A/N: Thank you again and again and again for the great reviews! :D

I hope I'll be able to keep up the regular updates because University started again and they activated the "keep them so busy they don't realise they don't have a life anymore" mode... First week and I'm already out of breath and stressed out. But writing helps ;)

So here you go, hope you enjoy and let me know what you thought about this chapter!

I don't own anything :)

Chapter 12. Latch

"You lift my heart up when the rest of me is down,
You, you enchant me even when you're not around,
If there, there are boundaries,
I will try to knock them down,
I'm latching on babe,
Now I know what I have found,
I feel we're close enough,
I wanna lock in your love,
I feel we're close enough,
I wanna lock in your love"

"Latch – Kodaline"

"Okay guys, Lily is getting tired. We should head home to put her to bed." Iris informed them, gesturing towards the little girl already fast asleep in Eddie's arms.

As the summer was approaching, the little town, where Joe's beach house was, was currently hosting a huge music festival along the beach. The little gang of friends hadn't hesitated to go take a look and had spent the last few hours wandering between the different groups and music genre. The atmosphere was pretty much carefree.

The beach was buzzing with people coming from everywhere to enjoy the beginning of good weather, good food and good music. Barry and Lily had been really excited when they had found out about the music festival, the young man probably a little more and the little girl had followed her uncle's excitement just because she found it really fun.

They had left the house in the early afternoon and had been wandering on the beach ever since. It was now getting late, the sun was setting down, and after enjoying a well deserved – or not – ice cream, Lily had fallen almost immediately asleep in her father's arms. Considering the way the little girl had been running around the whole afternoon, it wasn't a real surprise to see her out like a light.

Barry smiled when he realised that Eddie's eyes were also beginning to droop. After all, he had been the one running after the little girl most of the time to make sure nothing happened to her. The blond man wouldn't need much time to fall asleep too.

Caitlin nodded, as she also spotted the tired look on Eddie's face. "Sure, let's go."

Iris stopped her as soon as she noticed Barry's pout. "Oh please, don't leave because of us, old parents that we are. You two can stay."

Caitlin was about to protest but Barry turned to face her, pulling out his best puppy eyes. "Can we stay, pleeaase?" The young man pleaded. "You can't leave me here alone… what if I need you to save me again?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes at him. Deep inside, he was still the same teenager and she couldn't bring herself to mind. She just wasn't going to let him know that. She glanced at Iris that nodded towards her, telling her that they should stay, and the young doctor turned back to Barry. "Okay, fine," she huffed half-heartedly, "but don't expect me to patch you up every time you break something." She warned him seriously, biting her lower lip to keep herself from smiling.

"Yes!" Barry cheered, fist-pumping the air. "Come on, I heard there was a great band playing not far from here." He chimed, grabbing Caitlin by her shoulders and guiding her towards the right direction. "See you later guys!" Barry called over his shoulder towards Iris and Eddie.

The young parents just chuckled at Barry and Caitlin's banter. Iris had to admit; she had missed seeing both of her friends like this. In the last couple of days, she had felt them getting closer. Caitlin seemed lighter and Barry seemed to handle his break – or break-up – with Patty pretty well. She knew he was covering up part of his heartache but that it was also easier to handle it thanks to the young doctor spending her time with him. But Iris didn't say a word about it – it wasn't her place.

At least not yet.

Caitlin liked to say she was staying close to him to keep an eye on his health state, but they all knew it was a weak excuse. They had gotten every last test results from the hospital and everything was still fine with Barry. But the young man was absolutely not complaining to be the aim of Caitlin's attention.

Iris knew better. And with a secret smile on her lips, she took Eddie's hand, dropped a kiss on her daughter's hair and they made their way back to the beach house. She didn't need to worry about her two friends tonight, she could enjoy her time with her husband.

She had no idea where she was going, where she was and how long it would take for her to get where she wanted to go. Well, where Barry wanted to go. The only thing Caitlin knew was that she was probably in a state of tachycardia – her heartbeat was way above average. She was almost running behind him – she didn't really have a choice as he had a firm grip on her arm, pulling her behind him. She followed him blindly towards the place where he had said a great band was playing.

For the first time in a really long time, she actually didn't mind not knowing where she was going. She trusted him. She was okay with not being in total control over the situation.

Soon, as they approached the stage Barry had mentioned, music filled their ears and Barry slowed his pace down – kind of abruptly as she almost bumped into his hard body when he stopped running. It was a huge mix of Pop and Techno music, not at all Caitlin's usual style of music but she had to admit that the rhythm was really catchy. Barry let go of the arm he had been holding as he turned around and stood in front of her, sprawling his arms.

"So?" He shouted to her over the music. "Not bad, huh?"

Caitlin glanced around her and shrugged, appearing detached from the euphoria of the crowd around them. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being right. Barry pouted and challenged himself to change her mind.

So Barry began dancing to the music, arms moving haphazardly around his body, showing off his goofiest moves – moves he knew could be described as completely ridiculous. Caitlin tried to keep a straight face as he continued dancing like a crazy kid, and she glanced around her to see if anyone was watching him. But every single person seemed in its own world, not really caring about some random dance moves. Caitlin couldn't help the small blush from appearing on her cheeks as she looked back at Barry. Maybe he had had one beer too many. But she doubted he was drunk. They hadn't had enough alcohol for that.

No, he was just trying to get her to loosen up, showing her that nobody around them actually cared about how awkward he looked. When he pulled out his best 80's dance moves, a clear laugh escaped Caitlin's lips and her straight persona crumbled to the ground, the red completely disappearing from her cheeks, even though her right hand still flew to her lips, trying to catch the giggle. There were absolutely no reasons to hold back. She was here to enjoy some time off, so what was keeping her from it?

Barry beamed at her as he saw her almost carefree smile. She just needed a little push for it to be completely carefree. He had to give her that push.

So the young man faked having a lasso in his hands and pretended to throw it around her body before pulling on the imaginary line. Caitlin rolled her eyes and giggled at his antics. But she willingly closed the gap between them as if being pulled by his lasso.

Barry burst out laughing and she felt her heart swell in her chest. This man was absolutely crazy, but that was nothing new. She had always loved that side of him.

While he toned down his crazy dance moves, she joined him, leaving the doctor behind and bringing back the twenty-something girl she had hidden inside of herself. Together they danced heart and soul to the music without holding anything back.

"I have to admit; this band is pretty good." Caitlin commented after a few minutes, rising on her tiptoes to speak into his ear to cover the loud sound of music, her hand going to his shoulder to keep balance. She slightly chewed on her lower lip as she pulled back, trying to ignore the way his scent had instantly filled her nostrils.

His head swiftly turned towards her and a goofy smile was plastered on his features. "See? Told ya!"

Caitlin chuckled. "Alright, there's no need to gloat." She glared at him but she couldn't really hide her amusement as she continued to dance with him.

And maybe it was because of the few beers they had shared, or maybe it was because of the huge history between them, or maybe it was because of the way he was here for her, or maybe it was because of the intense looks he had been giving her these last couple of days, or maybe it was simply because of the lingering feelings they had for each other that would probably never completely disappear, but as time passed, their body seemed closer and closer until almost no space was left in-between.

Caitlin could feel his hot breath on her neck, his warm hands clutching at her waist, his hard chest pressing against hers, his broad shoulders steady under her arms, his messy hair tickling her fingers, the soft skin of his neck against her cheek… She knew she shouldn't stand so close to him, she knew she shouldn't hold on to him so fiercely, she knew she should stop dancing right now.

But he made her feel so utterly good and his presence made her so dizzy that she couldn't bring herself to pull away. As if he were her drug that she had gone without for way too long. Being this close to him again was erasing all of her common sense and she simply couldn't bring herself to break the contact.

Barry wasn't pulling away either. And he was the one who was supposed to be more grounded right now, who, just a couple of days ago, had had a girlfriend. They were both still dealing with remaining relationships issues; a worst timing couldn't possibly exist. But she didn't want to think about that right now. So she just danced.

Her breath caught in her throat when he moved his head and locked his green eyes straight with her hazel-brown ones. It felt like time froze around them. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and, of course, his eyes flitted down to her pink and plump lips. They weren't dancing anymore, but still clutching at each other. Just standing still. The world around them shut out from their own little bubble.

For a short instant, Caitlin seemed to spot a flash of recognition strike in his sea green eyes and very slowly, his head seemed to lean towards hers. She didn't know if it was her imagination, but she seemed to push herself on her tiptoes to help him reduce the gap between their faces. She itched to feel his soft lips against hers again, even though her fuzzy brain was shouting at her, warning her to stop. Right now.

They were saved – is that what it was? – by a vibration against their thigh. Caitlin frowned in confusion, dropping back fully on the ball of her feet, and Barry blushed at the realisation of what they had possibly been about to do.

Apologetically, Barry let go of her waist and took a step back. He fished his phone in his pants' front pocket and moved away to answer the call. Instantly, Caitlin flushed. She had been pressed so close against his body that she had felt his phone vibrate against her thigh – through his pants' pocket! How had she allowed herself getting so close to him? Who knew what they would have been doing right now if no one had called Barry. Probably something they would've both regretted after…

And yet, she could still feel the lingering presence of his face close to hers. And her damn heart couldn't stop fluttering at the thought.

Barry came back a short moment after, putting his phone back into his pocket and staying at a safe distance from Caitlin – meaning he needed some control so he wouldn't reach out to grab her and resume what they had been doing.

"That was Iris," he explained in a hoarse voice, "she wanted to let us know that they were leaving the back door of the beach house open so that we could enter. We forgot to take the spare key."

Caitlin wordlessly nodded, her lower lip finding its way back to its favourite place: trapped between her teeth. She let her eyes travel over their surroundings, going everywhere except him. Nobody seemed to notice them.

"Hey," Barry suddenly called for her attention, his voice easily covering the music, "do you want to go somewhere more quiet?" He asked.

She finally looked back at him and simply said, "okay", before following him out of the crowd and towards a more silent place on the beach.

They walked back towards the beach house where they knew were a few nice places where they could just sit and talk without being pushed around by some drunk people or turning deaf by the loud music. They didn't say a single word while walking and the silence between them was almost as deafening as the music festival. They also kept a safe distance between them, not daring touching the other. They were both thinking about what had just happened, what could've happened, what almost happened.

And neither of them really knew what to think about it.

They finally reached a calm spot on the beach not far from Joe's house and they silently sat down on the sand, facing the water. And for a long moment, neither said a single word.

A gush of wind blew some of Caitlin's hair in her face. The movement caught Barry's eyes and he quietly watched as she raised her left hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

That's when he saw it – or rather didn't see it.

"Did you… did you lose your engagement ring?" He asked worriedly as her bare finger caught his attention, his eyes instantly searching frenetically around them to see if he could spot the piece of jewellery.

Caitlin frowned at his state and looked at her ring finger. "Oh no… I took it off." She whispered.

Barry froze on the spot, his jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. "You… You took your engagement ring off?" He repeated to make sure his ears weren't playing a mean trick on him.

Caitlin's fingers ghosted over the place where her ring had left a single small tan line. "Yeah well, I realised that in order to move on, I actually had to accept that Ronnie wouldn't come back." She sighed before looking back at the water. "Wearing the ring was like waiting for him to come back." She silently admitted.

Barry shook his head to get rid of the shock of her admission and he then frowned. "Not always. It can also be a way to remember him." He suggested softly.

"True," Caitlin shrugged, "but I don't need a ring to remember him. I had a really good life with him, and I have enough memories to make sure I'll never forget him."

"Our memories keep all of our loved ones alive." Barry nodded before adding, "I noticed you don't talk much about him."

His words floated in the air for a brief moment during which Caitlin seemed to be choosing her words with care.

"You never really asked…" She silently trailed off. "And I usually prefer talking about something else so I don't have to face the truth."

He instantly felt guilty for bringing it up. Because she was right, he usually tried to keep her mind off Ronnie so she could feel better. But avoiding an issue wasn't the answer to getting better.

Her fingers left the empty space her ring had left and went to bury themselves in the sand, enjoying the feeling of the small grains slipping against her skin. She inhaled deeply before speaking again. "I think it's also what makes it so hard. Having all those wonderful memories and not getting the chance to experience them again, or experience something similar with him." A beat or two passed before she continued. "The relationship I had with Ronnie wasn't perfect, but it worked perfectly. We fought but we also laughed so much that it made it all worth it. He always knew how to make me feel better and to balance my too serious edges."

With her left hand, she took a handful of sand and let the small grains escape her fingers, making her think of an hourglass, representing how time came and went again, how her time with Ronnie was completely gone. "I was so mad…" she whispered. "I still am. Angry at how he got robbed away from me. But I'm beginning to accept it. You showed me it was still okay to have fun and make new memories even if he's not here anymore. You showed me I didn't need to feel guilty every time I smiled. I'm still alive and I owe it to all those who left us to make the most of it."

Barry's breath caught in his throat from her speech. "I didn't do much." He whispered, not sure she would actually hear him.

"You just being here is enough." Her eyes discreetly glanced at him before looking away again. "You lost your mother and you moved on way better then me, even though I know it still affects you. You kept that joy of life you always had when some people would've crumbled to the ground. You're happy, though I know you'd bring her back in the blink of an eye if you had the chance."

He felt his heart drop in his chest at the mention of his mother. There wasn't a day passing by where he didn't think about her.

"So I took my ring off," Caitlin continued, oblivious to the effect her words had on him, "and I have to thank you for this. You're a great friend even if I pushed you away more than once. And I'm truly sorry if me being here led to problems between you and Patty."

He let a dismissive puff of air escape his mouth. "Don't worry about that. I wouldn't do it any other way if I had the chance. I'm here for you. I'm just glad I can actually help you, that you're letting me help you."

Caitlin titled her head to the side and finally looked at him with a slight frown. "I know you cared about her, you don't have to hide that from me to spare me the guilt that comes with being the reason a perfectly healthy relationship fell apart."

Barry shook his head. "If it was so perfect, it wouldn't have fallen apart like it did." He replied softly. He wasn't saying that just to ease her mind.

He and Patty had been comfortable around each other, they had had their little routine for the couple of years they had been together and there wasn't any drama. All it had needed to break was a small change and insecurities had surfaced. Caitlin came back and all of a sudden he didn't seem quite as into that relationship as he had been before. He hated himself for that but he couldn't do anything against it. He knew he would try to talk about it with Patty once back in Ryker Neve, but he didn't put too much hope into saving their relationship. It wasn't his priority right now, which should be a dead giveaway that this couple was done – or at least his side of the relationship.

"Still," Caitlin insisted, "I come back barging into your life and I mess everything up."

"Cait, look at me." He put two fingers under her chin to make her face him. "I'm a grown man, I make my own choices. I'm the one who acted like a jerk more than once in the past few weeks. I'm the one who insisted that you 'barge' into my life, as you say." He chuckled. "Hell you even warned me to stay away. You have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. Except maybe being unable to resist my charm." He winked at her, trying to ease the weight of the conversation, his fingers leaving her chin.

The young doctor rolled her eyes as her lips curled up in a small smile. "Well, what I'm trying to say is 'thank you'. Not everyone would've done that for some high school ex-girlfriend."

"Well, I'm not everyone." He whispered, the intensity of his eyes catching her for the millionth time. "And we both know you're more than just 'some high school ex-girlfriend'."

A small giggle tumbled down her lips, as a weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders.

"Come here." Barry murmured, before putting an arm around her shoulders and bringing her closer to him. She let her head fall down against his shoulder and let out a sigh of contentment as she caught his scent so close to her. "Everything is going to be okay."

And for the first time in a really long time, she really, really, believed it.

"Can you promise me something?" Caitlin asked after a moment of silence.

"Sure."

Caitlin pushed herself away from Barry so that she could meet his eyes. "Will you please try to patch things up with Patty?"

For a few seconds, Barry didn't say a word. He just looked at her with furrowed eyebrows and lips set in a firm line. "Why do you want me to promise you that?" He finally asked.

She let out a small sigh before answering. "Because, you need to at least try and fight for her. Even if it doesn't work out, at least you'll get some closure by talking to her about it. I don't want you to just give up on her because of me. Patty doesn't deserve to be treated that way…"

"I get your point." He slowly nodded, his eyes staring into nothingness. "So I promise you, I'll try."

"Thank you." She breathed out.

Had she just convinced him to give Patty and him another shot? She did. Because she knew he would've done the same thing for her if the roles were reversed. But also because Barry was the kind of guy to let himself get eaten up by guilt if he let his relationship with Patty hanging like that.

Maybe they'll get back together, maybe they won't. One thing was for sure: they both deserved more out of this breakup. And Caitlin will be there for Barry no matter the outcome.