“Good morning!” Barry chirruped as he walked into the room of STARR industries where Caitlin and Cisco sat. Both of them were busy typing away, both on separate computers but with their heads hunched together. When he greeted them both of their heads shot up and they spun around to face him, shutting the computers down quickly.
“Yeah uh, morning! Barry you look --where do you get your sweaters?” Cisco said, his voice a few octaves higher then usual. He looked nervous and like he might actually have started sweating in his t-shirt, and Caitlin angrily jabbed at him with her elbow, giving him a look.
“Really? Really?! We decide to just stay calm and be casual about it and you crack before he’s said anything?” Caitlin threw her hands up in the air then, before running one through her hair and sighing. Barry stood frozen, still for once in his life as he looked between one and then the other.
“Guys, what’s up?” He asked in a hesitant, but firm voice. The two of them looked at each other before Cisco cleared his throat and reopened his computer.
“There were spikes of certain energies last night that we haven’t seen in a while.” Cisco said gesturing at a chart on his computer screen. Barry walked over and leaned in to look at the suddenly spiking little white and green lines.
“And?” he queried, standing back up and frowning. “What’s the significance of these, energies?” Barry looked over at Caitlin who was pacing back and forth but she wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“Caitlin. What are you guys trying to say?!” Barry was starting to feel unsettled and could tell distinctly they were avoiding actually telling him anything of importance. Was something wrong? Cisco pushed his rolling chair away from Barry and the desk, put his hands over his face and letting out an unhappy little groaning noise.
“What we’re saying is these are certain energies that we haven’t seen in nine months!” Cisco blurted out loudly, pointing at the computer and putting a strong emphasis on his words, his eyebrows raised skywards. Barry’s expression was blank. He stared at Cisco as the meaning of his words sunk in. Nine months… for nine months he was missing from the world…
…but for the past nine months someone was missing from his. Not a text, or a call –not even a note in her apartment. There had been nothing missing, nothing changed –even her stupid motorcycle sat untouched in it’s usual parking spot. She had taken nothing with her. He had gone through it twice; just to be sure there wasn’t some hidden message or reason. Once with the rest of the forensics team after he reported a missing person, and then again by himself later that same day.
They had fought before she left yes, but it had been stupid, right? He hadn’t thought anything exchanged between then warranted her running away from her entire life. He and Cisco had spent hours in the beginning, sending out pictures and information to various governments to keep an eye out for her and… and even looking through all the dead Jane Doe’s that showed up on the database that even faintly matched her description.
His mouth went dry as one look to Caitlin confirmed what Cisco had been hinting at. He felt his throat tightening and after taking a minute to purse his lips and scratch his eyebrows he asked, “Where?”
