Happy New Year! 2020 is over with and we are now in 2021. So this chapter isn't particularly important, but I really liked what I did with Caitlin and her mother. Everything with Barry is basically the same as the original episode so you can skip that if you want. My co-authors are Brightburn1985 and ThomasMarieAmell2.0

Disclaimer: I don't own the Flash.

Caitlin had been called by her mother, which was a surprise since the two of them hadn't spoken for years. Caitlin wasn't given a reason for the call, just to meet her as soon as possible.

Caitlin was slightly suspicious, but this was still her mother. They may not get along, but they were still family and they cared about each other.

"Hi, I'm here to see Carla Tannhauser." Caitlin said to the receptionist.

"Do you have an appointment?" She asked.

"She's expecting me." Caitlin replied.

"Name?"

"Never mind that Stacy, Caitlin is always welcome here. Besides, I called her," Carla called down from the upper floor.

"Hi mom, it's good to see you." Caitlin tilted her head so she could face her mother.

Carla led the both of them into her office where they could speak more privately. "So, what did you call me here for?" Caitlin got straight to the point.

"A mother can't call her daughter to meet up?" Carla questioned.

"We haven't spoken in years. What's with the sudden interest in my life?" Caitlin pointed out.

"Fine, we'll be blunt and obvious," Carla relented. "I saw you on the news,"

"When did you see me on the news?" Caitlin asked because she couldn't recall ever being on the news besides…

"Killer Frost?" Carla said.

"Oh my god," Caitlin moaned that she didn't think she would be recognized as her alter ego.

"I may not have seen you in years, but I don't think I could ever get to the point where I wouldn't recognize my daughter. Even with silver hair and ice blue eyes." Carla said. "You should really think about getting yourself a mask."

"That was months ago, but why are you calling me just now?" Caitlin asked.

"I was going to, but then there was the whole debacle with a meta tsunami or whatever you called it, so I thought it best to not distract you from what was obviously very important at the time." Carla explained.

"Weren't you worried about me? You couldn't have at least called?" Caitlin asked.

"I figured you thought you were better off without me trying to butt into your life again. Because as you so eloquently put it, we haven't spoken for years."

"You know that's not how I meant it. It's just, it would've been nice to know that you were thinking about me. You're my mother. You can tell me anything," Caitlin said.

"Well it seems you don't share that sentiment. After all, you did get married without me. No card, nothing. I wouldn't have known you were even dating if it wasn't for social media,"

"First, point taken. I should be involving you in my life more if I expect the same from you." Caitlin said, slightly ashamed. "Second, you're on social media?"

"Yeah, your friend Barry actually helped me get set up. I'm on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram." Carla listed off.

"Ugh, of course Barry manages to convince you to stalk me on social media." Caitlin grunted.

"You know, from what I've seen, I think this Barry has a little something for you," Carla teased her.

"Shut up mom. Barry doesn't think of me like that. He just likes to annoy me. This time he used you to do it,"

Carla took a moment to consider what was going on before making a hypothesis. "Or maybe it's you who has little feelings for him,"

"Mother…" Caitlin gasped, taken aback at her mother's accusations, despite them being on point.

"Oh so you are. Can I expect an invite to this wedding?" Carla asked.

"I never said anything." Caitlin said.

"A mother knows. You like Barry. It's as simple as that." Carla said.

"I will have you know I don't like Barry. I am in love with him, so ha!" Caitlin admitted.

"Well, I honestly didn't expect this so fast. You're more like me in that aspect. Slow, cautious. You know it took me years before I finally started to admit to liking your father, even just the tiniest bit," Carla informed her.

"Mom…" Caitlin said, shocked because it wasn't often her mother would mention her father without it unrooting bad memories.

"Your father and I hated each other when we first met. But eventually we warmed up to each other enough where I agreed to go on a date with him. It wasn't easy, but we made it work."

"Oh god," Caitlin said. "I've turned into you. This is the exact situation I'm in right now with Barry, but I don't know if he likes me at all. We've said a lot of things between us, and not all of them were good."

"Well then you need to decide," Carla said.

"Decide what?"

"Whether he's worth all of this torture you're putting yourself through. Because if he is, then you need to go for it. Show him how you feel before he slips through your grasp," Carla advised her.

"Thanks mom. That's actually some really good advice." Caitlin said. "I'm really glad you reached out to me,"

"You're my daughter. I will love and support you through everything." Carla gave Caitlin a hug. "But I am fully expecting a wedding invite this time,"

"Mom," Caitlin pushed her off, and laughed silently.

While Caitlin was off getting reacquainted with her mother, a new terror had been unleashed in Central City.

A giant monster roaming the city, causing mayhem wherever it went.

Barry was assigned to work with Julian to help determine how this giant monster could vanish without a trace after being spotted for only a few seconds. Joe actually encouraged this with the captain in the hopes that Barry could spark a potential friendship with Julian.

This led to the two of them canvassing the latest scene of the crime where the monster was sighted. "So what exactly are we looking for?" Barry asked.

"Well, the monster was sighted in this area, but then inexplicably disappeared without anyone noticing. There must be something in this area that caused the monster to appear," Julian explained.

"So we're looking for anything unusual?" Barry asked.

"Your deductive skills continue to impress me Allen," Julian said sarcastically.

Julian's attention was suddenly diverted to something above them. "What are you looking at?" Barry asked.

"The monster was seen down the street. That camera is positioned perfectly at the area," Julian pointed to the security camera on the lamppost above them. "Once the monster was out of view, it vanished,"

"So something must be controlling the creature. But only when they can keep track of it. That's why it disappears. They need to keep track of it," Barry said.

"Exactly," Julian agreed. "Maybe you're not so useless after all Allen,"

At that moment, the giant monster was seen again, right down the street. Everything started going haywire again. Cars screeched to a halt. People running for their lives.

Julian pulled Barry aside to remain hidden and he unholstered his gun to prepare for an attack.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Barry asked.

"Pulling out a gun. I imagine you've seen a gun before," Julian said.

"Still, since when does a CSI carry a gun?"

"You don't strictly need to be a police officer to carry a gun," Julian replied.

Julian was getting ready to fire when Barry noticed a lamppost was about to fall on top of them. Julian had yet to notice, so Barry tackled him out of the way before the lamppost came tumbling down to where they were seconds ago.

"Cheers," Julian thanked him for saving him once he'd realized the danger they were just in, but his deliverance could still use some work. But Barry would take what he could get. At least Julian wasn't strictly mad at him.

They went back to their lab in CCPD to try to see a pattern in the monster's attack. "Every sighting of the monster has been in this general area. There might be something here that the person controlling it wants." Julian pointed to the map of Central City where all the sightings of the monster had been shown.

Barry just nodded along and hummed his agreement. While he did agree, there was something he couldn't get his thoughts off of.

"Something on your mind mate?" Julian noticed Barry's lack of attention.

"When we saw the monster in the street earlier, I saw a car explode in front of it." Barry said.

"And…?" Julian asked for him to elaborate.

"The thing didn't touch it. The car exploded before it got into the monster's reach." Barry explained.

"Well, the monster could be producing an electromagnetic pulse that would be short circuiting any electronics in the vicinity." Julian said thoughtfully. "Yes, that would make perfect sense. It would explain why the lamps on the streets were shorting out. The vehicles suddenly turned on their alarms."

"Yes, so we've found a way to potentially track the monster," Barry cheered.

"Where are you off to? Going to tell your Flashy boyfriend about the news?" Julian sarcastically said when Barry made a move for the door.

"Oh, so it's not just criminal metas that you hate. It's all of them," Barry was liking this Albert less and less by the second.

"Don't get me wrong, The Flash does good work. But ever since his appearance, the department has grown lax in their duties. Expecting the Scarlet Speedster to save the day for them," Julian said. "I don't think The Flash has taken into account the consequences of his actions, no matter how well intentioned."

"Well like you said, The Flash does good work. He tries to do the best he can. I don't think The Flash can be faulted for what's happened to CCPD," Barry countered. "I mean, what exactly is your problem with metahumans?"

"When I was a lad, I wanted to be a scientist. But my family, they come from a line of lots of old money. They didn't approve of what I wanted, but I went against them. I used my entire inheritance to fund my education. I finally made it to the top of my field and then the particle accelerator happened." Julian explained. "And just like that, the world of science is changed overnight. I don't know a thing about metas. How they walk, how they talk. But every one I've seen has just been a waste of potential. Can you imagine what it would be like to have powers? The things you could do to change the world. I mean, look at this monster. Some person out there has been given the ability to control such a beast and they use it to terrorize people. It's just a waste."

Barry couldn't really fault him for thinking like that. The things he'd seen since becoming The Flash were often amazing and could be used for greatness. But the people who often possessed them were usually not. But then again, Barry only dealt with the bad ones. There were probably thousands out there who were trying to use their powers for the greater good just like him and his team.

"You can't group all of them into being bad, just because the only ones you have seen used their powers to cause trouble. I'm sure there are people out there who are trying to do the best with their powers. They're just not sure how," Barry told him.

"Well it doesn't really matter what I think though, does it? I'm not that important," Julian said.

"More important than you may think," Barry responded, now seeing Julian in a new light that he hadn't seen before.

Caitlin and her mother had moved their conversation to her mother's house.

They didn't solely talk about Caitlin's infatuation with Barry. They were catching up on all the years they missed out with each other.

"So, tell me about your powers. How exactly do they work? When did you discover them?" Carla asked Caitlin.

"I found out about my powers about nine months after the initial particle accelerator explosion. I thought my palm was emitting smoke, but it turned out to be steam. From there I discovered how my powers work." Caitlin recounted her story. "I have the ability to absorb heat and leave frost and ice as a residue. But I'm able to manipulate how I absorb heat in order to leave behind an object of my desire out of ice. It's like ice sculpting but with water particles instead of ice, and capturing it in that moment,"

"And you just suddenly decided to become a superhero once you managed to get your powers under control?" Carla asked.

"Well, looking back, I started coming out as a hero because it was something I felt I had to do. But overtime, it was because I realized it was something I was meant to do." Caitlin explained.

"Well I'm glad you found something you're passionate about. I would have preferred it if you stayed in the lab, but at least you're going out more. I remember as a child, you stayed inside while all the other kids played. It worried your father to bits. But I just told him you were shy and you'd come out of your shell eventually. Over twenty years later and I was finally right," Carla chuckled.

"How do you think dad would have taken this? This hero business?" Caitlin asked her mother.

"I think he would have gotten a kick out of it. He always said you were special. That you were meant for great things. I don't think this is exactly what he had in mind, but I'm sure he would have been proud regardless," Carla assured her.

"And what about you? You haven't really told me how you feel about this whole thing," Caitlin asked tentatively. Caitlin suddenly felt as though she were a little girl again, patiently waiting for her mother's assessment on a project Caitlin had been working on for a long time.

"Honestly, I'm terrified. I hate the thought of you going out there everyday waiting for disaster to strike. And these powers you have, I don't know what to think of them. Are they harmful in any way? Are there any drawbacks we should be worried about? You didn't develop some mutant disease did you?"

"No mom," Caitlin tried to assuage her mother. "I've done every test I could think of on myself, and there's nothing wrong. I love my powers. Sure, I constantly feel a chill down my spine, but I would never want to get rid of them. They're a part of me now,"

"I just constantly worry about you. We may not have spoken, but I still love you Caitlin. You're my daughter. I try to keep up with everything you've been doing, both on the streets and in the lab. I'm especially impressed with the research you've made about the meta gene. The mutations within a person that take place to grant a person abilities." Carla commented.

"You read about that? I honestly wasn't planning on publishing it, but Barry convinced me that I should. The people had the right to know about that, it provided me with a generous amount of money which didn't hurt either."

"Of course. It was a good read all things considered. Metahumans are still a hot topic within the science community, despite metas becoming recognized as the norm these days,"

"Barry was particularly proud of me. He said he was glad that I was able to show my brilliance to the world so they could see how talented I was, despite being only in my twenties." Caitlin smiled as she reminisced.

"I'm sure that made you very happy. Being showered by your loving boyfriend's undivided attention, telling you how amazing you are and-" Carla said but was cut off.

"Barry is not my boyfriend. I just have feelings for him. Nothing is official. He doesn't even know how I feel about him," Caitlin interrupted.

"And who's fault is that?" Carla asked rhetorically.

"I'm not ready to tell him. I'm not sure whether I should tell him at all. He hates me. I know he does," Caitlin dejectedly said.

"While I'm sure he said that, I'm sure you've said the same thing, yet here you are, proclaiming your love for him. Honestly, just tell him. It will save you so much pain. And I guarantee you will feel better afterward."

"It's not that simple." Caitlin tried to say.

"Of course it's that simple. 'Barry Allen, I like you.' See how easy that was?" Carla raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

"Given our history, I'm sure Fleet Feet is going to think it was just a joke, or a prank I'm pulling on him. Sometimes I hate how I feel about him, because I know if I do tell him, it's all just going to seem like a big joke to him," Caitlin grumbled.

"Well if talking isn't going to get through to him, show him instead," Carla suggested.

"How would I do that?" Caitlin asked.

"You know Barry better than me. You figure it out," Carla said.

HR was finally proving his worth when he came up with the idea to take down the giant monster that was terrorizing Central City.

"On my Earth, we have developed a carbon fibre rope. Extremely durable, yet very lightweight. Your monster won't be able to break out. I know how to make it. I can show Mr. Ramon here how it's constructed." HR excitedly said.

"That is exactly what we need right now. Do you have the instructions with you?" Barry asked.

"I'll go fetch them. Till our next communion," HR bid them farewell.

"He's a little eccentric, don't you think?" Cisco asked.

"That's just how he is. Nothing wrong with it. With all the other Wells we have seen, it's nice to see one so cheery," Barry commented.

"Still, now that I'm seeing him, there's something about him that's been bugging me. Did you notice how he didn't speak until we addressed him? He didn't give any ideas until we had him cornered," Cisco said.

"That's strange how? HR is still new. He's trying to see how he fits into our dynamic. Plus, he came up with the idea of the carbon fibre rope," Barry said.

"Or did he make you think he came up with that idea, when actually we came up with the idea?" Cisco suggested.

"No, pretty sure he came up with the idea. Cisco, this whole thing was your idea. If you don't think he's a good fit for the team, you're going to have to be the one to tell him. Not to mention you're the only one who can take him back." Barry said.

Cisco sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I'm just nitpicking. This is the first time we get to choose what kind of Wells we work with. Maybe I set the bar too high,"

"Maybe just a little," Barry agreed.

"By the way, do you have any idea when Caitlin's planning on coming back? HR should really see how the group works as a whole, but Caitlin's not here," Cisco asked.

"I didn't even know she was gone until HR told us she left a note for us." Barry shrugged his shoulders. "She's gone to see her mom, which considering they haven't seen each other for a couple years, I think is a good thing,"

"Of course you would. You're all about family. But think about it. They haven't seen each other in years. Why contact her after all this time? What's changed?" Cisco questioned.

"I think we should give Dr. Tannhauser the benefit of the doubt. Ms. Frosty should have her mother in her life. Who are we to stand in the way of that?" Barry asked.

"No, I want that for her too, I still think it's a little suspicious. I just don't want her to get hurt if it turns out to be a disappointment. She's my best friend after all," Cisco said.

"I care about her too, but I just don't think there's anything we can do for her right now," Barry said.

"I don't have to like it," Cisco mumbled. Cisco was trying to get his anger towards Barry under control for being the reason his brother Dante was dead.

Overall, Cisco thought he was able to communicate with Barry very well, if just a little cold and blunt. Cisco wasn't sharing jokes and avoiding direct eye contact. Cisco was getting there. The fact was, he wanted to forgive Barry. He wanted to completely trust Barry like a brother again. But after what he'd done without any thought to the consequences, Cisco just couldn't feel he could trust Barry like before.

Plus, he was still aiming to be the best man at Barry and Caitlin's wedding if he could ever get Caitlin to admit her feelings to Barry, who he was sure would reciprocate once he knew Caitlin was in love with him. Barry just needed a kick in the right direction, which he was sure Caitlin professing her love would do just the trick.

Night had fallen, and CCPD had situated several officers in the area Julian had circled on the map back at the station.

Barry was already suited up as The Flash with the carbon fibre rope that Cisco and HR, mostly Cisco, had managed to build within the day.

Finally, the monster had been sighted, and Barry rushed to the scene. "Remember Barry, the larger they are, the harder they fall." Cisco said.

"Just like Rise of the Empire Barry," HR shouted encouragely.

"What? It's Empire Strikes Back," Cisco corrected.

"Empire Strikes Back BA!" HR said.

"Always wanted to be a jedi," Barry whispered to himself and ran in front of the monster's path and tied the rope on opposite ends of the street to trip up the monster when it walked by.

What none of them were expecting though, was for the monster to completely walk through it as if it weren't even there. Or maybe it was the monster who wasn't there.

"Guys, it didn't work," Barry informed them, "it's a hologram." Barry realized as he watched the monster pixelate and disappear.

"It was a hologram?" Cisco asked. "That actually makes sense. The amount of power required to project a hologram of that size would be massive, which is why all the electronics kept shorting out. Why the monster never touched anything, why it only appeared when in view. But we were right that someone else was controlling the monster."

"That's not my top concern right now. There are several officers hunting down this monster. They all have guns. They try to shoot…" Barry trailed off, not even wanting to think about what could happen.

"We need to find where it's going to be appearing next. HR, help me triangulate all the locations of the monster and any blackouts that have happened in the area." Cisco said, realizing the urgency if the police found the monster before they found where it could be appearing next. The Flash couldn't inform all the police officers in time before it would next appear.

"Yes, that is what we need to do. Triangulate. That is- how do you…?" HR struggled to try to find out how to work the computer. "This isn't how we modeled the computers on my Earth…"

Cisco studied HR, and he made a deduction that made perfect sense to the strange feeling he had about this Wells. "Oh my god, you're a fake. You don't know anything about science or any of this,"

"What? How did you…? I mean…" HR stuttered.

"Just move out of the way." Cisco demanded, shoving HR out of the way so he could have access to the computer.

Cisco furiously typed on the computer in order to find out where the hologram would appear, or where it could be projecting from.

Several officers were readying their weapons. They could feel it in their bones. The monster was approaching. And they were proven correct when they saw the giant green dinosaur marching toward them.

Snipers were situated in buildings overlooking their area. "I have a shot at the target. How do I proceed?" they asked.

"Take the shot. I repeat. Take the shot!" Joe shouted at the sniper who may be able to take down the behemoth.

Barry came charging to where Cisco reported the monster was seen to stop the police from firing. Barry's eyes managed to pick out a single bullet traveling through the air. It harmlessly passed through the hologram and continued forward on a direct path to Joe.

Barry caught the bullet before it touched Joe and called out to the other officers. "Stop firing! Stop firing! It's a hologram!"

There were many confused expressions and sounds, but as they looked up to the perceived monster, they all witnessed it fade from view as its image disappeared as though it were a picture.

Barry took a look around, but noticed a face was missing that he knew should be there. "Det. West. Where's Officer Albert?"

Joe took a look around. He knew Julian should be here. "He was here a moment ago,"

"Cisco!" Barry shouted into his comms. "Can you trace where the hologram is coming from? We need to find who did this,"

There was the sound of typing on the other end of the call before it stopped. "Got it, it's in the building right across the street from where you are. Top floor." Cisco informed him.

Julian Albert slowly crept into the dark room where he saw a cloaked figure hunched over a computer. "Put your hands in the air and turn yourself in quietly," He demanded.

The figure stumbled around a bit, but didn't comply with Julian's demands. When he turned around with something in his hand, Julian took a shot at the person, but Barry rushed in and pulled the person away to show the figure was only a child, probably not even out of high school.

"You're just a kid," Julian said, shocked.

"Yeah, a kid you almost shot. You're going to pay for that," the boy shouted.

"I don't think so, not after all the damages you've caused to this city." Barry said, his voice vibrating so Julian wouldn't recognize him.

"Flash," Julian called out to him before Barry left, "thank you,"

Barry dipped his head in acknowledgement and then ran away.

"So, what happened while I was gone?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, we had to deal with a giant monster that turned out to be a hologram created by a high school kid." Barry answered. "What are they teaching kids nowadays?"

"Wow, impressive. How'd you figure that out?"

"We tried to tie it up, but the rope just ended up going right through the monster. And then I saw the monster pixelate. After that, it was just a matter for Cisco to track down where the signal was coming from." Barry responded. "But how about you? How was seeing your mother after all these years?"

"Honestly, it wasn't as terrible as I was expecting. If anything, it turned out pretty great. My mom recognized me as Killer Frost and reached out to me. She also gave me some really great advice,"

"Oh yeah? About what?" Barry asked innocently.

Caitlin sucked in a breath at that. She really didn't want Barry to know that most of her conversation with her mother involved him. And how she would go about her feelings about him. Really basically their entire time they've known each other.

"That's not important," Caitlin shook her head.

"Come on, I could use some good advice. There's so much going on and I don't know what to think. About Flashpoint, Alchemy,..."

"I don't think you'll find it very useful," Caitlin rapidly said.

"You're really not going to tell me?" Barry asked.

Caitlin didn't answer and just walked out of the Cortex.

"Caitlin!" Barry called out to her. "Don't walk away from me. What are you not telling me?!"

Caitlin still didn't give a reply as she entered the elevator to leave STAR Labs and return to her apartment.

Once in the elevator, Caitlin sighed and leaned her back against the wall of the elevator. She closed her eyes and groaned in frustration. She wasn't sure whether to be happy about the fact Barry had no idea about her feelings, or the fact that Barry still had no idea about her feelings. Everything would have been so much easier if Barry were the one with these feelings. At least he would be upfront about them. Why was she cursed to harbour these feelings?

Caitlin hated the fact she couldn't gather the strength to be honest about how she was feeling. To be fair, she'd suffered from years of heartache with Ronnie and Jay, perhaps she should have guarded her heart more closely, but somehow Barry had managed to sneak his way in. Caitlin both hated and loved that about him, that he managed to get her to love him without even meaning to.

Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why did she have to be so complicated? Before she met Barry, Caitlin always depended on her simple lifestyle. Now everything was thrown out the window. And it was all because of Barry's stupid good-looking face.

I honestly don't know what I think about this chapter. This is my first chapter of the new year? Not that great, but the later chapters will make up for it. But I needed to really introduce Julian and having Caitlin's mother confront her about her superhero activities was great. And talking about Caitlin telling Barry about her feelings. A mother always knows. Ha ha ha.

Anyway, I'll see you all next week. Bye.