Time After Time (a Stranger Things fanfiction)

Monster Mash

"Monster Mash"

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band

And my monster mash is the hit of the land

- Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt Kickers

Joyce had been reluctant when Bob first suggested he come over for Halloween. That had always been her thing with Will, his favorite holiday, when he could become one of the characters he loved. But much as she wanted to hold him close to her, especially now after everything, she knew he wasn't going to want her to trick-or-treat with him. They had compromised on Jonathan going, and she trusted Jonathan, but it wasn't the same as going herself. Having Bob with her while she waited would help keep her mind off the nameless fear that was growing within her that this nightmare wasn't over yet.

Bob arrived dressed up as a vampire. The most adorable, harmless vampire ever, she thought fondly, loving the way he was so unashamedly enthusiastic. He'd brought a video camera with him, as well, and for once both boys were genuinely interested, crowding around him as he explained how it worked.

"Will, we've got to get you ready," Joyce called, and he turned from the camera eagerly to put his Ghostbusters costume back on.

Joyce couldn't help but hover over him, wanting him to have fun but wanting him to be safe, not sure if she could really let him go. "Listen," she said softly as she put the backpack on him, "stay close to your brother. Okay? And—listen. Listen, listen." She turned him to face her, holding him by the arms, talking over his protests. "If you get a bad feeling, or anything, you just tell him to take you straight home. You promise?"

He gave her a thumbs up. "Okay."

It was clear he thought she was being ridiculous and over-protective, but she couldn't help saying "Promise?" again one more time because she remembered what it had been like when he didn't come home, and she could not go through that again.

She couldn't help calling out "Be safe" one more time as they left, either. When would she ever be rid of this chilly feeling that something else was going to happen? When could she watch her boys leave again without being so terribly afraid they weren't coming back?

Next to her, Bob spoke through his plastic vampire teeth in a ridiculous Dracula accent. "I hope it doesn't suck!"

Joyce gave a nervous smile, wanting to laugh with him but not able to. Not now. Not tonight.

He turned to her, chuckling, and put an arm around her shoulders as they closed the door. Joyce forced a more genuine smile.

Once they were alone, Bob looked at her—really looked at her, the way he did, making sure she was all right, and he could see she wasn't. "Hey. They're going to be okay."

"I know." Not for the first time, she wished she could tell him the truth. But how could she? Aside from the mountain of papers she had signed promising she wouldn't, he would never believe what had really happened last year.

"All right, how are we going to get your mind off them for a little while?" Bob cupped her face in his hands and rested his forehead against hers.

One of the things she liked about so much about him was that she knew that when he spoke like that, he really meant that he wanted to help her. Lonnie would have been all about sex to get her mind off things, and that was great and all, but it wasn't the right answer every time. And in the end even that had always really been about him. Bob cared about her and how she felt, not just physically but in every way, and Joyce had never known what that could be like before.

"I have just the thing. Come with me." Bob led her to the sofa, got her a glass of wine, and then went to the turntable to put on a record, letting sweet music fill the room. Used to men—and boys—who liked rock and roll, Joyce would never have thought of herself as a country music fan, but she was willing to try it for Bob. She smiled a little bit, watching Bob sway to the opening notes of "Islands in the Stream."

He reached out a hand, wanting her to come dance. Joyce protested, but Bob eventually got her off the couch and into his arms, dancing her around the living room, slow and gentle, his hand on her lower back so protective and safe.

"You playing Frankenstein to my Dracula?" he asked her. "Come on, you're stiff as a board. Relax."

"I'm sorry. It's ..." She let the sentence trail off. He knew what it was, and what he didn't know she couldn't tell him.

Bob looked at her, studying her face, and she made a little gesture to indicate that she couldn't help it.

"He's fine. Okay? Jonathan's with him."

"I know." She clung to him, feeling him warm and solid, right there with her. "It's just ... Every time he's away from me, it's like I, I can't ... function." Burying her face in Bob's shoulder, she added, "It sounds silly, I know."

"No, it's not silly. It's not silly." They danced a few beats in silence, but she could feel Bob holding his breath until he took the plunge and asked, "What if we were to move out of Hawkins?" As she lifted her head off his shoulder to look at him, he clarified, "Together."

"What?"

He laughed. "Whoa, Nellie, right? It's just, I—I've been thinking about what you said, about how you've got all these memories here and you wish you had enough money to move. Well, my parents are selling their house in Maine. There's a Radio Shack nearby, I'm sure they'd take me on. We could just—"

Bob must have seen on her face how unbelievable the idea was to her—leave Hawkins? She had never considered it. Never dreamed of it—and his voice trailed off.

"My turn to be silly now," he said.

She stroked his hair. "Bob."

"No, it's fine. Wine makes me crazy."

"It's just so hard to explain. It's—" She thought about Hopper. Odd but inevitable that she should think of him at such a time. "This ... this is not a normal family."

Bob considered that one for a moment. "It could be." He whispered it again, just to make sure she heard him. "It could be."

Joyce put her arms around his neck and held him close, moving with him.

The doorbell rang, followed by an impatient knocking, and Bob let her go, smiling at her. "Finally!" He put his vampire teeth back in, making claws with his hands. "Victims!"

Joyce watched him as he doled out candy with a liberal hand, making terrible jokes in the process, loving his generosity and his sweet spirit and his gentle heart. She was so lucky to have found this man. She wished she could be everything he deserved. Instead, she would have to settle for trying her best, and knowing it wasn't quite enough.