"The Flash died with Caitlin and if there is no Caitlin then there is no FLash"
These words kept going through Barry's mind as he sat by himself. He wanted to be alone for a while. He kept blaming himself for all that had happened. Whenever he tried to help the people close to him, he made things worse. Because of him creating flashpoint, he had turned Caitlin into the one person she regretted most. Since he had come into her life, she had done everything possible to help him but in return he kept making it worse for her and now she had to loose her life. He closed his eyes as warm tears fell from his eyes. He couldn't get Caitlin's face out of his head.
"You aren't giving up on this all are you Mr Allen," came a female voice. Even with his eyes closed he knew who it was. He opened his eyes to find Caitlin standing by the door. She had a smile on her face and she came closer and sat down on the chair next to him.
"I asked you a question. Are you giving up, on us the city and your friends?"
"How come you here. How did you get away? You have no idea how happy I'm to see you here."
"I may be dead but I will be around as long as you all remember me. Barry, I know what happened was hard on all of you. In this we all knew that we would hAve to make many sacrifices."
"But losing you is the hardest thing I had to go through after seeing my parents getting killed and not being able to help them."
"We all have to pay the price for the greater good. Barry you asked me and I answered you. The lighting chose you that night and what you chose to do with it is the main thing. You chose to selflessly save the people of this city and we knowingly chose to stick by your side. We all knew that there will be times where one of us will have to sacrifice ourselves to keep you safe."
"I didn't ask or want you or anyone to do that," said Barry as anger rose inside. He hated the idea of them putting him first.
"Barry, you have a greater purpose and you are destined to do great things. I was happy to have known you, play a small part in your life to help you become the great hero we all know you will become. I was just a stepping stone for you."
"Caitlin you know that you meant more to me than a stepping stone. You were an amazing person who kept me going. You were the reason I was able to be the Flash."
A smile spread across her face. She came closer and knelt down closer to Barry. "But Barry this City needs the Flash. With one person gone, that doesn't mean that the rest of the city needs to suffer. I'm gone doesn't mean the bad guys are gone too. You need to keep fighting, fight for eveyone in that room, everyone you have lost and fight for me."
Barry closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, "I will fight your you Caitlin." He opened his eyes to find himself alone in the room. Sadness once agin took over but this time he still had hope.
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~//
Cisco sat next to Iris. Her breathing was normal and tests came back clear. It still wasn't clear why she was still unconscious. He was trying to not cry. He had lost his best friend, the one person who sticked with him from the moment he started at STAR Labs.
"You don't blame Barry for saving her and not being able to save Caitlin, do you?" Joe asked.
Cisco paused for and thought about it. So much and fast everything had happened that he didn't even think about it. "The idea of Iris coming here safe and sound while my friend had to give her life makes me mad yes. But Joe Iris is also my friend and I'm truly glad that she is ok. Things won't be the same though."
Joe didn't know what to say.
"Joe, just like you didn't want your daughter to get hurt but you still cared for Caitlin's safety, exactly like that I cared for Iris. Besides she shouldn't have been dragged into this anyways."
"What do you mean?" Asked Joe puzzled.
"Stacey and Ethan have been saying front the start that they want all those who worked at STAR Labs and helped with the particle accelerator will get there revenge on them. They knew that Iris wasn't a part of it. It was Caitlin, Dr Wells and me. They should have never taken Iris in the first place."
Joe and Cisco watched Iris in silence as her eyes rolled slowly but she didn't wake up.
Joe couldn't get what Cisco said out of his head. He kept rethinking this as he tried to make sense of it all. If Cisco was right and that Ethan and Stacey only wanted revenge on Caitlin, Wells and Cisco then the plan all along was to kill Caitlin. Iris was a distraction so Barry won't be able to save Caitlin and catch them. Or did they not care who died. What if everyone who is currently working here and worked on that particle accelerator are all targets. Who will be next?