Steve couldn't keep track of time. Once he got off the phone with whoever was at the police station, he'd gone back to sitting next to Billy on the floor. He pressed his shoulder against the other boy's, feeling like any bit of warmth left in his body was leeching out with every bloody drip from his lip. He couldn't stop staring at Neil's body, hoping in equal measures that the man would keep breathing and also never move again. It was a weird combination.

"Here," Susan mumbled, before tossing a towel into his lap. Steve looked at it for a few seconds in confusion, before picking it up and turning toward Billy. He was staring down at his hands and seemed to be lost in his own world, so Steve folded the towel and started dabbing it against the bloody wounds. Billy flinched a little, but didn't protest. He looked as close to tears as Steve had ever seen him, but was forcing them to stay put. The sight almost did Steve in, but he had to stay in control.

"I think that was for you," Max muttered from Billy's other side, pointing at Steve's face. He poked his lip with his tongue, tasting the fresh blood that didn't seem to want to stop flowing.

"I'm fine," Steve said blankly. This wasn't his family falling apart. For him, this was nothing more than another fight he'd gotten into.

"None of us are fine, Steve," Max sighed. He was about to demand she tell him what was wrong, expecting some hidden injury he didn't know about, when the sound of screeching tires broke the calm air. Even though the threat was still lying unconscious in front of them, Steve forced himself up, putting himself between his friends and the door. Whoever this was was going to have to go through him.

"Shit." Steve almost passed out in relief seeing Hopper burst through the door. Hopper could be trusted. Hopper would take care of them. "What the hell happened here, Harrington?"

"Nothing good," Steve whispered, sniffling a little. He'd blame that on the punches to the face. He was pretty sure his nose wasn't broken, but his whole face kind of hurt. And his chest. And his head.

"Shit," Hopper said again, walking over and grabbing him by the arm so he could turn him and look him over. It felt like the night he and Billy fought. So much had changed, but some things stayed the same. Whenever there was trouble, expect Steve to come out of it battered and bloody.

"You should see the other guy," Steve joked weakly.

"I'm pretty sure I already have," Hopper huffed, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressing it up against Steve's lip. He hissed at the sting and tried to pull away, but Hopper kept his hold on him. "Put pressure on that and sit down before you keel over." Hopper dragged him over to the couch and dropped him down onto it. Steve had to admit that it was a lot more comfortable than the floor and the thought of falling asleep was very enticing. But there was no way that he would get away with that right now.

"I don't keel," Steve argued, just for the sake of it.

"Sure you don't," Hopper snorted, before stepping over to check on Neil. Was it too much to ask that the man somehow wake up with irreversible amnesia and forget how much of an asshole he was? It wouldn't erase the things he'd done, but maybe they'd be able to mold him into a better person. Any other scenario wouldn't have much of a happy ending for anyone.

"Is he okay?" Steve asked, even though Hopper wasn't a doctor, as far as he knew. But he might've had experience in these situations.

"He's unconscious, but I don't see anything that says he won't wake up eventually. Medics are on the way to take care of it," Hopper sighed, looking up at him. "He the one that did this?" Steve glanced around the room, waiting to see if anyone else would answer. Billy was still in a daze and Max shouldn't have to be put in that position at her age. She had already dealt with too much, but Steve was determined to make it as easy on her as possible. Susan was watching on in silence, flicking her eyes between her husband and the floor. This was her chance to speak the truth about what her household was like and break free from it all, but she didn't seem like she was in a place to take advantage of it. But Steve wasn't going to let the truth hide in the shadows anymore.

"Yeah, he is," Steve confirmed, bracing himself. It felt like saying the words out loud should've had a bigger effect. Like Neil would jump back up and resume his rampage. Or Susan would burst into tears and cry out everything that had gone on. But Hopper just nodded in response and the room lapsed back into silence. After the few minutes of chaos earlier, it felt wrong for things to be so quiet.

"I'm gonna need statements from everyone, but that can wait until after you've been examined at the hospital."

"Hospital? I don't need a hospital." Billy should probably get checked out and maybe Susan, even though he didn't see more than a bruise, but Steve didn't go to hospitals. He took his hits, then walked it off. A hospital trip would be too much of a hassle.

"It's non-negotiable," Hopper insisted, stepping over to where Billy and Max were still sitting against the wall. "You two. Up."

"Hopper, maybe-"

"Now," Hopper said, reaching down to grab Billy's arm. The second he made contact, Billy came back to life. He jumped up, tensed for another fight. Steve lurched off the couch, needing to get between them before Billy did anything bad. He knew Billy wasn't in his right mind, but hitting a cop was usually a bad call.

Unfortunately, sitting down for those few minutes had sucked away some of his adrenaline and Steve felt like the ground was shifting beneath his feet as soon as he was vertical. Once again, he was headed to the floor. But somehow, a pair of strong arms stopped his fall. Some things really did stay the same.

"Always saving me," Steve groaned as Billy flopped him back onto the couch. A lot less gently than Hopper had, but that wasn't surprising. Billy sat down beside him, smushing him up against one of the arms. There was a lot more room for them to have their own space, but Steve wasn't going to complain. Max got up and joined them, shooting Hopper a glare as she passed him.

"I'm not here to hurt anybody," Hopper said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm here to help."

"I think we need a minute," Steve said, trying to lower the tension in the room. Steve trusted Hopper, but Billy didn't really have a reason to. And the only time Hopper ever saw Billy was while Steve had a face covered in bruises. They'd have to go out to lunch together or something.

They got their brief reprieve when the paramedics came, spouting medical jargon back and forth between each other. Steve didn't know half of the words they were saying, but traumatic brain injury didn't sound good. He glanced over at Billy, who was watching impassively. It was kind of scary seeing him flip between furious and blank so quickly, but Steve wasn't scared for himself. For some reason, he was confident that Billy wouldn't hurt any of them. Steve was scared for Billy.

"Sir, can I check your face?" one of the EMTs asked, kneeling in front of him. Steve kind of felt like kicking him, but brushed that thought away. He didn't want to be touched right now, but he'd dealt with enough violence to last a lifetime.

"No, thank you," Steve said softly. The EMT looked at him quizzically, before glancing back toward Hopper.

"I'll be taking them to the hospital," Hopper said, gesturing that it was okay for the man to leave with his partner. They wheeled Neil out and for a second it looked like Susan was going to follow after them, but Max shot her a scathing look and she stayed where she was. Steve wasn't used to seeing Max direct so much anger toward her mother, but everyone's nerves were frayed.

"I still don't think I need a hospital," Steve argued weakly. Would they call his parents? Obviously no one would answer at the house, but what if they somehow got ahold of them? Would they even care? Steve didn't really want to find out.

"Are you still bleeding?" Hopper questioned. Steve moved the cloth from his lip, feeling more blood well up now that the pressure was gone.

"Not that bad," Steve lied, even though Hopper was staring right at him.

"You're going."

"But-"

"There needs to be an official report made," Hopper said, lowering his tone a bit.

"Oh." Steve was so used to everything being kept as quiet as possible, by threat of the government. Being honest felt strange. Telling other people's secrets felt wrong. Even if he'd gotten caught up in it, this was not his story to tell.

"Do you think we could go to my car now?" Hopper asked, addressing everyone. That felt so far away and sitting was so nice, but getting out of this house also felt like a good idea. The little puddle of blood that Neil left behind was just there, staring at him. A stain, just like the man it came from.

"Yeah, okay," Steve sighed, gearing himself up to walk to the car without falling over.

"Need a hand?" Hopper questioned.

"Probably," Steve admitted. He held up his arm for Hopper to take, but Billy grabbed it before he could, pulling them both up off the couch easily. "Hey, careful. Don't hurt yourself helping me."

"It's my fault you're hurt in the first place," Billy muttered, speaking for the first time since the fight.

"That's not true," Steve argued.

"It was my father who did it!"

"Yeah, not you. He made his own choices and I made mine."

"Steve-"

"It was my fault!" Max said suddenly, standing with her arms crossed over her chest as she stood away from everyone. Steve was about to assure her that radioing for him was a good idea and he didn't blame her when she spoke again. "I needed shoes."

"What?" Steve asked in confusion.

"My mom took me shopping and she bought me new shoes. Neil found out and he went crazy."

"Shoes?" Steve whispered incredulously. That couldn't have been the trigger because it was just so ridiculous. There would never have been a good reason for Neil to attack his family, but shoes? It wasn't like they couldn't afford them. If Neil had money to get sloshed on booze, he had enough money to provide the bare necessities. Steve didn't know why, out of everything that had happened, that was the thing that made him want to burst into tears.

They all wordlessly shuffled to Hopper's car, cramming into the back seat. Susan sat in the front, staring out the window without acknowledging her kids once. Steve wanted to shake her, to tell her she needed to put her own trauma aside and step up for her kids. He knew it wasn't easy, but that was her job as the adult. Steve had been doing it, hadn't he?

When they got to the hospital, they were all split up. Max got to go with her mom, but Billy and Steve had to go to separate exam rooms. The staff was talking around him, saying stuff about stitches and scans, but Steve tuned them out. He wanted to stick with Billy, since the other boy was still so on edge. But all he could do was squeeze his arm briefly before they were pulled away from each other and promise him that everything would be okay. The words felt hollow, even to himself.

An hour later, Steve was sitting on a bed, holding an ice pack to his throbbing lip. It had taken two stitches to close the wound, but the doctor assured him that it wouldn't scar. Steve didn't care either way. In addition to his two broken ribs and minor concussion, it didn't seem that important. All Steve wanted was to get Billy and Max and leave. He hadn't gotten any updates on them and he was antsy. Steve was just about to get up to look for them when the door to his room opened and Hopper walked in.

"How are you doing?" Hopper asked, leaning against the wall tiredly.

"I'm fine," Steve said quickly, wanting to get to what was more important. "How are Billy and Max?"

"Max is fine. She didn't have a scratch on her. They are still working on Billy. His throat was a little swollen and they want to make sure his airway isn't affected," Hopper informed him.

"His dad was choking him," Steve said shakily, running a hand across his own throat. How could someone try to squeeze the life out of a person they were supposed to love? It didn't make sense. Why did people have families if they weren't going to take care of them? Didn't they know how lucky they were? If Steve had someone, he would cherish them and never let them feel unwanted.

"Hey, it's okay," Hopped said softly, walking over to set his hand on his shoulder. Steve was confused for a second, until he realized he'd started crying at some point. He ducked his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry," Steve whispered, willing himself to toughen up. This wasn't his mess to cry about. He was there to be helpful, not blubber away like he was the one struggling. Billy and Max were gonna need him more than ever, so he needed to get over himself.

"You've known what was going on since the night El closed the gate."

"Yeah."

"And you've been helping them ever since."

"I've been trying. Not sure it's enough."

"It was never your responsibility." But Steve had made it his responsibility. The moment he'd found out, he'd put himself in the position to be the one who would always be there for them. But he'd failed. He should've known that something bad would happen and stuck around. Instead, he was laying in bed while Max and Billy were being abused over a pair of shoes.

"Max!" Steve yelled suddenly, scrambling to get off the hospital bed. Hopper held him back as Steve pushed against him. "I have to go see Max."

"She's fine. I told you she wasn't hurt."

"But I have to talk to her. I have to tell her this wasn't her fault."

"What are you-"

"She said it was her fault because of the shoes and I didn't tell her it wasn't. I have to tell her it wasn't!" Steve exclaimed, still trying to get out of Hopper's grasp. The man was too strong and Steve was in too much pain, but he couldn't stop trying.

"Max knows it wasn't her fault."

"But she needs to hear it! Hearing it matters!" Steve insisted.

"And what is it you need to hear, Steve?" Hopper asked solemnly. Steve froze, feeling his heart clench in his chest. Anything positive he ever heard was about things that didn't matter, like some sport or his hair. But it was never about him as a person. And maybe he didn't deserve it, since he hadn't always been the best guy, but he was trying. Maybe it would never be enough.

"Nothing."

"Steve, you're a good kid. I'm proud of you." That did Steve in. He tipped forward, sobbing helplessly into Hopper's chest. The older man wrapped his arms around his back, giving Steve the first hug he'd received in a long time. He felt childish and weak, but he didn't care. Steve hadn't realized how much he needed this moment to break down. He'd been shoving every feeling he had aside, focusing on what needed to be done for Billy and Max. But he was still human and seeing other people hurt, hurt him.

Hopper rubbed his back, letting Steve take as long as he needed. He would let everything out now, then steel back up so he could focus on what was next for Billy and Max. Just because Neil's secret was out, didn't mean that things would be smooth sailing from now on. Steve really hoped the hard part was over. Unfortunately, life had other plans.