My apologies for the slow updates. I've been dealing with depression, anxiety, work stress, and life in general. All mistakes are my own. My vampiric zombie Beta basically gives me somebody to bounce ideas off of, no editing. Please forgive any mutilation of the English language. Also, while I had finished this story when I started posting so long ago, I'm on like my fourth or fifth version with edits. I'm doing my best. Thanks - Troll

Chapter 20: Morning

Lee woke early in the morning. He was not at all surprised to find that he had an arm tossed over a sleeping Joe West. Quietly, he slipped from the bed and padded out of the room. It felt like the night had been a dream. Had Harrison Wells really woken up from his coma? Laughter floated to his ears as Lee walked down the hall. Pausing at the door, he listened before knocking. "Enter!" A voice sang out so Lee opened the door, moving quickly inside.

"Detective Hallow," Artemis greeted him. The young doctor was seated on the floor, his legs spread so that each foot touched one of Harrison's feet. Seated opposite his son, Harrison had his back against the side of the bed and was holding onto an infant Lee recognized as Rupert. Man and child both looked shaky, but Artemis was clearly watching them closely. "Welcome. Dad, this is Joe's boyfriend Detective Lee Hallow."

"Ah, Detective Hallow. Nice to meet you," Harrison nodded his greeting, his hands full of giggling infant. "This is my son, Rupert. Little monster has grown a great deal since I last saw him." In his hands, Rupert turned to look at Hallow, who laughed.

"I see the family resemblance," Lee admitted. "You all have the same eyes."

"It was a special," Harrison cracked. "Buy two pairs get one pair free."

"Looks like it was a hell of a deal," Lee chuckled. He was surprised to see Artemis getting to his feet.

"Detective, would you be so kind as to stay with Dad while I go prepare the morning meal?" Artemis asked, glancing once at his father before focusing his attention on the detective.

"Why don't I make breakfast," Lee suggested. He wasn't certain how he felt about watching over the senior Dr. Wells.

"I don't need a babysitter," Harrison interjected. There was a pause as he wobbled some, still weak from the extended inactivity. "But, I would like to speak with you privately, Detective." It seemed to Lee that the elder Wells might have just been trying to save face. Still, he could sit and talk with the man, make sure nothing happened.

"Lee," he said, watching Artemis leave the room. Sighing, Lee went and took Artemis's place. To his surprise, Rupert started taking hesitant steps towards him, little hands out. Even more shocking was when his shirt seemed to pull away from his body and towards the little hands.

"Rupert, that's cheating!" Harrison protested with a laugh. Lee just stared at the little boy. Giggling, the child made it to Lee and turned to face his father. A wide smile on his face, the boy bounced a little, and the necklace around Harrison's neck started to float up and into the air. "Okay, now you're just showing off," Harrison chuckled. Blinking in shock, Lee watched the child toddle back to the scientist.

"He's a meta?" Lee asked once the little boy was once more in the arms of his father.

"Is that a problem?" Harrison asked. He studied the silver-haired man opposite from him. "We figured it wouldn't bother you since you're a meta as well." Lee froze, his gaze locked on the man across from him. There was a long drawn out silence which the child broke with a giggle as he levitated a stuffed frog over from the bed. Catching it, Harrison grinned at the boy and made the toy dance.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lee began, but Harrison just laughed. "I'm not a meta," Lee tried again.

"Right. Sure. I won't tell anyone. However, I did want to thank you for helping me heal. I understand the exertion made you sick," Harrison continued, playing with the stuffed toy. His attention was focused on the child, which was oddly comforting to Lee. "I wanted to make sure you knew how much it meant to me." He looked up at the other man. "I think I was having problems finding my way home until you started using your power on me. Without your help, I might not have made it back to this little monster, or his older brother."

Lee remained silent, uncertain how to respond. He watched as Harrison continued to play with his son, Rupert giggling at the way the stuffed animal was moving around and dancing. Neither seemed concerned with Lee and whatever powers he might or might not have. Finally, the detective made a decision, "You won't tell anyone else?"

"Why would I?" Harrison shrugged, his eyes never straying from the child. "I will admit that I'm a little surprised you would be willing to help me, since it was my accelerator which ruined your life." Glancing over, the scientist smiled at the look Lee was giving him. It was one of uncertainty and disbelief. "I'm sorry about your partner. I hadn't realized the effects of the accelerator had reached your area."

"I was here," Lee finally blurted. Dr. Wells lifted his gaze to the detective, clearly waiting for more. "My daughter was obsessed with seeing your accelerator turn on and convinced me to come along with her. We had started heading home early because of the storm when a semi jack-knifed on the slick road. When your accelerator exploded, I was in the ER holding a bloody bandage to her neck and praying that she would survive. The energy wave or whatever hit, and they lost power. Everything descended into chaos and she died in my arms. Bled out." He raced through the story, as if afraid he'd feel the pain again.

"Then your daughter would have been Dr. Katherine Hallow," Harrison said seriously. "I'm very sorry for your loss. From what I read about her, I gather that she was an extremely gifted doctor."

"How do you know her name?" Lee couldn't keep the surprise from his face.

"I know the names of all of my victims," Harrison answered. There was a haze of pain in his blue eyes and Lee wondered if it was physical or emotional. "I know I can't bring back all those who died that night, but it has always been my intention to do what I can to ease the pain of those they left behind." The room feel silent, and Lee watched as Harrison kissed Rupert on the forehead. The scientist made a face and sniffed. "Damn, he needs a diaper change." Looking around, Harrison tried to figure out where the diaper bag had gotten to and tried to determine if he was physically up to the challenge of changing the ten month old's diaper.

"I'll do it," Lee said softly, getting to his feet and moving to take the little boy. Hesitantly, Harrison relinquished the child to the detective and watched as Lee went to the bed and stretched the baby out. "It's been a long time since I've changed a diaper," he mused as he got everything out. "Never changed a little boy's diaper."

"Careful, he's armed and his aim is deadly accurate," Harrison informed the detective. Glancing at him, Lee watched as the other man struggled to shift himself around.

"I'll keep that in mind." Lee managed a weak smile as he let his mind wander while he set about getting the diaper changed. At least it was only urine and not the more solid waste children could produce. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about a charity that was started in Katie's name at the hospital where she worked, would you?" He'd always wondered where the money had come from but nobody at the hospital would admit to getting everything set up. Yes, people had donated to the cause, but no one seemed to know who was responsible for the bulk of the money."

"Anonymous donors generally like to stay anonymous," Harrison answered. He had moved his legs and was trying to pull himself back into the bed. Even with the greater muscle mass the treatments had granted him, Harrison was still struggling with simple tasks. He was relearning how to use his body for the second time in as many years.

"You keep my secret and I'll keep yours," Lee suggested. Grunting for an answer, Harrison slowly collapsed down to the floor. After a moment he started to try again.

"Dr. Wells, Artemis said you were up," Caitlin began, entering the room. She paused a few steps in, watching her boss struggle with getting back into the bed. "Let me help you," she said, rushing to his side.

"I want to do it myself," Harrison practically shouted at her. Pulling back from him, Caitlin blinked, and held back her own retort. "I'm sorry," Harrison said after a moment with a sigh. "This is frustrating. Please, let me try to do this on my own."

"Okay," Caitlin agreed, stepping back. "But I'm not going to let you hurt yourself." She and Lee both watched as the man struggled once more. As Harrison tried to lift himself, Barry, Cisco, Joe, and finally Artemis arrived in the room. They were all silent as they watched, Artemis going to his father's side when the older man collapsed to the floor once more.

"I'll help," Artemis said softly. Nodding his thanks, Harrison started trying again, this time with his son taking some of the weight so that the paraplegic man succeeded in getting back into the bed. "We should discuss Detective Hallow's plan to use you as bait," Artemis began while Harrison shifted and re-positioned his legs.

"Yeah," Hallow looked up nervously as he finished snapping the legs of the sleeper back on Rupert and lifted the boy into his arms.

"Don't worry," Harrison said with a tired look. "I have no problem playing live bait. No need for Scooby Snacks. I just wish there was some way to protect my friends and family. I don't want anyone else in danger because of me."

"Noble wishes," Lee said. "But unfortunately, I think your friends and family are targets just because they are your friends and family. At least here they have myself and Detective West to watch over them."

"Thank you for watching over them," Harrison agreed. "Now that I am conscious, Artemis has suggested we get a bit more active with your investigation."

"Dr. Wells, you need some time to rebuild your muscles, let your body recover," Caitlin pointed out. "You can't just call a press conference today and expect Hartley to attack and the Flash to catch him." Worry laced her words and pulled the colour from her face, making it paler.

"Not what I was thinking, Dr. Snow," Harrison replied.

"Hang on," Joe said, jumping in with a frown. "Harrison, Caitlin. Caitlin, Harrison. Now, do I need to do introductions all around? You know I will." He gave them all stern looks. Lee remained silent, but his eyes clouded with confusion.

"Thank you, Joe," Harrison said with a nod and an odd little smile. "Caitlin, what Artemis and I discussed was going over the list of Hartley's thefts. While we try to figure out what Hartley is up to, I will be recovering."

"We wanted to discuss the possibility of having Mrs. Click come in for Dad's physical therapy or Dad going to the centre," Artemis piped up.

"Unfortunately, I think we should limit the number of guests you have. The fewer people seen with you, the fewer targets Mr. Rathaway will have. I understand that you need physical therapy, but somebody here will just have to help you with it," Lee informed them. "I would also suggest that we keep as many of you here as possible. Otherwise we'll need to call in officers to shadow all of you. I already had to put men on Dr. McGee and Dr. Carvers."

"Oh, no," Harrison groaned. "Chrissy is never going to let me hear the end of it!" Despite his apparent displeasure, a smile played near his lips.

"Harrison, Lee is right. The best way to protect everyone is to limit contact with either you or the outside world," Joe pointed out.

"I can help with the physical therapy," Cisco offered. He shot Hallow a look before returning his gaze to Harrison and continuing. "I remember when you were first hurt."

"You were extremely helpful while I was learning to adapt," Harrison agreed.

"I am certain I can be of assistance as well," Artemis added.

"I don't know much about it, but tell me what to do and I'll do it," Barry declared.

"I've been there, so I can help," Joe reminded them. His own spinal injury wasn't that long ago. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd be stuck in a bed." He shot a rather significant look at the others.

"Sounds like we have the physical therapy covered," Caitlin decided. "I'll start working with you today. Artemis can work with you in the afternoon."

"I have to get to work," Barry declared.

"Mr. Allen, your friend just woke up from a coma. Why don't you take a week off to spend some time with him," Hallow suggested. "I know we'll all probably go stir crazy, but it really will be easier to protect everyone if we're all under one roof."

"Uhm," Barry looked to Joe, who nodded his head once. "Okay, but I need to pick up some more stuff from home. I mean, if we're going to extend out stays and limit time out of the house."

"Me to," Caitlin piped up. While she wanted to be there to help Harrison with his therapy, she needed to get anything necessary for an extended stay. The older scientist didn't seem upset either way.

"I'll take you," Joe offered.

"Cisco and I will began Dad's physical therapy," Artemis declared. Decision made, the group parted.