Flashette(Book Four)

15

     "This is...I don't even know what to say! I'm totally freaking out, Joe!" Cecile exclaimed as she walked frantically into the cortex. My eyebrows furrowed, and I stood up in concern as Joe followed behind Cecile into the cortex. I greeted the two. It wasn't often that they come into the cortex together looking like this. Cecile looked a little peppier, Joe was just sweaty and confused.
    "What's going on?" I asked as I walked towards the two. The team stood up and joined me. We all found this to be weird behavior on their parts.
    "Joe and I were in the living room this morning as he was putting together a crib for the nursery. In the middle of the conversation I found out I could hear his thoughts!" Cecile exclaimed. My eyebrows furrowed and the team and I shared a glance.
    "You could read his--".
     "Thoughts...Exactly! I knew exactly what he was saying, even when his lips weren't moving." Caitlin walked over to Cecile and placed her hands on her shoulders, giving her a quick exam.
    "Your eyes seem to be properly dilated, no swelling of glands...Let's get you into the medbay anyways to make sure the baby is alright," Caitlin said as she helped Cecile into the medical bay. I stayed back with Joe for a moment.
   "I remember when Barry and I were like this," I said to Joe as I looked over at the medbay. Caitlin began hooking Cecile up to a few machines as she settled back into the bed. I patted Joe's shoulder. "It will get easier," I responded before Caitlin called Joe and I into the medical bay. Everyone was huddled around Cecile as they awaited the news from Caitlin.
     "It appears there's no sign of abnormalities or dark matter in the amniotic fluid, so you're having a happy and healthy baby--"
     "Girl," Cecile responded. Caitlin's eyes widened. My eyes widened as well. THEY WERE HAVING A GIRL!! I was so excited for them! "You were going to say..." Cecile and Joe looked back at eachother excitedly.
    "No need for a gender reveal party now!" Ralph joked. Cecile chuckled.
    "Practically four daughters..." Joe replied as he facepalmed. I knew he was excited, but I could tell he preferred to have another boy. "Between this baby girl, Chloe, Josie, and Iris, Barry and I are the only males in the West house." I chuckled.
   "You'll survive. It's not too bad being surrounded by so many strong, independent women, right?" I asked, placing a hand on Joe's shoulder.
     "I'd kill to have that many women around me at once," Ralph said with a sigh. I rolled my eyes and punched his shoulder.
     "Ow!" he Ralph said with a wince as he rubbed his arm.
     "You had a 50/50 shot at guessing that correctly...Let's really test your skills," Cisco challenged as he rubbed his hands together. A smile was plastered all over my face. This ought to be good....
      "What number am I thinking of?" Cisco asked. Cecile remained quiet. I looked back and forth at the pair as Cecile narrowed her eyes and paused in thought. 
     "12...3...6...41...Bulbasaur?" she spoke. Cisco must've been thinking about all those things to trick her. "What is---". I was surprised to see her powers in action.
    "A pokemon? Seriously?" I asked to Cisco. Cisco pumped his fist in the air. She was totally reading his mind.
   "Just a little curveball..."Cisco said with a smirk. "How could I not think of Bulbasaur at a time like this? He's one of the cutest!". I shook my head and crossed my arms. I used to love Pokemon when I was a child, and grew up a total nerd. Ofcourse I knew just as much about Pokemon, maybe even more, than Cisco.
   "I think Lillipup takes the cake on that one," I stated. Cisco shook his head.
   "Nuh-uh! Have you seen Jigglypuff? Or Clefairy..." Cisco trailed off. "I have a very intricate Pkemon card collection in my workshop, how about we settle this?" Cisco asked. I shook my head at his challenge.
    "Lilipup wins, and that is that," I replied before Cisco could get another word in. "How did Cecile even get these powers, anyways?" I asked, looking over at Caitlin. Cisco slumped in the nearest chair after realizing I won the argument and got the last word in.
    "I don't understand that either." Cecile looked around the room at all of us with her eyebrows furrowed. I could tell she was trying to read our minds. I tried my best to keep her out and think of other things as some sort of firewall, but it was no use. No thoughts are safe now. Imagine how it would've been if Barry was here...
     "No, I wasn't abducted," Cecile said as she looked at Caitlin. "I didn't fund a special watch or necklace from my great grandparents," she spoke as she looked at Cisco.  "And I wasn't on that bus that day!" Cecile exclaimed at Joe as his posture shrunk. I pursed my lips. Cecile read all of their minds. 
   "Good luck lying to her, Joe," Ralph responded with a whistle. "You just signed yourself off for some truth serum". Ralph took a few steps forward and exited the medbay.
    "I'm thinking that this is more of a temporary thing. It could've been present since the first accelerator explosion, and your pregnancy just activated it," Caitlin replied. Cecile nodded. She somewhat seemed to understand. It did make sense. "It should go away after the baby is born. Think of it as gestational diabetes". I pointed to Caitlin. Her words did make sense. Though, it made me wonder about my pregnancy and what could've happened if I didn't have my speed then.
    "That's comforting..." Cecile responded, sitting up from the medbay. Caitlin began to unhook her from the machines and grabbed her clipboard. I felt a rush of thoughts come over me as I stepped out into the cortex. I slumped down in my chair, looking at my twins who were walking around their exercise pen. It was crazy to think about how much they've grown.
     "Chloe, are you alright?" Ralph asked as he noticed my sudden change in behavior. I nodded, a small tear welling in my cheek.
    "I'm--i'm fine..." I replied, more tears threatening to spill from my eyes. Something opened up a big emotional wound all of the sudden. It was something I hadn't thought about deeply in a long time. Every time I did, it caused a big emotional reaction.
    "Chloe, I can see--".
    "I'm fine, Ralph!" I snapped. Ralph stepped back and I stood up quickly from my seat and paced down to the speedlab. I sat down on my usual spot on the steps and my mind trailed off to that day in the hospital room. I began to sob as the memories poured back. The constant beeping of machines and long hours of labor. All worth it for a chance to hold my baby before he passed away. If I hadn't gone to a hospital and came to S.T.A.R Labs, maybe he would've had the chance...I thought. Maybe I had what Cecile had. Barry and I were both metas, mixed with that sort of 'pregnancy power', it could've been too much for the baby to handle. The shock of the first pregnancy could've been too much for him. If I--
     "Chloe?" A voice called from the entrance of the speedlab, snapping me out of my thoughts. I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked over to see Ralph approaching me. I looked in his direction and his expression softened again. I could tell this was going to be one of those "soft Ralph" times.
   "I'm alright, Ralph," I responded as Ralph walked towards me and sat down beside me.
    "I know I'm not Allen, or as close to you as the others, but you can talk to me," Ralph replied. "You may think i'm a brick wall, but I do listen. I do have feelings like the rest of you. I do get upset when I see one of my friends upset." I locked eyes with Ralph. He knew something with me was off. After all, he was literally my partner in crime now that Barry was gone.
     "I don't know what it was about everything with Cecile and the pregnancy, but today brought up something i've kept in the back of my mind for a while," I replied. "Something very close to Barry and I." I turned away from Ralph as more tears began to cloud my vision.
    "You know you can confide in me if you need," Ralph said as he stood up and patted my leg. He began to walk out before I stopped him. Maybe confiding in someone would've been good for me. After all, it would certainly help build trust between Ralph and I. That would be good for our working relationship.
    "His name was Ezra..." I trailed off. Ralph stopped abruptly in his tracks and turned on his heel to face me. He stepped towards me once again and settled down beside me. "You think Barry and I have a picture perfect life, but that's how it looks from the outside. "Barry and I had another baby before we were blessed with two happy and healthy twins."
    "Oh...I'm so sorry..." Ralph said with sad eyes. "I didn't know".
    "Not many people other than our main circle do," I replied. "But he made it through the entire term...Delivery...Everything. We even got to hold him. But when they took him away, there was some sort of complication and he didn't make it."
     "That's so unfortunate. Seeing how you are with the twins, I couldn't even imagine how things would've been if there was a third running around," Ralph said with a chuckle.
     "When Cecile and Caitlin were discussing her pregnancy power, I couldn't help but think of if that had something to play in how things turned out with our first baby. And if we had known at that point maybe S.T.A.R Labs could've saved him." I began to sob again. I blame myself often for the situation.
     "You did all you could do with what you had," Ralph said, slinging an arm around my shoulder. I wiped the tears from my eyes. "And you came back from that an even stronger and fierce woman. You and Allen continued to live your lives and persevere. Shortly after, you had your twins. And I can assume you were clouded with the fear of what happened the first time, but you didn't let that stop you. Just like the first situation, you did everything you could. This time, luck was on your side, and your twins arrived happy and healthy. Now look at all you've accomplished." Ralph pulled a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to me. "And I wouldn't know what that pain is like, but I know that it takes courage to be able to walk through that hell and be able to come out of it with a smile. You overcame that. And I know that pain will never truly be gone, but the best thing you can do is honor the memory and make the best of the rest of your life." I sniffled and wiped my eyes and nose with the tissue. I had no idea Ralph could be so spoken.
     "Thank you for your help, Ralph, really..." I replied. "You've certainly helped me to feel better." I leaned closer to Ralph and we shared a glance before he pulled me in for a hug (All you Chalph shippers out there thought they were going to kiss...). I was so surprised at these actions, especially coming from Ralph. I had never seen him so emotional or open, especially with me. I think its a front most times. He puts up that hard exterior, but he's really soft.
     "Anytime you need to talk, i'm here," Ralph replied. "Besides, I know how hard it is for you not to have Slim Jim to talk to. I'm not here to be a homewrecker, so don't get that idea. I just want you to know that after all you and Allen do for me, that i'm here for you...After that talk with Allen when I went to visit him, something has definitely changed".
    "Well i'm glad to hear you're turning over a new leaf," I responded before standing up and throwing the tissue away. Ralph and I then proceeded to walk back upstairs to the cortex where the team was huddled around the monitors.
     "Is everything alright?" I asked as Ralph and I entered the cortex. I settled in my usual spot and watched the monitors. The team was watching security footage. My eyes widened as an entire building disappeared before our eyes.
    "You just missed Joe. The mayor was having a press conference for that new building, Kord Industries, that just finished construction. All of the sudden it just disappeared out of thin air. "I was about to go and check out the scene."
    "That sounds like meta activity, i'll get my coat," I responded as I grabbed my bag and put my coat on. Cisco held out a hand and stopped me. He could tell something was up with me. "You don't need to go, you know. If you're not up for it you can stay back and hang with the team."
    "I know," I replied before slinging my bag over my shoulder. "I'm alright," I said as I looked over at Ralph with a smile. A small smile crept onto Ralph's face.
    "Alright..." Cisco said, looking between us. "But tapout any time you need to," Cisco replied before gathering his materials and heading downtown.
     "Barry better get out fast, things are getting pretty weird..." Cisco muttered under his breath.