It was the light trickle of rain on his face that pulled Mike from his slumber. He and Eleven had set up the tent as soon as they had arrived at the quarry the previous night, but had ended up falling asleep in their sleeping bags under the night sky. Squinting in the bright daylight, he turned on his side to wake El so they could take cover inside the tent.

And then the world came crashing down on him.

Eleven's face was covered in blood from an apparent nosebleed - a very intense one at that. She lay next to him, unmoving, seemingly unbreathing, so pale her skin looked almost translucent. He could see the blood vessels across her face, and dark purple bags had begun to form under her eyes. She looked terrible.

Shock. Confusion. Panic. All these emotions hit him like a tidal wave at once.

"Oh my God, Eleven!" he cried, sitting up in a flash. He shook her gently at first, then vigorously when she didn't respond.

"ELEVEN!" He cradled her whole upper body between his legs, giving her light taps on the cheek.

"Come on El, wake up. WAKE UP!"

He glanced at their surroundings, panicked. Their sleeping area, as well as the entire right side of his body, was covered in blood.

So much blood.

Mike checked her pulse with his fingers. It was faint, but it was there. He brought his ear down to her lips, listening closely. He couldn't hear anything, but he felt her breath, which gave him an ounce of relief. He immediately picked her up in his arms and ran as fast as he could to Hopper's car, placing her limp body on the backseat, his mind spinning. How could this be happening? What had happened, exactly?

There was no time to think. He had to act, and fast.

He grabbed his pants and covered El with one of their blankets. He got in the car and drove as fast as he could.

Mike slammed on the breaks as he arrived in front of the hospital's E.R., the car screeching to a halt. He grabbed El from the backseat and ran, bursting through the hospital doors.

''HELP! I NEED A DOCTOR!'' he shouted. Two nurses arrived at his side almost immediately.

''What happened?'' one of them asked him, scrutinizing El's unconscious body, a horrified look on her face.

''I DON'T KNOW! I don't know! She was fine last night when we went to sleep! I don't know what happened!'' he explained, his voice breaking at every word. The other nurse glanced over at him, eyeing him suspiciously. Mike couldn't believe it - could she possibly be thinking he'd done this to her?

''What's her name? Age?'' the first nurse asked.

''Eleven - I mean, Jane Hopper. She's 16.''

''We need an E.R. doctor in intensive care, room 12. 16-year-old unconscious female. Looks severely hemorrhaged,'' said the first nurse, speaking into her two-way radio. A third nurse appeared with a stretcher. Mike didn't need to be told what to do, immediately placing El onto it. He thought he was going to faint. Severely hemorrhaged? He didn't know what that meant exactly, but he knew it was bad.

Very, very bad. This could not be happening.

''We're going to need you stay right here sir,'' the unfriendly nurse told him when Mike started following behind them.

''Where are you taking her?'' he asked them, practically shouting. But they had already whisked her away, wheeling El through the swinging doors down the hall. In the distance, Mike could see a doctor running to the room where they had just taken her.

For a minute he just stood there. Dizzy, nauseous. Everyone in the E.R. was staring at him - the shirtless boy covered in blood - but he couldn't care less. He ran to a nearby phone, and tried to call Hopper at home. There was no answer.

''FUCK!'' he screamed, slamming the phone down. He picked it up again, and dialed the police station with trembling fingers.

''Hawkins County Sheriff Department, how may I help you?'' greeted Flo, the receptionist, monotonously.

''I need to speak with Jim Hopper right away!''

''May I ask who is asking for him?''

''GODDAMMIT, THIS IS MIKE WHEELER, I NEED TO TALK TO HIM! IT'S AN EMERGENCY! IT'S ABOUT HIS DAUGHTER!'' he yelled into the phone. He didn't have time for this!

Silence on the other end. ''Hold, please.''

Hopper arrived at the hospital about four and a half minutes after hanging up with Mike.

''What the hell happened?'' he thundered, his eyes widening as he studied Mike's bloodied upper body.

''I woke up and she was covered in blood! She was fine when we went to sleep, I don't understand what happened!'' explained Mike.

''What time did you go to sleep?''

''It must have been 2 or 3 in the morning. I don't know exactly.''

Hopper processed this. ''And when did you get here, exactly?"

''15 minutes ago. Woke up 10 minutes before that.'' Mike was sick of repeating the horrible turn of events. He was the one who wanted information.

He let out a shaky breath. ''It looked like a nosebleed. That's where the blood was came from. Except a really, really bad one. They said she was severely hemorrhaged.'' His voice cracked at the two last words.

Hopper looked at him with visible panic in his eyes. His mind seemed to be racing a million miles per hour. Mike knew the feeling.

''Jim!'' Joyce burst through the main entrance, running towards them. ''What happened!?'' Hopper repeated the information to her, and Mike was grateful.

''Oh my God,'' she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. ''Michael, you poor thing...'' she said, walking towards Mike and pulled him into a tight hug. Mike hugged her back, and the tears starting flowing down his face.

He wept.

Mike sat in the E.R. waiting room for what seemed like an entire lifetime, staring blankly at the floor tiles. He had so many questions. How could life be so good before the day before, and turn into such a nightmare the next morning? What had caused the nosebleed - had he hit her with his elbow in his sleep? No, it had to be something else. And why was it taking so damn long for the doctors and nurses to come back with an update on her condition?

''Mike?'' a familiar voice called.

He looked up. It was his sister, Nancy. His heart lifted momentarily. ''Nancy...''

Nancy put her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. Mike was surprised at how comforted he felt by her presence. Even though they used to fight all the time as kids, their relationship was definitely improving as they were growing older, especially since she had left home for college. He was genuinely happy to spend time with her when she'd come back home during her school breaks.

''I am so sorry, Mike,'' she said softly, tightening her grip on him. Mike couldn't help it. He started weeping again.

''Please don-don't ask me to tell you what hap-happened, I can't relive it - it again, it's too horr-horrible!'' His entire body heaved with each sob.

''It's okay, I already know,'' she assured him soothingly, gently stroking his back. ''Joyce told me on the phone."

Mike let go of his sister and tried to compose himself. He wiped the tears from his face and took a deep breath, falling into his chair again.

''I brought you a shirt, some soap and a towel,'' she said, producing the items from her purse.

''Thanks,'' he replied, taking them from her. ''Can you stay here for a minute while I go to the bathroom? In case the doctors come back...''

Nancy offered him a warm smile and placed her hand on his shoulder. ''Of course.''

As if on cue, a doctor came bursting through the swinging doors, clipboard in hand.

''For Jane Hopper?''

Mike sprang up from his seat immediately. ''Yes?'' The doctor studied him warily. He probably looked like a crazed maniac, but he couldn't care less.

''Yes?'' repeated Hopper, advancing towards them. He offered his hand out to the doctor. ''Jim Hopper, County Sheriff.''

''Nice to meet you, Sheriff,'' he replied as he turned to face Hopper, seemingly pleased to be communicating with an adult. Mike tried not to be offended, but frankly, it pissed him off.

''I understand you're the father, Mr. Hopper?''

''Yes, sir.''

''And you're her partner, Mr... Wheeler?'' he asked, double-checking the information on his clipboard. ''You brought her in, is that correct?''

Mike nodded.

The doctor sighed, removing his glasses and letting them fall around his neck. ''So I've got some good news, and some bad news,'' he said, glancing from Hopper to Mike. Mike's heart sank. ''Which would you like to hear first?''

Hopper opened his mouth to speak, but Mike cut him off. ''The good news. I need to hear it. Please,'' he begged.

''Jane is in stable condition. We did a blood transfusion. Luckily her blood type is A+, which is the most common, and we had enough in store for her. She's still unconscious at the moment, but she'll be fine. We predict she should awaken within twenty-four hours, at most.''

The wave of relief that came over Mike was so intense that he felt dizzy again and almost had to sit down. She was going to be fine! He said she was stable! They had saved her! Mike was so thrilled, he had to fight the urge to hug the doctor.

''And the bad news?'' asked Hopper, reluctant. Mike came down from his cloud. Right. There was bad news.

The doctor paused, a grave expression on his face. ''Jane has a potentially cancerous, grape-sized tumor on her brain.''