CONTAINS: Brief references to season 3 and 4. GRAPHIC MENTIONS OF VOMITING. Please enjoy!

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Ever since returning from the Upside Down, Hopper had asked El to keep an eye on her friends and the rest of the group. She would do what she used to during the year away from Mike, always checking on everyone, as exhausting as it was. That's how she knew something bad was happening, before anyone else.

No one had heard from Mike or Will in days, but according to her spying on them randomly, Will was just too anxious to leave the house, always cradling the back of his neck. Something about the giant gate opening had him getting cold flashes up along the back of his neck a lot. Mike though, she couldn't seem to get a good lock on him. Every time he started to appear, everything faded out too quickly, barely giving her a glance of him. That's how she knew something had to be wrong with him.

"Hey kid, what's wrong?" Hopper asked, looking up when she whimpered softly.

She looked up at her father, as far as she was concerned, wiping the blood from her nose like always. "I think something is wrong with Mike... I can't see him like at all." She admitted, looking more and more worried as the seconds ticked by.

"Okay, kid. We can go check on him. Have you tried calling his mom?" Hopper suggested, not wanting to have to drive over.

El shook her head, kind of forgetting that the phones even existed. She got up, grabbing the phone and called the Wheeler house. Right when she thought no one was going to pick up, Nancy answered the phone.

"Wheeler house?" Nancy asked, waiting for a response. "Hello?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Hi Nancy, it's El." El said in a soft voice, unable to hide her anxiety in her tone.

"Oh hi Eleven, how are you?" Nancy asked in a kind voice, but stopped talking when a coughing sound echoed in the background. "Hang on a sec, El." She said, putting the phone down.

El listened to the line, hearing Nancy rushing about the room. When she came back on the line, the poor teen could barely breathe.

"I'm back, sorry. What's up?" Nancy asked in concern, sounding more tired than before.

"Is Mike okay?" El asked back in a bit of a panic, something in the back of her mind telling her he was very much not okay.

"Oh, he asked me not to tell anyone, but of course his girlfriend would call sounding panicked and freaking out. Ugh, no he is sick, has been for days. He's been sleeping mostly, but he did wake up a moment ago, and he seemed worse. He has a fever, cough, sore throat, and a runny nose. Nothing to sorry about," Nancy rambled, not wanting to worry the girl anymore than she already was.

"No, its worse than that. I can feel it." El said in a gentle but urgent voice. "I can't see him, I could always see him before, but now I can't." She gasped out, sounding more and more panicked.

"Would you like to come over and see him? I don't want you getting sick, but if you want to stop by and see him..." Nancy offered, knowing that Mike would probably get mad at her for letting his girlfriend see him like this.

"I'll be there in less than twenty minutes." El said, hanging up before Nancy could say a word. She turned to Hopper and stood back up, grabbing her jacket. "Let's go," she said, walking out the door without another word.

Hopper followed her outside to the car, getting in and silently drove to the Wheeler house, noticing that El kept closing her eyes and her nose was bleeding again. Once they got to the Wheeler's house, El was out of the car and running into the house. He shook his head, knowing exactly how she felt before he drove away.

El ran into the house, not stopping to knock on the door. "Nancy? Where's Mike?" She demanded, walking up to his older sister.

"The basement," Nancy said, motioning downstairs. She turned to say something else, only to see that El was flying down the stairs. She rolled her eyes, remembering when she used to be that way with Steve.

El flew down the stairs, stopping in front of the area she used to hide in, finding Mike curled up in her area. She knelt down beside him, running her fingers through his long hair.

He opened his eyes, looking up at her with a groan. "El? You're gonna get sick." He mumbled, turning his head into the blanket below him, coughing harder than he thought he would.

"I don't care, Mike. You're sick, let me help you." El insisted, a hint of begging in her tone. She kept running her fingers through his hair, until he stopped coughing and lay his head on her lap. She smiled down at him, shushing him as his breathing was labored from the coughing.

"Why are you here?" Mike whispered, turning to cough against her leg after speaking. His voice sounded rough and raspy, as he tried to speak again with little to no voice. "You've never been sick, it could be awful." He croaked, sounding so exhausted she immediately shushed him again.

"Stop trying to talk, and rest. I'm not going anywhere, until you are better." She insisted, getting more comfortable in the small area. She lay down beside him, curling her body around him, in a protective motion, not wanting anything to hurt him.

"Your nose was bleeding when you got here." Mike rasped, after a few minutes of silence, that had her thinking he had fallen asleep.

"I was trying to see you. I have been checking on everyone, since we got back, and everyone I could see clearly... except you." El said in a soft voice, that did nothing to hide the anxiety in her tone.

"Why couldn't you see me?" He asked in a hoarse voice, trying not to cough over and over, as the breath tickled his throat. He panted hard, giving into the need to cough as hard he could, not being able to breathe through the harsh coughs. After what felt like forever, he sagged into her arms again, breathless and dizzy from all the coughing.

"I don't know, but I can see you now, and that's all that matters. Now rest," she said in a firm voice, knowing he needed to rest to get better.

"Are you gonna stay?" He asked in a weak voice, too exhausted to fight the desire to sleep.

"Of course, now go to sleep." She said, closing her eyes to keep him from continuing to try to talk to her.

Mike curled close to her, dozing off almost immediately. He stayed quiet for a while, too tired and miserable to sleep. He coughed and coughed, waking himself up again and again, wheezing briefly after each cough.

She rubbed his back, waiting for the coughing fit to stop, and allow him some reprieve. She offered him the water bottle that had been sitting on the ground beside the makeshift bed, helping him take a few sips when he could stop coughing briefly.

He groaned in discomfort, as cool as the water was on his parched throat, it didn't change that it hurt all the way down to his stomach each time he swallowed. He curled in on himself, wrapping his legs close to his chest as he tried to ignore the pain.

"What feels bad?" She asked, wrapping one of the many blankets around his trembling form. She went to hug him, when he shrugged the blanket off and got to his feet shakily. "Mike?" She asked in confusion, as she watched him stumble to the small bathroom that was downstairs, just off the basement main room.

"Don't follow me," Mike ground out, seeing her stand up, before closing the bathroom door.

She sat back down, looking at the closed door. She could hear a muffled thump, followed by a good deal of coughing and choking. She listened for a moment longer, before closing her eyes and spying on him again. She could see immediately that he was trying not to throw up, and shoved herself to her feet. She ran to the bathroom, finding it locked, she popped the lock with her mind.

He didn't even have a chance to look at her in surprise, before being forced over the open toilet with a groan. He had his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach, as he tried to not be sick.

"Do you want me to get Nancy?" She asked, not sure how to help him feel better.

"N...no... just stay..." He begged, not wanting to be left alone, even if he wanted her not to have to witness what was about to happen.

She nodded her understanding, moving closer to him and sitting down with him. She took his shaky hand in hers, grateful that he offered it, since she wasn't sure if she was allowed to touch him when he was like this. "Breathe, Mike." She said in a gentle voice, knowing all too well that he was past the point where breathing would help anything.

He continued panting and coughing until he had no choice but to gag. He clapped his free hand over his mouth, trying to stop his body from rebelling.

"No, let it happen. Hopper says if you need to puke, to let it happen." She said, using her hand that wasn't holding his, to pull his hand away from his mouth. She clasped both his hands in hers, as she felt the trembling getting worse as he continued to fight his body.

Just when she thought she might need to help him somehow, he lurched forward over the open bowl. He dropped her hands so fast, it startled her, but he didn't have a chance to apologize, before both his hands were on either side of the bowl in a vice grip, as he lurched again bringing up a rush of sour liquid. He choked as it came up, burning his throat and esophagus.

She put her hand on his back, trying to steady him, as she felt him rock forward with each aggressive and productive heave. After a few heaves, he was left coughing up mouthfuls of bitter bile.

"Are you okay?" She asked, when he had been quiet for a while, as she reached up and flushed the toilet so the sight and smell wouldn't make him feel any worse.

"Queasy," he whispered, after a long silence. He lay his arms on top of the toilet seat, and lay his head on top of them, closing his eyes while he waited for the waves of nausea and dizziness to fade.

"We can stay here as long as you need to... I would hate for you to puke out there." She said in a kind voice, knowing that he probably didn't want to throw up in there either.

They stayed there for awhile, until he had managed to nod off, drooling down his arm which dripped softly into the water with a soft plop. She stayed beside him, wishing she could help him more somehow, but she had no idea how.

Perhaps an hour or more had passed before Nancy's voice shattered the quiet. "Why does it smell so bad down there?" She asked, standing at the top of the basement stairs.

El got up and ran out of the bathroom, hoping his sister's loud voice wouldn't wake him up, not until he needed to be up. "Mike puked a bunch in the toilet." She said in her usual deadpan. As she spoke, she lifted her finger to her lips. "He fell asleep against the toilet, so I was letting him sleep, but I think he will be awake soon. His stomach sounds angry." She explained, as she heard her boyfriend start retching.

She turned and ran back to his side, watching him dry heave into the bowl over and over again. She rubbed his back, as he choked up a tiny mouthful of bile and dissolved into tears.

He collapsed with his head on her lap, too embarrassed and exhausted to really know why he was crying or to know he even was crying. Everything was just too much, he was so grateful El was there, because he could be himself around her.

She whispered soft comments of love and affection, but let him cry until he had no tears left. "Want to come lay down on my old bed?" She asked, not noticing that Nancy was standing in the doorway watching all of this unfold.

"Do you want help moving him?" Nancy asked, causing both teens to jump and look at her in confusion. Though Mike's eyes slid closed almost immediately after looking up at his sister. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She apologized softly.

El smiled, looking down at Mike who had fallen asleep in her lap. "Can you just get some blankets? His fever is a bit less since puking, but he doesn't seem to want to move." She said with a soft laugh, wondering if he was only finally starting to feel a bit better because he was asleep in her lap.

Nancy nodded, disappearing only to return moments later with a couple of blankets and a pillow which she put behind El's back. "Now that he is done throwing up, and has fallen asleep, it might be awhile before he wakes up. So you may as well get comfortable." She said with a laugh, putting one of the blankets over Mike's sleeping form and the other over El. "Call me if you need anything." She added as she left the bathroom, leaving them alone again.

Mike smiled, looking up at El for a moment. "She likes you... But not like I do." He breathed out softly, his eyes blinking rapidly as he tried to stay awake.

"I love you, Mike. Now go to sleep." She said, a smile coloring her words, as she felt his breathing even out in sleep. She played with his hair, as she closed her eyes, seeking out each of her friends to be sure they were safe. After she was grateful to find everyone was okay, she allowed herself to fall asleep.

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Mike woke up the next morning, stiff and sore, but couldn't help but smile that El was sound asleep above him. He closed his eyes again, nodding back off quite easily. When they both woke up again, he was feeling a good deal better but they stayed on her makeshift bed for the rest of the day.

I hope you enjoyed this fic, it was not anticipated, but my brain wouldn't quit bugging me to torture sweet Mike. Lol. As always: vote, comment, and request away. Love you all! <3