Open Mind For A Different View

Chapter 2: Couldn't Be Much More From the Heart

"You can't keep an old horse like me down for long." He strolled slowly into the room toward her, his hands in his pants pockets - still smirking. He wandered in a circle around her, and having him so near and still so far away had her skin tingling. "Besides, I think we both may have some theories as to what happened."

"A few, perhaps." Was it her voice that sounded so breathless?

He shook his head, his feet halting mere inches from her before he stepped back. "Snow, I'm truly sorry about your dad. The French Wells - don't like him much by the way - and West-Allen filled me in."

"I still have hope that my dad is buried somewhere beneath Icicle, but I don't know. It just feels good to have Frost back." She wrapped her arms around herself, "As for what happened . . . it is a bit suspicious that you passed out the same time that Barry, Cisco, and I did when my dad attacked us."

His eyes locked onto hers. "I don't think it had anything to do with Barry or Cisco or your dad's alter ego. And I don't think you do either."

Her hand rose to her chest, remembering the feeling of her lungs freezing. "Let me ask you this - a few weeks ago, did Jesse get hurt?"

"She did, yes. Piece of rebar right through her leg. She lost so much blood we didn't think we were going to get her back. But what . . ." He stopped, his eyes twinkling.

"You had a panic attack. An anxiety attack. When she got hurt. You were scared, and you couldn't move." She watched him as she spoke. "Icicle froze my lungs, and because Frost was still blocked it made me pass out just like Barry and Cisco did. It was like breathing in pure snow, and it hurt like hell."

His fingers grazed his own chest. "I thought I was having a heart attack. And hallucinating the cold part, actually. But Snow, you broke through the mental block out there. You can do it again. And I think I know how."

"You keep changing the subject." She huffed, her hands on her hips. Even as frustrating as he could be, he still had her stomach in flip-flops. "Harry, there's something happening between us. Something . . . connecting us? I don't even know. Experiencing each other's feelings, symptoms--"

He shook his head, his hands resting atop her shoulders. Just like before when she'd put her palm on his shin, her skin sang beneath the fabric, like a warm, electrical current buzzing all about her nervous system. She shivered, the warmth calming her for the first time since -- no, she couldn't remember a time she'd ever felt this at ease. Comfortable. Safe. Warm. The brief panic was there that it wasn't normal or healthy for her to feel this warm anymore, not since Frost, but the thought was quickly squashed down with more hazy fog.

They locked eyes, with Harry just as entranced as she was. Everything grew still, and all she could focus on was the feeling of his warm hands over the black jacket. She leaned toward him, melting as his thumbs traced her collarbone through the layers of fabric.

"I don't know what's going on, but all I know is I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I got most of my intelligence back. Before, actually - my brain just wasn't processing what it was," His fingers dug deeper into her skin, and she could feel the tension in her shoulders slowly lifting. She watched the corners of his lips curve up as a wave of absolute peace washed over her. His smile fell slightly as he continued though his hands then stilled on her shoulders, "There's something different about us, and I think it may have to do with dark matter."

Caitlin shook out of his hold, a deep sigh escaping her lips as the warmth faded. Frost nipped at the edges of her consciousness, reality setting in like gravity. Harry startled, holding his hands out in the air for a few moments before letting them drop suddenly. He blinked, staring at her with a pained expression.