Joyce heard the shuffle in the back of the store as she walked out of the lounge and turned on her heels immediately. She'd seen Hopper and a few of his deputies enter earlier on a theft call and her mind immediately centered on him. The thief had been a young, well built young man and a few deputies had been called just in case he got rowdy. Back in the storeroom the deputies stood between Hopper and the criminal, holding Hop back as he threw punches at the younger man. Shocked at the sight, Joyce slid into the room and planted herself at Hopper's side, reaching for the big man's arms.

"Hopper! Hopper! Hop!"

He turned his fiery gaze to her and his eyes softened a bit when it registered who had been calling his name. His hands dropped to his sides and the deputies worked briskly to handcuff the criminal and escort him outside the room.

One of the deputies turned to Hopper, shocked. "I don't know what's gotten into you Chief, but maybe you need to take the rest of the day off."

The room cleared save for Joyce and Hopper and she turned to him, placing her hands on his chest.

"What the hell was that about, Hop?"

.

He huffed and leaned against the wall, sliding down it until he sat in a hunched position. "That kid was mouthing off at me."

She sat next to him, her legs crossed indian style. His eyes still burned with something, his features tense.

"I just don't have much patience for that shit today."

She took his big hand in both of hers when it dawned on her what day it was. There are no secrets in a small town. Today is the anniversary of Sarah's death. While she searched for something to say, he fished around in his pocket for a moment and retrieved a medicine bottle, shaking out a few of the contents. Joyce stopped his hand before he could put the pills in his mouth.

.

They both jumped when the door to the store room opened and Joyce sprung to her feet, turning to face her boss. He stared down at Hopper's sad face and took Joyce by the shoulder.

"Take him home, will ya?" No secrets in a small town. "Take the rest of the day off and make sure he doesn't get in too much trouble."

Joyce tried to ignore the stares as she walked through the store with Hopper lumbering along behind her. She'd heard the whispers since things had returned back to normal. She knows everyone thinks she's another notch in Hopper's belt. The whole town knows how much time he spends at her house these days. What they don't know is how much time he's spent with her boys and helping repair the house.

When she glances back to see if he's still behind her, the shattered, far away expression on his face pulls at her heart. Outside she places her last cigarette between her lips and when she notices him watching her, she passes it to him. He bends slightly as she sparks the lighter, his fingers ghosting over hers to protect the flame from the wind and sending an electric current feeling under her skin. He inhales deeply as she unlocks the doors and exhales a thick cloud of smoke, sighing heavily as he does so.

.

Inside the car he passes the cigarette back to her and her mind flashes back to them sharing a stolen cigarette together under the bleachers in high school. He retrieves a flask from somewhere on his person and takes a swig. When she eyes him he shrugs. "Whatcha gonna do, arrest me?" He quips, the ghost of a smile forming on his lips. "I'd share, but you're driving."

She shakes her head at him. "You know all of that doesn't change anything, right Hop? The pills, the booze, none of it's going to fix it."

He stole the cigarette from her and took another deep drag. "No, but it dulls the pain." He admits bluntly and it makes Joyce's heart ache for him. "On days like this...there's just no way around it."

He protests lightly when he realizes she's not driving to his house.

"You shouldn't be alone today."

"Joyce, I get mean on days like this. Lonesome. You and the boys, you won't want to be around me."

She steals a glance over at him. "You don't scare me, Hop." And she meant it. A marriage to Lonnie Byers and loosing a child to the Upside Down had taught her how well she could handle things.

.

At home Joyce called out into her quiet home, calling for the boys. Panic rose in her temporarily until she discovered the note on the kitchen table. Jonathan's handwriting explained that both boys were visiting the Wheeler's again. Jonathan to study with Nancy, Will for another D&D campaign with the boys. Joyce sighed, bracing her weight on the kitchen counter. She hoped that the boys would be home to help her distract Hopper. He always seemed happier after interacting with her boys. "Make yourself at home." She called over her shoulder to him. "I'll cook dinner." She heard the tv click to life and she busied herself with finding something quick to cook.

.

Later she stuck her head in the living room.

"Hey Hop-"

He lay stretched across her couch, bare feet crossed over the arm of the chair and an arm beneath his head, sleeping soundly. His flask lay empty and on it's side on her coffee table. She stood still momentarily, looking over his calm features and debating on wether she should wake him.

"Hey Hopper." She touched his shoulder and he stirred.

"Sarah..?"

"Hop. Dinner's ready." He opened his blue eyes slowly, taking a moment before he remembered where he was.

"Come eat." The tv talked in the background as he set upright and she turned for the kitchen. "Joyce."

When she turned back to him he wrapped his arms around her hips, pulling her body close to his. His shoulders shook under her hands as he pressed the side of his face to her stomach, sending another electric charge all the way to her toes. She ran her fingers through his hair as he silently shook against her, his tears wetting the front of her work shirt. Dinner grew cold as her mind fumbled through an array of things that she could say but in the end nothing was going to fix this. There's no getting around it. Only through it.

.

After a while he released her and wordlessly stood, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his uniform. She hugged him around the middle in return, looking up into his red rimmed eyes before taking him by the hand and leading him into the kitchen. She heated his plate of spaghetti in the microwave first after passing him a cold beer.

"Thank you." He said softly when she placed the food down in front of him. She knew he really wasn't referring to the food and she nodded, retrieving her plate and sitting opposite of him at the table.

"After we eat, if you'll give me your uniform I'll wash it. I've got some of Lonnie's old clothes that might fit you." She informed him and he nodded solemnly. She noticed he still carried that broken, far away look in his eyes and her heart ached for him.

After dinner he left the room and she heard the shower start. She moved to her bedroom and retrieved a pair of Lonnie's blue plaid sleep pants and a grey tank top. Refolding them, she placed them on the foot of her bed before busying herself with changing out of her work clothes and washing the dinner dishes. Jonathan called, letting her know that the boys would be staying the night. After a while she heard the shower turn off and she turned to find Hopper standing in the bathroom doorway, a towel tied around his waist. Steam rose off of his reddened skin and a cigarette hung limply from the corner of his lips, his hair a disheveled mess.

"Cl-clothes are on the foot of my bed." She stammered, quickly turning her attention from him. As he dressed alone in her room she gathered his dirty clothes with her own and threw them in the wash before taking a seat on the couch, flipping through the channels until she landed on a rerun of Gunsmoke.

He joined her in the living room later and she had to hold back a laugh. He stood in front of her bare chested with Lonnie's pants ending a full two inches above his ankles. "Shirt wouldn't fit, I'm a bit bigger than him." He explained, shrugging. She grinned at him and gestured for him to sit down beside her.

.

She pretended not to notice when he stretched his arm across the back of the couch, around her shoulders. And he pretended not to notice when she leaned against his bare chest, her cool hand against his warm skin.

Eventually she ended up lying between his legs, her chest against his and her arms wrapped around his waist as he lay under her and they watched the tv together intently. It felt so nice to be this close to someone after so long. She rarely had this with Lonnie and the kids were seldom affectionate with her anymore.

They lay together in silence until Hop checked his watch. "It's getting late, I should head home." She could hear the steady thump thump of his heart under her ear and she nuzzled her head against it, tightening her grip around his torso. He felt it and placed a kiss on top of her head.

"You don't have to go."

"But the boys..."

"They're spending the night at the Wheeler's. You know, they actually got Jonathan into that Dungeons and Dragons now." He smiled, imagining Jonathan huddled with the smaller boys around a table in the Wheeler's basement.

He caressed her cheek, looking into her eyes.

Joyce I..."

He moved to say something but quickly changed his mind. Instead he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his in a sloppy, clumsy sort of way. He tastes of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

She pulled him closer and kissed him again, this time slower and more gently. He pulls her further up his body, drawing her legs around his waist as the kiss deepened. His hands are all over, under her t-shirt and the hem of her shorts, feeling every stretch of skin he can access. He kisses across her jaw, to the hollow below her ear, and to her throat.

"I love you." He can feel the vibration of the statement at the hollow of her throat where his lips linger, his fingers tangling in her hair.

He kissed his way back to her ear, whispering "I love you too."