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dwobbitfromtheshire · 3 months ago

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To Ash and Dust

A Rovickie fanfiction

18+ MINORS DNI for some smut

I'm waking up to ash and dust. I wipe my brow, and I sweat my rust. I'm breathing in the chemicals. . .

- Radioactive, Imagine Dragons

Vickie had gotten a little over excited when she heard that Robin was here at the hospital, and it wasn't because she was hurt. Hawkins had been turned upside down, torn open by an earthquake that hadn't actually been an earthquake. It was still hard to wrap her head around that it had been a monster who had come from another dimension to make everyone his puppet. A monster that had lived here before. . .Vickie hadn't seen much of Robin after she explained things and the creatures that had spilled out with Vecna. They had both been quite busy; with Robin trying to save the world, and Vickie volunteering at the hospital with her father. It was crazy because Robin had been at the hospital nearly as much as Vickie, but their paths had barely crossed. . . Until now. Vickie skidded into the waiting room to find Robin locked in an intimate embrace with Steve. Vickie blinked rapidly, her heart racing as Robin pulled back and kissed Steve’s cheek. Vickie felt like her heart had dropped out of her chest, and she couldn't stop the gasp from coming out. Steve and Robin pulled away, Steve smirking at the sight of her.

"Oh, hey Vickie," Steve said.

"Vickie!" Robin exclaimed. "I was just saying to Steve how unfair it is that even though we're both here we barely get to see each other."

"Oh! Really?" She squeaked, her voice higher than normal.

"Yeah, are you okay?" Robin asked.

"Are you dating Steve?" Vickie blurted out, and Steve's smirk widened.

"What?! No! Absolutely not. We're strictly platonic. . .with a capital p!" Robin exclaimed.

"Thank God!" Vickie exclaimed, and Robin looked her questioningly, causing Vickie to blurt out, "I don't like Steve!"

"Pardon?" Robin asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I mean, I do like Steve. I mean, I don't know him because I haven't really spoken to him at all but he seems like a nice guy and obviously he's handsome but I don't want to like him like that, you know?"

"You like Steve, but you're not in like with him," Robin smirked.

"Exactly," Vickie sighed with relief and paused before deciding to just rip off the band aid. "I'm really glad you're not dating him because I like you."

"Really?!" Robin squeaked.

"Yeah," Vickie laughed. "I wasn't sure if you liked me back or not. I mean I still wasn't sure how I felt about you either or what I liked but I know that I liked, well, boobies and I knew that you worked at Family Video so what better way to drop a hint to you that I like boobs then with my favorite movie. I hope on some level that you got the message but maybe I was too subtle."

"Oh, I got the message. Robin didn't, though. . .I told you. . .boobies," Steve said.

"It was too good to be true," Robin said to Vickie. "But yeah. . .I like you too. . .and Steve, what did I say about you saying boobies?"

Vickie squealed and threw her arms around Robin's middle, burrowing her head into her chest. Robin laughed, hugging her back.

"Boobies," Vickie giggled and Steve laughed.

"So, she's allowed to say it?" Steve asked.

"She's cuter than you are, Steven," Robin replied as Vickie pulled back slightly, her arm still wrapped around Robin's waist.

"So, you think I'm handsome, huh?" Steve asked Vickie.

"I have eyes, don't I?" Vickie asked.

"I'm so confused, I thought you liked boobies," Steve said.

"Like my favorite Starman, David Bowie, I'm bisexual," Vickie said with a giggle. "I like men and women."

"You can do that?" Robin and Steve asked with identical looks of confusion.

"I can't believe I ever thought you two were together," she laughed. "There's so much that you guys don't know. Hell, I still don't know. I mean, I knew that Bowie was bisexual longer than I knew about myself. I always struggled between liking women and liking men. Even knowing about Bowie, I still thought for myself that I had to choose between the two. I thought I could be straight or that I was a lesbian. That's why I went back with Dan briefly because I just needed to know which is what I needed to finally close the book on that relationship. I still can't believe he was bitching about his ruined spring break when people died. It was kind of seeing you run away in the War Zone. . .which by the way, what person takes their girlfriend on a date to the War Zone?! Anyway, it took seeing you to finally accept myself, and I didn't want to run away anymore."

"Wow," Steve said and then frowned. "You know, I think I knew about Bowie too, I just forgot. There were moments where I thought I was gay, too, you know but then I thought that everyone questions their sexuality a little bit or every straight person must like the same sex at least a little bit."

"No, they do not," Vickie said.

"You've been questioning your sexuality?" Robin asked Steve.

"Yeah," Steve said. "I guess I'm not as straight as I thought I was. Cool."

"You just realized that you're not straight and that's all you can say?" Robin asked.

"We're in the middle of the end of the world, Robin," he said. "Priorities."

"So, what? You'll freak out later?" she asked.

"Yeah," Steve said. "You're the first person that I'll call when it happens."

"I better be," she said with a soft grin and then said with deep affection. "Dingus."

"I love your friendship," Vickie sighed and Robin kissed her forehead.

"You might want to give us a minute, Steven," Robin sighed. "I think I'm going to eat her face a little bit."

Vickie giggled.

"There's someone I need to talk to, anyway," Steve said and walked out of the waiting room.

Robin turned to Vickie and cupped her face. She rubbed her thumb across Vickie's cheekbone, staring into her eyes. Robin's eyes were a prettier shade of blue than hers, Vickie noticed.

"I can't believe this is happening," Robin whispered.

"Believe it, babe," Vickie whispered.

Vickie closed the distance between them, pressing her lips gently against Robin's. They both sighed as their lips met, moving softly against each other. Vickie never wanted to stop kissing her, they fit perfectly together like they were always supposed to meet. This felt so right. Vickie and Robin moaned into their mouths, gasping as they continued kissing. . .slowly moving the pace along. Vickie grew eager though and she deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around Robin's neck. She let Robin's arms fall to her waist, supporting Vickie as she stood on her tiptoes slightly. Vickie touched her tongue to the bottom of Robin's lip and she opened her mouth to let Vickie in. She had just slid her tongue in when she felt her shirt raise up and she felt Robin's skin touching hers slightly. It sent a jolt down her back and Vickie remembered where they were. She pulled back.

"Thank you," Robin gasped and Vickie laughed.

"You're welcome. . .so polite of you," Vickie teased.

"Shut up," Robin blushed.

"Make me," Vickie said and she did.

Their little moment didn't last long, and once they got separated again, it was a while before they saw each other. It left Vickie yearning for her and for her lips. It also left her in a constant state of worry about what might happen to Robin. She didn't want to leave her father, but every instinct she had was telling her to make sure that Robin was safe.

"I'm not going to stop you if you want to go look for Robin," her father's voice broke through her thoughts. "As much as I hate the idea of you being out there, I don't want you to resent me for trying to prevent you from doing the right thing. Besides, you're not really here."

"Dad," Vickie protested. "I'm here. I'm helping."

"You're helping, but you're a million miles away," Matthew Fisher sighed. "Go save your girl."

"You know?" Vickie asked.

"I wanted you to come to me when you were ready, but we're kind of at the end of the world here," Matthew said. "And I need you to know how proud of you I am."

"I'm proud of you too, dad," Vickie said softly.

They hugged tightly, and Vickie ran off before she could change her mind. She had stopped by Max Mayfield's room first and checked on the comatose girl that Robin had frequently visited. The only other person that was there was Lucas Sinclair. He didn't know where Robin was, so Vickie headed for the parking lot. Matthew had his own gun on him, and she knew there was a gun in the trunk of their car. There was also a pistol in the glove compartment. After double checking and verifying that they were all still there, Vickie pulled out of the parking lot. She didn't have a destination in mind, but she drove around the known parts of town: the destroyed town hall, Melvald's, the high school, and she even drove towards Family Video. The sky was red now with thunder flashing harshly above her. Hell was here on Earth. Vickie swallowed.

It was when she was getting close to the old radio station that she found Steve’s now busted car on the side of the road. He was out and trying to fix it, looking over his shoulder every so often. There were giant claw marks on the side of his vehicle. It must have been a demogorgon. She had yet to run into one. Thankfully. She grabbed the pistol and stepped out of the vehicle. That's when a bat like creature dove for Steve. Vickie quickly raised her gun, firing rapidly. She managed to get quite a few hits in, causing it to fly off screeching. Steve screamed and dropped to the ground. He peaked over the hood with wide eyes.

"Hey, handsome, need a ride?" Vickie asked.

Steve steadied himself and stood up, grabbing a bat with nails that had been leaning against the car. He grabbed his backpack and moved closer to her.

"Yeah, gorgeous, anytime," Steve said. "And thanks."

Vickie slid into the car with Steve, putting the gun back. She drove off to the radio station like he asked her to.

"You think I'm gorgeous?" Vickie asked, trying to ease the tension.

"I have eyes, don't I?" Steve replied, and she laughed. "So, what are you doing out and about?"

"I was worried about Robin," she admitted.

"You really like her, huh?" Steve asked.

"So much. . .it's ridiculous how much I like her," Vickie said.

"Well, your taste in women. . .very questionable," Steve said, teasing.

"Are you judging me for liking your best friend?" Vickie asked.

"Oh, yeah," he said with a grin.

"You're such an asshole," she laughed. "Now, you have to tell me who you're crushing on so I can judge you."

It had fallen silent for a moment, and Vickie wondered if she had crossed a line.

"Like, it's not weird to like both at the same time just because we like both, right?" Steve asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Like, for example, say you liked Robin, but you also liked me, and you wanted to be with both of us. . ." Steve trailed off.

"I'm sorry, Steve, I really meant it when I said I don't like you like that," she said softly.

"No! No! This is just an example," Steve said.

"Oh! So. . .you're saying you have a crush on both a woman and a man. Do you want to be with both of them?" She asked.

"So much now," Steve said.

"Well, then it isn't weird," she said. "Who is it?"

"Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers," he said, blushing.

"Uh, your ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend?" Vickie asked. "Okay, I'm judging you a little bit."

"Asshole," he laughed.

"It's not weird at all, Steve. Whatever your feelings are. . .they're important to you, and it's okay to feel that way. If anyone makes you feel like it's not, then they're the assholes. You got to live your own life. No one else can do it for you," Vickie said.

"That's true," Steve said.

They fell into a comfortable silence, and then they pulled into the parking lot of WSQK. Of course, Vickie's luck with gravity had to run out at the point. She fell and scraped her hands as she got out of the car. Vickie cursed as Steve rushed to the other side to help her up. He quickly started to wrap her hands up with a couple of black bandanas he pulled out of his brown leather jacket pocket.

"Has anyone ever told you look like Tom Cruise in that jacket?" Vickie blurted out as he bound her hands.

"Like from Top Gun?" Steve asked.

"Have you seen it yet?" Vickie asked.

"No, been a bit busy," Steve said. "Goddamn apocalypse."

"Guess you're a fan of Tom Cruise?" Vickie asked.

"Oh, yeah, loved him in Risky Business," Steve said.

"Me too!" Vickie exclaimed.

"God, can we be best friends now?" Steve asked, and he paused. "If my dad could see me now. . .well, he wouldn't be very proud of me. He always said that men and women can't be friends. I'm glad I have another friend to prove him wrong."

"Me too!" Vickie beamed. "Ooh, maybe after this, we can have a Tom Cruise marathon!"

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Steve grinned. "Call it a girls' night. We can order pizza and do each other's hair."

"You'll let me do your hair?" Vickie asked with a gasp. "That feels very. . .sacred."

Just as Steve laughed, a very loud growl startled the both of them. A demogorgon had emerged from the woods, sniffing the air.

"Shit. It smelled your blood," Steve whispered. "Get inside. Hurry."

Vickie and Steve moved slowly to the door, but the demogorgon heard them. It jumped in front of the door, blocking their way inside. Steve pulled out his bat and hit it before rolling away to make it chase after him. The demogorgon roared and swiped at him. Steve swiftly dodged it. Vickie grabbed her pistol from the car, reloaded, and began firing at the monster. It roared again and turned on her, but Steve distracted it by hitting it with the bat. Vickie gasped, trying to remember what they told her about the monster. Shit. Right, they hate fire. Vickie dove into the car again just as the demogorgon had pinned Steve to the ground. She grabbed the hairspray her dad kept in the car and a lighter before climbing on top of the car.

"Hey asshole!" Vickie screamed and fired her pistol at it.

The demogorgon ran to her, skidding in front of the car. It stood to full height, opening its face like a flower. Vickie screamed. With her makeshift flamethrower, she sprayed fire right into the monster's mouth. It whimpered and stumbled back, screeching. Suddenly, it tilted its head as though it was picking up a signal and ran off, still screeching in pain. Steve stared at her in shock and walked over to the car.

"Holy shit, that's twice now that you saved my life," Steve said and helped her down, right into his arms. "Thanks, gorgeous."

"Anytime, handsome," Vickie grinned as they hugged.

They hadn't even noticed that Joyce and Hopper had pulled up with El, Nancy, and Jonathan.

"Jesus, kid, you okay?" Hopper asked.

"Yeah, fine," Steve said as he pulled away from the hug.

"Who's she?" Nancy and Jonathan asked.

To Vickie's amusement, they had said it with such animosity that Hopper and Joyce looked at them in surprise. El and Steve just looked confused.

"I'm Vickie Fisher," she said. "My dad's a doctor at the hospital. I was volunteering there, but I decided to help Steve and Robin."

Suddenly, a bright yellow pizza van was pulling up, the doors opening with a bang. Robin spilled out with Will, Mike, Erica, and Argyle.

"Oh my God, we saw a flaming, smoking pissed off demogorgon run by us and we thought for sure something bad happened!" Robin exclaimed. "Oh my God! Vickie! You're hurt!"

She rushed towards Vickie and took her hands.

"Yeah, she saved my life twice," Steve said.

Robin gasped and, without thinking, bent down to kiss her deeply. She pulled back quickly before Vickie could return the kiss.

"Oh! I just kissed you in front of everyone," Robin said. "I'm sorryI'msorryI'msorry!"

"Babe, it's alright. Besides, if they can handle all of this but can't handle two girls kissing, then we need to get them to the hospital to get their heads checked," Vickie said.

"That's a fair point," Robin laughed.

"Alright, let's get inside," Hopper said softly.

Everyone spilled into the station, Vickie talking rapidly about the bat and the demogorgon, Robin's wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Oh, me and Steve are best friends now," Vickie beamed. "And after this, we're going to have a girls' night and watch a Tom Cruise movie marathon."

"Oh god," Jonathan groaned. "Nancy won't stop pouting about missing the Top Gun movie."

"Not pouting. . .I'm just disappointed," Nancy shrugged.

Jonathan and Nancy walked ahead of them, discussing something rather privately as they whispered to themselves. Every so often, they'd look back at Steve. Vickie cleared her throat, smiling.

"Well, no one will have to be worried about me hanging out with Steve," Vickie said loudly. "Strictly platonic."

"With a capital p?" Robin asked excitedly.

"Oh, yeah," Vickie laughed.

"Well, I wasn't worried," Robin said.

Meanwhile, Joyce had walked over to Jonathan and Nancy to scold them slightly for being rude. Vickie looked back at Steve in amusement.

"What?" He asked.

"You're telling me you didn't notice the way Jonathan and Nancy spoke to me outside?" Vickie asked.

"Well, I thought it was a little harsh the way they spoke to you," Steve said with a frown. "Was there something wrong?"

"Oh, Steve," Vickie said affectionately.

"Okay, I'm missing something," Robin said.

"It's up to Steve to tell you what he told me in the car," she said.

"Uh? Oh. . .oh! Do you think?" Steve asked excitedly.

"Definitely," Vickie replied.

"Okay, seriously, if you two being friends means that I'm going to be left out of things. . .," Robin started to say.

"Okay! Okay! It's not just Nancy I see in the RV," Steve said softly. "It's Jonathan, too."

"Oh, damn, I did not see that coming," Robin said. "Which I really should have. . .oh my god! They were jealous!"

"Yeah," Vickie said.

Vickie wasn't sure what talk they were having, but she could guess when Joyce hugged Jonathan and Nancy before walking away. Steve caught their eye, beaming. He wiggled his fingers and winked at them. Nancy and Jonathan both blushed. Steve quickly fixed his hair and then checked his breath.

"Okay, I'm going in," Steve said with a goofy smile.

He was so focused on Nancy and Jonathan that he almost didn't avoid getting hit by a door. He apologized to the inanimate object before moving along.

"Oh my God. He's such a dork. Was he actually ever popular, or was it just a shared delusion on our part?" Vickie asked.

"Damn. You might be onto something, babe," Robin snorted with laughter. "Should we make score cards?"

"Robin! No!" She giggled. "Hush!"

They watched as Steve charmed them both, pulling imaginary lint off their clothes as he did so. He tucked a strand of hair behind Nancy's ear and pulled an eyelash off Jonathan's cheek, letting him make a wish off his finger. He brushed hair from Jonathan's forehead, saying something that caused him to blush deeply and Nancy to giggle.

"Okay, I really wish I knew what they were saying," Robin said.

Suddenly, Hopper ushered everyone into the room for a discussion. Vickie noted how Steve’s hands hovered over their lower backs, gently encouraging them forward. Neither Jonathan nor Nancy protested at his delicate touch. Once they settled down in the other room, Steve wedged between his potential partners and Vickie practically sitting on Robin's lap. Hopper stood in front of them, going over the plan. Vickie was amazed that she could concentrate on what he was saying with Robin sitting next to her and holding her, but she managed it. She's not sure how Nancy and Jonathan were doing. Every so often, they'd look at Steve as if they were seeing him for the first time. Sometimes, Jonathan would space out and stare blankly ahead, his cheeks red. Vickie was pretty sure that Steve’s hand was still on his lower back and caressing it. Vickie was amazed that they could find happiness at the end of the world.

"Vickie," Hopper's voice spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you want to get involved in all of this?" Hopper asked.

"This whole town is kind of involved now, aren't they?" Vickie asked.

"Yeah, but you can still get out with your dad," he said.

"My dad isn't going to leave his patients, and I can't leave without trying to help the town I grew up in. Besides, Vecna, or Henry Creel, whatever his name is, he killed my cousin," Vickie said. "Chrissy."

"What? I didn't know that Chrissy was your cousin," Robin said.

"Yeah, I didn't know until today. I knew my dad had a twin sister, but they had a falling out, and she broke my father's heart. He didn't like to talk about it much. He tried to get involved later when he discovered that his sister was starving her own daughter, and Laura threatened to call the cops to have them take me away. There wasn't much that he could do because he didn't have any proof. So, yeah."

"I'm so sorry," Joyce said softly.

"Well, I couldn't do anything for my cousin then, but I could do something for her now," Vickie said. "And I can do it for my dad, too."

"Okay, then," Hopper said. "Let's get to work."

"You're so amazing," Robin said fondly.

"I know," Vickie said, and Robin laughed. "So are you."

She didn't understand how she got separated from Robin again. One minute, they're escaping, yet again, from the soldiers that were after El and the next thing they knew, they were getting shoved into separate vehicles. Now, Vickie was in the back of Argyle's pizza van, struggling to hold onto something.

"Hold onto your butts, brocachos!" Argyle screamed.

"I like him," Vickie said as she stumbled into Jonathan's arms again. "He's a good egg."

"A little cracked though," Jonathan muttered with a smile.

"Aren't we all?" Vickie asked, and Jonathan laughed.

Argyle made a sudden hard turn, and Jonathan held onto Vickie tighter, grabbing onto the closet thing. . . it happened to be her breast.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry!" Jonathan yelled as he let go, and Will laughed.

"I think Robin might be pissed that you got to second base before she did," Will said. "And Argyle said to hold onto to our butts. You never listen, Jonathan."

Vickie laughed as Jonathan flipped Will off, and she leaned closer to whisper to Jonathan so Will couldn't hear.

"Well, I promise I won't tell Nancy and Steve," Vickie said.

"Were we that obvious?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh yeah," she said.

"Uh, Will already knows," he said.

"Oh, about Nancy and Steve?" Will asked. "Yeah, super obvious now once he told me."

"Is it official?" Vickie asked.

"Definitely," Jonathan said.

BOOM!

They all screamed as Argyle avoided being hit by a fucking bomb. They managed to successfully avoid it, but they were hit by the concussive force of the bomb, or something like it, that had been dropped on a demogorgon up ahead of them. Argyle couldn't stop the force from topping them over like a domino. Vickie had thrown herself on top of Will and Jonathan, just as Jonathan had been about to do the same. She clutched them both tightly, her ears ringing and her head pounding. The van had settled, and she waited for a moment before pulling herself off of the boys. Her head felt wet. Was it raining inside the van? Jonathan and Will were trying to talk to her, but they weren't making a sound. Oh, no, it's because she couldn't hear. Jonathan and Will dragged her out of the van, then helped Argyle. He was clutching his arm. The ringing in her ears cleared up a little, and she could hear them a little now.

"A little purple palm tree delight will fix this right up."

"Argyle, your arm is broken. You're going to the hospital."

It was a bad idea to shake her head, but she did it anyway, and she wanted to throw up. A few minutes later, a military vehicle showed up, followed by the blue van Joyce was driving. A soldier got out of the vehicle, Joyce hopping out of the van with Hopper following. Joyce and Hopper screamed at the soldier as they moved towards them. Was it him who gave the orders? Joyce immediately went to Jonathan and Will, while Hopper tried to speak to Vickie. She blinked when she saw a soldier holding a rocket launcher. Oh. She stared at the red sky above her, the lightning that continuesly flashed in the sky like it was never going to rain. It never did. Dust flared up from where the demogorgon had been blasted to smithereens. It swirled around around with the particles from the Upside Down. Is the kind of world they lived in now? Vickie realized she might be in shock. She heard the sound of the ambulance, as though it was from a distance as Hopper tried to talk to her. She watched as her father hopped out of the bus and then suddenly began shining a light in her eyes.

"Vickie?! Vickie, can you hear me?!"

She snapped back into focus as the ringing began to lessen. She finally realized her father was standing in front of her.

"Daddy?!" She cried.

Matthew pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"Oh, I don't see any signs of a concussion, but you're still going to the hospital," Matthew said.

He moved to help Argyle onto the bus before moving to help his daughter do the same. With his arm wrapped around Vickie, he flipped off the soldiers as he got into the vehicle. Vickie couldn't help but giggle. Her father was a quiet, sweet man who never raised his voice to anyone, let alone flip someone off. She had hardly ever seen him so angry. It was startling. The last time he had been so angry was when her mother died. Matilda. If she had been here now, would she have been just as angry? Vickie had gotten her ability to ramble from her mother, and she knew she wouldn't have been afraid to go off on the soldiers. In a way, she was glad that her mother wasn't here to see her beloved town like this. Matilda always said there was beauty to be found under all the judgment and hatred. You just had to look for it. Vickie thought about her mother and how angry she would have been at how they treated Eddie. . .how they didn't look for any other suspects. . .she would have reigned Hellfire down on them. Her rage burning as bright as the hair on her head, the hair she passed onto Vickie. It all fell out in the end, Matilda clinging to whatever hair she had. . .fighting for every bit of life. The cancer had won, though.

"What are you thinking about, honey?" Matthew's voice cut in.

"Mom," she said, and she suddenly felt her mother's rage fuel her, refusing to let this fucker win.

When they finally finished checking her out at the hospital, Robin had come into her room in tears. There were still people in there, and all Vickie wanted to do was kiss her. Vickie grabbed Robin's hand and dragged her to an empty on call room. She locked the door and pressed Robin up against it. She kissed her desperately. Robin pulled back, cupping her face.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked.

"I'm okay. I need you," she whispered. "I just need to feel you."

Robin smiled and kissed her. Vickie smiled against her lips, her fingers quickly working to unbutton her shirt. She slid it off Robin's shoulders and let it fall to the floor. They quickly shed both of their clothing, pausing to marvel at each other with their eyes shining with want. Vickie pushed her gently onto a bed and climbed on top of her, kissing her. All she could feel was Robin, pressed up against her and moving eagerly. Vickie's hands slid down her body, gripping her hips as Robin threw a leg over her own. For a moment, all they did was kiss each other and explore their naked bodies, talking about nothing and everything at the same time. Vickie needed to taste her, and eventually, she found herself in between Robin's legs and caused Robin to arch her back as she called out Vickie's name as Vickie spoke between her legs. Then she was sliding in between Robin's legs with her own, and everything was exploding with pure ecstasy.

"Fuck me," Robin gasped as they collapsed on to the bed, sweating.

"I just did," Vickie teased. "You're ready to again? So soon?"

"Gah, no! You wore me out," Robin said.

She flopped around like a fish until she settled onto her stomach, pressing her cheek into the pillow. Robin let out a sigh of contentment. Vickie turned on her side, gazing at Robin in wonder. She was beautiful, inside and out. She loved the way she laughed and the way she played her trumpet. She loved the way she rambled, so much like Vickie but at the same time so completely different. She loved the way she was unashamedly herself and the way she dressed herself. Vickie loved her heart, how open it was, and at the same time so closed off. She loved her friendship with Steve and the way she looked after the kids. She loved the way she got distracted in everything she did, but when it was well and truly important, she was determined to try and focus. Overall, she just loved the way her mind worked and that the fact that she was so good with languages. . .all very attractive. She just loved her energy and the fact that she was such a romantic. . .the fact that she loved old romance movies was adorable to Vickie, even if it wasn't her cup of tea. Robin gazed at her, her eyelids clearly heavy, but she was trying so hard to stay awake so she could keep looking at Vickie. God, she loved her. Oh. . .she loved her! Should she say it? Was it too soon? Was it a cliche to say it after sex?

"I love you," Robin said, and Vickie giggled in delight.

"I love you, too," Vickie said.

She kissed Robin and laid down next to her, throwing an arm across her back. They closed their eyes and went to sleep.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Robin and Vickie woke up with a gasp. Someone was knocking and trying to get in. They hurried to get dressed and tried not to giggle as they did it. Robin and Vickie unlocked the door, running out as quickly as they could without being scolded by the doctor in the hallway. They found the others in the waiting room. Dustin, Mike, Will, and El had taken the opportunity to go visit Max. Nancy and Jonathan were giggling in the corner with Steve, their hands on the back of Steve's neck.

"Where were you guys and why did you switch clothes?" Hopper asked.

"Hopper," Joyce said, trying not to smile.

"Uh, Vickie needed to take a nap, and I thought someone should watch over her. That someone is me," Robin replied.

"And you had to swap clothes?" Hopper asked.

"Hopper, come on," Joyce giggled. "You're not this dense."

"We had sex," Vickie blurted out.

"Oh," Hopper said, his face turning red and his eyes squinting in embarrassment.

"How'd you get to be a cop, Hop?" Steve asked teasingly.

"Shut the hell up," Hopper growled, causing Nancy and Jonathan to laugh. "We don't have to keep talking about this."

"Oh, I don't know," Robin grinned. "It's pretty fucking hilarious."

They giggled and found their way over to the other couple in the room. Or was it throuple?

"You two look cute wearing each other's clothes," Steve said with a teasing grin.

"I would say that you three should get a room, but the on-call room is now taken," Robin said.

"You think they knew what we were doing in there?" Vickie asked.

"I doubt it," Robin said. "I drew boobies on my shoes for a long time and no one noticed. Besides, Hopper just proved that people with good investigative skills can be pretty clueless."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Hopper asked.

"Oh, never."

The final battle against Henry Creel was set in motion by the resurrection of Eddie Munson or so, Robin and Vickie had heard. They had spent quite a while looking over Max after that, but once again, they had gotten separated when Hopper needed all hands-on deck for the final battle. Once again, they had been shoved into different cars, but this time, it had been days since she last seen Robin, stuck at WSQK with Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve. The town had lost power with the lightning growing stronger, with Henry growing more powerful. The light from the red sky filtered in the room slightly, and they did have lamps that were used for camping to give them some light. Not only was she cut off from Robin but from her dad as well. Even though she was tired, bruised, and bloody, Vickie couldn't sit still.

"They're going to be okay," Nancy reassured Vickie.

"I hope so. I'm not going to be jealous that at least you get to be with your partners," Vickie said. "Oh, that's not very nice of me."

"Well, you're stressed. We all are," Nancy replied.

"But you guys can't be with your families either," Vickie sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Well, let's get your mind of something else," Nancy said. "Are you planning on taking Robin on a date after this?"

"Oh, definitely," Vickie sighed. "And it's not going to be the fucking War Zone."

"Wait, did Dan really take you there on a date?" Steve asked.

"Oh, yeah," Vickie rolled her eyes.

"I always thought he was an idiot," Steve said.

"Well, at least, I know what not to do," she replied, and they all laughed. "I was thinking about maybe a movie so that way no one can see us kiss or hold hands. . .maybe a picnic on. . .Mount Weathertop? Right, that's what the kids call it?"

"Yeah," Jonathan said. "That sounds nice."

"What about you guys?" Vickie asked with a grin. "What's a date between three people going to look like?"

"Well, I was thinking about maybe cooking them dinner, and there's this bookstore up in Indianapolis that's in a strip mall. There's also a great record store next to it, a comic bookstore, and there's a photography studio there that I thought Jonathan would love. Last time, Robin and I went up there. We were there for hours, and I thought that Nancy would love the bookstore, considering it's owned by a female journalist. I mean, when I saw it, I immediately thought of Nancy and Jonathan," Steve said fondly.

"Really, Steve?" Nancy asked, looking at him affectionately, her eyes wide.

"Yeah," Steve said.

"That's sounds great, babe," Jonathan said and they both kissed his cheek.

"It's perfect," Nancy said.

"It's also where me and Robin got our tattoos," Steve said.

"You have a tattoo?" Nancy asked.

"Well, not really," Steve said. "We did ours together and we both got scared of the needle so it's more of a dot."

"Oh! I was about to say I did not see a tattoo anywhere on Robin's body," Vickie said. "Now, that I'm thinking about it. . .there was an oddly shaped mole on her butt. . ."

"Yeah, it's on my butt, too," he muttered, and they all laughed.

Just as she was about to inquire further about their little trip, the whole ground began to shake. It was an earthquake on a much larger scale than the one that ripped its way through Hawkins a year earlier. They all dove for safety, holding onto each other tightly as they waited for it end. It went on for a long time, debris falling all around them, and they thought for sure that they were going to die. Finally, it ended after a few rounds of aftershocks. They stayed where they were until they knew for sure it was over. Nancy led the group outside.

"Holy shit," Steve gasped.

The red sky had started to fade, and the lightning had stopped. The particles had started to disappear as dead demobats started to rain from the sky.

"Did we win?" Vickie asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Steve grinned.

Vickie hollered as Steve picked her up and twirled her around. She giggled and hugged him back before demanding to be put down. Nancy and Jonathan had just pulled away from each other, having kissed each other in excitement. Steve drew Nancy into a kiss before doing the same with Jonathan. She watched them fondly for a moment and she looked surprised when Nancy walked over to her. She hugged Vickie and pulled back, grinning.

"Don't look so surprised, Fisher, you're officially one of us," Nancy said, and Vickie smiled at her.

"Shit. . .do you think that Max . . . ?" Steve started to say.

"Hospital," they all said.

They all piled up into Nancy's car and drove off towards the hospital. They were careful to avoid debris and vines on the road. The sky was mostly blue now, and they could see the sun again. When was the last time they had seen the sun? When they got to the hospital, El, Will, Joyce, and Hopper were already there. El and Will looked completely exhausted, but they were happy to see that Max was awake. Her father was there, checking the state of Max's eyes. She would never be able to see well again, but she was alive, and the most important part was that she could see Lucas. He had never left her side.

"Glad to see we have another redhead in our group," Max said.

"Yeah, this is Vickie. She's pretty badass," Nancy said with a smile. "She's saved our lives a bunch of times."

"She is Robin's girlfriend," El said.

"El!" Will exclaimed.

"Was I not supposed to say anything?" El asked.

"It's fine," Vickie chuckled. "It was going to come out eventually. We can't seem to keep our hands off each other."

"That's so great. You're lucky to have Robin," Max said. "I used to have a crush on her."

"What?!" Steve asked.

"Yeah. I thought I was obvious," Max said and shrugged. "I have Lucas, so you have nothing to worry about."

"You like men and women, too?" Vickie asked.

"Are you telling me that you're a bisexual and a redhead?" Max asked. "If you tell me that you like skateboarding, I'm done."

"No! But I always wanted to learn. I'm a bit of a klutz though," Vickie said.

"The minute I get out of here and finished with therapy, I'm teaching all of you how to skateboard. And you can't say no because I just came out of a coma," Max said and they all laughed.

"So, being bisexual means you like men and women?" Lucas asked Max.

"Yeah," Max replied.

"Oh, I didn't know that. That's cool. I always just assumed - no, it's stupid," Lucas said.

"I mean, it probably is," Max laughed. "Go on."

"I thought like all straight guys secretly thought other guys were hot like this unspoken agreement," Lucas said.

"Well, you're just like me, man," Steve said. "I thought the same thing."

"Really?" Lucas asked.

Lucas grinned and hugged Steve tightly. Steve pulled back, slapping Lucas on the back.

"So, just a headcount, and you don't have to say anything, but is anyone in this room straight?" Steve asked.

Everyone shook their heads except El who just looked confused.

"I don't know," El said.

"And that's okay," Steve said, and she smiled at him. "We're all still figuring things out."

"Mom?" Will asked.

"My first time was not with a man," Joyce said, shrugging.

"Hopper?" Jonathan asked.

"Your mother was there both times when I hooked up with a man," Hopper said, shrugging. "I just thought that's what people do."

"Oh my god!" Max asked with a grin. "Did you guys have an orgy?"

"Do not answer that," Will said.

"Well. . ." Joyce said.

"You're only young once," Hopper said.

"I said not to answer that," Will groaned.

"Not going to lie to the girl who just came out of a coma," Hopper said. "I learned my lesson."

Vickie laughed.

"You're all so amazing," she said, and Max laughed with her.

"What else did I miss? Did Jonathan and Steve duke it out over Nancy?" Max asked.

"No," Jonathan and Steve laughed.

"It made more sense that all three of us are together," Nancy laughed.

"You can do that?" El asked.

"Of course, you can," Nancy grinned.

El shared a shy smile with Max and Lucas. Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve also shared a knowing look.

"I guess we all won," Max said, smiling and then her face dropped. "Except for Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick."

"Shit, Goddamnit, we almost forgot," Hopper said. "They're alright. They're the ones who helped us kill Creel. Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick were never dead in the first place. Vickie, your cousin is alive. She's with your father being checked out down the hall."

Vickie took off almost immediately. She finally passed her father before skidding to a stop and turning around to hug him tightly.

"Chrissy?" She asked.

"Well, she's in there, but I wouldn't go - "

Vickie didn't bother to listen to the rest of what he had to say. She burst into the room, only to find Chrissy sucking face with Eddie Munson. They jumped apart pretty quickly.

"Sorry!" Vickie squeaked. "I'm Vickie!"

"I know, Uncle Matthew told me," Chrissy laughed.

"I just got excited when they told me you were alive. I swear I didn't know you were my cousin until after you had. . .well, um. . .died, so it sucked that I didn't get to know you," Vickie said.

"You can blame my mother for that one," Chrissy said. "She told me her brother was dead. I'm glad she was wrong."

Vickie was surprised when Chrissy pulled her into a hug, but she quickly hugged her back.

"Hey, you're both the same height!" Eddie exclaimed and Vickie pulled back with a laugh.

"That we both get from Granny Fisher," Vickie replied.

"And your red hair?" Eddie asked, flashing his dimples.

"Well, I get mine from my mother," Vickie said. "Chrissy gets hers from Granny."

"You guys are definitely related. You don't really look alike, but you have the same energy," Eddie said.

"Yeah, another thing we got from Granny," Vickie said. "We should go visit her after this!"

"Granny had a lot to give, didn't she?" Eddie laughed.

"Yeah. . .Eddie, I want you to know that I never once thought you could do any of those things. Me and my father, thought it was dumb the way they didn't try to look for any other suspects. Although, how could they find anyone else when the guy who did do it was from an alternate dimension? Although Jason made himself look pretty guilty. I mean, everyone knows you broke up with him before the game," Vickie said with a frown.

"You ramble on a bit, don't you, darling?" Eddie asked in amusement.

"Yeah, like a - "

" - runaway train," a familiar voice finished her sentence.

Vickie whirled around and gasped when she saw Robin standing in the doorway. She couldn't help it. She threw herself into Robin's arms, wrapping her legs around her waist, causing her to laugh with delight. Vickie didn't care. She crashed her lips to hers, crying. She pulled back, still allowing Robin to hold her.

"Hi," Vickie said.

"Hi," Robin grinned.

"I was scared you might be dead," Vickie whispered.

"Well, I'm not. I'm here," Robin said.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away," Vickie said.

She moved to slip out of Robin's arms, but Robin held on. She collapsed into a chair, holding Vickie in her lap. Vickie smiled, studying her face. For once, she had nothing to say. Suddenly, Eddie moved beside them, causing them to jump.

"Don't worry, I don't have a problem with it," Eddie said.

"With me and Robin?" Vickie asked.

"Well, that too. . .but no. I was talking about you rambling," Eddie replied. "If you were worried."

"I wasn't," she giggled.

"With you rambling away and me eager to stand on a soap box, I see us doing a great many things, Fisher," Eddie said delightfully.

"Stop propositioning my girlfriend, Munson, and go away," Robin said.

Robin pulled Vickie closer to her, her hand accidentally drifting against Vickie's ass. Suddenly, Vickie thought about Robin's and the tattoo that was there. She burst into a fit of giggles and she couldn't stop.

"Are you okay?" Chrissy asked in amusement.

Vickie was about to say something when Steve walked in, and she couldn't help but laugh harder.

"What?" Robin asked.

"I'm sorry but I know about your tattoo," Vickie giggled.

"Traitor!" Robin yelled at Steve.

"Sorry, I had to get her mind off our impending doom," Steve said.

"You, Robin Buckley, have a tattoo?" Eddie asked with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm full of surprises," she mumbled. "Steve has one, too."

"Well, whip it out, big boy, let's see it," Eddie said.

"It's on my ass, Munson," Steve replied. "And I wouldn't even call it a tattoo. It's a dot."

"Why would you get a tattoo of a dot on your ass?" he asked. "Don't you have, like, a million of natural ones?"

"Well, we didn't factor in our fear of needles because we didn't know we had one until it touched our skin," Robin said.

"Yeah, we figured it probably has something to do with getting drugged against our will by the Russians at Starcourt," Steve shrugged.

"Okay, well, now I feel bad for laughing," Vickie said.

"Don't be, baby," Robin said. "Your laughter is like music to my ears."

"Besides, it's hilarious," Steve grinned. "Anyway, Dustin wanted to see if you guys wanted to go the roof and look at the sunset."

"Hell, I'm up for it," Eddie said. "Could use some fresh air."

"Me too," Chrissy said and hugged Eddie.

They all moved out of the room and down the hallway. Eddie and Chrissy had gotten a bunch of stares from the nurses and the doctors.

"Yep, it's me. Eddie Munson, murderer, back from the dead and the girl he was accused of killing," Eddie said cheerfully. "We're dating now! Anyone want an autograph or a picture. . .heard they last longer."

"Eddie!" Chrissy laughed.

The party gathered up on the roof. Smoke, dust, and ash swirled in the air, so it wasn't exactly fresh. It was still alarming to see it back in the daytime after spending so long in the dark. The trees were dead from lack of proper air, sunlight, and water. Fires had erupted and been promptly put out, but some of them had been set loose to start the process of life over again. The town had a long way to go but as Vickie looked around at the group that had gathered together, she knew that they would all come together to help heal the town that they had all loved so dearly. Vickie wrapped her arms around Robin. She wished that it had happened some other way, that people didn't have to suffer, but she was glad to be a part of this group. . .this family, and she was also glad that they could find happiness amongst all this hellfire.

I'm waking up, and I feel it in my bones. Enough to make my system blow. Welcome to the new age, to the new age. . .

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