I've been resting for a week trying to heal the bruised rib cage, and it's been going well. Barry's been protective, but I'm pretty much used to it. Barry's been doing his Flash duties all day today and I stayed at home just bored to death as I tried to look for something to do at the house. Eventually, I get dressed in a cropped sweater that says 'Just Do It Later', whitewashed jeans, and baby teal sneakers. I put my hair up in a messy bun leaving a few strands out to frame my face and do my makeup. I grab my phone and head outside to see that the day was cloudy. I hail a cab as I walk into town and take it to Picture News. I walk in and walk over to Iris' desk and lean on it casually. "Hey, Iris." I say with a bright smile and she looks at me returning the smile. "Hey, Tori. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with your boyfriend." she says and I cross my arms. "My boyfriend's been doing his job and is super busy zipping around the place. I got bored at home and decided to visit you since I have nothing better to do with this bruised rib cage. Thank you, Turtle." I say and she looks back at me. "You still haven't healed from that?" she asks and I shake my head. "Remember that I'm not the one with super healing." I tell her telepathically and she nods. "Well, I'm sure Barry will be home soon." Iris says turning back to the computer as she writes an article. I suddenly hear my phone ring and I answer it. "Hey, babe! What's up?" I ask as I look away from Iris.
"We need you at S.T.A.R. Labs, now." Barry says and I furrow my brows in confusion.
"What for?" I ask him.
"Turtle's dead." he replies and I widen my eyes.
"Ok. Be there as soon as I can. Love you." I say then I hang up.
I stand up straight and look at Iris, "Let me guess, something interesting finally happened and you gotta go?" she guesses and I laugh. "And that's why we're best friends, Iris West. See ya around." I say as I walk out. As soon as I get to S.T.A.R. Labs, I dash into the pipeline to see Caitlin and Barry inside the cell staring at the body, and Cisco, Wells, and Jay standing outside. "How... did it... happen?" I ask as I pant in exhaustion. "Preliminary brain scans shows an acute brain aneurysm." Caitlin says and I walk over to them once my breathing was calm and look at Barry. "The night we captured him. How's that for timing?" Jay says as he looks at Wells. "What does that mean? You think I did this, Garrick?" Wells asks him and Jay nods. "This man is the key to us stopping Zoom. The key to me saving my daughter. Why would I want that?" Wells asks him. "Never understood why you do anything, Harrison." Jay says and I just cross my arms and sigh as they start again. "That's fine with me, Garrick." Wells says and I was just done with this conversation. "Guys, look. We need to figure out how to stop Zoom. Everything we've tried so far has failed. We need to start thinking outside the box." Barry says to them as he walks up to me. "I mean, we haven't even figured out how to close the breaches yet. Maybe that's where we should start." Barry says and I nod in agreement. "That's a good idea. I'll get on that." Wells says and Barry looks down at me. "You ok?" he asks me looking at me in concern. "I'm fine. You know, if this was a way to get me out and to be with you, it worked." I say and he laughs and kisses me. Soon, we hear his phone vibrate and I look at him, "I gotta get to CCPD." he says and I grab his hand. "Take me with you? I'm bored at the house anyway. If I'm with you, I can help you get organized, or something." I say and he laughs. "Fine. Come on." he says and we walk out of the pipeline.
*~*~
Barry and I were in his lab and I was helping him sort stuff out, until I turn to see him checking me out. "Stop that." I say to him as I chuckle. "Stop what? I'm not doing anything." he says and I turn to him. "Sure your not." I say as I walk over to him and he pulls me in making me sit on his lap and he kisses me. I kiss him back as I chuckle a bit and run my hands through his hair. "Ahem." we hear someone clear their voice and we pull away to see Patty there. "Oh, hey, Patty." Barry says as I get off of Barry's lap and he stands up. "Hey. I just wanted to see if you could run this trace for me. Someone messed with an enthol transport truck. They cut the break line and tampered with the gear shafts." she tells him. "Yeah. Sure." Barry says and I look at Patty. "Hey, Patty. How are things going?" I ask trying to start a conversation. "Great! I'm actually leaving to Midway City for a CSI school." she says and I widen my eyes. "Well, I know you'll be a great CSI, but I know that the CCPD will miss you." I tell her and she smiles politely. "Thanks, Tori." she says and I give her a polite smile. "Well, gotta get back to work. See ya." she says as she walks out and I wave.
"I'm gonna miss her. She's really sweet." I say as I lean on the desk.
"Yeah, she is." Barry says as he puts his hands on my waist. "But you're sweeter."
I roll my eyes at that comment and he kisses me again. "Ok, love birds, pull it apart." I hear Iris say and I sigh. "Can I get at least one moment alone with my boyfriend?" I ask as Iris walks in and smiles at us. "You can get enough alone time at home with him, Tori." Iris says and I shake my head. "Not necessarily." Barry says and she looks at us oddly. "What do you mean?" she asks us in confusion. "With my dad around the house, it's hard to get some alone time." I say to her. "Why don't you guys get your own place then? You guys have already lived together for years, it's not like it's something big anymore." she says and I look over to Barry. "She kind of has a point." I say as I look up at him. "We'll talk about this later." Barry tells me and I nod in agreement. "Hey, Joe." Barry says and I turn to see Joe walk over to us with a sad expression on his face. "What's wrong?" I ask him in concern to why he looked sad. "I just went to see Francine, and... She doesn't have much time." Joe says to Iris and I look at her with a frown. "I already said my goodbyes, if you want to do the same." he tells her again. "I gotta go." she says and I wanted to talk to her, but I knew that she needed her space. "I'm gonna leave you two alone now." Joe says and he walks out of the lab.
I look at Barry and he looks at me as his arms wrap around me again. "So, about moving out..." he says and I look at him. "You really wanna move out of my dad's place?" I ask him in surprise and he smiles at me. "Yeah. I really do. Having our own place is gonna be great. Just you and me." he says and I smile at him. "Yeah. I can't wait to find a place to call our own." I say as I wrap my arms around his neck. He then pulls me in and kisses me to which I return the kiss. Just as Barry was about to deepen the kiss, we hear his phone ring and he sighs. "Cisco, what is it?" he asks as he puts the phone to his ear and I just stare at him. "Ok, we're on our way." Barry says and I was suddenly sped to S.T.A.R. Labs but Barry speeds into his suit. "Where am I going?" Barry asks him as he pulls his mask over his head. "Mercury Labs. Go!" Cisco replies and Barry speeds out. "What's happening in Mercury Labs?" I ask Cisco as I walk over to him. "Break in." he replies not making eye contact with me, but I know that he was hiding something.
"Cisco, tell me or so help me I will read your mind and find out every little embarassing thing." I say.
"Ok! Reverse-Flash is back." he says and I widen my eyes.
Barry suddenly speeds in and changes back into his regular clothes, but looks angry. "Barry." I call him as I walk up to him and grab his hand. "I know it's a lot to take in. Trust me, I'm still taking it in myself." I say and then I look over to Joe. "Eddie Thawne died, so Eobard Thawne should've been erased out of existance, right?" Joe asks and I nod thinking the same thing. "Not necessarily." Wells says and we all look at him expecting an explanation from him. "It is possible Eobard was in the Speed Force, protecting him like a bomb shelter, keeping him alive and his timeline in tact. It's what's known as a "timeline remnant." Wells says rubbing his forehead and I furrow my brows in confusion. "A what now?" Joe asks and I nod in agreement. "Yeah. A what?" I ask as a non-scientist barely knowing anything they say. "Here. Let me show you." Wells says as he walks over to the clear whiteboard and Cisco tosses him a dry erase marker. "This, this is now. Here. Today." he says drawing a circle on the board then draws a line. "This is the time Thawne comes from." he says drawing another circle, and at this point, I'm still confused.
"This is the moment you all erased him from existance, but since Thawne is from the future, this is where his timeline begins." Wells says drawing a line from the third circle he drew before the time now to the time where Thawne came from. "That's why he's alive. This Thawne has not yet traveled back in time to kill Barry's mother, he's here, now, in this time period, for the first time, timeline remnant." once he finishes it, I start to get it.
"Explains why nothing's changed." Cisco says and I nod.
"Yeah, it also explains why he didn't know my name, or that we have met before." Barry says.
"To him, you hadn't. Not until the future." Wells explains.
"If Thawne dies before he can time travel again, will that save Barry and Tori's mothers?" Joe asks.
"No. That's not how it works. In their timeline, Barry and Tori's mothers are already dead, and their deaths are a fixed point. Nothing can change that."
"Alright, well, I'm gonna end this. Him. In this time, once and for all." Barry says and I look at him.
"Bar, let's find Dr. McGee first, then we'll figure out what to do with Thawne. Ok?" I ask and he nods slightly as he turns away from me.
He bends over and lays his head on the rail and I run my fingers through his hair to soothe him. Barry then looks up at Caitlin and I see her worried look. "Caitlin, I know you're worried about Dr. McGee, but we're gonna get her back." Barry says and I nod. "It's not that. It's Jay." she says and I furrow my brows and put a hand on my hip as I look at her intriguingly. "What about Jay?" I ask her in wonder. "He's sick. And it's getting worse. When Zoom stole his speed, it affected him on a nuclear level. We need to do something about it." she says and I cross my arms. "Alright. Like what?" Barry asks and I wondered the same. "I think we should replace his dying cells with healthy ones, indistinguishable from his." she says and I narrow my eyes at her. "How do we do that?" I ask her in confusion and she looks between the both of us. "We find his Earth-1 doppelganger." she says and I look over to Barry. "We can go to my lab at CCPD to see if we can find anything on him." Barry says and I nod. "Hey, Bar, I think I'm gonna head home. Call me if you guys find anything." I say and they both nod. I peck Barry's lips, then I walk out of S.T.A.R. Labs and head home.