Author's Note: Here's Part 3! As promised, this chapter contains more of Steve and Nancy, plus the kids of the Hawkins gang. It takes place after my imagining of the end of Season 5. So the big battle is over, Vecna is dead, and it's time for a good old fashioned summer road trip. Please read on and let me know what you think!

Part 3: Summer Road Trip

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Steve glanced covertly at Nancy. She was poring over several pieces of paper with an almost frenetic air.

He was familiar with that look and knew that he had to tread lightly. "Nance," he ventured, "what's wrong?"

"I know I'm forgetting something," she muttered without looking up at him. "I just can't remember what."

He felt a smile tug at his lips. It was a little scary when she went all Type-A on him like this, but it was cute too. "Nance, relax. As long as you and the kids are here, we have everything we need."

She finally met his eyes and started to smile, but then she turned abruptly in her seat. "We did get all the kids, right?"

He sighed. Cute, but a little scary too. "Yeah, last time I checked they were all there. It's not like they can just walk off a moving RV."

He glanced back through the rearview mirror. Mike and Eleven were sitting hand in hand, their heads so close together they were almost touching. Mike whispered something in Eleven's ear, and she giggled softly. Ohh, yeah. He would definitely have to keep an eye on that situation.

Dustin and Will sat across from the pair, talking heatedly. Knowing those two, the topic was probably either Dungeons and Dragons or something about electro-quantum-sciencey-thingamajigs. Either way he would have about as much chance of following their conversation as Nancy's baby sister Holly.

And then there was Lucas and Max—sitting together in the far back of the camper on a cushioned bench. Max wore dark-tinted glasses that shielded her eyes from the sun. The doctors had managed to perform a surgery that restored most of her sight, but she had been ordered to wear the glasses while her eyes healed. Lucas was leaning over her with the concerned, attentive expression that seemed perpetually fixed on his face these days.

He was hopeful that this trip would be exactly what those two needed. Heck, he hoped it would be what all of them needed. They had been through hell and back over the last few years. It was finally over, but some scars—both seen and unseen—wouldn't go away so easily. It had taken convincing and a lot of charming on his part, but he firmly believed that a good old-fashioned summer trip would be good for them. They needed to remember what it felt like to relax, have fun, and just be kids again.

"You ok?" Nancy's quiet voice interrupted his thoughts.

He glanced at her with a small smile. "Yeah. Just thinking."

She covered her mouth with her hand, feigning surprise. "Steve Harrington, thinking? Do tell."

He rolled his eyes. "I do think, you know. Sometimes." He glanced sideways at her. "It's just crazy to think how much has changed since the last time we were all in a camper like this."

Her expression grew solemn, and he knew that she was remembering that day just like he was.

"Also," he continued in a flat voice, "I think I might be a prophet."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"I mean, look around"—he gestured with one hand—"all of this is pretty much my dream come to life."

She snorted a laugh. "I can think of a few differences."

"Ok," he shrugged, "so the kids are a little different from what I was envisioning, but at least I got the number right. And even you have to admit that I was dead on about the most important part."

He reached over to caress her cheek, but she swatted his hand away playfully. "Keep your hands on the steering wheel and your eyes on the road, Steve Harrington."

He grinned and saluted sharply. "Yes, ma'am." He loved it when she played hard-to-get.

"Hey, Steve?" Dustin called. "Is there anything to eat in here?"

Steve looked back at him in disbelief. "You're hungry already? We just got on the road like five minutes ago."

"That's it!" Nancy said.

"What?" Dustin asked eagerly. "You found something to eat?"

"No, I remembered. I forgot to pack the snack bag."

From Dustin's groan you wouldn't quite have thought the world was ending, but it was a close thing. Steve smiled to himself, thumbs drumming the steering wheel contentedly. He was sure that this was exactly what they needed. After all, nothing beat a good old-fashioned summer road trip.

Author's Note 2: Thanks for reading! I'm sorry it's so short, but the next chapter will be more about the road trip, and I promise that one will be longer. Thanks again, and please take the time to leave a review to let me know what you think!