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redamancy

"I should be there." Jonathan's voice is firm as he leans across the kitchen table, his natural sweet scent turning rapidly sour as he stares Mom down with a solemn expression. "She's my alpha. I should be there with her if Will is going to do this."

Will stirs his spoon slowly through the bowl of Apple Jacks he hasn't touched, tension hanging in the air like a dark cloud and threatening to smother him. This is normal, he reminds himself. His mother and brother don't always get along with each other, and right now, with Nancy in the hospital and Jonathan carrying her pup, life is going to be just a little more difficult. With any luck, they can bring her home from the hospital today, but that means getting through this distinctly uncomfortable breakfast first.

Mom sighs softly, shaking her head just a little, which only makes Jonathan's dark eyes narrow in response. "I understand you're worried. I do. It's natural to be worried, but-"

"But what? I've been rational about this. She's hurt. She's there, and I should be there with her, but I keep coming back here like I'm supposed to." Jonathan presses the palm of his hand flat to the table, hard enough to make the worn wood rattle slightly.

Hopper cuts in gently, the soothing rumble of his voice doing little to ease the knot slowly forming in Will's stomach. "You're right. You've been good so far. But Will needs room to work, and if she so much as winces the wrong way, you're not gonna give him that room. It's not your fault. You're not wrong for being upset that she's in rough shape."

"Does Will care if I go?" Jonathan's head whips around, and Will tries not to slouch down in his seat in a pathetic effort to hide. "Do you care if I go with you to the hospital?"

Before Will can open his mouth to answer, Mom interjects. "Jonathan, you know you can't just ask him that. You're his brother, and there's very little he wouldn't do for you. He shouldn't even be pushing himself this far. Not until we know what the cost is."

"It's not that far," Will says, glancing down at his cereal again, making himself pick up a spoonful. It doesn't seem half as appetizing as it did when he poured it into the bowl.

"But you don't know what your limit actually is," Mom says, and Will bites the inside of his cheek. That's true. He doesn't know. But if he could heal Eddie's side just fine without issue, then Nancy's leg should be easy, right? "And you shouldn't let him pressure you. I know you love Jonathan, Will. But you have to take care of yourself, too."

"I am taking care of myself. I just needed to sleep. I think you're looking into this more than you have to." Even if sleeping for most of an entire day worries him a little bit, Will just attributes it to Eddie being in the house now. Surely, it makes perfect sense for him to want a little rest while he acclimates to having his mate nearby.

These things take time, right? And his sleep quality when he was tied up in vines and cold, clasping hands and piercing eyes was not exactly the best. He just has a little sleep debt to pay back, and as soon as he does, everything should be fine. Sleeping is normal. Sleeping is good for him. He's had enough restless nights and painful nightmares to last him a lifetime, anyway, so sue him for getting a little shut-eye for a change.

Immediately, Will wilts a little, forcing the cereal into his mouth and making himself chew the bite, mechanical as it feels, tasteless as the Apple Jacks now are to him. He should be kinder to his mother, even just inside his own head. Just like it's natural for Jonathan to be worried about Nancy, it's natural for Mom to be worried about Will.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs, but no one seems to be paying attention to him right now.

"You can't stop me from going," Jonathan says, and Mom sighs in exasperation. "I'm serious. She got hurt because of me. She should be here with me, or even at her house, I don't care. As long as I'm with her. Nancy deserves to have somebody take care of her."