December 26, 2018

Caitlin had her eyebrow raised when she answered a call all the way from England. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hello, is this Caitlin Snow?" a familiar British voice said over the line.

Caitlin gulped. Was it...no, it couldn't be. He would never call after all these years. Beside, the number was completely different.

"Yes, this is," she replied curtly, trying to mask her excitement. "Who is this?"

She heard a sigh of relief. "Caitlin, it's me! Julian!"

The brunette blinked. "Ju - Julian?"

"I'm so glad to hear your voice again," he said happily. "How are you?"

"I've been just the same," replied Caitlin. "But what about you? How's England?"

Julian sighed. "Terrifyingly mundane," he responded. "But then again, after the adventures we've had, I do believe nothing will ever be very exciting ever again."

"Try doing it for several years, you'll start chalking it up to Tuesdays," laughed Caitlin.

Julian laughed along with her. "I'm a professor at a university," added the Brit. "On meta-human biology and Humanities."

Caitlin raised her eyebrows. "Biology?"

"Your field, I know," agreed Julian. "But someone has got to explain meta-humans to these stuck up geniuses over here."

"Opinion hasn't changed?"

"Well, there are a few nice people here," admitted the blonde. "Heather, my student, is rather nice. A bit quiet, but very studious and gentle."

Caitlin hesitated, then asked, "How are things with your parents?"

Julian let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh. Well, after I got to England, of course they demanded that I meet them. So I returned to our mansion, and the whole day I was there, they berated me about how they had warned me it would be a terrible idea to go to the U.S. Several months later, I'm teaching at a prestigous university, I've got my own flat, and they still call me on the phone to remind me about how I was such a failure in the U.S."

Caitlin chewed on her lip. "And was it?"

"No!" Julian exclaimed immediately. "Of course it wasn't! I met the team, I helped save Central City, and..."

There was silence.

"Julian?" Caitlin said.

"I met you," finished Julian. "And you made me a better man, Cait. You made me a better friend, you made me a better co-worker... everything I am now, I am because of you. You have taught me to not give up, no matter how much times life pushed you down. You've taught me that you can get through the darkness inside, with love and friendship. You've taught me so much. You...reminded me how to love."

Caitlin's brown eyes flicked to the floor. She adjusted her grip on her phone. "Thank you, Julian," the doctor said quietly.

Julian cleared his throat. "Thank you, Cait. I need to go."

"Bye, then."

"Talk to you later."

The other line lapsed back into dial tone, and Caitlin knew Julian had ended the call. She smiled as she entered the number in her contacts.

In England, Julian sighed as he glanced at a ticket.