Chapter 5 [STAR Labs—sometime later]

[A/N: Gimli and The Lord of the Rings belong to their copyright holders…]

Lisa lay unfeeling and unresponsive for some time. Her eyes remained closed. Despite being out from the assault, she'd thrash and twist on the bed as if something else was attacking her.

She heard her own screaming as a child….

…Over and over the bottle hit her again….this time though it broke against her head….

Lisa? Hey. It's okay…. A gentle voice broke through the darkness.

And then a bright light swamped her senses and jarred her loose…..

Even as the patient dealt with her nightmares, Cisco sat at his post right by her side. He sighed deeply while gulping at a lukewarm coffee cup. Occasionally he'd shoot a glance toward the monitor at his right. For the most part, however, his eyes remained riveted on her.

Much to his relief, the anger was gone. His bitterness over the betrayals of Dante, Barry and even himself had dissipated in Concern's overwhelming presence.

"Hey. I'm here. Joe and I got you out of that bar. You're here at STAR Labs," he noted. He grasped her hand softly yet firmly. "I know you like to wander. For now though, Chica, you aren't going anywhere. Just…stay." He bowed his head. His heart sank at the bandages on the back of her head.

"Pulse rate's steady," Caitlin reported from the console. She glanced toward where the impromptu CCPD contingent along with Iris watched at a slight distance.

"I'd feel better if she were at Riverview," Eddie noted.

"This lab's pulled its share of rabbits out of hats. Just don't ask me to explain how they do it," Joe disagreed.

"Just as long as they can. I don't feel like watching her like this," Patty chimed in.

"Have faith. We can do a lot. Besides I can get help in the blink of an eye. Besides you want to deal with her brother if something happens?" Barry assured them all. He hugged his girlfriend's shoulders supportively. "It's going to be okay."

"When you say it like that, I believe it," Patty relented with a smile and a twinkle of her eyes for him.

"I believe that Snart's going to be a bitch to deal with if she doesn't pull through," Joe interjected.

Meantime Lisa's eyelids fluttered. Her mouth twisted in agony. "AHHH!"

Cisco jumped out of fear. "I'm here! Lisa, it's okay."

Lisa forced her eyes open with great effort. She squinted from the lab's lights overhead. For a brief second, she thought she was in some sort of prison lab. Then upon seeing him there, she relaxed. "Cisco? Is that really you?"

"Hell yeah it is. Like I was going to leave you in that bar? Please," he affirmed while trying to put on his best cocky tone in the process. "You do attract the worst company."

"Yeah I know." She grimaced while feeling the burning from her scalp. "Sorry but what happened. It's kind of a giant blur."

"A drunk giant and his friends wanted a party with you. You said no. They attacked you. One of them hit you over the head with a glass beer bottle. I stepped in." Cisco rolled his eyes. "Fortunately the bartender stopped the fight."

"Considering you were about to get your ass kicked. It was fortunate for you," Joe chimed in.

"Hey! I'm trying to be the hero here. Mind?" Cisco teased while trying to keep face.

Lisa coughed. "You are…." She managed a brief squeeze of his hands in hers. "Even if you are an…idiot." She smirked impetuously. "But…you're my idiot."

"Great. I can't get any respect," Cisco lamented while rolling his eyes.

"Lighten up. You…did great." She tugged his hand to her parched lips and whispered a thank you there. Then she struggled to take in the others. "Guess this is one time I should feel glad the police is here. Great."

"Considering we pulled your tail out of there, yeah you should be," Joe noted. "And yes, we could bust you back to Iron Heights." He glanced at Eddie, Patty and Barry who'd already had engaged in an animated debate over doing just that or not.

"Just get back on your feet. Then we need to talk," Patty insisted. "I need a coffee, Barry."

"Uh okay." Barry offered Cisco a slight nod. "As she said, we'll be talking. Rest up, Lisa."

"I'll do that." Lisa coughed as the CSI followed his girlfriend out. "That boy needs to stand up to her a bit more."

"Actually they're trying to mend fences right now. Just because we're not sure what to do with you doesn't mean we don't care," Iris pointed out. Getting a nod from Eddie and her father both, she continued, "As we're being patient with you, you might want to have some of that for us too. Cisco, we'll leave you both alone. I think you two need some 'you-time'?"

"Yeah. That'd be awesome. Thanks, Iris," Cisco expressed with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Eddie."

"Don't mention it. I know what it's like to fight for someone." Eddie offered him a supportive smile while giving his fiancée's hand an affirmative squeeze. He let his eyes settle on the engagement ring's renewed presence there. "Let's get her on her feet. Then as Iris said, we'll talk. See you guys later." With that he led Iris out.

"Wow. Tough crowd," Lisa presumed. She sighed. "Water please."

"Yeah. Coming right up," Cisco agreed. He poured her a glass of ice water and held it up to her lips. "Slow sips. Okay?"

She rolled her eyes at his babying even if she secretly enjoyed it. Just as when he extracted her father's bomb, she trusted him to know what was good for her…even if she didn't exactly agree with it at the moment. She accepted the cold offering allowing the water to soothe her parched mouth and throat. "Maybe I can have…aspirin? Headache's hell."

More like your brother when he hears about this. "Demanding, aren't you?" he cracked.

"You don't know the half of it, Ramon," she fired right back not missing a beat.

Caitlin chuckled while handing her the pills in question. "Here you go. Feel like you want to try eating something or want to wait?"

Lisa snorted. "Better ask…the nurse here."

Cisco sighed. "Yeah well…pardon me for being scared. Okay? Besides you want to deal with Cold when he gets back?"

Lisa frowned recalling her earlier feelings from the previous afternoon.

Now what did I say? "Hey. Sorry. I didn't mean…." Cisco apologized getting the gist that he'd upset her somehow.

"It's okay. You didn't know." Lisa sighed. "Lenny and Rory went off with some fool crusade. They think the captain can go through time or something. Stupid huh?"

Caitlin shrugged. "Actually we can relate. A couple of our friends are involved in that quest. Besides…we do things like that here too."

"Seriously? This is just too weird. Anyway Lenny took off and just left me to fend for myself. We'd argued about it. I thought he'd seen the light when I went to bed. When I woke up, he left me this note and a six pack. Fool's going to get himself and Rory killed!" Lisa pressed on. She stared into the ceiling tiles with consternation.

"He has Firestorm with him. Besides I wouldn't bet against Captain Cold, right?" Cisco assumed. He exchanged knowing looks with Caitlin. "Can't believe I just said that."

"Nice suck up, Cisco. Can't say…you don't learn fast," Lisa teased him. "At least you found me, right?"

"We found each other, Chica. Don't forget that. All I did was sulk and eat chili. I heard you having way too much fun and decided to jump in," he noted.

"Yeah and get your head bashed in as Joe said," Caitlin reminded him tersely.

"Mi caballero corta," the patient giggled.

"¿Perdona mi? Who's short?" he retorted incredulously.

"You are," Lisa declared with warm in her eyes.

"Yeah well it's like that gnome guy in the Lord of the Rings. He's short and carries a big ax. Racks up quite the orc count too," he insisted.

"Gimli had more fighting skills," Caitlin rebutted not letting her friend off of the hook.

"Hey! I'm trying to have a moment here. You know?"

"We girls need to stick together," Lisa informed him with a bit of snark in her voice. She shot him a grin. "You tire me out. I'm going to close my eyes for a sec. Mind sitting with me though?"

"Nope." He grinned at her. "I'm staying right here."

"Good…It'd be hell to train you. Thanks, Cisco. Seriously thanks," Lisa expressed before closing her eyes and dozing off.

He squeezed her hand. "You're seriously welcome, Chica." He kissed her forehead before settling back to his post.

"It's going to be okay, Cisco. She just needs rest. After that, we'll see what the others think," Caitlin assured him.

"Yeah. That's what I'm worried about," he concurred. He exhaled deeply. It would figure that the Ramon luck would shove Lisa back into a long term jail stay at that point. Why did those jackasses have to be there? He shook his head and just recalled two things: stay with the person you love and worry about the other stuff later.

"I'm here," he told her again. And with that, he settled into his observation mode.

He would stay the course no matter what. And you could take that to the bank….