Aftermath

Flash Frozen

"...and his blood pressure dropped again today, so whatever you guys are gonna do, do it soon."

Barry sighed. "Yeah, we're working on it. Thanks Frost."

"That's what I'm here for. Evidently I'm destined to live out my days nursing one or more versions of Barry Allen back to health..." The end of her statement faded as she was walking away, but Barry still heard her. He chuckled.

Turning to the patient lying in bed, Barry asked, "How you holdin' up?"

Savitar, pale and shaky as he was, still managed to glare at his time-twin. "You mean aside from the fact that I'm under the care of Nurse Ratched?"

"I believe what you meant to say was 'thank you'," Frost interjected, returning to the Medbay. She gave him a nasty look while raising her frosting hand threateningly. "Unless, of course, you'd prefer that I drop the bedside manner altogether."

Barry put his hands up placatingly. "Alright, alright, that's enough death threats for today. Let's keep things civil."

"Tell that to your pet. I know how to be professional." As Frost was rounding the corner of an unoccupied bed, a sudden wave of dizziness swept over her. She stumbled and gripped the mattress for stability.

"Caitlin!" Barry rushed over, forgetting, in his haste, to address her by her preferred name. He stopped just short of touching her (because that usually never went well for him) but sticking close enough to support her if she fell. He looked his friend up and down for injuries or signs of pain. "Are you alright?"

She tried swatting him away, but that hand quickly returned to grip the bed. "I'm fine, Barry. Quit hovering."

"You almost fell over; that is not 'fine'."

"It's probably just one of the side effects of the cure that Cisco mentioned. Trust me – I've dealt with worse."

"Still, you should sit down." This time, he did dare to touch her, and it just furthered his concern when she didn't shrug him off. Frost must have been feeling off to disregard her personal space. With a hand on her arm, Barry guided her to sit down on the bed. "In fact, maybe you should rest here for an hour or so."

"What for? I told you I'm fine!"

"This may start as a mild dizzy spell, Frost, but we have no idea how bad the effects could get. We're in uncharted territory. Please, just – just stay here for a bit to make sure nothing worsens. Remember: you agreed to let us monitor your condition."

Frost still looked unconvinced, so Barry added, "What do you have to get home to, anyway?"

A tense second passed in which Frost quietly stared and Barry worried that he had truly offended her, thereby sentencing himself to what would no doubt be nasty retribution. Instead of an attack, though, Frost just smirked. "Touché... Alright, Flash, you win. I'll stay just long enough to convince you I'm not on death's door."

Barry smiled successfully. He wished these conversations with Frost didn't always turn into a tug-and-pull. She was so busy being the doctor that Frost neglected to realize when she needed to be the patient. Getting her to take care of herself was a constant battle. Surprisingly, Frost was more invested in Savitar's recovery than her own – not that she'd ever admit it. Barry noticed, though; he caught the amused smirks, the quiet moments when everything in Frost's world seemed right. When she thought no one was paying attention (Savitar included), she was careful taking his vitals – and anxious when she saw them continuing to drop. In the quiet moments, she was calm. She was focused. She was, dare he say... content. It was in those moments Barry was convinced Caitlin wasn't too far below the surface, wasn't too far gone to come back to them.