It was a month since Iris' bachelorette party, Caitlin had not visited or called back to Central City, except for Cisco to explain what had happened. He had agreed not to reveal the secret of Melony's true parentage, but he was upset about never knowing about Caitlin's involvement with Amunet.
Nevertheless, Caitlin continued her daily life. Luckily, no word from Amunet or Norvak since the last interaction in Central City. Every day she dropped off Melony at school at seven, she had the rest of the day to clean or run errands, pick her up at two, pick up dinner on the way home, and while Melony did her homework when Ramona got home, Caitlin would go work at the bar until three in the morning.
The only difference now was that Caitlin didn't go to the bar. It was one of many places that Amunet owned. Not only did she and her daughter had no home in eleven months, but she also had no job.
Job searching was now above apartment hunting now. Although it was difficult since Caitlin's scientific career was tainted by all that surrounded Star Labs and bartending. What she was doing in the meantime was doing pickup jobs, like postmates or uber. They didn't efficiently pay the bills, but they were at least something.
It was another month until Cisco started visiting again, although he visited less often since they both didn't want the team to know, at least she didn't want them to know.
"They're not mad at you," Cisco said sitting across from Caitlin, sipping a cup of coffee. Caitlin sat cross-legged at the kitchen table, scrolling through job adds on her laptop.
Disregarding Cisco's words, she continued, "Hmm... there's an opening as a barista. Not the same as mixing serums, but sounds easy enough."
"Caitlin, you're not even listening," Cisco said frustrated, causing Caitlin to look up.
"What Cisco?..." she responded dryly, shooting her sharp eyes at him.
"You shouldn't have to degrade yourself like this. You're freaking DOCTOR Caitlin Snow, you have two doctorates and a Ph.D., you're a biological genius with a brilliant mind. You deserve better!"
"Then what am I supposed to be doing, Cisco?"
"We're not mad at you, none of us are. We're just worried, we're all a family."
"You guys are a family... Iris was right, 'family doesn't lie.' There's still one more big lie that hasn't been revealed."
Cisco sighed, "look, just please come back or even just start visiting again. You don't have to introduce Mel just yet. Just come visit, please. You're my best friend, I miss you."
Reluctantly Caitlin nodded, "I will try to visit, but I can't promise how often it will be or how long I'll stay. Now, I have to drive Mel to school soon and you should probably catch your train."
The two said their goodbyes and Caitlin went on with her day. She dropped off Mel and ran her errands. She picked up a few hiring flyers, which did not exactly follow her line of work but didn't require much expertise.
Finally, Caitlin picked up Mel from school.
"Mommy!" Mel said jumping into Caitlin's arms.
"Hi, baby! How was school?"
"Good!"
One of Mel's teachers then walked up to Caitlin. He was a tall fit man, who looked young for his age, and quite handsome. He had kind eyes and a welcoming disposition.
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"You must be, Mrs. Snow?" He asked.
"Ms. Snow," Caitlin kindly corrected.
"Ms. Snow," he smiled as he corrected himself. "I'm Noah Salvino, Melony's English teacher."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Salvino," Caitlin shook his hand.
"Please, Noah is fine," he replied, "I just wanted to introduce myself. Melony is one of my top students in my class, and for such a young age, especially. I've never had a student, let alone one that is four years younger than the other students who genuinely enjoy and understands Shakespeare."
"Thank you, Mr. Sali-, Noah," Caitlin corrected herself.
"I have to know where she gets all this brilliance from."
"Oh, well I studied in STEM, biological engineering specifically."
"Well from great genius comes even greater genius so it makes sense," Noah replied causing Caitlin to blush.
Melony wiggled out of Caitlin's loosened hug and met up with a group of friends beside her walking out.
"Mom, can I go to the park with them?" Mel asked.
"Sure honey, I'll be out in a bit. Be careful," Caitlin replied.
Around thirty minutes past, as Caitlin and Noah continued to chat. Talking to him made Caitlin feel relaxed, normal, and oddly safe, she smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. She would have continued to talk but she looked at her watch.
"Mel and I should really get going," she said slightly saddened.
"Maybe we can chat again soon, teacher conferences maybe?" He replied.
"Or maybe over dinner?" Caitlin suggested.
"Ms. Snow, are you asking me out?" He replied teasingly.
"Am I allowed to?"
"Yes-no-yes... No, because we are in the school right now, but why don't you walk me out and you can ask me again," he smiled.
The exited the door and began walking through the parking lot.
"Dinner sounds great," he replied as they continued to walk. They both smiled and continued to chat the whole way.
When they arrived at her car, Caitlin was shocked by a face she'd been avoiding for a while.
"What are you doing here?!" Caitlin asked.
_______________________________________ How was it?
Comments?/Votes?/Notes?
Btw Noah is an OC and just gonna be a plot device for some character development.
