A/N [from 2022] Me: Guys I'm doing Nanowrimo idk when I can update

Also Me: Lol here's a new chapter

I think there will be 2 more parts to wrap up Part 4 of this book! Then the hiatus begins. I'll try and update some other books and will also write some Alice short stories in my Through the Looking Glass book while we not-so-patiently wait for Season 5. Who knows, maybe I have some other irons in the fire for brand-new projects related to ST...

{The Piggyback, Part IV}

Shortly after Alice and Max—both barely alive—got wheeled to the OR, Robin forced Steve to get checked out by a doctor.

"In case you've forgotten," she said, "those demobats took a chunk out of you. You might need stitches!"

And he did need stitches, and it was uncomfortable, and while getting stitched up all he could do was replay the events of the day over and over in his mind, like a film reel in a projector spinning impossibly fast.

"All done," the doctor said, giving Steve a kind smile. Steve tugged the camo shirt back over his head. "We've called your emergency contacts to discharge you. They should be here soon."

Steve's mouth went dry.

"You called my parents?" he said.

"Mm-hm. They were pretty worried when they heard about the animal attack."

The doctor stepped out of the hospital room, and Steve inwardly cursed, reminding himself to change Robin to his new emergency contact for the future.

His newly-stitched wounds stung and his mind swirled. He hadn't seen his parents in...what was it, now? Four weeks? Five? Hell, maybe six. He'd lost count.

And now they were coming here, when—full offense—they were the last people he wanted to see right now.

He considered making a break for it, but before he could figure out how to jimmy the lock on the window, a brash knock on the door startled him.

Mrs. Harrington swooped in the room like a hurricane, face pinched and eyes watery.

"Oh, Steven!" she cried, hugging him much tighter than she had in 10 years. "Oh, my baby!"

Mr. Harrington shuffled in after her. Even his usual stone-cold eyes had a softness to them that Steve had never seen.

"I'm fine, Mom," Steve said, shrugging out of her grip. "Just a little shaken up."

"They tell us it was an animal attack," Mr. Harrington said. "So, tell me: whose genius idea was it to go camping when there's a murderer on the loose?"

Steve bristled at his father's familiar hostility and didn't answer.

"Listen," Steve said, addressing his mother. "I know you're here to discharge me or whatever, but I can't leave. I need to stay for updates on Alice."

"Alice?" Mrs. Harrington said. "Oh dear, what happened?"

She got kidnapped and attacked by a psychopathic evil wizard, Steve thought, and she died in my arms, and CPR brought her back. Oh, and did I mention she has superpowers?

"She got really badly hurt," Steve said, knowing if he tried to tell his parents the truth he'd be institutionalized. "She lost a lot of blood and—"

"I'm sorry to hear that, Steven," Mr. Harrington interrupted, not sounding sorry at all. "But we have to leave right now. Our flight's in 4 hours."

"Wait, what? Our flight? Our flight where?"

"To Uncle Roy's house in the Hamptons," Mr. Harrington said. "He's allowing us to stay there because of all this unpleasantness with murders and earthquakes. There's a town car waiting for us outside. Let's get moving."

Mr. Harrington started toward the door.

"Dad," Steve said, brow furrowed, "I told you, I'm not leaving."

"Steven, please," Mrs. Harrington said, cupping his face in her hands. "We need to be together right now."

The sentiment was laughable.

"That's rich coming from you two," Steve said, a biting edge to his voice.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Harrington said. Any concern melted into his usual brashness.

Steve took a deep breath, building the courage to retort: "You realize I haven't seen you in, like, over a month?"

"Your father had a very important business trip," Mrs. Harrington said.

"But you didn't need to be there!" Steve snapped. "You two are always on your goddamn trips, and I'm always left alone! Why the hell is that, huh? I'm your son but it's like you don't like me enough to stick around!"

"Well," Mr. Harrington huffed. "I'm sorry that I have to work to be able to provide you with a home and security."

"Love and a family to go with that would be nice if it's not fucking impossible!"

Mrs. Harrington looked very sheepish, wringing her hands.

"I'm sorry, Steven—"

"Enough of this," Mr. Harrington barked. He crossed his arms and sized up Steve. "We're leaving with or without you."

"Then you're going without me," Steve spat.

"Steven, please!" Mrs. Harrington begged. "Please come with us. It's not safe in Hawkins!"

"No!" Steve said. "My girlfriend almost died today and you two don't even care! I'm staying with Alice and the rest of my friends. You two can yuck it up in the Hamptons with Great-Uncle Roy."

"You better start paying me rent if you'll be in that big house by yourself," Mr. Harrington said. His eyes glinted with rage. He didn't even have the decency to look ashamed or sorry.

"I've been living in that house by myself for a long fucking time," Steve said. He stomped to the door and held it open. "Thanks for signing the papers to get me discharged or whatever. Now get out."

"Steven—"

"GET OUT!" he yelled, glaring at the sorry pair of them.

His father stormed out without another word. His mother hesitated before giving Steve a kiss on the cheek.

"Maybe I can convince your father to stay," she said quietly. "Let me talk to him—"

"LORELAI!" Mr. Harrington bellowed from down the hall. "COME ON, we're going!"

Mrs. Harrington flinched at her husband's angry tone and followed him, too ashamed to give Steve another look.

For a few moments, all Steve felt was rage. This quickly melted to something else—a mournful melancholia. The loneliness he'd felt for the whole of his teenage years crashed over him at once, intermingling with the fear and panic from earlier in the night, when he was clinging to Alice in the Upside Down.

And so he cried. He sank onto his hospital bed and cried, hugging a pillow to his chest and feeling like a little kid again, crying while his parents argued downstairs.

He didn't stop until he heard another knock at the door.

"Steve? May I come in?"

Steve recognized Alice's mom's voice. He quickly rubbed his face free of tears and opened the door for her.

"Hi, Mrs. Henderson," he said as she entered. "Is it Alice? Is she—"

"She's out of surgery," Mrs. Henderson said with a teary smile. "The blood transfusion was a success. She's sleeping now, but she should wake up soon."

"Oh, good," Steve said. He sighed with relief. "That's good."

He sank onto the edge of his hospital bed and stared at the tile floor, unsure what else to say.

Mrs. Henderson sensed his unease. She gingerly took a seat next to him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked gently. "Robin told me you needed stitches too."

"Not to the extent Alice needed them," Steve said. He winced and gestured to his side. "But, yeah. It kind of hurts."

"Please forgive me if I'm overstepping," Mrs. Henderson said, "but how are you feeling emotionally?"

Steve blanched. He wasn't quite sure how to respond. Mrs. Henderson knew about Alice's powers and an abridged version of the history of Hawkins Lab. But she didn't know about the Upside Down or Vecna, or the truth of what had happened to Alice earlier that night.

"Jittery," Steve said, after a moment. "I think I've still got a bunch of adrenaline from the—from the animal attack."

"Dusty says it was a bobcat," Mrs. Henderson said. She hesitated before placing a hand on his shoulder. "He also said that you're the one who carried Alice to safety after the attack and the earthquake."

Steve nodded. He kept his eyes on the ground, unable to look at her directly. He felt a pinch behind his eyes.

"I wanted to thank you," Mrs. Henderson said, "for always being there for my Alley Cat. And Dusty too, but more so for Alice." She cleared her throat and sniffled. "She's struggled a lot, the past few years. Ever since discovering those abilities she possesses, and that damn coma. It hurt, watching such a vibrant girl lose a part of herself. But you've been such a good, supportive friend to her, and such a wonderful boyfriend. She's much happier with you—I can just tell."

Guilt gnawed at Steve. He felt he didn't deserve these compliments.

"I really love her," Steve said quietly.

"I do too."

"I wish I had done more," Steve said. He squeezed his eyes shut. Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I should've done more to—to stop the attack, to help her—"

"But you did help her!" Mrs. Henderson said. She smiled at Steve through her own shining tears. "You and the rest of your friends got her here, and now she's going to be okay."

Steve started to cry once more. He cried because he almost lost Alice. He cried because he almost lost Max, and because Dustin, Mike, and Lucas lost Eddie. He cried because of Vecna and how the fight wasn't over. He cried because of his shitty parents. He cried because of how nice his girlfriend's mom was, how she let him cry on her shoulder and held him the way a mom should.

"It's okay," Mrs. Henderson cooed, rubbing his back. "You're okay, Steve. You're going to be fine, and Alley Cat is going to be fine."

After a few minutes, Mrs. Henderson said, "Would you like to join Dusty and me in the cafeteria? I want to treat him to chocolate pudding."

"I'd like that," Steve said.

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Henderson said. "Let's go."

🍫 🍫 🍫

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor lulled Alice awake.

She opened her eyes and glanced around, trying to get her bearings. She laid in a hospital room. A soft light glowed from behind closed blinds, indicating it was very early morning.

She was sore, but the pain wasn't unbearable, most likely due to the IV hooked in her arm, flooding her bloodstream with some kind of painkiller.

A muted TV in the corner played the news. Alice read the ticker flashing across the bottom of the screen: EARTHQUAKE RATTLES HAWKINS. 3 CONFIRMED DEAD, DOZENS INJURED.

A soft snore startled Alice. She noticed her mom's boyfriend fast asleep in an uncomfortable armchair in the corner.

"Lance?" Alice croaked. She cleared her throat and, as loudly as she could, rasped, "Lance!"

He snapped his eyes open and stumbled to his feet.

"Alice!" he said. "Oh gee, let me call the nurse."

He pressed the nurse call button frantically.

"Where's my mom?" Alice said, voice scratchy as sandpaper. She forced herself into a sitting position, despite the painful protest in her abdomen.

"She's with Dustin," Lance said. "They went to get food."

"Shit, is Dustin okay?"

"He's fine!" Lance said. He gave her a reassuring pat on the arm. "He hurt his leg in the animal attack, but he'll be right as rain."

Before Alice could question him about the so-called animal attack, a doctor and nurse filed into the room to check Alice's vitals. They shooed Lance away to wait in the hall.

"I'll be right outside," Lance said, noticing the panicked look on Alice's face.

Once he was gone, the doctor stepped forward. She had a kind smile, but everything else about her—the angle on her bob haircut, the look in her eyes—was sharp.

"Hi, Alice," the woman said. "My name is Dr. Christina Clovers. This is Richard, an RN at the hospital. We're colleagues of Dr. Sam Owens."

"You know Dr. Owens?" Alice said. "So, you know..."

"Yes," Dr. Clovers said. "We are aware of your powers. But that's not what we want to discuss right now. We'd like to know what you remember about the past 24 hours?"

Alice scanned her brain for the real memories so she could spin a fake tale about—what did Lance say, an animal attack?

To her horror, a hazy fog descended over her mind. The last thing she remembered was preparing to jump into the Upside Down and kill Vecna...due to her current state, she had the sinking feeling their plan did not go well.

"I can't remember," Alice admitted. "The last few hours are kind of a blur. Or, like, nothing until just now. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Dr. Clovers said. "You've been through a trauma. This kind of thing is normal."

Nothing about this is normal! Alice thought. But she held her tongue and allowed Richard to check her blood pressure.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Dr. Clovers pressed.

Alice swallowed thickly. She thought of the last thing she did before heading to the Upside Down.

"Uh, the field," she said. "My friends and I went to a field on the edge of town to prepare."

"Prepare for, what? Your camping trip?"

"Yes!" Alice said quickly. "Uh, yeah, that."

Definitely not to prepare to kill a monster, she thought.

Dr. Clovers asked a few more questions—what year is it, who's the president, what's your middle name—and then took a small blood sample.

"I'm going to take a look at this in the lab," Dr. Clovers said, holding up the vial of blood. Alice's eyes widened. "Not Hawkins Lab! The lab here in the hospital. I'll be back soon with some results. In the meantime, Richard will fetch your family. I know they'll be so excited to see you up and talking!"

Alice settled against her pillows as the two of them exited. The haziness spread from her memories to her general state of consciousness. Whatever medicine she was getting definitely did its job—despite the fact that she had no idea what had happened with Vecna, she started to feel relaxed and light. And a bit loopy, like everything was a little funny.

She giggled to herself, laughing about nothing. By the time Dustin hobbled in the room, Mrs. Henderson and Steve on his heels, she was too far gone for any intelligent conversation.

"Heyyyy!" Alice cheered. "It's my favorite people!"

She noticed Dustin's limp.

"Whoa," she said. "Tiny Tim, where's your crutch?"

Dustin ignored her and shuffled to her hospital bed. He threw his arms around her neck and hugged her tighter than he ever had.

"My sweet Alley Cat," Mrs. Henderson crowed, joining the hug and squeezing both her and Dustin. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay."

"'M fine," Alice said. "Just tired. And sore. And my throat hurts. And I can't really remember much of anything..."

Her eyes swept to Steve. He stood in the corner of the room, as far from Alice as physically possible. His eyes were tired. His jaw was clenched. He looked equal parts relieved and overwhelmed.

"Stevie," Alice sing-songed. "Stevie, Stevie, Stevieee! I love you Stevieeeee!"

That brought a smile to Steve's face. He approached the hospital bed and said, "Hey, Al."

"What about me?" Dustin said, with a playful grin. "You gonna write a song about how much you love your brother?"

"Dusty, Dusty, Dustyyyyy!" Alice warbled, in the same cadence as her Stevie song. "I love you Dustyyyyy-Bunnnnn!"

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Henderson said, eyeing the IV Alice was hooked up to. "What's the dosage of this, I wonder..."

"Mom, Mom, Moooom, I love you Moooooo—"

"Alley Cat," Mrs. Henderson interrupted gently. She fussed with Alice's pillow, fluffing it unnecessarily. "Do you need anything? Food, water?"

"I need my memories back," Alice moaned. High on painkillers, she didn't have the filter to stop herself from saying, "I don't remember what happened with Vecna!"

Mrs. Henderson frowned. Dustin and Steve shared a look.

"'Vecna'?" she said. "Dusty, Steve, do you know who she's talking about?"

"He's a D&D villain!" Dustin said quickly. "I guess Alice is confusing real life with fiction. You know, because of the drugs. And the trauma."

Mrs. Henderson pursed her lips.

"Hmm. Well, I'm going to go get her some water. I'll be back."

She kissed both Alice and Dustin on the head before disappearing.

"So," Alice said, crossing her arms—which proved difficult, due to her injuries and drugged-out state. "Which one of you bozos is going to tell me the 411 on Vecna?"

"Don't worry about that right now," Steve said, before Dustin could respond. "What matters is that you're okay."

"Is Max?" Alice said, thinking of how they dropped her and the Sinclairs off at the Creel House for their plan.

Dustin looked down at his feet.

"She's resting," Steve lied, not having the heart to tell Alice about the younger girl's comatose state. He forced a smile and squeezed Alice's hand. "She should be up soon."

Alice nodded, mollified.

Dustin's face fell. "Not exactly," he said quietly. "Vecna's still out there. And we, uh, we lost Eddie."

Alice blinked owlishly. "What?"

Dustin took a deep, rattling breath and steeled himself to say: "Eddie's gone, Al. He got killed."

Alice blinked again, slower this time. "Oh. I—I didn't save him?"

"You couldn't," Steve said quickly, giving Dustin a look. Not a hard look, but a don't-upset-her-more look. Steve looked back at Alice with a small smile, not noticing the way Dustin balked at that. "It's okay, Alice."

Her face screwed up like she was trying not to cry.

"No, no, this isn't how things go," she mumbled. "We always win!"

"Well, not always!" Dustin said sharply, his tone of voice startling Steve.

"Dude," Steve hissed. "Don't talk to her like that!"

"You don't talk to me like that!" Dustin shot back. "You're not my dad, Steve! So don't tell me what to do."

"I'm not acting like your dad! I just don't think you should speak to Alice like that when—"

"When, what?!" Dustin exploded. "You still haven't told me exactly what happened to her in the Upside Down! For all I know, it's your fault that she's here right now."

If Dustin slapped him or shanked him, it would've been less painful. Dustin glared at Steve, breathing heavily. Steve searched the younger boy's face for an answer on how to best talk him down, trying not to take the harsh words to heart.

Alice looked between the two of them, the painkillers combined with amnesia making this whole interaction horrendously overwhelming.

"Please don't fight," she said quietly. She sniffled and hugged herself. "I don't like it when you two fight. I want us all to get along. Please."

Whatever fight was left in Dustin dissipated. He slumped his shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he said. He leaned down and gave her another hug. "I love you, Alice."

"I love you too, Dusty-Bun."

"I'll let that slide because you're hospitalized," Dustin quipped.

He started to pull away, but Alice clasped his hands in hers.

"And I'm really, really sorry about Eddie," she said, tone somber.

Dustin nodded and shot her a lukewarm smile.

"Thanks."

A throb of pain in Alice's abdomen caused her to grimace and clutch her stomach.

"You okay?" Steve said, immediately reverting to panic-mode.

"I'm peachy, like a...peach."

"Astute," Dustin teased. He grumbled out a half-apology to Steve for raising his voice before stepping out to check on Lucas and Erica.

Alice blinked up at Steve. Her lips curled into a loopy smile, the melancholy of the last few minutes forgotten.

"Super Steve," she mumbled. "I love you."

She placed a kiss on the back of his hand with a loud "MWAH!"

She looked up and noticed his eyes glassy with tears. She frowned and sat up straighter.

"You're crying!" she said. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all!" Steve said. He sniffled. "I'm just so happy you're here, Alice. So happy."

"I'm happy you're here too," Alice said, missing the deeper meaning. "I would do anything for you, ya know."

"I know. I would do anything for you, too."

Alice's face scrunched up as she pulled something from her foggy mind.

"The woods," she muttered. "I think we were walking in the woods, in the Upside Down. I can't remember what we talked about. But it was important."

"What's important is that you're going to be all right," Steve said.

"It was about...the future," Alice said. "And nuggets? Shit, my stupid, empty brain..."

"Don't beat yourself up," Steve said. "It's not your fault. And you might get the memories back."

Deep down, he hoped she wouldn't. He didn't want her to relive that trauma, courtesy of Vecna.

"What did we talk about?" Alice asked.

"Well...it was sappy. I told you I'm yours forever, if you'll have me."

Alice beamed. The painkillers made her bold and a bit too honest, and she batted her eyelashes and said—

"Y'know, Stevie, I'm yours forever too. I would marry you if you asked. I'd marry you tomorrow. Today!"

"Is that so?" Steve said, a smile playing on his lips as his heart pounded in his chest. "You'd marry me?"

"Yeah. In fact, hold on—let me just—"

She leaned forward and pulled the scratchy hospital blanket off her legs.

"Whoa, whoa," Steve said. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her from getting up. "What are you doing? You need to take it easy."

"I've got to get down on one knee—ouch!" she yelped, jostling her stitches. She leaned back against her pillows and formed a heart with her hands. "Steve. Be my wife? Be my babygirl forever?"

Steve's face split into a grin at the "proposal" and he bit back a laugh.

"Alice," he said. "You're high. Very high. On so many painkillers."

"Sooooo many," she slurred. "But my heart is true! I want to marry you!"

"Can we have this conversation another time?" Steve said. "When you're sober?"

"Fine. Can we at least canasta?" Alice dropped her voice to a whisper and said, "Take off your pants before my family comes back."

"Alice."

"Okay, okay. You keep yours on, I'll take mine off." She looked down at her hospital gown and gasped. "Some perv already took my pants!"

"Let's canasta when you're feeling a bit better, yeah? How about you get some rest."

Alice grumbled but acquiesced, laying back and closing her eyes.

Steve pulled a chair as close to the bed as he could, wanting to be near Alice. A whirlwind of emotions shocked his senses. After the events of the past few days, he vacillated between worry, fear, and contentment as he watched Alice drift off to sleep. At some point, exhaustion overcame him, and he drifted off as well.

{Posted November 2nd, 2022; Republished March 28th, 2025; Revised August 5th, 2025}

A/N [from 2022] Part 3 had High!Steve admitting his feelings and Part 4 has High!Alice calling Steve babygirl and proposing marriage. I love these lovesick fools!

QOTD: What's your favorite Halloween candy?

A: SNICKERS FOR LIFE