Steve jolted awake, body covered with sweat as he breathed heavily, gasping for air that seemed too heavy to be real. It felt like he was drowning, water flooding his mouth, his throat, his lungs, and he needed to get out.

Throwing the blankets off of his shaking body, he quickly got off the couch and made his way outside, knowing it was dangerous, knowing that it was risky, but he just wanted to breathe.

The door opened and he was met with a brush of cold air, touching him ever so gently with its cool fingers, but the cold went away in an instant, numbing him into the warm he always felt, making him want to cry. He just wanted to breathe. He wanted to relax. And not even his own body, his own powers, would allow him to do that.

He still went outside, his bare feet shifting the gravel of the road and soon swaying the prickly grass covered in dew. He didn't feel any pain, though he didn't know if it was because of his powers or the sheer amount he had been barefoot in these past couple of months.

Months. It was an odd thought.

They had been safe at Tom's for nearly 4 weeks now, hiding from Brenner, who constantly patrolled the town with his men, as if he believed that they wouldn't have run at the first sight of the men from the lab. He was right about that.

Robin calculated the amount of time they were in the lab: four months. It hadn't felt that long, at least for him. But, it didn't matter, all that mattered was that they had been gone for just over five months. A short yet monumental amount of time.

He took in a deep breath, the remains of his nightmare dwindling as he relaxed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Steve looked up to the sky, where the moon hung, fully seen in the dark night sky. The stars were visible too, and he couldn't help but stare at them, deep in thought. He didn't allow himself to think much about Hawkins, too many worries sprouted up at the thought, but now, in the peace of the night, he let the thoughts seep through the cracks of his damaged mind.

He wondered how everyone was. Did Dustin and Erica get out of the Russian Base okay? Surely they had, it was Dustin and Erica. If anyone could do it it was them. How long had it taken them to realize that Steve and Robin were gone? Was everyone else okay?

Steve couldn't help but ask if they still thought that Steve and Robin were alive. Did they look for them? He hoped so, for Robin's sake. She had to go home. But, he wouldn't be surprised if they'd given up. It had been too long.

"Are you trying to get a cold, kid?"

Steve looked back to the door to see Tom standing in it, silhouetted by a yellow light from inside. With one last glance to the moon, he slowly made his way back inside.

"I don't get cold, remember?"

Tom huffed. "I don't believe it. Right now, maybe not, but you'll be able to control your powers eventually."

"I don't think I'll be able to control them. It might not work like that." Steve replied, stepping into the room and letting Tom shut the door behind him.

"I don't know about that. Everything in this world can be controlled one way or another. Now, why were you outside? Looking for Brenner?"

Steve felt a small blush come on his cheeks, not wanting to admit his struggles yet not wanting to lie.

"I…I had a nightmare. About the lab."

Tom nodded, gesturing for him to sit down at the table. "I'm sorry to hear that. Have you had them often?"

"This was the first time it was lab related."

Tom began to prepare something in the kitchen, leaving Steve sitting alone, though he was easily heard in the room beside him.

Steve fell into silence, scratching at the table as he waited for Tom to come back, unsure about what to do. He hoped that they hadn't woken up Robin, but she had her own room, so it was probably okay.

"I hate to say it, kid," Tom said, returning with two mugs in hand. Steve took one of the mugs gratefully, smelling it to find it was hot chocolate. He smiled, trying to remember when he had some last and came up empty. "But it's not going to get easier, at least for a while."

Steve nodded, blowing on the hot drink slowly, although he knew that it wouldn't burn him. He had had hot coffee the second week of living here, burning his mouth pretty badly until he had healed. There was no doubt that his body had already adapted to the sensation.

Yet, it felt nice to do something normal for once.

He took a sip, sighing with contentment as the warm chocolate sensation flooded his stiff limbs.

"I know." He finally replied. "I just wish…I just wish things were different."

"I wish the same thing. As much as I love having you both here, you deserve to have normal, happy lives. Not lives that are tainted by experimentation and fear. You both deserve to go home to your families."

"I know Robin wants to go home." Steve added. "She's been talking about it everyday, and she thinks that it'll be safe."

"What did you tell her?" Tom's expression wasn't angry, it was curious, and Steve didn't know why it brought him so much comfort.

"I told her that it probably wasn't a good idea. Brenner is still looking for us, and if we get home and he knows..." Steve took another sip of the brow liquid, worry bleeding into his heart. "People could die. Our family and friends could die, and it would be all my fault. You're even risking your life by taking us in."

"I know. But, I'm willing to take that risk, and if your family cares about you like you've said, they would be willing to take that risk too."

Steve took a deep breath. "That's not the problem. I'm not willing to take it. I don't want to see my friends, the kids, anyone dead because they were close to me, or they knew who I was."

Images of Dustin, Jonathan, Nancy, Max, El, everyone, dead with a bullet in their head couldn't leave his mind. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't risk them.

"So, the only option is to take down Brenner." Tom concluded, and Steve nodded. "Well, there is something I've been cooking up for a while. Something that will take his operation down, and I think that you two will be a big help, only if you want to be."

Steve became relieved yet scared at the words, but two of his own words fell out of his mouth instantly, knowing that there was no other option but this.

"I'm in."