Steve woke up slowly, blurry eyed in the waiting room of Hawkins Hospital.
At first he was disoriented by the fluorescent lights and sterile environment, but then the events of the night before crashed down on him.
Oh god.
He groaned as a headache began to pound incessantly above his temple. If he was remembering things right, he had gotten less than four hours of sleep, judging by the time displayed on the giant clock that hung over the reception desk.
He winced and turned his head carefully, feeling every vertebrae crinkle down his spine, as he looked for his mother.
She was pacing back and forth in front of the 'Patients Only' sign that was tacked above a set of metal doors on the other side of the waiting room.
It looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all, based on the deepening purple circles beneath her eyes and the sleep-deprived frenzy that seemed to be spurring her movements.
Steve slowly stood up from his seat and the rush of blood to his body caused his vision to cloud momentarily. He felt queasy as he swayed precariously on his feet.
I wonder how long I'm going to last like this.
Pushing through the disorientation, he began to walk towards his mother, one foot in front of the other, until he was standing next to her.
"Hey mom," he said gently while she continued to walk back and forth. "I don't think all of...this," he gestured to her erratic pattern, "is going to make the doctors get here any sooner."
She paused and looked at him as though she had just noticed that he was there.
And maybe she did.
"I know, I know Steve..." she trailed off and the exhaustion was painfully clear in her voice. "But what else am I supposed to do?"
Steve was at a loss for words because she had a point.
What am I supposed to say?
His mom continued before he could think of any reassurance for her.
"I mean, I can hardly just sit about until they tell me my husband's dead!"
Her eyes were wild and scattered in their focus.
"Because that's what their going to tell me, Steve!"
She gestured to the entire hospital with a grand sweep of her arm.
She's completely lost it.
Steve struggled to force down the tiny pinch of worry that was telling him that she could be right.
"No, mom," he spoke forcefully to convince her, but also to convince himself. "Dad's not dead."
She had tears welling in her eyes as she looked up at him.
"You don't know that, darling," she whispered before the tears spilled over in streams across her skin.
Steve pulled her into a tight hug.
"They would have told us by now," he murmured into the top of her head, his hands rubbing her shoulders in comforting circles.
Please come back, dad.
YOU ARE READING
Steddie: A Stranger Things Parallel Universe
FanfictionThis is a Steddie fanfic, so do not read it if you haven't watched season four of Stranger Things. It's been a month since Vecna was killed and Eddie was mourned by all of his friends. Steve, in particular, was hit the hardest by his death and never...
