"Mike, calm the shit down." Dustin said, groaning as the 13 year old continued pacing in front of everyone. Mike glared at him and he shut up.

"Mike, she's a strong girl. She'll be fine." Joyce said, standing up and stopping him by putting her hands on his shoulders. He bit his lip and looked up at her again.

"I can't loose her again." He said softly.

"I know, and you won't, Sweetie. I'm sure they'll be back soon."

"It's been an hour." He said.

"Hey, they're fine, Mike, okay? He's kept her safe for a year and he'll keep her safe for as long as possible. You know that." Jonathan said. Just then, Mike's mom busted through the door, a wild look on her face. Everyone looked at her in shock. She saw Mike and relief flooded through her. She rushed to him and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh my goodness, Michael! Where have you been? I haven't heard a word from you all day!"

"I'm sorry mom, there's just been a lot going on." He said.

"Like what? It shouldn't have been so much that you couldn't call home." Mike looked at everyone else, not knowing what to say.

"Hey, Karen?" Joyce asked. Karen looked at her. "I think it'd be best if we wait until Chief Hopper gets here, and we'll explain everything."

"Are you in some type of trouble, Michael?" She asked sternly. He shook his head.

"No, he's not in trouble. At all." Mike glanced out the window and saw headlights and realized it was Hopper's car. He squirmed out of his mom's grip and yanked the door open and ran out. Eleven had done the same, almost kicking the door of the car open as she rushed to hop out.

"El!" Mike exclaimed in relief.

"Mike!" She exclaimed, just as relieved. They met in the middle, hugging tightly. Everyone rushed out to see what was going on, and everyone had to smile at their little reunion. They probably hugged each other like that for a good ten minutes, when Dustin finally said,

"Hey love birds! We're her friends too!" Eleven giggled and she and Mike let go of each other and Eleven went to hug them all. Mike stood facing the opposite way of everyone for a couple of seconds, trying to discreetly wipe his eyes, having gotten emotional hugging her.

"You alright kid?" Hopper asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He sniffed and nodded, looking up at him.

"I'm fine." He said. "Just happy." He bit his lip and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For the way I acted earlier."

"It's okay, kid. Everyone breaks down every once in awhile. I think you needed it." Mike nodded in agreement. He turned around and walked to the group along with Hopper. He smiled as Eleven hugged everyone.

"So, Michael, is she the reason you left that little fort up?" Karen asked. He nodded, a small grin on his face.

"Yeah, Eleven. El for short." She raised an eyebrow. "It's a long story."

"A very long story. Why don't we go inside and let El go clean up and we'll have a talk, okay?" Joyce told everyone. They all agreed.

"Hey, uh, El? I brought you some clothes." Nancy said. She had stopped by their house on the way back to the Byers and gotten her some. Eleven smiled at her.

"Thank you." Joyce showed Eleven where the bathroom was and got her situated.

"Let me know if you need anything okay? And just call when you're done and we can dry your hair." Eleven nodded and Joyce shut the door enough to where there is a tiny crack. She went back into the living room with everyone and finally looked around.

"What the hell happened in here?"

"Steve might have gotten his ass kicked." Dustin said. "But he put up a good fight!" He said, grinning.

"Dustin!" Steve exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"By who?"

"My brother. It's not a big deal. We took care of it and we'll help you clean everything up, Mrs. Byers." Max said.

"Awe, thank you, Max. For now, though, I think we should probably explain everything to Karen." She looked at Hopper, who immediately nodded in agreement. Everyone sat down to listen.

"Well, it all started the night Will went missing…"

About an hour later, everything had been explained to Karen, who was just a tiny bit shocked.

"Sweetie, why didn't you tell me? I'd have tried to help out. You know you can talk to me." She said, brushing Mike's hair out of his eyes. He sighed, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at her, and said,

"You wouldn't have believed me, and you probably would have grounded me for the rest of my life for having a girl in the basement."

"Don't remind me." She said. "But you're right. I'm not mad, okay? But if anything else like this happens again, I want to be told."

"Yes ma'am." He nodded.

"Joyce!" They heard Eleven call quietly.

"Duty calls!" Joyce joked as she got up, and a few laughed as she left to go help Eleven. She had the clothes on and was using the towel to squeeze the water out of her hair.

"You ready to dry your hair?" Joyce asked. She nodded. "Do you remember what a hair dryer is?"

"Yes." She nodded again.

"Okay good." By the time Joyce was finished drying her hair, she had Eleven giggling. When they were done, Eleven's hair was hanging right above her eyes. They went back in the living room and Eleven immediately went over to where Mike was sitting on the floor and sat next to him. He looked over at her and smiled. She lifted his arm and scooted closer to him, putting her head on his shoulder and putting an arm around his stomach. It was kind of awkward to Mike at first, because everyone could see them, but he finally ignored it and put both of his arms around her. Thinking no one was watching, he kissed the top of her head, lingering there for a few seconds, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair. Someone was watching, and it was Jonathan, who took a quick picture of the two as Mike kissed the top of her head. When the picture was ready, he showed it to Nancy, who couldn't help but awe at the sight. Everyone was still pretty jittery and talking with each other, so Mike looked down at Eleven, a smile on his face. She looked up at him.

"Mike?" She asked.

"Hm?"

"You didn't break your promise." She said. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. She smiled and said softly, "You promised me a home." He then remembered, and smiled.

"I did, didn't I?" She nodded.

"I'm home."