Running Back To You » Barry Allen

8.

I walk back into the room to see Cisco, needing cheering up.

"What is his problem?" I blurt out, taking a seat next to Cisco.

"What do you mean?" He glances away from his computer screen to look at me for a second before turning back and continuing what he was doing.

"I don't know," I sigh. "I can't tell who I'm more annoyed at: My Dad or Barry..."

"Why would you be annoyed at Barry?" I inwardly groan at how everyone comes to Barry's defines whenever I say anything remotely bad about him. "He hasn't done anything to you... Literally."

"Did you hear what he said to my Dad? How rude can you get? Dad just lets Barry get away with these things yet if I were to say anything of the sort, I would get screamed at. Where's the logic in that?" I explain and I hear Cisco sigh.

"You're his daughter. It's different... I can't explain how but it is."

I look over at the dark-haired man and raise my eyebrows. "We were supposed to get lunch together today," I explain and Cisco frowns, not understanding where I'm going with this. "He completely blew me off to work with Caitlin!"

"So?"

"To make something for Barry," I finish, hoping Cisco will understand where I'm coming from.

Cisco nods slowly. "Okay, fair enough, that's not cool but you can't blame him for getting excited over this! Barry is the best thing that's happened since the explosion," he says, shrugging his shoulders and grinning from ear to ear.

"I don't know why I bother sometimes," I mutter to myself, swivelling around on the chair.

***

"You lied to us!" Caitlin spits, walking around Barry, who is sitting on a medical bed, hooked up to some wires. "How could you not tell us you were experiencing dizzy spells? We're your doctors! God knows what's going on inside your body, your cells are in a constant state of flux! You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack!" She finishes, standing in front of the tall brunette mean.

Barry raises an eyebrow and looks over at us for help. "Mini stroke," my Dad answers, pulling a face. "Probably not."

"You of all people should know that in science we share, we do not keep secrets." Caitlin says, leaving the room. I look at her as she leaves, wondering if I should follow her but I decide it's best not to if I want to stay in her good books.

Cisco hands the iPad he was holding to my Dad. "Wow, I haven't seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie," he says, walking over to his computer.

"Ronnie was Caitlin's-" My Dad begins.

"Fiancee?" Barry interrupts. "The one that died the night of the accelerator explosion?"

"Yeah," I answer.

"He is... Missed," my Dad says, wheeling away.

"Now, lets try and figure out why this is happening to you," I say, trying to clear the awkwardness from the air.

We head down to a room in which Cisco has put it: Been Cisco-ed.

"We're all set!" He announces, leaning on the tower of S.T.A.R Labs cardboard boxes, looking at Barry. "A little padding," he explains, trying to ease Barry's nerves, "just incase."

"Yeah," Barry mutters, still staring at the boxes.

We leave the room to stand behind a glass wall where there are computers and gadgets to measure all of Barry's vitals and his speed. "Is this what you blew off Coffee Thursday for?" I ask my Father, looking at the large treadmill in front of us.

We watch Barry step onto it. "You sure about this Cisco?" Barry calls, looking around.

Cisco presses a button and speaks, allowing Barry to hear him from the other side of the wall. "Most home treadmills have a maximum speed of about 12 miles per hour. This one has been Cisco'ed. Trust me, it can handle your speed."

"Okay," Barry says, giving in.

He starts walking and we all pay close attention to him. The faster he gets, the faster the treadmill gets. My Dad signals to Caitlin to start monitoring his vitals.

"Heart rate, blood pressure, nerve conduction all normal."

"For Barry," my Dad adds, starting intently at the screen.

"Brainwave function within standard limits," Caitlin continues.

I hear Cisco laugh, "I told you the treadmill could take it!"

I glance at the screen. "Caitlin," I say, grabbing her attention. "Look at the glucose levels."

"Oh, my God, of course!" She says, relaxing now she knows what's wrong with the speedster.

"Right," I say.

"It was so obvious!"

"Glucose levels... BARRY!" My Dad calls, trying to get his attention. "We think we know why you keep-" Before he has time to finish that sentence, Barry shoots off the treadmill and into the cardboard boxes.

"Passing out," I finish.

Cisco, Caitlin and I get Barry back onto his bed, waiting for him to wake up. "He sure spends a lot of time in this bed," Cisco comments and I nod, agreeing.

I see Barry's eyes fluttering and he tries to sit up, being aided by Cisco and Caitlin. "Why can you not just wake up and take things slow?" I ask him.

He ignores me. "I passed out again?" He asks, standing up.

"Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia," Caitlin explains.

"I'm not eating enough," Barry realises. "So an I.V. bag and I'm good to go?"

Cisco and I laugh, turing him around to face the empty I.V. bags he was hooked up to.

"Try 40," my Dad announces."I guess you were thirsty," he jokes, taking a sip of his water.

"We're gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes," Caitlin says, walking away.

"I've done a few calculations. You need to consume an amount equal to roughly 40 tacos. Unless we're talking cheese and guac, which is like a whole other set of equations," Cisco says to himself, making Barry scoff.

"For Mexican, I recommend Tito's," a voice out of nowhere startles us. "On Bruckner Avenue? Best burrito in the city."

"Detective West," my Father and I greet hm whilst Barry just looks on, annoyed.

"What brings you to S.T.A.R Labs?" My Dad asks.

It's silent until Joe speaks. "When I couldn't find you at your lab, I started doing a little research. Turns out there's been reports of a red streak around the city, stopping muggers, rescuing people from burning buildings."

"You didn't tell him we were working together?" My Dad asks Barry and I can feel the tension in the air.

"Joe, I can explain."

A.N: HELLO! Sorry I've been M.I.A but I've had so much work to do and the worst writers block! I'm 18 now... WHAHOO! Hope everyone has had a good christmas and i hope you enjoyed this (very belated) chapter!