Barry swung the door to his apartment open.

"You didn't tell me you had a doctor's appointment!"

A very unhappy looking Iris West was at the door, arms folded across her chest and staring straight at him.

"Yeah, well, no one really told me either," Barry said.

Iris pushed her way inside and Barry shut the door, following her to the kitchen table where she began unpacking a bag.

"Yeah, heard my dad brought you to a 'crime scene.'"

"Crime scene turned out to be Star Labs."

She turned around to him. "You're still going there?"
He shrugged. "They were the one's monitoring me while I was in the coma – they know the most about what's going on with me."

"They give you any news?"

"Not yet."

"How'd it go?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, Iris," Barry said, plopping down on the couch again.

She held up a bowl to him, complete with a spoon sticking out. "Mint Chocolate Chip," she said, "Eat."

He took the bowl and swirled the spoon experimentally. "You know you're pretty demanding for playing the helpful friend."

Iris sat down next to him, her own bowl of ice cream in hand. She pointed at him with her spoon. "Oh you know you want it, it's your favorite."

Barry took a bite. He was getting hungry.

"So," she said, "What'd you have to do?"

Barry looked down at the ice-cream. "Blood test."

She cringed. "Ooh."

"Yeah."

"Remember –"

"I do and I do not want to talk about it Iris."

"Oh, but you were just adorable –"

"NO."

"I mean, they had to send a fire truck –"

"Iris-"

"You had splinters for weeks!"

"I was twelve!"

"You must have climbed thirty feet up that tree!"

"If you're trying to help, then it's not working."

"OK, OK, I'm sorry," Iris said, stifling her laughter. Her expression took on a more serious tone. "Really, Barry, was it alright? You're OK?"

"Yeah, I'm OK," he said, his stomach clenching again.

She just tilted her head at him. "No you're not."

He played with the spoon in the bowl. "I have to go back."

"When?"
"I don't know."

"What do they have to do?"

"I don't know."

She frowned at him. "Well a good place to start might be to ask."

"I know they want to give me some shots."

"Well, that's not as bad as having blood drawn."

Barry pulled his arms in tighter subconsciously and shivered. "No."

"Do you want me to come?"

"No, it's OK."

"I'm coming."

"Iris –"

"I've known you your whole life, Barry, you don't need to be embarrassed about me going with you. I've gone with you before."

"That was different."

"How was that different."

"I was younger."

"It was like three years ago Barry. Lots of people bring friends and family with them when they go to the doctors."

"Let me find out what they have to do first," Barry said. He wondered if it was anything Flash related, or just normal stuff like they had done earlier that day.

"What did you do when you had to go before, anyway?"

"When I had to go before?"

"Yeah, the past couple of times. You didn't ask me to go."

"Oh, um, I just, you know –"

"Barry."

"I mean I –"

"Barry Allen!"

"What?"

"You haven't gone since then, have you?"

"Well –"

"Oh my God Barry – you broke your finger last year – you told me you had it checked out!"

Barry smiled sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. He knew he was in trouble now.

"That is not healthy for you, Barry!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Oh my God, Barry, you're going to be the death of me. If you weren't already looking absolutely miserable I'd hit you! Not to mention drag you to the doctor's right this minute. Your family has a history of blood disorders!"

"Well, I'm fine now," Barry said, "No blood disorders, just struck by lightning."

She gave him a hard glare. He averted his eyes. "If there is even one thing wrong with that blood test they took, so help me God –"

"They already checked me out while I was in a coma."

"Good."

"Can I have some more ice cream?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. He smiled.

"Only because you had a rough day." She got up to get some more, but popped her head back around the wall, pointing her finger again, "And because you did finally go."

She came back with the ice cream and Barry attacked it, suddenly starving again. She watched him, significantly less agitated then before.

"So a blood test?"

"Yeah," he said between bites.

"You do OK?"

"It was fine."

"Are you sure you feel OK now?"

"Iris, I'm fine."

"I know you always say that, but you always get, you know, afterwards."

Barry did know, but Barry didn't really want to talk about it right then, especially since he was trying to ignore exactly what she was alluding to, but he couldn't hide the way his hands still trembled on and off or how he kept flinching when she reached for his arm. The anxiety never just stopped after the initial attack, or after the danger had passed. It stuck around and lingered in his system, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for a few days. Panic attacks, they'd called them – the shrinks and the psychoanalysts – panic attacks that left his brain addled and exhausted, touchy to any new threat or danger.

He closed his eyes, running a hand over his face. "I'm just tired," he said, even though he had slept for the past few hours.

She smiled at him. "Why don't you get some sleep, Barry. I'll stop by again tomorrow on my way to work, if you're here."

"Sounds good," Barry said, not altogether against the idea of escaping into sleep for a little while longer.

She touched his leg, smiling again. "Call me if you need anything, OK?"

"Got it. Thanks."

"What are friends for?" she said, grabbing her purse, and heading for the door.

The robbery was sudden and abrupt, over before anyone had even realized it started, and Barry arrived as Flash right at the end, when Captain Cold, carrying millions in bills from the bank, was just exiting the building.

"Drop the bag," Barry said.

Captain Cold just smiled at him, the gun in one hand, the money in his other.

"We've been through this before," Captain Cold said, "As I recall someone ended up dead."

Barry's jaw clenched. "Drop the bag," he repeated.

Cold tilted his head, smiling, mouth open. He held his arm up high, and unclenched his fingers. The bag dropped to the ground.

A second later the gun was aimed at Barry and his finger was down on the trigger, a shot blasting from the muzzle. Barry was out of the way before it even got close to him, twenty feet to the right, behind a pillar.

"How do I stop him?" Barry asked into the mouthpiece, searching for an answer.

"You can't," Cisco said, "Not yet at least."

"Barry, get out of there, it's just a robbery," Caitlin said.

"I just need to get the gun away from him," Barry said, "Every time he walks free we give him a chance to come back and hurt someone else."

"Where are you streak?" Cold asked, tauntingly. "Still want me to drop that bag?"

"We don't have a way to fight him."

"I can't just do nothing," Barry said, and he sped off, this time stopping right behind Captain Cold. He brought back a fist to punch him, but Cold spun just in time, and with the butt of the gun, slammed Barry to the ground. The gun lit up, and then Barry screamed, a searing pain shooting through his abdomen, burning like fire. Barry stumbled away, and Cold kicked him in the head, sending him sprawling. He laughed.

"What now, streak?" he asked. Just then a siren blared in the background. Cold looked up, annoyed. He quickly disappeared, the money in tow, not sticking around to wait for the cops. Barry heard them as well, and, struggling to get up, he ran.

"Barry? Barry?" Cisco said into the monitor. The next thing he knew Barry was in front of him, sinking to the ground and yelling in pain.

"Barry?" Caitlin yelled.

"Cold – the gun," Barry groaned out, "Hurts."

"Get him on the gurney," Caitlin said, grabbing one arm while Cisco took the other. They laid him out on the bed where he twisted in pain.

They tore away the fabric of the suit, revealing a patch of darkened frost bite that covered half his side, twice as big as the last time he was hit with the gun.

"Oh, God," Cisco said.

"This had to be at close range," Caitlin said, staring at the wound.

"Guys," Barry said, grinding his teeth together.

"Get something to warm the area," Caitlin said. Cisco came back with towels soaked in hot water and placed them on the wound.

"Should we amputate?" he asked.

"I can't amputate his side," Caitlin said.

"Well what can we do?"

For once, Caitlin seemed at a loss. "We can reheat the area and remove any dead tissue. That's about it."

"That's not helping," Barry said, squirming from the pain.

"It's not supposed to help the pain," Caitlin said, "It's supposed to defrost tissue. I can't give you anesthesia, you burn through it. Just hold on, your body should heal it."

"And if it doesn't?" Cisco said, looking at the frostbit skin that seemed more burnt than frozen.

Caitlin didn't say anything, but she wheeled over a table with some several tools that neither Cisco nor Caitlin were going to show Barry just yet.

"You doing OK, Barry?" Caitlin asked, looking up at him.

"Never… better," he ground out.

"You're healing," Caitlin said, already seeing the effects around the edges. Cisco brought another towel soaked in hot water. Barry sprang up when he put it on, his abdomen muscles tightening.

"That hurts," he said, as Cisco pressed his shoulders down and he squirmed away from the towel.

"It'll help you heal," Caitlin said, "Hopefully."

"What?"

"Just try and stay still."

After about a half hour, they had determined that the wound, although severe, would heal with Barry's speeded cell regeneration. Cisco and Caitlin called Dr. Wells, who was out for once, and then went back to Barry, who had his eyes closed, and laying rigidly. Cisco and Caitlin exchanged a glance.

"Barry," Caitlin said gently, touching his arm.

Barry flinched, grimacing.

"How you doing, man?" Cisco asked.

"Still hurts like hell," Barry said, "But better."

"For the record, I'm working on a sedative that will work on you," Caitlin said.

"Excellent," Barry mumbled, his head hitting the back of the bed again.

"Um, Barry," Cisco said, "There's just one thing – with frostbite that bad – even with you, well…"

"You need a tetanus shot," Caitlin said, trying to offer a reassuring smile.

Barry's eyes snapped open. He looked from one to the other, then his face crumpled.

"Not now?"

"Well –"

"I had a tetanus shot!"

"Barry, it really is necessary," Caitlin said.

He looked back and forth between them again. "Oh, come on," he said.

"It'll just be one second," Caitlin said, "I promise."

Barry backed up on the bed, pushing himself up. "I – I just –," he looked at where Cisco was already getting the shot ready, "Just give me an hour," he said.

"We want to give it to you before your body finishes healing," Caitlin said.

"And since we don't know when exactly that'll be…" Cisco trailed off.

Cisco handed Caitlin the shot, and she took his arm gently. Barry's breath caught in his throat and he panicked, shaking his head and tugging on his arm. Caitlin put the shot down, and got an antiseptic wipe, rubbing it across his skin. The smell of rubbing alcohol burning in his nose and he ripped his arm away this time.

"No, guys, please," Barry said, "I – I can't do that right now – I can't –"

Caitlin stuck him with the shot.

Barry froze, his heart kicking in his chest and the breath like ice in his lungs. Caitlin pulled back the shot and he stayed, absolutely still.

"Barry?"

He started shaking, and then he was hyperventilating, except he was hyperventilating at super speed and the shaking had almost turned to vibrating and he couldn't feel his hands or feet and his face was tingling and he couldn't breathe but he was breathing too fast but there was no air and he was going to die.

"Barry? Hey, Barry, it's alright, you're right here, it's OK," Caitlin said.

Barry didn't hear her, but he saw her, and suddenly he jerked back, and then he was five feet away, shaking.

"You – you," he said. He couldn't breathe. His head was spinning and he couldn't breathe and the whole world was blurry.

"It's all done, Barry, it's OK," Cisco said.

But Barry was staring at Caitlin and all she could see in his eyes was fear, absolute terror. He hugged his arms around himself, clutching at where she had injected him, his jaw trembling. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, one falling down his face, but he didn't notice, didn't feel it, didn't feel anything except panic, and then he was gone.

Dun dun dun. Next up more Iris and Barry – about to get very comforty. Some Caitlin in there too. Not sure I got all the correct facts on frostbite but I tried to make it as accurate as possible – also not sure I got Captain Cold's personality down, but I'm working on it. I know there really wasn't a lot of action but that's not really what I'm trying to get at in this fic – might put more in with later chapters. Let me know what you think and review! Suggestions and ideas always welcome!