In response to the guest comment, I hope this is more of what you were looking for. Although a kiss might be a long ways off still... sorry about that. It doesn't quite fit with the natural progression of things right now. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Flash


Chapter 7: Contemplations

Caitlin awoke and blinked several times before she realized she was back in the medical wing. Suddenly, a face hovered above hers.

"Hi Harry," Caitlin said with a weak smile. She knew what was coming and she hoped the drowsiness wore off so she would be able to defend herself properly.

"Hi Harry? Is that all you have to say for yourself? What were you thinking Snow?! You should have listened to me and stayed in bed but no you had to go be a hero -" Harry was cut off by the entrance of Cisco and Jesse, followed by the rest of the team who had come back from their food run and just finished their dinner.

"CAITLIN! Why did you push yourself? You should have rested!" Cisco said in a hysterical voice. Then both he and Harry continued to fuss over Caitlin who kept trying to insist she was fine but they weren't having any of it.

From the doorway, Iris chimed in, "Thankfully you didn't hurt yourself while falling. You passed out from exhaustion combined with lack of food so we've hooked you up to an IV and you'll be good as new - well except for your injury - in no time! Oh and we've also put an ointment on the wound to help with the pain."

"Thanks Iris," Caitlin said, smiling at her with appreciation.

"But don't think that means we're going to let you out of this bed anytime soon," Harry said bossily.

Caitlin rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, I'm fine! I just needed to eat and next time I need to chase you around S.T.A.R. Labs, I'll ask someone to carry me there!" Caitlin smiled as she said it but the smile quickly faded as she saw Harry's look of guilt at being the reason why she passed out so she added, "It's not your fault Harry. I was being stupid and should have been more careful."

Harry's face softened and he gave Caitlin a gentle smile, which she returned. Jesse stood perplexed as she looked between the two of them. Then, she looked over at the team members as if to ask, are you seeing this? Cisco gave her a lopsided grin, Iris gave her a knowing smile and a slight nod but the remainder of the team remained oblivious to the little exchange.

"Okay chop chop, we've got a meta meeting to get to!" Ralph hollered as he clapped his hands together. While she was knocked out, Wally was texted a location for the meeting which was to take place at 8 p.m. at an apartment near Jitter's. "Who's going to babysit Caitlin?"

"I don't need-"

"YES YOU DO," Harry and Cisco said in unison to cut off Caitlin's protests as the rest of the team stifled their laughter.

Caitlin frowned and crossed her arms over her chest but she knew she wasn't going to win this fight and she didn't want to waste any more time that could be dedicated to finding The Thinker so she decided not to push it. Instead, she asked, "Hey did you guys get anywhere with the chip?"

"Oh yeah! It traced back to - guess who? - DeVoe," Cisco replied.

"So then we thought that if DeVoe was watching our friends on Earth-2, he was probably watching our friends on the same Earth as well so we asked Felicity to check out Team Arrow's hideout and they found hidden cameras all over the place too," Iris added.

"This also increases the chances that Ruth is working with DeVoe. Maybe she is his informant for Earth-19 by keeping close to Gypsy since surveillance cameras wouldn't be too helpful for tracking a Breacher," Cisco finished.

Caitlin nodded along but Ralph was becoming agitated. "Okay, okay, can't you do this later? I mean right now we've got to go to the meeting!" Ralph whined.

"Okay, only those with costumes go," Iris ordered. "So Barry, Wally, Ralph, Jesse - "

"I've actually got to get back," Jesse interrupted.

"Okay yeah, no worries. Right, so the three of you go ahead. I'll be on standby and Harry will stay with Caitlin. If anything goes wrong, get out of there. We'll do our best to help out from here. And another thing, do NOT reveal your identities under any circumstances. I'm looking at you, Barry. Enough people know you are The Flash, and especially now after the trial, we don't need anyone to have leverage over you," Iris spoke sternly.

They nodded and headed out. Jesse gave everyone who remained a hug as she bid her farewell. She gave Caitlin a very peculiar look as she left which Caitlin didn't seem to notice. Caitlin did notice that Harry and Jesse seemed to be on significantly better terms and she was happy for them both. She was also glad her passing out didn't interfere with the father and daughter's much-needed conversation.

With just the three of them left, Iris spoke, "Well I'll be in the cortex. Keep your phones handy in case I need you."

"In case you need me. Snow's not going anywhere," Harry said insistently.

"I'm fine," Caitlin said rolling her eyes, "and I can help too."

Harry took one look at her and back at Iris before saying, "Are you sure we can't put the restraints back on?"

"HARRY!" Caitlin exclaimed as Iris walked away laughing and shaking her head.

"I'm serious, Snow. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? What if you passed out near a sharp object or we didn't find you right away? You have no idea-" Harry cut himself off, realizing he was about to say too much. But Caitlin understood where he was going with that so she gave him a soft smile.

"Thank you for caring so much about me. Really, it means a lot. But you have to understand that I am capable of making my own decisions. Yes, I'll admit, my latest one was stupid but it won't happen again. I'll be careful, so don't worry so much."

Harry didn't even deny it and there was a silence where the two of them just looked at each other. Something had changed and they both felt it. Maybe it was because Caitlin had helped Harry patch things up with Jesse. Harry felt grateful towards Caitlin for the advice and Caitlin had begun to understand Harry more and so they were brought closer. Or maybe it was because Caitlin had been found unconscious on the ground twice within one week and it drove Harry crazy with worry each time which shocked them both. Caitlin was taken aback by receiving such a strong reaction from him and Harry was surprised at his own feelings because he hadn't realized how much he had come to care for Caitlin. They had also been paired up a lot more recently because she was injured so maybe spending time together allowed them to get closer.

Whatever it was, this moment was tense because of it. Harry slowly walked closer to Caitlin, never breaking eye-contact, and Caitlin's breath caught in her throat. Then, in one swift movement, just Harry's face was almost an inch away from Caitlin's, he grabbed a chair from behind him and sat down next to her cot before asking, "Do you want to continue that conversation?"

Caitlin blinked a couple of times before lamely saying, "What?"

"You said my name in your sleep when you were unconscious the first time and you said there was more to it than just reliving your traumas with Amunet," Harry pressed on.

"Ah yes, well I think it was because I was thankful that you were trying to protect me," Caitlin said thoughtfully.

Harry leaned back slightly in disappointment, "Yeah well what are friends for?"

Caitlin looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out what he was thinking. "Why did you want to know?" What were you expecting?

What was I expecting? Harry quickly masked his feelings and cryptically said, "No reason."

They were quiet again but the moment had passed and now the silence was uncomfortable. Caitlin was trying to figure out what exactly was happening. She hadn't really thought about Harry as anything more than a friend. At first, he was the doppelganger of their mentor-turned-murderer - or murderer disguised as a mentor to be more exact, so it was difficult to trust him. But then the team quickly realized he was nothing like Thawne. In fact, he was prickly and downright rude at times. Still, Caitlin, along with the rest of the team, warmed up to him and even though they had some tough times, they learned to trust him and he began to trust them in turn. But then he left and Caitlin thought that was the end of it; that their friendship wouldn't even have a chance to fully grow because of the distance. Sure he came back to visit and they even saved him from Grodd on Earth-2 but things were different. She became Killer Frost and there were so many things that he missed out on in her life and so much she probably missed out on in his. Yet when he moved back, everything just snapped back into place. It was the team back together, just like old times.

But until this moment, Caitlin hadn't realized how much closer they had become compared to when he first came to their Earth. Cisco was often off with Gypsy so the trio was brought down to the two of them more often. She seemed to end up at Jitter's with Harry someway or another more frequently since he moved back. And now there was this newfound care she discovered he had for her. Sure, he could just be worried about his good friend, but she sensed there was more to it - especially after that question. Now that she had a moment to stop and think about it, she realized she hoped that there was more. She had thought that those dreams and visions she had been having were just some side-effects from the drugs and they probably were but she couldn't shake the warm feelings they brought her.

Harry, on the other hand, was very perturbed by what he had just done. What the hell was I thinking? Yeah, that's definitely going to stop her from asking more questions I don't have the answers to - not! Harry didn't know what was happening here either but he did know he was about five seconds away from kissing Caitlin and that was NOT supposed to happen. But then his save was even worse! He couldn't believe he had asked her that now of all times. He felt like he was going crazy. Sure Caitlin had become very important to him over the years, but only as a friend. Or so he had thought before he saw Cisco and Iris carrying her into S.T.A.R. Labs that day and everything that came after that: her saying his name in her sleep (although that turned out to be nothing), taking care of her, working on defeating DeVoe, and her giving him advice. Not that the last two reasons were new - their work was why they knew each other in the first place and she had always been exceptionally kind - but he discovered that he just enjoyed spending time with her in general. He had had a lot of time to think about the two of them over the last few days and he had yet to come up with a conclusion. It was very nerve-racking for him and now he had gone and done this! Harry didn't know how Caitlin felt about him but after the response she gave him, he could only assume she only thought of him as a friend, which would make sense. There was no reason for her to think of him as more than that. And he was completely wrong for her anyway. He was older, he had a daughter, his bedside manner was terrible - she had said so herself just the other day, and he would never truly be able to understand her because he wasn't a meta.

But along with all the reasons they wouldn't work out, he couldn't help thinking of all the reasons they would. They had similar interests, they enjoyed each other's company, and they had been through so much together. Each of them had saved the other countless times and they both knew what it was like to lose the love of their life. The list went on but Harry forced himself to stop. Harry admitted to himself that he admired this woman and was starting to develop feelings for her but with this realization came the thought that it was hopeless. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable by throwing this at her right now. Not after all she had been through. Losing her husband twice, getting out of a relationship with a psychopath, then there was that lovesick puppy, although he doubted she lost any sleep over him. Not to mention everything with Killer Frost that he still didn't know the extent of. He didn't want to bring it up now, not while she was under his care.

Harry finally broke the silence by saying, "Well Snow, you should get some rest. I'm just going to check with West-Allen before setting up a cot just outside the room. Just text or call out if you need me."

They exchanged brief goodnights before he left the medical wing. Caitlin sighed and got settled in. As she did so, she noticed that there was something in the pocket of her sweatpants. It was a note that read:

Caitlin,

Thanks again for your advice earlier. It really meant a lot to me and I know my dad feels the same way. Thank you for talking to him as well. We had a proper conversation while you were unconscious (I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to you by the way. I hope you feel better soon) and, although everything isn't miraculously solved, we made a lot of progress. I'm writing this as the others leave to check out the meta meeting and I'm sorry I couldn't stay to thank you in person but I really need to get back to my Earth to deal with a meta-crisis there. Again, sorry for making this all about me. Be sure to tell me everything (okay maybe not EVERYTHING - I don't need to be scarred for life) when we see each other next.

Jesse

Caitlin just shook her head and smiled. She really didn't think it was that big of a deal but she was glad that she could have been helpful to both her and Harry. Somehow she knew her dreams were going to be carrying a similar theme to the past few days.