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"The Sweetest Thing"

I only know that when I'm with you

You're my sunshine, you're my rain

- Juice Newton

Eleven had been staring out the window for—Hopper checked his watch—forty-five minutes now. He wasn't sure she had even blinked. Sure, it was exciting for her to have a friend over, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Kid! Hey, kid."

She didn't move.

"Eleven."

Nothing.

"Jane Eleven Hopper."

At that she did turn, frowning at him. He tried that one every once in a while, in part to get her used to being called Jane, as she would have to be when she started school, but also to remind her that she was his, that she had a real identity now. And a little bit for the same reason any parent used their kid's full name—to get her damned attention.

"Look, kid," he said, now that he had it, "if you want this to be more than a one-time thing, we need some ground rules."

"I know," El said patiently. "No touching. Always in sight."

"Right."

Outside they heard the whistle Mike had been told to make when he approached, and a huge smile, the biggest Hopper had ever seen on her, lit up Eleven's face as she ran to the door, throwing it open.

Mike's smile was easily a match for hers, and Hopper was unnerved by their obvious connection even as he was happy for her that she had such a good friend. He thought of Joyce, and wondered if she hadn't seen him in a while, would her smile be that big.

Not that he was planning on absenting himself from Joyce's life anytime soon. No, he intended to slowly become such an important part of her life that she would look around one day and realize she couldn't imagine life without him. He imagined it would take a while, and believed it would teach him a valuable lesson in patience.

Now, though, he went to the door, standing very close to Eleven. "Hey, Mike."

"Hi, Chief."

"You made sure no one knew where you were going?"

"Not even Lucas and Dustin."

"Good. Now, before you come in, there are some rules."

"No touching," Mike said. "Always in sight." He and Eleven looked at each other, blushed at the implications behind the rules, and looked hastily away.

Hopper didn't know whether to find that adorable or to slam the door between them to keep them apart. "Right," he said. "Also, no talking about this, or her. Not to your parents, or your friends, or your teachers …"

"I know," Mike said, as if Hopper was a particularly dense child. "I've been keeping that secret for a long time."

"'Course you have." Hopper made himself step back and let Mike into the cabin. He tried to be casual about sinking into his chair and switching on the TV, carefully keeping his back to the kids to pretend he wasn't eavesdropping.

"What do you want to do?" Mike asked. There was silence, and Hopper assumed Eleven had shrugged or shaken her head. Then Mike suggested they play cards. "We could play War."

"War?" Eleven repeated. Another shake of the head.

"I could show you solitaire."

"I know that one."

"Do you play doubles?"

"How?"

"I'll show you." They sat down at the kitchen table and Eleven got out two decks of cards. They each shuffled one and dealt out the solitaire. "So … where did you go?" Mike asked.

"When?"

"When … before you came back."

Hopper stared hard at the TV, not having the faintest idea what was on. She hadn't told him much about her trip, just that she'd been to see her mother and gone to Chicago.

"I … found my mother."

"That must have been weird."

Eleven nodded.

Mike watched her, weighing his words. Hopper snuck a look at him, at the total concentration on the kid's face as he thought about what to say. "Could you—do you think you could fix her?"

Hopper couldn't see Eleven's face, but he could imagine the pinched and sad look on it as she shook her head.

"I'm sorry." Mike reached across the table and touched her hand gently. Technically against the rules, but in this case, Hopper let it slide. "Do you think she knew you were there?"

"I … think so. Maybe."

"I bet she did. My mom says mothers always know."

"Are they mad at you still?" Eleven asked.

"How did you— Not as much. Now that you're back, I'm not so …" Mike let the words trail off. "It's better."

"Good."

"Hey, look, we did it!" Mike finished moving all his cards to the top and put the pack back together. "Want to play again?"

"Not really."

"Next time, you want me to bring some of my books, and I can show you what I'm learning in school? I think you'd really like my science class."

"Okay."

"Did you know you can build a castle out of cards? Like this." And Mike painstakingly began setting cards on top of each other. Suddenly, a card floated up and placed itself on top as Eleven got into the act. The two kids looked at each other and laughed. Eleven's laugh was so rare, Hopper treasured each time he could coax it from her. It was nice to hear it come so naturally with Mike.

Hopper settled deeper into the chair, feeling better about this whole thing. They were good for each other, these two, important to each other. Both of them would be the better for being able to spend time with one another. And he could trust Mike to help him take care of Eleven and get her ready to enter the real world.