Melissa had woken to an empty trailer. Her mouth dry, from the lack of hydration and drinking water, rubbing her eyes. " Hopper? Jim?" There is no reply. 'What's that.. a note?' Taking the crumpled paper milly reads, what is written on it, to herself smiling tiredly at Jim's scribbled errors he couldn't erase.

'Thought I'd write a note for you to read, after you've woke up, so you wouldn't be scared when you see I was gone. By the time you have read this, I'm at your mom's house. Meet me there. Jim x'

it came as quite the nice surprise, to see the last letter, an interpretation of a kiss. She found herself involuntarily smiling. Why did it affect her that much? 'Jim hopper. I didn't take you as the man to be so bold, writing this.'

Making a decision, on keeping the letter, Milly moves her body to stand shuffling her feet over and to Jim's bedroom raiding his made shift in stalled closet. 'This should do the trick. I didn't know Id see the day I, myself, wear plaid shirts but here we are.' It was considered a dress at how loose, and big, it fitted. Taking one of his old faded sweatpants off a hanger, Milly turns and strikes a pose. 'These are way too huge on me. My hair! Those pricks. Do they not know it takes hours to make my hair look good? Ugh. I will just wait until I am back home. When I see them, again, they best hope I don't wring their necks for ruining my perfectly styled hair.' She put use to the extra hair tie on her wrist.

'Great just great. Well.. at least I still look cute.'

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" do you care to explain what the hell is going on, hopper? Where is Milly? The girls, they said she was last seen with you and now you are here. Without her? Where is she? Is she ok? Do I need to worry that something happened. I need you to talk to me. I need to know where my girl is, Hop. Please."

Joyce questions, making a motion using her hands as to say 'explain.' Jim's eyes soften at the mention of her. " Mills is fine, Joyce, she is at my house. I asked her to meet me back here. I left money for a cab fare so she isn't stranded. To answer your question, they bugged my place. They put a microphone in the light."

He gave his explanation, enraged at how careless it was on his behalf to allow and take her to the laboratory, tapping the couch. It didn't bring relief for Joyce, who now needs him to explain exactly why her girl was there in the first place. 'What' flashes through her mind hearing his admission. " It's because I'm on to them and they know it. I thought.. they might be watching Melissa. Watching you, as well."

Joyce takes in the information, inspecting all of her Christmas lights hopper dissected out of their places. " Who? Hop? Who?" If it involve Milly she wanted to know. " I don't know. The CIA, the NSA, department of energy... I don't know." Joyce waves her hands, trying to make he is saying all seem more sensible. The CIA? NSA? Those were all government agencies.

" i am not following. You gotta explain this, to me, cause I.." sounds of knocking, and a voice coming from outside, echoes. It's Melissa.

" it's just me. Milly! I'm home!"

Joyce went and un-locked the door, just as hopper is speaking. He falters on his words, the sight of Milly wearing, adorning, those clothes she chose. Choking on air.

" I went to the morgue.. last night, j..Joyce. It wasn't him. It wasn't will. Wills body.. it was a fake." Deciding Melissa would be in enough trouble, Jim excluded out her participation of breaking in to the morgue.

Joyce sinks down to her feet, a lack of credence that her insistence's true. Her boy is still alive. Melissa is fast to get to her mom's level. " You were right. Both you and mills. This whole time you, and her, were right."

Joyce, lips trembling, looks hopefully at Milly.

" I know. I know where he is. Mom. I know where exactly he is. But I need you to trust me. It's going to be h-hard to understand. I can't tell you, though. N-Not right now." Hand resting on her mother's face, Melissa places her forehead to rest on her mom's, catching hopper staring. At her. Not Joyce. There's a glimpse which she sees, then it goes swift as it came, in his eyes.

Fondness? Love?

She brushes it off as a trick of her mind, the past few days playing with her emotions and critical thinking.

Printed news articles Jim had copied, from Hawkins public library files, are scattered and disorganised. He thought Joyce should be in the known about what happened. " We gotta go through this, again." Milly, wide awake as it comes, moves to sit in the chair next to her mom. Coffee fresh off and out of the maker in hand. " I told you everything I saw."

Jim states, lit cigarette placed in his middle and pointer finger, ignoring a need to touch Melissa's resting fingers that were inches from his. " oh, gosh. Tell me again."

Joyce, finding it hard to understand hoppers recitation of what he had seen, stresses. Milly scoffs in her coffee. " which part? The part of where we found there is two levels? An upstairs and a downstairs. Those sick sons of bitches are experimenting on kids. Yes, mom, I was there. Jim didn't want to say it, because he is worried if I know too much, they'll come for me. I don't give a shit if they do."

Melissa did have a strong sense of justice. Hereditary trait from her mom. Joyce, baffled and stoned face, first goes to reprimand her girl but instead she sighs inhaling the smoke of her cigarette.

" Mil is right, Joyce."

Hopper came to her defence.

" there was these kids room. Plural. More like a prison." He corrects, still the image of those four walls and a child's painting stuck in his mind. " So.. why would you think it was a kids room, then?" After Milly came out of her trance-like state, the vision memory, she had seen the 'prison' room. Inhumane treatment of children made her stomach churn with disgust. " as I told you, Joyce. The size of the bed, there was a drawing, a stuffed animal.."

all which made a child 'comfortable' while they are being treated like show animals to mistreat and prod using needles.

" you didn't say or.. or mention a drawing." Joyce, concerned for her girl and she had witnessed, held her thumb in worry.

" Yeah, there was a drawing of a.. an adult and a child. It said 'Eleven' on it." Jim, noticing Milly's reactive reaction to eleven, wordlessly questions her using his eyes and to which she ignores. " Was it good? The drawing?" Will was always an exceptional, talented, kid when he draws. Melissa had her fridge littered, covered, with his art works in New York. " it was a kids drawing, Joyce. It was stick figures." Jim says; uncertain about her fascination and wanting to know if the picture was 'Good.'

Joyce, knowing her son, marches over to a pile of sketches will did, slamming one of his 'wizard and knights' art work in front of hopper. " Wasn't will." She says, simply.

" Yeah. Will, he's exceptional at drawing, Jim. I agree with mom, on this one. You should see it. How he can take a simple piece of paper and just.. turn it to a masterpiece. You know, he..he once drew me from memory. Sent it to me, as a birthday surprise. In the mail." Melissa smiles, it's a fond memory she loves recalling. He had always known he loved to draw, it singled him out from boys his age. " Earl." Jim suddenly says, a local resident of Hawkins, gets out of his spot. immediately Melissa goes after him.

" Earl said he saw some kid with a shaved head with Benny."

Benny Hammond was found shot, execution style. dead flies crowded his decomposing body at 'Benny's burgers' his restaurant.

Milly, tentative, tried following Jim's line of sight, she sat centimetres in contiguity to him. Joyce shifts her eyes from her girl and Jim. Listening.

" Now, I pressed him, he said it might be will, but..maybe.. this woman, Terry Ives. Look. she claims to have lost her daughter, Jane. She sued Brenner, she sued the government. Now, the claims came to nothing, but what if.."

Realization sets in Milly and Joyce's faces. 'It's someone else's kid.' She felt sympathy for terry ives, losing her child it was bound to be hard on her. The guilt. " Poor girl. Losing her baby like she did." Melissa says, in solace for terry, Jim sighs 'Yeah'. Milly knew how her mom must feel, a mother's love knew no bounds and that is exactly why she knew her mom would be sad for terry. " I can't imagine what I would do, If.. I lost you. Melissa." Joyce shook out the thought, from her mind, cupping Milly's cheek.

" And you won't lose me, Mom. 'ever."

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Melissa rest her head up against the window of her convertible. Hopper was in a telephone booth on the side of a road leading out of town, Inquiring Terry Ives home address.

knowing it was best for Milly and hopper to investigate Joyce held back from accompanying. She didn't, or wish, for it to be true. But she knew, by how hopper light up to his body language, he is in love with Melissa. Of all people, Milly. Her girl.

She had confronted Jim, promulgating her words of wisdom, about not hurting Melissa in terms that she needed someone that'll protect her. from the world's grievances and the evil it offers.

'Take care of her, Hop. Of my girl. She needs you, more than you think you do.'

Jim, now in possession of the information he wanted, cuts off the phones conversation and goes back to Melissa's convertible. He was in the drivers seat. " From that look on your face, I assume you got what information you needed for this investigation?"

Arms cross over her chest, the leather of her trench coat stretches, he nods.

" Yes, I did. Can I just say, you have a good taste in cars. Jesus, the interior's great. I have seen this sort of thing, on the screen, not in person." Milly found it cute how he was able to express his interest in something simple as a car model. She chortles. " Let's go, silly. We're on serious police business."

He arches his eye brow. " Since when were you in the business of being an officer of the law?".

" It's an unofficial position I gave myself. I am serious, now, let's go, Hop."

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Locating terry's home, driving along a road in the middle of Midwestern Indiana that winds up to an average single story house you'd find popular in the county, Melissa unclasped her seat belt and got out surveying Terrys place.

It shared a similarly designed contribution to her upstate New York home. Wind chimes and fire wood are decorating her front porch.

Jim, now close behind on Melissa's heels, hand brushed against hers as he copied her foot steps. Milly raises a hand, knocking but is careful to not be frantic and scare Terry.

A face of a woman, who she assumes to be her, peaks out to them. Milly waves, showing she isn't a threat. Jim, copying her, does he own little awkward wave.

" Can I help you?" The woman, short shoulder length curled hair and wrinkles shown with her aging, answers. She looks at Milly then hopper. 'Cute couple. Wonder what they possibly need' She hums.

" Hi, we're looking for Terry Ives. Does she live here?" Jim asks, not quite sure how to exactly ask for a woman, to tell her they might have found her long lost daughter.

" Who's asking?"

Milly, taking the lead on talking, steps forward putting her hand out in greeting.

" My name is Melissa. This is my partner, Jim. We came here on behalf of Hawkins police."

She reveals hoppers stolen badge, she had taken. 'Impersonating a cop is illegal. But some instances are more important than to worry about laws.' Jim patted his belt.

'You clever little minx. Should have known she'd try that.'

" And you want to talk to .. my sister?" Sister?

Janes aunt. Melissa kept her composure, hearing Jim clear his throat confiscating his offical badge from her hand. " Well, if your sister is Terry Ives, then, yeah, we do." He says then winces, at Milly's discrete elbow poke to his rib. " What my partner here was trying to say. Yes. We would like to have a discussion w-with terry, if she is available."

Jim grins, in his head. Hearing Melissa speak, and acting all professional, was a real turn on for him. It was inappropriate to feel it, taking in consideration of where they were and who they were seeing. " Okay. You can come in. But if you want Terry to tell you anything, you're about five years too late."

Melissa exchanges a look of uncertainty, at Jim. 'That sounded not good.' Terry's sister leaves the door unlocked and He held it open for Melissa.

Not knowing what was waiting for them.

JASMINE SPEAKS;

Melissa pretending to be a police officer, and Jim finding it hot, had to be the best thing I've written in my opinion. I've always wanted to write an interaction like that in one of my fics.

What did you think of Joyce basically giving a blessing to hopper? Jim and Milly in this chapter? I wanted to extend it a little more but chose to stop at this point. Writing for them is proving so easy, and yet hard at the same time, because I just want to rush their way in to a relationship already.

But first I want to build their connection before I do that. Thank you, I am so happy with the support on this fan-fic.

®️ Written by jasmine. 2024