The Girl From the Destroyed Future

chapter thirteen

 "Caitlin what is happening?" Iris asked as Cisco manned the comms and guided Barry and Nora toward their target.

Caitlin looked up, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Iris," she mumbled. "Cassie . . . "

Panicked shouting came from the other end of the comms as Barry and Nora battled a familiar enemy.

"Snap is back," Nora said. A loud noise sounded followed by a groan. "I hate that guy."

"Cisco, I really hope your tech works," Barry said. Iris wasn't listening. She was focused on Caitlin.

"What about Cassie?" she asked gently.

"She's . . . Barry . . . I don't know how . . . "

"You and Barry's daughter." Iris nodded slowly. "A part of me figured," she said quietly. "She has his eyes, you know."

Caitlin looked up at Iris and nodded. "I had a suspicion she wasn't who she said she was. But I never knew that it could be this bad."

"Bad?" Iris questioned. "You had a daughter!"

"With a married man!" Caitlin pointed out, sitting up. "You love Barry and he loves you. What if I'm the reason you two break up in the future?"

Iris was shaking her head. "Caitlin, you are one of the kindest people I know. I can't see any future where you would purposefully harm any of your friends."

Cisco rolled between the two of them. "Wait! What's happening? I was busy saving lives by directing our superheroes."

"In the future Barry and I have a daughter," Caitlin began. "And that daughter traveled back to our present and spent the last two weeks here." Caitlin's eyes widened and she smacked her forehead. "She was in my house and I didn't even know she was my daughter!"

"Wow, wow, wow!" Cisco said, holding up his hands. "Slow down. Didn't Cassie say that her timeline was erased? So, therefore, Cassie isn't technically your daughter, but a different version of you."

Caitlin's eyes lit up for a second before she shook her head. "What if she lied?"

"Why would she lie?" Iris asked.

"I mean she did lie about who she was," Cisco said before wilting under Iris's gaze. "Listen I was just trying to argue both sides."

"She wouldn't lie about that," Iris insisted. "Everything about that was so detailed that I think she would have had to be there to understand. She had a T-shirt for a band that Nora said didn't exist in her timeline."

"Thank goodness," Caitlin said, sighing in relief.

Their conversation was interrupted by two flashes of lightning. Nora and Barry had returned from their fight with Snap.

"Where's Cassie?" Iris asked immediately.

Barry sighed. "She's in the pipeline until I can figure out what to do."

"I think that should be a joint decision," Cisco said, "between her parents."

"What's going on?" Nora asked for the hundredth time.

"I agree with Cisco," Iris said. She stood up and smiled at Barry. "You two should talk, privately."

Barry looked down at the ground, not meeting Iris's eyes. "You're okay with this?"

Iris took his hands. "Listen, as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Besides, I know that, however this happened, you would never try to hurt me."

Barry nodded, kissing her. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered back, before releasing his hands and stepping back. Caitlin stood up and she and Barry left the room together.

They wondered for some time before stopping in the speed lab. Caitlin picked up a pen and started fidgeting with it. Neither knew what to say.

"I can't believe this," Barry finally said.

"It's not like you realize that you have a child with your best friend every day," Caitlin said, trying to lighten up the situation.

Barry smiled, a tight smile, but a smile nonetheless. "I thought Cisco was your best friend."

"Can a woman not have two best friends?" Caitlin asked with mock horror. Turning serious, she said, "But whatever the case, we need to talk to Cassie."

Barry groaned. "I knew you would say that," he murmured. "But I don't want to have another conversation like that. It was hard enough to see her expression when I locked her in the pipelines, but now that she's had enough time to think about it . . . " He sighed, and put his face in his hands. "I overreacted."

"And I just sat there," Caitlin reflected. "I should have told you separately. At least then we wouldn't have caused a seen. Or I should have talked with Cassie and heard her side of the story first. But I was so desperate for answers!"

"I should have given her a chance," Barry muttered. "Sometimes blind rage takes over and I'm acting on nothing more than emotions."

"That isn't a bad thing," Caitlin argued. "Your emotions make you who you are, Barry. Your love for yours friends and family is what keeps you grounded and human. Without it, you wouldn't be any better than the villains."

"So we let Cassie out of the pipelines and give her a chance to talk," Barry decided. "A fair chance. No pressure, no expectations. Just the truth."

"Mhm," Caitlin mumbled. Barry turned to go, but Caitlin grabbed onto his arm. "You know what we haven't discussed?" she asked, a sly smile on her face. "What kind of parents do you think we were?"

Barry chuckled. "I was the fun one, for sure! I would let her eat all kinds of sweets and stay up passed her bedtime."

"You're saying I'm the mean parent," Caitlin accused.

"If the shoe fits," Barry said, shrugging.

Caitlin let out a laugh. "Alright, you have a point. But under my guidance she would be able to make great pies. You can't beat that!"

"I would take her ice skating," Barry said. "That's way more interesting then baking."

"We would make quite the pair, Mr. Allen."

"Indeed, Dr. Snow."

The two took a few more minutes to talk before heading back out to the Cortex. They had barely stepped in when Iris ran up to them.

"Do you know where Cassie is?" she asked frantically.

"She's in the pipeline," Barry said. He looked around at the doubtful faces. "She is!" he insisted. "Pull up the footage, Cisco."

"Already done," Cisco said, nodding at the computer. "See for yourself, man!"

Barry peered at the screen and gasped. The entrance to the containment cell was wide open, and Cassie was nowhere to be seen. He whirled around, panic written across his face.

"She's gone," he said.

"And, judging by the way she was treated in the last half-hour," Cisco began, "I don't think she's coming back."