"For the last time, Kid, the answer is no!" A disgruntled Hopper groaned.

"Why not, Chief?" Mike sighed in frustration.

"Because it's just too dangerous," he countered.

Mike rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. The Shadow Monster had been defeated, Will was back to (what one could consider) normal, and everyone returned to the Byers' household for the night. Steve decided to head back to his place to clean his wounds after making sure the kids were safe. Jonathan and Nancy camped in his room, Joyce headed back to her room after putting Will to bed and praying that her little boy wouldn't suffer anymore visions. That left the rest of the kids in Will's room. Even though it was a bit cramped, they all managed to find comfortable spots for a well deserved rest.

Will slept peacefully in his bed for the first time in months, Dustin was hunched over in the chair near Will's desk, Max and Lucas slept shoulder to shoulder leaned up against the wall, and Mike and El rested on the floor next to Will's bed, bundled up in each other's arms. After seeing that El was sound asleep, Mike snuck away to apologize and try to reason with Hopper.

"I don't understand what's so dangerous about it!" Mike argued. "You even told Jonathan and Ms. Byers where the cabin was! Even Nancy knows where it is!"

Hopper shot Mike a stern glare. The emotional boy was finding it difficult to keep his voice down. "Kid, look I know how much you missed her. And believe me, I know how much she missed you. But until all of this dies down..."

The chief stopped when he saw Mike's expression. He looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment. Hopper groaned and rubbed his bloodshot eyes. "Look, I'll think about it, all right? Until then, try and get some sleep. God knows we all need it."

Mike nodded, staring glumly at the floor as he walked back into Will's room. The rest of his friends were still asleep and he could feel his eyelids droop more and more as he tried to force himself awake. Laying back down next to El, he stared at her calm, unconscious expression until sleep finally took over him.

The next morning, Steve came by to see how Will was doing and to drive the rest of the kids home. Lucas and Dustin both gave El one last group hug before saying their goodbyes.

"Don't stay away too long this time, ya hear?" Dustin said.

"Yeah, we have way too much to catch up on," Lucas added.

El smiled at her friends as they broke the hug. "I'll see you soon," she told them.

The girl then looked over at Max who was leaning over by the front door, waiting for the boys. The redhead gave her a polite smile and a wave, and to Max's surprise, Eleven smiled back and nodded.

"You didn't have any visions or nightmares last night did you?" A concerned Mike asked Will.

Will shook his head. "Not that I know of. I slept like a rock."

Mike smiled. "Thank God. I'm just glad this whole thing is over."

"You and me both."

A soft knock made the boys turn their heads towards the door. Hopper stood in the hallway.

"How you doing, Buddy?" the man asked.

"Better," Will yawned.

Hopper smiled before turning his attention to Mike. "You got a second, kid?"

"You're serious?!" Mike gasped.

"Yes, but it's you and only you," Hopper stated. "It's nothing against your friends, it's just that our place isn't exactly ready for the six of you. And I know that she missed you the most."

Mike put a hand on his hand in disbelief, trying his best not to burst with excitement. "I just can't believe this! Hopper, thank-"

He put a hand up and smiled at the boy. "It's no problem kid. Just try and keep it between us for now, okay? I want to make it a surprise for her."

"Yeah! You got it!" Mike grinned.

"Hey, Mike!" Dustin yelled from the front door. "Let's go, our parents are gonna kill us if we wait too long!"

"Coming!" Mike shouted back. After grabbing his coat from Will's bedroom, he turned the corner in the hallway and almost, quite literally, ran into El. "Hey," he smiled and blushed.

"Hey," she looked up at him.

Mike brought her into a hug and she wrapped his arms around his neck. "I have to go," he mumbled.

El sniffled, not wanting to be separated from him again. "I know."

He pulled away and smoothed her hair back. "You'll see me again," he said.

"How soon?"

"Sooner than you think."

The weekend had arrived quicker than expected. El sat on the couch tilting her head to change the channels on the TV in front of her. Hopper had arrived home earlier than normal and left as soon as he got there, claiming that he had to "go retrieve something important". Holding her favorite teddy bear in her arms, El kept on tilting her head, flipping through channel to channel until she decided that nothing good was holding her interest. With a blanket in one hand and bear in the other, she headed back into her room.

She stared at the blindfold on her nightstand and for a moment, contemplated on trying to contact Mike and see what he was up to. She shook her head and sighed as she flopped onto her bed. On day 150, Hopper told her that her word of the day was 'Patience', the capacity to accept delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. On day 250, El reflected on that word. She had been more than patient, day in and day out, shouldn't she be rewarded for all the tedious hours she spent cooped up in log cabin?

Three knocks. One knock. Two knocks.

El sat up in her bed and focused her mind on the door, unlocking it. Hopper entered the cabin, resting his hat on the coat rack and placing his belt on the counter. "Hey Kiddo!" he called out. "Can you come out here for a sec?"

El sauntered out of her room and noticed the front door was still slightly ajar. She looked up at her guardian with a confused expression.

"Listen, I know these last few days have been especially frustrating for you, and I know I haven't been the best caretaker I could be..." Hopper started.

"I haven't been the best person to take care of," El responded. "I'm sorry."

Hopper ruffled her hair. "I know you are, El. But now it's my turn to say I'm sorry. I have a surprise for you to try and make up for everything."

El tilted her head to the side, and looked towards the door as Hopper called out "Come on in, Kid!"

On cue, Mike poked his head through the doorway, holding a box under his arm. He barely had time to place it down before El nearly knocked him over in a hug.

"Hey, El!" he laughed, balancing himself so he wouldn't topple over.

El placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him, wide-eyed. "What are you doing here?"

"Hop said I could stay over," Mike announced.

"But just for tonight," the older man clarified.

Mike looked around the cabin. It was nothing fancy like a ski lodge, but it looked pretty cozy. "Nice place you have here," he complimented.

El could hardly contain her excitement. Tugging on the taller boy's sleeve, she pointed to a green door near the kitchen. "Want to see my room?" she asked.

"Of course!"

Hopper smiled at the two as he watched El take Mike's hand and led him towards the small bedroom. The two were inseparable, that was for sure. And if all it took was one boy wearing a striped shirt and polite smile to make his girl happy, then he was happy as well.

El's room may have been small but it had all the necessities. A bed, nightstand, dresser, and bookshelf accompanied with two windows with both curtains drawn. "This is where I sleep," she told Mike as they sat on the bed together.

"It looks nice and warm," Mike observed the room. "Do you like it here?"

The girl nodded. "It's home. Better than the lab."

"I can imagine."

El glanced over at the box Mike had brought with him. "What's in there?"

"Oh! Right," Mike shook his head comically. "Well, my parents were having a yard sale and they wanted me to give some of my old toys away. But I figured, so you don't go insane from boredom, I'd bring a few here for you to keep."

The boy dug around in the box and pulled out two action figures. "You remember Rory, don't you?" He pressed the button on the dinosaur's stomach and the toy let out a small screeching noise that made El giggle, recalling the memory she had of Mike showing her everything in his room.

"And you remember this guy?" Mike held up a small figurine of a short, green alien sporting a brown cloak.

El took the figure in her hands. "Y-Yoda," she remembered. "He uses force to move things."

"Yeah that's right," Mike confirmed. He dug around in the cardboard box again. "And so Yoda doesn't get lonely," he began. "You can have the Falcon to go with him!"

Eleven gently took the giant spaceship from Mike and studied it, all the carvings and different shades of white and grey. She knew exactly where to put it. Mike watched in awe as the ship levitated out of El's hands and on top of the bookshelf. "There?" she looked to him for approval.

"It's perfect," he responded.

After a small, relaxing TV dinner and watching a few action movies Hopper had rented from the video store, the kids found it difficult to keep their eyes open. Seeing that the duo kept knocking their heads together every time they dozed off, Hopper told them to get a good nights sleep.

Mike created a makeshift bed using the extra quilts El had kept in her dresser. He was thankful that he got to stay with her throughout the night, despite his embarrassment when Hopper firmly stated that he wanted the bedroom door left open.

"Will you be okay on the floor?" El worried.

Mike snuggled deeper under the soft quilt. "I'll be fine, El."

The telekinetic girl rolled over to face him. "Mike?" she spoke quietly

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we can still go to the snowball?" A tinge of hope crept in her voice.

"I sure hope so," Mike sighed. "It would be for only one night and I don't see the danger in that."

'Only one night,' El thought. She knew Hopper still wanted to keep her on lockdown for just a bit longer while everything to do with the lab died down. If she could just have one night, one single night out on her own, she knew which one that would just make those 353 days worth it.

"How's living with the Chief?" Mike asked her. "Is he really strict with a lot of rules?"

El shook her head. "Not all the time. Most times he's really nice, like a big teddy bear."

"That's good," Mike rolled over on his side to face her. "Then we should probably get to sleep before that teddy bear turns into a grizzly bear."

Eleven laughed and nodded in agreement. Dangling her arm over her bedside, she reached out for him. "Night, Mike."

He took her smaller hand in his own, brushing his thumb over hers. "Goodnight, El."