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Great Possibilities
D-5
There were only five days before the wedding and Barry needed to put his plan in full action. He was lucky that Eddie was working the next two days, this would give him more quality time with Iris.
"Okay son today we are checking the catering and flower arrangements," Nora said military style, already having an itinerary of the day ahead of them.
Barry rolled his eyes faking annoyance at being obligated to help, while in reality he was giddy with excitement at the opportunity of spending time with Iris. This would be perfect, he would be helping her every step of the way and she would see what an amazing man she missed out on.
"Bar, thank you so much for helping me," Iris smiled charmingly at him, her beautiful perfect smile, just as he remembered.
"Any time," he said with a grin.
Nora raised a curious eyebrow at the two. "Where's Caitlin honey?"
Barry was pulled away from his trance and looked towards his yard, where he had last seen Caitlin that morning, "Oh, I thought she was…"
And then giggles and laughs were heard approaching.
"Krypto you won't catch me!" The doctor said playfully while running away from the dog.
Nora and Iris were surprised to hear those sounds come from the woman they met yesterday who was serious, demure, and super polite. However, Nora's surprise quickly subsided and she looked at the girl with motherly approval. She discreetly turned to Iris, who was actually looking at Barry and then Nora saw...that same look Barry had given Caitlin yesterday. That special spark that conveyed a profound feeling, and in Nora's eyes was more than friendship.
Barry couldn't hide his grin. While Caitlin was very reserved with new people, when she showed this side of her it was to be admired, because it was rare that she looked so carefree and innocent with others. He wouldn't brag, but he felt he was somewhat special to his favorite doctor, because she would show herself like this to him constantly, so open, so lively, and simply happy. She had a big heart, probably the most caring one he's every come across, although people generally misunderstood her because she was very reserved.
"Caitlin darling!" Nora yelled and Dr. Snow stopped on her tracks allowing the Labrador to trap her and hug her legs.
"Yes Nora!"
"Please join us dear,"
The doctor walked inside and greeted everyone, "How can I help?" Everyone looked ready to go out and Nora Allen had an itinerary on her hand.
"Why don't you join us today? We have to meet with the catering company and the flower shop to pick the flower arrangements,"
"I'll pick the flowers!" Iris said quickly, getting the attention of the three people in front of her, "I mean, I want to pick the flowers, make sure they fit the overall theme of the wedding,"
The older woman nodded, "Of course darling, then why don't you and I go to the flower shop and Caitlin and Barry go take care of the catering, we already narrowed down the selection so it should be easier,"
Caitlin looked at Barry briefly and noticed his eyes drop at his mother's arrangements, she needed to step in, "Why don't you accompany me to the catering Nora?" Barry, Nora, and Iris looked at her strangely. "You and Iris have worked on the arrangements together and I think that you know her taste best. I don't trust Barry or myself to make such an important decision,"
Barry almost cried with gratitude. Caitlin was awesome. Now he would have all this time to be with Iris, everything according to plan.
The gears were turning in Nora's head but she agreed to the request anyway, "You are right Caitlin, excellent idea," she grabbed the girl by the arm and smiled mischievously, "that'll give me time to know more about my future daughter-in-law,"
Now Caitlin was rethinking her strategy. It might've not been the best idea after all.
"Perfect, then we'll meet at Jitters for lunch," Iris said with a big grin while dragging Barry away.
Barry and Caitlin shared one complicit look and then when their respective ways.
{-}
"So," Nora started, "you never did tell me how Barry and you met, he hasn't been very forthcoming with that story either,"
Knowing Barry easily gets embarrassed she understood why that was, "It wasn't out of the ordinary, we met at a park,"
Nora suppressed a sigh, getting information from Caitlin was like pulling teeth, but she wasn't easily deterred. "And how long have you been dating?"
Caitlin was glad they had rehearsed this, "About 2 years, I think," She didn't like where these questions were leading.
"He never mentioned it,"
Caitlin tried not to cringe, she'd told Barry his plan wouldn't work for these reasons, and there were way too many inconveniences and coincidences to make it believable. She was still thoroughly surprised no one had called them out on it being a hoax. But she couldn't back down now, "We weren't sure if things would work out so we didn't want to give anyone any false expectations until we both felt ready," Did that sound convincing enough?
Nora nodded, "I see," after a beat she added, "its funny how you both felt ready a week before Iris' wedding,"
Caitlin's blood ran cold. She knew Nora Allen was no fool and she was onto them. "I think we're here," she pointed at the catering company ahead of them, glad for the perfect timing.
"We are," Nora gave Caitlin a smile and let her off the hook...for now.
{-}
"Thank you so much for coming with me Bar," Iris said while resting her head on his shoulder.
"Don't mention it," he said with a goofy grin. He was happy at the development of things, but then why did he feel like he was somehow betraying Caitlin. It was ridiculous, they were only friends, and his plan was all about winning Iris back, so he needed to focus.
They entered the flower shop and started looking at the selection of flowers on display.
"They're so beautiful, I don't even know where to start," funnily, Iris walked towards irises. "What do you think of these Bar?"
"They're nice," he wasn't good with flowers.
Iris frowned, "They're not too elegant though,"
"Since when were you elegant?" he teased.
She gaped at him and grinned, just like the old times, "I'll have you know Allen that I'm a very elegant and sophisticated woman,"
Barry rolled his eyes to irk her more, "Maybe in a parallel universe West,"
"Barry!" she hit his arm playfully.
The salesman cleared his throat, "My apologies for interrupting the happy couple but-"
"We are -"
"We're not a couple!" Barry said flushed. He instantly wanted to hit himself, wasn't this what he wanted? To be close to Iris and make her want to be with him?
Iris was a little hurt by his sudden reaction, but it was true, they weren't a couple. "He's my man of honor," she winked at the CSI.
"Ah I see, I just wanted to let you know that I will assist you throughout the selection process so let me know if you have any questions," The salesman left those two and went to tend to the flowers on the opposite side of the store.
There was some awkward silence but Iris spoke up, "So how did you and Caitlin, uhm, get together?" Sure he talked about her a lot and all, but to suddenly be engaged…was a little out of place for Barry.
"Uh," He knew this question would come up eventually, "well we've known each other for a long time and it just happened," he said with a shrug. Should he have come up with a super romantic story to make Iris jealous? No, he just didn't think that would be fitting to his relationship with Cait. If they were ever to get together –not that he's ever thought about it (really, he hasn't)– it would be a natural progression of their friendship that will eventually propel them to the next step. Yeah, he thought that was more believable.
"I'm not surprised but," and somehow she wasn't surprised, but it still didn't make sense to her. She purposefully started to smell the roses in her hand avoiding eye contact with the man, "I wish you would've told me," Iris felt hurt at Barry's secrecy. Sure they didn't end on the best of terms, but she thought they were in a much better place after she returned from New York. And throughout all of their conversations, in which Caitlin was mentioned in at least 80% of them, he never mentioned a relationship.
"You're not surprised?" Had he missed something? How come everyone practically expected him to end up with Caitlin?
"Well, no, not really. I mean you talk about her ALL the time," she said slightly more annoyed than she intended.
Barry was completely oblivious to her tone and thought back on their conversations...it was true, he did talk about Caitlin a lot, but not that much did he? "Do I?"
"Yeah,"
"No, I don-oh look at this one!" He pointed to a particular arrangement with white roses and cherry blossoms, it was beautiful.
"Oh it's –"
Barry smiled to himself, "Cait would love it," cherry blossoms were her favorite.
Iris frowned, he was supposed the help look for her flower arrangements.
{-}
"What do you think of this pasta Caitlin?" She loved this part about weddings, the food.
Caitlin had her mouth full of salad at that time, but walked towards Mrs. Allen anyway and swallowed quickly, "Let me see," she took a bite and started to chew, the pasta wasn't half bad but she started to feel itchy and her face got flushed.
"Caitlin?" Nora asked worriedly, if she didn't know any better the girl was having an allergic reaction.
The young doctor started to cough wildly, "Olives...black olives," she saw them mingling in the pasta at the very bottom.
She was allergic to black olives! Oh no, she should've asked her before having her try these dishes. She pulled her cellphone out of her purse and dialed her husband, "I'm taking Caitlin in, she's having an allergic reaction,"
She helped her future daughter-in-law to her car and drove to Central City's West Hospital where Henry was waiting.
{-}
Iris was still annoyed at Barry who one way or another found his way to squeezing his fiancé into every conversation. Couldn't they just talk about her wedding?
"What about these tulips Iris?" he asked with a childlike grin.
That was much better, "I like them, the color is perfect too," she inadvertently brushed her hand with his as she took the flowers from him. "I think these are the ones Bar,"
He was about to say something when his phone rang, "Hey mom," he said happily, but his smile quickly turned into a frown, "what!? She's where? Okay, yeah. I'll be right there,"
"What's wrong?" The journalist asked with concern.
Barry rushed outside and started his car. "It's Caitlin, she had an allergic reaction to one of the plates and she's at the hospital right now,"
"Oh my, let me go with you,"
Barry shook his head, "No, it's fine, this is your day. I'll go change places with mom so she can help you finalize the catering. I'll keep you posted,"
{-}
Barry rushed through the rooms of the hospital anxious to find his fake fiancé. Once he saw the room number he was looking for he stepped in without hesitation and found his mom caressing Caitlin's hand.
"Hey," he said catching his breath.
Nora stood up and gave her seat to her son, the poor man looked worried to death, "She's okay son, your father gave her antihistamine for the allergic reaction,"
"I'm fine," the young doctor reassured him, "just my good ol' allergies to olives," She said trying to lighten up the mood.
Barry took her hand, just as his mother had done before, and was frowning at her, "You need to be more careful Cait,"
Caitlin looked at him for a second, he was very worried about her, which truly warmed her heart, "I will be,"
Nora looked at the both of them one last time before closing the door behind her and smiled to herself. Oh those two were in for a big surprise.
After Caitlin saw Nora leave she pulled her hand slowly away from Barry and he looked at her confused.
"I'm sorry," she said.
Huh? "Don't worry as long as you're o–"
"I pulled you away from Iris,"
Oh, Iris, "It's okay, we were only looking at flowers," he said not really thinking it was a big deal. Her health was far more important.
She nodded, "I'll be careful next time,"
"Okay,"
They stayed silent for some time before Caitlin spoke again, "You know…"
Her words lingered in the air and Barry waited patiently for her to continue, "Your mom said a certain someone had an obsession with Superman,"
Uh-oh, Barry didn't like this.
Caitlin pulled out her cellphone and handed it to Barry struggling to contain her laugh.
Barry took her phone and his cheeks flushed.
The doctor giggled and was fighting Barry for her phone back, "Come on, it's cute,"
The poor CSI tried to surpass her security to no avail, the girl had changed the lock screen pattern in anticipation, "Mom is gonna hear about this," he grumbled giving up the phone once and for all.
"I like it," she said with a happy smile and not for the first time Barry thought she was cute.
"You like making fun of me which is different,"
She shrugged, "I think you were adorable back then, now it makes sense that you named your dog Krypto,"
Of course she would catch on to that.
"Whatever, you just can't resist the Allen charm, even in my youthful years,"
She tilted her head to the side and grinned, "You're absolutely right about that,"
This took Barry by surprise. Caitlin was probably pulling his leg. They were friends and that was all they would ever be. Although that thought wasn't as reassuring as before. He took the initiative of sitting on the bed next to Caitlin, while she showed him all these pictures his mom shared with her from when he was a kid.
He still couldn't understand why out of all of the cute pictures she had of him, she choose the one where he was in white underwear with a Superman shirt and Superman trousers on his head as her lock screen picture.
{-}
At night Caitlin and Barry threw themselves at the bed with a tired sigh.
"It was a long day,"
"Ditto,"
"But I'm glad they released you soon and mom and Iris finished what they had to do today,"
"It was only an allergic reaction, not like I was in a car accident," Caitlin said as a matter of fact.
"Still," he insisted.
Caitlin rolled her eyes, Barry was such a worrywart at times, "I'm glad your mom decided to ditch the pasta though, or else I would've probably had to eat before going to the wedding," Nora had gone back to the catering company and asked for them to dispose of anything that had black olives as an ingredient. Her future daughter-in-law was not to be harmed ever again.
"That's mom for you, she always takes care of everything,"
Caitlin's eyes shined with admiration, in just two days she couldn't help but look up to the Allen matriarch, such a wonderful woman. "Yes," she said with an amazed sigh.
Barry couldn't help but smile, Caitlin was easily impressionable sometimes. He then remembered something that he had left at the car, "Oh, I'll be right back," he stepped out of the room and Caitlin took the time to change into her pajamas not wanting to make Barry feel awkward around her like last time.
He came back with a long white box, "This is for you," he said with a boyish grin.
Caitlin took the box and noticed how light it was, "What is it?"
"Open it," Barry said with excitement, he just knew Cait would love it.
She slowly opened the box and smiled lovingly at the content, Barry was so thoughtful, "You're so sweet,"
Barry cleared his throat in mild embarrassment, "It's nothing," it had totally been worth it to go back to the flower shop for that small flower arrangement.
Without thinking she gave him a kiss on the cheek and then stepped out to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
Barry remained frozen in place and slowly pulled his hand to the spot where Caitlin had kissed him. This wasn't the first time that the girl had kissed his cheek, they did that often, it was normal among friends, but why did this feel different? There was always a tingling sensation, but this time it was stronger.
Meanwhile, Caitlin was in the kitchen taking her time to fill the glass of water and then placing inside the white rose with a branch of cherry blossoms. For some strange reason that she didn't want to explore her heart was beating faster than usual after kissing Barry. They were friends, and she'd done this numerous times before, but she couldn't help herself from feeling…
"Everything alright dear?" Nora asked while she served herself a glass of milk.
"Yes, I just came for some water,"
"I see," then she noticed the rose and the branch in her glass, "they're lovely, where did you get them?"
"Oh," the faintest pink tint came to Caitlin's cheeks, this was highly unusual for her, "Barry gave them to me,"
"Ah, my Barry, he takes after his father, such a romantic,"
Caitlin nodded and excused herself.
Nora just drank her milk with a self-satisfied grin.
{-}
The Talks to Remember
It had been almost two years since Barry had met Caitlin and somehow, without either of them knowing it, they had become great friends. They would joke and say they were science soulmates as that was their favorite topic of interest and could talk for endless hours about the subject. He would forever be fascinated by her knowledge and aspirations, she was actually going to intern at STAR Labs over the summer, while he went back to spend time with his parents.
This was the first time he would be back home after his break up with Iris, and the last thing he wanted to hear was someone asking him if he was okay or if he missed Iris. He walked the familiar steps towards his home and was quickly enveloped in a hug by his father.
"Nice to see you too dad," he said while patting the older man's back.
"My boy, you have a lot to tell me. How are things at CCU?"
"They're great dad," he went inside with his father and left his suitcase in his room, "I've made good friends and am having fun,"
"Barry sweetie! I'm so happy to see you, tell me everything that I missed," his mom came from the kitchen and they all sat in the living room.
"Classes are going great, I've been part of the Dean's List since my first semester, " he said with pride, "and I have two awesome friends, Caitlin and Cisco," Barry had mentioned both of his friends in passing to his parents, but his parent's ears quickly perked up when they heard the name Caitlin.
"Tell us more about your friends sweetie,"
"Well Cisco is studying mechanical engineering, he'll actually graduate next semester since he took advanced courses in high school,"
His parents nodded amazed at the young man's smarts.
"And Caitlin is studying biomedicine, she wants to be a doctor," he beamed.
His parents looked at each other mischievously and waited for their son to continue, "and she's amazing and super smart too. I mean sometimes I have her help me with my chem homework...but it's not because I don't know we just compare answers and all,"
That wasn't the only time the younger Allen talked about the future Dr. Snow that evening.
The next day he went to visit Joe and Wally who were like family to him, despite not being with Iris anymore. He was glad none of them mentioned the girl's name during his visit. Wally quickly started asking about classes and girls. Barry need not be asked twice, he told Wally, who he considered a younger brother, everything he knew about college. However, when it came to girls his experience was much more limited, only really hanging out with one. The one and only Caitlin Snow. And so Barry started to talk about Caitlin in detail and how strange the girl could be but smart and funny all the same. After a few minutes Wally excused himself saying he had a meeting with the engineering club (when in reality he just had gotten tired of hearing his pseudo brother talk about only one girl).
Joe didn't say much he just took a sip of his coffee and listened to the rest of Barry's college stories which featured one auburn haired girl most of the time.
{-}
This was the second summer Barry was home and his parents couldn't help but ask him if a friend would join him this time. He said that he did have a friend with him, wondering suspiciously how his parents knew.
"We'll finally get to meet her Henry," Nora told her husband with her excitement barely contained.
"How do you think she looks like?" Barry wouldn't dare show them any pictures, saying that he hasn't been able to capture the true essence of Caitlin Snow.
Not long after the familiar ding of the bell rang, Nora all but ran to the door, opening it full of anticipation.
"Hey mom! Dad!" Barry called out happily, "Meet my friend Cisco Ramon, he'll be leaving to Star City to work at Palmer Tech,"
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Allen," Cisco said politely.
Nora and Henry shared a look but welcomed Cisco with open arms. He certainly wasn't who they were expecting, but he was a charismatic fellow and seemed to be a great friend.
At dinner, Cisco and Barry were sharing some of their college adventures when of course a familiar name came up.
"Oh, remember that time that Caitlin threw up," Barry said while laughing,
"Ugh, that was disgusting, I told her not to get on the rollercoaster after eating those hot dogs but she didn't listen,"
They both shared a laugh and continued with more stories, with their female friend at the forefront of each.
{-}
Three years after Iris had broken up with him, Barry was finally able to answer one of her calls. It's not that the girl didn't call him often, it's just that he hadn't found the strength to answer her without feeling hurt.
"Hey Barry! It's great to hear you," Iris said animatedly trying hard to push the awkwardness of this call away.
"Likewise Iris, how's NY treating you?" He was walking back to his dorm very slowly.
"It gets pretty cold here but it's nice. There's always something to do. How's CCU?"
"Same old,"
"Oh," there was an awkward silence and then Iris chimed in, "I hear a Dr. Wells is coming to NYU for a conference," she hoped this would get the conversation going.
"Dr. Wells! That's awesome, actually I was able to meet him last summer," trust Barry to always get fired up when they talked about something or someone in science.
"Really? That's nice,"
"Oh yeah, Caitlin took me one day last summer to STAR Labs and we ran into Dr. Wells, he's a brilliant man,"
"Caitlin?"
"Yeah, you don't know her. She's actually attending CCU for a degree in biology with a concentration in bio medicine and genetics," somehow Barry always ended up bragging about Caitlin, even though the girl didn't take herself too seriously.
"Wow she sounds pretty smart,"
"She is, you should've seen her paper on DNA history it was awesome,"
Iris resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her nerdy friend. At least he was doing fine without her which was both hurtful and brought peace of mind at the same time.
{-}
It took them a while after Iris came back from New York, but finally Barry and Iris were friends once again. Sure things were awkward form time to time, but they got over it quickly.
"So glad you could come with me today Bar,"
"Not a problem Iris, thank you for inviting me,"
They both ordered their favorite drinks from Jitters and took a seat at one of the outside tables.
"Congratulations on your first byline," Barry said sincerely.
"It's no big deal, I mean it's on the 30th page anyway," she said nonchalantly, while feeling giddy on finally making her way up the ranks.
"It is! This reminds me of that one time Caitlin was presenting her research on generational genetics transfer to the dean of the college and said it was no big deal, it really is," Oh Caitlin, always taking lightly all of her accomplishments.
"Yeah, it's totally the same," Iris released a sigh, wondering what else Barry would say about Caitlin. Every time she was with him, he had these jokes that she simply didn't understand but apparently Caitlin did. She had never met the girl in question but Barry would always bring her up somehow. In the back of her mind Iris wondered if Barry did this to somehow make her jealous, but oddly enough it didn't seem like it.
The other question she toyed with was if Barry liked Caitlin, but she never found the strength to ask.
{-}
Over the years some way somehow there was always a Caitlin Snow mentioned when you talked to Barry Allen.
{x}
Hello Everyone!
This may be the first time I'm actually on schedule with a story (pat in the back for that). I wanted to thank you for your overwhelming support and hope you liked this next installment of Great Possibilities. It's funny but I was really planning for this story to be three chapters long –that's not going to happen anymore.
A warm hug to those who have favorited/followed the story and add to that a cup of hot cocoa to those that have reviewed!
Jdcocoagirl, Maya, Raquel, icekrim91, TieDyeJackson, Guest, ShanouNash, A Fan, stars90, Nienke Whovian, SodapopLover4524, and Shadow9841.
Jdcocoagirl: Who knows…maybe…or maybe they have that deep of a friendship?
Maya: I know! I think that they would in the actual show too, but at least here they do. Glad you loved it!
Raquel: So it's you! Pretty name by the way Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it. And yes, anime helps a lot, although I'm sticking to the shorter ones for now, I can't get too invested (oh, and K-Dramas). Yes, Barry is a blind man…but he's not the only one.
Good luck on your studying!
Icekrim91: I'm happy that you're liking the story so far, and yes the flashbacks help. I wanted to add more depth to their relationship, and for you all to see a story within a story (if that makes sense). Hope you liked this chapter too.
TieDyeJackson: Ugh, tell me about it. As soon as I saw the two of them the first time I felt this spark and thought they would be a couple at some point. After season 1 and still even after season 2 I felt they could've explored Snowbarry, but nooooo. Season 3 and 4, have been my least favorites and many accounts, but on Snowbarry specifically, I feel like they've completely butchered what they had built on (and I'm talking from the friendship perspective).
Glad you're liking it so far, let me know what you think of chapter 3.
Ps. I Love You…kidding…I love your profile pic reminds me of another story I'm working on.
Guest: Awesome! Hope you liked chapter three as well
ShanouNash: Aww, it's nothing but the truth. I figured there was a typo so no worries. You're French! Oh that's amazing, French the language of Love…sigh…
I think that Barry and Caitlin have been friends for so long that it's hard for them to see that they're really not friends friends…does that even make sense? As the story progresses, I hope you see where the both of them are coming from and why they haven't taken that next step we are all waiting on.
As for Cisco, it may be explained in a later chapter, but I'll let you know now. He was actually Barry's friend and was introduced to Caitlin, who later became his friend.
Oh I'm glad it's understandable the chapters go through so many reviews and edits and I still miss things. As for Iris, I hope I can explain her behavior (towards the end). However, I can't say she won't have a hand at Snowbarry though.
I'm so happy to hear that you like Nora, since we don't get much of her on the show, this is how I envision she would be in this story. Ah, mother's intuition is strong with this one. Actually, I completely agree with the 'unrealistic' factor of his engagement, that's why Caitlin thought it was a dumb plan from the very beginning. I'll I ask is that you stay with me for a little bit, you'll see how this amazing plan works out.
I understand where you're coming from on Caitlin never meeting the family, actually I have a very good friend of over 10 years, and to this day I've never met her dad lol (and mom only twice). Most of it comes from bad timing and initially it was because Caitlin was just very reserved. Hope this flashback helps a little bit on that front.
Oh, I knew the bed question would come up! I can't spoil anything right now, but stay tuned (that will be answered later in the story).
With all of that being said, thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to read the story!
A Fan: Love the nickname by the way. Well here's another one for you, let me know what you think!
Stars90: Oh it will…it will…
NienkeWhovian: Glad you liked it! That's Barry for you. I'm not the best at writing weddings but I'll try to do justice for Iris and Eddie. Just wait for what's still in store for our adorable nerds! Hope you liked this chapter!
SodapopLover4524: We outsiders can see what's right in front of them, they're just too oblivious. And Nora is awesome like that, those two should've known better. Glad you liked the Karaoke scene spin off, I really wanted to add it as it's probably one of my favorite Snowbarry moments.
Shadow9841: I think you may be onto something here…we'll just have to wait and see my friend. Thank you for reading!
ALSO big announcement here, but there may or may not be a kiss (or two) in the next chapter. Just thought I would casually mention that.
Love,
Kim