Some Strange Love

Love and Loss

A/N: Art isn't mine, just made me laugh, and hopefully will make you laugh before this sad chapter. Sensitive subjects in this chapter, and mentions of blood.

There was blood everywhere. On her, on her pants and underwear, dripping onto the floor now. But there was so much. This was not a period. Joyce knew her periods had never been this heavy. "Oh my God... Wh-What is this...?" Joyce looked up at Hopper, tears in her eyes, knowing something was very wrong. Hopper looked back at her. He looked like he might cry. This frightened Joyce even more. "O-Okay. We need to get me to a h-hospital... Jon-Jonathan can take care of the kids." Joyce was wiping up the blood all over herself and the floor as she did this, then grabbed a period pad. It would help to soak up some of the blood. Hopper helped her clean up, and then took her out of the bathroom, an arm tightly around her, whispering to her as they walked down the little hallway "It's going to be okay, Joycie."

Joyce locked eyes with Jonathan on the way out, and blew kisses to Will and Jane. Jane ran up and hugged both Joyce and Hopper, wrapping her arms as much as she could around their conjoined bodies. "Good luck Mom and Dad." She smiled at them in her sweet way. Joyce smiled softly back. Jane was such a wonderful young girl. "Goodbye sweetheart. Be good for your brother, okay?" Jane nodded, and Hopper ruffled her hair with his free hand. "Bye Jane. Don't cause any trouble." Jane laughed. Will came up to his mom now, crying. "Mom... Please be okay..." His voice broke with emotion. Tears began to prick at Joyce's eyes. "I'll be okay. I love you Will. And you two, Jonathan and Jane. I love you all. Whatever is wrong, I'm sure it's not a big deal." Joyce was lying, but she knew if the kids knew how bad things looked, that wouldn't help anyone. Jonathan came up and hugged Joyce and Hopper. "See you guys. Love you mom. I can hold down the fort." Jonathan seemed to be holding back his emotion, speaking in short sentences. Joyce hugged her eldest son. "I love you. I'm so proud of you. Take care of the kids. I don't know when we'll be back, but hopefully it'll be soon." Jonathan nodded, pulling away from the hug. Then Hopper and Joyce were out the door, walking slowly down the porch steps.

~Hospital~

It had been such a long day. Joyce just wanted to take a bath and forget everything. They were sitting in the examination room, waiting for Dr. Wekyer to come in. Hopper had pulled his chair up next to Joyce in the examination chair, holding her tiny, frail hand in his. Joyce was very nervous, and still in a great deal of pain. She had never taken those damn painkillers, nor had she or Hopper eaten. "I'm sorry all of this is happening Ho-" Hopper quickly interrupted Joyce. "Don't you dare say that, Joyce. You did nothing wrong. I told you, we're in this together." He kissed her forehead. "I love you, Joyce." Joyce smiled, looking into his gentle blue eyes. "I love you too Hop."

Dr. Wekyer came in and shook Joyce's hand. "I would say great to see you again, Mrs.Byers, but based on what the nurse told me, you're in lots of pain." Joyce nodded, and Hopper squeezed her hand again. "Well, since it's abdominal pain, it could either be a very severe menstrual cycle, which would be concerning, but probably not as bad as the worst-case scenario... A miscarriage." Joyce blinked rapidly, letting that settle in for a second. She had thought for a split second, that that was a possibility earlier when she had seen the blood everywhere. "Th-There's no way... I mean... I guess we possibly didn't use protection once or twice. But I never thought there would be a chance of me getting pregnant at all." Hopper looked at Joyce, surprise in his eyes. "I didn't really think I had it in me either. But... Is there a way to know for sure?" The doctor nodded. "Yes, we can take a hCG test, also known as a Human Chorionic Gonadotropin blood test. Essentially, your body creates the hCG hormone when you're pregnant, and if it isn't doubling properly, then it means that you may have... Well, lost the fetus."

Joyce began to cry. The fact that she may actually be pregnant, and the chance of losing a baby, her and Hopper's child... It was just so unbelievable. She didn't know if she would ever be able understand it. Thinking she had possibly lost Will years ago had been one of the worst feelings in the world. But she barely knew this possible baby... And they may already be gone. Hopper looked up at Joyce, and she turned her face to him. "J-J-Just take the blood test, please." Hopper stood, wrapping his arms around her. Joyce buried her face into Hopper's chest, crying, trying to erase the pain. Dr. Wekyer was silent as he disinfected a spot on Joyce's arm, finding a good vein. He drew the blood, and disinfected the spot again, putting some gauze and tape over the little pinprick. "The results will take about 24 hours to come in. We can call you when they do come in." Joyce had calmed down by now, but couldn't speak yet. "Thank you Dr. Wekyer." Hopper said. Dr. Wekyer nodded and left the room.

Joyce started breathing normally and spoke. "Hopper... What if I was pregnant... And the baby lived? Do... Do you want a kid?" She tipped her head up to look at him. Hopper looked down at Joyce, into her large doe eyes. "Joyce, of course. A baby that's ours... That would make me so damn happy. I love you so much, and all of the kids. I would love to have a kid that's a little of me and a a little of you. So if this doesn't work out, we can keep trying. I'm ready to spend my life with you, Joyce." Hopper smiled at her, releasing her from his embrace. Joyce shifted to being on her knees, and leaned up to kiss him tenderly, her hand at the back of his neck, the other arm which blood had been drawn from slack at her side. Hopper presses his lips into hers, a hand at her waist. They pull back together. "Ready for home, Joy?" Joyce nodded, shifting back onto her butt so she could swing her legs off the chair.

~Home~

Joyce walked in the front door of her little house, a hand in Hopper's for comfort. Jonathan was probably in his room since he couldn't be seen. Jane and Will started to run to her, but slowed down once they saw her slightly puffy, red eyes and the strained look on her face.

"You okay mom?" Will spoke first. Joyce just nodded, giving a small attempt at a smile. She shifted slightly closer to Hopper. "Kids... I just want to be alone with... Y-Your dad for right now. I love you all so very much, and everything is going to be just fine. You all know it's been a long day for me, so I need to relax. It's nearly time for bed, can you guys get yourselves to sleep on time?" Both Jane and Will nodded solemnly. They seemed slightly sad, their eyes shifting around, looking at Joyce and then the ground. Joyce chuckled slightly.

"Hug us goodnight you little goons." She held her free arm out, and Hopper did the same. The kids ran into the middle of the little Hopper-Joyce hug sandwich, laughing.

Jonathan heard all the commotion and came out of his room, smiling at the giant hug. He joined it, wrapping his arms around everyone. They were a whole family. Finally.

A/N: I still have lots planned! This isn't the end of this story. Just wanted to get something out for you guys.