Steve barely remembered getting to Joyce's car and he was pretty sure he fell asleep on the way to his house, and getting to bed was a little fuzzy as well. He did remember brushing his teeth because he'd almost missed his mouth with the brush, twice, but other than curling up with Eddie, that was about the only things that stuck. 

Waking up the next morning he felt much better, but his stomach seemed to be an empty pit.

"You look like I think I looked when I woke up with fangs," Eddie said.

"I'm really hungry," he admitted, glancing at the clock, "and I only have half an hour to rectify that."

"Ugh," Eddie said, flopping back onto the bed as Steve scrambled out of it, "you are far too awake for this time in the morning."

It was only five-thirty, but if they wanted to get to the hospital and execute the last part of the plan before everyone was around, they needed an early start.

"Go back to sleep," he said as he dashed into the bathroom. "I'll be back by the time you wake up properly."

He turned on the shower as he went to clean his teeth. The taste of fresh mint helped him to wake up even more.

"But I want to go with you."

Turning he found Eddie leaning against the door frame pouting.

"Soon," he said around his toothbrush.

"It's not fair," Eddie complained.

"I know," Steve said, although it probably sounded like gibberish as he bent over the sink to spit and rinse. "You know this town takes a while to get things into its head."

"Didn't take them long to get round to hunting me," Eddie replied.

"Yeah, well mob mentality works faster than the truth," Steve said and began pulling off his clothes. "Once the full cover story is finalised, you'll be able to show your face again and stand on as many tables as you like."

There was something of a strangled noise behind him as he threw the last of what he had been wearing to bed on the floor. When he turned and looked it dawned on him, he had dropped into jock mode because he hadn't been thinking. He was now naked in front of his boyfriend, and they hadn't even had that discussion yet.

"Sorry," he said as he saw the pink in Eddie's cheeks.

"Oh, you have nothing to be sorry for, Big Boy," Eddie said, eyes raking slowly from Steve's feet to his head.

It was his turn to blush.

"God, I want to lick every inch of you," Eddie said and then paused. "I said that out loud, didn't I."

"You did," Steve agreed with a nod.

"Right," Eddie said, face going even redder, "I'll just ... um ... yes."

Eddie pointed over his shoulder and began to turn away, but it looked like it was killing him. All Steve could do was stand there as Eddie left, muttering something about 'damn jock bodies' that Steve couldn't quite hear. Wishing that he had more time to chase after his boyfriend, he climbed into the shower and went through washing as fast as physically possible.

When he made it downstairs, there was a huge omelette waiting for him along with a large mug of tea.

"I was going to say something about filling that hole," Eddie said, cradling a cup of coffee in both hands, "but I fear that could be misinterpreted, so I'll go with, eat up, sweetheart."

"You're amazing," he replied, pecking Eddie on the cheek before grabbing a fork and tucking in right at the counter.

"You have now seen the limit of my culinary skills," Eddie told him, "so don't expect to be wowed in the future."

"This is delicious, Eds," he said, "and if you can make a good omelette, you can make anything. Eggs are tricky."

"You won't be saying that when I burn water," was the quick response.

Steve just gave his boyfriend a smile and kept eating. They really were going to have to have that conversation soon, so he could say the word boyfriend out loud, because he was beginning to get very fond of it.

~*~

Steve had had a healthy respect for Joyce Byers since the moment he found out about the Upside Down and what Joyce had done to save her son. It had only grown over the years, and did even more so as he watched her distract the nurse on duty at the desk as if she was a professional spy. He and El, snuck along the corridor and out of sight of the nurse's station as quickly as possible. Once they were in the clear they both began walking as if they were exactly where they were supposed to be.

There weren't a lot of staff in the corridors so early in the morning, but those they did see ignored them. That they made it to Max's room without El having to use her powers once was a win in Steve's book.

"Hi," El said the moment they slipped inside.

Max brightened immediately, clearly having been awake sometime.

"Thank god it's you," she said. "I am fed up of faking sleep."

"Then let's get this done so we can alert Owens to do his thing," Steve said, putting his bag down.

"Are you recovered?" Max asked.

"Fit as a fiddle," he promised, "and Eddie fed me a six-egg omelette and packed me off with sandwiches when Joyce arrived to pick me up, so I'm set that way too."

"Eddie?" Max asked. "As in lived in the trailer opposite me Eddie?"

"Did we not mention he's living in my house yesterday?" Steve asked.

"Nope, you missed that piece of information," Max replied, pursing her lips, and lifting an eyebrow.

"Eddie is staying with Steve until it is safe for him to be seen around town," El provided helpfully.

"And Wayne moved in yesterday too," he added. "The press was hounding him at the motel."

"Babysitting not good enough for you this time?" Max asked with a grin. "Had to go and fully adopt another family, eh?"

"It's not like I haven't got the space," he said, "and can you think of anywhere everyone would be less likely to look for them than Loch Nora?"

"You got me there," she replied, but the little smirk she was wearing let him know she totally had his number.

"Come on," he decided, "let's do this before someone decides to do rounds."

"I'm all yours," she replied.

"Good luck," El said and Steve gave her a smile before taking Max's hand.

It felt like visiting a familiar place as he closed his eyes and let his instincts rise. There was no soft preamble this time around as he automatically slipped back to where he had had to leave off before. That shimmering power rose, flowing to his command to make right everything he sensed that was wrong. His focus was total as he sought out every remaining piece of damage and, this time, he remained perfectly calm.

There were no surprises. Nothing to make him react with anger. It made the whole process seem that much smoother, even if that meant he was more conscious of the energy he was using. He needn't have worried, however, because he never reached the tipping point. As his instincts informed him he was finished, the real world faded back in around him. It was almost gentle, at least compared to the previous evening.

For a moment he sat there as his equilibrium settled, before reaching out and carefully pulling the shades from Max's face. She blinked open her eyes.

"Hi, Max," he said as he looked into clear blue.

"Hi, Steve," she replied, smiling widely.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like new," was the quick response. "I would hug you, but I don't want to bash your brains out."

He laughed as a sense of euphoria settled over him. The moment felt perfect.

"I will call the others," El said and he turned to give her a nod.

That was when perfection lost its edge as he tasted blood in the back of his throat.

"I am going to figure out how to fix these dame nosebleeds," he complained as he fished out the tissues he had remembered to put in his pocket this time.

Things moved quickly from there. Apparently, Sam Owens could be incredibly efficient when he needed to be and arrived at the hospital with two doctors and a couple of people in suits within the hour. Steve did not know what the cover story was this time, but he found himself standing behind El in a corner with Owens standing in front of them, while the two doctors examined Max.

"You healed her?" Owens asked.

"Yes," El replied, "like I said. It felt like the right thing to do."

"And of course it was," Owens said, even though he sounded just a little bit stressed, "but how, El? You've never done something like this before."

"No," she said with a nod, "and I do not know how I did it this time. I just needed to help my best friend."

Steve almost felt sorry for the vaguely pained look on Owen's face. Eventually they would have to come clean about him and Will, but not yet. Things with the government were still too amorphous. There were too many players.

"And you, Mr Harrington," Owens said, and Steve found himself pinned down by the man's gaze, "why are you here?"

"El wanted someone here in case she got stuck again," he replied. "I volunteered since I helped pull her out last time."

Owens rubbed his forehead.

"And you couldn't have maybe organised this in advance?" Owen's asked. "You know I would have helped, El."

"I know," El replied, giving the man a smile, "but I did not know I was going to do it until I did. Once I had started, I thought it would be best if I finished, which is why we sneaked in this morning. I am sorry to have caused trouble."

"You did good, kid," Owens said, reaching out and patting her on the shoulder, "that's what counts. Don't worry, I'll handle it."

"Thank you," El said.

Steve was almost sorry they were lying to the man, but only almost.