Always Running

The Doctor and The Professor

"Hey, did you leave at all last night?" Cisco asks Caitlin when he walks in the next morning.

She straightens up in the chair she moved over next to Stein's bed. She started keeping a stuffed armchair in the lab back when Barry was in his coma. It was more comfortable to sleep in than her office chair or the guest quarters' beds. After Barry woke up from his coma she moved it to the far corner of her lab and only used it when she needed a quick power nap during work after they pulled all-nighters or when she just needed a breather. Now it was back next to the med bed. Before Cisco walked in she was curled up with a blanket trying to get some sleep. The smell of his coffee woke her up.

He set the extra coffee he got for her down on the table next to her and sat on the arm of the chair. He leaned against the back of it and looked at Stein.

"He's gonna pull through. He's too stubborn not to." Cisco says softly.

Caitlin allows herself to laugh and looks up at him. "We need to find a more permanent solution to this."

"We will." Cisco rests his head on her shoulder. They both take a deep breath and continue watching Stein.

He had really taken them under this wing when he first came into the labs. They'd heard of him before, of course, because he was a well-known, award-winning scientist in Central City. But meeting him and getting to work with him after they separated him and Ronnie, they could've never imagined how much they'd enjoy it.

Stein got excited with them. He still had this child-like joy and enthusiasm anytime they'd work on something new. Even when it was dangerous. He loved working with Team Flash. He would stay overnight and work with Cisco and Caitlin when there was a pressing issue and help calm them when it concerned the safety of someone close to them. He gave advice. He listened. Most of all, and what they didn't expect, he stuck around. He kept in touch.

Stein was always willing to come into the labs when they had questions on a case. He invited Cisco and Caitlin over for dinner which was usually a ploy by Clarissa to get Stein himself home for dinner. He checked in on Cisco when Caitlin left, often having coffee with him at Jitters or allowing him to use his office to work since Barry wasn't letting him in the labs. Stein would stay nearby to help Cisco work through cases and give him someone to talk to.

He called Caitlin once a week to see how Blue Valley was and how she was feeling. Some weeks she was short with him and others she would spend over an hour telling him that she missed home and checking in on Barry and Cisco. She always asked how he was feeling and made him send her weekly updates on his blood pressure, body temperature, and any other things he could measure himself so she could monitor him.

He even held a small service in his backyard that Caitlin and Cisco attended just before leaving where they all said 'goodbye' to Ronnie and Wells. They knew the others wouldn't approve of a service for Wells, so they decided it was best to keep it to themselves. He had hoped it would help them all gain closure, but a lot of issues still lingered. One of them being his decaying physical state.

"How is he?" Barry asks when he walks in and sees Cisco and Caitlin staring, like two worried parents, at Stein.

"He's uh, he's better. His blood pressure has dropped to 147 over 82. Still higher than I'd like, but not bad considering his age."

"Excuse me, Caitlin." Stein coughs out and slowly opens his eyes. He takes a deep breath. "I feel like a spring chicken."

The other three laugh lightly and lean in to see how he is.

"How are you feeling?" Caitlin asks.

"I've been worse." He says, trying to sit up in the bed.