Disappearance of Innocence

Author: Zeusfluff

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Stranger Things characters. But I do own one original.

Summary: While driving back to the cabin one night after a rather dull day back at Hawkins police department, Chief Jim Hopper comes across an unconscious woman on the side of the road. The clue to figuring out who this mysterious woman is, lies in his past. *Completely AU.*

Chapter 1: Unknown Identity

March 18th, 1985

Hawkins, Indiana

It was dark on the road out of town, so Hopper turned his lights on and continued driving. When he rounded a corner, he saw a lump of fabric on the side of the road. As he got closer, he saw that it was a woman in a white nightgown.

Quickly stopping the truck, he grabbed a flashlight. When he got to her, he leaned down, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Miss can you hear me?"

When Hopper got no response he became worried. It wasn't far going back into town. Carefully scooping the unconscious woman in his arms, he carried her back towards his truck. As he opened the back of his truck and placed her inside, he noticed she had a trail of blood trickling down her right nostril of her nose. Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped the blood away. He then draped a blanket over the woman and closed the door. It was another ten minutes until they reached the hospital. Exiting the car, Hopper went around to the back and opened up the door. Scooping the unconscious woman into his arms once more, he went in through the emergency room doors. A nurse and a doctor met them shortly thereafter. The doctor was the one to speak. "What happened?"

Hopper shook his head. "I don't know. I found her on the side of the road unconscious while I was driving home."

The doctor in front of Hopper took the unknown woman from his arms and placed her onto a stretcher. "What's her name chief?"

Hopper sighed and kept looking at the seemingly frail woman in front of him. "I don't know. Is she going to be ok?"

The police chief quickly read the nameplate on the white lab coat the doctor was wearing. E. Thompson M.D. Doctor Thompson nodded. "We'll take care of her. We'll keep you updated." Hopper nodded and turned away. "Alright thanks doc."

"El I'm sorry I didn't signal. There was an emergency I had to take care of."

By now, Hopper had taken his coat and hat off, placing both on the coat rack by the door. El glared at him from the kitchen table. "You told me you would be home by 6:15. Besides, I know why your late. I saw you with that woman you found on the side of the road. She's like me."

Pulling two pot roast and carrot meals from the freezer, he paused. "What do you mean she's like you El?"

El now looked serious. "She has numbers on her wrist like I do. 027."

Now it was Hopper's turn to look serious, and he swallowed. "If she's like you El, I can't leave her in the hospital without someone to watch over her."

El had tears in her eyes. But she didn't let them fall. "The bad men will come for her."

Hopper didn't like where this was going. "I won't let that happen. I promise."

"Morning doc. How's the woman I brought in doing?"

Sighing Doctor Thompson ushered him toward the woman's room. "She still hasn't woken up yet. She's very lucky you found her when you did chief. It was cold out last night and she might have died if you hadn't found her."

Now it was Hopper's turn to sigh. "Here I was hoping I could ask her some questions about what happened to her. See if she could remember anything."

Doctor Thompson furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the woman's file. "There is something strange that I did notice when I examined her. The number 027 tattooed on her right wrist."

Hopper became nervous but didn't show it. "Alright doc, keep me posted. Do you mind if I sit with her?" Doctor Thompson nodded his head. "Sure thing chief."

Hopper would have to do a little more digging. He had to find out who this woman was. Hawkins lab had obviously kidnapped her. Hopper stepped into the woman's room and took a seat next to the bed. "I won't let those men take you. That's a promise. I will do everything I can to protect you."

Looking up as the door opened, Hopper saw a familiar face step into the room. "Doc, what are you doing here?"

A smile came to Doctor Owens face. "I work here. Believe it or not before the government tried to bribe me with their insane scheme to open up a hole to the upside down and let monsters out, I was a well-respected Neurologist."

Hopper frowned, shaking his head. "Why won't she wake up? Do you know why?" Owens spread his hands and shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes its hard to tell. For now all we can do is keep monitoring her progress. I'll see ya later Jim."

"Hey kiddo. Got you some more Eggos. What's wrong?"

El looked sad. She was trying not to cry. But the tears were coming. "You have to help that woman. Something's wrong."

Hopper grabbed El by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "What did you see sweetheart?"

El swallowed and sat down on the sofa. "I was looking for you. I saw the doctor that took care of Will after the soldiers rescued you from the upside down. She was shaking."

Hopper's heart sank. The woman he'd saved was in trouble. He knew when to heed El's warning.

Hopper had just entered the hospital, and he was heading towards the unknown woman's room. He frowned and tapped on the window when he saw Owens inside. He quickly came out. "Jim. Now is not a good time to sit with her."

Nodding, Hopper took a seat next to the door, Owens taking the next seat over from him. "What happened?"

Owens took a breath and then spoke. "She had a couple of seizures last night. She couldn't breathe on her own and so we had to put her on a vent. We're keeping an eye on her. Let's talk more in my office."

Hopper followed Owens down the hallway and into his office. It wasn't very big, but it was somewhere private to talk. The aging doctor offered a place to sit in front of his desk.

"Have a seat Jim."

Taking a seat, he was surprised to find a cup of coffee in his hands all of a sudden. "Coffee, black. Two sugars. This job is a lot less stressful than the last one. All I have to worry about here are my patients. And paperwork. But different kinds. What I wanted to show you was this."

Owens handed Hopper the unknown woman's medical file, and he flipped it open. "What do these red markings mean?"

Hopper wasn't sure he understood what he was looking at. The photo anyways. Sam leaned forward and outlined the photo with his right index finger. "This is the inside of her brain. The red markings mean there's activity going on inside. They do concern me."

Hopper knew that wasn't a good sign. But it was the next photo that made him think. It was an x-ray scan. "Ok, I'm looking at an x-ray scan. What does that mean exactly?"

Sighing, Sam pointed towards the center of the bone. "Her bones are still forming. I can tell just by looking at this scan, that this woman is 20."

Hopper creased his forehead. "She's barely an adult. Either she was kidnapped by the lab or she ran away and then they kidnapped her. I'll see what I can dig up on her. It'd be nice if we could circulate a photo of her, see if anyone recognizes her. But that would tip-off the lab. Which they know she's missing. We have to protect her from them."

Sam looked nervous. "I'll do my best to protect her. You know if they find me here, they'll kill me. You do know that right?"

Hopper nodded. "Oh I do know that doc. Believe me. But you've done right. You helped my girl out. I thank you for that."

Owens tried to read Hopper. He had an idea. "I see the wheels in your head turning. Want to share with the class Jim?"

Sighing, Hopper placed his empty coffee mug down on the desk in front of him. "We may have to move her somewhere safe. Somewhere, where those men won't find her. You are most definitely coming with doc. How soon can she come off the vent? When can we move her?"

Sam sat heavily in his chair for a few agonizing seconds before he answered. "A couple of days at least. I want to see how she responds to being taken off the vent first. I want to see if she's able to breathe on her own. Then if we get the green light, we'll go from there ok chief-o?"

Hopper didn't seem satisfied with Sam's answer. "How about tomorrow night. Do we have a deal?"

Sam shook hands with Hopper. "I'll call you the minute we have her off the vent."

Taking his hat and placing it on his head, he nodded his thanks to Owens. "Ok doc, let me know."

To Be Continued…