Whoo! Second chapter is up! I hope you enjoy!
Lexi came to 10 minutes later in the hospital with a young doctor sewing up her arm. Lexi tried sitting up but was gently pushed back down.
"Oh, good you're awake. We removed the bullet from your arm, gave you a local anesthetic for the pain, and I'm closing the wound. It doesn't look like there was too much damage. The police are coming soon to get your statement." The doctor said.
The doctor's name tag read, Dr. Claire Meyers. Lexi looked around to find that Barry, who she now assumed was a hallucination, wasn't anywhere to be found. She sighed and relaxed for a moment. I guess I imagined it… adrenaline does weird stuff. Dr. Meyers finished sewing her up before going to get a sling for her arm. Lexi sat up and rolled her good shoulder.
"Oh my god! Lexi, sweetie!" Julie cried, causing Lexi to turn her head.
"Mom, I'm fine. It's not that bad and it'll be healed in a few weeks." Lexi grimaced as Dr. Meyers put her arm in the sling. "But what happened?! We got a call from your manager saying that you got shot and we rushed over." Julie had tears in her eyes.
"These guys came in while I was seating some reservations and I noticed that they looked a bit suspicious. One of them moved a bit and I saw a gun in the waistband of his pants so I called 911. They fired a couple shots and asked everyone for their valuables. They were about finished up when we all heard sirens and they deduced that I called the police and one of them shot at me. Then… I kind of woke up here." Lexi scratched her chin with her right hand.
"Well, that guy brought you in, remember? In the red suit?" Came a familiar voice from behind her and her heart stopped.
"And who are you?" Asked Russell, Lexi's dad.
"Barry," The voice behind her started
Lexi screamed internally.
"I'm a friend of a friend, and I was also at the restaurant and your daughter handled the situation perfectly. I'm a CSI, so I have experience with these sort of crimes." Barry explained, he had somehow changed into normal clothes.
"Okay, Miss Douglas, I have your paperwork here for you to fill out." A nurse came over and was about to hand the clipboard over, but Julie grabbed it.
"We'll fill it out over there." Julie and Russell walked over to the front desk.
Lexi looked up at Barry. A thousand thoughts racing through her mind. This is impossible. And crazy. And IMPOSSIBLE!
"I didn't want you to be real." She admitted before cringing.
"Sorry! Thank you for saving me. Wow, should have started with that." Lexi apologized
"It's okay! And you're welcome. I wanted to talk to you about what you said. You know who I am. How?" He asked.
"On this Earth, Barry Allen, the Flash, as well as all the other people you know, Caitlin, Cisco, Iris, Joe, Oliver, and Felicity. You- them, all fictional." Lexi said slowly.
"What do you mean?" Barry asked, frowning.
"Well, you're apart of a comic franchise, so comic books, cartoons, movies, TV shows. All the people you know are just actors here, including you. Metas don't exist, there is absolutely nobody here with powers. This Earth is quite frankly, completely ordinary, or at least was, until now." Lexi explained and Barry sat down.
"So, does everyone know who I am?" He asked, nervous.
"Well, only people who watch the show. But yeah, some people." Lexi bit her lip. "How are you going to get back is the question? You needed Kara's assistance last time, right?" She asked.
"Yeah, until I figure that out, I'm stuck here." Barry's said and Lexi's eyes widened.
"I'm-I'm sure that you'll figure something out." She said reassuringly.
"We, I'm going to need your help on this." He said.
Lexi laughed nervously.
"Me? I have no knowledge on this stuff other than what I've seen on TV and on the internet. I'm kind of useless to you right now." She shook her head.
"That's not true, I'm going to need someone who knows this Earth. " Barry said.
"Okay, but you're going to need a place to stay though… hmmm. You don't have money so you'll need a place to stay. I currently live with my parents which sucks given the current situation-" Lexi started.
"Hey, I don't judge. I still live with Joe." Barry smiled. Lexi smiled back.
"I could come up with a story for you…. Oh! Oh, no… that would be a bit weird." Lexi's smile faded.
"What?" Barry asked.
"I, uh, have this friend who could kind of help, but… she might do a bit of a freak out if she meets you." Lexi sighed and chewed her lip.
"What… kind of freak out?" Barry asked slowly.
"A Cisco fanboy one. You know, how he acts when meeting other heroes, or when talking about anything he's extremely passionate about." She gave a nervous laugh.
"Wait, how would she help?" Asked Barry.
"Well, I could tell my parents that you're her childhood friend from Florida- you already said you were a friend of a friend-, but you moved away when you were about 10 to somewhere in the midwest. You now live in Chicago and with your job as a CSI, have saved up enough money to come out here and visit her. You were supposed to stay with her but her apartment is having plumbing issues so she asked if you could stay with me." Lexi explained.
Barry looked at her open-mouthed.
"What?" She asked. "I mean, I know it isn't great we could alwa-"
"Did you seriously come up with that on the spot?" Barry asked.
"Yeah." Lexi blinked.
"You would get along great with Cisco." Barry smiled at the ground and shook his head.
"Thanks?" Lexi said.
"He loves coming up with stuff like this," Barry explained and Lexi nodded.
"We'd have to change your last name so that if anyone- and by "anyone", I mean my parents- looks you up, they won't see, well, everything." Lexi said.
"How about West?" Barry said and Lexi smiled.
"That's actually perfect." She said."Heads up." Barry warned as Lexi's parents started walking back.
"Oh, and my friend's name is Connie Breckner, she's 23 and is a web designer." Lexi said quickly.
"The paperwork concerning insurance is all done, but we have to wait for the police to get your statement. After that, we can go home." Russell smiled kindly.
"About that…" Lexi started. "Barry was supposed to stay at Connie's this weekend, but her apartment is having plumbing issues… something about raw sewage entering every apartment through toilets, bathtubs, and sinks. Is it okay if he stays with us? Maya's old room is open." Lexi asked.
"Yes, of course! We'll have to have Connie over for dinner, do you think Saturday night would work?" Julie smiled. "I'll-I'll have to ask." Lexi smiled.
The police arrived a few short minutes later and Lexi gave her statement.
"Thank you, Miss Douglas. If it hadn't been for your fast thinking, they could have gotten away with it. We hope that you have a speedy recovery." Officer Lewis said.
"Thank you. I'm happy that you arrived in time." Lexi nodded. "Okay Lex, let's go home." Russell said.
And so they did.
Okay, so this was stressful to write for a number of reasons, the first being that I don't know how non-fatal GSW victims are treated in an ER. Another reason is that I don't know much about how these cases are handled by law enforcement. I have an idea of where this story is going to go, but some things aren't set in stone yet. I loved reading all of your kind reviews and I'm glad that you're liking it so far. Please review!