Barry's POV

*S.T.A.R Labs*

It was all business when Barry made his way over to S.T.A.R Labs. Over the course of the night, Clariss had been killed while in Iron Heights prison. Joe on the case, had managed to bring a copy of the security footage in hopes that the team were able to help solve just what had killed him.

Everyone had gathered around the main desk in the cortex. All huddled around a single monitor. Even though it would have been more proactive if they had just synchronised the footage to the other screens in the room, Barry was happy the thought hadn't crossed anyone else's mind. Barry leaned closer, his body almost pressing against Caitlin who stood in front of him slightly to his right. They were so close he could feel the warmth of her body radiating into his own. Being so close to her, he had to muster all his restraint not to pull her into his arms and press his lips against her. How he missed her. If only she could remember what she meant to him. If only he didn't mess things up her would have his family completed. The memory stung at him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment only to open them to the video image of Clariss being thrown around his cell like a puppet.

"This is from a security camera inside Iron Heights?" Caitlin asked for confirmation.

"Forensic analysis indicates that the footage is genuine. No evidence of tampering." Barry voiced, his lips lingering near her ear.

Startled by his close proximity, Caitlin straightened herself up, stepping away from him, a slight shade of pink colouring her soft cheeks. Barry watched as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, trying everything to avoid his gaze. He smiled as she nervously bit down on her lower lip. Some things never change. He mused to himself.

"We're pretty sure this is Dr Alchemy that did this." Joe added.

"Last thing Clariss said before he died."

"Unless someone killed him?" Caitlin posed rhetorically.

"Like a meta with telekinesis or cloaking abilities. We have both on our Earth." Harry interjected.

"So what do we do now?"

"Our metahuman specialist at CCPD, Julian Albert who he prefers to work alone but I got feelers out on his investigation. I'm going to go there now and see if he dug up anything." Joe informed them as he multi-tasked scanning through his emails with his phone in hand.

"Alright." Barry nodded. Rolling his eyes at the thought of Julian.

"Okay until then do you guys wanna train?" Jesse bounced enthusiastically.

Barry grinned at her childlike enthusiasm.

"Oh no we have to think about heading back to our Earth. We've been here long enough." Her father opposed.

"I've still got a lot to learn. Your words not mine." She fired back a matter of factly.

Harry looked at his daughter with a fierce gaze but sighed in defeat.

"I—hmpf. Fine."

"You want to train? Let's train." Cisco said with a childish grin spreading across his face.

"Speedster style." He added.

Caitlin's POV

After an hour of monitoring Jesse's vital and speed, was safe to say she was almost as fast as Barry. The girl could really move. As Caitlin watched as both speedsters slowed to a stop from her monitors she knew that they were head back to the cortex. Caitlin became flustered at the thought of being in the same room as Barry again. After this morning, she cursed herself for allowing him to get so close to her. She needed the space to think. Every night she was still plagued with fragments of dreams of her and Barry. They had a life together. It was strange. As much as she tried to ignore the growing feeling she had for him, the pull towards him was undeniably strong. It scared her. But she needed to remember that he was with Iris.

With the sound of chatter growing closer, Caitlin tried focusing herself with anything on the monitor in front of her to seem busy. Jesse and Barry strolled in, Barry's laugh sending an automatic smile to her face. She loved that sound.

"Maybe we should stay a little bit longer." Harry said defeated.

"Yeah I guess so." Jesse smiled before flickering a wink at Wally.

"It's going to take some time to master your powers Jesse. You'll get the hang of it." Barry encouraged.

"Yeah I know. Thanks."

"Well since I'll be here for a while do you wanna… um get out of here?" She proposed as she quickly flashed out of her suit and back.

"Where to?"

"Does it matter?" she shrugged.

Before Harry had anything to say about it both kids were speeding away out of ear shot.

"No TOUCHING!" his voice echoed after them.

Caitlin laughed.

"NOT WHAT I MEANT BY STAYING LONGER!" he voiced grumpily.

"Hey Harry?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah." He answered without looking up at her.

"You sure you have to leave?"

"There's still just a lot to fix back on my Earth." He huffed out.

"Yeah but you know it's more fun when you're here helping us fix things here on our Earth." Cisco added with a cheeky grin.

"He is right. It hasn't been the same without you." Barry said.

"The team doesn't feel complete without Harrison Wells." Caitlin concurred.

"Then change that. There's a whole multiverse of Harrison Wells out there at your fingertips. You want one? Let's go get one."

Barry's POV

*West Household*

While the team were off dividing and conquering, something pressing had been nagging at Barry ever since he returned the timeline back to normal... somewhat normal. Barry sighed at that thought. Why did he have to totally screw up everything?

Thudding through the empty house, Barry raced up the same old wooden staircase, down the familiar musty hallway down to his room since his childhood years. His hand reaching to the handle, Barry pushed the door open with a creak. The light from the window set the room a glow with a warm light. Dust flakes danced in the light. Barry shuffled over to his bed side table. Sliding the drawer open, the drawer revealed a mess of odd items. Digging around through the mess, his fingers curled around a soft velvet box. Withdrawing it from its hiding place Barry open the box. His mother's ring glistening in the light.

A cream down stairs, Barry snapped the box shut and moved closer to the strange sounds. As he climbed back down, to Barry's surprise he caught sight of Iris.

"Oh you're home?" Barry stammered, cautiously hiding the box into his inside coat pocket.

"I didn't realise you'd be home." she whispered under her breath as she closed the front door behind her.

"Ahh um yeah. I just had to check on something. I didn't realize you'd be coming home."

"Cool. Well…" she began to retreat.

"Iris can we talk?"

Iris exhaled loudly. "There's nothing to talk about Barry. We we're together. Now we're not. We are where we are. There's nothing to talk about."

"Okay but—" Barry opened his mouth.

Before he could apologise vigorously or even begin to tell her the truth Joe appeared, opening back up the front door.

"Hey dad." Iris smiles welcoming the interruption.

"I didn't think you'd be home for a while." Barry said

"My plans changed. Um I—yeah you guys alright?" He asked eyeing his children suspiciously.

Barry opened up his mouth to explain the truth but Iris replied before he had a chance "Yeah." She lied, mustering up a small smile.

"Um come have a beer. I was about to grab some for us." Barry said as he cleared out this throat.

"No. I'm just going to head upstairs."

Barry nodded, and both he and iris waited impatiently as their father disappeared out of earshot.

"Iris I know your mad at me. I want to fix this. I want to explain. I need to explain. Please let me. I miss my best friend."

"Please stop." She pleaded with him.

"Right now I just hurt. And the thing about it is I can't really blame you. I saw the signs over the past few weeks. I felt you pull away. I saw- never mind. I just need time. Please just give me time."

"Okay." Was all he could say.

Barry could see her frustration and pain. He didn't want to add anymore discomfort than he already had. He owed her at least this much. He need to respect that she needed time and space so he nodded and he left.

*CCPD*

Barry felt like a ghost drifting through the bustling corridors of the police department. After bumping into Iris, he could still see the pain in her eyes. As much as she tried to hide it from him, it pained him that he had hurt her so badly. They had all this history together. She was his best friend. To her he was the love her life. She had all these other memories he never experience. Fuck. He swore to himself. He had screwed things up so badly. Not only had he had to repair his relationship with his best friend he also had to rebuild his marriage with Caitlin, that in this timeline had never existed.

His eyes on the ground, Barry weaved through the magnitude of people swarming the CCPD, only stopping when he lifted his head with Joe walking towards him.

"So Scutter is going after everyone on Snart's old crew to track him down." he whispered as they pulled away to a quiet corner.

Barry shook himself out his mind, focusing on their latest problem. Scutter.

"Yeah but the only problem is Scutter is not going to find him. Snart's gone." Barry noted.

"What do you mean his gone?" Joe eyed Barry confused.

"He's gone." Barry replied.

Joe shook his head confused. He had no idea what Barry was saying. Barry released a heavy breath. Of course, he probably didn't know in this timeline.

"Thought I – Oliver told me that Snart left with some friends of our so a… trip." He emphasised the last word.

"I don't even want to know. One of Snart's old crew is in Iron Heights. I'm going to go see if I can talk to her." Joe added.

"Okay. I'm going to see if I can lure any of the others back to S.T.A.R Labs." Barry sighed heavily.

It was if this day was getting even more worse than when it had started. The stress of everything that had changed was suddenly taking a toll on him. The weight of the consequences seemed to keep dragging him underwater. Every time he thought he had reached the surface for air, something small would just drag him back down under. And as hard as it was for him to admit it. He was struggling bad to breathe. What made it worse was that, if he ever felt this deep he knew he always had someone by his side pulling him back to the surface. Someone who made him stay grounded. And as much restraint as he could muster, he fought every fibre in his body not to run into her arms right this second. It broke him. He needed her. He needed Caitlin.

Sensing his uneasiness, Joe placed a calm firm grip on his shoulder. "You okay son?"

"Um hey actually sorry I just need to talk you." he choked out.

"Something real quick." he promised.

"What's going on Bar? I've noticed you're a bit more tense. Like there's a lot more running through that mind of yours."

Barry looked into his adoptive father's searching eyes. His warm dark eyes, making him feel safe and understood, just as he had always since he was a child.

"I don't even know where to begin." Barry whispered. His breathing heavy and his chest tight.

Joe stood silent. Just listening.

"I've messed things up so bad. And everything I try to do to fix it just seems to be making things worse. I've hurt so much people Joe. And I can't take it back. I can-"

"Bar, where is this all coming from? Is this because of Flashpoint?"

"Yes but I can't-"

"Breathe Barry. Breathe. Look, I've noticed that things have changed since you got back from this other timeline. And things might not have been exactly as you had left it. But you can't change that now and you know it. But Barry, look at me."

Barry sighed, slowly pulling up his eyes to meet his fathers.

"You can't change what has already been done. That's set. But how you go from here. How you handle these changes, that you can change. That my boy is in you're control."

"I don't even know where to begin."

"How about that tension between you and Iris last night."

"About that..."

"You broke up?"

"How'd you-"

"I'm a detective Barry and your father. Look. It was none of my business but we are family. I don't know what happened between you two but family is the most important thing here. So if you're looking for a place to start. Start there."

Barry nodded. Joe always seemed to place things in perspective. He didn't know how he did but the way his voice eased away any doubt amazed him.

"Thanks Joe."

"You're welcome my boy."

Caitlin's POV

*The Cortex*

"Good looking guy." Caitlin commented.

All three boys turned to look at her. Caitlin darted between her team, her eyes falling on Barry. His eyes melted into her, a wave of jealously emanating from his gaze. The thought of him jealous sent waves up her spine, a giddiness causing her to smile. Immediately shaking away such thoughts. Cause that would be ridiculous. He couldn't be jealous, Caitlin turned away from his gaze, blushing slightly as she tried to refocus on the screen in front of them.

"For a criminal." She shrugged.

From the corner of her eye, she could feel Barry's eyes still fixated on her. It un-nerved her how his gaze made her blood warm, her stomach knot and how every fibre in her body made her want to reach out and touch him.

"Well he's more than just a criminal now. Apparently he's a meta than can travel through mirrors."

"Oh wait oh… I got this one. He's a—" Cisco snapped.

"Mirror Master."

"What th—"

"Boom!" Harry smirked, dropping his hand with an invisible mic.

Cisco stood there with his mouth open. Horror stapled on his face. Caitlin hid her face away trying not to laugh.

"That's good." Barry nodded.

"Thank you. We had a Mirror Master back on our Earth."

"A meta?" Caitlin asked, throwing her hands onto her hips.

"He wasn't a meta he had mirror gun that he used."

"How'd it work?" Barry interjected.

"Must've had dimensional warping tech that could change everything into two dimensions." Harry demonstrated with his hands.

"Well Scutter is hell bent on going after Snart and is gunning after everyone who's worked with him in the past. Joe's with one of them right now." Barry noted.

"Well Snart's all known associates are presumed dead or gone a-wall except for one."

"That's her."

"Rosaline Dylan."

"Says she has the ability to induce crippling vertigo."

"Oh I—Like a top. She's a top. That's it that's her name. What do you want to go?!" Cisco rambled defensively angling himself towards Harry.

Harry smiled, throwing his hands up. "No I'm good." he chuckled.

"O-kay! Do you think she can lead us to Scutter?" Caitlin added, turning to face the team.

"Let's see if Joe can get any answers out of her." Harry proposed, motioning towards Cisco to follow him.

Cisco shook his head confused, as Wells more aggressively motioned him to follow.

Cisco threw his hands in the air defeated. "Okay. Okay." Then stood and followed him out.

Caitlin suddenly felt nervous. Before she turned away, she saw Harry mouth something silently to Barry. She didn't quite catch what he said before she that she was alone with him.

The sudden temperature in the room seemed to heat. Every time she found herself left alone with him, her body seemed to react in a way which drew herself to him. It all her restraint not to lose herself in that pull.

"Hey." He whispered awkwardly shifting his weight between his feet, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hey." she replied.

"So how's the search for a new Wells going?" he conversed.

"We're still waiting. We've sent out a cryptic message so if anyone of them could decode it we have prospects." she explained fumbling with her hands.

"Cait-"

Her breath hitched when he breathed her name. It had been a while since she had let anyone call her that.

"About the other night when we dropped off-"

"Oh don't worry about that. I- Nothing happened." she stuttered turning away trying to hide her embarrassment.

Caitlin heard as Barry stepped forward, closing the small distance between them. He was so close now that she could feel the heat of his body behind her. Closing her eyes, she tried to concentrate on her breathing. In and out. She repeated to herself. A shiver coursed through her body when his hand fell onto her shoulder. His touch awakening every cell in her body drawing her to him.

"Cait" he repeated his voice soft and inviting.

His voice pulling her, Caitlin turned around to face him, her eyes slowly lifting, looking up with his set upon hers already.

"Barry..." she finally spoke.

"I—" before she could finish flashes of memories flooded to the back of her eyes. Memories of his mouth on hers. The taste of his lips. The feeling of his skin beneath her fingers. Her heart began to race. The memories blinding her.

"I— I got to go!" She stammered pushing up against his chest and rushing out past him.

Her heart beating fast. Caitlin ignored his pleas to stay. She knew she had out of there before she could make a huge mistake.

*Moments Later*

Caitlin rushed into the speed lab. Her legs propelling her faster than she could move.

"What happened?" She shouted as she joined the rest of the team down there.

"I don't know? I don't know okay. I went after Dylan and lost balance." Jesse explained her expression defeated.

Caitlin rounded to the front of what everyone was staring at. Barry stood frustrated before her. She stared into the mirrored reflection but instead she didn't see herself but Barry staring back at her.

"She's a meta human who induces vertigo. She just whammied you." Harry empathised.

"Yeah I guess so. But I guess it doesn't matter does it because now Barry's trapped in there because of me." She cried guiltily.

"Well you know, i—" Harry began to say before, Jesse blew past them angry with herself.

Harry shut his mouth. Caitlin noticed as his jaw tightened as he hesitated for a brief moment unsure whether to follow. Just as his mind was resolved to talk to his daughter, Wally stepped forward stopping him.

"I'll go talk to her." He smiled before jogging out following Jesse.

"jshkshf?" Barry's voice echoed in the now silent room.

Everyone's attention turned back to his mirrored reflection.

"ksnksg" Barry repeated.

"What is he saying?" Joe asked.

"Is that some sort of mirror language?" Iris pointed out.

"Mirrors, show objects in reverse so maybe that's what we're hearing here?" Caitlin explained. Her eyes transfixed on Barry.

"So I know how we find out." Cisco smiled, reaching around the tool desk fumbling for something inside.

"What are you looking for Cisco?" Iris asked peering over his shoulder.

"Have you ever seen Twin Peaks? Of course not. Why do I ask? This is an old back masking trick they used for man from another place where they recorded his audio backwards and play it back forwards." He explained pulling out a small high tech device.

"Like the Ozzy Osbourne records." Joe pointed out.

"Sure let's go with that." Cisco shrugged tiredly.

"Okay Barry say something."

Jibberish again.

"Oops." Cisco chuckled, stepping foreword to re-calibrate the device.

"Say it again." Harry instructed.

"Oh m- get me out of here." Barry huffed out exasperated.

Everyone cheered. A small victory in a long battle of how do we get him out of there.

"Now we can understand you. How do we get him out of there?" Joe asked his eyes falling on the all the geniuses in the room.

"Barry have you tried to phase out yet?" Caitlin questioned.

"Yes. It's not working." He sulked.

"Scutter uses mirrors as a wormhole then these molecules are in a hyper state of flux so all we need is—"

"Something really cold to slow them down." Harry finished.

Caitlin watched as both Harry and Cisco mentally connected. Their minds syncing with possible ideas.

"I can help with that. Let's go." Cisco said as he ushered Harry out of the room towards his workshop.

As the boys scurried out of the room, Joe fumbled with his phone. After another message rang through his cell phone he excused himself out.

"Keep him company." He pointed towards his daughter and Caitlin.

Iris shifted uneasy apologising to Caitlin that she couldn't stay and left.

Bewildered Caitlin opened her mouth in protest but Iris left quicker than she could have formed the words.

Sighing, Caitlin turned back to Barry who seemed unaware that they were now alone.

Barry's POV

Surrounded by darkness, the absence of light made him so cold and isolated. The silence seemed to echo in constants around him. The silence only amplified by the lack of voices in the room. Trying to peer out, he noticed that the room was almost empty. Only the sight of Caitlin, her eyes furrowed deep in concentration at the screen in front of her. He smiled at the way a piece of hair fell from behind her ear, the urge to brush it back in place overwhelmed him. How he longed to brush his thumb across her cheek. Holding her in his arms. Those thoughts that plagued him frustrated him more than not being able to get out of that damn mirror.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"What are you doing?"

Caitlin peered up at him almost startled.

"Oh hey, sorry. Just trying to help Harry and Cisco. Working on the equations and what not."

"Right." he sighed.

Bending down to his knees, Barry looked around at the cascading darkness he was surrounded by. Its as if he was in a deep endless hole and just the shadow of a screen in front of the only way out. It was if he was looking at a movie projection of his real life that he just couldn't get back to. As he looked out to the screen, Caitlin approached cautiously. He noticed the way she fidgeted with her hands and kept avoiding his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." she lied.

"Sorry I should be asking you that. What's it like in there?"

"Dark." he sighed.

"It's frustrating. You know that feeling of helplessness. Feeling stuck."

"More than you know." she whispered under her breath.

"Hmm?" he replied unable to hear her.

"Oh don't worry. We'll get you out of there." she smiled in return.

The silence between them grew intense. Barry wanted to say so many things but how could he say what he wanted to say without scaring her away. Only he knew of the life he had with her. The life he still wanted with her. He needed to start somewhere if he was going to try and win her back.

"Hey now that we're somewhat alone, can we talk?"

"Sure about what?" she asked nervously.

"About the other night."

"Barry." she stopped him.

"Wait. Please. I just need to... I mean with us..."

"Woah. There is no us!" she protested, the colour of red rushing to her cheeks.

"Maybe I'm misleading when I say 'with us'. Look I've just been feeling nervous about this new dynamic with us."

"New dynamic. I didn't realize things have changed." she fiddled anxiously with her fingers as she bit down on to her bottom lip.

"Cait look at me."

Barry waited until she pulled her eyes to his. He caught his breath as her eyes pierced his. Her familiar eyes searching his.

"Cait." he whispered her name softly.

"You can't tell me that you don't feel something. Especially after the other night?"

"The other night didn't happen." she denied.

"I know I'm messing all this up but Cait what I'm trying to say-" he rambled, everything he wanted to say building up inside him. All he wanted to do was kiss her and let her know just how much she loved her. But it was all coming out wrong.

Before he could finish, Cisco and Harry came barreling back into the room. Barry threw his hands in his hair frustrated.

"What is that?" Caitlin pointed as the boys carried in some heavy duty machine.

"This is how we get him from in there to here." Cisco explained in a huff as they set the machine up.

With his jaw tightened, Barry stared at Caitlin. Noticing the curious frow of her eyebrows as she concentrated at what the boys around her were doing while nibbling on her bottom lip as she distracted herself from the conversations they couldn't finish.

"Okay." Harry breathed out heavily as he dusted off his hands.

"Try it now." He added nodding towards Cisco.

Stepping back Cisco tinkered with a few last things before switching on a button.

Barry steadied himself waiting. Suddenly the temperature around him began to cool. It was working. He smiled thankfully. Looking at the screen that separated him from reality. He noticed as it began to frost over. Edging its way up from the bottom right hand corner upwards to the middle. Hopefully. Barry waited for the moment to phase through. When suddenly nothing more happened.

"It's only negative 280 farenheight."

What does that mean? Barry thought to himself.

"We got to get it colder some how" Harry concluded as he snatched the tablet from Cisco trying to re-calibrate the settings and formulas.

"I thought you said this thing could get him out of there?" Caitlin stressed concerned.

"Okay this thing is a highly advanced molecular decelerator that is bring powered by a cryo engine which we only improvised in the last 30mins so give us some slack please." Cisco said defensively.

"Just keep trying Barry." Caitlin encouraged.

Barry nodded. He words soothing him. When he got out he didn't care what the consequences were but he just need to hold her. To feel her touch on his skin reminding him that he was back in the world of more than one dimension.

As he worked on phasing out, everyone in the room paused at the siren blaring.

Metahuman alert.

"If its not one thing its another." Harry huffed out with a heavy sigh.

"Sorry." He mouthed as he passed by Barry.

"Hang in there Barry." Cisco relayed sympathetically as he followed Harry out of the room.

"Sorry." Caitlin added as she scurried hastily after the boys leaving Barry by himself.

Stuck, Barry edged his way closer to the portal in front of him. The room was empty.

Caitlin's POV

Caitlin couldn't have moved faster enough to get out of there. She was scared of what Barry had left to say. More or less hoped for an answer she didn't know she longed for. That he loved her. All those stolen moments that seemed to have transpired between them have awaken something dormant in her that she didn't know had ever been there. Or that she thought she had long ago buried.

"Guys? Hello?" his voice echoed out pleading.

Caitlin stopped in her tracks. She didn't know what it was about it in his voice that pulled her to him, but before she knew what she was doing, she had quietly made her way over to the computers silencing the alarm and simultaneously shut off the security cameras also. Subtly making her way to the where Barry was held prisoner, Caitlin checked over her shoulders ensuring that there was no one else in the room.

Her heart beating hard against her chest, Caitlin too a deep breath opening her palms allowing the cold to run a course through her body, extending to her fingers releasing a stream of coldness.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as the temperature began to decline. As the number continued to drop, she curled her fingers into the palm of her hands. Needing to make her escape before Barry got out, Caitlin hastily made her exit, her feet moving fast down halfway down the corridor. Just as she made enough distance, she slowed her pace trying to regain her breath.

A slight breeze behind her and the whisper of her name she came to a halt.

"Cait."

Shit.

Spinning around fast on her heel, Caitlin opened her mouth to explain, but before she could form the words, Barry had closed the distance between them, claiming her mouth with his.

Caught off guard, Caitlin was temporarily paralyzed and yet before her mind had time to process what was happening, her body took control, her lips melting into his, her body pushing back into him. His lips were hard and desperate.

Pulling away breathless. He stepped back, giving her space.

"I'm sorry. I- You needed to know."

"I- Barry- we should go." she choked before scurrying away.

Barry nodded. And sped out before her.

"Barry! How?" The shouted as Barry entered the room.

With all the chaos and bewilderment, Caitlin managed to slip in beside them. Unaware to the team around her that she was actually missing.

"Let's figure it out later. Right now we got to stop Scutter and Dylan." Barry replied.

"Okay so what do we do?"

"We're going to need mirrors, a trick and an old friend." he smiled.

*Late into the night*

Before Barry could make it back to S.T.A.R Labs, Caitlin made it a point to make herself scarce and not be there when he got back. She couldn't face the reality of just what had happened. As she unlocked the door to her apartment and made her way inside, she moved her way through her darkened and familiar halls towards her bedroom. She lifted her fingers to her lips, still able to feel the lingering sensation of his on hers. The thought shook in the best possible way. Yet, the thought of the feelings she felt scared her on just how strongly the seemed to pull her to him. Shaking herself awake, she opened up the shower, turning the facet on hot. Stripping down, she jumped into the shower letting the steam and heat of the beating water calm her.

Closing her eyes she just allows the water to drown away everything plaguing her. Just as she begins to calm, the water stops and the air around her evaporated into a cool chill. As she opened her eyes, she gasped out her breathe forming in pale clouds as the water spiked out at her in a frozen spray. Frightened, she backed out of the shower wrapping a towel around he body. What's happening to me?