Collateral Damage (snowbarry)

Family Stake Out

"You want to stake out Clarissa's house?" Caitlin asked, surprised. "As if she wasn't freaked out enough already," she mumbled.

Wells nods and starts to wheel out of the station.

"But we can't. Barry has a date tonight." Caitlin says, hoping maybe Barry will cancel to spend the evening with her. No, no she isn't thinking that. She's just concerned about Clarissa.

"Where's Cisco?" Wells asks.

"I'm not sure. Joe asked him for help with something earlier today." Caitlin answered. "Haven't seen him since."

"I can cancel. I'll just say it's police business. Linda will understand." Barry offers, following Caitlin and Wells out of the station.

"No. No need." Wells says.

"What do you say?" He says, looking up at Caitlin. "Fancy a family night?"

Caitlin laughs and nods. "If there's food, I'm there."

"Really guys, I can cancel. What if Stein...Ronnie...Stein, shows up?" Barry says, looking more confused the more he talks."

"We will call you the second something interesting happens." Wells assures him.

"I'll call Cisco to fill him in." Barry says as he parts ways with Caitlin and Wells.

"Oh Barry!" Caitlin calls back to him. "On your date tonight...be sure you pace yourself." She says, smirking.

Barry shoots her a glare and turns around, failing to keep the smile off his face. He takes out his phone to call Cisco and gets his voicemail. He calls Joe next, assuming they're still together since he hasn't seen Joe yet either, and gets another answering machine. He shakes it off, assuming it's for some case that he'll hear about later.

*******************************************

"You did not just take one of my cheese curds." Caitlin says, eyes wide at Wells.

"I bought the food. I get to take a curd." He says, while he dramatically chews the curd.

She laughs and shakes her head, turning so that her curds are further away from him.

Caitlin is sitting in the driver's seat of the S.T.A.R. Labs van with Wells in the passenger seat, both inhaling some Big Belly Burger. They've been there for a few hours now, only taking a break for food. In those hours, Clarissa has turned the living room light on and off three times. The curtains went from being open to being closed. And the sun has set. Wells and Caitlin have discussed everything from Caitlin and Cisco's conversation about her and Barry's relationship to Big Belly Burger's unacceptable lack of pickles.

There has been nothing but silence for a few minutes now.

"Why would he come here?" Caitlin asks. "He barely seemed lucid when I saw him. Now apparently he's clear enough to find Stein's old house and get inside?

"It's Stein's brain remember? Not Ronnie's." Wells responds. "He came here because..."

He stops to take a very large bite of his burger.

"Because this is home," he says while chewing. "I don't mean the actual house. I mean Clarissa. She's his home. We all wanna go home again. Where we feel safe. Where we feel loved." Wells says. "Ronnie is your home."

Caitlin's face scrunches into a guilty look.

"Not anymore. I...I don't think he ever was. When I think about where I feel safe. Where I feel loved...." It goes silent for a few seconds. "You're my home."