Chapter Forty-Two: Happy Reunions And Government Contracts

(The Upside Down, Pt. 6)

***

The hospital smelled sterile.

Bleach and other cleaning products stung Rowan's nose, and the girl hunkered further down in her uncomfortable plastic chair. Beside her, Aunt Aco flipped through a generic magazine while Alistair sat curled up in his seat with his friends, his body tense and rigid, obviously uncomfortable being here but resolutely ignoring the death and ghosts permeating the hospital because, in the other room, was Will.

Her brother would endure days of ghosts if it meant he could be there when Will woke up.

Even still, Rowan herself felt uncomfortable in the hospital. She and Alistair rarely went to the hospital, as aside from how Alistair felt due to the aura of death and multitudes of ghosts lingering in the sterilised halls, there were other reasons. One, they were a trailer park family and therefore poor as fuck. Two, her aunt was a career criminal who firmly believed that unless it was life or death or would guarantee permanent damage if left untreated then hospitals and their ridiculously overpriced bills should be avoided like the metaphorical plague. And three, they just... made Rowan uncomfortable, being surrounded by walls leached of colour or life, to feel and smell sickness even under the bleach. It made Rowan's skin crawl, and she never more felt the urge to leave than she did now.

But she shoved down that urge and adjusted her position in her seat. She would endure the discomfort that the hospital exuded if it meant being here for Will, and letting him wake up to friendly faces—God knew he had seen enough to give him nightmares for years.

A snore hitched Rowan out of her thoughts and she looked over to the four boys. Lucas and Dustin were still asleep, conked out to the world around them. Mike and Alistair were the only ones awake, and Rowan could feel the tension between them, the distance in the shape of El and her death. Rowan winced. God, even thinking about the young girl—the girl Rowan watched via dreams, the girl who Rowan only knew for a brief amount of time but had found herself loving her anyway and silently swearing to protect her, the girl who was now gone, had sacrificed herself to destroy the Demogorgon and saved Alistair, Mike, Lucas and Dustin in the process—had Rowan want to spiral, had the guilt rise up, the guilt that if she had been there, she could have teleported them all out before the Man—Brenner, she now found out he was called—and his agents could have cornered them, before the Demogorgon showed up, before El sacrificed herself, that she could fought and killed the monster instead of El.

Nancy had been quick to remind her that if she hadn't been with them at the Byers house, Steve, Nancy and Jonathan could have been killed, and if they weren't, then the monster would have been in slightly better shape than it was after Rowan stabbed, punched and electrocuted it and could have killed the boys and El before any of them could have made a move against it. And Rowan knew that Nancy was right, but it still didn't make the guilt lessen.

Didn't mean she had now added another person she could have done more to save to her small list.

Looking away from the boys, her gaze looked to Nancy, and then Steve. Rowan fidgeted in her seat, tearing her gaze away. After she'd rested and recharged a little, she'd told Harrington everything—her powers, her family, the truth of her past and why she and Alistair were with their aunt and their parents' deaths. She'd ended up joining Jonathan and Nancy in explaining the full truth of Will's disappearance, the Upside Down and the monster, about Barb's death. Harrington had stared in silence, but he seemed to accept it and not question it. Then again, he had seen the Demogorgon himself, and her powers, so he had proof that what they were saying was true and she, Nancy and Jonathan weren't completely insane.

But now the fighting was over and Rowan had crashed down from the adrenaline and she'd become a semi-functioning human being again, now that they were here, waiting for Will to wake up, she couldn't deny that something had shifted between her and Harrington. That Harrington was now maybe not as much of a douchebag as he once was, but Rowan still didn't know for certain, and kept her guard up just in case.

Harrington must have sensed her watching him, as his brown eyes looked at her, before turning back forward. Rowan huffed out a breath and leaned her head back, staring upwards at the pockmarked ceiling, the fluorescent light glinting harsh white overhead.

God, she hoped they weren't going to do this dance of watching and looking away now.

Her eyes slid back to the closed door, where beyond Will's room was. She hoped he was okay, that he would wake up soon. Will was a sweetheart, shy and polite, but tough and smart if this hellish week was anything to go by. He didn't deserve being trapped in that hellscape for a week, hunted by a flower-headed monster and breathing in toxic air, not being able to be seen and heard on this side, not knowing if he was going to be rescued. He was a badass for surviving, but he was still only twelve years old. 

As if she'd been willing it, the door opened and Jonathan appeared, a smile on his face telling Rowan the good news.

Mike jerked up at the same time Alistair got the biggest grin on his face, practically beaming. The raven-haired boy shoved at Lucas, who as a result knocked into Dustin, murmuring, "Guys. Guys, he's up. Will is up. Guys, Will's up. Guys, come on!"

The two boys woke with grunts, but the grogginess evaporated at hearing the good news, the four boys sprinting out of the waiting room, down the corridor and into the room while Rowan, Nancy and Jonathan followed at a more sedate pace.

"BYERS!" Lucas yelled as Mike practically tackled Will, Lucas joining in. Rowan snorted at Mike and Lucas' exuberance as Mrs. Byers reminded, "Be careful. Be careful with him," though Rowan knew the boys wouldn't hear over their joy of Will being awake and here.

"Move," Dustin demanded, shoving Mike and Lucas aside to give Will a hug as much as the boy could give, before Alistair joined in with that beaming grin still in place and hugging Will, whispering, "I'm so glad you're back."

Will nodded and murmured, "Me too."

Above the joyful reunion, Jonathan again reminded them that Will was probably not up for bone-crushing hugs, saying, "Guys, guys. Go easy on him."

Finally, they pulled back, except for Alistair who sat at the end of Will's bed, and Rowan saw Will for the first time since he came back.

Her heart clinched at seeing his small body swallowed by the hospital gown, the tubes in his nose and arm, the dark shadows under his eyes and the pasty, deathly-pale hue of his skin. But he was smiling, his eyes bright, obviously overjoyed to be here and with his family and friends again. That was more than enough to have Rowan crack her own smile as she watched the four boys recount what had happened on their side.

"You won't believe what happened when you were gone, man," Lucas began. 

"It was mental," Dustin added with wide eyes and a grin.

"You had a funeral," Lucas revealed, and Rowan saw her brother flinch, smile dropping before coming back into place. 

"Jennifer Hayes was crying," Dustin revealed with a grin.

"And Troy peed himself!" Lucas exclaimed, earning wide eyes and a shocked, incredulous, "What?" from Will.

"In front of the whole school!" Dustin yelled. "And Alistair punched him!"

Now Rowan was the one looking at her little brother incredulously, same as Will as he asked, "You... you did?"

Alistair nodded. "Yeah. I did. Mike also shoved him."

Dustin nodded in affirmation as Lucas yelled. "Yes!", before Will began to violently cough. Immediately Alistair was at Will's side, looking at him in concern as he hesitatingly held the other boy's trembling shoulders throughout the violent fit. After he'd finished, Mike asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, are you alright, Will? You sounded really bad just then," Alistair added on, brown eyes filled with concern. Rowan sighed and resisted the urge to smile and roll her eyes. God, these two are gonna be so oblivious when they're older.

"It got me," Will said, voice thin and shaky as he slumped back into his pillows. "The Demogorgon."

"We know," Mike replied, the tone of the room turning solemn. "It's okay. It's dead. We made a new friend. She stopped it. She saved us. But she's gone now."

Mike's eyes looked at Alistair, turning dark and angry before he looked back to Will, who looked between the two with a frown of confusion.

"Her name's Eleven," Dustin said, and that frown deepened on Will's face.

"Like the number?"

"Well, we call her 'El' for short," Lucas tacked on.

"She's basically a wizard," Dustin said, as Lucas stage-whispered, "She has superpowers."

"More like a Yoda," Mike said, Alistair shaking his head and objecting, "No. She's more like Jean Grey."

"She flipped a van with her mind, and these agents were trying to shoot us—" Dustin went on, Mike nodding and adding in, "Yeah, it flipped over us! Then she squeezed the brains out—" 

"And blood was pouring out of their faces!" Dustin finished with too much enthusiasm. "It was pouring out of their eyes!"

"Agents just started grabbing us and stuff—"

"And the Demogorgon shot out of the wall!"

"And Alistair sic'ed dead rats on it!"

"Alistair what?"

The boys froze, realising too late that Will was the only one in this room who didn't know that Rowan and Alistair had powers.

"Uhh..." Dustin began, but before he could lie—which the Graveswood siblings appreciated—Alistair cut in and said, "Yeah, I, uh... can kinda raise the dead? And I can see ghosts? Surprise?"

Will stared at him with wide eyes, before asking, "Since when?"

"Since forever," Rowan answered, coming up. Will's gaze switched to her, and his eyes grew larger, obviously remembering what he had seen her do.

"Wait, you... I thought I saw you shoot lightning at the Demogorgon! Back... back there. And... and I thought I saw you a few days ago."

"You did, on both accounts," Rowan confirmed. She gave a heavy sigh and admitted, "Alistair and I have powers, like... like El."

She raised her hand, letting blue-white sparks dance around it. Will watched with wide eyes, then back at them.

"How..."

"Family thing," Alistair and Rowan answered at once as Rowan dispelled the sparks, Alistair jumping in and picking up the reins. "We... we kept it secret because the same people after El... they wanted us too. We couldn't tell anyone."

Will was still staring at them, but nodded, understanding.

After, the boys continued to excitedly recount the events of last night as Rowan moved back to stand with the other teens. As she did, she noted the strained smile on Nancy's face, the grief hollowing her eyes, and the dark-haired girl knew that the brunette had been wishing she was in another room, where Barb was in bed after being rescued too—not dead and rotting in the Upside Down.

Rowan felt the same, and held Nancy's shoulder, squeezing it in comfort. The other girl gave her a tired smile, appreciating the comfort.

Rowan smiled, before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked over to see Harrington looking at her, before jerking his head to the door.

Understanding, she followed, standing with him in a corridor.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

Awkward silence settled, before Harrington let out a sigh and asked, "Do your, uh... do your friends know Will's back, Graveswood?"

Rowan nodded. "Yep. Called them as soon as we got to the hospital. They're all relieved he's alive, but confused since we kinda had a funeral for him and everything."

Harrington huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, that would be confusing."

"I guess the lab hadn't been expecting Mrs. Byers to be so hellbent on knowing her son was still alive and bringing him back home and a group of stubborn kids and adults being able to get him back home when they dumped that fake body in the quarry," Rowan muttered as she leaned back against the wall, arms crossed.

The conversation stilled, seconds dragging on, until Rowan asked, "How's your, uh, how's your head?"

Harrington gave her a perplexed look before replying, "It's been better. You and Byers can both land a punch, Graveswood."

Rowan winced and fiddled with her shirt. "Yeah, I guess my aunt's lessons in self-defence came in handy after all."

Harrington snorted. "Yeah, they did. And against that thing too."

"That would be a good lesson. 'How to fight against man-eating inter-dimensional monsters one-oh-one'," Rowan snarked, Harrington cracking a smile.

Quiet once again settled, but not for long as Harrington mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Rowan blinked. "What did you say?"

"I'm sorry, for all the shit I said about your family," Harrington said, louder, regret clear in his eyes. "I... I wasn't thinking and I was being a douche. Same with what happened back at Nancy's place. You were trying to be a decent person and I acted like an asshole to you. I acted pretty much an asshole to you since we met. You're a good person, Rowan, same with your brother and even your aunt."

Rowan raised a brow. "Even my aunt?"

"Yeah, even your aunt. You're not screw-ups and disgraces and trailer park trash. You're good people, and I was an asshole. I'm sorry," he finished, his face earnest and genuinely regretful.

Rowan looked at that, heard his apology, and accepted it.

"Apology accepted," she said. "And I'm sorry too, for giving you a beating alongside Byers."

"Hey, I was an asshole, I deserved it—"

"Yeah, you deserved the first punch—you were an asshole and you insulted my family, and hurt Nancy after completely misinterpreting the situation. And that should have been enough. I shouldn't... I shouldn't have gone any farther," Rowan went on, face sinking into regret. "I'm sorry."

Things grew quiet before Harrington blew out a breath and said, "Apology accepted."

Rowan smiled, then cocked her head and questioned, "You really think I'm a good person?"

"Uh, yeah," Harrington replied, almost instaneously. "I mean, yeah, you can be irritating and kinda insane, but you're a good person. You care about your brother and aunt a lot. You stood up for Byers after what Tommy said about his brother. You tried to sympathise with me about my folks. You looked for Barb as well. You stuck by Nancy after what I did. You could have... you could have let me die, but you didn't. You saved my life. So yeah, you're a good person."

Rowan stared at him, slightly in shock he'd picked up on all that.

"Wow, that's uh... that's an awful lot of observation, Harrington," she said.

The teen boy tilted his head up. "I guess that comes with being rivals."

"I guess," she murmured.

She looked at him and said, "And for what it's worth, I think you're... less of an asshole than what I thought you were."

Harrington looked at her, brow arched. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't... I don't think Tommy or Carol would have apologised for the shit they did and admitted they're assholes," Rowan went on. "And they certainly wouldn't have come back to save the lives of two losers and the girl they slut-shamed from a horror movie monster from another dimension."

The Not like you did was left unspoken, hovering in the air.

Rowan shuffled her weight, biting her lip before she murmured, "Thank you, for saving me. I know I said it before... but I really do mean it. I... I did think that I was gonna die. I couldn't move or think, or use my powers. I was just frozen in fear, painfully reminded that I am a kid way out of her depth against this monster that will kill her, how could I have hoped that we could kill it? And then you slammed that nail-bat into it and started beating the shit out of it, Harrington. I can handle myself fine, but... I really needed a hero back there. So thank you. For saving my life and being that hero."

Harrington stared at her, as if surprised by her candidness and vulnerability, before his gaze softened and he murmured, "You saved my life first, Graveswood, remember? You were pretty much a hero yourself back there as well. And I wanted to leave, but I couldn't. I just... couldn't. Not when you and Nance and Byers were fighting that thing."

Rowan smiled, a small, tired smile. "Guess we saved each other, huh?"

Harrington returned the smile. "Guess we did."

Silence stretched between them, but it was comfortable now, not prickling with awkwardness or even animosity. It was almost... a familiar kind of comfort, like a worn blanket. Like they'd been friends instead of enemies for years. And wasn't that a crazy thought—Rowan Graveswood and Steve Harrington, friends. 

It would have been laughable if, right now, in this moment... Rowan could see it.

And maybe they could be.

"Hey, with this shit finally done and over, do you... do you wanna hang out sometime, Harrington?" she asked.

Steve stared at her like she lost her mind. "Okay, did you hit your head or something, Graveswood?"

Rowan snorted. "I'm serious. I kinda wanna see this new, non-asshole Steve Harrington. See if he... if we can be friends. Can we try that?"

Harrington frowned, then shrugged. "Okay. What the hell? Guess we can try that."

"Okay. Let's do it," Rowan said, before she teased, "Think you can handle the scorn of your friends seeing you hang out with the psycho bitch Rowan 'the Freak' Graveswood the Second?", a sardonic smile playing on her lips.

"Why don't you test that question out on your own friends?" Harrington shot back.

"Touche, Harrington. Touche."

The teens shared a grin, but before any further words could be said, a throat cleared.

Rowan turned and her heart stopped at seeing a man in a suit staring at her, her aunt beside him.

"Miss. Graveswood. Come with me," he said.

Rowan was still in mute shock, but nodded when her aunt gave her a look that read "It's okay kid". She followed after him into the waiting room, where Alistair was, looking visibly nervous, with another suited man. Both men then walked away, obviously to the exit.

With a wary glance to each other, the Graveswood family followed.

I hope we're not being kidnapped, was Rowan's last thought as they left the hospital and got into a ridiculously fancy car.

***

Turns out, they were not kidnapped.

Instead, they were taken to the police station and lead to an interrogation room, where a man with grey hair and kindly eyes sat at the chair, shuffling some papers.

"Ah, the Graveswoods," he said, smiling. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Spare the pleasantries. What do you suits want with us?" Aunt Aco demanded, crossing her arms.

The man sighed. "I admit, I was expecting you would say that. And I don't blame you. You and your niece and nephew have suffered a lot from men like me. I apologise on their behalf. But they're gone now. You don't need to worry."

Rowan frowned suspiciously, saw in her peripheral Alistair shifting his weight; she remember what he told her when Aunt Aco came and picked them up, how he hadn't seen Brenner's ghost or even his body. But that was impossible. Rowan didn't think no one, especially an ordinary man, could survive an attack from the Demogorgon, though it didn't stop the insidious thought of, What if he did?

"And we're supposed to trust you, even with that son of a bitch gone?" Aunt Aco pressed.

"You don't need to trust me. Just... understand I'm on your side."

Aunt Aco's lips curved up in an ironic smile. "Maybe, but we aren't on yours."

The man sighed again.

"Why are we here?" Rowan asked, breaking the tense quiet that had fallen. "I guess it's not to give us consecutive heart attacks and think our worst fears are coming true, right?"

"No, no, it isn't," the man admitted. He shoved forward the pages he'd been messing with on the table, allowing them to pick them up and look at them as he continued, "In the next day, your friends will be signing papers like the ones you're holding. Non-disclosure agreements about the... events that occurred this past week."

"You mean all the Upside Down shit and El and Will's disappearance and Barb's death?" Rowan clarified, words sharp and pointed.

"Well... yes."

"And I guess it's to cover up all the experiments and traumatising shit you did to El and your involvement in Will going missing and how Barb died as well, right?"

"Yes."

Rowan gave the man a hard glare, one mirrored by her aunt.

"Why should we sign anything you give us, after all the grief you put my family through?" her aunt demanded. "After your boss hunted my sister and brother-in-law and their kids down and forced them to go on the run, to have them decide sacrificing themselves to protect their kids was the best choice for them? That we cut off all contact with the rest of our family just to keep us all safe from you and your government creeps? Which, I think, is now very valid given that I've met El and saw exactly what you've done to her, what could have been done to my niece and nephew? After all the grief you put Joyce through and had her think her son was fucking dead and everyone think she was crazy in believing otherwise?"

She slammed the papers down and finished with a growl, "Give me one good fucking reason why I should sign this and kiss your government ass for once and not tear it up and burn the pieces."

The man sighed. "I understand your... hostility. And my reason is simple. This is to protect you, and your family as well."

He tapped the papers with his finger and went on, "If anyone were to learn of the... mistake we made, were to learn that people with abilities exist, and can be passed down through families, do you think they won't want to take your niece and nephew away?"

Her aunt frowned and opened her mouth to protest, but Rowan jumped in.

"If we sign these, what does that do, exactly? And what's the catch?"

The man's shoulders relaxed slightly, as if relieved that one of them seemed to understand the gravity of what these documents entailed.

"It's simple," he said. "You sign these, and you never have to worry about people like me taking you, your brother or anyone in your family away ever again. You can use your abilities without worry, can tell people if you want, and contact your family. But you also agree to never speak to anyone about the 'Upside Down', about the nature of Will Byer's disappearance and where he was for the past week, about Eleven..."

Rowan nodded; so far, she was agreeing with all he was saying. She'd already decided that she wasn't going to tell anyone the truth about where Will was, or the Upside Down and its horrors, or about El, not even Eddie, Robin or Chrissy. And it would be nice, to use her powers without fear, after suppressing them for so long, to use them without the threat of her life being in danger. To even contact her family.

"And about the truth of Miss. Holland's death."

And that was the catch. That's where the line was drawn.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Rowan yelled and the lights flickered as her veins burned. 

"Miss. Graveswood, if you listen—"

"Look, I get not telling anyone about El, or about the Upside Down. I even get not telling anyone about where Will was!" Rowan yelled. "But don't you think Barb's parents deserve to know what happened to their daughter? Don't they deserve to at least have her funeral and get some fucking closure?!"

"Miss. Graveswood, I understand your frustration, but consider our perspective. Miss. Holland's body is in the Upside Down. We're trying to recover it, we are, but until we do, we have to consider she is still missing—"

"She isn't missing. She's dead! I was there seconds before she died! My brother can see her fucking ghost!"

Silence rang after Rowan's outburst as a light exploded and went dark, sparks fizzling. Rowan panted, her body crackling as she stared at the man, who looked slightly nervous but still calm.

"Miss. Graveswood," he said, "I understand. I do. But, if you and your family can take a moment to listen. Can you do that?"

Rowan glared at him, but looked at her aunt, saw a similar look before she nodded tersely. Aunt Aco looked at her brother, who shrugged. Her aunt looked back at the grey-haired man and bit out, "Go ahead."

The man nodded, and continued speaking.

"Look, understand that the Upside Down and everything that happened... it's a mistake. A mistake we are now trying to fix. But if someone were to learn about it, someone like the Soviets, they wouldn't see it as a mistake. And do you think they'll stop with accessing and using another dimension to their advantage? What if they learned about your family, Ms. Graveswood, about your... unique abilities. Do you think they won't take your niece and nephew away and use them as weapons as well?" He levelled them all with a look as he finished, "Do you want to think about what the Soviets could be capable of, that Brenner might look like a saint compared to what they would do?"

Rowan frowned, biting her lip, resisting the urge to bite her nails. She... hadn't considered outside forces to be interested in accessing the unknown and strange, or what they would do if they did. If they could be worse than Brenner, the boogeyman of her childhood. And if that was true, if the Soviets or some other force could open up a gate to the Upside Down and somehow use it and its monsters as weapons, could find her and Alistair and their family and use them as weapons...

Rowan didn't need to look at her family to know they came to the same, hateable conclusion.

Still, Alistair was the first to pick up the pen and sign his name on the forms, before handing the pen to Rowan.

Minutes later, they had all signed.

And Rowan felt like she had just made a deal with the devil.

***

AHHHH ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT TO GO AHHHH!!!

Apologies for the length! Like I said in my last note, there was a LOT to be included in! Hope you don't mind!

And the boys have been reunited!!! And Will knows the full truth! And Rowan and Steve are coming out of their enemies phase and into acquaintances/friends! I'm so excited to write their friendship, you have no idea!

And, finally, the non-disclosure agreement scene! Originally I was going to gloss it over and end the chapter at the hospital, but I realised that unlike the rest of the Party, Rowan and Alistair are in an unique position where, like El, if their abilities were ever discovered, bad things could happen to them. And, of course, signing is a struggle, especially when these kids were raised by a con artist who evades taxes and raises middle fingers to the government daily. You couldn't have any less willing people to sign this agreement, Owens,

(Also, I hope I didn't mess up Owens' character! I love him, I do, but I feel like he can be slightly manipulative even if he has genuinely good intentions and is firmly on the side of good. I hope I conveyed that well, and if I didn't, well.. consider this is from Rowan's POV and she would be slightly biased against government figures? *shrugs*) 

Anyway, next chapter is the last of this act and Season One!!! I'm so excited to write it—it's filled with much-needed fluff and lightheartedness after the chaos and action and angst! I hope you all enjoy it!!

(Okay, there's a little angst, but not much!)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!