A/N: So this started out as a missing scene and then I just kept going with it. So this is a missing/extended scene from season 1 episode 18's All-Star Team-Up, with a lot more trauma to Barry. Hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading. Oh and disclaimer - I know very little about medicine so I'm sorry if any and all of the medical talk is hogwash. Thanks again!
"Barry!" Joe's heart caught in his throat as he saw the young man go down, encircled by a swarm of bees. He raced to his son's side, quickly feeling his neck for a pulse. "Barry," he whispered when he couldn't find one.
"He's going into cardiac arrest," Harrison Wells stated back at Star Labs, the hint of distress in his voice belying his otherwise calm demeanor as he watched the monitors connected to Barry's suit flat-line. The rest of the scientists in the room seemed frozen, uncertain what to do.
"Barry, stay with me," Joe commanded, pressing his hands lightly over Barry's chest, searching desperately for a sign of life, his own heartbeat pounding in his chest when he couldn't find Barry's. He pulled out his cell phone, dialing Cisco's number and placing the phone down on the pavement beside him. He pressed his hands down over Barry's chest and started to perform compressions.
"Cisco! Barry doesn't have a pulse!" he shouted when he heard the other line pick up.
"Step away from him," Cisco commanded, racing to the controls for Barry's suit.
"What? Why?" Joe questioned, continuing the CPR, knowing that every second Barry was down worsened his prognosis.
No longer frozen, the young scientist spoke with urgency and confidence. "We need to jump-start his heart. There's a defibrillator in the suit." Joe reluctantly backed away from Barry, praying that Cisco was right.
"Charge it to three hundred sixty joules," Caitlin instructed, her voice more confident than she felt.
"Charging in 3, 2, 1," Dr. Wells announced, pressing a button that would deliver the charge to Barry's heart.
Joe watched as the jolt of electricity shot through Barry, lifting him off the ground. But there was no movement from the younger man, no signs of life.
"Hit him again, 400 Joules!" Caitlin was no longer calm, feeling the urgency of the situation and the frustration of not being able to be with Barry, to know he was okay. Cisco clasped his hands behind his head, holding his breath.
"Charging again, 3, 2, 1."
The second jolt shot through Barry's body, this time having the desired effect. He pulled in a deep choking breath, gasping at the pain that resonated in his chest. Joe rushed to Barry's side, grabbing hold of his hand and placing a supportive arm around his back, helping him to sit up.
"Barry," he sighed, relief rushing over him.
Cisco and Caitlin heard the exchange and looked at each other, breathing for the first time since this whole mess had started. It had only been a few minutes since Barry had collapsed, but it felt like an eternity.
"Joe," Barry panted, struggling to take in his surroundings, trying to remember what had happened and why his chest was on fire. He tried to speak, but all that came out were gasping breaths, and instead he closed his eyes and leaned his head into Joe's chest, focusing all of his attention on just breathing.
"Oh thank God," Joe whispered. The harsh wheezes coming from the younger man were concerning, but Joe was just so happy that he was breathing. And he would recover fast. He always did. The two stayed in that position for a few moments, Joe unwilling to let go, needing to feel the rise and fall of his son's chest, tangible proof that Barry was alive. They were interrupted by Dr. Wells' voice.
"You back with us, Mr. Allen?"
Barry nodded before realizing that the scientist couldn't see him. "I'm good," he said, still breathing a little hard.
Cisco and Caitlin shared a look of relief. "Joe, can you make sure he gets back here safely? I still need to check him out," the young doctor asked.
Barry sat up a little, shaking his head. "No, I'm okay Caitlin. I have to get back to the lab to check on some evidence." Joe looked at Barry, confused. They both knew there were no other cases he was working on. Barry saw Joe's look of protestation but stopped the detective with a quick jerk of his head.
"That can wait, Bar." Joe knew the kid didn't want to go back to Star with everything that was going on with Dr. Wells, but right now he was more concerned with his health. "We'll be there soon," he assured Caitlin. Joe hung up his cell phone and looked over at Barry, knowing he wasn't going to be happy with him. "Barry, I know you're superhuman, but you just died. I'm not taking any chances with your health."
Barry hesitated but eventually nodded. The truth was, his chest hurt like hell and he was still having a little trouble catching his breath. His cell phone rang as Joe helped him up. "Felicity, hi."
"Ray called me, Barry. I thought I said don't die!"
Barry couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I'm okay, Felicity. Really."
Felicity kept talking a mile a minute and Barry was oddly comforted by her rant. "Are you headed back to Star?"
"Yeah," Barry told her, climbing into the car. "I'm with Joe, he's going to drive me."
"Okay, good. Do you think you guys could give me a lift? You kind of stranded me at Jitters."
"Oh right," Barry said, voice guilty. "Sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it, Barry. It kind of comes with the superhero sidekick territory."
"Yeah, I guess you're used to that, huh? Okay we'll be there in five." Barry hung up the phone, climbing into the front seat of Joe's truck. "We need to make a pit stop," he told the detective. "I left Felicity at Jitters."
"No problem," Joe said, turning on the ignition and looking over at the younger man. "You sure you're feeling okay?" he asked, seeing him wince and hold a hand to his chest.
Barry nodded, "Yeah just sore. I've had worse."
"Somehow, that's not comforting, Bar." He pulled out of the parking lot, headed towards Jitters. "Stay down, kid. We don't want anyone seeing you in that suit." Barry nodded, reclining his seat and closing his eyes. He tried to take a deep breath but found he was only able to get a little air in. Even so, he soon felt himself drifting off. He came-to quickly when Felicity jumped into the car, slapping his arm.
"I told you to beeee careful!" she scolded.
"It wasn't my fault," Barry responded tiredly. Felicity looked closer at her friend, concerned at his lack of energy. She heard the tight wheeze in his voice and made eye contact with Joe, both acknowledging their concern.
"Barry, you okay, Kid?" Joe asked, studying the younger man.
"Can't – " Barry started, wrapping a hand around his throat, trying to will air into it. "I can't breath," he squeaked out, panicked eyes meeting Joe's.
"Dammit," Joe murmured, pealing out onto the road towards Star. "Felicity, call Caitlin, let her know what's going on." He returned his attention to Barry, who was now leaning forward in his seat, desperately trying to get air through his swollen windpipe. "Just breathe, Barry. Nice, deep breaths." It was obvious that he was trying, but his throat was rapidly closing up.
"Caitlin, Barry can't breathe!" Felicity nearly screamed once the doctor picked up.
"What? Why didn't our labs pick up on the drop in his oxygen levels?" Caitlin asked aloud. Felicity could hear the other scientists mobilizing in the background, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with their technology.
"I think the defibrillator fried the suit," Cisco this time.
"How far out are you?" Dr. Wells asked, his voice calm but still obviously concerned.
"Five to ten minutes. I don't want to put the sirens on and draw attention to us."
"Could Barry run here?" Cisco asked hopefully, thinking back to that last time he had run to the lab in near-respiratory failure. Joe glanced over at Barry, shocked at how quickly his condition had deteriorated. Felicity was attending to him, but he was obviously in distress.
"He's hardly breathing," Felicity spoke up. "I don't think he'd make it back to Star."
The silence from the members of Star Labs was deafening. "Just get here as quickly as you can," Dr. Wells instructed. "And remember, Detective, the speed limit is only a suggestion." Joe pressed his foot down a little harder on the gas pedal.
"Felicity how is he?" Caitlin asked.
"He's turning blue, Cait. It's got to be anaphylaxis from the bees. Have an epi-pen ready when we get there," she paused, "and the crash cart."
"Already on it. I'm going to stay on the line, but you just take care of Barry. Let me know if he gets much worse."
Felicity put the phone down and wedged herself closer to her friend.
"Felic –," Barry tried.
"I'm right here, Barry," Felicity put her hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze.
Barry nodded, clutching at his chest. "Too tight," he said, pawing at his suit.
"Oh, right! I should have thought of that. Here, let me help." Felicity cut a slit in the top of the suit with her Swiss Army knife, tearing a larger opening with her hands. "Cisco's going to be mad we ruined his suit again," Felicity remarked. She was rewarded with a soft chuckle from her friend.
Loosening the suit seemed to help for a millisecond, but Barry was soon back to gasping for breath, lips turning an even deeper shade of blue. "Joe, hurry," Felicity whispered. "I don't know how much longer he can last."
"Almost there," Joe responded, zooming in and out of traffic, taking his eyes off the road for just a moment to see how Barry was doing. "Can't do anything easy, can you Bar?" he asked lightly, returning his attention to the road and pressing down even harder on the gas pedal.
Back at Star, the lab was all action. Caitlin and Cisco moved around the room effortlessly, gathering anything they might need to save the superhero. "You may need to trache him, Caitlin," Dr. Wells spoke up. She made eye contact with him, both acknowledging that would not be an ideal situation, especially since they had no way of sedating Barry.
"I got the kit," she responded. "Ray, can you grab the stretcher? We'll meet them in the parking lot." The four headed to the ramp, Caitlin and Cisco racing ahead while Ray hung back with Dr. Wells.
"He'll be okay, right?" Ray asked, needing reassurance.
"He has to be," Wells responded brusquely. Something about his tone of voice made Ray hesitate for a second. It almost sounded like Wells was angry. "He's too important to the city," Wells added after a beat, seemingly recognizing Ray's pause.
Ray nodded, "Right." They finished the rest of their descent in silence, but Ray occasionally glanced at Wells, noting the sweat that tracked its way down the normally calm scientist's face.
"There's Joe's car!" Caitlin shouted as the silver truck pulled in, screeching to a stop in front of the group.
"He's not breathing!" Joe shouted, rounding the car and deftly pulling a limp Barry into his arms. Felicity climbed out after them, obviously upset.
"How long?" Caitlin asked as Joe placed Barry on the stretcher. She injected the epi-pen into his thigh and then quickly started an IV to deliver more meds.
"Maybe a minute," Felicity answered, as Caitlin checked for a pulse.
"Pulse is weak and he's still not breathing. Cisco, bring me the intubation kit."
"C'mon, Bar," Joe said, watching while Caitlin tried to save their friend's life.
"Dammit," Caitlin muttered to herself. "His throat is too swollen, I can't intubate." She looked up at doctor Wells.
"Trache him, Caitlin. He's unconscious, he won't feel it."
Caitlin hesitated for a second, not wanting to cut into one of her best friend's neck. But she could feel time running out with every second Barry wasn't breathing. "Cisco, scalpel."
Ray put his arms around Felicity as she watched on, nervously biting her lip.
Caitlin worked quickly, cutting a small slit in Barry's neck and inserting the tube into his trachea. She hooked up the ambu bag to the tube and began pumping.
"Here, let me do that Caitlin," Joe told her, taking the bag. Caitlin nodded, letting the detective take over. She ripped the front of Barry's suit open the rest of the way, taking the leads from the heart rate monitor Cisco was holding and placing them on Barry's chest.
"How are his vitals?" Dr. Wells asked, driving his wheelchair close to the stretcher.
"Oxygen levels are improving," Caitlin noted, "and so is his heart rate. Detective, stop pumping for a second. I want to see if he's able to breathe on his own."
Joe stopped squeezing the bag, watching the monitors closely to see if Barry's condition suddenly worsened. When the oxygen levels stayed steady, everyone in the group let out a collective sigh.
"That's good," Wells said. "He'll wake up soon. Let's get him back to the lab."
"He's coming-to!" Felicity announced. She had taken up residence next to Barry's stretcher and had been watching the steady rise-and-fall of his chest for what felt like hours, even though in reality only a little time had passed. Caitlin had finally stepped away for a few minutes after monitoring Barry for the better part of the last hour, but she was quickly at his side following Felicity's announcement. Barry's throat was still swollen so Caitlin had kept the tube in his trachea to maintain his breathing.
Barry struggled to open his eyes, reaching up to his throat when he felt the sharp stab of pain. "You don't want to do that," Caitlin scolded lightly, taking Barry's hand. He squinted as Caitlin and Felicity came into view. "I had to cut a slit in your throat so you could breathe."
He opened his mouth to speak, but Caitlin stopped him again. "You can whisper, but don't try to talk yet." Barry squeezed his eyes tightly, nodding in understanding.
"Happened?" He whispered, keeping the sentence short.
"You went into anaphylactic shock. You had stopped breathing by the time Joe and Felicity got you back here." All of the memories came flooding back to Barry. The fear of not being able to breathe compounded by the fact that the only people who could save his life were working with the man who had killed his mother. He panicked a little, could feel his chest tightening up as he struggled to breathe. The monitors on his chest began to speed up, sounding an alarm that sent the others in the lab rushing over.
"Barry, you're okay now," Felicity reassured him, squeezing his hand tightly. She could see the panic in his face. "Barry, listen to me," she tried again. "You can breathe. Just calm down and take slow, deep breaths like me." She put his hand on her chest, trying to get him to match her breaths.
Barry opened his eyes and latched onto Felicity's, trying to follow her directions. After a few panicked seconds, he felt like he could breathe again.
Once he was no longer struggling for breath, Barry's eyes dropped down to his hand, which Felicity still held clasped against her chest. "Oh!" she exclaimed when she realized what he was looking at, her cheeks reddening. "Sorry! Here, take your hand back." Barry couldn't help but grin at Felicity's awkwardness.
"Glad you're back, man!" Cisco said, coming up next to Caitlin. Barry nodded in agreement, feeling more like himself. His throat still hurt like hell but at least he wasn't struggling to breathe anymore. He looked around the lab, searching for Joe.
"He had to go back to the station," Caitlin informed Barry when she saw him looking around for the detective. "He said he'd be back as soon as he could get off."
Barry nodded. "Thank you," he whispered, looking at Caitlin and Cisco. "Really."
Caitlin smiled. "You're welcome, Barry. We're just so happy you're okay." Barry could see in her eyes that she meant it. Whatever Joe thought, there was no way Cisco and Caitlin could be in on Wells' plot. He made up his mind that he would tell them and soon.
"Yes, Mr. Allen, it's good to have you back." Barry felt a chill run down his spine at the icy, calm voice of Dr. Wells. He looked over at the older man and feigned a smile, feeling his heartbeat speed up.
Caitlin seemed to notice, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Get some rest, Barry. Next time you wake up, you'll be back to normal and we can finish off this meta-human."
Barry followed her command, willing himself to fall asleep. Back to normal, he thought wryly. After Cisco and Caitlin found out what he knew, things would never be back to normal; and that scared him more than any meta-human ever could.
The end! Please review, it would make my day.