All I know is that this fic is going to need to be multiple chapters.
First one is Robin POV as she takes the lead on getting back first to Lucas and then to Dustin because Nancy opts to stay with Max and Steve is. Not Present.
Oh fuck how do they get back home they don't have a car?? The bikes should? Maybe? Still be there, but Robin can't drive, Nancy isn't there, Steve won't leave Dustin, and Dustin can't walk. In theory they can call for help even if they lose power, but that's assuming the phone lines didn't also go down. And who do they even call? Are the roads even passable? Also what actually happened to Dustin's leg? He acts like he broke it in the initial fall and they made it SOUND like he broke it, but then he's still able to walk and clearly never got it treated two days later. So. Not broken then?
Why do I have to think of all of this??? Why did Nancy (and I, of course) make Steve take his car home?? And look I cannot make Claudia come get them she's distraught.
Maybe Robin's parents? She does decide she needs to go home... although does kinda make it hard for her to leave again to go see Steve. If anyone can talk their way into leaving it's her, I can make that work.
Or even Karen? Nancy calls her from the hospital and has her round everyone up? Since they've been staying in the Wheeler basement all week. She'd do it.
...but then I still need to get Steve home. Although I've already established the distance from his house to Dustin's is walkable. Fucking hell
Anyway chapter 2 is Steve dropping Dustin off, talking to Claudia, and going to his own house because he needs to check on his parents. Like. Genuinely needs to check on them, even. Terrible parents they might be with tons of dysfunction between the three of him, but that's still his family. He doesn't want to find out they ALSO died in this shit.
(Also why is that never the angle? Need Steve's parents out of the way? Whoops, house got in the way of the rift, reduced to ash he's free now no more abuse throw a party)
And chapter three is Robin showing up, (dropped off by her father becasue she's That Worried about Steve not answering her and not being at Dustin's house,) managing to sidestep Steve's mother trying to (im)politely shoo her away by saying Steve was unable to come to the door, come back neverlater, and finding Steve sitting on his bathroom floor, shower running, water cold, still half dressed, totally checked out from reality. And it takes just about everything she's got to drag him back.
Ends with her deciding that they should volunteer with the relief efforts because it's quite literally the least they can do.
Potentially a fourth Steve chapter where they go to check on Dustin the next day (or even the next next day- sleep through the actual next one they did SO MUCH in the past 48 hours) and find he had the same idea. Find him. Oddly fine? Not great, obviously, but shockingly together (especially in comparison to what Steve went through the night before). They visit Max, they get in touch with Nancy, they round up donations, and off they go.
Something like that FUUUUUCK that's a lot of gnomes
