Bittersweet Love

1. "Hole In my Heart."

Cisco slumped into his desk in the cortex waiting for everyone to join him. Since Caitlin left, he was the earliest one in the labs. Soon Nash joined him which he wasn't pumped about.

A gush of wind came in and there stood Barry all dressed up ready for work.

"Oh thank god there is someone else other than this rock man!" Cisco commented indicating towards Nash was dusting his rocks.

"Quit whining about my rocks." Nash yelled.

"Okaay, so what do we have today?" Barry asked breaking the tension.

"Nothing new, same old, boring!" Cisco huffed in boredom.

"Well it's a good thing I brought coffee." Iris says walking in with a couple of cups. "I gotta run, I have to meet a source who is supposed to give me a story. Call me if you need anything." She walked out quickly after handing the cups.

"I am gonna go work on my new gun."Cisco moved to his lab.

Barry's POV

Cisco and Nash scrammed while I was left alone. I grabbed the coffee cup and was about to run to CCPD when my eyes fell on something. The lab. Caitlin's lab. I sighed and walked to the lab.

It's been 7 months since she left. Every day I walk into STAR labs, I feel something missing. Like a hole in my life. I sat on her chair remembering her patching me up every time I broke, holding me every time I fell, physically and emotionally. I didn't even get to say a goodbye because I was so engrossed in finding Iris. Out of everything that I have regretted in my life...that was the most painful one.

BEEP BEEP! 

"Metahuman alert!" Cisco ran in. "Main Street! Block B." He instructed while I changed into my suit and ran away.

"What is it?" I hear Cisco from my earpiece.

"It's...Godspeed, again." I reply.

"Man what is up with this guy?!" I hear Cisco whine through my comms.

"What do you want Godspeed?" I yell at a moderate tone.

"For real dude? Even I can answer that for you. Destruction." Cisco says as I roll my eyes.

"Destruction!" Godspeed says in a raspy robotic voice.

"Bro you have to be more specific in who you want to destroy, team flash is growing as the population of China!" Cisco comments.

"Stop fooling around Cisco!" I hear Wells.

"He hasn't done anything, what am I suppose to do?!" Cisco says.

Godspeed phases through a building, destroying the foundation of it making it unstable.

"Cisco how many people are there in the building right now?!" I yell.

"Umm about 50 people!"

I flash into the building bringing people out two at a time leaving them at a safe distance until everyone is out. I look around and see no sign of Godspeed.

"Any traces of him?" I ask.

"Nope the guy went invisible leaving no traces, again." Cisco says while leaving a pause.

"Okay we'll see you in a bit."

"Hah funny!" I hear him say as I enter STAR labs.

"What is up with that dude? Does he want a fight or not? This is the fifth time he came in a month!" Cisco complains.

"Well maybe he is trying to give us clues. Maybe there is a pattern in the places he strikes." Wells says. "See, he started at Jitters, then the bowling alley, the Italian restaurant, the abandoned building next door and now, CCPN." Harry explained.

"Five completely random places that have nothing in common!" Cisco comments.

"Well all we have to do is to find out what they have in common and then we might have a lead." Wells says, Cisco groans keeping his head on the desk.

"Why do all villains have to wear masks?" Cisco asks.

"You know for an amazing brain, you sure ask a lot of dumb questions." Harry says while sipping into his coffee.

I ignored their usual banter and focused my CSI mind on the map showing on the bigger monitor, pinpointing the different locations, trying to find a link between them.

"Whoa another meta-human case huh?" I hear Ralph as he enters the cortex with Joe.

"Nah same old Godspeed." I answered.

"Well did he say something...other than destruction?" Joe asks.

"Nope." Cisco fills him in.

"Anyways" Ralph starts. "I saw a van downstairs in the parking, kinda looked sketchy, didn't have a logo or anything, just plain white van."

Cisco does a few clicks with his mouse and projects the parking CCTV footage to a larger screen.

"Huh, weird, it kinda looks familiar." Cisco frowns. "It's probably for the abandoned building next door. But why doesn't it have a logo or anything. Builders and contractors in Central City are extremely proud of their companies." Cisco taps on the keyboard while talking.

"What's up boys, what are we doing today?" Iris walks into the cortex and wraps her arms around Joe and Ralph. "Oh come on, does the team flash have no action that they have to spy on a parked van now?" She joked.

"Ha ha, don't try to be funny." Cisco dryly says.

Here we go, another banter, why can't they ever be serious? I take a seat on the side rubbing my head from the blasting migraine that I had. I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

"What wrong Barr? You have gone quiet for the past 7 months. We got Iris back, but you still don't look happy." Joe asks being worried.

"I don't know Joe. I-I have tried everything. I have distracted myself, thought about it, tried to conquer my fears but nothing. I-It's like there is this hole in my heart that I can't fill no matter what I do." I say as I run my hand through my dense hair in frustration.

"Hey I know what that feels. Sometimes even when I have solved a case, I don't feel satisfied with the results, that's when I know that my gut is telling me that I have missed something, something extremely important. All you have to do is find the thing that is missing in your case, find your missing piece of the puzzle, before someone gets hurt real bad." I nod hearing him. Sometimes all I need is one of Joe's philosophies and I am back giving my A-game.

"Hello everyone!" A voice came fonts the cortex.

"Carla!" I gasped slightly.

"Carla! What are you doing here?!" Cisco chuckles in shock as he moves to give her a hug.

"Well I promised all of you that I would bring you Frost back as soon as she has healed." She says.

"Wait wait! You mean to say that Caitlin is all fine?!" I ask her hoping to hear the answer that I want to hear. I feel her stiffen at my question.

"Yes she is all healed and good to go." She says avoiding eye contact which no one seems to notice.

"When is Caitlin coming back?" Cisco asks, eager to meet his best friend after 7 months, not gonna lie but I was more eager than him.

"She is actually here." Carla says as she turns towards the entrance of the cortex.

There she was, Caitlin Snow...well Killer Frost, her white loose curls reaching her waist, her beautiful glowing eyes, her back outfit that hugged her curves...oh my god I sound like Ralph! But something didn't seem right, her eyes, they didn't have any emotion in them, she looked paler than normal. I hope everything is okay. My heart sped, all I hoped is that it didn't jump out of my chest.

"Hey Frosty!" Ralph moved first and gave her a tight hug. She didn't reciprocate it, weird.

Everyone hugged her one by one, I watched closely as none of them were retuned. What's wrong with her? She is Frost, but she was never this cold. I can feel it, something that they are not telling anyone, and I need to find out.

        ~~~~

Harrison Wells 'Harry' is alive, so is Jesse and Gypsy, Nash comes and goes once in a while.