Thank you guys so much for all the follows/favorites and reviews! Really made my day :)

Disclaimer: I do not own ST (or Eggos).

Things hadn't quite died down after Eleven closed the gate and the government was "exposed". As a consequence, El was still staying in that old shack for the time being. The hype around town wasn't the only thing that hadn't died down, however. If anything, Mike was even more persistent on spending every possible moment he could with Eleven.

And every possible moment wasn't very often, so Mike was forced to take desperate measures. It was two weeks after the Snow Ball, and he hadn't seen her since. Of course he was going to find a way to see her (even if it didn't have Hopper's metaphorical Dad seal of approval).

The day Mike decided to scrape the ice off his bike was a Tuesday during winter break. It had to have been a Tuesday, really; those were Hopper's late days. Eleven would be at the cabin, Mike would show up at the cabin, surprise her...sounds easy, right? That's because it was. He knew his way around the place now. He knew the exact location of the trip wire, not to mention the other various booby traps Hopper decided to put up.

Well, there was one thing that Mike wasn't positive of: the knock. It had a tendency to confuse him. And if he had been using his brain, he would've taken that into account. But, the thing was that it physically pained him to go this long without seeing Eleven (nine days was a long time in his opinion).

So, he rapped his knuckles against the door in what he thought was the knock. He paused, hoping that he had remembered correctly. He was met with silence.

"Son of a -"

The locks started clicking before he could get the word out.

When the door swung open, Eleven wasn't there to greet him.

"Eleven?" Mike said as he stepped inside cautiously, closing the door behind him. The locks clicked back into place. His eyes roamed the room, looking for her.

Any trace of happiness disappeared from his face when he saw her curled up on the couch. She didn't throw her arms around him like she always did, or even stand up to greet him. She didn't even say a measly "hi". There was dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were curved in a small, most likely unintentional frown. It didn't take long for Mike's expression to mirror hers, only his was etched with concern and worry.

"El?" He asked as he closed the door. Eleven locked it again, but still didn't acknowledge him, "El. What's wrong?"

"El?" He asked softly, moving to kneel in front of her. She didn't even look at him, "El. What's wrong?"

"Tired," She mumbled, nuzzling her head against a tattered throw pillow.

Mike looked around the cabin while he tried to think of what to say or do in this situation when his eyes fell on a half eaten Eggo.

"Did you finish lunch?" Mike asked, sounded a bit like Hopper did when he told her to eat her vegetables.

"...from this morning," Eleven mumbled, the beginnings of her sentence unintelligible. She pulled herself up, struggling to keep her eyes open. It was only noon; Mike couldn't help but wonder why she was so exhausted.

"Have you eaten since then?"

Eleven managed to shake her head.

Mike lowered himself onto the couch beside her now, watching her face intently. Her eyes fluttered shut, the corners of her mouth still turned in a frown. He could tell she didn't feel well; he didn't even have to ask.

"You need to eat, okay? You'll get sick," Mike said, "Even more than you already are,"`

Mike didn't wait for her response before walking into the kitchen. The waffles on the table were cold and stale. He wasn't going to make her finish them. He popped two more in the toaster (Hopper really didn't really keep a variety of things to eat in the cabin).

Mike didn't wait for her response before walking the few paces to the kitchen. He decided Eleven needed to at least eat something a bit healthier than waffles, and started looking for such a thing.

He'd hardly been in there for a minute when he heard Eleven. One soft whimper turned into two, and that was Mike's cue to get his ass out of the kitchen and to her side. She'd fallen asleep, but her lips were trembling and she would whimper again every couple seconds.

"El," Mike said as he shook her shoulder slightly. She didn't even stir. He said, louder this time, "Eleven!"

She still didn't wake up, causing Mike to wonder when the last time she even slept was. A few tears had started to drip down her cheeks, and she was shivering all over now.

"No...," She muttered, her voice quiet and slurred, "No," Her words grew steadily louder, "No. No...no...no!"

"El!" Mike said, so loud he was almost yelling. He put his hands on her shoulders and tried to jostle her back to consciousness, "El! El, you need to wake up. Eleven!"

It worked. Her eyes snapped open. She looked around the cabin, panicked, tears still streaming down her face. Her bloodshot eyes landed on Mike, who was sitting beside her with a pained expression. She practically crashed into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. She buried her face in his sweatshirt, sobs still racking her body.

It had been cold, dark. Vines had covered the walls, the floors, the ceiling, seemingly sucking the life out of the room and suffocating it. She had called for Hopper, for Mike, for anyone. No one came. Tears fell hot on her face as she ran and ran, trying to find a way out. There wasn't a way out. And then there was Mike's frantic voice, calling her back to reality.

"It's okay, El. It's okay," Mike said, holding her just as tightly, "It was just a nightmare,"

Eleven pulled back and hugged her arms to herself. Mike didn't let go, running his hands up and down her arms in hopes that this would soothe her.

Eleven pulled away from him and hugged her arms to herself. Mike didn't do the same, rubbing his hands up and down her arms in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

"Every time," Eleven said, shaking her head. Her breaths were uneven as she scrunched her eyes shut.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Every time I sleep," Eleven said, barely above a whisper, "The Upside Down. I go back,"

Mike's eyes grew wide and he pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"It was just a nightmare," He whispered, "It wasn't real,"

"Felt like it," Eleven said, her voice muffled by Mike's sweater. At least she had stopped crying.

"That's the thing about bad dreams. They trick you," Mike said, "How long has this been happening? Is that why you're so tired?"

"Since I closed the gate," Eleven said, pulling away from Mike again (he refused to be too far away from her and kept his hand on her knee). She wiped the remaining tears off her face.

"How about this," Mike said, "We have a couple hours. How about you eat something, and then try -just try- to sleep for a little while? I'll be beside you the whole time,"

Eleven hesitated, "...promise?"

"Yeah. Promise," Mike said as he gave her a reassuring smile.

A few minutes later, Eleven had finished off both of her Eggos (Mike hadn't found anything else) and retired to her room. Mike sat on the floor, propped up against her bed.

"Don't go anywhere. Please," Eleven said.

"I won't," Mike said.

It didn't take long for the sound of Eleven's soft, slow breathing to fill the room. Her arm was draped over the edge of her bed, her hand clasped firmly in Mike's. And for the first time in what could easily be weeks, her dreams weren't plagued by the Upside Down.

The nightmare thing is a cliche and a half, I know, but I couldn't resist.