Chapter 2: Our Own Happy Ending

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Summary: Caitlin and Barry having a talk and some truths are revlead that will change the course of their lives.

"The party's over?" Barry asked emotionlessly, his head still leaning back so he could look up at her.

Caitlin tilted her head, her eyes widening in surprise at his tone, but she answered in the same soft voice, "No. Harry just called Cisco. Jessie wanted to speak more with Wally, so they're on their way too."

Barry frowned in confusion. The fact that she was talking to him at all made him want to scratch his head. "So why are you here?" he asked wryly.

Now Caitlin began to frown, her voice slightly confused as she answered slowly, "Because you were gone for a while and I began to worry."

Barry bit back a snort and replied in a careless tone, "Didn't think anyone would mind."

Caitlin was now fully frowning, her voice taken over by confusion. "Barry, what are you saying? Of course, we care—you're our friend."

This time, Barry couldn't hold back the snort and the sarcastic response that left his lips. "Oh yeah, I noticed."

Barry hoped his attitude would push her away and allow him to go on with his plan, but his eyes widened when she ran her hands over her skirt before sitting down next to him on the steps of the house.

Barry tried to focus on the sting he still felt from the betrayal rather than the warm feeling of being so close to Caitlin again.

Her face was a mask of pure remorse as she said sadly, "It's about what happened before the race."

Barry just raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "What do you think?"

But Barry was caught off guard when he heard Caitlin sniffling with her head bowed. After a moment, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

Barry blinked and asked, his voice filled with confusion, "You're sorry?"

Caitlin nodded slowly before she raised her wet eyes to Barry's face and tried to explain. "Like Cisco said, not all of us were on board with Iris's plan."

Barry frowned. He was under the impression it was either Joe's or Harry's idea, so he asked to make sure he got it right. "It was Iris's idea?"

Caitlin nodded absentmindedly before she went on as if Barry hadn't spoken. "Harry immediately agreed with her, and after she explained her line of thought some more, Joe did as well. Me, Cisco, and Jess tried to protest, but Iris kept pushing and pushing. She insisted that she knew you best and knew what was best for you."

Barry pushed himself off the pillar with a glare in his eyes as he said in a hard tone, "That's just a lie. She hasn't known me best for a long time now. You and Cisco do."

Caitlin gave him a small smile before she returned to her serious expression and finished. "Jess was cowed by her dad, and after a small talk between me and Cisco, we realized you'd go with what Iris said anyway, so we got on board." She let out a heavy sigh and added, "In my defense, I tried to point out that locking you up alone after what happened would make things worse, but I was ignored by the authority around the lab."

Now Barry was frowning again, and he gave her an odd look. "You know better than anyone that I'm the authority in the lab. You watched with me when fake Wells passed that on to me. And when I signed new contracts for you and Cisco, you became my employees and authority when I'm not around."

Caitlin's eyes widened as she considered this. A moment later, she shook her head and replied sheepishly, "Yeah, you're right. I did notice my checks this year increased; it was easy to forget with everything going on." She then gave him that warm smile of hers that melted his heart and said, "Thank you, Barry. But you didn't have to do it."

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