Paralyzer || Barry Allen (The Flash) Fanfiction

Chapter 37: Decisions

Caitlin's P.O.V.

Even without an increased metabolism, the strength of the venom and the way it spread so rapidly had forced me to administer Haven with five times the normal dose of antivenin. As a bioengineer, and basically Eclipse's and the Flash's personal physician, I was extremely anxious how the girl's body would react to such a high dosage.

I'd spent the last forty-eight hours straight in the lab, not daring to leave Haven's side. Every few hours or so another seizure would wrack her body, causing her vitals spiking off the charts, and I needed to be immediately present to put more clonazepam in her IV. I'd slept maybe four hours in the past few days, but I didn't care. As long as Haven was like this, I would be here to take care of her.

I just wished Barry was doing the same.

No sooner than I began to wonder what the boy was up to did he walk into the cortex, two bags of Big Belly Burger dangling in his hands. I might be slightly irked by Barry's flaky presence with his girlfriend in a mini coma, but I was thankful for the small gifts like this. If it weren't for Barry and Cisco, I'm sure I would have been starving by now.

"And dinner is served," Barry smiled as he handed me the paper bag which I eagerly took. Without wasting a moment, I pulled out the burger and began digging into it as Barry sat down beside me at the desk.

I think I managed to mumble a 'thank you' in between bites, but, otherwise, I remained silent as I chowed down. It wasn't until I'd eaten every last crumb of the burger and fries that I finally decided to speak. I wasn't going to enjoy the conversation we were about to have, but I knew that we needed to resolve matters before Haven woke up.

"So, Barry..." I began slowly, trying to act casually and pretty much failing at the attempt. The boy looked at me as he started on his third burger. "What have you been up to recently?"

"Just some work down at the station," he shrugged. Yeah, he was trying to play it cool just like me. At least I wasn't the only one who was awful at lying.

"Mm-hmm," I hummed curiously, glancing down for a moment before looking back up, my eyes boring into his. "And how is Patty?"

Barry rose his brow at me as if it were a silly question, but I could see the nervousness in his eyes. Did he really think he could get out of the speech that was coming? "She's fine."

"Good. So... I'm just curious... You've told her that you're already taken, right? Because it would be a mean thing to get her hopes up like that just for her to find out that you're not single, wouldn't it?"

"Uh..."

I sighed, pulling my focus away from him as I looked to the floor and shook my head. "Barry..."

"Cait, I really don't wanna talk about this right—"

"No, Barry Allen, we are going to talk about this whether you like it or not," I snapped before he could get any farther. I'm sure it was strange for him to see me so worked up like this, especially considering how rare it was for me to have a temper. I hoped he could see the intensity and seriousness of the situation burning in my eyes as I stared him down. "You can't keep doing this, Barry. You can't be in a relationship with Haven and have a thing with Patty. You have to choose who you want.

"Now, I just have one thing to ask," I continued quickly as I saw him part his lips to speak. He immediately smacked his mouth shut, and I cleared my throat before moving on. "Obviously, you feel something towards Patty. You've made that much clear. What I want to know is why? Why do you like her?"

Barry let out a deep breath, running his hands over his face and through his hair as he contemplated his reasoning. "I don't know... I mean, for one, she's attractive. And then there's her humor. She gets my stupid jokes and laughs at them even if they aren't funny. And she's a nice person. I mean, there really isn't anything to not like about her."