wanderess ; barry allen

chapter fourteen

chapter fourteen;
a + b

        Adley and Barry were now officially together, and would be seeing their friends for the first time since this new development. 

"Do we tell them?" She looked to him, eyebrows furrowed.

"I mean, I won't, but you can."

"What do you think they're gonna say?"

"Finally!" Cisco groaned, leaning back in his chair.  "Merry Christmas to us all, really."

"Here are a few gifts, from me," Barry grinned, "For all that you've done for me this year."

"I don't have any money," Adley muttered sheepishly, "I offer you all endless hugs.  Something I've been giving very sparingly these past couple of months."

"That's cute, emo," Cisco said sarcastically, "Really cute."  He then opened his arms smiling knowingly.

"I take my gift back from Cisco," Adley told the group.

"Thank you, you two," Caitlin laughed.  "And what would that be?"

"This is compliments of Iris," Barry nodded his head in the direction of the thermos.  "Grandma Esther's famous eggnog."

"That's what I'm talkin' 'bout," Cisco sat up, smiling widely.

"Maybe later for me, thanks." Wells turned around. "Wouldn't want to drink and drive."

"Did I say something?" Barry whispered.

"No," Cisco shook his head sadly.  "No, man."

Barry had his thinking face on, the one Adley had slowly and surely fallen in love with.  He would look ahead, glazed eyes, mouth open just a bit. 

"He, um this used to be his favorite time of year, but the accident happened before Christmas, so.." Caitlin explained, trailing off at the end.  "Kind of ruined the holidays.  I'm gonna go get him a present.  Maybe that'll cheer him up."  She turned to Barry, lifting the bag in his direction.  "Thank you very much."

Barry closed his mouth and nodded.  "Yeah." 

Caitlin smiled, shrugging on a coat and exiting the Cortex.

"So what are you doing for Christmas, Cisco?"

Barry was called to a crime scene later in the day, one that showed evidence of another speedster in Central City.

"The witness described seeing a yellow blur just like the one that killed Barry's mother," Joe explained to the S.T.A.R team.

"Then we need to get cracking and stop this speed psycho." Cisco immediately stopped, straightening as he realized what he had done. "That - I wasn't trying to give him a name."

"The crime scene at Mercury Labs was on a floor with highly secured vaults, and the witness said he was looking for something," Barry told them.

"Whatever it was, he wanted it badly enough to kill for it," Adley snorted, earning several glares. "What?"

Joe turned to Harrison. "Doctor, what do you know about this Mercury Labs?"

"Mercury was one of S.T.A.R. Labs' major competitors until our little setback, and then it catapulted to the forefront led by Dr. Christina McGee, brilliant but egocentric physicist," Wells told them all, as though he was reading it from somewhere. Adley never knew how he did it. She backed away from all of them, dropping back into her desk chair and pulling out her laptop.