Thank you for your follows and review. You're very kind. :) I was starting to think that maybe you got bored with this story.
Special thanks to my beta-reader AnnieRavenclaw707. She's just great!
Chapter 21: Duty of care.
Joyce was staring at the wall. It was very odd. She wanted Hopper to stay with her, and now that he was there, she was panicking to face him. She didn't forget they had a pending conversation, but after they had been through that night, she had neither the will nor the courage to continue it.
At least, he had had the decency not to start it either, letting the silence surround them.
"Hopper," Joyce said after several minutes. An unintelligible murmur made her understand that he was still listening.
"I want you to know that, well, I don't know how to say it." Nervously, she protectively crossed her arms. "I was scared tonight."
"Don't be," his voice was almost inaudible. "It's already over." He concluded, exhaling profoundly.
"I know. But," Joyce stared blankly at the wall. It was true that she had been afraid, seeing how someone willing to shoot, point a gun right at you, can freeze anyone's blood. But she had also been scared for Hopper. When she saw how Jones was going to shoot him, at point-blank range, she felt as if someone were stabbing her soul. Just the thought about it, gave her the chills, shrinking her body even more.
"I can't stop watching him hit you. He could have killed you. Several times even. Hop, I don't want to think if that had happened. Oh, my God."
Her mind recreated, over and over again, those violent blows, so cruel. When Hopper felt broken and hurt, she felt faint.
The worst thing was to realize that this must be nothing compared to what would have happened weeks ago, as a prisoner of the Russians. Her stomach felt sick.
She began to understand why he wanted to get away from everyone and everything, including her, to live a quiet life with Eleven. But tonight he was by her side. And for now, that was enough.
She held in a new torrent of tears, and without knowing exactly how, her back had ended up resting on his side. She hoped he didn't mind, but she needed to felt him near her and make sure it wasn't an illusion. Hopper didn't say anything. He didn't even move.
Joyce bit her lower lip. It was ironic. It had been her who had recommended him, months before that, if he wanted to solve the relationship between Mike and El, he should talk to them, a heart to heart, she had said.
Yes, it was ridiculous that now, she was the one who couldn't find the courage to speak to him, a heart to heart.
Joyce swallowed hard. "Hop, I'm still afraid of losing you. What has happened before, well, earlier than before," She laughed nervously, not knowing why she was laughing at all. Stupid. "I don't want to lose your friendship. I want to know that we are fine. I understand that you want to start again, and I won't be the one to stop you." She felt a lump in her throat, it hurt to recognize it, but after all that he would have suffered, she could not hold him against his will. She had to let him go, even if it destroyed her. They were cursed.
"Please, I don't want to lose you, Hop. Tell me that, even if I go into debt to pay the phone bill, you will always be on the other side."
There was no answer. Hopper had always been a man of few words, but she expected him to say something, anything.
"Hop?" Joyce asked, confused. Frightened, she sat up to look at him and could not help being surprised to see him placidly asleep. Seriously? Had he fallen asleep? Right now?
"Hopper?" She tried again. This time with a light touch on the chest. Not the slightest movement. Like a log. After all, he must be exhausted, and Owens had suggested earlier that he would give him something 'strong' for the pain.
"Okay. It seems like you and I will never be lucky, right?" Joyce said, sighing as she took one last look at the man. Hopper had one of those faces that always seem to be angry, and yet now it was relaxed, sleeping like a baby. He could even pass for being a different person. The woman couldn't help but smile tenderly. "Good night, Hop." She said before turning off the light on the table.
"At least one of us is going to be able to rest. Consider yourself lucky." Joyce muttered, throwing a blanket over them as she snuggled in next to him. She knew she was not going to be able to sleep, but she was content to feel him close.
The hours continued to pass monotonously, extremely slow. Joyce counted them all, unable to sleep. For a moment, she was envious of Hopper. She was sure that if a tank passed nearby, he would continue sleeping, he had not even changed his posture.
The night was inching by. She had time to think about many matters, and also to imagine, even fantasize. Why did she do that to herself? All that could do was tear her battered heart even further. She was too engrossed in her thoughts that she barely noticed that Hopper's body began to come alive again.
Joyce opened her eyes at an unintelligible murmur. "Hop?" Soon those murmurs became something else, and then she knew what was happening. It was another of his nightmares. She felt stupid for not having known it before.
Every night, without exception, the nightmares returned since they rescued him. She hoped that, with the passing of the days, they would be less frequent, but it was not.
"Hop?" She called him again, preparing to sit up. Something was wrong, very wrong. Quickly his breathing began to accelerate, so she took him by the arm. "Hopper, you have to wake up. It's just a dream."
Nothing that Joyce said had the slightest effect. Maybe she couldn't wake him up. After all, he still had the medication Owens had given him in his system. Brilliant. She thought wryly. And now what? He couldn't spend the rest of the night like this, his breathing was so fast, that his pulse must be the same. That could cause a heart attack or something like that. God, Joyce, you always have to put yourself at the worst. But what if it happens? After all, he was not at his best health.
"Please, Hop! Wake up!" She pleaded, tapping his cheeks. She didn't want to move him too much, because she didn't want to make his nightmare worse. But what could she do?
Once again, Hopper found himself looking at the dark cliff below his feet. The sound of a furious breeze, behind him, made him guess that the shadow monster awaited him. Whatever he did, whatever he ran, it didn't matter. That creature always ended up trapping him in the same place, at the edge of the abyss.
"I told you that you would never run away from me. It's useless for you to continue resisting." He heard it say in his head. The man clenched his teeth and turned around to face his opponent.
"You know, this is starting to become a repetitive habit that is quite irritating. You can talk, so I suppose that even if I find it hard to believe, you are a rational being. And on the other hand, you can also beat me quite easily. What the hell are you playing? Why are you still there, why not just get this over with?" Hopper asked, clearly annoyed.
"Oh. Do you want us to play? Alright." The shadows began to gather, and before him, the figure of a man appeared. Hopper had to blink several times, it was sinister, but he had never seen him do that. The surprise didn't end there. Agent Jones was in front of him, looking at him defiantly.
"This is impossible. How can you be there? " The answer came to him immediately. "Get out of my head, son of a bitch!"
Jones smiled. "Oh, but this is fun. Don't you think?"
"This is not happening. None of this is real. I killed you!"
"Are you sure about it? Perhaps, you have made a nice story in your mind, not to assume what has happened." Jones spoke with a certain obscure mood.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I wasn't the one who died tonight."
Joyce was still shaking Hopper. There was no way to wake him from the nightmare. She didn't know what was going through his head in that terrible dream, but it was worse than the previous ones. Suddenly, something changed. His body turned from muttering to being agitated. Joyce didn't know why she did it, but the situation was so desperate that she slapped him hard. The kind that hurts just by hearing the blow.
Fear turned to anguish and anguish to anger, and then his brain stopped thinking. Hopper had only one last objective in mind; it was him or that monster. One of them was not going to get out of there alive.
Hop lunged at Jones furiously, and blinded by anger began to throw fists at him, completely mad. The view changed again, and they were back on the edge of the precipice. Both began to struggle, and without seeing it coming, Hopper felt a sharp slap that made him lose his balance.
"Holy shit!" He screamed as the ground disappeared under his feet. They had reached the edge of the ravine, and the both of them fell.
With a last effort, he reached out, and his fingers managed to hold on the edge. His eyes looked down, just to see how the shadow monster released one of its tentacles. It coiled firm, around Hopper's ankle.
"Argh!" The man growled as a lash of pain ran through his entire body. The muscles of his arms tensed, supporting the weight of both of them. He wasn't going to last much longer.
"Like a shadow, you should return to the abyss you came from!" He shouted. "If I should fall to destroy you," He continued, releasing one of his hands. "Then, so be it!"
The monster growled as Hopper finally release his other hand. The sudden loss of weight, made the creature to release him as they felt.
For an instant, Hopper felt relieved. It was all over at last. And just when he thought he was headed for his doom, someone grabbed his hand, stopping his descent. He watched as the monster disappeared, into the abyss. Confused, he looked up. Joyce was holding him.
"Joyce?!" He asked, amazed.
"Hopper, please! Wake up!"
"What?" He asked puzzle, as Joyce pulled him up.
Joyce tugged on his arm with all her might, rising him into a sitting position, and suddenly Hopper opened his eyes.
"Are you ok?" She asked, truly concerned. "You didn't wake up! It was scaring, Hop!"
He was panting, gasping for air as if he had run a marathon. But this time, his eyes were not lost or disoriented. They were fixed on her, with a look she had never seen before.
"Hopper why ...?" She didn't understand why he was looking at her like that. She hadn't hit him so hard, had she?
Before the woman could finish the question, he enveloped her in his arms.
His mind had put aside his reasoning, and he was carried away by his emotions. He just saw her die, in front of him, without doing anything to avoid it. Without being able to protect her.
"You can talk about it if you want to," Joyce said as he placed his head on top of hers.
"You could have died tonight." He stated, with a hint of worry.
"You too." She pointed out.
Hopper pulled her even closer to him, in a protective bear hug. "I saw it happen." He confessed.
And It was terrible, Joyce! What would have happened if I had not been there to protect you? That asshole would have killed you! I couldn't allow that, ever again. To hell with destiny, with second chances, and with the rest of the universe. His duty was to serve and protect, and that included Joyce Byers as well, and how was he going to protect her hundreds of miles apart?
"Me too. I mean, I thought you died months ago in the Starcourt Russian base." Joyce replied. "So don't think that you're the knight in shining armor."
"I never said that."
"I know you, Hop. You're thinking about it! I never need that, and I never will!"
Of course, she doesn't need any kind of help. She was Joyce Byers, the single mother who raised two great kids, alone, in a gossiping town called Hawkins.
For a moment, Hopper thought she was going to pull him away, but instead, she dug herself deeper into his chest.
"I don't want you to be hurt, that's all." He replied, caressing her hair. "That's what teams do, take care of each other's backs."
She raised an eyebrow. "So, that's what we are now? A team?"
"We were always a team, Joyce." He replied, matter of factly.
"Detective Byers for you."
Sorry for the delay in updating this, I'm having a writer block :( Please, if you have time, it would be great to leave a comment or something, Thanks.