Oh. My. Gosh.

I finally did it.

Hallelujah! :D But seriously! I can't believe I finally did it. You guys have been so patient and understanding and just so AMAZING so thank you guys for that! Love ya' all, my lovelies. I hope this is okay, because I've been trying to get back into writing since I haven't written in like, months, so yeah, here's hoping! Thank you all for sticking through this with me and riding along this crazy train! :D There will probably be like, one more chapter after this but hopefully it won't take as long this time, haha. Plus it's an epilogue, so like, it's not that important. ;P

Disclaimer: Yep, I'm just sitting here on my bed, writing on my computer with a mouse that doesn't even work, despite owning everything, because, what the heck? It's fun. Not.

His arm ached, his eyelids felt like bricks, his head throbbed and his body felt empty yet weighed down like cement. He was trying to focus on the video game he was playing-to be honest, he didn't know what game it was or even how to play, he was basically just pressing different buttons and hoping for the best-but it was physically impossible.

Barry was never going to take sleep for granted ever again.

Oliver sat beside him on a bar stool, and was paying more attention to Barry than he was to the video game. Which he still couldn't believe that he was playing video games with Oliver Queen. It kinda' sucked that he was so out of it, because it could've been fun.

His neck was taut as he tried to keep his chin from falling to his chest in a desperate attempt to stay awake.

Six more hours.

Six more hours of torture and he would finally be free.

Probably.

At least, that's what they hoped for. Because despite all of the tests they had run, no one could be certain that once Barry fell asleep he would wake back up. Which at this point, Barry wasn't sure he could wake back up anyway just because he was so exhausted.

He had accidentally overheard a conversation between Cisco, Caitlin and Oliver about the fact that Barry may even slip into a coma when he finally succumbed to unconsciousness. But of course, there was only a twelve percent chance of that happening.

So.

There's that.

And another reason Barry would be glad when this thing is over, is that everyone else can rest, too. Because Oliver being the stubborn idiot that he is-yet somehow overly protective, and that still is so, so weird to Barry-hasn't slept once this entire time. He was determined to be by his side through out every hour.

And while that was very touching-not to mention strange because isn't this Oliver Queen?-it made Barry feel bad that he was being such a burden.

Despite what anybody says, it was true. Maybe not burden, but major inconvenience. He just wished that Oliver would actually sleep because even though Barry can't, it doesn't mean Oliver shouldn't. But still. It meant a lot to Barry that he was willing to go through all of this along beside him.

Who would've thought such a great friendship would evolve from such an unlikely pair? Barry mused dazedly as he blinked sluggishly. By now, Cisco had come out and joined them, apparently as the "referee" because 'super heroes don't play well together', as Cisco declared.

He could hear his friend talking in the background, words running a mile a minute as if he was an auctioneer, and was trying his best to focus on his voice because it seemed to be the distraction he needed. But all of that changed in the blink of an eye; quite literally. Because when Barry looked up he could have sworn he saw bolts of red lightning race across the room.

Immediately, without a second of hesitation, despite his insomnia and lack of any strength to keep him upright, he jumped up; on high alert. His head suddenly felt like thousands of tiny needles were being jammed into his skull, but he pushed through the pain and blurry vision to focus. Another blur of red flashed before his eyes and his heart sunk.

The Reverse Flash.

He was here.

It felt as if his heart had stopped, and he could distantly hear Oliver and Cisco's voices in the back ground, but the only thing he was registering was the overwhelming, crushing fear that buried itself into his chest and the even stronger need to finish the battle.

He wasn't in S.T.A.R. Labs anymore. He wasn't surrounded by friends and fellow heroes, fighting an invisible foe that had latched onto his body.

Instead, he was back in his old home from thirteen years ago, facing an enemy that still haunted his dreams today. There was something lurking in the back of his mind, a small grip on reality trying to pull him back, but then he saw him. Looming before him, knife in hand, and the air around him vibrating at the same frequency his body was.

And suddenly nothing else registered but him.

Barry stumbled forward, barely managing to stop from hitting the ground, when he felt hands grab onto his arms to try to stop him. He struggled to free himself, yanking his arms away and yelling in agony when his broken arm was jostled. Invisible forces continued to try and pull him back, but he struggled with all his worth as The Man in Yellow hovered in front of him, taunting him as he pulled back his mask to reveal Eobard Thawne.

"Ah, Barry Allen. Once again, you were too late." Eobard mocked, gesturing to the blood stained knife he held in his possession. Barry felt as if his heart shattered into a billion pieces at the sight. His jaw tensed as he continued to fight his way free.

"I'm gonna' kill you." He declared in a broken voice, but watched as Eobard merely smiled.

"If only you could. But you see," He leaned forward, inches away from Barry as an evil gleam entered his eyes. "I'm not even real." Barry frowned, confusion crossing his features as he watched the man he had despised almost his entire life, and the scenery around him fade away.

He suddenly broke free from the invisible grasp holding onto him, and fell to the ground; pain bursting from his arm and spreading like white fire through out his body.

A pained yelp escaped past his lips as his chest and arms collided with the ground, vision blackening as the pain filled him. He closed his eyes with a grimace, dizziness clouding his mind and ears ringing. Only now could he catch a few of the words being said above and around him.

"...might have...restrain him..."

"...can't...sedate...might die..."

"...other choice...we have..."

"...wait, guys...I think he's...looks like..."

"...coming around...Barry, can you..."

"...it's me, Caitlin...Cisco and Oliver...here..."

"...S.T.A.R. Labs...everything's...okay..."

He blinked sluggishly, blurred figures dancing above him as he tried to focus; only realizing now that he was no longer on the floor but on something soft. "Wha-" He choked out, becoming more and more aware of his surroundings and the worried faces of his teammates. And only now did he realize, that there were tears streaming down his face.

"It's okay, buddy, you're at S.T.A.R. Labs. The Reverse Flash isn't here and won't ever be here again. Everything's all right, Barry," Cisco was saying, and oh.

Oh.

That wasn't...real...

Humiliation swept over Barry and he brought up a shaking hand-stop. It wasn't even real-to his face to cover his eyes from the lights and to hide his tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry-" And there it was. He was delirious and babbling and trying to apologize but it only came out in harsh sobs as he tried to force the image of a blood stained knife out of his mind.

"...can we...just a minute..." Barry distantly heard Oliver's voice and scuffling footsteps leaving the room, but could only focus on trying not to hyperventilate. Which wasn't working. "Barry, you need to breathe," Oliver was saying, his voice oh-so-calm, and how can he be so calm?

Eobard Thawne just killed his mother and he's gonna' be back and they're all in danger and- "Barry, hey, breathe." But he can't because Thawne is here, now, and if he doesn't do something they're all going to die and God, he can't lose anybody else-

"It's okay, just do it with me-" And suddenly Oliver's helping him sit up as he commands with that firm but gentle voice that he has that Barry can't help but listen to and-"That's it, you're doing good, just keep going-" And finally Barry's lungs feel like they can expand again as he inhales deeply but shakily and the panic is lessoning but still-

"He's not here. You defeated him, he's not coming back. We are all safe-" And just like that Barry feels like the wind has been knocked out of him as his vision focuses and he can finally see Oliver and Barry's whole body is trembling so violently and it feels like his heart was just ripped out, but slowly things are coming back to him and he can finally breathe again.

Next thing he knows, there are arms around him, and he's holding back with a death grip, because even though he knows now, that none of it was real, that doesn't make it any less painful. His arm is still throbbing-no doubt a re-fracture from all his thrashing around from the hallucination-but it barely even registers because it just feels numb.

His heart is still pounding violently inside of his chest but he no longer feels like he's going to pass out from the crushing weight on his chest.

Oliver is saying something, but Barry can't quite hear it over the blood rushing in his ears nor could he possibly begin to understand it through the muddled fog in his brain. Barry's grip on Oliver slackens and he feels weak and ridiculous because he's holding onto Oliver and he's supposed to be a hero but now he only feels like the scared little boy who had wandered into the scene of his mother's murder.

"I-I'm sorry," Barry said, shame washing over him and he wants to say more, but in his delirious state of mind he can't trust what might come out. Oliver pulled back, only once he was certain Barry was ready, before speaking; keeping one hand on Barry's shoulder. And Barry wasn't sure if that was for the physical connection, or to keep him upright. Perhaps both.

"It's okay, buddy," Oliver says, voice sincere and understanding and God when did they become so close? Barry sniffed, looking down at the floor awkwardly.

Distantly, the one part of him that wasn't wrapped up in this twisted emotional state of his, picked up on the sound of Oliver inhaling deeply as he sat next to him on the hospital bed. "Just a few more hours," Oliver declared, and Barry nodded absentmindedly.

So Oliver decided to provide the one of the many things Barry needed at that moment, but the only thing he could have; a distraction "Wanna' go see if there's anything else we can get ourselves into?" It's a joke, Barry knows this, because that seemed to be the only thing they ever did; got into trouble.

Barry's lips turned up into a grin as he looked up at Oliver. He's tired, and hallucinating and on the very verge of fainting and maybe dying, but he doesn't feel the need to worry about that anymore. Because, after all...

"As long as you guys are there to bail me out, I'm up for anything."

" Only a few more minutes now, Barry," Caitlin said, eyes bright with relief and smile wide with exhaustion and joy. Barry returned the smile with one of his own, a sense of finally washing over him. Somewhere near him, Cisco cheered and clapped, easing any tension the room may have held in a way only Cisco could. Ever since six hours before, when he had...hallucinated the Reverse Flash, time had gone by fairly quickly. There were a few issues along the way.

Such as more hallucinations, nearly passing out a couple of times, petty arguments because nobody has gotten enough sleep-or any sleep in his case-and more glitches of his speed. Which had been really odd the first time it had happened, because it wasn't like the first couple.

These were more simple, as in his arm jerking, causing him to fall off his chair-that was fun-, him vibrating uncontrollably, and a few really weird minutes where he was moving normally, but everything around him was moving at a snail's pace.

Simple stuff.

Caitlin had told him it was just because his body was so sleep deprived, that even with the Speed Force flowing through his veins,his body wasn't strong enough to handle much more than small, jerky movements.

And after all that, they were finally here. And now here seemed to be dragging on for an eternity. Everyone was enthralled with the fact that the past seventy two hours were coming to a close, but there was also a certain level of dread and apprehensiveness filling the air. He would soon be able to sleep, but would he be able to wake back up?

Caitlin had assured everyone more than once-because God knows that these people can't take anything less than one hundred percent-that everything was in favor of working out well. However, there was still a small percentage that things might not.

Being lost in his thoughts, Barry completely missed everything going on around him as those last few minutes dwindled away into nothing; leaving him at the exact seventy two hour mark of being stabbed.

"Barry? Dude, you gotta' stop spacing out like that; it's freaking me out." Cisco said, and Barry blinked at him stupidly.

"What?" Cisco just chuckled and shook his head.

"The times up, man. You can sleep now," Cisco declared and Barry sighed with relief.

"Oh, thank God," Barry said, feeling the weight lift off of his shoulders despite the insomnia keeping him down. He was barely even aware of Oliver and Cisco helping him walk over to the hospital bed, barely coherent of the words coming out of his mouth about not being a little kid. And Cisco and Oliver's shared "uh-huh" that still sounded like they were talking to a two year old.

"Hey, we can't help it that you look like a kid," Cisco said, and oh, wait, he must have said that last part out loud. Huh. Everything continued to move around him a daze, and he still felt like he was trapped in some sort of hazy fog. Hazy fog? Mazy log? No, that's...that's not what he meant. What did he mean again? "Dude, you're just rambling. We can't understand you," Oh. He was doing it again. He's gotta' stop that.

Somebody gently pushed him back against the bed, or maybe two people did it, he didn't know.

"Sleep." Caitlin commanded, and he found that his eyes were closed before he could even register what he was doing. He distantly heard footsteps leaving the room, but still felt a presence next to him. Sensing that the other person was about to leave, also, Barry cracked his eyelids open, and once realizing who it was-though he knew all along-he numbly reached out; grabbing onto the other man's wrist. Oliver looked down at the hand on his wrist, before looking at Barry with a frown.

"Hey, Ollie?" Barry questioned, voice quiet and tired.

"Yeah, kid?" Barry's eyes had begun to close again already, but a smile still managed to form on his tired lips.

"Thank you." And with that, Barry was off into the patient, awaiting arms of unconsciousness, as his grip on Oliver's wrist loosened and his hand fell away. And if Oliver stood there for a few moments after, a rare expression of fondness on his usually grim face, nobody would question it.

Just like how nobody would question the fact that a blanket magically appeared on top of Barry's sleeping form. The past seventy two hours may not have been fun, nor were they easy, but they had all learned something through it that nobody would soon forget.

That with friends, come hardships and pain or joy and laughter, no matter the circumstances, anything is possible.

Ahh, some good ol' Olivarry bromance. Haha, hopefully it wasn't super confusing for y'all! Until we meet again! *salutes*