Chapter 2
Team Flash met back at STAR Labs once Savitar had been defeated.
"How is she?" Barry asked Julian.
"She came to for a little while, so far so good. Her hair's back to normal, eyes too, so I'd say it's a good sign. It's going to take some resting up; the serum is literally rewriting her DNA."
Barry nodded, his exhaustion apparent.
Julian cleared his throat. "So, seeing as Iris still looks alive and well, along with the rest of us, you beat him then? Savitar's gone? For good?"
"Yeah, only at the cost of H.R.'s life," Barry frowned.
"He was a good man. A hero," Julian said, giving Barry a supportive pat on the back.
"A better man than me, it turns out. I… caused all this, by being so selfish. And then he sacrificed himself, his future, to fix what I did," he said, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
"He's a better man than both of us. I was selfish too. I couldn't let Caitlin die, even though that meant releasing Killer Frost. Now I've taken her choice away from her by using the serum without her consent, even if she did trust me to make decisions for her. A bit unfair, I suppose, as Cisco pointed out," Julian said, running a hand over his face.
"Oh, it was very selfish, and I would've done the same for Iris. I'm just glad you saved her," Barry nodded. "Get some rest, Julian, you're no good to Caitlin otherwise. The loveseat in the corner has a pull-out bed."
The next morning, Caitlin woke up to find herself feeling completely normal. No cold rage simmering inside of her, unable to be controlled. But she was shocked to find she still had her powers. She had always just assumed a cure meant no longer being a meta at all.
"It's okay, though," Julian said, reassuring her. "Your powers themselves were unaffected by the serum. You're still a metahuman; the serum only treated the overwhelming emotions your powers were causing, the sort of secondary personality you were developing. I think this will be a very useful application in the future to treat metas who've gone off the rails. A real chance for people to do good with the gifts they're given."
Instead of fearing them, for the first time she marveled at her powers, now that she was able to use them without risk of losing control. She built a small ice sculpture of a swan on the tray in front of her and grinned.
"Winter is going to be really fun this year," she said, almost giddy.
"Perhaps you'd like to spend the holiday in the English countryside?" he suggested with a shy smile.
She felt warmth in her chest as she held out her hand for his. "I think I would like that very much."
He leaned in and kissed her gently. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she sighed happily, kissing him again.
"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt inappropriate displays of affection in the workplace, but we need to run some more tests," Harry said. "I'm taking over your medical examination."
Julian kissed her again. "I need to get to CCPD. I'll be back this evening, unless you need me sooner."
She smiled. "I'll see you tonight."
"Snow, your vitals all look normal to me, even when using your powers. Let's do one final assessment. Can you use your powers while in a state of agitation…"
"Hey, Elsa, wanna build a snowman?" Cisco snarked, as he ate a container of strawberry Jello.
Caitlin scowled, made a snowball, and hit Cisco in the head with it.
"Ow! I think that had chunks of ice in it!" he said, spilling Jello on himself.
"Oops," she said, glowering at him.
He touched his head and then noticed his hand was red. "You made me bleed my blood! Wait, no," he said, licking his hand. "That's just Jello."
Harry gave a small smirk. "Perfect. I think that covers it. You're fit for duty, no physical restrictions. But before you go out in the field, Snow, I think we need to do a lot more in the way of actually training you…"
"Wait, what?" she asked.
Harry looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "Team Flash can always need the extra help. You'll be needed. Not all the time, but it's best to prepare. Like when Barry was trapped in the mirror."
"I… hadn't really thought of it," she said.
"Of course not, that's why I'm here," Harry said, matter-of-factly.
"We'll work it out, Caitlin," Cisco said, grinning. "You'll be magnificent."
"She already is," Julian said, appearing in the doorway. Caitlin broke into a smile at the sight of him.
"Hey, guess what? I'm medically cleared for normal life!" she grinned.
"But you aren't coming back to work until Monday. You might be physically healthy, but take some mental health days. Take time to process. We've all been through a lot," Cisco warned.
"I promise, I will take care of myself," Caitlin said, solemnly.
"Brilliant. If you gentlemen don't mind, I plan to take a few days off from Team Flash as well," Julian said.
"Have at it, kids. I'll be here," Harry said.
It was 9:30 at night by the time Julian drove Caitlin back to her apartment and walked her to her door.
"Can you stay? At least for a little while? I know you have to work in the morning…"
"I've already called off from the CCPD. Even if you didn't want me hovering about, I planned to check on you multiple times a day anyway," he grinned.
"I'm glad. I like the hovering, anyway." She hesitated for a moment, and then continued as she unlocked the door. "You know what's logistically most conducive to hovering? Staying the night."
She gave an amused smile as she looked up to find he flushed at the suggestion.
"I, uh, suppose, if you're comfortable with that…"
She let him in and then closed and locked the door behind her. "Very much so."
"I'm sure you must be exhausted, I can take the couch if you'd prefer…" he said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"I've done nothing but sleep. And you aren't sleeping on the couch," she said, putting her arms around his neck, and giving him a light, teasing kiss. "But I don't really want to sleep yet. Do you?"
He moaned in response, and pulled her closer. She deepened the kiss, running her hands through his hair.
Breathless and overcome with emotion, he pulled away. "Caitlin, I love you so much. Are you sure about this?"
"I love you. I want to show you how much." She led him to her bedroom.