archimedes |b. allen|

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Then the weight of her words hits me like a truck. My breathing stops entirely as I finally hear what she said.

You know how much I loved him.

The very last thing I remember before going comatose was Braasch announcing that the Flash was dead.

Barry.

Where was Barry?

Did Morgue get him too?

Her eyes meet mine, as best they can with how little they'll open. She doesn't seem to notice that I've started breathing faster but feeling like I'm not able to breathe at all. I try to blink, try to grab at her hand, open my mouth to speak, but all she does is shake her head.

"I only told Darla and Braasch. I thought Braasch needed to know because he was the fellow covering you, and Darla was going to fist fight anyone who wouldn't let her help with the chest tube placement on her patient, so I had to, I'm so sorry—"

She stops her blabbering at the shake of my head, which makes me dizzy even laying down, so I stop shortly after I start. It looks like she might see the panic in the slits of my eyes, her dark brows furrowing, but she keeps talking.

"I called Nic a few times, kept her updated. I told her you were in a little car accident, I figured that was the most believable thing with your track record," she laughs to herself, referencing my horrid old car.

But the thing was, Nic knew I was still saving up to get a new car since my poor truck had been demolished earlier this year. I'm sure Maude was banking on the fact that I hadn't talked to my sister in a while. Which would normally be true. But with Nic and her new husband moving to the city soon, we were talking to each other as much as we were when we lived across the hall from each other.

"Oh, and there's officers from the CCPD guarding the door at all times. No one's going to be able to get in or get out without going by them first. I figured it might give you some peace of mind with all that's going on, but uh, Sam—Sam, who's working with you in this? Do I need to call them too? Is it S.T.A.R. Labs, was I—"

She's cut off by commotion on the other side of the sliding doors, another shadow appearing in front of the curtains. My stomach sinks, and my insides go cold. It's the new harrowing figure that dances against the curtain, moving theatrically as some extra volume flows in from the outside.

My heart continues to pound in my chest, the monitor above me starting to sing as my heart rate increases, and I abandon every warning she'd given me as I manage to strangle out, "Flash? What happened?"

My eyes widen, squeezing Maude's hand to get her attention back on me. The excitement at the door had drawn her away too. She wipes her face as she looks back at me, a delicate frown on her lips.

"Sam..."

Then there's a figure sliding open the glass door, sliding it back, and then the curtain is ripped back to reveal the familiar form of—

"Cisco," my voice is rough, like gravel as I speak the single word.

Maude's dark brows furrow, head cocking to the side, but then her eyes widen with understanding, looking toward the door to the man who's cursing in Spanish at the guard for not letting him in immediately.

His face falls as he sets eyes on me, rushing past Maude and right up to my side. He doesn't heed a single warning Maude throws at him as she moves away from my side. Instead, he throws his arms around me—luckily steering clear of the chest tube protruding from my ribs—and engulfs me in a hug.

"Sam, oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god. Dude, we were all so worried about you. What happened? What happened?"

And even though it hurts, I can't help the tears that start choking me up. I don't move to return his embrace, I'm just so thankful he's here. He's okay. Cisco's fine.