They followed me everywhere. School, home, anywhere I was they were. New and old. Especially in places where a lot of people died like hospitals or where they're buried like graveyards they just seemed to rise up out of the ground and appear. I started to get used to people being there that shouldn't be there but then again, you can't really get used to seeing bloody disfigured people everywhere you go." 

Joyce grimaced a little at the wording.

"What else is there that you need to know?" 

"Well...I don't really know how to say it but...your number, you crossed it out, kind of...why? Why did you continue to do it afterwards as well?" 

"I wanted nothing to do with Papa or the lab. Every time I looked at my number I felt wrong. It felt like something was crawling beneath my skin. I had to get rid of it. So I took a knife from the kitchen and tried to cut it out. Crossing out the number worked well enough, even if I almost bled out but...after that, it just felt...right. So I kept doing it until Tommy found out." 

"Tommy Hagan?" 

"Yes." 

"I- why did he call you a -a fag?" 

Steve looked down to where his feet were resting on the metal plates of the wheelchair.

"Sorry, I don't know what that means-" 

"No, El, it's fine. Um, it's a not-so-nice word to describe a homosexual. People shouldn't use it but they do anyway. He called me that because Carol had tried to date me and I had laughed and told him I wasn't into her and then accidentally let slip that I wasn't...really into women in general. He got angry and started to hit me and yell at me over it. Said it was wrong. After that, I started to contradict him on everything I could. I realised he was a bad person and I didn't want to be like him." 

Steve winced, looking at everyone around him as if he was waiting for them to react the same. 

To his surprise, Hopper rose from his seat, walking a couple of steps over to Steve, before wrapping him in a tight hug. "I'm proud of you for telling us," He said softly, "I-I know I'm pretty shitty at words but...we don't care if you know what I mean. It doesn't matter who you love as long as you're happy. Plus...you and Jonathan aren't exactly subtle." 

Jonathan made a choked nose as Steve laughed. 

"Someone had to say it!" Hopper said putting his hands up in a defensive position, making Steve roll his eyes a little.

This was his family.

A little fucked up. Okay, no, quite fucked up. But it was his. And it felt like home.

Chapter Text

The next few days flew by. Hopper watched as Steve got more used to his wheelchair, able to use it perfectly and no longer struggling to steer himself around, subconsciously able to guide himself around obstacles he would have previously been caught by. Things weren't perfect though. No. Far from it. Steve would wake up with nightmares almost every night, Hopper being woken by either El coming in to get him or hearing Steve through the thin cabin walls. He would hurry into their room to see Steve, desperately trying to hide his tears as El curled up beside him, trying to offer comfort. El and Steve were good for each other. Steve always looking after his little sister, just as he had done before but now El would refuse to be separated from him, pressing close and always attempting to help him. Hopper could tell that every now and then it got a little frustrating for Steve, having her constantly fussing over him and - although she didn't mean it - occasionally treating him like an invalid, yet he never once raised his voice with her or pushed her away, just gave her a task that would have her distanced from him for a moment so that she could still feel helpful and he could take a breather. Hopper really appreciated it and god knows he wouldn't have had that kind of patience. The kids were over almost every day, after school or all day on the weekends, getting Steve to help them with homework or art or various other things which, once again, Hopper appreciated. He knew that Steve felt useless, unable to drive the kids around anymore, too scared to leave the cabin and the kids had very quickly caught onto that, deciding to include him and make him feel as helpful as he could. They all played a little role.

Will Byers would come over with pencils and paper and he brought Steve his own notebook and set of pencils. Together they would draw. Turns out Steve was quite the artist. No one had known it but he was actually really good! He would teach Will techniques and show him how to improve his base sketches. Hopper hung a couple of the paintings the two had made in the hallway or living room in the cabin. He had three favourites though. They had drawn a picture of a landscape together - Hawkins specifically - from a picture that Jonathan had taken for reference, featuring rolling hills and blue skies. A piece Hopper liked to believe symbolised hope. The two had also drawn a picture of the party as their DnD characters. Hopper still didn't understand the game but he knew it meant a lot to the kids. Steve had drawn the outlines, letting Will describe them and then gave them to the younger boy to colour in. Then finally was a picture that just Steve himself had drawn. It was a picture of Hopper himself and both of his kids, once again with a reference of a picture Jonathan had taken. Hopper stood at the back smiling and leaning forward, one hand was placed on Steve's shoulder where the boy was sitting in his wheelchair in front of him and the other hand was placed on El's shoulder where she was sitting on Steve's lap, beaming at the camera. Steve's face was a mixture of a smirk and a laugh and Hopper remembered the moment when Steve had been laughed at a face Jonathan was pulling as he set up the camera. His concentration face.

Mike Wheeler was difficult. Steve and him never really got along and...it was a little awkward trying to interact with your ex-girlfriend's brother or your sister's ex-boyfriend. Mike was always the one to say stupid things and was the most likely to say or do something that would upset other people, so he wasn't really trusted to be around Steve by himself, usually there with one or more people. Steve tried to be nice to Mike unwilling to treat any of his kids any differently but it was just so awkward.

Dustin was around a lot, with Max and El and Steve would teach the three how to bake different things. Dustin wanted to get better at baking so that he could make stuff for his mum more often. Speaking of Dustin's mum made Steve realise how little he had seen of Claudia lately, Dustin often said that she wanted to see him but was too busy at the hospital so Steve decided that he was going to teach the kids how to bake a bulk of things and send Dustin home with some for him and his mum. Max would obviously take some stuff home and then Steve, El and Hopper would have some, but Steve wanted to make some specifically for Claudia as a thanks for being there for him. So, Steve taught them how to make basic chocolate-chip cookies, a pineapple upside-down cake and a Battenburg cake. Okay so maybe the last one wasn't as simple but it was still fun. Hopper watched them, not caring that they were making a mess of the kitchen, his only focus on their smiles. They all looked so happy. He watched Steve wheel back and forth to the counters, grabbing and measuring ingredients and explaining everything as he went, clearly experienced. Even if he wasn't going to be able to eat it, Steve was happy to teach the kids. When Steve first arrived, Hopper had spent his time that wasn't spent at Steve's bedside lowering the kitchen counters and cabinets, not caring how long it would take or how difficult it would be, knowing that it would come in handy. And he was grateful that he had done so.

Lucas would come over and have Steve explain basketball to him. Steve had been the best player at Hawkins high, well, until Billy, and Lucas was interested in playing. Steve was happy to talk to him about it, even if it made him a little sad that he would likely never play again. Yes, they said he had a chance of walking again, but what with his feeding tube and how weak his legs would be, basketball just wasn't really an option. Steve promised, however, that he would show up to every single one of Lucas's basketball games, so long as he wanted him there. Hopper knew Steve never really had anyone meaningful show up to his basketball games in past and promising this for Lucas was a big thing for him. Steve didn't want him to feel the way he had to. The way that when the game was over, his teammates came up to congratulate him and then he would stand at the sidelines watching as everyone went to their friends and their family, an empty and numbing feeling spreading through his body as he tried to keep the tears at bay, loneliness stabbing at him like a knife. He didn't want anyone to have to feel like that.

Nancy came back every now and again, sometimes staying with Mike to talk to him. She more often than not came by with Robin, the two sitting in the living room with Steve and watching a film together or playing a board game. They were always pretty fun to have around, updating him on school dramas and bringing him school work. Normally Steve would wish that he would never have to do school work again but it helped pass the time and cure his boredom, plus keep his mind off of everything so he was grateful. 

Jonathan, however, was there the most - asides from those he lived with - there practically every day, sitting or laying with Steve, through the good and the bad. He was the only person, asides from El and Hopper that had seen him on his bad days. He would always ask Hopper to tell the kids to leave if he was in a lot of pain, or he couldn't get himself out of bed, or he couldn't bring himself to talk, he didn't want his kids to see him like that. They weren't stupid. They all knew that something was wrong when they got turned away, but there wasn't a lot that they could do.

Hopper had been scared on Steve's first bad day. He hadn't known what to do. His son had basically become completely unresponsive, unable to talk or look him in the eyes. He didn't want to get out of bed and Hopper was worried that he had begun to get sick again or something. Jonathan had come over, knocking at the door, only for a panicked-looking Hopper to answer.

"Hey, Jonathan," He said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Hopper, is everything alright?" He asked.

"Steve's...I don't even know he's just...not himself. He won't talk to me, he doesn't want to eat... I don't know what to do."

Jonathan's face dropped, "Well, I can try and talk to him." He suggested.

"Yeah, that's...that's a good idea." 

Hopper pushed the door fully open, stepping aside so that Jonathan could slip past him, down the hall to Steve and El's room. Thankfully El had slept over at Max's and was spending the day with her so she wasn't around to witness Steve's misery.

Hopper left them for a good half hour, watching as Jonathan came out once or twice to grab food or water for Steve before returning to the room, always leaving the door cracked three inches, before deciding to check in. He heaved himself out of his armchair, walked down to Steve's room and pushed open the door. Jonathan sat upright in the bed, Steve laying between his legs with his back against his chest. Both were talking. "Hey," Hopper said, leaning on the doorframe.

"Hey," Steve said back, offering him a small smile, "Sorry." 

"What for, kid?" 

"Worrying you." 

Hopper shook his head, walking over and taking a seat at the end of his bed, placing a hand on his knee through the covers, "You don't need to be sorry, kid, that's not something you apologise for. I'm going to worry about you regardless because that's just what a good parent does." 

Steve looked a little taken aback and Hopper realised it was the first time he had ever namely said he felt like Steve's parent or that Steve felt like his son. Steve nodded.

"Can you tell me a little about what is going on right now?" 

"Uh, I don't know how to describe it, it just...I don't know...just feels like I'm drowning, I guess. Everything's unbearably heavy and I don't have the energy to do anything."

Hopper frowned sympathetically, rubbing his hand over his lower leg even though he wouldn't be able to feel it, "Christ, I'm sorry you have to deal with this all, kid, you deserve so much better."

Steve shrugged, "I'm happy enough. I don't have to act like 'King Steve' the asshole, I'm not anywhere near my parents, you guys know that I'm 007 so I don't have to hide that anymore. Yes, I'm paralysed, yes I'm in pain...but it's worth it and bearable if I'm with you and the kids."

That...

Hopper didn't know how to react, how to show the warmth blooming through his chest at his kid's words, so he leaned forward instead, pulling him into his arms.

He wished he could keep him there forever. 

Safe.

Protected.

And he would do everything he could to keep it that way.

Chapter Text

Steve had been cooped up in the cabin for a month at first it was fair enough, but Jonathan was getting annoyed. Not at Steve. Never at Steve. But at the people that were making Steve too afraid to leave in his wheelchair. The judgment of others weighed heavy and while Steve was no longer 'popular Steve 'the hair' Harrington, King of Hawkins High' he was still afraid of everyone and what they would think of him. Jonathan wished he could make everyone disappear. Jonathan knew that Steve wasn't going to leave the cabin by himself, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. They would start small, obviously and work their way up, but Jonathan knew that Steve needed to get out, the cabin walls beginning to blur for him. It was no good. So, he decided to bring it up with Hopper first.

He went over to the cabin, Will in the passenger seat with a brand new set of pencils in his hands, excited to see Steve. They pulled the car in, a little way away from the cabin (just in case) and made their way over, using the secret knock that Hopper had taught them all.

1, 2...pause...1...pause...1, 2, 3, 4.

A couple of seconds passed before the door swung open, Hopper stood at the entry. Jonathan ushered Will through, before following, letting Hopper shut the door behind him as he shrugged off his coat and took off his shoes. He could hear the voices of Dustin, Max and Steve from the kitchen, looking up to see Steve trying to teach Dustin and Max how to make pasta, Will taking a seat at the dining table and setting out his notebook and pencils. Jonathan made his way into the kitchen, placing his hands on Steve's shoulders from behind, making him look up and then leaning over him to press a kiss to his cheek. "Having fun?" He asked with a small laugh, looking around at the mess that the kids had somehow made even though they were only using 3 ingredients.

Steve smiled at the kids before turning to Jonathan, smile-dropping and jokingly mouthing, "Help me." 

Jonathan laughed again, "I'll leave you guys to it." 

Dustin shot him a thumbs up from where he was stirring the pot of pasta, eyes never leaving it.

"A watched pot never boils," Jonathan said as if it were the wisest thing ever.

"What?" Dustin asked, finally looking over at him.

"You've never heard that before? I-...uh, never mind then." 

That made Steve burst out laughing and Jonathan rolled his eyes, "Glad you find that funny. Okay, now I'm actually leaving." 

He made his way out to the living room where Hopper was sitting in his favourite armchair, watching something on TV, taking a seat on the sofa near him. "How you doing, kid?" He asked, turning to look at Jonathan.

"I'm doing good, I- uh, I wanted to ask you something, about Steve." 

Hopper paused the TV, turning to face him, "Shoot." 

"I wanna get Steve out of the house, right? I'd take it slow, first, obviously, so I was thinking of, tomorrow, getting him to come to my house, with the kids instead. Mum really wants to see him and I was hoping if I got him comfortable enough to come to mine and then Dustin's, maybe not Wheeler's cause of the basement and everything and Sinclair's cause they normally stay upstairs, then we might be able to get him to go outside. I just wanted to ask you whether you thought it was a good idea or if you thought he needed more time." Jonathan rushed out.

Hopper took a second to process his words, running them through in his head before turning back to him once more.

"I think it's a good idea. The kid really needs a change of scenery. I agree with taking it slow but I think you would be the best person to convince him to get out of the house."

Jonathan nodded, "Yeah, I plan to come and get him after school tomorrow. I'd pick up Will and Dustin, at school then come and get Steve and if you allow El to go I'd take her too then we'd head back to mine and I'd drop them off at 9 ish?"

Hopper hummed, "Mm, make that 8 and I'll agree." 

Jonathan nodded.

"Alright, are you gonna tell him prior or just come and get him?" 

"I was thinking just come and get him, cause it'll give him less time to worry about it and if he really doesn't want to he can still say no." 

Hopper nodded, "Okay, well, I'm with you on this. I won't say anything as long as you look after him and I mean it, Byers. If he comes back any worse and I find out it's your fault...well, you don't want to know what'll happen." 

Jonathan remembered Mike saying something about Hopper being scary and threatening while he was dating El but now he understood exactly what he meant. Either way, he had his approval so it was game set, he just had to wait.

The next day, Jonathan pulled in near the cabin, walking the rest of the path with Will and Dustin chatting away happily behind him. He had already told them what was happening on the way over so they would be ready to leave again. Reaching the door, Jonathan let Dustin do the knock, waiting until El came and opened the door. She was also already aware of what was happening as Hopper had told her and given her permission to go to the Byers. She had been so excited that she nearly spilt the news a couple of times but luckily she remembered it was a kind of surprise for her brother and kept quiet. Steve was in his room when Jonathan made his way in, kissing him on the cheek and sitting beside him on the bed. 

"Hey, Jon," Steve said softly. Jonathan could tell instantly that Steve was pretty tired and he hoped it would make Steve want to go even more, as when Steve got tired, he often got pretty clingy. Not in a bad way though.

"Hey, honey," Jonathan smiled, grabbing his hand, "I have a proposition." 

"Uh oh," Steve teased, "Go on." 

"I want to take you back to mine." 

"What?" 

"I already ran the idea through with Hopper. You and El come and stay at ours and then I drop you both back at 8. The kids are all gonna be there and my mum had been dying to see you, I mean, she hasn't seen you since you got out of the hospital." 

Steve was silent for a moment, blank-faced. Jonathan knew not to be offended by any lack of response, it just meant that Steve needed a moment to process everything that he had been told.

"Okay." 

"Okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm in. It would be good to get out of here."

"That was...uh, easier than I expected," Jonathan chuckled, "Are you ready to go now?" 

"Uh, I'll need to grab some food if we're staying till eight but then yeah, I guess I'm ready." 

Jonathan may have forgotten about the whole feeding tube issue but it was fine, he knew they had some pre-prepared blended food in the fridge which would be fine and he knew where Steve's 60mL syringes were so he could quickly prep him a bag while he got himself into his wheelchair. He made his way out into the kitchen to prep the bag sending the kids a thumbs up. They decided to take themselves out to the car to wait for Steve and Jonathan. 

Jonathan had just finished prepping the bag when Steve wheeled out into the kitchen, having fixed his hair up a little more. "Ready sweetheart?" Jonathan asked, earning himself a nod.

"Jon, I-...thank you." 

"What for?"

"For getting me out of here and for...caring about me, I guess." 

Jonathan smiled, "Anytime, Steve, anytime."

"Where's El?" Steve asked, looking around for his sister nervously.

"Dustin and Will took her out to the car already, don't worry." 

"Oh, right."

Steve let Jonathan wheel him to the car, too tired to even try doing it himself, allowing him to help him into the car, putting the chair in the back before making his way round to the front seat.

"Everyone ready?" Jonathan asked, Steve turning around and checking they all had their seatbelts on.

A chorus of 'yes'' came in response and they set off to the Byer's house.

Chapter Text

That one time out was the start of something bigger. The first step to progress. Steve started getting out more and more, often finding himself at the Byers or the Hendersons and he only had Jonathan to thank for that. And Joyce of course, for making his first time out of the cabin so nice.

When he had arrived at the Byer's, Jonathan had gotten his wheelchair out of the car and helped him down into it, letting him push himself inside. It was a little difficult, moving about in a place he had never been before but he managed to get himself to the front door, thankful that there weren't any stairs. Joyce opened the front door, greeting him with a smile and leaning down to wrap her arms tightly around him. God, Steve had missed her hugs. Mike, Max and Lucas had gotten there already, as it took quite some time to get to the cabin and then back to the Byers. They had biked - or in Max's case skated - there instead of getting a lift from Jonathan. They too took turns hugging Steve before pulling El, Dustin and Will into the living room where they had already set up a game of monopoly. Steve and Jonathan made their way in to join them and Steve almost cried when he saw that Joyce had pulled the sofa away from the armchair, leaving the perfect space for his wheelchair. It made him feel so loved. They watched the kids play, defusing several arguments and managing to convince Max not to throw the dice at Lucas when he was trying to cheat and steal money. Steve felt - once again - like a proud mother, watching his kids play, Jonathan - their father - sitting on the sofa next to him.

When it came time for dinner, Steve wasn't sure what to do. He had been nervous about it all afternoon, dreading the awkwardness that would come with having to syringe himself so he didn't move, everyone else coming back into the living room to eat their food. It was 5 minutes in that Jonathan elbowed him gently, "Want me to get your stuff?" He asked,

Steve shook his head, "Na, I'm good." 

"Are you sure?" Jonathan looked unconvinced and a little worried.

"Yeah, I'm sure." 

Jonathan nodded and continued eating his food and Steve had tried to ignore the worried looks sent his way by not only his boyfriend but the kids as well. Joyce, bless her, seemed oblivious to what was happening as she wasn't fully caught up on what and when Steve was supposed to eat, all she knew was that he couldn't eat so she shouldn't prepare him food with everyone else.

As soon as everyone had finished dinner, Steve offered to help Joyce with washing and drying the dishes when he found out that maybe Joyce wasn't as oblivious as she had seemed.

"So, were you worried that we might judge you or was it something else?" She asked, passing him a plate to dry.

"I...uh, what?" Steve asked, almost dropping the plate in shock.

"Eating? Hopper explained it to me, well, kind of anyway, enough to know when you're supposed to eat and that you do it yourself. Jonathan said that you brought your own food but you refused at dinner. Why?" 

Steve was silent for a moment, trying to wrap his head around why Joyce would care so much and trying to figure out how to answer the question, "I, uh," He began nervously, "I guess it's weird and I didn't want to make you or any of the kids uncomfortable. I mean, El's seen it a couple of times and I know she hates it so..." 

"Do you know why she hates it?" Joyce asked.

"Because it looks horrible-" 

"No, well, sort of, it's because she loves you and she hates that you have to go through this. Not because it's weird or it looks strange. Because she loves you. You got that? I can guarantee that it will be the same for the rest of the kids. They won't be uncomfortable or upset by you, they won't like it though because they love you and they don't like seeing you hurt. Do you get what I mean?" 

Steve stared hard at the ground fearing that the second he looked up at her he would start crying.

"Uh, yeah," He swallowed hard, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." 

A hand on his shoulder made him look up and Joyce pulled him into another hug.

"So, you're going to stop drying dishes and go have some food, alright?" She said, pulling back and wiping the stray tear that ran down his face. He nodded and she moved back over to the sink, allowing him to wheel himself back into the living room asking Jonathan to get his food for him.

The kids were instantly intrigued - asides from El who already knew how everything worked - begging him to show them what he had to do. Steve complied, happy to teach them and familiarise them with the mechanics. After that, he never got worried about eating in front of his family again.

Seeing Claudia for the first time since the hospital when he got dramatically worse was weird. Steve didn't remember much but he remembered hearing her at the hospital, her whispering reassurances to him, telling him that she was there and that he was going to be okay. Even when he was scared, when he was running away from the creatures in his head, she was able to calm him into thinking more logically, into saving himself. Without her, he likely would've died, never making it out of the hellscape in his mind. He went over to bring over the things that Dustin, Max and he had made, getting Jonathan to drive them over. She - as always - was so welcoming and loving, overwhelmingly so but Steve didn't have to heart to tell her to calm it down a little. She invited him in and where he had only meant to stay for half an hour at most so that they could catch up a little and he didn't feel rude by dropping in and instantly leaving again, he stayed for 2 hours.

And while it was overwhelming, it was definitely needed. Steve felt so much more comfortable going over to the Hendersons, knowing that Claudia wouldn't treat him differently, or think badly of him.

It was the first step to progress. The start of something bigger.

Another month went by of Steve still spending a lot of time at the cabin but now going back and forth between the Byers and Hendersons.

Jonathan began to plan how he could get Steve out into public with him.

Chapter Text

It was 3 months before Steve considered going outside.

Properly outside.

Not just back and forth between houses but out, in a public setting. He really didn't like that idea. I mean, king Steve - well, not king Steve because king Steve was an asshole - the teen who used to be sporty and popular, stuck in a wheelchair and friends with his kids. He knew the judging stares he would get and the whispers and he really, really couldn't couldn't be bothered. He couldn't be arsed to listen as people made snide comments about him or ableist calls and he definitely didn't want the kids to have to deal with it too. But, he knew that he couldn't just stay in side all year. 

Well, he probably could but it wouldn't do great for the little sanity he had left.

Jonathan was the only one able to convince him to get out. Actually, it had been less convincing and more forcing but it had the same ending he supposed.

Jonathan had been planning it for a while, asking Hopper for permission once more and getting his help in getting supplies that might make Steve more comfortable. Jonathan knew that Steve was always uncomfortable in social situations, he always had been despite trying to constantly pretend that he was an extrovert and he knew that he often got overwhelmed so Hopped chipped in and bought Steve some headphones that would dial down a lot of the noise. He would only be able to hear the talking of the people closest to him. So, Jonathan set to making a plan with the kids, all of them would go to the shops, by foods that everyone liked and set up a picnic, then Jonathan would leave some of the kids there while he and one or two of them went to pick up Steve. Simple, right? He could just tell him that they were going to the Byer's or Henderson's but then he would feel bad if his boyfriend didn't like the picnic. He decided on simply telling Steve that it was a surprise, keeping him calm and reassured would make all the difference.

When Jonathan told him that he needed to get in the car and that it was a "Surprise", Steve got a little nervous. Rightfully so, he'd say. Max and Lucas were in the back of the car, which calmed him a little. The kids wouldn't let Jonathan do anything too crazy and Jonathan wouldn't let them do anything out of hand. Steve found that they seemed to cancel each other out. So, in blind trust, Steve made his way out to the car, letting Max be the one to help him in, folding his wheelchair and throwing it into the boot of the car. Jonathan got into the driver's side, starting the drive and Steve couldn't tear his eyes away from the window, anxiety growing as they got further and further from one of the kids houses or somewhere that would be private. Jonathan could tell that he was getting nervous, taking one hand off the wheel and reaching over to squeeze his hand, where it was resting on his thigh.

When they pulled into a public park, Steve very near told Jonathan to turn around and take him home again. He didn't want to be there. It must have been obvious from the way he tensed up though because Max hit his shoulder from her seat behind him, leaning forward and saying, "Give it a chance," and then using her best puppy dog eyes and leaning round so that Steve could see him, "Please!" 

Steve sighed, he couldn't say no to her. Especially not when she was giving him those God damn puppy dog eyes.

Reluctantly, he allowed Lucas, this time, to grab his wheelchair out, Jonathan being the only person allowed to help him down out of the car into it as he was the only one who could support his weight properly.

Jonathan grabbed him under the arms helping him lift himself down into the chair, he still hadn't quite gotten the hang of doing it himself, before letting Lucas and Max walk ahead so he knew where to go and Jonathan walk protectively alongside him. 

When Steve saw it, his chest warmed, heart beating harder as he saw his kids, sat at a park bench together, a picnic blanket thrown over the table and an assortment of food strewn over it. Had they really done all of this for him? Jonathan reached down, squeezing his shoulder which put him off of wheeling himself for a second, a reassuring smile gracing his face. Steve - although still pretty nervous - found himself smiling back.

Pulling himself in to the end of the table, the perfect height for him, he put the brake on his wheelchair, stopping himself from potentially rolling. He still felt wildly uncomfortable, being out in public, but at least he felt a little better now that he was with his kids and his boyfriend. Jonathan was sat beside him on one end and Dustin was sat beside him on the other, El wasn't allowed to go since it was public but to make up for it Hopper was going to be treating her to some eggos and Steve was going to make her favourite for dinner when he got home.

It was a little sad, since he couldn't actually eat any of the food that was set out but just being there with the people that he loved was enough.

However, it only made sense that something would go wrong.

"Harrington? Is that you?" 

Fuck.

Steve could recognise that voice anywhere.

"Billy," He sighed, turning to face him. 

He noticed all the kids tense up as the guy started walking over.

"What are you doing here?" Max hissed, jumping up, instantly ready to defend Steve.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Billy asked, completely ignoring his stepsister.

Steve just sighed again not knowing what to say.

"Harrington? You disappear off the face of the earth for months, then suddenly you show up in a wheelchair, what happened?"

"What's it to you? Hm?" 

"Woah, pretty boy, it's just a question." 

"And it's none of your business," Jonathan said, getting defensive the second Billy started using pet-names on his boyfriend, possessiveness taking over.

"Ooh, feisty now are we Byers?" Billy laughed, the deranged look appearing back in his eyes.

"Billy, leave." Max said.

"Or what? You gonna drug me again? Pretty boy gonna save you now? Look at him. He's a fucking cripple, Maxine, he's not saving anyone." 

Steve's eyes scanned the floor, rapidly trying to blink back tears that threatened to fall. He couldn't show that he was weak. He couldn't.

"I'll tell Neil." Max said.

There was silence.

"You're a nasty bitch, Mayfield." Billy hissed, turning on his heel and walking in the opposite direction.

"Says you, jackass!" She yelled after him.

Steve felt a hand on his arm looking up to see Dustin's worried face staring back at him, "You okay, buddy?" He asked.

"I'm fine," Steve said, swallowing harshly.

Dustin shook his head but said nothing more.

With Billy gone, things began to look up once again. No one else bothered them and it was a pretty quiet day anyway so the most Steve got was a sympathetic look or two from mothers taking their kids to the play park just across the field. 

So maybe his first time out of the cabin and out into public hadn't perfect, actually, far from it but it hadn't been the worst thing ever. In fact, after the whole run in with Billy, Steve began to enjoy himself, laughing and chatting with the kids like normal, teasing them whenever he could to illicit a reaction, which he got. All in all, it wasn't so bad.

He only hoped next time would go so well too.

Chapter Text

I wrote out this chapter 4 times and all 4 times it deleted itself so after a bit of a breakdown I've given up on posting today, I'll post in 2 days' time, on normal schedule but this one will be missed because - as I said - I give up. I need to get my PC back.

Sorry! 

Chapter Text

After Steve's little escapade into the outside world, he longed for more. He longed to be out in the open again, away from the confines of the cabin's walls or the Byer's and Henderson's homes. Everyone was more than happy to encourage this longing, to indulge and allow him, giving in to their own longing to see him happy.

On the bad days, when Steve could barely keep his body upright, pain accompanying his every move, he would still refuse to see the kids - refuse to let them see him like that - but would let Jonathan wheel him around the park or the path nearby the cabin, whispering back and forth as they went. Even when Steve didn't feel up to talking, Jonathan would ramble on about his day to fill the silence and Steve was perfectly happy to listen, enjoying the fresh air against his face and the voice of his lover, reassuring him that there was someone there. On the good days, Steve would accompany the kids into town, taking them to the diner on the corner and playing for them to have breakfast or dinner together. They always went early mornings or late evenings if they were going into town as Steve was still afraid of people. A little less so now that he had been out with everyone in the middle of the day and his worst interaction had been Billy who had only really been a dick because he was worrying in his own... mildly aggressive way. The kids seemed happy though, seeing Steve getting out of the house and being with them more often. Steve was happy to take them to the diner but he refused to take them to the mall. The kids had obviously had a little insight as to what had happened in the Russian base but Steve wouldn't tell them anything more than he had been tortured and drugged and then Hopper had gotten him out. He wouldn't tell them what the torture actually consisted of. He couldn't bring himself to remember any more of it. No one would know.

Thankfully, he wasn't the only person who felt that way. Robin agreed with him wholeheartedly. The last time she had gone to the mall was a couple of days after Steve got admitted to the hospital going straight up to Scoops Ahoy to hand in both her and Steve's resignations. Neither were coming back. Although Robin knew she didn't have a whole lot happen to her down in the Russian base, well asides from being drugged but just knowing that the ground she would be standing on day after day was built on lies and fabrications was enough. Now that she no longer had a job, she was left with plenty of free time so she made a compromise with Jonathan that they would split Steve's physio and appointments half and half unless Steve was having a bad day - if that was the case, both of them would take him. 

It was on one of his bad days that he had a physio appointment so Robin pulled her car into the woods beside Jonathan's getting out and making her way into the backseat of Jonathan's car where Steve was waiting, Jonathan sat in the driver's side. Steve would normally sit in the back on days where he was in more pain as it gave him more space to stretch out, getting Robin to sit beside him so he wouldn't feel so alone. There wasn't much talk this day, Steve not feeling up to it and Robin and Jonathan not knowing what to say. They knew that when they got to physio his meds would kick in and he would be feeling better but until then, everyone was left feeling worried.

They pulled into the hospital and at this point, it was just plain routine, no one had to really think about what to do or where to go as after the past 4 or so months it was just second nature. Jonathan let Robin wheel Steve who wanted to conserve all of his energy for physio, desperately wanting results which, he was getting, even if they were so small he couldn't see them. Steve had been regaining some feeling back in his calves but he still couldn't move anything. 

This physio session, however, was different from the others. Robin and Jonathan both saw the switch in him the second they got called back into the room, determination lighting up in his eyes. Steve's regular physio, Nurse Lenivy, had set up two bars beside each other, a small walkway between them. She explained what she wanted them to do. "So, today, I thought we'd try and get you standing, it would be 90% upper body strength, just to get you used to being upright, then you can try taking a step or two if the standing goes alright, does that sound good?"

Steve nodded.

"Right, so we'll take you over here," She said, wheeling him to the end of the two bars, "And what I want you to try and do is grab hold of the bars and slowly lift yourself up, okay? Take it as slow as you need. One of your friends can stand behind you in case you fall, if that'd be easier." 

Steve locked eyes with Jonathan nodding for him to come over. He immediately complied making his way to stand behind his boyfriend arms outstretched and ready. Steve reached out, grabbing hold of the two bars in front of him and pulling himself out of his chair. At first, his legs twisted, falling to the side and Jonathan darted forward, placing his hands ready on Steve's hips but he didn't fall, instead, he pulled himself back up, arms shaking with the force taken to keep up his weight. Robin was watching Steve's face as it switched through a range of emotions, pain, exhaustion, and happiness. He looked so, so happy.

"There you go!" Nurse Lenivy clapped, "That's amazing Steve! Do you want to try and take a step, if you can't lift your legs at all that's alright, you can swing yourself a little?" 

Steve readjusted his grip on the wooden bar, hands so tight that his knuckles were turning white. For a moment Jonathan worried Steve was going to collapse, with the way that he was shaking but to his surprise, Steve's right leg lifted a little and he took a step forward.

Robin had never seen someone look so excited. She felt like a proud mom, taking Steve's role for just a second, watching as he took a step forwards a broad smile spreading over his face.

One step was enough and Steve's arms gave out, dropping back into Jonathan's arms, ready to catch him. The nurse clapped as Jonathan helped him back to his wheelchair and Steve looked up at her, the smile never fading. 

Things were finally beginning to look up.

Chapter Text

Steve decided that he wasn't going to tell the kids or Hopper that he had been able to stand yet. He had asked Jonathan and Robin to keep it quiet for the time being wanting to surprise them when the time came.

The next few physio sessions gained more and more results and Steve was able to stand for longer periods of time - putting more weight on his legs - and he was able to lift his legs more and move further distances. They would leave the hospital in tears of happiness, a pleasant juxtaposition from the months that had come before. Robin and Jonathan were so happy to see Steve acting more like himself. Obviously, there were still days of pain and frustration but after all the difficulty he had been forced to endure, he deserved some happiness.

More and more progress was made until eventually, Steve didn't need the bars anymore. Someone would help him to his feet and stand across the room and although Steve was a little shaky, he would make his way across to them. It was energy-consuming and Steve was always exhausted by the time they returned home but god was it worth seeing the smile on his face every single time.

It was when Steve was able to walk across a room which was big enough to be one side of the cabin living room to the other, with one person hovering close by incase he fell that Steve decided it was time to tell the others. He had wanted to surprise them, have something exciting to show them and it made Jonathan so proud to see him working so hard despite everything.

Robin and Jonathan radioed for all the kids to come to the cabin after school and they stayed there with Steve, Hopper and Eleven all day, the latter two still being unaware.

When the kids arrived, Jonathan and Robin told them nothing, just ushering them into the living room and telling them to find somewhere to sit down. As they entered the living room Steve saw the looks on their faces, the slight panic in their eyes, realising that they had jumped to the idea that something was horribly wrong. That Steve's condition was declining or maybe it was something to do with the Upside Down again. He quickly jumped in with a gentle, "It's good news, I promise.", watching as the tension faded from their shoulders and sighed with relief. It was almost comical, the small shows of affection; Steve wasn't sure he would ever get used to the fact that he had people who cared about him now.

Once everyone had gotten settled in their various places around the room, Steve smiled from where he was sat, his wheelchair pushed up against the far wall.

"So, I wanted to show you guys something and I realise now that, we have might have scared you a little just telling you to come over as soon as you could because it was important so...I'm sorry. We were just excited." He said, rushing over his words a little.

Hopper smirked, "What is it, kid?" 

"Uh," He laughed nervously, "It's this." 

Steve stood from his wheelchair, watching as his kids' jaws dropped, staring at him in disbelief and Hopper...God. Hopper had this proud parent look in his eyes, a smile on his face that he made no move to conceal. Their shock and pride only fuelled him as he walked shakily over to Robin, standing on the other side of the room, Jonathan trailing along beside him with his arms out just in case he was to fall.

He reached the other side of the room stumbling slightly into Robin's waiting arms, letting her lead help him sit in the seat they had put there. The kids immediately began to cheer, Hopper sat clapping too before he stood walking over. Steve was a little nervous at first, but all of those worries melted away as Hopper's arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you, kid," He said quietly.

Those few words sounded so simple coming from Hopper's mouth but they made Steve want to sob. He'd made someone proud. Steve had longed for someone to be proud of him, longed to be good enough and now...Hopper was proud of him. Now, he felt he had a purpose. His kids were happy, his dad was proud- wait.

When did Hopper become his dad?

Well, when he took Steve in, he guessed. When he showed Steve that there was someone who cared about him. When he was kind and loving and the complete opposite of his adoptive father. When he never once hit him, or yelled at him, or hurt him in any way. That was when Hopper became his father. A better father figure than any other he'd ever had.

Hopper was his father.

It was a tough thing to get his head around but it made him overwhelmingly happy. He had a family. He had a dad and his little sister - Eleven - who was kind of one of his kids and his boyfriend Jonathan and his best friend Robin and-

Steve felt loved.

Steve was loved.