The Line Between Living and Dying

A World of Pain

It turned out that Caitlin needed a lot of blood, DNA, urine, and time. A month had passed and Caitlin still couldn't figure out where Dani disappeared to when she teleported.

While Caitlin racked her brain day and night looking for answers, Dani divided her days between work, training, and family time. Now that she had her powers under control, Dani was back to being her eccentric self; even if she didn't fully understand how she could do what she did.

With peace back in her life, Dani made time in her crowded schedule to go visit the one person she'd been dreading to see: Barry Allen.

Dani strolled through the hallways of S.T.A.R. Labs, looking for the cortex. She had only been there twice and couldn't remember how she got there the last couple of times.

Finally, she found it. Dani smiled with pride. Normally, Dani would get completely lost and never find her way out.

In the cortex, Barry still laid unconscious on the bed with monitors hooked up to him. This time, however, Iris and her father, Joe, sat next to him.

"Hey, guys." Dani smiled in surprise.

The two Wests turned around, bursting into smiles at the brunette.

"Hey, Dani." Joe got up to hug her. "Long time no see."

"Oh, I know." Dani hugged back. Joe was like a third parent to her. She spent half of her childhood at the West household and connected well with the family.

"Iris told me about your mom. I'm sorry." Joe offered his condolences.

Dani smiled sadly. "Thanks. Um, how's Barry been doing?" She changed the subject.

"Same as always." Iris sighed.

Dani shifted her gaze to Barry. He looked peaceful in his coma but she knew that wouldn't last long. If everything was truly the same then Barry still had seizures pretty frequently.

Caitlin walked into the cortex, face buried in her tablet. She glanced up at the three visitors.

"Dani? What are you doing here?" Caitlin tilted her head in confusion.

"I came to see Barry." Dani gestured to the comatose man. "And I was hoping to speak with you. Preferably in private?"

Caitlin nodded, thinking it was about Dani's powers. "Of course."

Dani and Caitlin left the company of Iris and Joe for the seclusion of the hallway. Dani turned around once she thought they were out of the Wests' earshot.

"Is there something wrong? Are your powers malfunctioning?" Caitlin whispered, concern lacing her voice.

"No." Dani denied with a shake of her head. "It's actually kind of the opposite."

Caitlin looked at Dani with a confused expression. "Okay."

"You have been so helpful both to me and my family recently. Especially these past couple weeks. And I was hoping that you would accept an invitation to my parents' house for dinner this Friday. As a thank you."

Caitlin bit her lip. "I don't know. There's still so much about you that I'm trying to understand and I have to watch Barry a lot--"

"Come on, Caitlin. Please?" Dani begged. "It's just a few hours and my mom might literally track you down and drag you over if you say no."

"Fine." Caitlin sighed. "I'll go."

"Great." Dani beamed. "I'll text you the address." She went back into the cortex, chatting with Iris and Joe for the next hour whilst Barry slept.