Thanksgiving couldn't come fast enough for El. As Hopper had crudely explained, it was, "A day where you get together with people you care about and eat a bunch of really good food." The promise of two of her favorite things was enticing to the girl, and she didn't hesitate to ask Mike about it during their nightly radio calls.

"Thanksgiving is okay I guess, we always have our whole family our house. The food is good, but my mom makes us dress up all nice and me and Nancy have to do all the dishes afterwards." Mike told her, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice. He knew he shouldn't take celebrating the holidays for granted, especially around El. He also desperately wanted to invite her to his house for the occasion, but since his parents still didn't know about her yet, he knew he couldn't. "What are you and Hopper doing?"

"Joyce and Jonathan and Will are coming." she replied into the radio's mouthpiece, rolling over on her bed from her back to her stomach. Hopper had recently moved it into her room for the time being, secretly planning to get her one of the handheld radios the rest of her friends had for Christmas.

"They're coming to the cabin?" Mike asked incredulously.

El nodded, then, remembering he couldn't see her, said, "Yes."

"How're all five of you going to fit at your table?"

El hadn't thought about that. Their dining room table was old and flimsy and barely big enough for her and Hopper. "I don't know." she said, her stomach suddenly knotting in worry. What if they couldn't have Thanksgiving?

"Why don't you go to Will's house?"

"Hop says it's not safe." El replied, glancing into the living room at the man lightly snoring in his chair. Jim often fell asleep watching TV while she talked to Mike.

"But you were there for two days after the Gate!" the boy argued, unable to contain his frustration. Even though he still wasn't happy about it, he understood-not forgiven, but understood-why Hopper kept El hidden for almost a year. That being said, he still didn't understand why the Chief had to continue doing it so strictly. Besides, if anyone came for her now, she'd never let them get to her.

"I know." El said with a sigh, feeling caught in the middle. She understood both sides of the argument; Mike was right and she knew it, but Hopper was only trying to keep her safe, and if there was anyone in the world she trusted to physically protect her if she wasn unable to protect herself, it was him. "Are you coming over tomorrow after school?" the girl asked to change the subject.

"Oh, yeah, totally." Mike replied enthusiastically. "Dustin's coming too. He says he has something for your room."

"What is it?"

"He wouldn't tell me, he said it's a surprise."

El was about to respond when Hopper's unexpected voice outside her door made her jump. "Time for pajamas, Kid."

"I'm wearing them."

Jim paused a moment, "Well..then it's time to brush your teeth."

El groaned before speaking into the radio again."I have to go."

"Yeah me too, my mom is yelling at me to come upstairs. We can talk before school tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight, Mike."

"Night, El."

A few chapters into their new nightly book, El interrupted Hopper suddenly with a very unrelated question. "Our table is too small."

Jim frowned in confusion. "Too small for what?"

"Thanksgiving."

The man chuckled lightly. "What're you worrying about our table for? Everything is gonna work out fine, Kid."

"We only have two chairs." she said aloud as she came to the conclusion."We need five."

"El, look at me," Hopper said, putting the book on her nightstand. "Thanksgiving isn't for another week, we have plenty of time to get what we need. I'm sure Joyce could bring over some chairs, she might even have an extra table we can borrow."

The child considered this for a moment before firing another question at him. "Will you make me...dress up?"

"You mean wear nice clothes?" the man asked. El nodded. "You can if you want to, but I won't make you."

"Will you make me do all the dishes?"

This time Hopper belted a laugh. "When in the hell have I ever made you do all the dishes?"

"Mike has to."

Finally Jim nodded in understanding. "Ah. Does Mike have to dress up on Thanksgiving?"

"Yes."

Hopper sighed, thinking through an explanation. "Everybody has different traditions on Thanksgiving."

"Traditions?"

"Something you do over and over again. It's our tradition to read together before bed."

"What is our tradition for Thanksgiving?"

Jim smiled, ruffling her hair. "I don't know yet. We'll have to start some."

As the week dragged on, El learned more and more about Thanksgiving from her friends. During the afternoons when her friends came to visit on Tuesday and Wednesday, the party After school one day, the boys taught El how to draw a turkey by tracing your hand, and when Hopper got home the whole house was covered in them.

While crafting, they explained and shared their own personal Thanksgiving traditions. Dustin and his mom always traveled to see his grandparents for three days in Indianapolis, Lucas' mom and sister watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while he and his dad play football outside, and despite it not being his favorite holiday, Mike did admit to enjoying cracking the wishbone with Holly.

When Eleven asked what a wishbone was, the conversation began gearing towards favorite foods; Dustin loved cranberry sauce, Lucas and Erica always fought over the last of the ham, and Mike's mom made extra gravy and mashed potatoes just for him.

On the days that Joyce stayed with her-Monday's, Thursdays, and Friday's-they talked about what it meant to be thankful for what you have. Joyce used examples like her kids, her home, her car, her job, "And of course you and Hop!"

El pondered a while, unsure of what to say. She was thankful for everything, right down to her clean, dry socks. When she finally spoke, Joyce had to bite her lip to hold back tears. "I'm thankful...to not be in the Lab."

The woman wrapped El in her arms tightly. "Me too."

The day before Thanksgiving, a strong windstorm blew through Hawkins. Fences and trees went down, multiple areas of town lost power, and Hopper was out all day cleaning up the mess. He was almost an hour late arriving home, feeling horrible when he remembered that El had been alone for longer than planned. Between either Joyce or the boys visiting her while Hopper was gone, El now had company over more often than not. The man knew that Mike had been there earlier after school as he almost always was, but it was well into the evening now, and his bike wasn't on the porch when Jim knocked on the door.

As he climbed the steps, he noted that the cabin was dark inside. When he knocked, El answered immediately and hugged him tightly when he stepped inside. Hopper couldn't tell if El was shaking in his arms because she was scared or because she was cold, but he could see their breath in small puffs. She was wearing her thickest coat and wrapped in a throw blanket with two pairs of socks under her slippers. Though the wood stove had a small fire burning, serving as the only light, it did little to warm the drafty old cabin.

"Hey, it's okay, Kid. It was probably just the wind storm, a lot of people in town lost power today." Jim tried to reassure her. "I'm sorry I'm so late. How long have you been here alone?"

"Mike went home at six-thirty."

It was well after eight by then. "When did the power go out?"

"After he left." El said thoughtfully, and after a moment, "I heard something loud."

The man sighed. "I'm sorry, kiddo. You're probably hungry, huh?"

She nodded. "And cold."

Hopper hugged the girl tighter. "Well, shit."

He didn't know what to do. They couldn't make dinner if the power was out, and if a tree took the power out, it was late and cold and dark, and Hopper wasn't about to go out to try and fix it. Jim considered his options carefully. They could stay here and try to find something to eat without needing to cook it-which he didn't really think would work. He could risk taking her to his trailer for the night-which he didn't really want to do. Or he could call Joyce. He knew immediately which option both himself and El would prefer, but he hated the thought of inconveniencing Joyce in any way. Still, though, what else was there to do? Make about a million PB&J's for dinner and sleep next to the wood stove for warmth?

The man rubbed a heavy hand across his face and sighed loudly again, looking down at the child. "Okay, get some shoes on and let's walk to the truck so we can call Joyce."

Eleven's face lit up and she scrambled to find her shoes, replacing the blanket with another coat. It wasn't snowing outside, but it was below freezing, and the sharp wind cut straight to the bone. El alternated holding each of Hopper's warm hands on the walk to the blazer, and when they got inside, the man turned the heat on full blast and reached for his radio.

"Hello, Will, can you hear me, kid?" Hopper said, pausing for a moment before reiterating, "Will, are you there?"

He was met with only radio silence, but before he could ask again, a small voice replied, "Chief?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's me. Is your mom home?"

"Yeah…" Will replied, feeling nervous. Why was Hopper calling this late and asking for his mom?

"Can I talk to her?"

"Um, sure, hold on."

There was some shuffling, the sound of muffled speaking, and then Joyce was on the line. "Hop? "

"Hey, Joyce. Do you guys have power?"

"Yeah, we've been fine all today." Joyce replied. "What about you two?"
"I just got back from work and the power went out on the kiddo over an hour. I don't think it's something I can fix overnight, and it's cold as hell at the cabin and..."

"Hop," Joyce said, stopping his words. "Come over. You were already going to be here in the morning tomorrow anyway. We have some leftovers from dinner and you two can crash on the couch."

"Are you sure? I don't wanna impose."

"I invited you!" she scolded playfully.

"Okay, okay, we'll be over soon. Thank you, Joyce."

He could hear her smile through the line. "No problem."

Eleven was bubbling with anticipation when Hopper ended the call. "Alright Kid, let's go pack."

"We can stay the night?" He nodded, and her smile stretched from ear to ear. "Pack?"

"Get everything we need together." Jim explained. "What do you think we should bring with us tonight?"

El answered immediately. "My toothbrush."

The man laughed and ruffled her hair. "Absolutely. What else?"

"Pajamas?"

"Yep. And clothes for tomorrow."

"And Eggos!"

It took the pair a good fifteen minutes to gather the necessities. Hopper had to climb up to the loft in the near dark to search for any kind of overnight bag for the two of them. El apparently could not go without a pillow and blanket from her bed, her stuffed bear, or their current nightly book. Jim discreetly packed an extra set of pajamas for the child in case she had an accident, and made sure to grab her Eggos and the two store bought pies he hoped Joyce would think were homemade. El was practically bouncing out of her seat during the drive there, and it was just after nine when they rang the Buyer's bell, both of their arms full.

Joyce laughed when she opened the door, able to see only the top of Eleven's head. "Are you guys staying for one night or one month?"

"I'm not the one who insisted on bringing her whole damn bed." Hopper retorted as he ushered the child inside. He immediately made to close the curtains, only to find that Joyce had already done it.

"No!" El argued, her words muffled. "Just my blanket and pillow!"

"You can put your stuff down on the couch, sweetheart." Joyce said. "Are you guys hungry?"

"Yes." El said, dropping her belongings before crossing to the woman for a hug.

"Jonathan brought home pizza after work, so help yourself, there's plenty left." Joyce said as she gave the girl a squeeze. She was the only other person besides Mike that El always hugged upon first sight.

Jonathan was already in the kitchen, and having overheard, dished the pair up as the entered. Will, who was drawing in his room when Hopper and El arrived, he joined them with a smile. The chief gave him a good natured hair tousle and El returned his grin, digging hungrily into a piece of pepperoni pizza.

"Hey El, me and Will rented a movie if you wanna watch with us. We're making popcorn, too." Jonathan offered when the girl finally seemed satiated after three pieces of pizza.

"Yes." she replied eagerly, though she wasn't a huge fan of popcorn; Hopper always burned it.

"What did you guys pick out?" Joyce asked.

"Gremlins." Will answered. "We haven't seen it yet."

"Is that the one with those little furry things?" Hopper said. Both boys nodded. He turned to El. "Alright, go put your pajamas on in case you fall asleep."

"I won't fall asleep!" the girl replied defiantly, though it was approaching her usual bedtime.

He just gave the girl a knowing glance and she threw her head back in acquisition, knowing that in all likelihood Hopper was probably right. Will got the movie ready while Jonathan made popcorn on the stove, and El was pleasantly surprised by how good it was when it wasn't scorched, a fact she didn't hesitate making perfectly clear to Hopper, who sat at the kitchen table with Joyce and smoked a cigarette after cigarette. The woman seemed thrilled to have them over; she was. Joyce didn't think she'd be able to bear spending another season with just the boys and their traditions after she'd told Bob so much about them and had been so excited to experience them with him. She needed a distraction, and what better one than to celebrate a child's first holiday?

True to the man's prediction, El fell asleep between Will and Jonathan less than an hour in. When the movie was finished and the boys had gone to bed, Hopper gently woke her so she could brush her teeth and use the bathroom. Joyce was finishing the dishes in the kitchen, and came in to say goodnight to the girl as Jim tucked her back in.

"Do you need anything, sweetheart? Another blanket? A glass of water?" the woman asked, tucking a curl behind El's ear. She just shook her head, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Okay." Joyce said with a kiss on the forehead. "Let me know if you two need anything."

Hopper smiled. "Thanks again, Joyce."

"You're welcome. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Jim and El said quietly in unison. The man gave her one last tuck, a second kiss on the forehead, and retired to the chair where he'd attempt any form of sleep.