Half Mine

Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26: RONNIE RAYMOND RETURNS

THE NEXT DAY

Barry wakes up and looks down at the beautiful woman who fits perfectly in his arms and this time he can admit it without feeling guilty. Caitlin's eyes are closed but he can sense that she's away. 

Without opening her eyes, she says to him, "You're staring." 

"I'm gazing," He argues playfully. 

"It's creepy," She opens her eyes to look at him then she giggles. 

"It's romantic," He says before sticking his tongue out at her. 

They get interrupted by Caitlin's phone ringing. Barry swallows, remembering the last time her phone was ringing. He lets out a sigh of relief when Cisco's picture pops up on the screen. She answers. 

"Hey Cisco, what's up?" Caitlin asks because she knows Cisco wouldn't call her this early in the morning without a valid reason. 

"You need to come to STAR labs as soon as you can," Cisco says almost nervously. 

Caitlin gets worried and so does Barry. Barry quickly checks the cameras and Cisco sees fine but they head over quickly anyway. They wash their faces and brush their teeth. They're in such a rush that neither of them shower. Barry runs them over to STAR Labs and he sees Ralph, Cisco and Harry surrounding one of the computers. 

"Guys..." Barry says, grabbing their attention, "What's going on?"

"A singularity opened up earlier and I went to call you but it suddenly just closed itself so I decided to check out the cameras around to see what was going on. Harry ran the tests, the singularity is closed but before it closed... something came out, someone came out," Cisco explains, "We checked him out, everything seems fine and real."

"Who?" Barry says and before Cisco can answer, Ronnie walks into the room.

"Hey Cait," He says, looking only at her. Barry flinches when he calls her that.

"Ronnie," She breathes out but she doesn't move.

Ronnie walks towards her and Barry steps in front of her protectively.

"How do we even know you're the real Ronnie?" Barry narrows his eyes at Ronnie.

"Caitlin. You told me when we were watching that movie where people were kidnapped by aliens that we should have a code word or code sentence. It was pineapples are shining like the hot sun. Pineapples for Hawaii, our first vacation together. Shining like the hot sun on the day we had our first kiss. Remember?" 

"Yes," She says and a tear drops onto her cheek, "It's really you." She walks over to him and hugs him, he hugs her back tightly. Barry backs away slowly and runs until he finds a punching bag, the same one he used when he and Eddie had a little training session years ago.

Caitlin pulls away from Ronnie. Cisco, Harry and Ralph go into the next room to give them some privacy. "You're pregnant," Ronnie says, looking at her baby bump. 

"Hey! What if I had just gained some weight?" She laughs, "But yes I am."

"It's Barry's, isn't it?" He sighs. "How did you know?"

"Come on Cait... I'm not an idiot. I could there was something between the two of you when I came back after the particle accelerator explosion. You're not the kind of girl that would just go around sleeping with random guys so it had to be Barry's. You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Caitlin nods. "I'm sorry," She says before pausing, "Not about the baby. I could never be sorry about that. But that you had to find out like this. And that I fell for him but I still led you on."

"I knew you felt something for him, Cait. I'm not angry. I just want you to be happy. You didn't lead me on, I could see how you felt for him and we just needed the right end for our love story. We were meant to love each other and help each other grow for that time but we were never soulmates. The love you feel for me will always be there, just like my love for you. But I can see that you're in love with him."

"Thank you," She says squeezing his hand.

"Oh but if he does anything to hurt you, I'm kicking his ass, I don't care if he has super speed," Ronnie says, "I'll get those annulment papers drawn up."

"Thank you," Caitlin smiles at him sincerely, "For not making this harder than it has to be. You'll always hold a special place in my heart. I'll always love you even if I haven't been in love with you for a long time. I just feel guilty... like I let you down." She frowns.

"I'm not exactly innocent in the feelings department either, so you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about... I was on Earth-41 and I met a girl actually, her name's Patty. We were together but she passed away and I was trying to get her back, that's how I ended up back in the singularity. She left me a video, saying she has a counterpart on this Earth that was just like her and if anything happened I should find her, so here I am. I can't live without her."

"I feel the same way about him," Caitlin agrees before thinking for a few moments. "This wouldn't by any chance be Patty Spivot, would it?" She asks.

"Yes, how did you know?" Ronnie asks surprised.

"It seems you and Barry really do have the same taste in women," She jokes. "They used to date," She explains.

"What can I say? We have the best taste. Strong, sweet, smart, sexy and selfless women," Ronnie smirks.

They share a smile. "I'll help you get your girl, I think I owe you one," Caitlin says and helps Ronnie find Patty. He thanks her and with the promise of a visit, he leaves to get his girl.

Caitlin goes home and searches her apartment but Barry is nowhere to be found. "That's strange," She frowns. "He must have gone to the CCPD to finish up work but he should be home by now... What if something happened?"

She calls him but he doesn't pick up. She clicks on the emergency button on her phone and few seconds later Barry shows up in his Flash suit. 

"Oh thank god," She sighs in relief, "You're okay." 

"Of course I am. I came because I thought this was an emergency."

"I called you and you didn't pick up," She says, a worried expression present on her face.

"I didn't think you'd want me around anymore. I figured you guys would want some time for yourself," Barry swallows.

"What are you talking about?" Caitlin asks confused.

"You and Ronnie. I thought you guys would pick up where you left off. Have your honeymoon, maybe in Hawaii," He finishes off bitterly.

"Ronnie and I aren't getting back together or picking up where we left off...If we did then we'd both have a pretty horrible time considering we're both in love with other people."

"For real?" Barry asks.

"I'm in love with you, Barry Allen. Ronnie is my past and he'll always hold a special place in my heart. But you, this, us... That's my future," She says while rubbing her baby bump.

"I'm sorry," Barry says, "I'm such an idiot. I just saw the two of you together and I overreacted because I'm so scared of losing you. I almost lost you once, I never want that to happen again," He kisses her forehead.

"It's okay. I'm scared of losing you too," Caitlin says before smirking, "Besides you're pretty hot when you're jealous." She giggles and winks at him.

"Oh I am, am I?" He smirks, "Well if any guy hits on you then I promise I will be insanely super nova hot."

"I like the sound of that," She smirks at him.