Steve was doing his very best to stop his mother telling Wayne and by extension Robin, a very embarrassing story about him as a five-year-old when cold fingers ran up his spine. Unfortunately, he recognised the feeling and looked up to meet Will's eyes. 

"Oh crap, I know that look," Dustin said, since Will had been in the middle of a roll, and everyone was looking at him.

Diving under the table, Dustin picked up the bag he had brought with him and pulled out his walkie. As if on cue, it crackled into life before he had a chance to use it.

"Co...d," was all Steve heard the first time because there was a ridiculous amount of interference. "Code..." El's voice repeated. "...de Red."

Steve was out of his seat on the first one.

"We hear you," Dustin replied. "What do you need? Over."

All that came back was static and then a high piercing note.

"That's a jammer," Dustin said, eyes big and round.

"Shit, they need help," Eddie said, looking to Steve. "What do we do?"

"We can't leave until we know where they are and that they're not coming here," he decided quickly. "Lucas, get on the phone, see if you can get a call to Hopper," he instructed.

He shared another look with Will.

"Think we can get through to El?" he asked.

"Worth a try," Will replied.

"Steve, what's going on?" his mom asked, rising from the couch.

He almost swore. In the moment he had completely forgotten there were people in the house who wouldn't immediately get it. Wayne was looking just as confused, as were Eddie's bandmates.

"Bad things, Mom," he said, "but I've got no time to explain now. Please, just trust us."

For a moment she looked as if she might argue, but eventually she nodded. Steve walked quickly around the other side of the table where Will was sitting and placed his hands on Will's shoulders. Their practice paid off as the real world vanished in only a moment and he found himself in the Void, standing next to his younger friend, holding his hand.

"El," they called as one.

Between one blink and the next, El was standing in front of them.

"What happened?" Steve asked without preamble.

"There was someone with a gun, Dad said they were a sniper," El replied, voice quavering.

He wished he could reach out to her, but that could up the connection too much for whoever was with El to pull her out quickly if necessary.

"Dad was going to drive me to visit Max, but Nancy came over," El explained quickly. "She said she thought she was being followed. She walked in front of me just as the window shattered. They shot Nancy, Steve, she is bleeding badly. I had to help her like I helped Max, but I do not know how long it will work."

"Where are you?" he asked.

"We are in the truck," El replied. "Dad told me and Joyce to run and get in and he brought Nancy."

"Bring her to my house," Steve said without hesitation. "We'll be safer together."

"Okay," El said and her eyes went distant for a moment. "I have to go."

"See you soon," Will said.

Steve opened his eyes to find everyone looking at him and Will.

"Close every curtain and blind in the place but stay as far away from the windows as possible," he said, planning quickly and wiping his nose where it was bleeding. "Hop, Joyce, El and Nancy are on their way."

"Phone's dead," Lucas informed him, which didn't shock him.

"Someone tried to get El with a sniper," Steve told them all, "so don't take any risks."

The kids, Eddie and Robin went into action without arguing and Steve moved to pull the big curtains across the windows in the living room. He wasn't sure they'd ever been drawn since they were put up, but they moved smoothly on their runners.

"Did you just say 'sniper', son?" Wayne asked.

"Yes," he said, watching the landing as the rooms upstairs went dark. "Oh god," he added, totally unable to come up with any explanation that would make sense except the truth. "Look, all the things you think happened in Hawkins over the last three years have been lies. Will's supposed death, Hawkins' lab both times, Starcourt, the earthquake, everything is to do with government experiments on kids and what they unleashed. The lab was their base, and all the stories of monsters are true. El was the last survivor from the lab, she has powers. She defeated the big bad who was trying to destroy the world less than two weeks ago, but it looks like someone thinks she's too dangerous to leave alive."

"And what were you and Will doing?" his mom asked.

"Talking to El," he replied. "Will has the same powers as her."

He almost said more, but he was afraid.

"Steve, the blinds in your room won't close," Dustin called down from the landing and distracted him.

"Then just close the door," he instructed, they didn't have time for worrying about the little things.

He headed down the corridor and checked the doors to the garages and the basement, making sure they were all locked.

"What didn't you tell us?" Eddie asked quietly, coming up beside him.

"The sniper got Nance," he admitted," she accidentally walked in front of El when he took his shot. Which was good because we've still got El, bad because Nance is badly hurt. El's keeping her alive, but it's not good."

"They're coming here," Eddie concluded, and Steve nodded even though it wasn't a question, "and you're going to do your thing."

He nodded again and Eddie's eyes flicked to his mom and the others not in the know who had all gathered together.

"I told them that everything since 83 has been a lie," he said, "but I don't have time to explain. Can you handle it when the others get here with Nancy?"

"No problem," Eddie replied and gently touched his arm. "Is it bad that I'm relieved I can tell Wayne?" he added.

"No," Steve said firmly. "It's crazy they wouldn't let us tell our families in the first place. Come on, we need to clear one of the couches for Nancy and we're going to need towels."

Steve managed to keep busy organising everyone and making the house safe until he heard tires on gravel. Will was at the front door before him, and El and Joyce were in before he even got there. He stood back and gave Hopper space as the ex-police officer carried Nancy inside.

"Nance," Mike cried as soon as he saw what was going on.

"Couch," was all Steve said to Hopper. "Mike, stay back, please, Dustin, look after him," he added, following as Nancy was placed on the towels and pillows they had prepared.

"Sorry, Nance," Steve said, kneeling down beside the couch.

Taking either side of her blouse, he ripped it in two before removing the wad of clothing Hopper had used to staunch the wound in Nancy's chest.

"What the hell..?" was as much as he heard from his mom as he placed his hands over the wound in direct skin contact with Nancy and let the real world go.

Without thought, he sank into the presence of his ex-girlfriend and sought to heal. Her pain seared into his consciousness, but all it did was sharpen his resolve as his instincts calmly led the power inside of him. It felt like second nature to stabilise Nancy's vital signs, hold her to life, but the wound was bad, and he understood immediately it was going to take more than boosting her own healing. He pushed into that reservoir he had found with Hopper and Max, curling his own energy into a physical thing, and smashing through the invisible barrier to restore everything that had been destroyed.

Time had no meaning. All there was, was the need to heal everything that was broken. Nothing else mattered. Nancy was like a shattered vase he had to put back together. He could see nothing except the pieces and his power was the glue. Every now and then he sensed someone else at the edge of his awareness, but they never came close enough to interfere in his focus. This was urgent, life over death, and he worked hard and fast. He could not pause for anything. Could not faulter or Nancy would slip away.

Only once Nancy was whole again, did the real-world seep back into his senses. Opening his eyes, he looked down at his blood covered hands and slowly lifted them away. Underneath was pink, but otherwise unmarked skin.

"Steve?" Eddie asked gently from somewhere behind him.

All he could manage was a hum before he was falling sideways.

"I've got you," Eddie said, catching him before he could hit the coffee table.

He couldn't hold himself up as his whole body sagged, completely failing to adjust back to the real world.

"Let's get you sitting down," Eddie said, gently lowering him so he was sitting on the floor with his back against the other man. "Just breathe, Stevie. Take it slow."

"That will never cease to be amazing," he heard Robin say from somewhere close by.

"Nance?" he asked, because he knew what his instincts said, but he couldn't help doubting himself.

"All in one piece, now do as you're told," Eddie said pointedly.

"Not the boss of me," he muttered, even though he had no intention of moving.

"Yeah, well you spent twenty minutes making sure your ex-girlfriend no longer has a large hole in her, which is pretty intense considering you took three days to put me back together, so I don't think you have much choice," Eddie told him, and he could hear the worry in the other man's voice.

He would have patted Eddie's hand, but his were covered in blood. So was his shirt when he looked down, which probably explained why his nose felt unpleasantly blocked as well.

"Hey, Steve," El's voice made him look up and he realised she was crouching in front of him.

She reached out and gently took his hands, seemingly not caring what a mess he was.

"Breathe with me," she told him, looking him right in the eye.

He could already feel something, just from the touch and this time he did as he was told without arguing.

"Well done, Steve," he heard, but El's lips didn't move, even as the world slowly flowed into normal focus around him.

By the time El gave him a small smile, he felt grounded in reality once more.

"Thank you," he said even as he felt eyes on him from all around the room.