HERE COMES THE SUN
The Beatles.

Deciding to leave first thing at dawn, wanting to get home before eleven woke up, Jim drove back to the cabin. Melissa was startled to have seen max mayfield, bonding with El over how boys were stupid, in eleven's room but in the end she couldn't deny she appreciates max for staying with El during the night. ( Even if Max influenced eleven to stay up all night long and didn't get a blink of sleep.) Milly, whistling an occasional tune and song from the radio, went to the kitchen a steaming mug of coffee in her hold coming across a ripped piece of drawing paper sticky taped on the fridge.

'Gone to max's. Sleep over. Love you, Mom.' It read. Eleven's handwriting had progressed in a more coherent, wonky, way than before to her scribbles. Hopper, a towel hanging low on his waist, exited the bathroom walking out. Milly, admiring the view, raised her arms to bring the mug to her lips. " I like what I see." She teased; eyes following his towel-covered ass. She slaps her hand on the surface to his buttocks and he squinted his eyes at her. " Hop, you're all slimy ew gross, stop." She screeched when he all of a sudden bear-hugs her and Milly cracked a grin.

Knocking interrupts hoppers 'kissing attack', he let Melissa out of his hold to give her time to answer the door. Joyce, carrying little Sarah whose unrelenting cries for her mother louden, hurried in the cabin. " Mom. What's wrong? Is everything okay? Why is Sarah crying?" Milly's eyes shot up to her frantic wailing daughter, a fatigued Joyce hushes her granddaughter, she rushes to extract Sarah out of her grasp.

" She started randomly crying during the night and I couldn't get her to stop. Something must have scared her. I know, at such a fragile age, a simple fallen lamp or a tiny noise can trigger a reaction. But, bless her little soul, she has been non-stop crying." Joyce, drained, placing a bag Melissa specifically packed for essential items, like spare diapers, on the creaky boards. " Sar is beginning to scare me, Honey. She's not ok."

Hopper, Joining Milly to console Sarah, as her mom made a move to the refrigerator and she proceeds to drop extra magnets. She mumbled to herself on the lines of 'Scott Clarke' and how he proved her point about the magnets losing their friction.

" Milly, Honey. Have you noticed any unusual activity? I don't know magnets, or anything, falling off the fridge?" Milly whirled her head around at her mother, realising she is in fact Not going crazy. " I went over to Scott.. Mr clarke's house, last night, to explain how it was odd how These magnets have lost all their magnestim. See!" Joyce repeats her action and the magnet fell off the yellow Steel. " This same thing happened at home the day before. And I thought, that's weird. Right? Why are they all losing their magnetism?"

" Why did you visit Mr. Clarke for these falling magnets, Mom?" Melissa, having relaxed little Sarah into a more comfortable posture and not crying no longer, shared a look with hopper. Jim hated Scott Clarke, he's a perverted glass wearing idiot in hoppers words. ( Melissa had caught Scott trying to peak at her breasts while taking Will to the snowball dance at his school. Hopper took matters into his own hands, quite literally he made a scene outside the school as he got a hold of Scott full on throttling him and if it wasn't for Milly forcing hopper to let Scott go Jim would have spent the night in lock up.) " Who was looking after Sarah?"

" I took her with me, Sweetie, obviously. I wasn't going to have Will care for her and give him that much of a big responsibility. Besides Scott was understanding, he knows how much of a big role it takes to care for a baby." Joyce's words seem to come out rushed, catching her breath, using her hands in an effort of getting her words across right. " He showed me how.. it could be possible for these magnets to have so easily fallen. He built this magnetic field, he used an AC transformer, and.. plugging it into a solenoid. And.. with that solenoid, basically, he.."

" Mom. Mom!" Milly raised her voice, avoiding doing it too loud, handing off Sarah to hopper. " Slow down. Slow down. Tone the scientific's, for me, down and use English to explain this to me please. You know I never did have the best grades in science." Joyce picked a randomised pineapple magnet, hurriedly placing in Milly's palm. Joyce dragged her over to the kitchen to show her a visual representation of the field.

" Scott was able to demagnetise some of if not all of the magnets, Honey. That is what I was aiming for. He thinks.. he thinks that a rather large-scale magnetic field could be built, using some sort of machine or other experimental technology, and it got me thinking. What if it's Them?" Melissas face shaped into one of shock realising her mom's implied words. No, it can't be. It couldn't be That place. The lab is closed, Or so she think it is. How could they still be in business? It's not possible. " .. build a machine like this, you need resources. Which they have. Are you following what I am trying to say? It's simply not a coincidence. It has to be them."

" Joyce. Even if what you are saying is true, I'm finding it hard to believe you and what you are implying. The lab is foreclosed. Remember? It all went to shit after everything was exposed to the town. 'Bout barb hollands death and don't forget to mention the fact if they were running an illegal super weapon of that calibre I would know."

Hopper spoke, gruffly, plucking a shirt off his reclining chair while rocking Sarah on a slight decline. Milly snapped out of her daze to take Sarah out of his arms gently. He muttered how it would be ludicrous, if he didn't know of a large-scale machine to be hidden. However it also made him mentally doubtful of the truth.

" Hop is right, Mom. But if it helps clear your conscious 'bout all of it, Hop and I we can go to the lab and check it out. Won't we, Jim? I can get Kathy, Mandy and Sue to look after Sarah. That way we don't have to worry about who is going to watch her. it gives you a rest, Mom."

Melissa had an idea in her mind, It was going to be involve bolt cutters. " Or though.."

Joyce took Sarah out of Milly's grasp seeing a spark ignite in Milly's eyes and she made her way outside to the tool shed. Hopper, getting into his police uniform, came out of changing in their shared room and saw the door wide open.

" Mills? Joyce.. what.. are you doing? Wait, Mils. Baby. You are not, I repeat, Not going back there. Melissa!" Joyce's head turned to hopper, struggling to put both of his boots back on down the steps, waving off her daughter's yells of her coming to get Sarah after. " Son of a bitch! Get on, C'mon. Milly!" Damn her for being so much like her mother.

" Language, Hop! Don't swear around Sarah."

Coming back to Hawkins lab wasn't on Milly's radar, if anything it was something she would have rather Not participated in, but even then she had subsequently been convinced by Joyce and her conspiracy The lab is at fault for all of the magnets losing their magnetism. Her mind rewinded to Bobs death, it is still fresh in her memories the night he died. Those DemoDogs feeding on bobs mangled body. She shuddered.

Marching up to the deadbolt locked doors, the smashed-in wrecked screen doors untouched and still shattered, Melissa made a quick grab for the bolt cutters clipping the padlock. She is no mood to use her powers, her bodies energy depleting after last nights activities. Jim opens the outer gates, of the building, allowing Milly to walk straight in.

" Hello?" Anybody home?"

Thunder shook the door of the old run downed laboratory. A storm had rolled into town and it brought a pelting rain, the smell of it itched in Milly's nose as she shone her flash light in the dark dreary abandoned lab.

" I don't like this, Mils. At all." Jim grumbled. " Mils?" He saw her staring at a spot on the dusted tiled floor. A far away look in her eyes. " Hey, it's okay. Remember, it isn't your fault Bob died, sweetheart. He died 'cause of the lab. Those.. Things. Not you, M'kay' you hear me? It's. Not. Your. Fault."

" I know, Hop. I know." She murmured, hiding her eyes which were brimmed in tears forming at the memory. " I'm fine, Let's go." Melissa, in a strained voice, told hopper going past him to go through the entrance to the main hallway. A motion sensor activated camera blinked on, it turning itself in recording mode, unbeknownst to hopper and Melissa.

'I hate how creepy it looks in here.' Milly said, internally, shining her hire hydrant red light in each and every corner of the long abandoned control room. The main deck, which once was overrun by lab coats no matter the class level, creaked in ear as she stepped into where the gate to the upside down previously formed. It sent chills down Melissa's back, remembering Eleven was the one responsible for closing and sealing off the gate, at the memory. Jim ran an extended line on the wall too recalling it.

" I watched them fill the cavities in, Mils. They did it right in front of us, remember? It's over. There isn't anything for us to worry about, any more." He told Milly while taking a seat beside her on a rolling platform. " We can tell Joyce, your mom, nothing is here. That way all of us can worry less 'bout the possibility of a magnet killer being found in an abandoned lab. Yeah?"

" I don't think I've told you, Hop. But.. I've had this dread like something with an unfinished.. business.. is coming for me. Or more like Who has unfinished business with me. I feel like I.. am gonna lose my mind from all of this fear of being suddenly attacked." Melissa confessed to hopper, bringing her knees up to her chest as it dawned on him about Melissa's genuine fear of dying. Everyone feared dying, death wasn't the kindest and it doesn't have mercy. Hopper had never been afraid of dying, he is a police officer it was in his job to face death in the line of duty day by day. " You must think of me Crazy."

" You're not, Mils, baby. Not anymore than I am. You know, the other day, I almost shot Betsy Payne's dog cause it came rushing at me from behind this fence, and I.. I swear to god I thought it was one of those Things." Hopper's hand found Milly's, as she leaned her forehead on his shoulder. She just wanted to sleep, she's so tired. Tired of pretending she is fine. Every part of her wanted to leave Hawkins, Take El and Sarah, never to look back. But her family's here, her friends. She couldn't leave them here.

" It's important to me that you feel safe. That.. you feel safe to call this place, this town, your home. 'Cause it is your home rightfully. More than anyone else in this shit hold, Milly, baby."

Melissa furrowed her eyebrows at Jim digging in his uniform. He gave her a letter which was addressed to Joyce. It is a letter obtaining the for sale of her childhood home.

" I found this in the mix of Sarah's bag, Joyce must've put in there by mistake in her delirious state. Gary, a friend of mine, called me back before and told me it's basically confirmed."

Milly jolted her body up, ripping in the resealed letter, and her eyes kept repeating the same sentence. It was a mistake, it had to be. Why didn't Joyce just tell her? She had the funds to buy her mother's house. It's her Home. It's her childhood home. ' This can't be happening. No. No! It can't be. I can't lose my house. I can buy it, yeah. Buy it.' Hopper stood up. " Mils, sweetheart."

" This isn't fair!"

She crumbled the letter up in her hands.

" No, I'm not allowing this. Mom.. she.. she shouldn't lose her home. My home! I will go to the real estate office and.. I can buy.. the house. Or.. or.. convince mom to use those checks I've been sending as a deposit. This.." It broke hoppers heart staring at Melissa as she tried, and failed, at keeping herself together. A few tear drops landed on the concrete boards. " Why didn't she tell me.. hop? This isn't... just why didn't she.."

" Milly."

He brought her down to his level, his hands firmly holding onto her calves.

" There is a reason why your mom didn't tell you. She was just protecting you, baby. She knew it was something you wouldn't be able to handle." He affectionately touched her chin. He squished a part of her legs, softly.

" Don't be angry at her."

She shakily breathes in nodding feeling Jim's face. Seeking his touch.

" I'm not angry." Milly leaned her head on his. " I am just exhausted, Hop."

The flutter in her neck intensified, she hoped it was nothing but part of her imagination and a figment of her brain replaying the trauma that came with being in Hawkins's lab. But No— it's not. There was a sense of Doom as Melissa was embracing hopper peering a little past his head at the distant rattle of the foundation. He came back for revenge and he wouldn't stop until he either came out victorious or Kill her. There is nothing that anyone can do to prevent it from happening. Henry's coming for her.

But she isn't going to go down without a fight.

" You won't win, Henry."

JASMINE SPEAKS;

Thought I'd end the chapter here, as I will do the next episode. then build up the storyline, a little, with some jealous hopper moments with Alexei's arrival. I have some plans that involve Milly bonding with Alexei, she knows Russian, and we will get to see Hoppers anger worsen in the Following chapters. So look forward to it!

Milly can't catch a break it seems. Her home is up for sale, I was so shocked when I first saw it in the episode and even sorta cried for Joyce.

What did you think of Milly's reaction to the news of her house? I thought it's appropriate.