Hey guys, sorry it took so long. Nothing really bad in this chapter, but if the torture stuff bothers you, you really should have stopped reading a while ago. Anyway, took me a little while to figure out where i was going with this but i think I've got a good direction now. Hope you like it :)

Three more days and no more robberies. Three more sessions with Oliver. Maybe six or seven more nightmares. And that was about when Barry gave up on sleep.

He was getting touchy. He came into work late, left late, and came to Star Labs late, but he never missed a session. It had become this grueling routine for him, a mantra in his head. He had to go because he had to stop the bad guy, and he wouldn't let himself think beyond that because if he did he'd never get himself to Star labs. The stress was starting to get to him. And what made it worse was Oliver was starting to take it easy on him – going slower, talking more, stopping sooner. It made him feel weak, like he couldn't handle it, but it also made him afraid that it was only going to take longer – that he would fail yet again when the thief struck. He was determined to be fast enough next time.

He was sitting at his desk in his lab when Joe came up to give him a report. Barry was staring at the papers in front of him, his head braced against his hands.

"You doing alright there?" Joe asked, dropping the stack of files on his desk. "You look like you're getting sick."

Barry shook his head and looked up. "Just tired."

Joe frowned at him. "Maybe you should talk to the captain, go home, get some sleep."

Barry shook his head again. Joe didn't know that he was still seeing Oliver. "I'm fine."

"Is this superhero stuff?" Joe asked, "Or are you just being stubborn and won't go home when you're sick?"

"Too much work to do," Barry said, gesturing towards the stack. "You know that guy who keeps robbing everyone?"

"Yeah."

"He can project pain. I can't stop him."

"You'll figure out a way."

"Yeah."

Joe headed back downstairs and Barry watched him go. "We have figured out a way," he mumbled to himself.

LIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEE

"You look awful," Caitlin said.

"Thanks."

Caitlin frowned but didn't say anything. Barry was very aware of her standpoint on the whole thing – she didn't like it, but she didn't have any better ideas so she didn't say anything. Cisco just thought he was crazy.

Oliver was waiting for him, as always. Barry walked towards the door to the other room.

Oliver frowned when he saw him. Barry was starting to take on an ashen pallor, circles under his eyes. It was painfully obvious he wasn't sleeping, and there was a tension to him that had manifested in the past few days.

"Barry," Oliver said, blocking him, "I think we should take a break first."

"We haven't even started," Barry said.

"I know – you don't look so good."

Barry's jaw set. His face went blank. "I'm fine. Let's just get it over with." He walked past Oliver into the training room. Oliver shot a look at Caitlin, exasperated. She just frowned and shrugged. He went in after Barry.

Barry was already clicking himself into the restraints on the table when Oliver entered. His hands were shaking as he did it, and his movements were rushed, half vibrating. He just wanted it done.

Oliver clicked the last one in place for him. Barry let out a breath and leaned back, closing his eyes. He smiled for a minute.

"So, what is it today?" he asked, "Knives, fire, arrows? A combination? Going to chop off a few fingers?"

Oliver pulled up a syringe.

"Shots!" Barry said, "Wonderful." He watched as Oliver got it ready. It didn't look that menacing – not like in the movies with the giant needles and the neon colored substances. Whatever he was putting in the thing was a clear liquid, and the needle looked like it could be used for a tetanus booster. "Something tells me that's not a chicken pox vaccine," Barry said.

"No," Oliver said, cleaning the area on Barry's arm with an antiseptic wipe. "It'll hurt, but you'll be OK. Normally I'd say it would last thirty minutes. You'll probably feel it for about two."

"Great."

"Ready?"

"Aren't I always?" The comment came out bitter. Oliver took in a breath and injected the serum into Barry's arm. Barry sucked in a breath too, but that was all for a few second. Then it hit him.

Barry was on fire.

His arm felt like it was about to explode, and he could feel, actually feel the substance spreading through his body, moving too fast and the pain burning its way through his veins. He clenched his teeth and fists and squeezed his eyes shut as his muscles seemed to spasm inside him. He let out a scream and then shut his mouth again, his breath coming in shuddering gasps that shook his body. It was searing, the closest thing to what the thief could do that he had experienced yet, except this one – it felt like it would never end. When the needles of pain finally slowed down, simmering out, he was panting and covered in sweat. He was suddenly exhausted, his whole body going limp and numb.

"Barry – hey, how about some water," Oliver said. He shook his shoulder but Barry turned his head away.

"No," he said.

"We're going to take a little break, OK?" Oliver said. He reached down and checked Barry's pulse. He needed to get Caitlin in there. The drugs were safe, he knew, he'd experienced them himself – made sure they were OK, but he needed to know they weren't affecting Barry in some way he hadn't anticipated. The kid looked like he was going to pass out and that was just one shot.

"No," Barry said. The ferocity of the words surprised him. He was looking right at him now, gasping in breaths. "Just… do it now, the next one… Oliver, do it now."

"I want to check you out first, make sure everything's OK," Oliver said. Barry's chest was still heaving. The drug was definitely out of his system, but he wasn't coming down from the pain.

"I'm fine, just do the next one," Barry said. He closed his eyes as if to brace himself but Oliver just put a hand on his shoulder again.

"Just try and calm down," Oliver said.

Barry shook his head. "Please, Oliver." There was a note of desperation to his voice now. "I just want it over with. Don't make me stop. Don't make me think about it."

And then it clicked. Oliver stared at him for a moment, and then he was unclicking the restraints, opening them all up.

"What… what are you doing?" Barry said.

"You're done," Oliver said.

"No – Oliver I can do it, I'm fine –"

"No, you're done," Oliver said again, opening up the cuffs around Barry's ankles.

But Barry grabbed Oliver's arm. "I can't let you kill him," Barry said, "He hasn't hurt anyone – not – he doesn't deserve to die and –"

Oliver took his arm. "I'm not going to kill him," he said, "you can still do this. Just not right now."

"But –"

"Barry," Oliver said, "I am not watching while you have a panic attack right in front of me after one injection and then going to inject you repeatedly again."

"I can do this," he said.

Oliver's hand was around his wrist and he brought it up, into Barry's line of vision. His hand was shaking, half-vibrating.

"Not right now," Oliver said, "Right now, we get you checked out. And you tell me what the hell has been going on instead of keeping it to yourself. People don't just break into spasms for no reason. You've endured a lot more than that without this bad of a reaction before."

Oliver helped him off the table. Barry shoved his hands in his pockets to hide the shaking. He went back out to the room where Caitlin was waiting.

"What happened?" she asked immediately, "Is everything OK?" They hadn't been in the room much more than five minutes.

"I want you to conduct a full medical exam," Oliver said. "Make sure there's nothing physical that could be causing problems."

"Sure," Caitlin said. Barry sat down at one of the beds and Caitlin came over. She started hooking up machines while Barry sat, still on the bed. He kept his eyes on the ground. When she took a blood sample both Caitlin and Oliver noted the flinch that Barry made. Caitlin just looked at Oliver, a very freaked out and just a tad menacing look, one that said, you had better fix this or so help me God I'll kill you. She checked all his vital signs but found nothing wrong, except his breathing and heart rate were still up.

"Barry," Caitlin said, "Can you take some deep breaths? You need to calm down."

Barry made some exaggerated, slow breaths, but the monitors stayed pretty much the same. As soon as Caitlin finished with the monitors he grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it on, shoving his hands in the big middle pocket to hide them.

Oliver pulled up a chair next to Barry "You're having nightmares," he said, "They're keeping you up. What are they about?"

"I don't remember," Barry said.

Oliver wiped a hand over his face. "The thief? More sessions? Your parent-"

"I don't remember," Barry repeated, harder this time.

"Alright – how about the shaking? That start today or has it been going on for a while?"

"It's not a big deal."

"Is it happening just here or all day long?"

"I told you it's not a big deal."

"Barry, I can't help you if you won't talk to me," Oliver said, exasperated.

"I don't want to talk." Barry got up, moving towards the door. "Call me if the thief shows up. I'll be here tomorrow at four." There was a burst of air and he was gone.

"Hm," Caitlin said, "he apparently gets cranky when you stab him a bunch of times, over, and over, and over again."

Oliver let out a long sigh. "I told him this could happen. I could just kill the thief, but –"

"Barry won't let you," Caitlin finished, "The guy hasn't hurt anyone."

"No, but it be a lot easier," Oliver mumbled.

"Let him cool off," Caitlin said, "I'll call him later."

Oliver blinked and then was pulling out his own phone.

"What are you doing?" Caitlin asked.

"Sending in the cavalry." Oliver muttered, "he won't talk to me, but –"

"Hello?"

Oliver smiled. "Felicity. I need your help."

Felicity to the rescue! Sick of trying to decide if Caitlin or Iris would make the better comforter in my stories so I'm going with Felicity on this one. Tell me what you guys think! Should have a chapter up sooner this time!