"What's going on? Did we stop it?" Ronnie asked.
He started to sit up, but Caitlin put a hand on his chest. "Slowly," she said in her doctor voice. She let him sit up fully. "Yes, you stopped it."
Ronnie looked at her carefully. "Then why do you seem so upset?"
Barry stepped forward. "Ronnie, there's a lot we need to talk about."
Ronnie looked around. "That sounds bad."
"Not all of it," Cisco said.
Ronnie didn't seem reassured by that statement. Barry didn't blame him. He didn't know how to sugarcoat the truth, though, so he just went out with it. "It's been four years since the Singularity."
"No, we were just there."
"You're not wrong," Ralph muttered.
Ronnie's brow furrowed as he looked at everyone, taking the longest to look at Barry's suit. "This suit -."
"I've had it upgraded a few times," Barry said. He could see it processing in Ronnie's mind.
"I know it's a lot to take in," Iris said.
Ronnie did seem shocked (a perfectly valid reaction), but he seemed more confused than anything. "But why bring me here? Why not leave me back there, so I can get back to you?" He was looking at Caitlin again. Her face had tightened, as if fighting back tears, and Ronnie took a breath through an open mouth. His tone hollowed. "I didn't make it back to you before, did I?"
Caitlin shook her head mutely, tears in her eyes.
"What about Stein?"
"He's gone too," Iris said.
"It's complicated, but this way you get to live," Nora said.
Ronnie looked at Nora. "Who are you?"
Barry hesitated. Iris faltered as well, but said "our daughter," after a few seconds, and gestured between herself and Barry.
Barry swore he could see Ronnie's mind spinning with all the time travel information. "We'll take it slow," he said. "Right now you should just focus on recovering."
"I feel fine," Ronnie insisted.
Caitlin shook her head again, standing. "I'm not taking any chances. I'm giving you a full check-up."
"Cait, you looked at me a few hours ago." Ronnie pressed his lips together as everyone stiffened. "Right."
Caitlin and Cisco led Ronnie to the med-bay. Barry thought Caitlin was about to run every test she could think of. Ralph and Sherloque looked at Barry and Nora expectantly.
"You pulled a guy out of time?" Ralph asked.
Barry let Nora explain, and motioned to Iris to follow him. He walked deeper into the lab, so they had more privacy, and faced Iris with his arms crossed, searching her face. She reached a hand up and cupped his cheek.
"Let me guess. You were happy at first, but now you're having second thoughts."
He nodded, and she brought her other hand up to his face, making him look at her fully. Her words were full of warning.
"Bartholomew Henry Allen, don't you dare feel guilty for saving someone."
"But the timeline -."
"Is fine," she said, in a direct voice. She gentled it, and let her hands fall to his shoulders. "You've kept Ronnie's death on your conscience since the day it happened. It's time to let that go. Things have changed."
He pulled her close with a dry chuckle. "How do you always know what I need to hear?"
"Part of being your wife," she said, and kissed him chastely. "Which also means you need to listen to it. Ronnie's safe now. No more guilty conscience?"
He smiled softly. "No more guilty conscience."
She separated from him. "I can't imagine what Caitlin must be going through right now."
Barry thought about how tense Caitlin had been, just before walking out with Ronnie, and realized she was probably struggling with the suddenness of his return, along with a number of other things. He hoped Cisco was helping her. Of course Ronnie would be too, but Ronnie required help of his own, in learning everything he'd missed.
"I should check on her."
Iris smiled in encouragement, and he left her to go to the med-bay. Ronnie was sitting upright in a bed, wearing an indulgent expression. He looked up at Barry and smiled. "You here to rescue me from testing?"
"Too late. I already started the last one," Caitlin said.
Ronnie chuckled.
"Man, I knew you didn't get ruffled easily, but how are you handling this so well?" Cisco asked.
The smile faded from Ronnie's face, and his tone became more serious. "I don't know."
Barry could see Caitlin standing completely straight, staring at the computer as it ran its tests. At Ronnie's words she seemed to get even straighter, and he walked over to her. "Can we talk for a second?"
"I need to get these results back, and make sure nothing's wrong."
She was definitely fighting back her emotions. Barry looked at the computer. "It'll be a few more minutes before they're done."
She cast a look at Ronnie, who motioned with his head for her to go with Barry. Barry walked into the next room once he was sure she would follow. "Look, I know this was unexpected."
"You think?"
"I didn't plan on it. But Iris helped me realize it's not something to be upset about."
"It's not something to be upset about now, Barry. But what if something goes wrong?"
He didn't understand, and saw a flicker of annoyance in her gaze. It vanished quickly – she wasn't really annoyed, but unsure of how to feel, it seemed.
"I don't know if I want to cry, or scream. If I should be mad at you or thank you, or… Of course I'm glad he's alive, but I don't think I – you have no idea how…" She was struggling to speak clearly enough as she wrestled with as assortment of emotions. That much was painfully clear, and Barry wished he could make it better. She finally looked at Barry and whispered, "I can't lose him a third time."
Barry could see the fear in her widened eyes, and hear the choked, wounded quality in her quiet voice. And he believed her. She would break if she lost him again. Maybe in a permanent way.
"I promise you, Cait," he said. "I won't let anything happen to him this time."
She just stared at him for a second, her eyes still wide, and then she nodded, in a tiny, stiff motion. "Test results should be done," Cisco murmured, appearing at Caitlin's side. He put a hand on her arm, gently leading her back into the med-bay. "Figured you'd want to see them right away."
Barry realized Iris had heard their conversation, as she walked up to him once Cisco and Caitlin were out of earshot. "How are you gonna keep that promise, Bar?"
"He sacrificed himself as Firestorm. Stein's gone, which means no more Firestorm."
"You're sure he won't find a way to be Firestorm? Be a hero?"
Barry looked at Iris for a second, and then at Ronnie, through the glass partitioning. He was smiling at Caitlin and Cisco. Caitlin had a small smile as well, prompting Barry to think everything was okay with his test results. Maybe knowing that, she would stop being afraid something would take him away from her again. "He won't be Firestorm if I can help it. But he'll always be a hero."
A/N: So Ronnie didn't make a new appearance in the 100th episode. I'm still a bit bummed by that. I decided to write more in this theory-turned-AU. There was one part in the episode, when Caitlin and Cisco shared a moment thinking of Ronnie. Potential for bringing him up again, later this season (and maybe getting to see him)? Doubtful, but possible. In the meantime, here's an AU where Ronnie is back.
I know I want to do another section with this AU in mind, focusing on Ronnie and Caitlin, but do you want it here, or as a separate story? It will be heavily Snowstorm (because I absolutely love that pairing), so I'm thinking separate story... I also like Barry's last line as an ending. What do you think?