Hello everyone, I'm back yet again with another update. For today's update, it will follow the events of (5x05) prior to episode (5x06). This was a moment that I desperately wished to have seen on the show, but we don't all get what we want. Nonetheless it provided me inspiration to write a chapter and as usual, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
PlusBoob: Lol, just doing my best.
Stars90: 😊
Paige: This dynamic makes the show for me.
All characters, story, plot lines belong to the writers, producers of The Flash and The CW. I do not own the rights to any of them, just the idea of this story is my own.
Feel free to write a review on your thoughts.
P.S. Can we get a woohoo for Carlos clearing up the rumors? This means that OTF will survive for another season. Yay so hyped.
Chapter 16: That's the Guy(s) I Need
"I like you to meet Robbie, Hal, Collossus, and Data. Thanks to DeVoe, never thought I would say that, but we now have our new eyes and ears. We're back baby and it feels so good." Cisco rested his head on the main computer and spread his arms to imitate a hug. "Oh, it's been too long. I have missed this so much. Of course, nothing will ever replace good old Sally, but I will take what I can get."
Barry smiled at his friend's antics. "Awesome work Cisco. Good resourceful thinking on utilizing DeVoe's satellites."
"I'm a little embarrassed for not thinking about it earlier but to be fair I have been pretty distracted the last couple of days with you know my death."
"That reminds me. You, Caitlin, Ralph, and Sherloque disappeared for a moment today. Where did you guys go?"
Cisco blanked for a moment. He knew that Caitlin hadn't updated Barry on the situation, and it wasn't really his place to say anything especially when Caitlin wasn't ready. "Uh, Sherloque wanted to see the famous C.C. Jitters that we love so much, so we took him there for a cup of java."
Barry raised his eyebrow with doubt. "Sherloque is a tea person."
Cisco closed his eyes, regretting his choice of words immediately. He really can't lie to save his freaking life. "Did I say java? I mean a cup of java for the rest of us while he enjoyed a cup of tea."
Barry approached closer to Cisco. "What are you trying to keep from me?"
"Nothing. Don't need to get so worked up over a cup of coffee…damn it I mean tea." Cisco stuttered as his leveled front begin to waiver.
"Come on Cisco, you can tell me." Barry urged knowing that Cisco was beginning to crack under the pressure.
"Barry, it's not really my place to say."
"But Cisco, you love revealing secrets and there are no secrets between us, right?"
Cisco winced at that statement. His track record of keeping secrets has not helped his case. Him telling Caitlin about Killer Frost from Earth 2. Him revealing to the team about Wells decreasing brain function first. Him revealing to the team about Caitlin's powers when they first appeared. Cisco paused at that last one. At the time, he had thought he was doing what was best for Caitlin. She had confided in him with trust and he completely outed her when she wasn't prepared to be. This time will be different. Caitlin had confided in him and he will keep to his word this time. He will wait till Caitlin was ready to tell the team. "Normally I would tell you but I'm sorry Barry. I'm serious about not telling you. As my best friend, please respect this."
"Thank you, Cisco. I appreciate that" Caitlin said before Barry could respond as she stepped into the Cortex.
Barry glanced back and forth from Caitlin and Cisco. "What's going on?"
Cisco opened his mouth to scold Barry and protect Caitlin but stopped when Caitlin placed her hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, Cisco. I want to tell him." Caitlin said reassuringly and Cisco nodded in response.
Barry looked at the two of them confusingly. "What's going on?"
Caitlin redirected her attention towards Barry. "Cisco and the other guys have been assisting me with a mystery for these last couple of days."
"The one that Sherloque mentioned when he first came here?" Barry asked and stepped closer to Caitlin "And why wasn't I updated?" Barry said, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Ralph and Sherloque got updated prior to him.
Caitlin glanced down at her feet feeling slightly awkward "Look Barry, it was never my intention to keep you out of the loop or to withhold information specifically from you. But with everything that was going on, I thought that it would be better to keep it on the down low for a bit. It wasn't so much that I didn't want to tell you. It just feels more real the more people know and I don't exactly know how I feel about it."
Barry watched as Caitlin's eyes dart back and forth and can sense how uncomfortable Caitlin was. He placed his own questions aside and bent down a little to meet Caitlin's eyes. "Are you okay?"
Caitlin met Barry's eyes which were filled with concern and smiled. She appreciated just how concerned her friends were for her and it's something she will always be grateful for. "I think so. It's hard to explain."
"How about showing him the vibe? As long as you're okay with it." Cisco offered and raised his hand to her.
"That would be a good starting point." Caitlin agreed and placed her hand in Cisco's and reached for Barry's with her other hand.
As soon as Barry touched Caitlin's hand, a memory formed around him. In this memory he watched as a truck hit a little girl on a bicycle as a concerned man screamed "Caity, are you okay?" His curiosity urged him to take a closer look and he is taken aback by what he saw. His eyes widened as he watched the little girl's hair transform from a deep brown to a platinum blonde and her irises to a frosty blue. "Cait, that's- "Before Barry could finish his thought, he is brought out of the vibe. Barry's mind raced with what he just saw. "Cait, that's- "
"-me." Caitlin confirmed as she let go of Cisco and Barry's hands.
"Killer Frost was part of your childhood. How is that even…your powers didn't originate from the particle accelerator explosion." Barry concluded.
Caitlin sat down on a nearby chair. "Exactly. All this time we thought that my powers originated from dark matter. This explains why Cisco couldn't find a trace of dark matter after the incident with DeVoe."
"So that means that Killer Frost may still be a part of you because it wasn't dark matter that created her. Then what is Frost's origin story?" Barry paused as he thought back to the vibe. "Wait. Caitlin, was that your dad in your memory?" Caitlin's jaw clenched and nodded. "That means your dad knew you had powers when you were younger." Caitlin nodded again. Barry sat down next to Caitlin and chose his next words carefully knowing that her dad was a tough topic for her. "Maybe your mom would know something since your dad is out of the question."
"Actually- "Cisco started before quickly biting his tongue to stop himself from continuing.
Caitlin looked at Cisco and he nodded to her with encouragement. "Actually…my father is alive."
Barry's face blanked. "Your father is…alive? What? How? What?" Barry stammered.
"I wouldn't have believed it either if Ralph hadn't found out that my dad's death certificate was fabricated. He and I went to see my mother a couple days ago and we found- "
"-you mean you stole." Cisco keyed in cheekily.
Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Details." She reached into a drawer and pulled out a large sheet of paper and handed it to Barry. "This is what we brought back."
Barry opened the sheet of paper and smiled widely. "Knew the scientists made the wrong choice when deciding names for the elements. Clearly nerdonium is a win."
"Clearly we are just nerds." Cisco stated bluntly.
Barry placed his hand against his chest and made a wounded face. "Ugh such harsh words."
Caitlin smirked at the two of them and pulled out her dad's letter. "This was also placed with the periodic table."
"These don't exist- wait." Barry's eyes darted to the periodic table and smiled. "Caitlin, come find me." Barry looked at Caitlin with wide eyes. "Your dad is alive!" Barry said excitingly.
"It looks like it." Caitlin responded quietly.
Barry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What's wrong? Isn't that great news? Are you worried that we won't be able to find him? It might be a little difficult but at least this is a start. I'm sure Cisco can- "Barry looked up at Cisco and noticed that he was avoiding any direct eye contact. "-but you already knew that because we now have our satellites up and operating. Do you not want to find your dad, Caitlin?"
Caitlin glanced at Barry and swallowed. "I don't know."
"Caitlin. Your dad is alive. Somewhere out there, he's waiting for you to come find him. What's holding you back from doing that?" Barry questioned.
"Why has he been hiding all this time? Or maybe he isn't hiding and he's avoiding me and that's why in all these past years, I haven't heard a word from him. I would have never come across this information if I hadn't remembered that past memory of myself when I was younger and gone snooping. Sure, those words say "Caitlin, come find me" but why did I have to jump through all those hoops to get that? Couldn't he have sent a text, an email? He could have sent that letter directly to me. Instead, he let me think that he's been dead all these years." Caitlin paused and she felt her throat start to close with emotion. "Grief doesn't even begin to explain what I went through. Now I can't help but feel like my emotions were played with. What am I supposed to do? Does he even want to be found after all these years? What will I be greeted with if I do find him? Do I even want to find him and crack open that can of worms?" Caitlin breath trembled as she clenched her hands into fists.
Barry crouched down in front of Caitlin and clasped her hands. "Caitlin, we can spend days running around with what ifs but at the end of the day, we don't have all the information. Maybe that letter was his last chance of contacting you and although the chances were small, he may have hoped that somehow it would find you and you would decode the message. Maybe he doesn't have a source of contact and that's why he remained silent over the years." Barry's hands tightened around Caitlin's. "…Maybe he really wanted to disappear and have nothing to do with you. If that is the case, you don't have to constantly maintain this protective front in fear of getting hurt. Just know that Cisco and I will always be here to protect you."
Caitlin opened her fists and turned her hands to grasp onto Barry's. "What if I get hurt anyways?" Caitlin whispered meekly.
At this statement, Cisco crouched next to Barry and looked at Caitlin sincerely. "Remember how you felt when you first found out that Ronnie was alive? You were distraught and you told me that seeing him as Firestorm hurt more than if he had just died when the particle accelerator exploded."
Caitlin nodded at that memory.
"Now remember all that happened after. All the good that arose. Ronnie came back. You became Mrs. Ronnie Raymond." Caitlin smiled at that. "I know it was short, far too short, but you got to have a wedding, exchange rings and proclaimed to the world that he was yours and you were his."
Caitlin nodded again and unconsciously rubbed her now bare ring finger.
"I know how much it hurt when Ronnie first appeared; I know how much it hurts now to question what your dad may think about you. But I want you to grasp on the memory of how good it felt once you pass the hurt with Ronnie and experienced the relief of knowing. If we choose to keep our heads in the sand, we will never be able to move forward. Think of how great it would be if your dad greets you with welcome arms. If he decides to scorn you instead then screw him and Barry and I will greet you with welcome arms." Caitlin released a small chuckle at that. Cisco brought his hand to rub Caitlin's arm. "I don't want to watch you eat away at yourself over this."
"Caitlin, both you and I had our chances to say our proper goodbyes to our dads taken from us. I will never get that opportunity to do that with my dad-" Caitlin's grasp on Barry's hand tightened on that. "-but now you have that chance to tell your dad whatever you've gathered all these years. Even if you don't say anything, at least grant yourself that closure."
Caitlin sighed but nodded. "I don't know if I will ever be able to gather my thoughts properly to form coherent words but both of you are right. I can't run away from this. It will just continue to drag, and it will consume me sooner or later. My dad is alive…let's just start with that."
Barry and Cisco nodded at her with smiles giving her the courage and encouragement she needed.
"Okay. I just need some time first."
Cisco placed his hand on the mini dogpile that was formed by Caitlin's and Barry's hands. "When you're ready. Go Team Caitlin!" Cisco cheered and raised his hand. He couldn't ever resist the notion of a hands in huddle. Barry and Caitlin were always embarrassed by it so he will take whatever opportunity he can get.
Letting it past this one time, both Barry and Caitlin echoed Cisco's cheer. "Go Team Caitlin!"
Cisco smirked and placed his hand outward slowly. "Go Team Flash?"
"That's pushing it." Caitlin said as she crossed her arms.
"Aww." Cisco pouted but relented and slowly placed his hand down.
"Okay, it's getting late now, and we have a mysterious metahuman killer on our hands. Let's go home and attempt to get some rest." Caitlin said as she held back a yawn.
"Agreed. Meet back here bright and early?" Barry asked and Caitlin nodded as she walked out of the Cortex.
Cisco was just putting on his jacket and was about to follow Caitlin when Barry grabbed his arm. Cisco looked at Barry quizzingly. "What?"
"How long would it take for you to find out her dad's location?"
Cisco cleared his throat with a little embarrassment. "Um it's already done."
Barry smiled a little at that. Of course, he and Cisco would have similar thoughts. They would never dream of pushing Caitlin to find her father if they knew she wasn't ready for it. Caitlin may not know it just yet but she's stronger that she gives herself credit for and both men knew that better than anybody. Caitlin is queen of doubting herself and Barry knows that she will need a little encouragement.
"She's ready." Barry said in a confident tone.
Cisco nodded. "She's ready." Cisco said in a proud tone and made his way to the exit.
Caitlin peeked her head into the Cortex. "You know for being the Flash, you really aren't too fast?" Caitlin goaded at Barry.
"Oh, I will show you fast." Barry quickly grabbed Cisco and Caitlin before flashing out of Star Labs and stopped at Caitlin's apartment.
Caitlin laughter rang off the hallways of her apartment as she felt her adrenaline racing. "Now that's more like it."
Barry and Cisco watched as their best friend continue to have the widest of smiles and both couldn't resist smiling as well. They silently vow to do everything within their power to make sure that she continues to smile like that.
That's a wrap on this chapter. I hope you all like it.
-V.