User:CraftTech/Sandbox

The silence outside of the Byer's home was suddenly disrupted as the blue Chevrolet Camaro driven by Scott this time halted on the dirt path and the four young teens rushed out of the car and up to the house, Scott hurrying after them.

"Eleven?" Marty called as he raced around the house, jumping over Billy who they had left on the living room floor. "Eleven?!" he called again, feeling the panic in him rising. "Calm down dude they obviously aren't back yet." Scott commented as he went over to the small freezer to pull out some ice, wrapping it in a towel and touching it to his throbbing head.

Marty glared at Scott for a moment, he didn't understand how badly he needed to see her. He had waited almost a year to be reunited with Eleven and their reunion had been bittersweet, she had been taken away less than 15 minutes later.

Marty started to pace up and down the lounge as he thought about her, there was just so much he wanted to say…so many things he wanted to do. He held his hands together nervously and jumped with apprehension when he saw car lights appear on the track to the house. He raced out of the house to the porch along with the rest of the group.

When Marty realised it was Joseph's car, for one second he was disappointed, but then he knew this meant that Will was with them. Marty, Lucas and Dustin ran down the steps and along the dirt to meet Jonathan helping Will out of the car.

"Thank god!" Dustin said smiling as the boys all hugged Will; Max joining in as well whilst Joyce tried to tell them that her son was quite fragile so to be careful. "Are Hopper and El back yet?" she asked looking over at Scott who shook his head silently. She frowned but smiled gently when she saw Marty's face, "they'll be fine. I'm sure of it." Joyce told him with confidence before putting her arm around Will and leading him towards the house, with Joseph, Dustin, Max and Lucas following.

Marty looked out at the dark road and sighed to himself, not hearing Nancy walk up to him. "Are you okay?" she asked him calmly, clear concern in her voice. Marty turned to look at his sister, he was tempted to lie but felt too weak for it. He shook his head and felt a tear fall down his cheek, Nancy didn't tease him and immediately brought him into her arms. He cried as she held him close and stroked his hair.

"She's going to be okay Marty…she's so strong. You know she can kick ass." She told him smiling slightly. Marty sniffed and moved out of the hug to wipe at his eyes. "She's incredible…she's amazing. But I've lost her before, I know what it feels like and I can't go through that again." He admitted to his sister.

Nancy sighed and was about to speak when they heard Joyce screech, shortly followed by her saying, "who is this?!" Nancy looked wildly at the house, "what the?" she asked and Marty barely bothered, said, "she'll have found Billy. He's unconscious on the living room floor." He said glumly, his mind far away. "What?" Nancy said in confusion before rushing up to the house herself.

---

Marty made his way up to the house but decided to sit on the porch instead and look out at the dark road. He wasn't sure if he was sat there for five hours or five minutes, time didn't seem to matter when he saw in the distance car lights appearing and he stood up immediately, his heart racing, his palms clammy.

As the car swerved slightly to park, he saw "Salisbury Police Dept" written on the side and he couldn't stop himself from running over to the Chevy as Hopper got out and helped El out the other side.

Marty didn't care about the tears rushing down his face, the moment he saw El and she looked at him tired, blood stains on her nose, her eyes bloodshot but smiling, he brought her into his arms and held her tightly whilst they both cried on each other.

"You came back," Marty gasped through his sobs and El held him tightly, her head lying on his shoulder. "I promised," she said with determination despite their breathlessness.

Marty pulled back slightly and moved his shaking hands to cup her soft cheeks, he looked in her beautiful brown eyes, they sparkled even now and sent his heart into a spin. He closed his eyes and leaned in giving her the kiss they had been cheated of earlier.

El kissed him back and through her lips touching his, Marty felt like he was being revitalised and whole once more. As they broke apart from their kiss, El embraced him until someone cleared their throat and they both realised Hopper was still stood there looking annoyed.

"Right break it up, we need to go inside." He told them seriously but clearly uncomfortable with what he had just witnessed. Marty looked at the chief and felt ready to start another argument up with him, telling him that he could do whatever he wanted. The chief wasn't the boss of him and had hidden the love of his life away from him for almost a year, but he knew better than starting a fight again.

Marty nodded in agreement but held El's hand, their fingers lacing together, the feeling of her skin against his skin was comforting and soothed his heart as they walked into the house. They were met with the rest of the group, who all wanted to hug El, making Marty slowly be pulled away from her to his dislike.

---

Joyce rang around Marty's, Lucas's and Dustin's parents explaining they were staying the night whilst Hopper, Joseph and Scott came up with a plan as to how to take Billy and his car home and explain what had happened to him.

"Just say he fell," Max wavered into the conversation, "I'll just tell them he's a clumsy dumbass and he found me at the arcade but fell over on the way to the car and Scott and Joseph found us." She reasoned.

The men looked at her in surprise and then shared glances, Hopper sighed, "I suppose it could work." Whilst Scott and Joseph carried Billy to his car, Max said good bye to the boys and avoided El following her cold greeting earlier. Max jumped in with Scott who drove Billy's car and Joseph and Nancy followed them in his car to give Scott a lift back.

Will was finally fast asleep in his bed and Lucas and Dustin were asleep on his floor having found sleeping bags and spare pillows. Marty sat on the couch with El whilst Hopper and Joyce sat at the kitchen table, both of them smoking tensely whilst Hopper explained how the army had arrived just as he and El were leaving.

Marty overheard with a pang of sadness as Hopper tried to tell Joyce that Bob's body was taken to the morgue, but the rest was muffled as all he could hear was Joyce crying. Marty turned his attention back to El and put his arm around her in comfort and she smiled weakly up at him, her head against his chest, making him wonder if she could hear his heart beating loudly just for her.

There was so much Marty wanted to ask her, he wanted to know what she had been doing this past year, he wanted to ask where she got the cool clothes from, he wanted to tell her how miserable he had been without her, but when he looked down at the girl he loved, she was sound asleep against him and he couldn't help but smile slightly and before he knew it, he too was asleep, sleeping better than he had in almost a year.

Once Hopper had told Joyce that they found Dr Owens alive but hurt, he explained he would visit him in the hospital the next day and that they should probably call it a night. Joyce nodded numbly, still reeling from losing Bob.

They both stood up and Hopper walked over to the couch to see El and Marty asleep, the young boy's arm around her protectively. He frowned and sighed turning to Joyce, "what am I going to do with them two?" he asked her half frustrated and half amused.

She smiled sadly at them, "they're in love and you're going to let them sleep Hop. They've been through enough." She said her voice breaking as she began to cry. Hopper embraced her and they stood in the kitchen for hours as Joyce broke down, the events of the night finally catching up with her.

---

Marty couldn't concentrate through school, and he also couldn't believe that Hopper had insisted that they go to school the day after the gate was closed. He had claimed that they needed to make things seem as normal as possible and that any suspicious behaviour might draw eyes to El.

Will had made sure his mom let him come to school with the gang which was the one good thing about the day so far. The moment the mind flayer had pulled itself out of Will, it was like he was back to his old self, all the symptoms related to the Other Side had gone with the mind flayer.

The boys tried and failed to pay attention during the last class of the day, all while Dustin kept turning back in his seat and mouthing to Marty, "1 hour to go", "30 minutes to go" and then "10 minutes to go" before Mrs Thompson told him off for talking. Marty drummed his fingers on his desk and stared at the clock, praying for it to go faster. He could barely contain his nervous energy to see El, he had missed her the moment he had left for school.

Seeing as Hopper had put Marty through hell by not telling him and the boys that El was safely in Salisbury, he had relented and agreed to the group being brought to the cabin where El was living after school, all of them being driven there by Joseph who now knew the way.

Marty wondered what conditions El had been living in, and whilst he wasn't Hopper's greatest fan at the moment, he knew he would have been kind to El and not let her live in a shack or something.

Finally, the bell rang out and Marty sprang from his seat with excitement and rushed out of the classroom with Will, Dustin and Lucas hot on his tail. They walked quickly down the corridor whilst Lucas reminded the boys that he had asked Max to meet them in the playground before finding Joseph.

Marty nodded, no longer having ill feelings towards Max. She had really shown yesterday how much she wanted to help out, and her driving skills had been amazing, she was definitely their zoomer.

They reached the playground where Max was fiddling with her skate board. "Hey Max!" Lucas shouted happily as they made their way over to her. She didn't seem that happy to see them but smiled slightly.

"You ready to go?" Lucas asked her breathlessly when they reached her. Max looked around at the other boys and then dropped her gaze to the floor, "can I talk to you for a second stalker?" she said quietly. Marty looked at Lucas with reproachful eyes, he really wanted to get going to see El and Lucas could see that. "Go ahead guys, we'll only be a second. Go find Joseph." He said calmly. Marty didn't need to be told twice, "come on guys," he said happily as he, Dustin and Will wandered off to the parking lot.

"What's up?" Lucas asked Max with concern. She looked at him and sighed, "I don't think I should come with you guys to see El…" she said bracingly. Lucas looked at her in surprise, "why not?" Max shrugged and put her hands into her jeans pockets, "I don't know if you were blind yesterday, but she clearly doesn't like me." She said honestly.

Lucas thought back to when Max had tried to introduce herself and El had completely blanked her. He frowned, "I mean…she's not usually like that. She's normally quite shy but…" he couldn't really think of an excuse. Max smiled slightly, "it's fine stalker. Have fun and I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a wave and sped off on her skate board.

Lucas watched her go, feeling his heart pull in confliction. He sighed and raced off to catch the boys as they were getting into Joseph's car. "Where's Max?" Will asked as he got into the front passenger seat. Lucas shrugged, "er…she couldn't make it."

Marty sat in the middle between Lucas and Dustin as Jonathan made his way to the cabin. He looked out the window, making a point of trying to remember the route as they drove down the country roads. "Marty?" Lucas mumbled to him suddenly, making him turn. "Yeah?" he asked slightly distracted as he kept his eyes mainly on the road.

"Do you think you could have a word with El about Max?" Lucas said quietly. Marty was surprised by his friend's words and so turned finally from the road, "why?" he asked confused. Lucas shrugged, "well El wasn't exactly…welcoming to Max. That's why she hasn't come. She didn't think El would want to see her." He said simply.

Marty scoffed, "that's ridiculous!" he said but Dustin joined in the conversation, "no it's not ridiculous my friend. Max tried to shake El's hand yesterday and El totally gave her this like glare and walked off. It was kind of scary and like cool at the same time!" Dustin said animatedly. Marty frowned and pondered this for a moment, he guessed he sort of owed Max, for judging her without even knowing her. He finally nodded and turned to Lucas, "yeah if I get the chance I'll ask her what the problem is."

---

El couldn't quite believe she was back at the cabin, she looked around the room as Hopper put everything back where it should be and started to fix the television. She watched him with a slight smile, a warm feeling in her heart at being home with him.

El was glad she had told him about visiting her mama and aunt Becky, he had even promised they would visit them as much as they could. But El wasn't stupid, she knew it wouldn't be the best idea to tell Hopper about how she had found her sister and had assisted in robbing a shop and almost killing a man.

She blinked and looked out of the window with guilt and confusion in her eyes. El wondered what Kali was doing now and if she had been caught, she was sure that she hadn't been caught, especially not because of her powers. But El couldn't help but think she had hurt Kali by leaving, but she had to come back to Salisbury, she had to come back to her friends, to Marty. She knew in her heart that wherever he was, was her true home.

It was then that El heard footsteps and excited voices outside of the cabin and she jumped up from her chair, feeling nervous and happy all at once. Hopper had also heard the noise and he didn't seem as thrilled, he went to the front door, opening it and looking down at the boys with a frown, "hey what did I say about not drawing attention. Keep it down!" he told them sternly as they walked nervously into the cabin whilst Joseph said, "hey they're excited!" in their defence.

Hopper rolled his eyes and watched on as Dustin, Will and Lucas hugged Eleven but just as Marty was about to embrace her, Hopper coughed, "why doesn't everyone sit down and we go through some ground rules." He said looking particularly at Marty who shrunk into a chair, El sitting next to him.

---

Marty was bursting with excitement by the time he walked through the cabin door and saw El beaming like an angel in front of him and his friends. His breath had caught in his throat at her beauty. He had never seen her like this, her freshly washed hair laying in tight curls up to her jaw, her face now make up free and her eyes sparkling so bright it was like looking into the sun. But Hopper soon ruined the moment with his stupid rules.

Marty listened to Hopper with annoyance, he was telling them that El was still going to have to keep a low profile, especially for the next 6 months or so because there was still a few members of the department of energy who still knew of her. He explained that she couldn't be going to any of their houses and that they were allowed to visit her at the cabin but not every day.

"Why not every day?" Marty asked perplexed. Hopper glared at him specifically for a moment, "because what if someone spotted you doing the same trip every single day? Some might be curious as to where you were off to. Especially if they were from the department of energy." He said sternly and Marty knew he had no argument to that.

He sighed and looked down, how could he go more than a day not seeing El? Especially when he now knew where she lived. It was torture to his heart. When the speech was finished and the ground rules were put down, El turned to Hopper, "can me and my friends go outside please?" she asked in her sweet tone with her bambi eyes that Marty knew Hopper couldn't say no to, because he also couldn't say no to those eyes.

The chief gave in and nodded his head, "yes but don't go too far and don't be too loud." He warned them all. El beamed and stood up with excitement, her enthusiasm was catchy and Marty found himself grinning as the boys followed her outside. Joseph told Hopper he'd be back in a few hours for the boys and left, leaving the chief to finish off trying to fix the television.

The gang immersed themselves in a game of hide and seek and when it was Marty's turn he grinned to himself, finding El almost immediately as she never strayed too far from him. She was leaning against a tree and Marty ran up to her not that she had put up a fight, placing both his hands flat against the tree either side of her upper body, "got you" he teased smiling at her lovingly.

El beamed back at him, her beautiful eyes connecting with his dark eyes making his stomach erupt with butterflies. "I'm happy to be home with you Marty." She said softly, making his heart ache with love. "I'm so happy you're back home with me." He admitted dropping his hands from the tree and reaching for her hands gently.

Marty looked down at their intertwined hands for a moment and remembered what Lucas had told him. "Hey El?" he asked nervously looking at her beautiful face. "Yes?" she asked gently. "This is a bit of a stupid question…but do you not like Max?" he said watching her eyes turn dark for a moment and realising it wasn't a stupid question at all and there was definitely truth in it.

El looked down at the floor as if she was embarrassed and Marty moved his right hand to her cheek tenderly and moved her face back up to look at his. "Why don't you like her?" he asked her softly, desperately wanting to know what it was that bothered her. El sighed and looked sadly into his eyes, "she was…with you. I saw." She admitted to Marty's surprise.

He wracked his brains to think back to yesterday, as far as he could remember there hadn't been one moment where he had been alone with Max, except when he was getting bleach from under the sink, but El wasn't there then…or was she? "Do you mean when I was getting the cleaning stuff from under the sink?" he asked her confused.

El shook her head, "no…you were in the school with her…alone. She was on her board thing and you were…smiling." She said with guilt looking away from his eyes. Marty watched her for a moment as he thought back to when Max had fallen off her skate board and he gasped, "you were there! I knew it! I ran out of the gym looking for you." He told her with excitement and El slowly looked back up at him, her eyes vulnerable making Marty finally realise her thought process.

"Hang on…did you think I liked Max?" he asked in surprise. El seemed reluctant to speak but slowly nodded her head. Marty laughed gently and then realised that wasn't the best thing to do as El looked more hurt. He quickly took both of her hands in his once more, "El I've never liked Max that way. When you saw her with me, I was actually telling her she annoyed me…and now she's just become my friend because she helped me with my plan to help you. I thought you knew…that you're my girl." His last words coming out vulnerable.

El looked at him in surprise, her heart feeling warm and tender as he held her hands, his eyes only looking at her. "Your girl?" she asked confused. Marty smiled slightly looking into her bright brown eyes, "yeah my girl. It means you're the only girl for me." He said in a caressed whisper before deciding in this moment he needed to be brave. "There's a reason I called you every night for 353 days El. There's a reason that I can't ever stop thinking about you. It's because…I love you." He told her breathlessly.

El smiled, her eyes watery as she leaned up and kissed him gently, he shut his eyes and grinned against her lips before pulling her into an embrace. As he held her, Marty opened his eyes and frowned slightly to himself, he had told her he loved her and she hadn't said it back. He wondered if she even knew what love meant and didn't feel like right now was the time to explain it.

Marty's attention was distracted as snow started to fall lightly, reminding his brain of something very important. "El?" Marty said moving slowly out of the embrace, "yes Marty?" the beautiful girl asked, looking at him smiling. "Er…do you remember me inviting you to the snow ball? Well it's next Saturday if you wanted to go with me." He said nervously, fidgeting slightly.

El's eyes brightened immediately and she nodded her head, "yes." She said in a mixture of relief and excitement and Marty found himself hugging her once more, holding her tight until he heard Lucas shouting, "you two are the worst hide and seek players ever!" Marty laughed and pulled away from El to watch the boys walking back over to them. "Yeah we could have frozen to death you dickheads!" Dustin moaned. Marty smirked, "sorry guys." But he wasn't sorry, and as he held El's hand tightly with his own, he knew that he was in fact the happiest he had ever been.

---

It was finally Wednesday and Marty was once again incredibly inpatient for the school day to be over so he could see El. Not seeing her on Tuesday had been painful, and not having any way to communicate with her was even worse. But finally, he could once again look at the angel who had stolen his heart, the love of his life.

"Earth to Marty?" Dustin said impersonating his own version of an alien. Marty blinked and looked around at the boys and Max at the lunch table, all who were looking back at him with amused expressions.

Marty cleared his throat and looked down at his sandwich, "er…sorry guys I got distracted." He admitted before biting into his sandwich to try and suppress some of his embarrassment.

"Don't we know it," Max said rolling her eyes whilst Lucas laughed, "you sure are distracted…thinking about El." He teased playfully.

Marty felt his cheeks redden, "shut up," he mumbled avoiding their eyes.

Dustin grinned, "but it's true Marty! You go all gooey eyed over her." He said as Max and Lucas joined in laughing at Marty's uncomfortableness.

"Hey I think it's nice!" Will piped up making the whole party turn to him in surprise, Mike included.

"You think?" Max asked him her eyebrow raised sceptically.

Will shrugged clearly feeling uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him but he slowly spoke, "well yeah. I mean they've been separated for a year and it's clear they really care about each other. It's about time they were both happy. I mean…El did save all our lives." He stated looking around at them all like this should be obvious.

Lucas sighed, "you're right man. Sorry Marty." He said smiling at their paladin.

Dustin smirked, "yeah sorry lover boy."

Marty ignored him and turned to Will instead with a grateful smile, "thanks Will. I appreciate it." He said honestly.

Will grinned clearly embarrassed by all of the attention, "no problem" he said lightly and bit into his sandwich.

Max sighed crossing her arms, "well as long as you two aren't like making out all the time!" Marty felt himself blushing but all he could do was shrug, he didn't want to say that he wasn't going to kiss El, because that would be a lie and friends don't lie. He loved her and was crazy about her.

As his friends got talking about the arcades, well whilst Max and Dustin argued about Dig Dug, Marty found himself once again distracted thinking about El. He had told her he loved her, he couldn't help it. He had looked into her stunning hazel eyes and the words just got pulled out of him, there was nothing he could have done about it. He wasn't sure if he had expected her to say it back, well he had hoped…but she didn't seem to have even acknowledged his words when he had said it. He was once again sure she didn't even know what love meant and he felt too embarrassed to explain it to her.

---

El sat cross legged on the couch of the cabin flicking through channels with her mind, feeling bored and inpatient to see Marty. Hopper had to go back to work so things looked as normal as possible, but he had promised he wouldn't be later than 6pm for once and he'd radio in if he couldn't keep his promise.

El thought about the chief, strong and together but warm and kind. She had missed him more than she thought was possible but couldn't think of the word that went with her feelings for him. It was similar to the feelings she harboured for Marty, but they were somehow more intense for the dark-haired boy who made her stomach rush with butterflies and her heart beat erratically.

El turned her head towards the kitchen wall and squinted to look at the clock. "2, 3, 5. 2.35." She muttered to herself remembering her lessons with Hopper in the process. El still wasn't great with the time but she knew that meant she didn't have too long until Marty would arrive. She was nervous, happy and excited to see him all at the same time.

He had asked her when he left on Monday if it would be okay for him to come over on his own without the boys and she had of course agreed. El hadn't ever been truly alone with Marty, except for a few minutes before she would go to sleep in her fort. But now the reality of being alone with Marty was making her pulse quicken. It was that intense feeling again, it made her feel super sensitive of every touch and feeling when he was around.

The soap opera El had been watching was coming to a close, not that she had been paying much attention. And she once again found herself growing bored as she waited. She lay her head back onto the soft material of the couch and shut her eyes for a moment thinking of everything that had happened over the past two weeks.

El couldn't help but think back to Kali and she bit her lip anxiously as she thought of her sister and whether she was safe. She opened her hazel eyes and stared right at the television set, knowing exactly what she could do to ease her mind. El jerked her head to the side three times before she found a static channel. She moved to her room to fetch the old black material cloth she had used for a blind fold before returning to the couch and trying to relax into the cushions.

El tried to clear her mind and think only of Kali, which was a lot easier now that she had interacted with her sister. She opened her eyes and found herself in the void. She looked around to see a lit up room that was a make shift bedroom and with a sigh El saw Kali sat on the bed painting her nails black.

El couldn't help but hesitate. She didn't know if Kali was mad with her for leaving, but she couldn't deny the pull to her sister to make sure she didn't hate her. El walked slowly to Kali, the water splashing with every movement of her feet. Finally she looked down at her sister and slowly sank on the bed next to her.

"Hello Jane," came Kali's voice suddenly. She didn't look up but kept on painting her nails.

El found herself breathing heavily out of nerves, "hi Kali." She said quietly in response watching her sister for a moment.

"Are you safe? Did you make it back to Salisbury?" Kali asked still not looking in her direction.

El found herself nodding, "yes. I'm safe and in Salisbury. I saved my friends…I closed the gate." She confirmed, her voice thick with emotion.

Kali side smiled gently for a moment as if also sharing her emotion before speaking, "I miss you Jane. You don't know how long it's been since I saw another sibling from that place."

There was silence between the girls before El asked anxiously "are you all safe? Funshine, Axel, Dottie, Mick?"

Kali laughed gently and turned to where El was sat. "Yes Jane. We got away. We're in a new safe house now." She said making El instantly feel better.

Kali bit her lip, "Jane…I'm sorry for getting you involved in all of this. This is my revenge. I thought it could be yours too. But you are so young. You deserve to live as normal a life as you can." She said seriously.

El felt tears fall down her cheeks, "you deserve it too Kali," she said her voice shaking.

Kali side smiled to herself and her dark eyes somehow found El's. "This is the life I want Jane. I cannot rest until I have revenge for what they did to us." She said calmly before adding with a small smile, "but will you check up on me from time to time? I'd love to hear from you again."

El couldn't stop herself from smiling but quickly wiped at her tears before saying in a thick voice, "yes Kali of course I will."

---

Marty didn't think he had biked so fast in his life, only second to when he, El, Dustin and Lucas were trying to get out of the clutches of the department of energy vans. He smiled to himself as he thought about how El had caused the van to flip. She was so incredible.

Marty raced down the country roads desperate to get to her as soon as possible. He knew there was no real rush, but he just couldn't wait to see her. This would be the first real time that he got to be home alone with her until Hopper would return from work. He cringed to himself as he thought about how the chief had pulled him to the side on Monday night and muttered threateningly "no funny business Wheeler. She tells me everything."

It wasn't just Hopper's ridiculing he had to deal with, because the moment he had told the rest of the group that he wanted to see El alone, they had fallen about laughing and teasing him, making stupid kissing noises. They had opted in the end to go to the arcade, Max promising Dustin and Lucas that she would still be the reigning champion whilst Will who was now free of the mind flayer was looking forward to just being himself again.

Marty couldn't help the guilt he felt over Will, since El had returned he hadn't spent a lot of time with his friends but he knew it affected Will the most. Lucas and Dustin had got to know El in the week where she was hiding at Marty's house. They saw her dangerous side and her amazing character. But Will had to get used to her and Marty wasn't making it easy by trying to keep her to himself.

After 353 days apart he felt like he had an excuse for being clingy. He knew he could never ever lose her again, it had almost killed him and he felt like he was still dealing with the shock waves of her return. Sometimes it didn't feel real that she was back, like it was too good to be true.

Whilst the 13 year old teenage boy of course wanted to hold her hand, kiss her and get close to her, he also wanted to just be with her. El had never got to be a normal kid, and Marty wanted to show her what she had been missing. He seriously couldn't wait until the summer, he could take her swimming, watch fireworks, go to the county fair and maybe even sit under the stars with her.

Marty was so distracted by his thoughts he almost missed the discreet turn in the road where the cabin was hidden about half a mile from the main road. He dismounted from his bike and walked it the rest of the way into the woods as he neared the cabin, excited beyond belief to see El.

Marty discarded his bike by the side of the cabin and walked up to the door, doing the secret knock that Hopper had shown the group on Monday. Almost instantly after knocking, Marty heard the sound of about 5 locks unlocking at the same time and he braced himself, trying to contain his nerves as the door opened and El stood there smiling at him so brightly that he felt his cheeks instantly warm up.

"El…" he breathed out in relief before she quickly closed the gap between them and jumped into his arms with vigour. Marty almost fell backwards but tried to plant his feet and moved his arms around her slim waist as his own anchor. Her arms were wrapped around his neck as she lay her head on his chest and let out a sigh. Her curly thick hair tickled his chin and he breathed in her scent. She smelt so sweet, like eggos and fragrant roses which he assumed was her shampoo. Marty grinned foolishly to himself knowing if he could stay like this forever, then he would.

El snuggled closer into his chest and he knew immediately that she'd be able to hear his heart almost bursting with happiness. "Hi," she said calmly, her eyes closed in a relaxed state.

Marty couldn't stop smiling, "hey El," he said playfully as he looked up and saw it had started to snow.

He really didn't want to move, but he also didn't want to get El sick from a cold the first day he was alone with her. He highly doubted Hopper would be impressed. Marty sighed and slowly got out of the embrace, smiling at El's beautiful face as it appeared from his chest. "Should we go inside? Get out of the cold?" he offered kindly. El nodded and grinned taking his hand and turned to walk into the cabin.

---

El didn't know why Marty was so intrigued by her bedroom when she gave him a tour of the cabin. She saw his dark eyes linger on her bed for a moment too long before he caught her looking at him curiously and he blushed.

After the quick tour Marty offered to make El some eggos to appease her grumbling stomach whilst she waited for Hopper to get home. She sat on her bed crossed legged when Marty came back into her room, holding a plate with a few eggos sat on it. El couldn't stop the huge grin that appeared on her face. Marty and eggos…a match made in heaven.

Marty hesitantly sat next to her on the bed and shuffled so that he was facing her as they ate the waffles and he told her about his day in school. El couldn't help but feel like there was something that Marty was bursting to say but he was trying to control himself. After he spoke about some strange book he had to read for English, El couldn't help but interject. "What's wrong Marty?" she asked him, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked into his face, trying to read his thoughts.

Marty's cheeks blushed again slightly and he looked down at his hands held in his lap for a moment. "It's just…I want to know…I need to know what happened El." He said quietly, his dark eyes slowly moving back to meet hers. El found herself gasping slightly at the pain that she could see embedded in those beautiful eyes.

Marty took a deep breath, "I need to know what happened after you killed the Necromancer. And what you've been doing since." He finally said bravely surprising them both at his confident words. El bit her lip hesitantly, not knowing where to start. That time was so painful that sometimes she liked to pretend she hadn't ended up on the Other Side. But when she looked into those sparkling dark eyes, she knew he needed answers.

El took a heavy breath that moved her slender frame and looked up at Marty's face. He was so pretty. She looked into his eyes as she slowly spoke, "when I killed the Necromancer I woke up on the Other Side." She started, but already had to pause as she remembered so clearly the panic she had experienced whilst she tried to find him.

Looking into Marty's eyes was too much and so El closed her eyes before continuing. "I…I called for you but I couldn't find you. I saw a light in the wall and with my powers I was able to climb through it." She explained, carefully opening her eyes when she heard Marty speak avidly.

"You found a portal home?!"

She looked at him and nodded. Mike's previous smile turned back into a frown, "hang on…so when I thought I saw you outside of my house…I really did?" he said in a pained whisper.

El nodded again slowly and spoke simply, "the bad men came running so I had to leave."

Mike glared at the patchwork duvet and muttered to himself, "I should have found you that night. I could have protected you."

El watched his external anger in surprise for a moment. She couldn't understand how he could think it was his fault. She slowly reached for his fisted hand. It opened up immediately for her own and their eyes met once more.

"It wasn't your fault. The bad men would have known you were looking for me. I had to hide." El said calmly to Marty, trying to get him to believe every word and not feel any guilt. She couldn't bare it. When Marty seemed to calm down slightly, El continued. "It was day 30 when I saw Hopper in the woods. He was bringing me food."

Marty looked at her confused, "so he knew you were living in the woods and he didn't try and get to you sooner?!" he said in an angry tone. El cringed slightly not liking his anger, remember when he had been hot headed with her.

Marty seemed to realise this too and squeezed her hand before saying tenderly, "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you El, I just hate to think you were out there all alone in the woods. In the cold, with no food. I was searching the woods…I just can't believe I didn't find you."

El perked up slightly, "you were looking for me?" she asked softly.

Marty couldn't help but smile slightly, "of course. Dustin, Lucas and Will helped me at first…but then after a month or so I looked by myself. I checked the woods the best I could, the quarry and I even tried to break into Salisbury lab." He said smirking to himself at his last comment.

El looked at him in surprise, knowing it was dangerous to try and break into the lab but he had tried it anyway. She watched him for a moment, remembering what he had told her about friends telling each other things, things that parents don't know. "I met my sister." El said whilst Marty gaped at her.

"Sister?" he said confused, repeating her words.

El nodded, "I went to see mama and also met my aunt Becky. Mama is…not well, but she showed me memories. She tried to save me but the bad men…t-the bad men…" she couldn't get the words out as the image of her mum's agony raced through her mind and tears fell immediately down her cheeks.

"Hey, it's okay," Marty said softly, moving closer to her, his hands cupping her face as he tried to wipe the tears away with his thumbs.

El tried to swallow the choke that was in her throat, "the bad men did something to her brain with electricity. S-she was n-never the s-same." She finally got out in a shaky breath.

Marty stared at her incredulously as if he couldn't believe what she was saying. El knew his confusion wouldn't subside until she got it all out. "Aunt Becky has to care for mama. Mama couldn't speak to me. But she showed me my sister in the rainbow room. We were both in the lab. Kali is number eight. And I had to find her." She said as calmly as she could. El didn't give Marty a chance to say anything, because now she had started, she wanted to tell him everything.

"I saw Kali in the void and I found her in Chicago-"

"You went to Chicago?! On your own?!" Marty gasped.

She decided to ignore his comment and carried on. "Kali wasn't alone. She had friends, they took me in. She told me she seeks revenge against the bad men. She…kills them. She can make people see what she wants with her powers." El spoke watching Marty as he took in all of this information. She had come to the point where she worried that he would think badly of her. But friends didn't lie.

"Kali got me to help her find one of the bad men. He was the one who did the horrible thing to mama. We went after him…we cornered him in his house and we were to kill him." El said taking a shaky breath and looking away from Marty's surprised eyes. "But I couldn't kill him and I couldn't let Kali kill him because there were children in the house. I just couldn't do it." El finished with a gasp and looked down at her hands, both of them now being held by Marty's. She felt ashamed, ashamed that she had almost killed again but also ashamed that she hadn't let Kali get her revenge. That she hadn't got revenge for mama.

---

Marty watched El with despair in his eyes. He had been so desperate to know what she had been doing over the 353 days but he had never expected this. His heart broke as tears ran down her face and he squeezed her hands more gently trying to give her comfort as she told him about her sister and the bad man she couldn't kill.

If Marty was honest with himself, he wished El or this Kali had killed the bad man. He had been involved with using electric shock therapy on El's mom and god knows what else he was involved in. But as Marty watched El's face, her eyes full of sadness, he knew she was too pure to have done something like that if no one was in immediate danger. She had said there was kids in the house, she never would have destroyed a family.

Marty could tell she was done talking and he knew he couldn't not share his feelings with her, no matter how hard it was. He had spent 11 months hiding his pain from everyone, deciding to rebel in school with anger instead of accepting the comfort of those around him. But no more. He had the love of his life back, he could at least be honest with her.

"When you were gone I broke apart. I literally felt like you had taken a part of me with you. I tried searching the school for you, but once the cops arrived I was forced outside. Dustin and Lucas thought you might be…dead. But I didn't. I just knew you were out there, I couldn't give up hope." Marty said his voice shaking as the emotion of the past 11 months started to build up in him. El watched him quietly, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open as she listened avidly.

"So I tried to reach you through the super com. I know you said you heard…but I still don't think you realise how much I missed you. I tried to hold it back, even on the radio. But I felt like I couldn't function without you. Like I…c-couldn't breathe." He said trying to get his words out but knowing his eyes had started to pool with tears. Marty made himself look into the hazel eyes that gave him life.

"And now you're b-back and I can breathe again. You make e-every day worth living El. You make me s-smile, laugh and h-happier than I ever thought I could be. Just please…if you ever need to leave again, p-please let me come with you. I can't live without you." Marty's love for her spilled out, he didn't even care how desperate he sounded. El had spent her whole life feeling like she was only good for one thing, being manipulated by the lab and so Marty knew he needed her to know how much she meant to him, how she was his everything.

---

There was tears in El's eyes too but she couldn't speak, nothing felt good enough to what he had just told her. She had never felt anything like it, never experienced tears of sorrow and happiness all at once. As she looked into the dark eyes, there was only one thing she knew she wanted to do. El used the fact that their hands were joined to pull Marty to her. His face so close to hers that she could see the moisture that made up the tears on his slender cheeks and she felt like she could count every freckle against his pale skin.

El felt like the tension was back again, as their foreheads lay against each other and their breath mingled like they were one person. Her hazel eyes moved up to his eyes once more, and she saw something in them. Something she couldn't really explain but it felt as if there was fire in his black orbs. Like something burning, but it wasn't anger. El gulped nervously under the stare and slowly closed her eyes, moving her lips gently to his.

The kiss was soft and innocent, so similar to the last kiss they shared for about 2 seconds. Marty's hands released from their hold with her own and he moved one hand to the back of her hair and the other sharply to her waist, bringing her closer to him. All El could feel was Marty, he engulfed her in love as she moved her hands to his shoulders, gripping onto him for dear life as he kissed her harder on the lips.

It caused a heat to fire up within El and she knew in that moment that whatever the burning in Marty's eyes was, was now in her eyes too. The kiss made her breathless as Marty pulled away before swooping back in, as if worried she would disappear. She felt him trying to open her mouth with his lips, and whilst she had no idea why, El found herself slowly succumbing to the instinct rushing through her veins. But before anything more could happen, El and Marty's eyes both opened wide as they heard the special knock at the front door.

---

Marty jumped away from El as if he had been electrocuted whilst she unlocked the door with her mind and moved further away from him. His heart was racing from the kiss they had just shared. He didn't know if it was all the emotions, but he couldn't stop the desire he felt for El coming out in the kiss.

He knew they were too young to do anything too intimate and he wanted to be careful with El, she was too precious to him and he wasn't going to do anything that would take advantage of her. But when El had her lips against his and all Marty could see, feel and smell was her, it was tough to control himself. He was a teenage boy after all.

The more pressing issue to Marty now was El's father figure stood in the doorway, his eyes shocked and dangerous as he looked between the two teenagers. "What's going on in here?" he asked immediately making Marty start to sweat.

"N-nothing!" he stuttered knowing that El's confused face was because she really didn't understand why Hopper would not want Marty and El alone in her bedroom, especially not on her bed.

Hopper clearly didn't take Marty's weak sentence as an answer and turned his eyes calmly onto El, trying to appease her instead. "El? What happened?" He asked in a sweet voice which made Marty sweat even more. He looked at the beautiful girl with wide eyes, trying his hand at telekinesis, desperately trying to tell her not to mention the kiss.

El looked at Marty briefly and then turned back to Hopper and shrugged, "we were talking about our time apart." She said quietly which Marty realised made Hopper instantly guilty if his facial expression was anything to go by.

The chief cleared his throat and stood up from his previous position of leaning against the door frame. "Well why don't you both come through to the living room instead. El I'm starting dinner so say your good byes to Marty." He said in a careful voice before wandering off to the kitchen to empty his shopping bag.

Marty took a quiet sigh of relief and turned to El smiling. "Thanks for not mentioning the kiss to Hopper. He would have killed me." He said seriously, moving his hand through his hair.

El grinned at him, her eyes bright and happy once more. "I remember you saying that friends tell each other things parents don't know. Is the kiss something we don't tell parents?" she asked him with interest.

Marty nodded his head enthusiastically, taking this moment to explain a few things to her. "Yes exactly! We don't tell parents about us kissing or about anything else really that we do together." He said making sure to whisper so Hopper wouldn't overhear him from the kitchen.

El frowned slightly and moved her head to the side as she thought about his words. "So we wouldn't tell them if we played hide and seek?" she asked curiously.

Marty couldn't help but smile at how cute she was. "Well they can know about stuff like that. If we watch tv together or whatever. But not like…intimate stuff like kissing and t-touching." He said feeling suddenly warm and embarrassed. El bit her lip and nodded, not realising that her innocent action made Marty's eyes betray him as they fell to her soft pink mouth.

He gulped but was thankful when El whispered to him, "please don't tell anyone about my sister."

Marty's eyes widened, "of course! I promise." He said seriously making El smile slightly at his words.

Marty looked into El's stunning eyes and felt himself falling into them once more, but before he could act on his feelings there was an angry shout from the kitchen, "are you two deaf?! I told you both to come through to the living room and then for Wheeler to go home!" Marty sighed and got up from the bed, El following him as they made their way to the front door.

"I'll see you on Friday okay? And then there's the snow ball on Saturday." He said smiling at her lovingly.

El beamed at him with excitement but was interrupted before she could speak. "Snow ball?" Hopper asked quietly from the kitchen. The teens both turned their heads to the chief.

"Yes I am going to the snow ball with Marty on Saturday. It's a school dance," El told Hopper seriously. In that moment Marty realised that El had never asked for his permission, she probably didn't even know what permission meant.

Hopper laughed and shook his head, "sorry kid but you're not going to the dance. It's too dangerous."

El gasped, "yes I am!" she said loudly and Marty recognised she was getting angry quickly.

Hopper sighed realising he was about to have a teenage tantrum on his hands and so turned to Marty, "Wheeler go home." He said plainly.

Marty turned to El and squeezed her hand, "I'll see you Friday." He told her smiling but she was too annoyed to smile back, only squeezing his hand in comfort before he begrudgingly left the cabin.

--

"Listen kid, we didn't go through all this hell for you to be caught at some stupid school dance okay?" he tried to tell his teenage daughter who was currently seething with rage, having not moved from her place by the front door. Hopper tried to carry on preparing the dinner but El was having none of it.

"Who would be looking for me at the school dance?!" she asked clearly exasperated.

Hopper sighed, "look I don't know kid but it's not worth the risk. Even Wheeler must know that." He said rolling his eyes as he opened a tin of peas.

El was quiet for a while and Hopper finally felt like she had calmed down, not realising that something worse was going on. As he poured the peas into a pan, he chanced a glance at her and paused.

She was crying, reams of tears running down her face, her lips quivering as she tried to speak. "I p-promised him I would. H-he promised me. Please." Hopper hated how her words broke his heart and he sadly knew how important keeping a promise was to her, it was like her mantra along with friends don't lie. Damn that saying.

Hopper pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think. He took a moment to breathe and remembered all the times she had cried over that stupid Wheeler, desperate to see him through the long months. He couldn't let the guilt from them not seeing each other cloud his better judgement, but he also knew he could attend this dance as a chaperon or at least stand outside and wait for El. But then the dangers just came back to him at the thought of losing his daughter.

Hopper removed his hand from his face and turned to El who had moved to the couch but was still crying. Discarding the pan, he walked over to his new daughter and he knew he was always going to end up giving into her. "Look kid…I'm not promising you anything alright? But I'm seeing Dr Owens on Saturday morning. So I'll talk to him about the risk of you going out okay? If he thinks it's slim then I'll let you go to this silly dance."

Before Hopper could say anything more about the risks and the chances of Dr Owens saying no, El had gasped, jumped up off the couch and ran into his arms. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said so brightly that a smile appeared on his face.

He rolled his eyes as he held her close, "you do realise I haven't said yes right? Not until I've spoken to Dr Owens." He said trying to warn her. But El wasn't listening to him, too enveloped in her own joy and in that moment Hopper knew deep down that he was going to let her go to this damn dance with Wheeler because he loved that little girl and he wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to have the life that she deserved.

---

The rumble of the Chevrolet K5 Blazer came to a stop as Hopper cut the engine off, having parked up outside of the Harbor Inn. He took a few more drags of the cigarette he had been nursing on the drive over and stubbed it out before heading in.

Almost immediately Hopper spotted Dr Owens sat in the corner looking like he was tucking into a sandwich. He instantly felt his stomach squeeze with hunger as he thought about his stupid diet. It had been Joyce's idea, telling him that he needed to eat healthier and cut down the drinking. And for some reason just like El, Joyce had a way of bringing him around.

Hopper headed over to the doctor, taking his coat off in the process and chucking it onto the booth beside him. "Chiefo," Sam Owens said in a warm friendly voice. Hopper couldn't stop himself from smiling back. He had always had his doubts about Sam but after everything that had happened in the lab, he knew he could be trusted.

"How's the leg?" Hopper asked instead of a greeting.

"Better. Pretty sure my football career is over," Dr Owens replied with mirth making both men chuckle slightly. Hopper didn't think he would ever get to the point where he could have a laugh with these people. But worse things had happened.

Dr Owens pushed the plate towards Hopper, "you want some of this? There's no way I'm going to finish it."

Hopper looked down longingly at the master piece of a sandwich for a moment, but then saw Joyce's face in his mind. "No…I'm on a diet." He said plainly, pushing the plate away.

Sam gave him an amused smile before saying, "well you're a better man than me."

Dr Owens moved towards his bag and began rooting, "I've got a little something for you." He said before pulling out a slim envelope and handing it to a curious Hopper. He slowly opened the envelope, secretly anxious that it was a new problem to contend with. As the first corner of the document was unveiled, he heard Sam saying, "congratulations pops".

Hopper looked down at the paper, his mouth gaping slightly as he took in the birth certificate. The birth certificate of Jane Eleanor Hopper, his now legal daughter. He found himself suddenly overcome with emotion and had to speak to try and distract himself, "I thought…" he wanted to know how Dr Owens had done this so fast, but Sam would only shrug and smile.

"Sometimes I impress even myself."

Amazed, Hopper folded the document carefully and moved it into his coat pocket whilst Sam carried on speaking. "Still, I'd let things cool off for a while if I were you." He said honestly, making Hopper adjust in his seat anxiously, thinking immediately of this school dance El was desperate of going to.

"How long is a while?" he couldn't help but ask.

Dr Owens considered this and shrugged slightly, "wanna be safe? I'd give it a year." Hopper immediately felt a blow to his stomach as he imagined telling El she couldn't go out for another year. He could almost imagine her flinging him through the front door on his ass.

"A year?" he asked incredulously, now too stressed to care about his diet. He reached for the sandwich taking out a large chunk. Hopper thought immediately about the risks of El going out, but all he could see in his mind were her bambi eyes.

"What about one night out?" he said before he could even stop himself.

"One night? What's so important about one night?" Dr Owens said laughing gently.

Hopper frowned and leaned back in the booth slightly, "you have no idea…" he mumbled putting down the sandwich and rubbing his forehead stressed.

"Well if it's just one night and you're nearby…I don't see it being a problem," Dr Owens offered to Hopper's immediate relief.

He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he thought about the smile this was going to put on the kid's face. Hopper reached for the birth certificate again, staring at it with a mixture of disbelief and happiness. His eyes trailed over all of the details and stopped abruptly when he saw her birthday. "Ah shit…" he muttered.

"What?" Dr Owens asked as he continued with the sandwich.

"We've missed her birthday. It was the 8 November."

Hopper couldn't believe her birthday had gone unnoticed, and her 13th birthday at that. He felt a heavy weight in his chest once more when he realised that El had probably never even had a birthday, wouldn't even know what one was.

Dr Owens smiled slightly, "well, just make it up to her." He said simply.

The silence of Melvald's General Store was quickly interrupted by the sound of the bell ringing as Hopper quickly pushed open the door and found Joyce immediately, looking incredibly bored behind the counter. He couldn't help but smile in relief, and tried to hide the breathlessness he felt when he was around her. "The perfect person I need!" he called to her, moving through the aisle until he reached the counter.

Joyce laughed watching him amused, "what is it you need Hop?"

He took a moment to catch his breath before flashing her a foolish grin, "I've got an emergency of the teenage girl kind." He exclaimed making her laugh once more, the sound of her laughter causing his heart to squeeze.

"Explain…" she asked leaning slightly on the counter towards him.

Hopper quickly looked around to make sure they were definitely alone, before leaning in slightly and saying quietly, "I'm letting her out tonight, to go to this snow ball thing. But I need to get her a dress, shoes, the whole lot. Whatever teenage girls need for a dance."

Joyce's eyes brightened in happy surprise, "that's wonderful! Well I'm due my lunch about now, so I'd be happy to help." She said smiling.

Hopper took a breath of relief, "that's what I was hoping. Thanks Joyce."

Once Joyce had informed her manager that she was on lunch, they walked through the main town, whilst she explained that they were best getting the dress first as everything else centred around it. Hopper immediately felt completely out of his depth and thanked his lucky stars that he had Joyce with him.

They entered one of the only clothes stores in Hawkins, damn it was a small town, and started to route through the racks of clothes looking at different dresses. "Any idea what kind of dress she would like?" Joyce asked absentmindedly as she focused on the task at hand.

Hopper's cheeks immediately blushed with embarrassment, "er…no? She doesn't even know she needs a dress. She doesn't even know she's allowed to go at this point." He mumbled, although he knew with annoyance that she had always known she was going because she could wrap him around her little finger.

Joyce sighed, "well thankfully I know her dress size from that pink dress she loves wearing." She said as she started to pull out certain dresses and showed them to Hopper. "What about this one?" she asked, holding a pink dress with a low-cut neckline.

Hopper scoffed, "hell no! I don't want Wheeler drooling over her." He said incredulously.

Joyce rolled her eyes in amusement, "well then what do you want her to wear Hop?"

Hopper stopped eyeing the dresses and looked up at the wonderful woman in front of him, "well preferably a nun's outfit. But if that's not available, something that is classy, isn't too fussy and like covers up…everything." He said feeling incredibly awkward as he realised that his little girl was in fact a teenager.

Joyce nodded not saying anything to his words, but he noticed her entertained smile as she started wadding through another rack of dresses. "What about this one?" she asked after a few minutes. Hopper looked up to see she was holding a silver grey dress that looked like it would go down to the knees. It had pink polka dots on it, puffy shoulders and it covered up most of the body except the arms which he guessed he could deal with.

"Yeah that'll be great." He said in relief, thankful that this part of the horrendous shopping experience was over. He never wanted to be in charge of El's clothing style ever again.

"Don't you want to know how much the dress is first?" Joyce enquired looking at the outfit.

Hopper quickly shook his head, "no…she can have it, whatever the cost. We missed her birthday." He said sighing.

"We did? When was it?" Joyce asked sadly.

"November 8." Hopper confirmed, still feeling guilty.

Joyce pondered this fact for a moment but smiled, "well I'm sure she will be more than happy with a pretty dress, shoes and some make up." She said happily whilst Hopper looked aghast.

"Make up?! She's 13!"

Joyce laughed, "yes she's 13 Hop! And I can assure you girls her age are wearing the stuff." Hopper felt scandalised. Wasn't make up for like older girls? He refused to believe his kid was a woman.

Joyce sensed his trauma and rolled her eyes amused, "it's for one night Hop." She gave him the same look El gave him when she always got her way.

"Fine. Fine let's get the damn make up, shoes, the whole lot." He said wearily, taking the dress from Joyce as she started to look at shoes.

Fifteen minutes later Hopper's arms were filled with the dress, 3 different types of shoes for El to choose from, a make-up palette, make up brushes and lip glosses. He felt the testosterone leave his body in a rush when Joyce threw some more make up choices into his arms.

"Are we done now?" he moaned whilst Joyce began looking at accessories and ignored his comment.

"Aw you have to get her this pretty hair clip. It'll look lovely in her curly hair. I'll pin some of them back for her." She mused as she put the hair clip and grips into Hopper's crowded arms.

Hopper watched Joyce for a moment and couldn't help but smile, "thanks for this Joyce. I mean…I don't know what I'm doing with a teenage daughter sometimes." He admitted feeling completely out of his depth.

Joyce turned and smiled at him, "it's my pleasure Hop. I love that little girl too. She saved my son…she saved us all. She deserves this." She said softly, her voice laced with emotion that also caused a lump in Hopper's throat.

They were both quiet again until Joyce spoke up, "right I think we're almost done. But it might be nice to get her a bit of jewellery or something. Doesn't need to be expensive but maybe a bracelet or a necklace."

At her words Hopper instantly looked down at his daughter's blue hair band on his wrist, it had never left his wrist since the moment he got it crafted into a bracelet. Whilst he was a humble man in terms of possessions, this bracelet was his most treasured possession. But as he stared at it, he couldn't help but smile and think of El. She meant so much to him, she deserved to carry Sara's bracelet now.

Hopper looked up at Joyce and smiled, his voice choked, "don't worry. I've got just the jewellery in mind."

El bit her lip and looked at the clock for what felt like the 100th time. It was 2pm and the snow ball according to Marty started at 7pm and she desperately wanted to go. Whilst she was sure that Hopper was going to let her, the fact he wasn't even home yet unnerved her.

El felt anxious and upset at the thought that if she couldn't attend, she wouldn't even be able to ring Marty to tell him because she wasn't allowed to ring his home phone in case it was bugged.

She tried to distract herself with the television but for once she didn't care what was happening on her favourite soap operas. Every time she saw people kissing and happy it made her heart yearn for Marty.

The silence of the cabin was interrupted by the sound of Hopper's wagon and El immediately turned off the television and opened the door with her mind, too excited and apprehensive to care about waiting for his special knock.

When Hopper entered the cabin, El was surprised to see his hands were clasped around four bags which looked fit to burst. "Mind giving me a hand kid?" he asked her out of breath as she rushed forward and took a bag off him and put it on the kitchen counter.

"What is all this?" El asked frowning with curiosity as Hopper placed down the other bags.

He turned to her and smiled nervously, "you might wanna sit down kid. We need to talk." El watched him with confusion. His words made her think something was wrong, but his facial expression told her something different.

They sat facing each other at the table as Hopper looked more anxious than El had ever seen him. She could feel her heart beating nervously, waiting for him to speak. He took a deep breath and reached into his coat pocket. "As you know I met with Dr Owens this morning. He's been working on something for me for a while now…" he said clearing his throat as he took the paper out of the envelope and handed it to El.

El looked down at the paper, her spellings still weren't great but she could pick out things like her name. But it didn't say Eleven. It said Jane Eleanor Hopper. She gasped, her hands shaking slightly as she thought about her mama, the first name she had always wanted El to have. Her hazel eyes then went to where she could read it said 'mother: Teresa Ives' She gulped, feeling tears prick her eyes as she tried to hold the paper steady.

Hopper stayed quiet and just observed El as her eyes tried to take everything in. She saw 'birthday 8 November 1970' and gasped looking up at Hopper, "this is…the day I was born?" she asked him quietly.

He smiled slightly and nodded, "yeah kid. That's the day Terry gave birth to you." El looked down at the paper and her eyes went to where it said 'father: James Hopper'.

Hopper clearly seeing where her eyes had fallen, suddenly coughed nervously. "So kid…if you'll have me, I'd really love to be your dad." He said his voice choked with emotion making El instantly look up at him with wide eyes.

"My dad?" she asked him, trying her hardest not to get too excited in case what he meant wasn't what she thought it meant.

He smiled at her softly, "yeah your dad. You'd be my daughter and…we'd be a family."

He didn't need to say any more, his words hit El's heart at 100 miles per hour. She sobbed and got up from the chair, discarding the documentation and rushing into Hopper's waiting arms. She held onto him tightly as he lay his head on top of her curls. They stayed in their embrace for a while and El could feel tears drop into her hair. "T-thank you," she said quivering.

Hopper laughed gently, his chest making her bounce slightly from the movement. "You don't have to thank me kid. It's my pleasure."

They stayed in their tight hug for a while until El felt him slowly pull away so he could look at her face and wipe away her tears. "So do you wanna be called Jane? Or El?"

She pondered his words for a moment, she knew Jane was the name her mother had always wanted but then Marty had given her the name El and she loved it. She smiled at Hopper, "I am happy with both." She told him before nervously adding, "but can I call you dad?"

Hopper blinked back more tears and wiped at his own face, "I'd love nothing more," he told her sincerely. Before she could do anything more than give him a beaming smile, her dad spoke, "I've got a few more surprises for you. When I spoke to Dr Owens I asked him about the risk of you going out. Now he did say that he thinks it's best for you to stay hidden again for another year but he doesn't see the harm in you going to this dance." He said in a calm voice whilst El hyperventilated.

The moment he had said she would have to stay hidden for another year, her heart had dropped but as soon as he agreed to her going to the snow ball she knew it would be worth it. Just for this special night with Marty it would be completely worth staying in the cabin. "So Joyce is going to come over at 4pm to help you get ready and seeing as we missed your birthday and I couldn't give you a gift, I've bought you some stuff kid for tonight." He said reaching for her hand and giving it a tender squeeze.

El's eyes widened with excitement as she looked at all of the bags, "I get presents?" she asked in a hushed voice, scared to believe his words.

Hopper laughed, his eyes crinkled with happiness. "Yes you do! Now go and have a rummage and see what you've got." He told her amused as she raced from her chair and dived into the bags, gasping and swooning as she picked up her dress with excitement. Tonight was going to be amazing and as she looked at her dress she wondered if Marty would call her pretty again.

Joyce arrived as promised at 4pm and walked into the cabin with an air of excitement when she saw El who had just finished her shower. "Are you ready for us to get started sweetie?" she asked her, putting down her bag on the table. El beamed and nodded her head with enthusiasm.

"Well I'm staying out of the way then," Hopper said with amusement as he grabbed a beer and went over to the couch putting on the television.

They moved through into El's bedroom, the young girl sitting at the desk whilst Joyce smoothed her hair into a sleek style, using pins which El had never seen before. Joyce had turned the radio on and both ladies tapped their feet to the tune Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which El decided was currently her favourite song.

"You've got beautiful hair El, I always wanted a daughter to be able to do her hair." Joyce mused as she carried on working. El beamed and looked in the mirror facing her, so she could see herself and Joyce stood behind her.

She didn't know why, but as Joyce styled her hair there was something so comforting about it. "Don't get me wrong, I love Joseph and Will but I'd have loved a daughter too." El frowned slightly, there was that word again. Love.

"What is love? What does it mean?" El instantly regretted asking because Joyce had paused in her work and looked at the young girl with shocked surprise. There was silence for a moment as El averted her eyes feeling embarrassed.

"Oh sweetie…" Joyce said in a pained voice as she softly stroked El's hair.

"Did I say something wrong?" El couldn't help but mumble out.

Joyce shook her head and wiped at tears that had pricked her eyes. "No sweetie! Not at all. It's just…it makes me sad that you haven't really experienced love in your life, especially when there is a lot of people who I know love you."

El pondered this with interest and couldn't help but ask again, "so what is love?"

Joyce carried on putting pins into her hair but spoke in a soft tone, "love is a very powerful and very complex emotion sweetie. It has a lot of different meanings." She started as she sprayed a bit of hair spray before continuing. "It's a very strong feeling of affection. So you can love simple things like food or television shows, things that you more than like. You can love your friends and your parents for instance. But the strongest two loves in my opinion are when you are in love with someone and unconditional love." Joyce said as she picked up the teal hair slide.

"Unconditional love is the love that parents should have for their children. It means that no matter what, they will try and protect their children and love them. It's something sweetie that most people don't understand until they have their own child." She said emotionally putting the hair slide in place and moving her hands to El's shoulders. Both ladies looked in the mirror and smiled at how beautiful El looked.

"Make up next?" Joyce asked El with a big grin, making the young girl nod vigorously.

El closed her eyes as Joyce started to apply a pink eye shadow. This simple act made El's stomach fill with butterflies as she remembered Marty putting make up on her. "Marty told me he loved me." She couldn't help but say shyly.

Joyce gasped slightly with excitement, "he did?!" El nodded with apprehension.

"Well sweetie that's wonderful! So that type of love is the one I told you about where you are in love with someone. It usually means that the person only feels that about you, more than anyone else in the world. They want to be with you all the time. You're their favourite person." She said gently.

El could feel goose bumps rush down her back as she finally realised that was exactly how she felt about Marty. That intense feeling she felt when she was with him or even just thought about him…that was love.

Hopper was sat impatiently on the couch trying to focus on the television but trying to go through his plan for the evening and if there was anything that could go wrong. After protests from El that she didn't want him lurking in the gym, they had compromised that he would hang out in the parking lot in case she needed him.

He was distracted by his own thoughts when he heard El's bedroom door open and Joyce popped out looking very pleased with herself. Hopper smiled at her as she gestured her hand towards the door and said playfully, "introducing Miss Jane Eleanor Hopper!" El walked out from her room and Hopper's eyebrows jumped up his forehead.

He was in a shock, but not the kind of protective dad shock, he was just in shock at how unbelievably happy she looked. He realised that the smile on her face was the best thing he had seen in a very long time.

Hopper got up from the couch and moved towards his daughter, "you look fantastic kid." He told her enthusiastically, giving her a quick hug.

"Thanks dad," she said sweetly making his heart feel like it had suddenly grown. Hopper turned his eyes onto Joyce who looked so proud. "Thank you so much Joyce for all of your help today." He told her sincerely.

She waved him off like it was nothing, "it was my pleasure Hop."

Once Joyce had left, Hopper called over a shy El, not realising how nervous he felt. "You look amazing kid…but there is just one final thing to give you." She watched him curiously as he hesitantly reached for his own wrist. Hopper took a deep breath as he removed the bracelet, "this bracelet…well it was a hair tie that belonged to Sara. It means so much to me. And now…well you mean so much to me too and I want you to have it." He said barely able to keep his voice from shaking as he handed out the bracelet to El.

She gave him a look he had never seen in her eyes, it was as if she was vulnerable but there was such a brightness there. "T-thank you," she said choked as Hopper clipped the bracelet onto her waiting wrist. She looked down at the jewellery for a moment and said quietly, "I love it…" before Hopper could say anything more, El looked up at him and smiled, "and I love you dad."

Hopper felt as if his heart was about to explode and he smiled brighter than he ever had since Sara was born. Hopper pulled El to him, not wanting to let go of his little girl. He didn't realise until that moment how much he had missed out with Sara. It was a feeling that crushed him like a heavy weight but he knew that after everything El had been through, and everything he had been through, they deserved this second chance. "I love you too El" he said without hesitation.