The Rescue Of Eddie Munson

Chapter 97

Notes:Once again I'd like to thank all of my readers for your patience. The new job that's been driving me crazy is starting to make sense? So I should be able to write more frequently but will probably stick with posting 1/wk.

Please keep up with the comments they really mean everything to me. Thank you all

Chapter 97

Both pairs of brown eyes widened, brows high, jaws dropped slightly as they stammered, the two of them moved in unison, further proving my point as they looked nearly identical.

Eddie sputtered and shook his head laughing as he choked out "I'm sorry do I have fucking Vecna in my ears or are you saying that you think El and I are related? Jesus H Christ! I mean..shit.. I mean...fuck! How is that even possible?! I mean that asshole only ever said that my mom was dead when I was little..not that he was big on the truth...and damnit.. I don't even remember her." His voice faded, guilt and heartache clear as it cracked and got high pitched then faded to a soft introspective tone.

I nodded as my heart broke, I hated seeing him like this on the border between hope and pain. Squeezing our joined hands, I rubbed my thumb across his as I nuzzled my cheek against him and turned to kiss a path along his jaw. "I get it, really sweetheart..I do. Kinda why I was unsure if I wanted to share with the rest of the class..so to speak. But the more I think about it, the more I really think this really is possible."

Turning towards Eleven, I called out to her seeing she was lost in thought as well, I was curious to get her side of this my brows rose, expression hopeful. "Whatcha think El? You actually got to meet your mom and aunt, however briefly. Do you think it's possible?"

Eleven sat there, her brown eyes wide, as she worried her lip between her teeth, a habit she'd clearly picked up from either myself or the other younger members of the group.

She sighed heavily as she tried to remember that day a few years back where she first spoke with her mother and aunt.

It wasn't much of a meeting considering that while she'd piggybacked on her mother she hadn't learned much of her own life story. She'd been limited to details about her own birth and kidnapping. She guessed it was possible that her mother had another child before her. Which meant he had either been forgotten due to the experiments Brenner had put her through, or based off of Eddie's age he was something she'd had to let go of.

Turning her focus towards Eddie, Eleven called out "How old are you Eddie? Mike and the others have never mentioned, I know that you are older but..how old?"

Eddie's cheeks flushed, his free hand running through his curls as he sighed heavily, still getting past the reflex of his age triggering feelings of being a failure for still being a high school student. Even if said high school was most likely destroyed. "I'm 20...?" The questioning tone had me smiling sadly as I squeezed his hand once more, knowing how sensitive he is about his age.

Eleven's brow raised in confusion unsure about the unspoken concern that saying how old he was, had raised. "Ok so I'm 14, about to be 15 in a few months." She counted off on her fingers "in June actually.."

Eddie's eyes widened not having known how close their birthdays were to one another "mines in August.."

It was impossible to keep the smile off of my face after seeing them beginning to connect over the little things. Turning my focus back inwards I ran the theory of their shared parentage through my mind before calling out "El, your moms name was Terry right?"

The both of them blinked at me their surprise clear. "How do you know her name?"

I sighed heavily knowing it was definitely a unique situation and difficult to explain, "so when I saw you all..back home where this..this whole world is a tv show.." I shook my head derisively knowing even if it was the truth, it sounded so stupid to say while sitting there beside them, people that were family to me in one way or another, I continued. "Gods I hate to even say that after all that I know now. Back there we got to know a little bit about your mom El..her name was Terry and according to the backstory about her when she was a teenager..she could've met him." To the questioning looks I added as I squeezed Eddie's hand"your biological father-"

There was a soft knock on the door that had all three of us jumping out of our skin, startled. Three pairs of eyes looked up at the doorway to see Uncle Wayne standing there, concern clear on his face.

"You kids doing alright? You've been gone a while.." He looked hesitant like he wanted to come inside but didn't want to intrude.

Smiling warmly at his clear hesitation I briefly detangled my hand from Eddie's to wave him in "come on in, we're just plotting the fate of the universe Uncle Wayne"

Eddie snorted and Uncle Wayne's brows rose in surprise, so I chuckled and added "sorry Uncle Wayne..just teasing.." I nudged Eddie and Eleven my question clear and they both shrugged, clearly leaving the explaining to me, they each mirrored one another so well I couldn't help but grin as I turned back towards Uncle Wayne and gestured to the foot of the bed encouraging him to sit on Eddie's other side "alright so we were talking about a theory I had..one I think you might actually be able to shine some light on.."

His graying brows arched as he walked over and sat next to us on the bed. Turning where I sat, I saw him clearly waiting, his silence saying all he needed to, so I spoke up "Ok..so you might have noticed how much Eddie and El look alike.."

His expression was unreadable so I continued, a bit more slowly another theory forming in my mind, based off of his reaction or lack thereof "...Terry Ives.. El's mother was the right age to know Eddie's biological father at school...do you know...is Terry Ive's...could she be Eddie's biological mother?" I knew the question was blunt..more blunt than I'd planned but I had to know, they deserved to know.

Wayne's brows rose into his hairline, mouth slightly parted in surprise, no signs of confusion on his face, just pure shock. "How in the world did you hear about Terry?"

That simple question chilled Eddie through to the bone, his hand blindly reached out until it found Red's once more, laced his fingers with hers and held on tight.

Memories Eddie had thought were long gone came back the more the two of them spoke, their voices fading into the background. He'd stopped asking about his mom long before he'd escaped and moved in with Uncle Wayne. He'd tried to shove a lot of that pain aside, only managing to dredge through and deal with some of what his biological father had inflicted in the years since he'd gotten away.

But his mother? That was something he didn't let himself think about. The last time he'd remembered asking about her was grainy and faded.. he couldn't have been more than 5 years old and he'd seen a pretty woman with light brown curly hair and called her 'mama' and that asshole who called himself his father went insane with rage.

As punishment Eddie had spent days locked away, nothing and nobody to talk to... food was finally delivered after he'd finally passed out from sobbing.

It was impossible not to notice the sudden change in Eddie's body language, he'd gone stock still, his hand ice cold and shaking where it lay tangled with mine, brown eyes wide, they stared ahead, filled with terror.

My own eyes filled with tears when he then started trembling beside me, I'd felt him stiffen up but everything didn't fully click until I glanced over and looked in his eyes. I didn't hesitate to pull him into my arms, startling Uncle Wayne and Eleven who watched on, their faces quickly filling with concern.

Uncle Wayne wasn't entirely surprised that this conversation had triggered this reaction from Eddie, he was more focused on wave of gratitude he'd felt more than anything, gratitude that Eddie finally had the security and support that Red gave, now more than anything.