recklessthings | ϟ barry allen

[ The secrecy had been necessary. If she told anyone the details she was planning, then she'd have to navigate a round of people telling her not to do it. There wasn't time to convince people the risk was worth taking. There was something evil living under her skin and she just needed it out.

But it's done now. When he comes closer she slumps into Barry's arms, almost peacefully limp. Her eyes flutter halfway open, then give up and sink closed again. ]

It's freezing in here. Do you have a blanket?

Edited (fixing some autocorrect stuff >>) 2017-10-10 22:31 (UTC)

Uh, yeah. In fact, I can do you one better.

[And in a flash, they're zipping back into the Cortex, and he's setting her down on the cot in the medical wing. Finding a blanket after that isn't hard, and he wants to make sure she's okay first.]

What were you working on in there?

[ One moment, she's semiconscious in the middle of a relative tundra. The next, a temperature shift. There's contact, movement -- too fast. It leaves her vaguely nauseous before she has a chance to register the sudden displacement. Moreover, it's impossible.

Her eyes snap open, fingers clutching the edges of the blanket. She trains her eyes on him -- some man who's done... something. It feels like she needs to scream, but also like the noise is trapped in her throat. She makes a small squeaking noise instead, before she finds words. ]

How did you do that?? What are you??

[ ... Okay what the fuck.]

Uh ... I'm a metahuman? I have super speed?

[This is basic Barry 101 that Caitlin should know already, but maybe whatever she was messing with affected her more than he thought.]

You okay, Caitlin?

... And he knows my name. Of course he knows my name. [ She utters her disbelief in a withering tone, inching back from him as far as the small bedding will allow. ]

It was cold and now it isn't -- I can only conclude that I've worked myself too hard and am experiencing symptoms of an advanced state of elevated temperature produced by stress. Therefore, you are obviously a hallucination produced by fever, given that what just happened is very much impossible without rewriting the laws of physics.

[ It seems rational enough. She coaches herself enough to make deliberate eye contact. ]

I'm very sorry to break the news to you Sir, but you are abjectly a figment of my subconscious and don't actually exist. I would appreciate it very much if you wouldn't take it personally.

... Well, at least you still know how to science.

[His tone is slightly glib, but to be fair, she did just tell him he didn't actually exist so he thinks he's earned the right to be a little glib. He does take a step back, though, to give her a little more space.]

Okay, Doctor Snow, if you think you have a fever, what should I give you to treat said fever?

Edited 2017-10-13 16:33 (UTC)

[ It's fine. All of this is fine. She'll just be screaming internally for a moment. Her face goes tight and prim, lips pressing together for a long moment. ]

I think it might be for the best if I pass on your invitation. If I've already reached this level of illness, I shouldn't rely on my hallucinations to assist in treatment.

[ she'll peel back the blanket and try to slide off the cot before she's prepared to carry her own weight. She stands shaking, knees wobbling. ]

I'm -- sure there was an experiment that needed completion. It's just a matter of putting the finishing touches on.

[ She stops there, though. She's not exactly sure what she'd been trying to do before all this chaos started. ]

[She is shaky, so Barry isn't really inclined to let her go wandering off to continue to work on an experiment that gave her amnesia, but aside from tentatively putting out an arm to catch her unless she collapsed, he does give her her own space to try and figure this out.]

If there is, I'm sure Cisco can handle it. You look like you need some rest more than anything.

[Please say you remember Cisco. Not remembering Barry is fine, he can deal with that, but it might break Cisco's heart.]

[But she'll just stare at him then, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.]

...Cis...co? [It's a familiar sound in her mouth, but she's having trouble associating it with a concept.]

[Okay. Okay. This is fine. This is totally fine.

This is absolutely not fine in any way shape or form, and it very much shows on his face. Barry steps back again, running his hand over his face for a moment before speaking.]

Okay, Caitlin, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think you have a fever. I think you have amnesia. And normally I would let someone else handle this but unfortunately the person who usually handles this is you.

That's absurd. [Because it has to be.] Amnesia is linked to damage done to the hippocampus. It occurs after very specific events, not just out of nowhere. This isn't a comic book. It's just a matter of.

[She twirls a strand of hair around one of her fingers.]

I just need to focus more. It'll come back to me.

Well, I'm not a medical expert, but you were doing some kind of experiment. If that backfired, could that be a specific enough event?

[He's just positing a hypothesis, if nothing else, but he has no idea how he's going to fix this when the medical doctor is the one out of commission.]

That would depend entirely on the nature of the experiment. I'm not an idiot. It isn't as though there'd be a reason to directly involve myself in a risky operation without as much as a second set of eyes.

[She takes a step forward, falls into his waiting arm, and then straightens back up and pulls away. Absolutely smooth and natural in every way.]

Say I believe you about this "metahuman" business. Why did you pull me out of my lab?

[And he'll adjust his arm when she stumbles, only until she's righted again, before giving her space again.]

Because one of the alarms went off in the Cortex and I was worried about you. Because you're my friend.

[He feels that needs to be repeated, since she's not really aware of that at the moment.]

It was ... freezing in there. Way colder than it normally is. You asked for a blanket, so I pulled you out here where it's warmer.

An alarm? There must have been a break-in. Or. Or...

[She knows this one. She rubs her temples vigorously as if that will retrieve the thought out of the ether. Eventually though, she'll give him a more serious look. His story makes a lot more sense than an extended hallucination that's gone on for this long.]

How long have we been friends? [How much time is she missing?]

Three years.

[Which is a very long time for her to have forgotten but Barry is trying not to worry about it too much.]

I was struck by lightning when a particle accelerator exploded and I was in a coma for nine months. You were the doctor taking care of me.

Oh...

[Her eyes are wide; it's a lot to take in. She moves closer of her own accord now, studying his face carefully.]

You look like you've recovered well from the trauma. Your pupils are at a normal diameter, and you don't appear to be suffering from involuntary tremors.

[And maybe she's just frightened enough to fall back on diagnosing him as a way to confirm that she still knows something.]

[And he smiles a bit at that, because that is very Caitlin.]

I did. You took very good care of me.

[Which he's always appreciated and probably hasn't thanked her for enough.]

When I woke up, that's when I discovered I was a metahuman. You helped make sure that I didn't overdo it with my new physiology. I probably wouldn't be standing here right now if it wasn't for you.

[A flush comes over the apples of her cheeks then.]

I don't suppose you ever managed to tell me your name over those three years? I'm sorry, but... [He seems so genuine.] I don't recognize you at all.

Right. Sorry, that's totally fair.

[He takes a breath and holds a hand out to her.]

I'm Barry. Allen.

[She accepts his hand and squeezes it firmly, though her eyes keep searching his for answers that aren't presenting themselves.]

It's nice to meet you, Barry. Again, I guess.

[She bites on the edge of her bottom lip.] Hopefully, we'll be able to get your friend back soon.

Edited 2017-10-14 01:07 (UTC)

Well, if there's anyone who can do it, it's you and me.

[Teamwork makes the dream work.]

But first things first, we have to figure out how this happened in the first place.

You said it had something to do with the lab, right? If there's any way to figure it out, the evidence might still be there. If something was stolen, we might be able to figure out what's missing.

That's true. Are you sure you're feeling up to heading back in there?

[She was a little shaky earlier, and if the lab is still as cold as it was, it might not be ideal working conditions for her.]

I'm going to have to be. Or... At least, we'll need to look into whatever HVAC issue affected the temperature like that.

[She's still a little unsteady on her feet, but that isn't going to stop her from trying to solve this issue. This Barry's already explained that he'll need her to interpret the medical data. She fidgets with the edge of her sleeve, and then freezes, looking back to him.]

Barry? New evidence suggests this might have been more than a burglary.

[She extends her wrist for him and pushes the cloth away from her skin long enough for him to see a neat row of still-healing injection sites traveling along the line of her artery.]


	✔ Cʀᴏssᴏᴠᴇʀs/AU ✔ Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ✔ Pʀᴏsᴇ	✔ Pɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ✔ Oᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ✔ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs	♥ F/M ⏰ Uᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ

You're too kind to me

<3

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