It had been a mere two months since Barry first revealed to Iris that he had feelings for Caitlin, but now, he was a free man. His divorce from Iris West had been finalized that morning. Ever since the night where Barry asked for a divorce, Iris has refused to step foot into S.T.A.R. Labs. Caitlin felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. When Iris had found out that Caitlin helped Cisco, she had constantly felt like the other woman wanted her gone. She didn't trust Caitlin and honestly, Caitlin had never liked Iris to begin with. She made sure that she was civil for Barry's sake, but she never went out of her way to converse or have anything to do with Iris West.

It was a Friday night, and the city was unusually quiet. Then again, it was the middle of April and strong storms had just moved through, the line passing through Central City half an hour before. Bad guys, both human and meta, tended to stay inside on nasty nights. Even they didn't want to get caught in hail, high winds, flooding and possible tornadoes. Caitlin felt safer inside the lab than she did in her own apartment during weather like this, even if that left her as the only one there.

Caitlin managed to not be surprised that there was a crackle of lightning and a bright flash next to her work station. She figured Barry would seek her out, but she was surprised at what was in his hands. It was a picnic basket, blanket folded over the top of it. There was a lightness to him that she hadn't seen in far too long. He, finally, looked relaxed and at peace.

"I thought that you'd still be here." Barry held his hand out to her, bottle green eyes full of light. "C'mon, lets eat."

"You're always hungry Barry." Caitlin laughed, slipping her hand into his. She expected to be swept up into his arms and flashed away, but instead he lightly pulled on her hand. Together they walked through the halls of the complex, Barry leading her to the lounge area that overlooked the rear grounds of the facility, something that the team had been using more and more of over the years. It was a place to relax when things got stressful.

"I can't help that." Barry pulled her up to the enclosed part of the balcony, the lightning flashes from outside illuminating them intermittently, a counterpoint to the lighting from inside. It was oddly relaxing. Caitlin helped Barry spread the blanket out before settling down, watching him pull food from the basket.

"True." Caitlin nodded, then asked. "How are you doing? I know things have been busy lately and we haven't had a chance to talk about this."

"I'm good." Barry smiled, handing her a container that steamed softly. Roast beef with potatoes and carrots. There were also buttered rolls and crisp salad, along with slices of chocolate cake and bottles of sweet tea. The man knew how to pack a picnic.

"I thought I'd feel regret or sadness at letting Iris go, but I feel content. It was something that had been a long time coming."

"What about me?" Caitlin munched on one of the cucumbers in her salad. "I mean, I'm sure if we get together too soon, everyone will assume you left your wife for me."

"Those who know us know that isn't the case. Besides, what do you care what others think? All that matters is that we know the truth." Barry frowned at her, reaching across to tuck her hair behind her ear. Caitlin sighed and looked down, picking at her salad. She heard Barry shift, moving closer to her. He bumped her shoulder, reaching down and cupping her chin.

"Caitlin, what's wrong?" His thumb stroked her chin as his eyes searched hers. With a small sigh, she knew it was time to come clean.

"Do you remember Hannibal Bates?"

"Yeah, he was the meta that could look like anyone he touched. Why? That was years ago."

"He came here, as you, after I went to your house to get you and give you the destabilizing compound that we used on him." Caitlin said slowly, eyes unfocused as she thought back through the years to that sunny afternoon. Barry leaned a little closer, head tilted to the side.

"He told me that he was going to do something he should have a long time ago, then he kissed me, as you. And - and I kissed him back. I kissed YOU back."

Barry didn't say anything for a moment or two, then he grinned and asked,

"So who's better? Me or him?"

Caitlin let out a bark of laughter, shaking her head. Trust Barry to defuse the situation with humor.

"You, but that's not the point." Caitlin smiled, shaking her head. "The point is, that kiss made me feel things that I had been desperately trying to hide from you. I already had a crush on you, and that kiss made me realize I felt more than that. But you wanted Iris, so I kept it all hidden."

"Wait, so you've had feelings for me all these years, and you never told me?" Barry asked gently, threading his fingers through her hair, cupping the base of her skull. His touch was so very warm, warmer than anything she'd felt since Ronnie passed.

"I didn't want you to think that I was some weirdo or something. I kept it hidden, and when Killer Frost took over, that's why she decided to follow Savitar. It was a version of you, one that wanted us."

"Oh, Cait, why didn't you say something?" Barry pressed his forehead to hers. "It would have saved us a lot of trouble in the end."

Gently he tipped her face up to his, closing his lips over hers slowly. For a man used to moving a super speed, he sure did know how to invest his time in a kiss. It was like Caitlin's whole body melted into a puddle, warmth filling her in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. She slid her hands up his slim, but still muscular arms, to wrap her own arms around his neck. Easily she gave herself over to him. It was all brand new, yet felt like coming home. It was warm, perfect and amazingly familiar to her. Slowly their mouths opened, plunging the both of them into a world of heat and desire. The world around them faded away and all that was left were two people destined to be more than lovers. Eventually they had to pull apart to breathe.

"Wow." Caitlin whispered, eyes blinking blearily. Slowly she focused on Barry's face inches from her own. Color was high on his cheeks and his eyes were almost black from desire. She was snuggled up against him, almost draped across his lap, his strong arms like bands around her back.

"Yeah, you're pretty wow yourself Dr. Snow." Barry's breath was warm against her skin, skin that was cooler to the touch than normal even after splitting from Killer Frost. "I can't believe I've missed out on that all these years."

"It wasn't our time." Caitlin murmured, reaching up and running her fingers through his hair. "If we had gotten together back then, who is to say we would end up happy? Our experiences make us who we are. Who and what we are now are two pieces to a whole."

Barry kissed her again, more forcefully this time, desire making their blood hot. Caitlin knew, as Barry's doctor, that it was hard for him to make love due to his powers. She wasn't sure if he and Iris had even gotten to a point where they were able to sleep together, and she really didn't want to know. Their powers would, in theory, cancel each other out and they would be able to have sex like normal people. She was itching to find out, but at the same time, the small voice of reason in her head pulled her back.

"Barry, we need to eat before the food gets cold." Currently he was kissing her neck, hands slipping up the back of her shirt. God, she wanted to give in, but she also wanted them to have more time together as a couple before taking that step.

With a groan the speedster pulled back, lightning crackling over his skin and in his eyes as he tried to get the Speed Force in him under control. Secretly Caitlin loved it that she could work him up that fast. Hiding a smirk by looking down she began eating her food before it went cold.

"I can't believe you've kept that from me all these years." Barry accused with a smile. "I've never had a kiss effect me that way."

"You do know, that after we do make love for the first time, I'll have to record data to see what all is going on inside us. For science of course."

"Of course."

They did decide to take it slow. They didn't tell their family right away that they had began seeing each other, and when they finally did tell them, it wasn't really a surprise.

"I've known all along that the two of you were going to get together." Cisco stated proudly. "I saw it in the future. I also saw what I needed to do in order for it to happen."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked, arm around Caitlin's shoulders. He had her tucked close to his side, more open to showing affection to her than he was Iris. Especially around the team.

"Remember when I told you Savitar saw a timeline where I was reborn and you two got together?" Killer Frost asked in return. "Well Cisco, at one point and time early in developing his powers, saw that future."

"I just thought it was wishful thinking on my part, but it turns out it was one of the future timelines that would be created." Cisco shrugged. "I wasn't sure that the path to that vision would be realized, but once we faced the Monitor, I knew that it was going to happen."

"So you're telling me that - that insane cosmic bully actually did some good?" Joe asked skeptically.

"Yeah, Joe. He did." Barry kissed the side of Caitlin's head, and she saw the older man flinch slightly.

"I'm sorry Joe. I never meant for this to happen, or to hurt Iris in any way." Caitlin gently pulled herself away from Barry. The older man shrugged with a sigh.

"She's a big girl who can take care of herself. She always has been." He said, deep voice soothing and calm. "I had begun to wonder about the quality of their marriage in the last few months, but like everyone else, I just chalked it up to being married to a superhero. Never dreamed that is was anything deeper than that."

"So what do we do now?" Ralph asked into the silence.

"We go on. We protect Central City. We do our jobs. Everything else will work itself out." Barry answered. "We do as we always have, adapt and change."

In the end, Nora didn't fade back into the Speed Force. She remained in the same reality as her father and mother, as well as her step-mother. XS helped Team Flash and earned her way to being one of the best speedsters in existence. Everyone was happy that she had managed to survive and thrive in the past with the new timeline that was created.

Cisco never really did leave S.T.A.R., but he did have side contracts that he worked on when he had the time. He also jumped to Earth-2 often, working with Harry on various projects. On that Earth, he met a version of Gypsy that he fell in love with and eventually married. She wasn't a breacher like he had been, instead the was a tech meta. She had the ability to shape technology in ways that were invaluable to the team on numerous occasions.

Killer Frost and Ralph hooked up. No one saw that one coming. No one.

Iris found her Mr right and moved away to Coast City, needing a fresh start and a break from everyone. Her and Barry managed to patch up their relationship, but it wasn't nearly as close as it had been in the past. Caitlin wondered if Barry sometimes missed his best friend, but when she asked, Barry would pull her close, kiss her forehead and whisper,

"Cisco is my best friend. You, Mrs. Allen, are my other half."

Turns out, Killer Frost was right about the future Savitar saw. S.T.A.R. was rebuilt, and scientists from all over the globe came to work for Barry and Caitlin Allen along with Cisco Ramone. They were known more for their scientific breakthroughs and innovation than for their super hero jobs. S.T.A.R. would soon become a huge powerhouse in every field of science. The real Harrison Wells would have been blown away by the reality his dream had helped create.

Barry and Caitlin had their happy ending after all. A happy ending that was filled with evil metas and power mad individuals who always sought to have and control things that they shouldn't. Flash and Killer Frost were a formidable team, their opposing powers often leaving the villain stunned and unable to figure out who to go after first. It made Caitlin feel so much better to have her sister out there looking after her husband. Especially once she got pregnant with their first child. Henry Ronald Allen was born first, followed a few years later by Kara Leigh Allen. Both were Speedsters, just like their half sister Nora. The Frost gene was only passed on when Ralph and Killer Frost had their daughter, Crystal. Cisco never had children, being completely happy to be Uncle Cisco. He and his wife had tried, but in the end, they were unable to have children.

"I love you Barry Allen."

"I love you too Caitlin Allen, aka, Dr. Snow."