Alternate ending to The Flash S4E08. Set before the end of "Crisis on earth-x". Impulsively, Barry follows Thawne as he escapes through a breach and ends up in another earth. Without any idea how to get back, he heads to the only thing familiar to him in this earth, STAR Labs.
"The Multiverse Theory states that, every decision you make splits reality into multiple parts, creating an infinite number of parallel universes that exists simultaneously with our own."
Can Barry still be able to go through with the wedding. When an alternate reality shows him something he could have had...
Barry stood motionless, his eyes fixated on the familiar figure of Caitlin Snow and an adorable little girl sitting on her lap.
"Caitlin?" he called quietly, unsure whether this Earth's Caitlin knew him.
Caitlin's gaze drifted over to him and a look of confusion and shock rested on her features. The instant their eyes met a look of familiarity crossed her face, which was quickly replaced by apprehension.
"W...what are you doing here Barry?" Caitlin's surprised voice echoed through the room.
"I need your help. But technically I'm not the Barry that you know..." He answered, quite unsure how to explain the situation.
She hesitated for a moment, then moved to stand up and hide the little girl behind her.
Barry took a step forward, clearing the distance between them. All the while feeling her calculative eyes study his every move.
"Cait, I can exp— " she suddenly held up her hand and stopped him. "I think.. I already know. But I can't help you"
"No. You don't understand, you probably won't believe me when I tell you.. I'm not Barry. No.. wait I am Barry, but not your Barry because I'm—" for the second time Caitlin interrupted him mid-sentence. Effectively putting a stop to his nervous rambling.
"From another Earth" Caitlin finished for him.
"How did you know?" Barry asked, perplexed.
"First, the difference in your suit is kind of a dead giveaway. Second, I've met more Harrison Wells from other earths than I could count, so I think I would know when someone isn't from this earth.." she listed, calmly.
"And third, the Barry I know never calls me Cait anymore." Caitlin finishes, her voice tight.
Barry knows that she wasn't his Caitlin, but that didn't stop the hallow, aching feeling in his chest. It reminded him of the fact that for the longest time, he hadn't talked to Caitlin properly, not once did he even ask how she was.
Barry shifted uneasily on his feet, hating the hardness in the familiar brown eyes of this Earth's Caitlin as she looks at him expectantly.
"I— Uhm.. Is Cisco here? Maybe he has a way to help me get back to my earth." Barry finally replied. Scanning the cortex for any sign of his other best friend.
Caitlin opened her mouth to reply, but a high-pitched feminine voice beat her to it.
"You know Uncle Cisco?!" A little toddler in a pale pink dress, stepped out from behind Caitlin excitedly. Startling the both of them.
Barry turned towards the little girl and his breath caught in his throat as he sees familiar green eyes staring back at him. Warmth spread across him as he studied her features, from her heart shaped face, to her emerald doe eyes, and her thin upturned lips. All of this reminded him of one person. His mother, Nora Allen. The stark resemblance would've made Barry believe that she was the reincarnation of his mom, if not for the chocolate brown hair framing her angelic face, the exact same shade as Caitlin's.
Barry knelt down on one knee, so he was at eye level with the little girl.
"Yes I know him, your uncle Cisco is my best friend. My name is Barry, and you are?" Barry asked, giving the little girl a bright smile.
"I'm Scarlet Snow" she replied, returning his smile and holding her tiny hand out to shake his hand.
Scarlet.
Just like the color of his suit. Is she...
Barry reached out to shake her hand and glanced up at Caitlin, silently questioning to confirm his suspicions about this little girl's identity. There was a guarded look behind her gaze, something he couldn't quite place, but she knew better than to deny something that was so obvious.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Scarlet. May I ask how old are you?" Barry Inquired, as he placed a kiss on her small hand. In which the toddler smiled in delight.
"I'm uh... I'm.." She was bitting her lower lip in concentration as she struggled to answer his question. When she came up empty, she started pulling on Caitlin's sleeve to help her.
Caitlin gently knelt down to her level and whispered in her ear.
"I'm six years old!" Scarlet announced proudly, holding six tiny fingers up.
Barry's forehead scrunched up in confusion at this. He's pretty sure all the Earths run on the same timeline, which means Scarlet was born a year before he became the flash on his Earth.
Caitlin immediately noticed the expression on Barry's face and stood up to explain Scarlet's age.
"That's her current biological age, but she was born just three years ago." Caitlin explained.
He started to ask how that happened but she held up her hand, "Her cells develop two times faster than the normal rate, that's why technically she's already six."
"She's a speedster, just like her father." Caitlin added, looking at Scarlet fondly.
Just like her father... Another wave of warmth swept over Barry, and he felt unexplainable flutter in his chest at this statement. He didn't know why he suddenly felt that, but he dismissed it and returned his attention back to the task at hand.
"You're a fast little one, aren't you?" Barry said to the little girl teasingly, picking her up in his arms as she giggled at him.
"So Cait, uhm about Cisco?" He asked, reminding her if his question earlier.
Caitlin cleared her throat and looked down immediately when she caught herself staring at the both of them. "Cisco's been staying at Starling City, helping out the team with some tech stuff. Don't worry I already sent him a distress call." Caitlin answered.
To this Barry looked at Caitlin in confusion again and gently placed the little girl back down on her feet. Why was Cisco staying in Starling City? Caitlin can't possible run all the operations by herself..
Caitlin misunderstood the look on Barry's face and assumed that he probably didn't know who she was talking about.
"You do know an Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak from your Earth right?" Caitlin asked, failing to hide the curious edge in her voice.
"Yeah, yeah I work with Oliver and the rest of team Arrow all the time, they're actually in Central City right now along with the Legends and..." Barry's eyes widened as he remembered why all the heroes were there in the first place.
"Oh crap, crap, crap." Barry blurted out quite loudly in panic, as he realized that he left everyone right in the middle of a fight with the Nazis from Earth-X.
"Bartholomew Henry Allen, watch your language!" Caitlin's hands were covering Scarlet's ears as she reprimanded Barry for cursing in front of a kid.
Barry's eyes widened in fear at her icy glare which eerily reminded him of Killer Frost. "Sorry, sorry!" Barry stuttered out quickly, glancing down at Scarlet who was looking at the both of them curiously.
Barry sighed, nervously running his fingers through his hair and explained. "It's just that, there's an attack going right now at my Earth and I just left. Everyone I care about is back there fighting and I— I don't know what's happening..."
Hesitantly, Caitlin stepped forward to wrap her hand on his arm in a comforting gesture. "Everything will be okay. If the Cisco, Oliver, and Felicity in your Earth is as fierce and determined as the ones I know, then I'm sure it will all turn out fine." Caitlin smiled at him reassuringly.
This reminded him of the smile his Caitlin used to give him whenever he's hurt pretty bad, he doesn't know why but that always seems to calm him down. Even when his mind was a jumbled mess coming out of the speed force, the moment she smiled at him he just knew that she would do everything in her power to patch him up.
Suddenly, a light pressure around his legs snapped him out of his thoughts. Barry glanced down to find Scarlet's arms wrapped around his waist.
"Don't worry, Everything will be fine now. Mommy always says, hugs can fix anything" Scarlet said, starring up at him with a hopeful smile filled with so much brightness.
Barry chuckled, he bent down to wrap his arms around her too, giving her a proper hug. "You're right, it does fix everything" he muttered. As crazy as it sounds, he felt as if the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders when she hugged him, the same feeling he got when he ran back in time to save his mother and created flashpoint.
It felt like going against the will of destiny, yet it felt so right at the same time.