With What Strength Remains (A Stranger Things Fanfic)

SOMETHING WORRISOME

When Hopper awoke the next morning, he was stretched out on the couch with Anne wedged between him and the back cushions, her arm draped across his chest and her knee hooked over his thigh. He remembered waking up in the middle of the night discovering the fire had gone down to a few coals and he had peeled himself away from Anne to get it going again. When he trudged back to the sofa he found her laid out on her side. He had gingerly prodded her to move over and slid down onto his back allowing her to lay halfway on top of him. He had pulled one of the blankets up over their entwined bodies and fallen back asleep almost right away.

He took a few minutes to enjoy laying there with her, listening to her light breathing and feeling the warmth of her body against his. Sometime also during the night the electricity was restored making the temperature comfortable again. He ran his eyes over his bracelet, then, rubbing his face, Hopper steeled himself and nudged her arm.

"Anne... Anne. I gotta get up." She groaned in response and rubbed her face against his shoulder, unwilling to be roused. But it was Monday and Hopper was due in at the station at eight. He lifted her arm off of him and began extricating the rest of his body from her grip.

"It's too early, Jim," she whined in a husky voice, refusing to open her eyes.

"I know, I know, but I gotta get to work," he replied wearily as he stood and stretched, already dreading the day he was to spend on the job. He shuffled to the bathroom as she turned away and pulled the blanket over her head with another sound of disapproval.

After he showered and did the rest of his bathroom routine, Hopper looped a towel around his waist to head into his bedroom. When he came out into the living room, Anne was sitting cross-legged on the couch with a cup of coffee in her hand, reading his copy of The Old Man and the Sea. Her hair was adrift around her shoulders, the sunlight coming in from the window behind her turning it into molten gold. She looked up when he walked in and he thought he caught her blush as her eyes roved over his form. She looked back down at her book quickly and said,

"There's coffee if you want it. I'm going to take a shower and head in with you if that's okay. I should get over to see Murphy about the car."

He felt his chest deflate. He mumbled some sort of reply before continuing on his way into his bedroom to get dressed.

When Hopper pulled into the garage's parking lot, Murphy was already inside the office making phone calls. Hopper made like he was going to get out with her to go inside, but she stopped him.

"You don't need to go with me, Jim, I can take care of it. Besides, aren't you running late for work?"

He looked at his watch. It was already quarter past eight.

"You'll call me after you talk to Murphy?" He was suddenly terrified she would leave without saying goodbye.

"Yes," she smiled and she started climbing out of the truck.

"What are you gonna do in the meantime? I don't imagine putting in an alternator is a quick job."

She stood outside with the passenger door open, her overnight bag in her hands.

"I was thinking I might walk around town again, see the places that were closed yesterday. And I brought this," she pulled out The Old Man and the Sea and waved it at him, "I can read more if I get bored." He gave a grim nod. He wasn't liking the idea of dumping her off and heading into work.

"I'll call you," she promised before slamming the door and scurrying towards the garage's office. He waited until she was inside before turning around and heading to the station, a strange lump forming in his gut.