The Future of Us

(3) The Daughters

Fear. 

Worry. 

Anxiety. 

Stress. 

Panic. 

But most of all, concern is mostly on her mind - concern for her daughter's well-being. She is all she has left, and there is no way she is going to lose her now. 

Instantly everything is moving in slow motion around her. The screams from Nora as she flashes into the living room. Dumping all the contents of her purse onto the coffee table looking for the syringe. She needs the syringe. Iris by her side helping to find it. Nora hyperventilating in front of her. The shakes of the house as the power surge gets stronger by the second. She is running out of time.

"Where is it!" she stressfully mumbles to herself. Her fingers pulling at her hair.

A blue vortex appears as Cisco steps through with the antidote. She races to him, grabbing it, and dashing up the stairs. She feels her colder counterpart taking over as the waves of energy become too strong for her to handle. Each step becoming harder than the next but she needs to reach her destination - her daughter's life is at stake. 

'Val! Can you hear me!' Frost tries to communicate through her mind. 

A faint voice rings through her mind. 'I can't... con.... control it...'

With all her strength, she burst through the bedroom door to see the little girl seizing before her. "Hang on, Snowflake, Aunt Frosty's got you," she breathes, standing by her side and injecting the antidote into her arm.

The power waves cease. With the seizure at bay, Valerie starts to breathe normally again. Frost wipes some hair away from Val's face along with the built-up sweat on her forehead. She feels warm - too warm for Frost's liking. In an instant, Caitlin takes back control and goes into her full doctor mode. 

The little girl groans and moans in pain. Her hand clutching at her head. Too many voices. Too much knowledge and future visions at once. It's too overwhelming for her - she can't handle it. "Mommy," she cries in pain. "Make it stop! Make it stop, please!" she screams.

On high alert, Caitlin notices the necklace is no longer around her daughter's neck. 

Panic. 

"Where is your necklace, Val?" she stresses and starts looking all around.

"It hurts! Mommy! Help!" she cries as tears trail down her cheeks.

"Just hold on, baby," Caitlin pleads, searching. A clinking sound reveals the fallen pendant buried in the carpet. She quickly grabs it and places it back around her daughter's neck. 

A wave of relief floods her body, but a strong sting still takes hold of her. "It still hurts, Mommy," she whines, finally being able to see her mother. 

Caitlin wraps her daughter in her arms. Val instantly buries her face into her mother's chest, holding onto her for dear life. Trying to calm her heartbeat, Caitlin focuses on her daughter - her touch, her smell, her voice. She rocks them back and forth, soothing the young child. 

"Caitlin!" a voice echoes through the room. 

She looks over her shoulder and remembers the man that came from the past. The sight of him instantly makes her tighten her grip on her daughter. Before she can say anything her friends barge into the room behind him. Iris tries to push him out of the room, arguing with him, as Cisco comes to her aid.