Those Summer Nights

Chapter Nine

In the weeks following the initial shock of Barry's coma, Caitlin was but a hollow shell of herself. She cried herself to sleep most nights until the sheets were stained with her tears. She woke up in the middle of the night, unable to deny the feeling of paralysis if she slept too deeply. What if neither she nor Barry ever woke up again? Better me than him, she thought. She pushed every plate of food away until she was nearly stick thin and borderline too weak to stand on her own. Despite every effort made by Felicity and Donna, Caitlin was too numb to think of anything other than Barry.

"What do you want to do, sweetie? Do you want to see him? Because we can make that happen" Donna said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to Caitlin; who was losing more colour by the minute.

The teenage girl just lay on her side, staring at the ring through bloodshot eyes. Every plan they'd ever had for their future was suddenly hanging by a thread.

"I can't take the train" Caitlin sniffed, wiping the last of her tears with a tissue. The minimal amount of makeup she wore threatened to smear across her face.

"We could always get you a flight. Perhaps you could stay with Bethany for the remainder of the summer" Donna offered. In the time that Caitlin and Felicity had known each other, Donna had always been more of a mother to Caitlin than Carla- or at least what she thought a mother should be.

"Yeah, and then just fly back before school starts" Felicity added as she made a run for the computer to search for the best options.

"But I can't let you go in this condition. You have to promise me you'll start eating something" Donna said, wrapping an arm around the heartbroken young woman.

Caitlin simply nodded in agreement over Donna's shoulder. She then went to the bathroom to freshen up and make a call.

~

A week later, Caitlin arrived in Central City. The moment she and Bethany were reunited, Caitlin wasted no time in getting to the hospital. She was determined to spend every minute possible with Barry; knowing that his health could decline at any moment.

Caitlin burst through the hospital doors. Her chest felt like it had been set on fire from running. Hunched over and out of breath, she struggled to tell the receptionist what she needed. But the redhead at the desk simply rolled eyes and went back to her notes; thinking she had better places to go.

Caitlin gave Bethany a look of uncertainty. She also bit down on her lower lip; thinking that maybe she wasn't ready to see him.

"You've got this. You need this" the blonde encouraged.

"I'm here to see Barry Allen, please" Caitlin finally said, as confidently as she could muster.

"Are you family?" the receptionist asked in a careless English accent, all the while refusing to look up from her papers.

"Well" Caitlin began before the receptionist cut her off.

"We can only admit family after visiting hours" she said as she pointed to the sign that read: Central City General Hospital Visiting Hours- 11am-6pm.

Disappointment and defeat found their way onto Caitlin's face as she looked at the clock on the farthest wall; which indicated that she was thirty minutes too late. But Bethany thought quick on her feet as she leaned towards Caitlin's ear.

"The ring" she reminded Caitlin through a whisper.

Caitlin nodded in agreement. However, she felt a surge of panic rise within her. She worried that if the receptionist looked too closely, she would be able to tell that the ring was fake.

"I'm his fiancée" Caitlin announced.

Just then the receptionist looked up to meet Caitlin's eyes. Her tone suddenly improving as Caitlin's concerns were met with unexpectedly compassion.

"Oh. Room 12B, darling. If you need anything else, my name is Wendy" the redhead answered sweetly.

"Thank you" Caitlin said. Her worries only increasing as she and Bethany stepped into the elevator.

Time stood still as Caitlin entered the room and her eyes immediately found Barry. His body lay cold and still; wrapped up in the Nirvana pullover he had once lent her. Her heart broke as she studied every bruise and scar that the accident had bestowed upon his charming, clean face. She shuddered at that word. Accident. How could anyone who viewed the footage of the shooting think that the ringleader had not intended for it to hit Barry?

Caitlin's arm trembled in an attempt to reach for Barry's hand. She worried that if she ever laid so much as a finger on the surface of his hand, he would turn to ash. His hand was cold and lifeless as it rested in hers.

"I don't know how long this could last, but I need you to keep fighting. Okay? I don't know who I'd be without you" she confessed, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eyes. She then looked around at the colourless, soul-sucking walls that surrounded them.

No matter the sunlight's attempt at shining through, it was no match for the dark cloud of fear and uncertainty that hung over Caitlin's head. In the dead of night before she unintentionally fell asleep at his bedside, she did something she had not done since before her father's passing. She got down on her knees, sat at the balls of her feet and prayed. Maybe someday soon, this would be but a nightmare that she and Barry would wake from.

~

As days turned into weeks, Caitlin grew accustomed to her new normal. She took comfort in the steady beeps that monitored Barry's heart rate. With every turn of a page in a book they hadn't yet read together, Caitlin grew hopeful that her prayers would soon be answered.

The young couple was in the middle of reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when she noticed the Bat Man calendar in the room and realized how much time had gone by. She did her best to ignore it as she went back to the book.

'It's called a Time Turner' Hermione whispered, 'and I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I've been using it all year to get to my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so that I could have one. She had to tell them that I was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies... I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But...

Caitlin couldn't help but laugh at herself. The first smile she had managed in a matter of months, crept upon her face as she felt foolish for butchering the English accent. Her heart pounded as she longed for Barry to wake and tell her that he loved it. It was something he had taken to doing whenever they watched one of the films together. It was their own little Christmas tradition to watch Philosopher's Stone while snuggled up next to Barry's fireplace.

"Your accent is the best part. Keep going" Barry would encourage her, through what seemed like an endless fit of laughter.

'Harry, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?'

Harry stared at her shadowy face.

'There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change', he said slowly. 'What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago...'

'This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid's' said Hermione. 'We just heard ourselves leaving...'

Harry frowned; he felt as though he was screwing up his whole brain in concentration.

'Dumbledore just said- just said we could save more than one innocent life...' And then it hit him.

Caitlin was quick to close the book; feeling as if Harry's words had awoken something within her. As she willed herself to glance at her boyfriend's battered appearance and listen to the flow of his heart rate, she knew what had to be done.

"Barry," she began as she drew in a deep breath; thinking this was the hardest thing she would ever have to admit. "You know what day I'm staring at. If you're not awake by the time school starts, I know what I have to do. And I'm doing it for you. Not her".