Chapter Text
Steve nodded to a couple nurses he recognized as he made his way down the hospital hallway, Dustin beside him. The kid was subdued, like he had been every day of the past week. Every day since they’d pulled Eddie’s nearly lifeless body out of the Upside Down and into a hospital. That ‘nearly’ was the only reason, in Steve’s opinion, that Dustin hadn’t lost it completely. The kid really looked up to Eddie, adored him even, and Steve knew that losing Eddie, particularly the way they almost had, would have destroyed him. The only thing that had been able to perk him up was telling Will and El all about Eddie, or talking about his performance to distract the bats, but that only lasted for a little while each time.
He pushed the door open to Eddie’s room, letting Dustin in first. Dustin slid into his usual seat as Wayne, Eddie’s uncle, stood and strode to Steve. They did what Steve thought of as their twice daily hand off. Twice a day, when they traded places, they updated each other on Eddie’s condition and if anything had changed.
“I’d swear, I saw him move earlier. It was a twitch of his hand,” Wayne sighed and ran a hand down his face. “I swear he moved.”
Steve reached out and squeezed his upper arm. They’d all agreed that Wayne deserved to know exactly what had happened to Eddie, not the watered-down version of wild animals that had been given to everyone else. He deserved to know that his nephew was truly a hero who’d knowingly put his life on the line to protect them all. He also deserved to know why Dr. Owens and a shady government agency were helping them and were able to clear Eddie’s name.
After a couple of hours, Dustin’s mom came to pick him up. She didn’t really understand her son’s attachment to Eddie, but she trusted Steve’s judgement, so she didn’t complain about it. Steve made sure he saw him take out his walkie talkie, turn it on, and put it on the table beside him like he did every night. Dustin had made him swear to contact him as soon as Eddie woke up. Then he was left alone. The occasional nurse came in to check on Eddie and make sure he was alright, but for the most part he was left alone to keep vigil at his friend’s bedside.
The first night Steve was also in the hospital for his wounds, so he’d been confined to his own room. But the night after that, he’d been bored out of his skull. He’d slept a little, of course, but it wasn’t very comfortable and he woke up from a nightmare. So, to help pass the time, he’d gotten a couple books. He’d asked about the Mordor comment Eddie had made and, after some teasing about it from Dustin, he had been given copies of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring to borrow. So, while he sat around, he slowly made his way through The Hobbit. He enjoyed it, as much as he could. Reading was never an easy thing for him to do.
As usual, he sat with a foot propped up on Eddie’s bed, slouching in his chair, book open on his knee, and read slowly.
“Hey big boy.”
Steve practically jumped out of his chair at the raspy voice. “Eddie! Shit! Hang on.” He ran out the door to the nearby nurse’s station, hurriedly informing them that Eddie was awake. A few nurses and the nearby doctor crowded into the room. Steve stayed pressed against the wall where he could still hear everything so he could report back to Wayne and Dustin as soon as the doctor gave him any information.
After confirming that all his vitals were good and that he was not likely to fall back into the coma, the medical staff left the pair of them alone. “So, Harrington, how’s it going?”
“You scared the shit out of us, ya know that? Vecna’s gone, we’re pretty sure. There’s some damage to the town but it’s not as bad as it could have been. And you, my friend, have been cleared of all charges.”
“Cleared? How?”
“I’m not entirely sure what the story is, that mostly happened after they put me out to deal with my injuries,” he lifted his shirt a little to show off the sterile bandages covering his own demobat bites. “There’s this section of the government that’s supposed to deal with the fallout from Hawkins’ lab, but they mostly just clean up after us. Anyway, Wayne, Nancy and Robin have more details than I do about exactly what the story is.”
“And Henderson? He’s okay?”
“Messed up his ankle, but yeah, otherwise he’s okay. Actually,” he reached for the walkie on the table. “Henderson, you still awake?” He waited for a minute. “Henderson!”
“Yeah. ‘M here.”
Steve handed the walkie to Eddie. “Morning Henderson.”
“Eddie! You’re awake!” Steve could practically see Dustin bouncing with the excitement in his voice. “Man, we’ve been so worried about you –”
Steve slipped out while Dustin started rambling. He made his way to the nurses’ station where they let him borrow the phone to make a call. When he finally got Wayne on the line at the plant, he didn’t bother with a greeting. “He’s awake.” Wayne was silent for so long, Steve was afraid that the line had gone dead but then he heard a small, almost silent sob on the other end of the line. He waited patiently for Wayne.
“Completely?”
“Mm-hm. Awake and aware. And listening to Dustin ramble through the walkie.”
“Good. That oughta keep him awake ‘til I get there.” The line clicked off in Steve’s ear. He smiled as he handed the receiver back to the nurse after checking the clock. It was too late at night for him to call Robin or Nancy, but he would first thing in the morning. They’d understand him letting them sleep in a way that would’ve annoyed or pissed off Dustin.
Back in Eddie’s room, Dustin was still talking a mile a minute, catching Eddie up on what he’d missed in the last week, including how the government people had set him up with an ironclad alibi for the murders, pining the blame on Jason Carver who had died during the partial destruction of the town, all while making him the hero who’d protected a group of people from a wild animal attack. While Dustin kept going, Eddie turned to Steve.
“Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but why are you here?”
“Wayne and me trade off,” he shrugged a shoulder. “He stays with you during the day, I’m here at night. And Dustin’s here as long as anyone will allow him to be. Robin and Nancy started a little competition about your get well gifts,” he nodded to the table where an increasingly strange assortment of get well gifts were piling up. The girls never got anything from the hospital shop, instead getting a hodge podge mix of things from the gas station or grocery store. Eddie stared at the pile, so Steve explained. “I think it’s helped them come up with reasons to check on you every day, sometimes twice a day, other than just checking on you to check on you,” he shrugged. “Your bandmates have been in at least once that I know of. They come during the day, so I don’t see them. Erica and Lucas stop in every day when they’re here to visit Max.”
“Red?” Eddie snapped his head to look at Steve.
“Hey Eddie?”
“Yeah Henderson?” Eddie didn’t take his eyes from Steve as he answered the walkie.
“I’m tired now. But I’m really glad you’re awake.”
“Me too, kid, me too.”
Steve reached for the walkie. “Henderson, I’ll be by in the morning, as soon as I can, to bring you by.”
“Thanks Steve.”
“Go to sleep.”
“You said they were visiting Red,” Eddie said as Steve put the walkie away.
“Mm-hm. She’s in a coma, but the doctors have hope that she’ll wake up. Some pretty bad broken bones and they won’t know the extent of the damage to her eyes or anything else until she wakes up. El says she’ll be okay though.”
“El? Superpower girl?”
“Yeah. She and the Byers are back from California. And she, somehow, has her powers back. I’m not caught up on the details for that yet. Her and Will are both pretty excited to meet you.”
“Why?”
“Dude. Dustin can’t stop talking about you. You’re practically the only thing he’s talked about in the last week,” Steve smiled. “Kid’s got a serious case of hero-worship going on.”
“I’m no hero, Harrington.”
“That’s shit and we all know it. You protected him and the three of us with your life, Munson. After I specifically told you not to, don’t think I’ve forgotten that part. I know you cut the rope so he couldn’t come back after you. Not that that stopped him, the little shit. But I saw the bats around you, and I saw just how many of them died before we torched Vecna. I know you did everything you were able to try to protect us. So don’t give me shit about not being a hero. I know better. Robin and Nancy know better. And you’ll never convince Dustin of anything else for the rest of his life.” Eddie nodded quickly, eyes wide. In the quiet that followed, Steve recognized the footfalls headed down the hall. “Your uncle knows everything. We told him. Figured he deserved to know the truth.”
Steve stepped back just as the door swung open and Wayne stepped in. “Jesus Christ, Eds. Scared the shit outta me,” Wayne crossed to his nephew as quickly as his legs could get him there. Steve grabbed his bag and quickly ducked out. This was definitely a private reunion he didn’t need to be a part of. He waited a while, to see if Wayne was gonna have to go back to work, but he didn’t come out of the room for an hour. So he turned to the nurse, let her know to tell the Munsons he’d be back in the morning, and headed home.
His house was empty – and eerily quiet – as usual when he got back. Up in his room, he let the exhaustion take him and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Some time later, he wasn’t sure how long, Steve sat bolt upright, a scream building in his chest. He clamped his jaw shut and pressed the heels of his hands to his ribs where the pain from his own healing wounds reminded him that he was alive and awake, not stuck in a nightmare version of his town. After a while, when his heart rate returned to normal, he glanced at his clock. 8:34 am.
He slid out of bed, stepped into his bathroom and washed his face. He didn’t have time for a full shower, and he knew it. He was surprised Dustin hadn’t called him yet. Just as he was thinking it, the phone rang. He hurried to it, and was unsurprised to hear the impatient kid on the other end.
“Dude, I just woke up. Call the Wheelers’ house, let Nancy know he’s awake. I’m gonna call Robin, then I’ll come get you.”
“Just getting off your night shift?” Robin teased when she got on the line.
“Nah. I came home and slept last night when Wayne came back after he woke up.”
“After he…. HE’S AWAKE?!”
“Jesus, Rob,” he’d pulled the receiver away from his ear, thankfully, but was still smiling as he answered. “Yeah, he’s awake. I’m grabbing Dustin. Want me to get you too?”
“Yes. I’ll be out front. Hurry the hell up.”
Predictably, Dustin was enthusiastically rambling before he even got in the car. Steve was too damn pleased at seeing him back to himself to tell him to calm down. Robin must have shared his thinking because she smiled and didn’t make him get out of the passenger seat when she got in. He raised an eyebrow at the paper grocery bag she was carrying but she just grinned without answering.
Once back at the hospital, Dustin was practically bouncing down the hallway to Eddie’s room as much as his ankle would allow him to. Eddie was sitting up in bed, Nancy, having not had to make any stops, on one side and Wayne on the other. On his lap was an open Tupperware of pancakes. As soon as they came in, Nancy quickly snatched the food off his lap just in time for Dustin to barrel, semi-carefully, into Eddie. The man grunted, probably in pain, but hugged back just as fiercely. When they broke apart, Nancy handed him back his food.
At Steve’s questioning look, she said, “What? Hospital food sucks.”
“It does,” Robin agreed. “So I brought lunch,” she held up the bag she was carrying.
Eddie laughed, a full-bellied laugh that had him pressing a hand to his stomach as his healing wounds protested the movement. Wayne clasped Steve’s shoulder as he ducked out of the room. The four of them, Dustin, Nancy, Robin, and Steve, gathered around Eddie’s bed as his laugh subsided. The five of them were quiet, reaching out to each other. Steve didn’t know about the others, but he was quietly basking in the fact that all five of them made it out alive and – mostly – whole.
A nurse bustled in and broke their quiet moment. Dustin stayed practically fused to Eddie while the nurse did her quick exam, but the others backed up and gave her room. She quickly checked Eddie’s vitals and pretended she didn’t notice that he had food from outside the hospital which was, technically, against policy for patients. She smiled as she declared his vitals good and informed them that a doctor would be in to check on his wounds in a while.
“Wayne?” He looked around.
“He stepped out just a minute ago.”
“Back. I needed coffee,” Wayne stepped back into the room, steaming cup in hand.
“I told Mike before I left. He’ll tell the rest. Mr. Munson?”
“Wayne.”
“Wayne,” Nancy corrected herself. “You still handling all the Upside Down stuff okay?”
Wayne gave her a small smile. “I am,” he patted Eddie’s feet. “Your new friends keep checking on me almost as frequently as they do you. And this one,” Wayne jerked a thumb at Steve. “Seems to have a personal mission to guard all of you.”
“Is that so?” Eddie asked, staring up at Steve.
“Mm-hm. Speaking of that, since I was down that way, I checked in on the little one. Max? She’s still asleep, there doesn’t seem to have been any change yet.”
After a while, Eddie convinced Wayne to leave and get some sleep. Which only worked after Steve promised that he would stay with Eddie until he got kicked out. As promised, Mike informed the rest of the group that Eddie had woken up and, shortly after Wayne left, the Byers/Hopper family, Lucas, and Erica stopped in.
“And this is Eleven, El for short,” Dustin finished the introductions.
“I’ve heard good things, kid.”
“It is nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand.
“I know your voice,” he muttered, eyes widening and not letting go of her hand just yet.
El smiled at him. “I wasn’t sure you would remember. It is good to meet you in person then.”
“El? What…?”
“She saved my life.”
“El, kid, what does he mean?” Hopper asked.
“When I was in Max’s head, fighting One there, her memories showed me what everyone else was doing. When he was gone from her head, she asked me to check on the others. I was not sure I could reach Eddie since we hadn’t met, but I saw the… grieving in Dustin’s mind and I had to try,” she shrugged. “I couldn’t heal you,” she gestured to his bandage wrapped torso. “But I could keep you alive until they could get you here.”
Eddie reached up for her from his reclining position and El leaned down into his hug. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me.”
“Thank you for protecting my other friends,” she responded. She smiled as she pulled away from him and took a step back next to Will only to be barreled into by Dustin. She laughed as she returned enthusiastic his hug.
The lot of them stayed through lunch, even after Eddie fell asleep. Since Steve had promised Wayne he wouldn’t leave, and Dustin wasn’t going to leave before he had to, it made the most sense for them to stay. Right after lunch, Erica burst into the room.
“Max is up!” She shouted, waking Eddie from his nap. The kids all ran out of the room behind her.
“Harrington, help me up.”
“Dude, you’re not walking.”
“Then get me a wheelchair. Come on!”
Steve stepped out for a minute and came back with a wheelchair to see Eddie already sitting on the edge of his hospital bed. Steve set the chair beside the bed and leaned down to help Eddie up.
“Absolutely not. You’re still healing too, Harrington. Move,” Hopper gently bumped him out of the way and helped Eddie into the wheelchair. Robin took over pushing him and they all made their way down to Max’s hospital room.
“Her vision’s a little off,” Erica stopped them before they went into the room. “She can’t quite see yet. She said it looks like she’s trying to see through really thick fog. The doctor said that should hopefully clear up over the next few days.”
They stayed and visited with Max for a few hours, until Eddie asked to go back to his room so he could sleep some more. Wayne stopped in, apologizing for sleeping later than he meant to, before he had to go back to work. He brought them dinner, but Eddie was still asleep when he left.
When Eddie demanded to be released, two days later, he was taken to Steve’s house. After the trailer was destroyed, Wayne had been staying with a friend when he wasn’t at work or the hospital, so Steve had offered to bring Eddie back to his place.
“You should’ve stayed in the hospital longer,” Steve commented, practically holding Eddie up as they walked to the front door.
“Absolutely not. Hospitals make my skin crawl.”
“Pretty sure that’s actually your healing wounds, dude.” Eddie laughed. Mike slid in front of them and opened the door so Steve didn’t have to let go of Eddie to do it himself. Dustin swung in behind them, followed by the rest of their group, excluding Lucas and the Byers/Hoppers. Though judging by the sound of another car pulling in, the Byers/Hopper group were there now.
“Damn it, kid, what did I just tell you? You’re still healing too,” Steve heard Hopper behind him.
“I tried to tell him, Chief, he didn’t wanna listen to me.”
“Shut up, Robin!” Steve shouted back as Hopper came up on Eddie’s other side and took his weight off Steve. “Thanks Hopper.”
“Go sit down.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. Munson, how long ago did the nurses change your bandages?”
“About an hour ago.”
“Good. Harrington?”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“You do that.” Steve ducked around Eddie and Hopper and made his way to the downstairs bathroom. He carefully stripped off his own bandages, cleaned the healing wounds, and rebandaged them.
Back in the living room, Eddie let Hopper help him to a couch. He glanced curiously at Robin and Nancy but didn’t have a chance to ask them about Steve’s insistence that he was fine because the kids were all around and he’d rather not bring it up in front of them.
After dinner, while most everyone was leaving, Eddie had a chance to corner the girls. “Nancy, Robin? Got a question for you,” he said, standing up and intending to move over to the couch they were both occupying. He swayed on his feet after two steps and it was Nancy’s quick reflexes that kept him on his feet. She gently guided him back to where he was before. “Thanks.”
“What’s the question?” Robin sat beside him.
“It’s about Steve, earlier. His instance that he was fine when Hopper was asking. I dunno, I figure the two of you know him better than I do, but it seemed… off, I guess? Like he was trying to keep attention off his own injuries?”
Robin glanced out the front window, where Steve was still working to convince Dustin that a sleepover on Eddie’s first night out of the hospital was not a good idea. “He does it all the time. I don’t know why he does. I used to think it was him trying to be a manly man, ‘Oh, I’m too cool or too manly to be injured’ kind of thing, but I don’t think that’s it. He did it after we were captured by Russians last summer. They busted up his face pretty good and he never really complained about being in pain or anything like that afterwards.”
Nancy sighed. “I don’t know the details either, but I have another, possibly related, question. Where are his parents? This town experienced what they think is a natural disaster a week ago, and his parents aren’t here. And I don’t think they have been, he hasn’t said anything. And they never came to the hospital that I’m aware of.”
Eddie was silent a minute. “Okay. I’m gonna ask him when he comes back in then.”
“He is now,” Robin nodded toward the window where she could see Steve making his way back to the door, having finally convinced Dustin to get on his bike and ride back home.
“That kid, I swear,” he shook his head as he closed the door then stopped short when he saw the three of them sitting on the couch, all looking at him. “What?”
“I have a question, Steve. Why did you tell Hopper that you’re fine?”
“Because I am.”
“No. From one person who’s had their body gnawed on by those bats to another, I know you’re not fine. You might be better off than me, but not by much. You went like 12 hours, at least, before getting actual treatment for those wounds. I know you’ve gotta be in pain, dude.”
“I mean, yeah, it hurts. But I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”
“Steve, it’s just us here. Tell us the truth.”
“I’m fine, Nance. Really,” he ran a hand through his hair.
“Liar,” Robin stood and stared him down. “You can tell the kids you’re fine all you like. But I am your best friend, capital ‘P’, platonic soulmate. Do not tell me you’re fine when I know you’re not.”
“I am fine, Robin, because I have to be,” he muttered low enough that if the room hadn’t been silent they wouldn’t have heard him. “Those kids, mostly Dustin honestly, need me to be fine. And, unlike you, I don’t have anyone waiting at home to take care of me. I take care of people, not the other way around.”
Robin strode across the room to him and got right in his face. “Be fine for the kids, that’s fair. But don’t tell us you’re fine when we saw you being chewed on, okay?”
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Yeah, okay.”
“Good. And, at the risk of poking at a sore spot, you said you don’t have anyone waiting at home for you. Where…. Where are your parents?” She stepped back.
He sat in the armchair that faced the couch, and, looking down at his feet, said, “They’re in the Hamptons, I think. I guess they bought a place up there. They still, well my dad still, pays the bulk of the bills here. I have to buy my own groceries and shit, but he’s still paying the mortgage, electric, and whatever. But um, I – they – I haven’t seen them since my graduation. I don’t really know what they plan to do with this place, but I haven’t asked either, just in case they tell me to leave. I’m saving as much of my checks as possible for when that inevitably happens, but for now I like having the space in case we need it.”
“They haven’t been here at all? Do they even know about any of your injuries?” Nancy asked.
“No.”
“Have they called after the “earthquake”?”
“No.” He sighed again, rubbing his hands on his jeaned thighs. “Look, it’s okay. Really,” he looked up at Robin. “It’s probably better this way, overall. I mean, at least I don’t have to listen to them argue constantly and my dad’s not yelling at me about how disappointing he thinks I am. And I have this big house for anyone who needs a place to crash, or heal," he gestured at Eddie. “So, it’s okay.”
Robin shook her head. “It’s not though,” Nancy said softly. “It’s easier, okay. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay that your parents basically abandoned you as soon as you turned 18.”
“Coulda been worse. They could’ve kicked me out.”
“Just because it could’ve been worse, doesn’t mean it isn’t bad,” Eddie said, almost regretting starting the whole conversation. He couldn’t fully regret it though. The determined look on Robin and Nancy’s faces made it clear to him that they wouldn’t let Steve try to take care of himself by himself anymore. Neither would he, for that matter.
They were all quiet a minute. “Well, while the two of us are still here, let’s get your bandages changed. Both of you,” Robin insisted.
“I’ll get the –” Steve started to stand up but was pushed back down.
“I’ll get it. Bathroom, right?” Robin made her way down the hall without waiting for an answer.
“She takes a little getting used to, but I like her,” Nancy commented.
Steve laughed, pulling his shirt off. “Yeah, she does.” Across from him, Eddie unbuttoned his shirt, having decided it would be easier to change bandages if he was wearing a button up.
Robin came back and tossed a roll of gauze at Nancy, then set the tape and scissors on the coffee table. After getting fresh bandages on, the four of them decided to watch The Goonies, which Eddie and Steve both fell asleep during.
The girls left after helping to get Eddie upstairs and into the guest room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Eddie’s face twisted as he pushed the ends of his hair back. “Hey Steve?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you help me to the bathroom? I desperately need to be clean, but I know I can’t walk that far.”
“Yeah, of course. How much help do you need?”
“Just get me there, I can handle the rest.”
Steve ran a bath while Eddie leaned his weight against the counter. He laid out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt for his friend before leaving him to his own devices. Eddie had insisted, again, that he could handle a bath by himself. Still, Steve didn’t go far. He sat, leaning against the hallway wall, watching the door and listening in case his help was needed.
“Steve?” Eddie called out after nearly 20 minutes.
“Yeah?” He moved closer to the door so he could be heard.
After a moment, Eddie said, “I can’t lift my arms enough to wash my hair.”
“Okay, no problem. Give me just a minute.” Steve dashed downstairs for a big, plastic cup, stopped at the linen closet on his way back and gently knocked on the door before pushing it open. Keeping his eyes well above Eddie’s head, he tossed the hand towel at him. “For your modesty, dude.”
Eddie chuckled, as Steve had hoped he would. “Alright, I’m decent.”
Steve knelt beside the tub and got to work on Eddie’s hair. As he massaged the shampoo into Eddie’s scalp, the older man closed his eyes, sighed, and slumped a little. “Eddie, you okay still?”
“Mm, I’m grand, Stevie. I fully understand why women like getting their hair washed at salons. This is amazing.” Steve chuckled. After rinsing out the shampoo with the cup, he started with the conditioner. “Separate conditioner, fancy stuff.”
“What do you mean?”
“I usually use one of those combos.”
“You do not.”
Eddie opened his eyes and looked up at Steve at his offended tone. “Does that offend your delicate sensibilities, King Steve?” he teased.
“Eddie! You have long, amazing hair and you’re telling me you don’t even take care of it properly?”
“I wash and brush it.”
“Barely. 2-in-1 is not washing your hair!”
“It is though. It gets it clean.”
“It absolutely does not. Listen, tomorrow you see how your hair feels after being properly washed.” Steve huffed. “2-in-1,” he muttered. “Of all the ridiculous things. Great hair and he’s using fucking 2-in-1.” Eddie laughed as Steve continued his muttering about his lack of hair care.
In addition to not being able to lift his arms enough to wash his own hair, he also needed help lifting himself out of the bathtub. Steve rebandaged his torso while he leaned back against the counter. He then went downstairs to get them both something to eat while Eddie got dressed.
A while later, Steve made his way to his room, making Eddie promise to call for him if he needed help during the night. Steve relaxed in his bed, unable to actually fall asleep. He was reading The Hobbit, hoping it would help calm his mind enough to sleep. Robin thought that the reason he had so much difficulty was partly wanting to avoid nightmares but also because of the various concussions he’d had over the past two and a half years. She told him that she’d read that multiple concussions could cause insomnia and probably also explained the severe headaches he sometimes got.
Just as Bilbo escaped the goblins, Steve heard a scream from Eddie’s room. He jumped out of bed and ran across the hall. Bursting into the room, he realized that Eddie was having a nightmare. He was twisting on the bed, whimpering, eyes squeezed tightly shut. Carefully, hoping he didn’t make it worse, Steve sat on the side of the bed and shook Eddie’s shoulder.
“Eddie? Ed, come on, wake up. You’re safe, Eddie. It’s a nightmare. Eddie?” Eddie gasped and sat straight up, then groaned, pressing his hands to his sides, having aggravated his wounds with the quick movement. His eyes darted around the room, until he landed on Steve. “Hey Eddie,” Steve kept his hand on his shoulder. “Are you with me?”
“Steve? Yeah. Yeah, I’m here.” Steve rubbed his back as he got his breathing back under control.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“It was the damn bats. Pinned down, them eating me,” he shuddered. “I imagine that’s gonna stick around for a while.”
The next couple of days passed in a similar way. During the day, everything was fine. Eddie frequently fell asleep during the day, which was normal for the healing process. Steve went back to work, but made sure someone would be at the house with Eddie as much as possible. In the evenings, the kids, Robin, and once Nancy and Jonathan, would come over to hang out. Max still hadn’t been released from the hospital, so they went to visit her. Her vision steadily improved. Wayne came to visit everyday too, usually for a couple of hours before he had to go to work.
The nights were still bad. Eddie woke up every night with a nightmare, most often of him being eaten by the bats. Steve heard him every time and went to wake him up and help him re-orient and remember where he was. Steve had nightmares every night that he actually fell asleep, but he didn’t scream when he woke up, so he was sure he hadn’t woken Eddie up even once.
On the third day of Eddie living with him, Steve pulled the door open after someone knocked, and was faced with three people he didn’t recognize. All three of them looked nervous. The one in front was wearing a Hellfire shirt under a flannel vest. He was flanked by two taller guys. “One second,” he told them. “Dustin!” He hollered, leaning back into the house.
“Yeah? Oh hey guys! Here to visit Eddie?”
“Thanks, Dustin. Is he still awake?”
Dustin shrugged. “He was when I came down a few minutes ago.”
Steve nodded and turned back to Eddie’s friends. “Sorry, I had to make sure you were who I thought you were. Can’t be too careful with some people still trying to blame him. Anyway, follow me.”
“Harrington?”
“Yeah?”
“Why is Eddie staying with you?” Flannel vest asked.
“Wayne’s friend doesn’t have enough space. Just a heads up though, he may not be awake still. He falls asleep pretty frequently, which the doctors said is totally normal while he’s healing. But if he is asleep again, you guys are welcome to hang out for a while or come back whenever. Well, you can come by whenever anyway. If I’m at work, someone else will be here.” He stopped in front of the guest room door and knocked. “Hey Eddie?”
“I’m up!” He called back.
“Good,” Steve pushed the door open and stood back to let his friends in. “I’ve got to leave for work in half an hour. Dustin’s staying until Nance and Jonathan get here. Well, probably later, you know him. But, did you need anything from me before I leave?”
“I’m good, thanks. You do remember that I can walk on my own now?”
“I also remember how difficult stairs still are,” Steve retorted. He headed back downstairs himself. Eddie’s three friends, who Dustin informed him were Gareth, Jeff, and Chris, the other three members of Hellfire and his bandmates, stayed until after Steve went into work.
That night Steve woke up hearing Eddie screaming again, this time after watching Chrissy die again. After waking Eddie up and helping to re-orient him, he gently tugged him to stand up. “Come on, enough of this.” Tiredly, dragging his feet, Eddie followed Steve to his bedroom where they both collapsed back into bed and were asleep again faster than ever happened after a nightmare.