Hopper almost asks Steve what he's done, but luckily thinks better of it at the last second. In another life, he'd offer the kid a beer, but there's no alcohol in this house anymore, easier to resist when it isn't present, and it's not like Hopper has dinner guests over, so there's no reason to keep some just in case.

Ellie wanders into the room, stretches and yawns expansively, then jumps up onto the couch beside Steve and curls up against his thigh. Dogs are good like that, Hopper thinks, as he settles back into his chair.

"What about?" he asks. A better question than his original instinct.