This chapter takes place after Season 1, Episode 18 "All Star Team Up", and continues the story set up by the first chapter. Enjoy, and PLEASE review!

It was about a fortnight later that Barry once again found himself hunched over on his couch, silently staring at a half-consumed alcoholic beverage in his hand. However, this time the night was younger, his poison of choice was scotch, and he was sharing his space with Caitlin, of all people.

Much like last time, it was immediately after touching base in his lab with Joe about suspicions regarding Dr Wells. Now, however, they had also just revealed their thoughts to Caitlin and Cisco, who had expressed starkly different viewpoints on the matter; stubborn disbelief and disturbed agreement respectively.

It was actually Joe who had invited everyone back to the West residence for a well-deserved and much-needed drink, after what felt like hours (especially to the fastest man alive) discussing, explaining and arguing. Even Barry was served an obligatory (but for him impotent) glassful. Cisco had left soon after the group inevitably stagnated in the living room in awkward silence, failing all attempts to ease their minds by conversing about something, anything, unrelated to work. Their need to do so, implied by the nature of Joe's invitation as an escape from the newly-unfolding drama, had been further reinforced by the presence of Iris, who was still refusing to return to Eddie's (hers and Eddie's?) place. She'd initially looked confused when she'd walked in on the group all staring quietly at the floor, but her eyes and mouth had narrowed after several seemingly casual questions about everyone's days and jobs had all been met with reluctantly mumbled sentences, none of which were longer than five words. The lack of conversation had further frustrated her, and shortly before Cisco went home, she'd also escaped the room in a huff. However, she had given herself enough time to individually stare at everyone in the room with a look of indignant disappointment, before saying, "Sometimes, I feel like you're all keeping something from me, not just Eddie. And, I don't even know why, because I've been nothing but nice and fair to all of you, and I'd just like to be treated the same way." Casting her disgruntled gaze particularly in Barry and Joe's direction, she angrily proceeded to head off to bed.

With nothing better left to do or say, it hadn't taken long for Joe to also abandon Barry and Caitlin. Adopting his fatherly persona, he'd stood to leave and murmured, "Turn off the lights when you go to bed, Barry. And don't stay up too much longer. You've both got work in the morning." Just catching the brief but uneasy flicker of Barry's eyes in the direction of Iris' room, he'd then taken a couple of steps closer to the speedster and, giving him a significant look, said "Don't worry about Iris. You're not Eddie; you're her best friend, and you know that she can't stay mad at you for long." Joe's voice, however, had noticeably faltered on his last sentence. This expressed the unspoken inevitability that both men were dreading; that Iris would grow suspicious and gradually begin to lose her trust in them. The drama with Eddie was only the beginning, they both knew (but tried to ignore), not the least because Barry, as fast as he was, was not a good liar.

The two remaining on the couch sat for a little while in comfortable silence, until Caitlin whispered, with a twinge of indignation, "We never did talk about what happened that night when you came and brought me flowers at… what was it, 1 a.m.?"

Barry looked straight into her eyes in shock, his evident surprise making the doctor chuckle a little. Her features remained locked in a neutral expression, however. He gulped down what was left of his scotch, looked around the room suspiciously and cleared his throat.

"Look, Caitlin, I've been meaning to… apologise and explain myself…"

She was now leaning forward with her feet planted firmly on the floor, her head cocked to the side, and biting her lower lip, Barry noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, unsure as to what exactly it was that was bothering her. Was it what he'd done? Was it the fact that he hadn't told her yet why he'd done it, or brought up the incident since? Was it both?

"Nothing, nothing. Just, say what you were going to say." She'd pressed her lips firmly together into a slight frown, her teeth no longer showing.

Barry sighed and couldn't stop himself from staring at the ground as he spoke, like a kid who was being scolded by a teacher; "I'm sorry I showed up uninvited to your house the other night at a less than reasonable hour, and I'm sorry that I…"

He paused to bow his head, close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose in humiliation. Barry took a moment to awkwardly raise his head and once again meet Caitlin's gaze. She was beginning to look a little more uncomfortable, with her posture stiffening, but she widened her eyes and gave a little expectant nod, so he continued.

"… sorry I tried to kiss you."

That part now over, Barry was able to semi-confidently cruise through the rest of what he had to say. Hoping to draw attention away from that particular detail which, really, was only minor, he kept talking, giving Caitlin no chance to comment or question.

"And I'm also sorry for literally speeding off without as much as another word to you, let alone an apology or explanation. I was in a bit of a bad place that night, what with yet another Iris drama which was totally my own fault, and I didn't mean it. Can we please, please just forget that this ever happened and simply not tell anyone and just let it go and go back to being friends?"

He inhaled deeply and tilted his head back, running both hands through his hair. As his mouth and eyes crinkled into a desperate frown, Caitlin stared down into her own glass which had long been empty. As she contemplatively placed it on the floor, Barry grunted and pleaded, "Please… I just need one friend who I can trust and with whom I don't have some sort of weird or complicated history. Can we do that, please?"

Caitlin's eyes were now narrowed, and she was biting her lip again, this time more aggressively. "We won't discuss this right now, but assuming that your wild accusations of Dr Wells are even slightly true, what about Cisco? Why can't you trust him?"

Barry lowered both the pitch and volume of his voice. "Because he doesn't trust me. Caitlin, there is a criminal out there who knows who the Flash is and who I had to promise not to lock up providing that he doesn't kill anyone, and it's all Cisco's fault."

Taken aback, Caitlin shouted in response, "That's not fair Barry. Cold was torturing Cisco's brother!"

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how it's Cisco's fault that Cold even got the gun in the first place!" Barry gritted his teeth and swore before leaning forward, cupping his forehead with both palms. Caitlin slammed her eyelids shut too slow to prevent a hot tear from drawing a line right through her cheek, and embedded her front two teeth into her lip with a force that made it bleed.

Feeling the desperate need to change the subject, Caitlin stuttered, "Did it hurt, Barry? Seeing Felicity with Ray?"

Contorting his face into an awkward frown whilst it was still half-covered by his hands, Barry slowly sighed, "No, no. There's nothing there. Well, I like to think that there's nothing there, but we have a kind of chemistry we can't deny and that's why we're not quite just friends, if you know what I'm saying. That's why I need you Cait-"

Barry's speech stopped dead in its tracks as soon as he'd flicked his head sideways to give Caitlin some eye contact, when he noticed the stains on her face left by tears and blood from biting her lip too hard.

"Oh my God, Caitlin." In a split-second he'd retrieved a handful of tissues and was tenderly wiping her face with them. "Hold still. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Not that this is any excuse, I'm just going through a very confusing time right now, and I need to be able to have people like you who I can talk to. I'm really grateful and lucky to have you around. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Caitlin hummed. "You don't need to clean me up you know."

A small smile beginning to bloom on Barry's face, he replied, "Well you've done it for me more times than I can count. And that's not even taking into account the nine months I was comatose and you cared for me. It's about time that I repaid the favour."

Their eyes became and remained locked onto each other's as a spark of emotions rushed between them.