Iris gave a small smile to Felicity as she came into the work room and patted Barry on the shoulder before leaving them to it.

Barry had his back to her but Felicity would not be deterred.

"So Caitlin told us everything. I'm really sorry about what happened but this lab is full of genius scientists so I'm sure we'll figure out something. And this sweet set of wheels you have will get us great seats at the theater, because the new star wars movie is out and I need to go with someone who appreciates its brilliance. I love going out to dinner and stuff with Oliver but you and Cisco will definitely understand my extreme excitement more than he will."

A smile crawled its way onto Barry's face and he relaxed a little. He really should have known that Felicity wouldn't treat him any differently and he was suddenly so grateful to have her there.

"Speaking of Oliver, I saw you two when you came in, holding hands! What was that about?" Barry nudged the hacker with his elbow, happy to talk to someone that wasn't afraid of breaking him.

Felicity laughed and blushed a little. "Yeah me and Oliver are kind of together now. We have been for a while actually and I wanted to call and tell you all about it but everything got crazy again."

Barry smiled and nodded. If anyone knew the definition of crazy it was him and Felicity.

"I told you Ray was too tall for you. I'm really happy for you guys, I could see your connection the first time I met you too actually."

Felicity sighed wistfully. "Ah yeah that time when Oliver almost died and you saved him with rat poison. Such happy memories." The two burst out laughing and Barry smiled wider than he had in days.

"See that's the crinkly eyed smile we all know and love. Sooo, do you have anyone special? Joe was talking about a Patty asking questions about where you were?"

Barry blew a big breath out his lips so they made a raspberry noise because he had been avoiding work but knew it was catching up to him.

"Yeah Joe's trying to cover for me at work but Captain Sing is gonna need a better excuse than the flu at some point and Patty is my sort of girlfriend?"

Felicity went wide eyed and excited, her hands clasped in front of her face.

"Really? Barry that's great! Not about the work thing, that must be frustrating especially with everything you've told me about your boss but the girlfriend thing is great, what's she like?"

Barry had been missing Patty lately and felt even worse since she kept texting asking if he was okay and about why he wasn't at work or replying.

"She's great, she's a scientist but works as a police officer, she's adorable and funny and she kind of babbles like you do and she's a fan of my police reports and….. we were supposed to have dinner the night after Zoom almost killed me but I hadn't even woken up at that point and so Joe told her that I was sick but really sorry about it but now it's four days and I'm still not back. I really like her and I don't want to push her away but what am I supposed to tell her? I was blind on out first date and now..?"

"Wait, you went blind? Never mind, look Barry, if she's as great as you say she is and you like her that much maybe it's a good idea to tell her something? Maybe not the whole truth but it's better than hiding and if she really is your almost, kind of, girlfriend then she has a right to know. Plus she sounds really worried about you."

Of course she was right but the speedster was afraid of what Patty might think. She had no obligation to stay with him, they'd only had one date after all and she didn't ask to be saddled with this, but it would break his heart all the same. And he had been broken enough this week.

"I was hoping I would have healed by now but… I really don't want to go in to work like this. My labs upstairs and everyone will stare…."

Felicity took his hand and smiled apologetically at him.

"But you can't hide forever."

...

Barry, with the help of Joe and Caitlin, had come up with a cover story for The Captain and Patty.

"The timeline is the problem, we can't tell people your spine was snapped because you would still be in bed and more than likely have a brace so I think the best way to do it is to tell them you had some trauma that caused swelling in the spine which is why you can't feel your legs. That way you can be moving around in your wheelchair and if you heal we can tell them the swelling went down without any complications. Technically you would still have to be in bed but they don't know that so it's fine. And if they have any questions they can call me."

"Cait, you're amazing, thank you."

Caitlin teared up just a little at Barry's comment because ever since he woke up she felt like she had failed him. Smiling and trying to brush away the tear without anyone noticing she tried to keep her voice steady through her mumble.

"No problem Barry." Cisco saw her of course and laughed, rolling his eyes and rubbing her back.

Joe went to tell Sing in person rather than on the phone but on his way to the office he was intercepted by his partner.

"Detective West! Hey, um I know you told me Barry was sick but he hasn't been answering my texts and he's been away for a while and you're looking really sad and stressed lately and I was just wondering if maybe something more was happening than just a flu?"

The detective sighed and patted the eager officer on the shoulder.

"I'm just about to explain the situation to Sing, why don't you come with me it'll save time."

...

"So he was in a car accident and is now paralyzed."

Patty was still trying to process everything. Once Joe had told the Captain and her about Barry, Joe suggested that Patty come to see him. So now she was sitting in the car outside of S.T.A.R. Labs with him about to go see her partners newly paralyzed son.

"You don't have to see him and he said it's okay if you don't want to continue datin-"

"No of course I want to! I mean I'm a little freaked out, like what do I say? But I wouldn't want to stop the dating thing and I want to see him. I really like him and I've been a little worried. I even made him chicken soup…for the flu… which seems stupid now."

Joe laughed as she retrieved a container of home-made soup from her bag.

"No it's great, he'll be happy just seeing you and we've had a little trouble getting him to eat anything lately anyway."

It had worried everyone, the not eating thing, but of course every time anyone reminded him of his fast metabolism and his need for food he would sulk and say "I don't need it if I'm not running and I'm not doing that any time soon."

Thank God for Felicity and Patty being here, with all the extra science nerds around Barry felt like he could contribute more since he was more than his legs, he was a scientist and his brain was just as important. He wasn't useless and never would be, but for some reason he needed reminding.

Joe had been slow warming up to Patty but seeing the smile that lit up Barry's entire face when he saw her was beyond worth the car ride full of constant babble.

"Patty! Hey, um did Joe explain everything? Is that soup?" The room cleared of onlookers and Barry blushed slightly and started fidgeting in his chair, tugging on his S.T.A.R. Labs sweats.

"Yes and yes. He told me you had the flu so I made soup and now I feel really stupid and I don't know what to say except that I'm really happy to see you again."

Barry smiled and bit his lip, cheeks staining red just a little.

"Me too. And the soup looks great it's really nice of you. I'm sorry we lied I just didn't know if this would be a long term thing, I still don't and I'm really sorry for bailing on our date I would have gone if I could."

Patty came closer and sat down on a nearby chair, smiling at him.

"Joe said you weren't even conscious for that day so don't even worry about it. Plus we could always have another one, I mean our first date ended pretty awesomely."

Barry had a huge smile on now and he raised a cheeky eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? I remember the kiss that gave me my sight back, do you think maybe your magic could work again?"

Patty's smile was as bright as Barry's and she dropped her bag and container of soup by her chair and came over to Barry who pulled her onto his lap so she was sitting on his knee.

"I think we should try."

Barry held her face in his hands like he had on their first date and pressed his lips to hers, starting out soft and sweet but quickly deepening. Barry lost himself in her, feeling more complete than he had since waking up without any feeling in his legs.

When they finally broke apart Patty was flushed and Barry was breathless.

"So did it work? Am I magic?"

"You're definitely magical but maybe we should keep trying?"

"Yes please."