There's No Place Like Hawkins//Stranger Things. SH

FORTY

The Mind Flayer

Once they made it to the Byers' house, Steve immediately rushed Catherine to the bathroom where he tried his best to stop the bleeding. But he needed help. "Hey, Nancy?" He called, figuring his ex-girlfriend would be the best person to ask.

"Yeah?" Nancy asked, quickly making her way to the bathroom. "How bad is she?"

"Quite bad. I... I need your help. I don't know how to help her."

Nancy crouched down next to Steve and helped him fix up their best friend's shoulder wound- which was pretty bad. Once they finished dressing the wound and fixing Cat's shirt, the two teens sat together on the bathroom floor for a minute. "You care for her, don't you." Nancy spoke, breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah..." Steve murmured, running his fingers through Cat's hair as she slept, her head resting on his chest.

"She cares for you, too, you know." Nancy told him and Steve nodded slowly, Dustin's words about his sister flooding his mind.

"I'm sorry." Steve apologised suddenly.

"What?"

"I was going over to yours to apologise to you when I bumped into Dustin and got dragged into all of this. I shouldn't have said those things to you. That wasn't fair."

"It's okay. I understand. We both said some things we didn't necessarily mean. Anyway, you two should be together. Steve. I... I don't think we were totally right for each other. And it wasn't fair on Cat for me to go out with someone she deeply cares for. As more than a friend." Nancy rested her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we'd work out better just being friends?"

"Yeah." Steve placed his hand over Nancy's. "You should go to Jonathan, see how he's doing." Nancy nodded and quietly left the room, giving Steve and Catherine some space.

***

Some time later, with Cat now awake and standing next to Steve in the living room- she was leaning on him and he had his arm around her good shoulder- Hopper was arguing down the phone to someone, trying to get help sent over to the lab. "Sam Owens. Dr. Sam Owens." He paused as someone else spoke back to him through the receiver. Cat didn't bother to even try and eavesdrop. "I don't know how many people are there! I don't know how many people are left alive!"

Cat gently tugged Steve to the dining table where she sat down and pulled him into the chair next to her. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Steve broke it. "How are you holding up, Kit-Cat?"

"Not good. It was scary in there, Stevie, really scary." She leant her head on his shoulder. "I wish you could have been there with me."

Steve comfortingly rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry. I wish I had been there too. I was really worried about you Kit-Cat. But I'm here now. And I'm going to protect you."