One Week Later...

Amelia couldn't feel anything as she sat in that hard chair, watching the preacher's lips move, but she couldn't hear him. The whole town gathered in the cemetery, saying their goodbyes to everyone who have fallen that night. If only they knew the truth, but...Joyce and Murray made sure that the town saw Jim as a hero. The kids all claimed that he helped them escape from the fire. He saved them all.

Amelia drifts her eyes towards the huge picture of Jim in his uniform. Why did this have to happen? Why was he taken from her? She couldn't understand it.

Eventually, people in town found out that Jim and Amelia adopted Eleven, or as the town knows her as Jane. The story was that Jim rescued her from an abusive home and took her in. He grew attached to her and helped her like a father. At first, it was strange to the people, but slowly, they understood and welcomed Jane to the town. Amelia sighs heavily, swallowing back her tears, she was tired of crying, but it hurt so much. El takes her hand into hers, holding it tight for support. Amelia wasn't sure if she was giving her support or the other way around. She was happy that she had her Starshine. Just wish her grizzly was here.

Theo lets out a mournful meow as he sits in his own chair. He couldn't stop crying. Amelia knew...even though Theo acts all big and tough, when it comes to friends and family, when losing one...he shows another side of himself that's very rare to see. Theo hops off his chair and begins to rub against Jim's photo, meowing still. It caused several people around them to burst into more tears as they watched the poor animal cry. Mrs. Henderson was affected even more than others. With her heart so big for animals, it was so heartbreaking to watch.

Amelia lets out a shuddering sigh as tears fall from her eyes. Together, her and Eleven wept for Jim, missing him every second.

After word got out about how Kline was the main reason for the starcourt mall to go up in flames and why they lose so many people due to the fire, he was arrested for his crimes.

Two Months Later...

Amelia sat in her bathroom, trying to calm her breathing. She hasn't been feeling very well lately and was starting to suspect something...something that was everything she hoped for. She grips the pregnancy test in a tight grip and sighs softly. She lifts it up to finally see the result. 'Positive'. A smile slowly spreads on her face, she laughs softly and begins to have giggle fits. She hugs her stomach happily. So excited to be a mother. But soon, she begins to cry again. Jim wasn't here for her to spread the news. She covers her face and sobs, both happily and painfully. She sniffles and shoves her tears aside. Looking up at the ceiling, she sends a soft smile with tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Thank you, Goddess, for this blessing. I just wish Jim could be here." She sighs softly.

Exiting the bathroom with a small smile, she walks into the living room and sees Starshine sitting on the couch, watching TV with Mike. Ever since the Mind Flayer destroyed the cabin, Eleven and Amelia moved back into her own house at the end of town.

"Hey, you two." She says.

Eleven and Mike look up in surprise. Ever since the funeral, she hasn't been very sociable. In fact, as soon as she and Eleven got back from the funeral, she locked herself in the bedroom and never came out until Joyce dragged her out.

"Hi, Mom." Eleven says softly.

"Hi, Amelia." Mike gives her a small smile.

Amelia moves and sits on the coffee table in front of them, "I need to talk to you about something." She sighs.

"Is everything okay?" Eleven asks.

"If I'm over here too much again, I can come over another time..." Mike stutters.

Amelia chuckles, shaking her head, "No, Mike. It's okay. You can come over as much as you want. Nothing is wrong. Actually..." She stops and sighs softly, "I have some exciting news and I want you two to be the first to know."

Mike and Eleven look at her in curiosity, wondering what the news could be.

"First, Starshine, remember that talk we had back in June, after my birthday?" Amelia asks, arching her brow with a hidden meaning.

Eleven's brows shoot up as her cheeks flush in embarrassment, "Mom!" She whines as she gestures at Mike for being here.

"I just want to make sure you understand what I'm about to tell you. You remember everything I told you that night?" Amelia asks.

Eleven sighs and nods, "Yes."

"Well, your dad...seems to have given me...one of the greatest gifts I ever received. A gift that's for all of us." Amelia smiles. "I'm pregnant."

Eleven's jaw dropped with Mike's, "Pregnant?!" "Pregnant?!" They both exclaim.

Amelia nods, laughing with tears in her eyes.

"Gross!" Mike grimaces as the thought of how Amelia and Jim made that baby while Eleven was bursting in joy.

Eleven gets up and hugs Amelia tight. Amelia laughs in glee, hugging her back. Sniffling softly as they both had tears forming in their eyes.

"Congratulations, Starshine." Amelia sniffles and smiles as she pulls away to cup Eleven's face, "You're gonna be a big sister."

Eleven smiles big and kneels to hug her stomach, placing a kiss over it and silently promising to the child growing in her stomach that she'll always protect him or her, no matter what and be the best big sister ever.

One month Later...

Amelia lies on her back on the exam table as the doctor exams her growing belly. Three and a half months pregnant. She couldn't believe it. with her size, she looked like she was only a month. Even though the size looked concerning, but the doctor said everything was normal. Today, she'll find out the sex. Oh, she was so excited to tell her Starshine the news. After cleaning herself off and given a clean bill of health, she was on her way over to Joyce's house to help them clear out the house. Today, despite the happy news, today was a sad day. Joyce, Johnathan, and Will were leaving Hawkins. Bob came down to help her and the boys clear out the rest of their stuff and drive the moving truck for Joyce. Pulling up down the dirt road towards Joyce's house, Amelia honks the horn as she watches Johnathan and Bob carry the couch out of the house.

Steve and Robin wanted to be here, but they were busy with applying for jobs at the video rental that was next door to Arcade Palace. She knows Robin will help Steve earn a job. Without her, he wouldn't stand a chance. After that night, Theo and Robin became good friends. Amelia taught Robin how to summon Theo when he's needed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robin places her fingers in her mouth and whistles as loud as she could. Theo pops up from the backseat of Steve's car, wincing at the high-pitched sound she gave off. He meows grumpily at her. Robin simply laughs and goes over her resume.

"Sorry, Theo, but I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't an emergency." Robin smiles and scratches his neck.

"I guess it's okay. Just try to control that last pitch." Theo mutters and looks at the papers she and Steve held. "What are you two doing? Am I needed to kill something?"

"What? No! No, no, no. I called you for moral support. You see, we're applying for jobs since our last job burnt to the ground." Robin explains.

"I know, I was there." Theo remarks sarcastically.

Robin scoffs, "And in order to keep making money...giving you more whipped cream when Amelia isn't looking...get my drift?"

Theo perks up, "You had me at whipped cream but yes...I understand. Green shitty paper equals all the whipped cream for me."

Robin snorts, "Yeah, pretty much. Have you ever...forgive me for asking this, but I'm just curious. Have you ever tried to be...you know..human?" She asks.

Theo thinks about it, "Hmmm, you know...come to think of it...nope." He snorts.

"Oh, come on! I bet you would make a great human. Look at Steve, I'm sure you could top that." Robin scoffs as Steve looks at her weirdly.

"You're actually downgrading me...compared to Theo?" Steve scoffs.

Robin snickers, "Dingus..." She gestures at Steve and then to Theo. "Demon. Demon tops Dingus."

Theo snickers and sticks out his tongue, "Yeah, Dingus Hair-Boy." His ears flatten in annoyance, "Hmm, fine, I'll do it..." Theo grunts and gets into the backseat.

Suddenly, The whole car begins to shake, making Robin and Steve grunt in surprise, "What are you doing?" Steve exclaims.

Robin looks over her shoulder, "Why are you going through magazines?" She scoffs.

Theo pops up, "I'm not familiar with your time yet, so I wish to study what is 'hot' to the female humans. Robin, what do females like in this day and age?"

Steve snickers, "Theo, you're asking the wrong person."

Robin clears her throat, "Sorry, Theo, I like girls. But...I do know what they like in men. And Steve, sadly, is one of them."

Theo snorts and looks at Steve up and down, "Do females not have brain cells or is it the hairspray that kills them?"

Robin burst into laughter while Steve rolls his eyes, "Theo, you are my best friend from now on. Hands down." She giggles, "And women, smart women....like Nancy. They prefer nice guys, handsome, and you have to have money in your pockets. And you must have good taste and a brain."

"Hmm, got it...beauty, brains, money, and taste." Theo nods and goes back to hide in the backseat and the shaking begins again.

"Don't forget the nice-ness part." Robin adds and giggles as she holds on to the car.

Both of them frown as they hear bones popping and crackling. They look over their shoulder to watch what Theo was doing.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

Both of them jump and look away, "Jesus! Calm down." Robin scoffs.

Theo grunts and, suddenly, a human hand slaps Steve's seat, gripping the headrest. Robin looks over her shoulder and gasp in surprise as her eyes widen in shock.

Steve frowns, "What? What does he look..." Steve trails off as he catches the sight of person sitting the back of his car. He looks over his shoulder and frowns. "Theo?"

Rotating his neck, cracking it loudly, Theo...now in human form...sighs, "What do you think, Hair-boy?" He grins.

Robin eyes him up and down, even sitting, she could tell he must have made himself nearly 6 feet tall. Giving himself dark hair with a style women would fall for. Dark brown eyes. Even gave himself some sharp clothes. Jeans and a long sleeve shirt that made his skin pop. Even gave himself a little bit of hair on his face. He looked like he could be 19, maybe 20 years old.

"Normally, girls would fall for smooth as a baby's butt skin, but that...wow! If I was straight, I would..."

Steve stutters and waves her off, "He looks...okay. Still needs work."

Theo snorts, "Oh, really? What's that? How to make my hair look like Elvis?" He rubs Steve's hair, making him shout.

"Ah! Don't mess with the hair." He slaps his hand away and fixes it.

Theo laughs with Robin, "Chill out, Hair-boy." He blows out a breath, buzzing his lips and looks up at the sign above them,'Family Video', "Sooo, what is this place?"

Robin holds her hands up as she presents him the wonder of humanity, "Theo, behold...this is where humans come to discover imagination. Explore some of the greatest creations ever made."

Theo nods, "Hmm, it's a movie rental place, isn't it?"

Robin giggles, "It's a movie rental place. And our ticket to have money in the pockets and you to have whipped cream in your belly." She reaches and snatches Steve's resume out of his hands, "And this is what you need to get the...ticket." Her voice trails off as she reads Steve's resume. "You put your mom down as a reference?"

"Yeah. Why not? She's, like, super well-respected." Steve shrugs.

Robin shakes her head and scoffs, "You're such a dingus." She looks over her shoulder, "Theo, do not, I repeat, do not, take advice from a dingus."

Theo gives her a sarcastic smile and pats her shoulder, "I'm way ahead of you." He reaches into his shirt and pulls out a piece of paper and presents it to her.

Robin stutters and looks over it, "Wow...uh...this is...How did you do that?"Theo grins and taps his nose and Robin nods, "Ah, demon thing. Got it." She looks over the resume again. "So, Miss Amelia is a reference?"

"I've been 'working' for her for almost 20 years now, so...yeah. But I know how this all works. As you see, I have said I worked for her for nearly 5 years as a stock clerk in her shops. Mainly stayed in the back rooms which will explain why no one has ever seen me before. And I recently moved down here and need a job." Theo says, giving her a grin and throws an arm over both of them but gives Steve a mocking smile, "And I just made best friends who happen to applying for a job." He gives Steve a love tap, making him grimace at him. Theo hops out of the car. "Ok, let's get behind the enemy lines."

Robin giggles and grunts as Theo throws his arm over her shoulder, "Theo, you're so gonna fit in perfectly." She looks at his resume again, "'Theodore...uh...that's your last name? For real?"

"Yup. Why?" Theo frowns.

"Uhh, no reason. Mr. Morningstar." She clears her throat. *I'm a Lucifer fan. Sue me*

Steve slumps behind them, mocking Robin's voice as he follows them both inside.

Robin stands behind the counter as the manager goes over all three resumes.

"Uh, just to be clear, we weren't fired, you know. The mall burned down and, like, killed a bunch of people." Robin stutters as she explains the short time frame of their position at Scoops Ahoy.

Keith, former assistant manager at Palace Arcade, slaps the resumes down and scoffs, "Thanks for sharing. Didn't know." He says sarcastically as they could se the bruises on his face. He snaps his fingers at Robin, "Three favorite movies. Go."

"Uh...The Apartment, Hidden Fortress, Children of Paradise." Robin smiles.

Theo nods, impressed with her taste, "Nice."

Keith snaps his fingers at Theo, "You. Go."

"Easy. Psycho, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Godfather." Theo grins.

Keith looks at him, impressed, "Nice." He high fives him. He snaps his fingers at Steve, "You. Go."

"Favorite movies?" Steve frowns.

"Did I stutter?" Keith scoffs.

"Uh...Animal House, for sure." Steve stammers.

Robin drops her head in disbelief as she lets out a scoff sigh. Theo looks at Steve with a confused scrunch on his face.

"I think Hair-boy is malfunctioning." Theo frowns, making Robin giggling.

"Um...." Steve looks around, trying to find help, but Keith snaps his fingers again at him.

"Eyes on me, Harrington." Keith states, widening his eyes, making sure he had his full attention.

"Yeah. Uh...Star Wars." Steve stutters.

"A New Hope?" Keith asks.

"A new what-now?" Steve frowns.

Rolling his eyes, "Which Star Wars?" Keith asks impatiently.

"The one with the teddy bears. Duh." Steve scoffs, making an Ewok sound.

Theo mutters in Latin, "What a stupid idiot..."

"No? Uh...Oh, the one that just came out. The movie that just came out. The one with the DeLorean and Alex P.Keaton, and he's trying to bang his mom." Steve says, making Kenny look at him in disgust, "The time...Yeah, those are my top three. Classics." He stammers.

Keith gives Steve a weird look then points at Robin and Theo, "You two start Monday." He points at Steve, "You start never."

Robin holds a finger up, "Will you just, um...Will you give us a minute?" She looks at Steve.

"Why?"

"Steve." Robin nods him to get away so she could do her magic. Keith gives him a mocking look, making fun of his frown and turns to focus on Robin as she gains his attention. "All right, you have to understand, Keith, I know his taste is a bit pedestrian, but the dingus has other qualities."

Keith gives her an unimpressed look, "He's a douchebag of the highest order, Robin."

"I actually agree with the hu..." Theo grunts when Robin elbows his chest, giving him a warning look, "I mean, I agree with the guardian of the video rental. Hair-boy is in fact, what you call, a douchebag. But..." Theo holds up a finger as Keith looks at him weirdly, "Miss Robin actually holds a valid point. Hair-boy can actually get you more viewers for this...paradise of imagination."

"Are you a stoner or something?" Keith frowns at him.

Theo grumbles and mutters to let Robin take the stand to make Keith understand better, "He was a bit of a prick to us in high school, I'll grant you that, but he remains a total chick magnet."

"Yeah, okay, and this is relevant to me how?" Keith scoffs.

"Uh, Earth to Keith. The ladies will come in just to see him." Robin exclaims.Theo clears his throat and Robin laughs, reaching to grip Theo's chin, "And him as well. Look at this face. It's a lady killer. They'll come in in droves." She says.

Theo's face remains smooshed in Robin's grip, "Droves, Keith." He mutters and grunts as Robin lets him go.

"We sold so much ice cream, they had to get a second shipment in from Michigan. ***damn Michigan, Keith. And these ladies These ladies are hot. They're so very hot. And there are too many of them for little Steve and little Theo."

"We'll need assistance." Theo adds. "What do you say?"

"What's in it for you? You got a thing for him or something?" Keith frowns at Robin.

Robin scoffs and snorts, but the three of them jump as they hear clattering and see Steve tripping and bumping into a foldout of Phoebe Cates from Fast Times.

"***dammit."

Theo sighs and leans on Robin's shoulder, "You sure you wanna help Hair-boy?"

"This is...Hm. We're just, um...We're just friends. And yes, he's a lost cause, but...gotta help the needy, Theo." Robin sighs.

"Oh! Fast Times. Fast Times. Ever heard of it? Top three for me, Keith." Steve says in triumph.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia stops her car but listens to the radio speak once again about what happened that night.

"Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana, a wonderful place to grow up, to raise your family, to walk your dog. But then on July Fourth, everything changed. A terrible tragedy struck this small town. But this was not this small town's first brush with tragedy. Mysterious deaths, government cover-ups, a bizarre chemical leak. Is it all linked? All a vast conspiracy? The fault of a disgraced, corrupt mayor? Or is something more going on in the heartland? Can a town itself be cursed? Some believe a rise in Satanism is to blame. To find out, tune in..."

Amelia sighs as she clicks the radio off. She was getting tired of hearing the same news. Kline was in jail where he deserved. Powell was promoted as Sheriff since...Amelia couldn't even think about it. She wipes away coming tears. Tired of crying. She misses him so much, but...She looks down at her stomach and caresses it gently. She'll always have a part of him with her. And that makes her smile. She gets out of the car and walks towards the house.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down." Bob mutters as Johnathan was going a little fast for him.

"Sorry. Sorry." Johnathan says.

"Still got it?" Bob asks as they carry it normally into the moving truck.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Be careful, you two." Amelia calls out.

"Hey, Amelia." Bob nods at her.

"Hey." Johnathan calls out and grunts.

"Hi. I'll wait till you guys get that in the truck so I can properly hug you both." She smiles and heads inside.

As soon as she walks through the door, she hears singing, "Turn around...look at what you see-ee-eee....In her face...The mirror of your dre-ee-eeams...Rhymes that keep their secrets...Will unfold behind the clouds..."

She frowns and stifles her laughter when she realizes it was Max and Lucas.

"Wait, did we get that verse right? It's 'unfold behind the clouds'?" Max asks, laughing.

Dustin sighs heavily, getting tired of being the butt of the joke, "Yeah, but you're butchering it, so could you please stop?" He begs.

"So then join in, Dusty-bun." Lucas coos.

"Yeah, come on, Dusty-bun, why don't you join us?" Max giggles.

"You guys are so funny, you should be on Carson." Dustin says sarcastically.

"Can't we just hear your rendition?"

"No."

"Please? Just one verse?"

"No. No way. It's reserved for Suzie's ears and Suzie's ears alone." Dustin states.

Max and Lucas both scoff at each other and begin singing again while Lucas dances silly with gun fingers, shaking his body, "Turn around...Look at what you see-ee-eee...In their face...The mirror of your dre-ee-eams..."

Dustin waves his middle finger at them both, "Shut up, you guys."

Amelia giggles and moves around the corner, "Now, come on, you two. Leave him alone. And Dustin, don't be ashamed of anything. I think you and Suzi sounded amazing together. And she sounds like a very special lady."

"Thanks, Amelia." Dustin smiles.

Amelia returns a smile but hears whispering as she leaves.

"Do you think she's okay?" Lucas frowns.

"Would you be?" Max scoffs.

Lucas sighs deeply but remains quiet.

"Amelia is a strong woman. She'll be okay. She just needs time." Dustin says.

Amelia sighs softly and smiles, stroking her belly for support. She keeps walking till she reaches Joyce's bedroom. Joyce stood in the middle of her empty room, taking in the past as she looks around, chuckling softly at the memories.

Knock knock..."Hey."

Joyce turns and gasps, "Hi!" She walks over to her and hugs her tight, "Mmm! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

Amelia sighs, "I know." She pulls away and smiles. "One day at a time."

Joyce nods, rubbing her arm in comfort, "Yeah." Suddenly, she gasps, "Oh, what did the doctor say? Did he find out what you'll be having?" She asks.

Amelia giggles, "Yes, but I want to tell everyone at the same time."

Joyce nods and smiles in excitement, but her smile slowly fades, "Um, Amelia...I don't know if this is the right time, I mean, it's been three months since..." She winces when a pained look flashes in Amelia's eyes. "But...I'm going to leave today." She sighs and moves to her purse and pull out something. She turns and covers it with both hands, "Hopper wanted me to give you this."

Amelia freezes where she stood as she looks at her hands. Slowly, Joyce opens her hand to reveal the velvet box. Amelia gasps and clutches her chest.

"This is kinda why he was so upset about Enzo's." Joyce hands her the box, "He was planning to propose." She adds softly and watches Amelia's eyes fill with tears.

Amelia sobs softly as she cradles the box in her hands, laughing through her tears, "Now, I feel really bad for yelling at him." She says and cries again. She slowly opens the box, and a letter falls out. She catches it before it could fall to the floor. She gasps at the ring and smiles. "It's so beautiful." She looks at letter and gasps out a sob, "It's from Jim." She sniffles.

"I'll let you read it alone." Joyce says and moves to walk out of the room, leaving her to read in peace.

Leaning on the wall by the window, the sunlight poured over the words, and she could almost hear Jim's voice speaking to her.

"Dear Amelia...

~sigh~

You told me to write a practice letter, but ~scoffs~ I was never great at expressing my feelings. I guess I'm still not. Not unless I have to. When I need to. Hell, it took a life-or-death situation for me to finally admit that I love you..."

Amelia could feel his warm smile through the words.

"I love you. Best thing I ever did. Falling in love with you. When I first saw you that day, when you were such a smart ass to me. You didn't care if you annoyed me or angered me. You just smiled at me. That smile...won my heart. I have to admit, after losing Sarah...I became a different man. I drowned myself in drugs. Alcohol. Anything that could stop me from feeling. But you gave me a reason to feel again. You became my home. My rock. When I wake up in the morning, first thing I have to do...what I need to do...is smell that wonderful hair of yours. Like fresh roses in the sunlight. How can you smell like that every time? It's the greatest scent I ever found.

~sigh~

Thank you...for healing me. For finding me. I never want to lose a precious treasure like you. I want to always wake up next to you. Grow old with you...~chuckles~...grow older with you. Maybe...if it's in the cards for us...even have children with you. Grandchildren. I guess what I'm trying to say...Amelia...My home...my heart...Will you marry me?

Forever yours,
Your Grizzly Bear."

Sobbing softly, Amelia chuckles sadly at the words. She almost couldn't believe Jim wrote this to her. But she could feel him in the words. Such beautiful words he wrote her. She brings the letter to her lips, kissing the paper softly as she continues to sob. She folds it and places it back inside the box but takes the ring out and slides it on her ring finger.

"Yes." She sobs. "Yes, I will." She cries. Promising herself to never remove and never lose it. Forever, she'll love him. No one else. Well...she laughs through her tears as she looks down at her growing belly. Well...a few exceptions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After drying her tears, Amelia walks out of the bedroom and walks into the living room, seeing everyone packing up the last items of the house. Nancy and Johnathan said their private goodbye, spending one last time together. Bob holds on to Joyce and looks up to see Amelia. He nudges Joyce a little, gaining her attention.

"Hey. You okay?"

Amelia sighs deeply, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." She smiles and lifts her hand, showing the ring. "Never going to take it off."

Joyce gives her a smile and moves out of Bob's arms to hug her tight, "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Me, too." Amelia sighs. "You better come back for Thanksgiving and Christmas. All of you."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Bob smiles.

"And we'll be back down for your baby shower and the birth." Joyce promises as she moves away.

"So...are we going to know what color we need to get or...?" Bob smiles and watches the kids gather near. Nancy and Johnathan walk out of the other bedroom and joins them.

Amelia giggles and turns towards everyone as they all walk into living room in curiosity, "I'm pretty sure you all made bets." She scoffs, "What am I saying? I know you all made bets!" She laughs with them. "Well, Lucas...Dustin owes you 10 bucks."

Lucas gasps, "YEAH! WOO! I so called it. I told you it was going to be boy!"

"And Dustin, Lucas owes you 10 bucks." Amelia adds with a grin.

Dustin and Lucas both frown in confusion, "Wait, what?" Dustin asks.

Places her hands on her belly, she gives them all a warm smile, "It's twins. A boy...and a girl."

Everyone shouts and gasps in shock, Lucas and Dustin both cheer, hopping up and down. Nancy covers her mouth and moves to hug her tight. Max moves and gives her a hug as well. Eleven looks at her in shock, tears forming in her eyes. Amelia sobs and pulls her into a hug, crying with her.

Sniffling softly, "Now...you have two to protect. Be the best big sister to them." Amelia whispers in her ear.

"I promise." Eleven sniffles.

"What are you going to name them?" Will asks.

Amelia lets go of Eleven but holds her close, "Well, the boy...his name will be James. James Adam Hopper, Jr. And the girl...I decided on Amy. Amy Lynn Hopper. After my mom and grams."

Joyce coos, "Aw, those are great names. I cannot wait to see them." She moves and hugs her one more time, "Oh, congratulations, Amelia."

Bob moves to give her a hug after Joyce, "Call us anytime, whenever you need us, we'll be on the next flight out." He says.

Amelia smiles, but nods, "Thank you. I'll call anyway whenever I miss you both. If I raise the phone bill, I'll send you money." She giggles.

Soon, it was time to say goodbyes. Tears were shed, hugs were made...no one wanted to say good-bye, but Joyce wanted her family to have a fresh start. A brand-new life. Away from the lab. Away from the gate and Upside Down. Jim was right, it was important to feel safe, and Hawkins didn't feel safe anymore for them. Amelia hugs Will tightly, sharing tears with him and Johnathan. She'll miss them so much. Kissing his head, she pulls away to cup his face.

"You be good to your mom and your step-dad and be careful over there. Let me know if you need anything. I'll ship my shop if I have to." She laughs with him.

"I'll definitely miss your Ghostbusters cupcakes." Will smiles.

"Then I'll send you cupcakes every Halloween. Enough to make you sick till the next batch." She giggles and looks over towards Joyce, "Speaking of which, left you enough coffee grounds that'll last you and Bob for at least 3 months. I'll send more, just let me know."

Joyce sighs in bliss, "Ohh, now I'm really going to miss you."

"Don't ever be strangers." Amelia says.

"Never." Joyce smiles.

With the truck packed up and the car loaded, it was time to part ways. Amelia's heart breaks as she watches Will's tear-stained face drift off into the distance. She pulls Mike and Eleven into her arms, giving them both hugs.

"It's not going to be same without Will." Dustin sighs as they watch them drive further and further away.

Lucas leans on his shoulder, "Nope, it's not."

"But they'll be back. Trust me." Amelia grins and rubs Eleven's arm with a sigh, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry. I got lunch waiting at the house. If you want, you're all invited. Plus, we should celebrate. Steve managed to get a job and we got two new members of the party." She rubs her belly. "Besides Robin and Erica."

"Hold on, my sister isn't part of this party." Lucas protests.

Amelia simply smirks and walks to her car, "Come on. Those who drove here, meet me at the house."

"I got shotgun!" Mike shouts and runs with Eleven.

"Not fair, Mike!" Eleven protests.

Dustin walks towards the car but frowns when he sees Nancy still looking down the road where Jonathan drove off. He knew she was going to miss him greatly. He looks over towards Amelia, but she nods, knowing what he was going to say.

"I'll see you both at the house." Amelia says with a smile as she gets into the driver's seat.

"My sister isn't part of this." Lucas continues to argue.

Max scoffs, "Like it or not, your sister now knows. So, yeah, she's part of this party."

"Come on, Nancy. Let's go to Amelia's." Dustin says gently and helps her snap out of her grief. Nancy sighs softly and turns to head to the station wagon to drive them both to Amelia's.

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Amelia made a huge feast for everyone. After everyone called their parents for permission, they all stayed over. Mainly, most of the parents wanted them to, to help Amelia feel better and to help her around the house now that she was pregnant. After the town found out about her pregnancy, they gave her a royal treatment. She was carrying the town hero's heir. Karen would come over almost every day to help her out. Even give her hand-me-downs that belonged to Holly and Mike. Amelia was eternally grateful to have such great friends in this town.

Lucas and Erica have grown closer than they have before since that night at the Mall. After learning her brother's deep dark secrets and sharing them, she eased up on the teasing...but blackmails him from time to time.

Mike and Elven still continue to see each other as often as they can, but Mike agreed to a schedule, ease up on the making out.

After Billy's death...Amelia found out that Max's stepfather moved back to California, divorcing her mom with no regret.

Dustin and Suzi still continue to chat from Weathertop. Rain or shine, he was there for his 'Suzi-poo', but the rain, however, wasn't that great on his Cerebro. He was forced to make a smaller version from his home and place the antenna on top of his house. Despite his mother's worried protests.

"So, I have another announcement to make." Amelia speaks up, causing all eyes to fall on her. "Starshine," She looks over towards Eleven. "I believe it's time for you to be a normal teenager from now on. So... after Christmas vacation...I'm registering you for Hawkins High."

Eleven's eyes go wide in shock while everyone lights up in happiness for El, "Are you serious?!" Mike exclaims.

Amelia nods, "Owens said a year is enough to be safe and... we're coming close to a year. You deserve it. I can't homeschool you forever. But we should work on certain areas before you start. Your math and your spelling and grammar."

"Oh! We definitely can help you with that." Nancy says. "I can help you."

"And we can help you with science and math." Mike volunteers.

"Don't worry, we got your back." Lucas says.

Eleven smiles big and giggles excitedly. Finally, at last, to be normal. To be honest, she felt lost without her powers. They've been a part of her all her life and...she always thought that maybe that's why Mike liked her. Because she was a superhero. Maybe...just maybe...she can learn what it's like to be...normal.

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Amelia sits out on the porch, rocking back and forth in her chair as it creaks. She sighs at how peaceful it was outside. The wind blowing gently, giving the town the early warning for cold weather coming soon. She gently strokes her stomach and smiles. She couldn't wait to see her children when they finally arrive. Again, it saddens her that Jim can't be here for that. But...she promises to always tell them about their wonderful father and keep his picture around for them to see.

"Mom?"

Amelia looks over her shoulder as she sees Eleven walking outside on the porch, holding a piece of paper that looked like it's been read several times and folded more often.

"Hey, starshine. What's that?" She asks.

Eleven walks towards her and sits on the arm rest gently with a sigh, "Hop...I mean...Dad...made a letter. Did you know he was going give me and Mike a..." She stutters. "A speech?"

Amelia chuckles and rubs her back, "Yeah. He was supposed to do that before you and Mike temporarily broke up. That night when he said his nana was sick." She giggles with Eleven.

"Why didn't he?" Elven asks.

"Well..." Amelia gives her a look, "You and Mike didn't really give him a chance. And you know your dad...he wasn't the talking kind of guy. He was more the shouting type." She laughs.

Eleven giggles at how true that was, she sighs deeply and hands Amelia the letter before sliding into the chair to snuggle with her, careful not to harm her belly, "Dad wrote this. I was wondering if you have read it."

Amelia sighs softly, "No, no, I haven't. Joyce tried to help, and I told him to put down what he would say...gently." She scoffs, wrapping her arm around her as she snuggles, scooting a little for both of them to get comfy. "What did he say?" She asks.

"Read."

Amelia smiles and opens the letter for both of them to read, she rests her head against Eleven's as they read silently Hopper's letter to Eleven. It's been erased several times and had words scribbled out. But soon, the truth of Hopper's feelings was written down.

"There's something I've been wanting to talk to you both about. I know this is a difficult conversation, but I care about you both very much. And I know that you care about each other very much. And that's why it's important that we set these boundaries moving forward, so we can build an environment where we all feel comfortable trusted and open 'to sharing our feelings."

Amelia sniffles, letting out a soft laugh as she could clearly picture Jim struggling to express his words.

"Jesus. The truth is, for so long, I'd forgotten what those even were. I've been stuck in one place, in a cave, you might say. A deep, dark cave. Then I met your mom, and she became the light in my darkness. And then, we left some Eggos and food out in the woods, and you came into our life and for the first time in a long time, I started to feel things again. You made me a father again. I started to feel happy...happy to have a daughter again. But lately, I guess I've been feeling distant from you. Like you're...you're pulling away from me or something. I miss playing board games every night, making triple-decker Eggo extravaganzas at sunrise, watching westerns together before we doze off. But I know you're getting older. Growing. Changing. And I guess if I'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I don't want things to change. So, I think maybe that's why I came in here, to try to maybe stop that change. To turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were. But I know that's naive. It's just not how life works. It's moving. Always moving, whether you like it or not. And, yeah, sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's sad. And sometimes it's surprising. Happy. So, you know what? Keep on growing up, kid. Don't let me stop you. Make mistakes, learn from 'em, and when life hurts you, because it will, remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you're out of that cave. But, please, if you don't mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches."

Amelia laughs and smiles as she wipes her tears away, she sniffles and kisses Eleven's head as she hears her sniffle as well.

"I miss him, Mom." Eleven weeps.

Sighing deeply, Amelia hugs her tight, "Me, too." Her voice cracks. "Me, too, Starshine. But remember...he's not truly gone. He's here with us always...always and forever...even though we can't see him...he's always watching over us." She exhales deeply, wiping away her tears.

If only they knew...if only they knew where he was truly. Amelia carried a faint feeling in her heart, but she pushed it away as hope. But it was something more. Something sinister was covering her sight. It knew if she knew the truth, it would make it hard for it to consume her. With Jim out of the way, out of the picture...it gave what lurks in the shadows of Hawkins a chance to finally fulfill its mission. And that mission...included Amelia and Eleven.

*It suddenly occurred to me that Theo deserves to have a face and more time in my stories. He just fits in so well with the group and I feel he should have a role with them. Especially with Robin, Steve, Nancy, and Johnathan. I know this story is suppose to be all about Jim and Amelia, but I might give Theo more time in this book...that is if you guys like him enough. What do you think? Does Theo deserve to be in Season 4 as a human/demon? Leave me votes and comments if you like the idea. Lots of love! ~Song~*