Chapter 30:

The wedding was beautiful. They both were. First came Johnathan and Nancys. Of course Will, Dustin, Mike, and Lucas were all groomsmen. Even Steve, who had become a welcome addition to the group after all they had gone through together. From the Upside Down, to Hawkins Lab, their shared trauma forged a new, unexpected friendship.

Nancy looked beautiful on their wedding day, but Johnathan couldn't help but think she looked even more beautiful holding that baby girl in her arms. Her face lit up, everytime their daughter yawned, smiled, or giggled. Nancy was a natural at being a mother, and Johnathan hoped he could be just as good of a dad.

Eight months later, Mike arranged a small, sudden wedding at a little church in the tiny town in Georgia he and Eleven moved to. Only their closest family and friends were allowed, though he politely extended an invitation to Jesse.

Hopper showed up in his uniform, but his age was really beginning to show. As it turned out, he and Wills mom had made their relationship official. Everyone happy for them, and the two never seemed so happy. They showed up together, Joyce holding onto Hoppers arm like it had been something shed wanted to do for ages.

Joyce and Nancy were the ones who dressed up Eleven. They worked together, fitting her white lace dress to hug her waist and flow freely around her legs. Nancy did her makeup, as Joyce wasnt so good at such things anymore. It had been a long time since shed dressed up herself.

Even though they had written their own vows, Mike was speechless when the doors opened and Eleven started down the isle. Seeing her, dressed in white with pretty pink lips and big bright eyes, the breath left his lungs. All he could do was stand there and stare at her. She was so beautiful, so pure, even after all she suffered through, all the pain and violence inflicted upon her.

Mike had promised himself that he would stay rigid, stay calm. But as Eleven stumbled through her vow, making sure to carefully pronounce the words she understood, words Mike taught her, he couldn't control the tears that welled in his eyes. She paused in the middle of her vow, afraid she was disappointing him or upsetting him. He was crying, and it worried her.

"Mike?" She had whispered to him.

"Im sorry," he sniffed, quickly wiping at his eyes. "Keep reading, Im okay. Im just so happy. Im so so happy, El." She smiled, then, as he smiled, too. It was then that Eleven learned that Mike could cry when he was happy, that tears werent always from pain. Mike had taught her so many things, but that was one of her favorite things to learn.

Eleven understood even better as Mike read his own vows.

"I wish I could show you to emptiness I felt when you were gone," he told her, taking deep breaths to steady his voice. "Maybe then you would know just how miserable I was and am without you. You are the only..." He sighed, blinking a tear from his eye. "You're the only thing in my life that makes me feel whole. I know you dont understand marriage as well as other people do. So let me explain what it means to me."

"Dont cry," Eleven whispered, reaching over to grab his hand. Hopper rubbed Joyces back as she cried happy tears, and Nancy bounced her sleeping baby in her lap gently. Will held Maggie's hand, hoping someday soon they could share the same moment.

"Okay," he cleared his throat. "To me, this ring, and this moment, is a promise. Something I will never break or dream of ever breaking. Its a promise to love you... to cherish you... and to make you smile for as long as I live. You will always be my friend, my..." He sniffed. "My love, my world. Marriage is a promise, and it's a promise I only want to make to you. I promise you forever. And our forever starts today."

He put the ring on her finger, a small silver band with a pretty white diamond. It fit her perfectly, and it looked so good on her hand. She put the ring on his finger, and hand her hand up next to his. The rings were a promise, something that tied them together even when they were apart. She liked that about them.

They kissed, long and passionate, as everyone else cheered and clapped for them. Hopper was surprised to see the kids he had protected for so long, grow up right there in front of his eyes. A young man that loved a young woman. They werent kids anymore.

Dustin and Lucas drank an awful lot after the wedding. Will joined, but he didnt have as much since he and Maggie had plans after. Steve drank with them, or more accurately, outdrank them. They played games for a few hours.

Once everyone began heading home, back to their hotel, or to Hawkins if they were making the drive, Mike drove Eleven back to their little townhouse he was renting.

He opened her car door for her, helping her out then scooping her up in his arms, holding her like the new bride she was. She put her arms around his neck, hugging him close as he carried her to the front door. Mike struggled a bit to open the door without letting her slip, so she focused enough to open it for him, no hands needed.

Mike had been waiting all night to be alone with her, to have her pressed against him. He didnt even take off her dress, just the white underwear she wore underneath. They kissed heatedly, clinging to each other, feeling whatever skin they could feel.

He pushed up her dress, sliding the lace fabric up her soft thighs so he could get between her legs. Mike was quick to undo his belt, his lust for her overtaking his care for the clothes he was wearing. Nothing was taken off completely, only pushed out of the way enough for him to slip into her.

He kissed her just as she began to moan, and he kissed her so much that night that he was surprised she ever found time to breathe. Mike felt sorry for the neighbors, as he wasnt going to bother holding back to keep it quiet.

They had made love so many times, and somehow, it felt so different. Maybe because of the circumstances around it, the marriage and the eternal promise they had made. It was an incredible night, tangled up in half removed clothes and each others limbs.

When they woke the next morning, they would wake as husband and wife. Eleven may not have understood what being a wife meant at the time, but she would learn. Mike would teach her as he had taught her so many things, and he would continue to teach her for the rest of their lives.

Mike paced the hospital corridor, chest heaving with worry. Eleven was in so much pain, and she had cried on him for the past hour. The doctor shooed him from the room, saying that it was better if he wasnt there for the moment.

Still, he could hear her screaming his name from inside the room, begging for him. It tore his heart in two. He couldnt bear to lose her. It would shatter his whole world. They had been married only two years, and he wasnt ready for it to be over.

Tears stung his own eyes, but he kept them back as long as he could. When the doctor came out of the room, and it was silent for the first time in hours, he couldnt hold back the tears anymore. He rushed to the doctor, those tears running down his cheeks now.

"Did she make it?" He asked first. "Please tell me she's going to be okay. Please," he begged the doctor.

"Take a breath," the doctor urged Mike. "She's going to be okay," he smiled softly, and relief washed over Mike like a tidal wave in a stormy sea. He almost stumbled back at the sheer force of it. "She did good, Mr. Wheeler. Your wife is going to be okay. Would you like to see her?"

"Yes," he sobbed out with a soft smile. "Please."

Eleven was a little out of it when he walked into the room. She looked up at him, eyes glazed over with what he could only imagine was a mixture of drugs meant to reduce her pain. Somehow she managed a groggy smile when she saw him.

"Mike," she whimpered out, trying to sit up.

"Whoa, whoah, whoah," he panicked, rushing over to lay her back down gently. "Take it easy, El." He looked behind him and pulled up a chair to sit beside her bed. He stroked her hair lovingly, ignoring the sweat that stuck her hair to her face. "You did so good, El. You did good."

"Mr. Wheeler," a nurse called from the doorway. Mike stood as the nurse walked in with a little bundle in her arms. "Is your wife awake enough to hold your son?"

"Yes," he nodded, walking over to meet her at the door. He peeled back the little blue blanket to see the baby's face. "Oh," he sniffed. "Poor little guy. He has my nose." He laughed, trying to hide the new tears forming in his eyes. "May I?" He took the bundle from the nurse gently, cradling it like it held glass within in.

Eleven struggled but managed to sit up, so Mike lowered the baby into her arms. Eleven stared down at the little miracle, something that caused her so much pain, and yet brought her so much joy in that moment.

"He is beautiful," she smiled. "Like you," Eleven glanced up at Mike. She winced a little, so Mike took their son from her arms.

"Lay down, El. You worked hard, so rest now." He frowned at the condition she was in, but he was relieved that both Eleven and the baby would be okay. It was touch and go for awhile. The doctor said that Eleven's body was rejecting them and rejecting the baby as it strained her body more and more. Mike was begging any and every deity he could think of to spare her.

Eleven laid back down, slipping into unconsciousness again.

"Benny," she muttered.

"What?" Mike asked, moving closer to hear her.

"Call him Benny," she said as she closed her eyes. "Benjamin. But we call him Benny."

"Why Benny?" He asked, though she was close to sleeping. "El?" He wanted to wake her and ask her why, but she had already drifted off. Even though it confused him, he went along with her decision, and their son was named Benjamin Luke Wheeler. He decided on his middle name since Eleven was asleep, and the first cool name he could think of was Luke Skywalker, so Luke it was.

She stayed in the hospital for a few days, but she got better quicker than the doctor expected. But Mike wasnt surprised. Eleven had always been strong, the strongest person he had ever known. He hoped their little boy would grow up as strong as his mother. Mike was just grateful that little Benny would get to grow up with his mother.

It was a new beginning for them, just as their wedding was. Mikes life was rushing at him, and it hit him then, that he had arrived at the future he always wanted with Eleven. After all they had been through, with monsters, mad doctors, and two miscarriages, they were finally able to bring life into the world. A little blue bundle, with Mikes nose, that they would protect at all costs. Monsters and mad doctors be damned.

Mike later learned that little Benny was named after the man who found Eleven first, who fed and clothed her, who tried to help her and was killed for it. Eleven had never had a chance to say thank you, and sometimes, Mike would hear her whispering her thanks to baby Benny as if he was the same man that saved her all those years ago.

He loved her, and he loved that little boy. His world had grown to fit both his wife and his son inside of it. Mike knew he had to live for them both, to work hard to provide and give them everything they wanted. He looked forward to every day with them, and he couldnt wait to live the rest of his life with the woman he loved, and the child they brought into the world together.

Well that was it guys! I hope it didnt disappoint, and I hope you enjoyed :) it made me sad to see the story end as it certianly felt like quite the journey. I hope it was good of a journey for you guys as it was for me. Thank you so much to every single one of you that read this story! I hope it brought you the same joy it brought me :)