The Hideaway. If you had asked Jim Hopper 6 years ago where his favorite place was, he'd tell you it was the Hideaway. On a good day, bad day, or just any regular day, you'd always be able to find him tucked away in that safe place. So, that was exactly where he retreated to after hitting a particularly rough patch in his marriage.

Money was tight. The kids were going through their own changes. Melvald's was closing and Joyce was losing her job. Tension had risen to an all-time high in the Hopper-Byers household and before he knew it, Hopper found himself sitting in his favorite booth with a few empty bottles keeping him company.

For the 3rd time in a week, he was sitting in the very place he'd promised he'd never return to after dedicating himself to his family. He felt like a bum; like Joyce had lucked into marrying another Lonnie... and he hated himself for it.

It seemed like arguments emerged at every turn. Trying to readjust their lives to work out with what changes were coming — and it just wasn't happening. Nobody could find a way to compromise, or one person had to compromise more than the other. It was bullshit, all of it. He couldn't take it anymore, he had to leave; even if it was just for a few drinks.

As he spun the amber liquid around in his glass, his attention was brought to someone sliding into the other half of his booth.

"Well if it isn't Christina Carpenter, right in my midst." he huffed, a smile creeping over his face.

"James Hopper. As I live and breathe. I thought I saw you stewing alone in the shadows." she smiled, taking a sip from her own can of beer.

"What the hell are you doing in town? I thought you were in California," he asked, straightening up so he wasn't slumped over the table.

"Thought I'd pay a visit to my hometown. A girl can only stay away for so long... I'm kidding. I'm tending to my Mother's estate."

Hopper's smile slowly faded away. "I'm sorry about that. I heard that she'd passed. Sorry for your loss."

"Eh, well. We weren't that close. You knew her back in our prime, she was high strung and never let anybody get a word in edgewise." Chrissy took another sip from her drink.

"She's still your mother, Chris." he retorted, his words holding no true conviction. "I know what you mean though,"

Chrissy stopped and looked down at his hand. "Wedding band? Thought you got divorced?" She instantly regretted her comment, remembering that the death of his child pretty much led to his marriage falling apart.

"Was. Remarried."

"No shit!" came the chuckle he remembered fondly from high school. "Who's the lucky lady?" she asked.

"Joyce. Joyce Byers. Well, now she's Joyce Hopper." the corner of his mouth curled into a smile before remembering all of the home life turmoil that had him sitting in the bar to begin with.

"Jim Hopper finally put a ring on it and shacked up with Joycie Horowitz? Jesus, took you two long enough. You know, everybody thought you two would get married at the first chance you got. Some of us even had a bet that you'd wed straight out of your graduation gowns. Speaking of which, Benny owes me $50 bucks for that one."

Hopper gulped and studied the rim of his glass. "Benny died a few years back. Didn't know if someone had told you or not."

"Oh my God." Chrissy's mouth fell open. "You can't be serious. What happened?"

Hopper scuffed. How would he even explain it to her? "Some people thought it was a suicide, some people think differently. It's kind of a long story, we shouldn't talk about it." Damage control and deflection. The ways of the lab were rubbing off on him.

"Alright, then let's talk about why the hell you're sitting in a secluded bar when you've got your dream woman at home. I heard through the grapevine that Lonnie ditched, but I wasn't sure when you'd swoop in and finally win her heart like you'd tried to for 18 years." she laughed and leaned in, her brows cocked in a way that he knew all too well. It was the signature Chrissy Carpenter 'You're not going to run away from my questions' look.

"We're having some problems right now. Money is tight. Got one in college, two in junior high so that's a whole battle of its own. Just kind of a rough patch." he admitted weakly, trying not to think too much about it. What was the point of drowning his sorrows in whiskey if he still had to talk about his problems?

"Alright, guess I gotta be your shrink now, huh?" she replied, earning a small snort from Hopper. "You won't solve any of your problems if you run away from them. You should know this by now, Hop. What happens when you run away from your problems? Bigger problems arise and your once small problems become unfixable."

"I guess..."

Chrissy rolled her eyes with a shallow smile before taking another sip. "Okay, that didn't work. How about this, what would you say if a woman came up to you right now and said 'Wanna go screw behind the dumpster out back?' What would you say?"

"I'm married," he replied simply.

Chrissy groaned. "No! No. Why are you married? What is it about Joyce that you love so fucking much that you can't even handle it?"

"She's... she's just the best person in the world." he furrowed his brows, realizing that lately, he hadn't been paying attention to how much he loved Joyce.

"And?"

"And she's incredible. She's passionate and has the biggest heart of anybody I've ever met. She loves our kids, she holds our family together like glue."

"Yeah? Keep going. What else would you say to that random woman who just asked you for a quick fuck?" Chrissy smacked his shoulder, riling him up more.

"I have yet to meet someone as... as sexy and funny and courageous and as strong as her." he paused, his gaping jaw turning into a smile. "Lady, my wife blows you away!"

Chrissy leaned back into the booth, a true smile growing in her expression. "Then what the hell are you still doing here?" she asked without any real question in her words.

"Leaving. That's what I'm doing."

—————————

Right around midnight, the front door of the Hopper-Byers' house quietly opened up. Through the vague light from the living room lamp, he could see Joyce's silhouette sitting on the couch.

"Are you cheating on me?" were the first words that left Joyce's mouth when she heard the front door open. Her voice was quiet, yet somehow her words had a bite to them. She couldn't look him in the eyes, fearful she may see a repeat of the past when it was Lonnie who would be walking in instead.

Hopper exhaled a breath that he didn't know he was holding. With a prideful smile making its way onto his face, he moved to sit down next to her on the couch. "No." came the whisper as he shook his head, finally making eye contact with her. "Never."

The look in his eye was enough confirmation to Joyce that they would survive whatever they were struggling through. Gently, he guided her head with the back of his hand towards his lips and pressed a kiss to her forehead. They'd be just fine.