Healing ||mileven||

The return, part 1

Flashback

El knew she didn't have much time left, the upside-down was slowly killing her, draining her very life-force. The hunger, the crippling cold, the toxic air, the loneliness, the hopelessness, the fear, all served to suck the very life from her. She was close to giving up, curling into a ball in her fort in Mike's basement, and falling asleep forever...

Mike...the thought of his name gave her motivation enough to try what she'd been most afraid of, to try using every ounce of her power to return to the place she'd been given shelter, hope, friendship, a life of her own, free from the bad men. She half walked, half crawled to the box in the woods, the food within would give her vital energy, she also knew the walls between the dimensions were weaker here, and she needed any advantage she could. Inside the box were eggos as usual, plus some kind of meat on bones, El devoured them all, knowing she wouldn't need to make them last, knowing that today things would end one way or another. Laying down next to the box she rested, closing her eyes and trying to remember all the beautiful experiences she'd had in her one week of freedom, tears escaped her eyes, she opened them, knowing that it was time.

...........................

Hopper hadn't been to the box for three days, he'd been drafted in to help with a man-hunt for a fugitive from the next county. He knew he had to get back and restock the box for El and hopefully communicate more with her, she'd not been able to write much more than yes or no over the past two weeks, he knew she was getting weaker and it scared him as he still had no clue how to help her.

He approached the box with more food than usual, it'd have to fit somehow. It was cold, the last snow of the year had fallen and settled thinly on the ground. As he approached the box he could see that it was open, shit, who's been here? He got closer to inspect it and saw nothing, he started to look around to see if anything else looked off and his eyes caught something on the ground, something half hidden by fallen leaves and the light snow, what the fu...is that a foot? His eyes followed the foot, up to a leg, till it became a body, a girl's body, just lying there not moving, a face, her face. Hopper had never moved so fast, he was sweeping the leaves and snow from El's body, all the time looking for signs of life and seeing none. "El! El! Can you hear me?" he said, putting his head to her chest to try and hear heartbeats or breathing. She was so cold. He heard the slight escape of air from her mouth, "I got you El, I got you" he said, scooping up her fragile, emaciated body with ease, put her in his car and covered her in blankets to bring her body temperature up. "Fuck. Oh my god", he ran both hands through his hair, turned away from her for a second and back again, he was shocked, he didn't know what to do. He knew he shouldn't risk the hospital, but he also knew she was in big trouble and needed medical help. "Fuck it, hospital now". He drove straight to the hospital. Carrying her he barged through the doors to the emergency room, "I need a doctor, NOW!". A couple of nurses and a doctor rushed over with a bed for El, he put her down gently and they rushed her off to assess and treat her. Hopper waited helplessly, and in desperation he called Joyce, knowing he couldn't do this alone any more, knowing that she'd help in a heartbeat. He asked the receptionist every few minutes what was happening, he was restless, unable to settle, and when Joyce rushed through the entrance he practically ran up to her and embraced her, "I found her, Joyce".

After an hour or so the same doctor came out, "I need to see you in here please, Mr...?"

"Hopper, Chief Hopper" he said, showing his badge.

"Ok Chief, can you tell me what's happened to that little girl?"

"First tell me what you found, is she gonna be ok?"

"Ok, she's malnourished, has borderline hyperthermia, severe dehydration, and that's just the start. Her lungs are functioning at way below normal levels, she has a massive wound on her back that isn't fully healed and looked infected, she's covered in cuts, scars and bruising, she has three broken ribs, two broken fingers, has a fractured left radius, and a fractured skull".

Hopper and Joyce listened to the doctor in horror. "Doc, I can't tell you what happened, I can't tell you who she is either, clearly this is an abuse case of the worst kind and she needs to be kept here anonymously for her own safety, literally no-one outside this hospital can know about her other than you and the minimum staff needed for her care. On her chart you can call her Jane Byers. Do you understand?", the doctor nodded. "One of us will be here every day to check on her, as soon as she can leave here safely, I'll take her into protective custody".

They walked into the room she was being kept in, she was hooked up to so many machines, it brought back painful memories of Sarah, Hopper's daughter, and he had to stifle a tear. Walking over to her, they saw her properly for the first time. Her bones were protruding horribly, her skin was pale and he could see the small blue veins showing through, her hair had grown though, which made Joyce smile slightly. Her arm had been set and now sported a large cast, she had various bandages, plasters, and stitches on the skin that was visible, as well as numerous bruises. Oh my god El, I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry. Joyce had her hand over her mouth in shock and was already weeping for the little girl who'd saved her family. However much he tried, Hopper couldn't stop the tears escaping this time, Joyce put her arms around him and they wept together, something he hadn't done since Sarah passed away.

...........................

El was unconscious for days, her body exhausted from lack of nourishment and the massive expenditure of her energy to return, not to mention her weak immune system was fighting the infection in her wound. When she finally started to come around, she was completely disorientated. She awoke to find herself in a white room, on a metal framed bed with white sheets, and the constant beep of machines in the background...no, not the lab, please. She started to panic, she pulled away the oxygen tubes on her face quickly, and sat up, looking around her. What is that? One of her arms was in some white case and she couldn't move her hand properly, so she started wildly swiping at the drip going into the other arm. It hurt so badly but she managed to pull it out, blood going all over the sheets. She ripped the final probes from her body and got down from the bed, her body was weak from lack of use, her muscles atrophied, the drugs affecting her brain. Using all her strength she approached the door, shocked to find it wasn't locked she opened it and peered outside, the corridor looked empty so she crept out, leaning against the wall for support. As she approached the corner a doctor came around it towards her and stopped in surprise, "hey?!" Her face showed pure terror. "It's ok...", before he could finish she was fleeing in the other direction. She could barely see where she was going, the adrenaline and the weakness blurring her vision, till she tumbled straight into someone rushing to her from the other direction. She struggled until she heard a familiar voice saying her name, "El, El, it's ok, I've got you, you're safe, it's ok, I'm here, I won't leave you". The voice brought back a memory, the bath, finding Barbara, the voice comforting her, giving her the strength to carry on. El looked up from Joyce's arms to her eyes and stopped struggling, and giving in to her emotions she wept. Joyce scooped her up and carried her back to the hospital room where she carefully placed her on the bed, but didn't let go, comforting her and whispering that she'll never let her go again. El soon gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep in Joyce's arms, where Hopper found them an hour later.

...........................