Chapter Text
Some aspects of life just don't make sense because really who should be allowed to do this to a kid?
Joyce's eyes look through the glass, her hand gingerly coming up and resting against it, the surface cold against her fingertips. Offering a weak smile her eyes lock with Hopper's, he smiles back at her before turning back to the rise and fall of his daughter's chest, their daughter. Her head turns and she sits down on the chairs that were there, once more her hand brushes the wall, she pushes it softly before shaking her head at the thought of the reinforced concrete buried deep under Hawkins that was containing their family.
"Mom?" Will pads out of a room beside her, she looks up at him with a small smile as he sits down next to her "When are we allowed to see her?"
"I'm sorry honey" Joyce plays with her son's hair, "Not until I get confirmation from Dr Owens"
"I heard you last night," Will tells her "You and Hopper"
"I'm sorry about that too" Joyce's voice was soft, she felt bad
She and Hopper argued a lot, mainly over El, mainly over the situation they were in.
They still loved each other, it's just that things were hard right now and sometimes things that were important got in the way of them being able to love.
"When will we leave here?"
"When El's allowed to wake up," Joyce tells him with a small shrug of her shoulders, Will drops his gaze and runs his hands over his face
Hopper comes out of the room and glares at Will, he immediately swallows and leaves. His protectiveness skyrocketed since they put El under.
"You don't have to scare the kid" Joyce rolls her eyes, Hopper scoffs and shakes his head "I understand what this is doing to you, what this is doing to us but geez he's just a kid, Hop, he doesn't understand that the government want our daughter-"
"My daughter is in there, tubes wedged in her throat helping her breathe whilst they...wait for the world to end knowing that she is the only one who can stop it!" he punches the wall, for the first time in a while Joyce doesn't flinch
She's used to this and she understands his anger, at least she thinks she did.
"You shouldn't take it out on the kids," Joyce tells him as he sits down beside her, gently she places her hand on his thigh "How is she?"
"The same, she's not sick Joyce they're..." he huffs in frustration
She understands.
"Our kid is sedated" he whispers as the tears fill his eyes, she turns her head to stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks "They think she's a weapon, she is just a child, how is this even..."
"Owens is trying to sort it"
"And if he can't? She'll be labelled as a dangerous individual and we'll be trapped here signing confidentiality agreements and other shit and then people, they'll forget about her, hell we might even be forced to forget about her"
Joyce looks at him, taking his words in, she knows he thinks too much or at least she thought he did but maybe there was truth in what he was saying.
"This isn't the life I want to live" Joyce murmurs, Hopper turns to her "It really isn't but for her? For my kids, I'll do it in a heartbeat!"
His arm wraps around her shoulders and he pulls her into his body.
"Because I love her, I love her like she's my own because she is my daughter" Joyce wipes her eyes on his shirt, he kisses her on the head
His lips brush against her head
"I sacrificed everything and I would do it again, I've told you this" Joyce closes her eyes before she's getting up and walking to the glass, she places her hand on the glass again "And they'll remove her sedation, they will Jim and...everything will be fixed"
They hope.
Joyce looks around the bleak room, there was no colour to it, the walls just pure plaster and grey, she shudders at the thought. She's folding the comforter, putting it on the edge of the bed and a tear slips down her cheek onto it, staining it. There was a soft knock on the door, she turns and sees Jonathan there with some food, she takes the bag from him and he tells her what it was like outside with the military swarming the place, she just can't face it yet, she can't face going outside and being accompanied by armed individuals. It all just cut deep, it was too raw. Her head turns to the long corridor to the right of her, they see the nurses going in and out of El's room probably to top up her sedation.
"Mom?" Jonathan whispers and brings her in for a hug, Joyce wraps her arms around her boy and breathes "Is everything ok between you and Hopper?"
"It's just hard, we're fine it's just-"
"El?" Jonathan looks down the corridor, smiling slightly at Hopper as he sits outside of El's room with his head in his hands
"Yeah" she pulls away and follows her son's gaze "The longer it goes on...I get scared about how he's going to cope, how all of you are going to cope-"
"Hey me and Will, we're fine" Jonathan reassures her "We weren't going to leave you, we weren't because El, she's our sister, we never leave each other, always look out for each other and we want to be here"
"If at any point-"
"Mom, stop talking" Jonathan brings her in for a hug again, her arms wrap around his tightly "We're staying, you can't change our minds"
She smiles to herself and nods before removing herself from his body, she looks at Hopper and heads down the corridor to sit with him
She places a hand on his shoulder and he cries into her chest.
She tells him he has to eat but even after the boys have gone back to their rooms he pushes his food around the plate so Joyce gently drapes her arms around his neck and presses her soft lips against his cheek. He smiles at her but she can tell he doesn't want to eat, everything was just too raw for him so she takes the plate and puts it in the oven just in case he wants some later. Hearing the chair being pushed away from the table indicated to her that he was going to see El. Joyce's eyes flutter shut and she lets out a long breath because she's starting to feel like she's drowning.
She calls it a night and climbs into bed, as soon as her eyes shut she's asleep.
He comes into the room and climbs into bed with her. Immediately he pulls her against him, his arms securing around her chest and she wakes to plant a kiss on his arm. A teardrop lands on his skin so he pulls her in even tighter until she's turning around in his arms.
"I'll always have your back, Jim," she tells him, he nods "But you need to speak to me so I can understand"
"I don't know what to say to make any of this better" Hopper chokes up, she cups his face in her hands and presses her lips against his "I feel like I'm losing my mind, I just want her back"
"I do too"
Their foreheads knock together, he sniffles before kissing her shakily, his hand travels down her body, cupping her ass as he pulls her onto his body. They continue to kiss, a soft frown on her face as she absorbs his touch, this was much better than thinking.
This often happened, they'd fuck when the going got tough, when the emotion got high.
It was comforting to have each other so close.
She's rocking her hips against his, they're whimpering into each other's mouths with desperation as he balls the flannel she was wearing, one of his, she liked to sleep in them. He dips his fingers into her panties, his touch makes her eyes roll into the back of her head. He made her crazy, so needy, so wet when his skin brushes against her, she was his drug. Her happiness, her ability to forget.
His fingers rub against her clit, she moans softly and continues to kiss him, rocking her hips against his hand before gasping at the cool air hitting the ache between her legs as he drags her panties down. Hopper slides his fingers into her, stretching her as she becomes a whimpering mess on top of him.
"Hopper!" her cries were breathless as he rubs her clit with the pad of his thumb, he pumps his fingers in and out of her causing a series of lustful whimpers
"You're such a good girl for me" he cups her cheek, Joyce bites her lip to stop a series of moans coming out "Taking my fingers so well, so wet for me"
"More, please" she begs
He strokes her, rubbing her sensitive flesh from within, her eyes were clamped shut as he goes for her neck, his rough but gentle lips ghosting her skin, his tongue wet and his eyes dark with arousal. He nips at her, she whimpers and rocks her hips as her thighs begin to tremble in anticipation, the pressure building.
She's clenching around him, he's rubbing her clit, stroking her, curling his fingers and pushing against her insides before a loud whimper from her crashes over them.
"Get inside, now" she whispers against his lips, their mouths connect and he groans pulling down his boxers and pulling his cock out of his boxers
She reaches to stroke him, he's heavy in her hand before she's dragging him through her folds, lathering him up, coating him in her wetness causing breathy moans from him. Inch by inch she takes him before moaning at him being so filling and snug inside of her - this was just what she needed.
This is what they both needed.
It was a time to forget, focus on each other and not what was going on outside of this room. Joyce whimpers as she rocks in time with him. His fingers go for her clit, he rubs the throbbing bud and she's a wreck above him, sweat covering her skin, her arm hooked around his neck to keep him in place. His lips caress her neck again, he sucks gently and she's moaning every time she feels him shift in and out of her, the way his fingers masterfully stroked her clit.
Then she feels it bubbling up from within.
"Hop, so-so close...yes-yes!"
"So beautiful in this state" he cups her cheek, her back flexes and her toes curl before a scream is thrown from her mouth
She's clenching tightly around him to keep him in before she feels his hot release coat her, she's milking him for all he had needing to feel whole and warm.
"I'm sorry"
"No"
She shakes her head, they did this every time.
They talk.
They fuck.
Then they apologise for doing the previous.
She's fed up with it, this was their decision.
"Please...please don't apologise" she's breathless, he holds her close, his hands rubbing up and down her back "Can we...can we just...hold, hold each other?"
He looks to the door and swallows, the need to check on El was on his mind.
"Please, Jim" she looks at him, her eyes filling with tears
A hand was pressed to her face as she heard him get up, put his boxers on and then his sweatpants. Joyce wills herself not to cry but this time hot tears scald her cheeks.
She just wants this nightmare to end.