Frostbite

Chapter 20

(I don't own the flash)

….

Caitlin watched as Barry sat at his computer, the screen tilted just so she couldn't see what he was doing. The last couple of weeks he'd been acting strange, leaving room to take phone calls out of the blue, closing his computer down every time she got close. He seemed nervous, jumpy… almost as if he was hiding something. The thought alone made her stomach twist with anxiety.

She came around to wrap her arms around his shoulders, laying her chin on top of his head as he quickly shut off whatever he'd been looking at "What're you up to?"

"Ah, nothing. Just boring work stuff Joe has me looking at. Don't you have an appointment at the dress shop today?" he asked, attempting to draw her attention away

She sighed "Yes, I should probably go soon. I don't know why you want me to get the dress right now, with everything that's going on we'll be lucky to get married in the next year, I'll just need to get it altered again"

"I don't know, I like the idea of you having the dress already. Makes it feel more real, like there's less of a chance of you realising that you could do better and leaving" he admits, only half joking

She moves her head, quickly pressing her lips to his cheek "That's not going to happen Mr Allen, you're stuck with me, forever"

He turns his head to meet hers "I like the sound of that" he says, bringing his lips to hers, slowly getting more passionate until he pulls away "How much time do you have before your appointment?"

She laughs, lighting swatting his arm "Not enough time for that"

"Not even a quickie?"

"Barry, I think you and I both know, there's no such thing as a 'quickie' with us. I'll see you later" she says, quickly kissing him again before leaving the apartment.

Barry waited until he was sure she was gone before he pulled out his phone, pulling up his messages he started to type

She's gone to her appointment, wanna come over now?

….

Caitlin couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as she looked at the various white dresses on display at the bridal shop. With Ronnie, she had barely anytime to pick out a dress, she had pretty much grabbed the first dress she liked that fit her. This time around she had the time to pick out her dream dress but she was still alone.

She had called her mother to tell her she was engaged, even invited her to come dress shopping but she'd declined, saying she had much more important things to do at work. For a moment her mind flitted to Iris, before she shook that thought away. They may have agreed to start over their friendship but asking her to accompany her to go dress shopping for a wedding to her ex was a bit too much too soon.

Thankfully she'd never been a picky shopper and she'd found her dress pretty quickly. It was very different from her other dress, it was long, just reaching the floor and it had elbow length sleeves made of sheer material with lace and floral embellishments. The sheer material went over the top of the dress, extending onto the bodice and over the skirt.

Once she got her measurements done and paid for the dress she headed back home, ready to look over some wedding venues with Barry and maybe finish what they started earlier. She quietly made her way in, intending on surprising her fiancé when she heard voices from the lounge room.

"I can't believe you're doing this Barry" Iris, that was Iris's voice she heard

"I don't want to wait anymore, we've wasted so much time as it is" Barry's voice spoke next, effectively breaking her heart

"You have to promise you won't say anything Iris, not until everything's ready. She'll only freak out if you tell her"

Caitlin resisted the urge to drop to her knees and silently made her way back out of the apartment, forcing one leg to go in front of the other until she was out of the apartment building. She waited 20 mins before Iris made her way out and then headed upstairs.

Barry was on the couch when she made her way in, the TV on in the background "Hey, how the dress shopping go?"

"Uh… great, I found one so… I'm going to go take a shower" she says, beginning to make her way to their bedroom

"Is everything alright?" he asks, getting up and following her "You seem kinda off"

"I'm fine" she replies, almost a little too quickly "just all this wedding stuff, brings back memories. I think I just need some time alone"

He nods, pressing a quick kiss to the side of her heard "Whatever you need, and don't stress too much over this wedding stuff. I have a feeling things are going to work out just fine"

She offers up a half-hearted smile before retreating to the bathroom, turning on the water to hot and peeing off her clothes. She sits under the spray of the shower, the water feeling barely warm against her cold skin as she began to feel her powers grow out of control.

She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the cool tile as she let her anger and pain seep out in the form of sobs.

Eventually she ran out of tears and had to get out of the shower, ignoring Barry as she quickly made her way into their bedroom and laid down on her side of the bed, her back facing him for the first time since they started living together.

It took a while to get to sleep, her imagination running wild with images of what Iris and Barry could have possibly been doing this afternoon, eventually her eyes start to droop with exhaustion and she drifts off, the last thought running through her mind-

'How can I watch him go back to Iris?'

…

The next few days she spends at much time as she can at work, avoiding Barry at all costs. She doesn't talk to Cisco about what happened, when this all eventually comes out she doesn't want him to feel torn between his two friends. So, she focuses on her work and being the best doctor she could be.

Surprisingly, it's Wells who comes to her after five days of tense silences "You want to tell me what's going on Snow?"

She frowns a him when he sits down beside her "What's it to you?"

"Well I don't like it when my team aren't speaking to each other, makes my work day difficult. You going to tell me what's wrong?" he asks, looking at her as if daring her to say she was fine

"I-I caught Barry and Iris together a few days ago"

Wells looks at her like she's just sprouted a second head "And when you say you caught them 'together' you mean..."

"He's cheating on me!" she hisses, keeping her voice down in case someone was to walk in

"You saw them kissing?" he asks, surprised that Barry would do such a thing

"Well no…"

"You caught them in bed?"

"No!... I didn't actually see them, but they were in our apartment, whispering about something"

"And that equals cheating because…"

"Because she's Iris West!" Caitlin shouts, practically shooting off her chair "She's the love of his life! Or didn't you see the byline?"

Wells gets up, gently grabbing Caitlin's shoulder "Caitlin calm down, you're not wearing your necklace at the moment and we can't risk your other side coming out to play at the moment"

Caitlin glares at him, feeling the first sparks of ice in her palms "Maybe she should, I mean, it can't be any worse than living like this can it?"

"Caitlin that's not you, that the anger talking. You're stronger than this, you've fought everything else so far, don't give up now"

Caitlin stares at him for a moment, the anger slowly dissolving into sadness "He…he said he wasted so much time" she whispers, falling back against her chair "Is that all I am to him? A waste of time? A pitstop on his way to true love?

Wells watches as she starts to crumple into tears, he'd promised Barry he wouldn't tell Caitlin what he was planning but he couldn't stand watching her cry "Caitlin, stop…. Look I promised Barry I wouldn't say anything but I don't want you doing something stupid like leaving a note and running off so I'm going to slightly break that promise. I can't tell you exactly what's going on, but I can tell you it's not what you think. Just promise me you'll wait, it'll be worth it"

She sniffs, her forehead crinkling as she frowned "What will be worth it? I don't understand, why can't you just tell me?"

"And piss off a metahuman I can never outrun? I'm not stupid enough to risk that. Just, promise me you'll wait"

She's still confused but nods anyway. He smiles, before leaving her alone at her desk, more frazzled than before.

….

True to her word, she waits, ignoring the voice in her head that's screaming for her to run. A week passed by slowly, she barely sees Barry as he's always out doing 'research' for a new project he says. She remains distant, falling asleep with her back to him and waking up earlier than him so she could rush off to work before he could try and ask what was wrong.

It all comes to a head one Saturday afternoon when Caitlin goes to answer her door and Iris is standing there, a large garment bag in her arms and a big smile on her face. She was dressed in a long purple dress, embellished in sequins and her hair was down, a purple flower tucked behind her ear.

"What are you doing here? She asks, a hint of bitterness in her voice

"Woah, someone woke up on the wrong side of bed. Is everything okay?" Iris asks as she makes her way inside, placing the bag and the makeup bag that was hung over her shoulder on the couch.

"Well let's see, my fiancé is leaving me for his ex-girlfriend and she just walked into my apartment. Yeah, everything's swell" Caitlin snaps

Iris stares at her for a minute before bursting into laughter "What? What are you talking about Caitlin?"

"Oh, don't act dumb Iris it doesn't suit you, I heard you two last week, I know what's going on. I guess it's only fair, I took him from you and now you're taking him from me"

"Caitlin, I don't know what you think is going on, but it's definitely not that" Iris says, staring at her like she was insane.

"Well then what is going on?" she asks, exasperated "And why are so dressed up?"

"I can't tell you" she says, earning a groan from Caitlin "Look you're just going to have to trust me, I promise you, it will be worth it"

Caitlin looks to the bag on the couch "What's in the bag?"

"Again, I can't tell you. Please Caitlin, just trust me on this" Iris begs

Caitlin hesitates for a second before nodding, Iris claps her hand happily "Where's your bedroom, we don't have a lot of time"

Caitlin points in the direction of her room "A lot of time for what?"

Iris smiles, picking up her things from the couch "To get you ready, now c'mon. I need to get your makeup done"

She lets her lead them into her bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed "Wait, how are you going to get me ready if I'm not allowed to know what's going on?"

Iris smiles slyly, pulling out a blindfold from her bag "Just sit back and let me do my work Caitlin"

"Do I even want to know where you got that from?" Caitlin asks as Iris ties it firmly around her eyes

"Shhhh, I need to get started" Iris orders, rustling around in the makeup bag next to her.

….

A few hours later after her makeup has been finished and her hair braided into an up do, she hears the sound of a zipper being pulled down and then Iris is helping her into something. She feels as Iris buttons up the back of the dress she was now wearing and then silence.

"Okay, now shoes and then you're finished" Iris says, bending down and sliding some shoes on to her feet "Are you ready to take a look?"

"Dying to" Caitlin confesses, bracing herself as Iris unties the blindfold. When it falls from her face she eagerly takes a look in her mirror and is shocked into silence. Her hair is delicately braided into a bun, a delicate pin with silver flowers and gems on the side of her head. Her makeup isn't too heavy, her eyes framed nicely with eyeliner and mascara, soft browns brushed across her eyelids, her lips a few shades pinker than her natural colour.

She manages to regain her ability to speak once she looks down and notices what she's wearing "T-This is my wedding dress" she stammers

"C'mon, Barry will explain everything when we get there" Iris says, tugging her out of her room and apartment.

There's a rental car out the front, much to Caitlin's confusion, she had a perfectly fine car of her own. After Iris's insistence, they both get inside the car and head towards the new destination, staying silent on the trip over.

When they pull up in front of the park Caitlin turns to Iris "Okay, now I'm really confused, why are we here?"

Iris just smiles and hops out of the car, rushing over to the other side to open Caitlin's door and help her out, making sure her dress didn't get dirty. As they step away from the car, Caitlin notices a group of people crowded by one of the big willow trees.

Iris guides her in the direction of these people, watching as she began to take in her surroundings. The crowd breaks apart, revealing a long aisle of pink and white petals strewn onto the grass leading up to an archway, adorned in the same coloured roses.

"What?…What is all this?" Caitlin asks, recognising Cisco and Oliver as well as some of their friends in the crowd of people.

"It's our wedding" Barry's voice speaks from behind her.

She turns to face him, he's in a simple black suit, a white rose pinned to the lapel of his suit jacket and the biggest grin spread across his face.

"I-I don't… how did you… what?" she laughs nervously

He steps forward, holding her hands in his "I could see how stressed you were trying to find time to plan a wedding with everything going on, so I called Iris and we got everything organised. I just want to marry you Cait, I don't want to wait anymore. And I know this probably isn't your dream wedding but-"

She silences him by quickly pressing her lips to his, fighting back tears when she pulled away "It's better, it's perfect Barry"

"So that's a yes then?"

"Yes" she nods, wrapping her arms around him neck "of course I'll marry you"

When she pulls away she notices that everyone in the crowd nearby are friends of theirs, Felicity and Thea standing with Oliver, Gypsy holding onto Cisco's arm. Joe and Wally were standing at the front of the aisle, next to Dr Stein, all in suits. She catches Wells' eye from the crowds and nods, suddenly understanding why he was so adamant she stayed, she reminded herself to thank him later.

Barry goes to join them, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before going to take his place as Felicity comes up, two bouquets of pink and white roses in her hands. She hands the smaller one to Iris before passing the other to her "You look so gorgeous Caitlin"

She smiles, a blush rising to her cheeks "Were all of you in on this?"

Iris nods "He came up with the idea a few weeks ago, that's why we've been spending so much time together"

Caitlin suddenly feels awful "Oh god, you've been helping plan a surprise wedding and I screamed at you. I'm so sorry Iris"

Iris shakes it off, smiling at her "It's fine Caitlin, everyone's allowed a few freak-outs on their wedding day"

"Well technically I didn't know it was my wedding day so..."

Iris rolls her eyes "Will you please stop talking? The music is going to start playing soon and I don't want to miss my queue"

"Just… thank you, for everything" Caitlin says, nervously tucking back a stray stand of hair that had come loose. Iris huffs before coming over to fix her hair quickly

"Don't want you ruining my masterpiece" she mutters jokingly as she steps into place

The opening chords of Can't Help Falling in Love start to play softly, Iris slowly making her way down the aisle as their friends turn to watch. Caitlin takes a deep breath to calm her nerves, before stepping out onto the petal covered aisle, her eyes instantly going to the groom on the end.

A brilliant smile breaks across her face as they lock eyes, her nerves melting away the closer she got. Once she was at the end of the aisle, she handed her flowers to Iris, before placing her hands in Barry's. Dr Stein begins the ceremony with a smile,

"We are gathered here today to witness one of life's greatest moments, the moment where two souls become one, joined in the unity of marriage. Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough."

"Barry and Caitlin, today we stand here with you to watch as you commit your lives to each other. I understand you have your own vows?"

Caitlin freezes "Oh, uh… I didn't have anything prepared"

"Cait, it's fine, I'll go first" Barry says, squeezing her hands "Caitlin, you're the love of my life. You're my rock, my calm among the chaos. I take you to be my best-friend, my partner, my love. I promise to be true to you, to love you and support you, no matter what life throw at us. I promise to encourage to, to make you laugh to be there for you in good times and in bad. To cherish every second I spend with you because it will never be enough. Cait, I may not be able to fix all of your problems, but I promise, you'll never, ever have to face them alone again. With this ring, I give you my heart, my soul, my everything"

Tears well painfully in her eyes as Barry finishes saying his vows, she has to pull one hand away momentarily to wipe it away before it ruins her makeup, smiling tearfully at her soon to be husband.

"I, uh… I didn't know this was going to be happening so I'll do my best" she says with a laugh "Barry, from the moment we met, you've surprised me, distracted me, captivated me and challenged me like no one else has ever done before. Every day I fall in love with you all over again and I can't believe how lucky I am to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. I promise to love and cherish you, to uplift and support you, to challenge and frustrate you and to share the beautiful moments with you. I promise not to shut you out, even when I'm scared, to fight by your side every day for the rest of my life. I can't promise to be the perfect wife or that I'll never disappoint you, but I can promise that I'll spend the rest of my life loving you the way you deserve to be loved. I am so terribly in love with you, and I always will be"

If it weren't for the fact that there were a dozen people watching them, Barry would've kissed her right then and there, her words touching him in a way he didn't know could. Instead he holds off, waiting for Dr Stein to ask for them to take their rings.

"Barry, do you take Caitlin to be your wife, to love, honour, protect and cherish her, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, in joy and in sorrow for as you both shall live?"

Barry smiles widely at her again, sliding the simple diamond studded band onto her ring finger where her engagement ring lay as he said "I do"

"Caitlin, do you take Barry to be your husband, to love, honour, protect and cherish him, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, in joy and in sorrow for as you both shall live?"

Caitlin nods, choking back a sob as she slid the gold band onto Barry's finger "I do"

"Well, then it gives me the greatest pleasure and honour to declare you two man and wife, you may kiss the bride!"

Barry didn't need to be told twice, pulling Caitlin into his arms and kissing her passionately, sweeping her off the ground after a moment. Loud cheers and applauds erupt from their friends as they watch their embrace, Cisco whistling enthusiastically.

Eventually he sets her back down, pulling away just enough to rest his forehead against hers "I love you"

"I love you too" she whispers back, leaning against him heavily for a moment before pulling away, linking her hand with his as their friends threw petals over their heads before joining them for hugs.

And of course, because no wedding can go off without a hitch, let alone one between two metahumans, that's the moment the screaming starts.