24. Guess Who's Back

"Do you have any of the vodka from setting the trap, in your bag?" Karmen questioned, making Steve frown.

"Are you celebrating something I don't know about?" Steve asked.

"It's for the pain and to clean my wounds" Karmen retorted, as Steve made an 'oh' sound.

As soon as he handed her the bottle, she was gulping the contents down in a way that Steve had never seen away do before. Karmen quickly noticed the looks she was getting from everyone and brought the bottle away from her lips.

"It hurts a bit more than I'm letting on-" Karmen started, but Steve quickly cut her off.

"That's it. We're going to the hospital" Steve insisted.

"It's fine. Look, I can even stand on one leg" Karmen suggested, but when she tried to do so, she began to wobble and Steve had to catch her.

"Remind me next time…blood loss and vodka…it works quick" She mumbled, as Steve sighed.

"Come on, up we go" Steve said, as he pulled her into his arms and picked her up bridal style.

"I'm not some damsel in distress, Steve" Karmen mumbled, as her head lolled against his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure you're not. Just rest" Steve told her, as she felt her vision begin to blur.

She was in and out of consciousness for some time, and only began to wake up when she heard new voices surrounding her.

"What happened to her?" She could hear Nancy cry, as she began to open her eyes.

"Are you okay?!" Jonathan questioned, obviously panicked.

"It's just a scratch" Karmen shrugged off, as Steve rolled his eyes.

"Her wounds still bleeding" Steve informed them.

"I've got a first aid kit in my car, hang on" Jonathan exclaimed, as he ran off.

"What did this?" Nancy frowned, looking at Karmen's arm.

"Demo-dogs" Dustin sighed.

"Demo-whats?" Nancy inquired, as Jonathan ran back to them.

She then began falling asleep again, hearing Steve calling out her name as her eyes closed. The next time she opened them she was on a familiar looking couch and realised she was in the Byer's home.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. You're okay" Steve told her, giving her a small smile.

"How did I get here?" Karmen asked, as she tried to push herself up.

"You need to rest" Steve insisted, as he gently laid her back down on the couch.

She looked over to where Will was lying on the other couch, looking a ghostly white colour. Jonathan was holding onto his hand tightly, a guilty expression on his face, as Nancy placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Looks like they're back together" Karmen mumbled.

"Well, some people are meant to be, I guess" Steve mumbled, as he looked at Karmen.

Before she could say anything, she was suddenly being trampled on by numerous thirteen-year olds. She laughed, as she tried to hug them all back at once.

"It'll take more than a demo-dog to kill me" Karmen stated.

"See! Karmen thinks it's a good name" Dustin huffed.

"She's clearly delirious" Lucas retorted.

"It is pretty lame" Max added.

"You would agree with him" Dustin mumbled.

"I'm glad to see you're all your usual selves" Karmen giggled, as she ruffled Dustin's hair, who shoved her off him.

She quickly noticed the far away look on Mike's face, and how he wasn't interacting with the other kids. Something must have happened, Karmen realised.

"What's wrong?" Karmen frowned.

"It's Bob…" Mike trailed off.

"Joyce's boyfriend?" Karmen clarified, as Mike nodded.

"The demo-dogs got him" Dustin announced, as Karmen's eyes widened.

"He's dead?" Karmen gulped, as the group of kids nodded.

"He died saving us. And we're just sitting here doing nothing!" Mike yelled, clearly angry.

"Hey! Stop that. There's no point in running off and getting ourselves killed" Steve scolded him.

"What's wrong with Will?" Karmen queried, seeing that the young boy still hadn't moved.

"He's been possessed" Dustin told her.

"By what?" She asked.

"…We don't really know" Dustin admitted.

The kids had soon filled Karmen in with as much as they could and were now calling the creature controlling everything the 'Mind Flayer'. She had tried to get up to listen to what they were all planning in the kitchen, but Steve quickly ordered her back to the couch. She knew she wasn't going to be much help considering she could barely stand up for more than a few seconds without feeling dizzy.

"You seemed really worried back there" Nancy announced, as she helped Jonathan layer the walls of the shed.

Their plan to interrogate Will so close to the house worried her, but it was the best choice out of a bad bunch.

"Which time? When we were running from demo-dogs or being told that a shadow monster wants to kill us all?" Steve mocked.

"When Karmen passed out" Nancy clarified.

"We all were" Steve shrugged.

"But you were more worried" She insisted.

"What do you want me to say, Nance?" Steve sighed.

"Do you like her?" Nancy couldn't help but ask.

"Are you hoping I do?" Steve retorted.

"Honestly? Yeah, I think I am" Nancy admitted.

"I never thought that she could like me but after today…I don't know-" Steve started, but Nancy cut him off.

"She likes you. A lot" Nancy laughed.

"How'd you know?" Steve inquired.

"Trust me. A girl just knows. You'd be good together" Nancy pointed out.

"I don't want to lose our friendship just because I let my…feelings get in the way" Steve explained, emphasising the word feelings.

"Steve, she saved your life today. If that doesn't tell you how she feels…I don't know what will" Nancy retorted.

Karmen woke up suddenly, when everyone began piling into the living room, as Hopper came in carrying two guns.

"What's happening?" Karmen frowned, standing up.

"They found us" Mike announced.

"The demo-dogs are coming here?" Karmen queried, as Steve nodded, holding up his trusty bat.

"Do you know how to use this? Can you use this?" Hopper asked Jonathan, who looked unsure.

"I can" Nancy piped up, as she grabbed the shotgun and held it up.

"Guys get behind me" Karmen mumbled, as she pushed all the children backwards.

"Karmen, you can't fight" Steve insisted.

"Last line of defence" Karmen replied.

They soon began to hear numerous growls from outside, and quickly figured out that the creatures were circling them. Steve stood protectively in front of Karmen, making sure to shield her and the kids. Suddenly, there was a screeching howl and then a moment later one of the demo-dogs was thrown through the window. They all jumped back in shock, as Hopper went to inspect the still body of the creature.

"Holy shit" Dustin mumbled.

"Is it dead?" Max queried, as Hopper pressed against it's face with his foot.

"Just in case…" Karmen trailed off, as she took the bat from Steve's hand.

She then brought the spiked bat down, hard, onto the demo-dog, as she heard the kids cries of disgust behind her.

"Now it's definitely dead" She grimaced, handing the bat back to Steve.

"Where have you been all my life?" Steve joked, making Karmen laugh.

A moment later, they all heard a small clicking from behind them and saw how the front door seemed to unlock by itself. They all held their weapons up, as Karmen's frown deepened. She was surprised when she saw the chain lock on the door also moved, as if there was an invisible force that they just couldn't see. It was almost like…

"Eleven" Karmen mumbled, as her eyes widened.

She was walking towards the door before anyone could stop her, not bothering to listen to their shouts from behind her. The door swung open as a figure emerged from the shadows. Karmen could feel her heart stop, as tears instantly began to well in her eyes. Brown eyes stared back at her, happiness in them as clear as day. Eleven was alive.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Sorry that it took so long to update, I won't lie I did forget about this story for a hot minute. I'm still disappointed that we haven't got a release date for season 3 as clearly it means this story will have to go on hiatus for quite a while. Please leave a review:)

Micky-Moo: He really is, isn't he? I love Steve and Karmen's relationship with the kids. Thank you for the review:)