Chapter 25: Bob and Joyce
POV: Adam
April brings flowers and Bob Newby brings joy back to Joyce Byers' life in ways that make Adam's heart ache with foreknowledge that sits in his chest like a tumor counting down to metastasis. The man arrives every evening at six o'clock sharp, RadioShack uniform exchanged for civilian clothes that still carry the faint scent of electronic components and optimism.
Seven months. Bob Newby has seven months to live, and he doesn't know it.
"Adam, could you pass the salt?" Bob asks, settling into what's become his chair at the dinner table with the comfortable ease of someone who's found his place in the world. "This casserole is fantastic, Joyce. You're spoiling us."
Joyce actually laughs—not the hollow approximation she's worn since November, but genuine joy that transforms her face into something ten years younger. "It's just tuna noodle casserole, Bob. Nothing fancy."
"Hey, any meal I don't have to cook myself is fancy," Bob replies, launching into a story about his latest customer at RadioShack—an elderly woman who insisted her television was possessed because it kept changing channels on its own.
He's good for her. Good for all of them.
Will hangs on Bob's every word with the devotion of a boy who's discovered that father figures don't have to share DNA to feel authentic. Jonathan maintains polite civility—wary of anyone who might hurt his mother, but gradually warming to Bob's relentless kindness and terrible dad jokes.
And Adam sits there watching this gentle, patient man weave himself into their family fabric while knowing exactly how violently that fabric is going to be torn come October.
The lab. The tunnels. The Demodogs. Bob Newby, superhero, dying because he chose to save everyone else first.
"You're quiet tonight," Bob observes, turning his attention to Adam with the focused interest that makes everyone feel like the most important person in the room. "Everything okay at school?"
How do I tell you that you're going to die saving us? How do I explain that your kindness and courage are going to get you killed by monsters from another dimension?
"Just thinking," Adam says carefully. "About how nice this is. Having family dinners."
Bob's smile could power the house. "Family's the most important thing, kiddo. Everything else is just details."
Family. He considers us family. And we're going to get him killed.
After dinner, Bob helps with dishes while Joyce fusses over Will's homework and Jonathan develops photos in the garage. It's domestic and perfect and utterly doomed, which makes every moment feel precious and terrible in equal measure.
"You know," Bob says, drying a plate with methodical care, "Joyce mentioned you're good with patterns. Electronics and stuff."
Here it comes. The mentorship that's going to make his death hurt even worse.
"A little," Adam admits. "I pick things up pretty quickly."
"Well, if you're interested, I could teach you some basics. Programming, circuit design—that kind of thing. The future's going to be all computers, mark my words."
The future. If only you knew how right you are, and how little future you have left to see it.
Bob begins stopping by RadioShack after school, transforming Adam's supposed natural aptitude into actual education. They huddle over circuit boards and programming manuals while Bob explains the elegant logic of electronics with evangelical enthusiasm.
"You're a natural!" Bob beams as Adam demonstrates his "newly learned" BASIC programming skills. "Have you thought about a career in computers? The field's exploding right now."
I'm planning how to use your equipment to track interdimensional creatures and coordinate creature armies. But sure, let's talk about career prospects.
"Maybe," Adam says instead, meaning it more than Bob could possibly understand. "It's interesting stuff."
But underneath the genuine appreciation for Bob's teaching lies strategic calculation. Every skill Bob shares, every piece of equipment Adam gains access to, becomes another tool in his arsenal for the battles ahead. RadioShack's inventory includes components that could be modified for creature tracking, communication devices that could coordinate rescue operations across dimensional barriers.
I'm using him. Learning from him while planning how to save him, but also using his resources to prepare for war.
The guilt of that calculation sits heavy in Adam's borrowed conscience, but not heavy enough to stop him from planning. Because the alternative—watching Bob die without preparation, without trying every possible advantage—is unthinkable.
Three weeks into this routine, Adam wakes to find Will sitting on the edge of his bed, concern etched into features still too thin from his ordeal in the Upside Down.
"What's wrong?" Will asks quietly. "I heard you crying."
Was I crying? I didn't realize.
Adam sits up, wiping his face with the back of his hand. The dream—nightmare, really—had been Bob's death again, played out in slow motion while Adam watched helplessly from the shadows.
"I'm scared of losing people I care about," Adam admits, the truth spilling out before he can stop it. "Again."
Will's expression softens with understanding that goes deeper than his twelve years should allow. "Mom told me you lost your first family. In the accident."
If only it were that simple. If only I'd just lost one family instead of inheriting the memories of someone who lost everything.
"But you won't lose us," Will continues with the innocent certainty of someone who's survived impossible odds and emerged believing in happy endings. "We're not going anywhere. We're family now, and family sticks together."
We're not going anywhere. The promise breaks Adam's heart because he knows better.
"I know," Adam lies, pulling Will into a hug that tastes like grief and determination. "I know we're family."
But family doesn't protect you from dimensional monsters or government conspiracies or the kind of heroic stupidity that gets good men killed.
[BOB NEWBY RELATIONSHIP: BELOVED MENTOR (85%)]
[JOYCE BYERS RELATIONSHIP: COMPLETE FAMILY UNIT (98%)]
[WILL BYERS RELATIONSHIP: SOUL-DEEP BROTHERHOOD (95%)]
[NEW PASSIVE ABILITY: PRECOGNITIVE GRIEF]
[AWARENESS OF FUTURE TRAGEDIES CAUSES STRESS]
[ALL HEALING RATES REDUCED BY 5%]
[QUEST OFFERED: CHANGE BOB NEWBY'S FATE]
[DIFFICULTY: EXTREME]
[REWARD: +10000 XP]
[FAILURE CONSEQUENCES: UNSPECIFIED]
Adam stares at the quest notification for a long moment, weighing the mathematics of possibility against the weight of moral obligation. He failed to save Barb. He couldn't prevent Eleven's sacrifice. But Bob Newby represents something different—not a fixed point in the timeline, but a death that serves narrative purpose rather than cosmic necessity.
Maybe some fates can be changed. Maybe that's the real test—not accepting inevitability, but fighting it with everything you have.
I have seven months to plan. Seven months to prepare. Seven months to find a way to save the man who's become father, mentor, and family all wrapped up in RadioShack polyester and boundless optimism.
Through the bond, Scout sends acknowledgment from his patrol route around the house. The creature has learned to recognize the emotional states that require comfort, and his presence pulses with loyalty that transcends species.
I failed Barb. I couldn't stop Eleven's sacrifice. But I have seven months to plan, and this time, I won't fail.
Bob Newby is not dying on my watch.
Not if I have anything to say about it.
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