Earth Zero | Complete

Science

"Um, I just remembered I have to head out" Wally states seeing the look on Barry's face he knows the coming conversation is going to be an emotional one. One that will be easier without an outsider. Wally turns to look at his father whose sole attention is on Barry. Yah, I need to leave. Something is going on here.

"I'll see you in an hour" patting Barry on the shoulder Wally takes his leave.

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"Barry what's going on?" Cate asks me as the door closes behind me. I'm frozen. I feel as if I'm traveling so fast and I can see every detail in a second yet I am standing perfectly still. I see Caitlin unconsciously stepping toward me. Joe holding his breath, fighting the questions running on his tongue. Cisco hyperventilating. Iris looking around till her eyes rest on me; the brown eyes I used to live in send me question after question.

Shaking my hand at lightning speed I take comfort in that I have my speed back. "Cisco this is your suit..." I start.

"Yes! It's my first one!" Cisco squeezes in between the couch and coffee table giving him quicker access to the suit I am currently in. "Where is the new suit? And how did you get this one back? I thought..." Caitlin's shoves Ciscos hand off my newly made suit and replaces them with her cold ones. I can feel her comforting chill through the suit calming my nervous. "Barry what do you mean you missed us? You just walked out the door not ten minutes ago." She states without mentioning who I spent my time with on the porch and by her facial expression I know that Iris informed her of the details.

This Caitlin like my Caitlin carried a blank expression allowing them to slide by in the world, but neither of them went unnoticed by me. This Caitlin Snow like my Caitlin soon opened up to me. Allowed me to see the hidden smiles that are hidden just below the surface awaiting to break free.

Caitlin's hand on my chest feels like Cait's. It doesn't feel any different. This Cait is my Cait. I just need her to remember.

"What the bloody hell!" Cisco yells. I jump startled realizing he had just vibed.
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"Barry..." Joe breaks the silence. Informing my family of my cowardliness was just as difficult and heartbreaking as I knew it would be. Sitting here telling them that I left them for another timeline, that I lived with them in a entirely different life tore my heart in two. Running my fingers though my messy hair I hide my face not wanting to see their expressions. "What was it like?" Iris whispers. I look up at the woman who is my best friend and she knows that I am tearing my self up. "It was weird. Amazingly weird" I say.

"I went home once a week for dinner with my father and mother and then I would return to my apartment and usually..." I break off as I was about to say I would spend the rest of the night talking with Caitlin or falling asleep to her voice on her side of the phone. Cisco gives me a look as if he knows what I am thinking but he doesn't voice his thoughts. "I remember a life of growing up with my parents...but I also remembered all of you."

"I am very confused" Joe says. "If you changed the past how could you remember? And I you were-are still you shouldn't you have still had your speed?"

I get up gladly accepting the distraction of describing the science behind my actions grabbing a dry erase marker and I clear the coffee table. "So basically we live on this line." Drawing a straight line I then go towards the middle and draw a short line going down and then parallel to the first line. "This is where we were moments ago" I point towards the right side of the line. "I then time travelled back in time" dragging my finger along the line until I find the spot where another line extends from the first I pause. "This is where I saved my mom. Saving my mom created a different time line." I conclude.

"So you could choose where, when you came back" Caitlin says. "What happened to the world you left?" Iris asks the question she knows is killing me. "I don't..." I try to answer the question but I find my self unable. Unable to think or speak about what I left who I left. "It blended in to ours." Cisco states. Everyone turns and looks at him. "There is no way to know that." Caitlin states pacing. "We don't have enough scientific knowledge to conclude what Barry's actions have caused." Her words are spoken in a scientific tone. Not at all accusative which hurts even more than if she was screaming at me for leaving her.

"I vibed when I touched Barry. I know." He looks at me telling me that we have somethings to discuss. "Their timeline molded with our own. Some of us may resurfaces memories." I nod. Thanking him.

"Okay it's really late. I need to be getting to bed." Joe says standing up. "Joe.." I start not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry."

He turns and smiles at me. The man who raised me as his own son, love me as family, is my father is upset because of me. Because of my actions. "We'll talk in the morning Barry" with that he walks up stairs.

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After every one files out of the house silent promises to speak with me later I sit on the stair case and examine the familiar house. "Here" Iris comes from the kitchen bringing me a glass of milk. "Thanks" I reply not looking away from the photo that is placed on the fridge. The photo is at my graduation. It's a picture of me and Iris just being us. "I miss that" she says noticing what has my attention. "School?" I try to joke.

"The time where it was just us being us. No metas no time travel no drama." She smiles thinking back to that day. "I do, some times."

"Barry tell me something and I want you to be honest." She grabs my hand as I nod my head. "When we kissed out there" she nods toward the door. "What did you feel?"

I take a deep breath knowing I have to tell her. "I do love you Iris. I always have and I always will...just in a different way than I thought." I turn to look at the woman before me expecting to see fury behind her eyes but all I see is love and a little bit of relief. "Barry I love you too. I knew the moment you kissed me that the special place in your heart no longer belonged to me. I waited to long. I wasted my chance. In another life in another world we will marry but here you are destined to be with someone else as am I."

She leans in and places a light kiss on my lips. Pulling back she smiles knowing that we just picked our own faith. "You need to tell her how you feel Barry. Don't wait." With that she stands and heads to her old room just as Wally walks through the door.

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