My heart is finally starting to heal

Love, Love, Love

He walked over to the bed and observed her for a second. He shook her gently. No response. He shook her a little less gentle. Still no response.

"Joyce" he said as he shook her. Her eyes flickered open, and she startled awake. Her breathing was heavy, and she had a frightened look on her face. Jim noticed her unease right away and cupped her face. "Hey, hey. You're okay, honey"

"Jim" Joyce sighed.

"I got you, baby"

She leaned into his chest; he placed a sweet kiss to the top of her head. His fingers threaded through her soft hair, as she began to calm down.

"You wanna talk about it?" Hopper asked softly. Joyce looked up, and her eyes met his. She gently leaned back into Hoppers chest and took a deep breath.

"I had a very vivid dream. It was almost like I was hallucinating. Everything felt so real. I could feel everything that was happening around me."

There was a short pause before Hopper spoke. "Joyce, are these dreams like... torturous?" He asked. She nodded in response.

"Well..kinda. Sometimes."

"Sometimes? Honey, how often are you having these nightmares?" Hopper questioned.

Joyce just shrugged and moved to sit back against the headboard. "About 2 times a week I would say" His heart broke hearing how haunted she was by these nightmares. He didn't even know if there was anything he could do to heal her heart.

"Ya know, you really scared me when you didn't wake up" Jim brought up, trying to slowly change the subject.

"Oh... I'm sorry"

"No, no, no no! Don't be; it's not your fault at all, baby. It's just that sometimes I get a little too worried about you. I really cannot live without you"

Her eyes started to fill with tears at his honest confession. She had no idea why him sharing his feelings about her made her so emotional. Maybe because she's never really experienced love. She never really loved Lonnie. Or Bob for that matter.

Jim noticed her using her sleeve to wipe her tears, and gentle moved over to pull her snug against his side. "You're not gonna lose me, Hop" she whispered.

He placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. "I can't take that chance." He replied, moving a strand of hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.

"Hey, Hop?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't live without you either."

a/n: sorry this one is a little short. I had an idea but I needed to fit this part in, so I'm going to put it in the next chapter.