Taylor's POV
I remember when Jim brought Eleven home.
It was late at night, after he had finished a shift at the office and I was cooking dinner at our house. At the time, we were living together at my old house. It was still extremely cold outside. When I heard the phone rang, I was just taking the lasagne out of the oven so I almost didn't pick it up in time to catch Jim. Samson was sleeping on the couch.
"Hello?"
"Hey sweetheart... Um, can you - um, I'm going to pick you up in a few minutes, ok?" He said, nervously. My stomach plummeted.
"What's wrong?" I asked immediately.
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just going to pick you up" He stated.
"Well I just finished the lasagne for dinner... are we having that before or after we go on this adventure you won't tell me about?" I asked, extremely confused.
"Bring it to go. The whole thing, ...and a blanket or two" He said. "I'll be there in five. Love you"
"Love you too" I replied, sighing, as I hung up the phone. Curious, I thought of all the ideas Jim could be planning. Maybe it was a special date where we were going to be doing something outside? Maybe we were going to get a new house together.
Looking back now, that one was partially true.
The car honked from outside, and I walked outside to see Jim more nervous than I've seen him in a while. I raised an eyebrow, as I got into the passenger seat, reaching over to hold his hand. The drive was a silent one, as I tried to determine where we were going from our surroundings. After a long drive through the woods, he eventually parked the car off the side of the road on a small patch of grass.
"What's going on Jim?" I asked, after we both got out of the car, and he took my lasagne dish and the blankets to carry, as we started walking through the woods.
"I'm taking you to my grandfather's cabin" He said.
"Okay.... any particular reason why tonight?" I asked, as I was trying not to shiver so much.
"You'll see" He said, as I followed him farther into the woods.
Soon, a small cabin came into view. There were some lights already on in the house, which left me a bit confused. I followed up the stairs to the door, and was surprised when Jim reached out to stop me from opening the door. Instead, he knocked on the door, with a unique rhythm.
"What is going on? Who's in there?" I asked, confused.
Then the door opened, and I saw the girl who had saved not just my life, but all of Hawkins.
"El!" I gasped, as I all but ran to her, bringing her tightly into my arms. I smothered her face with kisses, before looking back to Jim, still embracing her in a tight hug but now with tears in my eyes.
"You cry?" Eleven said, as she wiped my eyes.
"Good tears. Good tears, sweetie. I've missed you so much" I said, kissing her forehead.
"Oh Jim, where did you find her?" I asked, as I noticed how cold she was, regardless of the large jacket and hat she wore.
"Today, at the place we drop off food in the forest. I couldn't bring her to your place in case-"Jim started to say before I interrupted.
"No, no of course. Okay, well let's find some plates and have some dinner, shall we?" I said, giving the girl a squeeze, before going to clear off some of the kitchen area to eat. "Jim can you help? El, just -um- just sit at the table, ok? It'll be ready soon"
"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you over the phone" Jim said, as he started putting together a table as I rummaged around for some plates and silverware.
