Normally Hopper wouldn't consider a kid being stuck in the hospital for a while a good thing, but in this instance, it was. Billy's injuries were serious and he was going to be under observation for the foreseeable future, which was helpful. Hopper had a lot of work to do.

His first stop, after Joyce assured him that she could hold down the fort at the hospital, was to go down to the station. Making sure there were as many charges pressed against Billy's father was the top priority. His reputation with people around town had gotten better over the past couple years, so he didn't think anyone would bother to look closely at what he was doing. And Neil Hargrove didn't seem like the type of guy anyone would give a crap about.

His second stop was to the Hargrove residence, to speak to Max's mother. Hopper knew that it wasn't always easy to leave an abusive spouse, so he didn't go in guns blazing. And while part of him wanted to shake her and ask her why she'd gotten herself and her daughter mixed up with a guy like Neil, he knew that wasn't fair. But Hopper was going to make it clear that now that the truth was out, he wasn't going to stand by and let it happen any longer. Susan had a choice to make and she had until Neil finally got to step foot outside of the jail to make it.

Hopper's last stop was to Joyce's house, so he could take a shower and a couple minutes to decompress. So much had happened in such a short amount of time and he knew it was his responsibility to be a leader through everything, but it was still a lot. He'd had his ass kicked multiple times and almost died as well, but the fact that he was alive meant he obviously still had work to do. And apparently, that work involved taking care of other people's kids.

The idea of letting another child into his heart after Sara had never crossed his mind. But it was like the second he'd found out Will Byers had gone missing, everything changed. His life had purpose again, even more so than his law enforcement career.

With El, part of it had started because she literally had nowhere else to go. It was too dangerous for her to be out in public. If she'd displayed her powers in front of anyone, it would be catastrophic. And while he'd expected to only see it as fulfilling a duty, spending time with her quickly became his favorite part of the day. El was his daughter and there was no question about it now, even without the paperwork from Dr. Owens.

Steve, on the other hand, was a bigger surprise. And that was saying a lot, when compared to adopting a girl with powers. During the last two incidents, he was just kind of there. Steve was by his side in the Byers' house, ready to fight whatever was coming for them, but he'd figured at the time that it was just instinct. It was, but now Hopper saw that it went deeper than that.

Not everyone could say that they would put their lives on the line for someone else, then actually prove it. But Steve was always willing to take the hit when it came to those kids. And Hopper couldn't help but make comparisons between the two of them. They were cut from the same cloth, throwing caution to the wind and putting themselves last for the greater good. And while that was fine for Hopper, Steve was too young to sacrifice himself. Hopper was old and had lived a full life, but Steve's was just beginning. Someone was going to have to teach him that his life mattered just as much as anyone else's, and apparently that job had fallen to him.

Billy was a question mark. He couldn't stay with his father, and that was just a fact. Even if the guy weaseled his way out of jail time, Hopper wouldn't stand for it. Hopper would beat Neil into a coma without hesitation, as long as it meant that Billy and Max weren't around him anymore. But he still didn't know or really trust the kid. Having a monster take over your body and almost dying from rebelling against it was bound to have an affect on someone, but was it enough? Would it stick? Hopper was going to have to keep an eye on him.

Once Hopper had given himself what he considered enough time to plan out the rest of his life and the lives of three children, he set off back to the hospital. He made a detour to a burger shop to get food for everyone, since they'd been at the hospital for hours. He was going to have to convince them all to go home for the night soon, since the staff would never allow a dozen visitors to sleep in a hospital room. They'd already gotten away with a lot.

"I can't believe you haven't seen The NeverEnding Story! It's a classic!" Dustin exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"It only came out a couple years ago. Not really long enough to be considered a classic already," Lucas pointed out.

"An instant classic!"

"I mean, it's alright," Will shrugged.

"No, I won't stand for this. Once you're healed up, we're having a movie night. In fact, it's going to be at least a weekly thing, since I'm sure there are a ton of movies that you've neglected to watch," Dustin declared. Hopper watched from the doorway as all the kids were surrounding Steve's bed, keeping him entertained. They hadn't noticed him yet, so he was taking the opportunity to judge Steve's condition without him being able to downplay it. He looked like he was still on the mend, but there was definite exhaustion in his eyes. Hopper would give them a little more time, then he would be the bad guy and insist on Steve getting some much needed rest.

"I brought dinner," Hopper announced, holding up the bags of food as he walked into the room. The kids immediately pounced on him, ripping the bags from his hands and digging into them in the corner of the room. "Unfortunately, the two of you who are guests of this hospital won't be allowed to partake. The nurses threatened me on the way in."

"That's fine. The smell is kind of making me want to barf," Steve chuckled lightly, laying his head back on his pillow.

"And I think my stomach is still on the floor of the Starcourt mall," Billy huffed, looking up at him seriously. He probably wanted to know what happened with his father, but that was a conversation that would be better to have in private.

"How are you two feeling?" Hopper asked.

"Fine," Steve said quickly. Billy just grunted in response.

"A nurse came in not too long ago to check them over and said everything was looking good," Joyce informed him.

"I can probably go home soon," Steve added with a grin.

"We'll see about that," Hopper replied. Steve going home to an empty house was out of the question, no matter what he said. Hopper couldn't take him back to the cabin with him, since he'd heard about the damage done there. Joyce had already opened her home to him and El and he was pretty sure she wouldn't object to Steve coming too, but the place was going to be very crowded. Adding Billy, if that's what it came to, would only make things a tighter squeeze. And that wasn't even considering what kind of care he was going to need. His stomach being on the floor of the mall was an exaggeration, but not by much.

"The food was good, but next time you should go to the other place a few streets down. The buns are better," Erica commented, walking back over to Steve's bed. Hopper didn't bother responding to that.

"You finished eating already?" Steve asked, laughing softly.

"I'm a fast eater."

"Not when it comes to ice cream."

"You think I want to get brain freeze?" Erica questioned, cocking her hands on her hips. "Besides, I wanted to make sure I got a prime seat in this room. There aren't that many options. So scoot over." Hopper was about to warn her to be careful, but Steve just laughed and made her a space, happily accepting her company.

The rest of the kids finished eating and spread out again, with El and Max sitting on the edge of Billy's bed and the boys slotting into any bit of floor space they could find. The rest of them had chairs, while Hopper stayed standing. He probably could've finagled himself a seat, but he wanted to stay ready, just in case. And he had a long night ahead of him in one of those chairs anyway.

"You sure you don't want a hit of something?" Steve asked Robin, flicking at one of the tubes that was attached to him. "I'm not sure which one is the painkiller, but I guess you can take a little of them all."

"I'm fine. The doctor said there were no fractures and my hand is just gonna be sore for a while," Robin waved off. "Too bad I didn't have a phone to spare my hand though, right?"

"I saw the gun and I just reacted," Steve shrugged tiredly.

"We need to hear the whole story," Max demanded.

"I really dislike these stories," Hopper sighed. Why weren't they ever anything nice, like a good test score at school or a fun project someone was working on? It was always something dangerous that made Hopper want to scream.

Dustin ignored Hopper's comment, detailing their elevator ride from hell and wandering around the tunnels. Robin interrupted a few times when he embellished, but even the bare bones facts of it all was too much. It was going to be a long time before Hopper felt comfortable with any of them being out of adult supervision.

They kept chatting for a while longer, with the conversation going toward safer, albeit nerdier topics. Hopper kept a close eye on the boys in the hospital beds. Billy had fully dropped off, thanks to the heavier drugs he was on. Steve was valiantly trying to stay awake, but his blinks started getting more sluggish and his head kept dipping down, before he forced it back up. But soon enough, his eyes stayed closed and his head tipped to the side, landing to rest against Erica's shoulder.

"It's getting kind of late. I'm sure your parents would appreciate you all at home," Hopper announced, bracing himself for the arguments. He wasn't disappointed.

"It's still early! And we aren't bothering anyone!" Dustin declared, looking around the room for support.

"Steve and Billy need rest."

"Which they are getting, even with us around. You pretty much helped my side, if you think about it," Dustin smirked.

"And I can tell the nurses to ban you from the room," Hopper threatened.

"You wouldn't!" Dustin gasped. He wouldn't, since Steve would probably march out of his hospital bed to get him, but he wasn't above lying to get his way.

"Don't test me."

"Fine!" Dustin grumbled, rolling his eyes. "But I'm going to be here first thing in the morning and you can't stop me."

"Sure, kid."

Everyone started discussing who was going where and what car they were going to be riding in. Hopper gave his keys to Nancy, warning her about the siren again. She was going to be taking her brother, the Sinclair siblings, Dustin, and Robin home, while everyone else was going with Joyce. Max wasn't eager to go back home, so she was going to stick with El for a while, until things settled down. The Byers house was filling up.

"What's going on?" Steve mumbled as soon as Erica started sliding out from underneath him. Hopper had been surprised that she'd let Steve use her as a pillow without complaint. Erica pretended like she was too cool to care about anything, but Hopper was starting to see that it was all for show.

"Hopper is giving us the boot. You better not have drooled on me," Erica warned, pointing her finger at him. Steve smiled and rubbed his eyes, looking around at the others.

"Where are you going?"

"Erica just said Hopper is kicking us out. Man, you are out of it," Dustin snorted. Steve hummed in agreement, cracking his jaw with a yawn.

"You gonna stay out of trouble?"

"I'm only going home to sleep. I'm gonna be right back here, first thing in the morning," Dustin assured him.

"You don't have to do that. I'm fine," Steve murmured, shaking himself to try to stay awake.

"Of course I'm gonna be here. You'd be here for me," Dustin insisted. The rest of the kids started talking over each other, agreeing with Dustin. Steve got that pleasantly surprised look on his face that he always seemed to have when people reminded him that he was cared about. Hopper wished he'd never have to see it again.

"Yeah, but I'd be fine on my own."

"Who said anything about you being on your own?" Hopper asked, dragging one of the chairs in between the two beds and plopping down in it. "I'd ask if you mind the company, but I don't really care."

"But-"

"Sweetie, I wouldn't bother arguing. Hop is probably the most stubborn person I've ever met," Joyce laughed, brushing Steve's hair off his forehead.

"That's rich, coming from you. Remember the magnets?"

"Remember how I was right about the magnets?" Joyce shot back, smiling smugly. "Let's just agree we are both stubborn and call it even."

"Deal," Hopper replied, although he knew he was right.

"I'll start brainstorming new jobs for us. Maybe we should go for something safe and relaxing, like a library," Robin suggested.

"Nothing with any kind of basement," Steve requested tiredly.

"Good idea," Robin agreed, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Dingus."

"We're gonna have to come up with a better nickname for me."

"Nah, I think this one fits."

Steve grumbled under his breath as everyone filed out, making promises to stop by when they could. No matter what he said, they were going to keep showing up for him, just like he had for them. Finally it was just the three of them in the room. Without all the chattering kids around, it was very quiet.

"You know, you really don't have to stay. You've got to be exhausted and honestly, you look a little rough," Steve said, gesturing to the bruises on Hopper's face. If they wanted to compete to see who looked worse, Steve would win, but Hopper didn't bother pointing that out. The proof was who was in the hospital bed.

"I know you're not operating at 100 percent and you're probably not absorbing all the information you've been given, but you're not going to be on your own anymore. We're not going to leave you to deal with things alone, especially when it's this serious. So close your eyes and go to sleep so you can be well rested for the chaos of all the kids coming back and smothering you with their concern," Hopper said firmly, staring at Steve until he sighed and accepted, closing his eyes. He didn't miss the small smile that flashed across Steve's face. The kid would learn soon enough that what Hopper was saying was the truth. It might take a while, but they had all the time in the world, now that the latest crisis had been taken care of.

Hopper settled in for the long night, trying to get comfortable in the hard chair. He would try to get a bit of sleep, then check in on how things were going at the station once everyone got back in the morning. The boys were on the mend and there shouldn't be anything that couldn't wait until morning. But Hopper didn't realize just how long of a night it would be.