[COMPLETED UNTIL SEASON 5]
Ana Thompson always seems to wind up in the strangest predicaments...
A perpetual victim of Murphy's Law, Ana finds herself arriving in Hawkins, Indiana just prior to the events of November 6th, 1983.
And, just prior to f...
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IF THE PHONE'S sharp ringing hadn't already doused the once heated moment between Ana and Hopper like a bucket of ice water to the face, what was relayed through the line thereafter certainly drenched any warmth that remained.
With the exception of Yuri, who was undoubtedly stalling in his efforts to fix the grounded Katinka, everyone else had gathered inside the church, listening intently as Hopper relayed the details of his coded conversation.
"Okay, and, uh, who exactly was this mystery woman?" Murray asked the former police chief. They'd been hoping to reach Dr. Owens, someone they knew and trusted, but that willful optimism was quickly dashed.
The sun had set in the hours since their arrival, and the lamps lighting the modified storage room threw dark shadows across downtrodden faces. "Not sure. I mean, she wasn't exactly Miss Talkative. You know?" Hopper explained, shoulders slumped in defeat. "I spent five minutes trying to convince her I was real. I'm supposed to be dead, remember? Anyway, I finally get around to half-convincing her, she starts to open up a little, then says that she's a friend of the doc's—"
Sitting beside him, Ana lent forward to complete his clarification, the confession turning the air surrounding them stale. "And that Dr. Owens was indisposed."
"Indisposed?" Murray echoed in perplexity, the descriptor providing little in the way of elucidation.
"It gets worse," Hopper warned, causing both Murray and Joyce's brows to rise in apprehension. "She said the doc's with the girl. And the girl went off to fight some evil in Hawkins. Then they all went off-grid. The doc, the girl, everybody."
That revelation had spurned another bout of regret within Hopper, who was already feeling plenty guilty for sending Joyce his message in the first place. It was a shame Ana now shared, unfortunately. She'd justified leaving both her children to go traipsing off on a doomed rescue mission under the false assumption they'd be safe—and she'd been unbelievably wrong.
Robby wasn't safe in Hawkins. El wasn't safe in California. Hell, they definitely weren't safe in Russia. Even with thousands of miles separating the three groups, things had still managed to turn upside down for them simultaneously.
"The girl, meaning...El," Murray reiterated though the answer was apparent.
Hopper sighed heavily at the acknowledgment of their greatest fear, one that Ana's hand rubbing soothing circles into his back could never hope to soften the blow of. "Yeah, it has to be."
Dimitri, who'd remained silent for much of the retelling, probably confused by references to people and places that meant nothing to him, finally interjected. "This is your daughter, American?"
"Mm-hmm," Hopper hummed his agreement, catching Ana's wayward hand to slot her fingers between his own. "Ours. And they're not alone. Joyce's kids are with 'em." Being off-grid explained why none of the Byers had been reachable in the days prior, but the realization didn't make anything better for their knowing. Safety in numbers hadn't been as reassuring as promised.
