A/N: Thank you to those that reviewed! This has been fun to write and I am glad you are enjoying it.
"El needs-"
"Let me stop you right there," Hopper interjected. "You don't know what El needs."
Will finally looked Hopper squarely in the eye. "Will you let me talk? You told me to 'let you have it.'"
Hopper chuckled and blew smoke out the window. "Go on, then."
"I'm not some dumb kid who doesn't grasp the larger implications," Mike began, defensively. "I get that there are 'bad men' looking for her. I get that he was abused. I get that she is only safe in a cabin deep in the woods. I even get that she needs you. But she needs me, too!
Mike's intensity rose with each item he listed, emotion getting the better of him as he mentioned himself.
"You probably think it's dumb, just some childish 'feelings', but El and I have a connection. It's more than friends, more than family, more than love. It's in my bones, Sheriff."
"Your bones, huh," Hopper mumbled through his cigarette.
This comment had Mike flushing again in anger and shaking his head in defiant disbelief. "I'm not sure why we're even talking. You said it would be one sided and you're right. Don't ask me for my side if you don't want hear it."
Hopper tossed the second cigarette and took a deep breath. "Listen, Mike, I know what you're trying to say-"
"Do you?" Mike challenged. "I protected her before you even knew who she was. If you want to question that be my guest. Bad men, Sheriff! I made sure she had food. I made sure she had shelter. I made sure she was safe!"
"Exactly!" Hopper replied, keeping his voice even with effort. "You found a wounded animal and you cared for it. You bonded with a scared girl who was little more than feral."
Angry tears filled Mike's eyes. He turned to Hopper, those tears streaking his face. "El is not an animal!"
"Don't you think I know that!" Hopper yelled in response. "But she is my daughter before she is anything to you."
"Are you really this mean? Are you just going to shut me down and make me feel like a 'bad man' for wanting to see her?"
It was the sheriff's turn to be silent. He grimaced and looked out the window. He, too, shook his head in at the short sightedness of the kid in his passenger seat.
"She saved my life my life at the quarry. You may not understand, but I was ready to die for Lucas and Dustin. I stepped over the ledge. She saved me! Caught me in mid air and brought me back. She killed the Demogorgon and save our lives. My life. Again."
Hopper was not surprised by the kid's emotions, but he was surprised by something in his voice. The kid was telling the truth. He ever expected that Wheeler's feelings were false, but he thought El needed protection from Hawkins Lab and from Mike Wheeler. Was he the one being short sighted? Damn this kid for making him think outside the box. The box Jane was in.
"Let's both take a deep breath, Kid," Hopper said, returning to as pleasant a tone as he was able. He took the breath and waited for Wheeler to do the same. Hopper saw that the fight was going out of the boy. He seemed suddenly small in the seat next to him, folded in on himself. "Deep breath," he repeated.
"Okay," Mike replied, taking the demanded breath. He looked just as sullen afterward.
"We've both been through a lot," Hopper offered in peace. "We've both had to adapt."
"I think you mean suffer," Mike said. "That's what I've been doing."
"You think it's been easy for me?" Hopper replied, before thinking better of sharing his domestic hardships with a thirteen year old boy.
"She was with you," Mike answered, finally opening his own window. "The whole time."
Hopper took that moment to pull the truck over to the side of the road. He turned to Mike, his left arm draped over the steering wheel.
"You're right, Mike," he said, nodding his head in thought. "She was. And, I would do it again. But, don't think that just because I'm hard on you or think you're too young to be in love that I don't respect you. I know what you did. I know the kind of pain you're talking about. I know what you went through with El. What I need to understand is that I have different responsibilities than you do. I am her dad and I am the man you are going to have to deal with. If you and I are going to get along, you will show me the proper respect. It is so crazy to think that this is about so much more than us. But at the same time, it is exactly about us. Do you get me?"
Mike never broke eye contact until the Hopper finished. He looked at his hands and nodded in understanding and surrender.
"I'm sorry, Sheriff Hopper," he said, sitting up straight. "I guess I've been selfish. It's easier to be mad at you for keeping her a secret and keeping her away from me."
"Yep," agreed Hopper, allowing a small smile to emerge. "But, you're not alone. When it comes to El, it's hard not to want her for yourself. "
To be continued…