Having lost someone recently, this one was written in dedication to him.

Chapter 9: Dawn

Every time Barry closed his eyes, he could still see his father's face. The pain and agony in his eyes as he struggled with his last breath. It was a memory that he won't be forgetting anytime soon. Cisco recommended a variety of remedies to help but none of them worked. Not with his metabolism. Caitlin ran her standard set of tests on him but she didn't see anything abnormal from the results.

He knew that there wasn't anything physically wrong with him but he didn't want her to worry. He promised that if there was anything wrong with him, she would be the first one to know.

That was several hours ago and the team has long since gone home but he stayed behind and eventually found his way to the roof. He stared off into the distance, finding solace in the metropolitan city. It amazed him that after all the fights, all the destruction, the city was able to bounce back and that gave him hope.

The door next to him suddenly opened, his body jumping up in surprise. His eyes widened when he saw Caitlin stepping through, a plaid blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her hair tied up in a ponytail. "Cait?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

She gently closed the door behind her. "You didn't go home, Barry." She softly replied. "Joe called and asked if I've seen you."

He pulled out his phone and saw the numerous missed calls from Joe. "Sorry." He muttered, lowering his head and putting his phone back into his jeans. "I just wanted to get some air."

"At 3 AM? Even superheroes need rest."

He sighed and looked away, not wanting to answer her. Ever since the funeral, sleeping didn't feel natural to him anymore. Not when his father's murderer is still out there. Caitlin stared at her best friend, noticing the far-away look in his eyes. "When's the last time you've gotten a full night's rest?" His mouth opened slightly but she knew what he was going to say. "At least 7 hours Barry." She interrupted. "That's what I mean by a full night's rest."

"I'm not sure." He whispered, lowering his head into his arms. "Maybe a few days ago?"

"Barry!" Caitlin exclaimed. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

He shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to sleep... It's that I can't... Every time I close my eyes, I can still see my father Cait. I can still feel his body in my arms and it's not something that I can easily put behind me."

"And none of us is asking you to do that Barry." Caitlin said as she sat down next to him. She unraveled the plaid blanket and draped it around both of them. "We all loved your father and death isn't something that can be taken lightly. It's perfectly normal to be grieving right now. He is your father after all."

He knew that but his heart was still broken.

They stayed like that for hours, neither one of them feeling the need to fill the silence with chatter. Caitlin fell asleep a while back, her head leaning on his shoulders as he felt her steady breathing, her warm breath making his skin tingle. The sun was finally starting to come up and he felt the warm rays of light on his skin. His companion started to stir, cute incomprehensible noises came out of her mouth.

He smiled but returned his gaze to the rising sun. It was the start of a brand new day.

"Barry?" Caitlin whispered, her eyes half-opened. "Is it morning already?"

"Yeah... The sun's starting to come up."

She yawned and stretched her muscles, allowing the blanket to fall to the ground. She turned and looked at Barry, her hand gently caressing his cheeks. There was a little stubble growing but she didn't mind. "Did you get any sleep?"

"No." He admitted. "I couldn't stop thinking about him. How he'll never get to see another sunrise..."

"I know."

"It's not fair." Barry sniffed, blinking rapidly to keep the tears from coming. "He wasn't one of us. He was a civilian. Just like my mom. Why did he have to pay the price for my actions Caitlin? How many more people will suffer because of me?"

Caitlin saw his body shivering and quickly wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. "It's going to be okay Barry." She said, her hand slowly rubbing his back. "Henry didn't blame you. Not once. He was so proud of you for becoming an actual superhero. The abilities that you have, you're able to save more lives than he ever could." She looked up and saw the sun still rising. "It's a new day Barry. The mistakes that we've made, that's in the past now. We have an opportunity to keep moving on, to be better."

"What if I can't Cait? What if I want to kill him?"

There was an edge in his voice that she didn't recognize, one that made her pause. She understood the pain that he was going through, having lost someone she loved as well but this was Barry. "You won't." She confidently answered.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I'll be right there with you. Just like how I'm here with you right now."

See everyone at the next chapter.