Snow Falls

Chapter One

"Careful" Caitlin said firmly; the warning evident in her voice as she kept a critical eye on an anxious Barry.

"Okay" Barry whispered. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and his hands trembled as he attempted the last of the intricate details.

"Steady hands" Caitlin advised, biting her lower lip in anticipation.

Barry let out a defeated breath and shook his head, "call time of death".

Side by side on the wooden counter top were two peach pies; which seemed to reflect not only the respective bakers' skills, but also their personalities. Caitlin's was practically perfect in every way; even filling and precisely placed crust. Barry's on the other hand, looked more like lasagna noodles scattered in cheese sauce. It would be the ideal canvas for someone to play tic tac toe.

"Sorry" Barry laughed nervously, flushed with embarrassment.

"It's okay" Caitlin teased. "It's a pie. It's not supposed to be a piece of cake". She then stroked his arm and leaned in for a kiss.

"That should probably be going in the oven" the forensic scientist smirked before he obliged.

Caitlin's light brown eyes widened as she and Barry broke apart; his arms still wrapped around her waist.

"Speaking of things in the oven" Barry smiled as he looked at his wife's mid-section with pride. Wedged between him and the woman he loved was a growing baby bump.

The pair shared a proud glance. They couldn't believe they were only 7 weeks away from becoming an official family.

"I can't wait to find out who this kid is" Barry sighed, his gaze went from his hand on the bump back to Caitlin.

"Me too. But I can already tell the little snowflake is taking after his or her daddy, judging by the sheer speed of these kicks" Caitlin responded, looking at her husband adoringly as she guided his hand towards her bump.

No matter how sorely they were tempted, the pair resisted every urge to find out what they were having. It was fair to say the unpredictable nature of their careers seemed to have an impact on their personal lives.

If anyone had asked them when they initially got together, they would have said that they'd never thought much about having children. Understandably so, seeing as they'd both come from difficult backgrounds. It was widely known that Nora Allen was cruelly murdered by Eobard Thawne; more commonly known as The Reverse Flash. As a result, Henry Allen was wrongfully imprisoned.

Caitlin on the other hand had her own set of familial issues. She had been led to believe that her father died when she was 10 years old. When in actual fact, he was alive and being consumed by an cryogenic meta called Icicle. But there was a bit more to her story than she led on at S.T.A.R Labs. Buried deep in her memories was a period that haunted her every time she went to bed or examined her bump in the mirror. The only person who knew about it was the one who deserved to know. Barry.

When she was sixteen years old, Caitlin gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. She had every intention of giving him away. However, upon meeting him and taking in every single one of his features, she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye. Her mother and the doctors insisted that the adoptive parents and woman from the agency were waiting. But young Caitlin pleaded with them to let the baby stay with her.

"I can't give him up, mommy. I can't say goodbye" she said, her pale face stained red with tears.

Ultimately, her mother agreed. But on the condition that Caitlin return to school and that her baby would appear to the world as her mother's son. This arrangement seemed to work for all of five months before Caitlin realized what being a mother was really all about. It was about what was best for her son; which seemed to be letting him go. She just wasn't in the position to give her son the life he deserved. One could only hope that times were different now.