collide ⚡ barry allen [2] [ON HOLD]

02. getting the band back together

Spencer called out for someone to help and Cisco, Joe, Iris and Stein ran into the hallway. Cisco and Joe quickly helped her get Barry to his feet and carry him over to a medical bed in the cortex. The blonde immediately went to work, checking his wounds and monitoring his vitals. Luckily, no damage was too serious of a match for his super-healing abilities, so he'd be fine within a few short hours.

After making sure he was okay, Cisco filled her in on their new meta. His name was Al Rothstein; a man Joe and Barry had previously identified as dead at a crime scene earlier that day. And the day of the accelerator explosion, he was on his honeymoon is Hawaii. So there was no way he could have been affected. It made no sense. But they also discovered he gets his growing powers from the radiation in the air, which could be a useful key to stopping him.

Once Spencer was up to speed, Joe requested that everyone vacate the premises so they wouldn't overwhelm Barry when he woke up. Spencer, however, got a pass as she was his "doctor". The irony of her and Caitlin's previous conversation rang in her ear loud and clear after that one.

Barry woke up about a half hour later, Joe sitting beside his bed while Spencer was in a seat at the far end of the room. The speedster let out a groan when he came to. His eyes slowly fluttered open, but when he realized where he was, he sat up with a gasp.

Joe reached out and gently guided him back to his resting position, "You're good. I got you."

Barry sighed, leaning back into his pillow. "Where is everyone?"

"I figured you wouldn't want an audience when you came to," Joe smiled faintly before nodding in Spencer's direction, "Although, I did allow one small exception."

Barry's eyebrows rose before he followed the direction his foster father was gesturing to. When his eyes landed on the familiar face, a face he hadn't seen in so long, they widened in surprise. "Spencer..." His raspy voice called out softly.

"Hey, stranger," She smiled slightly, getting to her feat to sit on the other side of his bed.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned, Spencer not missing the emotions hiding behind his gaze.

"Someone needed to patch you up, right?" She joked lightly, "It's a miracle you've lasted so long without me- or anyone. Barry you can't do this alone."

"Spencer is right," Joe nodded, turning Barry's attention back to him, "For the last six months I've given you your space to work all this out, come back to us. But today proved that you'd rather just get yourself killed."

Barry scoffed, turning his head to face the ceiling, "It's better than getting my friends killed."

"You want me to tell you that it wasn't your fault? I can't. It was," Joe leaned forward, telling it to him straight. Spencer bit her lip, her mind instantly wanting to assure Barry, but Joe needed to speak. "Guess what? You weren't the only person making decisions that day. All of the rest of us were there too. Eddie and Ronnie, they chose to help you stop Wells, and stop that-"

"Singularity," Spencer helped him.

"Singularity thing." Joe nodded, sending the blonde a look of thanks.

Spencer sighed, wanting to add to what Joe was saying. She leaned forward herself, grabbing onto Barry's hand that was lying limp on the edge of the bed. The contact drew Barry's eyes back to her and she almost forgot every word in the English dictionary when she came face to face with him again.

"Barry, listen to me. If you want forgiveness, I'll give it to you. Okay? You're forgiven," She squeezed his hand once, "But you have to forgive yourself. Like Joe said, we all have to carry the burden of that day, not just you. And I can't even begin to tell you how much I miss both Eddie and Ronnie. But they died to save everyone. Don't take away from their heroic act by hogging the blame."