Hopper had realized that he had been spacing out for a long time, and when he glanced to see what the boy to his right was doing, he saw that Mike had crawled into a ball in his seat, put his head on the center console, and had fallen asleep.

He noticed that the kid was also slightly snoring, and decided that the kid was probably going to be out for a long time.

So, he let out a sigh, put the truck in drive, and carefully accelerated the truck to 50 on the familiar highway.

He drove in silence for about 20 minutes along the water slick road, lost in thought, until the car in front of him made a sudden stop, forcing Hopper to make a sharp left turn around them.

In the process of the sharp turn, Mike's head had shifted to the left, and was now currently resting against Hoppers' thigh, dangerously close to his gun.

So, in fear that the kid was going to shift and accidentally shoot his eye out, Hopper lightly lifted the kid's head up and placed his hand between Mike and his gun, making a barrier between the two.

Hopper stayed like that, driving one handed, with Mike's head resting against his hand, for the remaining 15 minutes of the drive.

When Hopper finally made his way to the cabin, he put the car into park and slowly and gently removed his hand from its position between his leg and Mike, and quietly got out of the car.

He was having an inner dilemma as he was standing there, his hand on the handle of the right hand door of the truck.

He couldn't decide if it would be better to get Eleven aware of the situation first, or to just bring Mike into the cabin unannounced.

He decided he wouldn't leave the kid alone, in fear that he might wake up alone, cold and scare-

Yeah, he was definitely bringing the kid in now.

So, he swung the door open, (quietly of course), reached over the sleeping teen and carefully unbuckled Mike's seat belt, holding it to make sure it didn't snap up, and gently released it when he was certain it wasn't going to fly up into the teen's face.

Then came the hard part.

Hopper awkwardly leaned into the car and grabbed around Mike's legs and shoulders, holding him bridal style out of the truck and into the cold air.

It was a miracle the kid didn't wake up: a miracle that Hopper was very thankful for.

Hopper started the trek to the cabin then, carefully walking and trying to avoid sticks or leaves that may crack and break underneath his weight, which would potentially wake the kid up.

Hopper was also trying his hardest not to stumble, and to keep his gait even, not wanting to, again, wake Mike up.

Hopper did falter mid step though, when Mike turned his head a fraction of an inch and pressed his forehead into the front of Hopper's uniform.

After regaining his step, Hopper continued walking until the cabin came into view.

All the lights were out, except for one light coming from the living room, and guessing from the flickering it was creating on the curtains, it wasn't a light at all, and El was probably up watching TV waiting for him to come home.

Hopper walked up the stairs as quietly as he could, internally cringing each time the wooden boards let out a loud creak, and then anxiously glancing at the kid to make sure he was still asleep.

When Hopper got to door, he mentally slapped himself because he realized he would have to knock, and because Eleven was watching TV, it would probably have to be loud so she could hear it over the late night soap opera she was probably watching at the moment.

So, Hopper hesitantly reached his hand up to the door, and lightly rapped on the door, praying to the gods that she could hear it.

He felt Mike stir at the noise, and instantly put his hand down, immediately extremely aware of each and every noise that he was making, and the noises coming from around him.

As if it was some sort of miracle, his prayers came true, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed the curtain to his left part to the side a bit.

The curtain stayed parted to the side for only a few seconds before it was slammed to the side, making all the curtains sway with the force.

And then suddenly the lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing a teary eyed Eleven with the name Mike on her lips.