They sat there for a while longer, wrapped up in one another's arms and watched the small fire burn down to embers. Mike ran ideas through his mind, plans he had been contemplating from the day she first left, of just how they would make it all work. El sat cuddled up to Mike, pressed against his side and was surprised to realize she actually felt hopeful for the first time in years. She had been afraid to let him make the promise, knowing that if he couldn't keep it and she lost him again, that would somehow be worse than the loss itself. A promise from Mike Wheeler had been the first reliable feeling of security she had in her life and she couldn't bear the thought of that security being gone. Still, she had seen the determined look in his eyes when he promised, and somehow she knew once again, he was going to make everything alright.

Finally glancing down at her watch, El stood and, taking Mike's hand, pulled him up from the log.

"Time to head back. I wasn't kidding when I said dad would be sitting there worrying," she said with a laugh.

Grabbing an old coffee can, she scooped water from the little pool and doused the last of the flames, plunging the cavern into darkness. Mike stood where he was, knowing if he took a step in any direction, he was going to trip and break something. He never heard her approach, but he suddenly felt her presence the instant before her lips were on his, her hands running up his arms as he reached out and wrapped her in a firm embrace.

"We really do need to go," she sighed, breathlessly, as they pulled apart.

"Are you sure? You could always just pull that rock back across the opening and we could stay in here forever."

"Maybe we'll call that Plan B," she giggled. "Come on."

Holding tight to his hand, El guided them safely back out of the cave and onto the beach. What little moon had been peaking through the clouds when they went in was now completely obscured, leaving the walk back to the boardwalk almost as dark as the cave had been. After retrieving Mike's rental car from where he had left it that afternoon, they made the short drive back to the house and tucked it out of sight in the spacious garage next to the house.

As soon as they walked into the house, it was clear El's assessment had been correct. Stepping into the kitchen, they immediately heard the creak of a chair just out of sight in the living room, as Hank stood to come and meet them.

"We're fine, dad," El called out, before he had even turned the corner.

"Oh, you're home," he said, trying to play off the timing of his trip to the fridge as a coincidence. "Did you have a good walk?"

"For someone who's spent the last decade keeping us hidden, you're still a terrible lier," she teased. "If you're going to pretend to come in here for a beer, at least put down the unopened one you're already holding."

He looked down at the can he had grabbed almost an hour ago and never bothered to start. "Sorry. You can't blame your old man for worrying about you."

"That's why I love you," she said, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before continuing into the living room with Mike in tow.

In the living room, Mike was surprised to see the couch had already been fixed up for him in their absence. He had been prepared to rough it for the night with just the old quilt that had been laying across the back, so the sheet tucked into the cushions, and the folded blanket and pillow sitting at one end were a welcome sight.

The three of them sat for a while longer, El and Hank peppering Mike with questions about Hawkins and the people they had been forced to leave behind. Only when Hank declared it bedtime, and reiterated his decree about who was sleeping where, did Mike realize just how tired he had gotten. His body was still on Chicago time and so, felt as though it were almost 2:30 in the morning. After a kiss goodnight at El's bedroom door, Mike went back to the couch and settled in to sleep. As excited as he was, and in spite of all the joys and worries running through his head, he was out like a light in a matter of minutes.

He wasn't sure whether it was El, or the thunder, that woke him a few hours later. He opened his eyes to find her kneeling in front of the couch, her face close to his. A flash of lightning illuminated her face just long enough for Mike to register the panic painted there, and he was instantly wide awake.

"El, are you alright?" he asked, concern quickly mounting.

"Yeah, just..." she paused, flinching as another flash lit up the room, followed less than a second later by the accompanying rumble of thunder. "Can I just sit out here with you for a little bit?"

"Of course," he agreed, sitting up and scooting over to one end of the couch.

El sat down beside him, tucking her feet up to one side and nestling herself tight against his side. Mike put a reassuring arm around her shoulder, and gently took hold of her hands with his other.

"Thank you," she whispered, shuddering and pressing herself tighter to his side as another rumble shook the room.

"It's okay," he soothed, stroking her shoulder and running his hand softly down her back.

After a few minutes, she had fallen asleep again, curled warmly against him, though each rumble of thunder sent another involuntary shudder through her sleeping frame. Sitting there, trying his best to comfort her as she slept, Mike almost didn't notice Hank walk into the room.

"Had a feeling I'd find her out here," he said quietly, settling into his old recliner.

"I think the thunder had her spooked, and she came out here," Mike explained, trying to head off any accusation that they were sneaking around his rules.

"I know. She's never been able to sleep through a storm; not once. The first rumbles of thunder she's wide awake in a panic. I used to try reading to her, or rubbing her back to settle her back down, but that never did any good. So now, whenever a storm passes through, the tradition is mugs of hot chocolate and a few rounds gin-rummy until the thunder is done. I was worried after she didn't show up at my door when the lighting started."

Mike looked down at the girl sleeping peacefully against his chest, his protective arms around her keeping the latest rumble of thunder from reaching her subconscious.

"I really don't know how you do it," Hank said, staring in amazement. "Just being around you seems to put her mind at ease in a way nothing else can. Over the years, we've pieced together her fear of storms and traced it back to her first night out of the lab. Being locked away in the middle of that building, she had never even heard a storm before and all of a sudden she was stranded out in the middle of it. Not knowing what else to do, she was actually considering going back to the lab, and then you found her and took her home."

It was a memory that was forever burned into Mike's mind, turning around in the woods and finding her there, scared and alone, soaked to the bone in nothing but an over-sized yellow t-shirt.

"She told me how, after you got her settled in the basement that night, the storm raging outside still had her scared. All she wanted to do was run upstairs and find you, but she knew it was too dangerous; she could tell how big a risk you were taking by hiding her there. So that night, she decided that even though you were two floors away, you were still close enough to keep anything bad from happening to her. And that was the last night she slept through a thunder-storm, until tonight," he said, nodding toward El as she slept.

As she had settled deeper into sleep, El shifted and was now laying comfortably on her side, her head cradled in Mike's lap. Hank stood and walked over, laying the discarded blanket over her before turning back to Mike.

"I should have brought you along when we ran. I never realized just how much she needed you, and I'm sorry," he apologized.

"You were just doing what you thought was best, all to keep her safe. No one can fault you for that," Mike offered.

Hank nodded appreciatively and took a long, slow breath before saying, "Whatever you're planning, just be careful. Now that you two have found each-other again, she needs you. Please, don't hurt her."

Before Mike could respond, the old man turned and walked back to his room and gently closed the door. Looking down at the only girl he had ever loved, Mike gently stroked her hair and whispered, "I know what we have to do, El. I promise we'll be together."

AN: I will go ahead and apologize if anything about this chapter doesn't make sense. I am fighting a cold and wrote this while on NyQuil so it is possible I might have missed putting down a detail that was in my head. I waited until I was between doses to edit, so hopefully I caught it all, but I just wanted to give a heads up in case this chapter felt a little off.