Author's note: A Snowbarry story in which Jay Garrick is not a bad guy, Barry Allen doesn't have powers, and Caitlin Snow does not need saving. Add in a dash of mental health elements and you kind readers have yourself an AU teacher story no one asked for but I'm writing it anyway. Reviews lovely. Hope you like. Xxx

Caitlin Snow listened to the rhythmic ticking of Jay's clock. She could feel his eyes on her, patiently waiting for her to summarize how she was feeling. Nodding, she looked at him.

"I think I'm better than I was yesterday," she admitted honestly. "Yes, the pain of losing my husband four years into our marriage to a disease that we were powerless against was hard. Unimaginable unless you or someone you know has gone through cancer. But. With that being said, these past two years of therapy have really helped. It's made me a stronger woman and a stronger friend; it's made me truly stop and enjoy every little thing that I can because that's what's so precious and scary about life: you never know when you're going to lose the things you take for granted."

Jay Garrick tapped his pen on the side of his notepad, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"Would you say that you took Ronnie for granted then, Caitlin?" The therapist asked, and Caitlin was taken aback for a moment before realizing how her words had sounded and why Jay had misconstrued them the way that he had.

Shaking her head, she was quick to dismiss that question. "No. I can see why you asked that but I loved Ronnie with every fiber of my being. I don't know if I am capable of loving another person the way I loved him."

"Yes, what you two shared was special, especially for your young age, but you can't write off the possibility that there is someone else out there for you. You've got a lot of life ahead of you, Caitlin," Jay said gently. "Don't live it in fear of what could happen instead of what is happening."

Caitlin thought over her therapist's words, considering the angle he was coming from before smiling slightly.

"I won't," she promised him, and he nodded before looking back to his notes.

"So, Monday starts your new job, correct?" Jay asked, and Caitlin hummed happily.

"Yes," she replied. "Come Monday, I'll be teaching at Central City's high school as the junior History teacher!"

Jay chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"I'm happy for you, Caitlin. You're forgetting that I saw how hard it was for you to even be able to start therapy after Ronnie died. Now, you're living life again and have secured a teaching position, one of your biggest passions," he praised her, and Caitlin grinned softly.

"Well, you can thank Cisco for that," she laughed, and Jay cocked his head to the side curiously. "He may have been the one to threaten our friendship breakup if I didn't start living life again."

Jay laughed with her before nodding. "I'm glad Cisco Ramon is in your life."

"Me too," Caitlin agreed.

They continued talking for the last twenty minutes of her session, outlining a plan that she wanted to see brought to fruition by the time the first quarter of the school year was up. Then, they rearranged their schedules to work around her new job, and soon enough, she was leaving his office. Getting into her car, she drove down the familiar path to her pharmacy where she would pick up her anxiety medication. It was the only aid she needed, apart from therapy, to help work through her anxiety. True, while it was a rather big helping hand, she at least didn't have to take them every day.

After getting her medication and picking up some Chinese, she headed to her apartment, tired but pleased with how the day went. Unlocking her door, she let herself in, kicking her shoes off and placing them into the basket by the front door. Making her way to the kitchen, she set her food down on the counter before going to her room and changing into her comfiest sweats and oversized sweater from her dad's college.

Going back into the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of milk, snagged her food off the counter, and made her way towards her kitchen table where she began eating as she pulled her planner towards her. Buy expo makers: check; get pens for grading: check; make sure the students all have a copy of the reading list: check. Sighing happily, she slid her planner away from her as she continued eating, happy that all of her to do's had been checked.

XXX

After having her weekly phone call with Cisco, Caitlin took a shower and retired to bed. In a few days' time she would be starting her new job, a prospect that thrilled her. It also made her slightly nervous but she was excited to meet the other teachers and continue living her life the way Jay and Cisco had encouraged her. Cisco was a wonderment in and of himself. The way he had been her rock through the worst of her grieving period after Ronnie died left her wondering how she'd ever be able to pay him back.

Then, Jay was the best therapist she could have hoped to have gotten. Her parents, who had always doted on her, had made sure she saw one when she was in high school herself and showing early stages of anxiety. She hadn't stopped since then. With that as her final thought, she succumbed to the gentle lull of sleep.

XXX

Monday morning had finally arrived and Caitlin was so excited it was like she was five-years-old on Christmas Morning all over again. Getting ready, she slid into a dress, did her face, and put on her ballet flats before heading into the kitchen to grab her coffee and bagel. She had already taken her anxiety medication, a habit she didn't want to create for every day of the school year; it was just first day nerves tended to be the worst for her.

Soon enough she was in her car and on her way to the school, taking in the streets she had frequented as a teenager herself. She was teaching at the school she had gone to. That was pretty cool. Eventually, she pulled up into the faculty parking lot and parked. Getting out of her 2018 Jeep, she made her way into the building, scanning her badge as she did so.

In the teacher's lounge she noticed she was the first one there. Perfect. That meant she could make coffee for everyone else. Starting the pot, she listened to the familiar drip of it as the delicious scent of the beans wafted through the lounge. Once it was ready, she poured herself a cup and got ready to sit down just as the door opened.

A guy with brown hair and startingly green eyes walked in and looked at her in surprise.

"Caitlin?"

"Hello, Barry."

Things had definitely just gotten interesting.

Author's note: Please let me know what you think!