Emberlynne: Oopsie, I hope this one isn't too bad, but I admit I didn't put as much thought in the pacing in that fic as I did in some other fics :(

Guest: Glad you like it, thanks!

Here you go for the last chapter:


What were they supposed to do? Harry was trapped, unable to reach the syringes full of drugs and neither Caitlin nor Cisco could get to him. In fact, in a moment, none of them would have a chance to get out of there. It was a matter of seconds before getting crushed by the giant gorilla.

''Get out, Cait.'' Urgently said Cisco, leading her toward the door. ''We'll be right behind you.''

''What?'' Protested the doctor, pushing the hands off of her and keeping her ground. ''I'm not leaving you behind.''

'There's no time, go!'' He insisted, feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins and his heart pumping faster than ever. He needed to find a solution, his, Caitlin and Harry's lives were all depending on him.

The next instant, wind and electricity filled the room and went out the next second, disappearing with both Harry and Caitlin. It left Cisco all alone in the room with the telepathic gorilla, his arms now extended toward nothing, toward where Caitlin was standing a moment ago. Immediately after, the yellow lighting was back, grabbing and dragging him out, not stopping until they were outside this tour and inside the S.T.A.R. van outside.

Cisco's little trip at superspeed ended with one really abrupt stop. And, let's be honest, abrupt was a smooth word under these circumstances. The red speedster completely released the grip he had on the engineer as the duo came to a complete and sudden stop, making Cisco ungracefully crash on the outside side of the van, next to his friends. Barely stopping himself, the hero collapsed at Caitlin's foot, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

''Barry!'' She exclaimed in shock, standing over the still body with wide opened eyes.

He wasn't supposed to be walking, he wasn't even supposed to have any feelings in his legs, how could he be running? What the hell was he doing in the suit?

''Snow!'' Screamed Harry. ''Focus!'' He said, kneeling on the pavement, turning the speedster on his back.

First thing he instantly noticed was that the young man breathing fast, way too fast.

''He's hyperventilating.'' He stated.

''What the hell is going on?'' Asked again the doctor, crouching on the other side of the speedster.

With all the attention focused on the fallen hero, nobody noticed Cisco slowly getting back on his shaking legs and approaching the group. Of all the three person still conscious, he was the only one who didn't have a stunned expression on his face, something that wasn't missed on his friend.

''You knew about this?'' She accusingly said in disbelief, popping her head up as she still had her fingers strongly pressed against the speedster' neck. ''And you didn't tell me about this?''

Not at all how he and Barry intended the news to be delivered…but the cat was now out of the bag.

''Cait, I'm sorry, but can we just take care of him for now?''

''You're going to have some explaining to do.'' She seriously said before turning back her attention to her too-still patient.

It was going to be a long night.

***FLASHFLASHFLASH***

If she didn't know any better, Caitlin would've swore she saw her patient moving slightly and that the young man's vitals fluctuated…but she did know better.

''Do you know how many time I've seen you sleep in this room, Barry? You really think I don't know when you're really unconscious and when you're just faking to be sleeping? ''

The corners of the speedster's mouth twitched in an almost imperceptible way; buster. But, clearly, he wasn't in a very chatty mood at the moment.

If it wasn't going to be a discussion, it was going to be a monologue.

''Come on, Barry. I'm not going to scream at you. I promise.'' Softly added the doctor. ''Cisco told me everything. I'm not mad at you.''

The shameful eyes finally opened, full of uncertainty, definitely expecting another verbal beat down.

''You won't?''

'I probably would've if you were awake one hour ago.' Thought Caitlin, deciding it was probably wiser to keep that part to herself.

''Come on, give me some credit. And some space too.'' Gently said Caitlin, smiling and gesturing at the side of the bed, near Barry's legs. After some shifting around, Barry was able to give her enough space for Caitlin to sit.

''You should be mad. I betrayed your trust, everyone's trust.''

''Yeah, you did, you never should've lied to us. '' She said calmly. Ok, so not the start Barry was expecting. ''After everything we've been together, you should've known we would support you, we would've found a solution, together. That's what we do. ''

Barry frowned in confusion. ''Don't take this the wrong way, but you're really bad at making people feel better. Are you sure you're not about to try and bite my head off? '' He said in a faint attempt to lighten the mood.

Caitlin snorted, smiling. ''Look, I'm not mad. I am disappointed, but I'm not angry. You're not the only one who's at fault here; I should've given just as much attention to your psychological wounds as I did to your physical wounds. ''

Barry stiffened at the psychological wounds, he wasn't weak and he wasn't damaged. ''I'm fine.''

''Yeah, sure you are. '' She said, clearly not buying it. ''I'll believe it if you do.'' Looking up straight in the hero's eyes, her theory was confirmed when he swiftly avoided eye contact. ''You shouldn't be ashamed of being vulnerable, being afraid is normal. Don't you think that we're also afraid of Zoom? ''

''Of course you are afraid of what he could do, especially since you have no one to fight him anymore and- '' Protested Barry, unsure where she was heading with that.

''I wasn't talking about what he could do to us, I'm afraid of what he could do to you, we all are. '' Sincerely said Caitlin.

That wasn't making any sense, or at least not to Barry.

''I don't get it, you and Cisco, and everyone else kept on pushing me to get back in the suit.''

''Because that's why friends do, they push each other. We thought that's what you really wanted. We thought you wanted to get back in the game, because that's who you've always been; doing what's right no matter the cause. ''

True.

''But, Barry, do you really think that we don't worry about you? We witnessed most of your match against Zoom on the security camera and we were powerless to do anything. After Zoom ran away, we kept you alive and while you were unconscious, we stayed by your side wondering if you were going to make it…Do you really think we want to live this ever again? ''

It was with a slightly opened mouth that the CSI listened to everything. She had a point; it was true that he never thought about anyone else but his own fear in all of that. All he could think of was what Zoom could do to him, but he should've thought how all of this also affected everyone around.

''I don't know what to say.'' He guiltily admitted.

''To be honest, I can't say that I blame you…I think fear really took a grip on all of us.'' Also admitted Caitlin. ''We all tried to push aside our feelings and stay strong for you, but in the process, we forgot to consider how you were feeling too.''

Fear. Fear was one hell of an emotion when it was striking. Coming out of nowhere, hitting people and knocking them down like a runaway train and taking a hold on all their thoughts and actions.

''We need to put all of this behind us now. '' She said, earning a nod of approval. ''Look. if you don't want to go fight Zoom again, nobody here is going to force you. ''

'Thanks.' Gratefully mouthed Barry before talking out loud again: ''What now?''

''Now, if you want, we can take care of Grodd first and after, we'll just take care of the rest, one step at the time. '' She proposed, pausing for a second 'til she saw Barry's lips parting apart, getting ready for an answer, prompting her to hurriedly add. ''That's if you want to, of course, if you want to take care of Grodd.''

Could he takes the telepathic gorilla out? Was he ready for that? Days ago, all he wanted to do was just run, run as far away as possible from everything and everyone he ever knew, run and hide forever so he wouldn't be the Flash ever again. What now? Now that he knew his friends were behind him, the future seemed a little less scary. His decision would be so much easier if Zoom wasn't included in that future…

The truth is, now that Barry knew he wasn't alone anymore, his mind was clearer that it had been in the last week. No matter what, chances were that Zoom was probably going to come back for him, eventually. Was the best plan really to go hide, alone, in some dark and retreated corner of the world? Or, get ready and keep his friends close? Let's be honest, no matter how terrified the world really was right now, Barry still cared about helping people, he still really wanted to save as many as possible. Might as well go back on the horse and start riding again, starting with Grodd and see where things would go from there.

''I will help. I want to. '' He finally said, determination in his eyes.

The Flash was coming back to fight another day and that day was today. One day at the time, one day at the time. He had no idea what was in store in the future, but as long as he had his friends by his side, it couldn't be that bad, right?

THE END


How was it? Leave one last comment.

I hope the ending wasn't too rushed. To be honest, since I almost gave up that fic so many times, almost deleted it once, I was a bit too excited to finish. Thanks for each and everyone of your comments that kept me going 'til the end. I still can't believe I made it.

And, in other news; you can now come and say Hello to my writer Twitter account. Search for Katie237 or Flash_Katie237 :) Don't be shy!