STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED_JIM HOPPER

014

Nimbly, she reached across the carpet until she could grasp his hand in hers. She needed something to keep her brave, give her reassurance that they'd make it through this ordeal in one piece. Hopper had squeezed her hand in return, as a means of consolation, albeit a weak one.

Their moment had been harshly interrupted, however, by the sound of car tires coming up the drive. The engine cut off, doors were shut loudly, and feet could be heard climbing the steps outside, but neither moved, holding their breath in anticipation.

A rough knock followed by, "hey, Chief," had them letting out a shared, relieved exhale. Neither relaxed entirely, though, as Hopper jumped up with gun in hand to open the door.

"Hey," he said, falling through the frame, slamming the door shut behind him. Ana was alone now, with nothing to do but listen to the conversation taking place on the other side of the wall.

"Jesus, Chief. You all right?" So, it was both Callahan and Powell that had shown up then.

"What are you doing here?" Was all Hopper responded with, still sounding out of breath.

"We tried calling, but-"

"Yeah, the phone's dead," he said, cutting the other man off shortly.

There was a brief pause before Callahan tried switching tactics. "Hey, so Bev Mooney came in this morning all upset. Said that Dale and Henry went hunting yesterday and they didn't come back home."

"She thought they were on another binger, but she's not so sure now," added Powell.

"I think this whole Will Byers thing has everybody on edge," Callahan concluded.

"Where was this?" Hopper finally questioned.

"It was at the station," Callahan answered foolishly.

"No, no. Where did Henry and Dale go hunting?" Ana could hear in his voice that Hopper was growing impatient with the mindless conversation, going nowhere fast.

"Oh. Uh, out near Kerley." Fuck. That meant that the two men weren't just lost on a hunting trip like their wives thought. They had likely gone the same path as Will, missing, disappeared, without any trace.

Hopper was coming to the same conclusion on the other side of the door, which was apparent by his muttering, "Mirkwood." The name her students had given the road their friend had vanished on.

"What?" The other two officers had not a single clue of the stranger things going on around town. Ignorance probably would have been bliss...under any other circumstances.

"Okay. You go back to the station. I'll take care of this, alright?" He was attempting to brush them off as quickly as possible, seeing no need in getting more people involved than already were.

"Are you sure?" Callahan asked.

"Yeah, leave it," Hopper responded, trying to make it back inside where Ana was still waiting. She'd obviously be listening, calculating, and arriving at the same conclusions he was after their night stalking through Hawkins Lab.

"Oh, hey. Uh, they found Barbara's car," Callahan added absentmindedly.

That stopped Hopper in his rapid retreat from them. "What?"

"Barbara Holland's car. Seems she ran away after all." Nope, wrong again, Powell. "Staties found it late last night at a bus station."

"Funny, right? They keep doing our job for us." More like they keep staging things for us, Callahan.

Hopper was following a similar train of thought. "Yeah. It's funny," he replied humorlessly before marching back inside and slamming the door closed behind him.

"Get up, I'm taking you home," he'd announced once certain they were alone again. Ana had obliged to the direct order without being combative, for once, which he appreciated. Neither had the energy to bicker on the car ride over.

Parking outside of hers, Hopper shut off the engine and turned in his seat to face Ana, knowing what was coming next was the hard part.

"I need you to go inside, pack up your things, and go back to Texas." His mouth was set in a firm line, and his eyes were determined along with his stance, so wide and imposing in the driver's seat.

She was visibly taken aback by the suggestion and it shone across her face, she still managed a argument, though. "No."

He hadn't expected it to be easy, but he wasn't deterred. Hopper was going to make her see reason whether she liked it or not. "Ana, you need to get out of here while you still can," he implored. The number of missing people had risen to four quickly, and he wasn't willing to add her name to the growing list of misplaced people.

Yet, her answer stayed the same. "No."

There it was, that agitated look that always fell upon his countenance whenever they stumbled into an disagreement. "I can't take care of you and find Will. I can't do both," he sighed with the acknowledgment of his limitations.

"Good thing I don't need you to take care of me then," she'd responded stubbornly with crossed arms, pinning him down with an unwavering stare. Did he really not get why tucking tail and running away simply wasn't an option anymore?

He crumpled before her very eyes then, all the walls he had built up to keep the world out, came crashing down. "But I need it. Can't you see, I don't want you to get hurt, at all. And I don't want to lose you." He was on the verge of tears now, and couldn't bring himself to look up and catch her gaze.

Had he been brave enough to chance a glance in her direction, Hopper would have seen that he wasn't the only one in the car whose eyes were more than misting. At that moment, an epic battle was wagging itself inside Ana Thompson. A war between what she wanted and what she was comfortable with. In times like these, comfort always seemed to win out. It's far easier to push others away than to bare your soul with the off chance of being rejected.

"That's exactly why I have to stay, you idiot," she scoffed, and her choice was made.

Ana leaned over the seat so quickly that Hopper barely had time to react before her lips were upon his.

It was a desperate and messy kiss, but it was beautiful. They clung to one another like the lifelines they had become. His hands in her hair, pulling her even closer than should be possible and hers resting on his chest.

It was just the two of them then, finally accepting what they'd come to know in their hearts for sometime.