Hello everybody. Oh boy, I know it's been a hot minute since my last update. This chapter took some contemplating. This chapter will be situated after episode (5x06). Hope this is an enjoyable read for you all.

stars90: Yeah, it always seems to be on the chopping block for any script work. Why?

shyesplease: Would have loved to see a rendition of the last chapter so badly.

Paige: Totally understand. Like it could be a one-minute scene and I would have been pleased.

Write-To-You: Petition for more OTF moments in S6. Wished there were more scenes like them laser tagging or just team bonding time. Thank you for the kind words.

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. Thoughts on the recent trailer for S6 of The Flash? I'm getting hyped. What's going on with Killer Frost and Caitlin?

Chapter 17: I Owe You Both an Apology

"You think we should just update Caitlin on this tomorrow?" Cisco asked as he and Barry walked towards the room that they left Caitlin in.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to keep her informed even if it was quick. Besides I want to check up on her before I go home." Barry shrugged his shoulders as they entered the room.

Caitlin was sitting on a chair while rubbing the sides of her head. "Yes. I know…No I wasn't…Well at the time…Okay…but." Caitlin was mumbling, clearly in response to Frost, but it didn't seem like such a fun conversation." Caitlin glanced up when Barry and Cisco entered, and her eyes lit up with relief. She looked at the two of them pleadingly before mouthing the words: help me. "Oh, hey Barry and Cisco are here." Caitlin said in an awfully cheerful tone.

"What's going on?" Barry stepped closer to Caitlin.

"They probably need my help with something, I should probably go." Caitlin sidestepped over Barry's question as she continued to talk to Frost.

Barry and Cisco frowned at Caitlin and looked at each other confusingly.

"Uh...well…uh yes…okay." Caitlin stood up reluctantly and grabbed extra mental activity dampeners and lifted them in Barry's and Cisco's direction. "She wants to talk to the two of you." Caitlin looked at the two of them with wide eyes, gesturing them silently to hurry and take the dampeners. Barry and Cisco hesitated but each grabbed a dampener and placed it on their foreheads.

"Hey losers." A sharp voice echoed in their heads.

"Hey Frost. It's been a while." Barry said with warmth, glad to hear from her after so long.

"No kidding." Frost remarked. All three flinched at the clear annoyance heard in Frost's tone.

"Uh, how have you been?" Barry asked awkwardly.

"Oh, just peachy. Nothing like being unconscious for majority of the last few months to make you feel good. How do you think I feel, Flash?" Frost replied sarcastically.

"Clearly not great." Barry muttered under his breath.

It was crystal clear now to Cisco and Barry why Caitlin was pleading for help earlier. Cisco scratched the back of his head; the tension was palpable. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked nerd. Let's see, where should I start?" Cisco's face dropped at that, realizing that it was a mistake to ask that. Caitlin and Barry simultaneously glaring at him was also a telltale sign. "Oh, let's walk down memory lane of Team Flash's stupid moments while I was gone, shall we? Um how about letting Caitlin try to be all heroic with no powers..."

"…Well she kind of did that on her…" Cisco attempted to say.

"…teaming up with Amunet, the mad woman…" Frost continued, bypassing Cisco's point.

"…she did help…" Barry reasoned but was cut short.

"…bringing Caity into the field with Flash using his speed force…"

"…that was my…" Caitlin argued but like her best friends, her words did not get through to Frost.

"God knows how Caity is still alive up to this point."

Caitlin stood up abruptly; she had enough of this. "I'm not a damsel in distress and I wasn't just going to sit around, while my team was out there. Did you expect me to do nothing if there was a way that I could help? It was my choice to face DeVoe using the speed force. My choice to ask Amunet for help. Nothing was going to stop me from going into the field, even without you."

"See that is exactly what I'm talking about. When are you going to learn not to take so many risks and do things on your own without considering the consequences? You could have been…" Frost paused abruptly.

"…hurt?" Cisco offered.

"If I'm not mistaken, I do believe I hear concern in your voice." Barry said cheekily.

"…No…not concern just self preservation. I am just worried for myself. After all, I would cease to exist if anything happened to Caity."

"You know it's okay to admit that you care." Caitlin said, openly smiling as she did so.

Frost huffed. "Whatever." Frost fazed nonchalant but Barry was sure she would be blushing if he could see her or at least slightly less pale that her usual complexion.

"Well Caitlin is not on her own. She has us." Cisco puffed his chest up at Barry's statement.

"Deflate those egos. As if just you two are very reliable."

"Hey." Barry and Cisco exclaimed, both offended.

"Guys, stop."

"She started it." Barry whined.

"Oh, real mature Flash."

Barry warned Frost. "Watch it, you're lucky that you're not here."

"I would be more than glad to take you on." Frost challenged in return.

Caitlin closed her eyes. "Ugh, I'm getting a headache. Look Frost, I know that you're just being protective over me, but I trust these boys with my life." The boys grinned at that. Their expressions spelled out "I told you so.".

Frost sighed loudly. "Look boys, I want you to listen carefully, since I have no choice but to deal with you two. There will most likely be more times where I am MIA or can't give Caity the backup she needs. Who knows how long it will take us to break this mental block? However, those are the times that I am counting on you two butt heads. Got it?"

Barry and Cisco nodded immediately.

"I can't hear you."

"Got it." Both said obediently.

"Okay, glad we're on the same page here. Now that we are finished with that. What's the update on Icicle and this bug breath thing?"

"I've done a city wide search for Icicle but no cold signatures matches are in vicinity in Central City. He is off the grid completely, but we'll be the first to know the moment he takes his first step into the city." Cisco iterated his findings.

Caitlin looked down as she tightened her fists. "I guess the question now will be how much of my dad will be left in him when that time does come."

"Hey, don't think like that. We'll get your dad back." Barry said in a reassuring tone.

"Flash is right, his humanity survived this long which means he is still fighting against Icicle. Plus, Icicle using such extreme measures to get rid of him means that he is more frightened about losing control than he is letting off. Now that dad knows that we are looking for him, it will make it that much easier for him to break through." Frost piped in.

"As long as we're on this topic. How long have you known that Thomas was a metahuman?" Barry directed to Frost.

"I've only had a brief encounter with him when I first surfaced after the car accident. He told me about his other persona to me in order to explain what was going on. The only reason why I ever surfaced was due to the high increase in adrenaline when Caity's bike crashed. That was the only time I've ever surfaced until everything happened with Zoom and Caity's residual fear spiked her adrenaline and slowly "awakened" me. Like Caity, I believed that our dad was dead all these years, so I hadn't really considered his other half. Plus, Caity and I were having the times of our lives trying to fit with one another so the last thing on my mind would be of our icy similarity with our dad. During these last few months, I was rendered unconscious for the most part until that day in the lab when Caity unlocked that memory."

"You remembered your conversation with Thomas."

"Exactly, his powers activate like mine. I heal quickly so he should too. I figured there was a good chance that his alter-ego took over after Thomas' fear over his ALS increased and his fear was great enough that Icicle stayed in power like what happened with Caity's near death experience. This was more likely than he actually dying."

Caitlin sat down. "That's what you were trying to communicate through Cecile."

"Wasn't that obvious?"

"Uh. No. How were we supposed to guess that Caitlin's supposedly dead father also had cyrogenic physiology?" Cisco questioned bluntly.

"He had been this way all the time? What did you think I meant by that?"

"That sentence alone has so many potential explanations. You could have just said straight up that Thomas has ice powers." Cisco argued back.

"Well excuse me for not writing out an essay. You guys are lucky I even managed to utter something tangible. I didn't expect to connect with Cecile and that was what my brain first thought of. Sue me.

Barry chuckled at Frost's aloofness. "Your sarcasm has been missed, Frost."

"Glad to be back. Okay, so we are at a standstill with Icicle. You guys got an update on what's his name, Cockroach?"

"Cicada." Caitlin corrected.

"Potayto, potahto. Same difference. Still a squishable bug. Cicada is fitting though. Hands down as one of the most annoying bugs out there."

Caitlin shook her head slightly at that, but the corners of her lips lifted. She missed Frost's humor. "Do you have an update?"

"Yeah, we actually came in here to update you on what we discovered."

"What is it?" Caitlin ushered Barry to continue.

"We believe that Joe's intuition is right, and that Cicada may be a father. Ralph and Cecile found hospital records of a young girl that was submitted to the hospital the night Nora and I shattered the satellite."

"If that is his daughter, it would most likely be his motivation for his hatred for metahumans." Caitlin concluded.

"Oh, wah wah, cry me a river. That reason doesn't justify murder, psychopath." Frost remarked sharply.

"No, it's not. But family can make us do the wildest of things. We may not be murderers. But we're not squeaky clean either." Cisco counter argued.

Caitlin glanced at the two of them as she fiddled with her fingers."So, what do we do now?"

"We'll look into Grace Gibbons and see if there is a connection between Cicada and her. Maybe if we can help her, Cicada will back down."

Frost scoffed at Barry. "You really think it will be that easy?"

"Your guys' dad broke through his evil self because he recognized you. Who's to say, having his daughter healthy again won't stop Cicada?" Cisco pointed out.

Caitlin nodded. "It's worth the shot."

"And what if it doesn't stop cricket freak?" Frost voiced her skepticism.

Barry crossed his arms. "Then we'll deal with that when it arises."

"Boy with us being notorious for plans going wrong, I imagine this going off the rails too."

"This time could be different."

"Ah Caity, I have missed your optimism."

A soft smile formed on Caitlin's face. "I've missed you too. I think I speak for all of us when I say that." Barry and Cisco nodded as a confirmation.

"Of course, you've missed me. You guys are like headless chickens without me."

"And the heart felt moment stops here." Cisco said as he drew an imaginary line.

Caitlin nodded. "Wouldn't hurt for you to hold back your snarky side."

"I have a lot of pent up cockiness within me from being unconscious for months. What did you expect? I'm not going to stop anytime soon"

The three of them shared less than amused faces at that comment. Not exactly thrilled with the idea of an all night sarcastic commentary by Frost.

"Well I'd say today has been quite busy and I'm ready to call it a night." Caitlin said as she looked at Barry and Cisco pointedly and then glanced upward indicating at the cerebral inhibitors. The two of them nodded, receiving the message.

"Yeah you know what? I am feeling a little tired." Barry added, going along with Caitlin and raised his arms to stretch as he released a fake yawn.

Cisco brought his hands up to his eyes and rubbed them. "Oh yeah so sleepy, I could be the dwarf."

"Wait. No. I know what you're doing. I'm not done talking. Come on guys, don't you dare- "

"Good night Frost." The three of them said in sync and quickly removed the cerebral inhibitors off and exhaled. One amused look between the three was all it took to have the three erupt with laughter.

Cisco wiped off a tear, a result from laughing too hard. "Aww man, I felt like I was in school and was being scolded by a teacher."

"I definitely going to pay for that later, but it was so worth it." Caitlin said as another round of giggles hit her.

"Oh, my stomach hurts. I kind of wish we could have seen her reaction." Barry exclaimed as he sat down on a nearby chair.

"I imagine right now she's probably pacing back and forth in my mental space."

"Those freaking losers. They dare cut me off? I swear I'm going to turn them into headless chickens." Cisco mimicked Frost's icy tone.

Laughter rang off the walls. "Not going to lie. We definitely showed our chicken sides." Caitlin admitted in between her laughs.

Cisco shrugged. "No shame. She's scary."

All three unconsciously shivered in agreement.

Barry released an actual yawn and looked at his watch. "Wow, I know we were kidding but it is getting pretty late. We should go and get some rest."

"Mmm a good night's rest should get me recharged to continue tracking Cicada and Icicle. Hey, you think they will take Thanksgiving off?" Cisco pondered as he neared the exit.

"Hahaha they should. Go and enjoy some pumpkin pie. Ahh pumpkin pie could totally stop villainy. Hmm. Maybe I should make a pie for Thanksgiving." Barry pondered out loud. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed Caitlin looking despondently at her feet. "You okay Cait? Don't worry too much about Frost, she won't be that mad…hopefully."

Caitlin lifted her head. "No, it's not that. For a moment I forgot about everything that happened today and I guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed." Her voice shook as she spoke.

"Let's take it one day at a time, Caitlin." Cisco smiled at Caitlin.

"Okay. Actually you know I haven't apologized to you both for what happened today."

"Cait, you don't have to-" Barry started.

Caitlin shook her head. "No. I do. You two are my rock, I should have taken your words into consideration first before brushing them off. You've always looked out for me. I should have known better that this time was no different. I was just ecstatic with the fact that my dad was back that I…I'm sorry for the way I acted. It's inexcusable."

"Cait, if it was my dad, I would have reacted the same way and I know you two would have had my backs if something was up." Barry said sincerely.

"Same for me if it was Dante." Cisco said in agreement.

The three shared a smile.

"We all want happiness in our lives. Can't blame you guys too much for desiring that after all we've faced." Cisco said with a far-off look. Their lives admittedly sucked in that way. Any ounce of potential happiness always had to be looked at with suspicion and that in itself can be exhausting. "We trust each other. We will continue to look out for one another."

Caitlin stepped in front of Cisco and wrapped her arms around Cisco. "Thank you both, especially you Cisco for looking out for me today."

"We're family, nuff said." Cisco returned Caitlin's hug fiercely.

"This is a group hug moment?" Barry asked, seeking permission to join the hug.

"Yeah, it is." Cisco affirmed as he and Caitlin lifted an arm to include Barry into the hug. They released their embrace after a few moments and they felt their bond strengthen, if that was possible.

"This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for us." Barry declared.

"Affirmative." Caitlin agreed as Cisco nodded.

"Oh hey, speaking of Thanksgiving. Caitlin makes a mean pie. Maybe she could help with your conundrum, Barry." Cisco offered.

Barry's eyes lit up."That. Would. Be. Amazing."

"I don't know. Not sure if I can do the impossible." Caitlin teased at Barry's baking skills.

"I can do it…I will follow your every instruction to the tee." Barry swore.

Caitlin raised her arms in defeat. "Alright. I guess I'll crust you." Caitlin said as she held back her smirk.

Barry glared at her not so amusing pun as Cisco's laugh could be heard in the background. "Piece out, Barry." Cisco said as he put his arm around Caitlin's shoulder.

Barry glared even more at that.

Caitlin shrugged. "Come on don't be like that, cutie…pie." Caitlin said nonchalantly as she steered Cisco towards the exit.

Barry couldn't help but smirk at that and followed his friends. "You guys want a piece of me?" Barry threatened jokingly as he placed his arm on top of Cisco's arm that was around Caitlin's shoulder. The two snickered at that.

And they lived apple-y ever after, well at least for today.

That's a wrap on this chapter. I hope you all like it.

-V