Within Seconds: Flashpoint Edition

How Not To Honor Your Dead Wife

Because Joe couldn't handle the idea of leaving Wally in the cocoon too long, and risking the chance of becoming evil, he and H.R. decided it best to cut open the casing around his son. It, obviously, hadn't resulted in any good. Now, Wally was blessed with the gift of speed, however, the first thing he had done was run off. They knew not where. 

This issue, which, if Parker was alive would have resulted in some fighting, was taken up by Barry. He did think of his love. He did the opposite of what she would do, and he returned to the Meta Prison to speak with Caitlin. He could get her back. He knew it. 

(And, in case it didn't work, and he failed, his will was tucked away underneath a folder on the computer desk.)

Caitlin stopped leaning against the wall when Barry entered into the doorway. She waltzed forward, a corner of her lips stretched, because she had a feeling she knew exactly why Barry would come to her. 

"We need your help, Caitlin," he said, and she nodded, proud for assuming it. "It's Wally. He's out of the coon, but his biochemistry, it's all out of whack. He went AWOL."

"So?"

"So, when we find him, he's gonna need your help, your medical expertise, your experience with Meta's. What he needs is Caitlin Snow, M.D."

Caitlin stretched her arm out to lean on the doorway. "So, you came to try and talk some sense into me."

"No, I came to let you go," admitted Barry.

He let open her door, then stood in front of the doorway, waiting for her to approach. 

Caitlin's smirk fell. She slid from the wall, her eyes squinted. She took slow steps from inside the cell, until she exited. Her cocky attitude returned instantly once she discovered it wasn't a trap. 

"For a smart guy, that was an awfully dumb move," she pointed out. 

"Like, I said, you're free to go."

"What's the catch?" she wondered.

"You have to kill me."

"You want to fight, Flash?"

"No, I'm not gonna fight you," he corrected. "But if you want to leave this room, you're gonna have to kill me."

"Don't think I won't," she threatened.

"Then do it."

From her hands, ice surged. Small crackles hit their ears the colder she caused her hands to go. Her icy blue eyes stayed locked with his expectant ones, faltering only the slightest. Caitlin formed an icicle and hovered the tip over his heart.

"What are you waiting for?" groaned Barry. "What's the big deal? C'mon, live up to your name, Killer Frost, I want to see some killing! You want to be the villain? This is what they do. they kill their friends, because nothing matters to them anymore, right? Right?"

Barry grabbed her wrist and forced it closer to his chest. Her grip loosened.

"Come on, Caitlin. Kill me. You can't do it. You can't, because underneath all that cold, you're still you."

With those words, he triggered the Caitlin within that was begging for a way out. A gasp commenced, then she let the icicle slip from her hand.

"Barry!" she cried.

He caught her when she fell into his arms. He patted her back, repeating, "I got you. It's okay," in her ear until she was back to normal again.

xxxx

In the end, as per usual, everyone was physically fine and back together.

Caitlin was herself once more. For extra protection, she continued to wear the bracelets that contained her powers.

Cisco hadn't said much to her, or anyone else. He expressed a short relief on her safe return, then he took Melody to his Tech Lab. Nothing was said of it. He was hurting immensely; he found a comfort of sorts by busying himself with the baby. No one was going to take that away from him.

Wally, once broken from his dazed state, returned in a physical condition that now featured speed. He couldn't have been happier about it. He ran lap after lap in the Testing Facility in the S.T.A.R. Labs basement, ready to start training and become his dream: a hero.

Joe and Iris were interrupted from talking Wally down from his 'high' when Joe's cell phone rang.

"Barry, it's the hospital," he told him carefully. "Julian's awake."

Instantly, Caitlin's worry level skyrocketed. "He knows it was me, he knows--"

Barry, already grabbing his coat, assured Caitlin he would sort everything out. He began to leave. First, he needed to talk to someone else.

Outside of the Tech Lab, since it lacked a door, he knocked on the wall softly.

He grinned at his daughter, who was in the midst of falling asleep with her head on Cisco's shoulder. Melody had no energy left to be excited, but she cooed, which, for the moment, was enough.

Cisco turned his chair around just enough to see who was at the door. His expression hadn't changed by discovering it was Barry. If anything, his annoyance grew.

"Hey, man," greeted Barry.

"Taking her home?" asked Cisco.

"No. No, she's all yours," assured Barry. "She's welcome to be with you anytime, I just... I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk about..."

"I don't."

Barry frowned. Tone more bland, he continued, "All right. Um... Well, look, Cisco, you're my baby's Godfather--"

"And whatever's happening between you and I isn't going to affect my relationship with her. I love her just as much as you do. I'm not going to treat her badly because her father..." he suddenly stopped, lowering his head. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

Barry couldn't complain. He deserved it. He almost wanted to urge Cisco on, but instead, he wondered, "Are we gonna be okay? You and me?"

Cisco spun his chair to face Barry. "You want me to be honest with you?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know."

Barry nodded slowly. "Okay."

Cisco turned back around to continue his work, as if he hadn't broken his best friend's heart. He was unaffected by Barry's hurt feelings. He had his own griefs and trials to overcome, things he needed to come to peace with-- things that Barry had set into motion. 'Okay' was a stage that seemed galaxies away.

Barry wasn't able to leave without trying to offer a helping hand. He disregarded the clear discomfort his visit was bringing Cisco. He pushed past his own obstacle, uttering her name again, to fix things with his best friend, because he knew that's what she was probably screaming at him for from her spot in the Heavens.

"Park..." he said softly and carefully, fragile with her, as if he was learning her name all over again. "Parker would want--"

Cisco had enough. Mentioning Parker struck his final nerve for the day and he swiveled his chair around to face Barry, eyes fueled with a never before lit fire. He wanted to scream at Barry, but he managed to limit himself, worried that the baby might wake.

"Don't start with that," he said, voice low, but frightening. "You might have been married to her, I might have been her best friend, but we don't know what she would want to happen. Don't put words into her mouth. Now, you know just as damn well as I do that she's not here to force us to make up. She can't be our stitch anymore. So leave it alone, Barry."