Hey! I found myself wanting more of Violet and Steve post Upside Down! They may not end up in chronological order but if there's a moment you'd like written leave a review!
Most of these are just blurbs that I thought I would like to have seen after I went back and reread Nightmares of Babysitting.
I also included a joke in here that wouldn't have been accurate for the time period but it made me giggle. So there.
I do not own Stranger Things
June 1986
It had been a week since the wedding, Steve and Violet hadn't gone far for the honeymoon; opting for a small hotel in a neighboring town for the week. They'd done more shopping than Steve had initially intended when planning the honeymoon, but the lure of being able to buy baby things grew too strong for the both of them. They hadn't gotten any furniture but they'd bought some cute unisex clothes, a few books about pregnancy and babies, as well as a stuffed green elephant that Steve refused to leave in the store.
When the newlyweds arrived home they found Dustin sitting on the porch with a grin on his face as he waited for them. "Shouldn't you still be at Lucas's?" Violet asks with a smirk "Or were you just painfully excited to have us home?"
"I've got great news!" Dustin grins at them "Will is moving back to Hawkins!"
Steve gets their bags from the trunk "Guess we'll need to go house hunting soon baby" He pecks her on the cheek and swerves away when she tries to grab the bags from him. "Dustin get the rest?" He taps his foot against the younger boy as he passes
"Why can't Violet?" He complains lightly, although he was already getting up "She's not allowed to pick up heavy things!"
"What did you two- You know what, I don't wanna know. I'll just assume he thinks you're weak and girlie" He shrugs off his embarrassment and grabs the rest of the bags from the trunk. She goes to grab a bag from him but he too swerves "I don't need your husband on my case this early" He grins toothily, earning a playful glare from her. She follows the boys inside and finds the giant stack of wedding gifts that seemed to have multiplied since they left. "What is all of this?"
"Oh, Robin's been telling the whole town about the wedding and people just kinda showed up with stuff I guess." Dustin dumped their bags onto the floor of their bedroom. "I am not opening all those by myself." Violet groans, pulling Steve to her dramatically
"And what do you propose Mrs. Harrington?"
She giggles slightly at his new favorite pet name, "We invite all our friends over for a movie and wedding presents?"
He sighs theatrically before nodding "I'll pick up a movie and the kids. You call Eddie and Chrissy?"
Later that Evening
Steve sat on the floor, leaning against Violet's knees as they slowly opened the presents under the watchful eye of the party. "Oooh! Hopper got us a cute little hand mixer!" She sets it down next to her husband before moving on to a present that was really obviously not from a normal member of society. It was wrapped in black wrapping paper and topped with a crude skull and crossbones "Oh I wonder who this is from" Violet smirks at the metal head sitting on an easy chair across from her who's smirking behind his hair. "Open it up Princess"
She tears the paper off to reveal the biggest box of condoms she'd ever seen in her life. "Eddie!" She half screams, trying to hide the box from the younger members of the group, Dustin in particular as he's blushing up a storm. Billy's loud cackle could be heard all the way from the kitchen.
Eddie however is roaring with laughter at her reaction "Come on Princess, don't act like you two won't use those up in a month"
"Actually we don't need to" Steve looks up from the box she'd practically thrown at him with a smug smile on his face.
"Trying to get pregnant?" Chrissy asks a little incredulously from her spot on the side of Eddie's chair.
"Nope. I already succeeded" He grins at the group as they explode into a shower of talking as Violet hits his shoulder "That's how you wanted to tell them?!" She hisses in his ear as Dustin stares at the pair of them in complete shock. The smirk had dropped from Eddie's face for a look of complete giddiness. "You're already cooking a little metalhead in there?!"
"No! She's cooking a little basketball player!" Lucas buts in, slapping Steve on the shoulder.
"D&D Player!" Mike interjects with a grin
"Skater!" Max squeals from the other side of the room, scaring the hell out of Mike who was sitting on the floor near her.
"You're all nuts. She's got my little nugget in there. And they're too young for all of that." Steve leans back against her legs, looking up at her with an almost dreamy smile.
"Move." Robin buts Lucas out of the seat next to Violet and envelops the woman into a hard hug "I'm an AUNTIE" She starts to ramble about all the things they'd have to do with a baby on the way, Steve shaking his head and chuckling softly at Robin's antics and turning his head to the still silent Henderson.
"You ok Dustin?"
"I'm...I'm going to be an Uncle?" He says quietly, almost like he was in awe
"Yep...is that ok?" Steve asks tentatively, a tension falling over the group as Dustin waited to answer.
He looks unsure for a moment, letting his eyes shift over all of his friends nervously before mumbling "I just-...it's weird" His mouth stretches into a small smile before looking to the rest of the group "Isn't it?"
"Not really, Steve's already a dad and Violet acts like everyone's mother constantly" Mike snarks but with a smile; Violet shot him a playful glare although she knew he didn't mean it in a bad way.
Eddie threw his hands up in the air and looks at Chrissy reproachfully "And you said a Hellfire onsie was a bad wedding gift!"
She blushes and pushes his shoulder playfully "I didn't know!" Eddie turns to the couple "Well you're getting one for the baby bath...or is it baby shower?" He looks at Chrissy who nods, face in her hand as she shakes her head at her boyfriend as he enthused about getting the baby into Metallica in the womb.
"How far along are you?" Chrissy asks, roughing up her boyfriends hair as she speaks.
"I'm still really early, only like 11 weeks-"
"11?!" Eddie's voice cuts through the room like a knife. He starts counting on his fingers looking concerned before he rounds on her, sitting up in the chair and nearly knocking Chrissy off. "And just where were we just 7 weeks ago Princess?"
The room turns from Eddie to Violet who's biting her lip, "It's not like I knew!" she hisses as she feels Steve stiffen by her legs. He turns to her "I told you that you shouldn't have gone in there."
"And everything turned out fine!"
"You were pregnant when that bat strangled-" Dustin started but she silenced him with a scowl. "I did not know that I was pregnant at the time. And Mike was there...and if I hadn't been there Billy probably wouldn't have stepped in and helped. Meaning you'd all be dead" She's glaring at the group at large now but Billy himself interrupts her intimidation from his place leaning over the kitchen counter behind them, beer in hand. "Harrington, if she wasn't a handful before...hormones will make sure of it now."
There were muffled snickers around the room as the youngest of them tried to control their laughter as Steve turned to Billy "I'll still take it Hargrove, you may hunt milfs, but I made one" Violet smacks him upside the head without even thinking, just on reflex as the party explodes with laughter including Billy. The room slowly died back down into chatter concerning anything but Steve's terrible joke. He'd grinned at her, rubbing his ear that she'd smacked with that cheeky air he had.
"You're awful you know that?" She whispers
"But you love me." She huffs but gives him a half concealed smile before returning her attention to Robin who'd begun her baby fueled rambling again.
Violet played with Steve's hair idly, listening to Robin's chatter in her ear over a theme for the nursery grinning as she overheard the various bits of excitement for the newest member of the party.
Moving
Steve had thrown himself into looking for a new place for the Harrington-Henderson family as the day the Byers would be returning home from Cali. Violet and Dustin had told him they'd be just as happy in an apartment but Steve Harrington had put his foot down. He was looking to buy despite Violet's severe protests against it.
"Steve we can't afford the payments for a house" She groaned quietly, not wanting to wake Dustin who was sleeping just down the hall.
He sighs and rifles through the papers littering the table. "Well if we drop my school-"
"No. We are not doing that. You've only got a little while longer before you get your certification and you'll be able to get out of Family Video...you just have to be patient Stevie" She puts a hand on his, trying to give him a reassuring smile but he just runs a hand through his hair again. "I don't really have time to be patient with nugget number 7 on the way baby."
"Well good for you that I'm not due till January. We have time to save up, I'm out of school so I can get a job-"
"You shouldn't have to get a job because I can't support us!" His voice is rising now and she listens for movement from her brothers room. "Steve. You're not even 20 and you've got a pregnant wife and a teenager in the house, how many other guys your age have been supporting that? Not one that I know of. It's admirable that you want to support us so badly but you don't need to. I won't get a job doing physical labor...I'll get a little desk job that pays the bills and puts money in the savings." She stands up and takes his face into her hands gently "You're so good to us baby, but you don't need to carry it all"
He leans into her touch, allowing his exhaustion to show. "I love you Vi"
"I love you too dingus. Now will you settle on an apartment for now? So we can save up for a house?" he nods pulling her close so he could press his lips to her still mostly flat stomach.
"I can't wait to see this" He mumbles into the fabric of the shirt she'd stolen from him.
"They'll be pretty cute, Steve the hair Harrington being their daddy" She giggled
"I meant seeing you pregnant" He grins up at her and chuckles lightly at her surprised look "I think you'll look beautiful"
"Like a whale." She groans
"Nope, a gorgeous mom to be" He grins "Besides it's almost better than a wedding ring."
"WHAT?" She looks down at him incredulously "I married you and me being fat-"
"Pregnant, what better way to show off you're all mine than by showing off that you let me get you pregnant?" She groans and he presses another kiss to her abdomen. "Our kid has no chance of being sane" She mumbles to herself, pulling a guffaw from her husband.
A week and a half later
Once she'd gotten Steve off the idea of buying a place they'd found a small cabin for rent on the outskirts of Hawkins and had moved in fairly quickly...or as quickly as they could with Dustin and Steve steadfastly refusing to let her help.
"Honestly Dustin I am barely 12 weeks, I can carry a damned box of towels" She huffs as he yanks the box from her grip. He gives her a hard look "That's my niece or nephew in there! Precious cargo lady!"
She rolls her eyes and leans against the moving van as he goes in. Once he's inside she heads right back into the truck and picks up another box, this one marked Steve's Clothes she tested it, making sure it wasn't too heavy and when she was satisfied she picked it up and started walking it into the cabin, skirting around the kitchen where she could hear Dustin telling Steve he'd go get the box with the dishes next. She speeds up down the hall and into the master bedroom where she sets the box on the bed, beginning to unpack it.
"Busted" Eddie's voice scared her as he passed the room, carrying Dustin's desk chair. She turns and gives him a pouty face "Don't tell?"
"You got it Princess, but I will if I see you go back out to that fucking van. No stressing the little metal head!" He grins goofily before heading down the hallway with Chrissy in his wake shaking her head as she laughed, carrying a box of Dustin's D&D stuff. Violet huffed and continues organizing Steve's clothes into their dresser. Once the van was empty Nancy and Robin left to return it to the rental place as the rest of the party began to unpack and she heard Steve come into the room behind her as she unpacked a bag of clothes Robin had brought in.
"Still mad at me?" He asks, wrapping his arms around her from behind; allowing his hands to rest on her just starting to show bump.
"You, Dustin, and Eddie are all nuts." She scoffs, still folding a shirt of hers.
"We're just worried-"
"I'm fine. The nugget is fine" She turns in his arms, dropping the shirt on the dresser "Are you three going to be like this until they're born?"
He looks at her blankly for a moment before nodding "Probably." She sighs and rests her forehead on his chest "I love you but you're going to drive me insane."
He presses a kiss to her hair as he pulls her closer "I just want to keep you both safe..."
"Ever the knight in shining armor."
July 1986
Jonathan had gotten a job at the local paper, meaning he spent a little time in the station a couple times a week, seeking out any juicy stories from Hopper. This meant that every once in a while he'd treat his favorite foster sister to lunch, mostly consisting of photography talk or the new baby thing Violet was currently obsessed with. "So, you know that guy I told you about from Cali?" Jonathan asks through a mouthful of chicken fried steak.
"Argyle right? I remember you mentioning him" Violet shrugs, poking her fork at the side of broccoli she'd ordered in an effort to be healthy...although she hadn't touched it.
Jonathan rolls his eyes and pushes his plate of fries a little closer and gestures to it with a smirk "Baby Harrington wants fries...anyway, Argyle's gonna visit soon. He's been asking about the party...you know since all the crap with that agent dude..." His smirk falls and his voice is in a low whisper, eyes shifting over the nearly empty diner.
Violet nods as she breaks down and takes one of his fries. "Why didn't he come sooner?" She asks, changing the subject.
Jonathan shrugs and takes another bite of his steak before answering "He got in a shit ton of trouble for having the pizza van over state lines so he's been dealing with that stuff...but it seems like it's blown over since then...would you and Steve want to meet him?"
"Yeah of course, he sounds really nice...he's just not allowed to spark up while I'm in the area..." She gestures to her bump with a small smile "Will he be cool with that?"
Jonathan nods, changing the subject to a new lense he'd gotten for his camera. She smiled and nodded along; despite knowing just about nothing that he was talking about. It would be weeks before the Californian man was brought up again, although it wouldn't be by Jonathan. Violet was walking through the new and improved Starcourt mall with her new favorite shopping partner, Eddie. She'd dragged him along to pick up a new pair of shoes for herself as the pregnancy had started to make her feet swell up a little. She knew if she brought Steve he'd fuss over her and make her sit down every ten minutes, if she brought Dustin he'd definitely get distracted and go on some tangent for who knows how long, and if she brought Chrissy she knew she'd be in the mall for hours.
"Princess how hard is it to find a pair of sneakers?" Eddie groaned as she tried on the next pair of flats she'd picked up
"Eddie, I need something work appropriate"
"What's inappropriate about sneakers?" Eddie looked dumbfounded at her answer. Violet rolled her eyes and winced as the new pair pinched her toes worse than the last pair. "They're too casual"
Eddie scoffs but takes the rejected shoe box and puts it haphazardly back on the shelf. "Can we at least go eat after this? I'm fucking starving"
Violet perks up a little at that as she pulls on a pair of grey flats that didn't feel so bad. She takes a tentative few steps in them as she answers "Yes please! I've been wanting pizza for fucking days but...but Steve always brings the wrong one home." She mutters the second part, still wondering what the hell was wrong with what he'd brought home.
"What do you mean? You making him guess what you want?" Eddie guffaws, drawing irritated looks from two elderly ladies nearby.
"No" She shoots him a look as she returns the grey shoes to their box and picks it up "I...I don't know what I want on it. It's all too...too greasy...or meaty...or salty." She begins her trek to the cashier's desk as she continues "I don't know what I want on it..."
Out of nowhere a voice scared the absolute shit out of her "Have you tried pineapple man?" She turned to find a man dressed in wildly colored pants, a long sleeved pastel shirt, and a Hawaiian print shirt over top of that and hair longer than hers. Startled, she blinks at him "No?"
"It's killer dude." He grins and holds out a hand "Name's Argyle, say do you know where the Scoops Ahoy is in this place?" He asks gesturing vaguely to the store around them. Violet can't help but giggle slightly "You're Jonathan's friend right?"
His brown eyes light up in recognition and he grins "Yeah! You're his pregnant sister-friend right?!"
She giggles again "I go by Violet, but yes. So pineapple on pizza?" She can feel Eddie's gaze on them and can tell he's feeling a little out of his element with not being the center of attention. Argyle's grin is infectious though as he starts going on about how people needed to open their minds to new things, and that this was just one example of something awesome being shoved off as weird.
"You've convinced me! We'll have to give it a go" She looks to Eddie who's looking at her incredulously "Really? Pineapple?!"
"That right there man, you can't be so straight laced" Argyle gestures towards Eddie with his eyebrows raised at Violet, making her laugh out loud, "Yep, Eddie's totally uptight, real traditionalist" She smirks "And the scoops is outside the department store, on the left. Look for the people in Sailor Suits." She gives him a little wave "Say hi to Jon for me! OH! And tell him to bring you, Will, and El over tonight, I'm making Lasagna."
"Right on!" Argyle gives the both of you a wave before going on his merry way out of the store. "He was interesting"
"Interesting...he's making me eat fruit on pizza Princess, he's a jerk" Eddie groans theatrically, throwing his arms in the air in mock dispair as she rolls her eyes, leaving him to go and pay for the shoes in her hands.
September 1986
Violet sighed tiredly as she looked at the price tag on a pale yellow maternity dress, her clothes were all slowly becoming too tight for her growing belly. The sweater she wore right then was one of Steve's old ones, it was thankfully looser but it still showed off her bump for all to see. She looked around the department store, wondering just where she'd lost Dustin and Steve. She grabbed the dress and folded it over her arm before going to look for them. She briefly wondered if they'd left the department store to look around the newly rebuilt mall but dismissed it as Steve hadn't wanted her to be alone in the shops in the first place. Not after what happened last time they were all in a mall...She passed by the rest of the maternity section in her search for her two boys, turning toward the shoe section. Perhaps Steve had dragged Dustin to look at new shoes since the teen's current favorite pair of sneakers were looking rattier than either of them liked. She was about to turn down the first isle of the shoe section when a hand gripped her shoulder sharply.
She turned to find the bright blonde head of Rosemary Harrington; on her crimson lips she wore a tight smile that didn't reach her cold blue eyes. "Miss Henderson, it's been too long!" Her blood red nails, stung as she tightened her grip.
Violet drew herself to her full height under the predatory gaze of the older woman "That would be Mrs. Harrington now." Violet quipped, bringing her left hand up to their eye level to show the glittering opal ring from Steve's grandmother along with a thin silver wedding band. "Steve and I got married in June. We just wanted to keep it small, just close family and friends"
Rosemary stiffens and turns her nose up at the ring "Well a shotgun wedding was to be expected, you two were living in sin after all" Her cold voice carries the insult through the air, catching the attention of passersby.
"Actually mother-" Steve had suddenly appeared beside her, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her subtly out of his mother's grip. "Violet and I got married because we wanted to start trying right away. We think the date goes back to our honeymoon, right baby?" He turns to Violet, affectionately rubbing his nose against hers with a cheeky grin. She blushes but nods at him with a matching smile. Steve turns his gaze back to his mother, the sweet glint in his eye vanishing as chocolate met ice. "Is there a reason for my pregnant wife being harassed?"
Rosemary narrows her eyes at her son, her lips pressing into a thin red line before she answers sharply "I just wanted to speak to the woman carrying my grandchild. I don't think that's harassment Steven."
Steve tightens his grip around her middle "You don't have a grandchild." Violet puts her hand over his that has slid protectively over her bump "I think if you want grandkids, you should have another child. Let them give you some in a couple decades" He begins steering Violet down the shoe isle as his mother splutters behind them but when he feels her purse hit his back he gently pushes Violet in front of him towards where Dustin has been sitting, one shoe off, and a pair of new ones in his hands. "You two should probably go, I'll handle this. I'll meet you at Scoops ok?"
Dustin hurriedly nods and pulls his shoes back on as the squalling of Steve's mother began to fill the department store. Once the teen has his shoes on he takes the dress from Violet's arm and lays it on the bench before pulling her out. Steve's mother calling the both of them all sorts of names as they slipped out through the next row of shoes.
An hour or so passes before the two see Steve approaching Scoops. Violet winces as she takes in the single long scratch down his right cheek and the red mark where he'd been hit in the jaw. "What the hell happened?" Dustin asked, looking a little worried.
Steve sighed, taking a seat in the booth next to Violet and letting her fuss over his face. "I told her that if you two were dragging me down then she was dragging me to hell...she didn't love that...so she started hitting me. And that's when security got there. He heard most of it, so when she started hitting me he pulled her off and told her if she didn't calm down she'd be arrested...and she smacked the shit out of him. Safe to say...the pie to the face was funny Vi, but seeing her in handcuffs was priceless" He grins, despite the angry red scratch from his mother's nail being pulled as he did. Violet smirked a little and held up a small ice water she'd gotten from a nearby kiosk against his jaw where the red patch was.
"I miss everything!" Dustin groaned theatrically, pushing his empty ice cream dish dejectedly across the table. "And Scoops was a lot better when it was free."
Steve rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to Violet's forehead "Sorry you had to miss Dust, but I didn't need her screaming and hitting Vi." Violet rolled her eyes at him again but snuggled into his side all the same. She didn't exactly wish she'd been around when fists had flown anyway. For the rest of the day Steve was chipper, rubbing off on Dustin a little as they came to an end, leaving the mall while imitating the whining tone of Madonna's Papa Don't Preach as they carried the shopping to the car. Violet rubbing her temples testily as she trailed behind them.
Violet (October 1986)
She sighed heavily as she sat at her desk in the small Hawkins Police station. Hopper had gotten her a sweet little job as the new dispatch person for the daytime hours so she could stay at her desk all day long. This was the best she could have gotten she'd decided, despite the sometimes stressful moments when she actually got a call that wasn't related to garden gnome theft or ding dong ditches; she liked it well enough. Although there was one issue.
Steve. Now that she was in her 6th month and pretty big since the baby was taking after Steve height wise he'd been way more clingy and protective of her...and it wouldn't be so bad at work if Hopper wasn't a complete enabler for the behavior. Whenever she went out for lunch with Robin or Chrissy; Steve would almost magically show up wherever they were. Whenever someone like Jason Carver came into the station because someone egged his car or to give a false report about Eddie dealing (he'd since quit dealing since he was out of school) he'd always make comments about her having a shotgun wedding, or living paycheck to paycheck. If Violet was honest, it didn't really bother her too much since it wasn't often but whenever it happened, there was Steve. He'd pull into the parking lot like a bat out of hell.
"Hopper you need to quit with that" Violet mutters to him as Steve finally leaves, having sat with her at her desk until the teen had left. Hopper turned to go into his office "Don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh really, so did El lend Steve some abilities I don't know about?!" She hisses, closing the door behind her as she waddled in. He sighs heavily "Is it so bad that he cares?"
"I'm not exactly in danger of being attacked by Jason Carver when I'm surrounded by cops in the station Hopper. Hell you usually take care of it before Steve even gets here!"
"He asked me to-"
"Hopper!"
"Kid! He wants his wife and baby to be safe at all times. After all the shit he's been through around here, after what we've all been through...can you blame him for worrying?" He raises his eyebrows challengingly at her "Cut the kid some slack. You're not really in any state to be slinging arrows around anymore"
She rolls her eyes but doesn't argue anymore...she hadn't thought about it. Steve hadn't been sleeping as well lately...she knew he was having the nightmares. She always snuggled into him, reminding him that everything was ok...but she hadn't thought of how the baby would affect that stuff.
That evening Steve came down to the station, picking her up after a job he'd gotten welding for the town over. He looked bone tired but had a smile on his face as she waddled out to him at the car. "How are you two?"
"Hungry, the baby wants fries" She grins cheekily at him before leaning up to kiss his cheek. "What about you?"
"Good, and apparently getting fries on the way home. Anything else on the baby's order?"
"Strawberry shake" She giggles. She slides her fingers into his and leans against him as well as she can with the bump sticking out between them. "Really...are you ok?"
He nods, rubbing a hand across her stomach with a smile "Dustin's at home already...he's been talking with Robin and Chrissy about our baby shower"
She gets into the car, accepting his helping hand without objection for once. She said nothing about the way he'd insisted on getting the door for her and carrying the bags of food up to their third floor apartment. She'd not complained when he practically ordered her to sit down while he put her food together on a plate.
"Alright, what's up?" He finally asks, handing her her food.
"Nothing!" She looks at him strangely "Why would anything be up?"
He chuckles slightly "You haven't yelled at me for showing up at the station today...that's not normal baby"
She rolls her eyes "Maybe I figured you needed this...to be protective and all that." She dips one of her fries into her milkshake while giving him a playful smile. "But the moment I've got this kid out of me, I will not be treated like a child anymore." She turns back to her food completely, smiling slightly when Steve sat hard onto the couch beside her "Hopper guilt tripped you didn't he?"
"Yep. Perfect for the baby's grandfather I think."
"Have you told him yet?"
"Nope. I'm going to do it when I'm way further along so he can't say no" She grins at him wickedly "Now Joyce I could have told when I found out and she would have accepted being the grandmother."
Steve nods, stealing a fry from her plate and getting his hand slapped for it. "Hey! Those are for the baby!" She teases with that same grin. He chuckles and presses a kiss to her temple. "You're nuts"
"You married me."
November 1986
Violet waddled her way out of the car and up the steps of the Byer's house. El had been vehement about her having left something behind when they'd moved. And that she and Steve needed to come get it ASAP. She rolled her eyes as Dustin fussed from behind over how she wasn't holding the railing to the steps. "Shut it." She grumbled.
Steve opened the door for her, and when she stepped through she was met with an explosion of noise. Had it not been for Steve's hands she would have jumped back out the door in surprise. The small living room of the Byers looked like it had a bomb made of tissue paper go off. There were pink and blue streamers everywhere, the floor had pink and blue confetti strewn all over, and back where her bed had been not so very long ago was a long table covered with an array of pink and blue gifts. "What's this?!" She whispers, feeling the tears spring to her eyes, damned hormones.
"It's your baby shower! Were you surprised?!" El jumped up from her place by the couch with Mike, her now shoulder length hair bouncing as she did.
"Of course I am!" She grins and gives the girl a bone crushing hug as Steve pulls Dustin in from the cold and finally shuts the door behind them. Violet is ushered into a seat next to the present table and she finally takes in the room full of people. Joyce and Hopper were sitting happily on the other side of the table, looking proudly at the room full of teens. She could see from Joyce's fingernails that were stained blue and pink that she'd made the cupcakes she'd spied on the kitchen counter. The couch was covered in the youngest members of the party, all laughing and talking about this or that. Over by the kitchen Nancy stood with Robin and Chrissy, Violet could just barely hear them talking about Robin's new friend at school...Ida.
Off in a corner, talking with Eddie stood Billy, he looked distinctly out of place. Since graduation he'd gotten a job at the local auto shop fixing cars and moved Max in with him in a trailer near Eddie's. He was still a little rough around the edges still and he looked it. He was wearing an old jean jacket over a oil stained Bon Jovi t-shirt. His latest tattoo to cover up the scars from Starcourt was peaking out from under the shirt. A large portrait of a muscle car by the look of it.
She hears the telltale clicking sound of Jonathan's camera as he wanders through the room, taking candids of the party, of the present table, and of course of her. "You guys didn't have to do all of this!"
Joyce opened her mouth to answer but Billy who'd been evesdropping buts in first "The kid needs more than a crib for their room Harrington. And we're already here, so you may as well enjoy it." He gives her a roguish grin before turning back to Eddie.
She giggled to herself as Steve giddily helped her open the presents in front of their friends. Joyce and Hopper had gotten them a baby swing and some clothes saying "My Grandpa's the best" and "I've got the World's Greatest Grandma". Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Max, and El had all pooled their money to get them some much needed boxes of diapers and some baby bottles. They had of course also included a handful of hand written babysitting coupons. Chrissy and Eddie had gotten them more baby clothes, including two or three baby sized hellfire shirts, all in different sizes so that the baby would grow out of one and into the next. Nancy had gotten them a box of books for the baby as well as a Tigger doll. Jonathan had gotten them a babybook to fill with pictures and keepsakes along with a small yellow teddy bear.
Violet packed up the last present when she heard Billy clearing his throat at the back of the room. "I...Mrs. Byers helped me pick it out...it just wouldn't fit on the table..." He walked into the hallway that had been blocked off by streamers, pulling out a large blue stroller with the words "Baby Harrington" sewn into the sun visor.
"Billy...that's too sweet of you" Violet is out of her seat, letting her fingers graze the handles gingerly...like it would disappear if she touched it too much. After a long silent moment where Billy looked completely unsure of himself before Violet launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and beginning to cry happy tears into his oily shirt. He patted her on the back, looking worriedly at the rest of the room. Suddenly he jerked a little, removing her arms from his neck. When he was met with questioning looks from the rest of them he looked awkward before pointing at her stomach, "it kicked me." His revelation is met with giggles from the group at large, a pink hue rising in Billy's cheeks as he manages a laugh too.
"Don't call the baby an it!" Max chastised in a hissy tone. Billy shoots her a look "I don't know if it's a boy or girl! What else am I supposed to call it?"
Steve who's now wrapped an arm around the shoulders of a sniffly Violet grins from ear to ear. "I uh...I actually found out last doctor's visit...and I was saving it for Thanksgiving...but now seems like it'd be perfect." He pulls a small white envelope from his pocket "Hopper?" He holds out the envelope to the older man "Will you do the honors?"
He ignores the misty eyes the older man gets as he takes the envelope in his hands. He grins at the room at large as his eyes view the loopy handwriting of the doctor "He's a boy!"
The room erupted into excited chatter, Steve hugging Violet who's tears have been renewed at the news of the gender. His own eyes were a little misty. As the din settled, Hopper turned to the two "So have you two thought of any names for him?"
"We know it already...Eric Dustin Harrington" Steve grins and Dustin's face lights up at the news of his nephew being named after him. Joyce had given them both a congratulatory hug, whispering thanks in allowing her to be Eric's granny before she went into the kitchen to hand out cupcakes to the excited room.
Christmas 1986
Violet was furious, absolutely pissed. She'd been put on bed rest by her doctor two weeks before christmas, hardly allowed to get up to go to the bathroom, let alone decorate or cook for Christmas. Dustin was currently out at his last day of school before the break, Steve was out working a job, and they'd gotten Chrissy to come over and sit with her.
"I don't need a babysitter Steve!" She'd argued that morning from her place in their bed, arms crossed as much as she could over her large bump.
"You're on bed rest Vi, I'm not leaving you alone all day long. And while I'd love to spend the day in bed with my sexy wife-"
"I'm not sexy. I'm huge." She pouts "I can handle myself for a day-"
"No. Bed rest. You and the baby need rest; so Chrissy's coming over. It's not like I asked Billy to be here." He rolls his eyes and finishes up buttoning his shirt. "She'll be here any minute baby, don't be too mean?"
She huffed but accepted his kiss goodbye. She sat fiddling with a crochet project she'd been attempting, it was a terribly lumpy baby hat. To her right Chrissy sat looking through Eddie's beat up old copy of The Hobbit. "I don't know how you and Eddie love this thing so much, it's soooooo long" She groans, leaning playfully over onto Violet's shoulder "You just need to lose yourself in the imagery Chrissy"
"I'm trying my best" Chrissy pouts playfully "It's just not my thing." She shrugs and turns back to the book, lazily flipping the page back and forth, not remembering a thing she'd read from the previous page anyway.
"God my back hurts" Violet grumbles, sliding herself out of bed as she did. "What are you doing? Bed rest!" Chrissy looks slightly nervous at the fact that Violet was now out of bed completely, sliding on her slippers.
"I need to use the bathroom Chrissy!" She shoots a glare to the slim red head who was staring at her. "I can't really do that in bed" She turns to waddle into the master bathroom only to feel a sudden sharp pain in her stomach. Her hand fell to her bump as she groaned in pain. She leaned against the doorway to the bathroom, hardly noticing Chrissy's hands on her back. The pain lasted for what felt like forever as she tried to remember her breathing from the class she'd taken with Steve.
When it stopped she sighed in relief "What was that?!" Chrissy asked worriedly in her ear, still rubbing her back soothingly.
"Braxton hicks...fake contractions." Violet breathed out, straightening up "I've been getting them since last night. We had them last week too."
"What if they're not braxton hicks this time? Have you been timing them?" She asks quietly
"No. It's too early" Violet says nervously. She goes into the bathroom, shutting the door between her and the slightly flighty red head. The day went on a little longer, lunch coming and going, Violet still groaning in pain every so often as another wave hit her. At about 2 Chrissy shot up from the bed as it hit Violet yet again. "I think they're contractions Violet. They're three minutes apart! Where's the hospital bag you guys packed?"
Violet gestures towards the closet, still gritting her teeth at the pain. Chrissy dives for the closet, opening it and finding the prepacked bag on the floor by Steve's shoes. She grabs it and moves to help Violet get out of bed. "Call Steve" She gasps out, clutching the covers of the bed.
"Ok! I'll call Eddie too, he'll bring the van and we'll go to the hospital-"
Violet was out of bed now, clutching the covers until her knuckles were white "Isn't Eddie out of town?!" She heard Chrissy curse to herself "Nancy?"
"Still at school" Violet's buried her face in a pillow now
"Jonathan?"
"I don't know!" She felt the pounding of Chrissy's footsteps as she ran down the hallway for a phone as she went to call. She could hear the muffled speech of the other woman down the hall but couldn't hear her words. She let out a breath as the contraction let up, straightening up and looking around for a pair of shoes to put on...that she could put on by herself. The snow outside the window mocked her as she dismissed the easy flip flops that sat inside the closet.
Chrissy ran back in to find Violet struggling to slide on a pair of boots. "Jonathan's coming." She kneeled to help her get her shoes on. The next struggle was getting Violet out of the cabin and down the dirt and ice covered driveway where Jonathan's car would be waiting. Chrissy grins when they see Jonathan pulling up in his car, tapping his long fingers on the steering wheel. When he saw them he got out of the car and ran up "What do you need me to do?!"
"Let me get her in the car, then you're driving to the hospital." Chrissy orders, her usual kind tone had flown the coop.
"Ok!" He pauses for a second as he hesitates to leave the pregnant lady to walk through snow but runs to the car to start it...only for it to stall. He tried again. And again. "Fuck!" He pops the hood as Violet and Chrissy make it to the car "What the hell man?!" Chrissy hisses after she's gotten Violet in the back seat.
"It's not like I planned for my car to give up!" He hisses back looking worriedly into the engine. "Just give me a minute" Chrissy stands there anxiously, rubbing her cold hands together as she occassionally looked back at Violet in the backseat who was starting to look worried. "Any luck?!" She whispers to Jonathan.
"No!" He slams his hands onto the sides of the engine, cursing when it burned him slightly. "I don't have my fucking tools on me"
"I'm going to call someone!" Chrissy runs back into the cabin as Jonathan slams the hood to the car back down. He looks up at Violet who's clenching her jaw tightly as another contraction hits. "Hey, we'll get you there. Don't worry about it" He says, trying to sound confident as he approaches her still open door.
"Or I'm going to have to give birth in the back of your car...because I am not going to slip and slide back up to the house." She laughs at her own joke, though she'd been completely serious.
Jonathan pales at the thought "Don't think like that...it'll be fine." He nervously waits there in the snow, occasionally watching Violet hold the seats of his car in pain, muttering promises of never sleeping with Steve Harrington again.
"I could've told you it was a shit idea" He jokes half heartedly as the contraction ends. She opens her mouth to answer but the sound of the door opening and Chrissy running out to meet them, she was carrying a blanket for Violet and had a strange look on her face. "I've got you a ride...just don't complain...and Steve's on his way but I wouldn't expect him anytime soon." Chrissy looked anxiously out to the street, as though waiting for someone to come to her rescue.
Violet bites her tongue, waiting there with the hospital bag sitting next to her when she hears it. The telltale roar of Billy Hargrove's monster of a car barreling up the drive. "You didn't" Jonathan whispers to Chrissy "He answered! He's got a car that hasn't broken down!" She hisses back
Billy pulls the car right up next to Jonathan's and gets out with a hard look on his handsome features, the cigarette between his lips was all but forgotten. "Let's go!" He gets out of the car and offers Violet a hand. She pulls herself up using him as a weight but squeals when he picks her up. Carrying her over to the passenger side of his car and looking expectantly at the other two. "Get the door."
Chrissy yanks it open and Billy deposits Violet inside. "Get in." He nods at the other side for them to get into the backseat from the driver side. He throws the smouldering cigarette into a snow bank before looking at Violet seriously. "You give birth in this car, and you're naming that kid Billy" He smirks as she gives him a slightly amused smile.
Steve had never driven so fast in his life. He didn't think Billy Hargrove had driven faster than Steve just had. He pulled into the parking lot of the hospital like a madman, only stopping to park before he ran inside. He got to the waiting room where Billy and Jonathan were sitting in strained silence. "Where's Vi?!"
"Back there...she's been yelling for a while" Jonathan mumbles the second part...not wanting to recall her threats to Steve's privates. Billy leans back in his chair "May want to relieve Cunningham though. She's been in there with her for a while"
Steve nods and goes over to the nurses station, speaking hurriedly "Violet Harrington? I'm her husband, she's having our son" His words tumble from his mouth nervously, the attending nurse gives him a kind smile "Through the door, first room on the right."
He nods and flies through the doors and into the directed room. He finds Violet laying in a hospital bed, sweat dripping down her brow as she gripped Chrissy's hand tightly as she groaned, another contraction hitting her with full force.
"Vi, baby I'm sorry I'm late." He rushes to her side as Chrissy vacates the room quickly, rubbing her hand and wincing.
"I can't do this. I can't. We're not ready" She whispers, tears trickling from her eyes.
"We are ready Vi, you've gotten every baby book known to man, Dustin has babyproofed the apartment so well that I can't open the cabinets. We've got this."
She gripped his hand tighter "I'm scared"
"We've faced hell Vi, we can handle a mini human" He presses a kiss to her temple. "We've got this."
The labor had been long, so long that Chrissy, Billy, and Jonathan left the hospital. Needing to shower, eat, and sleep. It was only the next morning Saturday, December 13th 1986 that Eric came into the world, three weeks early and screaming bloody murder. Dustin, who'd decided to stay with the Byers for the night and he showed up bright and early the next morning, straight after Steve's exuberant call to everyone. Eric Dustin Harrington had been born just after 7 am to an exhausted Violet and Steve.
Steve sat in the chair beside Violet's bed, her dozing quietly as he hummed softly to their son. He was fair skinned like his mother with his father's dark brown colored hair fluffing up from his head, almost as if he'd styled it. Steve chuckled when Eric let out a small snort, crinkling up his nose so much like his mother would when she was annoyed. "You're going to be a lady killer when you're older" He chuckles slightly and presses a soft kiss to the soft hair on Eric's head.
"Hey...ready for a visitor?" Came a very quiet whisper from the doorway. Steve looked up and caught sight of Dustin peering through the doorway. He could just barely see a small blue bag in his fingers. "Of course Dust" Steve gives him a small smile "Wanna hold him?"
Dustin nods eagerly, gingerly setting down the gift bag before taking a seat in the chair beside Steve. Steve carefully transferred the sleeping Eric to his uncle, making sure to help Dustin support his head. "Holy shit..." Dustin looks down at him in awe "I can't believe you two made him..."
"Me neither." Steve whispers, looking at the two of them with a proud twinge in his chest. "What's in the bag?"
Dustin gently slides the bag over to Steve with his foot, holding back a grin. "Open it."
Steve rolls his eyes playfully and reaches into the bag, pulling out a very small blue knitted hat with bright yellow words sewn on. Thinking Cap
"I thought since he's a Dustin...he should look the part" He gave Steve a toothy grin "Do you like it?"
"Of course I do Dust, I hope to hell he takes after you and Vi...lord knows I didn't land her with my intelligence" He allows a rueful smile to come to his lips
Dustin looks down at Eric, letting his own grin falter slightly "You've gotta stop that...You don't give yourself enough credit."
Steve stretches, yawning as he did. "I'd still be working at Family Video if it weren't for your sister pushing me to try other things. I'm not exactly a winner...Your sister could probably have done better Dust." He looked at the sleeping form of his wife on the bed, he didn't know if he could ever handle her not being just that...his wife...but he couldn't lie to Dustin.
Dustin rolls his eyes "There are five guys that had a big hand in saving the world from an evil alternate dimension. She can't exactly date me or Mike; Eddie's taken, and I don't think Billy is her type...I can't think of anything better for my sister than a literal hero." He smiles down at Eric "And who's a better dad in Hawkins than you? You've been a dad for what...three years? Four years?" Dustin looked at the older man thoughtfully "So quit shit talking my father figure...and my sister's husband." Dustin tries not to smile at Steve, keeping his gaze on the still sleeping Eric.
Steve smiles to himself slightly "Thanks Henderson." Comfortable silence fell onto the room, Violet and Eric still snoozing peacefully as Steve and Dustin took in the new changes to their lives. Their silence wouldn't last and they knew it...Eric would take after his mother and let his opinions be known, his cries drowning out anything else...but for now, the two men were happy to bask in the glow of new life, taking it as a sign that the Upside Down was shut away for good.