The Life You Deserve
Author Note: Hello! I just wanted to thank everyone who has read the story so far, especially to those who are following it and have favourited it :-) I'd love to know if you are enjoying the story so far, so please leave a review if you'd like.
This chapter was originally meant to have the Snow Ball in it as well, but it's already huge, so that will be the next chapter. There's not really any Mileven in this chapter but I feel there was no way I couldn't show the complete cuteness of Hopper as he rushes around trying to get everything El needs for the Snow Ball. I hope you enjoy!
P.S I promise lots of Mileven fluff in the next chapter and the reunion of El and Max!
Chapter 4: What is Love?
The rumble of the Chevrolet K5 Blazer came to a stop as Hopper cut the engine off, having parked up outside of a dinner out of Hawkins. He took a few more drags of the cigarette he had been nursing on the drive over and stubbed it out before heading in.
Almost immediately Hopper spotted Dr Owens sat in the corner looking like he was tucking into a sandwich. He instantly felt his stomach squeeze with hunger as he thought about his stupid diet. It had been Joyce's idea, telling him that he needed to eat healthier and cut down the drinking. And for some reason just like El, Joyce had a way of bringing him around.
Hopper headed over to the doctor, taking his coat off in the process and chucking it onto the booth beside him. "Chiefo," Sam Owens said in a warm friendly voice. Hopper couldn't stop himself from smiling back. He had always had his doubts about Sam but after everything that had happened in the lab, he knew he could be trusted.
"How's the leg?" Hopper asked instead of a greeting. "Better. Pretty sure my football career is over," Dr Owens replied with mirth making both men chuckle slightly. Hopper didn't think he would ever get to the point where he could have a laugh with these people. But worse things had happened.
Dr Owens pushed the plate towards Hopper, "you want some of this? There's no way I'm going to finish it." Hopper looked down longingly at the master piece of a sandwich for a moment, but then saw Joyce's face in his mind. "No…I'm on a diet." He said plainly, pushing the plate away. Sam gave him an amused smile before saying, "well you're a better man than me."
Dr Owens moved towards his bag and began rooting, "I've got a little something for you." He said before pulling out a slim envelope and handing it to a curious Hopper. He slowly opened the envelope, secretly anxious that it was a new problem to contend with. As the first corner of the document was unveiled, he heard Sam saying, "congratulations pops".
Hopper looked down at the paper, his mouth gaping slightly as he took in the birth certificate. The birth certificate of Jane Eleanor Hopper, his now legal daughter. He found himself suddenly overcome with emotion and had to speak to try and distract himself, "I thought…" he wanted to know how Dr Owens had done this so fast, but Sam would only shrug, smile and say "sometimes I impress even myself."
Amazed, Hopper folded the document carefully and moved it into his coat pocket whilst Sam carried on speaking. "Still, I'd let things cool off for a while if I were you." He said honestly, making Hopper adjust in his seat anxiously, thinking immediately of this school dance El was desperate of going to.
"How long is a while?" he couldn't help but ask. Dr Owens considered this and shrugged slightly, "wanna be safe? I'd give it a year." Hopper immediately felt a blow to his stomach as he imagined telling El she couldn't go out for another year. He could almost imagine her flinging him through the front door on his ass.
"A year?" he asked incredulously, now too stressed to care about his diet. He reached for the sandwich taking out a large chunk. Hopper thought immediately about the risks of El going out, but all he could see in his mind were her bambi eyes.
"What about one night out?" he said before he could even stop himself. "One night? What's so important about one night?" Dr Owens said laughing gently. Hopper frowned and leaned back in the booth slightly, "you have no idea…" he mumbled putting down the sandwich and rubbing his forehead stressed. "Well if it's just one night and you're nearby…I don't see it being a problem," Dr Owens offered to Hopper's immediate relief.
He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he thought about the smile this was going to put on the kid's face. Hopper reached for the birth certificate again, staring at it with a mixture of disbelief and happiness. His eyes trailed over all of the details and stopped abruptly when he saw her birthday. "Ah shit…" he muttered. "What?" Dr Owens asked as he continued with the sandwich. "We've missed her birthday. It was the 8th November."
Hopper couldn't believe her birthday had gone unnoticed, and her 13th birthday at that. He felt a heavy weight in his chest once more when he realised that El had probably never even had a birthday, wouldn't even know what one was. Dr Owens smiled slightly, "well just make it up to her." He said simply.
The silence of Melvald's General Store was quickly interrupted by the sound of the bell ringing as Hopper quickly pushed open the door and found Joyce immediately, looking incredibly bored behind the counter. He couldn't help but smile in relief, and tried to hide the breathlessness he felt when he was around her. "The perfect person I need!" he called to her, moving through the aisle until he reached the counter.
Joyce laughed watching him amused, "what is it you need Hop?" He took a moment to catch his breath before flashing her a foolish grin, "I've got an emergency of the teenage girl kind." He exclaimed making her laugh once more, the sound of her laughter causing his heart to squeeze. "Explain…" she asked leaning slightly on the counter towards him.
Hopper quickly looked around to make sure they were definitely alone, before leaning in slightly and saying quietly, "I'm letting her out tonight, to go to this snow ball thing. But I need to get her a dress, shoes, the whole lot. Whatever teenage girls need for a dance." Joyce's eyes brightened in happy surprise, "that's wonderful! Well I'm due my lunch about now, so I'd be happy to help." She said smiling. Hopper took a breath of relief, "that's what I was hoping. Thanks Joyce."
Once Joyce had informed her manager that she was on lunch, they walked through the main town, whilst she explained that they were best getting the dress first as everything else centred around it. Hopper immediately felt completely out of his depth and thanked his lucky stars that he had Joyce with him.
They entered one of the only clothes stores in Hawkins, damn it was a small town, and started to route through the racks of clothes looking at different dresses. "Any idea what kind of dress she would like?" Joyce asked absentmindedly as she focused on the task at hand.
Hopper's cheeks immediately blushed with embarrassment, "er…no? She doesn't even know she needs a dress. She doesn't even know she's allowed to go at this point." He mumbled, although he knew with annoyance that she had always known she was going because she could wrap him around her little finger.
Joyce sighed, "well thankfully I know her dress size from that pink dress she loves wearing." She said as she started to pull out certain dresses and showed them to Hopper. "What about this one?" she asked, holding a pink dress with a low-cut neckline. Hopper scoffed, "hell no! I don't want Wheeler drooling over her." He said incredulously.
Joyce rolled her eyes in amusement, "well then what do you want her to wear Hop?" Hopper stopped eyeing the dresses and looked up at the wonderful woman in front of him, "well preferably a nun's outfit. But if that's not available, something that is classy, isn't too fussy and like covers up…everything." He said feeling incredibly awkward as he realised that his little girl was in fact a teenager.
Joyce nodded not saying anything to his words, but he noticed her entertained smile as she started wadding through another rack of dresses. "What about this one?" she asked after a few minutes. Hopper looked up to see she was holding a silver grey dress that looked like it would go down to the knees. It had pink polka dots on it, puffy shoulders and it covered up most of the body except the arms which he guessed he could deal with.
"Yeah that'll be great." He said in relief, thankful that this part of the horrendous shopping experience was over. He never wanted to be in charge of El's clothing style ever again.
"Don't you want to know how much the dress is first?" Joyce enquired looking at the outfit. Hopper quickly shook his head, "no…she can have it, whatever the cost. We missed her birthday." He said sighing.
"We did? When was it?" Joyce asked sadly. "November 8th." Hopper confirmed, still feeling guilty. Joyce pondered this fact for a moment but smiled, "well I'm sure she will be more than happy with a pretty dress, shoes and some make up." She said happily whilst Hopper looked aghast. "Make up?! She's 13!"
Joyce laughed, "yes she's 13 Hop! And I can assure you girls her age are wearing the stuff." Hopper felt scandalised. Wasn't make up for like older girls? He refused to believe his kid was a woman. Joyce sensed his trauma and rolled her eyes amused, "it's for one night Hop." She gave him the same look El gave him when she always got her way. "Fine. Fine let's get the damn make up, shoes, the whole lot." He said wearily, taking the dress from Joyce as she started to look at shoes.
Fifteen minutes later Hopper's arms were filled with the dress, 3 different types of shoes for El to choose from, a make-up palette, make up brushes and lip glosses. He felt the testosterone leave his body in a rush when Joyce threw some more make up choices into his arms.
"Are we done now?" he moaned whilst Joyce began looking at accessories and ignored his comment. "Aw you have to get her this pretty hair clip. It'll look lovely in her curly hair. I'll pin some of them back for her." She mused as she put the hair clip and grips into Hopper's crowded arms.
Hopper watched Joyce for a moment and couldn't help but smile, "thanks for this Joyce. I mean…I don't know what I'm doing with a teenage daughter sometimes." He admitted feeling completely out of his depth. Joyce turned and smiled at him, "it's my pleasure Hop. I love that little girl too. She saved my son…she saved us all. She deserves this." She said softly, her voice laced with emotion that also caused a lump in Hopper's throat.
They were both quiet again until Joyce spoke up, "right I think we're almost done. But it might be nice to get her a bit of jewellery or something. Doesn't need to be expensive but maybe a bracelet or a necklace."
At her words Hopper instantly looked down at his daughter's blue hair band on his wrist, it had never left his wrist since the moment he got it crafted into a bracelet. Whilst he was a humble man in terms of possessions, this bracelet was his most treasured possession. But as he stared at it, he couldn't help but smile and think of El. She meant so much to him, she deserved to carry Sara's bracelet now. Hopper looked up at Joyce and smiled, his voice choked, "don't worry. I've got just the jewellery in mind."
El bit her lip and looked at the clock for what felt like the 100th time. It was 2pm and the snow ball according to Mike started at 7pm and she desperately wanted to go. Whilst she was sure that Hopper was going to let her, the fact he wasn't even home yet unnerved her.
El felt anxious and upset at the thought that if she couldn't attend, she wouldn't even be able to ring Mike to tell him because she wasn't allowed to ring his home phone in case it was bugged.
She tried to distract herself with the television but for once she didn't care what was happening on her favourite soap operas. Every time she saw people kissing and happy it made her heart yearn for Mike.
The silence of the cabin was interrupted by the sound of Hopper's wagon and El immediately turned off the television and opened the door with her mind, too excited and apprehensive to care about waiting for his special knock.
When Hopper entered the cabin, El was surprised to see his hands were clasped around four bags which looked fit to burst. "Mind giving me a hand kid?" he asked her out of breath as she rushed forward and took a bag off him and put it on the kitchen counter. "What is all this?" El asked frowning with curiosity as Hopper placed down the other bags.
He turned to her and smiled nervously, "you might wanna sit down kid. We need to talk." El watched him with confusion. His words made her think something was wrong, but his facial expression told her something different.
They sat facing each other at the table as Hopper looked more anxious than El had ever seen him. She could feel her heart beating nervously, waiting for him to speak. He took a deep breath and reached into his coat pocket. "As you know I met with Dr Owens this morning. He's been working on something for me for a while now…" he said clearing his throat as he took the paper out of the envelope and handed it to El.
El looked down at the paper, her spellings still weren't great but she could pick out things like her name. But it didn't say Eleven. It said Jane Eleanor Hopper. She gasped, her hands shaking slightly as she thought about her mama, the first name she had always wanted El to have. Her hazel eyes then went to where she could read it said 'mother: Teresa Ives' She gulped, feeling tears prick her eyes as she tried to hold the paper steady.
Hopper stayed quiet and just observed El as her eyes tried to take everything in. She saw 'birthday 8th November 1971' and gasped looking up at Hopper, "this is…the day I was born?" she asked him quietly. He smiled slightly and nodded, "yeah kid. That's the day Terry gave birth to you." El looked down at the paper and her eyes went to where it said 'father: James Hopper'.
Hopper clearly seeing where her eyes had fallen, suddenly coughed nervously. "So kid…if you'll have me, I'd really love to be your dad." He said his voice choked with emotion making El instantly look up at him with wide eyes. "My dad?" she asked him, trying her hardest not to get too excited in case what he meant wasn't what she thought it meant. He smiled at her softly, "yeah your dad. You'd be my daughter and…we'd be a family."
He didn't need to say any more, his words hit El's heart at 100 miles per hour. She sobbed and got up from the chair, discarding the documentation and rushing into Hopper's waiting arms. She held onto him tightly as he lay his head on top of her curls. They stayed in their embrace for a while and El could feel tears drop into her hair. "T-thank you," she said quivering. Hopper laughed gently, his chest making her bounce slightly from the movement. "You don't have to thank me kid. It's my pleasure."
They stayed in their tight hug for a while until El felt him slowly pull away so he could look at her face and wipe away her tears. "So do you wanna be called Jane? Or El?" She pondered his words for a moment, she knew Jane was the name her mother had always wanted but then Mike had given her the name El and she loved it. She smiled at Hopper, "I am happy with both." She told him before nervously adding, "but can I call you dad?"
Hopper blinked back more tears and wiped at his own face, "I'd love nothing more," he told her sincerely. Before she could do anything more than give him a beaming smile, her dad spoke, "I've got a few more surprises for you. When I spoke to Dr Owens I asked him about the risk of you going out. Now he did say that he thinks it's best for you to stay hidden again for another year but he doesn't see the harm in you going to this dance." He said in a calm voice whilst El hyperventilated.
The moment he had said she would have to stay hidden for another year, her heart had dropped but as soon as he agreed to her going to the snow ball she knew it would be worth it. Just for this special night with Mike it would be completely worth staying in the cabin. "So Joyce is going to come over at 4pm to help you get ready and seeing as we missed your birthday and I couldn't give you a gift, I've bought you some stuff kid for tonight." He said reaching for her hand and giving it a tender squeeze.
El's eyes widened with excitement as she looked at all of the bags, "I get presents?" she asked in a hushed voice, scared to believe his words. Hopper laughed, his eyes crinkled with happiness. "Yes you do! Now go and have a rummage and see what you've got." He told her amused as she raced from her chair and dived into the bags, gasping and swooning as she picked up her dress with excitement. Tonight was going to be amazing and as she looked at her dress she wondered if Mike would call her pretty again.
Joyce arrived as promised at 4pm and walked into the cabin with an air of excitement when she saw El who had just finished her shower. "Are you ready for us to get started sweetie?" she asked her, putting down her bag on the table. El beamed and nodded her head with enthusiasm. "Well I'm staying out of the way then," Hopper said with amusement as he grabbed a beer and went over to the couch putting on the television.
They moved through into El's bedroom, the young girl sitting at the desk whilst Joyce smoothed her hair into a sleek style, using pins which El had never seen before. Joyce had turned the radio on and both ladies tapped their feet to the tune Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which El decided was currently her favourite song.
"You've got beautiful hair El, I always wanted a daughter to be able to do her hair." Joyce mused as she carried on working. El beamed and looked in the mirror facing her, so she could see herself and Joyce stood behind her.
She didn't know why, but as Joyce styled her hair there was something so comforting about it. "Don't get me wrong, I love Jonathan and Will but I'd have loved a daughter too." El frowned slightly, there was that word again. Love.
"What is love? What does it mean?" El instantly regretted asking because Joyce had paused in her work and looked at the young girl with shocked surprise. There was silence for a moment as El averted her eyes feeling embarrassed.
"Oh sweetie…" Joyce said in a pained voice as she softly stroked El's hair. "Did I say something wrong?" El couldn't help but mumble out. Joyce shook her head and wiped at tears that had pricked her eyes. "No sweetie! Not at all. It's just…it makes me sad that you haven't really experienced love in your life, especially when there is a lot of people who I know love you."
El pondered this with interest and couldn't help but ask again, "so what is love?" Joyce carried on putting pins into her hair but spoke in a soft tone, "love is a very powerful and very complex emotion sweetie. It has a lot of different meanings." She started as she sprayed a bit of hair spray before continuing. "It's a very strong feeling of affection. So you can love simple things like food or television shows, things that you more than like. You can love your friends and your parents for instance. But the strongest two loves in my opinion are when you are in love with someone and unconditional love." Joyce said as she picked up the teal hair slide.
"Unconditional love is the love that parents should have for their children. It means that no matter what, they will try and protect their children and love them. It's something sweetie that most people don't understand until they have their own child." She said emotionally putting the hair slide in place and moving her hands to El's shoulders. Both ladies looked in the mirror and smiled at how beautiful El looked.
"Make up next?" Joyce asked El with a big grin, making the young girl nod vigorously. El closed her eyes as Joyce started to apply a pink eye shadow. This simple act made El's stomach fill with butterflies as she remembered Mike putting make up on her. "Mike told me he loved me." She couldn't help but say shyly. Joyce gasped slightly with excitement, "he did?!" El nodded with apprehension.
"Well sweetie that's wonderful! So that type of love is the one I told you about where you are in love with someone. It usually means that the person only feels that about you, more than anyone else in the world. They want to be with you all the time. You're their favourite person." She said gently. El could feel goose bumps rush down her back as she finally realised that was exactly how she felt about Mike. That intense feeling she felt when she was with him or even just thought about him…that was love.
Hopper was sat impatiently on the couch trying to focus on the television but trying to go through his plan for the evening and if there was anything that could go wrong. After protests from El that she didn't want him lurking in the gym, they had compromised that he would hang out in the parking lot in case she needed him.
He was distracted by his own thoughts when he heard El's bedroom door open and Joyce popped out looking very pleased with herself. Hopper smiled at her as she gestured her hand towards the door and said playfully, "introducing Miss Jane Eleanor Hopper!" El walked out from her room and Hopper's eyebrows jumped up his forehead.
He was in a shock, but not the kind of protective dad shock, he was just in shock at how unbelievably happy she looked. He realised that the smile on her face was the best thing he had seen in a very long time.
Hopper got up from the couch and moved towards his daughter, "you look fantastic kid." He told her enthusiastically, giving her a quick hug. "Thanks dad," she said sweetly making his heart feel like it had suddenly grown. Hopper turned his eyes onto Joyce who looked so proud. "Thank you so much Joyce for all of your help today." He told her sincerely. She waved him off like it was nothing, "it was my pleasure Hop."
Once Joyce had left, Hopper called over a shy El, not realising how nervous he felt. "You look amazing kid…but there is just one final thing to give you." She watched him curiously as he hesitantly reached for his own wrist. Hopper took a deep breath as he removed the bracelet, "this bracelet…well it was a hair tie that belonged to Sara. It means so much to me. And now…well you mean so much to me too and I want you to have it." He said barely able to keep his voice from shaking as he handed out the bracelet to El.
She gave him a look he had never seen in her eyes, it was as if she was vulnerable but there was such a brightness there. "T-thank you," she said choked as Hopper clipped the bracelet onto her waiting wrist. She looked down at the jewellery for a moment and said quietly, "I love it…" before Hopper could say anything more, El looked up at him and smiled, "and I love you dad."
Hopper felt as if his heart was about to explode and he smiled brighter than he ever had since Sara was born. Hopper pulled El to him, not wanting to let go of his little girl. He didn't realise until that moment how much he had missed out with Sara. It was a feeling that crushed him like a heavy weight but he knew that after everything El had been through, and everything he had been through, they deserved this second chance. "I love you too El" he said without hesitation.