Chapter 4

I walked out of the med bay after sitting with Jesse for hours. It seemed that her nightmares had passed for now and she was resting peacefully. I scrubbed a hand across my tired face and looked around at the empty cortex. Everyone had gone home for the night, which meant it was just Jesse and I in STAR Labs. I sat down at one of the computers and looked at its blank screen.

Turning it on, I decided to do a little research and calculation; there could be a way to use Anderson's invisibility to beat Zoom. I had barley made some headway through the research when I heard multiple footsteps coming down the hallway towards the cortex, excited voices carried with them. I swiveled in the chair just in time to see the whole team, including Wally, walk in.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you all went home for the night." I asked.

"No, we went to go grab some Big Belly Burger for us all." Barry smiled as he sat bags full of food on the desk.

"Yeah and I wanted to see how Jesse was doing." Wally said, his hands shoved in his packets. I wanted to question his motives, but my stomach growled for food.

"She's in the med bay. I assume she'll probably wake up in a little bit." I stated before adding, "You can go ahead and sit with her."

The young kid grinned and grabbed his food before heading into the room where Jesse laid, asleep. Doctor Caitlin Snow came up to me and asked, "How is she really doing?"

Barry, Cisco, and Iris all looked at me, waiting for an answer. "She's doing better. The whole experience has her flashing back to when Zoom held her captive, but other than that she's doing well."

"Did she talk to you about what happened during those months Zoom had her?" Barry questioned.

"She did, but not in detail. For now though, I think what Jesse told me is a good start." I gave Barry a slight smile.

They all nodded and sat down to eat. "Hey, anyone up for a little Uno?" Cisco asked.

A collective eye roll and groan came from the rest of our team, but we nodded. He dealt out the cards and suddenly the competition began. Games with team Flash were always rowdy and competitive, this one was no different.

I slowly opened my eyes and groaned. I still had a massive headache and the light wasn't helping it at all. I shut my eyes again, "Turn the light off!" I could hear shuffling and then the dim light that filtered through my closed eyelids was gone. My dad, I assumed, took his seat next to my bed.

"Is that better?" A voice, which was certainly not my father's, asked.

"Wally?" I opened my eyes and turned my head only to see the faint outline of his figure, "What are you doing here?"

Wally laughed lightly, "Everyone's here, but I came by to see how you were doing."

I nodded my head and sat up, "You can turn the lamp on if you want. It's just those overhead lights are killer on a concussion."

I heard him flip the switch and the room was slightly illuminated by the little lamp. "Hey." He smiled at me.

"Hey." I grinned back and suddenly became a little more self-conscious. I had to look a mess. Bruises on my hands and arms, stitches randomly placed to seal the deep wounds, and let's not forget the casts; I had to look awful. "Sorry, I probably look a mess."

Wally shook his head, "Not in the least. So how are you doing exactly?"

"Good, I feel a lot better. My head still throbs quite a bit, but other than that I feel great." I plastered on a fake smile.

"You know you don't have to pretend with me, Jesse. You're my- you're my," he paused, "you're my friend. You can tell me the truth."

I gulped in air and swallowed the lump that was in my throat, "Friend, right." My head nodded uncontrolled.

Wally leaned forward and met my gaze, "So, how are you doing, really?"

"I mean getting kidnapped is certainly not the most fun thing in the world. Obviously it reminds me of when I was held captive by Zoom for months. So, yeah, that kind of sucks." I shrugged, "I don't know what you want me to say, Wally, I've been kidnapped before. It's not like it's a new experience for me."

"Right, but it still doesn't make it any easier." He gave me a pointed look.

I nodded, "It was scary, but it was nothing compared to what Zoom did. I'll be fine."

Wally leaned back in his chair and looked at me skeptically for a few seconds. Probably wondering if I was being truthful or not. "I believe you." He stated.

"Good because I'm telling the truth." I laughed, but it felt stiff and odd.

A smile formed on his lips as he came closer to my bed, taking my free hand in his, "Jesse, I've been wanting to ask you this ever since we escaped from the time vault. Jesse-"

"Hey, welcome back to the land of the living." Dad said as he and the rest of the gang walked in. I quickly pulled my hand out of Wally's and looked at all of the expectant faces.

"Yeah, I was really out for a while." I smiled nervously.

"How are you feeling?" Caitlin asked as she came over to check my pulse and other vitals.

"A lot better other than the fact that my head still hurts." I said.

She nodded, "Take these," Caitlin handed me three pills, "It'll help with the concussion."

I looked at them weary, "Are they going to make me drowsy?" Caitlin shook her head and I popped them in my mouth, "Now can I eat some food? I could really go for some Big Belly Burger."

Everyone laughed and Dad rolled his eyes, "Yes, we have some for you in the cortex. Are you up for getting out of bed?"

I nodded my head enthusiastically and Caitlin stopped the blood transfusions. "Your blood counts are back to normal, so you won't be needing this anymore. I do want you to rest a lot though. I don't want you walking on your foot for at least two weeks, even with the boot. It wasn't a complete fracture so it will heal quickly, but if you walk on it a lot in the next few weeks it won't heal."

She pulled over a wheelchair and I groaned, "Seriously?"

"It's either this or you can stay in the bed at all times." She shrugged.

"Fine." I mumbled and climbed into the padded seat.

"Hey, Jesse, look on the bright side, I can take you for a pretty fast spin in the wheelchair if you want." Barry grinned.

I laughed, "Maybe later. Right now, I want some food."

Dad grabbed the handles of the chair and wheeled me into the cortex. He parked it at one of the empty desks. Uno cards were scattered across the top.

"Hey, Jesse, you up for some games?" Cisco asked, an eyebrow raised.

I took the food that my dad handed me and sat it down, "Um, yes!"

Dad groaned, "Don't get her started. She's awful to play with."

"That's because I win all the time! Do you guys have Monopoly? I can crush anyone who dares to try and beat me." I smirked evilly and bit into my burger.

"Oh, you are on!" Cisco, Barry, and Iris said in unison.

"Dad, Caitlin, Wally? You going to join us?" I raised a daring eyebrow.

Dad rolled his eyes and took a seat to my left. Caitlin shrugged and sat down next to Cisco. That only left Wally. "I'm afraid there's only six players in this game." He shrugged.

"That's ok! We can be a team!" I grinned happily at my idea.

Dad choked on his drink, "Uh, no, definitely not!"

I sent him a glare and turned back to Wally, "I'm pretty sure we'd be even more unstoppable together."

He smiled and sat down in the seat to my right. I held up my hand and we high-fived. Cisco set up the board and the game was in full swing. Wally and I strategically bought anything and everything we landed on. Occasionally, when we weren't whispering plans to each other, we would share brief glances that made my head feel dizzy. The glances would be interrupted by someone wanting to strike up a deal with us and we would quickly tear our eyes away from each other. I didn't know what the glances meant, but I hoped it meant something good.

It had just come to our turn again, Wally and I grabbed for the dice at the same time, his hand on mine. I felt the blood rush to my ears; it felt like hours passed as we stared into the other's eyes. "Sorry, go ahead. I rolled last time." He smiled at me and I nodded, to overcome with butterflies to speak. I rolled two sixes and we bought out the final piece to us owning seventy-five percent of the board.

"Now I see what you mean, Harry." Cisco grumbled.

My dad nodded his head in reply to Cisco, but he continued to watch me carefully. I thought it was because he was worried I might be over doing things so I sent him a reassuring smile. The game would have continued on if I hadn't yawned, but Dad caught it and said it was time for me to get some rest. I want to protest, but the exhaustion I felt was to heavy.

I said goodnight to everyone and Dad took me down to our shared room. I crawled into bed and pulled the blankets up to my chin.

"Goodnight." Dad said and turned to leave, but I caught his wrist.

"Could you stay and maybe keep the nightmares at bay?" I whispered through my sleepiness. He smiled and sat down, leaning against the wall.

Wrapping a strong arm around me, Dad bent down and kissed my forehead, "Goodnight, Jesse Quick."

I nodded my head and drifted off into a dreamless darkness.

Let me know your thoughts! Anyone catch a little QuickWest action? ;) What about what Cisco vibed? Have no fear! There will be more to come! Seriously guys, season 3 has already been making my heart hurt a little bit! Reviews are always welcome!

Later gators,

Theatrefreak10