Chapter Text
Karen waits impatiently at the pickup line. She taps her foot lightly, watching as the children file out of the building. Nancy was going over to Barb's today, and she watched them walk hand-in-hand to Marsha Holland, Nancy chattering all the while as Barb nodded. That was one child accounted for. She returned her gaze towards the door, spotting a familiar pair of dark curls and brown bangs make a beeline towards her car.
"Mom!" Mike exclaimed as he and Will came closer. "Can Will come over today?" Both kids looked up at her with big, pleading eyes. Normally, she would have said yes- Mike always had a hard time around his peers, and Will was his only friend. And, of course, she would always open up her home to the little Byers boy- God knows that he needed to get out of that house. But unfortunately, she and Mike had something else to do today.
"Oh, I'm sorry honey," She started, watching as Mike's lips formed a pout and Will clutched Mike's hand a little tighter. "But you have a doctor's appointment today." To her horror, she watched tears bud in Will's eyes. "But if it doesn't run too late, we can pick up Will after!" She quickly reassured, watching Mike grin and turn towards Will to do their overly complicated goodbye handshake. It was sweet, how much they cared for each other. After they finished it with a quick hug, Will bounded over towards his own mom, who was standing there with a smile and a welcoming hug. Karen opened the car door for Mike, who obediently climbed in. She buckled him in the car seat, before walking over to the driver's side and getting in, steeling herself for what would surely be a not fun check-up.
Mike was silent the whole drive, clearly still mad that he wasn't allowed to go to Will's directly after. Those boys spent almost every day together. Ted thought it was concerning; Karen was just happy that Mike had a friend. She nervously placed her car in park, looking around at the blank government vehicles. She walked around the car to Mike, who she unbuckled and lifted out of the car, despite his scowl. She took his hand, which he clutched, having recognized where they were. Mike always hated these check ups, and to be honest, so did Karen. She understood them more when Mike was younger, just a baby that still needed to be monitored for side effects. But now her boy was in kindergarten, and he was as healthy as can be, with no signs of anything unusual at all. These things didn't just pop up, especially not after five years of living- there was no need for monitoring. But still Karen brought him, because she wasn't sure if she could handle it if something was wrong with him, and she didn't know.
The walked right up to the door, waiting for it to be unlocked. A nurse of some sort greeted them at the entrance, walking them down the brightly lit hallway. Mike tucked close to her side, and Karen felt her heart beat faster. The nurse led them to an empty room, closing the heavy door behind them with ingenuine smile. Karen hesitantly sat down in the flimsy chair set to the side, tucking Mike into her side. He didn't protest, even leaning his head closer to her, making Karen's heart ache. Oh, how she hated doing this.
They did not wait long, the door opening after just a moment of silence. A tall man in a suit walked in, followed by a nurse of some sort. Karen quickly hurried to stand, watching with dread as the door was locked in place.
"Karen Wheeler," The doctor said, holding out his hand for her to shake. She took it, forcing herself to look him in the eyes.
"Doctor Brenner," She greeted, shaking the hand once before sitting back down, quickly tucking Mike back into her side. Mike looked up at her, eyes wide. Karen squeezed him a little tighter. Doctor Brenner chuckled, before kneeling down to be at Mike's level.
"Hello, Michael." He greeted the scowling boy. Mike's glare only grew, but the doctor didn't seem to mind.
"It's Mike," He corrected, teeth pulling back into a snarl. He had been watching a lot of nature documentaries recently. Doctor Brenner just smiled, and turned his gaze back to Karen.
"Why don't you draw with Ray, Michael?" He offered, tilting his head towards the nurse, who was sitting on the floor with pieces of paper and a box of crayons spread in front of him. Mike frowned, and turned to Karen. She gave a hesitant nod, panic fluttering in her chest as Mike moved away from her side and towards the crayons. He sat down with the man, watching him for a moment before reaching for the crayons. She turned back to Doctor Brenner, who had sat down across from her.
"I'm just going to ask some questions," He started, holding a clipboard in his hand. She nodded, and he began to ask all the regular questions. Did Mike eat, what did he eat, was he sleeping, was he making friends, how often did he get sick, just mindless questions that she answered automatically, trying not to stare at Mike, who was slowly drawing a rainbow while Ray watched. Doctor Brenner flipped the page on his clipboard, and started on another set of questions. Did Mike zone out a lot, did he get nosebleeds, did he complain of headaches, has he ever fainted, more and more questions. Yes, no, once a week, no. Brenner would pause after each answer she gave, as if she would suddenly add something more. She never did.
"Mrs. Wheeler, these next questions are important, so if you would pay attention, please." Karen snapped her gaze away from where she was watching Mike draw spiders crawling over the rainbow. The doctor looked at her expectantly, his pen poised over the clipboard. "Thank you. Do lights often flicker around your son?"
"No, not that I've noticed." She answered, stones in her stomach. They always asked such strange questions, before drawing Mike's blood and making him answer the questions. The nurse last time, a kindly older woman who looked at them with sad eyes, had told them that Mike was getting big enough that he would start new tests the next visit. That was today. Karen only hoped that she would be able to stay in the room with Mike.
"Do electronic devices turn to static?"
"No." Brenner hummed, a neutral sound. It made Karen nervous. She crossed her arms, trying to stay warm in the frigid room. He opened his mouth to talk, before being interrupted.
"Mom," Mike said, standing up from where he had drawn an angry red x over his picture. "I want to go home." All the adults in the room looked at him, shocked by the sudden change in procedure. Karen swallowed.
"I know, honey," She placated, trying to keep the waver from her voice. "Just a little bit longer, and then we can go home." Brenner looked at her son with a strange sort of curiosity that made her stomach twist in knots. Mike just balled his little fists, his voice growing louder.
"I want to go home." He repeated, each word repeated with all the determination that his five year old self had. "Now." Karen bit the inside of her cheek, trying to think of a way of how to console him, when a sudden wailing noise sounded from outside the room. Both men stood up at that, seemingly having a conversation with their eyes. Karen stood up too, picking up Mike who had run to her side at the siren. Doctor Brenner turned to them, a slightly panicked expression in his face.
"I'm sorry, we will have to cut this check-up short." He nodded to Ray, who opened the heavy door, ushering them into the hallway. "Ray will lead you out." With that, he spun around, walking briskly in the opposite direction. Karen watched him leave with relief, before following Ray to the entrance. In a daze, she brought Mike back to their car. walking briskly through the sprinkling rain. She opened the door, lifting him into the car seat and gently prying his fingers off of her blouse. She paused, before kissing his forehead, chuckling when he frowned at the action.
"I don't want to go again," He told her, brown eyes wide. "I really don't like it." Karen couldn't help but nod.
"Okay honey," She easily gave in, her pulse finally settling down now that they were out of the building. "No more." She got in to the driver's side, reversing the car and driving them out of the area. She watched the lab fade in the rearview mirror, resolving to stop answering any more calls from Brenner.
Mike was watching the trees pass, before turning to look Karen right in the mirror. "Mom," he said, in the tone that he used when he asked for plain spaghetti for dinner for the third night in a row. "Will," he reminded her, and she couldn't help but smile as she turned onto the Byers's street.