3 MONTHS AFTER WILL CAME HOME

Amanda heard Will retching in the bathroom and asked him if he was okay. She started to open the bathroom door but he hoarsely called out that he was fine.

She waited by the door anyway and when Will came out, he was pale and gave her a strange look.

"Will, what's wrong?" Amanda asked, concerned. She knelt in front of him and peered into his face. His eyes seemed slightly glazed over.

Will shook his head.

"Nothing," he said, clearing his throat and giving her a weak smile.

Amanda touched his forehead. He didn't seem to have a fever, but he seemed off.

Jonathan rounded the corner and spotted them in the hallway.

"He says he's fine, but he was throwing up," Amanda told Jonathan, ignoring the dirty look from Will.

"Will?" Jonathan said, reaching for his little brother.

"I said I'm fine! Really!" Will said, pulling back from Amanda and shying from Jonathan's touch. With one final glance at them, he disappeared in his bedroom and shut the door.

Amanda and Jonathan looked at each other.

She stood and pressed close to him.

"That's not the first time, either," she whispered. "But he doesn't seem sick. I can't tell what's wrong."

Jonathan frowned at Will's bedroom door.

Amanda woke with a start.

The house was dark. She reached for Jonathan, who wasn't there. Panic seared through her.

He had finally told her the truth about Will's disappearance and his theory about what happened to her dad. She knew it was true the moment Jonathan suggested it.

Amanda listened for a minute, then crawled out of bed and wandered into the hallway. She knew Joyce was out with Hopper and Will was spending the night at Mike's.

She heard the toilet flush and ran smack into Jonathan.

"Hey! You okay?" he said, steadying her.

She breathed a sigh of relief and pressed her face into his chest. Maybe the monster wasn't out to get her.

Jonathan held her until she stepped away. Amanda grabbed his hand and nearly dragged him back to the bedroom.

They laid there under the covers facing each other when she spoke.

"Ever thought about us, you know …" she asked shyly, touching his jaw. If the light had been on, she knew he would have reddened.

"What? We haven't even kissed," he nervously replied.

"Then let's change that," Amanda said, eyeing him as she leaned in.

Jonathan pulled her close, his mouth on hers, his legs tangled with hers. Amanda could feel his bulge pressed against her hip.

She moved a hand inside his boxers, gently stroking him, and he nearly rocketed off the bed.

"You don't want to?" she whispered, looking at him.

"Yes, I want to," he panted, easing toward her again. "I've just never, I mean, no one's ever done that before."

Both naked, Amanda welcomed Jonathan into her arms. He settled between her thighs. She reached down to help guide him in.

"Make sure you pull out before you come, okay?" she softly instructed. He nodded, biting back a moan as he entered her. She arched up to meet him, sighing as he slid in deep.

They didn't really find a rhythm that first time and he barely pulled out in time, spilling across her abdomen, before collapsing on her.

"If you get some condoms, you can stay in next time," Amanda huskily murmured in his neck. He eventually rolled off her and they fumbled for their clothes, not wanting to get caught.

They got really good at having sex after that. They usually tried to do it before anyone got home or would sneak into the woods after dinner with the pretense of his camera or her pencils in hand.

One afternoon they went from listening to music and touching to stripping and him covering her body with his. In their rush to come together, they forgot to completely close the bedroom door.

Both were in a post-orgasmic haze, Jonathan still inside of her, when Will called out.

"Jonathan, when you get done, can you come help me?" Will hoarsely said.

Amanda furiously blushed, hiding her face in Jonathan's neck, as Jonathan turned his head to see his brother in the doorway, his back to them.

"Sure, Will. I'll be there in a minute," Jonathan huskily replied. Will disappeared down the hall and Jonathan glanced at Amanda.

"Sorry," he apologized for not closing the door. She shook her head and touched his face.

"It's my fault, too," she said. Neither of them had heard Will come home. "Go check on Will. He didn't sound good."

Jonathan untangled himself from her, stowed the condom in a bag under the bed, and hurriedly dressed. He firmly shut the door on his way out. Amanda rolled over and buried her face in the pillow, telling herself to get over being embarrassed and get dressed.

Jonathan went to Will's room but he wasn't there. He found him in the bathroom.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Jonathan asked, pushing the door open. His little brother was sitting on the toilet, hunched over, his arms wrapped around his stomach.

Will shakily pointed to the sink.

Jonathan peered at the sink and jumped back startled. There were three dark green slugs writhing around, fighting to go down the drain.

"Where the hell did those things come from?" Jonathan yelped, looking at Will. Will tapped his chest.

"Me. They came from inside me," Will choked.

Jonathan knelt in front his brother, looked his brother straight in the face, and pushed Will's hair out of his eyes. It suddenly made since why Will had been more quiet than usual.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Jonathan asked. "This has been going on since we rescued you, hasn't it?"

Will nodded, crying. He had thought it would go away, but instead it had become more intense, and now he was scared.

"What if I become one of those monsters?" Will whined.

Jonathan hugged his brother close. Will clung to him.

"I won't let that happen," Jonathan soothingly said. "We will find a way to fix this."

Jonathan angled the spatula and shoved the second slug toward the rim of glass jar Amanda was holding. The first slug was attempting to escape out of the jar.

Amanda shook the jar to stop first slug as Jonathan scooped up the second slug with the spatula. He grabbed the jar from her, slinging the second slug on top of the first one and sealing the lid.

The third slug had managed to wiggle down the drain before Amanda could bring the jar.

Will continued to sit on the toilet seat, but at least his tears had dried as he watched Jonathan and his girlfriend wrangle the slugs.

"What now?" Will hiccupped.

Jonathan gave him a half-smile as Amanda peered at the trapped slugs.

"We're going to take these to the biology lab and have Mr. Wilson look at them," he said.

"But you won't tell him about me, right?" Will pleaded, glancing between Jonathan and Amanda.

"Of course not! I'm just going to tell him I found these in our backyard," Jonathan said. Will looked relieved.

Amanda and Jonathan wondered what they could do to help Will.

If they told Joyce, she would flip and insist on a doctor. It would mean Will would be in a hospital indefinitely poked and prodded as he underwent tests and they didn't think he would handle that well.

If they told Hopper, he would probably go ape shit about the feds experimenting on children.

If they told Will's friends, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas would try to investigate and help research the problem but might wind up getting in danger themselves.

They figured Mr. Wilson might be their only hope—at least until they could figure out what the slugs were and how they might affect Will's body.