Sweep Me Off My Feet(A Barry Allen/The Flash Fan-fiction)

Chapter Fifteen: You Don't Realize It Yet

~~~Barry~~~

I went to the STAR Labs early the next morning to find Caitlin sitting by the treadmill. I knew we probably scared her yesterday, so I went and sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, leaving like that." I told her.

"It's ok...I get it. You had to go. It's just...that's the last thing that Ronnie said to me that night." I exhaled.

"My mother died fourteen years ago. I used to think that the further away I got from it, the less it would hurt. But some days, the pain...it's worse than the day that it happened. Some things you can't fight."

"What do you do when that happens?" She asked.

"I just have to live with it...with some help of course."

"Karen?" I nodded.

"She's wonderful in those situations...she draws from her own experience but doesn't ever talk about it.  She's the kind of person that cares about other people before herself...and she's a great listener, if you ever need to talk."

"For so long...I've been terrified of going into that hole." She said.

"What if I went with you?"

~~~

She stood on the ramp, looking up at the door.

"He saved so many lives that day...and no one will ever know what he did." She said, sadly.

"I do. he was a hero."

"I didn't want him to be a hero. I wanted him to be my husband. Barry...do you like Karen?" I thought about this for a moment, my mind wandering to the sarcastic blonde.

"What?"

"Don't act like that. I see the way you look at her. Even if you don't realize it yet."

"Then you need to tell her, Barry. Because you never know how long you have with someone until you don't have long at all." I nodded.

"Barry, Caitlin, you down there? You gotta come look at this." We made our way back up to the Cortex, where Doctor Wells and Cisco waited for us."Hey, look at this. It's a 3D molecular model of the gas from your lungs."

"We have identified the toxin."

"Hydrogen cyanide?" I asked.

"Well what's interesting is what's mixed in with the cyanide. A sedative."

"Of course. The night of the explosion, find out if anyone was executed." Caitlin rushed over to the computers.

"Why?"

"That sedative is given to criminals on death row before they go and breathe in hydrogen cyanide." I told them.

"That's right."

"There was someone executed. Kyle Nimbus." She pulled up his file.

"That's him."

"He was a hit man  for the Darbinyan crime family. They turned on him and testified. Judge Theresa Howard was the judge at his trial. She sentenced him to death."

"He must have been affected by the explosion while he was being gassed."

"Records indicate the execution was completed." Cisco pointed out.

"That's why there wasn't a match. The DNA database only has records of the living."

"Right."

"There was one more person on his list. Check the arrest record. Who caught him? That could be his next attack."

"Barry...the lead detective." I looked at the name on the screen. Oh no.

~~~Karen~~~

"I'm here to see Henry Allen." Joe told the desk.

"Sign here, personal effects here."

"Are you sure I should be here? I feel like I'm...invading Barry's privacy almost."

"It's important to meet the man you're trying to save." He whispered, so only I could hear as we emptied our pockets. We sat in two separate chairs, and Henry was buzzed in. He didn't look like a criminal...more like a tired man with two many smile lines to be a murderer. He sat down and Joe picked up the phone, holding it between us.

"What are you doing here? Who is she? Is Barry all right?"

"He's fine."

"Then to what do I owe this visit?"

"I know I should have come to see you sooner." Joe told him.

"You just weren't up for chitchat with a man who murdered his wife in front of his own son?"

"Except now I know you didn't kill your wife."

"Mr. Allen? Hi...I'm Karen Queen. I'm a friend of Barry's. Recently some new evidence has come about and...we can't really tell you too much, but Joe has agreed to re-open the case." I told him.

"We're gonna find out who really killed Nora...and we promise you, Henry, we're going to get you out of here. I am so sorry."

"It doesn't matter that you didn't believe me...because you always believed in my son." Joe nodded, both men among tears. "I've heard quite a bit about you, Karen. You..." The guard behind us started wheezing. We turned around to see green gas filling the room. Oh no. The guard fell over dead and I pushed Joe back away from him. It was Joe. Joe is his next target. The man materialized in front of me.

"Nimbus?" Joe asked. "You're supposed to be dead."

'Same to you." He picked me up and threw me across the room. My vision blurred and I tried to keep my eyes open.

"Joe! Help! Guards..." That was the last thing I remember before the darkness overtook me.

~~~

I sat in a hospital room, an icepack pressed to my head.

"Good news, it's not a concussion. You'll have a pretty good sized bump and some massive head-aces, but other then that you're good to go. "

"Thank you." I got up, holding onto the ice pack and walked into the hallway. I saw Barry walking down the hallway. "Hey! How is Joe?" He didn't answer. "Joe's ok...right? Barry?"

"Yes, Joe is fine." He said.

"Oh, Thank God. I was so scared he..." I furrowed my eyebrows at the look on his face. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah...just tired. And I've got a lot to think about."

"About the things you can't fight?" I asked.

"Yeah...something like that."

"Barry...we're going to get your Dad out of here. You know that, right?" He nodded.

"Yeah, I know it's just I...are you hungry? Do you maybe want to go get something to eat?"

"Now? Barry it's late-"

"Coffee then? I think Jitters is still open." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Ok? But I don't-" Before I could answer, my regulator was clicked on and we were standing in front of Jitters. "You couldn't let me finish my sentence, could you?" He smiled.

"Nope."