Later that day, Robert called up to Caitlin's apartment.
"Delivery for you, Ms. Snow," came Robert's voice over the intercom and she shook her head fondly. If she had told him once, she had told him a thousand times: it was okay to call her Caitlin.
She pressed her intercom button.
"Thanks Robert, I'll be down in a minute," she called back down before shrugging on her sweater and converse. She then headed down to the main lobby, nodding her head in hello to the few people she spotted out and about in her complex. Once she made it to the lobby, she walked over to Robert.
"Ah, Ms. Snow!" Robert smiled and Caitlin laughed.
"Please, Robert, call me Caitlin," she reminded him and he dipped his head in acknowledgement.
"My apologies Ms.- Caitlin," Robert corrected himself through his apology and she smiled gently.
"Thank you," Caitlin murmured as she looked around for the package. Robert caught her curious eye and pulled out a manila envelope that had been stashed underneath the countertop.
"I had Rick hold it here while I called up to you." Robert explained and Caitlin knew Robert was doing his job thoroughly as doorman if he was the one receiving and delivering the packages for Rick, the complex manager. She smiled graciously.
"Thanks, Robert," she said and took the envelope out of his hands.
"Where's that boyfriend of yours'?" Robert asked conversationally and Caitlin blushed but smiled.
"We're not putting a title to what we our yet but he's working on a location today," she replied, thinking of the texts they had shared intermittently and how Barry had said he'd be busy until about nine that night. She waved to Robert before making her way to the elevator and headed back to her studio.
Once Caitlin made it back inside her apartment and had locked the door, she set the envelope on her coffee table and went to go pour her a glass of wine. She figured whatever the package contained could wait for a few moments. After making sure Pepper had enough food in her bowl and her wine glass was filled accordingly, Caitlin walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch, pulling the envelope towards her. After opening it and pulling out the contents, she froze. Inside had been photos…of her. Her doing every day activities like yoga at her local yoga studio and walking around the city, to hanging out with Barry and even getting ready in her apartment. Hands shaking, she rifled through all the photos before a note fell out.
Beautiful photos for a beautiful woman, doing beautiful things -W
Caitlin didn't have any idea what W stood for but all she knew was the fact that her hands were shaking so much that she nearly dropped her phone in her attempt to call Barry. When she finally succeeded at punching the numbers in, she exhaled a shaky breath and waited for him to pick up. After the third ring, her wish was granted.
"Hey, you, we're on break right now so you called at the per-"
"Barry, has anyone sent you any packages?" Caitlin interrupted, voice shaking.
"Cait, what's wrong? What do you mean by 'packages'?" Barry demanded in a worried tone and she bit her lip as she looked at the photos in her hands.
"Can you come by tonight? It'll be easier to show you then," Caitlin murmured, trying hard not to shake with fright.
"Of course, I'll come," Barry said in a soft voice and it immediately soothed her frayed nerves.
"Alright," Caitlin whispered before clicking off the phone. She took a sip of wine to try and help her relax somewhat but she was still on edge. Who had the opportunity to take these photos? Who would want to? The questions swirled around in her mind, leaving her unclear and discombobulated. She wasn't sure how long she had sat on her couch, staring at the pictures and then off into space, but it was a knock that broke her out of her trance. Startled, she glanced up before setting her wine glass down and hurrying to the door. After glancing out of the peephole briefly, she opened it quickly and sighed in relief.
"Barry," she breathed out and he crushed her into his chest.
"Hi, baby, hi," he murmured as he rubbed her back. After a few moments of collecting herself, she pulled back and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry I asked you to come over, you must be exhausted," she said in a small voice but he shook his head.
"You sounded so scared on the phone sweetheart, I'd never not come," he soothed and she nodded her head before making sure her door was locked. Then jerked her head towards the living room.
"The…it's in here," she murmured as she made her way to the living room and sat down on the couch, nodding her head towards the photos. She watched as Barry eyed them warily as he eased himself down onto the couch. He rifled through them, eyes growing more narrowed with each passing picture. He then came across the note and his eyes turned black due to his anger.
"Have you called the police, yet?" Barry demanded between clenched teeth and Caitlin shook her head.
"I'm not sure what they can do. It'd be pretty pointless to issue a restraining order against someone if they don't know who they're looking for," she muttered.
Barry sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face.
"Nothing is going to happen to you," he promised vehemently.
Caitlin shook her head quickly. "It's not me I'm worried about."
Barry frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Look, Barry, you're in some of the pictures too," Caitlin mumbled. "Maybe…maybe we should take a step back from each other."
The idea left Caitlin feeling dejected but she couldn't see any other way out of this mess.
Barry's frown intensified and he placed both hands against her cheeks and cradled them.
"Listen to me, sweetheart," Barry said firmly. "I'm not walking away from you because I'm in a couple of this creeps' photos. I'm going to stay right by your side and fight this battle head on. Don't try to push me away because you think you need to protect me."
Caitlin searched his eyes before ducking her head, whispering, "sorry".
"Nothing to be sorry for," Barry quickly assured with a kiss to the corner of her mouth. Caitlin tucked her head underneath his chin, trying to hide herself inside of him. His arms wrapped automatically around her and he kept her tucked close.
"We'll handle this together, alright, baby?" Barry murmured and she nodded her head.
"Together."
Author's note: And cue plot! XOXO
