Falling for the Freak - Eddie Munson Fix-It Fic Chapter 22
Hello all! I hope you are doing well! We are threw the thick of it! From here on out we are focusing on Eddie and the reader’s relationship because let’s be honest, that’s why we’re all here. I am really excited to start writing this part of it. I really don’t know how long I’m gonna keep writing, just because we have gotten through all the content that I pretty much wanted to cover in terms of it being a fix-it fic. But I’ll keep writing as long as you all want to read. :D Also I’m pulling too many hours next week and am working on moving out so I cannot promise any kind of regular posting schedule. But since we’re through with the nasty stuff, nothing too big or cliff hanger-ish should be happening in this fic. We’re just here to enjoy Eddie being adorable with his favorite lady.
CHAPTER SUMMARY: Eddie and the reader are in recovery in the hospital. The California gang arrives in Hawkins and introduces themselves to their new party members. (Friends I am so excited to start writing for Joyce you have no idea. I have literally been in love with her since day one.) It’s gonna be a pretty chill chapter - not gonna lie - just kinda wrapping things up before we get into the fun fluffy stuff.
DISCLAIMERS/WARNINGS: I no longer have to make any disclaimers about content belonging to the Duffer Brothers! This is all original from here on out and wow am I excited! In this chapter there will be fluff, a bit of angst, language, and a bit of ptsd between the reader and Eddie but nothing too heavy.
Chapter 22
It was a slow recovery for Eddie and I. When I finally met with a doctor, I was informed that my wounds were severe. Whereas most of Eddie’s wounds were to his torso, the sides of his stomach and his chest, mine covered my legs, arms, and back. They mostly covered one side of my body as I had curled in a ball on the ground when the bats attacked. I had surface level scratches on most of my body, but there were several bites and deep scrapes along my left arm and leg. My back seemed to have received the deepest of scratches, making it difficult to lie comfortably in my hospital bed. There were stiches all over my body, making me feel like a ragdoll who had been played with too roughly. Upon being X-rayed, I learned that three of the fingers on my left hand had broken when I had shielded the onslaught of bats flying at me and Eddie.
Of course, the doctors attributed my wounds to broken glass flying at me when Eddie and I had gotten in a “car crash” during the almost Earth quake that had occurred in Hawkins the night we went to the Upside Down. Only he and I knew better that our wounds were from something much worse.
On my fourth day in the hospital, I was told that I could leave to finish my recovery at home. After returning home to my aunt’s house, I had to make a few phone calls to my professors to tell them that I had been in an accident and would be needing extensions on all assignments for the rest of the semester. Aunt Claudia begged me to drop my courses, but I couldn’t afford to lose that much money, so I decided to tough it out.
My parents came to visit when they heard what had happened. They stayed with us at Aunt Claudia’s. They were both incredibly worried, especially when they found out that my boyfriend was technically being detained for questioning by the Hawkins police in relation to three murders.
Yes. Only three murders. Thankfully, by the grace of God, Nancy, Robin, and Steve were able to kill Vecna before he could reach Max. She was still in rough shape though, so she was spending some time in the hospital to make sure she was ok. I visited her each day I spent in the hospital and while she seemed deeply shaken by the whole experience, it seemed like she would survive just fine. Especially since Lucas made sure to visit her everyday for hours.
My parents decided to stay for a while with us in Hawkins. As happy as I was to see my parents, I couldn’t help but wish they would leave a bit quicker. I wanted to see Eddie. I wanted to make sure that my friends were ok and safe. I really wanted to meet Eleven, who had rolled into Hawkins with Mike Wheeler, Jonathan and Will Byers, and Jonthan’s friend Argyle. Also new to town was Joyce Byers and Police Chief, Jim Hopper, who had mysteriously returned from the dead. Even though everything with Vecna seemed to be over, it felt like there were still so many questions I wanted answered. I mostly wanted to know how we were going to prove Eddie’s innocence.
---
Two days after I returned from the hospital, I received a call from Hopper. He asked if I was alone if he could pick me up. I told him that Dustin was home with me and he still agreed that Dustin would come with us. Within twenty minutes, I saw a beige Hawkins PD truck pull up in front of the house. I opened the door before Chief Hopper could knock.
He was tall and strongly built. His head was shaved and he had a scruffy beard appearing on his chin. Chief Hopper’s face was haunted and hardened. I didn’t know yet how he had managed to rise from the dead, but it seemed to have taken a toll on him.
“Y/N?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. I felt incredibly small standing in front of him.
“Come with me,” he said. “We need to talk,”
Dustin and I rode in the front seat of the police car with Chief Hopper. I was intimidated by the man’s strong presence and was silent the entire way there. Dustin only chimed in a few times to mention something to Hopper but other than that the ride was quiet. We drove out to the edge of town where the trees were thick. Hopper eventually pulled over when we reached a small wooden cabin.
On the porch stood a girl with a shaved head. She was probably around fourteen and was incredibly beautiful. Standing with her was a tall and rather skinny young man with curly black hair. Before I was introduced to them, I knew that this was Mike Wheeler and Eleven, the girl with super powers.
I approached them with caution. Chief Hopper introduced us and then we all went into the cabin. When I walked in, I saw Lucas, Steve, Robin, and Nancy sitting on the couch. A woman probably in her forties was standing by a boy with a bowl cut who sat in one of the arm chairs in the living room. Sitting on the floor with the boy was clearly his brother. They looked too similar not to be related. The chief introduced me to the Byers. I took a seat on the arm of the couch and Dustin sat on the floor by Steve. Chief Hopper stood so all of us could see him.
“Here’s the plan,” he said. “And we’re not negotiating. This is what’s happening. We’re all going to agree to it and then we’ll never speak of it again.”
We all nodded.
“With some help from a few friends, I think we’ve built up enough of a case to prove that Jason Carver had a screw or two loose and that he would have been capable of murder. He was the strongest to come out against the supposed devil worshippers of Hawkins. I think it’s plausible that maybe he got a little too hot headed when he found out that the leader of the Hellfire Club was dealing drugs to his sweet and innocent girlfriend. Maybe he got jealous, maybe he was upset with Chrissy for getting into drugs, enraged possibly. He sneaks into Munson’s trailer, attacks Chrissy, Eddie escapes before Jason can come after him. He realizes that Eddie looks like the culprit, decides to take down Fred to prove that Eddie’s guilty. Maybe Patrick figures out what’s going on and confronts Jason, Jason gets mad, knows Patrick will rat him out, so he takes his last victim before killing himself at the Creel house,”
“Wait,” I said, “killing himself?”
“Didn’t you hear?” Lucas asked. “Jason showed up at the Creel house when Max and I were there. He tried to kill me. He lost his balance when we were fighting and fell out the second story window,”
“Oh my God,” I said.
“He’s not around to say this is a cover up, and it’s the only way I can think of to prove Munson’s innocence,” Hopper said.
“Jason was crazy,” Robin said, “but can we really frame him for murder?”
“Do you want Eddie to go down for something he didn’t do?” Dustin asked. “Jason would’ve killed Lucas if he got the chance. It’s not crazy to say that he would have been capable of murder like this,”
“Besides, this is what we’re doing,” Hopper said. “No if ands or buts. I just want you all to know the story before it gets out and Munson is released from the hospital.”
“Eddie’s being released?” I asked.
“He should be as free as a bird by this evening,” Hopper said. “We’ve got the evidence, or at least we can make the evidence strong enough against Jason. Most importantly, we can prove that your boyfriend is an innocent man,”
“Oh thank God,” I said.
“Don’t go thanking anyone yet,” Hopper said. “He may be innocent by law but I don’t know if this town will ever accept him again. You better buckle up if you’re planning on staying with him,”
“Because they were so welcoming before all of this happened,” Dustin said.
“I’ll stand by him,” I said. “I don’t care what this town says about him. I know the man that I love. And he’s good and true. He saved this town,”
“Then let’s get this settled and get him out of the hospital,” Hopper said.
---
I was still in recovery myself, but I would have been damned if I wasn’t there to see Eddie walk out of the hospital a free man. I waited outside for Wayne and Eddie to come out the front doors of the hospital. When they did, I saw that Eddie was in a wheel chair and that Wayne was carrying a pair of crutches for his nephew.
“Y/N,” Eddie said, a smile growing across his face when he saw me.
“Hi,” I said, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “How are you?”
“I’m free,” Eddie said.
“He’s high on morphine,” Wayne mumbled.
“That I am!” Eddie called.
“They gave him some pain meds before he left so that the transition home wouldn’t be too bad,” Wayne said. “But he’s been saying the weirdest shit, about bats and the underworld,”
“Upside Down!” Eddie yelled.
“Shhh, baby,” I said and leaned down to whisper in Eddie’s ear. “Seriously you have to stop talking before you out us,”
“What?” Eddie asked. His eyes were cloudy when he looked at me. “You are gorgeous.” he said.
“You’re beautiful too,” I giggled.
Together, Wayne and I helped Eddie into the car. When we reached Forrest Hill, we got Eddie into his room and I tucked him in bed. As we passed through the living room, I couldn’t help but check the ceiling to make sure the gate was gone. Sure enough, the ceiling was flat and clean as if nothing had ever happened. I guess when Vecna died, all of his gates closed. I still had chills standing in that room though, and quickly shut myself in with Eddie in his bedroom.
He lay sleepily on his bed, his hair a mess and the blankets tangled around him. I crawled in next to him but was scared to touch him in case I were cause him any pain. Eddie’s eyes were closed but he reached out to grab my hand. He held it tight in both of his.
“I am really fucking high right now,” he said. “How many pills did they give me?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Your uncle just said they wanted to you to be able to get here comfortably,”
“Well I am floating on a cloud right now so I would say I’m pretty comfortable,” Eddie giggled. “You should join me. Come get on my cloud,”
“I’m right here with you,” I laughed.
“Oh,” Eddie said. “Yeah, I guess you’re already on the cloud,”
“Eddie,” I said.
“Yes?” he asked.
“I want you to know that I’m going to stick with you,” I said. “No matter what. We may be through the immediate dangers, but I mean for the long haul. I’m with you,”
“Even if I lose my cloud?” Eddie asked.
I smiled at his ridiculousness. “Even if you lose your cloud,”
“Wow,” Eddie said. “That’s serious,”
“Yeah,” I said. “I love you,”
“I love you too,” Eddie said. He turned his eye towards me, his eyes now open. They were still hazy but I could see more of his normal glance in them. “I love you.” he said again. “I love you, I love you, I love you, help, I don’t think I can stop saying it. I might have broken. I love you,”
We both started laughing but it caused too much strain against our stiches. We groaned together at the pain and started to laugh at that.
“God we are fucked up,” Eddie said.
“At least we have each other,” I said.
“That’s true,” Eddie said. He looked at me again. “I love you, there it’s out of my system,” he said.
I smiled “I love you too,” I said.
Eddie and I stayed in bed for the rest of the day. We eventually fell asleep together. When he woke up, he was much thinking much more clearly. He gave my shoulder a slight shake to wake me up. There was concern in his eyes.
“Did you really mean it when you said you’re here for the long haul?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said. “I’m here,”
Eddie nodded and then laid back down. “I’m not going anywhere either,” he said.
He moved closer to me and wrapped a banaged arm over me, asking if it hurt too much for him to do that. I told him it was ok and we fell back asleep. I had never slept that deeply in my life. I felt like I could rest in that bed for a lifetime.
Previous Chapter: Chapter 21
Falling for the Freak Taglist:
@dilophosaurusatenewman @efvyqrs @babeyglo @aestaethicvante @kbakery @aereth @livlaughquinn @kaqua @starryeyedkoko @paintballkid711 @cryuki-patootie @lorrainlikesprivacy @possiblyexisting @beepisbeep
