One and Seven's face-to-face had led to a fated friendship. The two were all each other had, and as the months wore on they would spend any spare time they had peering at each other through a portal. Which had become more plentiful for both as of late, since Dr. Brenner's attention had shifted to other subjects.

They had stopped physically visiting each other's rooms after Dr. Brenner had nearly walked in on them once. One had amassed a variety of bruises from flinging herself back through a portal and onto her hard linoleum floor. Being able to see and speak to each other was enough for them.

Having nothing to do other than talk, their conversations stretched through the entirety of their knowledge about the world. Which wasn't much, but they were both rather creative and didn't have much trouble filling in the blanks.

They would talk about their abilities, the other kids, life outside the Lab, their hypothetical families and friends...

Lately their conversation had turned to something more fantastical: escape. They spent several days jokingly strategizing about the crazy ways they would break out of the Lab. Or at least, it was all a joke to One.

Most of their plans obviously included using One's portal-making abilities, but Seven had also begun to throw his mind-controlling abilities into the gambit.

"Wouldn't it be so much more satisfying if they made Papa release every single one of them?"

"Wouldn't it feel good to watch Papa lock himself into one of their rooms for eternity?"

"Wouldn't they experience great joy from watching Papa hurt himself?"

One laughed along uncomfortably whenever Seven made these remarks, but lately she was beginning to wonder if he meant them. They couldn't actually escape. Where would they go? How would they survive? One figured herself to be 12-13, and Seven seemed to be about the same age as her. She had no recollection of the outside world but she didn't think two kids could make it on their own. Papa had said it was dangerous out there.

"I just want to know," Seven sighed through the portal. They had been engrossed in a conversation about animals. Somehow, they both had memories of squirrels, birds, deer, and other forest-creatures even though they couldn't remember ever seeing them.

"What?" One asked, noticing a serious shift in Seven's features.

"What our lives were like before..." Seven began. "We can picture animals we can't even remember seeing, we know about music and movies even though Papa has never shown them to us...so why can't we remember what happened before the Lab?"

"I don't know..." One answered softly. She wanted to know too, but she didn't dwell on it as much as Seven did because it just resulted in more pain.

"Papa can't be our real papa. I have family out there," Seven bit his lip to stifle frustrated tears. "I know it. And I bet you do too."

One became speechless. Her having a family? It seemed ridiculous. Maybe Papa wasn't their real father but he was the only family they had. A hunch was not enough evidence that there were people out there waiting for them who loved and cared for them.

But did those people actually love and care for them? If One and Seven really did have families out there, why hadn't they come looking for them? Why had One and Seven spent so many years abused and abandoned in the Lab? If her family actually existed, she didn't know if that was a family she even wanted to go back to.

"Stop," One quietly commanded, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Seven looked at her dumbfounded. "Maybe I don't, but I'm not just going to sit here and let them continue to torture me! I'm getting out of here, I promise you that!"

One felt a tingling down her back and within seconds the portal snapped shut. In his anger, Seven had used his powers to make her shut the portal. The conversation was over.

One sighed as she sat down on her bed. Maybe she'd get out of there too. One day.

"She had Sarah's hair tie?" Hopper asked incredulously. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why?"

"I don't know," Eleven answered.

"You said she was at our cabin, she probably stole it!" Hopper slammed his hands against the steering wheel. He knew he couldn't trust her.

"Maybe you gave it to her," Eleven offered.

"Why would I do that?" Hopper snapped before calming himself down. The startled look on Eleven's face softened his features. "Sorry."

Eleven nodded her head to accept his apology. "It hasn't happened yet, we don't know anything for certain."

"You're right," Hopper sighed. "You're right. There's just something strange about her that puts me off-balance. I don't know what it is."

Eleven stared into his eyes and shrugged. She didn't want to admit it, but she got the same vibe from One. There was something secretive about her. Some big mystery lurking under the surface. But she was her sister, so she looked past it.

"What do you want for dinner, kiddo?" Hopper asked as he put the car back into drive and continued their journey home.

Eleven just smiled a knowing smile. "Eggos."

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When they arrived back at the cabin Hopper set to work on dinner while Eleven got the TV ready. They were going to have a night full of Eggos and Old Western movies to cut through the craziness that had ensued in the last 24 hours.

"You brought a stranger with supernatural powers to our house where she opened a portal to the Upside Down and nearly killed us...After which she ran away to the Byers' and talked to the lights who told her something was coming...She then tracked you all down to relay the message and opened a portal to the future where her future self told you Dr. Brenner is coming back..." Hopper summed up as he grabbed the Eggos from the freezer and set them out to thaw. "Am I missing anything?"

Eleven shook her head no from the living room.

"Yeah, we could use a night in," Hopper sighed into the open freezer.

"We haven't seen this one yet." Eleven waved a VHS above her head from where she was kneeling on the ground; an island in the middle of a vast sea of cowboy hats and lassoes.

"Throw it in," Hopper told her, yanking his hand back and waving it frantically after trying to grab the burning Eggos out of the toaster.

Eleven sprawled out on the couch, and after Hopper had regained the courage to touch the white-hot waffles, he joined Eleven in the living room and claimed his spot in his rightful throne: the recliner. Together, the two faded into the cheesy one-liners and gaudy special effects of their chosen Western: The Lonely Sheriff.

The title felt a little taunting but Hopper let it slide.

Yet even with the distraction of cowboys and waffles, thoughts of One still infiltrated Hopper's mind. Why did she have Sarah's hair tie?

If Eleven was right and Hopper did give it to her, it'd have to be something short of a miracle. Because the only reason Hopper would give One that hair tie was if somehow magically she was Sarah.

And that just wasn't possible.

Sarah was dead.

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