Hey guys. I realize that I missed the Mother's Day mark by just a hair, but I just wrote this today and had to proof it before publishing. Anyway, hope you all enjoy!

Mother's Day. The day El never saw coming. In all her years of being lab-ridden, El had never really thought much of it. In fact, she didn't even really know it existed. She realized that Americans liked to celebrate a lot and though an American herself, she was practically a foreigner to the world around her, still learning, still trying to keep up.

But, of course, when she realized what a big deal it was, she suddenly felt sad. How could she not! She never really got to know her mother like most daughters had. Sometimes it didn't feel like she had one at all, but realizing that she did hurt even more because she was incapable of interacting with her in the way that she wanted to. Instead, it felt like she had fragments of a mother in different places, different homes, different people. Hopper was hardly mother material, but Joyce and Karen were when her own mother couldn't be.

Joyce fought for her alongside Hopper, giving El the same support that Hopper gave her kids. She took El in as her own once she thought he was gone for good. She took her shopping for new clothes, bought all of her favorite foods and drinks, spent quality time with her, you name it! And Karen, well, Karen was gracious enough to let El spend so much time with Mike, even if it took away from her own time with her son on holidays and such. She made her delicious treats, always giving her enough to take home and was an extra shoulder to cry on or person to turn to when she needed it. And Mike was nice enough to find a way for El to spend time with each of them.

First, he picked her up bright and early to make it to brunch with his mother.

"Hey, you ready?"

"Yeah," she said, grabbing his hand.

"You look lovely by the way. *kisses cheek*"

"Thanks," she blushingly said.

Then they hopped on the Greyhound and made their way to Hawkins, her true home. Once there, they met with the rest of the family, all waiting to be seated.

"Michael! Just in time," said Mrs. Wheeler.

"Well, I tried my best."

"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler. Happy Mother's Day!"

"Thank you, El! It's good to see you, sweetheart."

"You too."

"Have you adjusted to your new town well?"

"Yeah, it's okay, but not nearly the same."

"Well, I'm sure you'll grow to love it with time."

"I hope so," she said.

"You can't go one meal without bringing your girlfriend too, can you?" Nancy teased.

"*scoffs* Real nice, Nance, real nice," said Mike.

"That wasn't a poke at El, dingus, it was a poke at you!"

"You're just jealous because you didn't think to bring Jonathan!"

"And tear him away from Joyce? *laughs* I don't think so! That woman needs all of the praise she can get."

"She's right," said Karen. "That woman is a saint. You owe her your lives."

"We owe El our lives too, but you think I didn't know that? I left Mrs. Byers a card in the mailbox."

"That's my boy," she said, hugging him from behind and kissing his head.

"Mom, stop, you're embarrassing me…"

"Michael, be nice to your mother. This is her day," said Ted.

"Yeah, Mike, don't be such a party pooper," said Holly.

*rolls eyes*

*El laughs to herself, then links arms with Mike*

And so, the 6 of them all ate out at a nice café in the shade, enjoying the beautiful breeze and sprouting flowers on that lovely spring afternoon.

Afterward, Mike and El both went to Melvald's to buy some flowers and a card for her birth mother, Terry. Then, Nance drove them over to the Ives' household to pay her a visit themselves. On the car ride there, Mike kissed El's neck as he tried to catch a glimpse of her message.

"*flips card over, sets pen down* I know what you're doing," she said.

"Oh yeah? What am I doing?"

"You're trying to read it."

"What? No, I just-"

"Mmhmm," she said with sass equivalent to Erica Sinclair.

"Fine, I won't look then."

"Yes, patience, young grasshopper..."

He laughed, not knowing why she was being so secretive of something she'd show or read in front of him later, but at the same time, he could respect her sentimentality. He was like that too.

"Hey, Aunt Becky! It's been so long," she said, running towards her in a hug as she opened the door.

"Heyyy..." she replied, in a dragged out tone, patting her back. "Come on in."

Mike could tell just by the look on Becky's face that she was not a big hugger, but she humored El anyway, returning that same kindness.

Stepping inside, El approached her mother slowly, a little unsure of herself.

"Mama? It's me, Jane. I uh, I got you something. Some f-flowers…Mike, would you-"

*nods, hands flowers*

"I heard from Becky that these were your favorites. I hope they still are," she said, slipping the bouquet under her fingertips.

It was hard for El. Awkward. Most things were, but this awkward seemed to top them all. To go from constantly being in an environment where she had to rely on little to no social skills to one that required hardly none at all was strange to say the least. Now, she was doing all of the work and getting nothing in return when usually, she was the one who didn't have to worry about initiating anything because other people knew to do it for her.

"Okay, well, that's all I came here to say...Bye then!" she said, abruptly making her way to the door.

"No, it's not," said Mike, grabbing her arm. "What about your card?"

"I-I can't read it, it's just too hard-"

"El, everything's hard, but it's never been anything you couldn't handle. You can do this."

*sighs, nods*

"*sits down, clears throat* Mama, where do I begin? For years, I didn't know I had one, a mother, but all along, you were there. Not there as in there with me, but there as in there for me. You sacrificed your own life, your dreams, your *chokes up* mental health- *puts hand over mouth, cries*"

Mike held her arms in his hands and rocked her back and forth, kissing her head, her cheek, her neck- whispering:

"You have a family, El. Right here."

She looked at him and threw her arms around his neck, pulling his chest in toward hers, then letting go and returning to reality.

"*sniffles* Sorry, Mama. I knew I wouldn't be able to get through this without crying. Well, that goes for most things, but that's not the point. The point is, I love you- And even if I never hear those words come out of your mouth, I don't need to. It goes without saying because I know that you did and still do. You were so courageous and brave when it came to rescuing me, the measures you took...and you are what I inspire to be...for the family of friends I built around me," she said, throwing her arm around Mike. "Thank you, Mama."

Then she crawled into her lap and sat there, squeezing her tight. And before El got on the bus back home, leaving Mike with his family for the last parts of the day, she said:

"Mike, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you think that I'm going to make a good mother someday?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course you will!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because El, you're going to give that kid or those kids, rather, the childhood that you never had, that you were deprived of. You're going to fight for it or them like all of the women in your life who have fought for you, and even the men too."

Just the start of this was enough to fill El's eyes with tears.

"Thank you, Mike," she said, sniffling as she held the hand resting on his knee.

"I wasn't done yet."

"Oh?"

"El, when you become a mother someday, I know that you're going to make sure that your kid or kids know how much they are loved and wanted in this world. And you're going to love them more than you've ever loved anything befo-"

"No, that can't be true..."

"Why not?"

"Because it already is true. I love you more than anything I've ever loved before!"

He looked at her with seriousness in his eyes, didn't crack a smile, and just threw his hands against her cheeks and kissed her nice and long. Fuck those other people at the bus station, fuck PDA, he didn't care. All that he cared about in that moment was the girl before him, and she wasn't even just any girl. She was the girl, the one, his truly.

And El got home just in time for the lovely dinner that the boys somehow managed to throw together for their dear mother, Joyce. She was so proud of her boys and so grateful for them. They were turning into two wonderful young men. And at that dinner, El took a minute to thank the woman who had always been her voluntary mother, Joyce Byers. But after dinner was the real highlight of the day…

"Did she like the card?" Mike asked over the phone.

"Yeah, loved it!"

"Good," he said.

"Oh shoot…" said El.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?"

"We forgot the most important mother of all!"

"What?! Who?"

"Steve!"

"Good one, El," said Mike, trying to catch his breath from laughter.