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(After S2 finale) Joyce Byers was bored out of her mind waiting her shift to end to book it out of the store Not like anyone is waiting her back home Will is staying at the Wheelers and Jonathan is independent enough look after himself. She was thinking it be nice to have a quite rest of the day with no chores, and as if she has jinxed herself the phone rang at that moment. “Melvad’s General Store, how can i help” she droned. Jim Hopper’s voice filtered through with no pretense of niceness. “JOYCE!!! We have an emergency you have to come to the station” “Slow down Jim, what happened ?” Joyce yelled as she immediately started to get her stuff to run to her car. “Look trust me, its Jonathan, he is not hurt but you need be here” “Jonathan?!? Did he got into a fight again?” “Well you gonna wish he did soon, just come i can’t explain it” with that he slams the phone. Joyce not understanding what’s happening, still clocked its probably upside down related which would explain the lack of transparency on the phone. Knowing his son wasn’t hurt, she still probably broke a couple of traffic rules to get to the station in record time. As she ran in Flo yelled behind her but she didn’t care at that moment her only focus was Jonathan. When she opened the door, she expected anything but the sight infront of her. Hopper is sitting on the floor with Jonathan, and Nancy Wheeler of all people coloring. “Jonathan!!” She rushed next to her son touching his shoulder to get his attention. “Mommy!!!” yelled Jonathan in excitement and got up to hug her immediately. Joyce happily returned the hug but the questions in her mind transitioned from was there a fight to what the fuck is happening. As she made eye contact with Hopper, she saw Nancy was on his lap with her thumb in her mouth, Hopper tried to gently remove it but when she whined he just let her be. She tried to avoid yelling to not spook the teens “Hopper you better have an explanation” she smiled uneasily. “I don’t know what you want me to say, i get a panicked call from Jonathan to come to the school immediately and when I arrived to the parking lot, i found him holding a distraught Nancy who well…well” he rubbed the back of his head trying to avoid saying it. “What!! You are not making sense?” Hopper looking very anxious closed Nancy’s ears with his hands to quietly say “She wet herself” “Okay you just messing with me now she is a 16 year old teenage girl” Joyce couldn’t help but snort at the possibility. “Ohh you think i don’t know that! Nancy honey tell Joyce how old are you” Nancy stopped sucking on her thumb to look at Joyce with alert eyes, its like she just realized someone new was with them. Rather then answer the question, she just hid her face in crook of Hopper’s collarbone. Joyce trying to still decipher what’s happening removed herself from the hug to look into her son’s face. Gone were the stressful lines under his eyes and was greeted with a gentle smile on his face. “Jonathan be real with mommy, how old are you?“ she asked combing through his bangs. He just laughed “Silly mommy i am four“ showing off four digits on his hand to emphasize it with a smile. Joyce nearly swore but her maternal instincts did not let her yell out what the fuck, her sixteen year old son was acting like a kid. “This one says she is around the same age too” Hopper chimed in and Nancy nodded her head to emphasize his point. Joyce closed her eyes as she massaged her temples to stop the oncoming headache. “So what happened after you picked them up?” “Well I couldn’t have just taken a distressed Nancy to Karen, what was i gonna say ‘Hey Karen, your eldest regressed back to being Holly’s age deal with it’ instead I brought them both here. Jonathan was himself for a while just bit more quiet then usual as I handled Nancy’s problem with lost and found clothing. Jonathan then started to ask about you saying he wants his mom which then i called you and found some things from the kiddie box to entertain them with till you arrived.” “I don’t understand what could have happened to have both of them suddenly just act like this” “Aren’t they like boyfriend and girlfriend its not that weird of them to hang out?” Joyce suddenly felt her face burn up, thinking how little she knew about her eldest son’s life. She was aware they were friends kinda, Nancy did come around to her house occasionally but they never seem to do couple stuff. Maybe she should ask directly to the source of their questions. “Jonathan what were you and Nancy doing today?” Her son suddenly looked distressed like when he broke the lamp and was afraid of her yelling. “Nothing just school” “Honey i know that tone of voice, i am not angry with you just wanna get a picture of what happened.” “No you gonna be mad” “I will not please” “Nuh uh” he said not relenting. “Did you try asking Nancy?” Joyce sighed towards Hopper. Hopper let out his own tired sigh “Yeah you seen how talkative she is, I barely gotten out one worded answers from her” he hopped Nancy on his leg a bit to get her out of her shell. Joyce scooted over to the duo to try herself “Nancy sweetie its Jonathan’s mom, Joyce, you known me for years. Can you look at me?” “She is nice and will not judge you I promise” Hopper tried to coax, petting her short hair. Nancy finally lifted her head to look into Joyce’s eyes, she can tell the girl has been crying from the puffiness of her face. “There she is” she smiled trying to keep her calm. “Hi” Nancy quietly said. “Hi sweetie, how are you feeling?” she asked as Jonathan decided to join their circle. “Nancy had an accident” he interrupted which got her to squeak and hide her face again. “Jonathan baby why would you say that you can see its sensitive for her” “Its truth, thing attached on to her did it” his eyes widened realizing he just spilled the secret, closed his mouth with his hand. Hopper’s eyes widened “What thing?” he asked. “Slimy and icy” Nancy’s muffled voice replied. “Icy?” Joyce questioned. “She means cold i guess” “Hopper! Upside Down likes it cold, what if its related” “Shit not again but didn’t El closed the gate, and they burned the tunnels” “Jonathan did this thing also attached to you?” Joyce held her son’s face checking for anything akin to being possession again. “When I removed it from Nancy” “I am sorry” Nancy started sobbing onto Hopper’s shirt. Hopper tried to console the crying teen by switching her position to cradle her gently rocking her “Honey you didn’t mean to happen, we gonna fix this” “My fault, he wanted to leave it alone” she continued. “Atleast we got her talking a bit” Joyce said. Jonathan again hugged his mom to also start crying “No its my fault told her to check about weird rat” Joyce with no hesitation pulled his son into her arms to gently shush him “Its okay baby, you both didn’t know what was gonna happen. And you called an adult when things got bad, unlike what you pulled with the Lab” “Mommy not angry?” he asked. “Jonathan with you never, you are my sweet boy” Joyce consoled him as she kissed the top of his head. Hopper continuing to rock Nancy said “Okay so we know the cause and the culprit, now we can move forward” “Nothing on them suggests anything that it left a mark on, maybe they written some notes down. Probably Nancy written stuff before she was regressed by the attack” Joyce said as she looked around for her son’s bag. “Honey can i stand up for a moment?” Hopper said as he put her on the floor to get up. He tried to take a step forward but Nancy wrapped herself around his leg not letting go. She weighed nothing to him so he slowly carried her with him as he walked to his desk. Nancy started laughing each time he lifted her off the ground. Joyce from the ridiculousness of the situation just cracked and started laughing too “I forgot to tell you small Nancy is clingy, Karen had to hold her hand all the time to avoid her throwing a tantrum” “Thanks for the heads up” Hopper grumbled, looking towards the window he cracked his own smile. “Also you are the one to laugh Joyce, you seem to forgot Jonathan’s everything needs his fingerprints phase” Joyce looked to her left to see her son gotten a hold of Hopper’s knick knack by the window still “Jonathan no honey we don’t touch things thats not ours” she intervened. In the meantime, Hopper reached down to remove the giggling girl from his leg. “You think that was fun huh” he said looking into her eyes. “Chi-Chi-Chi-ef” Nancy said slowly trying to spell his title. “Just call me Hops if its easier kid” he grinned a bit. “Hops fun” “She is smiling atleast” Joyce observed as she tried wrangle Jonathan from touching stuff around the room “Baby hold my hand for now okay no touching dirty sheriff stuff” “Heyyy its not di…well okay you got me there, Nancy no don’t put your thumb in your mouth you gonna make yourself sick kid” Hopper chastised seeing the teen start sucking on her thumb again. Joyce pulls the box that marked “For Kids” to search for any toys for that, luckily she found something for both the regressed teens. “Jonathan baby, wanna play with the cube till mommy comes back” Joyce says as she hands him a Rubik’s cube. “Okay!” he smiles as he starts fidgeting with the toy. “Luckily Jim, you have unsealed one so we don’t have to worry about sanitizing” Joyce revealed excitedly as she removed the plastic casing of a brand new pacifier. Turning to face Nancy, she hid the object behind her back. “Sweetie close your eyes and open your mouth for a surprise” she dramatically said. Hopper uneasily whispered into her ear “You think she is gonna take it well?” “Trust me” she said as she popped the pink binky into Nancy’s mouth. Nancy looked at the two adults with widened eyes, as she slowly sucked on the nipple experimenting with the new feel. Hopper was ready for a full blown tantrum but no the teen started to enthusiastically suckle on it, flapping her hands giddily. “I did not see that coming, good idea Joyce” “We just needed to redirect her oral fixation to something that wasn’t her thumb” “Okay now lets get out of this place, we should go back to your cabin, its isolated enough and maybe El can help” Joyce continued as she picked Nancy off the floor to move her next Jonathan. “Jonathan baby, can you hold Nancy’s hand till will we leave the station” she told him to get both of them to stay put till they had a plan of action. “You got it mommy” he nodded happily as he felt special to be given a responsibility and held his friend’s hand firmly “Don’t let go Nancy” he said in a serious tone to her. “Otay Jonthan” she lisped with the pacifier and continued to draw contentedly with her free hand. Joyce couldn’t help but coo at their adorableness, but Hopper brought her back to the reality “How we gonna get them out with no suspicion?” he asked. “I can make a scene?” Joyce suggested jokingly. “You are very good at those I remember the ones at the Lab” “I thought you liked it when i lose it with the authority” she raised an eyebrow challenging him. Hopper felt his face reddened a bit, he always had a thing for Joyce but with the her recent loss he didn’t wanna force her into anything fast. Coughing to get his bearing “Yeah…yeah it is a force to witness, how about you leave with Jonathan get some supplies for him and Nancy, while i drive her directly to my place. It wouldn’t be weird for the Chief to make sure someone gets home safe” Nancy from afar interrupted “Mama worry” “Karen i forgot shit what do we do, if she knows Jonathan is involved probably will lead to more questions” Joyce thinking a quick solution clicked her fingers “We will tell her Eleven asked for her for some girl advice, and then El will call her again to beg for Nancy to stay for the night. Karen will not be able to resist her adorableness.” “That is genius” he smirked. “Well i thank you i try hope my lie doesn’t go into my rap sheet Chief” she flirted without thinking. “Well lemme talk to Flo about this and we get on the road” Hopper left the room in a hurry not trusting himself to blow the opportunity he has with her. Joyce started collecting the teens’ stuff, finally taking a closer look at the papers on the floor. “Jonathan what were you drawing?” she asked holding out a paper with three stick figurine drawings. “Me, you and Will, its not pretty like his drawings” Jonathan said casting his eyes downward. Joyce couldn’t help but wrap her son in a hug, she knew he loved them but seeing it like this was to much for her heart to handle “I love this honey, I will keep it with me all the time now” “Really its not ugly” “For me its a masterpiece” she assured. Turning back to Nancy she asked “What were you drawing sweetie?” “For Hops” Nancy said still working on the figure that suspiciously had a familiar sheriff’s uniform. Joyce recognizing who she is drawing found it very adorable how the teen expressed her gratitude “You were drawing something for him thats very nice of you sweetie” “He helped with accident so wanted to draw him” she mumbled out. This reminded Joyce to make a mental note to pick up undergarments for the girl “You know what the picture needs” she said grabbing a red crayon “A cape” “Like Super Hop” Nancy exclaimed grabbing the crayon to add it. “Yes exactly wanna give it to him now?” “Can i give in private?” “Yes ofcourse let me neatly fold it for you to put in your jacket” Nancy smiled giving Joyce a kiss on the cheek catching her off guard “Thank you Joy” Joyce opened her mouth to say something but the door was suddenly opened with Hopper standing there “Yes, a sheriff’s house probably is the safest place she can hope her daughter can be” he laughed agreeing with Flo about the one sided talk. “We good?” “Yeah Karen is aware she is gonna be out, thank god it was Flo on the phone i would have cracked under pressure from her interrogation skills” “Mama is scary” Nancy nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah she is kid and i see everyone is ready good. Nancy you coming with me to the cabin so anything you need tell Joyce to bring when she comes with Jonathan” “No can’t leave Jonathan alone” Nancy pouted wrapping her partner in crime in a hug. “And I can’t Nancy” he insisted back. Joyce holding in her sigh, gently tried to pry the teens apart “Honey you gonna see her soon again we just need to ran some errands together” “Nu uhh not leaving Nancy” Jonathan held his ground that thing attacked her when he turned his back can’t risk it again. Hopper trying his own solution “Son i am gonna be serious with you, I don’t wanna leave your mom alone can you keep her safe for me and i will keep an extra eye on Nancy.” Joyce clocking what he was doing whispered in Nancy’s ear “Sweetie i am going to need you to be a strong girl and keep an eye on Hop for me. Its only for a hour can i trust you to keep him in line” Both teen simultaneously nodded to their respective adults, their sense on protectiveness was easily won over. After they hugged each other goodbye, promising to be safe. “They do know they are seeing each other soon right” Hopper asked. Joyce being use to Will’s tantrums when it come to Mike leaving the house “For kids not seeing each other means they are gone forever. I think we are ready, will see you soon at the cabin Jim” she said as she grabbed Jonathan’s hand to make an hasty exit before attracting any attention. Following her cue Hopper gently held Nancy by her arms to explain their plan. “You going to look ahead and just follow my steps, don’t acknowledge anyone” “Can i say bye to Miss Flo, don’t wanna be rude” “Fine it be suspicious if you were silent” he agreed. “Ohh ohh how about Officer Callahan, he is always funny” He rolled his eyes amused by her level of manners “Yeah sure kid say bye to him too” “Also how about Officer Powell can i can i ?” Nancy bounced on her feet. Hopper held her by the shoulders to stop her “Kid if you know their name yes say goodbye, i will not stop you. Can we go now?” “Nancy ready” “Good because Hopper is tired, and lemme hold on to your paci till the car. We don’t wanna lose it right?” Nancy immediately gave it to him as she grabbed on to his hand. Smiling at the girl one last time before he walked out of his office. After she literally waved goodbye to everyone, they were able to make it to his car. “You really take this being polite thing seriously huh” he joked strapping her seatbelt on. “Mama taught to be mannered” “Karen really instilled all that to you and forgot about Mike i see” Nancy giggled conspicuously “Mike has a potty mouth” “Thats why you are my favorite Wheeler kiddo” he said grinning, giving her the pacifier back. Hopper during the drive kept checking the back seat, Nancy seemed to be on edge her leg was trembling constantly. “You okay there kiddo?” “Miss Jon and Joy” There is that separation anxiety, he remembers it when his daughter Sara, would do the same thing “We gonna see them again soon kid, want me to light the sirens up like we are on a stake out” This got Nancy out of her funk and smile “Yes catch bad guys” “Hold on tight criminals there is a new sheriff in town” Hopper turned the lights on playing along. Hoping they can resolve the issue soon for the sake of the teens soon, but seeing Nancy smile so innocently he couldn’t help enjoy looking after a pseudo-toddler again.

Chapter 23 Jenjen toddled out of her classroom where she just had her messy diaper changed and some special attention from Miss Daisy and another encounter with a young parent probably around her own age. Did she hear the woman right as she toddled out of the room, that the woman would like to be like her, crawling around in a diaper, playing on the floor like a baby? Did other people think about doing this kinda thing like that? Jenny wondered. Jenny toddled over to the ball pit sucking away on her paci and just dove right in. She was still worked up from Miss Daisy giving her special attention. She laid down in the balls and let the kids crawl around and over top of her and she just groped her diaper with her eyes closed. Jenny imagined a nursery like the preschool where adults were crawling around in diapers and playing baby. She was of course there and so was Kim. Kim looked just stupid in nothing but a tank top and a diaper sucking on a