I do not own the Duffer brothers, Stranger Things, or any of the actual characters.

Without any further yada yada yada...

Chapter 7.

Steve holds El in one arm, a whisk in the other. He ran out of baby food and no way was he making another store trip. He whisks the pureed carrots on the stove, El coughing, Steve careful not to let her cough into the food. She's the only one up, and Steve's still trying to figure out how to get the kids back to normal. If his theory is correct, there's no telling how long it will take. But Steve wonders if El wasn't sick anymore…

His thoughts are interrupted by Dustin, who pulls on his pants rapidly.

"What is it?" Steve asks, almost groaning. Dustin pulls him to the bathroom, where his trucker hat floats in the water of the toilet. Steve groans. He pulls the hat out with his whisk, setting it on the tub's ledge to dry. Dustin whimpers.

"You wanna borrow one of my hats while it dries?" Steve asks, and Dustin follows him to the large hat collection no one but Steve ever knew about. After Dustin selects a very large cowboy hat, Steve heads back to the kitchen, but is stopped on his way there when he hears Will and Mike crying. He heads to the couch where he laid them, and scooping them up, now carrying 3 of the kids. Lucas and Max suddenly rolled in the room, fighting over a walkie-talkie. Dustin, with the hat covering his line of sight, ran hard right into Steve knocking him over onto Lucas and Max. He drops the youngest 3 onto the floor, by accident, and they roll around crying. Dustin somehow landed on his head, and as Steve stands up, Dustin hangs on and catches a ride on Steve's shoulders, sticking his hands into Steve's hair. Steve's about to pick up Mike, El, and Will, but as he turns around, he sees the carrots catch fire, the flames licking incredibly high. Children abandoned, Steve runs to the fire, with Dustin still on his shoulders, and transfers the burning pot to the sink, running cool water on the fire, effectively extinguishing it. El, Mike, Will, Lucas, and Max are all crying now, at the top of their lungs and Dustin laughs wickedly as he ruins yet another one of Steve's hairstyles. Steve gives one last cry of anguish as he falls forward, collapsing from a lack of sleep. He briefly hears El sneezing before the malnourished teen passes out of consciousness.

Dustin jumps off Steve's prone form.

"Was I- just- Steve's hair-?" Dustin is speechless for once in his lifetime. Lucas sheepishly hands the walkie-talkie to Max.

"Y-you can have it." Lucas stammers, embarrassed.

Mike and El sit up.

"WHY AM I WEARING A DIAPER!" Mike screams, waking Steve up.

"WHY OH WHY ARE THEY LIKE THIS! WHY CAN'T I BE A REGULAR MOTHER OF SIX!" Steve cries out. He looks around at the kids, now back to normal. "C'mere," Steve says, and the kids gather round for a good hug.

THE END!

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