Wednesday, August 22th, 3:08 AM
''Even now, I'm still hearing his voice. I'm still hearing him call out for us when he took back control in Devoe's lair,'' told Cisco as he was sitting in his usual chair in the medical bay, next to his sleeping best friend's form. ''I didn't have time to tell him goodbye, or to tell him how sorry I was for leaving.''
Every time he would close his eyes, almost every single night, would see that scene again. He would see Barry taking back control of his body while Devoe was still inside of him. All it took was one second, just one, for the speedster to find the strength to win the mental battle and prove to each and everyone that he was still alive in there. He proved that his love for his friends and family was too strong, even for Devoe, to keep him away forever. On that night, Devoe got beaten by love, which was the one and only incalculable variable in the whole multiverse. That emotion was what stopped the evil man to kill the hero's entourage.
'I'm sorry,' were the only words Barry managed to rasp when his glance fell on the shocked group. At this instant, his mind already knew what he had to do.
Before any of them could react, Barry had already overloaded the chair and destroyed Devoe's conscious, probably alongside with his. Everything had been over….in a flash. In the blink of an eye, their friend was gone and no matter how fast they took him back to the lab and managed to get his heart pumping again, it was already too late. Barry was already gone and by 1:00am exactly, on Wednesday, May 23rd, Caitlin pronounced the C word. Coma.
Every single Wednesday since that night had been the same, well, except for the one week Cisco missed. Well, for that night and also for today because, today, he wasn't alone. Caitlin was sitting right next to him and helping him keep vigil on their comatose friend.
''I'm sure Barry knew that you were sorry and didn't hold it against you, '' she said as she gently extended her arm and softly rubbed her friend's back while the engineer was leaning forward in his chair with his elbows on his knees and chin resting on his closed hands.
Cisco sighed and closed his eye for a second. Every logical part of his brain was screaming at him that the doctor was right; Devoe had calculated everything in the last 3 years, including which person would landed on the bus and what power they would get. He set in place every domino that would lead Team Flash to set Barry free of the Speed Force on the exact date of October 10th and on that exact spot he needed. So, of course, he would be ready to kidnap the speedster, whether Cisco would've been there or not.
''What about everyone else?'' He finally asked.
''They all missed you. I've been keeping your little secret about your visits, but it killed me to do it. You have to come back, at least come visit and tell them you're ok.''
As she was speaking, Caitlin was carefully studying the tensed and broken up features, trying to decrypt what thoughts and feelings were hiding behind them.
There's not much she wouldn't have given at the exact moment to know exactly what was going on in Cisco's stubborn head. No wonder he and Barry were, had been, so close; both were just as relentless as they come when they had an idea stuck in their mind, which could sometimes be good in combat situations. But, when it comes to pain and guilt, there was a moment where it was time to let go.
''Nobody is blaming you for what happened,'' she added after the silence kept on going, ''Plus, you still have to meet the baby,''
Cisco's head raised up at that and he looked at his friend with a blank expression. Oh right, he had to admit he completely forgot about the baby, Joe and Cecile's baby. Iris and Wally's half sister. The new member of the West family was two months old and Cisco didn't even had a single idea on what was the name of the little one. The only thing he remembered was hearing about Cecile being rushed to the hospital just as they were getting ready to raid Devoe's lair for their final stand against the man. Hours later, he was gone from Earth 1.
''She promises to be a fierce little one, '' tenderly added Caitlin, smiling.
''What's her name?'' Finally managed to ask Cisco, feeling his stomach twisting under the new forming guilt, he should've been there to support the team and the West family.
Caitlin smiled again as she softly answered: ''Danielle. Danielle West.''
Tuesday, August 28th, 8:09pm
"We should probably go, baby girl," said Joe, looking up from his watch and starting to get back up, "it's getting late," he added before checking his last received text message on his phone once more.
Iris sighed and got back up, but not without gently caressing her husband's hand as her warm grip gradually released: "I'll be back tomorrow. I love you," she whispered before leaning forward and laying a gentle kiss on Barry's forehead.
As both West were about to make their way out and pass the door, they ended up face to face with the doctor who was coming back to the room.
"Where are you guys going?" She inquired, clearly surprise and with a hint of resistance in her tone.
"Cecile's waiting for us outside," simply said Joe as the man turned around to take one final look to his foster son, an action he had been doing every day before leaving like he was hoping Barry would suddenly wake up at this instant.
"Wasn't she supposed to come and join us tonight? Haven't see her in a while," pressed Caitlin, causing Joe to frown suspiciously. Why would the doctor sound almost upset at his intention of leaving? She usually was the one kicking them out if they were to stay too late at night, especially on Tuesday night.
"She was, but she's quite tired. Danielle has been waking up a lot during the night these last couple of weeks."
Iris exchanged a glance with her father, being just as confused as him about the whole situation. It wasn't like Caitlin to react like that.
"I just want the chance to say hi to her and the baby, that would add some much needed life to this lab," she pleaded with gentle eyes.
Joe shrugged after one quick look to his daughter: "5 minutes," he yielded, causing Caitlin to look down at her watch. The poor girl deserved at least these couples of minutes for all the good and continuous cares she had been providing to the speedster. Plus, there was that little fact that while Joe was now living with his girlfriend, a new baby, and his daughter, who was refusing to go back to her loft, Caitlin was spending much of her time with a comatose patient. On that fateful day in May when Barry went down and Cisco left, she lost her two best friends.
A couple of moments and a text message or two later, the form of Cecile Horton entered the cortex, side by side with Joe who was pushing a blue baby stroller while Caitlin took a none-so-subtle look at her watch, 8:16 pm, before moving forward to greet the older woman. As much as she wanted to stalk and gain time, she was genuinely happy to see Cecile again. Her and the beautiful little baby.
"How are you?"
"I'm good, what about you?" answered back Cecile, smiling widely despite her obviously tired eyes.
"Hanging in there," tiredly said Caitlin, not bothering to hide her own exhaustion before moving her attention toward the little form. Looking down, her glance quickly found two beautiful green eyes, full of curiosity, staring right back at her.
Before Caitlin could say anything, a blue portal started forming in the middle of the cortex.
'About time,' thought Caitlin.
"Could it be...?" Trailed Iris, staring at the portal with wide opened eyes.
Seconds later, a familiar breacher jumped out of it and landed on his feet. In one glance, every adult in the room knew who that was way before the glasses were taken off and before the silence was broken.
"Cisco" breathed out Iris as she rushed in and wrapped her arms around his torso, a hug the breacher returned after a short lived hesitate.
"You're late," jokingly commented Caitlin.
"You knew he was coming back," said Joe.
It wasn't a question, but Caitlin still nodded. Her a reaction was missed by the detective who was taking his turn into hugging the metahuman, once his daughter was done and before his girlfriend could do the same motion.
"I've already been here a couple of times before, in the middle of the night, " admitted Cisco, "but Caitlin convinced me to come and to salute you. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."
"What matter is that you're here, right now," answered Iris without a doubt or without missing a beat, unfazed by the revelation that it wasn't the first time Cisco came to visit, "and I'm happy to see you," she added, smiling.
"How's Earth 19?" Asked Joe.
"And Gipsy?" Added his daughter.
"It's...good, the job is great, so is Gipsy. She's doing well too," he assured before sending a quick look toward the stroller:"Can I?"
"Go ahead," said Cecile, gently gesturing toward her daughter to invite the young hero to go.
"She's beautiful," he instantly said, looking at the young and precious baby. Smiling tenderly, he gently stroked the soft silk blanket, "I'm sorry I wasn't there," he added with a bittersweet tone, one that had more than one meaning.
"It wasn't your fault, Cisco," gently said Joe who instantly caught up with the double meaning; the metahuman wasn't just talking about the baby.
Cisco sighed sadly, breaking contact from the small form and looking away from everyone while talking to all of them at the same time: "I'm trying to convince myself of it...I really am."
"We're just glad you're here, we missed you around," said Iris, showcasing a genuine smile, even if it was a slightly bittersweet one.
Cisco looked up at Caitlin; she had been right saying that nobody seemed to be blaming it on anyway and, in this very instant, he felt stupid for not listening to her.
"What now?"
"Now we stick together," simply said Caitlin, shrugging. What else could they do? Nothing...
Well, not nothing. Technically speaking. There was always a choice and they could move on with their lives, but no one was ready for that, not yet. Nobody in the room was willing just yet to give up on Barry.
A/N: You're happy that Cisco finally came back to see everyone?
I think I might add one extra, bonus, chapter if you're interested. Leave a comment and let me know if you want one last chapter of this