Author's note: Thank you all for the patience, my exams went okay, I think it's fine.

Here's another accidentally long chapter for you, and I'll let you know that it's quite different from the past chapters. I hope you like it anyway. I'm writing December and I hope to give you guys a good ending for this fic, because you all deserve it!

Have a nice chapter, and I hope you leave a review at the end :D


November

Eleven took a deep breath, and then another. No, not Eleven. Elle. She was getting used to it now. Elle. Not even Hop called her Eleven anymore; when he wanted to piss her off he'd call her Jane. She shouldn't be mad to be called that, but she also never connected with the name. She was El.

Elle.

Another deep breath, and then she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. Dad, her mind went right away.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hopper asked. Elle looked at him. He was so different from Papa, it was blatant. She nodded. "Are you ready?" he insisted. "We can come back another day."

Elle thought about it. Hop's work schedule was crazy, so they were doing it on a Wednesday afternoon. Road trip, family stuff. She didn't tell anyone but Mike where she'd be going. Maybe Joyce knew too, but not from her. It was only a matter of time until Will figured it out, because he was really good at paying attention to details. She thought about her friends' faces when she told them she wouldn't go to the movies that day with them, and how the girls looked at Hop's car suspiciously, and she remembered thinking that she shouldn't call it off one more time.

"I'm ready," El told Hop, and for a second it looked like he was the one who wasn't before he nodded and opened the door of the car.

The house looked lonely in that neighborhood, but as they stepped closer they could hear the sound of the TV playing some afternoon talk show or comedy, according to the recorded laughs.

El and Hop stood side by side at the front door. The girl's hand was itching for something to do, at the same time it didn't have the courage to do anything, and then she reached out for the door bell once, twice, and waited. Three is a charm, Mike had told her, so she hit it one more time. He liked odd numbers, Mike, kept saying that there was something about them. She didn't have a strong opinion about numbers, even though they had once been all she got.

The door opened and a woman peeked outside, a cigarette hanging from her mouth. Even with Hopper being a massive guy, her eyes went first to El, who tried to smile.

"I'm," started the girl, and she had to swallow first. Damn, that was hard. "I'm looking for Terry Ives."

The woman looked right at her. Becky Ives was her name. And then she finally looked at Hop. He smiled.

"Remember me?" he said, and she looked at Elle again before she nodded and stepped back, giving them space to get in. "Sorry to come without notifying you."

"Meh," she shrugged walking ahead of them. She passed by the living room and only stopped in the kitchen. "Wasn't doing anything important anyway."

Becky leaned against the sink and observed Hop and El in front of her, the cigarette burning between her fingers.

"I assume you believe she's Terry's girl," she finally said. "I mean, that's why you came here the last time, right?"

"I am," El replied. Her voice came out stronger than expected.

Becky scoffed.

"She is," Hop insisted. "They gave me all of her papers."

"Did you bring them?" Becky asked with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't buying it, but Hopper had alerted El that she was a skeptical person.

"No," admitted Hopper. They didn't think they would need them. Becky nodded.

"So all I have is your word?"

Hop sighed.

"Come on, Ms. Ives, look at her-" he started, but El cut him off.

"Could you just consider give us a chance?"

"Chance?" echoed Becky. "For what? You think you can come here fourteen years later, knock at our door and just be accepted in the family?"

"No, that's not what I want at all," El said patiently. "You see, I've been adopted by Hopper and I'm fine living with him. If you think it's best, we won't ever come back here. I don't want to mess your life up, but I want to meet her, get to know her."

Becky looked uncomfortable. She lit another cigarette with the butt of the first one; her fingers were shaking a little.

"I won't even tell her who I am," continued El. "I just want to… talk."

"Talk?" replied Becky, and El nodded.

"Talk. And if you agree, I'd come back every now and then, keep her company for a couple of hours or however long you decide I can stay," she looked up at Hop and he nodded just once, the incentive she needed. "I want to know her, she's my mother. Just give this one chance."

Two minutes after, Elle was walking into the living room, her fingers fumbling with the tips of her hair. It had gotten really long now, almost past her waist, and she'd have to cut it again soon, because it grew heavy and straight and boring. Two minutes was all that took her to convince Becky, and the time of that talk show was all that she'd have, so El decided to make the best of it.

Terry looked at her, empty eyes that barely acknowledged her. El dropped her hands and smiled.

"Hi," she said. "Can I sit here and watch some TV with you? I really like that show."

Elle waited for an answer that didn't come. Instead, Terry looked at the TV again, so El sat down, keeping a little bit of distance, careful not to enter in her space. They were going to the commercial.

"When I go help Mike take care of Holly, we like to watch it," continued El, trying to get comfortable on the old sofa. "It's funny."

Terry didn't ask who Mike or Holly were. She didn't say anything.

"I'm Elle, by the way," she said, last thing, and then she was quiet, reacting and laughing at the TV show only, and observing with her peripheral vision how the woman reacted too.

They didn't chat. They just sat there watching TV together for the 23 minutes of program that still was available. Elle had watched that episode before, but it still was funny. It was nice.

"Ready to go, baby girl?" Hopper asked as soon as the show was over, and Elle nodded. It was better to do whatever Becky determined, because she knew what was best for Terry.

"You have our number now," Becky told them. "And I have yours, I will let you know if you should come back. Understand?"

Elle nodded again.

"Okay," she answered, hands in the pockets of her jacket that wasn't even hers, it was Mike's. She borrowed it from him last time she stayed at his place less than a week ago, after the Halloween party, and didn't give it back yet. "Goodbye, Ms. Terry."

Elle waved her goodbye to Terry, who just looked at her, and then she turned to Becky.

"Thank you, Ms. Becky," El said offering her hand, and Becky shook it.

"Don't get your hopes up, kid," she said, her voice controlled. "Even if you really are the baby she said she had, Terry is long gone."

It seemed true, and sad. That night, Elle sat in front of the mirror for a long time; it looked like she was brushing her hair, but in fact she was studying herself, trying to find the similarities and differences between her and the woman who gave birth to her, trying to figure out how Papa decided that it was a good idea to let Terry go taken for crazy and keep El for himself. Jane turned into lab rat number 011, sounded like quite the environment to grow up in, right?

She could see it – the small nose, the pouty lips, and the brown hair -, the similarities were there. Did she make something fly when she was a baby? Did she force someone to do what she wanted before she could even hold things properly?

"You okay, Ellie?" asked Hopper standing by the door, and El looked at him through the mirror. She smiled.

"I think I want to cut my hair," she said. Just a bit. Long like this it was too much trouble to take care of, her hair had the annoying habit of knotting up really fast.

"Okay," he said. "I will give you the money and you can go downtown with your friends to do that."

El nodded, and he stepped back.

"Good night, kid," he said.

"Good night," she replied putting the hairbrush down, and then she turned around. "Dad?" El called. Hop looked at her. "Thanks."

Becky called less than 24 hours later saying that Elle could go regularly visit Terry. Apparently, her sister's mood improved a little when she had different company, so they set these 'meetings' to every four days. Sometimes, Hop would drive El, sometimes she'd take the bus, but the thing was: she never missed a day, even with her leg still healing, the physiotherapy and the doctor appointments. Elle made it happen.

Second time she went there, she brought some of the papers too. Becky met El at the bus station, drove her to the house and the biggest difference was that Terry was standing when they got there, watering the plants by the window. There was a little bit of warmth in her eyes too, something that made her look almost happy.

"Hello, Ms. Terry," El greeted when she arrived.

Terry didn't say anything at first, but her eyes went to El's hair and she stepped closer, reached to touch it.

"Pretty," she said, and El couldn't help but be thrown back to a couple of years ago. Her hair was much shorter, just a couple inches down her shoulders, and the hairstylist had done something that made it have a lot of volume. It wasn't exactly how it looked like when she left the salon last Thursday, but Jenny had taught her a few tricks for the perfect hair.

"You like it?" El asked. "The other haircut was boring me."

Elle gave the envelope with the papers to Becky, and then went stay with Terry. They all had lunch together, but no one was much of a talker, so it ran pretty much in silence. Food was good. Company wasn't overwhelming. Felt nice. An hour after that, Ellie was leaving.

"Goodbye, Ms. Terry," she said at the door. "See you soon."

In the car, being driven back to the bus station, Becky gave her back the envelope.

"So you've been living with that cop Hopper since January, and was adopted in March, huh?" she said. Something about how she put the words together didn't sound like a question. "Why did it take you so long to come here?"

"I wasn't ready," El answered. Honesty would be the best approach with Becky, even though it wasn't exactly what she was doing with Terry. "And I needed to be sure of my actions."

"That's wise," she replied. "But if they knew…" Becky paused, eyes on the road. "If they knew that you were Jane, and they knew that we were here, why didn't they bring you to us?"

Elle shrugged, avoiding eye contact too.

"I was instructed to look for Hopper when I decided to come back, they said they'd give me space. And then, in my first week back, Hop told me about you. I didn't want to come at first. When they offered the adoption, you weren't even an option; it was either Hopper or Joyce, or the system. I hate the system, those government fuckers would just be looking for a chance to get their hands on me again. And I love Hop, he took care of me even before I came back. He feels safe. So I chose him."

El hardly put so many words together in one go like that, but the situation demanded explanations she could give. She had learned, in her first English essay, that words are meant to be used. Sometimes they have to be used. She was learning that. Becky was silent then, and she only talked again when they arrived at the bus station.

"I'm glad you decided to come, Elle," said the woman. "You make me understand my sister again."

So maybe it wasn't about Terry feeling better that Becky let El come back. Maybe it was for her. El couldn't blame her, wouldn't blame her. She had finally gone there for her own selfish reasons as well, and everyone was winning, it seemed. So that was good.

"See you Wednesday?" asked El, and surprisingly, Becky smiled.

"Wednesday it is."

Four days later, Mike met El in front of her locker to walk her to the parking lot. She still hadn't told everyone where she'd been going, he was the only one who knew.

"Do we have any idea of what to do for Lucas's birthday?" she asked. They were holding hands.

"Lexi is trying to convince him, but he doesn't want anything big."

El scoffed. Lexi never did anything small, she liked to say that she already was tiny enough for everything else. That's why she was a gymnast, and a cheerleader.

"I will need help with the English essay," El commented as they stepped outside. Hop's car was nowhere to be found. "I don't understand what the teacher wants me to do."

"Sure, give me the notes and I will see where's the trouble," Mike agreed, and stopped to wait for her to get the material. "Are you really going to your mom's today?" Distracted with getting her notebook from her backpack, El just nodded, and Mike opened his bag too. "Okay, then I have something for you."

"Only because I'm going to my mom's?" she asked looking up at Mike, and he smiled.

"No," he answered taking the notebook she was offering to him. "But I think she might like it. You know how our pumpkin garden gave way too much pumpkin? My mom is kind of freaking out with what to do with all of it, so…"

He got a heavy medium paper bag from his backpack and El felt immediately excited. Mrs. Wheeler was hands down the best cook she ever met since Benny, so anything she made was good.

"Spiced chocolate and pumpkin cookies," he said, putting the bag on El's excited hands. She opened it right away, and the smell of chocolate and spices hit her instantaneously, making her mouth water. "They smell really good, my bag was killing me the whole morning."

El chose a random cookie and took a bite of happiness. So. Good.

"Oh, God," she said, mouth full. "Yes."

"Taste is really good too," Mike said chuckling, and she offered him the other half of her cookie. Sometimes he forgot how delicious things were until he saw El have a bite of it.

"You are," said El closing the bag and putting it in her backpack. "The best boyfriend ever."

Mike smiled and she got on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"Get a room!" they heard Will shout, so just to retaliate, what was meant to be a peck of lips became a full on French kiss.

"OI! Michael!" said Hop hitting the honk. "Get your hands off my daughter!"

El smiled when Mike raised his hands surrendering, but she still didn't completely resume her kissing. Hop still had to honk a few times before she stopped.

"Fine," El said stepping back. "Dads are no fun," she complained, but it was more of a joke. Hop had been awesome. "I better go. Thanks for the cookies."

"It's nothing," Mike dismissed, making her roll her eyes.

"I'll call you later, okay?" she said opening the passenger door, and he nodded.

At the Ives's household, El had more than cookies to give to the sisters. She also had a homemade card (even though she still disliked making cards).

"We are having a Thanksgiving meal at the Byers' on the 28th," said El, giving the card to Becky before she sat by Terry's side. "Dad and I will prepare the turkey, and Jonathan will be back from New York, he's like a big brother to me. We are all basically family, the Hoppers and the Byers," she looked at Hop, who smiled. "We'd like to have you two there, too."

Becky looked from El to Terry, and then to the card in her hands. Elle had this round handwriting that was almost child-like. The card had a map and information about how to get to the Byers', as well as when to arrive and which dishes they could bring.

"Will made the map," said El. "He's-"

"The kid we were looking for when Joyce and I ended up at your door that time," completed Hopper. "We found him."

"I saw on the news," replied Becky.

"He's like a brother too, and he helps me with art," she continued, even though that information wasn't relevant. All the girls' small talk must be influencing her. "Would you… at least think about it?"

Becky made no promises, and every other time El went back there, she didn't mention Thanksgiving except for the week of the holiday, when they had to change their visiting day, because she'd have to be home and help with the turkey.

She had no idea if the women would show up, but when the day came, and Will was telling El all about Thanksgiving, Bark and Molly sleeping by their feet, there was another knock on the door. It was too early for it to be one of their friends, so El ran to the front door before Jonathan could, and opened it to find the Ives sisters standing there, a large dish in Terry's hands.

"You came!" the girl exclaimed, and gave them space to get in. It was really cold outside. "Welcome to the Byers', this is Will and my dog Bark, Molly is theirs, and Jonathan-"

"Hello," Jonathan greeted awkwardly, standing on the corridor. "Let me help you with that."

He took the dish from Terry, and she suddenly didn't know what to do with her hands.

"You can put your jackets by the door," continued El, and the women complied. Jonathan had disappeared to the kitchen, and half a minute later Joyce and Hop showed up.

"Hi! I'm so glad you came!" greeted Joyce warmly.

For the first time, El saw Terry smile. It happened during the meal, when everyone was saying what they were thankful for. Will had told her that that was the whole point of Thanksgiving: to reflect about the year they had, and be thankful for all that happened. Now, not everything had Elle feeling gratitude, she still had that damn healing bone, and English had been quite the challenge, but overall…

"This is nice," said El on her turn. "I'm home, and I've a family now. It's not always easy, but it's nice. I'm thankful."

Because yes, sometimes she did have nightmares, and sometimes she still had to leave the light on, or the door ajar, and sometimes she snapped or panicked, but now… now the people around her really cared about her. Not in a "you are a precious creature" kind of care that she received at the labs. This was real. This was actual love. It overtook everything else.

After lunch, El got an extra piece of apple pie and cream and offered it to Terry, sitting by the woman's side.

"Thanks," Terry said. She wasn't much of a talker, just like El, but she had been talking more each time they met. She was glaring at El during the whole time she'd been there. The girl didn't mind. "Jane."

El looked up at Terry then, wide eyed, and the woman reached out and touched her face.

"The eyes," she explained, and El breathed. She guessed that she couldn't underestimate the woman who had been looking for her for fourteen years.

"I don't go by Jane, though, never did," said El quietly. "I was just Eleven until I broke out and the boys found me. Until Mike gave me a name."

"Elle," said Terry, and El nodded. "Elle Hopper."

"That came after, a few months ago. Mike just called me El, and I liked it. So I chose it."

She cut a piece of her pie, but didn't eat it.

"I'm sorry I didn't choose the name you gave to me," continued El. "I just…"

"Couldn't relate?" asked Terry, and El nodded.

"But I know you now, and we can be closer, if you want-"

"Elle," Terry interrupted making the girl close her mouth. "I understand."

Elle smiled.

"You do?"

Terry nodded.

"Who's Mike?" she asked instead. Despite everything, El blushed.

"My boyfriend," she answered with a shy smile.

"Oh, a boyfriend," Terry seemed interested. "Is he good?"

"Yes," El answered right away. "Best person I know. He'll come later, if you stay a little longer maybe you'll meet him."

"Meet who?" asked Hop passing by them and sitting on the couch in front of them with his own piece of pie.

"Mike," answered El, and Hopper scoffed.

"You don't like him," stated Terry, even more interested. She still looked pale and fragile, but that specific afternoon she looked excitedly alive.

"Don't mind him, he's just being a baby," said El, dismissing Hop with a shrug. Instead of feeling offended, Hopper laughed.

"I kinda am, ain't I?" he joked. "What a crazy concept, being worried about my daughter and her boyfriend."

Terry laughed, and the sound surprised everyone. El finally ate her pie. Terry asked questions, Jim answered. Jonathan took pictures and put a record to play, even though Jim's condition to spend the holiday at Joyce's was that they let him watch the game.

When El went back to the kitchen to help with the dishes, Becky was there alone. As soon as the girl stepped into the room, she was hugged by the woman, and it only took her a second to realize that Becky was crying.

"Thank you," Becky was saying. "You fixed her. Thank you."

Elle doubted that she was responsible for fixing anyone, but she couldn't deny that every time she met Terry, even if all she did was to sit together to watch TV, or to do her hair, or finish her homework while Terry observed the plants, the woman looked better, seemed better. Damn, El herself felt better every time, as if Terry was the only person capable of truly understanding her.

"I thank you, Ms. Becky," El started, and the woman let go of her shaking her head.

"Aunt Becky," she corrected. "Okay? Aunt Becky."

"Aunt Becky," echoed El. "Okay."