They wouldn't let Robin or Dustin in with Steve at first, but Hopper pulled some strings to allow them all back. Steve had some kind of cooling blanket and an IV, and looked a little more lucid than when the kids left him in the hands of the nurses. He looked much worse than when Hopper had last seen him, though.
"Damn it, kid, we have to stop ending up here."
"Hello to you too," Steve said. Robin was grateful to hear his usual snark.
"Steve," Dustin said, "you're alive!"
"Of course I'm alive."
"How are you feeling?" Robin asked.
"Spinny."
She said, "I'll take that over a volcano."
"Did I pass out?"
"No," Dustin said, "not exactly."
"No, your brain just melted and turned you into a zombie," Robin supplied.
"Hmm. The details are kind of hazy."
Hopper took up residence in one of the visitor's chairs, content to let the kids hash this out for now. As long as the medicine was working like it was supposed to, that was all he cared about.
Robin put her hands on her hips. "I'll bet they're a little hazy. We literally dragged your ass here."
Steve looked at the ceiling. "My parents are going to be pissed."
"Don't worry about that right now," said Hopper. "Just focus on getting better."
When it started to get late, he instructed Robin and Dustin to go home and get some sleep. Dustin complained, but Robin eventually convinced him to let her drive him so they could all get some rest.
Hopper had snuck out to call Joyce for an update and see how El was doing while the kids said their goodbyes. Although the hospital would release Steve into his own care since he was an adult, Hopper knew there was no way he was letting that fly. He and Joyce agreed that he would drop off Steve at her house when he came to get El. They both knew the boy could hardly be trusted to take care of himself.
Once his fever had dropped to manageable levels (101, which Hopper still felt was too high), they discharged him into Hopper's care, with a prescription for antibiotics. Joyce had been right about the ear infection.
It was almost eleven at night when Hopper rolled up to the Byer's residence. He was expecting Steve to put up a fight about not needing to be taken care of, but he was quiet the entire drive. He just unbuckled his seatbelt and headed for the front door like he had been expecting this. Although, with his inner ear still inflamed, his vertigo was still in full swing, and sent him collapsing onto the ground opposite the car. He spat out a mouthful of grass.
Hopper helped him up once again and guided him into the house, where he deposited him back on the couch.
Max and El were both there now as well, playing some kind of card game with the boys. "Are you drunk?" Max asked as she watched Steve stumble.
"Oh, completely wasted, Maxine," Steve said sarcastically, flashing his hospital bracelet.
"You're sick," El stated simply.
"Yeah."
Joyce entered then, and asked the kids to pack up their card game. The boys were originally planning to have a sleepover here, but since plans had changed, they were moving the party to Mike's house. Nancy would be driving them back there. Max would be staying over with El at Hopper's cabin.
That left Joyce, Jonathan, and Steve.
"So what happened, man?" Jonathan asked while Joyce was fetching Steve a glass of water.
"I don't know. I guess my fever spiked."
"You still look awful."
"Thanks."
"It seems like this kind of stuff happens to you a lot. Ending up in the hospital, I mean."
"At least it's not another concussion." He'd had more than his fair share of those, and prayed he'd never get another.
Jonathan continued, "I thought only little kids got ear infections."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"No, I just mean. I just didn't know it could happen. That's all. Will used to get them a lot, when he was in preschool."
Joyce set the glass of water on the table, which still held Steve's tea mug from yesterday. "Here you go, sweetie."
"Thanks."
"You poor thing, you're having a rough weekend, huh?"
"Yeah, not my ideal way to spend a Sunday." Steve had tomorrow and Tuesday off, at least. Or, he was supposed to before Robin messed with the shifts. He wasn't sure anymore, but was pretty confident spending a night in the hospital could at least buy him the day off tomorrow.
"Will said you could have his room for the night, if you want," Joyce said. "I made up the bed with clean sheets."
As weird as it felt sleeping in someone else's bed, he really didn't think he could take much more sleeping on couches. Joyce headed to the linen closet for an extra blanket, while Jonathan led Steve to Will's room. Max hadn't been too far off base, it really was like watching a drunk person stumble around. Jonathan watched, confused. No one had told him to expect this. "Wow, you really are-oh-okay-" He reached out just in time to prevent Steve from falling face first. "Are you going to be okay?" He half felt like he and his mom should take shifts watching out for Steve if he was like this.
Why couldn't things ever be simple for Steve? "Yeah, just doing my best here."
Jonathan held his arm tightly until Steve was safely laying down on the bed. "What was that?"
Steve shook his head and swallowed. "I don't know. Everything's moving."
Jonathan felt a familiar flash of anger, one usually directed at Lonny. Where the hell were Steve's parents? Why were they never around when he needed them? At least Jonathan had his mom and Will.
He tossed the comforter over Steve, who grabbed it and curled into it. When Joyce brought the throw blanket, he wrapped that around himself too.
"Good night, Steve," Joyce said. "You know where we are if you need us."
