My heart is finally starting to heal

Finding out

"But I wanna see the baby" El whined to Joyce and Hopper. Today was the day of the 3rd ultrasound, the day El had been waiting for since Joyce explained to her that they could see the baby. But she couldn't go with them because the clinic only allowed a limited number of people in the room.

"We already told you we would bring back the pictures for you to see" Jim explained, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But-" El started.
"El" Joyce warned. Hopper checked his watch and urged Joyce towards the door. "We'll be back soon"

The two of them pulled up to the doctors office, Hopper helping Joyce out of the car. He hadn't showed it, but he was the most excited out of everyone for this appointment. He walked next to her as they walked up to the front desk. The lady handed them a clipboard and a pen. "Just set it back on the desk when it's filled" she instructed.

There wasn't many people in the waiting room. 3 other couples at most. Jim had his arm rested across the back of Joyce's chair as she finished filling out the rest of the paper. One question left. "What's your blood type?" She asked, looking up.

"O negative" she looked back down to fill out that last question, and turned the clipboard back in.

They waited a few more minutes, waiting for her name to be called. Her knee was bouncing up and down and her hands were shaking. Hopper noticed her nervousness and and put a hand on her knee to calm her down. "Everything's gonna be fine" he whispered.

"Joyce?" The nurse called out. The two of them followed her back into one of the rooms. The nurse went over the regular procedure questions. Asking the age, weight and height of both of them.

Eventually she stepped out of the room and was replaced by the doctor.
"Hi my name's Dr Montgomery" she introduced. "So if I'm right, this is your third appointment?" Joyce nodded. The Dr reached in the cabinet to get the gel out, and turned off the lights. Joyce winced at the coolness of the blue gel as it was spread across her lower abdomen.

The Dr pointed up at the screen placed in front of the bed. "That's your baby" she smiled at them. "Looks like you are just about 15 weeks pregnant" Montgomery informed them. Hopper watched in awe as she displayed the different angles of his baby. Their baby.

Back at home

El waited impatiently for Joyce and Hop to return. She was too excited to sit still, so she was constantly moving around. "It's gonna be awhile, El" Will stated, meeting her in the kitchen. "I don't care"
she replied. "Why don't you make something for mom?" He suggested. "Like what?" She asked. "I don't know. We have brownie mix" Will shrugged. "Brownies?" He nodded. "Mom loves brownies"

So they made brownies, trying not to make a mess. But this was Els first time baking without Joyce. Will licked off the spoon they used to stir as El poured they mix into the pan.
"Set the timer for 23 minutes" he informed.

Back at the doctors office

Montgomery pointed to where the head and feet were, showed what position the baby was in, and printed out the pictures as she went along. This felt like the best day of Hoppers life. He always wanted this, but was always positive he'd never have it.

He wanted nothing more than a baby that looked just like Joyce. Boy or girl. Brown eyes, brown hair, and a soft smile. El looked a lot like Joyce, ironically enough. Even more so than Jonathon and Will did.

"It looks like we can find out the gender today if you guys want?" She looked between Joyce and Jim. Jim already looking at Joyce with question in his eyes. "Its up to you" he told her. "Okay....sure" She mumbled out.

It was after the appointment and they made their way back out to the car. "You hungry?" He asked once they were both in the car. "Starving" she replied. "What sounds good?" She takes a second to respond as she stares at the photos of the baby.
"Uhhh Panera is fine" Jim nodded and pulled out of the parking lot.

"I already can't wait" he smiled, looking over at her. She smiled widely. "It's crazy..."

A/N: any guesses on what the baby is?????