After finishing season 2 of Stranger Things, I have 2 wishes:

1. A spin-off series with Steve and the 6 kids where he babysits them and but they always end up running around fighting monsters
2. A full season of Hopper and El family fluff.

I'm going to get neither and don't have time to write the first, so I came up with this when I was bored at work. This is it, so enjoy!

The dust settles and the world is still.

Jim holds his gun and his breath. He doesn't realize he is holding either until he hears a deep but soft metallic thud to his right. The man lets out a breath and lowers the long gun at the same time. He turns to where the young girl was standing just a moment before, tall and proud and larger than life, but now she lays still on the elevator floor.

Hopper sinks to the ground at the same time his heart does and frantically searches through the dim light to find any sign that the girl is alright, or at the very least, alive. It's only when he places the back of his palm on her warm cheek does he feel the even breaths against his skin. He lets out another shaky breath of relief.

"Hey, kid?"

Her eyelids flutter and after a long moment, she's staring back at him. Her face is unreadable as is his, one of many things they have in common but don't realize. What Hopper can tell is that she's exhausted, so exhausted. Dark circles have appeared from nowhere under her eyes that are now only half open. He wastes no more time in scooping her up into a tight hug, his nose burying into her now messy brown hair. She tenses at the contact, not used to hugs from most people and certainly not from him, but she soon relaxes against his chest and wraps her arms around his neck. She feels the leather on his jacket and the puff of panted breaths on her neck. She feels safe. For the first time in a long time, she is safe.

"You did good kid," Jim whispers, his voice raspy and heavy with a strange raw emotion. It's filled with relief and pride, but also with regret that she ever had to do something like this in the first place. There they were in a rusty elevator hanging over hell itself, but the hell that Eleven had been through was worse than whatever had lived in that pit. If he could give anything at all to this child it would be a normal life.

And then she slumps against him and he pulls away in confusion and worry. No, he realizes with a shaky breath of relief, she's alright, but asleep now. Two thick trails of blood stem from her nose and Hopper assumes there's a smudge of red on his shirt, like the smudge lining the girl's upper lip. He places a hand on her cheek and she is warm, unnaturally warm, and he knows she needs rest.

He stands, the sound of his kneecaps popping fill the silence of the area and he hoists El into his arms. She immediately buries her head into his arm and one hand reaches over to grasp the leather jacket. It's a tight squeeze, tighter than Hopper thinks her capable of, but he also knows now not to underestimate her. He leans over and presses the button to raise the elevator. Briefly, as the gears squeak and clang in the empty space, he looks down into hell before raising his head upwards towards the light.

Mike isn't happy when Jim tells him they aren't going back to Will's house. He doesn't blame the kid especially after all they went through that night and especially not after he had been lied to about where El was for a year. But, now isn't the time. At this point, Hopper can only think of sleep and quietness, and he's sure Eleven feels the same. She'd pushed herself further than ever before and now she's burning up a little. Jim is sure she will be fine, but he worries anyway and wants a chance to let her rest before being overwhelmed by questions from her friends. Thankfully, Joyce, Will, Jonathan, and Nancy return during their chat and Nancy manages to convince Mike to come home for a few hours of sleep before decompressing.

So now Jim drives through the dimly lit streets, his gaze shifting to Eleven every few minutes to be sure she was still there. It was as though he anticipates she will disappear and he feels relief every time he sees her small form pressed against the window of the truck.

The girl stirs only a little when Jim pulls up to the cabin and turns off the car. The man looks up at the sky as light blossoms over the heavens. The new day is breaking, but all Jim can think about is finding heavy blankets to drape over the windows. Even after all that darkness, light is the last thing he wants to see, at least until he gets some rest.

He steps out and walks around the car before tugging on the handle to open the passenger door. Gently, he picks up the girl and brings her into the house. It's still warm from the heat they put Will under and a little messed up, but he figured they don't need a squeaky clean house to sleep.

Jim enters the small room that was… is still El's and lays her in the bed. It is then that the girl wakes, though only briefly, and she seems confused as to where she is. "Where?" she rasps, too tired to think of all the words needed to ask a more complex question.

"Home," Jim replies, also not wanting a long conversation. "Sleep."

"Sleep?" she seems perplexed by the word, but then she nods, deciding that sleep sounds like the most wonderful idea. "Sleep." She pauses. "Stay?"

"Yes, we'll stay here for now," Jim replies as he tucks another blanket around her.

"No. You."

"Me?" Eleven nods. "Yeah, okay. I'll stay." She seems to relax more into the sheets.

Jim stands and enters the living room. He grabs the small couch and drags it into the room and it completely blocks the door, but it fits and that's good enough for now. He throws more blankets onto it and a pillow or two, but he knows it won't take much comfort to get him to sleep after the night he'd just had. It's amazing, though, he thinks as he glances at El who is still staring at him, but struggling to keep her eyes open, how the two of them are able to hold a full conversation with just a few simple words. It might have been a tough year and it wasn't entirely fair to keep her locked up in the house, but they had grown and learned from each other. He had given El safety and a friend. And El had given him something else that he couldn't quite name. But, it's a perfect and pure thing. He at least knows that much.

"I did good?" Eleven's breaks into Jim's thoughts as he lays on the couch. He looks up and nods, though she can't see his face from her position on the bed. The couch is a good foot shorter than it and El is on her back, wrapped up tightly in the blankets.

"Yes," he replies. "Now sleep. You need it."

There's another pause and El rolls over so she can peer over the bed. He looks back at her tired, but curious eyes and gives her a small but warm smile. "Sleep.," he says again, this time a little more sternly, but with the same warmth as before.

"You'll be here?" she asks, her voice small. It had been a long night and she doesn't want Jim to leave. After fighting all those monsters and closing the gate to the Upside Down, the darkness still scares her and she fears being left alone.

Jim reaches up and grasps her hand in his like he had in the truck on the way to the lab. She appears a little surprised at the contact and searches his face for a clue as to what he is thinking. But, the man is as unreadable as usual and something about that feels comforting to El. He is a mystery, like her. And together the two mysteries form a bond that goes beyond simple words. Still, Jim only has simple words to rely on, so he uses them.

"Yes, I'll be here," Hopper says, giving her hand a little squeeze. "I'll always be here, kid."

She seems satisfied with this and relaxes and within a few seconds, she's back asleep. Hopper closes his eyes and breathes in the silence. He feels ten pounds lighter, but his heart is full of love and pride for this girl… his girl.

All is well. The world is still.