Snow Falls

Chapter Eleven

Cisco stood proudly in front of the transparent dry-erase board. He had worked tirelessly to pinpoint the best dates to travel to. He cleverly called them 'the best/worst times'. With his telescopic teacher's pointer at the ready, he explained each date; even though they were not displayed in chronological order. It seemed the best way to achieve their mission was to go from latest to earliest.

"May 23 2017. Barry phased into Savitar's suit and destroyed; which sent pieces of it flying far enough away, so that our past selves wouldn't notice if Barry took it" he began.

"April 19 2016" Caitlin continued via video call. She steadied the camera in front of her face with one hand while the other ensure that she was still pumping properly; evident in the murmuring that came from her end of the conversation. "The night that Zoom injected the Speed Force into himself, he left the speed force transmitter in the viewing room. All you have to do is make sure no one's there when he takes it".

"And finally, the night it all began" Cisco said, once again taking leadership of the mission. "Dec 11 2013, the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion. Wells was in the cortex while we were in the pipeline in take". His eye filled with apology as he looked at Caitlin on the screen of Barry's phone.

She reciprocated the look with a forgiving nod. She then turned her attention to Barry.

"This is the best time for you to go into the Time Vault. You'd put a piece of Savitar's suit into the plinth and when the explosion occurs, it should infuse with the dark matter" Caitlin said.

"Once you have all the pieces you need, you plant that sucker at the hospital. Boom" Cisco concluded; proudly patting Barry on the back as a means of urging him to prepare.

"Cait, I-" Barry began but not before she could cut him off.

"I know. But you'll come back soon and Wyatt and I will be here waiting when you do" she responded.

Barry then drew in a deep breath, absorbed his wife's comforting words and slowly but surely, his anxieties began to melt away.

~

Barry and Wally pushed themselves harder than ever as they ran through time; although unsure of when and where they were headed.

"I should have said this earlier but I think it's pretty cool your kid and I have the same first initial" Wally said.

"To tell you the truth, Killer Frost apparently picked out the name. But I thought that apart from the actual meaning of the name,it was fitting that he share a piece of all the father figures in our lives" Barry replied.

Wally noted the look on Barry's face; which seemed like something between focus and concern.

"Hey man, we'll make it back. Don't worry" Wally said.

"I hope so" Barry whispered as they abruptly arrived at their first destination in time. 2017.

~

He had been sure that Voldemort had been looking for a way round the problem of the twin cores, sure that Voldemort sought a solution from the old wandmaker... and yet he had killed him, apparently without asking him a single question about wandlore. What was Voldemort trying to find? Why, with the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world at his feet, was he far away, intent on the pursuit of an object that Gregorovitch had once owned, amd which had been stolen by an unknown thief?

Harry could see still see the blonde-haired youth's face, it was merry, wild; there was a Fred and George-ish air of triumphant trickery about him. He had soared from the window sill like a bird, and Harry had seen him before, but he could not think where...

With Gregorovitch dead, it was the merry-faced thief who was in danger now, and it was on him that Harry's thoughts dwelled, as Ron's snores began to rumble from the lower bunk and as he himself drifted slowly into sleep once more.

Caitlin closed the book and stared adoringly at Wyatt; fast asleep in the transparent walls of the hospital bassinet. He had finally come to a point of consistently breathing on his own. This gave the young doctor hope that they would both be able to come home soon. As she stared at hardbound book in her lap, she couldn't help but credit the story for giving her son the strength he needed.

Her heart leaped as a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in" she called, thinking that it was just one of the nurses or Dr Cooper checking in.

"Hello, sweetheart" said an all too familiar voice; which sent a shiver down Caitlin's spine.

Forgotten feelings of resentment and heartache suddenly resurfaced, boiling her blood as she willed herself to turn her head towards the door.

"I've got this one, Caity" Killer Frost said, preparing to take over as Caitlin's eyes went from milk chocolate brown to icy blue in a blink.

"There's no need for an ice wall, Caitlin. I just wanted to meet my grandson" Carla Tannhauser said as she stood in the doorway with her hands folded patiently in front of her.