-Chapter Twenty-Eight-

"Home is Home Wherever You Can Find It"
(Part I)


"Aren't you coming to bed?"

Eddie stretched his arms over his head, leaning back in his chair. When did it get to be past midnight? Maybe all the sugar from that ice cream in his body gave him more energy. "Yeah, I'm coming," he replied, getting to his feet. He gave Iris a smile as he turned to face her. "Sorry." Clicking off the lone light above the couch, he shuffled through the dark apartment, using his heel to push the bedroom door shut behind him as he crossed the threshold.

"Just can't stay away from work, can you?" Iris asked with a knowing smile as Eddie flopped down onto the bed. He gave a tired, yet apologetic smile as the memory foam stated wrapping around his body. "I don't blame you."

"Mmmm." Eddie could feel all the energy flowing from his body and closed his eyes.

"Are you still mad at me for the article I wrote?" Iris asked.

Eddie's eyebrows angled towards each other as he lifted his head to look up at his girlfriend. "What makes you think I'm mad?" he asked.

"Because you never really said anything about my article," Iris replied, twisting her fingers together in her lap. She sat against the pillows resting against the headboard. "And we still haven't really talked about it."

"I'm not mad," Eddie replied, pushing himself up onto his forearms, "I'm immensely proud of you for what you've been able to accomplish." He tilted his head to the side just slightly and admitted, "And it's pretty cool to see your name as the author."

"I couldn't have done it without Linda's help," Iris said with a bright smile. "She's really been helping me get settled and understand how a newspaper really works."

"And I'm glad you're fitting in and everything, I'm just worried," Eddie continued. A line formed in the center of Iris's forehead as she gave him a confused look. "I mean, this Reverse-Flash guy attacked you at Jitters because he knew who you were. This is putting your name out there on an even grander scale." He ran a hand over his face. "I'm just worried that something could happen and I won't get there in time."

"Oh, babe." Iris moved from her seated position to lie down on her stomach as well, facing him. She grasped his hands, entwining her fingers through his. "You don't have to worry about me."

"I always do," Eddie said with a one-sided smile. "Ever since I got your purse back for you that night." He gave her a teasing smile. "Even though you didn't particularly like me at the time."

"Your story got crazier every time you told it," Iris protested, her voice getting slightly higher pitched. Eddie made a face but didn't deny it. "I mean, all you did was stop a purse thief. You made it sound like it was a spy mission."

That wasn't all he did. He wouldn't say he fell in love with Iris the moment he saw her and realized the recovered laptop belonged to her, but he did decide then and there that he wanted to get to know her. He decided that he never wanted to be the reason why he saw the look of despair and sadness on her face. Then she lit up when he presented her computer bag to her, despite going back to her usual cool demeanor with him shortly after, made him take notice.

"Well, now, it's my mission to keep you as safe as I can," Eddie replied. Iris let out a sigh through her nose before leaning forward and kissing him. His eyes fell shut as he kissed her back. Her touch sent a shiver down his spine despite the burning sensation left by the touch of her fingers on his face, neck and shoulders.

"I appreciate it," Iris said as she pulled back from him. Her hair framed his face, tickling his skin as she pressed his forehead against his. "But, I can take care of myself, babe. My dad taught me well."

"I know, that's one of the many things I love about you," Eddie replied with a short nod of his head. He closed his eyes as he took in her scent. "If there was one thing that made me become attracted to you, it's how independent you are and how passionate you are about everything you put your mind to."

"That's what journalism is for me right now," Iris explained.

"So is my work," Eddie replied.

Iris lifted her hand and cupped his cheek, stroking the curve of his cheekbone with her thumb. "I know," she replied, a hint of sadness coming to her eyes. "I know. I admire your work ethic and I know you just want to keep everyone safe."

"I was thinking though," Eddie said, sliding his hand over hers, gently squeezing it, "we could work together with this Reverse-Flash thing. We can both keep Central City informed and to feel safe whenever they go outside. You inform people in their homes, and I'll work with the CCPD to track this guy down."

"Does that mean I can use you as one of my sources?" Iris asked and Eddie chuckled before kissing her on the forehead.

"Of course," he replied with a smile. "To an extent. If there's something I can't tell you, I can't tell you." He ran a hand over his face, before propping up his chin with the palm of his hand. "I love you and all, but I'm not about to face the wrath of Singh for opening my big mouth."

"That's no fun," Iris commented with a fake pout. Eddie lifted an eyebrow, his lips lifting upwards into a smirk before he rolled her onto her back before grasping her around the waist, pulling her flush against him.

"Can I tell you something?" Eddie asked lifting a hand to brush her hair off her forehead, a smile tugging at his lips as her belly laugh subsided. "While I'm glad to know that there's someone like the Flash out there that is willing to save everyone in Central City that needs it, and I know I wasn't supportive of him at first, I'm glad to know that there's someone else out there that can be there for you when I can't. But, I hope one day, you'll let me be your hero."

"You already are," Iris replied, her eyes filled with such admiration that he felt his heart start racing. Almost as if he had run just as fast as the Flash. And he still didn't feel like much of a hero.

He knew there were a few times Iris had met with the illustrious Flash late at night. How else would she have gotten exclusive comments and information on her blog? He was mad about it at first; he could see how much she admired and was passionate about this man, whoever he was.

He just wanted her to look at him that same way.

/ / /

Averey coughed so hard, she thought she was going to vomit. Her stomach was on fire from Casey's punch. She had barely stepped through the front door of her house before she was dealt the blow.

"I'm sorry," Casey said into her ear as she grasped Averey's arm, pulling her through the foyer and into the living room before she was forced into a seat. Averey's cheeks repeatedly puffed out as she tried to catch a breath of air despite her abdominal muscles spasmed.

"Wha…re you doin'?" Averey asked, looking up at Gavin, Brent, and Casey as they stood in a half circle around her.

"Just welcoming you home," Gavin replied, with a fleeting smile. He crossed his arms over his chest. "What were you doing at Mercury Labs with Dr. Wells, Dr. Snow, and Cisco Ramon."

Averey sucked in a deep, wheezing breath of air, managing to get the wind back in her lungs to take in a normal breath of air. "Support," Averey replied, massaging her stomach. "I t—told you that. I wouldn't tell them anything…anything 'bout Mercury Labs or anything you're doing at B-Belle Reve."

Casey blinked, her head twitching from side to side in a quick shake. Brent opened and closed his mouth. A muscle in Gavin's jaw started jumping. All while a tense silence suddenly fell across the townhouse. Eyes widening, Averey quickly realized she had let something slip.

"I mean—"

"You remember," Gavin said, interrupting her. His knees cracked as he slowly lowered himself into a seated position on the edge of the coffee table, facing her. "When did you start remembering? How much do you know?"

"Not a lot," Averey replied.

"So not much more than B on any given day," Gavin said with a smirk, shifting his gaze over to Brent who rolled his eyes. Casey let out a laugh and Averey was surprised to find herself, chuckling, too—before she started groaning in pain as her sore abs moved. How could they be so secretive and intense and the next minute be like the fun, jokester roommates she had moved in with. "What else do you know?"

Knowing it wasn't a request but more of a demand, Averey told him everything else she remembered; starting from being hit by the wave of dark matter to begin with, being tested on by Dr. Hubbard (with people not needing to worry about PTSD anymore), and finally waking up at Belle Reve to begin with. As she talked, she realized that it was only a sliver of what had happened in those nine months.

"The doctors at Belle Reve, Dr. Caselli, Dr. Hale, and Dr. Hubbard said that they could get rid of my powers if I wanted," Averey explained, her eyebrows colliding with each other. "But, I don't understand, Dr. Hubbard said I wouldn't remember anything."

"Your abilities are much more profound then we realized," Casey said, shaking her head back and forth. She sounded amazed. "You really can remember everything, can't you?"

"Maybe not yet," Brent said, running a hand over his face, "but apparently, she will." He clasped his hands behind the back of his head and paced a few steps before facing Gavin who was staring at Averey and hadn't moved. "We're going to have to tell her; she's going to remember eventually."

Gavin was silent for a moment longer before he pressed his lips tightly. All the color disappeared from his lips and his fingers curled tightly into fists. He let out a curse, but nodded his head, fixing her with a hard stare. "Do you have upwards of $150,000?" Averey's eyes widened, but she didn't answer in her shock. "Do you have any way of making $150,000?"

"I…no," Averey replied, shaking her head back and forth. "Not with the minimum wage I'm getting. Which, by the way, I think sucks. Do you know how much more baristas, and waiters could get if you stopped having them live off tips?"

"You're going to need as many tips as you can get if you want to even put a dent into paying off that debt you have to the Royal Flush Gang," Gavin replied.

"But, I—"

"Hospital bills for the first time you were hospitalized; paid by us, your stay at Belle Reve; paid by us, the first few months of your rent, paid by us, and your recent hospital stint; again, paid by us," Gavin interrupted her, counting off on his fingers.

"You managed to whittle that down a little with some deliveries you made for us," Brent added, "but it's not enough." Averey stared at him confused for a moment, then remembered the packages. All the mail he had sent out for them, and the ones she picked up, too. That whole time, she was helping them. "Not with this new addition to your debt."

"You can work it off, but it's going to take time," Casey continued the explanation. Averey looked up at her and Casey sadly stared back at her, apologetically. She was the only one showing any emotion. "That's where Belle Reve comes in. We've been finding and offering other metahumans like you money to test on them and give the results we gather to General Eiling. They can keep the money, or if they choose as we've learned to accomplish through testing, be rid of their powers forever."

"What does General Eiling want with these powers?" Averey asked.

"An unstoppable army," Gavin replied. "Just think; the US would be an unstoppable force. But, he hasn't gotten any political figure to give him the go ahead with this plan. Until he managed to convince Mayor Bellows that something like this could help him become re-elected for another term." He slowly started to smile. "With eyesight like yours, we wouldn't miss any target."

Her head was spinning. It was all too much at one time. But, she had to get them to keep talking. She had to remember it all. "How'd you all get involved with this?" she asked. "Mercury Labs—"

"We had been working at Mercury Labs long enough to know that they house the equipment needed for our experiments," Brent said. He shrugged his shoulders. "It's not uncommon for people like us to often be found working late."

"We kept an eye on STAR Labs' creation of the particle accelerator knowing that there were a lot of unknown variables being used." Casey's voice was soft, compared to Gavin and Brent's matter of fact tone of voice. "After the accident, we got someone at Belle Reve to hack the systems at all the hospitals in Central City and monitored all the data for strange occurrences."

"Like a girl who passed out every time her optic nerves were routinely checked," Gavin added. "Or a man who would flat line every time there was a black out. Anything we found and thought we could use, we'd take them to Belle Reve." His lips twitched. "Of course, there are many who haven't shown their abilities until much later; we reach out to them, and give them the option to be rid of their abilities. Only all this research takes a lot of money, so we knew we had to find a way to get it to continue what we were doing."

"That's why you were robbing banks and stealing from people," Averey said quietly. She jumped to her feet, ignoring the searing pain in her stomach. "You made me steal from people! And threaten them! Dr. McGee has done nothing but try and live her life doing what she loves and you treat her like this?"

"Dr. McGee," Gavin said, getting to his feet, "has a lot at stake and she knows what we're capable of. She gives us the space we need to work, and nothing goes wrong."

"She wouldn't agree to that," Averey said, shaking her head. "Dr. McGee is smart, she's—"

"Just as easily manipulative as the next person if you know what you're doing," Gavin cut her off. "And if you have the means of allowing said person to not remember making such an agreement." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Have you remembered the night of the Jitters robbery, yet? Or is that still a gap in your memory."

"You…you injected me with something that night," Averey said, her voice shaking. "And the only other time I haven't remembered something was…when I was in Belle Reve." The serum. She remembered a voice saying the serum had worn off as she was waking up. They always injected themselves with it before moving out on a big hit. "I've been taking it this whole time."

"It's easier to create an alibi for yourself when you don't remember being at the crime scene in question," Brent said, scratching the back of his head. "We've had to use it on Dr. McGee a few times to make sure things were going the way we needed it to. There's no medical repercussion to it. You just don't remember what you were doing at the time." He lifted a hand in her direction. "That's clearly different in your case."

"I can't believe you'd do all this," Averey said, shaking her head back and forth, feeling tears come to her eyes. Her chest heaved as she tried to keep her voice steady and keep her breathing steady. "I thought you were my friends."

"We are your friends," Casey insisted. "We gave you a place to stay, we—"

"Why'd you even wait this long? To bring me in; why'd you wait?"

"Ave, I'm so sorry," Casey said, taking a step closer to Averey. Averey stumbled over her chair as she backed away from the blonde, nearly losing her balance. "We wanted to know if we could trust you after you got out of Belle Reve. You had done bigger stuff there, but out here, it's different. That's why you had level two and three duties. We knew we could use your powers to our advantage on the ground, but we didn't need more people until the first King, Queen, and Jack were arrested."

"Wait, 'bigger stuff'?" Averey asked, locking in on those two words. "What do you mean 'bigger stuff'?"

"Your photography skills were a big help. Look, we're wasting time," Gavin suddenly announced, "We have to make a hit tonight." He fixed Averey with a leveling gaze. "In future, don't ever ignore my calls. You don't want to put your family in any more unnecessary danger."

More? Averey slowly shook her head back and forth. "No," she said, her voice cracking. "No. You're lying. You can't do anything to them—you haven't done anything to them."

Gavin lifted his eyebrows before reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. Tisking, he tapped his finger against his phone before turning it around to face her, a shaky image appearing. Averey squinted, but recognized the color of the Iron Heights jumpsuits. Loud cheers burst from the phone as an inmate was shoved into the center of a circle before he was punched across the face.

Dad. Averey's lips formed the words, her heart pounding in her chest. She stopped herself from saying the word out loud as she watched Henry get beaten. She hadn't heard anything else about Henry in Iron Heights. This was why he was sent to the infirmary. "How'd you get this?" she asked, her eyes still on the screen.

"That doesn't matter," Gavin replied, stopping the video. "The fact is, that I can get this done." He crossed the living room to the bookshelf and moved some books aside. Reaching to the back he removed a tin container and lifted the lid to remove four syringes. He passed two out to Casey and Brent before handing the last one to her.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Averey lifted her free hand to feel for the injection site and set the needle tip into the hole in the skin on the back of her neck before pushing the plunger with her thumb. Shuddering as the serum coursed through her veins, her eyelids fluttered. Her vision started to blur at the edges, slowly creeping in until there were only pinpoints of clarity in front of her. And then her whole vision was covered as if there was a filter put over her eyes.

"Let's go," Gavin said, smiling in satisfaction.


"Mercury Labs is building a particle accelerator?" Cisco, Caitlin, and Averey asked in unison days later.

"I didn't say that," Dr. Wells replied, slowly blinking. "If I had to, I wouldn't call it that." His lips twitched and he made a face as if he couldn't believe what he was going to say next. "It's more of a…decelerator."

"Booo," Cisco said at his joke, giving a thumbs down. Caitlin elbowed him in the side, and he spotted a hint of a smile on her face as Averey snorted. He crossed his arms over his chest, all joking aside. "Damn, that's shady."

"When were you going to tell us?" Averey asked.

"Exactly at this precise moment," Dr. Wells replied, leveling her with a stare. "After I worked out for myself what exactly they were creating."

"Oh."

"From what Tina had told me, the project came to be shortly after Barry started working as the Flash," Dr. Wells explained, his mouth forming a thin line. "Like you, Cisco, they didn't know if Barry was a good or bad person and wanted to ensure that there was a way to put a stop to him. In regards to your comment, it's human nature to try and outdo others—in fact, Discover Magazine just put out a publication covering this topic. It's a really interesting read, I suggest you pick up a copy."

Clearing his throat, he folded his hands in his lap. "Tina and I have been competing against each other for years; in a friendly manner, of course. At times, admittedly, not too friendly as the pressures of science and the drive of uncovering some magnificent discoveries was too much to bear." He briefly closed his eyes, catching himself of rambling. "I'm not too surprised of her actions. After all, why wouldn't you try and see if you could succeed where others failed?" Cisco felt himself nodding.

That was all they were setting out to do in the first place; to succeed. No other laboratory could, or even tried to create a particle accelerator that not only worked, but was created in as short amount of time they had created theirs in. Even now, despite the bad press, Mercury Labs was still the scientific organization. Even standing at 9 plus floors above the city (in comparison to STAR Labs that chose to be built into the ground), they seemed to tower over and cast a shadow on them and their hard work.

Just keep reminding yourself that what you're doing is helping everyone, Cisco thought to himself. Sure, they caused the metahuman problem in the first place, but they were working to make it right. That was the most important thing.

"So what should we do?" Caitlin asked.

"What can we do?" Averey added.

"Continue on like the capable scientists and engineers you are. We've set out to help Barry increase his speed and that's what we'll continue to explore," Dr. Wells replied, removing his glasses from his face. He rubbed at his eyes with the side of his thumb before replacing the lenses on his face. He gave a smile. "After all, without that tachyonic particle, they can't do much."

Cisco was sure Dr. Wells would have thrown his head back and given an evil laugh if this were some sort of sci-fi movie. Maybe even add in some lightning and thunder sound effects while he was at it. He just seemed a bit too…happy that Mercury Labs couldn't move forward with their project. A part of him was too, he supposed. It was cool being part of the number one laboratory in the state, let alone in the United States. I mean, who didn't feel a little delight in hearing that an enemy was having a hard time?

Caitlin started a new training technique with Averey-in which she would ask the ocular metahuman to pick a card from a deck and memorize it before returned it, and as the cards fell, Averey would watch and tell Caitlin when to stop, after seeing her card and declare which number card in the deck it was—as Cisco headed down to his workshop. Not that he was getting much work done.

Before Dr. Wells had called him into the Cortex to discuss his meeting with Dr. McGee the day before, he had gone down to delivery breakfast to the captured metahumans. As usual, Hartley had a few choice words for Cisco. It was as if he couldn't go a minute without putting him down. Cisco was confident in his own work, but it just got tiring after a while. He got enough of the put downs at home, he didn't need it done at work either.

"So this is where the magic happens, huh?"

Cisco looked up at Averey's voice. How much time had gone by? He looked around the cluttered room, suddenly a tad self-conscious at how messy he kept the place (an organized mess to be exact), and annoyed that he had let Hartley stay in his mind for so long. Did he get any work done?

"Yeah," Cisco replied, turning around in his chair to face her. "This is where I build all the toys."

Averey laughed. "You have your very own Santa's workshop down here," she commented, "good thing, too. I don't like the cold that much; Caitlin keeps her office freezing."

"She says it helps her concentrate, but whatever," Cisco said, waving his hand in the air. "I'm sure Ronnie had no problem warming her up." Guilt hit him in the stomach. Ronnie would be back at STAR Labs if he hadn't been stupid enough to let Hartley out of his cell in the first place. Uh, Martin Stein, or whoever he was. There had been sightings of the "Burning Man" around town according to Iris's blog, but any form of contact set up just came to a dead end. "What's up?"

"Caitlin is going over results of my tests and I was calling down to see if you wanted to grab something to eat," Averey replied, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. "You weren't answering, so I came down."

"Oh, yeah, I've just been, uh," he drummed his fingers on the table and felt them hit something flat, and noticed a tablet under his fingers, "working on this database Dr. Wells wanted. Checking what room temperature the metahumans preferred and all that. Even Hartley can turn something like that into a battle of wits."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the guy fancied you," Averey commented. Cisco's head shot up. He used his feet to turn the swivel chair around to face her. "He's gay, yeah?"

"Riiight," Cisco slowly replied.

"So, it's, like, basic kindie logic; the more you torment someone the more you like them."

"I don't think Hartley is capable of loving anyone more than himself," Cisco said with a snort. "Anyway, I'm not that hungry and I didn't really get anything done so, I'm going to pass."

"You?" Averey asked. "Pass on eating? I barely ever see you without you chewing on something."

"Yeah, I just bought a new bag of candy," Cisco said with a half smile. "I'll be fine."

Averey huffed as she walked over to his chair. Grasping the back rest, she started pulling his rolling chair away from his desk. "Ladies and gentleman, the ride is now in motion," she said in her best announcer voice as she pulled him towards the exit. "Please keep your arms and legs in the tram at all times. We are now leaving the area—dude, you got off the tram."

"What are you doing?" Cisco asked as he stood, turning around to face the Australian girl.

"That's dangerous, Cisco," Averey cried. "It's like, a kajillion watt volts. Bzzzt. Dead Cisquito." Cisco gave her an odd look. "I heard Hartley call you that. I meant to ask what it meant. I thought it was a joke, like he was calling you a mosquito or something."

Like that makes it better. Cisco's gaze darkened. "Not what you think it means," he replied. "And if you know it bothers me when he calls me that, why did you?" Averey frowned and Cisco scratched at the back of . "It means 'Little Cisco'. I used to like being called that by my mom, but then my brothers called me that all the time and Hartley and…"

"You're upset," Averey pointed out. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it."

"That's ok," Cisco reassured her with a fleeting smile. "You didn't know."

She was silent for a moment before brightening. "Come on with me, anyway," she said. "I am not going to let you spend another second feeling sorry for yourself."

"Where are we going?" Cisco asked, starting to feel himself smile. Her cheerful attitude was contagious and the thought of spending some time alone with her wasn't too bad, either.

"You'll see," she sing-songed. "But, it's not in walking distance."

"Ok, then let me get my keys," Cisco said, setting the tablet down on his workspace. "Um." He turned in a circle. "That is, if I can find them."

"Already got 'em." Averey grinned as she reached into her pocket and pulled out his keychain filled with keys and a Storm Trooper and Darth Vader helmet shaped keychain. She spun the lanyard around her finger and lifted her eyebrows in a "How do you like me now?" kind of way.

"What, you're a pickpocket now?" Cisco asked, patting the pockets of his tan pants. Wallet? Check. If only he hadn't run out of his pocket breath spray. Not that he'd really need it. But it did come in handy after eating Mexican.

"Something like that." Averey's smile faded slightly. "I kind of learned it somewhere." She crossed her arms over her chest. "They were on the counter. Let's go."

"Let me just go tell Dr. Wells and Caitlin where we're going," Cisco said, motioning for her to wait. He had the feeling that no matter how much he protested she was going to keep insisting he leave. Something told him that he wouldn't be able to resist for long. As he stepped back into the Cortex, he watched as Averey carefully slipped her boomerangs into her bag before closing it.

"Just in case."

Minutes later, they were driving through the streets of Central City, heading towards the bridge that connected it to Keystone. He had been following her directions to get out of the city as soon as they got into the car—with her embarrassingly poignant comment, "Wow, your car really is as messy as Caitlin says, isn't it?". Averey had spotted that fact more than halfway across the STAR Labs parking lot and despite his moving his junk to the backseat and trunk, it was a thought that was stuck in the back of his mind. She didn't seem to be too bothered about it apart from that one comment, but he couldn't help but worry. After quickly switching through radio stations and commenting on how depressing it was to hear about all the crime that was on the rise in the city, Averey had found his CD case and marveled at all the 90s CDs he owned.

"OK, this is the true test of whether or not we can be mates," Averey said from the passenger seat of his car. She twisted in her seat to face him; eyes shining mischievously. She had his CD case open in her lap. "Everything rests on this decision. Are you ready?"

"Ready," Cisco replied as he came to a stop light at the edge of Central City.

"Ok; *NSYNC or Backstreet Boys?" Averey asked.

Cisco laughed. "Oh, snap, you're putting me on the spot," he declared. "This could get me in trouble if I don't answer correctly." Averey started humming the Jeopardy theme. "Don't rush me; this requires a well crafted answer."

"Mmmmmhmm."

"Ok, well they both have pretty sick harmonies," Cisco said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. The light turned green and he directed the car across the "Both groups have great performers. Backstreet Boys have amazing ballads and *NSYNC do have iconic dance moves. I don't think I could choose."

"Good answer," Averey replied as they came to the other side of the bridge. "Take a right up here."

"Ok," Cisco said as he put on the turn signal before pulling at the wheel. "You know, Keystone has always been this close, but I've never really stopped to visit."

"I loved living here." Cisco didn't have to look at her to know she was smiling. "It's barely that far from Central City, but it feels like a whole different world."

"Before or after the metahumans?" Cisco asked.

"Both I guess."

"I mean, Keystone doesn't have anyone as awesome as Team Flash in it," Cisco said with a grin. "Or someone like me making all the cool toys."

"That's true. There's nothing in this world like Team Flash." Cisco glanced over at her and watched as she scratched at the side of her head, her lips pulled back into a small smile. "Or you. Take a left up here."

Cisco quickly shifted his gaze back to the road and jerked the wheel to the left, wincing as he heard a long car honk behind him. "Crap. Jesus freaking Christ!" He made a face when he spotted the driver behind him giving him the finger in the rearview mirror. Averey tilted her head back and laughed. "I'm glad you find this so funny."

"Your cursing is," she replied as he laughter died down. "Oh, I used to work at that studio."

"At—" Cisco quickly glanced over his shoulder before putting his eyes back on the road. "Zoom a la Mode?"

"Yeah."

"How'd you get into photography anyway?"

"Ha." Averey laughed quietly. "Would you believe because I wanted to prove to my mum that I saw what I saw that night? That I saw the Reverse-Flash?"

"Actually, yes."

"They're letting me use the studio again pretty soon. There's this lady that comes in to get coffee most mornings and she has a cute little boy named Brady. Her name is Cadence, a reliable customer—anyway, she asked me to take pictures of her son for her. Keystone has some of the best landscapes I know so I suggested coming here. Plus, they have some equipment I don't. Oh, and Iris's cousin, Sage, is letting me take her senior pictures, too."

"Do they do it all digitally or develop in a dark room?" Cisco asked.

"Digitally mainly, but they do have dark rooms for anyone that wants to develop old school." Averey suddenly pointed in front of her. "Park right here. We're here."

"Where is here?" Cisco asked as he pulled into the parking spot she indicated. He shut off the car and removed the keys before climbing out of the car. After hurrying to lock the door and close it, he rushed after Averey who was already halfway down the block. "Where are we going?" He got his answer when Averey pushed open a glass door and stepped into a building whose walls were lined with shelves of clay bowls, cups, plates, and animals. "We're going to paint pottery?"

"It's one of my favorite things to do when I had free time," Averey replied with a shrug of her shoulders. She made a beeline for the banks and grabbed one before setting it down on the table. "What do you all say? 'Don't knock it 'till you've tried it', yeah?"

"I'm not very artistic," Cisco said, making a face as he looked around at all of the pottery.

"I don't believe you," Averey bluntly replied, looking over at him. "You have to have a creative mind to come up with the gadgets you can create." She put a hand to her hip. "Also, I reckon you play an instrument or two."

Cisco blinked in surprise. "How do you know that?" he asked. Lifting an eyebrow, Averey grabbed his hand—a shiver rolled through his body as goosebumps appeared on his arm—and turned it around to face him, palm up to take in the calluses on the pads of his fingers and the palm of his hand. She was good. "I play a little bit of the piano and the guitar. And percussion. And I sing. A little."

"I knew it," she said with a smug smile. "I thought you said Dante played the piano."

Cisco briefly closed his eyes, moving to find something to paint. Of course the conversation switched to his brother. Everything always went back to Dante somehow. Why would this be any different? Hell, even Melinda Torres could barely resist the charm that was Dante Ramon so why would Averey be any different? Then again she hadn't even met Dante. That wasn't much comfort. Don't kid yourself, Cisco, everyone adores him eventually.

"He does," Cisco finally answered. "But he's way better than I am." As everyone has no problem reminding me. He wondered if he should paint something for his brother, anyway. Then he could at least send a gift even if he didn't plan on attending the big birthday bash. He'd be falling back into his rightful place of the family anyway with the better gifts people would undoubtedly give him. What would be the perfect thing to send? Maybe an elephant to symbolize his big, fat feet stomping all over everything I do.

"You know, you really make having a big brother sound like a bad thing."

Cisco blinked, pulling his hand back from the clay elephant he was reaching for. "I said that out loud, didn't I?" he turned to face Averey who already had her paints picked out and was seated. She glanced up at him from the blue paint covered brush in her hand and gave a slight nod of her head. "Sorry. That's not what I'm trying to do. I just…I really can't stand the guy."

"I can tell; your shoulders are practically in your ears," Averey said, her eyes drifting up and down his body as she examined him. "You look like you'll go Hulk and bust out of your shirt at any second." Settling on a cup, Cisco grabbed some paint and joined her at the table.

"I don't want you to feel like things can't work out between you and Barry," Cisco commented. Averey's eyebrows twitched towards each other, a confused look appearing on his face. "I know you've got the best eyes around—" quickly realizing how his words might sound, he backtracked, "—I mean your eyesight, but even I can see the tension between you two at times."

"I know I can't force Barry into just being ok with everything, but I wish it was easy as I had made it out to be in my head," Averey said with a sigh. "Everything in my brain made this perfect picture; my dad, my brother, and I would live happily ever after. Relatively, anyway." She lifted her hands to the side of her face before moving them out in front of her. "My tunnel vision struck again, yeah?"

"You just saw what you wanted and went after it, that's all," Cisco said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Hmm, just like you and working at STAR Labs?" she asked. Cisco felt his jaw drop just slightly before he closed it. Touché. "You don't want to talk about it. That's ok."

"You know, it's scary how you can read people's faces like that," Cisco commented, squirting a glob of gray into his paint pallet. "So, how do your eyes work, anyway?"

"You mean apart from giving me the ability to see?" Averey asked with a smirk. "Isn't that your job to figure out?"

Cisco rolled his eyes. "I mean, like, how far can you see with your zoom?" he asked. "It's like a camera, right? How many feet?"

"Camera zooms don't really work like that, Cisco," Averey replied. She made a face before using the side of her thumb to correct her painting mistake. "It's more about the focal length you have. Anyway, I don't know how far. I've never really measured it. I know at least 150 meters." She started painting her bank again.

"So, what's something you've liked most about America while you've been here?" he asked after a moment of silence between the two of them as they painted. "Is it the accents? I bet it is. You have a great accent."

"I don't have an accent." Averey stared blankly at him. Cisco opened and closed his mouth, trying to form any sort of sentence. Only when he saw the teasing grin on her face did he relax. "I'm so used to hearing other Aussie's talk; I don't think I have an accent. You all do."

"Is hearing the American accent weird for you?" Cisco asked. Man, he sure wouldn't mind just hearing her talk all day.

"It's not anything I'm not used to, really." Averey turned her head and using her shoulder to scratch at her nose. "We get a lot of American shows back home so I've heard the accent a lot." Cisco paused, nearly dropping a glob of pain on his pants when she added nonchalantly, "Actually, I find it kind of sexy; you all curl your lips in a certain way when you talk." Cisco felt his face heat up as she lifted her head to look up at him, her gaze shifting upwards to lock eyes with him. "And yes, I was looking at your lips."

What the hell do you say to that? "Thanks?" How lame would that be? Maybe a compliment? But, what to compliment her on? There was so much. Her smile. The way her hair fell over her eyes? Not that he could really get anything out, his brain had suddenly lost the ability to form a single thought, and his mouth had gone incredibly dry. Maybe he should start with removing his tongue from where it was stuck to the roof of his mouth. Luckily (and thankfully) she started talking, saving himself from making a fool of himself.

"What do I like the most? Well, the Wi-Fi is so much faster," Averey continued to explain, not seeming to notice his being tongue tied. Her eyes lit up. "Ooh, and you have root beer and our drink sizes in restaurants are bigger. But, I don't like your chocolate—hey!"

"Uh, excuse you?" Cisco asked, pulling the tray of black paint away from her brush. "Chocolate is, like the greatest invention on this planet."

"Hershey just doesn't make it as good as Cadbury, that's all," Averey replied with a shrug of her shoulders. She moved to dip her paintbrush into the black paint again and Cisco pulled it away a second time, causing her to mark the back of his hand in retaliation. "Woops. How clumsy of me."

"Something tells me you did that on purpose," Cisco said, looking down at the back of his hand. He reached for the collection of paintbrushes (in various sizes) and jammed them into the colored paint on the pallet by his arm. He then reached across the table, trying to get around Averey's arms as she tried to deflect his attack. "Ha, ha. Payback!"

"Don't." Averey laughed, turning her head to try and keep Cisco's paint covered fingers from reaching her. "Stop! Ahh—Cisco, stop!"

"I'll say one thing about having an older brother like Dante," Cisco laughed as he settled back in his seat. He reached for the roll of paper towel and ripped off a section to wipe his fingers. "Bugging him was really fun."

"I'll take your word for it," Averey laughed, using her forearm to wipe at her face.

"Here; you're just spreading it," Cisco reached out a hand to help her rid her face of paint and froze. "Mind?" Averey motioned for him to go ahead—as she wiped the paint from her fingers—before sitting straight in her seat, offering him access to her face. Trying to keep his fingers steady, Cisco brushed the paper towel over the curves of her cheeks and the bride of her nose. "So, uh, you don't think of America as home?"

Averey's nose wrinkled. "Not really," she replied before blinking her thanks. "I mean, I do like it here but home is home, y'know? Wherever you can find it."

Yeah, but it can change. He didn't consider his parents house home that much anymore. He could call his apartment home and he could call STAR Labs home, and occasion, generally around holidays he could call the Snow abode home, but not his real home. Wait. That just might be it.

"You're a genius," he said to her.

"I don't hear that often," Averey said, blinking as she settled back into her chair. "What do you mean?"

"You said home is home wherever you can find it," Cisco repeated. "What if that's all Ronnie, and Martin Stein, want? To go home?" Averey nodded her head. "Both times Firestorm showed up, Caitlin was in trouble. All our other attempts to get in contact with him haven't worked so what if we—"

Bzzz.

Cisco balled up the paper towel in his hands and threw it onto the table before reached for his phone that started to vibrate in his pocket. "Oh, it's Barry." Cisco answered his phone, double checking that he didn't leave a streak of paint behind before lifting his phone to his ear. "Hey, Barry. Uh huh? No, I'm with Averey. In Keystone. Right now? Ok, ok. Yeah, see you in a bit."

"What's up?" Averey asked.

"Barry and Joe are at his old place," Cisco explained as he hung up the phone. "We need to get some stuff from STAR Labs before heading over."

"What are they there for?" Averey asked. She instantly got to her feet and started clearing their belongings.

"They think they found a break in his mom's case." Averey stopped what she was doing and looked up at him in alarm. "Look, I'm sorry we're cutting this short, I know you were doing this all for me and I appreciate it, and I've really enjoyed spending time with you but—"

Averey covered his mouth with her hand, effectively stopping him from talking. He couldn't help but notice how soft her hand felt against his lips (despite the dried paint stuck to her palm), or the sweet scent wafting up his nose. "It's ok, no dramas," she reassured him. "Let's just hurry."


Kelli: And there's more of Belle Reve to come, too. Thanks for reading.

Ethan: It actually wasn't a James Bond reference; or I tried not to do it that way. I actually went and counted how many metahumans there were by that episode, how many were alive and imprisoned in the particle accelerator and assigned him the number from there. Basically, I wanted to have Eddie to force himself to get a "plain" flavor so he wouldn't tempt himself to overeat it. Haha, no, Eddie and Averey weren't planning a date.