Paralyzer || Barry Allen (The Flash) Fanfiction

Chapter 32: Falling Into Place

"But Caitlin—"

"No, Haven. I'm not doing it," Caitlin interrupted me, shooting me a hard look.

It had been a day since the metahuman attack at the Flash Day ceremony, and I had immediately gotten to work assembling the team. So far, Cisco, Iris, Joe, and Professor Stein had willingly agreed to come back and work with us at STAR Labs. However, convincing Caitlin was an entirely different story. She wanted nothing to do with the metahumans anymore, and she was trying to make that fact clear.

But I wasn't giving up that easily. I was stubborn and determined.

"We need you, Cait," I pleaded.

We were the only two left in the lab that night, and I was sure it was only a short amount of time before I was called out onto the streets to save some bank that was being robbed or to STAR Labs to work on figuring out who this new meta was. That's why her silence seemed so much more severe than it should have, considering there was no other noise to penetrate the stillness around us.

I sighed as I got out of my chair and walked over to the centrifuge Caitlin was working at. "If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have gotten back out there and become Eclipse again. I would have been carrying the guilt of Ronnie's death with me forever if you hadn't convinced me otherwise. And I think that, at least in some part of you... You're carrying your own guilt for it, too. That's why you don't want to come back. You don't want to be involved in this mess anymore, and I get it. Trust me, I do. But we can't do this without your help. This city needs your help. You're our behind-the-scenes superhero."

She didn't say anything again for a moment, but this time it was because she was trying to hold back the emotions before she could even attempt to speak. When she continued to struggle to fight past the thickness that had formed in her throat, I wrapped my arms around her. I felt her small, silent sobs against my chest as she hugged me back, and I rubbed her back comfortingly, patiently standing there as she let her emotions flow. When she was composed enough, I felt her pull back, and she dabbed away the tear stains on her cheeks.

"If I'd just left town when he'd first become part of Firestorm like he'd asked me to," Caitlin began softly, "then he never would have ended up in the position he was in. We never would have gotten involved with the metahumans. He never would have gone into the singularity. And—"

"And the world would have gone to crap," I interjected, knowing that's not what she had meant to say, but trying to show her what point she was missing. "Caitlin, if Ronnie hadn't been in the singularity when he was, if he hadn't chosen to sacrifice himself like that, this earth wouldn't exist right now. It took me a while to accept that, but I think Ronnie already knew it all this time. He knew it was one life versus billions. He's a hero. We both know he wouldn't have chosen any other way to go out of this life."

The girl nodded her head slowly, I think for the first time finally beginning to accept the truth, and she offered me a grateful smile. I returned the grin and pulled her in for another hug.

"Am I interrupting something?" a familiar voice sounded behind us, and Caitlin and I both released each other as we turned to face our guest.

"No, you're fine," Caitlin reassured.

Barry nodded his head and made his way over to us, looking as if he needed to say something, yet the words didn't form past his lips. There was a silence that passed between the three of us for a brief moment as we waited for the boy to speak.

"Wells left me something," Barry finally blurted out as he held up a USB card, his brows knit together in uncertainty as he held the small object between his fingers.