Thanks for the wonderful response to the last chapter! It was so nice to hear from some of you who have been quietly following along for a while (which I totally do all the time). I was afraid of some of the stuff that's beginning to happen being a little too weird, but I'm happy that you've already taken some of it in stride.

Enjoy chapter 10!

The world erupted around Caitlin—sound returned, the water crashed back to earth, and Barry Allen collapsed into the sand of the beach with a groan. While he had disappeared in his red suit, he lay on the beach before them now in plain clothes, and Caitlin had to wonder how much time had passed for him back in the other timeline. Did time move at the same speed in both?

Her instinct was to run to him, but Wells reacted first. Before Barry could even pick himself up onto his elbows, the other man was there, delivering a swift kick to Barry's temple.

"Hey!" Caitlin shouted, dropping all pretenses and sprinting forward to the now-unconscious Barry. She sank to her knees and rolled him over, grasping his shoulder and feeling her heart pound at his solidity. He was there. This was real.

"Being pulled through time should keep him out for a while," Wells said, "but you can never be too safe. We don't need him running off just yet, do we?"

Caitlin's fingers brushed the new cut on Barry's temple, just above his eyebrow. It mirrored her own injury.

"Now then," Wells continued. "No time to waste."

And suddenly Barry was gone. Caitlin sat there, dumbfounded, her fingers now touching nothing but air. She stood, anxiety building in her throat. Wells had disappeared, too, having sped off with Barry. Alone on the beach, she covered her mouth and tried to push down the panic attack that was looming. Her other hand curled around nothing, reaching for the brief moment of relief she'd gotten from Barry's presence, from Barry's life.

Now he was gone again.

After a few seconds, her mind cleared just enough for her to realize that she still had her phone on her. Fingers trembling, she fumbled in her pocket for her phone and drew it out. She knew Iris' number by heart now.

And, just as soon as she'd dialed the first few digits, she, too, was whisked away.

"What a nice surprise," Iris said, winding an arm around Eddie's waist and giving him a peck on the cheek. "You know pancakes are my favorite."

"Mm." Eddie turned away from the stove and drew her closer, pressing his lips against hers. "What, have they taken my place?"

"Maybe," Iris teased. She drew away and opened the fridge. "Dad doesn't have any milk in here."

"Sorry, drank the last of it," Eddie said. "You're looking nice. What's the occasion?"

Iris pulled out the orange juice instead and glanced down at her outfit. It was nothing special, aside from the large necklace she'd donned to cover up the top of her bruise—but she supposed she'd gone unshowered and unkempt for so long that any change seemed like a large one.

"Nothing special," she said. "I'm off to visit my dad; I promised him I'd come back in the morning. Then I might stop by work. I'm surprised my boss hasn't fired me yet."

"Everyone deals with grief differently," Eddie said. "He's got to understand that."

"Yeah." Iris accepted the plate loaded with two pancakes but remained standing at the counter. "What are you up to today?"

"Back at the precinct," Eddie said. "Lots of paperwork to do. We need to figure out an effective long-term solution to our Mardon problem." He turned off the stove. Iris considered mentioning the metahuman prison that Caitlin had talked about, but bit her lip. It would be too complicated to explain. "Speaking of Mardon, did Caitlin come home last night?"

"If she did, she must've left early—she wasn't in the room when I walked past." Iris took another bite of her breakfast and pulled out her phone. There was one message from her dad, a response to her morning text, but nothing from Caitlin. She swallowed. "She must've gone back to her apartment. I'll give her a call on my way to the hospital and check up on her."

"I'm sure she's fine," Eddie said, brushing Iris' arm. "The city's a lot safer now, especially after capturing Mardon."

"I'm not worried." And at first she wasn't, but the nagging voice at the back of her mind reminded her that Eddie didn't know the full story. Wells was still out there. "Caitlin can take care of herself."

Caitlin's breath came back to her at once, and she realized that she was back in STAR, back in the cortex. Her feet touched the floor and Wells stepped away. He hadn't even broken out a sweat.

"Apologies for the unexpected transportation," Wells said, with the air of someone who had never felt the need to apologize for anything in his life. "I find cars tedious."

"Where's Barry?" Caitlin said, spinning around to face him. "What did you do with him?"

"He'll come around soon," Wells said. "Don't worry, I didn't hurt him. If you want it to stay that way, however, you'll do as I say. I need your assistance."

"Whatever it is, I don't want any part of it," Caitlin said. "If you're so smart, why don't you do it yourself?"

"Two sets of hands are better than one," Wells said, echoing Iris' comment to Caitlin in this very room just two days ago. "Your expertise in biology, and your familiarity with Barry Allen's physiology, would greatly benefit me." He picked up a pen, examined it. "I need to develop a serum to make the Flash faster."

He set the pen down. Caitlin gaped.

"He's your enemy," she said. "Why would you want..."

"He opened up a time breach, yes," Wells said. "But he is still not fast enough for my purposes. Time is running out now that he's set these things in motion." He paused. "If you don't assist me, I will not hesitate to rescind my offer not to hurt him."

"Let me see him." Caitlin set her mouth in a resolute line. "Where is he?"

Wells let out a breath that was not quite a laugh. "Where else?"

The statement took only a moment to process. Caitlin sprinted toward the door that would lead her downstairs. Motion-controlled lights flicked on as she ran, guiding her toward her destination, leading the way.

At last she was in the pipeline. It no longer scared her like it used to, but the squeal of the main doors sliding open still sent a spike of cold down her spine. The doors opened slowly, too slowly, and then she was there, running to the containment cell that stood at the end of the passage.

"Barry," she said, crouching down at the edge of the cell, pressing a hand against the glass. Inside, Barry lay on his back, unmoving—except for his chest, which thankfully still rose and fell normally. His face was passive, calm, in his oblivion, and Caitlin was thrust back inadvertently to those months of watching him lie in the STAR hospital bed.

"A genius piece of technology all of us came up with," Wells taunted, suddenly behind her. She hadn't even heard him speed into the room. "Able to withstand the most volatile of metahuman powers. Able to hold even a speedster."

"What's wrong with him?" Caitlin said. "Why hasn't he woken up?"

"Mr. Ramon was always the most adept at coming up with catchy names for things," Wells said, and Caitlin bristled. "The best way I can think to describe this particular phenomenon is a time coma, though I'm sure there's better. The effects of time travel wreak havoc on a body. I should know."

Caitin pulled her hand away from the glass, the corners of her eyes burning. "Why are you doing this? Why do you need him?"

"Because I need to go back to my own time," Wells said. When Caitlin didn't respond he continued. "Don't think that Barry here is the only one trapped in a time that isn't his own. My home is the future, and the Flash is my only chance to make it back."

"I don't understand," Caitlin said quietly.

Wells sighed dramatically. "My name is Eobard Thawne," he said slowly. "I was sent back here, back to my past, and I've been living every day so slowly, waiting for my opportunity to return to my time. Do you understand how painful that is, Ms. Snow? Do you understand what it's like to be stranded? Helpless?"

Caitlin's mouth went dry. She licked at her lips and stood. "You need Barry to run fast enough to open up another time breach. So you can get home. That's why you've been helping us all this time."

"Correct." Wells put his hands behind his back. "Believe me, there's nothing I wouldn't do to go home." He tilted his head downward, his eyes narrowing. Caitlin got a vision, suddenly, of what Cisco might have seen in the moments before his death. Harrison Wells, or Eobard Thawne, with eyes like cold steel. "Nothing."

"You don't need me," Caitlin dared to say. "I'm not the only intelligent one in this lab. You could make it yourself."

"Likely," Wells said nonchalantly. "But you will expedite the process. Besides, that isn't the only way you're useful to me. Even with the speed serum, Mr. Allen will undoubtedly need some...incentive to help me." Caitlin froze, locking eyes with him, and he smiled.

"You need him alive." The realization dawned on her. She pushed at Wells further, testing him. "You were bluffing earlier. You can't use him as leverage against me, because you need him."

But her triumph was quelled in a heartbeat when Wells continued to grin. "You're correct," he said. "But he's not the only person on this earth that you care about."

Caitlin went numb.

Iris.

Thanks for reading! Please take a moment to leave a review on your way out; I really appreciate it! See you next week.

Till next time,

Penn