song: Raise the Dead, Raign
Once they were all forced to come back to a normal life that wasn't dictated by the upcoming Crisis anymore, it brought a bit of a struggle forward, especially because the earth wasn't exactly like they remembered it. The knowledge that there was just one world left now was hard enough to accept and then… some things were simply not the same anymore.
It was one of the reasons why Barry felt so troubled. Things in the very city he'd grown up in seemed moved and not where they'd used to be. For starters, he couldn't find his parents' grave, not to mention navigate the streets in case of a new meta emergency. And speaking of metas… he did promise Rachel not to worry and trusted her when she told him she could really handle her abilities this time around, but… well… in the end, he couldn't help but worry anyway. In worst case, they could use the cure on her again, so at least this made it a bit easier to handle.
It was definitely not his day, which started with him being lost and Rachel having a vision and then ended with a meta they kind of stopped together as she practiced exactly what Wells had taught her. Still, even though it ended in victory on their part, Barry was grumpy and did not feel at all like following his fiancé somewhere that was supposed to be a surprise.
Until she actually led him to a cemetery.
She found his parents' grave. And that made him speechless because it meant so much for him.
"Also, I will be ok, you know?" Rachel said after a longer silent moment that he'd taken by the grave all by himself with her staying a little in the back. "This is not a rerun of what happened before. This is moving forward. There was never saying no to saving you. I would always say 'yes' to that, no matter the consequences, Barry. Because you are the love of my life and because of that, also my world."
He was still silent, but reached out for her and pulled her close, embracing her tightly.
"Thank you. I love you so much," he finally whispered into her ear.
"I love you, too. Why don't we just go home and enjoy some nice and well-deserved time together?" she suggested.
"Do you think we can make Nora in the future? The same Nora that ran back in time for us?" Barry asked Rachel when slipping out of her, spent, but so, so satisfied. Sharing his body with her, being inside of her, it always felt like his own sense of peace and bliss. Like the ecstasy he felt and the love that filled him took everything else away. It was his own safe harbor after risking his life every day on the streets of Central City, fighting metas. His home.
"No the exactly same one because then she would need to remember all of what happened, but… yes, I really believe so. She isn't gone. She just isn't here yet," she responded, settling herself onto his chest, cuddled to him.
They were doing quite well – and even better than that, actually as Rachel finally started writing again, which she was usually doing in her favorite spot – the lounge, close by in case she had a vision and could somehow alter the odds to their advantage. Still, what was most important to her, was to make sure that no one ever got seriously hurt and that the metas, they were facing, received an actual chance to do better, to become better. All of this also gave her a lot of inspiration for her writing. Most importantly – Barry was and would be ok. They finally started to talk about their wedding and decided they would plan an engagement party as well since they'd never really gotten the chance to fully announce or celebrate anything with Nora appearing shortly after and the Crisis hitting them full on.
Barry was still a bit anxious, always keeping an eye on Rachel and on her metapowers, seeing that she was doing quite ok and wasn't complaining, but still haunted by the memories of their past. In the end, he found out just how much on edge he really was as all it took to rattle him was to overhear Rachel asking Caitlin for some painkillers for her migraine.
He was just on his way to the cortex when he heard that and felt his entire body immediately going into stress mode, his fists clenching as he tried to steady himself, his mind attacked with memories of almost losing his fiancé, of racing time to come up with a cure to save her life. It'd been so close… It'd actually taken Harry Wells and his genius mind to finally finish the cure and…
He walked into the now empty and darkened lounge, happy that he could take this place for himself for a moment in order to calm down. He took a seat and hid his face in his hands, trying to focus on his breathing. He realized it could've also been a mild PTSD. It would be a wonder if none of them ever really developed any symptoms after everything they'd been through. Then, suddenly…
"There is no need for that," he heard loud and clear a voice that he thought he would never hear again. The multiverse was gone. There weren't any Wellses out there that survived. How, then…? He instantly remembered the Harrison Wells Rachel had told him about.
He got to his feet immediately, facing the man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He did look like Wells, but exactly like Rachel had earlier described – not like Eobard and not like Harry. He was wearing a suit with a white shirt underneath and his glasses had transparent frames.
"Who are you? Why are you showing up now? Why did you only come to see Rachel before?" Barry asked one question after the other.
"Rachel? Interesting," Wells only said. "That has not yet happened to me."
Barry frowned on hearing that.
"Are you...? Can you really time travel? Where did you come from?"
In that moment, three people appeared and stopped in the door, seeing who Barry was just talking to.
"There you…" Rachel started and then immediately broke off, looking at the newcomer in curiosity whereas both Cisco and Caitlin opened their eyes widely.
"A new Wells," Cait eventually said.
"Which one are you, then?" Cisco prompted.
"I'm the original," the answer was finally given.
"Wait… what?" Barry seemed confused and so was everyone else. "The original Wells from this earth was murdered by Eobard Thawne and his body taken over."
"Yes, that is, indeed, correct."
"Wait… it's because of the Crisis, isn't it?" Cisco guessed, pointing his finger at the man.
"Also correct," the original Harrison confirmed and nodded. "I can only explain it as… by taking every other earth and Wells out there, the universe required some kind of a balance… so I was brought back. All the particles of the other Wellses travelled to my body and I became this. You could say I'm Timeless."
"So you can time travel," Rachel confirmed. "That's why you came to see me during Crisis."
"That hasn't happened to me yet, but I am certainly looking forward to it," he assured her.
"Are you here to stay? Do you want your Labs back? What…?" Barry started, quite frantically at that.
"No," the answer was fast and decisive. "No."
"You don't want to be a part of the team? We could always use a Wells," Cisco suggested.
"No, I actually want to go back to my wife, Tess. We had four wonderful years together before we were both killed and I would love to relive those years and after that maybe do it again. I really miss her."
There was silence as they were all aware of the love Harrison Wells and Tess Morgan shared, if only by knowing Harry, but that was enough. No one objected.
"Out of all the Wellses… you were the one I always wanted to meet the most," Barry then told him after a moment of silence. "It's truly an honor."
"Oh, I think, Barry Allen, the honor is all mine."
The afternoon was pure crazy with the appearance of the Timeless Wells. They spent some time together talking and getting to know one another even though it felt like they'd always had somehow. It was the weirdest for Rachel, considering her own history with a Wells. Yes, it was Eobard Thawne, but right this moment she felt so peculiar… she could not even find the words to describe it, damned be the writer in her!
And then, Wells said his goodbyes to everyone else, but wished to talk to her in private.
She, as well as the team, thought it was about his upcoming journey to the past and to the Crisis that he would need to undertake, but as it turned out, he meant something else entirely.
"You look at me in a very specific way," he pointed out when they were left alone.
She stared for a little while longer, meeting his eyes and somehow not able to escape this radiant blue gaze, memories she had and was not even sure she wanted to resurface, suddenly flashing in her mind.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, shaking her head. "This is totally… I don't know… inappropriate, considering that I'm engaged and Barry is the love of my life and Tess is yours, but…"
"You feel weird because there are residual feelings or, as I would say, an echo of them from the past," he provided with.
"How?" she settled for asking that as there was no point in denying it. "I don't even know you. You are a stranger to me."
"What do you really know about taking over someone's body? Like Eobard Thawne did with mine?"
"Not much, really," she admitted.
"It's a technology he developed in the future and we would never be able to replicate in past. While doing so, he not only took my flesh, he also took every memory and every feeling I ever had. And he grieved. Oh, I am sure that the moment he truly felt what it was like to be me, a man passionate not only about science and progress, but also about his wife… I am sure he grieved. And that collided with his hatred. And made him even more mad… When he met you and the whole team… those feelings of fondness were, indeed, there. You thought for a very long time that you were in love with me, with the Harrison Wells of Earth 1 and that is actually true."
"What do you mean?" Rachel frowned, trying to understand it, to actually take it all in.
"I mean that everything you ever loved in the Reverse Flash and everything he ever loved in you and everyone else in this team, it came from me. It was truly a part of the real Harrison Wells. Taking over my mind changed him."
"So, that means…" Rachel nearly gasped, "that even though this whole time he was lying to us and was manipulating us and tried to keep me and Barry apart… he still had real feelings for me? That this was never a lie?"
"It's hard to define, actually, because where did Thawne end and I start? I can just tell you with surety that Eobard Thawne alone, as the man he used to be before he took over my body and mind, would never win your heart. That man was incapable of love. I mean, just look at his Speedforce – it was created out of hate and that hate is exactly what's kept him there alive all this time… All the good that was in him while you knew him, every part that you truly loved… that all came from me. You would never be fooled by him alone."
"That is… that is so weird. I don't even know what to make out of this right now," she gasped, trying to wrap her brain around it all.
"Nothing. You don't need to make anything of it. Take comfort in the fact that it was not all fake, that the love you had was, indeed, real. You just didn't realize it was for a person that no longer existed. It was for the pure reflection, a… memory of a sort of that person. Of me."
"But you are alive now."
"Which makes this awkward, I know," he admitted with a nod. "But at the end of the day, you belong with Barry and I belong with Tess. That is the true love we both have."
Rachel nodded before saying, "Without a doubt." Just thinking about Barry and what they'd built against all odds made her feel like an incredible wave of pure love washed over her.
"Despite all the obstacles, the manipulations from Thawne… you and Barry still happened. And that is huge," Timeless Wells assured her. "It's time for me to go now, but if any of you ever need me, I will know and I will come," he promised.
"Thank you. For everything. Thank you for helping me save Barry."
"I still have to do that one on my part, but don't you worry, I will know exactly when and how. Oh… and one more thing," he turned to her again while raising his hand up into the air, "don't let your friends be too surprised. I left them a little unexpected gift. Hope they both have a great life." And after that and Rachel's frown at the mystery, he disappeared.
Though she needed to wonder no longer as just when she came into the cortex, she was welcomed by a shocking sight – Caitlin and Frost were both in the room. They no longer shared a body.
"How cool is this?" Frost just asked, pointing at her sister and then herself. "We're both here now!"
"What a day, hah?" Barry asked Rachel once they got home that night, earlier having ordered some food to the Labs to celebrate Caitlin and Frost being now two separate people with two equal chances to have a life. At first, Cait had actually been a bit apprehensive and scared, immediately trying to find a way to put them back together, about which her other half hadn't been all that excited and, in the end, they'd all reached an agreement. The team helped Frost be more honest and tell them how she really felt and Caitlin understood that her 'sister' wanted a life for herself as well. They would live together now and the rest of them would need some time to get used to this new dynamics, but they were looking forward to it.
"Indeed," Rachel agreed, nodding.
"Um… Can I ask you something?" Barry suddenly turned to face her, an anxious look showing on his face.
"Of course. Is everything ok?" She wanted to make sure as they made their way to the living room and sat down on the couch.
"I accidentally overheard about you having a migraine today… I was on my way to the cortex and heard you asking Caitlin for pain killers…?" The sentence ended up as though it was really a question, Barry's huge hesitation and worry clear to her despite everything she'd already told and promised him. But she wasn't angry.
"I was just doing too much, is all," she responded. "I was writing and using my powers. That's why I had a headache. I don't even think it had much to do with my powers in general, Barry. I promise you I am ok and you can trust me on this."
Barry nodded.
"Ok, ok… I guess Wells chose the perfect moment of doubt to show up. Um… What did he want with you anyway?" he then followed with.
Rachel hesitated, not really knowing how to tell him everything without sounding hurtful or in general inappropriate.
"I guess you should know about it, it's just…" she hesitated again, biting on her lip while trying to find a way to explain it all well. "He explained to me why… um… I fell for Thawne. The thing is… normally I wouldn't…" She quickly proceeded to explaining the process of body snatching, so Barry would understand it as well. "In the end, everything I loved about him… it came from the real Wells."
Barry only nodded, his jaw clenching a bit.
"Well, that would explain a lot, actually," he finally said. "Remember Flashpoint? Wells's wife was dead and you two were together."
"Yes," she nodded, "but I also remember you telling me we had feelings for each other despite me being with Harrison Wells."
"Yes."
"It's all because we are meant to be. Because you are the love of my life, Barry. What we have is incomparable to anything else."
He finally smiled.
"Well, I liked your abilities more in Flashpoint," he then teased. "Flash."
"Don't start with my visions again, please. I really am fine, I promise. You know how valuable my mind is to me. I'd sooner get rid of them rather than jeopardize that again."
"And that's good enough of an answer for me," he assured her before he leaned in for a kiss.