Hey...how ya' doing? So, this story is half inspired and half dedicated to TeddyBear98. Thanks to her, I've really gotten into the Singh/Barry finding out Barry's secret and stuff. So thanks, haha. This story takes a bit of an unexpected turn, so I hope that you'll like it. Plus, I had this in my poll and even though nobody voted for it, I still wanted to do it, lol. XP
And for all of you have been patiently waiting for the next update of Seventy Two Hour Insomnia...I'm afraid that you're going to have to be patient even longer. :( I promise that I'm not giving it up! It's just that life is crazy hectic right now. Between school, up-cycling and countless other things, I don't really have the time. Now I've had these three stories written up for a while, but I haven't had the time to put them up. Crazy hectic.
So yeah, I hope you understand and please enjoy this crazy story and leave a review! :)
Disclaimer: I seriously own no part of this, Okay? ;D
The day had started out fairly regular, actually.
So Barry was confused as to how it had turned into this.
He had shown up twenty minutes late; again. But this time he had a good reason for it, but not a good one to tell Captain Singh. There had been a hold-up at a small bank on the edge of town, so he had decided to quick check that out, before going into to work.
Which figures, because he actually would have been early.
Things had gotten a little complicated, because one of the robbers, had taken an employee hostage before the Flash could get to them, and was being held at gunpoint. Everything turned out all right, but it reminded Barry that sometimes, even though he does have super speed, he's still not fast enough.
After a few stern, but not uncommon, words from Singh that he did indeed deserve, he had headed to his office. But after a while of working on paperwork, he overheard a conversation between Joe and Captain Singh in Singh's office.
He could only catch a few words, something like; "He stopped another one this morning. That Flash is going to put us all out of business." Singh was saying, and Barry stifled a chuckle with his hand, knowing how flustered Joe had to be at this current moment. Joe's stuttered response nearly made Barry laugh out loud.
"Y-yeah, I know. Dang, kid." He said to put on a 'show' for Singh and Barry wanted to face palm, but as his other coworker walked by, he simply acted like he was busy with his paperwork.
"Kid? How do you know he's a kid?" Singh asked. Yeah, Joe, how do you know that? Barry waited with a bit lip from both slight worry and humor. Poor Joe.
"Uh, I just meant that he looks like a kid. He could be an adult for all I know. Heck, he could be anyone. He could even be a girl. I mean, you know. We just don't know." He explained and Barry shook his head in amusement.
Way to save it, Joe.
At least, he didn't say that it could be somebody working in the CCPD. He wasn't able to hear anymore of the conversation, because one of his coworkers walked in and asked him about a case.
For the next five minutes, he discussed the case with the detective, when suddenly a blaring alarm sounded off throughout the entire building, and Barry resisted the urge to cover his ears, instead settling on frowning and looking at his coworker.
"What's going on!?" He asked over the alarm, and the guy shook his head with a shrug, almost as if he was nonchalant about the whole matter, but pulled out his gun anyway. Barry didn't have a gun himself since he never did carry one, but he wasn't exactly worried about it, considering he has his speed.
They slowly made their way out of the room, meeting up with some others along the way, and Barry nearly sighed in aggravation, because he could have ran throughout the entire building by now. Suddenly, the lights flickered and after a few moments, they all shut off entirely for about thirty seconds.
Barry frowned.
This was definitely not an accidental situation.
He scanned his surroundings, using the trick he had learned from Oliver, and frowned when he spotted nothing. He headed down the stairs along with everyone else, and everybody was soon gathered into the main room.
Barry furrowed his brows, knowing that it wasn't exactly the greatest that they were all in one spot at the same time. Joe and Singh were the last ones to enter the room.
"What's going on?" Singh asked and Barry shrugged lightly, just as confused, but yet he had a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Suddenly his cell phone rang, which he could just barely hear over all of the commotion and still blaring alarms.
He pulled it out of his back pocket, and saw that it was Cisco. He glanced around, to make sure no one was watching, and walked away from the small group. He put the phone up to his ear.
"Hello?" He asked, trying to be quiet enough so that no one heard him, but loud enough for Cisco to hear.
"Dude, we've got a problem. Are you at the CCPD, yet?" Barry nodded at Cisco's question, even though he knew that the latter couldn't see him.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am. So, what's going on?" He asked and heard a frustrated sigh on the other end.
"Shoot. Man, I don't know. But we're trying to-" A cackling laughter cut Cisco off and caused Barry's head to jerk up towards the source of the sound. That sickening feeling proved to be correct once he spotted the person who made the sound.
There, right at the entrance of the building, stood one of the most despised man of Barry's entire life; the Trickster. "Barry? What's going on right now?" Cisco was asking and Barry sighed.
"The one and only Trickster has decided to pay us a visit." Barry declared and heard Cisco curse lightly from the other side and tell Caitlin what was happening.
"Well, well, well police of Central City! How nice of you all to show up here in this lovely, big room." Trickster was saying.
"Okay. Okay, we're going to do our best, but make sure that you-" Cisco's voice abruptly stopped and Barry's head jerked to see that his phone had shut off completely. That same, annoying cackle was heard and he looked up to see Trickster looking right at him. Barry's jaw clenched in anger.
"Uh, uh, uh. No cell phones!" Trickster said with a wag of his finger. If the man only knew who exactly he was up against. Barry glanced over and noticed Joe looking at him; eyebrows raised in curiosity. Barry discreetly shook his head very slowly. Joe sighed and turned his attention back onto the Trickster.
"What do you want with us, Trickster?" Singh asked and the psycho chuckled with a malicious smile.
"Well, Captain, wouldn't it just be the most ideal idea, to lock you all up in your own little personal prison? Much like you did to me? Oh, how joyful it's going to be robbing the town of Central City without any police officers there to stop me." He sighed wistfully.
"There's still men on duty that are outside of this building right now." Joe declared and the Trickster merely laughed maniacally.
"Yes, but if they get in the way," He paused, holding up a regular gun and looking at it admirably. "I'll take good care of them with this." He finally said.
"The Flash is still out there!" One person exclaimed and Barry swallowed nervously. No, the Flash wasn't. The Trickster smiled again; is that all he ever did? And then shook his head.
"I have a special surprise designed just for him," He said and Barry frowned; not really wanting to know what exactly it was that he had planned for him, after his last few encounters with the madman.
"You won't get away with this, you know." Singh said from next to Joe, and James sighed in irritation.
"Ugh, you are really getting on my nerves." He said, and faster than the human eye could comprehend, but not too fast for the Flash to see, the Trickster suddenly fired a bullet at Singh; heading straight towards his chest.
Too fast for anyone to see, Barry contemplated his options for a split second, before going with his instinct and super-speeding over to Singh and shoving him out of the way. Barry felt a white hot pain rip through his flesh as they both collided with the ground in a painful thud.
Suddenly, everybody's attention was on the two fallen men, and Barry felt a burning sensation in his left shoulder, before he felt a wet and slick substance making his jacket and shirt stick to his skin. His vision turned black for a moment as his left hand came up to clutch his shoulder.
He hissed in pain as his vision pulsated between black and clear. "Oops," The Trickster said with a hysterical laugh. "I guess I missed." Barry noticed several people suddenly start hovering over him and he put out a hand wildly as he struggled to try and sit up.
"I'm fine. I'm fine," He ground out, and weakly felt himself being shoved back to the ground by gentle hands.
"Son! Are you okay!?" Joe exclaimed and Barry nodded weakly, arching his neck as he shoved his head back and screwed his eyes shut; panting heavily over the blinding pain in his shoulder spreading throughout his entire being.
"Yeah. Yeah. Not gonna' lie; that one hurt." He stated, taking sharp breaths. He opened his eyes slightly, fighting past the pain to sit up, struggling against Joe's protests and his body's own protests. "Is-" He inhaled sharply.
"Is Singh okay?" He asked, feeling his body weakening as he fell back onto his back in an even more painful thud as his shoulder was jarred. His knees came up as he continued to cradle his left arm to his chest and clutch it with his other hand; feeling a tingling sensation spread throughout his fingers.
"I'm fine, Barry," He heard Singh's familiar voice say from beside him. He glanced over to his side through blurred vision and saw Singh. "How did you get over here so fast?" Singh asked, obviously still shocked over what had just happened.
"Now is not the time for that, David!" Joe declared, resulting to using Singh's first name in a crisis. Everyone's attention had been turned towards the wounded man on the floor, quietly hissing in pain, and of course, the Trickster would have none of that.
"I guess this is goodbye for now! You aren't going anywhere for a long time," He declared as he pressed a button, and as everyone looked up, suddenly a blue colored force field faded in around them in a large dome.
And with just barely coherent thoughts over the pain, Barry realized that the Trickster was right; they wouldn't be going anywhere.
And that meant that James could cause as much mayhem as he pleased. James disappeared through the doorway, and Barry noticed that everyone turned their attention back on him, and he numbly felt Joe's hands on his arm.
"Barry, son, can you hear me?" He asked, the worry evident in his voice.
"Yeah." He answered. "Look, I-I'm fine, Joe. But we need to-we need to go after him," He said as he tried to get up, trying to push himself off of the ground, only to collapse back down once part of his weight rested on his left arm. He cursed under his breath at the intensity of the pain from landing on his shoulder. But that still didn't stop him from trying again.
"No, no, no, no. You are not going anywhere." Joe stated and Barry winced.
"But he'll...he'll get away. Hurt people." He ground out and Joe sighed.
"Right now, we need to get you patched up before you bleed out. And then we'll worry about getting out and stopping him." Joe said. "Does anybody have a scissors or something so that I can cut his shirt off so I have access to the wound?" Joe asked, the urgency in his voice obvious even to Barry. What was the big deal? Barry had been shot before. More times than he can probably remember. But did Joe know that?
"I have one along with a first-aid kit over there on my desk. I'll go get it," The same officer that Barry was talking to merely minutes ago said before quickly getting to his feet and hurrying over to his desk. Barry couldn't help himself, but he continuously found his gaze wandering over to the doorway that the Trickster had gone out of, as he waited.
"It'll be fine, Barr." Joe said soothingly, to ease his worries, but Barry looked up at him; dread filling his features.
"But who's going to stop him?" He questioned, voice quiet and raspy. Joe swallowed nervously, avoiding Barry's gaze. Before either of them could say anything more, the detective returned with the first-aid kit.
Joe immediately grabbed the scissors and started cutting away Barry's shirt and jacket. Once he finished, Barry couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable, lying on the CCPD floor, slowly bleeding out, shirtless and surrounded by almost all of his fellow officers and captain.
He would have blushed, but his cheeks were already flushed with color as he tried to control his breathing. What was with that bullet, anyway? Joe inspected the wound, gently looking at the back, and that's when Barry felt Joe's hands still.
"Barry...there's no exit hole." Joe said, and Barry realized with a sickening feeling of what that meant. The bullet was still in him. Barry swallowed hard.
"Get it out." He ground out, and Joe's brows furrowed.
"But, Barr, we don't have the proper tools to-"
"Joe, you need to get it out." Barry interrupted, stressing his words as he grabbed onto Joe's wrist, looking him into his eyes to hopefully prove his point. Realization dawned on Joe's features and he swallowed.
"Okay. Okay, let me see if we have something to perform surgery with." Joe said but Singh cut him off.
"Are you crazy? You can't just perform surgery on him to get that bullet out. Not without anesthetics or the proper tools. You could cause serious nerve damage." He stated and Barry bit his lip as a fresh round of pain flooded through his shoulder.
"I'll be f-fine," He choked out, and ignored Singh's unsure look along with many of his fellow officers.
"Does anybody have some sort of knife?" Joe asked and Singh guffawed.
"You can't actually be serious about this!" He exclaimed, but Joe ignored him as somebody started pulling a knife out of pocket.
"All I've got is a punch blade knife." She explained as she handed it over to Joe.
"It'll do. Thanks," He stated as he took it from her.
"Guys, you need to think about this. No offense, Barry, but you're just a kid, are we sure that he can handle this, Joe?" Barry smiled, even though his shoulder continued to burn in a white haze, at Singh's words. Barry was not just a kid, and boy, if his captain only knew how much he could handle.
"I'm sure, David. He's handled a lot over his life," Joe said quietly, glancing down at Barry's face. "Too much," He muttered under his breath, before going back to grabbing the necessary tools for the surgery. But that didn't stop Barry from hearing it.
Barry tipped his head slightly, and he could see the doorway where the Trickster stood only minutes before, and how the door led to the open world where so much damage could be done in merely seconds because of James Jesse.
He suddenly felt the all too familiar buzz from his right pants pocket; the small phone that Cisco had created for Barry, so that in emergencies, what any regular phone couldn't handle, this one could. He internally groaned.
How could he have forgotten about that?
It was also used for them to contact him for any serious situations. He once again, began to feel the vibration from the other tech he had in his pocket; another specially designed gadget that Cisco had made that would show them back at the lab of Barry's vitals in case he wasn't wearing his suit.
Something that had saved him many of times.
He debated his options, before painfully reaching into his right pocket and pulling out his phone.
"Joe..." He swallowed hard past the pain. "You need to answer this," He said, the urgency in his voice not missed by his adoptive father. Joe's jaw clenched as he looked at the phone and then the wound on Barry's left shoulder. Joe nodded tersely before grabbing the phone and standing up; walking away from the group. But not before saying a few words.
"David, I'm going to need you to start on that surgery." And with that he was gone, out of hearing range. David's mouth hung open slightly, confused as to why a phone call was more important than his own son at the moment.
But he still complied. He took the knife, and with calm and cool hands, he knelt next to Barry.
"Ready, Allen?" He asked quietly, the tone of his voice softer than the expression on his face. Barry nodded with a swallow as he tried to hold himself still.
"Yeah, yeah, do it." He ground out, splaying his left hand out on the ground beside him, and clenching his right hand; ignoring the pain of doing so. He kept his eyes open, and saw Singh lowering the knife with professional hands. He felt the cold steel press against his hands, and swallowed; trying not to flinch.
He's had this before, countless times, at least more times than he could remember.
And each and every time was without anesthetics. He would be fine. He needed to hold it together. He felt the first cut and resisted another urge to flinch, and instead settled for a wince.
Even more blood began to gush out as he worked deeper for the bullet. The pain spread to his skull and he screwed his eyes shut suddenly as the pain jarred through his shoulder. He bit his lip as Singh continued to slice, and more blood poured out. He didn't remember it being so dang painful. He tensed as Singh a particularly sharp area, and hissed slightly.
"Sorry, Barry," He said quietly, hands hesitating from finishing. He nodded harshly, clenching his jaw, and ignoring the sweat that began to trickle down the side of his face. He slowly untensed his arm.
"Just finish it," He ground out again, opening his eyes into slits to see Joe coming back with a relieved expression that changed as soon as he saw Barry's pale face. Barry looked up at him expectantly and he nodded with a sigh of relief.
"They've nearly got it," He stated and everyone around Barry frowned; but he was at least grateful that their attention was swayed away from him for at least the present moment.
"Who's nearly got what?" Somebody asked, and Barry spoke up for Joe, even though it brought everybody's unwanted attention back on him.
"I have some friends, back at Star Labs, who are working on getting this force field down." He said through gritted teeth and everyone nodded. Because of course, it would make sense that Barry Allen would have friends at Star Labs ever since the 'incident'. He was just glad that nobody questioned as to how his phone was able to work right now. Joe moved next to Barry and crouched down. He gently placed a hand on his right shoulder.
"You doing okay, son?" Joe asked, and Barry nodded slowly with a swallow.
"Never been better." He declared, but the wince that appeared on his face and the hiss that escaped past his lips was proof enough that he was lying. Not to mention all of the blood that covered his entire side, and floor.
"Just hang in there, Barr." He quietly encouraged and Barry nodded, a short cry of pain escaping past his lips rapidly as his back arched slightly at the pain and he shut his eyes shut tightly.
A mind-numbing pain raced straight from his shoulder and up to his head, causing him to miss out on the argument between Singh and his adoptive-father. He rolled his head to the side, sucking in a cold breath of air.
It was way too hot in this room. He felt a hand run through his hair, soothingly, and opened his eyes to see Joe hovering over him. "It's okay, you're okay," He comforted, but Barry found it hard to find much solace in his words.
"I-Iris," He choked out and Joe nodded as Barry looked at him through half lidded, dazed eyes.
"I'm sure she's heard about what's happened. And with any luck, we'll be out of here in minutes." Joe stated and Barry nodded, suddenly feeling the overwhelming sensation of numbness, yet pain still covering his entire body, and exhaustion.
He didn't remember being like this with the last time he had gotten shot, but knowing the Trickster, he probably had done something to the bullet.
The pain suddenly came back, exploding throughout his entire body, and he knew for sure that there was something trippy about that bullet. His breath was nearly to the hyperventilating stage, and Joe gently rubbed his shoulder. "Hey, hey, Barry. What's happening?" He asked, trying and failing to hide the worry in his voice.
"Dunno'." He said lamely. "Feel numb," He stated with a thick tongue and Joe's hand immediately froze. Barry's fog muddled mind tried to think of the reason as to why Joe had reacted the way he did. He continued to pant breathlessly, the heat and pain becoming overwhelming.
"Singh, you need to get that bullet right now." Joe declared, sparing a quick glance at Barry as his eyes became even more glazed over.
"I'm trying my best, but it's deep, Joe." Singh said.
"It needs to come out now." Joe growled out. "We both know how the Trickster works. That bullet...it's got to be poisoned." Joe hesitantly stated, and Singh looked up at him.
"You don't think..." Singh started saying, but Joe cut him off, because, no, he was not going to think like that. It was not too late. Barry could still fight off the poison with his enhanced metabolism. They just needed it out.
"No, I don't. Are you going to do it, or am I going to have to?" Joe questioned impatiently and Singh immediately turned his attention back towards Barry. His hands stopped abruptly.
"What the hell? It's starting to close up!" He exclaimed and that sick feeling in Joe's stomach came back full force.
"Shit," He declared under his breath. "Just get it out! I don't care what you have to do, just do it!" He nearly yelled and Singh swallowed before immediately starting to slice the skin back open. Joe didn't even care that he had just nearly yelled at his boss.
Joe placed a hand on Barry's right shoulder and his left arm, trying to hold him down as he jerked underneath his grip and the pain. His back arched slightly, but Joe heard the joyous sound of a metal 'ping'.
Singh almost got it.
But that joy dissipated abruptly when he heard a choking sound and he immediately looked down at Barry and saw him shaking as he struggled to breathe. His right arm came up and his left hand grabbed at his own throat.
"J-Joe, I-I can't b-breathe. I-" His hoarse voice cut off as he coughed and grabbed at his throat even more. Joe's head jerked up.
"Singh?" He questioned and he nodded as he reached in even deeper for the bullet.
"I've almost got it," He stated and Joe felt his heart lurch in both joy and terror as Barry struggled to breathe. About ten seconds later, Singh spoke up. "I've got it!" He declared as he pulled out a shiny bullet. A collective sigh of relief flooded throughout the group, excluding Joe as he watched his adoptive son.
Singh immediately set the bullet down, as to not get any poison on his fingers. The relief in the room disappeared as fast as it came, once they returned their attention towards Barry. The horrible choking sound becoming worse and worse.
What the heck was anybody supposed to do?
Nobody knew, and that was the problem. Joe sighed inwardly; how did Barry always get himself in situations like this?
Suddenly the doors to the building opened, and Joe protectively moved in front of Barry, ready to defend his son of any danger, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Cisco and Caitlin running in.
They immediately both saw and heard Barry, each exchanging a horror filled look before jumping back into action.
Joe didn't quite understand exactly what they were saying, but he'd known them and been around them long enough to know that whatever the heck it was, it meant that they would be able to save his son.
Within a matter of seconds, Cisco had the force field down as Caitlin came running in as fast as she could and knelt down next to Barry. Cisco soon followed and instead turned his attention towards Joe.
"Is anybody else hurt?" He asked and Joe shook his head.
"No. No, Barry is the only one. He was shot with a bullet from the Trickster in his left shoulder. We think that it was poisoned." Joe stated and Cisco nodded.
"Cisco, go get the gurney! Now!" She yelled and Cisco immediately complied. Joe watched as Barry continued to check Barry, and try to calm him down. None of her efforts worked, however.
"Barry, come on," She encouraged, before bending down and whispering something into his ear, something that only Joe was able to hear since he was next to him.
"You've had this before, and you were okay, just breathe, Barry. Just focus on breathing." She said and he shook his head as he grabbed at his throat once more, as if to say; 'it's different'. She grabbed something from her purse, and Joe noticed that it was a pen light, before gently shining it down Barry's throat.
"His throat's almost completely closed up," She suddenly said in only slight shock as Cisco returned with the stretcher. Several police officers suddenly jumped in and helped Cisco and Caitlin lift Barry up onto the stretcher.
Joe simply held onto Barry's hand as it practically squeezed so hard Joe thought that his own hand might break.
He coughed and Joe could see his chest struggling to rise, as it did so in uneven and jerky lifts. Suddenly, and abruptly, that horrible choking sound stopped. It just stopped, and all too soon, Barry's chest wasn't rising at all as his hand slowly went limp in Joe's grip.
Horror and panic filled Joe as he watched Barry's hand lie limply off the side of the table. Cisco and Caitlin were rolling him away from Joe as they exchanged worry laced words; saying something about; "not breathing," "performing tracheotomy".
Joe's heart skipped a beat as they wheeled Barry into the back of their van, and closed the doors; not wanting Joe to come along to see what was about to happen. He nearly wanted to follow them and object, but decided against it as he suddenly saw Iris running up to them; fear filing her eyes. He ignored all of his coworkers questions, and instead met Iris halfway.
"Dad! Was that-Barry-oh my God, Dad, that was him! That was-that was him!" She exclaimed as her hands went up to her mouth in horror and tears filled her eyes.
"Hey, hey, it's gonna' be all right," He said, trying to turn her attention away from the moving van and onto him. He gently grabbed her arms and she looked up at him, on the verge of crying. "It's okay, he's going to be okay." He declared and a sob tore through her lips as she hugged him.
"I can't lose him again, I just c-can't." She choked out as she cried into his shirt and he rubbed her back soothingly.,
"He'll be okay, Iris. I know he will," He stated comfortingly, but as he stared at the retreating van, part of him wondered.
What if he isn't?
The first thing Barry was aware of, was a throbbing pain in his throat and his shoulder. It was just a dull haze that had settled above him, and he felt as if he was underwater.
It was so painful to just breathe.
He struggled to break through the surface of that black water that was hovering above him in a thick cloud, and immediately the pain came in a crashing wave; ten times worse than before.
He heard distorted voices surrounding him, but through his fog-riddled mind, he realized that there voices were clear, and his mind was not. He was, at least, able to pick up some of the words they were saying; hoping to figure out where he was and why exactly he was there.
"He shouldn't be out this long." A worry filled, low voice declared and he heard a sigh from another person.
"Relax, Joe, this is perfectly normal. You don't get poisoned by getting shot, and then have a tracheotomy performed and come out of it just like that." A feminine voice stated.
"Yeah, but he's Barry. The Flash." Joe's gruff voice said again.
"Listen; don't worry. I'm watching him constantly; if anything detrimental to his health occurs, then you can start worrying. But I still wouldn't, because I will do everything possible to fix him. Okay?" Caitlin, as he had figured out, said.
"Yeah, and she's really good at doing that. She's definitely had enough practice," A more jovial voice than the others claimed. And Barry instantly knew that it was Cisco, and inwardly smiled to himself because he could just picture the intense glare he was receiving from both ends.
He slowly was able to flutter his eyes open, and winced at the sharp light. His head felt like it was spinning as he blinked to clear the blurry figures in front of him. They seemed to be almost floating.
He found that he could not move, whether or not it was physical or something was actually holding him down, but he wanted to get their attention somehow. And it wasn't exactly like he could speak. But he tried anyway.
"Hey," He said quietly and hoarsely, wincing at the sharp pain in his throat. His attempt at speaking enough to gain their attention.
"Barry! You're awake!" Caitlin exclaimed as she immediately went to his side along with Joe. Yeah, he knew that part, he amusedly thought.
"How do you feel?" Joe asked in concern, but before Barry could answer, Caitlin cut him off.
"Don't answer that." She commanded, and he was partially grateful he didn't have to, because that pain in his throat was agony. She grabbed a pen and pencil, and handed it to him. He sluggishly took it from her.
"Here, you can used this, just do not speak." She said and he tried his first attempt at writing out his question; failing at it miserably since it was at an angle and his hand was shaking so much. When he was done Caitlin took it, and he was glad that she was able to read it.
"'What happened?'" She read his question aloud for everyone. She placed the notepad back down.
"You were at the CCPD, remember? The Trickster showed up and had us all on basically lock down. You took a bullet for Singh." Joe said, and Cisco immediately jumped in to his part.
"Yeah, dude, and the bullet was poisoned!"
"Not to mention the fact that you had to have a tracheotomy." Caitlin finished and he nodded once, slowly. That explains the pain in his throat. He had a tube in it. "The tube is just a precaution. We nearly lost you, Barry." She said and he frowned. He was able to remember bits and pieces of it, but he didn't remember nearly dying at all. He wrote a question on the notepad again, and Joe took it this time.
"'Is everybody okay?'" Joe read aloud his question this time, before sighing and placing it back down; causing Barry's heart to race in anticipation.
"Everybody is fine, Barr. It's you that we're all worried about. You were out for about two days; Iris was here, but she had to leave to go back to work. Singh was more understanding and let me stay off duty for a couple of days; he even visited you while you were unconscious. As did some other of your coworkers."
Joe said and Barry was shocked by that tidbit of information about his boss and coworkers. He didn't know that his boss would be that concerned. Maybe he felt guilty.
"And the Trickster was apprehended by Team Arrow." Cisco added in for Barry, who smiled gratefully and in relief. He wrote another question down.
"'So, everything's good?'" Caitlin read aloud with a sigh when she was done. She gently placed the notepad back down on his chest. "You, sir, are too selfless sometimes." She said quietly, before re-adjusting his IV; a nervous habit he noticed that she did.
He frowned, confused as to what she had meant by that. But by the almost somber look on everybody's face, he realized that he was the only confused one in the room.
"Barry, you flat lined because you couldn't breathe." Cisco said slowly and Barry shrugged lightly; still not seeing the seriousness of the situation.
"It's happened before," He stated, voice hoarse and raspy. Caitlin sent him a glare, and Barry wasn't sure if it was because of his response, or for the fact that he had spoken.
"Barr, that doesn't mean that it's okay that it keeps happening. Some of us are actually worried for you. You should have seen Iris; she has been so upset this whole time. And the CCPD was just like when you were in a coma; everything was just so quiet and depressed. No one was sure if you were going to make it until today. And we were still worried." Joe said and Barry made a face and shrugged as if to ask; 'why?'.
"Because people were actually there to see it and experience it. They saw you flat line and helped you as you were basically dying from that bullet. Things were bad, Barry. And everyone was there to experience it. We've seen it before; them even more than me," Joe said as he gestured towards Caitlin and Cisco who both nodded.
"But these were your coworkers who don't even know that you're the Flash. Heck, even Iris doesn't. So they were even more worried about you. Barry, you've just got to realize that you, too, are important." Joe exclaimed, exasperation seeping into his voice. But Barry still didn't understand.
"Singh would have died." He stated simply, voice still raw. Joe sighed.
"We just can't change your mind." Joe said with a slight shake of his head.
"It's what makes him a hero," Caitlin said fondly with a sad smile directed towards him. Barry was still confused as heck.
"Yeah," Cisco said quietly. "It's like my favorite heroes on TV; except better because I know this one personally." Cisco added with a bright smile.
"What are you guys talking about? I'm not a hero." Barry added in, ignoring the glare from Caitlin and the sharp pain in his throat. Everyone sighed and Joe shook his head.
"Get some rest, Barry." Caitlin said with a sigh, before heading back to the other room with Cisco. Joe sat down beside Barry in the chair, and he was suddenly reminded of his childhood, and how almost every time he had a nightmare, Joe would be there for him.
He'd sit beside him, until he fell asleep; there was just something about his presence that seemed to calm down all of his inner demons as a child.
All of the monsters that Barry feared.
And now, Barry found it amusing to realize that those monsters had become a reality for him. And now, instead of the bed he had grown up, it was a bed in a hospital/ lab.
Now made a hospital because of him.
But there was still a couple of things that still hadn't changed through it all, even though he faced death everyday of his life, one of them being; Joe's comforting presence was always there to make him feel better.
And as he drifted off into a blissfully painless sleep, the last words he heard made a small smile form on his lips, not because he believed them, but because it meant that his adoptive-father actually did.
"You really are a hero, Barry."
After one week, Barry was allowed to leave Star Labs, as they had wanted to make sure that there weren't any side effects of the poison, but he still wasn't able to go back to work for another month just so he didn't raise any suspicions.
Iris was definitely being over-protective of him; making sure he didn't overwork himself or strain himself too much.
If she only knew what he did during the times he went for a 'checkup' at Star Labs. He was either training or out 'saving the day' as Cisco called it. She always tried to go with him, but he insisted that she didn't have to, and when that didn't work, he said that she could only go with him every couple of times.
So then Caitlin and Cisco would 'set up' an 'appointment' for him. So after a whole month of that, not to mention all of the time when he was in Star Labs, bedridden, he could finally get back to work.
Which he was eternally grateful for.
Although, Barry was just a little worried about how everyone would react and treat him. Joe had said that there for a little while before Caitlin and Cisco showed up, Barry was pretty out of it and in a lot of pain; the one part Barry couldn't remember.
So he was a little embarrassed to go back to the CCPD, because he was sure that he had humiliated himself while being shot. Joe didn't tell him that, exactly, but Barry had figured as much from his own distant memory of the whole event.
He felt that he had showed a weakness, and felt overly embarrassed about it. He had expected to almost be made fun of when he entered the CCPD; an exaggeration, but an actual fear of his.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
He walked into the CCPD, trying to act casual, and was nearly to the steps when he heard someone call his name.
"Allen!" A male voice called after him, and he slowly turned around to one of his coworkers walking up to him.
"Hey, Marcus," Barry said with an almost forced smile. He really didn't want to be seen as the weak link again. He didn't want it to be like his entire school life all over again. The guy, who was near Barry's age, maybe a little older with light brown hair, smiled and reached out a hand.
"What you did the other day was something only a hero would do. Nicely done, Allen. We're glad to have you back," He said as he shook Barry's hand before leaving with a smile again. He frowned at the retreating form and slowly headed back up the steps. He was walking past another office when a voice called out to him; this time one of his female coworkers.
"Hey, Barry!" Jenny called out and he stepped into her office for a moment.
"Hey, Jenny," He said with an actual smile; as this one of his more closer friends at the CCPD and he didn't think that she would make fun of him. She remained sitting with a smile.
"Man, Barry, it's nice to see you back. Everybody at the CCPD was so worried. That was really commendable, Barr." She said and he shrugged.
"There was really nothing else to do," He said quietly, uncomfortable with her compliments. He was never big on receiving compliments. She chuckled.
"Barry, there were a hundred and one options for you to choose from, and you chose the right one." She said, and he inwardly chuckled. If she thought that he had that many options, what would she think if she knew he had super speed?
"Okay, Allen, I know that you are uncomfortable. You can go now," She stated in exasperation with an amused eye roll. He chuckled in response and nodded once before leaving. He ran into yet another police officer, this one older than Joe, who patted him on his right shoulder.
"Good going, Allen. We really underestimated ya'." The man stated with a gruff voice before moving on. Barry glanced back with a frown and then lightly shrugged to himself before moving on towards his destination; his lab.
But then another voice called out to him from an office, except this time it was from Singh's office. He walked in, unsure of himself because the only time Singh called Barry into his office was when Barry was in trouble.
"You wanted me, Captain?" He asked, biting his lip from anxiety. Singh looked back up to him.
"Hey, Barry," Singh said, and Barry couldn't stop the frown from spreading onto his face. Singh never called him by his first time. "Relax, I just wanted to talk with you." Singh said, and Barry felt himself feel a little better, but still not completely at rest.
Singh stood up and gestured towards Barry's neck. "I see that the scar is still there," Singh said and Barry frowned slightly as his hand came up to his neck.
"Oh, yeah, the incision scar. I think that it should be fading away soon, though." He said with a small smile. He, himself, was confused as to why it hadn't disappeared yet since he usually didn't gain scars, but Caitlin had told him it was because of the poison. Although, it should be going away soon since he was fully healed and the rest of the poison was out of his system.
"Look, Allen, about the other night-" Singh started saying, and Barry knew exactly where this was going.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I don't know why I acted the way I did after being shot. I mean, Caitlin told me that the poison amplifies pain, but that was still no excuse for my weak behavior. I'm sorry, sir." Barry rambled and Singh frowned and shook his head; holding out a hand to stop Barry.
"No, no. You have no reason to apologize for that, Barry. I wanted to thank you for saving my life." Singh said and Barry's brows furrowed. That was what this was about?
"Oh, well, that was no problem. You don't need to thank me." Barry stated and Singh frowned and shook his head.
"No, that was a huge problem. You saved my life, Barry. You took a bullet for me, not knowing if it would kill you or not. You just did it."
"Yeah, but now we're even." Barry declared and Singh frowned as he crossed his arms. "You saved my life when you took the bullet out for me. So thank you, Captain." Barry explained before thanking him. Singh chuckled.
"Okay, Allen, we'll go with that. We're just glad to have a hero like you back." He said, and Barry was sure that he was blushing. Thankfully, Singh didn't call him out on that, as his eyebrows furrowed and he looked at Barry in confusion; as if debating something.
Just as Barry was going to ask him what he was doing, Singh spoke up. "You know, I still don't how you got over there so fast. I mean, I was clear across the room." Singh said, and Barry couldn't help the smile that spread onto his lips as he shrugged.
"I guess we'll never know."
Was that an okay ending? Because I had another idea for it, where Singh actually did find out, but I almost liked this one better, plus I needed to end the story instead of prolonging it. :P So, let me know if you want more or not (like, if Singh eventually found out) and what you thought with a review! Until next time! :)