I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU
Whitney Houston.

" Our best guess right now is it's some kind of virus which is causing this neurological disorder. Now, when a typical virus attaches itself to its host, or in our case two of its hosts, it duplicates. Right? It spreads, essentially it's hijacking the host. A virus is alive. It has an intelligence." Owens explains his diagnosis's to Joyce, and hopper, using both hands to make a clearer picture of what he is talking about. Jim tapped his foot, his mind racing with thoughts, wanting to go back and be with Milly. He did not to be away from her. " Thats not unusual."

" Can you explain why the hell she can't seem to remember me? Or Joyce? Why she cannot recollect being pregnant with our kid?" Jim shot out his questions, rubbing his face in frustration. His emotions were haywire, he didn't blame Milly. No he blamed the lab, the monster responsible for that thing attached to her. " I need things to be explained to me, Doc. Like, right now."

" This virus. The infected hosts, Melissa quite in particular I noticed, seem to be communicating with each other. But Melissa's case.. it's more on a personal level. Like she is aware of who it is. What this virus is capable of doing." Doctor Owens diluted the details of the explanation, down to the important parts, and he glances at Jim whose face is unreadable.

" it has some sort of hive intelligence. It connects all the hosts including your son, will, Joyce. In good news, a virus.. it can be cured." He adds, he hoped the good news would make it easier for him to keep them away from asking more questions. " We're going to continue to run the tests, we are conducting, keep an eye on Miss Byers and your.. baby, Jim. We'll make sure of it. We're gonna see what we can find to help her, and to help will."

" What happens when... Melissa and... and will can't remember anything else? What if Melissa loses all of her memories? She is the one that this shadow monster is targeting the most and making her forget about her own baby! Don't get me started on will. What happens when my children are gone?" Joyce asked what is on the minds of all the people in the room, what is on hoppers mind and her daughter's best friend's mind.

Hopper initial silence is paused when he sees Joyce begin to cry, putting an arm around her. He couldn't imagine a life without Melissa in it. How would he be able to move on in life? If she didn't make it? He tried not thinking of the negatives but his mind would rewind to Milly's unrecognisable self sitting in the bed while he tried to kiss her head and his heart broke once more again.

' I don't want to lose her. Not when I just got her.'

There is a lot of things Jim hopper could take, being almost buried alive by those vines which he thought would have surely killed him and an extraterrestrial alien-like spore being spat on his face, but his drawing line is Milly losing her memory.

Her memories of him. Of the life they created. Their baby. It killed him seeing her as this stranger he had to get know again.

Pressing three clicks on the police radio, which is the secret combination for eleven to hear at the cabin, Jim placed the walkie-Talkie up to his lips. " Hey, it's uh... it's uh, me. I know I've been gone too long, and, uh it's.. I just want to tell you it's not about you. Alright? Your mom, she.. she is a bad place right now. It doesn't.. it doesn't mean she doesn't love you any less. I'm here to help her, okay? Our fight? It doesn't.. it doesn't matter now. I'm not mad." Jim teared up, running fingers on the hair-tie which Sara wore before she passed and gave in to her own cancer. It was his constant reminder that she is and was in-fact real.

" I'm just sorry. About you know.. everything. I don't want you to get hurt at all. Neither does Milly, your momma I mean. She.. she misses you, so much, kid." Jim's words were double meaning. Talking to himself more than he is to eleven. It is taking him courage to not burst into tears, a piece of his soul leaving little by little.

" Just...  make sure you heat up some real food. Mom won't be too happy, with me, if I don't give you proper food. So eat some real food please. Do it for your Momma. Eat all of the peas, even if they're mushy and gross. We will be home, soon. We both will be home."

The electrical static fizzles in the interior of the station wagon. Jim's breathing erratically, and frenziedly, picks up crying into the central part of his wagons console.

He tried to think on the matter with certainty, she is going to be better. He didn't want her to leave him, not when he had a life planned out for them.

He rummaged around, finding the black velvet box tucked in the glove department section of his wagon, and opened it to see an engagement ring. He made plans to propose on New Year's Eve, he spoke to Joyce about asking the question at Enzo's. Now he wasn't to sure if she will make it.

" I am going to get you out of this, baby. We have so much ahead of us and I want to make our forever start officially. I can't do that if you aren't here with me or El."

Jim knocked lightly on the door, to Melissa's room, making his presence seen and made as to not frighten her. Katherine was left to stay, supervise, with Milly as Owens ordered she is not to be left alone. For her own safety. Kathy rose out of the single chair in the entire room, wordlessly patting Jim on his arm, leaving the man alone to be with Melissa. Milly is staring, expressionlessly, at an opposing wall before it changes seeing Him. Her heart monitor skips. He wanted to smile at the fact her heart had in a way recognised him— even if she wasn't sure.

" It's you again." She calmly stated, tilting her head to the side. Jim smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. " Why did you come back? I... thought you wouldn't want to see me." She etches both of her brows together. Something in her mind, in her heart, recognised him. The way his hand feels in hers making her complete. All of it. " I.. am sorry I can't remember you. I know it must feel.. it must feel bad. Like really bad. I'm.."

Hopper shook his head, gathering her hand in his. " It's not your fault this is happening, Ba.. Melissa. It's not your fault." He assured Milly and leaned forward gingerly, softly, planting a kiss on the crown of her head.

He reeled back his head seeing a flash of recognition, light up in her gaze, after he did the action. Like she is fighting an invisible enemy in her own brain. She lets a strangled cry out.

" Hop...Hopper.. I can't.. I can't get out. You got to stop it." Milly rushed out, breaking through the force which is keeping her prisoner. Her breathing picking up in pace desperation clawing at her in how she grabbed hopper. " You.. need.. you need to kill it. Even if it means I gotta die. You do it!"

Terrified of what Milly told him hopper got up, shocked, and Melissa started fitting in her bed as an unnatural, distorted, voice morphed into hers. " Leave. Me. Alone. Leave me alone!" She screamed, sitting up in a rush of adrenaline, as with quick thinking Jim held her down while it pained him to hear her pleads to kill her. Joyce came rushing in, listening in to the commotion down the hall, panicking seeing hopper detain her girl. He was trying his hardest to not cry.

" Get Owens, Joyce. Get Owens, now!"

Hopper said through his teeth.

" Baby, calm down! You need to calm down, I'm not going to hurt you.. I'm not going to let it hurt you, any longer. But you need to calm down, please!" He shouted to Joyce, and Joyce ran faster than she did ever in her life yelling for Owens. Anyone that will help.

" Please, Milly, baby. I'm begging you to stop."

Doctor Owens, and other officials, rushed in to the sight of Hopper wrestling Melissa. While it seemed like he was getting the upper hand, she quickly twisted her way out swiping her hands at Jim's face. He dodged her oncoming attacks.

" Now. Now!" The previous nurse, who did the injection in Milly's neck, snapped and another dove to stabbed the needle in her neck. But it failed, cluttering to the floor as Melissa swung her arm knocking it clean out of her hand. She let out a deep, Blood-chilling, snarl which Jim ignored getting the advantage of holding both her arms. The nurse swooped the needle up off the ground and inserted it in Melissa's neck.

Jim tiredly dipped his head in Milly's hair and feels her body becoming limp.

This monster is going to end up killing her, faster than hopper thought.

Flickering the cap of his lighter Steve sighed, heavily, again. Thinking of how he tried to do the right thing and tell Melissa about Billy and even brought her flowers to soften the blow of the news. When he arrived, at her boutique she owned, she wasn't to be seen. He knew the whole having a crush on Melissa Byers would ultimately come back, and bite him in the ass. He hated how much Billy Hargrove is right, he didn't want to admit Hargrove was spot on.

" Okay, dude. That is the fifth sigh you've done in like five minutes. Whats up?"

Max asks, the undeviating and repetition of sighs is starting to annoy her. " You having girl troubles? Is it that? Cause I'm a girl, obviously, and I sorta.. know girl troubles. Myself." She huffed with a short smile. Steve did a shake of his head. He wasn't going to tell a thirteen year old his girl issues.

" So you going to tell me... or...? What?"

" He likes Milly. You know, wills older sister." Dustin rolled his eyes, finding max's constant questions irritating. " I figured it out, after he and I were leaving the meat trail, for dart to follow. Don't ask me how I did but he was too obvious when I mentioned Milly and will. It's a little weird he does, she is with the chief. Not to mention she's like six years older than him."

" Okay, I get it, Henderson. It's messed up, I know. I'm aware."

Steve bites back, closing the lighters cap.

Max blew her eyebrows up to her hairline.

He liked Milly? The girls is who is in a relationship with chief of police Jim hopper, that Milly Byers? The Harrington boy knew how to pick the girls he liked.

" Can you just drop it, Dustin? Please?"

" Hey, I'm not the one who is in love with the older sister of my best friend, Steve."

Retorted dustin and Steve glared at him wanting all but to throttle him.

He didn't, however, want dart to hear them in the abandoned yellow bus they hid in.

Max muttered under her breath at how crazy it was Steve liked Melissa, joining Lucas on the top of the bus, climbing the ladder they placed inside accessing the rooftop.

Back at the hospital Melissa is unconscious, sleeping in her bed, when she suddenly opens her eyes awakening from her induced sleep. It didn't take long for Milly to sit up, looking for anyone in the room, and seeing nobody around she excavated herself out of the bed. Her eyes are glazed, extracting the hydration needs out of her arms, stalking out to the hallway where she listens in to the distant horrified screams which belong to dying scientists.

She could feel their presence. Each one of them.

Jim, amongst the other scientists, watched in a tense and uneasy quietude of silence the gate. Dozens of red dots, blips on the monitor, were gathering in masses getting closer.

" They are Coming. There is nothing that can stop them." Hopper snapped his head, along with Doctor Owens, hearing Melissa's voice. Guards aimed their tasers ready to shoot at her but Jim leaps to the chance stopping them. He takes a stance in front of Milly. A small, disturbed, laugh left her. " You shouldn't have hurt him. Now you'll die, and there is nothing any of you can do to stop it."

Her voice became modulated to sound high-pitched. Ghastly howls, and screeches, all echoed around the observation room. Hopper whipped around to Melissa, gently holding her face. " Melissa, baby. I know you are in there. I know you can hear me, this isn't the time for a fight but right now I need you with me. I.. can't fight these things off, without you here. Please. Fight it, Mil's. You need to fight him off." Jim's face is an inch off of hers, mildly compressing her cheek. " Fight. It."

" We got company, Jim."

JASMINE SPEAKS;

Seems like Milly is in an internal crisis, when it comes to trying to fight off the mind-flayer. He just doesn't know when to give up, does he? He is too obsessed with Melissa.

What did you think of Jim practically being an actual bad ass and handling Milly in her fit? It hurts to write that happening cause I want the whole possession to stop but she is a fighter.

Not Steve having a little crush on Milly. Dustin and max having a realistic reaction to Steve & his 'Crush'.

Don't worry, this won't last long as Steve and Milly will have a conversation about it.

What are your thoughts about his crush?