"CALM DOWN, JACKASSES!" Jasper shrieked as the boys ushered each other onto the broken down bus. "Need I remind you I hit my head on a window earlier. That was not fun."

The helicopter blades whirred above as the group ducked down in the back of the bus. Jasper and Dustin sat together, leaning against a worn down seat. "Mental," Dustin breathed, gazing up towards the sky.

Time passed slowly as the five of them sat impatiently in the bus, listening to the sounds of helicopters in the sky.

"You think they'd just give up by now!" Lucas hissed in frustration, peering out the windows.

"Not when it comes to El, I'm sure," Jasper chuckled, shaking her head.

"I just wanna go home," Dustin whined. "Not to mention I'm hungry too."

Jasper sat up, licking her lips thoughtfully as she fished her hand around her thin jacket pocket. A smile erupted onto her face when she pulled out a half-melted 3 Musketeers candy bar, balancing it in her palm.

"For you," she murmured softly to her curly-haired friend, holding it out to him.

His blue eyes lit up brighter than the light of the sky that swam around the bus, and he gratefully swiped it out of her hand. "Wow, thanks Jas," he grinned, showing off the missing gaps of his teeth.

His teeth. The teeth that made him perfect in Jasper's eyes.

The redhead's only answer was a simple but sweet smile, and she rested her head gently in the crook of his shoulder.

Jasper and Dustin didn't notice, but Mike and Lucas were both gazing at the two curiously. The boys hadn't realized how close their friends had gotten.

Jasper spoke again. "I can't remember the last time I talked to Ruby."

"Her and Hopper running around still?" Lucas asked, relaxing against the wall of the bus.

"I don't know what either of them are doing at this point," she shook her head, chewing on her bottom lip. "I've been a little preoccupied, mind you," she cocked an eyebrow, smirking at her friends.

"Mike, are you there? Mike?" A feminine voice suddenly called out. Jasper and Dustin quickly pulled apart, looking for the source of the noise.

"You guys hear that?" Dustin asked softly.

Mike hustled to his feet, grabbing his backpack and digging through it. The others circled around him, watching him pull out his super-com. Jasper was surprised to hear the voice of Nancy Wheeler, Mike's snooty older sister.

"Mike, are you there? Answer," she continued prodding. "Mike, we need you to answer."

"Is that your sister?" Lucas questioned, a weird look etching onto his face.

"This is an emergency, Mike. Do you copy?" She continued to press on. "Mike, do you copy?"

"Okay, this is really weird," Dustin murmured freakishly, exchanging glances with Jasper.

Lucas wrapped his hand around the radio, attempting to take it from Mike. "Don't answer," the raven-haired boy commanded, pulling the super-com away from him.

"She said it was an emergency," Lucas pointed out sharply.

"What if it's a trick?" Mike theorized anxiously.

"It's your sister!" Lucas argued persistently.

"What if the bad people kidnapped her?" Mike asked challengingly. "What if they're forcing her to say this?"

"I need you to answer," Nancy spoke again.

"It's like Lando Calrissian," Dustin mumbled in shock. His head shot up and his eyes widened at Mike. "Don't answer."

"What?" Jasper turned to face him, giving him a judgmental look. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I disagree with you. We should answer it." She looked at Lucas for back up. "Right?"

"We need to know if you're there, Mike," Nancy pleaded.

A new voice suddenly appeared on the radio, one that caused surprise to spark on the redhead's face.

"Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up," Hopper's grungy voice demanded. "We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl," he paused, hesitating to say the next part. "Jasper, we know about you too. I know you're listening, so...please, pick up."

"Why is she with the chief?" Lucas inquired, looking to Mike for answers.

"How the hell does he know?" Dustin whispered, nervously glancing at El.

"We can help you, we can protect you, but you gotta pick up. Jasper," Hopper froze again. "Please pick up. I need to know you're safe."

"Okay, yeah," Jasper nodded her head, pressing her lips together. "Enough of that." Her hand lashed out and stole it from Mike, holding the speaker close to her lips. "Yeah, we copy. It's Jasper. I'm here, Dad." She met the shocked gaze of her friends, knowing the word 'dad' was something they hadn't really heard before. "We're here."

From the other line, Jasper could hear Hopper release a sigh of relief. "Good," he answered in a gentle tone. "Now tell us where you are. We'll come get you."

"We're at the old junkyard," Jasper replied. The sound of more helicopter blades cutting through the sky caused all five of them to look up anxiously. "And get here fast," she added.

They waited once more, listening for any other sounds of a car engine. Dustin scrambled to his feet and began recklessly pacing, as he usually does when he's scared. Jasper just watched him go back and forth, her eyes following his moving figure.

"Will you stop pacing?" Mike demanded, slightly annoyed.

"It's been way too long," Dustin rambled, breathing heavily. "Do you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all a trap and the bad men are coming to get us right now!" The curly-haired boy had begun to raise his voice.

"It's not a trap!" Lucas exclaimed defiantly. "Why would the chief set us up? Nancy, maybe, but the chief?" Mike looked offensively at Lucas, somehow bothered by his comment about Nancy.

"Lando Calrissian," Dustin declared, pointing a finger at Lucas.

"So what about Lando?" Jasper sat up, gazing at Dustin in frustration. "Hopper wouldn't set us up."

Lucas scoffed, rolling his eyes judgmentally at Dustin. "I don't feel good about this. I don't feel good about this!" Dustin shouted in the Sinclair boy's face, surprising Jasper.

"When do you feel good about anything?" Lucas yelled back angrily.

Jasper finally jumped on her feet, stepping between the two boys. "Calm down," she murmured soothingly to Dustin, placing both her hands on his shoulders. His gaze seemed to soften as he stared into her eyes.

The sound of vehicles approaching suddenly grabbed everyone's attention. Jasper and Dustin pounded towards the front of the bus, Dustin crawling into the driver's seat. Lucas, Mike, and El followed anxiously, watching out the front windshield.

Two black cars rolled into the junkyard, parking in front of the bus. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't Hopper. "Shit!" Dustin cursed, beckoning everyone to the back of the bus.

Jasper and Dustin huddled behind a seat, waiting in anticipation. "Lando," Dustin murmured to the others.

"Do you think they saw us?" Lucas whispered.

Mike and El poked their heads above the seat. "Both of you, shut up," Mike demanded.

Fear lurched in Jasper's heart as she heard the bus door creak open. Feet warily stepped onto the bus, causing Dustin to let out a small whimper. With a burst of courage, Jasper froze time and stood on her feet. A man dressed in a grey suit held up a gun. His eyes had been scanning the seats of the bus.

The redhead charged at him, kicking the gun out of his hands the moment she unfroze time. Her hands balled into fists as she prepared to hit him in the jaw, but she never got the chance. Another figure swooped onto the bus, knocking the man out cold.

"Oh my God," Jasper gasped, meeting the eyes of Chief Hopper, her dad. "It's you," she breathed in relief.

"It's you," Hopper repeated, a grateful smile on his face.

Jasper lunged forward, not hesitating as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "God, what took you so long?" She laughed drily as he hugged her back.

"We'll talk later," he nodded at her before moving to address the other kids. "All right, let's go." They stayed planted where they were, gawking at the chief. "Let's go!" He barked.

Jasper slid into the passenger's seat while the other four kids piled into the back of Hopper's truck. "Don't think I didn't see you knock that gun out of the man's hand," Hopper murmured to Jasper as he cranked the car on and began hastily driving away. "That was pretty..."

"...badass?" Jasper finished for him, raising an eyebrow and smirking at him. "Oh, I know. And I totally could have finished him without your help."

"Don't be so sure," Hopper teased, quickly glancing at his daughter.

From the back of the truck, Dustin squirmed happily in his seat, an admiring grin etched onto his face. The faint brown light of the afternoon shone in his eyes as he watched his best friend bond with her father.

"God, I'm just glad you're okay. Where the hell have you been anyways?" Hopper demanded.

"Well, let's just say while you were sneaking around Hawkins Lab, I've been kicking ass," Jasper chuckled.

Nightfall had already risen by the time Hopper arrived back at the Byers' house. Four figures appeared scrambling out of the house. Jonathan and Joyce stood at their porch while Nancy and Ruby charged toward their sibling.

"Oh my God, Jas!" Ruby exclaimed happily, wrapping her arms around the redhead. She held onto her sister tightly, Jasper doing the same. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too," Jasper murmured back, resting her chin on Ruby's shoulder.

"Alright everyone, get inside," Hopper ushered the crowd into the small house.

Everyone settled around Mike, who quickly grabbed a pencil and paper. Jasper had seen the demonstration of the flea and the acrobat once before, but it was still something that intrigued her.

"Okay so, in this example, we're the acrobat. Will and Barbara, and that monster, they're this flea," Mike explained, pointing at his drawing. "And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space."

"A gate," Dustin added.

"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab," Lucas told them.

"With our compasses."

Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy continued to gaze at them in bewilderment, clearly not understanding.

Jasper sat up, scooting closer to the end table to rest her arms on it. "The gate has a powerful electromagnetic field. It's strong enough to change the direction of a compass needle."

"Is this gate underground?" Hopper asked with a stony face.

"Yes," El answered softly.

"Near a large water tank?"

"Yes," El gave him a small nod.

"How do you know all that?" Dustin stammered in surprise, his blue eyes settling on the chief.

Jasper let out a gasp, jumping to her feet. "You went to the gate? Without me?" She questioned Hopper, slightly offended.

"Yeah. I wasn't gonna let you get anywhere near that place. Not after your mo—" Hopper paused, his stormy eyes darting towards the others watching. "I wanted to keep you safe."

"Nice," Ruby murmured, a hint of bitter jealousy in her tone. "Thanks for looking after my sister ever since she was a baby."

"Hey, can we just keep the family drama out of this and focus on getting Will and Barbara back?" Jasper intervened before Hopper could comment on her older sister's words. She shot Ruby a warning look, pursing her lips together.

"Is there any way that you could," Joyce struggled to find the right words. "That you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this—"

"The Upside Down," El interrupted.

"Down, yeah," Joyce whispered, her bottom lip trembling.

El nodded simply at the woman.

"And my friend Barbara," Nancy interjected. "Can you find her too?"

Everyone shuffled into the kitchen, preparing El to find Will and Barb. "Jas, wait," Ruby called out gently, wrapping her hand around her sister's.

Jasper looked back in confusion, slowly turning back around. "What's wrong?"

"I just..." she stopped, though Jasper could hear the tremors in her voice. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. You were going through so much on your own, and, I...I wasn't able to be there for you." The brunette lowered her head, but Jasper could see the tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," Jasper murmured sympathetically, giving Ruby's hand a tight squeeze. "None of that is your fault. And you were busy making sure Hopper didn't get his ass killed."

Ruby let out a short laugh, hastily wiping away a stray tear.

"I know you're jealous of how I'm growing close to him," Jasper continued, nervously gulping the bile in her throat. "But he's my dad, Rubes. I can't just ignore him. Besides, Paul was always more of a father to you than he ever was to me."

Ruby nodded slowly, gnawing on her bottom lip. "I know," she sighed, brushing her hair back out of her face. "I just didn't want him to take you away from me."

"Ruby," Jasper shook her head in awe, sending her a warm smile. "You will never lose me."

With that, the two sisters enveloped one another in a tight hug, afraid to let go.