Only Because I Need You

Wakey Wakey

Caitlin placed the end of her stethoscope gently on Ethan's chest. She listened to the quick thump-thump of his heart and the harsh whoosh of his breath. His heart rate had settled a little since her last check on him. She breathed out a sigh of relief, pulling the stethoscope from her ears and slinging it around her neck. Iris and Cecile were standing by the storage cabinets on the other end of the room. Both of them watched her with the same blank expression. Caitlin looked back at Ethan, his face was completely neutral, showing no signs of being alive. She swivelled on her heels, striding over to the pair of West girls. Iris greeted Caitlin with a gentle smile, "is he doing better?" She asked.

Caitlin nodded, "he is definitely on the road to recovery," she looked over them both, Iris had bags under her eyes and her hair was slightly dishevelled. Cecile on the other hand, her gaze kept flickering over to Ethan, and every time she would purse her lips and tear her eyes way, "what is he dreaming about?" Caitlin asked as Cecile's eyes drifted once more.

She looked startled for a moment, "I don't know," she replied, pinching her brows together. A sigh escaped her lips and Iris's turned her head to face her step-mother with one eyebrow quirked up high, "It's more like he occasionally comments on what is going on in his mind, or I will hear him talking with himself. I can't see what he sees or anything like that,"

Caitlin nodded her head, that was what she had expected, "it's probably best that way,"

Iris nodded, "Yeah, I don't think we want to know what goes on in that head of his,"

A moment of silence passed between the three women. Caitlin considered what Iris had said. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the twisted mind of his. She wanted to know if he was aware of what happened, if he had been dreaming about his past. She might never know fully, but she could take an educated guess, "we'd better go," Cecile's calm voice broke the silence. She gestured lightly to her and Iris with the back of her hand.

"Yeah, we have been here for a while," Iris sighed, stretching her arms out in front of her.

"I will see you guys tomorrow then," Caitlin smiled at them. She turned back towards the two occupied beds. She had work to do with the small boy. The pair of women bid Caitlin their own fairwells and left the Lab. Caitlin was left with the comforting quiet of Ethan's heart monitor. Moments of peace like that gave her time to catch her breath, and she was often very thankful for them, but it didn't last long. Caitlin saw movement from the corner of her eye. The boy sat up straight, his eyes wide and his pupils darted around the room. His eyes grew wide as he took in his surroundings. He backed away from Caitlin his breathing was rapid, small tears pricked his blue eyes.

Caitlin raised her hands in defence, "it's okay," she said softly. His eyes trained on her lips, his small brows puckered together. He shook his head, his eyes only widening further.

"I can't hear you," his voice was loud and slightly slurred. His panicked eyes jumped around, landing on the Ethan's body close by. He visibly began to shake, even his chin trembled slightly.

Caitlin froze for a second. What was she doing, the boy was deaf, he would not react to sound. She lifted up her hand and raised her index finger, hoping that the Boy would understand she was asking for a minute. She scurried over to the storage cabinets and began to rummage for the white board and the pen she kept hidden in there. Within a few moments she had what she needed and she was by the child's side once more. His wide eyes stared at her, his small hands cupped his ears. Caitlin wrote quickly, explaining where they were and how he got there, before holding it up for him to read. His eyes scanned the board, his mouth slowly fell lower and lower. He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. She nodded, a smile tugged downwards on her lips.

The boy wrapped his arms around his chest, his small eyebrows pinched together, "where is my mom? Is she okay?" He half yelled, completely unaware he was doing so.

Caitlin pursed her lips. Should she tell the boy what they knew about his mom, or should she lie to him? She used a cloth to rub out her previous text on the board. After some serious thought she decided to tell the boy the truth, there was little point in lying to him, he was bound to find out eventually either way. She explained through her writing that they had little idea of what happened to his mother, that she had gone missing in the same day as him. After showing Sonny the board, he scrunched up his face, his little blue eyes read and re-read every word, "What do you mean missing?" He asked, staring straight at Caitlin as though she had said something ludicrous. Perhaps to him it was.

Once more she got rid of her previous writings and began her next text. This time he told the boy he had been missing for several years, and no one had been able to find him or his mother. She added a question for him at the bottom, she asked him what the last thing he remembered was. His eyes scanned the text more quickly, his eyebrows puckered in disbelief possessed his eyes. He blinked up to Caitlin, "the last thing I remember was being mom's Lab, then there was a big explosion and I was on the docks, but the man in the red suit showed up,"

Caitlin raised her eyebrows, she began to piece together what he was telling her. Her eyes grew wide s she studied the form of the child. She needed a meeting with team Flash, but she supposed it could wait till the morning, after all, it was getting ridiculously late. For now, she needed to find somewhere they could keep the child.