There was an ache in her head as Jenna fluttered her eyes open, the light above her shining bright. Groaning, she sat up, despite feeling sore all over her body, and looked around, not recognizing where she was at first. But after hearing a beeping sound next to her, she glanced over to see the monitor standing there, then looking down at the IV needle in her arm, along with the gown she was wearing instead of her regular clothes, Jenna realized that she was in the hospital.

"Mom?" Jenna managed to croak out, scanning around the room to find the woman slouched over in the chair next to her. "Mom," she repeated, despite her throat hurting as she did so.

Slowly opening her eyes, Dorothy lifted her head and sat up straight when she saw that Jenna was awake, looking tired and relieved. "Hey, sweetie," she muttered, scooting her chair close to the bed. "How you feeling?"

"Still hurting a little," Jenna said truthfully.

"Yeah, I bet," she replied, lightly chuckling.

"How long have I been here?"

"A few hours," she replied as she placed her hand on Jenna's forehead. "I think your temperature's gone down some since we got here, so that's good."

When she had mentioned that, Jenna noticed that her body no longer felt like it was burning inside, though it still was warmer than usual, which meant it was taking its time trying to get back down to a normal temperature. She could tell that it was taking longer than the last times she used her powers. But then again, she never used so much of it in one go like she had done with Will tonight.

Will. Is he okay?

"Mom, where's Will?" Jenna asked her. "Is he...?"

"He's fine," she assured her. "Joyce, Jonathan, and Carter are with him right now a few rooms over."

Relief came over Jenna after hearing this. "So me using my powers to get that thing out of him worked."

Her mom sighed. "Yeah, and it almost killed you. I rushed straight here after you passed out. I thought..." Trailing off, she wiped a few tears from her eyes. "I thought you were going to die before I could get you here."

"Oh my God," Jenna whispered.

"Yeah, it was bad." She paused for a moment, attempting to compose herself some before she continued. "I managed to convince the doctor and nurse that you were just dehydrated and had a really high fever from being sick with the flu. They still want to keep you for a little while to make sure that's all it is."

"They really believed that? And no one was suspicious?"

"Well, I had to say something so that they wouldn't run any tests on you," she explained. "I would've had a hard time explaining to the doctor any unusual results they would've caught. So they settled on giving you fluids and letting you rest for now."

Sighing, Jenna leaned back in the bed, the impact of her head hitting the pillow not helping with her headache, causing her to groan in pain. "This is worse than that hangover I had the other night," she muttered, which resulted in Dorothy raising her eyebrows at me. "That was a joke."

"I'm sure it was," she replied. Even though Jenna could tell she didn't believe the lie, the way her mom's face turned sad made Jenna believe she was dropping the subject for now. "You know, you really scared me back at the cabin. Hell, you've had me worried these last few days." She paused, shaking her head. "But the way I saw you pushing yourself to save Will like that...then you just collapsed right in front of me..."

"I know," Jenna said. "I'm sorry I scared you. I just...I just wanted to save Will. He's still a kid, and after all he had been through last year, I couldn't just let him die." She paused for a moment, then continued on. "And I also wanted to prove to myself that I could use my powers for good. You know, so that I wouldn't be seen as a monster."

Dorothy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "You don't...you don't actually see yourself as a monster, do you?"

The feeling of agony just about hit Jenna in the chest as she was trying to respond. "No, not anymore. But I...I didn't just see myself as a monster. I felt that way, too, especially after what I did to Craig and Tina the other day at school. Honestly, I wished I had never done what I did to them, because all it did was make me even more angry about having these powers." Stopping again, she swallowed hard. "But I think I learned a lot from that trip to Chicago, and one of them was that channeling all that anger doesn't help me at all. It only makes me weaker and more likely to lose control. I don't want to be that kind of person with these powers. I want to be someone good."

Not saying anything for a moment, her mom's expression turned soft. "You are a good person, Jenna."

"I wasn't always a good person," Jenna admitted. "I was a horrible person at school, being mean to kids like Carter all the time. I can't make up for that."

"Well, Carter seems to think so," Dorothy pointed out, grabbing her hand. "Of course, I'm not gonna say what you did was right, because it wasn't, but you're not the same person from a year ago. You've changed so much, and I'm so proud of you for it." She flashed a small smile. "I'm proud to call you my daughter."

Jenna's eyes began to water. "Really?"

"Really," she repeated, squeezing her hand. "And don't you ever forget that."

With a sad smile, Jenna nodded, then reached up to wipe the tears from her face. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

Before they knew it, the sound of shouting came from outside the room. In just a matter of seconds, Eleven came running inside, out of breath as she stopped at the foot of Jenna's bed, panting before she could speak.

"Jenna," Eleven finally said once she was breathing normally again. "You're okay."

"Yeah, I'm okay," Jenna assured her, a weak grin coming across her face.

She took a few more steps until she was right next to Jenna at the bed. "I closed the Gate," she told her.

"Good," she replied. "I bet it was badass."

"It was," another voice chimed in, causing them to look up and see it was Hopper standing in the doorway. "How you doin', kid?"

"Oh, you know, I've been better," Jenna answered in a light-hearted tone.

Hopper chuckled. "Joyce wanted me to thank you for saving Will. She told me what happened at the cabin." He then turned and glanced at Eleven. "You mind giving us a few minutes to talk?"

Nodding her head, Eleven looked back at Jenna for a moment. "Bye, Jenna."

"See you later, El," she responded before the girl turned around and walked out.

Once she was gone, Hopper stepped inside and sat at the empty chair next to Dorothy. "There's a couple of things I want to talk to you about, Jenna. The first one is about you and El going out of town."

She started to get nervous as to where this conversation was going to go. "Okay," was all she said.

"El told me about you two visiting her mom and aunt," he said. "And then taking the next bus out to Chicago."

Jenna sighed. "Look, I know it wasn't the smartest idea--"

"You're right, it wasn't," he cut her off. "But it also wasn't smart of me to keep that stuff about Terry Ives hidden from her. Maybe she wouldn't have run off to go see her if I had just told her the truth." He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "But she did, and then got you involved, which I'm sure looking out for a teenager all weekend wasn't something you had planned."

"Well, there was no way I was gonna let her go anywhere by herself."

"I know, and I'm glad you went with her," he said. "You're definitely someone she needs in her life. You know, with both of you having powers and all. She really looks up to you now. Not sure what you told her on your trip, but thank you."

Jenna nodded her head. "Of course. I'll always be here for her whenever she needs me."

"I appreciate it," he stated. "So the other thing...you know that your mom and I have been trying to track down some of your biological family these last few months."

"Yeah, she told me," she said, trying not to sound so annoyed about it.

"Well, there was a dead end on your mom's side, but I did find something on your dad's," he explained. "I was able to confirm it last week when I made the trip to meet them halfway in Louisville, Kentucky. They seem like good people, Jenna."

She raised her eyebrows as she looked over at her mom. "Did you know about this lead?"

"I asked her not to say anything until I knew for sure it was them," Hopper spoke up. "There's something else. They want to meet you."

"As Valerie Murphy, I'm sure."

"No," he stated, shaking his head. "They want to meet you as Jenna Howard."

Her mouth just about dropped, at a loss for what to say next. It was one thing that Chief Hopper managed to actually track down anyone from Jenna's biological family, but knowing they wanted to meet her was an entirely different story, even though she was against it when she first heard about what he and her mom were up to. "But...why would they want to meet--"

"Because I told them how amazing Jenna Howard is and that they'd be stupid to pass up the opportunity of getting to know her," her mom chimed back in. "I explained what happened after you escaped the lab and came under my care. They understand that you're not Valerie Murphy anymore and that you haven't been that girl for a very long time now." She paused, sighing. "And maybe once you get to know them, too..."

That was when Jenna realized where she was going with this. "You think if I get to know them, then it'll be enough to convince me to go live with them."

She sighed again. "I know you're against the idea, but..." Trailing off, her face turned sad. "Jenna, I've noticed the way your powers have affected you these last few months, and then you almost died right in front of me. Maybe if you're not around anything associated with...monsters, much like the ones we've faced, then your episodes might subside."

Like the first time we had this conversation, Jenna was ready to protest against the idea of leaving Hawkins. She didn't want to leave her life behind and go live with other people all because of her powers acting up every now and then. But when Jenna heard her mom explaining how she almost died, along with feeling the tight grip on her hand, and the sad and almost desperate look in her eyes over the topic of Jenna being away from all of this monster shit...

"We know it's a lot to throw on you right now," her mom spoke up again. "So just think about it, okay?"

Jenna slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, okay."

Hopper then stood up from his chair. "Well, I better get going so I can deal with damage control. Just let me know if you need anything else." With that, he bid the two goodbye before walking out of the room.

Dorothy let go of Jenna's hand as she leaned back in her seat. "Now, back to you running off to Chicago..."

"Oh, come on. I was still somewhat responsible while El and I were there. And you heard what Hopper said."

"Yeah, but it was still dangerous to just go off like that," she pointed out. "So, with that being said, you're grounded for two weeks."

Jenna widened her eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, and you're lucky it's only for that long. I'll add in some extra chores for you to do while we're at it."

She couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I mean, I almost died a few hours ago..."

"Still grounded."

"Dammit."

*******

After a few more hours went by, Jenna remained in the hospital, with the doctor trying to convince her mom once again to run some tests on her to make sure there weren't any underlying issues going on. But Dorothy stood her ground and was firm with her choice, so they compromised with Jenna staying a little bit longer just to make sure she really was okay before they would release her.

Once it was late morning, Jenna was feeling a little bit better, though she knew that her body still needed some more time to heal and get back to a normal state. Her mom didn't bring up the subject of her biological family, nor did Jenna want her to do so right now. She had to think about it more before she made a decision. It was a difficult choice to make, but she knew her mom had a point regarding her powers affecting her, and Jenna couldn't imagine how her mom felt seeing it happen and not being able to do much about it.

Jenna was left alone for a while as her mom went out of the room to go get some more coffee, to which she enjoyed the quiet for a little bit. However, it didn't last long as she heard a knock on the door, looking up to see Nancy standing there.

"Nancy?" Jenna spoke up, adjusting herself in the bed.

"Hey, Jenna," she greeted her, walking in the room. "I came to check on you. I actually ran into your mom on the way up here and she said you were doing a lot better."

"Yeah, I'm getting there," she stated, adding a chuckle at the end. "How are you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Nancy said. "It was scary seeing you and Will like that. I can't imagine what pain you guys were in after what you guys went through back at the cabin. But I'm glad you two are okay now." She paused for a moment as she went to sit down in the chair Dorothy was in before. "Look, Jenna, I also came here to talk to you about something else."

"It sounds like that's becoming a pattern for me today," Jenna said jokingly.

Nancy smiled a little before continuing. "It's, uh...it's about Steve."

Her smile faded. "Oh." She felt her heart drop a little. "What about him?"

She opened her mouth to speak, taking a moment to gather the words. "Well, I'm sure you heard about what happened between us at Tina's Halloween party."

"Yeah, I did."

A guilty expression came over her face. "I know it wasn't my finest moment, and I wish things between us didn't end the way that they did. I was drunk and upset and--"

"Nancy," Jenna cut her off, her face turning sad. "While I think how you handled it was pretty shitty, you had every right to feel the way you did, and Steve understands that now."

She nodded her head. "Yeah, he does. I talked to him about it last night." Pausing, she swallowed hard. "We also talked about you."

Jenna's expression became puzzled. "About me?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Jenna, I just want you to know that I won't be mad if anything comes out of whatever you two have going on."

"What do you think will come out of it?" Jenna asked, though she had a feeling she already knew what the answer was going to be.

Nancy laughed a little. "I saw how relieved he was when he saw you walking through the door. It's like he's an entirely different person when you're around now. You know, like he can be himself." She paused again, her eyes turning soft. "And I kind of get that from you, too."

Jenna couldn't help but feel guilty with all that she was saying about us. While it was easy to deny her feelings to Janet and Carter, along with Kali, hearing it come from Nancy, his ex-girlfriend, made it difficult not to tell her, especially since now she knew that what she felt towards Steve was real.

"Listen, you don't need my permission to go out with Steve," Nancy told her. "I want both of you to be happy, and if that means being with each other, then I'm okay with that."

She let out a nervous laugh, the guilt slowly going away. "Well, maybe I should go ahead and tell you that we kissed a few nights ago."

Nancy grinned. "You're already ahead of the game, then."

Jenna noticed how unsurprised she looked, which had her curious. But before she could ask her about it, there was another knock at the door.

"Am I interrupting?" Steve asked as he glanced at the girls from the entrance, and hearing his voice just about made Jenna's heart stop.

"No, I was just about to leave," Nancy said, standing up from her chair. "Feel better, Jenna." With that, she turned around and nodded towards Steve before heading out.

Steve looked back at Jenna, waving. "Hey, Jenna," he said, taking the seat Nancy was just in. "How are you feeling?"

"I should be asking you the same question," she replied, staring at the bruises and dried up blood all over his face that had her concerned.

He lightly chuckled. "You should see the other guy."

She rolled her eyes. "You're full of shit, Steve Harrington. Who was it this time?"

His smile faded. "Billy Hargrove. He came by looking for his step-sister after you guys left."

"He really did a number on you," she commented.

Steve scoffed in response. "Yeah, that asshole gave me a concussion," he stated. "And being dragged out to the middle of some pumpkin patch to set some tunnels on fire didn't help. Word of advice: Don't ever be in the same car as Dana when she drives."

Jenna giggled. "I'll keep that in mind. How are you doing now?"

He shrugged. "Still hurts, but that'll go away in the next few days, I hope," he answered, sighing. "But what about you? I mean, Carter told the rest of us what happened."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Just still kind of weak from using so much of my powers."

"I bet," he said. "I'm glad you're okay, though. I couldn't stop thinking about--" He stopped all of a sudden, as if he did it to prevent saying something he'd regret later. "I didn't know if you were gonna use your powers on Will or not."

"Oh." Jenna assumed he was going somewhere else with that thought, which a part of her wished that he had finished the first sentence.

Steve let out a sigh, moving his chair closer to the bed. "So, uh, we agreed on talking about why I called you the other day once everything with Will and the monsters and the Gate was handled."

Jenna felt her heart skipping a beat, hoping it would stay at a normal rhythm so that the monitor didn't show how nervous she was getting around him. "Okay."

He took a deep breath before continuing, which worried her a little. "I called you on Saturday to apologize."

"Apologize for what?"

"Because...because I lied," he confessed. "I remember our kiss."

Her heart dropped. "You...you do?"

He nodded. "Yeah, and I'm guessing you do, too."

"Well, yeah, but..." For a moment, all Jenna could do was stare at him in shock and confusion, almost not wanting to believe that it was even true. "Why didn't you tell me when I asked you about that night?"

Steve shook his head. "I was...well, I still am...confused," he admitted. "I didn't want to think any of it at first. I mean, we were two drunk friends just trying to get over our breakups. But that night...just being next to you like that...I couldn't get it out of my head after that.

"But the next morning, I thought about Nancy again. So when you asked me if I remembered anything, I lied. I thought it was just easier to pretend that I didn't remember it and maybe we'd move on and just act like it didn't happen."

"So what changed your mind?"

"The way you ran out on me that morning," he answered, chuckling. "I felt so bad for lying to you. I can't remember how many times I called until you finally answered. And then you were so quick to get off the phone, which frustrated me more. So I went to Janet and told her what happened. I'm sure you can guess what she told me."

"That you were an idiot for lying to me about it?"

"Exactly, and she was right." He paused, shaking his head and laughing some again. "She was also totally against going to Nancy's, though I just wanted to apologize to her after the way we ended things. I didn't care about the idea of us getting back together. All I wanted was to right my wrongs, you know?

"So Janet and I headed over there, anyway, which I guess Nancy not being there worked out, because Henderson had his Demodog problem or whatever. But I was still worried about you."

Jenna bit her lip. "Yeah, I was worried about you, too," she said, still trying to work up the courage to say how she really felt towards him.

"Well, knowing that you almost died while trying to save Will makes me feel even worse about putting it off." His face turned sad. "I'm sorry that I lied to you, Jenna. I really am. And I'm sorry that I waited until now to say anything. You have every right to be mad at me."

Sighing, Jenna shook her head. "I'm not mad, Steve. Neither of us knew all of this was gonna happen. You can't beat yourself up over it." When the bruises on his face caught her attention again, she instantly regretted that last sentence. "That was a poor choice of words."

He laughed a little. "No, it's okay. You have a point there." His smile faded. "Still, I shouldn't have waited so long to tell you."

"Well, I should've brought it up after it happened," she admitted. "I mean, I was just as confused as you were. Especially after you were trying to tell me something while we were...you know..."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that, too," he said, almost as if he was embarrassed.

"What were you gonna say before I puked my guts out, by the way?" Jenna asked, chuckling a little at the memory, despite it being a gross one, along with the awful hangover she had the following morning.

Running a hand through his hair, Steve shifted in his chair nervously. "I, uh...I was trying to tell you that you were pretty that night." He paused, licking his lips. "You've always been pretty, actually."

Jenna let out a chuckle, trying to play it off before she got too flustered. "Yeah, you were definitely drunk that night."

"No, I mean it," he protested. "Listen, Jenna, you're...you're awesome, really, and us getting closer these last few months has been great." Pausing, Steve sighed, his face fell some more. "But like I said, I'm still confused with...well, with everything that's happened between us recently."

A sinking feeling occurred in her stomach as Jenna listened to what Steve was saying. Obviously, she didn't think blurting out her feelings for him was a good idea at this point. She still couldn't help but feel disappointed to hear him say he was still confused about them, even after everything the two of them had been through together that only brought them closer to each other.

"So, um, what does this mean for...us?" she asked.

"I just...I just need more time to figure things out," he stated. "Maybe we both need some time to think about where we go from here."

Reluctantly, she nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I guess we do."

Nodding back, he grabbed Jenna's hand and squeezed it, letting go quickly before standing up and stretching his back. "I'll let you get some rest. We can talk more about this later, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," was all she could say.

With that, Steve gave her one last little smile and wave before turning around and leaving the room.

While Jenna had a lot to think about regarding her and Steve, in the back of her mind, she knew that she had bigger things to focus on, which was her potentially leaving Hawkins, and that only made things even more complicated for her.

Now it left Jenna with the big question: What the hell was she going to do?

~~~~~~~

A/N: OOP, Jenna's got some choices to make. What do you think she's gonna do?

Comment, vote, only 2 chapters left!

-A