Year: 2025 (The Future)

Everything seems so different yet still the same after all these years. Racing through the city towards his destination he takes notice of all the things that have changed and that still stayed the same. He slides to a halt as he stares up at the iconic building before him - STAR Labs. He can't help chuckle under his breath as the wise words of Cisco ring in his ears.

'Be careful and don't trip over your own feet. We don't need you stumbling twenty years into the future.'

Now here he is, eight into the future instead of just the one he promised his friends. His first thoughts fill with what Caitlin would say if she knew of his predicament. He is sure after an earful of her disapproval and frustration with his mistake she would end up caving with concern. Oh, how he wishes you could see his Caitlin right now. He softly smiles then flashes into the building.

"Hello?" he speaks out from the elevator.

The sound of beeping echoing into the hallway raises concern as he runs into the cortex. A blue vortex closes and a shocked, older Cisco looks over his shoulder to face him.

"Wha- What? How? Ba- Barry?" he breathes, fully turning to face him and not finding the right words to say.

Barry slightly chuckles, "Good to see you are still the same Cisco."

His long-haired friend shakes his head and replaces his shocked expression with the widest smile he has ever seen. "Dude! What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back for a few days," he laughs pulling him into a brotherly hug.

"Wait, what?" Barry chuckles, pulling away to look at his friend. "Cisco I'm-"

"Home early. I can see that. You just couldn't take a few days off, could you?" he smirks with a short laugh. "I told you, you could trust me with the superhero stuff. There haven't been any major meta alerts, I promise," he cheekily smiles, holding up two fingers while his other hand lays over his heart. "Scout's honor," he chuckles.

Barry chuckles along with him while shaking his head. "No dude, I'm not your Barry. I'm from the past - 2017 to be exact," he nervously admits, rubbing his shoulder. Watching his friend's expression change yet again - giving him the confirmation that older Cisco is not happy.

"Barry!" he groans. "What are you doing here? Why are you here?!"

A heavy sigh leaves his lips, slightly hanging his head. "It was a mistake. I was only trying to get to 2018 but something happened and I tripped over and landed here... in 2025." He looks back up at his friend with a reaction.

Cisco shakes his head in disappointment. "I remember that day when you left after we told you it was not a good idea."

"I know! It wasn't even my fault! There was this strange pain coursing through me and the next thing I know, bam. Stuck here," Barry explains pacing and talking with his hands.

A slight eye roll and heavy sigh are his friend's reply. He sits down at the console pulling up Barry's current reading from his suit. Barry glances in the direction of Caitlin's lab to see the lights off and no sign of her. He looks back to Cisco and can't help but ask about her whereabouts. He notices how Cisco's posture stiffens and he swallows some built-up salvia before looking over at him.

"She's gone for the day. Personal matter. With you supposedly out of town, she didn't see the need to be at the lab today," Cisco quickly explains then continues typing on the computer. Shortly, he groans loudly and leans back in his seat, covering his eyes in frustration. "Of course... of course!"

"What is it?" Barry asks, looking over at the screens.

"Whatever the hell struck you while time traveling has seemed to put your powers in flux. It's preventing you from using them to their full potential aka making you stuck here until I find a way to fix it," Cisco explains. "Stupid time-traveling Barry," he grumbles under his breath.

Barry stands there in disbelief. He flashes out of the cortex to the speed lab and runs. He runs and runs but no vortex opens. He slowly feels himself becoming weary and tumbles to a stop.

"Barry!" Cisco yells running to his aid. "You seriously trying to injury yourself or what?" he reprimands, sitting him up against the wall for support.

"I... I had to try... to try to get back... back home," he breathlessly replies. His eyelids become heavy as his heart clenches with every exhale. "Caitlin... I need... Caitlin," he coughs before everything turned black.

•

"What the hell were you thinking?" a voice snaps.

"I didn't make him run until he passed out!" the other voice snaps back. "He made that decision on his own. Besides, you know how stubborn he is," it adds.

Barry tries to see the figures before him but it all looks so blurry. He tries to blink to help make the images clear to no avail. A soft groan escapes his lips and a soft hand instantly lays on his arm.

"Barry? Can you hear me?" the voice softly asks.

He knows this voice. It sounds so comforting yet his mind won't tell him who it belongs to.

"I'll watch him. You go home and take care of things," the other voice speaks.

The soft hand slowly slides away as the voice speaks. "Keep me updated?"

"Of course."

Barry struggles as he feels that soft presence start to walk away. The sound of a portal opening then closing swallows the retreating footsteps. He groans in frustration at the loss of touch. Pushing himself to wake up to find the owner of the voice.

"Take it, easy buddy. Ole Cisco is going to take good care of you, don't you worry," the voice fills his ears.

He shakes his head to rid of that voice. That's not the one he wants. He wants her, yes the voice was feminine. The voice was gentle and loving. He could see the image clear as day with her bright smile and caring eyes. The long, beach wave auburn hair. His doctor. His caretaker. His friend.

"Caitlin?" he moans, blinking his eyes as the rays of light blind him again. "Where... where is Caitlin?" he murmurs.

"Don't worry Barry. She came to check up on you but she had to get going," Cisco softly smiles as he assists his friend to sit up. "She gave a thorough check-up and everything was fine. You just need some rest to regain your strength."

"Cisco I'm fine. Better even," he tries to reassure.

A scoff sound fills the room and Cisco crosses his arms. "You are not fine. You fainted from exhaustion after I told you your powers were in flux."

A soft chuckle vibrates his throat as he looks at his friend with a smirk. "When did you start to sound like Caitlin?"

Cisco's mouth gapes as he looks at him flabbergasted. "Oh hell no, did you really just say that to me?" his hand over his chest in a hurt matter. "You are lucky you were out cold when she came in here. Lord, you were in so much trouble..."

Barry waves away his comment with a continuous smirk. "But in all seriousness I'm fine. I can feel my powers regenerating and I don't want to be strapped to his bed -"

"Yes, but I still need to find a way to get you back to having full access to your speed and not just like 70 percent," the long-haired meta reminds.

"Okay and if I promise to not use my powers until then, can I get out of this bed?" Barry compromises.

Cisco nods his head back and forth - debating with his thoughts. "Fine. If you promise not to strain yourself again I can relieve you of your bed rest order," he chuckles.

A friendly smile spreads on Barry's face as he hops off the medical bed. Cisco gives him a set of STAR labs sweats and shirt then leaves to let him change out of his suit. He walks back into the cortex with his friend behind the console texting away on his phone. Barry calls out to him but no response. He slowly makes his way over to see what his friend is so invested in.

On the phone is a chat between Cisco and Iris. Seeing her name on the screen instantly fills him with regret. Regret that he didn't think of her when he was fainting. He loves her, he does. He is meant to marry her after all. However, this feeling of something holding him back keeps picking at him. He shakes it off as the sound of a new message appearing on the screen appears catches his attention.

Cisco: How is she doing?

Iris: I'm worried about her.

Iris: This appearance isn't going to settle well.

Iris: This is kinda your fault though...

Barry puzzle by the words, speaks out. "Who are you talking about?"

Cisco jumps from his seat, hand over his heart. His phone crashing to the floor. A high-pitch scream filling the room. All while Barry tries to hold back his laughter.

"Wha- you can't sneak up on people like that!" Cisco squeals trying to regain his posture. His breath level and his heart rate slow, he glares at his friend.

Hands up in surrender, biting back his smirk. "Sorry man didn't expect that kind of reaction," he finally chuckles.

Glaring, Cisco bends down to pick up his phone to examine it. "You are lucky I didn't break this or you would owe me a new one."

Barry playfully rolls his eyes. "Whatever. But who are you and Iris talking about?"

Cisco's head instantly snaps up in his direction. An initial fearful look turns into a guarded expression. "Why do you think it's okay to read my messages over my shoulder, huh? They don't concern you."

"But you two were talking about me, yes?"

A beat of silence remains.

"Listen, what Iris and I talk about is between Iris and me. If you want to know so bad why don't you go over and talk to her, huh?" Cisco huffs, shaking his head in disapproval. Barry is silent, not fully understanding his friend's reaction.

"Cisco I didn't mean -"

He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "You don't get it. You are from the past. We are a part of your future. A future that would like to stay intact. There are just some things we cannot tell you to protect us from you. We don't need nor want another timeline, okay," he tries to reason with Barry. "If you want to go talk to Iris, say hello before you go back, be my guest. Just understand, all of us have more to lose if we tell you more than you should know."

Barry shakes his head. He knows he created this predicament. Now his friends' future was in his hands. Until Cisco is able to fix him, he is stuck here. And the longer he stays the more unstable this future ceases to be. He can't hurt his friends like that. He looks back to his friend, silently asking the unspoken question.

"I can transport you to the front door and she'll help you get back here," Cisco softly smiles.

A portal opens and hops right through it. He stands before a quiet two-story home. A small garden in the front yard with some plants hanging on the front porch. He is puzzled by two cars parked in the driveway and thinking that Iris may have some company over. He starts to retreat until the door opens up.

"Let me go get it from your car," Iris smiles with a set of keys in her hand. When she turns to see him, she instantly freezes.

Barry fumbles with his feet, finding it hard to stand still. He awkwardly waves his with a dorkish smile on his face. "Umm, hi Iris."

She opens her mouth to speak but another voice speaks before her. "Iris I am more than capable of getting it myself," the voice laughs then comes into view from the open doorway.

His breath stocks in his throat. His eyes widen at her presence and softly mumbles under his breath. "Cait?"

"Wha- What are you doing?" she snaps in fear.

He is starting to see the trend in his friends' eyes. He licks his lips and shoves his hands into his pockets. "I uhh. I wanted to see you," he tries to explain looking into his doctor's eyes then looking to his fianceé. "Iris... I came to see Iris," he blurts out with a small cough.

Iris looks towards Caitlin as they talk with their eyes. Eventually, Iris, using her head, gestures Caitlin to go back inside the house. She obliges, sliding back through the front door and closing it. Barry takes a step forward - an instinct to stop her.

"Don't bother," Iris speaks crossing her arms. "She needs to take care of some things inside."

"Can I at least say hi?"

She rolls her eyes, "I don't think you need to. She saw you. End of story. Besides, you said you came to see me so here I am."

Barry huffs in annoyance. Clearly, Iris hadn't changed either. "I did come to see you. I just wasn't expecting to see Cailtin here."

"We are co-workers and friends. She was my maid of honor at our wedding," she adds with a shrug.

He bites back on his tongue. A slight sting of the wedding that is yet to happen in his time filling his mind. "So we finally settled on a date huh?" he dryly remarks.

"Yeah we did," she snaps back. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be resting at STAR Labs?" she questions with an arched eyebrow.

"I saw your text conversation with Cisco and wanted to see you before I went back to my time. That's it," Barry explains walking closer to her. "Sorry if that is an inconvenience for you."

"Fine. You saw me. Now you can leave," she brushes and turns on her heels.

Barry struts towards the door, stopping Iris in place. "Not until I see Caitlin too," he huffs.

Iris shakes her head. "You already saw her and I told you she is busy. I can tell you she is fine and well and that is all you need to know."

"So that conversation you were having with Cisco was about her wasn't it," Barry questions in anger.

Her mouth, open in a gape and she slaps him across the face. "Leave. NOW."

Before anything else could happen screams from inside still them in fear. Barry is the first to react and charges into the home with Iris on his heels. He looks over for Caitlin, his breathing erratic. He finds her emptying her purse on the coffee table searching for something. Iris is quick to her aid.

He takes a step towards the duo but a swooshing sound stills his body. Standing before him is a young girl, about seven to eight years old, her features looking like a replicate of Iris. But the speed, that is all him. Shocked, the words start to fumble out and, "Is that... Is that my daught-"

"MOM! AUNT CAITLIN!" the little girl screams speeding into the room. She is breathless, as her little chest violently contracts, and her eyes wide in fright, trying to speak the words on her tongue before she spits it out in fear.

"Something is wrong with Val!"