Hurricane {Barry Allen} [2]

33 "GOD" // Bon Iver

Mackenzie was sitting on a park bench, the fall leaves falling around her. She was people watching, as she often did. Before, whenever she had needed a break, she had come here. She observed the citizens of Central City and imagined being in their shoes. Imagined what life would be like as the pretty waitress from Jitters, or the mother of four trying to help each of her kids across the monkey bars, or the businessman with the incredibly shiny shoes and important-looking briefcase. There were times when Mackenzie longed to be these people, and others when she pitied them. On this day, after visiting a still-not-progressing Barry, she was much more the former.

Mack felt helpless.

She had done everything she could think of to help him. Additionally, she was struggling to maintain her somewhat-relationship with Drew, she wasn't getting any sleep, she was shutting out Oliver and Team Arrow, and she had become extremely irritable. She was falling apart at the seams.

Wells was M.I.A. He had left town for some 'urgent and important business'. He had promised to explain it all once he knew everything.

As for Barry, the only thing that had progressed is that he didn't rage out anymore. Since seeing Mackenzie that day, he only ever stared at people, as if he was trying to figure them out.

It had become harder for Mackenzie to be in the same room as him. Before, he was either unconscious or manic; either way, she knew he wasn't her Barry, that the dangerous person before her wasn't the boy she was so fond of. But now that he had taken on more human characteristics, his actions seemed more real and he seemed less saveable. It felt like she was losing him, all over again.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the ringing of her phone. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller I.D. She sighed at Drew's name on the screen before answering it.

"Hi" She answered.

"I've been ringing you for a week Mackenzie! I was worried about you" He complained.

"How very un-like you" Mackenzie retorted.

"Shut it" He grumbled before Mack explained herself.

"I've been busy Drew. Friend in a life-threatening coma, remember?" She replied, her tone sharp.

"How is it going? When are you coming home?" He asked, his impatience showing.

"I don't know. It might be awhile" She sighed, rubbing her face.

"You okay? You don't sound too good" He noted.

"I'm fine, really. Just tired" She replied.

"Really really?" He asked.

"Yes really" She chuckled tiredly.

"Okay. Its boring here without you. Come home soon"

"I will. Bye Drew"

She smiled slightly and hung up.

In reality, there was no way she was going home soon; she told herself that she had no idea why she had told Drew that. But she knew. Protection. She had said that because she didn't want to hurt Drew, because over the last four months, she had learned to care for the boy.

"Stupid" She mumbled to herself as she stood, tucked her phone into her jacket, then made her way to the lab.

When she walked through the front doors of the usually-dead-feeling building, she immediately noticed the quiet hum of life it was emitting. Her curious pace quickened as she approached the cortex. She stood before Caitlin, Cisco, and a returned Wells.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Caitlin grinned.

"You did it Mack" Cisco smiled warmly at her.

"Did what?" She asked, slightly out of breath.

"You found the cure" Wells replied, his lips twitching up into a small smile.

"What? No I almost did. If we use the one-" Mack began protesting but Wells cut her off.

"I brought a little something back from my trip, and added it to what you already had on the cure. It'll work Mackenzie" Wells explained rather simply.

Something felt off about it.

"I don't want to risk anything Wells. I'm serious" Mack warned.

"It'll work. I promise" He stared right at her.

"Okay, how?? What is it?? What does it do?? We don't even know what we're curing??" She inquired aggressively.

"Always so many questions Ms Carter, I'd say you didn't trust me" Wells chuckled. Mack looked unamused.

"We have a very small window of time in which his body will be stable enough to accept the cure, which will be in two days time from 12:43 to 1:17 pm" Cisco explained. Mack opened her mouth to question the cure further but Caitlin beat her.

"And we were hoping you'd help with it, actually" Caitlin spoke up, making eye contact with Cisco, who smiled happily.

Wells however, immediately went stiff, eyes wide, before he quickly recovered, acting as if nothing had just happened.

Mack pretended not to notice.

"If you could just be there for him when it happens, I think it would be good for you guys" Caitlin smiled.

"I don't know Dr Snow, I think it might trigger some-" Now it was Mack's turn to cut Wells off.

"Of course I will Caitlin. There's nowhere else I could possibly imagine being than by his side" Mack replied unwaveringly, staring directly at Wells, who fell silent as he stared out through the window, deep in thought.

How the hell was he going to get Mackenzie out of Central City?

«««««»»»»»

The next day, Mack went in early to see Barry.

Barry watched as she entered the room and closed the door quietly behind her. He frowned. His mind was so jumbled. He didn't know the girl walking into the room, but he noticed how his heart rate instantly picked up at the sight of her, something in his brain screaming at him that she was important somehow, that she just mattered more.

Suddenly his vision went dark and he found himself in a strange state of sleep, battling for consciousness.

Mackenzie walked over to him slowly.

"Hi Barry" She said slowly, "We found you a cure, Barr. So tomorrow, I think, I'll be able to see you again"

She paused for a moment. It had been a long time since she'd seen him. It had been since she died that she had seen him. The memory of that day flooded her with guilt—something she didn't feel often.

"Also sorry you thought I was dead; that was a shitty thing of me to do" She said quickly, but then her brain didn't stop, and neither did her mouth, "I miss you, so just come back to me, alright? I promised you I wouldn't die. Now you have to return the favor Barry" She hesitated for a moment before pressing her lips to his, "I love you" She mumbled before quickly exiting the room.