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The One With the Clues
Caitlin woke up feeling refreshed. She had slept really well, probably the aftereffects of a lovely bubble-filled bath, which had been accompanied by the scent of vanilla and jasmine.
Somehow Barry had managed to place the candles in the exact place she would have put them in her apartment, if she had chosen herself. The fact that he knew her well enough to guess that made her feel warm inside.
She tried to not let the excitement of what could be waiting for her on her doormat get too big; yesterday had proved that she was far too emotionally invested in these gifts and that Barry wasn't averse to changing it up. But it was still there, so before she could let herself think about it too much, she was up and running towards the front door.
Telling herself she would not act like yesterday if there was nothing there as she unlocked the door, Caitlin sucked in a breath as she opened it. And let it out in a whoosh as there was something sitting on her doormat.
But instead of a wooden box with the number 11, there was a red envelope with the number 11.
Bending down she picked it up and carried it back inside. Walking into the kitchen she felt all the edges and corners, tried to feel any outlines and just basically saw if she could try and guess the contents. She put on the kettle whilst she was thinking. Ready to make a mug of her favourite coffee in her new favourite mug, she sat down at the table.
Slowly she opened the flap to reveal a folded sheet of a paper inside. Opening it up she read:
Put a V on room
The thing you seek does zoom
Seek not anything higher
The next hides behind a tyre
A riddle? Caitlin thought and then smiled. She could easily imagine Barry enjoying a treasure hunt and he seemed to have made one for her today. Reading through the clue again she grinned to herself as she worked it out. Then she hurried through her morning routine and quickly got out the her car.
Sure enough under the back tyre of her car was another envelope.
All shining and silver
With a beautiful face
You look into me
And see behind your place
Caitlin thought for a minute but then figured out it was a mirror. And sure enough hanging down from her rear-view mirror was another envelope. Quickly opening her car she scrambled inside to snatch at the next envelope.
Caution is needed going this way
A tarmac place of bay bay bay
Now is the time to leave the car
Hope you have a good day at Star
Well the first half of the clue was clearly talking about a car park. And the second part was about Star Labs so that meant the next clue must be in the Star Labs car park.
She quickly got in the car and sped off happily to work wondering what all these elements were leading her to.
Traffic was fairly light this morning and she made it to Star Labs within fifteen minutes. She parked in her usual spot and as she got out of the car, she spotted a red envelope. I was tucked between the plant holder and the fence and Caitlin quickly retrieved it.
It said:
Skip to the place of work
Touch nothing but look near
On the surface I do lurk
Find me right on here
Caitlin locked her car and then headed towards her desk as quickly as possible. When she arrived she saw Cisco's terminal was already powered up but there was no sign of the engineer. She walked over to her desk and scanned it quickly. Sure enough, underneath her keyboard was pinned another red envelope.
Sliding it free she opened it up and read:
To solve the hunt you must get
Into the room wired for the speed net
Crammed with tech and full of code
The clue is hidden in this abode
Tech and code? That could be anywhere in the building Caitlin thought. She re-read the clue and her eyes settled on the second line. Wired for speed. That must mean the Cisco'd treadmill in the speed lab.
Caitlin went to the speed lab and sure enough, there on the treadmill was a wooden box, fairly big. On the top was a red envelope. She opened up the envelope and read:
I'm cold and sweet
And it may seem
That I'm a treat
For I'm _ _
And sure enough in the box below was an ice cream maker.
Caitlin grinned and pulled out the manual, flipping through it so she'd know all the things she'd need to get on her way home. She was totally having ice cream tonight.
"You like it?"
She jumped slightly at the noise but turned quickly to see Barry standing in the doorway, a shy smile on his face as he looked at her from under his lashes. Caitlin got up and walked slowly over to him, the smile on her face getting bigger as she got nearer. Just as she reached him Caitlin replied.
"I think it's brilliant, thank you."
And then she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. The feeling only got better when Barry's arms snaked around her and held her snugly against him.
"Barry?" she asked as she pulled back slightly to look up at him.
"Yes Cait?"
"Would you like to come over tonight. For ice cream?" She bit her lip nervously as she waited for the answer.
"I would love that." Barry answered honestly, staring down at her and into her eyes.
A true smile bloomed on Caitlin's face and she quickly hid it in Barry's shoulder, too afraid of the happiness and all the emotions that went with it swimming through her. But Barry was as steady as a rock as he held her and Caitlin's thoughts ran away from her as the stood together, holding each other close.
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AN:
Thanks goes to Treasure Hunt Design website where I managed to formulate most of the clues. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I love that you guys are loving this!
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