Okay this chapter is serious with Nat's leg, but I added a lot of humor with the kids lol ALSO we get to see Jim being super protective of Nat (ughh if only that was me, minus the huge wound on her leg lol)
Enjoy and thank you for 47K! Also, the entire chapter is pretty much in Jim's POV too
Again, updates will be slow since I started school again! My classes are pretty good, lots of cuties ;) OH AND MY LAB TA LOOKS LIKE DAVID HARBOUR HAHA
Not edited
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Natalie let out a moan of protest as Jim gently tried to pull her into an upright position in the trunk of the car.
"Is she going to die?" Max asked with wild eyes as she watched Jim press his fingers to her neck, checking her pulse.
Jim shook his head, "No, she's not going to die," he stated firmly.
Natalie locked eyes with Max and raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?" she asked.
"She's our zoomer," Lucas said with a small smile.
Steve honked the horned as they came to a stop at a light, "C'mon! Move it jackass!" he shouted.
Jim leaned forward, "Turn on the lights, it's the switch on the ceiling."
Steve turned on the lights and swerved around the traffic sharply, causing the group in the back to tumble to one side of the car.
Natalie clenched her teeth as her bad leg got folded under Jim's leg. Jim's eyes widened and he rolled off of her, mumbling a string of curses as he gently straightened her leg out. Natalie let her head fall into the crook of his neck as Steve sped down the road.
Jim's POV
"Are you two dating?" Dustin asked, his lips curling a little in jealousy.
Jim gave him a sharp glare, "Henderson, I swear if another dumb question comes out of your mouth-" he warned, his voice low with anger.
Dustin cut in and put his hands up in surrender, "Geez, chill out Chief."
Jim gave him one last glare and returned to tending to Natalie. His stormy blue eyes were wide with worry as he looked down at her leg that was glistening with blood. His hand went up to her upper back and he rubbed soothing circles as the car sped down the road.
"We're here!" Steve shouted and got out of the car and let the kids out.
Natalie gripped Jim's jacket tightly as he got them out of the trunk and he held her close to his chest as he jogged into the house. Joyce let out a shriek when she saw Natalie's bloody leg and Johnathan had to turn away, his face paling.
"I need some water, thread, a needle, and some alcohol. A lot of alcohol," Jim said gruffly as he set Natalie on her stomach on the couch and propped her hurt leg on a pillow.
The kids all had gathered around Natalie in a circle, their eyes wide as they watched Jim pull out his knife and cut away the cloth around Natalie's wound.
"Wow," Dustin breathed out when he caught sight of the pink lace that was peeking out from underneath Natalie cut scrubs.
Lucas elbowed him, his eyes looking at the floor, "Dude!" he harshly whispered. Max rolled her eyes and sent a harsh glare in Dustin's direction. Mike swallowed thickly and looked at the ceiling, his face red.
Jim narrowed his eyes and pulled Natalie's scrub shirt over her pink panties and abruptly stood up, his jaw clenched in anger, "Henderson, you are walking on thin ice."
Dustin tore his eyes away from Natalie, "Okay, okay, I'm going!" he shouted and rushed into the kitchen, cheeks aflame. The other kids quickly followed.
Jim sighed and sat back down to next Natalie, his eyes softening when he saw her looking at him with tears in her eyes.
"I'm scared," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
Jim pushed some hair away from her face, "it's going to be okay, you're going to be okay."
Natalie nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. Jim wiped them away with the pad of his thumb, wanting nothing more than for her to be okay.
"Okay, I've got the stuff," Joyce said as she placed down his requested items on the coffee table.
Jim glanced up at her, "thanks, Joyce. Keep an eye on Will?" he suggested, but it was more of a command.
Joyce nodded, "I will. Be careful with her, she's like a daughter to me," Joyce told him.
Jim turned his body to face Joyce, "I know and she means the world to me. I'm not going to let anything happen," he stated firmly.
Joyce's lips quirked up into a small smile and she left the room, leaving Jim and Natalie alone. Jim set down a newspaper on the floor and splashed his hands with alcohol before threading the needle.
Natalie warily watched him with wide eyes, "Have you done this before? I can do it J-"
"Yes, I have, and you can't reach back there," he told her and he placed the clean needle on the paper towel to his right.
Natalie gulped, "I can use a mirror or something," she said quietly.
Jim sighed as he wiped the blood from her leg, "Nat, it's going to be okay, I promise," he told her as he placed the needle above her cut, "I'd bite down on that pillow, just in case."
Natalie grabbed the pillow in front of her and bit down on the soft fabric, her heart racing as she waited for Jim to begin.
Jim took a shaky breath as he pushed the needle through her skin causing Natalie to let out a pained scream. Guilt swelled in his chest as he tried to stitch up her wound the best he could. Natalie's body was shaking so much from the pain that he had to lean against her so he could finish stitching. Tears pricked his eyes as he listened to her scream into the pillow, he was so close to being done, just a little bit more.
"I'm almost done," he told her, his voice shaky.
With trembling hands, Jim tied off the thread and wrapped her leg in gauze. With a relieved sigh he looked over at Natalie, his eyebrows pinched in worry. He gently shook her shoulder, "Nat?" he got no response. Panic erupted in his chest and he grabbed her face in his hands, "Natalie?" he lightly tapped her cheek before placing his fingers on her neck. Relief filled his mind when he felt the strong beat of her pulse underneath the pads of his fingers.
Jim gently placed her head back on the pillow and stood up. His gaze trained on her as he washed the blood off his hands. A tug at his jacket made him break his gaze on her and travel down to a wide eyed Dustin.
"Is she going to be okay?" he asked.
Jim sighed and nodded, "Yeah, she's going to be okay."
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also, nat passed out if yall couldn't tell. I know some people say having the character pass out is "weak" writing lol, but this I feel was okay to do. I mean homegirl was getting stitches without local anesthetic and she lost a lot of blood :)
YOU ARE READING
Smoke -- Jim Hopper
Fanfiction"Jim," Natalie whispered as she clung to his jacket. Specks of who knows what floated around them as they walked deeper into the upside down. She tugged again on his jacket, "Jim." Jim Hopper wrapped a heavy arm around Natalie and pulled her close...
