Chapter Eight

Will wasn't sure where he was when he woke up. He gazed up at the ceiling. It was the ceiling in his living room. He was home, but was he? He had no memory of coming home from the hospital after his surgery. He closed his eyes. Wherever he'd been sleeping on felt unfamiliar. Will felt the sides with his hands. Arm rests. It was the new La-z boy recliner Hopper had purchased and had delivered while they were all in Bloomington.

"This should help keep you comfortable while you're recovering, Buddy. Of course, once you're better, I'm using this chair to watch football games."

Will remembered Hopper saying the last part with a twinkle in his eyes. He remembered chuckling at his step father's little joke. The La-Z Boy was much more comfortable for Will than the sofa. The drawback was that Will couldn't pull the lever to put down the foot rest when he wanted to get up.

Will started to remember coming home that morning. He'd fallen asleep on the way back and vaguely remembered Hopper or Jonathan lifting him out of the truck and carrying him to the house because he was groggy and the driveway was slippery. Mike and Julie were both working until the afternoon.

Will heard his family and friends talking in the dining room, clearly trying to keep their voices down. Curious about what they were going to say, he decided to pretend he was still sleeping. He opened his eyes just a little as Luke jumped up onto the chair with him. The cat circled three times, kneaded Will's upper leg for a few seconds, then curled up on Will's lap as he purred and flopped his tail contently. Leia did the same after a minute. Will carefully looked over to see that Chester and Buttons were both sleeping next to the chair. Will felt a small smile on his lips. Having the pets there helped assure him he wasn't dreaming, he was really home. He resisted the temptation to pet the cats as he was still pretending that he was asleep.

"We promised we'd go see Sara Wednesday, she wants to see you too, Mom," said Eleven.

"I know, sweetheart, but we can't leave Will alone here," said Joyce.

"We'll figure it out," said Hopper. Will felt tears forming in his eyes. He was already causing trouble for his family.

"I'll stay with him," Mike volunteered.

"Mike, we have to have lunch with Uncle Jack and Aunt Claire," said Nancy.

"I don't want to see them… ever again," said Mike.

"Neither do I," said Nancy. "But that was the deal Dad made with us so we can spend Christmas here."

"I can stay with Will," said Jonathan. "I don't think your aunt and uncle like me very much anyway."

"That's a testament to your good character, he only like douches," said Mike sourly.

"They were pretty insistent that you be there, Jonathan," said Nancy. "But under the circumstances, I'm sure they'd understand."

"You don't have to do that, you know. I'll be here," said Julie. Her parents had agreed to let her stay with Will's family for Christmas while they out of town to visit had told Will that they had agreed when she broke down crying after they'd given her another lecture the week before because they were still worried about their classmate Amy getting pregnant. Julie had already been on edge because she was worried about Will' surgery. Her parents felt bad about driving her to tears. Joyce and Hopper certainly weren't going to deny any request Will made, within reason and that was within reason.

"Julie, honey, that could be a lot for you to handle on your own," said Joyce.

"I want to do it. Besides, I logged over 100 volunteer hours at the hospital over the summer and have been volunteering a couple hours a week since school started. I've had to help a lot of very demanding patients. Helping Will, should be super easy compared to that, especially since he's always trying to not be a burden on anyone. I can handle it, Mrs. Hopper."

Will heard his mother tapping her fingers on the table. "That sound like a decent plan, Joyce," said Hopper.

"Alright," said Joyce.

"I'll add that I'd still prefer to stay here with Will than go to Uncle Jack and Aunt Claire's," said Mike.

"Mike!" said Nancy.

"What? Will's more like family to me than Dad's brother and his crappy kids ever were," said Mike.

The phone rang and Will heard Hopper answer it. When he hung up, he told the others that he had to check something at the station.

"Are you sure you don't mind staying here while I'm at work tomorrow, Jonathan?" asked Joyce.

"It's fine, Mom," said Jonathan.

"I just don't want you to miss out on seeing your friends while you're in town."

"I've made closer friendships in New York than I made in all my years in Hawkins with the exception of Nancy. Besides, I was mainly coming home to see you, Will and El; so I'm not really missing out on anything."

Will started to feel like he had to pee, but decided to wait a couple more minutes before alerting the people in the kitchen to the fact that he was awake. He silently prayed that they would change the topic away from him. After five more minutes, the pressure on his bladder became too much. He groaned as he sat up and within seconds, he was surrounded by six other people.

"Hey, sweetheart," said Joyce as she kneeled beside him and caressed his hair. "How are you feeling? Can we get you anything?"

"I'm okay," said Will as he stifled a yawn. "I just really have to pee." Eleven grabbed Luke and Leia off of Will's lap while Joyce pulled the lever to get the footrest down. Jonathan and Mike rushed forward to help Will to his feet.

"It's probably about time to change the bandage," said Joyce as she checked her watch.

"I can take care of that," Mike quickly volunteered.

"Thanks, Mike," said Will. "I'll let you know when I'm done peeing." Will managed to walk to the bathroom on his own as his legs were still perfectly functional. The doctors had told him to wait a week or two before trying to go up the stairs on his own. Will closed the bathroom door and turned on the fan.

Will felt a small tinge of guilt for not saying more to everyone and made a mental note to try to not get so irritated at the people who cared about him looking at him in concern. He had just heard them eagerly volunteering to be the person to stay with him and help him. He winced as he flushed the toilet, then winced again as has he turned on the water to wash his hands.

"Mike?" said Will as he cracked the door. He sat on the stool next to the vanity as Mike came in carrying the gauze kit from the hospital.

"Ready?" asked Mike ask he set the kit next to the sink and closed the door. Mike shook his head before Will could answer. "Sorry, dumb question."

Will shrugged, then smiled before gingerly pulling off his shirt. He lift his arms so Mike could unwrap the gauze. It was a routine he followed every 4-6 hours since Saturday. His mother, Jonathan, Eleven and Hopper had all taken turns in the hospital, but this was his first time changing the bandages at home. Everyone seemed eager to volunteer to help him with that. Will felt grateful to them even if it was an awkward aspect of his recover.

Will made a face as he peeled off the inner gauze and dropped it in the trash can. He then stared at a cup on the sink as Mike tried to be as gentle as possible as he cleaned around the stitched up incision with soapy water and patted it dry with a fresh towel from the hospital.

"Mike?" said Will as Mike began applying the topical antibiotics with a q-tip.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to apologize for how I acted Saturday morning."

"Apologize?" asked Mike as he looked confused. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"It's just... When I was getting ready for the surgery, I kept thinking about how I wish I'd talked to you when we were sitting on the stairs or said more to everyone on the ride to Bloomington or in the waiting room. I suddenly felt terrified that I wouldn't wake up and wouldn't get to tell everyone how much they all meant to me." Will felt tears forming in his eyes

Mike set down the ointment and pulled Will into a side way hug so he wouldn't brush against the incision. "I know, El told me. She said she did some sort of telepathy to help you relax and saw it all."

"Yeah...she'd did something she's never done before, like we were communicating without words," said Will. A thought occurred to him an he made a mental not to talk to his sister later.

"Will, what is it?" asked Mike.

"I dunno, just musing," said Will.

"Muse away," said Mike. "But do it with your arms in the air so I can re-wrap this dressing."

Will chuckled and raised his arms while Mike gently placed the white gauze over the incision and started wrapping the beige gauze around Will's torso.

"I think I have a gift for this," said Mike as Will pulled his tee shirt back over his head.

Will started to help Mike put away the supplies into the kit. "You don't have to-" Mike started to say.

"I want to," said Will. "These are among the few items that I'm allowed to lift."

"I'll humor you," said Mike dryly.

"Mike?" asked Will as Mike closed the latches on the kit.

"Yeah?"

"Are you still having the nightmares?" asked Will

Mike snapped the final latch and bit his lip. "Once in a while, yes. But, you're in much better condition than you are in those nightmares, so that's good."

"I guess we know you aren't an oracle," said Will.

"I really don't want to be one in this case," said Mike.

"I don't want you to be one either… not in this case," said Will. He understood in that moment why his family and friends were eagerly volunteering to help him so much: they weren't trying to baby him, Will had simply has several close calls and they needed to reassure themselves that he was alright. "Ever since I woke up from the surgery, I've been a little disoriented every time I wake up."

"Oh?" asked Mike.

"Yeah, when I woke up in that chair a few minutes ago, I couldn't remember coming home at first. I couldn't remember the Hopper getting chair I was sleeping in either. It's a really weird feeling."

"Sounds like it."

"But I have another feeling-maybe this," Will indicated his incision. "Will be the end of my crappy luck streak."

"I hope you're right about that," said Mike. They opened the bathroom door and walked out to the living room. Will noticed the window in the dining room. He walked over to it as though it was in a trance. He stared at the snow covered street and all the houses covered in Christmas lights. The Byers-Hopper home didn't have any lights, partly because the lights reminded them of their experiences in November of 1983 and partly because they didn't want the cats chewing on them.

Just as it had a couple days earlier, Will's breath fogged up the window and he began marking it with his index finger.

"Will?" said Mike tentatively as he put his hand on Will's shoulder. Will turned to Mike then looked around to see Eleven, Jonathan, Julie, his mother and Nancy standing behind him. He looked at the Christmas tree he'd drawn with his finger.

"Sorry, Mom," said Will. "I'll clean this up."

"Leave it," said Joyce with a small smile. "It's kind of pretty actually." Frost was starting to form on the finger marks.

"You look like you're pretty deep in thought there, Bud," said Jonathan.

"Um, yeah, just random things. Like how long has it been since we built a snowman or went sledding?" Will leaned on the wall next to the window and gazed outside.

"Almost five years, I think," said Mike.

"Hmmmm," said Will. A wistful smile spread across his face. "I haven't wanted to either, but I have a strong urge to do those things today when it's out of the question." Will shivered a little from the cold drifting off the window.

"Let's get you warmed up," said Joyce as she guided him to a seat at the table. "Would you like some peppermint tea?"

Will and his friends spent the afternoon building experience points on Dragon Quest. After an hour, Will mostly lost consciousness as the minor activities drained his energy. He rested in the La-Z Boy and drifted in and out of consciousness. Mike and Julie went home around eight.

Hopper had to carry Will up the stairs. They allowed Will to shower on his own, but Jonathan had to help him remove the bandages. When Will was finished showering and mostly dressed, he telepathically called to Eleven to help him with the gauze wrap.

Eleven walked with Will to his room, they said good night to their mother, Hopper and Jonathan on the way. Even though Will had spent only two nights in Bloomington, it felt like it had been ages since he'd slept in his own bed.

"Can you stay a little while, El?" asked Will as he carefully sat on his bed, "there's something I want to talk about."

"I can stay," said Eleven. Chester and Luke were already in the room. Eleven allowed Buttons and Leia through the door before she closed it. "Mixtape?"

"Yeah," said Will. Eleven put the mixtape on, keeping the music low enough to not bother their parents and older brother, but high enough that it would cover their conversation. She knew the expression on Will's face.

"Are you okay?" Eleven asked as she lightly rubbed Will's arm.

"I'm fine, I just had an idea... How did you see my memories when you helped me relax before the surgery?"

"Don't know," said Eleven as she sat on the edge of Will's bed. "It was like an instinct. I just wanted to help you."

"Did you see the memory of my epiphany or did Mom talk to you about it?" asked Will as he fidgeted with the hem of his bed sheet.

"Epiphany?" asked Eleven with her brow furrowed.

"About the nightmares I had when I was little," said Will. Eleven shook her head. "I think they were... now memories of your experiences in the lab."

Eleven took a moment to absorb the revelation. "It makes sense. I could see you in the ...bad moments, you could probably see me too."

"What if," Will began. "What if you could see my good memories? Like all those stories you've asked about, what if you could see them for yourself."

Eleven's face lit up. There were so many things she wanted to know. She had often asked Will to tell her about his memories of growing up. Seeing his early good memories of their mother and brother and of their friends, especially Mike. She reached over and gently rested her hand on the side of Will's face. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She saw Will sitting on the swings at Hawkins Elementary. It was his first day of Kindergarten. She'd heard that story from both Will and Mike. She saw a very nervous looking Mike approaching Will from across the playground-

"El, what's wrong? It was working," said a confused Will as Eleven pulled her hand away snapping them both out of the memory.

"It's okay," said Eleven. "We'll wait until you're done recovering."

"What? Why? You're not hurting me."

"Will," said Eleven pointedly. "Not until you heal. Now, get some rest so you heal sooner because I want to see the memories." She still up and kissed her brother on the forehead, then fluffed and stacked his pillows before holding up the blankets so Will could slide under them. He looked like he was going to protest for a moment, then seemed to reconsider. "Goodnight, Will."

"Goodnight, El."

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Tuesday was mostly a blur for Will. Hopper, Joyce, Mike, Julie, Dustin, Lucas, and Eleven all had to work during the day, so Will got to spend some quality time with his brother. He felt a little guilty because he kept dozing off throughout the day, but Jonathan didn't seem to mind. Apparently Randy, Jennifer, and Tim all stopped by while he was sleeping and dropped off gift baskets before they went out of town to visit family for Christmas.

Jonathan showed Will a magazine article about the sequel to Evil Dead. It was coming out in March so they planned on seeing it when Jonathan came home for Spring Break. They also discussed places Jonathan could show Will when he visited New York. Despite his dozing off, Will appreciated getting to talk to his brother without the limitations of long distance calls.

Dustin, Lucas and Max joined them for dinner that night as they were all leaving town to visit family in the morning. Will tried to stay awake and talk to his friends, but the smallest activity seemed to drain him of energy. Eleven made it her personal mission to make sure Will got plenty of rest. Given that he was considerably less stubborn with his sister than he was with his parents, Hopper and Joyce stayed out of Eleven's way.

Wednesday morning, Will was less exhausted that he had been, but the smallest physical activity still drained his energy. He was only vaguely aware as Eleven, Hopper and Joyce said goodbye to them before they left for Bloomington to visit Sara. Julie arrived a little while before Jonathan, Mike, and Nancy left to have a Christmas dinner at Jack Wheeler's. As Julie put her suitcase in Eleven's room, Will was vaguely aware of Mike sitting next to him and say that he's much rather stay there with him than go to Uncle Jack's. Will drifted off to sleep and missed Mike, Jonathan, and Nancy leaving.

When Will woke up again, he had to pee. He looked over and saw Julie curled up on the sofa re-reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for what had to be at least the tenth time. He smiled a little as he remembered their first Halloween as a couple and dressing like Arthur and Trillian. Julie had told him that Fenny may have been a better costume after they read the later. Their Link and Zelda costumes from a couple months earlier had been much more complicated.

"Have a good snooze?" asked Julie. She stood up, dropped her book on the coffee and kneeled down next to the La-Z boy.

"It was a top five snooze," said Will lightly. "Sorry about.. I don't know, you must be bored."

Julie shook her head. "I can't be bored when I have the words of Douglas Adams to keep me company. Besides, conscious or not, how else am I going to get any time alone with you?" Julie carefully leaned over and brushed her lips against Will's as he racked his brains trying to remember if he'd brushed his teeth than morning. He dreaded telling her that he had to pee. He knew she wouldn't care, but it was awkward enough asking his family members for help, let alone his girlfriend.

"Um," Will began. Julie put her hand on his mouth.

"I'll pull the lever. Ready?" Will nodded. Julie walked around to the other side of the recliner and pulled the lever so Will could ease himself out of the chair. "Hopper left some money for pizza. Want me to order it?"

"Sure," said Will as he stood up and headed to the bathroom. Julie picked up the phone.

"I'll be in to help change the gauze after I finish ordering," Julie called.

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"You should come stay with us for Christmas," said Eleven to Sara as Hopper, Joyce, and Diane were talking to Dr. Owens in his office.

"Part of me really wants to get out of here, but what if I have a panic attack or something. Will's recovering. How will that affect him?" Sara was sitting with her hands on her knees and her left foot was nervously tapping. Eleven put her hand on Sara's and gave it a squeeze.

"Will wants to help you too. If you start to panic, you can hide in my room. I think you'll be okay though. You'll be with family and friends instead of in this hospital. That makes things better, I know it does."

"I guess," said Sara. Eleven stood up, took Sara's hand and pulled her toward the door.

"So let's go ask Dr. Owens."

"What about Dad? And your Mom...And my mom?" asked Sara.

"My parents and Will already said it was okay with them if you wanted to come home with us when I asked them last night," said Eleven. "And maybe you can go to your mom's house too. She really wants to get you out of here."

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Mike, Nancy, and Jonathan endured as much as they could of what Jack Wheeler and his family considered to be "polite" conversation. Mike was the first to reach his breaking point though.

"So your friend Will had to be hospitalized again?" Uncle Jack asked Mike.

"He had to have heart surgery," said Mike. "But Will's strong and he's going to be fine."

"He's been in the hospital four times in the last three years," said Shelly. "He doesn't seem strong to me."

"He's been through a lot," said Mike.

"Weren't you in a hospital with him because the two of you were in a fight at school?" ask Uedncle Jack."Will just seems like he attracts trouble and he's dragging you into it."

Mike glance at Jonathan, who was sitting on the other side of Nancy clutching his fork and clearly biting his tongue. "We didn't start that fight!" said Mike angrily. "Will was just standing up to a guy who had been bullying us for years. That guy hit Will because Will made a joke and Troy's an insecure asshole!"

"Language!" said Ted. Mike glared at his father. Uncle Jack was making rude comments about Will when he had insisted that Jonathan join them for lunch. To Mike, it was a form of bullying.

"Isn't your mother working for Ted, Jonathan?" asked Uncle Jack.

"Yes," said Jonathan. "She's been very grateful for the opportunity."

"But she's had to take a lot of time off because of your brother, hasn't she?" asked Uncle Jack.

"She's taken a couple days off here and there," said Ted. "But she does good work."

"If you ask me, that kid of her's is a liability," said Uncle Jack. Nancy reached over and squeezed Jonathan's hand.

"You really can't stop yourself from being a douche, can you, Uncle Jack?" asked Mike. "You insisted that Jonathan come her for dinner and you've done nothing but trash talk his family. It's Christmas and you're just being plain shitty!"

"Language!" said Ted, yet again.

"Is that all you care about, Dad? What about treating people with respect. Does that mean anything to you?" asked Mike indignantly.

"You come into my house and insult me and you're talking about respect?" asked Uncle Jack. "Margaret Thatcher has a point about single mothers, and the way you're acting shows how bad of an influence Will has had on you or how bad Jonathan could be for Nancy. Don't get mad at me because I'm speaking the truth and you don't want to hear it!"

Mike stood up and threw his glass of cranberry juice across the table on his uncle's face. "Here's a little truth for you, Uncle Jack. Will, Jonathan, and Joyce have earned respect. You on the other hand, treat people like garbage and don't deserve respect."

Abe jumped to his feet. "Don't treat my dad like that. He's right about your stupid friend. I hope Will's incision gets an infection and he dies, then maybe you won't have his bad influence, Mike."

Jonathan leapt to his feet, his face was bright red. Mike was faster. He ran around the table and knocked Abe to the floor, then started punching his face. Holly covered her ears with her hands and started crying while Jonathan and Nancy rushed over to pull Mike off of Abe.

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"In my objective, these are the best gingerbread houses ever made," said Julie as she and Will sat at the kitchen table put the finishing touches on their gingerbread village.

"Well, if your opinion is objective, that makes it an indisputable fact," said Will as he cleaned some frosting off his hand with a paper towel.

"I think this is at least a four person job to move this," said Julie. "We should probably wait until the others get back."

"You're probably right," said Will. They got up and washed their hands before going back to the living room. The two dogs and two cats that belonged to Will and his sister had constantly followed him around since he'd gotten back from the hospital. That afternoon was no exception. When Will and Julie sat down on the sofa, the two dogs situated themselves at Will's feet while the cats rested on the crest of the sofa and began to flop their tails.

Julie picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels. They settled on Gremlins, but didn't pay much attention to the movie. Will felt tired, but also felt that he'd spent too much time sleeping in the past few days. Julie reached over and playfully messed up his hair. He looked over at her. She curled up next to him, but not actually touching him thanks to the healing incision on his chest. Her head was leaning on the cushion next to him and she had a smile, affectionate smile.

Will reached over and took Julie's hand. They interlaced their fingers. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Um, just...I love you," said Julie with a blush. Will was silent for a few seconds. Julie bit her lip and looked away. Will quickly found his nerve again. He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed.

"I-I love you too," said Will. Julie looked back at him and smiled.

"I think this is the first time we've said it out loud."

"Yeah, well, I've felt it for a while," said Will. "I've just never been great at speaking my feelings out loud."

"Well, you're good at plenty of other things," said Julie. She carefully leaned over and kissed him. Will pulled his legs up onto to sofa so he could sit up on his knees as he gingerly turned to face her. It was the first time since the surgery that they had an opportunity to cuddle or make out, but thanks to Will's delicate condition, they had to be very careful.

Will steadied himself with one hand and caressed Julie's cheek with the other before leaning in and kissing her. Normally, they would have pulled each other closer, but had to awkwardly rest their hands on one another's shoulders. Neither of them minded as they were both grateful for some time alone.

Julie's more creative impulses took over. She moved her hand down from his shoulder, lifted his tee shirt a little and ran her fingers across his abdomen.

"Hey, that tickles!" said Will as he rested his forehead on Julie's.

"Good," said Julie. "It's a scientific fact that laughter strengthens the immune system. I'm trying to help you get better."

"Oh, I see, it's all for my health."

"Totally! All for your health." Julie pressed her lips back to Will's. He ran his thumb along her collarbone as he felt her fingers lightly caressing his abdomen again. He started to slowly move his hand off of her shoulder when Chester and Buttons jumped up and started to bark and wag their tails. Will gingerly lowered himself into a sitting position and hung his legs back over to the side of the sofa as he heard car doors slamming and people walking up onto the porch. Julie sat back down as well, but took Will's hand. They both pretended to be engrossed in the movie and Jonathan came opened the front door and Mike and Nancy entered with him.

Will checked his watch. "You guys are home early." he said and Mike walked over and took a seat next to him while Nancy and Jonathan hung their coats in the closet.

"We put up with our hosts as long as we could," said Nancy.

Will glanced over at Mike and noticed he looked upset. "Are you okay, Mike? What happened?"

Mike shrugged. "My Uncle and cousins were just being their usual charming selves, don't worry about it." Mike slumped back in the sofa cushion behind him.

"I think I'm going to get Jonathan and Nancy to help me move our gingerbread village and grab a pop. You guys want me to grab you something to drink?" asked Julie as she stood up and started backing away from the sofa.

"Yeah, thanks," said Will.

"Sure," said Mike. Julie turned around and headed over to Jonathan.

"What happened Mike? Why are your knuckles bruised?" asked Will. Mike looked at Will's concerned eyes. Of course he would have noticed, but Mike didn't want to tell Will what his cousin had said. On the other hand, he didn't want to not talk to Will when he was clearly trying to help."My uncle insisted that Jonathan come, claiming he wanted to get to know Nancy's boyfriend, but he just kept saying rude things to to Jonathan," said Mike.

"So you punched him?" asked Will.

"I threw my drink at him," said Mike. "I punched my cousin,"

"Oh," said Will. "He must have said something pretty bad."

"Only if you consider him hoping that the things I've been fearing could happen for months-years would happen," said Mike a his eyes dropped to the floor.

"I see," said Will. "Well, it's not going to happen, so I guess Abe's going to be very disappointed. I'm not disappointed that you punched him though. That is why you punched him, isn't it?"

"Yep, that's why I punched him," said Mike. "Though the whole family had been giving me the urge the entire time I was there."

"That seems pretty typical of them," said Will.

"It is," said Mike. "I guess something good came out of their new lever of shittyness today got my parents to agree to never make me spend time with them again. It's bad enough that you and Jonathan had to deal with them. I'm just glad that they'll never get anywhere near El."

"Silver lining" said Will.

"You seem to be in a better mood. How are you doing, Will?"

"I am in a better mood. It was a little weird having to tell my girlfriend I needed help out of the recliner because I had to pee, but she figured it out and I didn't have to say the actual words, so that's good."

"Sounds good," said Mike.

"It is good. It's also good that I get to spend Christmas with some of my favorite people on the planet. That's pretty awesome."

Mike grinned. "I do like the people in this house a lot better than the people living in my uncle's house."

"Anyone up for a game of boggle?" asked Jonathan as he held the box and a bowl of popcorn. Julie handed Mike and Will each a can of pop while Nancy held cans of pop for herself and Jonathan.

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Hopper waited in his truck with Sara as Joyce and Eleven ran into the grocery store to pick up some last minute things for Christmas. He looked at his daughter sitting in the back seat clutching her knees and rocking back and forth. It reminded him of Will and Eleven when they were dealing with PTSD.

"Are you alright, honey," asked Hopper.

"Yeah, just nervous," said Sara. Hopper decided that simply telling her that she had nothing to be nervous about wasn't the best thing to say.

"What are you nervous about?" he asked. Sara shrugged as tears started to form in her eyes. Hopper climbed into the back seat and pulled her into a hug. "Talk to me, Sara. I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"It's just that I sometimes get involuntary visions of bad things that have happened when I'm around certain things. A lot of bad things have happened to Will and Eleven and all of you. A lot of bad things have happened everywhere. That's probably why I was so afraid to leave the hospital, even though I don't want to stay there."

"You're right, a lot of bad things have happened. But a lot of good things have happened too. You'll be staying with us in our new house and nothing bad has happened there."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Nothing bad has happened at your mother's house either. Eleven has helped Will learn to control his gifts. She can help you learn to control yours and maybe you won't have visions when you don't want to."

"The people who bought me always tried to shock me into having them. They wanted me to be able to find secrets quickly. I don't want to know secrets. I never have."

"It won't be easy, but we'll figure it out, I promise. Do you feel every memory of everything you touch?"

"If it's something major or traumatic, I feel it without trying. But I have to concentrate for everyday things."

"Alright, that's a start. You should be fine at our place tonight and at your mother's place tomorrow.

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It was nearly midnight when the Byers-Hopper family got home from the Christmas Eve church service. Will wasn't thrilled about having to be carried or pushed in a wheelchair everywhere and it was a very chilly evening, but he was grateful for the chance to get out of the house for a few hours.

Sara had been sticking pretty close to her father and Eleven. She was introduced as a relative from out of town to everyone who asked. Dr. Owens was still working on a plan for re-introducing her to the world after she'd been dead for so long.

Will drifted off to sleep in the car on the way back. It was another relatively mundane activity than made him feel drained in his recovery. He was vaguely aware of Hopper carrying him from the car to his room. Mike and Jonathan helped him into the upstairs bathroom where they changed the gauze, then handed him his pajamas.

Eleven and Sara said goodnight to him as he headed back to his room.

"Did you have a good day today, baby?" asked Joyce as she performed her old habit of tucking him in.

"I did, actually," said Will.

"You seem to be in a better mood," said Joyce as she smiled and caressed his hair.

"Mike said the same thing. It probably has something to do with getting to spend Christmas with a lot of my favorite people. And Mike doesn't have to see his uncle or cousins anymore, so I'm happy for him."

"Oh, yes. Karen was apologizing to Jonathan tonight. Apparently, their behavior was so bad, that even Ted noticed and after Mike, Nancy, and Jonathan left, Ted was actually demanding that his brother apologize to his children for once."

"Sounds like a Christmas miracle," said Will. He tried to stifle a yawn. Joyce leaned over and kissed his forehead.

"I'll see you in the morning, I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mom, goodnight," said Will as he closed his eyes.

A few minutes after Joyce left, Julie crept into the room and took a seat next to Will's bed. "Don't worry, I'm still awake," said Will as he opened his eyes.

"Good, Hopper wanted to talk to Sara and Eleven is down in the living room with Mike, so I figured…"

"Good figuring," said Will as he reached over and took her hand. She slid off the chair and kneeled next to the bed while resting her on the pillow. Will looked over to see Luke laying next to him with his paws sticking up in the air. Chester was resting in his dog bed.

"Merry Christmas," said Julie.

"Best Christmas ever,' said Will as he drifted off to sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I remember you used to read to me a lot," said Sara as she handed her father one of the children's Christmas books Eleven liked to collect. "Can you read this to me? I know I'm a little old for it, but-"

"Nah, you're not too old," said Hopper. "El sometimes asks me to read these to her from time to time."

"Really?"

"Yes, really, and I'm glad to do it," said Hopper as he opened the book.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

"Do you miss Hawkins at all?" ask Nancy as she and Jonathan relaxed in each other's arms.

Jonathan stroked Nancy's hair. "I miss some of the people-most of them are in this house, but not the town."

"Yeah," said Nancy. "I almost thought I'd miss it more, but I really don't."

"I probably wouldn't come back here if it weren't for my family," said Jonathan. "It would be pretty cool if I could take Mom, Will, and El back to New York with me."

"Will and El will see it in the spring," said Nancy. "We should start planning their visit."

"I wish we had more than a few days, there's so much I want to show them."

"We have the rest of our lives," said Nancy. "They'll come for plenty of visits."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I want to stay down here a little longer, Mike," said Eleven as she pulled him back onto the sofa.

"So do I, but it's getting late," said Mike.

"Dad's still talking to Sara and Julie's sitting with Will," said Eleven. "We have time and there's a mistletoe."

"A mistletoe?"

"Yeah, it's right above us, but it's invisible," said Eleven as she pointed up to nothing.

"Oh," said Mike. "Well, I've heard that it's way more important to kiss under an invisible mistletoe."

"It's way more important," said Eleven as she crawled into Mike's lap and pushed him him into a reclining position. Mike wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer as they tenderly kissed for a few seconds.

"Your parents are upstairs," said Mike as he pulled away and anxiously glanced at the stairs.

"Mike, it's Christmas," said Eleven. "Don't worry, we aren't doing anything wrong."

Mike sighed and kissed Eleven's forehead. "They may not see it that way." He sat up and put his arms around her as she rested her head on his chest.

"Jonathan said you beat up your mouth breather cousin today. People should know better than to say mean things about Will around you."

"Yeah," said Mike. "My Uncle Jack's family is never getting near Will or Jonathan again if I can help it. They're definitely not getting anywhere you."

"I'll just make your cousin pee himself if I ever see him," said Eleven as she yawned and snuggled against Mike. "That's the penalty for saying terrible things about my brother."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, get off of him you dumb cat!" Will heard Hopper saying, He opened his eyes and looked up to see Luke standing on his chest, but not putting any weight on the incision. He reached up and gently pushed the cat to the side. "Sorry, buddy, didn't mean to wake you. I panicked."

"It's okay," said Will.

"Actually there's something I wanted to talk to you about before Mike gets back up here."

"What's that?"

"I want you to stop pushing yourself so hard trying to stay ahead so much in school."

"I have to get a scholarship if I'm going to go to college," said Will.

"Not anymore," said Hopper.

"What do you mean?" asked Will as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Owens told me they're paying out a settlement to all the soldiers the MKUltra program experimented on without their consent. It'll be more than enough to pay for your college."

"Shouldn't that money go to help Sara?" asked Will. Hopper put his hand on Will's shoulder.

"You're my kid too and there's more than enough to pay for all four of you to go to school. Your Mom and I are going to keep working and living as we have been living. We certainly don't need Lonnie finding out. The point is, you don't need a scholarship to go to college anymore. I want you to keep working hard and getting good grades because you still need those to get accepted, but you don't need to stress yourself out so much anymore. You have options."

"Alright," said Will as he nodded.

"Get some rest," said Hopper. "And focus on your recovery for the next couple weeks."