A/N: I'm going to keep thanking you all for the support, for the reviews, for keeping reading this story, it really means the world to me :D

Here's a more light and fluffy chapter, before things get a bit serious again... Hope you enjoy!

I don't own anything :)

Chapter 13. Life In Colors

"The sun bursts, clouds break
This is life in color

Well you've seen my worst
And yet you see some hope in me
The black and white set us free
Like the queen to the rook
Your decision was a sure thing
Honey yeah, a sure thing
No wonder I feel
Like I'm missing a heavy load"

"Life In Colors – OneRepublic"

"Lily is quite taken by Caitlin."

The words almost startled the young man as his mind had been wandering the waves of thoughts, adopting a similar rhythm as the waves of the ocean ending their course on the white and hot sand. Time was flying by and he wasn't even realising it. It felt like their little holiday at the beach house had begun just this morning, and here he was, watching the day slipping away from his fingers on their last day here.

The week had been eventful, to say the least. He had drowned and his heart had literally stopped for a moment, his girlfriend had left him, he had gotten crazy on the dance floor, he had played hours with his niece, he had bathed in some nostalgic memories with his ex… Oh and he had also almost kissed Caitlin in the heat of a moment.

But he wasn't feeling anxious, like someone could feel on a Sunday night or on the last day of a break, realising he hadn't rested enough. No, Barry Allen felt content and completely okay with going back to his work on Monday morning. It was something new for him, but he wasn't complaining about the lack of anxiousness, to be honest.

Barry turned to his best friend and frowned, not quite understanding her words. "Huh?"

Iris chuckled and nodded towards her daughter and the young doctor playing along the water. "Lily. She loves Caitlin." She explained. "She can't stop talking about her ever since she patched her up after her little tricycle accident. And now she's like attached to her hip."

Iris and Barry were sitting a few meters back, catching the late afternoon sun on the beach on their last day there. Caitlin and Lily had been playing together for the past hour – since the last time they had actually gone into the water – and Eddie had already gone back to the house to pack a few things.

Barry beamed. "Oh yeah, Lily told me the story at least half a dozen times. She brings it up every time there's a silence a bit too long for her."

Iris chuckled again. She had also heard the story more than just a couple of times. Her daughter would bring it up at every opportunity possible. And now that she had gotten the chance to spend more time with the young doctor, most of Lily's sentences began with the name 'Caitlin'. It was quite endearing.

"Well, you have to understand…" Iris spoke with a fake dramatic voice as she retold her daughter's story. "She was hurt and alone and, there, out of nowhere, there's this beautiful young doctor that comes to the rescue. And on top of that, said super doctor is one of my great friends."

Barry sent her a wink as a laugh bubbled up his throat. "That's Caitlin for you, always helping the people in need."

"Well I sure hope she would help a hurt little girl." Iris replied, almost offended by what he could have implied. "She's a doctor after all, she has to help. She made an oath, remember?"

Barry laughed at his best friend's reaction, making his whole body tremble. "You're making a very valid point there."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Yup, but you just wanted to compliment her because you just can't help it." The young woman teased, sending a knowing look in Barry's direction.

"Wh… what do you mean by that?" The young man gaped. He hadn't seen that one coming.

"Oh come on Barry." Iris snorted and nudged him playfully. "You've always had a soft spot for that girl. Ever since the first time we saw her when we were 14 and lost on our first day in high school. You couldn't utter a single straight sentence when she asked us if we knew the fastest way to the library. And ever since that day, you've never been able to let a good opportunity to compliment her pass by – well, when you could actually manage to put words together to make yourself intelligible."

Barry clicked his tongue in his mouth and pulled his head back, as if offended by Iris' words. "That's not true." He squeaked.

"Yes it is!" She insisted.

He decided to pout instead of engaging in a 'Yes-No-Yes' battle with Iris. He knew she would win anyway – she was a journalist after all, she had always been better than him with words. He pulled his knees up against his chest to brood in silence. "Whatever..." He scowled, crossing his arms on his knees and resting his head on them, still pouting like a little kid.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of Barr! It's just how it is." Iris pointed out softly, gently bumping against him.

Barry shrugged. "I guess I always wanted to make her realise how special she actually was." He finally admitted after a short moment of silence. It wasn't as if he could actually hide anything from Iris. "She's always so serious and controlling everything... she's never been able to accept a compliment. And now that she lost so much, I think she has an even harder time believing in herself. I want to help her see what I… what we see in her."

Iris glanced back at the young doctor now running after the 4-year-old little girl who was shouting from happiness, trying to escape Caitlin's not-so-threatening grip. When the doctor finally picked the girl up, she made her way towards the water, faking small signs that she was about to drop her in it. Lily shouted and giggled and just held tighter onto Caitlin, arms around her neck, legs wrapped around her waist.

The chilled water was almost reaching Caitlin's knees when she stopped walking. Lily had stopped trying to escape and had a beaming smile on her lips. Caitlin slightly leaned forward and Lily lessened her grip with just one hand. She stretched her free arm towards the water, trying to catch a few drops, completely trusting Caitlin to not let her fall.

Iris didn't hesitate a second before grabbing her camera, standing up and positioning herself perfectly to snap a beautiful picture of her daughter in Caitlin's arms, the little girl's finger grazing the water. Iris came back to sit next to her best friend when Caitlin and Lily went back to build the sand castle they had been working on for the past hour.

"She seems happier, though." Iris stated as they both kept looking at the girls. "Caitlin seems lighter, somehow."

Barry silently nodded and his lips curled up into a soft smile. "She does, doesn't she?" He said proudly. "I think she's finally coming to term that none of what happened was her fault. I think she's progressively moving on, accepting her situation and making the most of it."

Iris glanced at the young man and saw that wistful look in his eyes as he stared at Caitlin. Iris was honestly beginning to think that her best friend had never stopped having more than friendly feelings for his ex-girlfriend and she was kind of scared for him. She was afraid he was in too deep and that, while too concerned about Caitlin, he wasn't taking himself into account. Because she had talked to Caitlin, she knew how much she loved her fiancé and how much losing him had taken a toll on her. She hadn't yet dared to ask the young doctor what she felt towards Barry – Iris didn't think she had the right to ask such a question – and she couldn't read her like she used to in high school.

Caitlin had changed. She was more protected than before, more cautious with her decisions and her actions. And Iris didn't know what it meant for Barry, where Caitlin put him in her decisions and priorities. Even if she had decided to take her engagement ring off, it didn't mean there was a place for Barry instead.

Because, even though Barry was putting Caitlin first on his list of priorities these days, Iris knew that Caitlin was waiting for only one thing: feeling well enough to go back to her big-city-life and put all of this behind her. To move on.

And where did that leave Barry?

The young journalist looked back at her daughter, not wanting to share her worries with her best friend. Maybe they were just speculations, she didn't want to trouble him more than necessary – she wasn't even completely sure about what Barry wanted from Caitlin – so she kept those thoughts for herself. For now.

"Well I think bringing her here was a great idea." Iris finally commented, slightly tapping Barry on his back. "At least for her, not so much for you and Patty…" She added a second later.

Barry instantly let his shoulders sag down as his eyes fell to his hands. "I know…" he trailed off in a whisper.

"I'm not judging, but you had a real good thing going on with Patty. I just want to make sure you're aware of your decision. I don't want you to have any regrets after…" Iris' voice was soft and calm, just what Barry needed not feel pressured or anything.

The young man glanced at her and nodded in understanding. "I'm aware of what I gave up on, Iris. But thank you for caring. I just…" He stopped and shook his head, before taking a deep breath. "I don't really want to talk about it right now. It's our last day here. I'll deal with it when we get back to Ryker Neve."

"Okay, but you know where to find me if you need someone to talk to." Iris slightly bumped her shoulder against his.

He smiled back but they were interrupted before he could answer anything.

"Mommy! Look what Caitlin and I did!" Lily shouted from her kneeling position in the sand.

Iris didn't need to be told twice. "I'm coming, sweetie." She let a clear laugh go free as she stood up to join her daughter, Barry following right behind her.

Lily proudly showed off the small sandcastle she had built with the help of Caitlin. She even suggested her mother to make her a tour of the place – not that there was much to see, but the little girl was so happy that Iris indulged her.

Meanwhile, Caitlin grabbed the small bucket and shovel before making her way towards the water to wash the sand away. Once done, she took the tools back to the bag near their towels. She chuckled when she heard Lily shout, "Oh and look there's also a goat around the castle!"

"A goat?" Iris asked confused, not seeing any goat at all.

"It's a moat, Lily-pad, not a goat." Caitlin corrected softly as she passed by on her way back to the water.

"Oops, that's what I meant." Lily giggled, her small hand flying to her mouth to shyly muffle the sound, and beaming at the little nickname Caitlin had given her.

Barry burst out laughing and ruffled the little girl's hair before leaving her with her mother as she continued explaining the building process of the sandcastle.

He glanced at Caitlin silently standing with her feet in the water, facing the horizon line. He hadn't really talked to her in the last couple of days since he had realised she had taken her engagement ring off. Even if he had told Iris he thought that Caitlin was beginning to move on, he felt like she was kind of pulling away from him. Again. They had gone a long way since the beginning of the week when they had arrived here. Even more since ten days ago, when she would barely talk to him.

He thought they had shared a special moment at the music festival two days ago, but Caitlin had tactfully avoided the subject, not exactly avoiding him but not getting into deep conversations with him either – neither of them had brought the almost-kiss up even once. Caitlin was spending more and more girl time with Iris and Lily, and Barry couldn't really bring himself to mind, because he loved seeing the girls getting along like this.

Iris and Caitlin had been really great friends in high school, and he knew he was part of the reason why the two of them had lost touch after going to college – Iris had chosen Barry's side even if there weren't any sides to choose. Things had just naturally folded this way.

Seeing them connect again was a breath of fresh air.

Barry silently joined Caitlin. She jumped a little when he slightly pinched the skin on either sides of her waist and she glared at him once she realised it was him. He just chuckled – glad to see she was still ticklish – and went to stand next to her.

"It's a beautiful day to be at the beach, right?" Barry commented, admiring the sun that was progressively going down towards the horizon line. In about half an hour they would be able to watch a really nice sunset.

"Yes it is." Caitlin whispered, not taking her eyes off the horizon.

He glanced at her sideways while crossing his arms on his chest, giving himself a more impressive stature. "Are you going in for one last swim before we get back to the house?"

Caitlin shook her head and also crossed her arms on her chest, hugging herself. While that action made Barry look more imposing, it made Caitlin look frailer. "No I don't think so, it's getting a bit fresh." She informed him as one of her hand went to rub her arm.

That earned her a pout from the young man. "Not even one last quick swim?" Barry insisted.

Caitlin slightly turned her head to look at him and arched one eyebrow.

"You sure?" Barry continued innocently. "You've probably got sand on your arms and legs… Going for a swim might help get it off."

"Don't push it Barry." She warned him while flashing him a stern look. "You know there's something called a shower in the house that I can use to get clean too."

Barry shrugged. "I'm just saying…" He trailed off in a mysterious tone. "We're leaving and going back to Ryker Neve tomorrow morning. You might regret not taking one last dip into the water."

She rolled her eyes and looked back to the water, hoping that he would just drop it and change the subject of conversation. Or stop talking at all.

She should've known better than to think that Barry would let it go. When he put his mind to something, not much could actually change his mind. She should've known that standing next to him, in a bikini, feet in the water, would be too big of a temptation for him.

Yet, she still let a loud shriek escape her lips as Barry bowed down and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her up to his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and striding deeper into the water, bringing her with him. She swatted him in the back hoping that he would just go back to the sand to let her go, but he wasn't having any of it. He just got deeper.

"Barry Allen!" Caitlin protested loudly. "I won't ask you to let me go because I know you'll just jump on the opportunity to just dump me in the damn water!"

Barry just chuckled and slowed down his pace, as the water got higher and almost reached above his waist, and Caitlin let out a small squeal once her legs began dipping in the water.

"You have to understand, it was just too tempting." Barry explained seriously – though his tone was holding a teasing edge – still firmly holding onto her.

"Ha-ha!" She rolled her eyes, her laugh as fake as possible. "As your current physician, I ordered you to take things easy after your drowning incident. You're not helping yourself right now!" Caitlin berated him. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Psh! I'm a big boy, I'll be just fine." Barry replied smugly, quite amused by the agitated doctor he had in his arms.

"I'm serious, Barry! You shouldn't be carrying anything heavy at the moment!" She ordered him and she tried to glare at him, but he wasn't looking in the right direction. "So turn around and bring me back to the shore."

After that comment, Barry stopped moving. "Yeah, you're right." He sighed.

For a short moment, Caitlin thought he had finally changed his mind and would follow her orders. But no. Barry Allen didn't like to follow useless – in his opinion – orders.

Suddenly, two strong hands took hold of her waist, lifting her off his shoulder and Barry just threw her into the water, without preamble. Caitlin gasped for air as she came out a few seconds later, spurting some water in the process. She gave him the best death-glare she had in store and shuffled her wet and sticky hair out of her face.

"I don't know about what I should be more upset right now," she pointed out with stern voice, her index finger waggling in an accusatory motion, "the fact that you just threw me into the water without any remorse, or the fact that you just implied I was heavy?"

Barry couldn't help but burst into laughter at the stern look that was hovering over her features. It didn't help when she firmly sat her hand on her hips. "Not funny, Allen!" She squealed, even though she was fighting against the small smile that was threatening to appear on her face.

Barry nodded furiously. "Oh yes it is!" And with that, he closed the small space that was left between them and engulfed her into his arms. She froze up as soon as his skin touched hers. But she couldn't control her traitorous hands that snaked around his waist to hug him back a few seconds after. She didn't know if the shivers running along her spine were due to the cold of the early evening or the warmth of his skin. She also had a hard time believing how much his body had actually changed over the years. The firmness of his muscles was a delightful contrast to the softness of his skin. Having his naked chest against her almost naked one didn't help her focus. She had to pull away but she didn't know how. All she knew was, that for a short moment, she was really content.

Until her brain caught up with the situation.

"Barry…" She whispered, trying to find the energy to pull away.

He seemed to catch the strained edge in her voice and, like always, every single cell of his body wanted nothing more than to put her at ease. He knew there was an invisible line between them, one that was begging to be overstepped but intimidating enough that they would only dance on it. Barry wasn't the one keeping that line alive. Caitlin was. And with good reasons.

Reluctantly, he pulled away and splashed her with water for good measure, distracting her long enough to give himself time to plaster a smile on his face. She squeaked in surprise and immediately retaliated. Soon, they were like two kids battling in a water fight, not carrying about their relationship – what it had been, what it was now, what it could be…

"Oh you want to drown again, is that it?" Caitlin playfully threatened before jumping on him, tackling her hands to his shoulders and putting her whole weight on him, trying to push him in.

A fit of laughter shook his whole frame as he put his hands on her waist to resist the pressure of her light weight. "If it gets you to kiss me again, why not?" He teased back, reminding her how she had had to proceed in a mouth-to-mouth protocol to save his life. The words had slipped out of his wet lips before he could stop them. That's really not what he had wanted to say, just what he had thought very, very, loudly.

He immediately felt her stiffen against him and her grasp on his shoulders instantly lessened. He was about to apologise when she spoke first. "Yeah, you wish! And for the thousandth time, I did not kiss you!" She protested, swatting him in the chest with the back of her hand. "Because if I had, there's no way in hell you wouldn't have responded to it." She added with a twinkle in her eyes.

Saying that he was shocked by her teasing reply would've been an understatement. He had expected her to panic and shut down. But no, she had played right into his game. He was frozen on the spot. She had taken him by surprise and he had no idea how to reply to it.

Caitlin jumped on the opportunity that was a speechless Barry. She literally jumped, repeating her previous attempt to drown him. Except this time, he didn't see her coming, his mind still in a haze. Without any resistance, Barry went down, catching up with what was happening just in time to close his gaping mouth as his head went under the water.

Once satisfied that he had learned his lesson, Caitlin let him go and he spurted out a jet of water as soon as his head emerged. He tried to look furious but a wide grin stretched his lips.

"Oh that was low, Dr. Snow!" He said disapprovingly. "Using my feelings like that to get the upper hand!"

"Well, what can I say? It was too easy to toy with you, Mr. Allen." Caitlin shrugged, trying to ignore the flutter of her heart.

Barry groaned unintelligibly under his breath and her eyes twinkled with mirth. He shook his head energetically, his wet hair dripping in every direction like a puppy drying himself off, and Caitlin tried to muffle a giggle at the sight.

"Come on, let's go back, the others are probably waiting for us." He said once done with his head shaking.

True enough, a far voice called his name. Barry and Caitlin both turned towards the beach and saw Lily making wide arms movements, showing them to come back. Not far behind were Iris and Eddie gathering their stuff, almost ready to leave. Barry replied to the little girl with similar arms waggling.

At that moment, Caitlin decided to give him a shove in the shoulder. He barely registered her challenging him – "I'll race ya!" she giggled with a touch of southern accent – as he miserably lost his footing and fell back into the water. Once he found his balance again, he saw Caitlin half running / half swimming back to the shore.

Barry chuckled at the sight and plunged into the water after her. Obviously, she would win, but he didn't have the heart to be upset about it. He hadn't seen her that carefree ever since high school. She always looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders even though he had always known her to see the bright side of things at the same time.

It was like a splash of colours in her currently grey world.

Caitlin Snow was one hell of a mystery to him.

But a mystery he would more than gladly attempt to decipher.