Jim Hopper and Eleven

Everything stood still.

Hopper breathes heavily, as he drops his gun with a strong loud thud when it hits the metallic floor in the elevator. He saw El collapse on the floor, unable to move.

He crouched down in front of her, holding her up in his arms, praying to god that she was okay. He used the palm of his hands to rub up and down her back, to try and get a reaction from her. He suddenly felt her shaking against him and gave out a gasp in relief.

"Hey it's okay...it's okay now."

El's eyes started to draw low and Hopper could feel her eyes slowly flutter from exhaustion. After a moment, she let go of the longing embrace and stared back at him. She looked ghostly pale and had dark shadows under her chocolate, brown eyes.

He wanted to hold her again, protect her from harm. So he grabs her by the arm and nestles his nose in her hair. At first, she tensed at the contact but after a while she liked the warmth radiating from his body. She soon relaxed into him, with her arms wrapped around his neck and in that moment she felt safe, she felt like she was home.

"You did good, kid." He whispered with love and pride. "You did so good."

She begins to hang onto him, unable to move and her breathing was slow. Hopper scoops her up in his arms and he realised she was sleeping, even though she just went through a near death experience. He carefully tries to stand up, while he holds El in his arms. She quickly clings onto him and buries her head in his shoulder, while Hopper reaches for the button in the elevator.

The journey back up was uncomfortably tense and El was still fast asleep. He couldn't help but smile at the girl at how relaxed she was. It gave him a warm feeling in his chest.

                                         ____________________________

Hopper carries El to his car and carefully places her on the seat. He drives through the streets of Hawkins and kept giving short glances towards her, to make sure nothing was happening to her and that she was still safe.

El stirs and presses her head against the window, now that the drive was nearly over. The girl shifts slightly, as Jim pulls up to the cabin and loudly turns off the car. He gently picks her up and carries her bridal style into the house.

The cabin was still warm from the heat that Joyce used for Will, including the mess they made out of it but he didn't mind. He was just glad to be home.

Hopper enters the living room and quietly lays her down on the couch. He got one of El's pillows out of her bedroom and swiftly placed her pillow under her head, so that she feels more comfortable. El doesn't open her eyes but her eyelashes flutter again. He hoped that he wouldn't have woken her up from trying to adjust and support her head.

Now that she's settled down again, Hopper goes into the kitchen and picks out a bottle of beer from the fridge. He pats his trouser pockets for a packet of cigarettes and realises there was none left. Maybe that was a good thing.

He sits himself down at the kitchen table and drinks his beer. It seems like it has been years since they sat down for a meal together, but it has only been five days since El disappeared.

He takes another sip of his beer and then takes his jacket and shoes off, now that the room was warm enough for the both of them. He suddenly stares into space and thinks about how close they came to death tonight.

He remembers the times where they would argue at each other for hours. He would get so angry at her for no reason. El would throw things and stomp off to her room and slam the door behind her. Hopper would call her 'selfish and a 'brat', for not accepting the things she gets from him, when all she wanted was to go outside.