Frostbite

Chapter 12

….

Caitlin's POV

My mouth was dry, that was the first thing I was aware of. Like I hadn't had water for days. My body ached and I found it incredibly hard to open my eyes, bright lighting blinding me and making me shut them again. What had happened? Why was I so sore? There was something under my nose that was bothering me and I slowly reach a hand up to touch it, before I could a hand gently clasped mine.

"It's okay, that's just your oxygen tube" Barry's voice rang through my ears.

I slowly opened my eyes again, the lights dimmed down this time as I rapidly blinked.

"Hey, you're awake" he said softly, a smile stretching across his face, I try to say something but my throat is dry and my voice coarse and I ended up coughing.

He grabs a cup of water from the table next to us and holds the straw to my mouth "little sips" he warns as I gratefully sip from the straw.

"What happened?" I rasp as he helps me lay back on the pillow

"Bomb went off, you were impaled. I'm sorry Cait I should have done something" he says, guilt visible on his face.

I manage a weak smile "You saved my life" I say tiredly, I was still woozy from the medication and blood loss and even just sitting here talking was tiring me out.

Barry seems to see that I'm exhausted and gently presses a kiss to my head "Rest Cait, we can talk more when you wake up" he whispers just as I doze off again.

…..

The next time I wake up I feel tired but slightly less out of it than before. I notice now that my leg is in a cast and propped up on a pillow and I can feel bandages around my torso, Barry had said that I was impaled but I was wondering what else had happened since I couldn't remember any of it.

"You're up" Barry says from where he was reading in the chair beside my bed "How are you feeling? Should I go get Harry?" he asks, putting down his book.

"I'm okay, just sore" I say, adjusting in the bed "How long was I out?"

"Two days, Harry said that it was just your body recovering from the blood loss" he says taking my hand gently.

"How bad is it?" I ask, straining to look at my entire body, he helps me to lie up against the pillow, gently grasping my shoulder as he props the pillow behind my back.

"Your right leg and three of your ribs are broken, you hit your head pretty hard and he had to remove a part of your spleen but Harry said that you should make a full recovery" he says, brushing back some hair from my forehead "You scared the crap out of me you know"

"I'm sorry"

"No, I'm sorry, it's my fault. He targeted you because of me, because he thought I loved you"

I give him a small smile "Well even super villains have to make mistakes sometimes"

He looks down, fidgeting with my hand "he didn't make a mistake"

I frown, "Wh-What? But Iris..."

He shakes his head, "It's over, we could never work…not when I'm in love with someone else" our eyes interlock again just as his hand glides up to my face, cupping my cheek "I love you Caitlin"

A giant smile erupts across my face just as his lips meet mine, my hand goes to wrap around his neck and my ribs protest, causing me to wince and him to pull away quickly.

"What is it? Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" he asks worriedly

"No" I smile, "I'm okay, my ribs just ache a bit"

"I'll go get Harry, you're probably due for another shot of morphine" he says, pressing a kiss to my head and flashing off.

Moments later they're back, Wells brandishing a rather large syringe in his hand. It only takes a couple of minutes for the morphine to kick in, sending me into a deep sleep again.

…..

When I wake, it's to a world of agony. I'm covered in a thin sheen of sweat as my body shakes uncontrollably, drenching my sheets. My head throbs painfully, my eyes finding it hard to focus through the waves of pain. My leg feels as if someone is pulling it in two different directions and my entire torso is on fire, my writhing only making it worse.

My bleary eyes look around for Barry or Wells but I can't seem to spot anyone. With a supressed cry of pain, I pull myself up, panting as I look to the tray next to my bed, hoping to find some morphine. I groan, gritting my teeth as I look through the various pieces of equipment but none seem to be the tiny vial I'm looking for.

"Cait I just went to grab som- What are you doing? God you're supposed to be resting!" Barry shouts as he comes in, catching me just before my body gives out and I fall off the side of the bed.

"I-I'm ss-sorry" I say, shivering as he helps me back onto the bed.

"What were you doing? What do you need babe?"

"P-Painkillers…it hurts" I groan, my body twisting in the bed and making me cry out.

He presses a hand to my forehead "Shit, you're burning up. How long have you been like this?"

"I…I don't know" I mumble, pressing my head into his chest

"Fuck Cait, where the hell is Harry? Harry! We need help in here!" he yells, his voice echoing throughout the lab.

"What's going on?" Wells asks as he comes in

"I found her trying to administer her own painkillers! I thought you said you were going to take care of her, I was only gone for 30 minutes!"

"I only stepped out for ten minutes maybe"

"Yeah well now she's running a fever, look at her she's shaking!"

Wells comes over and checks my temperature "You could be developing an infection. I'm going to put you on some antibiotics just in case and I'll give you some more pain killers to help you sleep" he says, hanging up a bag of antibiotics and giving me some more painkillers. He leaves in a hurry after that, Barry glaring at his back as he rushes out.

"Stop it, it was an accident" I say, gently swatting his shoulder

"You could have seriously hurt yourself because of him Cait. What if I hadn't walked in? You could have fallen and caused even more damage and I can't… I can't do that again"

I shush him, brushing his cheek with my palm "Hey, I'm okay. Nothing happened alright, I'm going to be okay"

He sniffs, rubbing his eyes "I know, I know. But I can't stop thinking about you, lying on that table as they tried to restart your heart. You died Caitlin. For a minute or so you were dead and I…I can't go through that again"

"You won't have to, I'm going to be fine remember?"

He smiles, pressing him cheek further into my hand, "I'm never going to let you out of my sight you know"

I groan, a smile on my face to show I'm joking "Great. And I can't even escape because of this bum leg. Whatever are we going to do in the meantime?"

He smiles again, bringing his face closer "I'm sure we can think of something" he says as he brings his lips down onto mine again.