El shut the car door and looked up at Hawkins National Laboratory, which towered before her, as imposing and terrifying as she remembered it to be - especially in this gloomy, rainy weather. It was never easy for her to return here, and every time she did, El prayed it would be the last.

But it never was.

"You okay?" Mike asked her, his eyes filled with concern.

El gave him an uneasy look. "Yeah... I guess."

Mike took her hand in his, gently rubbing it with his thumb. "You got this," he encouraged her softly. El smiled up at him in return and laced her fingers through his.

"Ready?" asked Hopper, appearing at their side. El gave him a firm nod.

They made their way into the building. Her dad had made Mike wear a cap and a pair of his old glasses from the 70's, hoping they would help conceal his identity after last night's episode. Mike thought it was stupid and unnecessary, but knew he was in no position to bargain with Hopper. El, on the other hand, thought he looked extremely handsome with glasses.

"May I help you?" the stern-looking woman at the reception asked, eyeing them carefully.

"I have an appointment with Dr. Owens. Jim Hopper."

The woman checked something on her computer, then grabbed the phone and dialed a number. ''Dr. Owens, I've got Jim Hopper waiting at the reception.'' She hung up and turned towards Hopper. ''8th floor, second door to the right.''

After checking in at the reception, they headed towards Dr. Owens' office. El tried to stay calm as they navigated the familiar corridors, but every corner seemed to jog her memory, triggering flashbacks of her past life. Mike sensed her discomfort and reached for her hand, keeping closer to her as they walked.

"Jim! Jane! Michael! So good to see you three!" Dr. Owens greeted them, rising from his desk as they appeared in his office. He gestured at the chairs aligned in front of his desk, signaling them to come have a seat.

Once they'd settled, Dr. Owens turned to Eleven and offered her a bright smile. "So, Jane. How are you?"

"This isn't a courtesy visit, Doc,'' Hopper interjected. ''El has a tumor on her brain.'' The smile faded from Dr. Owens face. He blinked back at Hopper, stunned, but there was something about his reaction that raised El's curiosity. That perhaps maybe, just maybe, Dr. Owens wasn't shocked to hear this at all, and was instead just mentally checked out as he calculated the risks of exposure or a lawsuit. Even though Dr. Owens had showed signs of good faith after helping them out that night she'd sealed the gate three years ago, El had never fully trusted him. She didn't trust anyone who worked at Hawkins Lab, and never would.

''Sorry? A tumor, you say?''

''All thanks to that… what did they call it, El?''

''Radioactive metal apparatus,'' responded El flatly, not taking her eyes away from Dr. Owens as she continued to study his demeanor.

''Yeah, that thing you guys screwed onto her brain. It may have given her cancer. We're waiting on her test results from Hawkins General.''

Dr. Owens shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. He then turned towards El with a pained expression on his face. ''I'm so sorry to hear that, Jane. I really am. I have no words...''

''Like hell you are,'' mumbled Mike.

''We came for her medical file,'' continued Hopper, ignoring Mike. ''I know you said you didn't have it after what happened the night El sealed the gate. You said some files were destroyed, significant damage to your records, yada yada yada.'' Hopper paused and leaned forward in his chair, offering Owens his best sarcastic smile. ''Sam... be honest with me. Just once in your life - father to father. Surely, there must have a copy of it somewhere in this shithole, right?''

Dr. Owens sighed, running a hand through his hair. ''If we would've had a copy, Jim, I would have given it to you. Unfortunately, Jane's file was a highly classified one, and we weren't permitted to make a copy of it. I'm sorry. I know that's not what you want to hear, but - ''

''No. It's not what I want to hear, you're damn right about that. Listen. Her doctor at Hawkins General needs that file in order to remove that toxic device you bastards installed on her brain. If you're not gonna give us her file, then maybe you could give us the protocol you followed to insert it, or the model design for it, or whatever the fuck else kind of information that could help us.'' Hopper wasn't messing around, and Mike was loving every minute of it.

Dr. Owens crossed his hands over his desk. ''I'm sorry, Jim. My hands are tied - it's strictly prohibited for us to leak any information concerning our procedures, you know that. That's classified information, I... I could go to jail.''

Hopper scoffed. ''That's a bunch of bullshit. You just want to protect yourself and all the shady ass experiments you've got going on here. Like you always have.''

Mike couldn't help but chuckle - he couldn't have said it better himself. Dr. Owens glared at him in annoyance. Mike sneered at him in return.

''Surely, we can't be the first folks to come in here with a similar problem, doctor,'' continued Hopper.

Dr. Owens tried as best he could to appear shocked at the accusation. ''Yes, you are.''

''Bullcrap,'' said Mike through gritted teeth.

''Mr. Wheeler, you should stay out of this.''

''No, he's not going to stay out of it,'' intervened El defensively. ''He's concerned about me, and loves me, which is more than I can say about any of you in this stupid lab. I want my file, Dr. Owens. Please. It's the last thing I'm every going to ask of you. Not that I ever asked for much in the first place.''

Dr. Owens opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, defeated. He nodded, offering her a sympathetic smile.

''I'm really sorry, Jane. Truly - I am. But I can't help you. I hope you don't blame me, personally, seeing as I wasn't on Brenner's team while you were here. As you know, we don't practice this sort of operation since I took over the Lab.''

''Yeah, 'cause you got exposed,'' Mike blurted out. Dr. Owens shot him a pointed look, but didn't respond.

''So, let's recap, shall we?'' said Hopper. ''There's no copy, and there's nothing you can do to help us - that's your final answer?''

Dr. Owens shook his head gravely. ''I'm truly, truly sorry Jim. It pains me to say it, I hope you believe me, but there's nothing I can do to help. I hope you can find it in your heart to understand that, despite the circumstances."

Hopper rose from his chair. Mike and Eleven followed after him. ''You see, Doc, forgiveness isn't my forte. Especially when it comes to wrongdoings against my daughter. I hope you can find it in your stone heart to understand that.''

Hopper turned to face Dr. Owens one more time when they were halfway out the door. ''Oh, and by the way - I hope you're ready for the lawsuit coming your way.''

They were pulling out of the parking lot when El broke the silence.

''I have an idea,'' she said. ''There was this woman, Brenner's assistant. Her name was Linda Bryant. She would file his papers for him, assist him in all his procedures, bring my meals up to my room, that sort of thing. When I was really young, she used to give me my baths, dress me, feed me. We did everything together. She might know where they keep the classified medical files. She'd be willing to help, I'm sure of it.''

Hopper and Mike both turned to look at Eleven, dumbfounded.

''I'm sorry I haven't brought it up before. I couldn't remember her name,'' explained El. ''But it hit me just now as we were walking out. Linda Bryant.''

''El, that's perfect,'' said Mike, reaching over to touch her shoulder from the backseat. ''This is exactly what we needed.'' He felt himself regain hope. El tilted her head towards him and offered him a bright smile, placing her hand over his.

''Okay. I'm going to need to do some research at the station, see if I can find out where she lives. Where do you want me to drop you off?''

''We could go to my place,'' replied Mike almost immediately. ''My parents and Nancy are at work.''

El turned to look at Mike, making a face. Hopper glared at him in the rearview mirror. Suddenly, he realized how that might have sounded to him.

''No! I meant in the sense that my parents are always fighting, and it's just nice to be able to enjoy the silence for once. We could watch a movie in peace,'' offered Mike sheepishly, turning beet red. El bite her lip as she looked out the window, trying not to laugh.

''Yeah. That better be what's on your mind,'' growled Hopper.

Mike usually liked rainy days. They meant for down time with Eleven and staying indoors to play games and watch movies from their beloved blanket fort in the Wheeler basement, which they had made bigger and better with time. Since Ted basically spent his entire life watching TV from his lazy boy in the living room, Karen had gotten Mike another TV for the basement, which he was thankful for. The basement was pretty much off limits to any other family member, ever since Mike had claimed it as his own personal D&D den years ago, and would continue to claim until the day he moved out. Even Karen and Nancy knocked before coming down for laundry or cleaning. When the time would come for him to leave the house, he would pass it down to his little sister, hoping Holly would enjoy the privacy and exclusivity of the basement with her own friends, just like he had before her.

However, today was Day 5 of waiting on El's test result, and the dreary weather seemed to make him even more depressed and anxious. Mike had spent the four previous days in denial, trying to convince himself - and El - that everything would be okay. He was hoping and praying that she would be fine, however, realistically, there was solid chance that she wouldn't be. And he wasn't ready to deal with it. He would never be ready to deal with it. If El was really sick, then he didn't want to think about living anymore. Life without El simply wasn't worth it. He would lose the love of his life and his best friend at the same time. There was no way he'd be capable of recovering from that blow.

Mike decided to stop thinking about it again, and tried to focus on the movie they were currently watching. They were cuddling under a sea of covers and pillows, El's head pressed against his chest.

''I'm so scared, Mike,'' she whispered, echoing his thoughts. ''I can't stop thinking about it.''

Mike gently stroked her back. ''I'm scared too,'' he admitted. ''I couldn't live without you.''

She turned her head to look into his eyes. ''Please don't say that.''

Mike said nothing. He didn't want to argue about it. Plus, he didn't want to cause her any more stress.

''Mike, I'm serious - I don't want to hear you say stuff like that. If ever something does happen to me... you'll be okay.'' She didn't quite believe it herself when she said it, but she still needed to say it. ''I'll always be with you, no matter what happens to me. I'll find a way to reach the Upside Down. I'll find my way back to you.''

''Promise?'' he whispered in a broken voice, feeling his eyes well up with tears. El rested her chin on his chest, and reached up to stroke the side of his face.

''Promise.''

Mike closed his eyes as leaned into her hand, hot tears flowing down his cheeks. El scooted upwards and kissed him, taking his face into her hands.

''I'll always come back to you, Mike,'' she said. ''I promise.''

''El, stop,'' he said, wiping the tears from his face. ''Let's not have this conversation until we absolutely need to have it, okay? I can't think about it. I just can't.''

El bit her lip. ''Okay,'' she conceded.

A knock at the door. Mike gently moved El aside and sprang from the bed, jogging up the stairs until he reached the front door. It was Hopper.

''I found her,'' he said. ''Let's go.''