mercy ; peter ballard

38. t h a t f u n n y f e e l i n g

september 8, 1986

"this way!" peter led bea and will down the long flight of stairs.

they finally reached the bottom floor. the doors were right ahead. they slow down to wait for eddie's return. suddenly, eddie runs through a opposite set of doors, heading towards them.

"they are still preoccupied," he pants, catching his breath. he smiles at bea, pulling her into a hug. "bea!"

"awe, i missed you, eddie," she said, patting his back.

through the laboratory entrance, lucas, dustin, and max rush in, lucas pushing max's wheelchair.

"not so fast!" lucas exclaimed, helping the other two block the exit.

dustin's eyes quickly adjust to the darkness. eddie's expression falls as he lets go of bea.

"eddie..." his voice cracks.

eddie's gaze dims. "sorry, henderson."

"please. don't do this."

eddie hesitantly ignores him. bea steps in front of him. suddenly, the door from which eddie entered from was thrown open. they were surrounded. will placed the duffle bag thrown over his shoulder on the ground in front of him. he shuffled through the bag and found his weapon. he pulled a gun, holding it out in front of him.

he wasn't playing anymore. "don't move or i swear to god, i'll fucking shoot."

they all froze in there place. he had the upper hand. they were out of ammunition from the bats and they were exhausted. eddie call upon his bats and they surrounded the family, keeping them safe.

"will, come on!" mike shouted.

"screw you, mike!" he shouted back, not wavering the gun. "no one fucking move."

bea laughed, dryly. "this can't be too good for the baby," she whispered to peter.

peter gripped her hand. "it's our child. if they're anything like us, they'll push through."

bea nodded. his words were like a sweet blanket. they felt protective and safe. she would believe mose things he said. peter pulls gently on her hand, slowly
moving to the door. eddie follows closely behind as will backs up, keeping his stance.

"bea! stop!" max exclaims, holding out a hand. "stay!"

bea shakes her head. she missed max, but she couldn't go back. not now. bea uses her abilities to push max's wheelchair out of the exit pathway. peter grabs bea's hand again, carefully walking to the door. lucas slowly aims his slingshot. the bats disbursted, scattering to the group. this gave bea the opportunity to escape.

"no, lucas," max commanded, looking towards the sound of the slingshot band. "we lost."

lucas sighed, pointing the weapon to the ground. "but max-"

"we. lost."

peter opened the door. eddie rushed through door. will points the gun down, following him. bea hesitates.

"let's go home, dear," peter beckons.

"goodbye, max," she said, lowly.

"goodbye, bea."

september 10, 1986

"go home, kid. it's over."

mike throw his hands up. "hop! people are in danger!"

"we are putting more people in danger continuing to meddle! go. home. i'm not asking you. i'm telling you. keep your ears open for any updates. hug your parents," hopper commanded.

mike huffed. the cabin was a hub for helping anyone injured which wasn't a lot of people. they weren't injured, they were defeated. at this point, it was in their best interest to accept defeat.

dustin hadn't said anything since that day. he didn't know what say. he almost didn't believe his eyes. almost. eddie was still alive and was helping the other side. it felt like a smack in the face. it was a whole new side of grief.

max sat in the living room, listening to the sounds of the old tv playing. she wondered what it would be like if things had been different. she felt like a traitor thinking this way, but she hoped bea and her baby were safe.

"so we're in agreement, no more hawkins visits alone?"

"yep," bea said, playing with the strings of her sweatpants. her head laid in peter's lap while the rest of her body took up the couch space. she looked up, meeting his eyes. "i don't even want to leave the boys alone anymore."

"you are not leaving my sight for awhile," he sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "not until we completely open the gate and the baby is born."

"i'm not complaining," bea says, turning her attention to golden girls playing on the television. she loved the golden girls; however, they couldn't distract her from her troubles. she couldn't stop herself from feeling suffocated, like she was drowning. "i feel like shit. mentally and physically. i don't want to do this anymore," she whispered, sitting up. her eyes began to water a bit as gravity took over.

peter embraced her. "i'm sorry, my love." he plants a kiss on her forehead as she covers her face with her hands. "things will be better now that you're home, i promise. you are safe here. i will never let them take you ever again."

bea nods, sniffling in response. she processed his words, reviewing the events from the past couple of days in her head. at least she could find some kind of humour in the situation. "you let eddie use your bats?" she said, stifling a laugh.

"yeah," he laughed, rubbing her shoulder. "i did. i guess he grew on me."

will and eddie walk into the living room. will was wearing fresh clothes and eddie had showered. bea looks to the two boys. it was clear, they were worried.

"hey," will says, softly. he flashed a small smile.

"hi," bea laughs, wiping her tears. peter kept an arm around her, assuring her that she was home and not imagining it. he knew she hadn't slept since she got home. she paced, cried, and stared at the ceiling. he stayed up with her those nights, holding her. he wished he could finally comfort her enough to let her rest. he didn't care if he was tired, he only cared that she was okay.

"do you want to watch a movie? we thought it would help take your mind off things," eddie suggested, sitting on the reclining chair. he pulled his legs onto the chair and crossed them.

"sure," bea smiled. "what were you thinking?"

"star wars?" will suggest, plopping down next to bea.

"again? alright, boys. go get blankets for you guys and bea and get settled in. bea and i will get the movie up and running," peter states, standing up.

though the loss of warmth from him lingered on her skin, she could still felt the warmth from being home. she finally felt relieved after so long. she rested onto the couch, relaxed. she knew the only thing she needed in this world were in that very home.

in a world plagued with hate and war, their home was a beacon of light. even if it wasn't perceived that way from the outside.