Home ||~~Elax/Elmax~~||

Breakdown

Hopper pulled up outside the hospital less than 20 minutes after finding El and Max and spotted Joyce's car in the car park, he assumed Karen and Susan were with her inside. Taking a deep breath, he turned to the back seat and announced that they'd arrived.

"El?" Max said softly, not wanting to scare her any further than she obviously already was. El looked up at her with expectant eyes, Max could see that she looked nervous yet seemed to trust her and Max took heart from it. She couldn't help but think back to where El had found her in the cell, back to where they'd kissed despite El not properly remembering her.

"We need to go inside" Max told her as she took her hand gently.

"Where is...here?" El asked clumsily as if she'd regressed many years back in her development.

Max hesitated, bracing herself for the ensuing reluctance she knew would follow from El, "you...I mean we" Max hastily corrected herself realizing it wouldn't seem so scary that way, "need to be examined...by a doctor" she stated.

El shook her head vehemently 'no'.

"Please El, I...I've been hurt, and you...you can't remember" Max stuttered, flashes of the previous weeks of torture replaying over and again in her head. "They're good doctors, El, they help people, take care of people...some of them have even taken care of you before" she assured her.

El looked down with a furrowed brow, "promise?" she asked almost too quietly for Max to hear, but she did and smiled widely, that one word ironically promising so much.

"I promise" she replied with certainty.

"Ok" El whispered back.

Max turned to Hopper and nodded, he took this as his cue to open her door and escort them to the entrance where they were met by Karen, Susan, and Joyce.

"Max!" Susan gushed, rushing to her daughter and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Um, hey?" Max managed to breath out, her mom's reaction taking her by surprise as they'd not been on good terms before she and El were taken.

"I'm so happy you're here, I was so worried about you" she said, still holding Max close, "I was so scared something had happened before...before I could tell you how sorry I am, what I said...I'm sorry."

Max closed her eyes and finally hugged her mom back, "it's ok mom, I understand, I really do."

As Max and Susan were mending some bridges, Karen and Joyce approached El, but instead of the family reunion they been hoping for El instead backed away, shaking her head 'no' every time they got within a meter or so.

"El?" Karen said with tears in her eyes, she couldn't understand why she wouldn't let them near her, why she looked so afraid.

Max sensed the disquiet across the room and looked up to find Karen and Joyce looking to her for answers and El looking at her pleading for help. Stepping away from her mom, she walked over to El and carefully positioned herself between El and everyone else. "She...El...sh-she doesn't remember you" she stuttered, finding the words hard to say, sticking in her throat like some unpalatable truth, "she doesn't remember any of you or-or..." she trailed off.

"Or what?" Joyce pushed despite a warning look from Hopper.

Max stared at the floor as she replied "me." She took a deep, ragged breath and wiped away the stray tear that had managed to escape from her eye. She closed her eyes briefly before turning and looking up at El, she saw the fear and confusion still evident on her face, but also the trust. "Do you trust me?" she asked for confirmation.

El looked at Max, then around the room at the expectant faces all looking at her. Looking back to Max, this girl who was constantly on her mind, in her dreams, she could do nothing but nod 'yes'. As she saw the smile that lit up the girls face she felt something inside, her heart sped up and she couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her own face.