Joyce cradled the phone between her shoulder and her cheek as she shuffled through bills, surprised by the voice on the other end. "What's up? You never call from work."

She could hear Jim shuffling through paperwork too. "Just thought I'd check in. It's snowing pretty steadily out there." Her eyes fluttered to the window and the white blanket gathering outside. She wished he were home already. "I'll be missing dinner. Gotta pull a double tonight."

A double. Code word for working at the lab. Fear clinched her momentarily. No matter what he said, she couldn't bring herself to trust anything about that place. "Please be safe."

"I will." He promised. "Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too." She replied before he hung up, ending their conversation with silence. She glanced at Jonathan's car, already hiding under multiple inches of snow, and said a silent thank you that at least her boys are home.

.

Hours later Jim stood with his hands on his hips, a sigh escaping his lips. He was tired to the bone and totally unprepared for this shit. "I'm not going in there again!"

"Remember our deal, Chief. We let you rescue the boy, you bring us the girl." Brenner replied, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I told you where she was. It's not my fault you lost her. I never agreed to bring her to you."

"We can always bring Will back here for testing."

"You'll never touch a hair on his head."

"I know all about your new little family-" Brenner said menacingly. "Such a fragile little enterprise. We know all about you and Joyce. And the boys. And Nancy." Hopper's eyes narrowed angrily.

"If you were to so much as threaten them, I'd tear this whole building down myself. Brick by brick." Hopper threatened, confident in his words.

"You'll go in tonight. And you'll look for the subject."

Hopper's fists balled at his sides. "She's a girl. A child. Not a lab rat."

Brenner eyed him. "Put on your suit. You're going in."

"You know, I am the Chief of police. What if something happens to me while I'm in there?" He asked, a last ditch effort at saving himself from another trip in.

"You can be replaced easily, Hopper. If you want your family safe, you'll do this."

.

Joyce sat with her head in her hands, fretting over the bills as usual. She'd neglected mentioning anything about them to Jim, as she suspected he'd want to take over everything. A conversation, and probable fight, that was looming on the horizon. She'd worked too hard and too long just to give up and let a man take over but she knows how he is. Her attention snapped back to the present when the light above her flickered. She sucked in a breath quickly, her palms flattened on the table. It's an old house. Lights flicker, right? The living room like flickered and before she could think about it, she stood in the refurbished hallway between the boys' doors. When that light flickered too, she began to panic and peeked into Will's room. He was sleeping soundly on his side, his face illuminated by the moonlight. He seemed peaceful enough. Jonathan was as well. Sound asleep on his back, his headphones still playing. Joyce sucked in a breath, watching for more light flickers and getting ready to run with her boys.

"Oh Hopper, why couldn't you be home right now?" She could swear she felt someone else in the house, right over her shoulder. When she turned, nothing was there.

.

No sooner than Jim's headlights lit up the driveway, Joyce bounded barefoot in the snow to his truck.

"Sweetheart! Get back inside, you'll freeze out here." He chided briefly before she flung herself into his arms.

"The lights and the boys and something's in the house!" Noticing her lack of shoes and her near hysterics, Jim lifted her off her feet and carried her back into the house. He set her down just inside the house and shut the door, shaking the snowflakes from his shoulders.

"Now slow down. What happened?"

"The lights were flickering and I swear something's here."

He slipped into cop mode immediately, pushing her behind him with one arm while he readied his hand above his gun. He swept from room to room, checking for any intruders or monsters. He found the boys sleeping just as she had earlier.

"Joyce look, it's been snowing so heavily it's just probably messing with the power. Everything's okay baby." He didn't have the heart, nor the liberty, to tell her he knew exactly what had been in the house. Him.

.

They were sitting at the dinner table, she smoking and he eating his leftover dinner, when the power blinked out totally.

"Oh great." He commented. In this weather, there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.

Joyce busied herself immediately with waking up the boys so they could put on warmer bedclothes while she dug out extra blankets. Jonathan agreed to sleep with Will for warmth. When they were sufficiently clothed in extra clothes and socks and under a heap of blankets she finally began to relax some.

Already in a pair of fleece sweatpants, Joyce stepped into a pair of fuzzy socks and a Hawkins high sweatshirt. She scoffed when Jim exited the bathroom in a pair of sweat pants and a henley.

"What? You've got three blankets on our bed and enough fuzzy material to start a friction fire. I'll be warm enough. I promise." He said, throwing up his hands.

Hopper found himself on his side with her curled against his back with her arm around his middle, holding him tightly against her and he rubbed his thumb across the back of hand, just feeling her soft skin. The air inside was cold enough he could see his breath in the darkness but her warmth against his back was more than enough. He rubbed the golden band on her ring finger.

"Will you go to sleep already?" She teased from behind him.

"Hey Joyce, you ever feel blessed?"

"Every day." She replied before pressing a kiss to the back of his neck, sending a shiver down his back.

.

In the morning Joyce woke up sweating in the empty bed. The power, and the heat, was back on. She glanced at the clock, realizing she'd slept through everything, Jim would be at work already and the boys at school. The men in her life must've conspired together to let her sleep in, as they occasionally did.

The sound of the phone startled her and she leapt from the bed after it.

"Hello?"

"Joyce-" Jim sounded breathless over the phone. "Come down to the station, I've got Jonathan."

"Jonathan!?"

"He's okay, just get down here, please. I've got a mess on my hands."

"Be right there!" She chimed, the anxiety already building in her. Quickly she changed into a pair of jeans and Jim's Hawkins Police Department hoodie. Once she had her shoes on and keys in hand she was in the car, racing her way into town.

.

Jim met her at the doorway of the station, guiding her to his office with a hand on her lower back.

"Oh Jonathan!" Her oldest sat in Jim's office with an ice pack held to his left eye. "Jonathan what happened?"

"Ted Wheeler happened." Jim interjected. Joyce was already crouched at Jonathan's feet, fussing over his face but at Jim's confession she stopped and turned to look at him.

"He didn't take the news about Nancy so well." Jonathan added. "He said I was just like Lonnie, turning his Nancy into another Joyce."

Joyce gasped, feeling the heat rise up her neck into her cheeks. "Jonathan what did you do? Did you fight back?"

"Hopper ended it." He replied and for the first time Joyce noticed Jim's bruised knuckles.

She stood, fussing over the man in her life. "You didn't have to do that." She said as she took his bruised hand in hers.

"Yes I did. I'll fight em all, remember?"

She kissed his cheek before turning her attention back to her boy.

"I hate that it all came down to this. Ted and I always got along so well." Jim sighed, taking a seat at his desk.

"What are we going to do?" Joyce fretted.

"Just give Ted some time to cool down. This'll all blow over."

"Uh Mom, I'll see you at home. I told Nancy I'd meet her to talk. She knows what happened." Joyce squeezed his hand and nodded before he stood. "Thanks, Hopper."

The older man nodded. "Just steer clear of her parents for a little bit, okay?" Jonathan nodded as he made his way to the door.

Joyce rounded Hopper's desk and sat on it in front of him. He rubbed her knee thoughtfully. "It's going to be a long eight months, isn't it?" She asked.

"We'll get through it together. Remember, we've been through hell already. Everything else is a cake walk."