Chapter Text
El lay unconscious in her bed in the Hopper-Byers residence. Thanks to the help of Sam Owens she had been allowed to remain at home, the military doctor back at his high rank job had made all the arrangements that had been deemed necessary. So there was always a nurse present to check her vitals. Aside from the nurse she had other company too, El was always in the presence of friends and family. She was never alone.
Jim Hopper spent most of his time in her room. The big reinstated Chief of Police felt so useless, unable to help his little girl, yet again. It felt like Sara all over again with all the wires, except the surroundings were those of their own home and not the hospital. It had been the one thing everyone had agreed on, no hospital for El. So Jim would spend his days working and then go straight home, never a minute late. Always home at 5:15. And then he would sit with her, hand over hers and tell her about his day, or read her bedtime stories, despite her being too old for them now. He did all the things he had wished he had done differently all those years ago, when he had first taken her in.
Joyce always ended up joining them, with a sad teary smile on her features. Despite the looming danger she and Jim had decided to move in together, it had been the best few months either of them had, even though it had been mostly about preparing for Vecna’s return. The kids got along together, El truly had become both Jonathan’s and Will’s little sister, and the three of them got really protective of each other.. Things were good, until Vecna came back. It was a miracle that this time around everyone had survived.
The family always made sure to make it a moment, all of them in El’s room before bedtime. During the night it was always one of them to stay with her. Jim would stay if he had the day off after, as would Joyce which meant sometimes they’d stay together as well but on the nights that both of the parents had work both Will and Jonathan stepped in. “You two need to sleep as well. And she’s our sister.” They had said, and that was the end of the small discussion they had. All of them had their own routine with her.
Jim would just hold her while he read to her, and Joyce would also hold her and stroke through her hair, which had grown some again in the past months before Vecna’s return. Always followed by sweet words, of how grateful she was to finally have a daughter again but also about how proud she was of her, and to please wake up because her Dad needed her.
Jonathan would sit in the chair and play some of the gentler music he listened to while reading a book, but he would always have a hand on either her arm or her leg, so she would know she wasn’t alone. And Will would sit next to her but hold her hand, telling her stories about the party before she had joined, most of the time he ended up falling asleep curled up to her. And in the morning it was always someone from the party to show up, but most days they all ended up coming.
Mike always showed up early, Nancy drove him without complaining and would always say hi to the girl before going to comfort Jonathan, who was truly having a bad time, the two of them had gotten closer again. El and Mike however had broken up right after the Byers moved back into Hawkins, but they had stayed best friends. They loved each other, but not like that. Mike had been the first person to take her in, to be her friend. He had been the one to explain all sorts of stuff to her, their bond would always be special like that. But Mike never knew what to say, but he would still hold her hand. Sometimes he would whisper to her, begging for her to wake up. “The party is nothing without you.” He would say, and he meant it. He then would join Will, he and Nancy usually end up spending most of the day at the Hopper-Byer house.
Lucas was absent the first day but he would usually follow right after Mike. He was also the one that told her about Max, while apologizing that he hadn’t come to see her the first day she was home, but he had been with Max, who he said couldn’t wait to see her. He would then end up telling her about his visits with Max and that she was getting better, so El had to get better too so all of them could hang out again. After his visits he would go to Max. And Max had forbidden anyone else from visiting her, claiming that El needed them more right now.
And then Dustin would arrive. The always joyful and excited teen, but there wasn’t much left of his smile. He didn’t know what to tell her, so after the first day of sitting there silently holding her hand he started to bring comics the next day, the X-Men, and started to read them to her. His excitement came back a little once he started doing that. “You know, El. You are just like the X-Men. A superhero. But you are way cooler!” He had said. They had gotten closer in the past few months and Dustin had developed quite the crush on this girl. He couldn’t remember ever having been this scared, but seeing El like this in a bed, with all those monitors and fluids surrounding her… It was enough to silence the talkative teen.
And then finally on day 3 Max had been discharged by the hospital. Her broken limbs had been all healed during the months she had been in there and miraculously her brain function had returned, as if nothing had ever happened. They called it a miracle, at which Max had rolled her eyes. She needed rest herself, but the fiery teen had demanded to be taken to El first. After some begging her mom had reluctantly agreed to let Steve take her, who had offered after giving the pair a ride back to the trailer park, Max’s mom no longer had a car after Neil Hargrove had left her. Steve had driven the girl there, the older teen hadn’t thought he had the right to go see El on his own, but he was perfectly happy to finally say his thanks as well, after doing so he left the room, giving Max and El some privacy. At first Max was quiet, but then she just got up on the bed and took El’s hand. “You saved me, El.” Max whispered, her tears falling on her t-shirt. “It’s like I woke up from a dream but you were always there, El. You kept me around.” Max whispered softly. And Max would never admit that she had cried. Steve kept driving her there every day after that, Lucas joining the pair. They would always talk about all the things they would teach El, and show El. All the nice things she had missed out on, the promise of a nice care-free life.
It had been a stressful week for everyone involved, and after a week everyone’s mood got less hopeful. There was no change at all and everyone started to fear the worst. That El maybe had used too much of her energy. Even Sam Owens was out of options, and despite his expertise he had no answers. He didn’t know when or if she would wake up. That day everyone left feeling like their world was crumbling yet again. Everyone left feeling useless. Everyone left, except the family… And Dustin. Ever since his arrival he hadn’t moved from her bedside. He was afraid that if he left he never would see her again, the words of Dr. Owens really struck something inside of him, making him cling to her hand even more.
Will just walked in with two plates of dinner, which made Dustin let go of El’s hand immediately, and handed one to Dustin before he sat down on the bed, facing his friend. “She has to wake up.” Will spoke softly and Dustin just gave him a small nod. “She doesn’t deserve this… She saved all of us and now we can’t even help her.” He whispered, looking up defeated at the girl he had developed feelings for. He would never get to tell her, but he also would never see that smile he adored so much. Will just started to move around his food, while Dustin just held his plate on his lap, neither of the teens hungry. “We help by being there for her.” Will finally answered and Will appreciated that Dustin stayed, but he also didn’t really know why. If someone were to stay here he would definitely have thought it to be either Max or Mike… He also didn’t know how to ask, so he just stayed silent. Both of them managed to eat a little bit, both of them earning a small frown from Joyce when she came in to collect the plates. “Oh, sweeties… You need to eat. Or was my food terrible?” She said, trying to ease the mood a little with the joke. “No, it was delicious, mom!” Will said immediately and Dustin just nodded. “We’re just not that hungry.” Dustin added. “It’s alright, I understand. Hey Will, would you mind bringing the plates down?” She asked, and Will just nodded, collecting both their plates before heading off. Dustin was sure that this was the moment that he would get kicked out, however what came next surprised him. Joyce just moved to the teenager and wrapped her arms around him, pulling Dustin in a tight hug. It was enough for Dustin to break down, his body shaking as he cried in Mrs. Byers arms. “I don’t care what Dr. Owens said. My daughter is strong.” She whispered in an attempt to calm down the teen, her hand slowly stroking over his back, as she had done countless of times this week with both her sons and her boyfriend, which also has been done to her countless of times this week by the same people. But Dustin was always alone, and Joyce didn’t think Claudia knew nearly enough to realize how much her son was hurting.
But Joyce had seen the way these two had slowly gotten closer together, she had even mentioned it to Jim who just began laughing. “Her and Dustin? Come on, baby. You’re seeing things. They’re just friends.” He had said, but Joyce had just kissed her boyfriend with a small smile. “We shall see, Jim. I think they would be adorable.” And Jim just rather not think about his daughter dating until he absolutely had to.
So Joyce made it her business to make sure that Dustin was taken care of, too, but he always fled the house before she had the chance to see him. Tonight though she wasn’t surprised to see that he had stayed behind, and she felt for him. “It’s been a week, Mrs. Byers. What if she won’t wake up?” Dustin asked, his voice muffled by Joyce's shoulder. “She will. I refuse to believe otherwise. And I tend to be right about these things, Dustin. I was right about Will then, too.” She whispered softly. And Dustin prayed to everything she was right this time, too. Jim walked in for his night routine with El when he spotted his girlfriend, and one of El’s best friends in a hug, the kid clearly had been crying. “You okay, kid? Do you need me to drive you home, it’s getting dark out. I don’t want any of you kids to bike at this time.” He offered, the hard exterior could fool anyone, but he was a big softie when it came down to it. “I think Dustin will stay tonight, Jim. We can put the inflatable with Will. Do you want to stay, Dustin?” And he just nodded, in time for Will to join them back in the room as well, not mentioning anything about his best friend in tears. “We can also stay with her during the night.” Will offered, and Jim just ruffled his hair gently. “That’s real sweet kid. You two should do something fun first, get your mind off things.” Jim said and Dustin pulled back from Mrs. Byers, giving a small nod. “I should just call my mom, first. Tell her I won’t be home.” Joyce gave the kid a soft kiss on his forehead before nodding. “That’s perfectly fine, Will can show you.” And the teens were out of the room only seconds later, Will never mentioning anything about Dustin’s tears. The two of them ended up playing on the Atari for most of the night.
Jim just moved to wrap his arms around Joyce, pulling her in to press a soft kiss to her hair. “Think you may have been right about that one.” He said, his eyes falling to El in the bed. Joyce just smiled against his chest, her own arms wrapping around his frame, sighing out. “It’s clear that boy is in love with her.” She just whispered back, and Jim just buried his nose in Joyce’s hair, trying to keep his composure, while all he wanted to do was cry. “Joy… I don’t think I can do this again.” He whispered so extremely softly, but it was enough for Joyce to hear it, to realize exactly what he was talking about. He was scared of losing another daughter, a fear Joyce could understand better than most parents should. She just pulled back slightly, her hand moving to cup his cheeks, telling Jim the exact same thing she had told Dustin moments before. “She will wake up, Jim. She’s our daughter. She is strong… And she will wake up. I can feel it.” And Jim’s blue eyes just locked onto Joyce’s brown ones, searching them for anything that would suggest otherwise. But he could see it right there, that she truly believed that. It gave him a shimmer of hope. Pulling her back in he just kissed her head again. “I hope you’re right about this, Joyce. I really hope that you’re right.”
What they weren’t aware of was that El was trying her hardest to open her eyes… To let them know that she was still in there.