Time skip December. New Haven, West Virginia.
The town New Haven is a nice small rural town. It ran off the coal mines for the most part. There were farms like the Coopers' and even quite a few quarries but it was mainly the coal mines. You might not believe it when you first drive in but the city had a population of about 11,000. It had everything you'd expect it to. It had a police department, schools, court house, a cinema and just about everything else, even a mall. It was a cozy town. To El it reminded her of Hawkins that way.
She was currently sitting by the window of the Coopers living room watching as the snow came down rubbing her very pregnant belly, as she waited on Mike to get home from work. He had taken an early shift but had called a little while ago and said he would be home early because of the weather.
The sound of Mary cooking lunch in the kitchen in the next room is the only sound in the house besides the crackling fireplace next to her. It was two weeks till Christmas now and the weather had been like this for a few weeks.
She was 38 weeks along and she felt it. Mike and her had gone to see Linda for her appointments and the baby was doing well. The two had been in tears when they heard their baby for the first time. Linda had asked them at the first appointment if they wanted to know the gender but they had held off on learning as they wanted it to be a surprise. You could say afterwards they had many disagreements on the color of the baby's room for days afterwards.
There wasn't much she could do at this point in her pregnancy, even if staying at home was driving her crazy. She hated not being able to do things on her own, she was stubborn as all hell, and had an independent streak a mile wide which comes from being raised by Hopper. I mean she needed help just getting her shoes on. As she looked out the window she let out a sigh as she thought about the last few months they had been in New Haven.
After about 2 weeks of being with the Coopers they had sort of gotten into a kind of rhythm. They did have to lie about who they were, so to the people in town Mike was Mary's nephew that had decided to move to his aunt's house with his pregnant girlfriend to get away from their less than happy parents. And since Mary wasn't originally from there, nobody really questioned it.
Mike had started working in town at the electronics store fixing broken items brought in, in the back of the store. A lot of people dropped things off to be fixed and that's what Mike did. From what she heard around town or working at the diner they were happy with the good work he did. Oh right, the Diner. Mary had called the family that owned the diner Roxannes', and asked if they still needed a waitress. The family had been reluctant at first with letting a pregnant 16 year old wait tables but after a trial period they had allowed her to work. It seemed she had a way with customers as she'd worked there up until a few weeks ago when her feet had swelled too much to keep up anymore. And nowadays she keeps herself busy studying, making changes to the baby's room or helping Mary with chores around the house. Their time here had been good, of course not without a few bumps along the way.
Flashback
It was the beginning of the lunch run, 3 or 4 weeks after she started working at the diner. Most of the people that came in were quite nice, even some her own age which was strange, as she truly believed those in Hawkins would not have been. Even some of the older couples talked to her about her obvious pregnancy, giving tips, asking how far she was and such. But even then there were some that weren't that happy about it.
El could hear some of the more traditional folk talk in not the nicest way about her pregnancy but never to her face and usually, strangely enough not about her. No, from what she could tell they mostly had a problem with Mike, which was weird as he had never been to the diner.
And if you knew anything about her well then you know she doesn't like people talking bad about him. Most of the time El could ignore the whispers but after hearing them for weeks, an older gentleman in his 40s decided to make it known with a comment about it to his buddies loud enough for the other patrons and even her to hear clearly.
"What kind of little bastard lets his pregnant girlfriend work all day?" And after days of keeping it to herself. That had been the last straw.
When she heard him she turned around from the couple she had been talking to, along with everyone who had heard him.
"ENOUGH!" She yelled. Which took many of the regulars by surprise as all the time she'd been there she was a polite and nice young woman, always having a smile on her face. Which is what had most people coming back.
"Stop talking about Mike! You don't know anything about him. So you have no right to judge him." She said across the now quiet diner. She started turning back to the couple behind her thinking the conversation was over but no the idiot had to say something else.
"I can talk about this Mike however I want, seeing as nobody else will bring it up. None of us have seen Mike before and you don't even look like you're out of highschool yet and you're pregnant. You shouldn't be working at all as you are, let alone almost every day. Where is he at? Probably lazing around at home having his pregnant girlfriend do all the work. Boys these days with no sense of responsibility." She couldn't fault some of his reason as Mike and her weren't seen much together around town as he was still getting used to their new schedule, along with his new job. Most of the time she was in town she was usually with Mary, but that still gave him no right to make assumptions.
"NO! It was my choice. My decision to work here. And don't you question Mike. He works all day, everyday to make sure me and our child is taken care of now and in the future!" At this point she was becoming slightly distraught. A mixture of anger and a high dose of hormones had tears welling in her eyes.
"You don't know how much he does for me. For our baby! Everyday he's up at four in the morning working with Cooper on the farm. With the animals or working the fields.
He does that until noon, then he comes into town to work at the Radio Shack until they close. Sometimes he stays after to make a little extra. After that he comes home for dinner, eats, then he spends the few hours he has before bed studying so he can get a good job to take care of us. Along with helping me with my own studying.
And through all that he still somehow finds time to spend with me to make sure I'm happy and okay. He does all that and then gets up and does it all again the next day! So you have NO right to judge him. He loves me and I love him. We made mistakes but he is a good man and he will be a great father." By the end of her rant she had been yelling at the man with tears streaming down her face.
She sat down with her hands covering her face sobbing while cursing her stupid hormones. The man she had just torn apart stood there with a shocked look on his face, along with pretty much everyone else. As if time had just started again the noise came back.
The regulars that had come to like Jane's company started tearing apart what was left of the man, the older couple she had been talking to before came over to try and help her calm down. Even the woman who owned the restaurant with her husband, her name was as you guessed , Roxanne came out the back. And while she appreciated it she just couldn't get the tears to stop.
As if he was summoned, at that moment the front door of the diner opened and in walked Mike for the first time. As he came in he noticed the commotion around one of the men in a booth on the left but ignored it looking around for the one he came to see. As soon as he saw El crying with people around her trying to help her to calm down his protective instincts kicked in.
"JANE!" you could hear the concern in his voice as he yelled running over to her. The volume in his exclamation easily caught the attention of not just El but also the patrons. El at hearing the familiar voice calling her name looked up to see Mike rushing to her side dropping something on the floor as he stopped in front of her, his hands gently coming to rest on her face as he looked at her tear streaked face. "Mike?" she asked, surprised to see him there.
"Yes. I'm here. Are you alright? Is the baby alright?" he asked. She didn't answer, she just buried her head in his chest wrapping her arms around him. Her tears stained his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, as he rubbed circles in her back trying to calm her down. As he saw that she wasn't calming down he started looking trying to find something to help calm her, while ignoring everyone's stares.
Mike easily spotted an old jukebox sitting in the corner near them. This gave him an idea. Ever since the snowball dance music had been a big part of their relationship. They'd dance for hours sometimes, just moving with the music when either of them was having a bad day.
So coming to a natural solution to the situation he stood up taking El with him from her spot on the booth. El didn't even notice them standing up. But definitely did when she felt Mike pull away from her and step away. She looked at his back in shock before noticing him walking over to the jukebox. Mike walked up to it quickly, noticing that this one played records, looked through the list of selections before spotting the two he wanted.
He slid 2 dimes into it and hit the numbers, hoping it worked. As he walked back over to El, a familiar jazz tune to him and some of the other patrons started playing. He took El back in his arms pulling her close, as she put her arms back around his waist, her head on his chest.
Play 'Stand by Me' by Ben E. King
As the music played he started swaying with her, softing singing the words to her. After a minute he heard a sniffle coming from her. Mike looked down at her. She had her tear stained eyes closed but he could see the smile on her face as she relaxed. She started swaying with him, her tears drying up. By the time the song ended and the next one started her sniffles had run out.
Play 'Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper
They danced together in their own world. When the song ended Mike stopped looking down at El. "Are you feeling better?" El nodded into his chest. "You wanna tell me what got you so upset."
"Just some idiot customer." El said
Mike, remembering the man getting yelled at when he walked in, turned his head around glaring at the man everyone was still surrounding as they watched the two of them. The aforementioned man paled and took a step back, taken aback by the look in the eyes of a young man not even half his age. Feeling like the man had been properly told off from doing it again turned his attention back to El.
"What are you doing here anyways Mike. I thought you were working?" El asked.
"You forgot your lunch and medicine. Mary asked me to drop it off before going to work. Told them I might be a bit late." Mike replied back gesturing to the package he had dropped.
"Oh"
"Love You."
"Love you too."
I guess you could say after that no one questioned Mike again after that.
After that the only other moment that stood out was the first real argument they had since arriving in New Haven. It was not a good day. The argument had been worse than when she had broken up with him the one time for lying to her. Although after she had found out it was because Hopper had gone on a rant about how they were spending too much time together and not to come back over till he told him to. She had forgiven him, understanding he was trying to keep them together and then she yelled at her dad about trying to sabotage their relationship when all he had to do was talk to them. But this had been worse. She couldn't even remember what they had been arguing about. It had been a mix of hormones, exhaustion and homesickness.
She said things she didn't mean but she'd never forget the look on his face after she finished. He looked shocked and sad but he didn't yell or say anything he had just left. She had stood there as she heard the sound of the car leaving. Then the tears came. Mary had held her as she cried, sobbing that she didn't mean it, thinking she had lost the best thing she had. Cooper had left to follow Mike. It wasn't until hours later that Mike came back through the door. She had thrown herself into his arms apologizing and telling him she loved him. He apologized for walking out and told her he'd always come back to her. That he loved her. After that they had gotten better about talking through whatever they were feeling.
Flashback End
El came out of her thoughts as a stab of shot of pain went through her stomach. Another Braxton hicks contraction. (Now known as BH)
"Auggh..huh…huh." El let out a moan of discomfort. Another BH contraction. They had been happening on and off all day.
"Come on baby, just a few more days." as she rubbed her belly with a smile.
She looked up as Mary came walking out the kitchen.
"You okay Jane? Was it another BH contraction?" Mary asked, concern written on her face.
"Yeah. I'm okay." she replied back. Mary looked at her for a moment and nodded before heading back to check on lunch. As El got up to go help in the kitchen, she wasn't expecting the feeling of liquid flowing down her legs and splashing on the floor. El gasped as she looked down at the puddle by her feet, just as the pain of a contraction hit again.
"AUUUGGH….huh.. Mary!" she breathed through the much stronger contraction and realized her water just broke as she called Mary for help. The woman came running in before she even finished calling her.
"My water…broke." El said, taking deep breaths, as she looked at the older woman fear in her voice. She was scared. No, she was terrified. She needed Mike, she needed him here. He was supposed to be here for this. As Mary ran over to her, putting an arm around her. She started guiding her to the main bedroom, it was on the first floor and easier to get to.
"Come on Jane. Let's get you laying down. COOPER!." Mary said as they shuffled down the hallway, yelling at her husband who was in the barn outside. They made it to the bedroom, and El slowly lowered herself onto the bed, letting out a slight hiss of pain.
"You're doing great Jane." Mary says. As Cooper comes running in covered in snow.
"What's going on?" he asked out of breath, wondering where the fire was.
"Her water broke. Come watch her, I need to call Linda to see if she'll be able to come out." Mary said, rushing out the room.
Cooper took off his snow soaked jacket and walked over to El dragging a chair with him. Sitting down taking her hand in his.
"How you doing, sweetheart?" he asks her.
She let out a groan, before replying "Good…Mike?"
Cooper could hear the pain and want in her voice. So he went about trying to reassure her.
"He'll be here soon. We know he got off work not too long ago because of the weather and he took my truck to work, so he should be here soon so don't worry. Okay." Cooper says
"I know but I need him here." she says out of breath.
"I know sweetheart. But you're strong, probably the toughest I know. He'll be here. I don't think anyone could keep him from being here with you.'' he says just as Mary came back.
"Linda can't make it. She's snowed in, at her place." she says seriously.
"What…what are we gonna do?" El asks from the bed.
"It's not ideal but I've delivered a few babies in my time. So I'm gonna do everything I can for you and the little one. So don't worry I got you. Okay." She relied as she came to stand next to her.
"O...Okay." El says as she went through another contraction. She trusted Mary and Cooper. They had helped her and Mike so much since they got here. She could trust them with this.
Mary turned to her husband and told him a list of things she needed as he headed off to grab them. She went back to Jane and took her hand as another contraction hit. She started counting the time between each one. She kept giving encouragement to Jane as it passed. For a few moments the only sound in the room was El's heavy breathing. They waited for a while but as the next one came Mary stopped her count. When El breathed a sigh of relief Mary told her
"Well your contractions are still far apart, so we have plenty of time. Just keep up with your breathing exercises and we'll get you through this." she said as she wiped the sweat off El's forehead.
Cooper came back a few moments later with the things she needed. She took the bowl of water and ringed out a towel and folded it before placing it on El's forehead. She let out a sign of relief at the cool sensation. She looked at the two people in the room with her, a smile on her face with half lidded eyes.
"Thank you." she said.
"You're welcome." Mary replied back.
Mary got to work setting up clean towels that she was going to need here soon, along with getting Cooper to sterilize a few items. As they worked together to get everything ready they heard the tell tale sound of the front door opening and closing.
"Hello. I'm back. Anybody here?" It was Mike.
El, who had nodded off a little, heard his voice and became wide awake.
"Mike…" she said. Wondering if she had heard right.
Cooper called back to him. "In here!"
Footsteps could be heard moving down the hallway towards the room. The moment he appeared in the doorway and saw El laying in the bed, it was like he just appeared right next to her in the blink of an eye. Taking her hand in his, he started throwing out questions.
"Jane, are you okay? What's going on? Is the baby okay?" he said in one breath.
El looked with a smile and love clearly on her face as she said "Mike you're here."
"Yeah I'm here. I'm right here." he said back with a smile. But she could still see the worry and pain on his face.
"It's okay. The baby is fine, my water broke a little while ago." she said, trying to reassure him.
"Your water broke? It's too early right?" He replied back
"No, it's fine. The baby is just a little impatient and is ready to get out." El says
Mike let out a breath of relief as she said this. He sat down on the side of the bed still holding her hand. He lifted his free hand to her face as he caressed her face lovingly. "I love you and I'm so glad that I didn't miss this." Mike whispered to her with a smile.
"Me too." El said back to him.
He sat there with her for what felt like hours, helping her through each contraction as they steadily got closer and closer together. At one point he got up to help Cooper empty the room of everything breakable, and by the time they were done the only thing left in the room was the bed. You might be wondering why well, when El had made it to six months pregnant they both knew that she couldn't give birth in a hospital. Her powers would without a doubt go haywire during the birth. So they decided to tell the Coopers the full story and ask them if she could give birth at the house.
Well El made the choice and Mike agreed as it was hers to make. The Coopers had been horrified at the treatment she went through as a child just so some asshole could have a weapon. They were of course skeptical of her powers but after she picked all the furniture in the living room up, they were quick to believe it. They didn't treat her any different afterwards, although it did make them even more understanding as to why they left. They originally planned to have the birth in the barn where it didn't really matter what she broke but the weather and her current condition made it impossible to get her out there so they'd have to make do inside and hope for the best. And at the moment all they could do was wait.
And after almost 14 hours of labor, lots of screaming, many cuss words and a shaking house the sound of crying permeated from the master bedroom of the Cooper house.
As El let out a moan of pain from her last push, the sound of that crying reached her ears. As she and Mike looked at the end of the bed where Mary was cleaning off the newborn she had helped deliver. Tying off what needed to be.
"Are they okay?" she asked as tear
Mary finished cleaning the newborn, she looked at the new parents.
"Congratulations, you have a beautiful little girl." she says, smiling at them.
"It's…It's a girl? It's a girl. We have a little girl." she says as tears stream down her face. Mike hugged her as tears too fell from his eyes.
"We have a girl. We have a baby girl!" Mike said through his tears as he hugged and kissed her on the forehead.
"You did so well El! You did…you did so good." he kept repeating as he held her close.
"Mike." Mary said to him.
Mike looked at her.
"Would you like to cut the cord?"
"Uh…uh yes. Yes." Mike went over to Mary who already had the cord clamped off. Mary instructed him on where to cut as he did so.
Mary wrapped their newborn daughter up in a blanket before handing her over to the new mother.
El looked down at the little bundle of joy she had in her arms, as the little girl made cute little gurgle noises as she looked up at her parents that were smiling down at her. El couldn't help the tears that kept coming as she looked at their daughter.
"She's perfect." she said with a smile.
"Yeah, she is." As they both looked at their now sleeping daughter. After a few moments passed Mike spoke up.
"You know...she still needs a name."
"I was thinking that too." The two of them had spent many nights picking out names but hadn't agreed on any names.
As El looked at her daughter a perfect name came to her.
"What…what do you think about Sara Nancy Wheeler? Mike?"
Mike gazed at El in surprise and was a little stunned as another tear slid down his face.
"Sara? Where'd you get that from? And you…you want to give her Nancy's name?"
El looked at Mike with a sad look.
"Sara was the name of Hopper's daughter. She passed away years ago. I don't think he would mind. And Nancy's important to you and I know you miss her."
Mike just smiled at her. "I think it's perfect. Little Sara." as he held his fiancée and little girl a little closer.
And just like that at 3:02 in morning on December 10, 1987 Sara Nancy Wheeler was born happy and healthy.
Extra
About two weeks later.
Tom Hartin trekked to his mailbox at the end of his drive through the fresh snow to grab the mail and newspaper. As he grabbed the mail out of the box, and started sorting it he noticed a letter without a return address postmarked Virginia. As he thought for a moment on whether or not he knew anyone in Virginia he realized in an instant who it was probably from. He dropped the other letters back in the box and quickly opened it.
A single tear rolled down his cheek as a smile came over him as he gazed on the two photos he had pulled out. The first was a close up of a little girl sleeping in her yellow crib. On the back was written:
Sara Nancy Wheeler - December 10, 1987
The second was a teary eyed Mike with Jane, who was sitting in a bed looking exhausted, where looking down at a bundle in her arms, smiles uncontrollable on their faces looking the happiest he'd ever seen either one of them. When he flipped it over to the back there were a couple of words written to him.
Merry Christmas Grandpa
Love Jane , Mike, Sara
He continued smiling as he looked up at the morning sky. "Good for you kids. Good for you."