𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒! [𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲]

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞

Mike and Eleven hugged and Eleven instantly broke into tears. Margo let out an audible sigh of relief. Everything would be fine now. The spooky superhero girl was back. She exchanged a small smile with Steve. "I never gave up on you," Mike said in a broken voice. "I called you every night. Every night for-" 

"Three hundred and fifty three days," Eleven finished for him. "I heard." 

Mike stared at her in awe. "Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?" 

"Because I wouldn't let her," said Hopper. Everyone stared at him, but he would only look at Eleven. He stepped towards her. "The hell is this? Where have you been?" 

"Where have you been?" Eleven shot back. 

Hopper only shook his head and pulled Eleven into a hug. Margo's eyes widened and she looked at Steve. He was wearing an identical expression, his mouth slightly agape. Mike only looked surprised for a second. "You've been hiding her," he said to Hopper. "You've been hiding her this whole time!" He launched himself at Hopper, his fists pounding against the police chief's chest. 

"Hey!" said Hopper, grabbing Mike by the arm. "Let's talk. Alone." 

Hopper dragged Mike into another room. The other kids instantly moved to hug Eleven. Jonathan tapped Margo on the arm. "Can we talk too? Alone?"

She followed him back into his bedroom. Jonathan sat on the bed, Margo closed the door and leaned back against it, staring at her shoes. She waited for Jonathan to talk first. He let out a shuttering breath, and only then did Margo realize there were tears in his eyes. 

"I'm not choosing Nancy over you," he said, almost too softly for her to hear him. "I'm not choosing anyone. I took Nancy with me because my whole family was already in that lab. My mom, my brother- your dad. And I couldn't let another person I see as family go anywhere near those things." 

He gave her a pleading look, and she finally met his eyes. "So what does that mean for Nancy?" 

"I don't know," he said, wiping a single tear from his cheek. "I don't know, Margo. If it was up to me, nobody would have gone with me. But I really, really wasn't thinking straight, and my only thought was that taking you would feel like putting a sister in danger. I couldn't do it. I can't do it without you, Margo, I can't do any of this shit-" 

He broke off, but Margo didn't need him to finish. Jonathan wasn't good at expressing how he felt- ever, and it was a stupid fight to begin with. She couldn't stay angry. Not with monsters surrounding the town, and Will on the verge of death, and the Shadow Monster creeping closer by the minute. She crossed the room and sat next to him, wrapping both arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled in the fabric of his jacket. "I'm sorry." 

They all gathered in the dining room a little while later to discuss their plans. Now that Eleven was there, their odds didn't seem as hopeless. "It's not like it was before," said Hopper. "It's grown. A lot. And, I mean, that's considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs." 

"Demo-dogs," said Dustin. 

Hopper looked at him in dismay. "I'm sorry, what?" 

"I said, uh, Demo-dogs." Dustin shifted uncomfortably on the spot. "Like demogorgon and dog. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass-"

"How is this important right now?" Hopper interjected. 

Dustin looked down. "It's not. I'm sorry."