A/N: I am the actual worst. So, so sorry for taking so long to update. But! It is here now, and hopefully it is worth it. I hope to update this fic either biweekly or weekly, depending on how busy I am. Please feel free to call me out on this if I don't.

*Thanks to the lovely sendtherain for beta'ing once again. I gave her so much to do this weekend. She is a saint.

...

Chapter 6 -

It was a pleasant dream. No, more than a pleasant dream. It was a really, really good dream. Ronnie was alive. They were married. Dr. Wells was alive – and not evil. Barry and Iris were together, newly engaged too. Cisco had a girl and his vibing powers never failed to impress her, much to the rolling eyes and unabashed grins of everyone around them. Everyone was genuinely happy; and best of all, she didn't have a single metahuman cell in her body – least of all one that involved cold fog and icicles coming from her mouth and fingertips.

There was no looming fear that her having the same powers as her doppelganger meant that she was going to become evil. The logic was purely in her head since no one else on the team had become evil simply by developing powers. But she still worried. What if Killer Frost from Earth 2 hadn't always been evil? What if—

But none of that mattered in this dream. Not when the warmth of Ronnie's arms around her nearly put her to sleep in her own dream. Not when there was such happiness, such peace, all around her. That came to an abrupt halt when loud vibrations started to sound within the content bubble she'd found herself in. Her subconscious was kind, but there was no time for that in the reality of the conscious world.

Caitlin's eyes opened. The first thing she noticed was her vibrating phone moving around on her bedside table. The second was the alarm clock that shone in bright number 2:30am. And the third was the white smoke emanating from her nose and mouth as she breathed. The room wasn't cold. She knew because she couldn't turn the thermometer up any higher in her apartment. But she was freezing.

Pushing her discomfort aside, Caitlin reluctantly reached for her phone and tilted the screen so she could see who was calling. The familiar name concerned her only slightly. It would hardly be the first time he'd called her in the middle of the night.

"Cisco?" she answered into the phone, her voice still groggy with sleep.

"Caitlin!" he yell-whispered. "I thought you'd never pick up."

"I was sleeping."

"Well, yeah…but you usually pick up sooner." She opened her mouth to speak, but he kept going. "Anyway, I couldn't call earlier because Barry wanted to stay up and play video games."

Caitlin raised her eyebrows, amused.

"Don't you like video games, Cisco?"

"Beside the point," he said. She rolled her eyes. "I have an idea to get Barry and Iris back together."

She bit her bottom lip, debating.

"Do you really think we should get involved, Cisco? Maybe we should let them figure it out on their own."

"Because they've been doing that sooo well."

"It's been less than a week," she pointed out.

"It's been almost a week," he corrected.

Caitlin counted in her head. The break-up had been Saturday night. So, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…today was technically Thursday. All right, he had a point.

"And it'd be a real shame for them to miss out on their first New Year's Eve kiss as a couple, don't you think?"

"They did already miss their first Christmas," she allowed.

"Exactly. And what better way to start fresh than on the first day of the new year?"

He was gushing now and raising his voice. She worried briefly he might wake Barry. She suspected that was the last thing he wanted at the moment.

"What did you have in mind?" she whispered, hoping he would follow suit.

"Oh. Right," he whispered back, much to her relief – and his, she suspected. "A party?" he finally asked, probably waiting to see if he'd by chance awoken their slumbering speedster friend.

"That's a good idea," she allowed. "But New Year's Eve is only two days away. Can we really pull that off?"

Cisco snorted. "Please. Did you see how decked out HR made the speed lab and the cortex and practically the whole main floor at STAR Labs for Christmas? We hardly got to enjoy it because of all the tension between Barry and Iris. If we tell HR that we're having a New Year's Eve party to get Barry and Iris back together- On second thought, maybe that's a bad idea."

Caitlin frowned. "Why?"

"Think about it. The man can't keep a secret to save himself. After tonight, Barry will definitely be coming to STAR Labs before and after he's in the field Flashing around. HR is bound to say something."

"Okay, you might be right about that."

"Trust me, I am."

She swallowed and asked hesitantly, "You really think Barry's here to stay?"

Cisco exhaled peacefully. "Yeah, I do. He seemed really grateful when I suggested a sleepover at my place tonight." He paused, and then added somewhat annoyingly, "I still don't get why you wouldn't come. I know you're not big on video games, but it would've been fun for the three of us to hang like we used to after all this tension was relieved."

"I know…I'm sorry, Cisco. I was just tired."

He sighed testily. "I only half-believe you."

"What would you like me to do for the party, Cisco?" she asked, swiftly changing the subject before he could further interrogate her. "Iris and I aren't exactly close, and I think you'll have more success getting Barry to come to the party than I will."

"Um…"

"Cisco?" She frowned.

"I'm here…it's just…"

"You don't have anything for me to do," she said flatly.

"It's not that I don't want you to do something," he said hurriedly. "It's just that I don't know what."

"So why did you call?" she almost laughed.

"You're my best friend," he said simply, and her heart warmed. "I wanted to share my idea and hear what you thought of it."

"Well," she said, practically glowing now. "I think it's a great idea. It shows you really care."

"You care too, I'm sure," he prodded her.

"Of course," she assured. "But I didn't come up with the great idea." He started to babble, flustered by the compliment, so she continued, smiling to herself. "It'll be good to have Barry and Iris together again. The days have just felt so empty and heavy without them there."

"Agreed." He paused. "Well, I'll let you get back to sleep. Sorry for waking you."

"You're not, but I forgive you."

"Thanks, Cait."

"Goodnight, Cisco."

"Goodnight, Caitlin."

She hung up the phone, set it back on the table, and smiled contently. Snuggling under her blanket again, she felt the warmth of them consume her and the cool temperature dissipated. Risking it, Caitlin deliberately inhaled and exhaled, watching the space in front of her. To her great relief, her breath was not visible. She fell back into an easy sleep.

…

Linda entered Iris' office and pushed a pile of papers further down her desk so she had space to sit. Iris, her attention fully on the monitor, didn't turn to look at who had entered and neglected to shut the door.

"Can I help you?" Her tone was professional, but the laziness in it gave her away.

"I told Scott you were sick and needed to go home."

Iris' fingers stopped, hovering just above the keyboard. She spun around in her chair, ignoring the pint of ice cream Linda held in her hands and was currently digging a spoon into.

"And why would you do that? I have a deadline to make."

"You can make it at home."

She half-scoffed, half-laughed.

"Linda, I'm so behind on everything, which you know. He can't have been happy you said that."

She shrugged. "He understood."

Iris' eyes narrowed. "What exactly did you tell him?"

She avoided eye contact and took another bite of her cold treat.

"Just that you may have suddenly developed a hives-flu-measles condition and should go home immediately because you're highly contagious."

Iris laughed and leaned back in her chair, highly amused.

"But I don't have that."

Linda's eyes lifted to hers, glittering.

"He doesn't have to know that. The man has never had measles and he's deathly afraid of getting them. If you get near him… Or if you pass it on to someone else here and they get near him…"

Iris shook her head, smiling widely. "And how did you find out what his worst fear was?"

"I'm a reporter," she said, as if that explained everything. "I know things."

"All right, I'll bite. Why did you get me off early today?"

"Not just today. Tomorrow too. You've gotten yourself a three-and-a-half-day weekend."

"Are we going someplace?"

"If my apartment counts as someplace."

She waited a bit, trying to figure out that façade of innocence on her best friend's face.

"What are you planning?" she finally asked.

Linda licked her lips and tossed the now empty ice cream container in Iris' trashcan.

"Only the story of your life that will send Barry Allen running back into your arms."

Iris' jaw dropped. "You figured it out?"

"It's so good it'll kill him. And when he can't find out a way to stop it before you get remotely near approaching it – which of course he won't be able to do because it's fake – he'll have to confront you to tell you to not go through with it."

Iris' smile suddenly dropped into a frown. "And then what?"

Linda shrugged. "How should I know? You have two days to come up with a really good argument for why he should allow you to do it."

She scoffed. "Lin-"

"You know him better than anyone, Iris Ann West. Surely you know what to say that will make him crack."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable."

"Now, come on." She hopped off her desk. "I have an unbearable cough." She mock-coughed. "So, I'm leaving too. Let's take our sickly selves back to my apartment. We'll stay in with pizza, ice cream, and the finest wine the cheap convenience store next to Big Belly Burger has to offer. I'll tell you my fantastic plan and even craft a fake doctor's note for you to bring in on Monday."

Iris tilted her head. "Do they take doctor's notes anymore?"

"Trust me, honey." She leaned forward, smiling mischievously. "Scott will need one."

"Alright, I give in. Just let me clean up in here and I'll meet you outside."

"You got it, girlfriend." Linda winked and headed out the door, swaying her hips as she did so.

Iris laughed, clicking her tongue as she muttered her best friend's name on repeat. When she'd shut her computer down and organized her workspace, tucking the necessary items into her bag to take home with her, she was just about to head out the door when suddenly her phone rang.

She answered it without checking the name or number, not thinking anything of it since it was her cell.

"This is Iris." She closed her eyes and shook her head when she realized she wasn't on her work phone. Too late now, Iris.

"Hey, Iris, it's Caitlin."

Oh.

"Hey…Caitlin." A lump formed in her throat. She knew what went along with Caitlin. Cisco. STAR Labs. The Flash. "What's up?" she asked as cheerily as she could, tears already stinging her eyes.

"I…uh…just thought I'd let you know that we're having a party this Saturday at STAR Labs."

"A party?" She blinked away the tears, confused.

"Yeah. It's New Year's Eve and HR has a penchant for decorating, so we figured, why not?"

"Oh."

"This is me inviting you," she chuckled awkwardly.

No, no, no, I'm not going. No.

"Caitlin, I don't know if I'm really up for-"

"Barry won't be there," she said quickly.

That made Iris stop. "He won't?"

"Mm-mm. Cisco tried to convince him, but he said he just couldn't be around us."

"So, he hasn't been to STAR Labs since…" she let the sentence trail off on its own, her mind forming a million more questions and coming to some conclusions too.

"No," Caitlin said carefully. "He hasn't."

If Iris had been paying attention more closely, she would've noticed that there was something off about Caitlin's voice. But she was too lost in her own head, in her own heart, to pick up on the tell-tale signs of someone lying to her.

Still, she wasn't really up for partying with anyone but Linda right now. And even if she was, a party in the cortex or speed lab at STAR Labs sounded kind of lame.

"Is there a reason it's at STAR Labs?"

"Um… well, it was Cisco's idea. I think he thought it would be cool to have it on the roof."

Her heart skipped a beat despite herself and she quietly gasped. She'd never been to the roof at STAR Labs before. I bet you can see the whole city from there.

"What do you think?" Caitlin asked, and she realized she'd been quiet for too long.

"I…um…"

Linda popped her head back in the doorway, clearly about to yank her out of the room. But when she saw Iris was on the phone she gestured back down the hall and mouthed she'd wait for her outside.

"Can I think about it, Caitlin?"

"Oh, of course!" she said enthusiastically. "Take your time!" She paused. "But not too much time," she corrected. "It is in two days, after all."

"Right." Iris smiled, trying her best to focus. "I'll let you know as soon as I make my decision, okay?"

"Okay. Yeah. Sure. Sounds good."

"Great. Bye, Caitlin. Thanks for the invite."

"No problem. Bye, Iri-"

Iris hung up the phone before Caitlin could finish her goodbye. She felt a little bad, but not much. Her nerves were on high alert. The hair on her arms and neck was standing on end.

A holiday party on the roof at STAR Labs without Barry.

Without Barry.

A mixture of relief and heart-aching pain swarmed through her body.

Another holiday without Barry.

She blinked away tears, slipped her bag over her shoulder, and locked up her office, heading straight for the back entrance where Linda stood waiting for her.