Chapter Text
Panic.
That was what Nancy Wheeler felt when she saw her mother’s bleeding body lying on the floor of her home. Pure, unbridled panic filled her as she rushed over to her mother, trying to stop the bleeding.
“Mommy, please, you’re gonna be okay, wait– Mom, please stay awake…” Nancy pleaded desperately, pressing her jacket to her mother’s bleeding throat.
Nancy had to keep it together. She never let herself fall apart in front of anyone, let alone El. Mike and Lucas were almost here anyway, and she needed to call an ambulance for her mother and likely her father if he wasn’t already dead.
She picked up the phone in the living room, telling El to keep pressure on her mother’s wounds. She dialed nine-one-one.
“Hello, nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” The calm voice of the dispatcher rang through the receiver.
“Please, my mom and d-dad were attack- attacked, my m-mom’s bleeding really bad and I can’t find my dad and I– I don’t know if he’s alive or n-not because Mommy can’t breathe and–” Nancy started, stammering over the words in a way that no one she knew would expect the fluent, efficient Nancy Wheeler could.
“Okay, okay, I need you to calm down, honey. Where are you, and what is your name?” The dispatcher replied, her voice remaining calm. Nancy could hear her typing on the computer through the phone.
“Uhm– I– My name is– My name is Nancy. Nancy Wheeler. I’m at my house on Maple Street. The one with the white siding on the second floor.” Nancy said, her panic rising as she heard her mother make a strangled noise from the kitchen, trying to keep it together as she saw Mike’s face fall at the sight of El holding Nancy’s jacket to his mother's wounds.
“Okay. The ambulance should be there in under ten minutes. Can you stay on the line until then, or have someone else if there are other people with you? I also need you to find your dad, sweetie.” The dispatcher said firmly.
“L-Lucas. P-please come he- here.” Nancy choked out, swallowing back a sob.
Lucas nodded, taking the phone from Nancy and giving her shoulder a squeeze. Nancy walked upstairs, trying to find her father. He hadn’t been downstairs, and Holly was gone, and who knew if her mother was going to live?
That was when Nancy saw him. Blood pooling around his torso, unconscious and breathing shallow. He was lying awkwardly on the floor of Mike's room, the wall adjacent to the bathroom completely broken from where the demogorgon had broken through it. Nancy kept her emotions in check, willing herself not to cry and keep it together for Mike and her friends. They would probably think she was being annoying, especially if she had a full-blown panic attack in front of them. She was supposed to be the calm, cool, guarded Nancy Wheeler. Not whatever small, childlike girl she was becoming as she ran over to her father and tried to wake him up.
Nancy managed to reign herself in, walking back downstairs and explaining the situation more clearly to the dispatcher. When the ambulance arrived, El was hidden, and Nancy was holding her jacket to her mother’s throat in place of her, Mike upstairs and trying to stop their father’s leg from hemorrhaging. When the medics took her parents away, Nancy grabbed her keys and her shotgun and drove them to the hospital, leaving El safely behind with Joyce and Will.
The next hour went by in a blur, and Nancy’s ever declining mental state continued to spiral until she thought she might start screaming if anything else happened. She got up from her seat, walking towards the hospital’s bathroom to try and have some time alone to break down without being what she thought was annoying.
— — — — — — — — — —
Robin heard about what had happened from Lucas, who had called her in a slightly frantic tone from the Wheeler’s house phone.
“Yo, uh, Robin? I can’t get a hold of Steve and I know you’re at the station. Something happened at the Wheeler’s. Nancy’s shutting down, I haven't heard her speak in like ten minutes, and Mike is doing the same fucking thing. Their parents were attacked by a demogorgon and the ambulance is on the way. Meet us at the hospital, please, and bring extra clothes for Nancy. She’s covered in blood.” Lucas had said, hushed and quickly through the phone as to not be overheard by either Wheeler, who was sure to explode any minute now, and he knew it was not going to end well once they did.
Robin nodded, then remembered Lucas couldn’t see her.
“Oh! Uh, right! Yeah. Yeah– I’ll bring clothes for– for Nance. Hang tight dude.” Robin said, grabbing the keys to Steve’s car that she definitely did not have a license for, but hopped in the driver seat anyway. She started the ignition, and the engine rumbled to life.
Robin had grabbed just one of her old t-shirts that she kept at the Squawk, along with some sweatpants that she’d found in one of the side rooms. Both would be a little big on Nancy, but it had to be better than wearing blood-soaked clothing.
Robin more or less drove to the hospital, trying not to absolutely obliterate Steve’s car in the process. When she parked, Robin took a deep breath and grabbed the clothes from the seat, then made her way inside of the hospital, looking around for Lucas or either Wheeler.
She found Lucas and Mike sitting at some couches, Mike staring off into space. Lucas gave her a tight smile, eyes anxious.
“Hey, Robin. I– Nancy went to the bathroom a few minutes ago, but she hasn’t come back. I don’t know if she’s still there or if she's wandering around the hospital. I’m gonna stay here with Mike, do you think you could find her?” Lucas said, his tone hushed and worried.
“Oh, uh, yeah. I can. Stay here.” Robin said, giving Lucas’ shoulder a squeeze of assurance before walking down the hall towards the bathroom of the hospital.
— — — — — — — — — —
Nancy stood in front of the sink, her chest heaving with held back sobs. She grabbed the sink tightly, her knuckles white with the effort. There was so much blood. It was all over her shirt, on her hands, and everywhere she touched it seemed to leave a mark. Nancy was trying so hard not to panic, but her vision was blurring and she couldn’t hold back from crying for much longer, the tears welling up in her eyes.
Nancy looked at herself in the mirror, a rogue tear trailing down her cheek as she started to wash her hands and try to get rid of the blood, not even bothering to take her rings off. She let one sob escape, and after that, it was like a dam broke. Her chest heaved, breathing fast, and her hands trembled violently. Nancy’s tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t stop the panic attack that she’d been keeping at bay ever since she’d found her mother.
Nancy slid down the wall, bringing her knees close to her chest and resting her head back against the wall, her sobs growing louder and more desperate as she started to hyperventilate. Fuck. Why now? Why couldn’t she hold it together and not act like a child?
Just then, Robin came into the bathroom, spotted Nancy, and rushed over to her.
“Nancy! Are you okay? How are you?” Robin said, kneeling down in front of Nancy, but not touching. She wasn’t sure how Nancy would react, but Nancy usually didn’t like physical touch.
Nancy stared up at Robin, still sobbing.
“Sorry– Sorry, I– Uhm, it’s… I–” She stammered, trying to back further into the wall, hoping she wasn’t being annoying or making Robin think that she was weak.
“Nance. Breathe. It’s okay, It’s okay.” Robin said, trying to sound soothing. She really didn’t know how to handle anyone panicking, let alone Nancy Wheeler, the most composed person she’d ever met.
Nancy pushed against her knees, dropping her head towards them to try and muffle some of the noises of the hospital that were getting increasingly painful. ‘Fuck. Fuck. Just breathe, Nancy, why can’t you just breathe?’ She thought, trying and failing at calming down.
“Nancy. It’s gonna be okay. Can you bring your head up? You’re never going to be able to breathe properly if you’re curled up like that.” Robin murmured quietly, reaching out to brush Nancy’s bangs away from her eyes.
Nancy brought her head up, and ran a trembling hand through her hair in an attempt to calm down. Robin noticed her blood-soaked clothing, it was all over her pink sweater and on her pants. It was devastating to see Nancy looking so small and scared, such a stark contrast to how she normally acted.
Robin smiled weakly, then said softly to Nancy, “I brought you some different clothes. Lucas called me earlier and told me what happened—”
“I’m sorry, I– sorry, uhm, I– Fuck. I’m sorry, Robin.” Nancy interrupted, sniffling.
“Nance, hey, hey, don’t apologize. It’s okay. None of that was your fault. Now, do you want to get changed so you’re not covered in blood anymore?” Robin asked, setting the clothes down beside Nancy and speaking quietly as to not overwhelm her any further than what Nancy obviously already was.
“Nance, can you hear me? Nancy.” Robin repeated, placing her hand on Nancy’s knee and squeezing lightly when she didn’t respond.
Nancy nodded after a few moments, letting out another choked sob. As much as she hated to admit it, the physical touch from Robin was helping, and the suffocating feeling in her chest started to subside.
Robin got up from her spot in front of Nancy, walking over to the bathroom door and locking it to ensure that no one would come and bother her while the poor thing was in this state. She kneeled back down in front of Nancy, gently taking off her rings and pocketing them so she could give them back to the other girl after she’d calmed down.
Nancy sat there against the wall, staying curled up and trying not to cry any more than she already had, especially when Robin was being this kind and understanding. Robin took one of Nancy’s hands, rubbing her thumb across the other girl’s knuckles to try and sooth her.
“Hey, Nance. You’re gonna have to talk to me, or I can’t know how to help you, okay? Just take a minute to speak or you can squeeze my hand if you want to tell me you need something.” Robin said, not really sure what to do, but she was trying her best and that was what mattered, at least to Nancy in that moment.
Robin waited for a few more minutes, then squeezed Nancy’s hand.
“Tell me what happened, baby.” Well, shit. The pet name wasn’t intended to slip out, but it was too late now. Robin felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment.
“So, you know– know that, uhm, we knew that there was a demogorgon coming to– to attack my house– house, uhm, but when El and I got there– I– I walked in, and I was going to shoot the demogorgon, but– but i-it was gone, and my mom was on the floor, and Dad was upstairs and I didn’t know if his leg was hemorrhaging and it slashed Mommy’s throat and she can’t talk and I don’t know where Holly is and my parents–” Nancy stammered out, wiping at her eyes, leaving a smear of blood across her face.
“Nancy, Nancy, take a breath. I know, I know. Your parents are going to be okay. We are going to find Holly, okay?” Robin repeated, her face twisting into a small frown at the sight of Nancy stumbling and rambling over her words, talking a bit like a small child. She squeezed Nancy’s hand in hers, and gently shushed her when she saw Nancy wipe the tears from her face, leaving a smear of blood in her wake. Robin scooted closer to Nancy, asking a question softly.
“Do you want to change out of those clothes? I brought you some more. They might be a little big on you, but it’s okay. Or you could stay in those. It’s whatever you want.” Robin murmured quietly.
“I can change.” Nancy answered, reaching to her other side for the clothes that Robin had brought her, and jumped in surprise when she heard a doctor run past the closed bathroom door —likely for her parents— and thumped her head against the wall accidentally.
Robin’s hands moved up to Nancy’s head as soon as it thumped against the wall, cradling the back of it without really thinking about it before pulling away, her cheeks flushing. She got up and moved towards the door, giving Nancy some privacy to change into new clothes.
To her surprise, Nancy grabbed her wrist, looking incredibly small in her vulnerable position, her eyes wet and big. God, why did she look like a fucking puppy?
“Please, stay here. I’ll be quick, I promise.” Nancy said.