Flash sick/hurt fics

No Such Thing As A Sick Day: Part 2

Caitlin sits down at a desk next to Barry's bed in Star Labs. It's been hours. He woke up a minute after he passed out and couldn't string enough thoughts together to form a coherent sentence so she decided letting him sleep was the best course of action.

      Barry murmurs something, his words fast and lacking diction. Caitlin lowers her brows as she sets her clipboard down. He seems so disturbed. His body thrashes around for a moment, rolling side to side.

      "Where am I?" Barry shoots up into a sitting position. His breaths are labored as a petrified expression forms on his face. The same one he had the first day he woke up in the lab.

      Caitlin grabs his shoulders and gently pushes him back down. His skin is warm to the touch.

      "You're at Star Labs Barry. Do you know who I am?" Actual worry and emotion pours out of her as she coos. This was not how she was expecting her day to go.

      Barry coughs into his elbow while his eyes search Caitlin's face. "Yes."

      Caitlin nods while sticking a thermometer into his mouth. He isn't to the point of delirium yet, though there might not be much time.

      One hundred and three point one degrees Fahrenheit appears on the screen as the device beeps. It's higher than she thought.

"Eat this." Caitlin sticks one of the granola bars Cisco made when Barry first became The Flash in his face.

      He stares down the food. His face slightly resembles disgust as his head turns to examine the bar further. Barry shakes head No and lays back down in the bed.

      "Why not?" Caitlin's voice hints at agitation.  She doesn't understand why he's being so difficult.

      Barry wraps his fingers around his throat. It hurts to swallow his spit, he can't imagine trying to eat a whole granola bar.

"Oh," Caitlin whispers as she gets up from her stool. She's aware her bedside manner isn't up to par. Guilt eats at her because of it. But in order to truly feel for someone, she has to let her own emotions in-and she's not ready to do that yet.

She rummages through Ciscos not so secret stash of pudding, hidden away in a mini fridge in an unassuming cabinet by glass The Flash suit case. Barry not eating for a couple of hours is the human equivalent of not eating for a couple of days. But he's a grown adult, she can't force him to do anything.

Caitlin enters Barry's space to find him fast asleep. His head is turned to the side on the pillow with drool already coming out of his mouth. He looks at peace, no longer weighed down by the casualties in Central City or the impending doom that a future newspaper predicts. She doesn't have the heart to wake him up again.

      The faucet runs cold as Caitlin soaks a cloth underneath. It's the only thing she can think of to get his fever down that isn't medicine.

      Caitlin lays it across his forehead and pulls out her phone. "Could you pick Barry up after work? He's sick and cannot run home." She sends to Iris. She has her phone number for emergencies, though this is the first message they've sent to each other. "Also, this is Caitlin."

-:-:—:-:—

      Iris hovers over Barry. A sense of worry washes over her, familiar to when Barry was in a coma. Her body stiffens despite knowing that he is going to wake up this time.

      She places her hand on his shoulder and gently shakes him awake. His eyes flutter open as a dopey smile arrived on his face.

"Hey Barry," Iris says softly as she runs her finger down the side of his face. She could tell he isn't entirely with it.