Days go by and Eddie adapts to the new way of things fairly quickly.

He wakes up late, goes to the gym, works out, showers, dresses, has a protein shake then heads out to Jitters to pick up coffee and bagels. Then it's off to Star Labs to deliver said items and to see how everyone is doing and to check up on Barry, despite the fact that Felicity, Caitlin and Cisco have all been texting him throughout the morning, keeping him informed on Barry's progress. Not that there's much to report on. But the need to know how Barry is doing is a constant thing and one that he has to see with his own eyes. Strangely enough the others seem to know this and accept his daily visits as a matter of course.

As much as he promises himself that the visit to the Lab will be a quick one he inevitably ends up staying a good hour and every time he leaves it gets harder and harder to do so. He wants to be by Barry's side, to be there for Joe and Iris and the others but he knows that the best thing for everyone is for him to carry on as normal as possible. It's hard but it's the right thing to do. At least that's what he tells himself every time he goes to leave.

Work at least is a distraction and for the next eight hours or so he can lose himself in it. He's on light duties, thanks to Singh, which is considerate on one hand but really really boring on the other. Spending his time following up on reports, writing reports, filing reports is not the sort of thing he signed up for.

He breaks the monotony of the day by grabbing a quick bite to eat and going for a walk, most often up to Barry's lab. For the first few days he found it almost impossible to even walk pass the room. The silence and emptiness of it feels so wrong and seeing the lab void of Barry's presence stings just a little - more than just a little. Barry belongs here, out in the world, not lying in some bed, silent and still.

It takes three days to pass before he finally manages to enter the room and when he does it's like a sucker punch to the gut that takes his breath away. Barry's presence is everywhere.

There's his black jacket tossed casually over the back of a chair and his coffee mug still half filled with days old coffee sitting next to his keyboard along with a small model of an atom and what looks like a small toy replica of R2D2 from Star Wars.

That Barry is a geek comes as no surprise.

And of course there are the photos. One of Barry with Iris and another one of Barry with Joe, both taking pride of place on one of the desks. There's even a post-it-note written in Barry's distinctive handwriting stuck in the middle of one of the monitor screens with the words "Dinner 6pm Joe's house".

To most people they would be meaningless insignificant things and yet to Eddie they are all reminders of what they have lost.

It's the faint whiff of Barry's aftershave that almost undoes him. The scent of it still lingers in the room after all this time and for one tiny brief moment he feels his resolve start to grumble. With a deep breath Eddie places his hands on his hips and closes his eyes, taking the time to pull himself together.

He never thought it would be this hard but it is and as much as he wishes he could talk to someone about what he is feeling he knows he has to go through this alone. Joe, Iris, Caitlin, Cisco... they are all suffering, now is not the time to be burdening them with what he is going through. The pain he is feeling is his and his alone.

His emotions under control once again Eddie spends the next few minutes wandering around the lab. So much of Barry is here that it's hard to think of the lab without thinking of him.

Pausing by one of the desks Eddie picks up one of the framed photos as memories of Barry filter through his mind. He can see him quite clearly, face creased in concentration, body and hands moving in almost constant motion, long elegant fingers either tapping away at his keyboard or gathering and analysing evidence while his mind is obviously buzzing with a million and one things. It was that energy that drew Eddie to Barry in the first place, that and the mega watt smile he had flashed at him the first day they had met which had sent all sorts of tingles throughout Eddie's body along with some serious sinful thoughts. Thoughts that were way too inappropriate to be having about a work colleague. At the time Eddie had half-hoped that the guy would turn out to be a jerk hence squashing any future lustful thoughts. That Barry had instead turned out to be smart, loyal and kind if just a little awkward and clumsy had made it all the more harder for Eddie to fight the attraction he felt.

He has always had a weakness for smart nerdy guys.

But fight the attraction he had, partly because of his own insecurities and partly because getting involved with a colleague never seemed to work out well; at least going from what he had observed. He had seen too many cases of dating couples trying to work together as professional colleagues and failing and all the ensuing awkwardness and difficulties that would follow after the break-up. It was hard enough making a relationship work outside of the office but when you threw in the job and the dangers it involved it just seemed like a recipe for disaster, cliché as it sounded. For once in his life he had held off and squashed those feelings down, deep deep down. Not perhaps the healthiest of methods but it had worked – mostly.

Now though those feelings have flared up again along with a ton of other emotions and as the days go by he becomes more and more sure that he doesn't want to squash those feelings down again.

This time he wants to try. Or at least attempt to try to have something with Barry. Something more than just friendship.

He knows that it's a risk. A really, really big risk. A big risk that could all blow up in his face and leave him with nothing. But if there's a chance that they could have something more he's willing to try.

Of course Barry has to wake up first. That would be a start.

In the meantime Eddie tries to lose himself in work and when work is finished - usually sometime between 7 and 8 pm - routine takes over. It's a pretty simple routine, much like his morning one.

From work he heads home, grabbing a bite to eat on the way; something healthy if he can manage it, otherwise it's a burger and a diet coke. Fast and easy and food he can start eating the moment his car leaves the drive-through. Arriving at his apartment he flicks the TV on, turns the volume down low and quickly surfs through the channels. He doesn't pick anything specific to watch, just something that is mindless that doesn't require too much attention. Satisfied with his choice he then finishes his meal - if he hasn't already – slips off his shoes and jacket and makes himself comfortable on the sofa. It only takes a matter of moments before he falls into a deep sleep.

A couple of hours later he wakes up, as if some internal clock inside him knows that it's time for him to carry on with the rest of his evening. Awake he quickly freshens up, changes into jeans and a t-shirt, makes up a Thermos of coffee and heads out the door, grabbing his keys and jacket as he does so. It's a routine that he's already so familiar with that anyone would think he had been doing it for years instead of just a little over a week.

It's late by the time he arrives at Star Labs and the others have mostly left. There's just him and either Felicity or Cisco and sometimes Caitlin, though she never stays around for very long. Joe is there too, sitting in a chair next to Barry's bed, watching over him. Eddie joins him, taking up position on the other side of Barry's bed. The two of them talk for a little while, their voices quiet as they share reminiscences. Eventually Joe gets up and heads home, though Eddie knows it costs him a little bit to leave Barry behind.

Once Joe is gone Eddie settles in for the night. He shrugs out of his jacket, pours himself a coffee; sharing some of with Felicity if she is around; talks to Barry about anything and everything and nothing; casual comments about how the day went. Finally he leans back into the chair, pulls out a pristine new copy of 'A Game of Thrones' from his jacket pocket and begins to read out aloud.