AN: Here it is! The big chapter I couldn't wait for you, guys, to read!
He was truly getting impatient, waiting for her to come back from the church and actually starting to rethink this whole playing a hero thing when getting everyone out safely. He should've played a hero by staying and making sure she would be all right, but then again, he'd seen it himself, Killer Frost had taken over, so there was really nothing he could do but trust her to keep Caitlin's body safe.
Finally, he heard some commotion and then he saw them coming back.
"Are you all right?!" both he and Snow seemed to ask at once when running towards each other, Harrison's arms immediately closing around her small figure. All he wanted to do in that moment was to just grab her and escape to Earth 2, but he knew that was out of the question. She wouldn't abandon her friends in their time of need, especially not when having the means to actually help them by using her powers and he couldn't do it either. He cared too much about them all, damn it!
In the end, they settled for interrogating the man Oliver and Barry had brought in and who turned out to be the doppelganger of Queen's old and long dead friend. That alone made Harrison think, connecting the dots and when they were all back in the cortex, he was ready to present them with the story of Earth 53.
After Tommy Merlyn's of Earth X suicide, they all dispersed to work, still grasping in the dark to what the Nazis' agenda was and who was the mysterious archer with the girl that could fly just like Kara. Caitlin, all dressed up into Killer Frost's favorite attire, refused to leave Harry's side, so it was a good thing that they were currently working together with Stein. At least until Jackson showed up, wanting to speak with the professor alone. Then she basically had to drag Wells away from the room.
"Come on, Harry," she said, "this isn't about you."
"No," he agreed as he finally followed her down the corridor, "but I was curious."
"Since when you're the peeping Tom?" she wanted to know and he had half a mind to tell her that he'd already eavesdropped on her and Stein before, but in the end he decided against it.
Soon, he didn't even remember what he was thinking, because she suddenly pulled him to the nearest room that turned out to be an empty and dark lab.
She pushed him against the wall and then pressed herself into him, her arms going around his side as she did so, face resting just below his neck.
"Snow?" he asked, feeling perplexed, though he hugged her right back out of mere habit.
"I'm just scared, Harry. The truth is that ever since I regained control over my body after what happened in the church, I've been struggling to keep Killer Frost at bay. I'm just so scared. What if…" she came to a stop, breathing him in deeply before continuing, "What if this is too much? What if we can't win this one?"
Harry sighed as he held her in his arms, gently stroking her hair before he finally pulled away, cupped her face and locked his eyes with his. They more or less got used to the dark by now, so it wasn't difficult to find her hazel irises.
"We are going to get through this just like we always get through things, ok? It's you and me against the world."
"And fate," she added with a small smile.
"Exactly." He pressed his forehead against her own and closed his eyes, deriving strength from their proximity and then he kissed her. He didn't mean it to go any further than the mere touch of his lips against hers in the dark, but being alone did the trick and before he knew it, he was already tasting her and turning them around so her back was against the wall for a change.
Their kisses were frantic, hard, nearly bruising as she fumbled with his belt when pushing her own pants down her legs, not bothering with taking all of their clothes off, just settling for a quickie they both seemed to be in such a need of to reassure each other that they were in this together, that they were alive and they would fight for them and their friends. They could survive anything thrown their way, Harry thought when groaning and then finding his way inside Caitlin, sliding in fast and hard as they continued this frantic groping in the dark.
"I love you," she told him when it was over and he was still inside her, both of them waiting for their heartbeats to calm down.
"I love you, too. Always," he promised and after fixing their clothing, they finally made it out of the room and into further action.
She knew they shouldn't have left each other's sides. She just knew it, damn it! And he just had to leave anyway to grab something from his lab!
Well, right now Caitlin was watching Harry being attacked by a Nazi. He did manage to hit the alarm button to warn them all, but was eventually stuck down and in that moment blind fury overtook her, not to mention fear for his well-being and she just lost it.
A moment later she was no longer herself. She was Killer Frost.
And Killer Frost knew that she had to save Harrison Wells if she wanted to be in the team's good graces and especially Caitlin's. Also, she kind of didn't want anything happen to the man as well, but pushed those thoughts or maybe rather feelings – Caity's feelings – out of her mind.
Harry woke up to a terrible headache, recognizing that he was lying on the ground in the corridor and vaguely remembering that he'd been knocked down by a Nazi. Luckily for him, he'd managed to hit the alarm, so he could only hope the rest saved themselves in time.
"Snow…" escaped his lips as he remembered of the one person he cared about the most. He truly hoped she was all right and if he wanted to keep her that way, he knew that he also had to take care of his own self since she wouldn't be able to go on if she lost him. He knew that because it went both ways.
"I'm sorry, she's not here right now," he suddenly heard an ice cold voice with an unmistakable note to it.
He opened his eyes widely and found himself face to face with Killer Frost.
"I am so glad that Caity's taste in men has improved," she voiced her appreciation, not able to keep her own treacherous emotions in check.
He frowned on hearing that, not quite able to believe she just said such a thing and in a moment of crisis.
"Oh, really?" he responded in the end, managing to sit up with his back against the wall. "And that comes from the person who actually tried to kill both me and Snow."
"Well, if it's any consolation for you, I am sorry," Killer Frost surprisingly apologized. "Let me take you out of here, ok? She would like you to be safe."
"No. Better go and help the rest. They're gonna need it," he told her while heaving himself up, though not without some trouble. He then felt her hands on his shoulders, helping him and he met her eyes with his stunned blues.
"On it," she just said and was gone.
Harry was looking in the direction she disappeared to, struggling to understand what just happened.
By the moment Caitlin woke up again, Killer Frost was long gone and she was… She frowned on raising to her feet and looking around.
"Um… guys? Harry?!" she called out in an unsure voice, finally recognizing the space outside her cage as the pipeline. She had a very vague memory of being here before when Killer Frost had tried to take over for the first time. Despite the obvious danger, those times seemed to be easier as Caitlin actually remembered something at least whereas now it was all just blank.
"Snow! Caitlin, are you all right!?" she finally heard Harry's voice and she breathed out in relief as she found out that he was alive.
"Me?! Harry, you were knocked out! Are you all right?"
"Ok! Ok! Let me stop you right there before you go all lovey-dovey!" she immediately heard Cisco's voice. So he was finally awake as well, she thought.
She was just opening her mouth to say something to that when her cage suddenly moved.
"What the…?" she asked.
"Snow?! Snow, what's going on?!" Harry called out.
"I… I don't know! The cage's moving! I… They must want me for something!"
"No, wait! Snow! Snow! Hey! HEY!" Harry started screaming and pounding against the glass wall of his cage. At least that was what she gathered by the sounds of it. "Take me! Leave her alone and just take me instead!"
Sadly, no one seemed to care and eventually his and also Cisco's terrified screams died out as her cage was settled in place, revealing…
"You," Caitlin gasped, making a step backwards. There was a glass wall between them, but she still felt like she had to put as much distance as possible. "Barry mentioned you were working with the Nazis of Earth X. How are you even…?"
"…alive?" Eobard Thawne, dressed in the Reverse Flash suit and wearing the face of Harrison Wells, finished for her. And that hurt the most. That face. It brought way too many memories, memories which she didn't exactly associated with the man she loved. Memories that belonged to the past, because no matter the similar looks, she could always tell by his eyes whether he was her Harrison. "Oh, come on, Barry must've explained that, too if he already mentioned me being here."
"What do you want from me? You need my medical expertise or something?" she asked with a frown, still rattled, but doing her best not to show it and in the same time fighting the influence of Killer Frost she was already feeling. She couldn't possibly turn now, because then she wouldn't have any recollection of this conversation. And she needed to be conscious for this.
"Actually, no. I don't need you for anything anymore, Caitlin."
"Then why did you bring me here? Just to chat? Don't tell me you suddenly felt the urge to catch up," she provoked him and was quite proud of that, folding her arms over her chest as she did so.
"For such a bright woman, you can be so blind sometimes, Caitlin," he just said and it unsettled her. In fact, she didn't like the way he was looking at her at all. It was as though she was something he couldn't have, the strange longing in his eyes causing her stomach to twist.
"Wait a second…" she gasped, suddenly realizing the truth.
"There you go! You know, I always wondered about the future," he began telling her. "When I first arrived here and found you, imagine my surprise at what Gideon showed me. Caitlin Snow-Wells. For a moment there, I even thought you and me would eventually get married, considering the pull I felt for you."
On hearing that, Caitlin felt her mouth go dry. He quite successfully rendered her speechless.
"What?" he asked, an amused expression appearing on his face. "Don't tell me you never thought about it! At least back when you didn't know who I really was. You did desire this body, didn't you?" He pointed at himself and she remained silent, choosing not to answer, still processing the information he'd just given her and wondering whether it was even true. "It was only later that I realized the Harrison Wells you were going to marry wasn't me. It wasn't even the man I killed in order to inhabit this body. Oh, no. In fact, I did not see that coming. I so didn't see Harrison Wells from Earth 2 causing you to completely fall in love with him. And definitely not when I actually realized what kind of a personality he had. Again, I guess life has a way of surprising us sometimes, doesn't it? Even when you're a speedster from the future, so therefore you shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore."
"What are you going to do to me? Are you going to kill me?" she asked, close to losing it because she started to be afraid again. What he just said made perfect sense. Of course she would eventually marry Harry and take upon his name whereas leaving her own be so she could honor her beloved father.
"Oh, no. I have other plans."
"Are you going to kill him, then?" She hated that her voice did waver a little there.
"Whether you are willing to believe it or not, I am still quite fond of you, Caitlin," he surprised her again and she felt Killer Frost retreating, curiosity winning over fear. Nothing he said made sense anymore. He was a monster, yet he cared for her? Was that even possible? "I will leave you be. I won't move a finger to help you in anything, though, so you're going back in there," he pointed the pipeline. "It was nice to see you again. You are even more beautiful then you were the last time we saw each other. In fact, I am quite happy that Raymond is out of the picture. He could never match your in any way and you were only wasting your time with him. So, this is probably farewell, Caitlin Snow-Wells, the mother of two. Well, provided you live long enough to bear Harrison Wells of Earth 2 two kids, a boy and a girl, or… provided he lives that long. Excuse me now, time to go." He sped off before Caitlin managed to open her mouth and then she felt the cage moving back into place.
She soon heard Harry and Cisco's voices calling her again once they realized her cage was going back, but she was rendered speechless, just standing there, her back pressed against the wall as she struggled to breath evenly, as she struggled to deal with all the emotions the new information from the Reverse Flash evoked. As she had to fight Killer Frost again.
Married? Two kids? What… How… With Killer Frost still there?
She wished she could've understood it all and… Oh, crap…
"Caity is fine, boys, so keep it down, will you?" Killer Frost finally responded to the calls.
"What happened to her?! Why was she scared?!" Harry immediately followed with, at least relieved that Snow's body was intact since he could hear her alter ego.
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" he just got in frustrating answer.
After the Legends arrived, saving the day and releasing them from their prison, Harrison didn't even have the time to think about everything that was happening around, he could only act. Caitlin hadn't made an appearance, Killer Frost holding on strongly and he couldn't blame her, really, since even he had to admit that she was needed so much more right now than his beloved one. What bothered him, though, was that ever since released from the cages, he couldn't seem to get rid of her as she followed him everywhere, even to the spaceship he and Cisco took for a spin to fire at the enemy. He finally did have a respite when she was more needed down on the ground, but she still made a quick comeback when carrying two of the Legends on her ice slide straight to the enemy mothership so they could disarm it and eventually blow up.
Needless to say, it was quite an eventful day and before it was all over, somewhere along the way Harry actually lost his grudge against Killer Frost and started cooperating with her. It wasn't until the war was over that he stopped to realize the fact and felt kind of guilty. She had taken over the Caitlin and almost killed him as Savitar had commanded her once, but then again, he had to take into the account the fact that she was a freshly born meta who suddenly found herself thrown into Caitlin Snow's body and couldn't find any other way to control the host. All Killer Frost initially wanted beside hurting other people was to survive and be accepted. Well, maybe exactly that was also the reason to why she'd gone bad at first.
Harry still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that this completely separate from Caitlin entity just happened to live in her body, sometimes taking over. Where had she even come from? What did she want? How had she come to be? He truly started wondering whether he'd ever get his answer. He hoped so.
Suddenly, he realized she was nowhere to be found and just because of that, he knew that Caitlin still hadn't made her comeback. If she did, she'd be right by his side for sure.
The moment Cait was back, she was still overwhelmed with the news she'd heard. She wished she could somehow talk to Eobard again, find out more details and then an idea sparked in her mind. Before going to seek for Harry, she made a detour and ended up in the time vault.
No one had used Gideon for quite some time, all of them deciding they wouldn't ask her about anything, especially not the future. Not after they managed to save Iris from a terrible fate. Though right now Caitlin felt like she needed to know. She needed to find out whether The Reverse Flash was just playing her.
It wasn't until she arrived in the room that she realized she wouldn't be able to activate Gideon on her own. Well, it must've been her lucky day or she was simply meant to check her future out, because the computer was live. Barry must've been using it since all the information about Thawne were on display at the moment.
"Good evening, dr. Snow," Gideon welcomed her and Cait nearly jumped on hearing the voice. "How can I be at service?"
"I would… I would like you to show me my records from ten years in the future," Caitlin finally asked, getting her voice under control, although inside she was still shaking.
And there it was.
Ten years into the future. She would be forty two then.
Her mouth hung open when she saw a picture of herself and Harrison and… just like Thawne had told her – two kids.
How was this even possible? She worked her mind over the fact and was tempted to ask Gideon for more information, but in the end she decided against it. She knew that nothing good ever came out from messing with either the past or future, so she decided she would have to just let it be. The picture would have to suffice. And what kind of a picture it was! Harry had one of his arms put around her, pressing her into his side as he usually did when they were together, and the two kids, that must've been very close in age, stood right in front of them, both the parents' free hands rested on each of their shoulders. She couldn't take her eyes away from their faces, seeing how perfect the boy and the girl were, how alike both her and Harry. And Harry… even when being sixty, he was still so handsome and so hot that she wondered how that was even possible. Maybe it was true what they said. Maybe it was love and the simple and pure fact of just being happy and maintaining physical activity.
And they deserved it. Oh, God, how much they deserved it! Caitlin thought, feeling her eyes being flooded with tears.
In the end, she forced herself to turn Gideon off completely. She had no idea how much time had passed and Harry must've been already looking for her. She couldn't possibly stay here, staring at a picture from the future. She had to live her life and get there one day. For now, she had today, she told herself and she actually smiled. She had today and Harry and they could come back home safely.
She exited the time vault and walked a few steps when she suddenly bumped into someone and then she felt their hands on her shoulders.
"Snow! I've been looking everywhere for you! Are you all right? Wait… Have you been crying?" Harrison asked when taking a closer look at her face. "Listen, I know it was hard to lose professor Stein…"
"Harry?" she interrupted him right then.
"Yeah?"
"Let's just go home, ok?"
"You got it," he assured her, smiling at her lovingly. "I missed you, you know," he said once he put his arm around her and they started off towards the elevators. She smiled brightly, recognizing the familiar gesture from the picture. It was nice to know that they would be doing the same thing in ten years from now. It brought her peace of mind. She really needed that.
"I missed you, too," she responded, snuggling to his side when putting her own arm around him. "I hope Killer Frost behaved."
"Well, actually, she did prove herself, so it was quite all right. Though I couldn't wait to get you back, dr. Snow." He came to a stop to kiss her right then, feeling the weight of the small velvet box still in his pocket and wondering when he would be able to find the right time to pop the question.
