Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.

Author's note: This has become complete fluff and I'm not even sorry. Happy reading!

Time After Time

It was becoming increasingly ridiculous that whatever the situation, whatever the emotion, it always seemed to lead them here – to him pressing her against the nearest flat surface and kissing her like his life depended on it, (he was beginning to think that it did), and then pretending it never happened and starting all over again. Post 2x09 Joyce/Hopper angsty fluff.

Chapter Four: Fear

"I'm his wife."

It was scary how easily those words had slipped out of her mouth, how unthreatening the lie had felt and heard to her own ears. It was necessary to tell it; she knew the medics wouldn't let her in to see him unless she was a close relative and she had to see him, she wasn't leaving the hospital until she had undeniable proof that he was okay.

She'd heard about it on the local news that was playing on the radio at work – a shootout between police and numerous suspects in this part of Indiana was almost unheard of, so of course all of the local media had been in a gleefully crazed panic about it all morning. But it wasn't in Hawkins, it was in some equally sleepy place a couple of towns over so she hadn't thought much of it, after all she'd seen things that were a lot more unusual and strange than that in the last couple of years. But then, after hours of repeating the same few pieces of information over and over again, the news reporter had offered up something new – the rumour of a police fatality, an officer believed to be a member of the Hawkins police department.

Her blood had run cold at the announcement. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be, after they had been through, everything they had survived and the semi-stable piece of ground they had finally found themselves on, fate couldn't be such an unfeeling bitch as to take him from her now… could it?

Joyce had rung the station but of course it had been engaged, repeatedly. No doubt everyone else in town was wondering the same thing and trying to get through to obtain some answers. But her need was greater. She had come to rely on him so much over the last year or so. His saving of her family had not ended when he'd lead her into the Upside Down to bring Will home, that had only been the beginning. He had been there every step of the way since, every hospital appointment and every irrational phone call. Always the first to believe her, always the first to offer help, always the one with the answers that seemed to make it all better.

The thought that she had lost that, lost him, utterly broke her. And so she had come to the hospital and had blagged her way this far. They hadn't told her he was dead but they hadn't told he was fine either. She still had no idea what was happening as they lead her to a private patient's room and told her to wait outside.

The nurse she had followed went in and closed the door behind her. She heard her the murmurings of the nurse's voice and then a moment later the much deeper murmurings of the reply. She almost cried out in relief. She couldn't hear what he was saying but there was no denying that was Hopper. He was alive, he was up and talking and he was alive. The nurse came back out and held the door open for Joyce to pass through.

He was sitting on the side of his bed as she entered the room. Another nurse was dressing a wound on his shoulder – he had been shot but just a flesh a wound from what she could see and he clearly wasn't in that much pain if the way he was smirking at her was anything to go by.

"Mrs Hopper." He greeted her playfully and she ran at him full speed as she dived at his chest, aiming for his good side and luckily hitting her target. The nurse jumped back in surprise but smiled at the two of them.

"I'll give you guys a minute." She told them as she left the room.

Hopper wrapped both of his arms around her as she continued to shake against his bare chest. The movement caused considerable discomfort to his wounded shoulder but he gritted his teeth and brought his good arm up to stroke the back of her hair.

"Honestly, I show you a good time once in Karen Wheeler's bathroom and you go off and get us married without even telling me." He teased her slightly. She began to laugh in reply but somehow it turned into a sob as she cried properly and earnestly against him. She was so relieved she could barely breathe. He tightened his grip around her and as always his embrace was entirely too comforting, as if his arms alone could protect her from the rest of the world and all the shit that came with it, it made her cry even more.

"I was so scared…" She managed to sob against him. "They said there had been a police fatality from the Hawkins' department and I was so scared it could be you." She felt him go rigid against her.

"Jesus Joyce I'm sorry. Those stupid fuckwits! There was no police fatality at all, just a couple of superficial injuries to share out amongst all of us. I'd have called you if I'd known…"

"I know." She interrupted him as she at last managed to get a hold of her breathing and slow her tears. She pulled out from his embrace to stand face to face with him. With him sitting on the bed and her standing between his legs they were actually at the same height for once. He reached forward to wipe her tears with his rough fingers and smooth her hair a little. He gave her a quiet, reverent kind of attention that was utterly intoxicating. "Kiss me." She suddenly blurted out.

"Joyce…" He breathed out softly against her face. He sounded uncertain.

"I know." She said again. And she did know. She knew what he was going to say – that she was upset and emotional and it had been less than week since they had made their deal of 'no more games' in the Wheeler's bathroom and they had barely had time to say hello to each other since then let alone sit down and work out exactly how to move forward. She knew all of that but right then she couldn't have cared in the least. "I know. But kiss me anyway, please."

He could never refuse her anything when she asked him like that. The kiss was different that it had been between them before, in recent years at least. It was unrushed, gentle, loving. Somehow she needed to feel him between her own lips to truly know he was still alive. When he parted his mouth slightly she sought out his tongue in an attempt to get even closer to him still. She would have crawled beneath his very skin if she could have and settled, at peace, within him. He pulled back from her slightly and then immediately kissed her again with just as much deference. He then kissed her once, twice on the side of her face. Solid, physical, life-affirming kisses. She would tire of the way he kissed her – like she was the only good thing in the world. It made her feel beyond powerful.

"I think I love you." She confessed in a breathy whisper as he continued to stroke her face. If her actions had showed anything in the last hour or so it was that. He didn't still his movements as he replied, but his mouth slowly spread to give her a genuine smile.

"Well good, because I know I love you." He told her matter-of-factly.

"No, I mean…" Her eyebrows had knotted together in the most adorable way and it caused his smile to stretch even further. She meant she didn't loved him because they were friends, because they had a shared history and had been through so much together. She meant that she was in love with him and all that could possibly involve. Good, bad and no doubt ugly. He knew that, he knew that and he felt exactly the same way, and if getting shot at by a bunch of barmy bastards was what made the two of them finally realise that then so be it.

"I know what you mean and I do too." His fingers worked their way under her chin until he tilted her head back up and forced her to look him in the eye. "Joyce, I do too." He promised.

"Okay." She finally agreed. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"Not a fucking clue." He responded and to his surprise she burst out laughing. Well laughing beat crying he supposed.

It was messy and beyond complicated and completely the wrong time with everything that had happened to Will and Jane and the Upside Down and Bob and Sara and all of the past tragedies that made up their lives. But despite all of that it had happened anyway. He truly had no idea what they were going to do next, how they were going to handle all of the shit this would inevitably bring their way but he didn't have to figure that out now. So Hopper just pulled her close once more, wrapped his arms around her and held the woman that he loved.