Dwobbit From The Shire

“Oh my god!” Fred shrieked and came to a stop.

Nancy leaned over with the others to get a look at what Fred was looking at. Out in front of them was a pile of dead demogorgons and demobats. . .the ones that didn’t make it back through the gate. It appeared that they had been on their way to join the fight and started wreaking havoc along the way. At some point, though, they had turned on each other and ripped each other apart. They were blocking the road.

“Shit, we need to clear the road,” Patrick said and got out.

Jonathan and Steve followed him. The rest of the party in the stolen car got out as well. Patrick and Fred started moving the dead bodies, trying not to gag as they did so. The others followed their lead. It really was disgusting, but it did help distract from the pain in Nancy’s leg. They were halfway through the process of clearing the road when they heard the scream.

“IS SOMEONE OUT THERE?! PLEASE, HELP!”

The group shared a look before running off in the direction of the scream. They followed the direction of the scream to a wrecked vehicle stuck in a ditch, and another vehicle crashed a couple of feet away. The doors were open, but they didn’t find anything except blood on the steering wheel. Another yell came, and that’s when they noticed the blood trail in front of the car. They followed it and found Scott Clarke with Melissa, the librarian. At least Nancy thought that was her name. Between them, another person lay in between them. Blood was pouring from a cut on Mr. Clarke’s head while Melissa’s cheek was bleeding, and so was her nose.

“Help him!” Melissa exclaimed and Scott Clarke blinked.

“Patrick McKinney, and Fred Benson?” he asked.

“Long story,” Nancy said.

Vickie hurried over and gently pushed Melissa aside. She looked over at the person on the ground, and her face blanched. She looked up at Steve.

“It’s Tommy,” Vickie said. "Oh, Steve, I'm so sorry."

“He just dove in front of us. . .our cars crashed. . .they came out of nowhere, and we tried to get away, but we couldn’t get the car out,” Scott said, shocked. “One of them tried to attack us, but he – he pushed us out of the way.”

“He tried to fight them off,” Melissa said.

“And then they just stopped,” Scott said. “He just stopped.”

Steve rushed to Tommy’s side, and Scott moved out of the way. Nancy watched as Tommy’s eye popped open, and he gasped. Vickie looked at Nancy and Robin with tears in her eyes. She didn’t need Vickie to say it. She knew that Tommy wasn’t going to make it. Half of his face was in ribbons...the inside of his stomach was on display for everyone to see. . .and one of his legs was missing.

“Steve,” Tommy gasped.

“I’m here, Tommy,” Steve whispered. “We’ll get you help; you’ll be fine – “

“Don’t be an asshole to me when I’m dying, Stevie-boy,” Tommy said. “I’m not – not going to make it.”

“Don’t say that,” Steve sniffled. “You’re not – come on, we just started being friends again. You decided to be a stupid hero, why the fuck would you do that?”

“I told you I changed,” Tommy said. “I was slower than you, I was always slower than you, but you were right, I should have – I should have followed you. I should have – you were right to leave me because I was an asshole, and you always said that I was stupid for all those things I used to say about people...you tried to get me to be the boy you used to know.”

“The same guy who used to sneak me into his room when my parents weren’t home, the same guy who used to build forts with me in my living room,” Steve cried. “And who used to make yourself look like a complete idiot when I was upset so I could laugh.”

“I’m sorry, man, I never meant to get between you and – well, between you and anyone,” Tommy said. “I never wanted to cause problems this time around. I just – I just really missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Steve sobbed. “You’re just –,”

“It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt,” Tommy said. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, Stevie-boy. . .Steve.”

Tommy let out a shuttering gasp and stopped breathing, his remaining eye void of life. Steve let out a heartbreaking sob, and Nancy closed her eyes, tears of her own falling. She never thought she’d ever cry for Tommy Hagan, but that wasn’t the Tommy she had known. This had been a different Tommy, and now she wished that she had given him another chance. If not for her sake, but for her friend, Steve. She cried for Hopper, too, and for Murray...for Jane, who lost her father. She cried for Barb, and for Bob. . .and she even cried for Billy even though she hated the bastard. She knew that Max had cried for him, too, and felt guilty for his death. She cried for all the people who never got a second chance and who never will. She watched Jonathan pull a crying, bloody Steve into his arms, and she cried again. Robin and Vickie pulled her into their arms. Nancy clung to them, feeling their own tears fall onto her cheeks. The fight was over, but people were still dying. She needed to get back to her parents.

“Hospital,” Nancy choked.

“Go,” Fred said and pressed the stolen car keys into her hands. “We’ll help Steve and Jonathan here. We’ll see if we can’t get these cars out of the ditch.”

Nancy passed the keys off to Vickie, and she took them with an understanding smile. She knew that Nancy didn’t trust herself to drive right now. The adrenaline was fading, and she was suddenly exhausted, dreading finding her parents at the hospital. Would they still be alive? Vickie climbed into the driver’s seat. Robin offered the front seat to Nancy, but Nancy pushed her into the passenger’s seat and climbed into her lap again. Nancy tucked her head into Robin’s neck, letting Robin’s comforting arms try and soothe her. She could feel Robin kiss her forehead and run her fingernails against her skin. Her head was starting to pound. . .the side effects of using her powers, she supposed. She wondered if the others felt like this or if it was just her. Nancy’s eyes were starting to hurt, too.

“Nancy, babe, we’re here,” Vickie’s soft familiar voice woke her up.

Nancy’s blurry eyes opened up, and she found Vickie leaning over her. She smiled and brushed her fingers against Vickie’s face. She ran her thumb over Vickie’s lip and cupped her cheek.

“I give you my permission to wake me up with a kiss,” Nancy muttered softly, and Vickie chuckled.

Vickie leaned down and pressed her lips softly against Nancy’s, kissing her sweetly. She pulled away and kissed the cuts on Nancy’s face. She had forgotten about those. Nancy leaned back to look at Robin, and she pouted.

“You don’t even have to ask,” Robin said and kissed her just as sweetly as Vickie had done.

“I’m awake. . .sort of,” Nancy said.

Vickie got out of the car first and came around to their side to help Nancy out. She slipped an arm around Nancy’s waist to let her lean on her.

“Look, I know you have your dignity, Nance, but it might be easier to carry you on my back,” Robin said.

“You asking me to ride you?” Nancy purred.

“You know, any other time and place, we’d be absolutely endeared by your attempts to flirt with us while you’re so sleepy,” Robin said.

“You know as well as I do, that we still find it endearing,” Vickie said in amusement, and she looked at Robin. “Leave the sword in the car, Robin, we’ll come back for it.”

“Yes, dear,” Robin said and did what she was told with a fond smile on her face.

Once the sword was put away, Vickie helped hoist Nancy onto Robin’s back. Nancy sighed and buried her face into Robin’s neck, as she’s done many times before. She held onto Robin as tightly as Robin was holding onto her legs. They walked into the hospital, and a nurse tried to tend to Nancy immediately.

“I’ve got my own nurse,” Nancy said sleepily. “I just need to see my parents.”

“It’s alright, Denise,” Vickie said. “I’ve got this from here. Are we able to see Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler now?”

“This way,” Denise said.

“Is that the Denise?” Nancy grumbled.

“Not now, Nance,” Robin whispered.

Nancy grumbled again, but she continued to let Robin carry her. She let her jealous thoughts run around her head, though, but she didn’t say any of them out loud. She was married, Nancy told herself, and Vickie was too crazy about the both of them.

“Your mother is awake,” Denise said when she approached Karen’s room. “But she won’t be able to speak for a while. Your father, his wounds were more severe. He’s still in his coma.”

“Let me down, Robin,” Nancy said, now more alert, and she slid off Robin’s back. “Is he going to die?”

“I can get his doctor for you. He has more information,” Denise said, looking at her with sympathy.

“Is. He. Going. To. Die?” Nancy asked firmly.

“I’m afraid that it doesn’t look good,” Denise said. “The doctors said that it will be a miracle if he makes it through the night.”

Nancy’s eyes filled with tears, the words going over and over in her head. All she could think about was the last Thanksgiving when everything changed for her family. . .when they finally started to feel like an actual family. She thought about Ted and the way she hugged him, his arms around her just like when she was little and tried to fly off the shed. She thought about all the times when she was little, and she’d fall asleep on his chest. He wouldn’t move an inch, too afraid to wake her up. She thought about when she refused to hold baby Mike because he was a “stinky boy”, and she was still pissed that he wasn’t a girl. She made up for it later when she practiced putting makeup on him. Ted managed to coax her arms open with his soft, soothing voice, and he placed Mike in her arms. Nancy had continued to scowl, but she remembered relaxing the more she held him.

“He’s pink like a girl, Daddy,” Nancy had said.

“Yeah,” Ted said with a chuckle. “I suppose he is.”

“If I just pretend in my head, can I pretend that he's my sister?” Nancy asked.

“Well. . .as long as it’s in your head, I suppose there’s no harm,” Ted said and Nancy beamed.

“I’ll call you Nancy Junior,” four-year-old Nancy had said proudly and Ted laughed.

“How about we never tell Mike this?” Ted asked.

“He can’t understand, Daddy, he’s just a baby,” Nancy said, rolling her eyes, and Ted had laughed harder than she had ever him laugh.

“You remind me so much of my mother,” Ted had told her.

“Nancy?” Vickie asked, drawing her out of her memory.

Nancy slipped her hands into Vickie’s and Robin’s before walking into her mother’s hospital room. Mike was there with Holly in his lap, sitting beside their mother’s bedside. Perhaps it would have been easier if they had taken the other route like they had. There had been a lot of vehicles heading that way. She supposed it was a good thing. It gave Steve a chance to say goodbye to Tommy. She was exhausted, and it wasn’t the kind of tiredness that sleep could easily fix. Winning had taken a toll, and it was difficult to feel victorious when they were surrounded by so much death and destruction. Karen was lying in bed; thick white bandages wrapped around her throat. Suddenly, Nancy felt small like she was a little girl again.  

“Mommy,” Nancy sobbed.

Nancy rushed to her mother’s side and wanted to throw herself on top of her, but even in her tired state, she couldn’t hurt her mother like that. Karen looked at her with tears in her eyes, just as happy to see Nancy, and she let Nancy take her hand. She pressed a kiss to her mother’s forehead and proceeded to cry into her hair. She could feel Karen crying as well. Finally, she pulled back and looked at Mike, whose eyes were red rimmed from crying. Holly had her head buried in his neck, and she was fast asleep.

“We saw Dad first,” Mike said. “She cried so hard she passed out.”

Nancy looked at Holly and stroked her hair. It was still stiff from the goop that they had been covered in. Nancy could feel how gross she was and how much she stunk, but she found that she didn’t care at all. Eventually, they were going to have to get cleaned up, but they’ll do that later. Nancy’s brain started running in circles, thinking about all of the things they’re going to have to do. Cathy and her soldiers had agreed to handle the clean-up since they did most of the heavy lifting. The monsters breaking free from Vecna and the Mind Flayer’s control had driven themselves crazy. A lot of them had gone back through the gate once they realized they were free. Nancy realized that her house was still a mess, and Mike’s bedroom probably had a lot of damage, too. There was probably a lot of damage in the hallway and the kitchen, too. Not to mention her blood. . .

“Nancy,” Mike called out gently. “We’ll deal with that later.”

Of course, he knew what he was thinking. He knew what she looked like when she suddenly started overthinking. She had seen it on his face, too, sometimes.

“Right, right,” Nancy said.

“You guys need water,” Vickie said. “Robin and I will go get some.”

Nancy gave them both grateful looks, and they both kissed her cheeks before walking out of the room. She stared at the doorway where they had walked through. She honestly couldn’t imagine a life without either of them. She turned back to her brother.

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“In the waiting room. . .well, actually, Max is back in her room with Lucas and her mother,” Mike said. “Eddie and Wayne are with Dad.”

“I should go see him,” Nancy said, and she felt Karen squeeze her hand.

“We’ll be here,” Mike said softly. “Go. He’s just down the hall.”

Nancy let go of her mother’s hand and walked out of the hospital room. She found her father’s room pretty quickly and paused in front of the door, dreading what she was about to see. Ted Wheeler was lying prone in his hospital bed, with a tube down his throat. She wasn’t sure if she had gotten the right room at first because his face was so bruised and swollen. Wayne was sitting by his bed, indicating that she had gotten it right. Eddie stood by his side, his hand on his shoulder, and looking somber. His red flannel was wrapped around him again. Nancy looked at her dad, feeling like she was having an out-of-body experience. For a man as tall he was, he should be intimidating, but he had always been a soft and stable man. . .a gentle giant. They had always taken him for granted. He had always been there for them. . .what was going to be like when he was gone? Nancy let out a choked sob and pressed her hand to her mouth.

“Oh, darling,” Wayne said when he finally saw her.

He stood up, letting go of Ted’s hand, and went to Nancy. He wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her gently. She let out a heartbreaking cry and shook against Wayne. She had cried too much already, her tear ducts were starting to dry up. Wayne cradled the back of her head with one hand and stroked her hair.

“He can’t die. He can’t die,” Nancy sobbed.

“There are some things you can’t stop, no matter how hard you try,” Wayne said. “I’m here, sweetheart. I promised Teddy that if anything happened to him, I’ll help your Mama look after you. I know you’re growing up, but I’ll tell you the same thing I told Eddie, it doesn’t matter how old you get, I’ll never stop looking after you. I ain’t trying to replace your daddy, I will never replace him, but I can be your family just as much as he was.”

“I love you,” Nancy cried.

“I love you, too, darling,” Wayne said softly and kissed her forehead.

She pulled away from the hug and gave him a grateful smile before moving over to Ted’s bed. The closer she got, the worse he looked. Nancy touched his hand.

“Oh, Daddy,” Nancy said softly.

She found that was all she could say. She started to get choked up again, and she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t breathe. She felt Wayne put his hand on her back.

“Breathe with me, darling, come on,” Wayne said softly. “Look at me.”

Nancy remembered Vickie and Robin helping Mike when she had been trapped with Holly in Vecna’s mind. She looked at Wayne and watched his breathing. She eventually started breathing with him.

“I’m tired,” Nancy said. “I’m so tired.”

Wayne wrapped an arm around her and moved her to the other side of the room. Wayne pushed the curtain back, revealing an empty bed. He pushed her gently into it and threw the covers over her.

“Rest now, darling,” Wayne said.

“What if someone needs the bed?” Nancy asked sleepily.

“Then I’ll move ya to another one,” Wayne said.

The door to Ted’s room opened again, and Nancy could see through heavy eyes that Vickie was standing there with a cup of water.

“I got her some water,” Vickie said. “She should drink some before she sleeps.”

Wayne nodded, and she came into the room. She walked over to Nancy and handed her the cup of water. Nancy downed it in a few seconds. She hadn’t realized that she was so thirsty until the water touched her lips. She handed the water back to Vickie and looked at Vickie gratefully. Nancy shut her eyes.

“Nancy. . .Nancy, wake up.”

Her eyes blinked open, and the lights came up, blinding her. She yelled out. She heard people scrambling and cursing before the lights went off. The only light came from the lamps in the corner of the hospital room.

“You idiot!” she heard someone yell.

“I didn’t know she was in here!”

“Hush!”

“I told you she was in here!”

Nancy groaned and pulled the covers up to her face. She didn’t know who was there, and she honestly didn’t care. She just wanted to sleep some more. Someone chuckled and gently pulled the covers away. She found herself looking into the lovely faces of both of her partners.

“Who the hell turned on those lights?” Nancy scowled.

“Sorry, boss,” she heard Fred’s voice speak.

Nancy looked up to find Fred, Patrick, Chrissy, and Eddie hovering by the door. Wayne was gone. Ted was still in a coma. She stared at her father’s bed, and Vickie grabbed her hand.

“Your father made it through the night, and they said his vitals are improving,” Vickie said with a smile. “They’re very positive about his outcome.”

“Really?” Nancy choked.

“Your dad’s going to be alright, Nance,” Robin said.

Nancy sat up and threw herself into their arms, hugging them tightly as she cried. Goddamnit, she was tired of crying. This one wasn’t so bad, though. They were tears of joy and relief. There was something different about them, though. She realized it was because they smelled clean and they were wearing fresh clothes.

“Yeah, Sue, Claudia, and Charles made us go home to get some rest,” Robin said. “And to change because apparently we did NOT smell like roses.”

“I asked your mom if it was okay if you and your family could stay in my home for a little while,” Vickie said. “She was more than okay with it. Wrote that you practically lived there anyway. You have some clothes at my house, but you’re welcome to wear mine, too, but you know that.”

“We picked up clothes for Holly, so she didn’t have to see the damage,” Robin said.

“You’ll be with me, of course, that’s a no-brainer,” Vickie said. “Holly and Mike will share the guest room. I had to twist Uncle Wayne’s arm, but he finally accepted my parents’ room with him and Eddie.”

“Is he everyone’s uncle now?” Eddie muttered.

“He’s getting clothes for himself and Eddie as we speak,” Robin said.

“Thank you, Vickie,” Nancy said and nuzzled her neck. “You have no idea how much this means to me. . .How much you mean to me. I love you.”

“I love you and your family. It’s not a problem, babe,” Vickie said.

She pulled away from Vickie and Robin before turning to look at the others.

“You guys have been home?” Nancy asked.

“My parents cried when they saw me,” Fred said.

“So did my mom,” Patrick said. “Apparently, she kicked my dad out after my funeral, and she apologized a lot for not doing it sooner.”

“What’s the official story?” Nancy asked.

“Not sure if there is one,” Fred said. “So much of the town had seen the demogorgons and demobats all over town.”

“They’ve also seen them crawling back into the Upside Down,” Chrissy said. “They just know that we were never dead and that Eddie helped protect us. My mother didn’t buy that story, of course.”

“What does she think?” Nancy asked.

“She thinks he’s controlling me, and she’s tried to persuade me to leave him,” Chrissy said. “But I stood firm and went into detail about how I threw myself at him. Now, she thinks I’ve been taken over by the devil. Don’t worry. Most people know that my mother’s always been insane. I’m staying with Dustin and his mom. They are so sweet.”

“I’m sorry about your mom,” Nancy said. “I’m glad you have a place to stay, though.”

“Thanks, boss,” Chrissy said.

“You guys are never going to drop that, are you?” Nancy asked with a groan.

“Never,” Fred said with a grin.

A foul smell hit her nose, and she sniffed herself. Yep, that was her. Nancy looked at Robin and Vickie.

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Robin said, wrinkling up her nose.

“Yeah, I think it’s time for me to get cleaned up,” Nancy said.

Nancy was helped out of bed by her girlfriends, and together, they walked out of the room but not before saying goodbye to their friends. She made sure to check in on her mother. She found Mike and Holly in her room again, looking like they had cleaned up as well. Nancy smiled at them.

“Did they tell you about Dad?” Nancy asked.

“Yeah,” Holly beamed. “It’s so great. . .what happened to you?”

“I fell asleep in the other bed,” Nancy said. “Robin and Vickie are going to take me to Vickie’s house so I can get cleaned up, but I’ll be back.”

“I’d hug you, but you look gross,” Holly said, and Mike laughed.

Nancy chuckled before smiling at her mother, who returned it with a slight wince. Even with the medication, she was still in a lot of pain. She squeezed Karen’s hand, said goodbye, and left the hospital with her partners. Robin crawled into Vickie’s backseat first, and Vickie helped Nancy into the passenger seat. Her leg felt better, but there was still some pain. When she pulled up to the house, Wayne’s truck was in the driveway, and he was just leaving it as they walked to the door.

“About time, darling, you were getting ripe,” Wayne said.

“Yeah,” Nancy laughed. “Go look after my dad, old man.”

Wayne kissed her forehead before hopping into his truck. Nancy let Robin and Vickie lead her inside. For once, she wasn’t letting her stubborn need for radical independence take over. She wasn’t pushing them away or diving headfirst into her work. It didn’t make her weak to admit it to herself. . .but she desperately wanted them. She specifically never wanted them to leave her side.

“Shower or bath?” Vickie asked.

“Bath,” Nancy said. “I just don’t feel like standing up.”

While they prepared the bath in Vickie’s parents’ bathroom, Nancy brushed her teeth using the spare toothbrush she left here and tried to take off her clothing. They were stiff from dirt, goop, and blood. Without a word, with the water still running, her partners started to help her out of her clothes.

“You think this uniform can be saved?” Robin joked.

“Burn the damn thing,” Nancy said. “I’m not sure if I want to go back to being a candy striper right now.”

“Oh, babe, that’s more than fine, especially after everything you and your family’s been through,” Vickie said. “Denise said that they’ve got so many volunteers just this morning.”

“Ugh, Denise,” Nancy and Robin groaned.

“She’s married and I’m in love with you two idiots! Stop it!” Vickie giggled and Nancy smiled. “You two are messing with me.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Nancy said.

“You’re not sorry at all,” Vickie pouted and Robin laughed.

Nancy leaned forward and kissed her until the pout disappeared. That’s generally how it went when Vickie pouted. When Nancy pulled away, Vickie was smiling. Once Nancy was completely undressed, Robin and Vickie helped her into the bath.

“Do you want us to stay?” Robin asked.

“I want you to bathe me,” Nancy said.

“Hm, really?” Robin asked.

“I missed your touches,” Nancy said softly.

Robin smiled and kissed her. Nancy’s hand went to the back of her neck, pulling her harder against her lips. She broke the kiss and touched Robin’s face, her fingers touching the bruises on her face. Nancy kissed each one and pulled away again. Robin grabbed the cup off the sink and tilted her head back so she could wet her hair while Vickie went to work scrubbing her body. It felt amazing to feel their hands working to make her clean again. A feeling of euphoria shot through her, spreading through her veins and causing the tiny hairs on her body to shoot up. It was a different sort of intimacy.

“You know, Vickie caught me up to speed. . .told me all about you riding a dragon,” Robin said softly.

“Jealous?” Nancy asked.

“A little,” Robin said, and Nancy looked at her. “Okay, a lot.”

“Well, maybe later I can pretend to be a dragon, and you can ride me,” Nancy said and Vickie giggled.

“I’ll be holding you to that,” Robin said and tilted her head back to kiss her deeply.

Nancy smiled against her lips and let Robin run her hand gently against her throat as she they kissed. Her heart raced as it always did when she kissed either one of them. She dragged Robin’s hand to her breast and let her play with her nipple. Vickie’s hand froze, but Nancy used her other hand to move Vickie’s, so she could cup her sex. She guided Vickie’s fingers inside of her as she continued to kiss Robin, and Vickie started to move. . .slowly at first, but she picked up a little bit of speed. Vickie teased her, acting like she was going to make her way to Nancy’s clitoris, but she pulled away, and Nancy whined against Robin’s mouth. In response, Nancy pulled Robin closer and wrapped her arm around Robin’s neck, slipping her tongue inside the other woman’s mouth. Robin moaned as she broke the kiss, and Nancy playfully glared at her.

“Where are you going?” Nancy asked. “Come back here.”

“You’re going to get me wet,” Robin said.

“That’s the idea,” Nancy purred. “I missed you. I missed you both. I need you.”

“You need to get clean,” Robin swallowed.

“Then fucking clean me, Buckley,” Nancy said.

She opened Robin’s button up in one quick motion, pulling it out of her pants, and once again, Vickie froze with her fingers still inside of Nancy. She hadn’t even broken a single button. Nancy pushed the shirt off her shoulders, exposing Robin’s white bra. Robin sighed with a happy smile and took off her shirt, tossing it aside. Robin made quick work of the rest of her clothes, and she was naked in front of both of them. She made sure to take off her rings, too. Nancy sat up, indicating that she wanted Robin to sit behind her. Robin slid in behind her, and Nancy leaned back against her. She grabbed Robin’s arm and moved it around her waist, dragging her finger to slide into her folds so she could join Vickie. Together, Robin and Vicke fucked her with their fingers until she came loudly as she spilled onto their hands. Nancy tilted her head back, nuzzling her cheek against Robin’s.

“You’re still fucking dirty,” Robin said and Nancy laughed. "Naughty Nancy."

She finally let them wash her with Robin getting her hair and her back while Vickie washed the rest of her body. She really focused on her soapy breasts; Nancy noticed, to her amusement. Vickie had washed her leg carefully, going slow as she cleaned up the closed wound. She had listened to Vickie rambling as she made note of the fact that it didn’t look infected and how the saliva had basically stitched it together, although badly. Vickie had, at one point, traced the wound with her finger. Nancy winced and then laughed when Vickie squeaked before apologizing profusely.

“It’s fine, Vickie,” Nancy said with a fond smile, and she touched Vickie’s face gently.

Vickie sighed and leaned into her touch, nuzzling her hand. Nancy couldn’t help but think about the dream that she had of them as wolves, and Vickie’s beautiful red coat shimmering in the moonlight. She brushed her thumb against Vickie’s cheekbone, and Vickie looked at her from under her eyelashes. Her blue eyes were shimmering with tears. It was Robin who let out a sob and pressed her cheek against Nancy’s wet hair.

“We thought we lost you,” Robin cried.

“I thought my heart had disappeared when I saw you fall,” Vickie sniffled. “One minute, you were on the dragon, and then you were just. . .falling.”

“I’m here, though,” Nancy said. “Eddie caught me.”

“I know,” Vickie sobbed. “It was just so fucking scary.”

Nancy pulled Vickie into a gentle kiss, and she could taste Vickie’s tears on her tongue as she kissed her back. She kissed away her tears and pulled back.

“I love you,” Nancy said. “Both of you.”

She remembered how difficult it had been to say those words before. It hadn’t been because she hadn’t loved Steve or Jonathan but because she had been so afraid of connecting with people after losing Barb. Now, here was, loving both of them, and not being afraid to admit it. She didn’t want to lose this.

“We love you, too,” Robin said and kissed her shoulder. “So much.”

“This was a lot, Vickie,” Nancy said softly. “And we’d understand if it’s too much -,”

“What’s with you and Robin? She gave me the same speech last night when you were asleep,” Vickie scoffed. “I’m not going anywhere. I literally went to hell for you; I’m not going to leave either of you now. You’re stuck with me.”

“We’re lucky to have you,” Nancy corrected.

“We just wanted to make sure that we’re what you want,” Robin said. “At least, that’s what I was thinking.”

“I’m never breaking up with you,” Vickie said. “You’re going to have to do a lot more than that if that’s what you want.”

“We don’t want to break up with you either,” Nancy said. “You were always there for us when we had our nightmares.”

“And we’ll do the same for you, Vick,” Robin said.

“We’re in this together,” Nancy said, and her stomach growled loudly, almost as in agreement.

“Well, let’s get you out of the tub, I think you might be hungry,” Vickie joked.

Vickie helped Nancy out of the tub and wrapped a towel around while Robin grabbed one for herself. They dried her off; Vickie dried her body, and Robin dried her hair. After that, they helped dress her into a long lavender skirt, a white button-up, and a baby blue sweater vest. With her leg the way it was, Nancy didn’t want jeans to bother it further, and fresh cool air felt good against her legs. When they walked into the kitchen, Vickie immediately started on breakfast, while Robin made coffee. She watched them from the chair, her heart swelling at the sight of her girlfriends doing this for her. There was a stubborn part of her who still wanted to fight it, that she didn’t need to be taken care of, but she pushed the feeling back because there was nothing wrong with letting people take care of you and it didn’t make Nancy weaker to let them do it. It took her a long time to realize that. She watched Robin fix her a cup before fixing herself one, too. Robin gave her the cup and sat down next to her. Nancy stared at her.

“What?” Robin asked, and Nancy slid into her lap. “Oh.”

“Much better seat,” Nancy said and kissed her.

“I’m not complaining,” Robin muttered against her lips.

Robin pulled the other chair up so Nancy could prop her leg up. She got another kiss for that. They drank their coffee and watched their girlfriend as she cooked, humming as she did so. Vickie wore a pink flowery long-sleeved dress. Even nearing winter, Vickie wasn’t one for wearing pants. She liked her legs to breathe. Lately, it led to Nancy and Robin warming up her cold legs with their hands or blankets. More often than not, that led to them discovering that Vickie “forgot” to wear underwear. Of course, that was only when they were here at Vickie’s house or when Nancy was driving, and Vickie was in the passenger’s seat. Nancy’s eyes watched the skirt swish around Vickie’s pale, beautiful legs, her eyes occasionally drifting up to her ass. Yeah, she was wearing underwear. Judging by the way that Robin’s hand was gently squeezing her thigh, she knew that Robin was on the same page as her. Pretty soon, breakfast was done, and Vickie was placing a couple of plates in front of them. It was just eggs, sausages, and some toast. It was enough for them.

“It looks good, Vick,” Nancy said. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“The whole sweetheart thing is new,” Vickie noted, blushing. “I don’t hate it.”

“I hate it when men call me that, mostly because they mean it in a condescending way,” Nancy said. “But when I look at you, I generally mean it. You are an absolute sweetheart, Vickie Dunne.”

“And me?” Robin asked.

“Oh, you’re a menace,” Nancy teased, and Vickie laughed when Robin let out a noise of protest. “I think honey would be good for you because you’re a sweet sticky mess, but also you have a voice like honey.”

“I agree with that,” Vickie said and tapped Nancy’s plate. “Eat.”

Vickie had yet to sit down and was standing next to both of them. Nancy placed a hand on her hip.

“I love it when you tell me what to do,” Nancy said.

“I thought you loved doing the telling,” Vickie said.

“I can’t love more than one thing?” Nancy smirked.

Vickie blushed and shook her head. She pushed Nancy’s hand off of her hip.

“Eat,” Vickie said and sat down across from them.

Nancy moved from Robin’s lap and sat in the chair her leg was just occupying. They ate in comfortable silence and drank their coffee. Robin chewed and swallowed the bit of sausage.

“This isn’t a complaint either, just an observation, but. . .you seem very promiscuous,” Robin said.

“I’m just appreciating what I have, that’s all,” Nancy said. “I know that once we leave here, it’s going to be difficult and. . .sad. I just want to enjoy the time we have together while we can.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Vickie said.

“Plus, you two. . .total babes,” Nancy said innocently. “At this point, it’s not my fault I can’t keep my hands off of you.”

“This is true. We are total babes, Vick,” Robin said.

“I’ve spent a lot of time worrying so much about what other people thought about me,” Nancy said. “Even though I kept telling myself that I did NOT care. They had this idea of me in my head, even Jonathan had this idea of me in my head. It was a lot of pressure to live up to that even though I knew it wasn’t with ill intent. I just couldn’t be what he wanted me to be and some days, I just didn’t know what that was...honestly, I think it was because he reminded me of his mother, but that’s something for his future therapist. . .I like sex. I especially like sex with you two.”

Vickie smiled at her, running her foot up Nancy’s uninjured leg. For a moment, Vickie forgot about her breakfast and just gazed into Nancy’s eyes. Vickie shrugged.

“Eh. You’re alright,” Vickie said casually, and Robin laughed.

“Asshole!” Nancy exclaimed and kicked her shin slightly, causing Vickie to giggle.

They finished breakfast, and Robin got up to clean the table. While Robin started washing, Nancy stared at Vickie, who got up to put her coffee cup in the sink. Nancy reached over to grab her arm and pulled Vickie back to her.

“Nance!” Vickie exclaimed.

“I’m still hungry,” Nancy said.

“Well, I’ll be happy to make something -,” Vickie started.

“That’s not what I’m hungry for,” Nancy said.

She grabbed Vickie’s hips and hoisted her up onto the table. Vickie let out a surprise yelp but smiled.

“Oh,” Vickie realized and spread her legs for Nancy.

Nancy pushed the skirt of her dress up, letting her nails drag gently against her skin. Nancy slid her panties down and laid them on the table.

“You know what?” Robin said, taking off the gloves. “I can finish these...well, after Vickie finishes.”

Nancy laughed, and she could feel Vickie laughing as well as she dove between her legs. As Nancy’s tongue slid past Vickie’s folds, she could feel Robin’s ringless finger joining her. . .Robin always made sure to take off her rings now. The memory of Robin losing her ring inside of Nancy almost made her lose focus, but she didn’t. Robin and Nancy managed to fuck Vickie to completion, enjoying the way Vickie yelled out. Nancy especially enjoyed the way that her chest heaved when Nancy pulled away, her chin dripping with Vickie’s cum. Nancy giggled when Robin bent down and licked the juice of Nancy’s face.

“Satisfied?” Vickie asked.

“Very,” Nancy said.

It took a few more minutes to sober up, giving Robin enough time to do the dishes. Once that was complete, they left to go back to the hospital. Robin had left the house with the sword and put it in the trunk of Vickie’s bug. Nancy raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I’ve decided to keep it,” Robin said, and she paused. “I asked Joyce, and she said that Hopper would be happy to know that it’s in capable hands. Plus, I think she likes the fact that I helped her son when she couldn’t. I mean, she was a little upset when I sort of put Will in danger, but I think she respected the fact that I respected Will’s choice in the end.”

“Aw, is Will your Dustin?” Vickie asked after they got into the car.

“No, Erica is my Dustin,” Robin replied. “As smart as she is, it’s exhausting trying to keep her alive. Did I tell you what I had to stop her from eating when we were trapped in the secret bunker under Starcourt Mall? Well, actually, I don’t know what it was called, but it was basically acid. It spilled and broke open on the floor, burning a hole in the floor. She wanted to EAT IT! Don’t tell her I told you this, she’ll kill me, and then she’ll never let me in on – you know what? Never mind that. I’m not supposed to tell you about that.”

Nancy leaned back against Robin, laughing. She tried to crawl in the backseat, but Nancy wasn’t having any of that. Robin had laughed when she had yanked her back down into the passenger’s seat. She happily let Nancy crawl into her lap again. She was just as clingy as Nancy, and maybe part of it was guilt. Nancy had appeared to Vickie but not to Robin, and while she did what she did to protect the group, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. As Vickie drove them to the hospital, Nancy’s fingers played with the rings now back on Robin’s hands.

“I’m sorry, Robin,” Nancy said.

“About what?” Robin asked.

“I saw you in the barn, and then I showed myself to Vickie, but I could have shown myself to you -,” Nancy started to say.

“Nancy, babe, while I didn’t know that you could see me. I think I felt your presence,” Robin said. “I understand your reason if it’s the same reason why we kidnapped Derek and his family and kept a bag over Derek’s head.”

“What?!” Nancy shrieked.

“Yeah, we did that,” Robin said. “Derek was his next victim; Vecna was looking through his eyes. You didn’t want to get caught by Creel. I totally get that, Nance. I’m not mad at you. Because of you, we saved the fucking world. You saved the fucking world, Nancy Wheeler, and on a goddamn dragon, too.”

“That’s true,” Nancy said. “You got a sword out of it.”

“Yeah, I did,” Robin said proudly. “And it completely makes up for the fact that I didn’t get to see you.”

“Well, I’m glad I rate as much as a sword,” Nancy laughed, and Robin kissed her.

“Starting to get why you didn’t want to keep your hands off us. . .do we have to go back to the hospital?!” Robin exclaimed.

“Robin!” Vickie scolded her playfully. “Yes! We do!”

Walking into the hospital put the women into a much somber mood. The hospital staff was in a frenzy as they tried to help as much as possible. There were wounded all over the place, and people crying off in the distance. A loud wail came from down the hallways.

“I WANT MOMMY! I WANT MY MOMMY!”

There was a television on in the lobby, with a news reporter looking grief stricken and tired.

“– As of this morning, the death toll has risen to 20 and is expected to rise as the citizens of Hawkins search for more bodies,” the reporter said. “We’re told that many have yet to be identified. If you are missing a loved one – “

“Is this from the Demogorgon attack?” Nancy asked.

“Yeah,” Vickie said sadly. “A lot of them went crazy.”

Guilt hit her on the stomach. This was because she had broken the connection – no, this wasn’t her fault. If she hadn’t destroyed the stone, then more people would be dead. This was the work of Henry Creel and Martin Brenner. Nancy swallowed. Vickie wasn’t kidding when she said that there were a lot of new volunteers who were willing to help out at the hospital. Cathy’s men were also helping out. They managed to fight through the crowd and ran into her mother being wheeled out of her hospital room by Wayne.

“Mom?” Nancy asked in surprise.

“Oh, your mama volunteered to give up her bed,” Wayne said.

“Oh! I haven’t set up the den for you and Mr. Wheeler!” Vickie exclaimed. “I was going to – “

“Oh, you let me handle that,” Wayne said. “It’s the least that I can do.”

“The den is closet to the downstairs bathroom, so I thought it would be easier once you started moving around,” Vickie said. “I was going to see about getting some beds – “

“I told you, I’ll handle that,” Wayne said. “I’ve got Eddie and Chrissy on getting the beds.”

Mike appeared behind Wayne, with Holly holding his hand. She wasn’t sure who was clinging to who more, but Nancy figured that it was equal for both of them.

“Jane wants to have one last meeting at the station,” Mike said. “And Bones? Eddie says to bring the tapes. He said you’d know what that means.”

“I do!” Vickie grinned.  

“We need to get the gear out before the original comes back anyway,” Nancy said. “How’s dad?”

“Getting stronger,” Wayne said. “The doctors say he might wake up soon...I’m going to get your mama settled, but it’s fine if you want to see your daddy.”

“We’ll be there soon,” Nancy said. “I want to see him again.”

Nancy bent down to hug her mother before hugging Uncle Wayne and her siblings. Holly held on tightly before following after the rest of her family. Nancy turned around and started at the news reporter on the television screen. They needed another story, not a lie, but the town needed someone to blame for all this. It was easy when it wasn’t a lie, maybe a little watered down, Nancy thought. Miranda Kay was responsible for a lot of their pain and suffering, just like Brenner was. She wasn’t going to put their victims on display. . .just the atrocities, and the town already knew what the lab had done to Barb. Then there was Eddie and the others as well. A serial killer who had been a victim, too. . .it was also true that Eddie helped save them so it wouldn’t be a lie either to say that they had run from Henry Creel, that Eddie helped save them. Nancy was already writing the article in her head. The Post wouldn’t be watched by the military anymore. She’d just have to talk about it with Cathy and leave Jane as well as the other children out of it as well.

“Nancy?” Vickie asked.

“Oh, the wheels are spinning,” Robin said.

“Oh, I can see it!” Vickie exclaimed. “She’s got an idea for an article! I love witnessing it.”

“I’ll write it later,” Nancy said in amusement. “Let’s go see my dad. . .I didn’t even ask, do you guys need to –,”

“We don’t need to be anywhere right now,” Vickie said.

“Except with you,” Robin said, and then she frowned with Vickie. “Unless -,”

“We’re not being too clingy, are we?” Vickie asked.

“Perfect amount,” Nancy said with a smile.

They walked beside her as she led them to her father’s room. There was another family in there surrounding the bed that she had slept in last night. She didn’t recognize them. It was a small town, but despite what people think, not everyone knew each other. Nancy approached Ted’s bed. He was still unconscious. She placed a hand on his shoulder, the one that wasn’t heavily bandaged.

“You know, you could talk to him if you wanted to,” Vickie said, touching her shoulder softly, and Nancy smiled.

“Hi, Daddy, it’s Nancy. I was here last night but I -,”

Ted’s unswollen brown eye opened, and he squinted for a moment. A tear slid down his bruised cheek, and Nancy wept as well. Ted started to choke on the tube.

“Nurse!” Vickie yelled out as left the room.

“Daddy,” Nancy cried.

It had been a really good sign, a hopeful sign that there would be more healing to come. Nancy didn’t know how long she stayed there, sending Vickie off to call her family back to the hospital. They sat there talking and laughing with Ted, joyous to see him awake. Of course, his voice was a little weak, so he had couldn’t say anything. Not that he could with the other family in the room. He said a lot with just a look and tears on his cheeks with his family surrounding his bedside. She knew the look in his eye. He never thought anyone would be grateful to see him alive, and that was because his father made him feel that way. Nancy beamed at her father, letting him know without saying how much she loved him. Nancy was still smiling from ear to ear when she was back in Vickie’s house, helping to gather her video tapes.

“Ooh, this one is my favorite,” Robin muttered. “I know Dustin loves this one –,”

They heard the front door open and close, then the scurrying of footsteps from the foyer. Two people appeared in the living room. Nancy recognized them immediately from the photos. Vickie was the perfect mixture of Eileen Dunne and Jack O’Neill. She got her short stature and red hair from her father. Her mother was dark-haired, blue-eyed, and tall with a long face that matched Vickie’s.

“Mom, Dad,” Vickie sobbed. “You’re alive.”

Months of not knowing, and they had both watched her struggle to remain hopeful, but the more time passed, the less hopeful she had become. Vickie ran to her parents and threw herself into their arms, her body wracking with heavy sobs. Nancy shared a smile with Robin and watched their girlfriend cry into her parents' arms, rambling about everything that happened.

“Oh, Vickie, love, slow down, you’ll swallow your tongue,” Eileen said.

“Oh my god, I just invited so many people to stay here, but I know them, and their house is a wreck -,” Vickie rambled.

“You talk more than I do,” Jack said in amusement. “And breathe just as well while doing it. Vickie, baby, I’m sure if you invited them into our home, you had good judgment. Come on, kiddo, slow breaths.”  

“They can stay as long as they like,” Eileen said. “This is your home, too.”

Eileen and Jack were lovely people. They accepted Nancy and Robin as Vickie’s girlfriends almost immediately. They had known about Vickie all her life, and they weren’t surprised with how big her heart was, that she’d have two loves. They followed Vickie to the station with more questions that they needed answered from others in the group. They didn’t have trouble believing Vickie either about what happened in Hawkins. They had seen some of the carnage on the way in. The barriers for the quarantine had been taken down, and they had witnessed several soldiers being taken into custody as well. When they pulled up to the station, Eddie met them at the front door.

“Do you have the tapes?” Eddie asked Vickie.

“Yes!” Vickie beamed and handed the box of tapes over to him. “Are you sure that this is -,”

“Jane asked for it,” Eddie said. “Well, actually, she told Mike and Mike told me that she wanted to turn her brain off and just watch Scooby-Doo.”

“Another fan,” Vickie smiled softly.

“You’d be crazy not to be,” Eddie said seriously.

“Aren’t you Eddie Munson?” Jack asked.

“Who are you?” Eddie asked, narrowing his eyes.

“My dad,” Vickie said. “He didn’t kill those people. They’re inside and very much alive, remember?”

“Oh, I wasn’t – I mean, I was surprised to find that you’re alive is all. Vickie explained some things, but we haven’t really gotten the full story,” Jack said.

“Joyce and the kiddos are instead if you want the full book,” Eddie said and moved inside.

Inside the station was chaos, not the bad kind of chaos. Fred, Patrick, Chrissy, Max, Lucas, Holly, Mike, Mr. Clarke, Melissa, the rest of the Sinclairs, Claudia, Dustin, Steve, Jonathan, Joyce, Terry, Jane, Will, Wayne, Argyle, Kali, and Kali’s friends were all piled into the basement. Blankets, chairs, and pillows were spread all about. Lucas and Max were curled up together on the floor with Max resting her head on Lucas’ chest with a smile on her face and sunglasses over her eyes. Jane was lying down with her mother and her brothers. Argyle was staring at Kali in awe, and Kali would roll her eyes, but every time she turned away from him, she’d let out a small smile. There were food, snacks, and drinks. Apparently, the Sinclairs and Claudia had cooked enough for a small army. When did they have time to do that? Nancy blinked, and Joyce was standing in front of them.

“Joyce!” Vickie exclaimed. “These are my parents!”

“Oh! They’re alive! That’s so wonderful!” Joyce exclaimed. “I’m happy for you. I know how stressed you’ve been. You have a great girl here.”

“Oh, I didn’t think about Jane. . .with my parents and all. . .She just lost her father,” Vickie frowned.

“Don’t worry about Jane, she’s in good hands,” Joyce said. “Go sit down. Let the parents take care of things for once. Come on, we’ll fill you in.”

Joyce led Eileen and Jack over to the parents, who were also being helped by Mr. Clarke and the librarian. Holly and Mike were curled up next to their mother’s chair with Holly’s head in Karen’s lap, letting her stroke her hair. Steve was right there with Jonathan, and Nancy immediately greeted Steve with a hug.

“How are you doing?” she asked Steve.

“It was a lot,” Steve said, his eyes red. “But Nate’s been good. I'm not sure if I could have gotten through that without him.”

Robin immediately threw herself into her best friend’s arms, burrowing her head into his neck.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there -,” Robin said.

“You needed to be with Nancy,” Steve said. “I understand that; besides, I had Jonathan. We can’t be together all the time.”

“We can fucking try,” Robin said.

Nancy and Vickie didn’t protest when Robin chose to curl up next to Steve. In fact, they had smiled fondly at them both. Nancy let Vickie pull her leg onto her lap and rub ointment that she had in her purse onto her wound. Nancy watched Dustin and Eddie argue as they worked to set up the TV in the basement. Chrissy was watching on in amusement. Patrick’s mom and Fred’s parents came down with trays of food to set with the others with Robin's parents following behind them. The table that was set up was completely filled. Nancy was itching to write, though, while it was all being set up.

“I need -,” Nancy started to say.

Vickie put away the ointment and wiped her hands on her dress. She pulled out a notebook and pen from her purse. Nancy stared at her.

“I grabbed it before we left the house,” Vickie said.

“I love you,” Nancy said fondly and Vickie shrugged, grinning.

Nancy started to write, making notes to grab quotes from the rest of Vecna’s victims to back up Eddie as the savior of Hawkins. Honestly, they all worked together, but if they wanted to clear Eddie’s name, they needed to emphasize that Eddie’s a hero and they needed to be as truthful as possible. She paused in her writing when Vickie yawned. She looked at Vickie.

“How long have you been taking care of other people?” Nancy asked.

“I’ve gotten plenty of rest,” Vickie said.

“You didn’t answer my question, Vick,” Nancy said.

“Okay, I’ve gotten sleep on and off, but people needed help, Nance!” Vickie whined. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“You need to take care of yourself, too,” Nancy said. “Promise me, you’ll get some rest this evening.”

“Promise,” Vickie said and kissed her cheek.

Eddie and Dustin finally got the TV set up. Dustin popped in one of Vickie’s tapes, and the Scooby-Doo theme song started playing. Eddie and Dustin helped pass out food with the parents before settling down with the rest of the party. Eddie made sure to sit as close to Vickie as possible so they could come up with insane theories about why Scooby could talk. Of course, that discussion led to them talking about how gay Velma, Fred, Shaggy, and Daphane are.

“I’m saying it right now,” Steve said as he leaned over to join their conversation. “All four of them. . .together.”