Jim Hopper

It's been four years.

Hopper has done a lot of shit in his life he isn't proud of, he's made a lot of mistakes, but he can say for certain that getting sober four years ago isn't one of them. There were tough times, he'd almost fallen off the wagon more than a few times, but now he's here and those tough times don't come around quite so often. Most of the time now, he doesn't even think about having a drink or swallowing a few pills.

Since then, Darrow has changed. His life here has changed a lot, but there's one girl who has been with him through it all.

Beverly knows the significance of the day. He'd done his best not to lean on her during the worst times, knowing she was too young, with too many things of her own to carry, but he had always known, if he needed her, reached out his hand, she would have been there for him. What he'd had with Sara, what he has with Eleven, those relationships are special in their own ways.

With Beverly, he'd grown up. They both had.

"Hey," he says, leaning against the edge of her open bedroom door. "Dinner?"

From the time he'd made the decision about all this, Hopper has been working step by step to get his shit together enough that it just might work. He'd gotten a job, gone back to work for at least a month so there's evidence of a proper income going into his bank account, he'd cleaned up the apartment bit by bit, made it less like some shitty place where someone just crashed on the couch and more like a home. He'd bought one of those new Blu-ray players and a few movies, plus some books and board games to go with the turntable and records he already owns.

Even when Beverly had just been staying with him some of the time, Hopper had made sure to get her nice, fresh sheets and towels, things that could be just hers, and part of his plan is to get her other things to make her room feel more like a place where she can be happy. He'd picked up a small desk a week back, a chair to go with it, a lamp to put on top, then one of those laptop computers like he already has and almost never uses.

He's been planning all the steps toward getting Beverly living with him full time that he's sort of put off the one major step that's required before he gets into the legal stuff. Asking her.

It's probably dumb to be nervous, but he's nervous anyway. He texts her one Sunday, asking if she's staying the night, because she usually does on Sundays, they usually watch some stupid movie on TV, only this time he's got real movies they can choose from and he tells her so. Then he says he'll pick up fried chicken for dinner, because everyone likes fried chicken.

The rest of the day drags by. He feels like an idiot, but he just wants her to be somewhere she'll be safe and happy. Somewhere she can call a real home, even if it's only for a little while, before one or both of them disappear.