Author's Note: I am so, so sorry this chapter came late guys. I know I usually update after a week, but my life has been crazy busy lately. I intended to finish this and get it up on Monday like I usually do, but I also started a temporary job Monday that I am doing for about two weeks from 8:30 to 3:30. So it's been a hinderance, and afterwards I've honestly been so exhausted or had other things to work on, like Christmas gifts and other stuff. So, on top of the lateness, I apologize that this chapter is shorter than normal and doesn't include everything I wanted it to. I wanted to add some more in about Barry and his condition, and get more on what's happening with Iris and co, but if I tried to do that this chapter never would have came. I intend to make the next one better, and I will really try to get it out on time! But if not, you know why, if you read these notes at least. ALSO, I admit I had no energy to go through and proof read this. If you find any errors, once again I apologize. Anyways, this is getting long, so I'll leave it at that. Merry early Christmas to those who celebrate! Hope you enjoy your holiday and this chapter ;)

Despite doing her best to reign in her emotions, Caitlin was quite the worried wreck. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since Joe, Felicity, Cisco and Singh had gone off to the Cortex, and while every once in a while she could hear the murmurs of their talking, they still had not come back. She wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but it couldn't be good. And it left her all by herself with Barry.

It was better, she supposed, from a doctor standpoint at least, being able to keep an eye on him without anyone else hovering. But it also made her inexplicably nervous. With the others with her, at least she had support - now she was alone with her thoughts as Barry continued to lie still on the bed. With a sigh, she pulled the only chair in the room up to the speedster's bedside and sank into it, putting her head in her hands. When had their lives become so damn complicated, and dangerous for that matter? Things had been so much simpler in the beginning. After a few seconds, the doctor lifted her head - and nearly jumped as she got a good look at Barry.

His eyes were open. Barely, but it was enough.

"Barry?" she asked, jumping up immediately. She stood over him, eyebrows creased in concern as she looked down at his prone form. "Can you hear me?"

The speedster's eyes were foggy, dazed looking. Caitlin thought for sure that he couldn't possibly be aware, but then they moved the slightest bit, tracking her small movement and meeting her gaze.

"Cait?" he asked. His voice was rough and quiet, disbelieving. If Caitlin hadn't been listening for it, she might not have heard it at all.

"I'm here, Barry, it's okay - you're safe. You're back at STAR Labs. We're taking care of you."

It was easy to see that Barry didn't have much energy, that it was taking a lot of effort for him to be up, to talk. But she could see the moment his facial expression shifted from that of slight hope to miserable, almost crestfallen. His mouth opened again, and she leaned forward a bit to make sure she caught what he said next. The words broke her heart.

"You're not real," he murmured. Her own look of slight hope transformed as well, and she frowned.

"Barry, I'm real. This is real, I promise. You're safe." But Barry did not look convinced in the slightest.

"Not real," he murmured again, and then his eyes slid closed, his body quickly going limp once more.

"Barry? Barry, come on. Can you hear me?" Caitlin tried again, but it was clear that he was unconscious again. She felt hot tears pricking at her eyes, threatening to spill. He didn't believe that he was safe, and she had no idea why. It could have been one of many reasons - his concussion, his fever making him confused - even something that had been done to him. It could have been a mix of all three, for all she knew. Either way, it made Caitlin feel awful. She sank back into the chair and tried to hold herself together. She was the doctor, after all - the one responsible for him, for taking care of him. She couldn't let the others see her so weak. She couldn't break down.

She remained lost in her own thoughts for several more minutes, until she heard footsteps approaching. Her head snapped up in time to see Cisco jogging back into the med bay, an excited sort of look on his face that seemed rather out of place at a time like this. She supposed she was about to find out what it was about.

"Cait," he said with a smile. "We -" The engineer paused, his smile fading as he looked at her. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked, moving closer to her.

Caitlin cast a quick glance at Barry before taking a shaky breath, nodding. She didn't want to bring up what had happened with Barry - everyone was worried enough as it was.

"I'm fine, Cisco," she said, plastering on a small, probably pathetic-looking smile. Cisco looked very far for convinced, but could obviously see that she was not looking to open up about whatever it was at the moment.

"...okay. Well, uh, there's some good news, for once," he announced.

Caitlin raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Felicity managed to figure out who our mystery meta is. A girl named Kasey Stone. She's working on getting a location right now. Iris did go off to try and find her, with Snart, and Oliver went with them."

"Seriously?" Caitlin asked, somewhat surprised. Iris going she could understand; Oliver had probably gone to keep Iris out of trouble. But Snart? Even after the fact that he had helped to get Barry back, it still seemed odd to her that he would continue to do so. Had he been promised something else?

Cisco nodded. "Yeah. Joe and Singh want to head out as soon as Felicity gets the location, try and get to her before they do. Joe doesn't want Iris in the line of fire, and they have a good headstart. I'm gonna go with them. Felicity's gonna stay here, keep an eye on how everything goes with the monitors. Be our eyes and ears," he said, and then paused for a moment. "...will you be alright here? Alone with him?" he asked, his voice soft.

Caitlin's eyes drifted over to Barry briefly, watching him, the incident from just a few minutes ago still stuck in her mind. In all honesty, the thought of being alone with him again made her nervous once more, despite knowing that Felicity would be just down the hall. Despite the fact that she was a doctor, damn it, and she should have been able to handle this better.

"Of course," she said, half of her hoping he would leave the matter be and the other half hoping that he would see through her lie and stay with her, keep her company. Cisco's look softened a bit.

"You know," he said, "You're his doctor, but you're also his friend. It's okay to worry. You don't have to be some emotionless robot over the whole thing. We get it, Cait." It was as if he had read her mind. She should have expected it, what with how long they had been friends. She offered him a small smile, one that this time wasn't entirely forced.

"Thanks, Cisco," she said softly, affectionately. "Now go find this meta. And be careful, damn it. I'm not having two friends laid up in here."

And Cisco gave her a small, amused smile in return. "I promise you won't."

Cisco felt rather guilty for leaving Caitlin alone with the fallen speedster. She was suffering just as much as the rest of them were, even if she wouldn't admit it, but there wasn't much of a choice. He was useless here; at least with Joe and Singh, he would be involved. He was determined to catch this meta girl and cure Barry, no matter what. Cait would have to be fine; he knew that she was strong, that she would watch over their friend until they got back. When he walked back into the Cortex, it was to find Felicity beaming proudly at the computer monitor she was still seated at.

"I'm hoping that smile means some more good news," the engineer spoke as he approached. She turned her head to look at him, nodding.

"I got a general location," she announced triumphantly. "A security camera picked her up outside of a market on the edge of the city, less than an hour ago. She was on foot, and it didn't show her getting into any vehicle. Judging by that, she can't be more than, like, a five mile radius from that spot. I've pinpointed a few possible hide-outs, and already sent those to your phones," she added, gesturing vaguely at Joe, Singh and himself.

Cisco pulled his cell from his pocket and chuckled a bit as he saw that she was right; Felicity was always thorough, and it really came in handy during a time like this.

"I don't know what we'd do without you, Felicity," he said with a smile.

"Damn right you don't," she replied, smiling lightly back.

Joe looked up with a hard look on his face, looking between Singh and Cisco.

"You both ready?"

Singh nodded, and Cisco did the same.

"Ready," he assured. "Let's go kick some ass."

"You know, there are a lot of damn abandoned places in Central City," Oliver remarked as the three of them walked into the third empty house they had sought out; Iris only shrugged.

"A lot of people up and left after the Particle Accelerator exploded and all of the metas started crawling out of the woodwork," she explained. "It's not that uncommon to find abandoned buildings nowadays."

"Would the two of you lower your voices? You're not being very stealthy right now," Snart remarked, but he quickly backed off after receiving a death glare from both Iris and Oliver; they were all quiet afterwards, however.

It was another minute of creeping through the house before Oliver suddenly stopped short, frozen in place.

"I heard something," he announced in almost a whisper, ears perked, listening for any other accompanying noises; a dull thud sounded throughout the house seconds later, and it was clear that they had all heard it that time.

"Basement?" Snart asked, raising an eyebrow.

Iris sighed. "It always has to be the basement. This feels like a horror movie." But she crept forward alone with the two boys once more; she would not be thrown from the mission so easily. It didn't take long for them to find the door that lead down to the basement, and throw it open. The three unlikely teammates gave each other looks before descending in a line down the stairs, not bothering much for stealth anymore. Once they reached the bottom, they would be exposed.

As they stepped off the last stair, Iris could make out shapes from the dim light coming in from the one dusty window in the place. There wasn't much to see: an old sofa off in a corner, what looked like a rolled up rug a few feet from it; a broken table with only three legs awkwardly in the middle of the room. None of that mattered, however, when her eyes landed on the lone figure sitting against the wall, small rocks floating and circling above her hand like magic. This was definitely the girl they had been looking for. Her head snapped up as they all fumbled down the stairs, the pebbles falling to the concrete floor as she jumped up.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, eyes flicking between the three of them with what looked like a mix between wariness and annoyance; Iris scowled at her.

"My friend is dying because of you," she ground out, fists clenched.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the girl - Kasey, Iris remembered - snapped. "You all need to leave, now." Her own fists were clenched, and Iris could see the stones on the floor shaking, reacting. They weren't too big, but she gathered they could still do damage, if thrown with enough force. Behind her, Iris could hear Oliver drawing his bow, Snart shuffling into a fighting stance.

"We're not going anywhere," she said, her voice fierce. "We need you to cure the Flash."

For a moment, Kasey seemed taken by surprise. Then her face darkened.

"The Flash?" she growled. "This is about that stupid vigilante that attacked me? I say let him die."

"Not gonna happen, sweetheart." The voice was Oliver's deep one this time as he knocked an arrow in his bow.

"Try me."

The meta raised her arms.

Behind Iris, the window shattered.

Author's Note: Semi-cliffhanger I guess? I'm gonna try to get the next chapter up on time guys! And make it longer! Hope you enjoyed this anyways. Until next time!