Time After Time (a Stranger Things fanfiction)

Maybe I'm Amazed

"Maybe I'm Amazed"

You right me when I'm wrong

Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you

- Paul McCartney

Joyce woke with Hopper's head still heavy on her shoulder, one of his arms thrown across her chest. She lay still for as long as she could, sure that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in eight months. After all, she hadn't, either, and she'd been living in comfort with plenty of food and heat.

But the moment's respite of the night had passed, and now all she could think of was their children, alone there in Hawkins. All of them were strong, resilient kids who knew how to handle what was happening better than most adults, but ... they were still children.

"Hop." She whispered his name softly, but he didn't move and his breathing didn't change. "Hop." A little louder this time.

"Mmph?"

"Wake up."

"What—"

Joyce wasn't prepared for the way he leaped up, his eyes blazing, looking around the room for a weapon. "Hop, it's me. We're in Alaska. You're—you're safe." For now, at least. Tomorrow might be another story.

She could tell the moment his eyes rested on hers and reality introduced itself into whatever dream he had been having. "Oh. Hey."

"Hey." Sitting up, she smiled at him. "Welcome back."

"I'm not sure I've ever been here before." From the heated look in his eyes, she could see that he wasn't talking about Alaska.

She blushed. "Sure you have. Just ... not in a long time."

"Too long." He was climbing back on the bed now, reaching for her. "Joyce."

"Hop." She cupped his face in her hands as he leaned in for the kiss.

When it ended, he rested his forehead against hers and they both closed their eyes, feeling that connection that had thinned over the years but never broken entirely.

"We've got to go get the kids. They need us," she said.

Hopper let her go with a final kiss on her forehead, getting up to reach for his clean clothes on the dresser. "You know they'd never admit that."

"They need us all the more, just for that reason. Let's—let's hurry, okay?"

"Yeah."

Murray, the jerk, and Enzo, his new partner in crime, smirked at them when they had all assembled next to Hawkins Lab's long black car. "So, you kids sleep well?"

"Shut up, Murray."

"That good, huh?"

Hopper gave him a look, and Murray shut up, but the smirk stayed. Joyce wished she could shut people up with a look that way. It would come in handy a lot. Although mostly it would come in handy on Hopper himself, and she suspected she'd have better ways to shut him up after—after they handled whatever was going on at home.

Funny how she still thought of Hawkins that way, even though her permanent address was now in California. Then again, Hopper had left for longer than that, and he'd come back, and showed every sign of still thinking of Hawkins as his home, too.

"Are you ready, Mrs. Byers? Chief Hopper?" the woman from Hawkins Lab asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." Joyce looked at Murray as she said it; she'd become used to having him at her side.

"I'm not going, Joyce."

"What?"

He tilted his head toward Enzo. "Our friend here has a good grasp of English, but not as good as mine. He's about to get lost in a maze of paperwork, and a lot of people who are going to be suspicious about his motives, and can't be told the truth. I'm going along with him to make sure he makes it out the other side."

"Oh. That's ... really nice of you."

"Isn't it, though? Maybe Uncle Sam can be persuaded to give up some secrets while I'm there, something we can use."

Typical Murray, still the conspiracy nut. "Be careful."

"Always."

After some hesitation, she reached to hug him, and after even more hesitation, he hugged her back. "Thanks for ... everything."

He nodded, clearing his throat and turning away to shake Hopper's hand and receive his thanks.

Joyce turned to Enzo. "None of this would have happened without you. Thank you."

"Many things did not go well," he said with some regret.

"We're here. We're alive. I hope ... I hope you get to stay, or go home, or whatever you want to do."

"Thank you." Enzo reached to shake her hand, then turned to Hopper to do the same.

The two men clasped hands, but after a moment they threw their arms around each other in a short, fierce hug. "We're going to get you back to Mikhail," Hopper promised him. "Or him to you."

"Go and save your child. We will see each other again."

"Yeah. You going to be okay with this weirdo here?" Hopper asked, gesturing to Murray.

"He has promised to tell me all there is to know about being an American."

"Only believe about half what he says. Maybe less."

Enzo smiled. "Understood."

"Hop. It's time."

He reached for Joyce's hand, leading her to the car. They got in, and the woman from Hawkins Lab drove them to the airport.

This flight was no less frightening than the one from California to Alaska—more so, since she knew too much and too little about what waited for her at the other end—but this time she had Hopper there to hold her hand, to lean against. The two of them together, with the kids ... they hadn't been defeated yet. They wouldn't be this time, Joyce told herself fiercely. This time, they would win, once and for all. Whatever lurked in the Upside Down had messed with them for the last time.

She squeezed Hopper's hand, wishing she believed that was possible. But every time they thought it was over, the Upside Down found a way to come back.

"Hey."

She looked into Hopper's face.

"This time's going to be different, remember?"

"I don't know."

"It is." He shook their joined hands. "And then—"

Joyce tried to smile. "Then?"

"Use your imagination."

At that, she did smile, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his shoulder.