Only Because I Need You

Bleary Eyed Suprise

Caitlin peeled open her heavy eyelids. Every muscle in her body was groaning and felt weighed down. Her eyes were met with a blinding light that burned them violently. She squeezed them shut again. A soft ringing rang in her ears, but she could still make out the loud and obnoxious noise of someone shouting right next to her. She braved opening her eyes once more, only to welcome the searing light. It had been too long since she had welcomed that bright pain. Slowly but surely her eyes acclimated to her new surroundings. Thundering footsteps entered the room. Caitlin's throat was dry and itchy, with every breath it grew more irritated. She swallowed hard and pushed herself up into a sitting position as a soft groan escaped from her lips. Her eyes drifted around her surroundings, not fully registering what she was seeing. She was lying on a hospital bed and the lights were so bright. She wondered if she were in a hospital. She shook that thought from her head, that couldn't be. She couldn't smell the bleach and antibacterial hand wash strongly enough. After a few painstakingly long moments, she finally registered the face closest to her. Round boyish features that framed two dark eyes. She nearly did a double take. Cisco. He was sitting by her bed side. She could hear people talking, some mentioning her name. That didn't matter. She was with Cisco.

Before she really knew what she was doing she pulled him into a tight hug, her head rested lazily on his shoulder and her arms wrapped around his. His skin felt warm against hers. It had been so long since she had hugged anyone. She felt like she had been drowning and she had just broken the surface and pulled that breath of refreshing air into her burning lungs. His arms almost immediately mirrored her gesture, he burrowed his own head into her shoulder, "I missed you so much," Her voice crackled and crinkled. If she had not been so close to Cisco, she might have winced at the searing pain that ran down her throat.

His arms tightened, "we missed you so much more," his voice shook a little, but it was his voice. Finally, she could hear him again. He sounded exactly as she remembered. Her heart clenched even more. She had missed her friends so much more than she thought she had.

She pulled away from him, her arms felt cold without him. The fog that clouded her mind began to diessapitate. She surveyed her surrounding in more detail. They were in the medical wing of S.T.A.R. Labs. She would recognise it's stark white paint anywhere. She made a mental note to repaint the wing with any colour other than white. What occupied her attention more was the four other members of team Flash that were standing by her bedside. Joe and Harry stood by the foot of the bed. Their eyes were locked on her, but their expressions, though similar, were nearly completely different. Joe had that wide and warm grin of his that spreads from ear to ear and sang out parental love. Where as Harry, well he was donning a grin too, but his cheeks were rosy and rounded, the sight almost gave her chills. Barry and Iris stood on the opposite side of Cisco, their arms were interlocked and sheepish smiles tickled their features. Iris stood in all her beauty, her kind smile warmed Caitlin's heart and her dark eyes held so much relief and care that the bio-chemist thought she might cry. She could tell why Barry loved her. Barry, of course. Her eyes landed on him, his features. Seeing his warm features not shroud in darkness felt surreal to her. Her eyes widened in slight alarm, "where is Ethan?" She asked, her eyes never left Barry's. A slick fear gripped onto her chest. He too had collapsed.

Barry pointed a finger to the bed just beside Caitlin, her eyes followed his guidance. She peered over Cisco's seated form. There he was, it was Ethan. His chest was rising and falling softly, his face was completely relaxed in a neutral state. An oxygen mask was fixed tightly into his face. She couldn't see the scars from her angle, but she knew they were there. Her chest felt a little lighter knowing Ethan has been rescued too. He had saved her life, so he deserved to be saved too, "Is he Okay?" She asked, cocking a brow at her teammates. Iris and Barry turned to each other, sharing a curious look.

"Yes, he should wake up in a little while," Harry explained softly, his voice washed over her gently. She had missed having a Wells around. He had always been the calm to her storm, no matter which Harrison he was. They had all been able to make her stop, take a breath and think.

"Good," she mumbled.

"How did you escape Caitlin?" Barry asked, pulling her attention back to him with his voice. She had grown used to the scratchy and gravelly version that Savitar held, as a consequence, Barry's voice sounded so much smoother and relaxing than she expected.

Her eyes flicked back over to Ethan before returning to her teammates, "we made a plan together" she told them, her voice was low, "Ethan and I, we escaped together," she clarified, pausing for a moment. Barry raised his eyebrows, "I owe him my life,"

The team looked confused, their eyes were a mixture of disbelief and unsureness. She should have expected as much, they still viewed Ethan as the psychotic murderer that wanted to kill Iris, "Caitlin," Cisco's voice caught her attention, forcing her to return her sight to his deep brown eyes. His lips were pressed into a thin line, "What do you mean you owe him your life?"

She felt a small smile tug at her lips as she rolled her shoulders backwards, "he escaped first Cisco, but he came back for me. He could have left me there, maybe that way he wouldn't have collapsed and he could have gotten back to his revenge plans. Yet he risked his own life to save mine," she told him firmly, the reality of what she had said only just began to set in. He really had risked his life for her. She felt her heart tug staring at his peaceful face. She had no idea how she could thank him.

"Well I am glad he did," Iris told her with a soft voice, "the Cortex was a little too quite without you," her dark eyes sparkled and her lips curved upwards.

Caitlin cast her eyes over them once more, "I really love you guys," she told them, earning her a whole plethora of smiles. How she had missed their smiles. They really had become part of her family.