Hello and welcome. If you are new to this fic, thanks for clicking it. I'm actually writing this passage here at the time of releasing chapter 18, but I'd like to get this fic some more attention if possible. Chances are if your clicking on it, your either new, or someone who clicked on it before, and lost interest and left it, but is now coming back.

In any situation, this is a fic that focuses on EVERYTHING that happens after season 3, up to season 4, as I imagine it. There is no cap. There is no limit. My long term goal is to stick with this fanfic until the release of season 4, at which point I'll make a fic for What Comes After Season 4. I plan to write about how the gang copes with the loss of their loved ones, puberty, drugs, alcohol, El moving, coming of age, starting high school, angst, cheating (?), stress, emotion, drama, the whole bit. I have a bunch of ideas about what to cover in this story, so if you are interested in any of that I strongly urge you to read ahead. I'm at 65000 words at the time of writing this; as you could have guessed, this number is going to increase by a lot. So if you are looking for a long fic that's going to be updated somewhat regularly for the forseeable future, I once again encourage you to sit back and give this story a try.

Anyway, thank you for listening to me ramble this long. I'll let you start reading :)

The rain came down on the pavement of the parking lot like waves of cold bullets. The constant spray of the water was growing to be annoying, especially considering the fact that she was nervous beyond comprehension. Hopper and Joyce were still not back. She sat on the tailgate of the ambulance, leaning her head against Mike's shoulder, her hand under his on her lap.

The throbbing in her forehead had died down, thanks to the paramedics that had cleaned it and bandaged it. They had told her she would need stitches, but she didn't know what stitches were. She didn't bother asking Mike. As of now, she was enjoying the quietness between them. There had been enough noise for the both of them in the last couple of hours.

She felt the back of her hand being rubbed by Mike's thumb. "They'll be back," he told her, with a small smile. "Dustin told me that Russian base was really far down. They're on their way right now."

El nodded her head and forced a smile, but with every second that ticked by, her stomach became more and more heavy, and she almost felt like crying just from the stress of it. She needed Hopper.

She needed her Dad.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Will jump out from the back of the ambulance beside them. He started running, and El followed him with her eyes until he crashed into the arms of Joyce. A wave of relief washed over her. They were back.

"They're back," El said. "Let me find Hopper."

"Okay, I'll wait here," Mike replied, but not after letting go of her hand. El smiled, and heaved herself onto her legs. The throbbing in her head started to pick up, but she ignored it. She walked through the parking lot, gazing around to find him.

She didn't seem him.

Almost immediately, panic started to set in. Where was he? She started to pace around the area more frantically, trying to ignore all the pain that was coursing through her veins. She turned to face Will and Joyce, who were still tightly holding one another. Her eyes met with Joyce's, and Joyce looked back at her.

She saw her hiccup, and a tear rolled down her cheek, still holding eye contact with her.

That's when she realized it.

Dad was gone.

For the first moment, it was like her brain didn't fully comprehend what was going on. Like her mind had figured out what was happening, but her heart was lagging behind. Then she could feel it, an overwhelming sense of sadness and grief and anger and heartbreak and sorrow and sickness that she had never felt before. It was like a plague was eating at her insides, tearing through her heart and flesh and every cell in her body, all at the same time. All the background noise seemed to fade away, and all she could hear was her own screaming thoughts.

Then the tears came, like acid running down her face. And the acid burned her, it burned her skin and everything underneath her skin, and the burning came across her body until she started to feel her legs weaken, and she was falling. She collapsed on her knees in front of her, and screamed. Screamed louder than she had ever screamed before.

Before she knew it, Mike was in front of her, and she lunged forward and grabbed him like he was the only thing in the universe. He didn't talk, he didn't even make a sound, he just held her. Held her tight. And El squeezed him back, to the point that she thought she would suffocate him. And she buried her face into the crook of his neck and cried, harder and more profusely than she thought was even humanly possible. Mike never let go.

She heard footsteps behind her, and all around her. She didn't bother to look up. She knew she was being watched, and she knew that the people who were there were probably thinking she was pathetic and weak, and that just made her cry harder, and she gripped Mike even more. One of her hands found its way to the back of his head, and she dug her fingertips into his bushy hair. In the past, the sensation of it had comforted her, but this time it didn't.

Around her body she felt a blanket of arms wrap around her, shielding her from the cold hard rain that was pelting down on her.

Mike looked up, and saw everyone around them. Lucas, Dustin and Will. Max. Murray and Joyce. Jonathan and Nancy. Even Steve and Robin. The entire group enveloped them, and it was a long time before they any of them let go. It had been at least five minutes, and El was still sobbing uncontrollably into Mike's neck. He looked up when Steve and Robin got up. Steve placed a hand on El's shoulder, let it rest there for a moment, and then walked away with Robin. Murray then got up, along with Joyce. They exchanged a hug which they shared for a long time. Joyce looked down at the kids, who were the only ones still locked in the embrace.

Joyce took a long, shaky breath and spoke.

"Guys, we gotta go." No one replied to her. "We can all go back to my house, but we need to get out of the rain and let the firemen do their jobs. We're going to get sick if we stay out here."

Without saying anything, Dustin, Lucas, Will and Max stood up. Mike and El remained on the wet pavement. Mike looked up, and saw Joyce. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked weak and defeated. Her eyes met Mike's, as if pleading. Mike understood.

He patted the back of El's head once. "C'mon, El. We should go. We're gonna go back to the Will's house." El didn't reply.

"I'm gonna be with you the whole time," he added. That seemed to do the trick. With her arms still wrapped around Mike, and her face still resting on his shoulder, the two simultaneously stood up, and began walking along with the rest of the party toward Joyce's car. With Joyce leading the group, they advanced across the puddly pavement. El and Mike trailed behind. Mike wrapped his right arm around El's shoulders, and El kept her head down, still sniffling. Mike knew even though she had stopped fully crying, he was going to have to be there for her when they got back to Will's house.

They started to get in the car, but they realized that not all of them would fit. Then they heard a voice behind them. "Mom, I can take some of them." Mike turned and saw Jonathan standing behind him, beside Nancy. The party exchanged glances, silently deciding who was going to go in which car. Mike knew that there was no way in hell that he would be sitting anywhere other than with El. And Mike knew that as much as Max and El were good friends, Max's brother had just been murdered in the most terrible way possible, and she would want to be with Lucas. So that left Will going with his Mom, along with El and Mike; and Dustin, Lucas and Max with Jonathan.

"Me and El will go with the Joyce," he said. "You guys can go with Jonathan. Will will probably want to go with us, too." Everyone else nodded, and moved toward their respective vehicles.

Will hopped into the passenger seat, and Mike and El took the backseat. El immediately slid over in the seat so as to be as close as possible to Mike. Mike wrapped his arm around her body, and leaned his against hers, which was resting on his shoulder. Mike glanced over at his girlfriend...no, ex girlfriend, and saw more fresh tears running down her face. They were silent tears.

Perhaps against his better judgement, because, technically speaking, they were still broken up, he tilted his head downward and sideways and kissed the top of her head.

El would have been lying if she said Mike kissing her head hadn't surprised her. They were still "broken up," even though she still didn't quite understand what that meant. But since that day, they had shared many intimate and intense moments together, and if she was honest, she didn't feel like there was any difference between them. Being broken up only made things seem slightly awkward, which she didn't like.

But she also would have been lying if she had said that Mike giving her that sweet yet simple gesture didn't make her feel better, even if it was just a little bit. It was like the warmth from the action had spread through her body, like a small spark that had the potential to light a fire in her soul. But the spark wasn't strong enough for her, not right now. So she just leaned into him even further and closed her eyes, letting the tears continue to drip down.

Mike looked ahead toward the road in front of them. He knew they were close to the Byers'. He exhaled deeply, and reached over with his other hand and started to stroke El's messy strands of hair. He didn't know why, he just knew that it something he did whenever she was upset. He didn't know if it would be any help now, but he knew that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure El would get through this.

Because he loved her, loved her with all his heart. And he hadn't worked up the balls to tell her in the convenience store, and he cursed himself for it, because now he knew that there wouldn't be a good time to tell her in a long time. How could he tell her something like that when she had just lost her fucking dad? It just seemed like something that… you shouldn't say unless the other person was ready to hear it. And he didn't think El was going to be ready to hear it for a long time.

And in spite of himself, he felt a lump start to form in the back of his throat. And even though he was telling himself it was because of El, part of the reason was Hopper. They never really got along; quite the opposite actually. They spent the better part of the last six months at each other's throats, but Mike respected him, in a weird, unshowing way. Even though Hopper had made it nearly impossible for them to share any intimate moments when he was around, and was always yelling at the to keep the door open, or giving Mike dirty looks, he could not deny the fact that he had protected El for a year and a half, and he knew that he genuinely cared about her. He saw in the way that he ruffled her hair, or gave her a hug before going to work, or kissing the top of her head when getting home in the evening. He had seen them sitting in the mall talking, just before Hopper had headed out.

How he had brushed the hair out of her face, and talked to her in such a sweet and caring way, and then after brought her in for a big bear hug. And despite the differences between them, he had even told him to be careful. It was probably the nicest thing he had ever said to him. And those were his last words to him. He was never going to hear that voice again. He felt the urge to cry come again, and he forced it back. He had to be strong for El right now, and he couldn't show the fact that he was hurting. He repeated to himself, he had to be strong.

His thoughts were interrupted when the car slowed down. He looked up and saw that they had arrived at the Byers'. Joyce and Will opened their doors and stepped out. Joyce gave a key to Will, and he went to the door to unlock it. Joyce opened the back door where El was sitting and spoke.

"Alright guys, let's go in," she said.

Without speaking, El let go of Mike's hand and slid out of the backseat. Mike followed close behind. As soon as El stood up and put all of her weight on her legs, they buckled and she started to fall forward, but out of nowhere, Mike reached his hands around her torso and caught her.

"It's okay, I got you," he whispered. And before she knew it, and arm was swept underneath her thighs and she was being carried. She didn't have the energy nor the desire to speak. She just wrapped her forearms around his neck and looked at Mike in the eyes in silent thanks. Mike looked back at her and solemnly nodded his head, and El could have sworn that she saw teardrop escape his right eye.

Behind them, Jonathan's car stopped and the rest of the group got out and made their way up the driveway to the front door. When they had all gotten inside, no one talked. They all sat in the living room. Mike was sitting in the corner of one couch, with El lying down curled up beside him with her head on his lap. At the opposite end of the couch, Dustin sat, staring off into space. On the other couch sat Lucas, who had his arm around Max's shoulders. Her eyes were red and puffy. Lucas gently rubbed her arm. Will sat beside them.

At the table in the dining room sat Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy. They were sipping on drinks, probably coffee or something that would give them a much-needed jolt. It was late, but they would have to be tending to the young children for the majority of the night in all likelihood.

El closed her eyes, and drew a shaky breath in. Her crying had subsided, but not because she was feeling better. It was just that she felt like she had completely run out of tears; all the fluid in her body had been completely drained. She was incredibly thirsty and hungry, but above all else she was exhausted. She wanted to sleep more than anything. But every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the Mind Flayer looming over her, or Billy choking getting impaled by that fleshy tentacle, or Hopper's face as he hugged her good-bye. It was all too much. She sniffed, and Mike massaged her shoulder with one hand in response.

The silence was abruptly broken when Joyce entered the living room

"Does anyone want anything to drink? Or eat?" she asked. The party exchanged glances, knowing that all of them were feeling starved.

"Yes, please," Will replied to his Mom, who smiled and left to the kitchen. Nancy and Jonathan got up to help her. Will was about to as well, but Joyce shook her head at him and said it was okay. Will reluctantly went back to his seat next to Mike and El.

El felt the discomfort among her friends, the awkwardness and sadness that was emanating around the room. She knew they were all feeling a million different emotions, especially her and Max, who had both just lost someone important to them. And even though they probably all wanted to talk about what had happened, everyone was too afraid to break the silence. And no one knew what to say, and neither did she. She just wanted to wake up in her bed at the cabin and walk into the kitchen and see Hopper, as if this was all just a bad dream.

Joyce interrupted her thoughts when she came into the room along with Nancy and Jonathan. They were carrying toast and several boxes of different kinds of cereal, along with bowls and small plates. They made a second trip and brought in some glasses of water and a jug of milk.

"There's more milk in the fridge," she said as she put down a jug of on the coffee table in front of them. "Sorry for the lack of choice, I haven't gone grocery shopping since last week."

"It's okay, Mom," Will responded, with a small smile.

Joyce pulled up a chair from the dining table and sat on it with the rest of the kids. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples. El knew that her Dad and Joyce we close, and she realized that Joyce was probably feeling some of what she was feeling as well. It made her feel a little bit better that she wasn't the only one who was going through it.

They ate their food in silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the slurping of drinks and crunching of cereal. When they were done, which didn't take long, Joyce spoke.

"Jonathan and Nancy have gone to bed," Joyce stated. "We should probably try to get some rest as well." The idea was met with murmurs of agreement among the teens. "It's up to you guys where you sleep. We have these couches, Will's bed, my bed, and I can grab an air mattress from the storage room for you guys to crash on."

"Mom, I can sleep with you," Will said. "Two people can take my bed."

"I'll crash on this couch," Dustin announced, tapping the cushion next to him, beside Lucas and Max. Max leaned sideways and said something to Lucas that El didn't quite catch. Lucas nodded, and turned to Joyce.

"It is okay if me and Max take an air mattress in the living room?" he asked. Even though Joyce was slightly skeptical about the boys and girls mixing, she knew that under the circumstances, anything sexual was far from their minds. Plus, the boys needed to be there to comfort their girlfriends. So she gave them the benefit of the doubt and nodded.

"So can El and I take Will's bed?" asked Mike.

"Yes."

At this, El smiled a little bit. Despite what she was feeling, spending the night with her boyfriend- or ex boyfriend- sounded nice. Maybe it would help with the possible nightmares that might come. But just snuggling with him under warm covers after everything that had happened sounded almost heavenly.

"We only have a couple extra pairs of clothes for you guys to sleep in, though. And the clothes you're wearing now look disgusting."

Mike produced a dry laugh at this. The gash on his face had been cleaned up, but before that it had bled all over his clothes. On top of that, an ungodly amount of sweat had drenched his clothes left him with more to be desired.

"It's okay, Mom. I have some clean boxer shorts the guys can throw on."

Joyce mentally sighed, knowing that now the boys were going to be sleeping with their girlfriends in nothing but underwear. But she decided not to press the issue.

"Okay, I probably have some extra pajamas in my bedroom for Max and El, just...give me a second to find some," she said, walking out of the room. Will gave Dustin a blanket and pillow to sleep with, and some more sleeping gear to Max and Lucas. They all thanked him.

After getting the air mattress pumped up, everyone got settled and made their way to their respective sleeping areas. Lucas and Max pulled their mattress a little bit farther away from Dustin than where Joyce had put it, and fluffed up the sheets and got tucked in.

Mike walked into Will's bedroom, and smiled in spite of himself. He remembered spending a lot of time here with Will six months ago, when he was a host to the Mind Flayer. All the posters and photographs gave him a wave of nostalgia. Maybe Will was right about them growing up. For a moment, he remembered their life of playing games in his basement, just the four guys, not a care in the world. He missed that.

El came into the bedroom, her eyes no longer red. She had washed her face, and replaced the bandage that was on her forehead. She was changed into short shorts and baggy, light blue t-shirt that hung at practically her thighs.

She looked beautiful.

"You okay?" Mike asked.

She shrugged, and remained silent. "C'mon," he said, sitting up and gesturing with a nod for her to come to the bed.

"Which side do you-" and suddenly El was hugging him, her arms tightly wrapped around his torso, her head resting on his chest. Mike hugged her back, and leaned his cheek to rest on the top of her head. They stayed in that tight embrace for a while, until El finally let go. She crawled into the bed, and Mike walked around to the other side. He slipped off shirt, and, already in the shorts Will had given to him, crawled into bed with her.

They lay together, about two inches apart, parallel to one another. Mike didn't close his eyes. He just stared at the ceiling, thinking about what he should say, or if he should even say anything. Luckily, El decided for him when she spoke for the first time in hours.

"Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you…" she trailed off. She turned in the bed to look at him, and he turned back to meet her eyes.

"What is it?" Mike asked her.

She looked away for a moment, and then back at him. She grabbed his forearm and pulled it toward herself, and wrapped it around her body. She shifted closer to him, her back still facing him, and before Mike knew it they were spooning. His arm tucked behind her neck, curled up around her head, his hand in her hair. His other arm found its way around her stomach, his fingers lightly dancing on her bare skin where her shirt had folded upward slightly.

"Just...hold me."

And he did.