Two Hearts (Joyce Byers x Fem Reader)

Interrogation

It had been about a week since Joyce had saved you from your fate down beneath Hawkins, and you had finally recovered from your wounds, both emotional and physical from that encounter.

And Will's friends have told you and Joyce that The mind flayer is able to see through him.

And as long as Will knows where he is, so does the hive mind that controls all the demogorgons and demodogs.

And Joyce came up with a plan.

She had bought some over the counter sedatives for Will, and she recruited the help of Will's friends, you, Jonathan, and Hopper to cover all the windows and walls in her shed outside.

She figured that if he didn't know where they were, maybe they could save him from the beast living inside of him.

Joyce wanted to kill it with kindness.

Literally.

She wants to help Will overpower the monster with memories from his childhood.

Maybe the good feelings from those memories could override the bad ones from the Mind Flayer.

And the plan was finally in action.

Joyce had sedated Will, and you had the task of carrying him into the shed.

You look down at the sleeping boy in your arms.

He would be awake soon, but for now, he is unconcious.

He has his mother's nose.

You smile upon recognizing the familiar bridge and curvature of her nose in his.

He looks just like her.

You continue on, bringing him inside of the shed, placing his limp body down on a chair in the middle of the room.

Everyone else is in the shed with you.

Mike, Jonathan, Joyce, and Hopper.

Hopper ties ropes around his legs and arms, binding him to the chair as you head over to Joyce.

The room would be pitch black if it were not for the blinding lights Jonathan put up for the interrogation.

You place a gentle hand on hers as you whisper, "You okay, Joy?".

She nods, squeezing your hand gingerly, "I'll be fine, sweetheart. Worry about me later, we need to focus on getting my baby boy back.".

"Of course." you reply.

"Everyone ready?" asks Hopper.

Everyone nods.

Then, he begins to shake Will.

After a few moments, he opens his eyes.

He squints as the bright lights hit him.

He wiggles against the restraints on his limbs, looking around in confusion.

"Hey! Let me out! What's happening?!" he yells.

You feel Joyce squeeze your hand again.

She pulls up a chair, spinning it around and straddling it in front of Will.

She gently lets your hand slip out of hers as she stares at her son.

He stares at her back.

"Do you remember when you drew me that picture? You were 8. It was a wonderful picture of a rocket ship. But it wasn't some rocket from a cartoon or a show. It was your rocket ship. You called it 'the rainbow ship'. And I hung it up in the store. I was so, so proud of you. Do you remember that?" she asks, smiling as she recalls the memory.

Will looks around, "What is this? Mom? Mom what are you doing?!".

She sighs, "Will. Do you remember the rainbow ship you drew for me?".

For just a moment, you see recognization and remembrance flicker behind his eyes.

But after that moment, it's back to a blank stare that you know isn't his.

He begins tapping on his chair nervously.

Joyce gets out of the chair before returning to sitting in a different chair against the wall beside you.

She clasps her hand around yours once again.

You can see tears watering in her eyes as the both of you watch Jonathan step up, straddling the chair just as Joyce did moments earlier.

"Do you remember when we made Castle Byers together? It was the day Dad left. We used your little drawings to make it. Even after it rained and we got sick, we still kept building it out there. It was your little hideout." he murmurs.

Tears fall from Joyce's eyes as Jonathan describes the day their Father left them.

You lean down to wipe them away with your gentle fingers.

She sniffles quietly before smiling up at you, whispering,  "Thank you, Y/N.".

You nod, "Of course.".

"Castle... Byers..." says Will.

Jonathan grins, "Yes! Castle Byers! Do you remember it?".

"I... think so." he replies slowly.

Then, you take Jonathan's place in the chair.

You stare into his eyes.

They're blank, but every few seconds there's a small flash of life inside of them.

"Do you remember the upside down? Do you remember when your Mother, Hopper, El and I saved you? How about when Hopper and I revived you down in that upside down of yours? And the hospital? Do you remember us all visiting you as soon as we could?" you ask.

For the first time, his eyes shine with Will's personality behind them for more than a moment as he nods.

"Yes... you saved me. Mom. El. Y/N. Hopper. All of you..." he murmurs softly.

"That's it, Will! Come on! Fight the Mind Flayer! Come through!" you urge.

Just as he's about to open his mouth again, you hear the telephone ring.

He closes his mouth.

"The shed... we're at the shed aren't we!?" he says, in a voice, not quite his own as he thrusts his arms and legs up against the ropes.

Hopper pushes a syringe into his neck filled with fast-acting sedatives.

Will stops yelling and moving, falling unconscious once again.

"Great. He knows where we are. But we got through to him, at least." murmurs Hopper.

"But that tapping on the chair..." he says.

"What about it?" asks Jonathan as Joyce buries her head in your chest.

"It was morse code. He kept saying 'CLOSEGATE'." he replies.

"He's still in there. And we need to find a way to get him the hell out.".