TWIST OF FATE - STRANGER THINGS SEASON 2

two; prosper

After Charlie's insane theories on his dreams being something other than nightmares Mary had dropped him off at home, pleading him to keep what he thought to himself for a while longer — she planned on speaking to her father to see what he thought about it and then maybe, if they felt like it they'd tell Hawkins Lab.

Entering the trailer, Mary tossed her car keys onto the coffee table and rose her eyebrows at her father in his uniform standing over the stove, seemingly cooking something that weren't in a microwaveable package — the only time he properly cooked was Christmas and if he had been an asshole.

Eyeing up the scrambled eggs in the pan, Mary grabbed a slice of toast that was already on a plate and cut in half despite her father smacking her hand, "What have you done this time? Using the stove usually means you've done something — it better not be my Walkman, I know I said you could borrow it for as long as you're fixing up the lodge but dad I swear to god if you've broke my —"

"Relaaax," Her father sang over her in a yelling tone, gesturing with the spatula, "I was ready to kick your ass last night when I found out you left the station without finishing your work — but Flo told me Charlie had an episode and so you went to his. I figured you'd stay, but I also figure you'd have a massive appetite when you got home." Her father explained before she could try and defend herself and she sighed in relief that he had understood.

Jim looked to his daughter with a knowing expression, "How is he?" He questioned, eager to know of her boyfriends health — it didn't only effect Charlie, it effected his daughter too; and Hop may have grown to like him within the past year.

Mary hopped onto the counter beside her father, chewing on her slice of toast, "Not good, dad," She admitted, tucking a strand of short dark hair behind her ear, "His nightmares are getting worse. And get this, Charlie thinks that these dreams aren't just dreams. He thinks they're something else — real even." She told him as she watched the scrambled eggs cook away.

"Real?" Jim repeated unsurely, "I hope you shut that right down, Mare. The least we need is Charlie thinking that The Upside Down is his reality." He told her and she nodded in agreement.

"I know. But what do you think? Do you think there's even the slight chance that it could be —"

"No." Jim deadpanned, looking his daughter in the eyes; the scrambled eggs got a little burnt by his attention that had faded from it.

Mary sighed, holding a half eaten slice of toast between her fingers, her nails painted black, "You're right. The demogorgon is gone. The Upside Down is gone and Eleven is gone." She said more to herself, although she were too wrapped up in telling herself those comforting words she hadn't noticed her fathers shift in mood — or how he almost burnt his arm with the hot spatula.

"I just remembered, I'm gonna be pretty busy tonight at the cabin. You don't mind finishing sorting through that paperwork do you?" Mary opened her mouth, ready to argue against it. She hadn't realised how much of a boring town Hawkins was until reading the reports. Jim's face lit up in fake realisation, "Oh wait, I'm your dad and I'm Chief. I guess you just gotta do as I say."

He turned to her smiling, showing his dimples almost hidden behind his beard. Mary tried not to smile back but eventually she did, a large toothy one and her father ruffled her hair, "Here. Use this time to relax because I want you at the station for at least five, okay? Flo will be telling me if you're any later." Jim said as he served the slightly burnt eggs onto her plate and the girl scooped it up and hopped off the counter.

She grabbed a fork from the side of the sink and dried it against her overalls, "Hey, I'm not complaining. I'll just watch reruns of Cagney and Lacey until I've got to go." She said as she flopped onto the couch, raising the remote and putting on her desired channel.

Jim picked up his hat and dropped it onto his head before hovering for a moment, watching how content his daughter was as she watched one of her favourite shows and ate his most likely very bad scrambled egg — Jim loved seeing his little girl happy, especially since they got along more than they ever had.

Jim clapped his hands together, "Right. I'm off. Five o'clock, you remember that! Five o'clock, Mare!" He pointed his index finger at her as he walked backwards to the door and she barely gave him a glance as she shoved the food into her mouth.

"You never show up on time though! Maybe I can be just like my good ol' dad!"

"Mary!"

"Alright. Alright. Five it is!"

———

"Sir, I'm sorry but we here at the station can't arrest teenagers just because they've been watching adult movies... Yeah, I get that but — mhmm... Alright yeah, I'll have my dad get back to you never, okay bye now! Bye!" Mary slammed down the telephone, turning to look Flo dead in the eyes whom chuckled and held her hands up.

"Hey, you wanted to learn what it was like to answer the phones!" The woman reminded her as the girl slumped back in her chair, kicking her feet onto the table but Flo just swatted them back off as she usually did with Jim on his own desk to stop it getting it dirty with his muddy boots; Mary pulled a face.

"I thought there'd be more to it." She admitted, making Flo offer her a sympathetic smile as she moved to the coffee machine behind her.

"If I were you, Mary. I'd get whatever experience you could get from here and apply for an actual Police Academy," The older woman suggested and Mary furrowed her brows, "If your father were smart, he'd move you both to a big city where you's would prosper." She said and Mary gave her a soft smile as she tilted her head.

"We're fine where we are, Flo." She assured the woman that made her famous coffee — Mary watched her all the time and she came to realise the woman made it the same way everyone else did, it just always tasted better when it was Flo's.

"I mean it, Mary," The woman continued and the girl looked up at her, her face catching the serious look in Flo's eyes, "You and Hop are smart — too smart for a small town like this. You'd both do better elsewhere." She squeezed the girl's shoulder before delivering cups of coffee to Callahan and Powell's desks.

Mary thought her words over, staring off into space. Mary supposed Florence was right. The teenager knew that she were smart in aspects that weren't her school work. She had an overactive imagination — or an overactive way of thinking, hence why she usually came up with many possible theories about cases.

She had thought that Benny's death last year were for sure not a suicide, she believed it to be murder — going off only a feeling and blood splatters in the wrong direction. And she'd been right. The people at Hawkins Lab had murdered Benny because of Eleven and had covered it up afterwards.

And as for her father, Jim were always a very tactful man, even so when he were serving in Vietnam. Mary supposed that's why he were so good at what he did, he handled pressure well and had a solution for everything — he also hadn't been as awful in high school as you'd have thought, his grades had actually been decent and he had went to college.

Those were things that no one really knew about the Hoppers — their smarts and their wits. It were mostly covered up with sarcasm and a bitter attitude, usually hiding how their brains truly worked underneath all that snark.

"Mary, you wanting coffee?" Flo asked, now at the coffee machine again and the girl perked up, looking over her shoulder and offering a smile to the woman.

"Yeah, Flo. Thanks."

                             ———

       Mary working at the station is honestly my favourite thing ever. And also her relationship with Jim is so good right now, I love it!