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Year 1 Months 6 & 7
Cisco was mildly surprised at Caitlin's ability to convince Barry to do things. He wondered what the woman asked of the CEO that he took her up on her word and vacated their home for the impromptu summer party he had arranged.
"Okay, you can put that there," he had Wally set the ice chest full of drinks, under a tree. "Jax, did we get all the meat and buns for the —"
"Oh yeah! Got everything boss," he came in with a smaller ice chest full of patties, sausages, and steak.
Wally came over to inspect the food, "How many people are coming again?" he wondered, since the food was enough to feed an army.
"Let's see," the head engineer started to do some mental math. "I want to say eight, hopefully," he only hoped that doctor was able to pull through.
"Really, because it looks like we have food for twenty."
Jax slapped Wally's hand away, "It's just enough for us, you'll see."
"I just can't believe my boss actually invited us to his home," Jessie said as she began setting the chairs around the pool.
No one responded, so all eyes landed on Cisco.
"He did invite us, right?" Jessie asked, fearing for the future of her job.
"About that," Cisco started with a pitch a bit higher than intended, "this is a surprise party,"
"Oh my God," Jessie started pacing, "I'm going to get fired. Joining the unemployment lines all over again, oh my God," she could already picture it.
Wally walked to her side and gave her re-assuring pats in the back, "Hey, it's no big deal."
"No big deal!?" She was appalled at the nonchalant tone from her beau, "I almost got a write-up for walking into his office without proper announcement when I was a month in," if she got a murderous glare from him that one time, she could only imagine how walking into his home uninvited would turn out.
Firing her would be letting her off easy.
"Calm down," Cisco said to the panicking crowd, "it'll be fine. Besides, Caitlin's backing us up."
"His wife?" Jessie said to herself, "Well she seems kind enough."
"She's cool," Wally agreed. Frankly, it was still a wonder to him how those two ended up married when they were polar opposites.
Jax, who had purposefully remained quiet throughout the whole exchange started setting up the grill. "So when is our guest of honor arriving?" What he really wanted to know was: when was Caitlin joining them.
"In a few hours, I think," Cisco pulled up his phone and texted Caitlin, "it won't be long before the lovebirds come back."
Jax just rolled his eyes.
{-}
Great, she'd never had to worry about buying swimsuits before. All she did was use a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt whenever she used the school pool. She eyed a few options, but they all seemed too revealing, or maybe she was just being too conservative.
She was impressed at how Barry did not even bat an eyelid at the female bathing suits. In fact, he didn't seem invested at all, considering he was constantly looking at his phone. She guessed he was checking emails or reports.
"Are you finding everything alright?" A young clerk asked from a few feet away, "If you'd like I can point you to some of our most popular options."
"Caitlin, did you find anything?" Barry walked into the conversation.
Just at that moment, Caitlin noticed the clerk's eyes shine in interest. "Are you...together?" she ventured to ask.
Barry raised a suspicious eyebrow, but answered none the less, "Yes."
She brightened, "Right this way please," she began leading the couple to a section further in the back that had a couch. "I'm so excited to have a couple finally try this area. Frankly, my colleagues and I thought it would be such a waste, please help prove me wrong."
The couple shared a confused look, but followed the clerk and stopped when they realized this section was: a try on section.
"It has three different mirrors so you can see yourself from all angles, plus the boyfriend," she winked cheekily at the two.
"He's not…" Caitlin stopped herself, for all intents and purposes even if Barry wasn't her boyfriend. He was her husband. She saw the young girl had excused herself but mentioned she would be back with some options for her.
Barry looked around, "All this time I thought these places were made up for movies," he settled on the couch. "Will you be trying a lot of swimsuits?" He looked at her, disguising his amusement at her clear embarrassment.
Her cheeks flushed, "No, not really. We can leave," there was no way she was trying on swimsuits in front of Barry that would be too embarrassing.
"Weren't you the one that insisted we come buy swimsuits?"
She was so grateful Cisco said they were almost ready, "Yeah, but on second thought, we might as well use old clothes, right? No need to be fancy."
Under normal circumstances he would agree. There was no reason for him not to agree with her. However, a mischievous side of him refused to give in. "At least one," he said casually. "Your pick."
She looked at her reflection in the mirror and didn't like the idea. "I don't think —"
"I'm back!" The clerk announced happily, "I got you these, since I wasn't sure what your style was."
Caitlin's eyes open wide. There was no way she was trying on those swimsuits.
"Most popular is usually the black bikini," she gave Caitlin a smile, "the ladies, and their men," the clerk winked at Barry, "love it."
Barry saw the woman he lived with look at him in panic with a hint of embarrassment there. He restrained himself from laughing at her expense.
"I don't think it will look that good," the auburn haired woman said hesitantly.
The clerk frowned, "Really? I think it would look nice. However, I also got this one," she showed them a checkered two piece suit.
"Not my style," she said a bit apologetically.
"What about —"
"No, I don't like that color." Caitlin interjected.
"And if —" before the clerk finished, Caitlin shook her head.
"No, I'm not feeling that one."
Before the young girl could say anything, it was Barry who stepped in this time.
"Can you give us some time?" He got up from his seat and walked towards the women. "I assure you we will not leave the store without making a purchase."
The young girl nodded with a professional smile and left the two alone.
"Caitlin," he began calmly, "did you really want to come swimsuit shopping?"
She opened her eyes wide, as if she had been caught red handed. She did want to buy a swimsuit, but it wasn't high on the priority list. Really what she wanted was to get Barry out of the house for a few hours, so Cisco could finish preparing the surprise party.
"Yes?" She unconsciously bit her bottom lip.
Barry took notice, he knew there was something else there, but didn't probe. He would find out sooner or later. "Then, let's get you something. What do you like?"
She released a sigh of relief, thankful that Barry didn't push, "Honestly, I don't like flashy things. I prefer to be comfortable," after a beat she added, "and really Barry I don't need a swimsuit, I just wanted to use the pool," she confessed.
"Then use it," he said simply.
The woman shifted uncomfortably and remained silent.
"Is there a problem?
She held her breath for a few seconds before responding, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I feel like I shouldn't be taking those types of liberties," she hadn't felt truly at ease. It was still Barry's home. "Sure I use the kitchen, which I definitely clean," she said quickly, "but I can't just be prancing around like I'm the queen of the place."
He eyed her carefully. After six months of living together, she still felt like a visitor of sorts. It was understandable, considering their marriage contract was a factor into their living arrangement. He also loved his privacy and appreciated that mutual respect between them. However, for the time they had together…
"Caitlin, I'm barely at home, you shouldn't be hesitant about these minute things," the corner of his mouth did a tiny upturn, "for the time we live together, all I ask is that we communicate and respect each other's privacy."
She smiled at him, "So the pool is not off limits?"
"No," but before she could bask in the small victory he said, "but the room on the second floor is."
She nodded. "Fair enough."
"Finally that's settled."
"And now we can leave," she said happily and turned in the opposite direction.
"Not just yet."
The mischievous glint in his emerald eyes didn't escape her.
{-}
"You really shouldn't have," Caitlin chided for the umpteenth time.
Barry sighed, he'd been hearing the same thing the whole drive home. "Yeah, I could say the same."
Caitlin had taken it upon herself to buy him a pair of swimming trunks, even when he clearly told her they would be unused. "Ok, fine. We're even."
He was opening the door to their home when he heard a collective "Surprise!"
"Welcome home Bart-Man!" Cisco exclaimed happily and enveloped his friend in a tight hug.
"Hello boss," Jessie said with a professional nod.
He saw Wally and Jax wave, and he instinctively turned to Caitlin who just shared a complicit grin with his lead engineer.
"Caitlin, what is this all about?" He asked.
Meanwhile Cisco rallied the rest of the guests to the backyard and said he would see them there when they were ready.
She placed a nervous lock of hair behind her ear, "I wanted to do something for you," she began, "after Jade…" a small lump forced its way in her throat, "I...appreciate what you did and I wanted to do something for you."
"And throwing a surprise party with people who—," he started a bit harsher than he intended, but when he saw her look down in disappointment he stopped. "I guess that explains the swimsuit shopping," he said instead.
She looked up a bit surprised by his sudden shift.
"I don't have to get in the pool too, do I?"
She shook her head, "Not if you don't want to," she smiled at him.
Cisco who had seen, but not heard, the exchange decided it was time to step in, "Ok the food is ready, and so is the music, now we just need our guest of honor."
Barry looked at Caitlin, and she handed him the bag with his newly acquired swimming trunks, "We'll see you in a bit,"
He refrained from sighing in front of her. "Here," he handed her her swimsuit.
Since when had he become such a push-over?
{-}
Sure enough within the next five minutes he was already out in his backyard with his newly acquired swimming trunks and a white t-shirt. He looked at the crew around him. Wally and Jessie sitting in the grass while talking and laughing. The woman would occasionally look in his direction and he saw a nervous and apologetic smile make its way. As if she knew he was annoyed. Jax on the other hand was working the grill and working off a sweat due to the heat. It didn't go past Barry that he was shirtless (cue eye roll). Then there was Cisco, who was already munching on a hotdog and making his way towards him.
"Not bad for an impromptu party, huh?" he said with pride.
The doctor sent him a short glare, "I take it this was your idea."
The engineer shrugged, "Sort of. Caitlin just said she wanted to do something for you, and I thought to myself, 'wouldn't it be great if we spent some quality time together?' "
"With my employees?" Barry said skeptically.
"With friends," Cisco clarified and took the seat next to him. "I don't remember the last time we just hung out together, is that sad?"
"We see each other almost every day," the CEO said as a matter of fact.
Cisco lowered his head and suppressed a disappointed smile, "I see my boss every day. Don't remember when was the last time I actually saw my friend."
Barry remained silent. Digesting Cisco's words.
"Caitlin! The hotdogs are almost ready," both men heard Jax say in delight.
Barry and Cisco turned to the door and saw Caitlin walk towards them. The doctor heard how the engineer disguised a snort. The woman was dressed with a loose navy blue t-shirt and pastel pink running shorts.
"That looks vastly different from the swimsuit we saw at the store," he said with amusement.
Caitlin smiled a bit shyly, "I am wearing it though," she lifted her shirt a bit revealing the ivory lace inspired one piece.
"No offense Caitlin, but that is not swim wear," Cisco chuckled, "Barry you're aversion to fun is rubbing off on her, do something about it."
The doctor sent his friend a small glare, but he turned to Caitlin quickly, "Caitlin, how you decide to dress is entirely up to you," the woman sighed lowly in relief, "however," he saw her tense ever so slightly, "I, against my better judgment, wore this piece," he motioned to his red/black swimming trunks, "and you…"
"I'm wearing it," she defended weakly.
Cisco interjected, "Come on! We're among friends, nothing to be shy about,"
She shook her head, "I'm not shy, it's the sun really," she gave the men a meek smile, "I literally turn to a lobster if exposed too long to the sun."
Even so, she took off her shirt and braided her hair to the side. Like any other woman she had some body insecurities, but that didn't stop her from having fun.
"Now that wasn't so bad," the engineer congratulated her, "and if memory serves me right, Barry is also a fan of sunscreen. Do you still have the 100+ SPF one I gave you at the office?"
Another glare, "In the bathroom bottom drawer to your left," he said anyway.
"I'll go get it,"
"You also have high sun sensitivity?" She asked curiously.
More like high nosiness sensitivity, he thought to himself. "Not necessarily. I saw a documentary on skin damage caused by the sun in my first year of med school. Sunscreen became a habit since then."
{-}
"So," Wally started, "are we hitting the pool or not?" He asked his girlfriend.
She turned to her boss who was having a conversation with his wife, "I really want to, but wouldn't it look weird if we just start having fun without our boss?"
Wally sighed, "As if he would do anything fun," in fact, if they ended the day keeping their jobs it was a win in his book.
"What is he doing?" Jessie wondered aloud as she looked on towards her boss, his wife, and Jax.
Wally groaned, "Not again."
"What is it?" she asked curiously. The more she looked on, the more obvious it was that Jax seemed to want to impress the auburn haired woman.
"So," the engineer sighed in exasperation, "for reasons unknown to mankind, Jax developed this sort of crush on Caitlin."
The girl gasped, "No way! She's married!"
"Exactly what I keep telling him."
"You think it's a ploy to make our boss jealous?"
Oh no, he could already see the gears turning in her head, "More like a ploy to get himself fired. Cisco and I keep telling him it ain't happening, but somehow he still has hope."
As they looked on, Caitlin smiled at something Jax said and walked with him towards the grill. Meanwhile, Jessie paid close attention to her boss's body language, but to her disappointment he seemed unbothered. He gave one furtive look in the direction of the pair and then went back to his reading.
"Maybe if we give him a little push," Jessie muttered to herself.
"What was that again?"
"Nothing!"
{-}
"Brought the sun block!" Cisco announced. "Wait, where's Caitlin?"
"By the grill," Barry said disinterested as he continued with his reading.
Cisco took a seat next to him, "Jax is awfully close," he said to himself. "Oh have I told you that he has a HUGE crush on Caitlin."
Barry raised his eyes from the article he was reading. "It's obvious."
"And yet you're not doing anything about it," the engineer challenged.
"Should I be?" Finally Barry placed his phone to the side, "I've told you, this is merely a contract."
Cisco shrugged, "Sure it is," he agreed, "even then it doesn't change the fact that you're actually married. You said so yourself."
"And your point is?"
The engineer leaned forward, "Have you thought about how this makes Caitlin look?"
The CEO knitted his brows.
"Think about it. The wife of the CEO being hit on by a coworker, is she leading him on? What a terrible woman she is? Does he know?"
"She's not like that," Barry said.
"You and I know that, but what about everyone else?"
Coincidentally, Barry's eyes landed on Jessie, who was eyeing Caitlin and Jax in a way that made him uncomfortable. Was that really how people saw them? Was Caitlin portrayed as this villainous character while he was the one being taken advantage of in this scenario?
The thought alone was ludicrous.
{-}
"So what does our fair lady want?" Jax said as he expertly maneuvered himself around the grill.
"Hmmm, everything looks so good," it was hard for her to choose.
"One of each?" the ebony man suggested.
"Tempting," Caitlin agreed, "but I want to squeeze in a swim before eating."
"Let me wrap up and I'll join you," Jax said with a big grin.
"Not so fast my friend," Cisco called from a few feet away. "Here," he handed Caitlin the sunscreen, "can you help out a friend and make sure Barry gets a good coating of this stuff, I don't want to hear him complain at the office."
Caitlin smiled sideways but left the two men and headed back in Barry's direction.
"Jaxter, as cute, and weird, as your massive crush on Caitlin is," Cisco started with an uncharacteristic stern tone, "she's not the one for you."
Jax frowned and averted his gaze to the grill.
"She's married. To our boss no less."
"But—"
"But what?" Cisco challenged.
Jax remained silent. What could he say? Nothing. There was absolutely nothing that would justify his actions towards a married woman.
Cisco placed a brotherly arm around his fried and engineer, "Let go buddy, for real."
{-}
"Do you know how to swim?" Caitlin asked as she finished spraying her arms with the sunscreen. Despite the back and forth, Barry refused to allow her to spray him with sunscreen. He was perfectly capable of doing it himself. Caitlin followed suit and did the same.
"I do," he answered. Why else would he have a pool to begin with?
"I actually —" she was interrupted by the doorbell.
They've both shared a look. Was another guest expected? They headed to the door and opened it. Surprisingly, it was a familiar face that neither expected.
"Dr. Stewart?"
"Caitlin, Barry," Steward acknowledged. He didn't need further confirmation that there was clearly something between those two. "Apologies on the delay, I was just now able to squeeze out of my last appointment."
She was momentarily in shock, but quickly recovered, "No worries, please come in," Caitlin moved out of the way and motioned Dr. Stewart inside.
The elder doctor shook his head, "I can't stay, but I did bring a friend in my stead."
"Caity!" The happy voice of Marcos was heard from behind Dr. Stewart and he practically leapt to the woman.
"Marcos!" Caitlin said equally excited and hugged the boy tightly.
"And my job here is done."
"But how?" Caitlin asked in awe.
The doctor shrugged, "Let's just say Marcos here needed special examination that required transport."
"Where?" Barry asked, knowing full well this was not proper protocol and Stewart could get in serious trouble.
"Allen Memorial Hospital."
This time Barry did sigh, "Of course."
"I'll be back in two hours."
"Come on, let's introduce you to some friends," Marcos and Caitlin waved goodbye to the doctor and happily hugged each other. Leaving the two men to talk.
"Since Caitlin seemed surprised, I'm going to say it was Cisco that put you up to this," the doctor said as a matter of fact.
The older man shrugged, "Perhaps. I'll see you later."
Barry waved him goodbye and closed the door. He turned to the woman and kid who looked happy as they greeted the rest of the group. Barry had been all but forgotten. Good, that will give him more quiet time. He made his way towards the yard, and just before he settled into his reading, he felt someone looking at him and turned his gaze in that direction.
Dark brown eyes clashed with green. The little squirt was looking at him with a smug look. Marcos stuck out his tongue at him and hugged Caitlin tighter.
His eyebrow twitched involuntarily at the little boy's smugness.
That little punk…
{-}
"A new rival has emerged," Cisco said in between chuckles.
Barry rolled his eyes and went back to his readings.
"You know," Cisco began thoughtfully, "he might just have a chance."
The engineer looked ahead. Caitlin and the little boy, Marcos, were inside the shallow side of the pool. She was teaching him how to swim and he couldn't be more delighted at the attention. Wally and Jessie were swimming on the deeper end and engaging in some friendly competition. Then there was Jax, who was finishing up a drink and heading towards the woman and the kid.
Barry inconspicuously gazed at what was happening in his pool. There was the tiniest tug at the corner of his mouth when he saw the little squirt glare visibly at the thermodynamics engineer. The boy didn't disappoint. He stuck more closely to the woman, and refused to swim to the man. Caitlin smiled apologetically to Jax, who shrugged it off and put on a brave front but remained close. The glare of the boy intensified.
"Hey, that kid is doing your job."
Barry could argue with him, ignore him, or once again remind him of the nature of his and Caitlin's relationship. None of which had gotten him what he needed, "You should join them," it was time to change strategies.
"I should," he agreed. "Maybe not to swim, but just to hang out with the gang," he said to himself, "come with me."
"I'd rather not."
"This whole shin-ding was supposed to help you have a good time."
"I'd be having a great time if I was left alone to my reading."
Cisco sighed tiredly, "Fine," Barry would come soon enough, he was sure.
He left him to join the gang.
Finally, peace and quiet. Yet the peace was short lived, giggles and laughter became increasingly louder that he couldn't help but take his eyes towards the group. Cisco, being himself, infused fun into everything he did and the little squirt had enough sense to know that he wasn't a threat to his relationship with Caitlin and would attempt to swim to the man. The boy was grinning from ear to ear, even Wally and Jessie had joined their group and played with him.
He saw Caitlin separate herself from the group just slightly but enough to be noticeable, to him at least. She looked at the scene before her in awe and with warmth, almost as if she didn't believe what was happening. He imagined that she was ecstatic for the squirt, and probably she wished the little girl, Jade, would be here. She brushed a stubborn tear away and raised her eyes to meet his, it seemed almost an eternity before she finally smiled at him in a way he'd never seen before.
Something stirred within him and he couldn't help but smile back.
{-}
So Wally didn't want to take part in her mastermind plan, however, she did ask (read: beg) him to take Jax to get more ice. An innocent request, that was part of her plan, but he didn't need to know the details. Meanwhile she enlisted Cisco's help with the next phase.
"So are you absolutely certain she won't be harmed?" Cisco whispered.
"Of course not, the pool isn't that deep."
Marcos approached them, "What was that game we were playing?"
"We're playing 'tag'," the woman smiled sweetly, "and you get bonus points if you throw someone in the pool."
The boy frowned, "Isn't that mean?"
The PA shook her head, "No, no, of course not. Being in the pool doesn't hurt, does it?"
"No."
"Exactly. You get bonus points because it would take the person longer to catch you."
It took a bit but the little kid slowly started nodding in understanding.
The three started playing innocently, until Cisco spotted Caitlin coming back to join them and winked at Jessie.
"Let's tag Caitlin, so she plays too."
Marcos nodded excitedly. Meanwhile, Jessie and Cisco made their way inside the house, setting the stage.
Caitlin, innocent and unassuming, walked near the edge of the pool and gave a huge grin as she saw the little boy running to her.
"He—"
"Tag you're it!" He squealed and pushed her to the pool. Marcos ran inside the house to find Cisco and Jessie to hide.
Meanwhile, Barry who was watching the whole thing shook his head at the antics. Children, they were all children.
Seconds later Caitlin resurfaced breathing heavily, "Help!" She said struggling to breathe.
Was she pulling a fast one on him? There was no way she didn't —
"Help!" She started sinking down again and flailing her arms wildly.
He threw his tablet away and jumped in the pool as fast as his body allowed. He grabbed her and pulled both of them up. In her panic she struggled a bit against him until she heard his voice.
"I got you," he said with even breaths and a calming voice. "I got you," he said again.
He swam to the shallow parts of the pool and sat on the steps while still holding her, bridal style, in the water. "Easy Caitlin, you'll be just fine."
She coughed up water and slowly regained a measured breathing pattern.
"Are you okay?" Barry asked.
"I...I'm fine," she breathed out, "almost saw my life flash before me," she joked.
Barry released a sigh of relief, so tiny, if Caitlin blinked she would have missed it, "You really don't know how to swim," he said more as a fact than a question, but Caitlin answered anyway.
"No," she said with a tiny blush, or was it the sun burning her sensitive skin? "I mean I know how to float, but not quite a swimmer. That's why I wanted to use the pool, so I could learn."
"And yet you agreed to a pool party of all things."
She shrugged, "Well, Cisco said once upon a time you enjoyed them. So I figured why not?"
Maybe it was her easy grin, but he couldn't help himself from grinning slightly.
Caitlin brought a hand closer to brush some wet bangs from his face practically combing his hair to the side. "You know, you look a lot younger with messy hair."
"Are you saying I look old with my usual hairstyle?" he joked, but his tone was so serious the woman couldn't tell.
"What!? No, no. I just meant...you...well…"
"I know what you meant. I was joking."
"Oh." After some silence she added, "Thank you for saving me back there."
He smirked, "It's what I do."
"Save damsels in distress?" she quirked an eyebrow.
"More like saving clumsy people from danger. But I guess yours works just as well."
She laughed and he felt her body shake in his arms. He hadn't realized that throughout all of this time he'd been holding her close. It seemed almost normal. So much so, that ironically it made it strange at the same time. He wasn't one for public displays or touchy-feely types. Never really had been. However, with Caitlin it wasn't quite as uncomfortable. Perhaps because she made it seem normal?
Before he could dwell further in his musings, he sensed prying eyes looking their way. Caitlin was facing him, so of course she didn't notice. He, however, was facing towards their house and on the other side of those pristine glass doors that separated the inside from his backyard he saw…
A little boy glaring daggers at him.
A young woman squealing with delight in her eyes.
A lead engineer with a teasing glint in his brown orbs.
A thermodynamics engineer looking heartbroken.
And a young engineer who was rolling his eyes at the whole thing.
{x}