THE SICKLY BRIGHT YELLOW FLAG stood proudly out of the soiled ground, marking yet another rotten tree. White and black specks of decay engulfed the tree, a strange gooey substance eating at the bark as well.

Hopper let out a disgruntled wheeze, the tangy stench of the pumpkin field overpowering his other senses. He almost missed the strange gurgling sounds ringing in the air, but his feet planted firmly on the ground when he did. His sharp blue eyes scanned the decaying field, looking for any signs indicating that he wasn't alone.

The abnormal growls of an unknown creature continued to echo through the frigid night. Hopper's breath hitched as his gun holster popped open, his gloved fingers wrapping around the weapon. Growls echoed his ears until they swallowed his entire mind, everything in his body solely focused on the noises.

A small, unexpected gunshot rang in the air, causing a short gasp to fall from Hopper's lips. He whirled around, the bright white of his flashlight landing on a small boy. The child held up a toy gun, eyes squinting in concentration as he continued to aim at Hopper.

"You're dead," he announced after firing more shots at the chief. Hopper let out a sigh, emotions of relief and annoyance coursing through him.

"Yeah, you got me," Hopper snapped, his loud voice sounding out through the clearing. He didn't even bother to question why the small kid was out in the pumpkin patch all alone. "Happy Halloween."

As soon as the words left his mouth, it suddenly filled with dryness as he glanced at his watch. The time caused panic to creep down his spine as he drew closer to his truck. "Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," he mumbled to himself angrily.

Carelessly, he threw his hat against the passenger seat before leaping inside the vehicle. The engine roared to life, his headlights illuminating another infectious part of the field he had spent all day in. He began recklessly driving down the street before another idea wedged into his mind, a glow of orange catching his attention in his side mirror.

"Hey kid," Hopper huffed, clambering over to peek outside the passenger window. His eyes fell upon the orange bucket of candy, gesturing to it with his hand. "Give me some of that candy, would ya?"

"No way," the kid shook his head disapprovingly, his tiny fist clenching around the handle.

Hopper cursed under his breath, fumbling in his wallet before pulling out a five dollar bill. "Alright," he breathed, holding up the bill to the child. "How bout now?"

To his delight, he agreed and handed over the entire orange bucket of candy to Hopper. His brown eyes lit up at the money he held in his hands.

Faded yellow light swamped the entire cabin as Eleven curled up on the couch, a warm blanket shielding her as she clutched a teddy bear in her arms. Her eyes were glued to the tv screen, not entirely sure of what was happening but entertained by the movement of color nonetheless.

A sudden beeping, however, grasped her attention completely, causing her to throw the blanket off her crossed legs quickly. Like lightning, she dashed over to the radio, beginning to translate what each signal meant. Her fingers fell upon the morse code chart, reading out each letter Hopper sent.

"L-A-T-E," she breathed, her arm falling to her side in disappointment. A small amount of sadness wrenched in her heart as she uttered the single word quietly. "Late." The radio continued to beep, but the word alone was enough to sent Eleven into another fit of remorse. If only Mike or Jasper were here. She wouldn't feel so lonely all the time.

Hopper raced eagerly up the porch steps, letting out pants of breath as he swung open the screen door. His knuckles knocked rhythmically on the door, apologetic words already forming in his mind. His head dipped as shame weighed in his chest heavily, knowing he had let Eleven down.

There was no answer after his second knock, increasing the burning sense of guilt hanging in his heart. His thumb and forefinger rubbed against his temples, tension easing its way between the inside contents of the cabin and himself.

His voice rang clear in the air as he called out to Eleven. "Hey, kid, open up, all right? I know I'm late," his voice faltered in its speech, struggling against the strain of regret. "I got candy here. I got all the good stuff."

His reddening hand rested against the door frame, his numbing palm slapping against it. "Please, will you open the door?" His volume had increased, a sign of plea. "I'm gonna freeze to death out here."

Those words seemed to work, the sound of a lock clicking open resonating in his ears. With one urgent push, he opened the door and rushed into the warm space of the small cabin. He was surprised to find at his feet a long, black wire that snaked around the living room until it finally seeped under the crack of Eleven's room. He could see color and light dance in that small crack, the sounds of the television booming against the door.

His feet shuffled against the dusty floorboards, allowing his hand to rest uneasily on the chopped green door to her bedroom. "Hey kid, open up, would ya?" He asked in an incredibly soft voice, his heart throbbing in his chest.

He leaned further against the door, nearly pressing his ear against the wood to listen to the sounds of the television. "I got, uh, stuck somewhere...and I lost track of time," he murmured, hating how pitiful the excuse appeared. "And I'm sorry."

His eyes closed slowly in disappointment, letting out one final attempt to persuade her. "El, would you please open the door?" He felt his chapped lips press together tightly, a thick silence following his calm words. "El?"

He let out a small sigh, retreating to the worn fabric of the couch and plopping down on it hazily. "All right. I'm just gonna be out here by myself, eating all this candy. I'm gonna get fat."

His eyes slid towards the door again as he continued to prod. "It's very unhealthy to leave me out here. Could have a heart attack or something. But, you know, you do what you want," he mumbled, shoving a chocolate bar carelessly into his mouth.

El wasn't listening, however. She was too busy engulfing herself in a hazy darkness, allowing herself to find Mike again. Every night, he would speak to her through his supercom. And every night his voice held the same amount of pain and sorrow. It brought nothing but tears to her eyes and agony to her heart seeing him.

Even more pain ripples through her chest as she had tried to allow her fingers to graze his warm cheek, wishing to touch him again. He only shut the supercom off and walked away, leaving her behind in another sheet of terrible blackness.

As she tore the bandana recklessly off her face again, hot tears streamed down her face as tiny sobs fell from her lips. She hoped Hopper couldn't hear the sound of her heart breaking over the static of the television.

Both Hopper and El sat in that cabin Halloween night, feelings of sadness creeping into their souls like tiny claws gripping at their hearts. Hopper felt tears brew in his own weary eyes as he knew that tonight was the night his daughter turned fourteen, and she wouldn't even be with him to celebrate.

Jasper had a life in Hawkins. She had friends, good grades, a sister that looked after her fearlessly. She had everything she needed and more. And all it took was the curse of time powers and a horrible father to mess it all up for her and send her into the Upside Down, which reeked over death and decay. He couldn't even remember the last time he had hope that the redhead was coming back.

Just as these dark thoughts crossed his mind again, his eyes glued to the bland walls of the cabin as he chewed slowly on candy, a miracle happened. Rapid knocking suddenly erupted from the cabin door, and huge pants could be heard from outside.

Hopper was immediately on his feet, his hand moving to the gun in his holster at lightning speed. His fingers wrapped around the trigger tentatively, prepared to shoot whatever intruder was standing on that tiny front porch. Slowly, his feet carried him to the door, a shaky set of fingers reaching out to open it.

He jumped back again as the knock happened once more, sounding more deliberate and even dangerous this time. Finally, his hand lashed out and wrapped around the door, unlocking it and immediately shoving the cold metal of the gun in front of the invader.

What he didn't expect however, was Jasper Hopper to be staring up at him, her blue eyes glimmering in the moonlight and her messy red hair fanning out over her shoulders. Her hands flew up instantly, but a familiar smirk was etched onto her lips.

"Seriously, Hop?" She demanded, hearing the sound of her voice after almost a year causing Hopper's heart to leap into his throat. The sight of her mischievous gleaming eyes and smile reminded him of everything he missed about his daughter. "I come back from the dead and you greet me by pointing a gun at me? Nice parenting skills."

"Jasper," Hopper breathed out, the hand tightly holding a gun lowering to his side. "You're back. You're alive," he let out a huge sigh of relief and pure joy, not wasting another moment to wrap his arms around the girl firmly. He wished he could never let go if it meant protecting her from leaving ever again.

"I was never gone," she mumbled into her father's chest, but a tear streamed down her milky porcelain skin all the same. Seeing Hopper again felt better than she would have ever dreamed. She finally had her dad back.

"Is El here?" Jasper gasped, drawing away from him. "Is she okay? Is she safe?"

Hopper, taken aback by the demand in her questions, nodding his head. "Yeah, she's fine, she's..." he trailed off when he saw the closed green door again. "She's busy, I guess."

Jasper let out a strangled sigh, pushing past Hopper and entering the cabin. Her boots thumped against the floor as she marched over to the door, gently knocking. "El?"

El nearly leapt to her feet at the small, yet familiar sound of her voice. She didn't hesitate as she pushed the television out of the door's way, opening it with a mixture of excitement and relief.

The two girls embraced like sisters, wrapping their arms around each other's torso with strong grips. Jasper let out small chuckles as she held a shaking El in her arms, but sadness still crossed over her heart. She wished she would be able to feel Dustin hug her like this again.

"Jas! You're okay," El smiled, dimples forming on her cheeks as her fingers gently poked Jasper in case it wasn't real.

"I'm okay," she nodded, confirming her words. "And I'm never leaving you," she whirled around, cocking an eyebrow at Hopper. "Or you again. I'm sorry."

El shook her head, confusion rippling across her face as her eyebrows pressed together. "It's not your fault. You couldn't get out. How did you?" Another realization hit her.

"I couldn't find another way out. Or at least one that didn't try to barbecue me," she answered, the corners of her lips tugging lightly in a half-smile. "Until the Upside Down decided to give me a non-smoldering ticket home as a birthday present."

"God, I thought I would never see you again. Never scare me like that, okay?" Hopper felt his steady arm wrap around Jasper again, placing a chaste kiss on her strawberry hair. "Also, happy birthday."

Jasper let out a hearty laugh, the bubbly music of it filling the empty cabin with liveliness. "Thanks, Hop," she patted his shoulder.

"Are you...okay?" Hopper asked, nerves coating his words. "I mean, you spent almost a year in that damn place. All by yourself. I would be insane if I did that."

The redhead nodded, her blue eyes drooping to the cracked floorboards. She began to quiver slightly, then tremble, until she was hideously shaking with hot tears streaming down her face. "I...I never want to go back there again."

Her feet began to sway and before she knew it she was falling to the floor. Hopper and El both rushed forward, the two catching her and tumbling to the ground with her. Raw, powerful sobs heaved from her chest as she began to mutter incoherent words into Hopper's chest.

"It's okay, kid...you're safe now. You're here. You're okay," he murmured repeatedly into her hair, stroking the dirty and matted locks. Her hair had become so tangled and destroyed from living in the Upside Down, Hopper knew she would have to cut it. But he would tell her that later.

"I saw you guys," Jasper sniffled, finally pulling away. Her chest still shook with small sobs but she had finally calmed down enough to speak properly. "I watched you guys from that place. I saw...Dustin, Mike, the others."

Her eyes suddenly darkened, a frown drawing onto her dark lips. "I saw...this thing. Right before I found the portal to leave. It was like...some spider...in the sky." Her arms began to shake again, and Eleven's hands circled around her wrists endearingly. "I thought it was going to come for me. But it seemed like it was focused on something else."

"A spider in the sky?" Hopper repeated, his eyebrows pressing together in confusion.

"Yeah," she breathed shakily. "It was huge. Whatever it was, it's a monster. And something tells me we haven't seen the last of the Upside Down."

Hopper and El both exchanged worried glances, gazing at the sobbing redhead in shock. "Are...Are you sure?" Hopper inquired tentatively.

"Wait!" Jasper gasped as she climbed to her feet, obviously not hearing Hopper's question. She held out her hands, her fingers curled like claws as she shut her eyes in concentration. To her relief, she felt the electricity buzz inside her and, after nearly a year of being unable to, she froze time.

"Thank God!" She exhaled, moving about the room. Her chest seemed to lighten a little knowing she had her powers back. She unfroze time, watching Hopper and El's confused eyes dart around until they found her.

"I have my powers back," she sent them her best smile, tears still pooling in her eyes. "That's another good thing."

That night may have been dreadful for Dustin Henderson, and there were still more lonely nights to come before he could see his best friend again.

But for now, eating Eggos and Halloween candy with her dad and El was enough to satisfy Jasper. At least, it was enough to satisfy her for the night.

Because nothing could truly keep Dustin Henderson and Jasper Hopper apart forever.