Snow Falls

Chapter Eight

He was seconds away from nodding off. Barry jolted upright in his seat as he felt Caitlin stirring. Her head swayed back and forth as she attempted to open her eyes and mumbled something he couldn't make out.

"Cait. Thank god, you're okay" Barry whispered, the relief in his voice was so great that he nearly cried. It was like something out of a classic Disney movie, minus the wake up call of true love's kiss.

"W... Wyatt" Caitlin whispered as she woke to face Barry.

"What?" Barry asked as he wiped a stray, grateful tear from the corner of his left eye.

"I know our son's name, Barry" Caitlin said excitedly; however, the exhaustion was evident.

"How'd you figure it out?" Barry asked with a chuckle.

"Frost actually picked it out" Caitlin revealed. "It means warrior and guide".

"That's..." Barry responded, but not before Caitlin could finish his thought.

"Perfect?" she offered with a slight yawn.

Barry nodded with the widest smile on his face. He then leaned forward to plant the softest kiss on his wife's forehead.

"You should probably get some more rest. They'll let you see him in a bit" he advised; running slow, comforting circles around the surface of her hand with his thumb.

Caitlin nodded in agreement. Her heart raced with anticipation at the thought of officially meeting their son; a feeling that she had not experienced last time.

"Okay. But do me a favor?" she said.

"Sure, babe. What is it?" he asked as he released his grip on her hand and began rubbing her leg.

"Tell me about him?" she said.

Barry then drew a deep breath and prepared to tell Caitlin everything he knew to be true about their son so far, such as: the fact that he was only two hours old, and he was already proving to be stronger than either of them had been in the last five years. Additionally, Barry felt that even through the wires and tubes, the baby looked more like Caitlin than him. This would come to be a never ending debate.

As she dozed off once again, Barry was quick to remember that he needed to update everyone. He sent a message to the Team Flash text chain; which read: Caitlin and the baby are doing just fine. He was careful to leave out the part about her flatline after delivery; not wanting to add to their worries.

He looked over at his slumbering wife and decided against sending a following message; which would provide the answer to the long anticipated question. Like the countless battles they fought over the years, it seemed everything was better when they did it together. As he prepared to hit 'send', his heart warmed while he read the collection of texts that were sent in his absence; most of which had everyone placing their bets on the sex of the baby. With great admiration and a fond heart, Barry thought of H.R. and how he lived for the game of speculation. Sherloque, not so much.

The Wests had a firm bet on girl; whereas Cecile and Ralph stood proudly on team boy. Cisco chose to remain impartial. Regardless of the outcome, he knew he'd find a way to spoil that kid rotten. His text latest text message read: all I'm asking is that you don't go all Father of the Bride II on this kid. That would be like putting a target on their back.

Barry laughed as he read it over; recalling the window of time where he and Caitlin entertained the idea of combining their last names to make a new one. They both didn't want to give up their last names and the thought of a double barrelled name on a child just seemed a bit much. The best compromises they could come up with were: Swan, Nolen or Wells. The latter was immediately vetoed.