The blood pounded in Lily's ears as she ran through the halls of Hawkins Memorial, dodging and zipping past other hospital visitors and nurses. Nick was close behind her, and Lily could barely register people calling for her to slow down or to watch where she was going, but every step brought her closer and closer to Eddie, and she couldn't stop until she could see him safely with her own two eyes.
She came to an abrupt stop in the doorway of the room, peeking inside to see Eddie and Wayne talking softly, but their conversation halted at the sound of the girls outside, bringing their attention over to them. Eddie's tired eyes immediately lit up in a smile as he took in the redhead standing before him, and Wayne rose from his chair, looking back and forth between them.
"I'd say it's about time for dinner, right Nick?" Wayne suggested, and the Munson girl nodded from her spot next to Lily. "We'll give you two some time to chat."
Wayne gave Lily a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he walked by, a happy, relieved smile on his face, one that she hadn't seen in a long time. Eddie was still hurt, yes, and in trouble in the eyes of Hawkins PD, but for now, his kids were safe, and that was all Wayne cared about. They'd deal with the rest later.
As soon as Wayne and Nick were gone, Eddie patted the now-vacant chair next to his bed, and Lily nearly stumbled over to him, finally taking in the scene before her. He looked exhausted, with dark circles prevalent under his eyes despite being asleep for the past day. A thick bandage peeked out from the neckline of his hospital gown, accompanied by a few circling his arms where the Demobats had bitten him, though she knew the worst were hidden under the gown and the bedsheets. However, nothing prepared her for the blinding white rage that flashed in her vision as she took sight of the metal handcuff around his left wrist, the other wrapped firmly around the side of the bed, keeping him trapped in place.
He was in no shape to even move around in bed, much less get up and cause harm to others, but in their eyes, he was still a murderer.
As Eddie's tired eyes scanned over Lily as she walked closer, his dazed smile quickly turned to an expression of concern as he took in the sling holding her arm in place. As she collapsed into the chair, her cheeks already streaked with tears, he reached out to take her good hand, studying her as his thumb stroked the back of hers softly.
"You're okay," her voice croaked out, more to reassure herself than him.
He nodded, his eyes still trained firmly on the sling. "I'm okay, are you okay?" he asked, voice raspy and groggy. "Tell me what happened."
"I'm fine," she assured him. "I slipped when we were trying to get you through the gate, and when I caught myself I dislocated my shoulder. I'll be good as new in a few days."
Eddie nodded as she spoke, a sudden silence falling between them as she looked him over once more, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall further.
"What were you thinking?" she demanded, though it came out in more of a whisper. "We said no heroes this time."
"I knew I had to buy them more time." he explained, and she reached up to move a stray piece of hair from his face as he spoke before intertwining their hands again. "I couldn't keep running away, not after what happened with Chrissy and Patrick. I couldn't do that again. I knew I needed to be the hero, even just this once."
"Getting yourself to safety isn't just running away and being a coward, Eddie." she said, leaning forward and resting her forehead lightly against his. "You were always my hero."
She couldn't help but notice the wide grin he continued to wear, and her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "How can you be smiling so much?" she asked.
He shrugged softly, "How can you be crying? We're alive, aren't we?"
Lily leaned forward, kissing him, and he kissed her back eagerly, his hand leaving hers to cup her cheek. When they finally broke apart, she reached up to wipe her eyes, his smile never once faltering.
"I don't know what I would've done without you." she said. "Just promise me you'll never fucking do that again, Eddie Munson."
"I promise," he said, nodding before he reached up, tapping her nose. "You were worried about me." he teased lightly.
"Of course I was worried about you." she said.
"But hey, just think." he said, gesturing down to the various bandages wrapped around his body. "These battle scars are going to look so metal, right?"
She chuckled softly, nodding. "The most metal."
"I knew it," he smiled in satisfaction, taking her hand again.
"Back there, after you cut the rope, you, uh..." she trailed off. "I don't know if you remember doing this, but you told me you loved me."
"I've always loved you." he said simply.
"Really?" she asked.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked incredulously. "A girl walked into Hellfire that wasn't my sister, and she actually knew what she was doing. She used to bribe me at the arcade with quarters during her work shifts for any intel on upcoming campaigns I was planning, even though we very much know I'm a closed book when it comes to D and D. She was actually interested in the things I had to say. She used to come to our gigs at the Hideout. She could've just called me a freak and kept walking at any given moment, but she didn't. And even when her path took her away from me, she still came back when I needed her most. The whole world was against me, but she believed in me."
Lily smiled, leaning forward and kissing him again. When she pulled away, his eyes trained firmly on hers as he watched her with a curious expression.
"Am I just really high on painkillers, or did that mean what I think it means?" he asked.
She nodded. "I love you too, Eddie."
A giddy smile spread across his face at her words, and he squeezed her hand tightly."Nick said you told off Chief Powell for me." he said. "That was pretty badass, I can't lie."
"Well, it looks like I'll need to have another word with him." she said, eyes trained on the handcuff keeping him restrained to the bed as she started to rise from her chair, but he took her hand, pulling her back down.
"Honey, I don't think he wants to talk to you right now after that." Eddie chuckled, and she sighed, nodding.
"Okay," she relented, her smile beginning to fade away. "Eddie, there's something I need to tell you. A-about Max."
"Nick told me." he said softly, his thumb returning to draw lazy circles over the back of her hand as she nodded, her eyes shutting tightly for a moment. "Lily, I'm so sorry. What happened?"
"While Max was distracting Vecna, Jason showed up at the Creel House." Lily explained, willing her voice to stay steady, and his hand moved away from hers, reaching up to cup her face again, in an attempt to hold her. "He thought Lucas possessed her as part of Hellfire, and when he wouldn't wake her up, they started to fight, and Jason stepped on her Walkman. Kate Bush wasn't an option this time, and he-" her voice cut off in a whimper as her eyes shut again, Eddie's thumb stroking her cheek reassuringly. "Vecna got her, Eddie."
"But she survived." he said, and she nodded.
"She didn't at first." she said, her voice breaking as the images of Chrissy's body lying face down in Eddie's trailer and Patrick floating in the water flashed through her mind, and Max's broken body lying in the hospital bed once Lily had finally been able to see her sister. "Her heart stopped for an entire minute. She died, Eddie. The doctors aren't sure why it started again. She's in a coma, but they don't know if she'll wake up, or what her quality of life will be if she does. Lucas said she couldn't s-see or f-feel anything after it happened." she hiccuped, the tears freely falling, and Eddie nodded softly as she spoke.
"It's Max we're talking about, sweetheart." Eddie reminded her. "She's a tough kid. I remember the time I stupidly found myself in her skate path, and when I narrowly managed to avoid being trampled, she flipped me off and completely ripped me a new one while she skated away." Lily chuckled softly as he spoke. "If anybody's going to come out of this, it's her."
"I hope so," she said, and he nodded again.
"I know so." he assured her, and he shifted slightly in bed as she could hear his stomach growling softly.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, chuckling softly.
"Starving," he said. "I haven't eaten since before the group split up."
Lily reached down to grab her purse where it rested at her feet, unzipping it and reaching for the foil wrapper that lay inside. "I got you something." she said. "I found it in the vending machine, and thought you could use it to help get your strength up."
Eddie's eyes watched her intently as she handed him the package, and his eyebrows furrowed together, raising slightly. "Blueberry?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Blueberry." she confirmed.
Eddie smiled victoriously as he tore open the PopTart wrapper, the white-iced pastries falling into his lap. However, he picked up the first one, holding it out to her.
"I owe you one." he said. "Since I stole one of your shitty strawberry ones back at Rick's."
She shook her head. "You eat it." she insisted. "You need to get your strength back up."
"Take it," Eddie said.
"No," she said adamantly, shaking her head again.
Eddie sighed. "You're impossible," he stated. "Just take the PopTart, Mayfield."
She sighed slightly with a smile, taking the PopTart from him, and his smile grew as he picked up the other one, tapping it lightly against hers in a sign of cheers.
"I think we're going to be alright, you know that?" he asked, and she nodded, her smile growing.
"Yeah," she said. "We'll be alright."
As Eddie finished his PopTart, he lay his head back against the pillow. It was then that Lily noticed how pale he looked, his skin nearly matching the white hospital gown adorning his body, causing the dark circles under his eyes to jump out even further than when Lily had first noticed them. He reached out for her hand once more, and she watched as he looked back at her through heavy lids, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Get some sleep," she said, intertwining their fingers and leaning forward to press a kiss on his forehead. "You need to rest. I'll be here when you wake up, okay?"
Eddie nodded slowly, letting his eyes fall shut. "M'kay. I love you," he murmured drowsily.
"I love you too," she assured him as his breathing began to even out, his chest falling and rising steadily.
Lily watched Eddie as he slept, the room quiet except for the steady beeping of his heart monitor. Aside from his sleeping figure in the bed, it was the first time she'd found herself alone with nothing but her thoughts since the morning she'd woken up at Skull Rock after he'd gone to look for a new walkie talkie, with the exception of the few minutes she'd had to shower before getting her shoulder bandaged. Though it had only been a couple of days before, it had felt like an entire lifetime had passed since her biggest concern had been keeping Eddie away from Jason, and not the bites and claw marks that had since ravaged his body and left him fighting for his life along with her sister lying comatose in another wing of the building.
Lily forced herself to breathe through her nose as the tears threatened to spill over her eyelids, though she was interrupted by a soft knock at the door, and Nick peeked her head in, looking around before letting herself in the rest of the way.
"It's just me," she whispered, noticing Eddie's unconscious form as she took the open seat on the other side of the bed. "Wayne should be up soon. How long has he been asleep?"
"Not long," Lily assured her, her eyes briefly glancing at the door before looking back at Nick. "I'm gonna take a walk for a bit, I think, just clear my head a little. I'll be back soon."
"Okay," Nick said, nodding as Lily carefully pulled her hand from Eddie's grip, trying her best not to wake him, and she walked into the hallway, eyes searching for the quickest exit.
The glowing neon exit sign was like a beacon at the end of the hallway, beckoning her to the closest stairwell, and her breathing increased as she pushed the door open, finding herself alone in the dimly lit room. She managed to make her way down half a flight of stairs before her knees buckled, and she gripped the railing as she lowered herself to sit on one of the steps, the tears now freely flowing down her cheeks.
How confident they'd all tried to be that everything would go as planned, putting Vecna in his grave once and for all while they'd escape unscathed, and they hadn't even succeeded in taking him off the board. He'd been injured, sure, but he'd still managed to get away while Lily had almost lost the two most important people in her life in one night.
Eddie was going to be alright, she knew that much. Though it'd take a while for him to heal from his wounds, he was strong, and she knew he was going to pull through. She'd seen as much just from the glimpses of himself she'd seen in his tired exterior, though she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of just how close she'd been to losing him if they hadn't gotten him help on time. Max, on the other hand, they didn't know when she'd wake up, or if she ever would. It was all they could do to wait, though Lily had never felt so powerless in her life to do anything to help her sister.
Lily buried her face in her uninjured arm, her head resting against her knees as she curled up on the steps, her sister's name escaping in a slight whimper as she continued to cry. She'd hardly registered the echo of footsteps coming up from the flights of stairs below, though her attention was caught by a comforting pat on her shoulder as the figure took a seat next to her.
"Hey there, sweetheart," a gravelly voice spoke, and she looked up to see Wayne sitting next to her.
"Hi," she said, her voice barely audible as she quickly reached up to wipe her eyes, though she knew the damage had been done, and there was no use trying to hide her tears from him. "Sorry, I'm sorry. Nick's with Eddie, he's asleep so I-I just told her I was going to take a walk and then I'd be back."
"Ain't nothin' to be sorry for." he reassured her. "He's okay."
Lily nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she said, sniffling. "Yeah, he's okay."
"I'm sorry to hear about your sister." Wayne said. "Nice girl, I always liked seein' the two of you with the kids after school. It's been a long time, but it's nice to see you two from time to time at your new place."
"Sorry it's been a while," she apologized. "Looking back, I should've taken full advantage of you guys living next door, but I guess I was too focused on things that I thought were important."
Things such as cheerleading, and getting into a good school on the opposite side of the country. Her popularity that she thought was the most important thing in the world, but paled in comparison to the people she'd been long overdue to welcome back into her life that past week. Those were the ones that really mattered, even if it took almost losing them for her to realize it.
"I don't know what happened between you." Wayne admitted. "But I do know how much both of my kids care about you, even when they said they shouldn't."
"You do?" she asked, reaching up to brush away another stray tear that had fallen.
"Of course I do." Wayne assured her. "I may be old, but I'm not blind. Hell, the entire time Nick was on her way to get you, Eddie wouldn't shut up about you. That boy's crazy about you."
"Well, I'm kinda crazy about him, too." Lily admitted, smiling softly. "You raised a good man, Wayne."
"You make him happy." Wayne said. "You make them both happy, and I'm grateful to you for that. So many people think they're dangerous, but you've always known the truth. I also heard what you told the police after you brought him in last night, and I can't thank you enough for that. Thank you for taking care of my kids. Just please be careful with them, don't hurt 'em again. They're all I have, and I know I don't have much to give, but I just want them to be happy."
"I wouldn't dream of hurting them." Lily promised. "I've always regretted doing it the last time, and I won't make that mistake again."
Wayne nodded in understanding, reaching a hand out to pat her on the shoulder again. "Good," he said. "Now don't you worry about Eddie, kid's tough as nails. You all are, those goddamn cards you kids have been dealt over the years."
Lily nodded, another tear running down her cheek as she reached up to brush it away. "You're right." she agreed, and he nodded back with a smile before rising back to his feet and holding out a hand to help her up.
"What do you say, honey?" he asked as she stood back up, pulling her into a hug, which she instantly returned. "Should we get back in there, see how they're doin'?"
She nodded again, taking a deep breath before looking back up at him. "Yeah," she agreed. "Let's go."