Of course it would happen to her during the middle of the night at a sleepover. El curled up tighter in her sleeping bag, but the cramps just kept getting worse and worse.
She made her way to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet, searching for the familiar blue bottle of tablets, but she didn't see it. El tried to read the names of the other medications that she did find, but nothing sounded like anything that she knew. She stuck a pad in her underwear and went to Joyce's bedroom for help. Since it was the middle of the night, she figured that Joyce and Hopper were both asleep, so instead of knocking, she opened the bedroom door a tiny bit and peeked in. No one moved, so she approached Hopper's side of the bed, and shook his shoulder.
He sighed and wrapped his arm tighter around Joyce but didn't actually wake up.
El nudged him a little bit harder this time, and his eyes opened with a groan. They adjusted to the dark, and he noticed El standing next to him.
"You okay?" he questioned softly.
"Do you think Joyce has period medicine?" El asked. She looked like she was near tears.
"Yeah, I'm sure she has something," he exhaled sleepily. "Why don't you go wait in the bathroom for a minute? I'll be right there."
El walked out and Hopper carefully slid Joyce's arm off his chest, trying not to wake her up. He grabbed his pants off the floor and pulled them on. He found El sitting hunched over on the edge of the bathtub. Poor thing looked miserable.
"Let's see," he said, opening the medicine cabinet.
"I looked in there, but I couldn't find any," El explained. Hopper pulled a few bottles out and read the labels. Joyce didn't have any Midol, which was all El knew to take, but she did have some Advil. He poured two tablets in his hand and pulled a paper cup out of the dispenser next to the sink, filling it with water.
"These should work okay," he explained, handing the cup and tablets to her. El nodded and swallowed the pills without question.
She pressed her eyes closed and leaned over, wrapping both of her arms around her abdomen. Hopper knelt down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees.
"Pretty painful this time?"
El nodded her head in agreement. It seemed like every month had been getting worse and worse. As much as he wanted to climb back into bed with Joyce, he didn't want to leave El to deal with the pain all on her own.
"I'll see if I can find a hot water bottle or something, okay? Go out and lay down on the couch for a minute," he suggested. El agreed and curled up on the couch, not bothering to turn any lights on. Hopper rummaged through the cabinet under the sink but returned to El empty handed.
He turned a side table lamp on and sat down next to her. She laid her head in his lap and turned over towards the back of the couch, curling her legs up tightly. "Sorry kid," he apologized, rubbing her back. El sniffled, trying hard not to cry, but the pain was too intense.
"How long does the medicine take to work?" she sighed.
"Maybe 45 minutes," he guesstimated.
"It hurts so bad," she cried, pressing her hands into her belly.
"I know, kid, I know," he said, softly stroking her hair. El started crying, and Hopper did his best to comfort her, knowing that he couldn't just magically make her pain go away.
Joyce woke up and found the bed next to her empty. She saw that her bedroom door was open, and light escaped in from the hallway, so she figured Hopper was just in the bathroom. After waiting a few minutes for him to return, she got up and pulled her pajamas on, realizing now that the light was coming from the living room.
She found him shirtless on the couch, with El curled up in his lap whimpering.
"Hey, is she okay?" Joyce asked quietly concerned. She sat down on the edge of the end table across from the couch.
"Yeah," he sighed. "Uh, just some female troubles."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," El sniffled, turning towards Joyce.
"Sweetie, it's okay. You didn't wake me up," Joyce immediately promised, reaching over to rub her back. "Did you give her anything?" she asked Hopper.
He nodded. "Yeah. She took some Advil maybe 10 minutes ago."
"I'll get her the heating pad," Joyce said, standing up. Hopper had figured they had one somewhere. He heard the hallway closet open, and then Joyce reappeared.
She moved the lamp over and reached behind the couch to plug the heating pad in. She sat down next to El and spoke softly. "Hey baby, I just need you to move your legs for just a second so I can slide this on your belly."
El sat up, taking the heating pad from Joyce and pressed it to her stomach. "Thank you," El whispered. Joyce put her arm around her shoulders, and El curled up next to her, laying her head against her chest. She was in so much pain that she was trembling.
"Honey, I know it hurts a lot, but sometimes when your body is tense, that makes the pain feel even worse. It helps if you can try to relax a little," Joyce explained.
"How?" El begged. She would do anything to feel better.
"It helps if you focus on taking nice, deep breaths. Let's try it, okay?" Joyce instructed, breathing with her. El's exhales came out as small, involuntary whimpers, but they seemed to get better as time went on. Joyce's fingertips brushed the hair away from El's face, while her other hand placed gentle pressure on her lower back. Hopper noticed that El seemed to relax a little, just from Joyce's quiet encouragement. "And I know it seems hard but try not to think about the pain. Think about something that makes you really, really happy instead." It wasn't long before El exhaled a shaky sigh and the trembling stopped. She hugged one arm a little bit tighter against the heating pad while the other gripped Joyce's shoulder, making herself even smaller in her arms. "Shh, baby," Joyce soothed softly. El knew that she was too old to be falling asleep in the arms of a grown up, but she didn't care. Her eyes blinked closed sleepily, and though it was probably another 20 minutes later, she finally felt well enough to let sleep take over.
When Hopper noticed that El had fallen asleep, he let out a heavy sigh of relief too.
"Are her periods always this painful?" Joyce asked him quietly, trying not to wake El up.
"I guess so. It seems like they are getting worse," he said. "It only lasts through the first day or so," he added.
"You aren't going to like what I'm about to suggest," Joyce said, eyeing him.
"What," he asked anyway.
"I think she needs to see a gynecologist. I could take her," Joyce volunteered.
Hopper didn't like it, but he agreed, knowing that was what was best for El. "Yeah, yeah. She probably should. I hate seeing her like this," he decided. "I don't think she'll like that idea either though," he went on. "What do you think they'd do for her that we aren't already doing anyway?" He knew how El felt about going to doctors, and he couldn't imagine how she'd feel going to a doctor who would possibly need do more than simply listen to her heart and lungs.
"If there's nothing else going on, and it's just painful periods, they could start her on birth control," Joyce said carefully, knowing that was something else Hopper wouldn't want to think about his kid having to do. Before he had a chance to tell her no way, Joyce continued. "It can make her periods more regular and decrease the hormones causing her horrible cramps. And you wouldn't have to worry about when she gets older and starts to have sex," she added, knowing it was the final nail in the coffin. Hopper was silent, and when she looked over at him, he looked just as uncomfortable as she imagined. "It's going to happen someday, Hop. Might as well make sure she's prepared." She laughed lightly.
"It really helps, the birth control pills?" he finally managed to ask.
"Yes, it can," she confirmed.
"And you'd be willing to take her? She uh, she might have a hard time with it. She nearly ran out of the hospital at the sight of a hospital gown the one and only time I had to take her," he explained.
Joyce nodded in understanding. She pressed her lips to El's head and hugged her tighter. She hated being reminded of El's past, just as much as El did. Every day, as she became more integrated into normal life, it became easier to forget, until something like that would force them to stop and remember.
"Of course I'd take her. I could try and explain everything before she goes. You know, make sure she's as comfortable about it as possible," Joyce said.
"Yeah," he sighs. "Alright, yeah. I guess we should set that up then," he reluctantly agreed.
"I can call the office tomorrow."
Hopper reached across El to kiss Joyce. "How did I get so lucky?" he murmured. He believed that Joyce was the last person in the world someone like him deserved.
"What," she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"You, her," he gestured to the two of them, speaking softly. "You treat her no different than your own kids, and you don't have to do that."
"I know my name's not on her birth certificate, but she's still my daughter too," Joyce whispered in response. And she would love El whether or not she was in a relationship with Hopper.
"Thank you," he replied, pressing his lips to hers once more. "When it was just me and her, I kept worrying about how screwed up I was probably making her," he half joked. "I don't really worry anymore, now that she has you to look up to."
"I think you were doing a fine job," Joyce smiled.
He looked at the clock and saw that it was just after 2 AM. "I guess I should get her back to bed. The meds have probably kicked in by now," he said. He stood up and Joyce pulled the heating pad carefully out from under El's arm. "El, let's get you back in bed," Hopper told her softly, rubbing her back to wake her up.
"Sleep with you?" she murmured with a sigh, closing her eyes again. Hopper looked to Joyce, who nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah, sure. Sleep with us tonight," he agreed, helping her to her feet. El smiled, and Joyce turned off the lamp, following the two of them back to bed.
Hopper expected El to attach herself to him like she usually did when she would con him into sleeping in the same bed with her, but tonight, she rolled over and nuzzled into Joyce. Something about sleeping next to Joyce was so soft and comforting, and El wished that she knew her when she was younger. She wished Joyce was her mama.
"Does your belly feel better?" Joyce asked before El closed her eyes.
"Yes," El whispered back, content. "I love you."
"I love you too sweetie," Joyce replied, kissing her head.
"I love you," El repeated, turning over to grab Hopper's arm.
"Love you too kid," he smiled back, before they all fell into a peaceful sleep.