Author's Note: WOW. So. Hi. It's been a second, huh?
So here's the deal, friendos. This is my last season. I'm so gosh-darn tired of the Flash, and the only thing even keeping me doing this fic is that I have some pretty cool ideas for some of the chapters that will keep me interested.
Chapters WILL BE SLOW! Prepare yourselves now! I'm heading into my freshman year of college and I have nooooo idea how much time I'll have to be writing this. But I'm gonna do my best, and I hope you guys can enjoy whatever I throw at you :)
All right! Let's get going.
In the two weeks since Caitlin and Nora had been gone from Central City, Barry had made sure to call them every single night. It was something he looked forward to, a time to decompress and revel in the sound of Nora's laugh. She was an entire eight and a half months old now, growing every single day, and Barry hated the fact that he had to see it all over a screen.
But with any luck, they would both be home soon. Caitlin's healing process was going really well, and she was raring to get back to Central City to help fight Eva. Barry knew that Nora would still be at risk coming back to the city before Eva was beaten, but he felt a lot better about it if Caitlin would be able to defend her.
Besides, he was selfish. He missed his wife and he missed he daughter, and he wanted them around for more than just an hour or two a night.
That was especially the case tonight. Nash had sacrificed himself for the Artificial Speed Force; had given up his life and the lives of all the Wells that lived on in him for nothing more than so that Barry could run fast. Barry was sinking into depression and grief and he knew that Caitlin would know what to say, knew that she would hold him in just the right way so that he stopped hurting, at least for a little bit.
But that wasn't an option right now, so he called her instead.
"Hey!" Caitlin chirped when she accepted the call. She was holding her phone at arm's length and had Nora cradled high enough so that she could be picked up by the camera. "Nora, look who it is? It's daddy!"
"Hey, snowflake," Barry murmured, gaze softening. "How was daddy's little princess today?"
"She was great," Caitlin declared, beaming. "She had two naps and some great play time with Grandma- who, by the way, is actually great with babies. Who would have guessed?"
Barry smiled, but he couldn't get it far passed his mouth. Caitlin sobered a little, eyeing him. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Did something happen? Did Eva kidnap someone else into the mirror?"
"No, no," Barry said quickly. "Um, but something did happen, and I wish that I could- I wish that I could tell in person because I know it's going to hurt."
"One second," Caitlin told him, then moved across the room to go lay Nora down. A few moments later she was sitting on her bed, ready to listen. "What happened, Barry?"
Barry could feel something pressing at the back of his throat, but he wasn't sure if it was grief or his desire to tell Caitlin the news. "The… The Artificial Speed Force needed a specific human conductor to work. We- we tried to find another way but we couldn't and… Nash sacrificed himself. He's dead, Caitlin. He died so that I could get my speed back."
Caitlin's face drained of color and she put a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God," she whispered, eyes welling. "So- so all the Wells are… gone?"
Throat tight, Barry nodded.
"Oh my God," Caitlin repeated, and the phone fell so that all Barry could see was the ceiling. He dropped his head, clenching his fists at the sound of his wife's shaky breaths and clearly suppressed sniffles.
When she picked up the phone again, her eyes were red but she wasn't crying. "Barry, this wasn't your fault, okay? Don't even start down that path."
"Of course it was my fault!" Barry cried. "He did it for my speed, Caitlin!"
"Did you force him to?" Caitlin demanded. "Did you ask him to? You don't even have to answer that because I know the answer, Barry! You would never trade someone's life just so you could be the Flash. I know that because you've traded being the Flash for someone's life countless times! If the Wells gave up their lives for your speed, I know they had a reason. And that reason was not for you to be blaming yourself."
Barry dug his fingers into his eyes sockets until he saw sparkles of color. "I miss you so much," he mumbled.
Caitlin let out a shuddering breath but didn't answer. Barry looked towards his phone and caught her expression. "What?"
"If you… if you have your speed…" Caitlin chewed on her lip. "Why can't you… come? We could get through this together- in person, together- even if only for an hour or two."
Temptation nearly overwhelmed him, but there was a reason Barry hadn't told his wife the news of Nash's death in person. "The whole reason you left with Nora was to keep her safe," he said. "Not because Eva can't reach outside of Central City- she can- but because she doesn't know where you are. She's just getting more powerful, Cait, and I'm worried that if I run to you… she know. And she'll use that against me." He shook his head, rubbing his dry, tired eyes again. "They always use it against me."
"Okay," Caitlin relented. "But Barry, I can't go on like this much longer. I need to be there. We need to be there. And not just for you. Frost and I- we want to help. We need to help. Eva is trying to hurt our city, too."
Despite the fact that he wanted Caitlin to be safe and away from the threat of being taken into the mirror like his sister, Barry was unable to help the longing the sprung up at her words. He locked eyes with Caitlin through the phone and nodded.
"Whenever you're ready, say the word," he said. "Central City could use its Dr. Snow back."
Author's Note: That's a wrap on chapter one! Forgot to say in the opening AN, but here are the episodes I have planned:
7x02
7x04
7x05
7x07
7x08
7x11
7x12
7x13
7x15
7x16
7x17
7x18
There is the list! It's gonna be a wild ride :)