Once I entered the lab, Caitlin gestured for me to sit down. She started preparing her fajitas, so I unwrapped my taco. "I know the lab is not the most comfortable place in the world," Caitlin started, "but it beats the pipeline."

"The pipeline?" I asked.

"That was where we had you contained." She paused and took a bite of her fajita. Once she swallowed, she began again, "Anyway, we'll have you stay here tonight. I hope you don't have any commitments."

I finished chewing a bite of my taco, shaking my head.

"What is it you do?" She asked. "I realized we haven't really had a chance to get to know you."

"I teach college composition, but I didn't get an assignment for summer."

"Have you been doing that long?"

"Only a year."

I hadn't been sure about Caitlin, but I think I'm warming up to her now. We both went back to our food. For a while, there was nothing but chewing. I started working on my chips now.

Caitlin broke the silence. "Once Cisco finishes the equipment, I can start accessing your vitals in correlation with your ability. That might help us understand how you can control it so that you don't continue taking over people's emotions."

"That'd be great. You know, I really appreciate everything you guys have been doing for me. I'm still not even sure how I got on The Flash's radar, anyway."

"Oh. Well," Caitlin fumbled for her next words, "you stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. That kind of warrants our attention. Also, the circumstances were unusual. Metahuman unusual."

"Metahuman? Is that what you call them?" I thought about that for a moment. "I mean…us? I corrected.

"Yeah, it's just a term. Barry is a metahuman, too. They can do a lot of good just as much as they can cause harm."

I envisioned myself as a vigilante in leather, fighting in alleyways at night. Pretty badass. I would love to feel that adrenaline and the strength that would require. Professor by day, crime fighter by night. Pretty cool if you ask me. I watched that news headline play out in my mind when at the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a black figure moving towards me, but when I looked in its direction, the figure wasn't there.

"Lena?" I heard Caitlin say.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked. "Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about something."

"Anything you'd like to talk about?"

I thought for a moment. "You know how you said something about me, potentially, going insane?"

"That would be a worst case scenario."

"What would be the symptoms of that? Like, how would I know?" I felt my heart pounding in my chest. That figure could have been nothing or it could be… the insanity creeping in already.

Caitlin considered this. "Well, theoretically, you could suffer from extreme emotional fluctuations. You could also begin hallucinating or have violent fits of anger. This is all just conjecture though. Let us run more tests before we go there."

There it was, hallucinations. Could the figure have been my first hallucination? Don't jump to conclusions just yet, I told myself. "How long would that take to set in?"

"Your capabilities as well as your future are all unknown variables at this time. I'm sorry I don't know more." She studied me. "Why do you ask?"

I looked away. "Just curious."

"I would say you have nothing to worry about right now. Just try and relax." She collected her trash from dinner and mine as well. "I actually should get home to my husband. Will you be fine here with Cisco? He'll probably be working on that for a while."

I was already watching him focused on his work. "Yeah," I nodded, "I'll be fine."

Caitlin went over to the computer and shut it down. Barry popped into the lab. "How's everything going in here?"

"Everything is going well." Caitlin regarded me. "Lena will be staying here tonight." She grabbed her purse and jacket. "And I'll be going home to Ronnie," she glowed.

Barry smiled. "Alright, sounds good. I think I'll be off in a little bit, too." He watched as Caitlin walked away. Once Caitlin was out of sight, he asked, "So, how are you really doing?" His eyes were full of warmth and concern.

I tucked a leg under me. "I'm fine, really. Just…" I contemplated on the word, "adjusting."

He nodded. "Trust me. I know what you're going through. At least, I have a good understanding of what you're going through. It can be really scary, but it can also be really empowering once you know how to use your power."

"Yeah, I think I'll feel more at ease once I know more."

Barry put his hand on my shoulder, his thumb circling against my skin. "If you ever need to talk, know that I'm here for you. Okay? We're here to help you. I promise."

"Thanks. I really appreciate that."

He nodded and smiled his trademark grin, leaving me sitting on the hospital bed. I sighed and started to feel very much alone. I watched Barry say goodbye to Cisco, who quickly went back to his work. I decided to lie down and maybe try taking a nap. After all, it has been quite a day.

As my body slowly fought through the fog of sleep, I thought I heard a voice say my name. Just as I thought I was waking, a black figure reaches just barely within my periphery. My mind perked up at this. The black figure again. It's back. It's moving closer. I felt like I couldn't move. The voice was calling my name again. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I pressed against the pressure on my chest making it difficult to breathe. Panic swelled inside me. I wanted to scream, to move, but nothing happened. Oh god, is this it? The madness? I could hear my heart pounding in my ear.

"Lena?" The voice was louder now. I felt a hand touch my shoulder and gently shake it. "Lena!" The voice was even louder. It was a familiar voice. My eyes fluttered open as my body was released from that consuming hold sleep had on me. The black figure was gone. It was a dream; at least, I think it was a dream. I was breathing heavily. Cisco was looking down at me. "It was just a dream," he whispered.

I felt thirsty, I realized, as I finally started to wake up more. "You're okay," he soothed.

Sitting up, I assessed my surroundings. I had to remind myself that I wasn't home. Naps always discombobulated me. "Could I have some water?" I finally said.

"Sure, sure. Be right back." Cisco left the lab. I watched him leave and brushed my fingers through my hair. I had no idea what I looked like at this point, but I can imagine I'm not at my best. As I attempted to adjust myself and look more presentable, I considered what just happened. That did remind me of dreams I've had before. I looked it up once. They're called waking dreams. The ones where you feel like you're awake, but you're not. You can't move or scream and something terrifying is happening. Maybe that was it. I can't ignore that the same figure I saw when I was with Caitlin was the same figure in this waking dream. It could still have been a waking dream, I told myself. Cisco came back with two cups of water.

He sat down on a chair beside the bed and handed me my cup. I took a few long sips. Cisco observed me. "Bad dream?" he asked.

"You could say that." I finished off the cup of water he gave me. "Thanks," I said referencing to the water.

"No prob. So how are you doing? I see you took a nap."

"Uh, yeah." I sort of felt embarrassed he saw me sleep. "I'm alright. I feel better now that I got some rest."

"I finished the brain wave analyzer." He eyed me. "Wanna see it?"

"Of course I do." I matched his enthusiasm as best I could, still feeling groggy. "Brain wave analyzer?" I smiled at him. "I approve," mimicking his earlier approval of my nickname, "and so would Doc Brown, I'd imagine."

"I have an awesome muse." He winked at me.

He practically skipped out of the lab. I followed behind. When we made it to his desk, he lifted the brain wave analyzer, "It's not pretty, but it'll work." It looked like a crown of metal. "See here," he pointed to a place on the halo-like device, "this is where it'll hit near your hypothalamus. From here, it'll send a reading to the computers via Wi-Fi. Pretty cool, right?" He watched me expectantly. "Oh! And an added a feature," he directed my attention to another portion on the opposite side of the crown, "this hits your temples. It will read your skin temperature. Skin temps will rise and fall depending on your mood as well. For instance, a person in love tends to run hotter when near the one they love." He shrugs. "Anyway, it should work."

"That is pretty impressive."

"And," he handed me a smaller circular device that looked much like a bracelet, "This will measure your blood pressure sending the stats to the computer in the same way."

"Wow, so I have to wear these things all the time?" They didn't look comfortable.

"Only until your first episode or two."

"I guess that's alright." I paused. "It's for science, right?"

"Right," he agreed.

I sighed. "Hey," Cisco touched my shoulder, "we'll figure this out."

I smiled in consolation. "I know. I'm just impatient."

Cisco considered for a moment before speaking. "How about you and I get out of here?"

"Can we do that?" I shot him a speculative look.

He shrugged. "I mean, there's that little problem of you overriding a bartender's mind and scoring us free drinks, but I wouldn't complain." He showed me a sly smirk.

I laughed.

"I won't tell if you don't." He winked.

I shook my head. "Alright, you rebel. Let's get outa here."

He gestured a chivalrous 'after you' bow and we were off.