Oliver meekly stands up from his seat. He feels his legs tremble as he begins to walk to where the previous speaker had just stood— directly in front of the closed casket. His mind immediately went to the man who laid at rest there. The thought forced tears to steadily fall down Oliver's cheeks as he began to speak. "Barry Allen. Many of you may have known him for his incredible intelligence and ability to analyze a crime scene. . ."
The cold wind rushed onto Oliver's face. The tears felt as if they had frozen on his cheeks. ". . . Some of you knew him as the man who put his life on the line every time he sped into a burning building to save lives."
Oliver watched people react to his words. Certain groups would shuffle and begin to cry at the various descriptions of Barry that left his mouth. "To a lot of you, Barry was more than just a CSI, or the Flash. He was your friend. Your adoptive son. The person you grew up telling everything to. The smile you saw walking down the street."
Oliver took a second to gather himself, biting his bottom lip trying to keep his voice strong. "He was the smile that I woke up to on my favorite mornings. He was the last thing I saw and felt my favorite nights." Flashes of their last night together swam through his memories— the laughs, the touches, the warmth, the love that went into their endeavors. He remembered the smile that rested on Barry's face when they kissed each other goodnight.
His voice became shaky. "But to all of us, he was a beacon of hope. And he will continue to be that for us. May we always keep him with us. May his memory remind us to believe in whatever seems to be impossible."
He went back to where he had been previously sitting, meeting Iris who had her arms open for an embrace. The silent tears became loud sobs as the happy memories in his head became overshadowed by the thought of the man in the casket. The man who laid dead. The man he wouldn't get to see again. He put his arms around her and squeezed her tightly. As the tears continued to fall, he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Ollie. . ."
He stood confused. Suddenly everything around him had frozen as his attention completely went to the voice repeating his name.
"Oliver."
"Oliver. . ."
"Ollie." Barry whispers. His vision was still blurry but he was able to make out the man who sat in a chair next to his bedside asleep. He hadn't budged from the position he was in. Barry tries to move but a numbness radiates from the base of his back through his lower extremities, throwing him into a panic. He musters up all his energy to speak as loudly as he can. "Oliver!"
He then realized that the voice was not in his subconscious. It was real. It was screaming at him, ringing through his mind.
His eyes open abruptly, immediately meeting Barry's. His jaw drops while his lips begin to form a smile. He brings his hand over his mouth the stifle the cries that leave his system. Tears steadily fall down his cheeks as he falls to his knees beside the bed. He weakly speaks as his head rests against Barry's hand. "Barry. . ."
As the weight of the moment begins to hit Barry, he feels a lump in his throat begin to form. He lightly taps Oliver's head to bring his eyes back to his. As Oliver's bright, tired eyes look into his, he is overcome with his own emotions. His voice isn't strong as it feels like a struggle for Barry to speak. It comes out imitating a whisper. "I'm here."
Oliver slowly rises up and sits back in his chair. He pulls the seat closer to Barry's bedside, immediately taking a firm grasp on his hand. "You're here. . ." his voice trembles with his lips as he speaks. "You're here."
"You're here," Barry chokes with a large smile.
"I've been here," Oliver begins. "I wasn't leaving until you woke up."
Barry continues to smile while squeezing Oliver's hand as tight as he could. The distraction of Oliver's waking presence suddenly wore off as Barry remembered the numbness he felt in his lower half. He began to panic. "Ollie, I can't feel my legs."
His eyes look at him bewildered and worried tears begin to fall. "I can't feel them."
Oliver's expressions mildly mirror Barry's. He swiftly puts his hand on Barry's shoulder. He softly rubs it in assurance. "Hey, you're fine. You're going to be okay."
"Why can't I feel anything?" Barry whines.
"I don't know," Oliver tells him stately. Concern begins to seep into his tone. He squeezes his hand before letting it go as he stands up. "I'll go get Caitlin."
He leaves the med-bay, leaving Barry alone to begin to comprehend his predicament. Wires ran from all over his upper body. A breathing tube rested in his nose— it was beginning to feel bothersome. He felt as if he couldn't even sit up due to a weakness that radiated from his rib cage to his shoulder blades.
The only thing that he had full control of was his head and neck— and even there he felt stiffness. He waited for Oliver to return with Caitlin, a restlessness coming over him as fear started to consumed him. Fear for his abilities. Fear that he would never be able to walk normally again. A fear that his entire life had been taken away from him in an instant.
He heard footsteps walk towards the door, followed by a warm smile that greeted him as it walked in. It was Caitlin. He meekly returns the gesture as she walks to his bedside. "I'm so glad to see you awake."
"Did you take good care of me?" Barry asks roughly. His attention is brought to Oliver who stands behind Caitlin, nodding with a grin. "I figured."
Caitlin furrows her eyebrows. "So Oliver tells me that you don't have any feeling in your lower extremities?"
Barry nods. "I feel nothing past my ribcage." He struggles to take a breath to continue talking. "Everything north of that feels weak— almost useless."
"The weakness is to be expected." Caitlin explains. Her tone becomes worried. "The bullet could have done damage to your vertebrae, therefore causing paralysis-"
"Paralysis?" Oliver asks worriedly. His facial expressions match Barry's.
"Is it permanent?" Barry adds.
Caitlin shakes her head. "With the speed force in you, it should heal the vertebrae. I would give it about a week or so and you should regain feeling."
She slightly grimaces. "Once you regain feeling in your legs, you'll need to start intensive therapy so we can get you up and walking again."
"And running." Barry adds, reminding her of his duties as the Flash. She hesitantly grins in response.
"Of course." She says stately. "Let me check your vitals so we can finally take you off this damn ventilator."
Barry looks to Oliver who was picking his phone up out of his pocket. He informs Barry and Caitlin that he was going to let Joe and Iris know that Barry had woken up. He shoots Barry an assuring grin before walking out of the room.
"What happened to the guys who shot me?" Barry inquires Caitlin.
Caitlin answers as she measures his blood pressure. "One was arrested on site. Joe immediately went on a manhunt to find the other guy. They've been in Iron Heights for about two weeks now."
"Good." Barry bites his lip. He takes as deep of a breath that he could so he could speak his next words. He struggles to finish his sentence. "We need to find a better way to catch these guys."
Caitlin looks at him sternly. "Let's focus on getting you better first. Then we'll talk about crime fighting."
"They put me here, Cait." Barry says. "They deserve hell."
"Let's revisit this later," Caitlin tells him, taken back. She copies down the readings off of the ventilator before looking back to Barry. "I'm going to blame your emotions on the pain meds."
Barry nods, knowing that it was more than just that. This feeling of anger began to stir up inside of him. The numbness that filled the lower half of his body happened because of some imbeciles with guns. And at this moment, it made him powerless. He wanted vengeance.
Caitlin took him off of the ventilator and Barry was able to breathe on his own. It was a struggle at first. But slowly he was able to ease back into the process of inhaling and exhaling. It still was slightly painful as the weakness in his chest was still prominent. The struggles fueled his rage even more.
Oliver came back into the room, returning to the spot he had previously sat in. He took Barry's hand and smiled. "They're on the way."
"Everything else is fine with you, Barry." Caitlin pipes in, gathering her equipment before walking towards the door. "I'll give you two the room."
Barry looks at Oliver with a hint of sadness. It was becoming easier for him to speak as the breathing tube was out of his nose. His words however still came out weakly. "Are you going to leave again?"
Oliver shoots him a look of confusion. "What makes you think I want to leave?"
"You have other priorities. . ." Barry trails off, his eyes are aimed at the ground below. "I don't want to keep you from those."
"You're my number one priority right now," Oliver assures him. "I want to help."
"You don't have to." Barry tells him.
Oliver places his other hand around Barry's, securing his hand in between his own. He smiles. "But I want to. I'm not leaving you again." He brings their hands to his chin, his eyes staring into Barry's with intent and admiration.
"So no more long distance?" Barry asks hopefully.
"No more long distance." Oliver tells him, tears filling his eyes. "I may have to run to Star City occasionally. But not until you're on your feet again."
"Good," Barry begins, swallowing the lump in his throat in an attempt to stop his own tears from falling from his eyes. He squeezes Oliver's hand. His words come out trembling before he begins to cry. "Because I need you, Ollie. I really need you."
Oliver brings Barry's and his hand to his forehead. "I need you too."
In this moment, Oliver and Barry realize what they shared with one another. It wasn't just the warm feeling they got when looking at another. It was more than just admiration. It was sentiments of security, serenity, and vivacity. It was the look of a future. The feeling of a future together.
The next words flowed from of Barry's mouth like a rapid river. His emotions overcame him and he couldn't keep the notion inside his mind. And when he spoke, a warmth radiated from his chest. He had yet to utter these three simple words to Oliver. This, however, was the time. He knew it and believed it with every fiber of his being.
And as Oliver received these words, tears slowly built up in his eyes. He believed the words. He felt the words. He shared the sentiment.
He brought his head back up and stared right into the vital brown eyes of his. The ones that looked at him with light and joy. "I love you too, Barry. With every part of me."
Oliver leans in, cupping his hand around Barry's cheek. He softly presses his lips against Barry's feeling the softness in return. The two share the lock being reminded of the sentiment that they had just revealed they had for one another. It had been nearly two months since either of them had felt the sensation of the other's lips. In it, they felt at home. They were home. The feeling of despair had finally left Oliver. The feeling of vitality had finally returned to Barry.
They were interrupted by excited footsteps coming into the med-bay. Iris came into the room and immediately went into a frenzy of tears. She walked to Barry's bedside and took his hand as Oliver gave her a space to stand.
"How are you feeling?" She asks.
"I've felt better." Barry responds smugly.
"You've seen better days, huh?" She responds in a similar manner. Barry nods, letting out a laugh.
"I got him to stay though," Barry adds, looking to Oliver. "If I knew it was going to take me getting shot for him to stay, I would've had someone do it sooner."
Oliver laughs sarcastically. "That's not funny."
"I'm the only one who can joke about it." Barry responds, instigating a hesitant laugh from all in the room.
As Joe entered, the mood in the room continued to lift. Everyone was happy, smiling, talking to Barry as if they were surprised. Surprised that they were even talking to him— because he knew that they didn't expect him to ever wake up. It was obvious. The reactions from Oliver and Iris were blatant proof.
Even though the mood was light and happy, it ignited Barry's rage. A rage that slowly had been growing since he woke up. A rage that jumpstarted the moment everyone he loved the most stood in a room together, Oliver, Iris, Joe, and Caitlin, celebrating Barry's incredible achievement of not being dead. Of surviving an accident that shouldn't have happened to him. An accident that could have easily been prevented had these criminals not been around in the first place.
There was only one way. One way to prevent anyone from ever taking Barry away from these people. One way to prevent these people being taken away from Barry. One way to prevent violent crimes from plaguing the city he loved.
It completely compromised the moral code he had followed for so long— but he didn't care. All he knew was that he sat in this bed with the inability to use the lower half of his body. He laid in this bed in pain.
He was seeing red— but he didn't care.
Barry knee exactly what needed to be done.