If You Can't Be With the One You Love

Bring Your Boyfriend to Work Day

The familiar smell of the precinct filled Barry's nostrils as the elevator doors opened and he walked into the lobby. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that had been lost to him in the two months that he had been out of work. He pulled up the strap to his brief case that had been falling down his shoulder back over the joint as he smiled and acknowledged the warm greetings he was beginning to receive.

"Welcome back, Allen!"

"Good to see you on your feet again."

"You've got plenty of files on your desk." He could not help but smile at the last one that came from the captain. Despite his distaste for going through case files, apart of him did not mind it today. It was his first day back on the job. He had gotten the full clearance from Caitlin to get back to the lab and perform his day job as a CSI.

He was more than ready to go. It was nice to finally have gotten a sense of normalcy back in his life-- one that had been the normal before he was shot. Even Oliver, despite his struggles with his addiction, was managing to get into a routine in Central City. He was frequently making calls to Queen Enterprises back in Star City. He was even in the starting process of opening up a division in Central City.

They were comfortable. They were happy with where they were in their relationship. While Barry had been in recovery, they had been staying at the West home to have extra help with Barry's special needs and requirements. They had started talks about finding their own place now that Barry was fully recovered.

They were comfortable.

Barry took a deep breath as he began to open the padlock that was encasing the door to his lab. The feeling was reminiscent of what he felt whenever he would return to his college dorm after term breaks-- the excitement of a fresh start of a not so new routine but also the looming dread of the work that was ahead of him. Nevertheless, he was grateful to be back.

He stood at the door and wallowed in the scent of chemicals that stained the air of the room, setting his brief case on his desk, feeling his mood fill with dread as he looked at the stack of files that rested on his desk.

"Might as well do this the quick way." He mumbles to himself, picking up the stack. He opens the first file, reading the reports as hundreds of words process in his mind in milliseconds. He quickly jumps to the next one. The files were all reports of the cases that the acting CSI had made during his time out, catching him up on anything that he had missed. He threw down the final one, as the case was strikingly similar to the ones he had read before.

"You good there, Bear?" He heard Joe ask from behind him. He must have been in his own world while reading, as he had not heard him walk in.

He spins around in his chair, standing up to meet him on the other side of the room. "Just a lot of files." He lies through his teeth.

"But you can read them in less than thirty seconds?" He questions knowingly.

Barry furrows his eyebrows. He begins to respond defensively, "Well, it's still a lot to process. A second feels like a minute. Thousands of words."

"How about I get you out of the lab then?" Joe suggests. "We've got a murder case on seventh."

Barry nods, swiftly turning to grab his case from the desk behind him. "Another one? Aren't you getting worried?"

"The gang presence seems to have migrated from Star City over here," Joe begins as the walk out the door. "We've been tracking two pretty hefty gangs who've been behind a lot of the crimes lately."

"How long have they been active?"

"The Static Gang has been active a little over a month," Joe begins. He hesitates, taking a deep breath before finishing. "The Viper Gang has been in Central City for six months."