The rest of what happened was pretty much a blur. The only part that Jackie really remembered was the first day that she woke up in the hospital. It was white, bright, and warm. Very much unlike the cold and dark of the upsidedown. She was in a comfortable, squishy bed, and there were sheets pulled up to her chin. 

"W-where am I?" She mumbled, attempting to sit up. Her eyes fluttered a few times, and the room came into focus. 

"Oh my god!" Jackie turned to the side to see her mother, with tears racing down her face, and her hands covering her mouth. 

"Mom!" Jackie exclaimed, her own eyes filling with tears. Her mother stood up from her chair, which was right next to the bed, and embraced her daughter. 

"My baby." She sobbed into Jackie's shoulder. "We thought... Well, we thought we were never gonna see you again." Suddenly, everything hit Jackie, almost like a brick. 

"Where is he?" She questioned pulling away from her mother. "Mom, where is he?" 

"Where's who sweetie?" Sarah, her mother, looked confused. 

"Will? Where is he? Is he alright?" Jackie began to panic, fearing the worst. "Will?! Will?!" She screamed out, trying to get out of her bed, but her mother pushed her back. "Let me go! I need to find him! Mom let me find him!" She began to really cry again. 

"Jackie calm down, it's okay baby." Sarah tried, but Jackie wasn't having any of it. 

"No no no no no. He better not be dead. I need to find him. LET ME FIND HIM!" All the commotion had attracted a few nurses. 

"Hey, sweetie we need you to lay back down." One of the nurses attempted. 

"Don't tell me what to do, I need to find Will!" She screamed at the woman, flailing her arms as the other nurses held her down. "Fucking let me go!" 

"Jackie, Jackie it's okay." There was another voice amiss all the others. It was familiar, but not panicked this time. It was Joyce. Jackie relaxed and lay back as Joyce made her way over to the girl. 

"Where is he? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay." Jackie begged, staring at Will's mother. 

"He woke up yesterday," Joyce informed her, tears in her eyes as she embraced the girl and hugged her tight. "Thank you for keeping my baby boy safe." She whispered into Jackie's ear. 

"He's a really bright kid." Jackie sniffled, as they pulled away. "I'm so happy he's okay." She wiped at her tears and looked down at her lap.

"Honey, what happened in there?" Sarah asked. It was clear that she had been informed of what happened to the girl. 

"Mom, it was so dark and so cold. I thought I was never going to see any of you again." Jackie began. "That... Thing chased me for weeks on end. I couldn't rest, I barely had any food. It was so bad." She looked around the room to see flowers and cards. "Where's dad?" 

"He's coming over after he finishes work. I basically had to force him out of the room." Sarah sniffed, dotting her eyes with a handkerchief. "Everyone's so happy that you're safe." 

It wasn't until Jackie got to talk alone with Joyce when she was informed what happened when they were found. "We walked into the library. That was where that thing took you. You were holding Will so tightly, we didn't know if we could get you to let go." Joyce smiled at the girl. She also told her about how Hopper, the police chief gave them both CPR, and then carried them out of the upside down. They were both immediately taken to the hospital, where Jackie was being kept for the time being. Just until she was well enough to walk around again without feeling dizzy. 

"I'm just glad that he's safe." Jackie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She was sure that she looked like hell still, and really wanted to take a shower. That would be easier if there weren't nurses breathing down her neck every five seconds. She was severely dehydrated and in desperate need of nutrients. 

"He is. You can see him if you want." Joyce said. Jackie looked up at that. 

"Can I?" She asked eagerly, excitedly. 

"Of course. He's going to be discharged today actually. I'll go get him." Joyce answered before getting up. A few minutes later, Will walked into the room. He looked tired but okay. 

"Kid," Jackie said softly, her voice thick with emotion. He was okay. Truly okay. 

"Jackie!" Will exclaimed, running over to her bed and jumping up on her, throwing his arms around his neck. She squeezed him back tightly. "I tried to come and see you but nobody would let me! The nurses said you were too fragile." He scoffed, pulling away. 

"Me? Fragile? That's a load of bull." Jackie glared at the door, even though there were no nurses. 

"I know! I tried to tell them, but they still wouldn't let me. It was like there were guards 24/7!" 

"Will, maybe you should get off of her," Joyce suggested from the door, a smile on her face. 

"Really, Joyce it's okay. I'm perfectly fine." Jackie shook her head, but Will moved to sit on the end of the bed. "And how could those stupid nurses keep me from seeing my favorite kid?" She grinned at Will. 

"They're mean nurses." Will sighed, leaning on his hands. 

"Quite mean." Jackie agreed, nodding her head vigorously. "I'll have a word with them." They spent the next few minutes talking and laughing. It felt good to laugh again, without fear that something was going to come and find her. 

"Mom? Will? The nurses said I could find you here." A male's voice said, knocking on the doorframe. 

"Jonathan!" Will exclaimed, running over and leading him to Jackie. "This is Jackie." 

"Hey." Jackie nodded, holding out a hand. All the scratches that she had received were fading away, but she still hated them. Jonathan shook it, giving her a small smile. 

"Hi." He answered. Will looked between the two and then groaned. 

"You two better not start dating or something." He complained. Jackie turned to Will and smiled. 

"You're one of a kind, kid." She shook her head and leaned back. 

"You also have to meet my other friends, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. They're super cool." The rest of the visit went extremely well, with a very relived Jackie, and a very excited Will. They talked, and Jackie got to know Jonathan a little better. After their first visit, Jonathan was a frequent visitor in the hospital. They both vented their issues to each other and also got to know the other pretty well. Jackie knew all about his secret love for Nancy Wheeler, which she didn't quite approve of, but she didn't know the girl well enough to judge. 

The day after Jackie was allowed to see Will Betty and Lucy visited her for the first time. Again, the nurses wouldn't let anyone but family into the room. They barreled their way into the room, leaping on the bed, probably breaking the world record because they were running so fast. 

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Betty repeated, hugging Jackie while Lucy gripped her friend's shoulders and looked her over. 

"I can't believe you're okay. You're here!" She said softly, tears flowing down her face. "You're safe." 

"I'm okay you guys," Jackie answered through her own tears. "God I missed you so much." 

"We were worried sick!" Betty exclaimed, leaning away so Lucy could hug her too. "Everyone thought..." She too trailed off like Sarah. 

"I can't believe those nurse!" Jackie scoffed after their tearful meeting. "They wouldn't let me see anyone." 

"You have to tell us about what happened to you." And with that, Jackie launched into the entire story. She talked for an hour, just explaining everything that happened. In the end, the two girls looked surprised, and also like they wanted to vomit. 

"I can't believe you had to go through that." Betty pursed her lips, wiping at her eyes. "But I'm so glad you're okay." 

"I am now," Jackie said. "Well, I will be once I get in the shower." 

"Yeah... We weren't gonna mention that." Lucy laughed, and just like that all tension was released and they were normal again. 

The first time Steve encountered Jackie Reed was the first day that she woke up. He was walking by the room, on his way to the cafeteria. He and Nancy had frequently visited the hospital to show their support for Jonathan and Will, Jonathan's little brother. He heard shouting from inside the room that Jackie was in, and glanced in to see an extremely thin and pale girl, fighting against numerous nurses, yelling out Will's name. She looked pissed, but Steve was immediately intrigued by the strange girl in the hospital room. The next time he saw her was a few days later. He looked through the door, to see her crying on her bed. There was nobody in the room with her. He watched her for a few moments, debating whether or not to comfort her, before shaking his head and walking away. He was in love with Nancy, Steve reminded himself over and over again. He still ended up walking by the room, and going by the hospital every day, even after Will was discharged to check on the girl. He saw her mostly laughing with her two friends, or talking to Jonathan, clearly angry, or upset. Sometimes though, he would catch her when she was alone. That was when he saw what she was really feeling. Mostly she wasn't doing much, just writing in a little journal that she kept in the room with her, but sometimes, it was sort of rare, he would see her crying, singing the lyrics of a song to herself as she leaned her chin on her knees.