"Your hands are shaking."

Hayley glanced down her her trembling hands, then at her best friend, Cisco Ramon, who was grinning his contagious smile at her next to her at the console.

"I'm excited," she said simply, a large smile blooming on her face.

He laughed and ruffled her spiky black pixie-cut. "Girl, me too."

"Nervous as hell too," she added.

"Don't be. You helped design the accelerator; there's no way anything could go wrong," he reassured her.

"Cisco, everything about this is just so huge. We're making history tonight; I'm just worried it'll be the wrong kind."

"Hayley Victoria Poole," Cisco said seriously, putting his hands on her shoulders, "Everything is going to be okay."

Hayley smiled at him, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Was it possible for a human being to be so adorable?

"Okay," she whispered. "If you say so, Francisco Armando Ramon."

"Atta girl," he grinned, turning back to the console as Harrison Wells came up behind them.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."

Everyone in the room instantly straightened and turned to look at the famous scientist. Wells was well-known for his scientific and technical prowess, as well as the founder of S.T.A.R. Labs, and their boss. No one wanted to disappoint him.

"I'd like to thank all of you for all your hard work and dedication to this project," Wells announced. "None of this would be possible without the joint effort of so many." He smiled warmly at the room.

"Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have a speech to make. The price of being a genius," Wells cracked. He glanced across the room. "Dr. Snow, if you'll come along."

Hayley winked at their friend Caitlin Snow as she untangled her fingers from her fiance Ronnie's hand and followed Wells.

"You gonna be okay without your girl, Ronnie?" Cisco teased once Wells and Caitlin were gone. Ronnie Raymond smirked at Cisco.

"At least I have a girl."

Cisco clutched at his chest dramatically. "Ronnie, I'm hurt!" he proclaimed as Hayley laughed.

"Don't worry," she said, punching him in the shoulder lightly. "You'll find someone."

"Awww, see Ronnie? Hayley loves me."

Isn't that the truth, she thought.

"Come on. Let's watch Wells make some stuffy speech," Cisco said turning to face the TV.

Earth-2

"Isn't she lovely,

Life and love are the same

Life is Aisha

The meaning of her name

Londie, it could have not been done

Without you who conceived the one

That's so very lovely made from love."

With the last note, the crowd at Jitterbugs erupted into applause, and the red-haired singer smiled at all of them as she was showered with praise. Handing the microphone to Joseph West, another one of the popular music-makers, she made her way through the admiring group of people, graciously accepting compliments, skillfully weaving a path to a young man who stood by the wall.

"That's my girl," he murmured, taking her hand, pausing to smile at the way the ring on her left hand glittered in the light of the room, his long dark hair falling into his face as he grinned at her.

"That one was for you, baby," she whispered.

"Don't I know it," he replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Well, Hayley-" He twirled a curl of copper around his finger. "-what do you say you and I go home? There's a bottle of wine with your name on it."

"Sounds great," she smiled, kissing him. "Let's go."

Hayley couldn't believe how everything seemed to go to hell with one loud bang.

Something was wrong with the particle accelerator, and now she was frantically searching for answers in the Cortex while Ronnie and Cisco had run down to the accelerator to try and fix it.

Wells had disappeared at some point, maybe to go and make his own calculations, she didn't care. She was too busy taking deep breaths and trying not to panic, despite the churning in her stomach.

They'd warned Wells. They'd warned him about the storm, but he'd insisted on it anyway. She felt a twinge of resentment towards Wells, but it seemed irrational at the moment, and she waved it away.

"Hayley." She looked up at Caitlin, who looked simultaneously terrified and determined.

"Go and try to shut the power down," Caitlin instructed. "I'm going to check on Ronnie and Cisco." Hayley nodded, and rose from her chair.

The two women bolted out of the Cortex and went their separate ways.

Earth-2

"So, here's to a five year anniversary," Hayley said, clinking her wineglass against her husband's.

"Cheers."

She reached over and laced her fingers through his. "I love you," she said quietly.

He smiled, and lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "I love you too."

"When did you realize that?" she wondered aloud, suddenly curious.

"That I loved you?" he asked, and when she nodded, he thought for a moment.

"I think...it was after I'd been coming to the lounge for about six months. That night, you were singing 'Love Song' by Sara Bareilles. You just looked so bright and happy and beautiful." He gave her a sheepish grin. "What about you?"

She sat up a little straighter.

"Well...It might've been the first time I heard you laugh," she answered. "You weren't afraid of letting people know you were happy. And it made me smile."

He leaned forward and kissed her. "Hayley Victoria Ramon," he whispered, "you are my light in the world, you know that?"

Hayley raced down the hallway, the red lights pulsing on the wall making her feel dizzy.

Why did they have the breaker room on the opposite side of the building, as far away from the Cortex as possible?

Finally coming across the room, she ran inside and began looking for the circuit breaker.

Cisco and Ronnie might be some of the most brilliant people she knew, but if they couldn't fix the accelerator, it would be catastrophic.

Her fingers found the handle that would turn off all the power to the building, including the particle accelerator.

The moment she grasped the handle and began to flip it, a sudden orange-yellow light blinded her, and she felt energy surging through her body.

When she was four she had accidentally stuck her fingers in an electrical outlet and had gotten the shocking of her life.

That was nothing compared to the tingling that was coursing through her veins. Her knees buckled, her vision went dark, and she could have sworn she heard someone screaming.

Earth-2

The lights had begun to flicker, causing the both of them to glance at the ceiling irritatedly.

"Not it," they said at the same time, neither of them wanting to move from their positions next to each other.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Francisco suggested.

"Mmph. I'll go." Hayley untangled herself from his arms and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'll thank you fully when you get back," he said, only half-joking.

"Mm. You better," she teased, walking to the utility room.

She started to flip the switch on the circuit breaker when an inexplicable feeling caused a shiver to travel down her spine, and she felt her skin crawl.

A moment later, pain akin to an electric shock surged through her and she cried out, falling to her knees.

"Hayley? Are you-mierda, the hell-!"

She heard a thud from the living room and tried to call out for Francisco, but when she tried to sit up she was shaking too hard, and eventually darkness took her, and she succumbed to blackness.

"Hayley?"

Hayley blinked her eyes open. They felt ridiculously heavy, like two tons of pressure had just been applied.

When her vision came into focus, it was Cisco's brown, bloodshot eyes she saw first.

"Cisco?" she guessed.

"Yeah. It's me. Are you okay?" His voice was thick, and it shook.

"Yeah, I think so…" With his help she managed to sit up, wincing at her massive headache. "What happened?"

"The particle accelerator blew up."

"What? Oh my God, is anyone hurt?"

"We're trying to find Wells. I don't really know about anyone else, but…" He trailed off.

"But what, Cisco?" Hayley asked.

"Ronnie-" His voice cracked. "Ronnie didn't make it."

Hayley felt as though someone had just punched her in the stomach. No, not Ronnie-

"Wh-how-"

"Come on," Cisco said, pulling her to her feet. "There are paramedics outside; they can get a better look at you."

Hayley was still too shocked to grieve, and let herself be led by Cisco.

Neither of them had any idea that a certain forensics scientist had just been struck by lightning, and that very soon, their lives would change forever.

Earth-2

When they had been searching for apartments, they had discussed whether or not to get carpet or hardwood floors.

They'd eventually settled on hardwood floors, something Francisco was regretting now.

He sat up, hissing through his teeth at the pain that shot through his head. Everything felt fuzzy, his head felt like it had been split in two, he tasted blood and was that-yup, his fingers came away red; he had a nosebleed.

Swearing in Spanish, he shoved himself into a standing position, vaguely wondering if Hayley's head hurt as much as his-

Hayley. Where was she? He'd heard her cry out, and had gone to check on her when a shockwave of something made his skin crawl and pain had wracked his head…

He'd passed out.

Damn it.

"Hayley?" he called, stumbling towards the utility room. He tried flicking the light switch, but it wasn't turning on. Still, if he squinted, he could see silhouettes-

Oh God. She lay on the floor in a crumpled heap and she wasn't moving.

"Hayley?" he repeated frantically, dropping to his knees in front of her. His fingers reached for a pulse, and to his relief he found it beating steadily.

She stirred suddenly with a low moan and her eyes fluttered open. "Francisco?" she croaked, struggling to sit up. "What-"

"Hey, hey, don't move," he said softly, slipping his hand into hers.

"My head is killing me," she mumbled.

"Me too, baby." She might need the hospital, after falling on the white tile of the utility room. Hell, he might need the hospital.

"Stay right here, okay?" he said gently. "I'm going to go get the phone."

"Okay," she replied faintly.

He gripped the doorway as he pulled himself up, every muscle in his body screaming at him.

What the hell happened?