Joyce was anxious, and to make it worse she knew everyone around her could tell. It had become a habit of her to pick at her nails when her anxiety spiked and right now every nail on her hands was surrounded with a coppery sheen. She had picked and picked at her nails until they had bled and Mary had threatened to wrap band aids around all of her fingertips if she didn't stop. Just the fact that Travis was being held somewhere in this very building had put Joyce on edge to the point where she wasn't sure if she could force herself to leave the safety of Hopper's truck. Eventually, after a pep talk from Mary, countless hugs from Jim, and one threat of "If he even looks at you wrong I'll bury him under the jail." from Greg, she had mustered up the courage to walk into the stuffy brick building.

The small courthouse in Hawkins was just that. Small. Traffic tickets were being heard in the same room with the bigger cases such as breaking and entering, and child endangerment. With one judge, who had been the judge back when Greg was a teenager, they would be proceeding with the small minor cases first before dealing with the bigger and more private affairs.

Greg stood in front of his family, looking over the cases that were to be heard today and he estimated that they may be waiting a while before their case was called. He huffed internally, hoping the smaller cases would be gone through quickly. The sound of hurried footsteps caught his attention and looking up he saw Brad walking toward him, his arms full of light brown Manila folders and a coffee mug.

"Morning Hoppers, Joyce." Brad greeted, ushering the group into one of the smaller unoccupied corners of the lobby.

"Alright everyone, today is the day we finally put that...pardon my language ladies, bastard behind bars." Brad breathed out in hushed tones.

"Now, from the cases on the docket we should be starting with ours around one when Judge Cooper returns from lunch. Until then, Joyce, all I need you to do is sit and try to stay calm. I can tell you're anxious. You're acting like a caged cougar." Joyce nodded and took in a deep breath. She really needed to look into that meditation thing the hippies were nuts over. Maybe it would help her learn to control her emotions better.

After what seemed like an eternity later, Brad was signaling that it was time to enter the courtroom and Joyce felt a big hand gently touch her shoulder. Turning around she was pulled into the embrace of Hopper.

"I'm right here Joy. Nothing is going to happen to you." Hopper leaned down and placed a tender kiss on Joyce's forehead before twining their fingers. Together, they walked hand in hand into the courtroom.

Hopper sat beside his parents and jiggled his leg nervously as he watched Joyce take the stand. Up until now Travis had been placed to her right with his lawyer, which had been easier for Joyce. Being out of his line of vision allowed her to breathe, even if those breaths were hard to come by. But now, she was front and center with him in her direct line of view, and from previous experiences since his arrest, her anxiety skyrocketed any time he spoke or looked at her. Hopper couldn't help but worry that the confidence she currently showed would start to chip away the longer she sat up there and he just prayed she could make it through the whirlwind of emotions he knew were about to be thrown her way.

When she made eye contact with him instead of allowing Travis the satisfaction of seeing her falter, Hopper gave her a nod and watched as she sucked in another deep breath before Brad stood up with a folder in his hand and approached her. A few things were whispered between her and the judge, then he made his way over to a projector that faced the opposite wall.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, today the court will be hearing the matter of Joyce Horowitz against her father Travis Horowitz on the charges of child abuse, child endangerment, and attempted rape. Mr. Walker, the floor is yours." Judge Cooper stated, leaning forward in his high backed chair.

In less than a minute Brad started speaking to the full room and the sixteen jurors as an image of Joyce flashed onto the wall for everyone to see. It was an image Hopper knew all too well, the very first one he'd ever taken of her bruises and one he wished had been the last, but sadly wasn't.

Brad slowly started flipping through the images, sharing the countless stories Joyce had given him for each one of the horrific moments of torture she had suffered. Around the fifth photo, Hopper looked away and redirected his focus on Joyce who was now looking into her lap, once again picking at her fingers while she waited patiently to answer any questions Brad might ask.

Her expression hadn't changed much, but then again, he hadn't expected it to. She had literally lived through the moment currently being discussed numerous times, so he imagined at this point seeing the pictures again and hearing the stories was like hearing a song on repeat so many times it eventually blended into the background. The memory would always be there, he never expected her to forget, he just hoped she'd eventually grow to where Travis couldn't hurt her anymore, even in the form of a memory or photo.

Hopper wasn't sure if Travis' lawyer didn't fully inform him of the evidence Joyce had against him, or if he simply just didn't believe it, but the shocked look on his face at seeing the photos and the way he instantly turned his head to stare at Joyce in disbelief made Hopper do a small victory dance in his head. That was until new images filled the wall and a smug expression overtook Travis' features like the bastard was getting off on his handy work. Thankfully Joyce was too distracted still looking at her lap to see when anger quickly flooded Hopper and he had to fight to not jump over the bench and strangle the piece of shit sitting a few feet away. Apparently the shift in his mood didn't go unnoticed by his mother, because she quickly placed her hand on his knee and gently squeezed to let him know he needed to calm down. He wouldn't be any good to Joyce if she saw him getting worked up when he was supposed to be there to help keep her grounded.

It took about half an hour for Brad to sort through every photo, paying careful attention as he explained the reasoning behind each one, making sure to give the courtroom plenty of time to soak in the details and the extent of her injuries. He wanted them to know exactly what the young woman at the head of the room had gone through for eleven years and why Travis didn't deserve to walk this earth a free man.

"I know it's always easier believing someone when they present you with evidence you can actually see. Whether it's in the form of a photo, a bruise, or a scar. But abuse isn't always physical. You don't always have to hit someone to hurt them." Brad said as he flipped through a folder on the table in front of him. "Now, Joyce I'd like for you to share with us some of the things Travis did that caused you harm without him physically hitting you." Stepping out into the middle of the room, Brad moved a little closer, placing himself in front of her. "Is that alright?"

Joyce swallowed and sat up straighter, giving him a nod. "Before the physical abuse got bad… it started with missed meals. I wouldn't be allowed to eat for days at a time. I wasn't given money for lunch at school either, so I usually just sat in the corner in the cafeteria and kept to myself."

"Do you remember why Travis started doing this?" Brad asked.

Joyce rubbed her brow, the familiar pressure of a headache building. "Different reasons. I was young, around six or seven, I don't remember exactly, but it was probably because of a forgotten toy in the living room or a dish not washed correctly."

Brad held up his hand to keep her from continuing. "You we're doing dishes at six years old?"

"I think so… it was right before Linda left, so yeah it had to be around then."

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Brad spoke again. "Alright, can you remember anything other than him denying you food?"

Hopper watched as Joyce looked around the room and touched the collar of her shirt. "When I was nine I had a nightmare, which became normal after he started hitting me… I had an accident in the bed and got up to get a towel. I guess I was loud because he came out of his room yelling that I had woken him up and when he saw what had happened, he grabbed my arm and pulled me outside. It was the middle of December and I was only in a shirt and soaking wet shorts at this point. It was probably twenty degrees outside and he sprayed me with the hose saying if I was going to act like an animal that pissed in the bed he was going to treat me like one. I just remember curling up into a ball on the porch shivering while he went back inside and watched me through the window. Told me if I moved he'd keep me out there all night…"

"And how long were you actually out there?"

"Maybe twenty minutes. I remember him saying something about my lips turning blue and having a towel thrown at me. I was sick for almost a week afterwards."

Hopper felt a lump forming in his throat as he listened to Joyce tell her story. He knew there were things she'd never told him and that was understandable considering it was probably impossible for her to remember everything, but it still hurt to know that she could have died that night had Travis kept her outside for too long. To his knowledge most of Travis' abuse hadn't been life threatening, with the exception of the last time he ever touched her, so this infuriated him.

"Did Travis ever yell at you?" Brad asked.

Joyce gave a nod, quickly wiping away a stray tear that ran down her cheek. "Sorry...yes...yes sir." She wasn't sure where the sudden wave of anxiety hitting her had come from, but the confidence she'd held on to for this long was starting to crumble and it was crumbling fast. The fact Travis had been staring at her with a smirk across his face the entire time she'd been talking hadn't exactly helped the situation, nor did the fact she was having to drag up memories that were buried so deep she'd almost forgotten they existed.

Brad handed Joyce a tissue and gave her a moment to even out her breathing before they continued.

With a sniff, Joyce dabbed at her eyes and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "The yelling got so bad at times that eventually I just stopped talking altogether because I was afraid of saying the wrong thing. I got yelled at for dripping water on the floor in the bathroom after taking a shower, for not making dinner exactly how he wanted it, for not being at home on time because I had to stay after school, for not making perfect grades. No matter what I did, it was never good enough." Joyce's voice broke then as more tears found their way to the surface. "I will never understand what I did for you to hate me so much."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted as Joyce locked her eyes on Travis. "I did everything you ever asked of me. I spent countless hours in my room at your request studying to make top marks in all my classes. I kept the house clean, I cooked dinner, I put you to bed at night when you were too drunk to get off the couch. And even after everything...after the first time you ever hit me, I still craved your love and attention. I still wanted to know what it was like to be held by my father and comforted when I was scared!" Joyce hadn't realized she was sobbing and raising her voice until it was too late to stop.

"All I wanted was for you to love me, to have you tell me that you were proud of me! I never realized how much I had lost until I saw what everyone else had that I didn't, until you had beaten every last bit of innocence out of me to the point I became afraid of my own shadow! I'll never be able to get back those years you stole from me. The years I missed out on making friends, or getting invited to parties. To go a day without being in pain or knowing what it's like to grow up with a family that cares about you! The closest thing I've ever had to any kind of normalcy are the Hoppers. Had Jim not befriended me before all this started happening, there's a good chance I wouldn't be sitting here today. He offered me an escape to the hell you put me through and kept me from completely giving up on everything." Joyce paused for a second to let out a long slow breath as she wiped her cheeks with a new tissue.

"For the longest time I thought there was something wrong with me...but after experiencing a comforting touch and love for the first time, I finally realized there was never anything wrong with me except for the fact I had you as a father! If others were capable of showing me love and kindness, why couldn't you? Why did you constantly have to hurt me? Call me names? What did I do to deserve that? A little kid that didn't even know how to tie her shoes! You beat me almost every day for eleven years and I still don't know why!"

When Joyce leaned back in her chair and attempted to get her crying under control, the entire room fell silent. No one knew what to say. Even the smirk on Travis' face had vanished as he stared at his daughter in shock that she had been brave enough to stand up to him.

If Hopper thought he knew a thing about Joyce before all of this, he was sadly mistaken. It was clear that she was still broken and hurting far beyond what she showed on the surface and had been for a long time. The breakdown she'd had on Friday suddenly made a lot more sense and Hopper found himself sniffing back tears of his own when he realized just how much she'd been suffering. It hadn't just been because of the assholes at school that started the chain of events. It had been years and years of pain shoved so far down that it was only a matter of time before everything came spilling over the edge. Hopper just hoped that after today Joyce would finally allow herself to start healing. That with Travis and Linda both completely out of her life, she would try to let some of the burden she constantly carried disappear.

"Thank you Joyce, that will be all for now." Brad finally spoke, pulling everyone's attention back to the front of the room. "Your honor, at this time I would like to call James Hopper to the stand."

The judge nodded his head in agreement and Hopper stood from his seat between his parents, adjusting his suit jacket. He passed by Travis and his lawyer, fighting the urge to stop and beat the shit out of the sorry excuse for a sperm donor Joyce had been fated with. Finally reaching the Bailiff, Hopper placed his hand on the Bible and was sworn in.

"Alright Mr. Hopper, can you tell me how long you and Miss Horowitz have been friends?" Brad questioned, as he stood in front of the witness stand.

"Yes sir, I have been friends with Joyce since we were three. We met at the church day care where her parents and mine attended."

"Would you say that Joyce quickly became one of your best friends?"

"Yes sir I would."

"Can you tell me about the first time you saw the bruises on Joyce's body?"

"We were about fourteen. Joyce had gotten into the habit of helping me with my chores around the farm and when we were finished we would usually go out to the fields to goof off or whatever. One day we were playing tag and she tripped over some old dirt clods. When she fell to the ground her shirt rose up on her back and that's when I saw the bruises."

"Okay, and did you question Joyce on where they came from? On what had caused them?"

"At first I had to coax her to tell me. Then she finally gave in and said that her father hit her with a belt." Hopper stated, glaring at Travis who returned the favor.

"Did Joyce mention if this was an ongoing occurrence or a one time thing?"

"She said that it was an ongoing situation. That she was afraid to say anything because she doubted anyone would believe her. With her father's record, Joyce believed that anyone she told would consider it an act of attention seeking."

"Why didn't you tell your father, Chief of Police, Greg Hopper, about the bruises and the abuse Joyce had been suffering from?" Brad asked, turning from the judge to face Jim.

"I wanted to, but Joyce made me swear not to say anything. She was worried that if someone with any authority knew of the abuse, they would go after her father and when he was released from jail it would be worse on her. She begged me to keep it to myself and I didn't want her to not trust me, to stop coming to the farm. I didn't want her stuck in that trailer with him any more than she had to be. I was afraid of what he might do to her."

"Tell me about these photo's Jim. Am I correct when I state that you were the person who took these photographs?"

"Yes sir. Once I knew about the abuse, she requested that I take photographs of them. I'm not entirely sure why she wanted them, but I would have done anything to keep her from staying at home with what was going on so I didn't argue it. The photos were kept in a box hidden on my family's property and when she was hospitalized, I had had enough. I wasn't going to let him get away with hurting her anymore so I brought the box to my dad."

"The events which lead up to Joyce being taken home by her father were because of a fight at school?"

"Joyce was defending herself against a girl from school, which resulted in a fight and Travis was called to pick her up. When he took her home, he beat her so badly she almost died. When he tried to rape her, she broke his nose and ran down the trail between our homes, which is where I found her and took her back to the farm. That's when my parents became aware of the abuse."

"Since those events, Joyce has been staying with you and your family at the Hopper Farm correct?"

"Yes sir." Hopper replied, making sure he used his manners.

"No further questions your honor." Brad spoke, allowing Hopper to step down from the stand.

"At this time, I would like for Travis Horowitz to take the stand." Judge Cooper announced, shifting in his chair as Brad took his seat beside Joyce, and Hopper returned to his seat between Greg and Mary. Joyce sat as close to Brad as humanly possible when Travis rose to his feet. She didn't want to breathe the same air as him, matter less look him in the eye again. Travis was sworn in and took a seat on the witness stand. His eyes roamed over Joyce, making her skin crawl.

"Mr. Horowitz, after hearing the testimonies from your daughter, and Mr. Hopper, along with the evidence that has been presented today, how do you plead?"

The room watched as Travis shifted in his seat, leaning forward to be heard.

"Not guilty your honor." He called out, a shit eating grin on his face.

"Mr. Horowitz, you are aware of the evidence and eyewitness testimonies that have been brought to light today correct?"

"Yes your honor, been sitting here listening the whole time."

"And you still say that you are not guilty of child abuse, neglect, and the attempted rape of your daughter Joyce Horowitz?"

"That is correct your honor."

Judge Cooper once again adjusted in his chair, looking down his nose at the court.

"What have you to say for yourself Mr. Horowitz?"

"I never laid a finger on my daughter that I didn't have done to me. I love her. Yes, I have disciplined her like a father should when she doesn't listen, or when she earned less than honorable grades in school, but I never harmed her once in my life. As for this whole attempted rape thing, it's all lies. I was disciplining her for getting expelled from school. I caught my foot on the carpet and fell on top of her. She took it the wrong way. The situation was completely accidental."

Joyce was furious. How dare that man sit there and lie in front of all these people. How dare he blatantly lie about what he did to her. Her hands were on the arm of her chair, about to push herself out of her seat when Brad's hand came to lay on top of hers, willing her not to move and to let him do his job.

Judge Cooper placed his glasses down on the desk in front of him after both lawyers took turns asking Travis a series of questions. "The court will now take a moment to allow our jury to regroup into our back office to discuss the charges against Mr. Horowitz. We will reconvene in one hour."

Joyce watched as Travis was led through a door to the left of the witness stand and as soon as his body was blocked by the Bailiff, she felt someone approach her. Turning to her right, her eyes were level with Hopper's broad frame and she instinctively dropped her forehead against his chest, breathing in the familiar, safe, scent of him.

"Come on Joy, we're going to talk with Brad and go from there. Are you hungry?"

Joyce nodded, wanting to do anything to get out of the same building as Travis.

Patsy's was just slowing down from the lunch rush when their group arrived. Joyce, The Hoppers, and Brad were all tucked away into a round corner booth, everyone still a little on edge. Joyce had been picking at the waffle she had ordered, not sure if her body could handle her eating at the moment while Mary, Greg, and Brad conversed about the trial among themselves. Hopper placed his hand on Joyce's thigh, giving a light squeeze of reassurance. Moving his arm to wrap around her shoulders, Joyce reached up and intertwined their fingers.

"It's going to be okay. After today, you won't have to worry about him."

"We don't know that yet Hop. The jury could side with Travis."

"Joy, it's Hawkins, there's no way in hell they're going to rule in favor of a child abuser. You got this honey." Hopper soothed, placing a kiss on her forehead, pulling her closer. Doing everything in his power to protect her.

The courtroom only held about thirty people in attendance, including the jury. Joyce took her place beside Brad once again, feeling Travis' eyes on her the moment he walked through the door. He purposely wore a smile on his face, knowing it would make her uncomfortable and a sick feeling stirred in her gut.

Once everyone was standing behind their chairs, Judge Cooper entered the courtroom. "Before the Jury gives us their ruling, I would like for it to be known that child abuse cases are the ones I dread hearing the most. There is no reason whatsoever, that a child should have hands put on them for any reason. A parent is supposed to love and protect their children. Not do what we saw here today. With that being said, Jury we're ready for your ruling."

A tall, blonde women stood from the jury stand clutching a white piece of paper. Clearing her throat, she began to speak.

"In the case of Joyce Horowitz, verses Travis Horowitz on the charges of child abuse, child endangerment, and attempted rape, we find the defendant guilty."

Joyce released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Guilty. They actually believed her. A sudden wave of emotions slammed into her all at once and she couldn't help the quiet sob that found its way up her throat as fresh tears pooled in her eyes. A weight she'd been carrying around for most of her life was finally lifted.

The sound of Judge Cooper's voice gathered everyone's attention once more. "The maximum sentence for Child abuse, child endangerment, and attempted rape add up to a total of six years in prison in the state of Indiana. Mr. Horowitz, if it were up to me, you would never see the light of day outside of a prison cell. Court adjourned."

Judge Cooper slammed his gavel down, signaling the end of the trial and for what felt like the first time in her life, Joyce exhaled without fear. Three pairs of arms quickly wrapped around her, but when the sound of a yell shot through the courtroom, Joyce, along with The Hoppers, glanced toward the commotion. Travis had jerked away from the bailiff and was making his way toward them. Without a second thought Hopper's instincts kicked in and he placed himself in front of Joyce protectively, his fist connecting with Travis' jaw when he tried to grab her.

Travis dropped like a sack of potatoes and Greg was on him in an instant, flipping him over onto his stomach and pinning his hands at the small of his back. Travis looked up at Joyce, before spitting blood onto the carpet in front of her.

"See you in six years princess." Travis sneered as he was yanked to his feet and dragged to the holding rooms behind the courtroom.

"Honey are you okay?" Hopper anxiously asked, placing his hands on her cheeks before he pulled her in and cradled her head to his chest.

"I will be." She whispered into his shirt.

Greg moved to their side when he knew Travis couldn't get away again and placed a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Great reflexes there son. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of both of you."

Hopper startled slightly when Joyce suddenly pulled away from him and turned to wrap her arms around his mother, a look of surprise on her face.

"Thank you...for everything." Joyce said, her voice muffled into Mary's shoulder as the older woman held her tighter and rested her cheek against the side of her head.

"You don't have to thank me honey, it's what mothers do. They protect their babies."

"He won't ever touch you again Joyce. You can breathe now." Greg stated, placing his hand on her shoulder. Joyce pulled away from Mary then and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Don't think nothing of it darlin'. Like Mary said, parents protect their kids, and come hell or high water, we always will."