I don't own the Flash or any of its characters.

Trigger warning: Mentions suicidal thoughts and feelings as well as anxiety, eating problems and quite in-depth description of self-harm and injury so if any of this is going to trigger you, please do not read.

A/N: Here is chapter ten! Woo! I feel like I have reached a milestone for some reason. Anyway I don't know what this chapter is, it's a hurt/comfort, fluff, clingy mess, but I enjoyed writing it so… Sorry for mistakes and enjoy this one!

When Caitlin didn't get a verbal response from Cisco, she moved to get a better look at him. Her eyes landed on his out-stretched arm, and she saw the burns. Despite herself, she inhaled sharply, wincing at the painful marks on her best friend's arm. Taking the noise, the wrong way, Cisco broke free off the woman's grasp and half-ran, half-crawled over to his workbench and hid himself under it. Caitlin sat there shocked for a moment before recovering, Cisco, she needed to get to Cisco. She got up and walked over to where he was hiding under his workbench. As she got closer, she could hear him whispering "I'm sorry," over and over again. She placed a hand on the top of the bench to steady herself and then Caitlin squatted down so she could peer under the desk at him. He was rocking back and forth in the tight space, holding onto his injured arm tightly,

"Sweetheart," she spoke gently, he looked up at the term of endearment. Caitlin's face did not display anger or disappointment, only love and a slight bit of fear, probably as a result of his untreated injuries. "I'm not mad," she kept talking, "Can you please come out so I can take a look at your arm, I can tell you are in an incredible amount of pain, and I need to look at it, so I know how to take away that pain." Cisco shook his head, tears falling fast,

"You didn't like it, you are angry with me," he said referring to the reaction she had when she first saw the burns. Caitlin internally kicked herself, as a doctor she shouldn't have had that sort of reaction, the burns had looked so bad though and they were so unexpected that she couldn't help her reaction,

"No, I'm not, I promise I'm not honey, I was a little shocked when I saw your arm because they looked so painful, I'm sorry for the way I reacted, it must have been scary for you, thinking I was angry and being in so much pain. But I promise I'm not angry at you, you're my best friend and I would never be angry with you at something like this." Cisco took a moment to process his friend's words before slowly beginning to move out from under the desk. Caitlin moved out the way and helped him to his feet once he was clear of the bench. She pulled him into her arms for another quick hug, reassuring him that she wasn't mad. Cisco melted into the embrace, revelling in the security her arms provided him,

"It h-hurts Cait," he whispered brokenly.

"I'm sure it does hon, how about we go to the med-bay and take a proper look at it. We can get you something to feel better." He gave her a hurried nod and let her lead him out of his lab and through the corridors to the med-bay.

They didn't run into anyone on their way, and to say Caitlin was grateful for that was an understatement. Cisco's face was red and blotchy, tears still streaming down his cheeks, clinging onto Caitlin's hand like his life depended on it, burns fully exposed on his other wrist. Caitlin decided it was best to take the risk of having the burns be seen than covering them up again and irritating them further. She thought privately that she had Barry to thank, for making sure they wouldn't run into anyone, she made a mental note to thank him later. When they reached the med-bay, Cait sat Cisco down on one of the beds and gave him a blanket, as he was shaking badly. She spun around and closed the door and the shutters that had been installed for privacy. Grabbing a box of tissues, she turned to sit down on a stool next to Cisco, she handed him the box, "wipe you eyes hon, you're okay," she comforted him. He did as she instructed and grabbed one of the tissues, clumsily wiping at his eyes. "Can you give me your arm?" she questioned gently. He nodded and held out his left arm, exposing the burns on his wrist to her. His right hand continued to clutch to the tissue, as tears were still falling, just not quite as hard. Caitlin pulled on some washed her hands and pulled on some gloves, holding his arm steady and inspecting the burns closely. Cisco squirmed feeling embarrassed that she was looking so closely at what he had done to himself, "It's alright," Caitlin said, looking up at him after she had sensed his squirming. She let go of his arm and brought over a cold, wet compress, "Can you hold onto that for a moment?" she asked, after she had placed it down gently on his burns. He nodded, not feeling up to talking at the moment. Once he had grabbed a hold of it, she moved to get the Neosporin that was sitting in a cabinet at the other side of the room. She returned to Cisco's side and gently took the compress from him, before applying the Neosporin, he hissed a little at the contact and Caitlin looked up at him sympathetically, "We are almost done, I promise, I'm just going to apply a lose bandage and get you a painkiller and then we can go home." She moved to wrap him arm and then handed him a couple of ibuprofen and a cup of water. Once the pills had been taken, Caitlin helped him off the bed, "Let's go home." Cisco nodded; home sounded good.

The moment they entered Caitlin's apartment; Cisco started to sob again. He had held it together on the car journey home, but he couldn't keep it in anymore. The pain and suffering he had felt through the day were just too much for him to manage and he broke down bawling, right in front of her door. Caitlin was quick to grab him and move him over to the couch. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, he scooted closer to her until he was kola-ed around her, just like he had done earlier. "Shh, it's alright, its all over now, I've got you," she comforted him. The sobs eventually turned to soft cries and sniffles and Cisco pulled his head away from the doctor so he could look at her,

"Thank you," he said with so much sincerity, that Caitlin wanted to cry herself,

"Of course, I will always be there if you need me Cisco." He nodded and gave her a watery smile, before burying his head back into her shoulder, he sat there in silence for a minute and then he spoke softly,

"I'm really tired Cait." The brunette pushed him a little bit away so she could get a better look at him. It was only seven, but his earlier break downs and the stress of the day had left him completely exhausted.

"We can have an early night," she told him. He nodded, liking that response. They hugged for a little while longer and then Caitlin spoke again, "Dinner or shower first?" Cisco thought the question over for a moment, all the crying had made him a little hungry so eating probably wouldn't be as hard right now, but showering felt like a nightmare, he didn't want to be separated from Cait even by just a shower curtain, still it was a necessary evil and Cisco felt it was best to get that one out of the way,

"Shower," he responded, "but can you come with me?" he asked quickly, hands wringing together from anxiety.

"Of course, come on," the doctor pulled him to his feet and led him into her bathroom. She gently unwrapped the bandage and turned the shower on, making sure the water was cold enough that it wouldn't aggravate his burns. Cisco stripped off his clothes quickly wanting to get this over as soon as possible. He was under the water for four minutes, before he shut it off and was reaching for his towel, "did you even use soap," Caitlin joked from where she was sitting, Cisco blushed but laughed a little,

"Yes, Doctor Snow," he joked right back.

"Alright, I'll give you some privacy," she turned on her heel with the intention of leaving the bathroom but stopped when Cisco called out behind her,

"Wait!" he said it before he could stop himself. Caitlin turned back around, looking at him expectantly. Cisco blushed madly, "never mind," he muttered,

"What is it honey?"

"Don't worry, it's stupid,"

"Hey, nothing you say is stupid. You know you're like a genius, right?" she told him, easing the tension in the room a little,

"Could you just stay?" he asked her, "like just turn around." Caitlin nodded and turned to face the closed door,

"I shall stare at this door, I've always liked inanimate objects," she said with such seriousness, that Cisco couldn't help the snort that escaped him. He quickly got to work drying off and changing into his pyjamas.

"I'm done," he informed her when he was fully clothed again. Caitlin smiled at his dinosaur themed pyjamas, only Cisco could own pyjamas like those. She reached out to take his hand and led him from the bathroom and towards the couch,

"Put on anything you want, I'm going to change, I'll be back really fast. Promise." Cisco nodded, taking the remote she was holding out to him and finding himself something funny to watch that would distract him from Caitlin's absence. She returned seven minutes later in her comfiest pyjamas and a face scrubbed clean from makeup. "I know these aren't very healthy, but they are quick, and I think we both just want to go to bed now," she said as she passed by the couch and into the kitchen. She pulled a couple of microwaveable meals from the fridge and cringed at them slightly. They were good just not healthy, but she could deal with it for one night. She stuck the first one in the microwave and leaned on the kitchen counter watching Cisco on the couch, his focus was on the television, whatever he was watching was supposed to be a comedy, she could tell from the laugh track that keep playing, but Cisco wasn't laughing, it could have been for a number of reasons, but she put the main one up to be exhaustion, the poor man looked dead on his feet. The microwave beeped and she put the other meal in, the sooner they got to bed and fell asleep the better.

Cisco had eaten almost all his meal without any problems which Caitlin was thankful for. He hadn't been very talkative but then again, neither had Caitlin. When they both were finally under the covers of Caitlin's bed, "Today was hard," she said, looking at him, he nodded. "But tomorrow will be better." He nodded again, he felt Caitlin was right, she would be with him, all day tomorrow and although he knew they would have to talk about what happened, it didn't seem that hard, Caitlin had re-bandaged his arm and given him more pain killers before they had gone to bed and she had been to carefully and loving about it, that he couldn't help but feel safe with her. "And we get to sleep in!" she exclaimed raising her hands up in joy. Cisco smiled and cuddled into her, relaxing when she wrapped her arms around him. Tomorrow would be better.