july 15, 1986
"will has been gone for over two months. why am i the only one who is worried?" mike ranted, flopping on the couch in his basement.
dustin looked up from his magazine. "dude, it's not like bea is gonna hurt him. she loves him to death."
"you were the one that pushed him away, why do you suddenly care?" lucas asked, pacing the room.
mike hid his face in his hands. "so stupid. i'm so fucking stupid!"
"for the first time in a while, i agree," lucas scoffed, sitting at the desk max once sat at. lucas' finger brushed the page max seemed to start but abandoned. he recognized her handwriting from all the times they finished homework together. it was addressed to beatrice. he began to read it in his head as the room fell quiet.
'dear beatrice,
you are one of my favourite people i know. you made me better after everything that went down and i am glad you were in my life. i hope that you know i'm not mad at you. if it comes down to it and you still love him, i'll understand. i know what it's like to be the reason you lose someone you love-"
the letter cut off. lucas sighed, crumbling it up and throwing it in the garbage can under the desk.
'max would be so disappointed in how things are going,' he thought.
dustin looks over at lucas. "how's max?"
mike closed his eyes. he was a shitty friend. he almost forgot about max. how much of an asshole did he have to be to forget about his friend in a coma?
"doctors said some of her bones are healing now. i'm hoping she wakes up soon."
"we all are," dustin sighed. "the cracks are getting worse and the clouds are only getting darker. he is getting stronger."
"we are fucked," mike muttered into his hands.
"do you guys want to come with me to visit max today?" lucas asked. he tried to go everyday, hoping next time he visited she'd be awake.
"sure," dustin said, putting the magazine on the coffee table.
they both to mike. "mike?" lucas asked.
mike lifts his head from his hand. it was the least mike could do after not visiting since march. "i guess."
"will! what do you want for lunch, kid?" bea shouted from the kitchen.
will looked up from his book. he was laid out on his stomach on his bed. will liked the way things were going.
bea and peter were always there for him. they gave him the attention he needed and accepted him for who he was. eddie was pretty cool too. he played dungeons and dragons with him and was like a brother to him.
he thought about the overworld group a lot. he didn't miss the way they made him feel at all. he talked to eddie and bea about it before. they understood more than joyce or jonathan ever could. they told him that his feelings are vaild and that he didn't do anything wrong. he would rather be here than back in that hell on earth
he placed the book on the sheets of his bed. "can i have pizza please?" he called out.
bea could really make anything they wanted if they asked so feeding a family really wasn't hard.
"eddie! you want anything?" her voice echoed the hallway.
"i wouldn't mind some pizza!" eddie answered, plucking at the strings of his guitar.
"got it! it'll be done in a hot second!"
peter opened the front door, smiling at his wife.
"peter!" she exclaimed, walking to embrace her husband. his arms wrapped around him. "i missed you."
peter chuckled as they pulled apart, "i missed you, too, my dear."
he places a sweet kiss onto her lips before they walk into the kitchen. with a snap of her fingers, a large pepperoni pizza appeared on the table.
"boys! lunch!" she called, turning to the direction of the stairs so the boys can hear.
"be down in a second!" will responded.
peter and bea sit down at the table, waiting for the boys as tilly laid in her dog bed in the
living room.
"can we talk?" bea asked, playing with her hands.
peter looked at her, concerned. "of course, dear. what's wrong?"
bea loved the boys, but she still felt like one
more thing was missing. she feared that she was too old or something.
"have you thought about having kids? like more than the boys?"
peter nodded. of course, he did. how could he forget about them. their dear elodie and sawyer. if you would've asked him a couple months ago he probably would've hesitated, but the boys and tilly really grew on him.
"of course, dear." he waited for her to finish her thought.
"do you think we could have them again some day?"
"whenever you're ready for our own children, i'm ready. i still hope they will be as beautiful as you, my love. i think the boys will adore the little ones."
"i mean i feel like i'm ready, but i'm also terrified, peter. what if they get to me again? what if they harm the baby or one of the boys? they could've killed me, what's stopping them from trying to hurt the children?"
bea's breathing grew heavier. her eyes began to water. she felt like she was suffocating. it reminded her of when eleven almost crushed her throat, making her panic a little more. the more she thought about it, the more it weighed on her chest.
she felt trapped in her situation both literally and figuratively. the overworld group was never going to stop pursuing her until they were dead. no matter what she did, bea always ended up back where she started. locked up and hidden away.
peter rushes to her side, crouching to her level.
"hey. hey," he repeated, softly, holding her hand. "it's alright. look at me." she stared in his blue eyes. "nothing is going to happen to any of you as long as i live. i promise you. breathe. in," he commanded. he always knew how to calm her down. she always felt bad he had to deal with her like this, but he enforced that he loved her and that it's not her fault.
she nodded and sucked in a harsh breath through her sniffling.
"and out." she exhaled.
he repeated again. "breathe in."
she inhaled deeply. her chest rose and fell. she tried to focus on his blue eyes.
"out."
[REDACTED], 1972
bea held the baby close to her chest in the nursery rainbow room. as the children grow, they began to move through the rainbow room stages: the nursery, the playroom, and the big rainbow room. the big rainbow room was significantly larger and housed more mature activities for the children.
bea looked down at the baby as it played with her finger. peter watched as she held the delicate child with such care. he came up behind her shoulder as she looked down at the baby.
"peter," she tried to whisper as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "i can't just watch them do this to another kid," her voice cracked.
the creaking door caught their attention. peter backed away from her as brenner walked in the room. brenner stopped in front of the girl. "i'll take her, beatrice."
beatrice hesitantly placed her in the arms of the boogie man himself. the child kept hold of her finger until brenner began to walk away.
"great work, peter, beatrice. i'll take care of her from here. we have some tests to run today."
beatrice swallowed her pride and allowed him to walk out with the baby. the lab had always dealt with small children, but the baby was crossing the line. it can't even walk and it is already going through testing. beatrice wanted to scream.
"you both are dismissed. you may go to your rooms."
as she climbed up the stairs to their ward, she remembered how it felt for her to be tested like some sort of lab rat. she was still terrified to this day. every time they call for her over the intercom, she begins to tense up. she knew every single test they were about to put the baby into. needles, scans, implants. she shuddered at the thought of it.
it was unlikely but she began to think, 'what if they want to test me again? what if they strap me down to the table and electrocute me? what if i'm put in isolation for months at a time? what if they take peter away from me? what if they hurt him?'
as the thoughts clouded her mind, her throat became dry, her eyes glossed as she thought of what they would do to peter. she pushed open her door and sat up against the wall next to her bed. her entire body trembled as the feeling set in her gut.
peter barged into the room. "bea," he spoke seeing her on the floor, sitting on the ground in front of her. she looked towards him as her world began to spin.
he grabbed both sides of her face, gently, trying to calm her down and get her to look at him in the eyes. "beatrice. look at me."
her attention shifts to peter and her breathing begins to calm down a bit. enough to understand peter's words.
"okay, look at me. everything is gonna be okay. just breath in."
she sucked in a shivering breath as she followed his directions.
"and let it out." she let go of the breath. they repeated this four more times as her heartbeat slowed from its rapid fire beating. she leaned forward, resting her head on his chest in front of her.
"are you feeling a bit better?"
she whispered a small 'yes'.
"is it okay if i put you in your bed?"
another 'yes' sounded from her. she wrapped her arm around his neck as he scooped up the rest of her body. he laid her on her side of her bed and crawled in next to her on his side. he pulled the sheets to cover their shoulders and embraced her. he held her close, hoping she'd sleep better in his grasp. she rested her head onto his chest.
she spoke, quietly. "i'm sorry, my love."
"it's not your fault, dear," he sighed, brushing some of her hair back. "i love you more that the stars, bea."
she chuckled a bit, "i love you more than the universe, peter."
july 15, 1986
peter wiped some of the tears off her face as will ran down the stairs. she felt better being home now and knowing peter was determined to protect his family at all costs.
a small smile grew under her tear stained cheeks. "i think we should have our child."
"i'll make sure nothing harms a hair on any of your heads," peter placed a kiss on her cheek. "even the boys."
"what's wrong?" will asked, seeing bea with tear on her cheeks and puffy eyes.
"it's alright, will. we were just having a discussion," she said as he approached them. "go ahead and dig in," she smiled.
will hesitantly agreed, hoping everything was alright. he sat down and began to devour pizza.
'let's wait until we are completely positive to tell the boys,' bea communicated with peter in her head. peter nodded in response.
"do you want something to drink, kid?" she asked, turning her head to will.
"sure, can i have a coke please?" he asked as eddie walked into the room.
"oh, can i have one too?" eddie asked, sitting in his chair.
bea smiled, "of course."
with a wave of her hand, two cans appeared in front of the two boys. she looked at the table.
everyone was happy. she began to feel like everything was going according to plan. things might actually be alright for them.
hopper was watching the television when his drama show was interrupted by an emergency newscast.
"breaking news!" the voice boomed. "the body of hawkins student jackie mason was found in the woods earlier today. it seems to be a copycat killer, similar to the deaths of hawkins residents chrissy cunningham and fred benson. if anyone has any information about jackie mason or the copycat killer..."
hopper sat up as the realization hit. "joyce!" he shouted throughout the house. "everyone get in here!"
everyone except for mike, dustin, and lucas walked in the room, concerned. there was another dead. another gate was going to open. they had some work to do.