Chapter Text
Steve’s fingers fumbled with his keys, nearly dropping them as he scrambled to lock up his car. Meanwhile, half a dozen teenagers pushed past him, knocking into each other as they sprinted towards Hawkin’s General Hospital. Steve hadn’t seen the party this happy in weeks, and he is not about to burn out any of his kiddos' excitement- even if this means having to yell at everyone repeatedly so he can hear himself think.
Leaving the doors swinging open behind them, Steve quickly found the nurse he recognized from the night shifts. Tuning out all of the chatter around him, he politely asked for Eddie’s release papers. The woman nodded in response, turning around and sifting through a filing cabinet, presumably for said forms.
Steve could feel the kids’ impatience vibrating between them, could feel as they leaned on their toes to see what was taking her so long. They’ve all been waiting, somewhat impatiently, for a while now. Coming in and out of the hospital to check in on their friends often, Steve knew that they were all sick of the linoleum tiles and the stale, sick-person smell that enveloped their nostrils every time they re-entered this building
Dustin, who had shown up for visiting hours maybe more than anyone else, made an impatient grumble next to Steve. The nurse looked up at the curly mop of hair and glared at him. In turn, Dustin whipped his head around and stared at Steve incredulously, mumbling not-so-quietly under his breath, “Can you believe this shit?”
Steve sighed and shook his head, giving him and the rest of the party one final stern look, silencing everyone’s quiet bickering.
Robin took Dustin's place beside him, nudging the kid out of the way and accidentally bumping him into Steve’s shoulder. Steve winced at the intrusion, glared at Robin, and earned a smirk in return. Smiling, Robin mouthed a quick, ‘Whatever, mom.’ And before he could retort, she turned around and leaned against the check-in desk, starting up small talk with the Nurse. Steve rolled his eyes in response before zoning out for a moment and smiling to himself,
Because today is the day, after several long weeks full of testing, surgeries, and stitches, that Eddie Munson is finally coming home.