Going Home

Hawkins, IN

June 22, 1986

The drive across town to the Hopper residence was nothing like the mad-dash a week before in the other direction. Mike and Eleven sat beside one another in the back seat, his arm protectively around her and a smile of contentment permanently glued to his face. She was leaned against his shoulder, half-dozing as they drove, wearing a peaceful smile of her own. In the front seat, Hopper kept his foot light on the pedal and stopped carefully at every light, forcing himself to keep the ride as gentle as possible. Nearly every minute he checked the rearview mirror, reassuring himself it wasn't some kind of a fevered dream; she really was back there, alive and well and safe.

Arriving home, he turned slowly off the road and down the gravel driveway, parking as close as he could to the front steps for her.

"Let her sleep for a few more minutes. I'm going to go change the sheets on her bed real quick," he said, chastising himself for leaving the blood-soaked bedding in-place all week.

Hopper walked quickly up the porch steps and unlocked the front door, anxious to get Jane settled into bed. The doctors had been insistent that she take it easy for a few days until she got her strength back and he knew he was going to have his hands full trying to keep her from overdoing it. Stepping through the kitchen, he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. He stopped and listened to the silent house, turning slowly and looking for anything out of place. Nothing seemed amiss, so he brushed it off as a week of frayed nerves and little sleep. He stepped into the living room and his eyes immediately locked onto the files boxes, still stacked in the corner. The lid on the top box was backward once more.

The perfectionist in him remembered perfectly having put the lid on the right direction when he was packing up the files after their night of reading the journals. He hoped with all his might that Jane had simply gone into the boxes again; he had never come through the living room on his visit to shower and he certainly hadn't taken time to even look at the boxes when Mike's scream had summoned him down the hall that terrible night. Quickly stepping up to the box, he pulled the lid off and was greeted by three gaps in the files; everything for Eight, Eleven and Twelve was missing. He ran down to her room to see if she had simply taken the files there to read them further, though he knew even before he got there that they would be gone. A quick tour of the room confirmed the missing files where not there. Dashing back into the living room, he surveyed the space more closely. This time his eyes fell to the fireplace mantle and Sara's picture sitting by itself; Jane's school portrait was gone too.

He had known this day would come, though he had hoped it was just overly-cautious paranoia. He backtracked through the kitchen and down the hall to his room. Everything there seemed as it had been days before when he had come home to shower. He pulled open the top drawer of his dresser and was relieved to find his revolver there, just as he had left it. Sliding out the cylinder, he confirmed the weapon was loaded and ready. Grabbing the holster and the spare box of ammunition he kept in the drawer, he made his way through the kitchen, picked up his keys from the counter and locked the door as he went back outside.

Mike was just helping Eleven climb slowly out of the back seat when he saw Hopper step back out through the front door, locking it behind him. Gun at the ready in his hand, his eyes were wide with panic as he scanned the yard and the trees beyond.

"Back in the car, both of you," he shouted as he walked quickly toward the car and slid behind the wheel.

Mike wasted no time helping Eleven settle back into her seat and helped her buckle, Hopper already throwing the car into gear and starting up the driveway in a spray of gravel. It took only seconds for Mike to register the gist of what was happening as they pulled out onto the main road once more. All of Hopper's calm, delicate driving was gone, replaced with practiced purpose.

Breaking the silence, Hopper explained the situation as briefly as he could. "Someone's been through the house. They've taken the files for Jane, Eight and Twelve. They've also taken Jane's picture from above the fireplace. Nothing else in the house has been touched so I think it's safe to guess at who was behind this."

Mike and Eleven stared at each other in stunned silence as Hopper scrutinized a car passing them in the opposite direction. The two of them had also known it was likely this was going to happen someday, especially once they knew that Brenner was still alive.

Hopper went on, staring in the rearview mirror at Eleven. "I've been getting ready for this on some level since the day you followed me out of the woods and put your trust in me to keep you safe. I promised you I would never let them get their hands on you and I mean to keep that promise. We have to disappear for a while, and I'm not going to lie, I don't know how long it will be before it's safe to come back."

He saw Mike tense up suddenly, his face draining of all color in panic at the thought of losing her all over again.

"Don't worry Mike, you're coming with us," Hopper reassured. "If they're looking for Jane, they know you're the one to go through to get to her. Your family will be fine; Brenner's people always knew they had no clue what was going on. Also, I know that if I separate the two of you, you'll stop at nothing to find each other, so you're safer together"

They smiled in relief at one another as she gave his hand a squeeze, words still painful in her throat. As long as they were together, they knew they would be alright.

Getting serious, Hopper called Mike's attention back up front once more. "So I know you handled the Blazer fine in the parking lot the other day. Do you think you can handle the car out here on the road? I need you to be honest, can you drive this safely for about ten minutes for me?"

Mike nodded, "Yeah, Nancy has taken me practicing in the parking lot up at the school. I can drive if you need me to."

"Good. Get up here." He waited while Mike gave Eleven's hand one more reassuring squeeze and then climbed up into the passenger seat. "Here's what's going to happen, so listen closely. Both of you. In a couple miles, I am going to pull off the road. I have something stashed there I need to pick up. As soon as I get out, Mike, you are going to slide over here and start driving. Stick to the speed limit and don't draw attention to yourself; it's 40 along here."

He slid the watch off his wrist and held it back over his shoulder, passing it to Eleven. "Jane, you're going to keep track of time. You guys are going to drive for four minutes up the road. Then, you're going to turn around and drive the four minutes back to get me. Now this next part is more important than anything I have ever asked of either of you and you have to do exactly what I tell you, understand?" He paused, waiting for both to give him an affirmative nod. "When you get back, pull into the turnoff. If I don't come out of the trees immediately, you pull back onto the road and you keep going. If there is another car stopped there, don't even slow down. You go. Yes?" Once again, they nodded gravely, the severity of what he was suggesting beginning to sink in.

As he drove, Hopper pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and fished four crisp $100 bills from under a hidden flap. Holding them up briefly for Mike to see, he tucked them under the revolver sitting on the seat beside him. Addressing Mike this time, he went on, "If you go, you need to go far. I'm not going to tell you where, because I can't know. But you need to get as far from Hawkins as you can and find some place to hide out. Make that money last as far as you can. Jane can check on me from a distance and when things are safe, I'll find some way to let her know. Mike, until that happens, I need you to take care of her; keep her safe at all costs." He glanced down at the seat once more and Mike followed his gaze to the gun, and understood the gravity of what Hopper was asking of him. Mike also knew there was not a doubt in his own mind he would do anything and everything to keep her safe.

Looking once more in the mirror, he addressed his daughter solemnly. "Jane, if anything happens, and you guys have to go, I need you go and stay safe. If Brenner's people get ahold of me, they're going to try and torture your location out of me; they did it before and I know they won't hesitate now. That's why I'm not telling you guys where to go. If you reach out to check on me, whatever you see them doing to me, you have to promise me your not going to come back until I let you know it is safe. Can you do that for me?"

Barely holding it together, she nodded, "I promise."

Reaching a hand back, he took hold of one of hers, "Whatever happens, Jane, know that I love you more than anything in the whole world."

She squeezed his hand back, choking out "Love you. Too."

Arriving at the pullout, Hopper pulled over and threw the car into Park. As he climbed out, Mike slide over and took his place behind the wheel. He looked at the two of them sitting in the car, and steeled himself to the idea that this could be the last time he ever saw them.

"So, see you in eight minutes?" Mike asked, forcing as much hope into the question as he could.

Hopper nodded and then, casting one last look at his daughter, turned and walked into the woods. Mike put the car into gear and, after checking over his shoulder, pulled back onto the road. He glanced in the mirror to make sure Eleven was watching the time and saw her wipe a single tear from her cheek.

"He'll be okay," he offered, though he knew it was nothing he could promise. "When the times up, you can tap my shoulder if it hurts too much to talk."

She nodded, and they past the next few minutes in contemplative silence. At the end of the four minutes, Eleven leaned forward and tapped Mike on the shoulder, holding up the watch in the rearview mirror for good measure.

"Thanks," he said, as he pulled off onto the shoulder. After checking in both directions, he pulled a u-turn and started back toward the pullout. In the whole drive since leaving Hopper, they had only encountered one other car, and Mike understood exactly why he had picked the spot he did. As the time ticked away, their anticipation continued to grow. Finally, with seconds left on the clock, Mike steered the car around the final bend in the road and the pullout came into view. A brief, initial relief washed over them when they discovered no other car parked and waiting. Mike eased off onto the wide gravel shoulder and waited, unsure if he should put the car in Park or not. Both of them held their breath as they watched the trees for any sign of Hopper. After several excruciating seconds, Mike was preparing to pull his foot off the brake when Hopper stepped into view once more.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Mike put the car into Park and threw open the passenger door before clambering into the backseat. Hopper tossed two large black duffle bags onto the seat and slammed the door before moving quickly around the front of the car and slid in behind the wheel. As he moved to put the car in gear, Eleven lunged forward and threw her arms around him in as tight of a hug as she could manage with the seat-back between them, burying her face in his neck.

Hopper raised a hand and gently patted the side of her head, "It's okay. Daddy's here." After a moment far to short for either of them, he gave her head a final pat, stating "We've got to get going. We're sitting ducks out here right now."

Taking his meaning, she released her grip and settled back in her seat once more, allowing Mike to help her with the seatbelt. The day was beginning to exhaust her as Hopper pulled the car back onto to the road and pointed them North and out of town. After a few silent minutes, in which the three fugitives caught their breath and came to grips with the fact that nothing bad had happened so far, Hopper turned to the business at hand once more.

"Okay, so here's what's going to happen right now. We are heading for Chicago. That should be far enough away and big enough for us to get a motel room and lay low for a couple days while we figure out our next move. We need to figure out just what kind of danger we're in, and we need to get Jane into bed to recuperate. We got lucky this past week but hospitals are out of the question right now. Mike, grab the bag with the red luggage tag from up here."

Unbuckling, Mike leaned over the seat and grabbed the black duffle with the red tag, dragging it into to the backseat with him.

That done, Hopper continued, "Okay, outer pocket, there should be a wallet, can you get that out?" Mike searched for the zipper and moments later had a black leather wallet in his hand. Up front, Hopper fished out his own wallet again and then, grabbing the bills tucked under the revolver, passed the stack back to Mike. "Move all the cash from my wallet to the new one. Leave everything else and pass the new one up to me."

Mike opened Hopper's wallet and retrieved the bills, totaling $75, and added that to the $400 he had pulled out earlier. Flipping open the new wallet, he was surprised to find a drivers license already in place. Though it had Hopper's photo, it was labeled Jack Roberts of Evansville, Indiana. A credit card in the same name sat in the slot next to the license. Slipping the loose bills quickly into the wallet alongside the $100 already there, he passed it up to Hopper, who quickly tucked it back in his pocket.

"Okay, you two next. Open the main section and grab the purse." Mike pulled back the main zipper and found a pale blue purse laying on top of the other contents. "Open it up, there's a wallet for each of you in there. Mike, move any money you have in your wallet into your new one, then give me both of our old ones."

Mike pulled two wallets from the purse; a pale blue one matching the purse and a slim black leather one. Pulling open the black one he was surprised to find a school ID card with his photo on it in the name of Brian Roberts, indicating he was a student at Central High School of Evansville. Mike realized, as he moved the $12 from his own wallet over, adding it to the $25 in his new one, that Hopper had been including him the escape plan for quite a while. After passing the two empty wallets up to Hopper, Mike handed the purse and blue wallet to Eleven, who flipped her own open to discover another Central High School ID with her photo and the name Ellen Roberts. It brought a smile to her face that, for a while, she got to be El again.

Hopper saw the two eyeing their new identities and continued the explanation of his plans. "I don't know how long we are going to have to stay gone, or where we are going to go. For the time being, whenever we have to go around other people, we are the Roberts family. I'm Jack, you can call me dad, that should be easy enough. Brian. Ellen. You guys are going to have to be brother and sister when we're in public. I know it's not ideal, but it's a cover story that is believable. You can stay close to one another, but you're going to have to watch the affection and the lovey-dovey looks you're always giving each other. Mike, you can stick with calling her El, that should be fine. Jane, you're going to need to remember to call him Brian. If you slip up, his middle name is Michael, but avoid it if possible. I can't stress how important it is to call each other the right names when we're around anyone else. We have to assume Brenner's people are watching for us now."

"Okay, Dad," Mike said with a grin, trying out Hopper's new title. He had to admit, Hopper as his father wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

"We're going to keep a low profile and try to stay out of sight as much as possible. Just in case, I have paperwork up here to back up our new identities. If it somehow comes up, your birthdays are the same, pretty much. Mike, you were born the same day, but a year earlier in '70. Congratulations, you're 16 now. No, I'm not buying you a car," he added, glancing back in the mirror with a grin of his own.

Settling into a more comfortable position in his seat, Hopper finished his speech, "For now, we're headed to Chicago to find a room for the night, probably two. Tomorrow, we'll figure out what our next steps are. Might as well catch a little sleep if you can, we still have a couple hours drive ahead of us."

Eleven nodded and laid her head down on Mike's shoulder, snuggling into his side as he put an arm around her, pulling her in close. Hopper could tell the whole affection thing was going to be a problem, but that was something for later. He decided to let them have their moment of comfort while they could.

They drove onward into the evening twilight toward the city. In a little town just short of their destination, Hopper pulled into the parking lot of a small grocery store and sent Mike in for food. The two of them had gotten pretty used to living on coffee in the past week, but Jane needed to eat if she was going to regain her strength, though both were amazed at just how well she was already doing after spending a week unconscious. Mike returned to the car with sandwiches and Cokes for the two of them, and a yogurt and juice for Eleven. Hopper also couldn't help but notice the familiar yellow box in the bottom of the bag and he threw Mike a knowing glance.

"What? They get pretty soft when you let one thaw." he said, defending the purchase he knew would speed Eleven on her recovery more than anything else. She smiled over at him, taking an educated guess at what surprise he had bought her.

Just outside the city limits, Hopper pulled off the road and into the parking lot of a quiet, nondescript motel. Picking up the holstered revolver off the front seat, he passed it over the seat-back to Mike.

"You guys stay here, I'm going to get us a room," Hopper said. Seeing the hesitation on Mike's face as he took hold of the holster, Hopper added, "I know it's a lot to ask, but get used to it. Whoever stays with her is going to be armed."

Mike looked back, resolve returning to his face. "I know. If something happens, I know what I have to do. They're not taking her away again." he said through gritted teeth.

Hopper gave him an appreciative nod and exited the car, returning a few minutes later with a room key. Pulling around to the back side of the building, he parked in front of door 132 and they all climbed out. Mike and Hopper each grabbed a bag, while Eleven stretched and then followed them up to the door. Turning the key in the lock, Hopper gave the knob a twist and pushed the door open. Flipping on the light switch by the door, he surveyed the room, satisfying himself it would serve the purpose. It was no Hilton, but it looked clean and safe.

Following him into the room, the first thing Mike took note of was the pair of beds. It didn't take much imagination to figure out how the sleeping arrangements were going to go. Eleven would obviously get one of the beds, needing as much comfort in her recovery as possible, and Hopper would most certainly claim the other. Mike quickly resigned himself to a night on the floor, though he was used to it thanks to years of sleepovers with his friends. If it meant he got to be with Eleven, he was ready for whatever conditions he had to sleep in.

Securing the lock behind them, Hopper slid a chair over and wedged it under the doorknob for good measure and turned to look over the room again. Eleven had already taken a seat on the foot of one bed, looking ready to fall right back to sleep. Mike just stood there, duffle bag still in hand, looking awkwardly around.

Hopper had been wrestling with the decision for the last hour but decided it was the only answer that made sense. "Alright, here's what's happening tonight. The bag with the green tag is for you two. I have a few changes of clothes and pajamas in there for each of you. Right now, you can take turns getting changed for bed. We're having lights out in twenty minutes." He took a deep breath and let it out slow before continuing. "It's been way too long of a day and I don't have any fight left in me. I'm taking the bed closest to the door. Jane, you get the other bed. Mike, you can sleep there too."

They both stared back at him in astonishment, certain they must have heard him wrong.

"Look, every fatherly instinct is telling me I should be making him sleep on the floor or out in the car. I'm willing to give this a chance, but NO funny business. You hear me? Anything inappropriate, at all, and he's sleeping with me for the rest of this little adventure. Got it?"

Mike nodded his agreement quickly, terrorized at the mental image of Hopper snuggling up to him in the night. Ten minutes later, Eleven was tucked safely in bed, already fast asleep. Mike sat on the edge of the bed, watching the peaceful smile on her face as she slept, such a transformation from the hospital. He couldn't believe it had only been early that afternoon she had been playfully rolling herself back and forth across her hospital room, ready to go home. Now here they were, hundreds of miles from Hawkins and no idea where they were going next.

Leaning down, he planted a soft kiss on her cheek. "Goodnight, El. I love you."

"Night," she murmured back, too lost in sleep to even know she was saying it.

Walking around to the other side of the bed, he climbed under the covers and settled himself at what he hoped was a respectful distance from her. As Hopper walked out of the bathroom, Mike's eyes followed him across the room, terrified he would suddenly change his mind about the sleeping arrangements.

"Oh, calm down," he teased. "Just don't do anything to make me regret my decision."

As if on cue, Eleven rolled over in her sleep and tucked herself against Mike's side. Mike's expression dissolved into a look of frightened apology.

Hopper let out an exasperated sigh as he reached over and flicked off the bedside light.