11. I'll Stand By You

[A/N: Longest chapter yet! I can't guarantee this will be the norm so let's just enjoy these lengthy chapters while we have them, shall we? lol

Enjoy!]

Chapter 11: I'll Stand By You (by The Pretenders)

"Oh, why you look so sad? The tears are in your eyes, come on and come to me now. And don't be ashamed to cry. Let me see you through, 'cause I've seen the dark side, too..."

. . . . . . . .

Will felt a small amount of relief as he burst through the doors leading outside. If he slipped back out of the Upside Down, it'd be better to do it when he wasn't an unauthorized visitor in a lab that tried to fake his death.

The world outside was dark, as it always was in the Upside Down. Will jogged across the lot and back out into the woods, finally resting by a large, decaying tree when he felt he was a safe distance away from the lab.

Any minute now… Will impatiently wished to transfer back into the real Hawkins. He was getting pretty tired of this unpredictable back and forth but then, what could he do? He still hesitated at the idea of telling anyone about it but even if he did tell his mom or Jonathan or someone else, what could that do? He didn't even know why it was happening in the first place. He worked hard to suppress the worry that maybe he wouldn't be able to get out this time...

Resolving to sit outside and wait until either his friends made it to the Upside Down or he transferred back home, Will carefully knelt down in between the large roots of a rotting tree, avoiding directly sitting in a smear of brown slime as he did so.

Sighing, Will leaned his head back against the tree trunk, looking up to the tree tops and the black sky. The trees were barren and white particles floated past his face, once again reminding him of a gentle snowfall. He imagined he was sitting outside at home in the woods behind his house, the soft snowflakes of a winter storm falling gracefully around him, the woods peacefully silent as a blanket of snow muted the typical echoes of leaves crunching, twigs snapping, creatures burrowing into the ground or meandering through the trees.

Before Will could get lost any further in his daydream, he felt something long and slimey touch his arm and when he looked down, a brown and yellow spotted slug was sliding up and over his arm.

"Ugh!" Will exclaimed in disgust and surprise, jumping up and wiping away the trail of goo left behind by the creature. The slug fell off his arm when he got up but quickly righted itself and slithered off into the woods at a surprising speed.

That one was kind of big… Will thought to himself as he watched the slug, twice the size of the ones he'd been vomiting, disappear into the foggy distance.

Deciding against sitting and getting comfortable, Will continued to walk deeper into the woods before coming upon a fallen log. Since his encounter with the large spotted slug, his eyes were peeled for more of them and like magic, he began to notice them everywhere. Anytime he settled his gaze in a particular direction, he'd see them - slugs of varying sizes and lengths sliding through tangles of vines and clinging to tree trunks. He'd seen them here and there back in November but there seemed to be more now. He also noticed several large yellow pods throughout the woods that seemed to glow from within. He remembered them from his time spent in the Upside Down last month but never paid much attention to them as he was more focused on keeping away from the Demogorgon.

As Will walked around the log, curious to see if there were more slugs living inside of the hollowed out tree trunk, he immediately noticed her.

Cradling her knees in a fetal position and shivering, he recognized El right away. "Uh, El?" He called to her cautiously. "Eleven?"

She didn't respond but her head moved slightly in the direction of his voice.

Will closed the distance between himself and the girl, kneeling down beside her. "Hey, are you okay?"

El looked up at him, her eyes wide and her eyebrows stitched together with an emotion he couldn't quite place. Fear? Concern? Confusion? She instead let out a whimper, resting her head against the ground in defeat, apparently unaware or unconcerned with the gooey slime just inches away from her head.

"Don't be afraid," Will said gently, looking her over. She didn't seem to be doing too well. Her head and face were soaking wet and there were deep circles under her eyes. Her face was splotched with weird bruises and he could see the veins beneath her skin. Her dress was dirty and tattered and she seemed to have almost no energy left. "I'm friends with Mike and Dustin and Lucas -"

"Will," She said, her voice fragile but confident.

"Yeah!" He replied, tucking his legs into a cross-legged position and scooting so that she didn't have to move her head to see him. His face fell once again as her eyes closed. "A-Are you okay?"

"Tired," Her voice was barely a whisper which worried him even more. Unsure of what to do, he tried patting her reassuringly on the shoulder. She flinched at the touch but didn't move, perhaps because she couldn't summon the strength.

"Don't worry," Will said, trying to comfort her. "Mike's on his way. Him and Dustin and Lucas. We all came to rescue you!"

The corners of El's lips twitched as if in the beginnings of a smile, though she kept her eyes closed. "Mike?"

"Yeah," Will said, nodding. "Just hold on, okay?"

"Not safe," El said, opening her eyes and making eye contact, an action that caught Will off-guard and made him surprisingly uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking around. From what he could tell, everything looked normal. As normal as the Upside Down could look, that is. There weren't any monsters around that he could see - they were alone.

She slowly lifted her arm, shaking from the exertion as she did so, and pointed to him, poking her finger into his gut. "Not safe," She repeated and the serious look in her eyes made Will feel like his skin had been turned inside out.

"I-I don't understand," He stammered, following her finger to his stomach. " Me? I'm not safe?"

El's eyelids slowly began to lower as she gave a small nod in response. "Demogorgon,"

Now Will was really confused. "B-But I thought it was dead," He said, his voice rising in pitch slightly. "Wait a minute," Will tapped her shoulder as her eyelids closed and her movements stilled. "Don't go to sleep!"

The faint sound of voices in the distance caught Will's ear and he popped his head over the log to see his friends, along with an adult, approaching from the distance. Unsure what to make of this, he tried to remain hopeful for El who had become eerily motionless. Whoever it was that was with them, they didn't seem to be in any danger, at least from what he could tell.

"Wake up, El!" Will grabbed her arm and shook her, eliciting an uncomfortable murmur but nothing more. "I see them, okay? They're on their way. We're gonna get out of here, you just have to stay awake," He shook her again. "Can you hear me?"

He got no response other than another weak murmur. Galvanized, he stood up, taking a step back from El in order to draw the attention of his friends. Caught between concern for El's well-being and apprehension over the unknown adult escorting his friends through the Upside Down, Will chose to take the risk and attempt to catch the group's eye. However, as he stepped back, his foot came down on a small branch that had fallen from one of the tree limbs above, snapping it in half. In the blink of an eye, Will slipped back out of the Upside Down, his boots crushing the snow beneath his feet as he found himself alone in the quiet of the woods outside the lab.

After debating whether to stay put or try to get back into the lab, Will decided to wait out in the woods and keep watch on the exit so he could see when his friends came out. After several minutes, he began to worry that something may have happened. Maybe Hopper or someone else found them and they were in trouble. But what could he do? He didn't have any weapons and his backpack was almost empty aside from his supercom, a compass, and a notebook. Just as he was considering calling Mike on the supercom, he saw four figures run out of the side of the building, farther away from where he was standing. Outside in the daylight, he recognized the adult with them as Hopper and in his arms, El's body dangled limply. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas kept up with Hopper's long strides as the four ran in the opposite direction, farther down the road.

Will cupped his hands over his mouth as he shouted, "Guys!" But no one turned. He began to run through the woods in an attempt to catch up to them, calling after them on the way, but they had a head start and he couldn't keep up. They disappeared around the corner and Will slowed to a stop in the street.

Judging by their sprint and the looks on their faces, even despite the distance between them, Will could tell that things were not looking good for El. The road was still covered in a sheet of snow as Will slipped out of his backpack and plopped it onto the snowy pavement. Retrieving his supercom, he took a minute to find the right channel.

. . . . . . . .

"Wait, we were supposed to turn there!" Lucas pointed as Hopper drove past the road leading to Hawkins' one and only hospital.

"We can't stay in Hawkins," Hopper replied bluntly. "We take her to a hospital in Hawkins and the wrong person sees her, her cover's blown wide open,"

"So where are you taking us?" Mike demanded, cradling El's head in his lap and inconspicuously keeping a finger resting against the side of her neck, a constant monitor of her heartbeat.

"We've gotta go somewhere that she isn't at risk of being recognized," Hopper replied simply, the idea crystallizing in his mind. "And we need a cover story for how we know her," He paused. "Or how we found her,"

"Like what?" Dustin asked.

Before Hopper could respond, radio static emanated from the backpack at Mike's feet.

"What's that?" Hopper glanced back.

They listened for a moment before Lucas recognized the garbled voice, "It's Will!"

Mike tried to reach for the bag but was unable to do so without jostling El. "Lucas, can you reach my backpack?"

Lucas pulled on his seat-belt, stretching it to allow himself the room to lean forward and pull the bag out from the small space behind Dustin's seat. He hastily unzipped the bag and pulled the supercom out.

"Will! Is that you? This is Lucas! Over,"

Will's voice came in, though slightly inaudibly. "It's me! Where - you? Over,"

"We're taking El to the hospital!" Mike leaned over closer to the supercom, speaking loudly.

"We're not gonna be able to hear you much longer 'cause we're going out of range," Lucas added. "Are you okay? Are you out of the Upside Down? Over,"

"- okay, - out," Will replied. "Which -"

Before Will could finish his sentence, the signal cut out.

"Dammit," Lucas huffed. "We lost him,"

"He said he was okay, right?" Mike asked.

"I guess," Lucas shrugged. "He said he was out of the Upside Down,"

Dustin's eyebrows suddenly went up and he turned around in his seat to face his friends. "You don't think he's still in the lab, do you?"

"What?" Mike's head shook slightly as though dumbfounded. "No," He paused, turning to Lucas. "Right?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Lucas threw up his hands.

Mike rolled his eyes. "No," He said, a little more confidently. "He sounded like he was fine. He would've said something if he was still in there, right?"

"You're probably right," Lucas admitted, settling back into the seat and looking out the window as they turned onto an unfamiliar highway. "Um, where are we going again?"

"Relax," Hopper said gruffly, anticipating another round of questioning. "We're almost there," He paused, adding, "We're in Clarksville,"

"Where the heck is Clarksville?" Lucas asked Mike and Dustin under his breath, to which he received exaggerated shrugs.

"So what happens when we get there?" Mike asked.

Hopper was quiet for a moment as he assessed the plan he'd been working through in his head during the drive. "We take her to the E.R. If anyone asks, she's my daughter. She's been missing and we found her in the woods. I'll take care of the rest,"

The boys silently accepted this plan, impatiently watching barren deciduous trees and snow-covered evergreens pass by as they made their way down the road. Thankfully, the main roads had already seen a snowplow and much of the previous night's snowfall was melting enough to allow for somewhat normal driving speeds.

Mike gingerly rested a hand on El's arm, keeping a watchful eye on the shallow rise and fall of her torso as she breathed as his other hand inconspicuously monitored her pulse with the backs of his fingers.

. . . . . . .

They arrived at Clarksville General Hospital only a few minutes later, though it'd felt like much longer. Hopper pulled into the loop outside of the emergency room, turning his hazard lights on before hopping out of the car and throwing open the backdoor.

"Alright, let's go! Let's go!" He sounded like a drill sergeant as he ushered the boys out, scooping El into his arms and jogging around the side of the car as the boys shut their respective car doors and followed closely behind.

The automatic sliding doors couldn't keep up with Hopper's pace and he impatiently waited for them to open before rushing up to the front desk.

The receptionist, an older woman with pressed curls and wide-frame glasses, took note of El's condition right away. "What do we have?" She asked, standing up.

"My daughter," Hopper said urgently as he cradled El in his arms. She was so light it barely felt like she was there. "She's been missing for a few days and her friends just found her out in the woods in the cold," He had barely spoken the words before several nurses had already rushed out with a gurney for El. "She-she's been in and out of consciousness and we had to do CPR once," Hopper said in a tight voice as the nurses secured El to the gurney and the boys watched, partly fascinated by Hopper's convincing description of what had happened but mostly worried about El.

"What's her name?" The receptionist asked as the nurses began to roll El out of the reception area and to the back.

"Wait!" Mike yelled. "Where are they taking her?" He started to jog toward the swinging double doors through which they'd disappeared. "We've gotta go -"

"Mike!" Dustin called after his friend.

"Young man," The receptionist turned her attention to Mike, her voice calm and soothing. "We're going to do everything we can to help her but I'm afraid you can't go back there yet,"

"What? No!" Mike shook his head. "I can't leave her! I-"

"Mike," Hopper said, his tone low and even, a warning.

Mike narrowed his eyes, biting his lip as he begrudgingly walked back to his friends by the desk, crossing his arms and training his eyes on the doors.

"As you were saying, sir?" The receptionist continued with Hopper. "Her name?"

"Oh, um," Hopper stalled long enough to double-check the name he'd decided in the car. "Her name's Jane. Jane Eleanor Hopper,"

Dustin shot an amused look to Lucas and Mike but Mike's attention was elsewhere, his brow furrowed as he tried to stand on his tip-toes and peer through the small windows in the double-doors.

"Why don't you kids go sit down?" Hopper said over his shoulder, keenly aware of the way Mike bobbed and swayed on the balls of his feet, trying to see beyond the desk and through the doors.

"When can we see El?" Mike asked, his arms out as he gestured impatiently.

Hopper turned to face the boys, his back turning away from the receptionist. Go. Sit. Down. He mouthed, his eyes fixed and his brow set in an intimidating gaze. Finally obliging, the boys trudged over to an open row of chairs with Dustin and Lucas taking turns darting glances at their visibly distraught and frustrated friend.

"What if something happens to her?" Mike said animatedly once they'd sat down. "What if the bad men know we're here and they're back there? What if she wakes up and she's scared? She's alone!"

"Hey," Dustin said gently, patting his friend's shoulder. "They think she's still in the Upside Down, right?"

"Yeah, Mike," Lucas agreed in the most comforting tone he could muster. "She's probably fine. I mean, we drove all this way so no one would recognize her, right?"

"Yeah," Dustin said bluntly. "Assuming we really can trust Hopper,"

Lucas reached over Mike and whacked Dustin on the arm. "Dustin, shut up!"

Mike paid little attention to them, however, as his gaze fell to the floor and his foot bounced erratically. He fidgeted with a hangnail on his thumb, trying to curb the nervous energy coursing through him.

"He's coming over," Lucas announced, noticing Hopper approaching from across the lobby and all three of them looked up at the police chief expectantly.

"I'm going back to check her status now," He explained once he was standing in front of them. "When I know more, I'll come get you boys. Until then, try not to make a scene and draw attention to yourselves out here, alright?" The boys quietly nodded, except Mike who simply continued to stare at the floor. "Just sit tight," And with that, he walked away, passing through the double-doors leading to the back and disappearing from sight.

The wait was agonizing. There wasn't much to say and Mike was so noticeably uncomfortable and quiet that neither Lucas nor Dustin felt inclined to talk much. They were all worried about El and whether she would be okay, both physically and with regards to the lab employees finding out where she was. As much as Hopper was proving himself to be trustworthy, they were still uncertain given everything they'd learned in just a few short hours.

Mike zoned out, fixing his gaze on the pastel yellow linoleum floors. They were in the middle of flu season and it was difficult to ignore the sounds of people around them retching into little pink vomit troughs, coughing up phlegm into dozens of tissues, and generally groaning with discomfort. As time passed, more people filed into the waiting area and some were left to stand idly by as they waited to be seen. Dustin got up at one point and offered his seat on the end of the row to an elderly woman who'd come in with her son, moving over to stand by Lucas.

Mike was lost in thought. He was all but vaguely aware of his surroundings, his mind teeming with thoughts of El - wondering if she was awake, what was wrong with her, if they could make her better, when she would be better, when he could see her. He thought about how much of a relief it'd been to hear her voice, even if it was only for a brief moment as she uttered his name before passing out. It wasn't a dream, he wasn't unconscious. She'd been there, right in front of him. Her eyes meeting his, her voice as soft and delicate as he'd remembered it. All these weeks he'd spent mourning the loss of her and wondering if he'd ever forget her voice or what she looked like came rushing back and he had been overwhelmed at how good it felt to realize that he hadn't forgotten. Despite her ill condition and appearance, she was just as he'd remembered and he took some comfort in that.

But waiting was painful. He wanted to be with her, holding her hand and reassuring her that he would stay by her side. What if she was scared? What if she thought he'd abandoned her? His chest tightened and his heart sunk at the thought.

Lucas lightly swatted Mike on the shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts as Hopper approached.

Mike immediately jumped up. "How is she? Is she okay? Can we see her?" He blurted out the words faster than Hopper could think to respond to any of the questions.

Hopper put his hands on his hips, pursing his lips. "She's stable, but she's unconscious," He said flatly, hesitating. "They've got her in a medically-induced coma, she-"

"What?!" Mike exclaimed, drawing the attention of everyone waiting nearby.

"Mike, come on," Lucas said, grabbing Mike's arm and encouraging him to sit down but Mike ripped his arm out of his friend's grasp.

"No!" Mike shook his head, trying to process what was going on. "Wha- Why? What's wrong with her?"

"They said she had brain swelling and a concussion," Hopper replied, shooting a glare to the nosey onlookers who hurriedly averted their gazes and attention elsewhere. "They aren't sure of the cause but they put her in the coma so her brain could rest and the swelling will hopefully go down,"

"Why would she have brain swelling?" Mike thought aloud.

"Maybe from using her -" Dustin began to speculate but Lucas elbowed him in the side.

"Agh!" Dustin yelped. "Hey!"

"Ixnay the owerspay," Lucas muttered forcefully, casting a pointed look around the crowded room.

"Regardless," Hopper continued. "They're getting her set up in a room in ICU now and they're gonna keep an eye on her,"

"Can we visit her?" Lucas asked, beating Mike to the question.

"Yes -" Hopper began and the boys immediately jumped up. He stopped them, standing in their way as he continued, "But not for long. I've gotta make a call so go up to the reception desk and the woman there will tell you where to go," They started to move past him again and he once again stopped them, adding in a lowered voice, "Remember what I said. Don't draw attention to yourselves,"

"Okay," The boys muttered, nodding their agreement as Hopper let them pass and they trotted off to see El.

. . . . . . . .

"Chief Hopper?" The woman on the phone sounded surprised. "Wasn't expecting to hear from you," She laughed sardonically.

"Yeah, well," Hopper mumbled as he leaned against the wall by the pay phone in a corner of the waiting area. "Here's the deal, I need you to get down to Clarksville's emergency room,"

"What the hell?" The woman said, her voice tight, then relaxing as if taking a drag on a cigarette. "Why?"

"I'll tell you more when you get here but it's important," Hopper insisted, adding. "Trust me, you're gonna want to hear this. So can you get down here?"

The woman paused for a moment. "Alright," She said hesitantly, as though she wasn't so sure it'd be worth it but obliging nonetheless. "Lemme make some arrangements and I'll be over within the hour,"

. . . . . . . .

A stout, middle-aged nurse with dyed black hair and grey at her roots escorted the boys back to El's room. Each hallway they passed through looked like the last and the smell of disinfectant mingled with the smell of various bodily fluids as they made their way through the hospital's corridors. Some doors and windows into the patients' rooms were open. One elderly man was sitting up in bed, coughing into a napkin. Another middle-aged woman was lying back in bed, asleep with her mouth agape as she snored and the TV in her room playing a rerun of Wheel of Fortune.

The ICU was set up differently. In the center was a large, rectangular counter with multiple desks on the interior that served as the nurses' station and all around the perimeter were patient rooms with doors open and clear windows with the curtains pulled so the nurse's could see into the rooms as necessary.

"She's right in there," the nurse escorting them gestured to a room labeled '110B'. "She's in a deep sleep but feel free to talk to her," the woman said gently.

"Can she hear us?" Dustin asked as they stopped in front of the room.

"I like to think so," she smiled warmly. "If you need anything, you can ask someone here at the nurses' station and they'll be able to help you," She pointed to the long counter and collection of desks behind her. "Did you have any other questions for me?"

"When is she gonna wake up?" Mike asked quickly and the nurse's face softened with sympathy.

"I'm sorry, honey," She said. "There's no timetable on that. We've just gotta wait for her to heal and go from there,"

Disappointed, Mike looked down at his feet.

"Okay, thank you," Lucas said to the nurse and she gave them a small smile before heading off in the direction they'd come.

Peering through the doorway, it was impossible to feel anything other than uncomfortable and concerned at the sight of El in that hospital bed. There were tubes in her nose and IVs in her arm that connected to various pieces of equipment beside her. Next to her bed, a hanging bag with clear liquid inside dripped steadily as the beat of her heart on the monitor matched its rhythm. The dirt had been wiped from her face and a mass of wires were connected to electrodes attached to her head, monitoring her brain waves on a separate machine.

The boys tentatively filed into the room. Mike approached her side right away, as did Lucas though he stood closer to the foot of the bed. Dustin walked around to the other side, surveying the brain wave print-outs that were coming from the monitor.

"So this is what El's brain does," He quirked his head at the squiggles on the page. "I have no idea what any of this means," He quipped, shrugging as he looked down at El.

"Well she isn't…" Lucas carefully considered his words. "Doing anything right now so whatever it says, it's probably normal, right?"

Dustin shrugged, looking to Mike who was standing close to El's head and fidgeting with his hands, his eyes never leaving her. Dustin and Lucas noted their friend's behavior, exchanging a glance.

"So El," Dustin began, speaking to her as though everything was normal. "'Room 110, huh? It's too bad they couldn't give you 111," He grinned at his own joke, then sobered at the distinct lack of response before sighing.

"We're all here, El," Lucas spoke up, feeling slightly awkward but talking nonetheless. "Except Will," He turned to Dustin, then Mike, then back to Dustin. "We've gotta get ahold of Will,"

"There's no way he'd be in range now," Dustin surmised.

"Maybe we should call him," Lucas said. "Do you think he'd be home yet?" He looked at Mike who only shrugged.

"Probably," Dustin guessed.

Lucas looked at Mike who had been all but completely disengaged from their conversation, instead watching El and soaking in every minute detail of the hospital bed and the machines surrounding them.

"Why don't we go do that?" Lucas said to Dustin, jerking a thumb back at the door and gesturing to Mike with his eyes. Dustin got the hint.

"Yeah," He nodded, coming around the side of the bed. "We'll be back, El," He said cheerily to the unconscious girl.

"We're gonna try and find Will," Lucas added, stepping away from the bed.

"You guys go ahead," Mike finally spoke, turning his head to them. "I'm gonna stay here,"

"Don't worry about it," Lucas waved a hand at him. "We got it, we'll be back,"

Mike listened as his friends' footsteps and voices got further and further away down the hall. Now alone in the room with El, the steady beat of her heart monitor providing the same reassurance his fingers against her neck had once provided, Mike found himself strangely nervous.

He wanted to speak, he'd been dying to talk to her, but now that he had the chance to speak freely, he wasn't sure what to say. His words died in his throat before he could get anything out. Instead, he found himself watching her, studying her, willing her to wake up and look at him.

Should he talk about normal things like school and Christmas or tell her about their adventure in finding her? Should he tell her about what was going on with Will or about the weird dreams he'd been having about her?

That was when an idea struck.

If she could communicate with him when he was sleeping or unconscious… could he do the same with her? Would she still somehow be able to tune in to what he was saying? Assuming he actually had been communicating with her before and it wasn't just his imagination. But that'd be too much of a coincidence, right?

It was worth a shot.

"Hey El," He ventured, his voice shaky and unsure. "It's Mike," The stillness of her expressionless face was disconcerting but he pushed himself to keep talking. He imagined her doe eyes looking up with eager fascination and wonder, vividly remembering her small, hesitant smiles and the wide, toothy ones when she felt completely comfortable. "Hey uh, remember when I showed you my dad's La-Z-Boy?" One corner of his mouth quirked up in a half-smile, remembering how she'd transformed from timid and terrified to laughing and smiling broadly like a real kid, if only for a few minutes. "Um… wh-when you wake up, there's still a lot of other stuff I'd like to show you," He paused. "We just had Christmas and - well, I guess you probably don't know what Christmas is. It's this holiday where you give gifts to people like your friends and your family and you decorate the house and the yard with lights and fake snow and stuff," He shrugged, casually leaning against the thin mattress of her hospital bed. "I uh, I missed you… El," His words were quiet and came out awkwardly but somehow talking to her was becoming easier as he went on. He remembered the disappointment he'd felt on the day of the Snowball, choosing instead to stay home and forget about it, though that'd proven to be impossible. He winced, pushing the thought out of his head.

Glancing down, then back to her face, Mike tentatively picked up El's hand in his, careful not to disturb the IVs attached to her arm as he rested her palm against his and lightly rubbed his thumb against her skin. "I don't know if you can hear me," Mike said softly. "But um, if you can, I hope you wake up soon," He stood stock still, nervous over the way he was feeling and the things he was saying but also afraid of doing something wrong that would knock out an IV or somehow mess up one of her machines. "I-I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner," He said, his voice faltering slightly. "I hope you're okay… And… um… I'm sorry we didn't get to go to the Snowball," He grimaced, furrowing his brow. Even if she was unconscious, he felt the need to keep from crying in front of her. "I know I said friends don't break promises," He paused. "I tried, El. I didn't know where you went or how to find you a-and we finally figured it out but now you're -" He cut himself off as tears flushed his eyes and he pawed at his face with the back of his free hand. "But you're gonna be alright, okay El? You just have to wake up," Mike said, forcing his voice to remain steady. "A-and I promise I'm not going anywhere. Just please get better," His voice was soft and he sighed, willing her to open her eyes and smile at him as she'd done so many times before.

. . . . . . . .

"Won't let nobody hurt you, I'll stand by you..."