A/N: Another pre-Barry explanations of our universe - how, exactly, did Dr. Wells find Caitlin?
Disclaimer: Absolutely not mine.
"That was quite a speech you gave, very impressive, Dr. Snow."
Caitlin turns around to greet and correct the next person that approaches her at the annual biomedicine conference, feeling drained and tired from having to do so in the first place, thanks to a nice mistake in the program. "Thank you, but I don't have my Ph. D. quite yet."
The man that has approached her is tall with an air of confidence and charm about him, and something so unexpectedly familiar but she can't quite place him.
"Well, all in good time then. Harrison Wells, nice to meet you."
The smile freezes on her face because she knows him, or at least of him, and this is quite a place to meet him, and to realize that he knows her name. She takes his offered hand and tries to warm up her smile a bit. "It is an honor and privilege to meet you, Dr. Wells."
He smirks as he must know that she recognized his name instantly and his sharp blue eyes soften as he takes her in.
"Likewise, Miss Snow."
The Miss reminds her swiftly that her dissertation is almost but not quite there yet and she really doesn't want to hear any of it. "Please, call me Caitlin."
He might understand her reluctance and the way his Dr. stung, if she were to read the softness in his eyes as something similar to that.
"All right, Caitlin. Like I said, your speech on the possible applications of particle accelerators in biomedical research, especially with regard to the long-term effects of exposure in humans was truly remarkable and revolutionary."
She smiles with a hint of bitterness. "Those are not quite the words my dissertation committee used, more like hypothetical and highly improbable."
Just before Wells has the chance to respond, a man approaches him and initiates a conversation with great gusto, as an old friend would. Caitlin knows the cues whenever he sees them – and the slight incredulity as the other man takes her in, a young woman in biomedicine somehow still gets treated like an exotic animal – but as she goes to leave, Wells unexpectedly grabs her elbow and brings her slightly closer to himself.
"I'm sorry, Alistair, but we were in the middle of a conversation, and I really have no patience for your lament about the state of the European Physical Journal, so if you'll excuse me."
And abruptly, quite possibly rudely turns his back to the man and looks straight at her.
"Sorry about that."
Alistair turns around and leaves but not before giving Caitlin the meanest side-eye she's ever seen from a graying old man. "He didn't like that too much."
"Yes, well, he is one of those hypothetical and improbable people. Also, quite dull."
She realizes that he's still holding on to her and as she looks at his hand, curled around her elbow, and back at him, he gives her an amused look and releases her but not without some kind of challenge in his eyes. He doesn't step back from her, though, and she really doesn't mind.
"Scientists aren't meant to be complacent and comfortable, rather the opposite. The greatest scientific discoveries start with something impossible and hypothetical, sometimes even unimaginable. Some of our most notable achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine have been mere accidents or coincidences, partly because no one was daring enough to look for them. But I think you are exactly the kind of person who would look and also find."
When Wells talks, his whole being becomes slightly more animated, and she can see the fire inside of him, the passion which must've driven all of his greatest achievements, which has made him the youngest recipient of the Sakurai Prize. He is truly a revolutionary, a particle physicist who has ventured outside of his chosen track, who collaborates with others in bioinformatics, genetics, embryology, medical chemistry, and all possible fields. To hear him talk to her and about her with such zest and enthusiasm is a bit overwhelming.
"You don't think my work is a study in the hypothetical? That is remarkably different to hear."
She is by nature a confident person, someone who's always wanted to find the paths that no one else has, discover exciting paths beyond those that are already understood. Her alma mater's reluctance to accept her dissertation as more than inapplicable hypotheses has made her question the very nature of what she has always believed in.
He chuckles softly. "I would imagine. You truly are an outstanding scientist, Caitlin, and I think I have just the avenue you need to show the world all the great things you could do."
"And what could that be?"
"As you may be aware, S.T.A.R. Labs has quite a few opportunities for brilliant minds like yours. And I am starting with a new and exciting project which could benefit greatly from a bioengineering mind."
She eyes him cautiously; what could he possibly offer her? "Like I said, I don't even have my Ph. D. yet. Are you sure S.T.A.R. Labs would just hire me for a project, simply because you say so?"
He smiles that charming carefree smile of his again. "This is still quite unofficial, so don't tell just anyone yet but Dr. Langer is retiring from his post next week and S.T.A.R. Labs has just appointed her replacement, so my say-so is worth more than it might seem. Besides, even if it wasn't, I'm sure one look at your work would be enough to convince anyone."
That sentence alone contains more information than she had been expecting – the current director is resigning, the man in front of her is the new director of the greatest research facility on the East Coast and is evidently offering her a job.
"What kind of a project is it, exactly?"
"Well, let's just say that soon enough, Geneva won't be the only place in the world that could be theoretically possible of creating a black hole."
There is no hiding the surprise on Caitlin's face. "You're close to completing the particle accelerator. That is amazing."
She knows that S.T.A.R. Labs has been working on their very own accelerator for more than seven years, with more and less luck, and also knows that Dr. Langer, as brilliant as she is, has always been more keen on other projects than this ambitious enterprise.
"But why me? I am a bioengineer and my work has theoretical outcomes; even if it could be applied, we would be years or decades away from truly researching and understanding the effects of particle accelerator radiation on humans. All the concepts and possible outcomes – dark matter, anti-matter, metaphysical changes – would be impossible to test."
Something dark flashes over his face, and the look in his eyes is serious, almost like he wants to argue with her. But then, almost as if he remember something, he relaxes and she isn't sure she didn't imagine it because his next words are striking.
"You could be so much more, Caitlin. You have vision, you have great ideas which haven't had the maximum outlet so far, and you are stuck with your dissertation only because your university can't see how brilliant and far-reaching your work could be. But I believe in that. I believe that we could work together and create something more, something truly remarkable and outstanding which the world will talk about for years. We would have the capability and the capacity to change the way we look at the world, trust me."
His words are enough to create a picture she could never shake, a picture of working with one of the most brilliant minds in the world, and others alike him. She can feel the truth behind his words, and knows that there is no one she would rather work with than the man who actually believes in and understands her concepts.
"So." She gives him a shaky smile, overwhelmed by everything that he's thrown at her. "How do we do this?"
He smiles and gestures towards the exit of the conference room. "If you let me buy you a drink, I will explain everything further."
In less than ten minutes of meeting Dr. Harrison Wells, Caitlin is floored, and excited, and most of all, charmed. And absolutely lets him buy her that drink.