Salutations! Welcome! Apologies for the slow posting speed - but I am writing this slowly as I go, then editing, then posting. I am sans Beta so all mistakes are my own. I have also been figuring out how I want to write this. I figure chapter 1 takes place about a year prior to the accelerator exploding. Each chapter will be a different month, I think. This means that Chapter 1 was December 2012, Chapter 2 was January 2013. This chapter takes place in February 2013. I am still open to suggestions and ideas. In fact, I usually read comments before working on the next chapter and let what you the readers say and think swirl in my mind as I write. So, comments and criticism always welcomed (be polite with the criticism - I'll try to be polite and accepting of what you say) and appreciated - seriously, I even appreciate the criticism, just keep in mind I have no Beta but me, myself, and I (sorry, this sentence runs on and on). I think I have strayed from my former beta's original requirements. Oh well. Thanks for understanding! -CT
Chapter 3: Breakup
Breakups can be hard, painful monsters, dragging people down into pits of despair. Caitlin knew this from personal experience. Getting dumped on Valentine's day was not a pain she had survived, but she could tell from his condition that Cisco was feeling about as low as possible. When he had first told her he intended to go out and get drunk, Caitlin had made sure he knew she would be his designated driver. Now, three hours and six bars later, she wished she had thought ahead and found out where he lived. In his highly inebriated state, Cisco was either unable or unwilling to give her his address and he had left his wallet in the lab. She would have taken him back to her apartment, but felt he would do better at his place. Plus, she just had a little efficiency and from what she had gleaned from Cisco, he lived in a proper single bedroom apartment. That meant that Caitlin would be able to crash on the couch and Cisco in the bedroom. If they went back to her place, the couch and bed were one and the same. It was what she had been able to afford when she had first moved to the city and she just hadn't bothered to find anything bigger. Now, with the intoxicated engineer belting breakup songs in her car, she wished she had.
"Cisco," she began as she parked her car in her space at work. "I'm going to run inside and get your wallet so I can figure out where you live. Okay?"
"Valentine's day. She dumps me on the day for love!" Cisco lamented for the 227th time. Caitlin had been counting.
"Yes, I know," Caitlin agreed. "You stay here. I don't think you want anyone to know you got this drunk. Not when everyone at work finds out that Donna dumped you."
"Why did I ever think dating somebody who didn't like movies was a good idea?" Cisco bemoaned, slurring words enough that Caitlin hoped she was translating his misery right. Shaking her, she closed the door and headed into the lab.
Ten minutes later
Harrison had stayed late. Frustrated with an engineer who couldn't seem to produce anything but excuses, Harrison had become absorbed figuring the work out himself. When he had finally finished, he had been shocked to realize how late it was. That was why he almost hit the staggering form which tumbled into the path of his car as he headed out.
Slamming on the breaks, he quickly turned off his car and hopped out to check on the person he had nearly hit. He figured the other was okay, as the man hadn't even noticed Harrison's car and was staggering back towards one of the only other vehicles parked in the lot. "Are you alright?" Harrison called out as he headed toward the person who was now drunkenly singing while attempting to climb atop the other car. Instead of responding, the man started to slur out a different song, throwing his head back as he did. "Cisco?" Harrison couldn't believe his eyes. His employee, Cisco Ramon, drunk beyond belief singing some song about lost love. It floored Harrison to the point that he stopped in his tracks to stare.
Hearing his name, Cisco turned towards his audience. "Doc Welsh!" Cisco slurred as he tried to take a step. His foot slipped and he went flying, arms flailing as he swan dove off the car and landed on the pavement in a painful heap.
Seeing the fall dragged Harrison from shock and he raced toward the car and injured man. "Cisco, " he called as he approached the groaning lump of drunk engineer. "Are you okay?" Kneeling, Harrison started to reach for his injured employee. His hand was knocked away.
"Fuck off man!" Cisco shouted, blood seeping from a gash on his head and his eyes unfocused. "What the hell do you know about it? Bet you never had girl trouble. Lording it over me like Dante!" Like a flipped switch, the younger man went from tears of sadness to anger and he lurched to his feet and launched himself at Harrison.
"What?" The smaller man took Harrison by surprise so that they ended up on the ground, Cisco pinning Harrison to the ground as the engineer delivered blow after blow. Shouting, Harrison managed to get his hands up to protect his face. "Cisco, you really don't want to be doing this," Harrison shouted the warning. The blows continued to rain down.
Caitlin
To say she was frustrated was an understatement. Caitlin had searched all over Cisco's lab space trying to find the engineer's wallet. Ultimately she had decided it didn't matter and that she would just take Cisco back to her little apartment. She could sleep on the floor or something like that. She was trying to calm her anger and steel her nerves to face the drunk as she exited the building. Seeing Cisco out of the car, pinning someone to the ground as he screamed incoherently and pounded into his victim shocked the hell out of Caitlin. Never would she have believed Cisco would be a violent drunk. As she raced to stop the attack, she wondered if something else was going on with her friend.
"Cisco, stop it," Caitlin ordered. Beneath Cisco, his victim shouted.
"Get him off me," Harrison begged the speaker. In the flurry of fists, he was too distracted to identify the voice. All the scientist knew was that he was afraid he would hurt Cisco trying to get away. He liked the young engineer too much to be willing to hurt the younger man.
"That is enough," Caitlin decided, lunging forwards and knocking Cisco to the ground. "I understand you are hurting because Donna dumped you before your big Valentine's day date, but that does not give you the right to beat on someone else!" The anger vanished from the engineer and he was sobbing once more as he rolled on the ground holding his head.
Next to Cisco, his victim groaned and slowly sat up. "Thank you for the save, Dr. Snow," Dr. Wells managed. "I take it Mr. Ramon's night didn't go as planned." As he spoke, Dr. Wells inspected his hands and arms.
"What did you do to him?" Caitlin demanded, seeing the blood on Cisco's face. Her anger bubbled up enough that Dr. Wells actually held his hands up in surrender.
"Nothing! I nearly hit him but he didn't even notice. Instead he got up on that car and I think he was singing. Then he fell on his head and when I went to check on him, he attacked me!" Harrison explained as fast as he could. While he would never admit it, angry Caitlin was a bit terrifying. With her red hair and dark eyes, she managed an intensity that had him half expecting her to burst into flames.
"Oh," Caitlin sat back on her heels, a little surprised to see Dr. Wells had a bloody lip and eyebrow. His blue eyes were locked on her and she felt her anger fizzle out. "Sorry, Dr. Wells. I only left him alone long enough to run in and get his wallet. I'm trying to take him home." Getting to her feet, she offered her boss a hand which he waved away.
"I gather Mr. Ramon's romantic evening didn't go as planned," Dr. Wells repeated as he stood, Caitlin trying not to stare at the way his trousers pulled tight. A few feet away, Cisco continued his breakup lament.
"He was dumped so he got extremely drunk," Caitlin summarized. "He didn't have his wallet and wouldn't tell me his address so I came here to get it."
"Ouch, dumped on Valentine's day," Dr. Wells shook his head in sympathetic pain. "Well, let's get him home. I think I remember where he lives." Flashing Caitlin a bloody smile, Cisco had managed to give the older man a split lip, Dr. Wells cautiously approached the bellowing lump that was Cisco. "Come on, Cisco. Caitlin and I are going to get you home." Reaching down, Dr. Wells cautiously helped the young engineer to his feet. It was obvious that the scientist feared another violent attack from the engineer.
"Oh, Dr. Wells, you have a boo-boo," Cisco said, swaying on his feet. "You should have Caitlin look ass it."
"Did he just say ass it?" Caitlin asked, brow wrinkling in concern and confusion.
"Clearly his oral capabilities are not up to current snuff," Dr. Wells surmised. "How much has he had to drink?"
"Not snuff. Still hurts," Cisco slurred, leaning into Dr. Wells, who braced himself against the weight.
"Well, that answers that question. Come on, I'll drive. Not sure we'll fit in your car." Flashing a half-smile, Dr. Wells led the way to his car and helped Caitlin get Cisco in and buckled. With their close proximity, Caitlin couldn't help but inhale her boss's scent. Mentally kicking herself, she quickly put some distance between them once Cisco was secured.
"I'll follow in my car," Caitlin decided. She did not want word to get out that Dr. Wells had driven her to work. Scientists were wicked gossips. At least, the ones they worked with were.
Cisco's Apartment
To say the smell was pungent was being nice. Indeed, the putrid odor wafted from Cisco and Dr. Wells as the older man helped the drunk down the hall. Caitlin strode ahead, trying to ignore the smell of vomit as she looked for Cisco's apartment. At least the engineer had stopped singing at the top of his lungs. Mostly because he had been busy emptying his stomach contents all over himself and Dr. Wells. Caitlin was surprised at how well her boss had handled the situation. She herself probably would have added to Cisco's stomach contents with some of her own. Dr. Wells, though, had grimaced and grumbled, but kept his cookies from tossing.
"Here," Caitlin declared triumphantly as she found the right apartment number. It was easy to ignore the proximity of her crush when he stank.
"Oh thank goodness," Dr. Wells cheered softly, steadying the wobbling engineer. "Let's hope his shower is big enough for two." With her back turned to the two men, Caitlin let her eyes go wide, unable to stop the mental images that popped up into her head. "I mean because I doubt he is sober enough to safely clean himself up and I don't think you want to be the one dealing with a slippery, mostly naked, drunk Cisco," Dr. Wells quickly clarified as Caitlin managed to find the right key and get the door opened. They entered, Caitlin holding her breath as Dr. Wells carried Cisco past her, headed for what he hoped was the bathroom.
A whoop sounded from the direction Dr. Wells had headed with Cisco. "The night is looking up," the older man crowed from the bathroom. Taking a breath, and getting a whiff of vomit, Caitlin followed the sounds and found Dr. Wells in a large bathroom, trying to convince Cisco that a shower would be a good idea. "Come on Cisco. Nobody wants to sleep in their own puke," Dr. Wells was saying as he patted down the engineer's pockets. "We're just gonna step in, clothes and all so we better empty our pockets."
"Need any help?" Caitlin asked as she watched Dr. Wells fish out Cisco's phone and add it to a pile.
"Yeah, can you take this stuff and put it on the bar? I don't want a wet drunk near my phone and I don't think Cisco would either," Dr. Wells replied, nodding at the collection of keys, wallets, and phones.
"Okay. I'll take them into the kitchen," Caitlin suggested. Dr. Wells was already turning his attention back to herding Cisco into the shower, kicking his shoes off as he did. Shaking her head, Caitlin collected the pile and headed back the way she had come. As she dropped everything onto the kitchen counter, one of the phones beeped. Frowning, Caitlin picked up the phone in question. It was Dr. Wells's phone, with a text message notification.
"Sorry I had to cancel," read the message from somebody identified as Chris. Blinking, Caitlin quickly put the phone down, not wanting to be caught looking at Dr. Wells's private things. Trying not to wonder who Chris was, she turned and headed back towards the bathroom.
"No, Cisco, we don't drink shampoo," Dr. Wells's voice could be heard over the sound of the running water. The bathroom was quickly filling with steam so that everything looked hazy.
"How is it going in there?" Caitlin called out, her mind still pondering what Chris had cancelled.
"Ah, Dr. Snow. Marvelous. Could you please try to find towels, clothing, and possibly a first aid kit?" Dr. Wells sounded frustrated and a little distracted. "No, Cisco, I think you should leave your boxers on." Hearing her boss frantically try to convince her best friend that he should remain decent made it difficult for Caitlin to suppress her laughter. "Not funny!" Dr. Wells's shout caused Caitlin to bite her lip. "Towels, clothing, and first aid kit, please, Dr. Snow!"
"Right." Nodding, Caitlin looked around the bathroom, spotting one towel hanging on the back of the door. "One towel," she informed her boss. "Hanging on the bar by the shower."
"Great. Mr. Ramon, where are your other towels?" Dr. Wells was doing his best to get Cisco and himself cleaned, carefully shedding layers of clothing as he did. With each soiled item they removed, Dr. Wells had scrubbed it carefully, rung it out, and hang it up. Cisco was making the task more difficult by occasionally trying to help.
"No others," Cisco slurred and then giggled as Dr. Wells frowned at the various hair care products. "Shampoo, then conditioner," he instructed the other man. By now the older man had them down to their boxes and was trying to figure out which soap to use. Why on earth were there so many bottles for one person? "Dat one," Cisco giggled, indicating some sort of body wash.
"Right." Shaking his head, Dr. Wells grabbed the bottle indicated and squirted some sort of green goo onto the palm of his hand.
"No, you hafta use the loofa," Cisco admonished, motioning at some sort of sponge hanging from a hook.
"Yes dear," the older man responded, wondering what was wrong with just using a bar of soap and some shampoo. Biting back other snarky comments, he grabbed the thing Cisco had indicated, smeared the goo from his hand onto the sponge, and offered it to Cisco.
"Dr. Wells, I can't find any other towels," Caitlin's voice carried to them over the sound of the water.
"Dat's cause there are no others," Cisco called out with a laugh. "Caitlin, I'm showering with our boss!" More laughter bubbled up.
"Great," Dr. Wells groaned. "Okay, Cisco, let's get your hair washed and then we'll get out."
"We can't do that," Cisco said. He looked positively scandilized. "We have to use the conditioner too." Another groan sounded from the older man.
"Right, fine." With a sigh, Dr. Wells continued to work on getting them propely bathed. At least his own short hair required very little attention. It had grown back nicely after being shaved off in December. "Dr. Snow, we'll use the towel on Mr. Ramon and I'll wait until we've had a chance to dry my clothes."
"You could catch a cold by then," Caitlin protested.
"Dryers are broken," Cisco sang. "Washers too." He broke down into laughter.
"Okay, let's plan it like this," Dr. Wells began, thinking as he helped Cisco get shampoo in and washed out. "We will get Mr. Ramon taken care of, and then while I shiver, I will give you some money and clothing sizes for a clothing run."
"Okay," Caitlin agreed. She was trying hard to turn her imagination and brain in general off. They might get her into trouble.
"All done," Dr. Wells said with a sigh. "Come on, Cisco," he continued. He shut the water off and pulled the curtain back. Caitlin was waiting there with the single towel. With Dr. Wells helping, they got the young engineer dried off and into his room. Dr. Wells dripped dry as he helped the young man sit down on the edge of his bed.
"Uhm, I didn't find a first aid kit," Caitlin informed her boss as she tried to ignore the fact that he was naked, aside from his red boxers, and had water running down his nicely toned body. He looked to be in even better shape since the last time she had seen him topless.
"Oh, red boxers. Dr. Wells, were you going to get lucky tonight?" Cisco grinned mischievously.
"Nope, but I did have a date," Dr. Wells replied. "Dr. Snow, if you go get my car keys from wherever you put them, you'll find a first aid kit in the trunk of my car."
"Okay," Caitlin agreed with a nod. Slipping out of the room, she grabbed the car keys from the counter and headed out of the apartment. She couldn't believe she was spending her Valentine's night with her best friend and their boss. Still, the text message she'd seen on Dr. Wells's phone floated up into her memory and she felt mildly sick to her stomach at the thought of her boss and whoever Chris was. It figured that she'd fall not only for her boss, but her gay boss who was seeing another man. Sighing, she opened the trunk of his car, glowering at a wrapped gift as she picked up the orange bag with a star of life on it. Shaking her head, she slung the bag over her shoulder, closed the trunk, and headed up to Cisco's apartment.
"What do you mean I owe you?" Dr. Wells was saying into his phone, pacing the little living room wearing a Star Wars bed sheet like a toga. "No, you cancelled." He nodded at Caitlin as she walked into the apartment. "Look, Chris, I have to call you back. No. I have a patient. Good bye, Chris. You owe me." With a devious grin, Dr. Wells clicked the phone off and put it down on the table next to the couch. It was obvious he had enjoyed the phone call, his eyes practically glowing with amusement and happiness. "Sorry about that," he apologized to Caitlin.
"It's okay. Sorry you had to cancel your date," she said, handing him the first aid kit as they walked back to Cisco's bedroom.
"I didn't cancel it. Chris did," Dr. Wells countered, he flashed a small smile. "Pardon the bedsheet. It was the best I could find."
"Why did Chris cancel?" Caitlin wondered how much he would tell her.
"Couldn't get away from work. Happens all the time," Dr. Wells replied, waving the question away. "Want to help me patch up our poor Mr. Ramon?"
"Of course. When we're done you can write me a list of things to get and I'll run out and buy you some sweats and a shirt," Caitlin declared, trying not to let herself remember what he'd looked like before he'd wrapped up in the bed sheet.
"He fell asleep right after I got him into bed," Dr. Wells explained as Caitlin stopped in the bedroom doorway to stare at the snoring lump of Cisco. "He hit his head when he fell off your car. Also, he's been intermittently blathering about somebody named Dante."
"His brother," Caitlin explained. "They don't get along well." Sitting on the edge of the bed, she leaned over to examine Cisco's head. "Why don't you lay down, I'll clean up Cisco," she suggested.
"No, I'm fine," Dr. Wells countered. Sitting, he opened up the first aid kit and started putting out supplies. "I'm more concerned about our patient here." He quirked a crooked little smile and handed her a cleaner.
"Thank you." Taking it, Caitlin started cleaning the wound. "We'll need to rouse him every hour or so," she stated.
"Possible concussion, I agree," he said with a nod. "We could take shifts. I'll take the first after you return with some clothing. I'd look for some here, but from what Cisco babbled before he fell asleep, everything he has is dirty."
"Yeah. He was complaining earlier this week that the washers and dryers are broken," Caitlin mused as she cleaned her friend's wound.
"That sucks. I'll have to have him gather a load or two and bring it over to my place later," Dr. Wells said. They finished cleaning up their friend and both slipped out of the room after cleaning up and packing up the first aid kit.
"You know, you don't have to do this," Caitlin observed, studying him and fighting the warmth spreading from her chest. She was finding it so hard to ignore how genuinely likeable Dr. Wells was.
"Look, I can understand what Cisco is feeling. Nobody should have to deal with being dumped on Valentine's day. Sounds like his family life is pretty rough too," Dr. Wells said with a shrug. "Let me get you that list." Glancing around the apartment, he grabbed a blank shopping list and a pen and started writing. "There's money in my wallet, help yourself to however much you think you'll need."
"Oh." Watching him work, Caitlin tried not to stare and admire the way he bit his lip when thinking. "Okay." Picking up his wallet, she opened it and removed a crisp 100 dollar bill. "I'm certain this will be enough."
"Good. Here's what I need along with sizes. Nothing fancy. Thank you, Dr. Snow, for doing this," he said as he handed her the list, their fingers brushing briefly as she took it and glanced over it to make sure she could read it.
"Any particular colours?" Caitlin was stalling. She knew she wanted to just stay and spend more time with him.
"Chris says I look good in blue," Dr. Wells answered, distractedly looking at a book on the table. It was because of his distraction that he missed the face Caitlin made at the mention of Chris.
"I'll keep that in mind and try not to be too long," Caitlin said. Sighing, she let herself out of the room and headed out the door, a distracted mumble sounding from Dr. Wells.
While she was out, Caitlin found herself looking at each item of clothing and imagining the boxer clad Dr. Wells. By the time she reached the checkout, she knew she was blushing. The cashier didn't comment on what Caitlin was buying, instead looking too tired. As Caitlin was driving back to Cisco's apartment, she found her mind wondering to Chris and imagining what he looked like. What kind of man would catch Dr. Wells's attention? This of course led to her imagining Dr. Wells with the unknown Chris and more blushing on her part. She reached the door to Cisco's apartment and was just raising her hand to knock when the door was opened. Standing there was Dr. Wells, still wearing the Star Wars bed sheet toga.
"Ah, Dr. Snow. Welcome back. Come on inside." Dr. Wells stepped back, making room for her to walk past him. As she did, his gaze dipped to admire the way her muscles worked beneath her dress trousers. A smile tugged at his lips before he blinked and looked up as he closed the door.
"I hope these will be acceptable," Caitlin said, offering him the bags. He looked distracted as he took them. "How is Cisco doing?"
"Fine. I woke him up about half an hour ago and managed to get him to use the bathroom and drink some fluids," Dr. Wells reported. With a sigh he took the clothing and started dressing.
Caitlin's eyes went wide as her boss removed tags and stickers and started to pull on the pants. To her shock, when he dropped the sheet he had managed to get the sweats she'd bought him pulled up all the way to cover his lower extremities. "Good fit," Dr. Wells mused. "Why don't you go ahead and crash out on the couch. I'll check on Cisco in a bit."
"Are you sure?" As she asked the question, Dr. Wells was leading Caitlin to the couch. When she felt it at the back of her legs, she sat down. Exhaustion swept over her as she finally had a chance to stop.
"Yep. Last time it was you tucking me into bed. My turn," Dr. Wells said with a smile as he picked up the bed sheet he had shed only moments ago. "I've already made up the couch. Only set of clean sheets I could find are on there. I'll use this one and crash out on Mr. Ramon's floor. I have alarms set on my phone so I can wake up and check on him. Get some rest, Dr. Snow." Grinning, he tucked her into the couch and stood. "Sleep well." He headed back to Cisco's room, flicking off the lights as he passed the switch. With a sigh, Caitlin stared into the darkness before trying to go to sleep.
Wondrous smells lulled Caitlin from her sleep. Blinking, she stared at the floor where her shoes had been neatly placed. Realizing that Dr. Wells hadn't woken her the entire night, she bolted upright, wondering if she had missed anything. Looking around, she got to her feet and headed into the kitchen. Cisco was seated at the small table a plate full of food in front of him. While he looked miserable, he didn't look as bad as Caitlin had expected.
"Morning," Cisco greeted her with a grunt.
"How you feeling?" Caitlin sat, surprised to find a second plate filled with food waiting for her.
"Horrible," Cisco answered. "I had this dream where Dr. Wells was Han Solo."
"Intersting," Caitlin mused, her mind taking the boxer clad mental image of her boss and dressing him as Solo. "Where did all this food come from? I thought your refrigerator was empty," Caitlin observed, trying to turn her mental images off.
"Dr. Wells apparently did one of those online grocery delivery things. He had all this made when he woke me up." Cisco shoved a forkful of potatoes into his mouth.
"Oh," Caitlin said, looking around. "Where is he?"
"Sorry to rain on your parade, he left about twenty minutes ago," Cisco answered her, smiling.
"Why would that rain on my parade?" Caitlin tried to be angry. It was hard.
"Because we both know you have the hots for Dr. Wells," Cisco answered.
"Well, I'll have you know that I have no hopes of that ever going anywhere," Caitlin informed him.
"Yeah? Why is that?" Cisco arched an eyebrow, pausing with the fork hovering before his mouth.
"Because Dr. Wells apparently had a date last night with somebody named Chris," Caitlin informed him.
"Oh," Cisco said, looking confused. "That's unexpected," he mused.
"Yeah, I'd never peg Dr. Wells as being gay," Caitlin agreed. With a long sigh, she sat and started to eat. "Wow, this is really good."
"Yep. Dr. Wells is apparently a guy who can cook," Cisco replied. "Sorry, Caitlin. Thanks for taking care of me last night."
"No problem. That's what friends are for," Caitlin replied. "Thank you for being so understanding about my feelings for Dr. Wells."
"No problem," Cisco said with a shrug, clearly still feeling bad about being dumped. Reaching out and giving his hand a squeeze, Caitlin grinned.
"Think of it like this," Caitlin began. "While you may be unlucky with women, at least you aren't crushing on one that is gay and dating another woman." A smirk filled Cisco's face and one of his eyebrows arched up. "Get your mind out of the gutter," she said, tossing some bread at him which hit him in the face. With a laugh, the two returned to breakfast, laughing and chatting as they ate. Perhaps in time they would both get over their love pains.