For Snowbarry Week '17
Prompt: Soulmate AU

Premise: When one soulmate gets hurt, the other gets hurt as well but not as much (more like half the pain), since they are receiving secondary pain. So cuts, bruises, fractures, etc only last half as long.

It's something Caitlin has lived with for as long as she's been alive. Bumps and bruises and cuts showing up when she's done nothing to earn them, but having to deal with their pain nonetheless. Everyone had to, of course, because that's what happened when your soulmate got hurt, you shared the pain. But unfortunately for Caitlin, her soulmate was a bit of a klutz.

Caitlin's parents knew the soulmate bond - they shared it with each other and knew the consequences - but no parent liked having to see their baby girl wake up from her nap, crying pools of tears because she had a bump on her head or a cut on her knee. The two young parents nearly had a heart attack when Caitlin came home one day after school with a black eye and cut lip for they've heard the horror stories of soulmates from people at work or on the news - people manifesting nasty injuries and sometimes cases ending up in...death, and all they wanted was to shield their daughter from it, but they knew they couldn't.

Once Caitlin was old enough to understand what was happening to her and why, she didn't feel so frightened anymore. In fact, she made up stories for each of her soulmate's injuries - like he fell off his bike, tripped over his dog, sliced his finger while trying to help his mom with dinner, etc. And if anything, the pain made her feel hopeful. She was the smart girl in school with no friends, always skipping grades, but the injuries reminded her that she had someone out there that she was connected to - her ultimate best friend. So she'd trace the little cuts and bruises, knowing that he was out there - albeit out there seemingly tripping and falling over everything - but out there, and hopefully he was as anxious to meet her as she was him.

For the most part, the injuries Caitlin sustained were bearable - little stings that only brought about hisses - rarely anything alarming. But one night in particular, she had to have been about 11 years old when she woke up in the dead of night to her heart aching uncontrollably, causing her eyes to spill out a steady stream of tears. Minutes later her parents barged into her room, wondering why she was crying, but Caitlin couldn't tell them why. There was no cut or bruise or bump to blame. She could just feel that something was terribly wrong with her soulmate, and she could only hope that he was okay.

…

Barry was always a very rambunctious child. He was a little daredevil - running around, jumping off things - that inevitably caused more than enough cuts and bruises to last a lifetime. It also didn't help matters that he was a klutz - running too fast to properly maneuver himself out of the way of the incoming objects. His parents often warned him to be safe or else they'd wrap him in bubble wrap; if only he knew they were adamant about his safety for more than one reason.

He remembered his parents sitting him down one day when he was about 8 years old, right after coming home from the hospital from getting a cast for his broken arm, offering him gentle smiles as they explained soulmates and their pain bond - that when one person went through pain that person's soulmate got hurt too, but that if soulmates were together they could combat the pain together and make it bearable.

The news instantly made Barry feel guilty for what he now knew he had put his soulmate through. From then on, he tried to be more careful, he really did, but it also didn't help that he was bullied at school - tripped and pushed around. One time, Tony Woodward had given him a black eye and split lip - his parents had been mortified, but Barry had only cried because he knew his soulmate was feeling pain too and he knew she didn't deserve it.

Barry's whole life changed, however, when he was 11 years old. He had awoken to a loud thud then a scream from downstairs. Immediately, he had jumped right out of his bed and raced down the stairs just in time to witness a string of lightning consume his mother, murdering her right in front of his eyes. His dad had come barging through the door at that moment too, only to drop to his knees, dying from the wounds his soulmate had suffered. Barry had looked on horrified, screaming his parents' names in agony and grief before finding himself on a deserted street, blocks from his house without any knowledge of how he got there.

That's when he had met Iris, the daughter of Detective Joe West, the guy that took Barry in after his parents had died. Iris was bold and brave and stuck up for him against bullies and accompanied him to the nurse more times than not. She was also funny and bright - a great storyteller. If it hadn't been for the fact that she never got hurt when he did, Barry would've thought she was his soulmate - he really wanted her to be. She was as caring and accepting as he always imagined his soulmate would be, and with how his life had turned upside down so quickly, he just wanted to meet his soulmate so badly so they could help him feel better - for them to hold his hand and understand.

Barry often daydreamed about his soulmate, wondering what kind of girl she was. He hoped she was smart and liked science like he did. She seemed cautious and graceful if the lack of bruises, cuts, or any other injury indicated anything. For as being as clumsy as he was, it was hard to distinguish what bruises could have been hers, but he doesn't think any of them are. Some days, Barry wondered if he even had a soulmate - that for whatever reason the soulmate fairy skipped him and ended up not giving him one, for he couldn't remember feeling any pain but his own.

But then one afternoon at his lowest, looking blankly out the classroom window, thinking gloomingly about his parents and his other misfortunes, Barry had been abruptly brought out of his thoughts by a prickle of pain coming from his index finger. He had looked down to see blood flowing down his finger, coming from what looked to be a simple papercut wound. Barry stared at it in confusion for a moment, spotting no paper around where he could have gotten it from, only to then realize that he must have gotten it from his soulmate and his heart bloomed with hope. He may have lost his parents, and had to move into a stranger's house, and felt out of place, but he hadn't lost his soulmate, and with that in thought, he knew he was going to be okay.

...

Years flew by as Caitlin continued to excel through her schooling, double majoring in bio-genetics (because the bond between soulmates fascinated her) and medicine (because she wanted to be able to patch up her clumsy soulmate when they finally met). It was after she received her doctorates when she was offered a position in STAR Labs by the Harrison Wells, working with other brilliant minds to create something that would benefit the city in numerous ways, all the while befriending a goofy and nerdy guy that made her laugh along the way.

She was content, but not wholly happy, and she knew her soulmate would only ever be able fill that void. Admittedly, she was losing faith that they would ever meet. Sometimes it happened, where people would go their whole lives feeling their soulmate's pain, but unable to meet to provide each other the happiness and love to get through it.

"Ronnie's looking at you again," Cisco, the goofy and nerdy guy that she befriended, told her as they were all by their workbenches, doing their part to get the particle accelerator functioning.

Caitlin knicked her head to the side, trying to read through her research. "He can keep looking. It's not going to happen."

He snorted. "Oh, come on, Caitlin."

Huffing, she turned to her friend. "I could meet my soulmate any day now. I know pain feels sharper since I've worked here, like I'm closer," she confessed, her thumb rubbing against a bruise that formed that morning (missed his alarm clock and whacked the nightstand instead). "I'm not giving up on him. I'm not."

"No one said you had to give up on your soulmate - but you can't just not live life until you find him," Cisco told her gently, before turning back to his work, letting her digest his advice.

Caitlin bit her lip. She then turned to where Ronnie's workstation was only to find that he was still looking at her. When their eyes made contact, she swore she saw him blush, but he plowed through his embarrassment and offered her a smile and a friendly wave. Heaving out a sigh, she shyly smiled and waved back.

.

Ronnie thought that he had no soulmate because he had never experienced a pain that wasn't of his own doing. Caitlin found it to be an intriguing phenomenon - did that mean his soulmate died before he was born? Or did one or both of them possess a certain DNA mutation that prevented it? - and Ronnie found her sensations of nearly daily pain intriguing as well.

"What's the worse that has happened to you?" Ronnie asked her one day as they were settled in at a local pizzeria, having lunch together like they had been for weeks now.

She spoke of the one time when she was 8 and her soulmate must have broken his arm since her arm mysteriously fractured. She laughed away at that, but only growing solemn as she thought of a pain not physically harmful. She then retold Ronnie of the night when her heart wrenched terribly, causing her to cry, saying that that was truly the worst because even today the pain of it still lingered.

"Something traumatic must have happened," Ronnie commented softly, watching her cautiously over the rim of his drink.

Caitlin nodded her head sadly, wincing slightly. She had thought of that too, and it bothered her so much to think she wasn't there for her soulmate, to help him through that time.

Sensing that the direction of the conversation was growing gloomy, Ronnie flashed her a smirk, his tone light. "So you keep referring to your soulmate as a he, but couldn't it very well be a she?"

The doctor looked at him for a long moment before a laugh escaped her lips, and that's what she liked about Ronnie. He took her mind off her soulmate - not that she ever wanted to forget about her soulmate, but it made the wait for their first meeting a whole lot easier.

She and Ronnie then began officially dating - putting labels to their pizza lunches and sleepovers. They knew their relationship wouldn't last though, since she was still hell-bent on finding her soulmate and he had plans to leave town after the particle accelerator turned on to backpack through Europe. They were very different - like fire and ice - but he made her feel good and needed and loved - so much that some nights when they were spooning in her bed that she'd wish just for a second that he was her soulmate, only to immediately feel guilty about it afterwards.

Despite it all, she loved him. She couldn't deny it, but that didn't mean she said it out loud for him to hear. Because like she said, they knew their relationship wouldn't last, but she never imagined she'd lose him the way she did - without saying goodbye.

It was the night they were turning on the particle accelerator. Ronnie hadn't been scheduled to work, but he had come down to the labs to be with her, to spend time with her as much as he could before he left for Europe. He even asked her to come with him, but she sadly shook her head, knowing her purpose was in Central City - she could just feel it.

After the particle accelerator turned on, they all celebrated their hard work completed. Champagne bottles popped around her as Ronnie kissed her delicately on the mouth. Everything was blissful in those few moments, all before everything crashed down around them. The warning sirens started blaring and the building started rumbling.

Ronnie looked at the chaos surrounding them before turning to her, smiling sadly as he gave her a sorrowful kiss that Caitlin didn't understand until it was too late. "I have to go."

When she finally realized what Ronnie had left to do, Caitlin showed up to the pipeline as quickly as she could, but she was too late, the door was closed. She stole Cisco's walkie-talkie, banging on the cell door, screaming her heart out for Ronnie to come back, to be with her, telling him that she would go to Europe, anything to stop him from risking his life.

She was met with silence before an explosion sounded. Cisco was just quick enough to pull her far enough away from the door to not be affected by the fiery energy that encompassed half of the pipeline room and inevitably left Ronnie dead.

"Noooooooooo!" she wailed, as she collapsed into Cisco's arms, sobbing her heart out. It felt similar to what her soulmate had put her through years before, but feeling it first hand was undeniably worse. She didn't think it was possible to feel anything worse, but that is when she suddenly spazzed in Cisco's arms, her body going limp as a burning sensation coursed through her and everything went black.

…

Barry grew up normally as most children did. He had survived grade school and high school easily enough. He had lived with the West family until college, and even afterwards he still saw the Wests often, even considering them his family now.

Him and Joe actually worked together at the CCPD, where on his free time from being the station's CSI, he used the department's resources to figure out who killed his mom and consequently his father. As for Iris, they were still as close as ever - best friends. She had even found her soulmate at the CCPD, Eddie Thawne, and he was happy for her - he was - he just wished he could meet his soulmate too.

"Weren't you supposed to go to some ceremony for the particle thing?" Joe asked, poking his head into the forensic scientist's lab.

"Iris was going to go with me, but then something with Eddie came up," he explained with a shrug. "It's fine though, the evidence in this case is more important anyway, and the event is probably almost over."

"You sure you're okay?" Joe wondered, noticing that Barry seemed off.

Barry ducked his head down, sighing. He leaned back to sit on the edge of his desk. "Yeah, it's just one of those times that I wish I found my soulmate too…"

"Barr," Joe said, slapping him across the back to comfort the young man, recognizing the far-away look in his foster son's eyes all too well now, "you'll meet her someday soon."

The forensic scientist woefully nodded, but that's what he's been told for years now and he was wondering it was ever going to come to fruition. It seemed that the more he tried to meet his soulmate, the farther he got away. He had even tried dating some other nice girls, all who he would have loved to be his soulmate, but they just weren't - even Patty, who everyone thought was perfect for him.

The detective then bid Barry a goodnight before dipping out of his lab and presumably to his home, now that his shift was over for the night.

As Barry waited for some of the evidence to process, he walked over to his board, lifting down the cover to reveal the evidence for his parents' case. That familiar ache tugged at his heart like it always did when he remembered back to that night. He always thought the further away he got from it, the less it would hurt - but some days the pain was just as bad as the day it happened.

Suddenly the sound of a storm brewed, lightning crackling as thunder rolled. Barry looked out the window nearby to see a beam of light dauntingly expel itself from the STAR labs building. However, rain coming in from his roof pulled his attention away, knowing he needed to close it before any damage was made to the lab or any of the evidence contained in it.

He moved to the chain that closed the overhead window, pulling it down just when his chest began to agonizingly ache, causing him to falter from the unexpectedness of it. At first he thought he was having a heart attack, but soon rationalized that he was in too good of health for that, so it must have been his soulmate. He floundered in his spot, letting the rain water drip down on him, frustrated by not being able to do anything. His soulmate was in pain, and he just wanted to find her and hold her and take some of that pain away.

It was then that a lightning bolt from the storm struck the metal chains that he was holding, electrifying him - the force of the shock propelling him backwards into a tray of evidence and chemicals, causing him to convulse on the floor until the world went black.

…

Caitlin Snow woke up to the sound of a heart beat monitor. Opening her eyes, she was nearly blinded by the bright lights overhead, bouncing off the white walls and the white sheets and the white everything else. She groaned as she squinted, trying to adjust to it all.

"Caitlin, thank god!" she heard a voice say besides her.

The form was blurry until her eyes eventually focused and saw it was Cisco by her side. "Cisco?"

His big goofy grin surfaced. "Yeah, how are you feeling?"

The bio-engineer took a second to assess herself. Besides a few aches, she felt perfectly fine. "A bit sore," she admitted. "What happened though? Did I faint?"

Cisco snorted. "You could say that. You've been in a coma."

Caitlin straightened up in her bed, looking at Cisco with wide eyes. "For how long?" she questioned slowly.

"Almost 6 months now…" Cisco admitted, and Caitlin's mind whirled.

"How - how is this possible? My muscles should be atrophied then - I…" she paused, trying to think of any way this could be possible. "Do the doctors have any idea why I'm like this?"

The long-haired men shook his head. "No, you're like this miracle patient. You had burns and went under cardiac arrest, but now there seems to be almost no sign or trace of it ever happening…"

That caught Caitlin's attention really quick. Something wasn't right, something wasn't adding up. She was grateful for surviving, but this is the type of stuff that only happened in Sci-Fi movies. How did she end up with burns and suffering from a heart attack, she wondered, thinking back to the last thing she could remember when a feeling of dread overcame her.

"Ronnie?" she whispered brokenly.

Her friend sighed. "There was no trace of him anywhere, Caitlin." Cisco bowed his head. "He's gone."

Her throat closed up on her, the emotion heavy. She nodded her head, trying to put on a brave front. Had mere heartbreak caused all of this?

Cisco allowed her a few moments of silence before speaking again. "But listen to this, you apparently had a ridiculous amount of electricity pass through you, almost like you were-"

"Struck by lightning?" Caitlin guessed for him dazedly, her face scrunched in further confusion.

"Exactly," Cisco said. "And Dr. Wells recently admitted a patient to our care a few months back who was struck by lightning…experiencing a lot of the same symptoms as you..."

Caitlin's heart may have skipped a beat. "My soulmate?" she asked, her tone giving away her hope.

Cisco gave her a small smile. "Could be."

.

After numerous more tests, Caitlin was finally able to go home a few days later, and by home, that meant heading straight to STAR Labs with Cisco.

Walking trepidly into the STAR Labs building behind Cisco, Caitlin had to pause by the entryway into the cortex. From there, she could see an immobile man laying on a medical bed - a man that may or may not be her soulmate. Her stomach felt like it was in her throat. She was afraid of the possibility of being let down once again from meeting the one person she's been waiting her whole life to meet.

"It's good to see you up and about, Dr. Snow," Caitlin then heard behind her, the sound of electronic wheels rolling closer.

She turned to find her boss, Harrison Wells, in a wheelchair, but looking much like his usual self. "Dr. Wells," she started but was stumped on how to proceed. Should she give her condolences about the particle accelerator, his legs, or both?

Seemingly sensing her debacle, Dr. Wells waved his hand, indicating for her to not bother as he wheeled himself closer. "I see you've met our friend here," he said, gesturing to the man in the next room.

Caitlin nodded. "Cisco thinks he's my soulmate," she said, biting her lip.

The older man chuckled leisurely. "Yes, Cisco has shared his theory with me about that…" he trailed off studying the comatosed man before turning back to her. "Have you tested if it's true?"

Caitlin dipped her head, wringing her hands together. "No."

Dr. Wells smiled, his eyes gentle. "Well then, what are you waiting for?"

She let out a stuttered breath. Her boss made it sound so easy but even the thought of doing such a simple task like walking into the Cortex never felt so hard.

"You can do it, Caitlin," Cisco encouraged, "and we'll be right here if you need us."

She looked at both Cisco and Dr. Wells, gathering strength from their support as she walked into the room. Her anxiety was high as she slowly approached, stopping as she reached the side of the mystery man's bed. Almost instantly, however, the anxiety she was experiencing was muted as she felt waves of calmness wash over her, and she knew, just knew in that moment that this was him, her clumsy soulmate, and she felt like crying, the prickling of pressure building behind her eyes until she finally broke, and then she felt like she couldn't stop.

She cried over finally finding her soulmate, only to find him while he was in a coma, where she couldn't talk to him or hear his voice or look into his eyes. And then she cried for the loss of Ronnie, doubling over when she realized her soulmate was stationed in the room she last saw the engineer who she had loved, even if she knew it was only going to be temporary.

A pair of arms wrapped around her, and knowing it could only be Cisco, she fell into his embrace, no doubt drenching his comical shirt with her tears. The long-haired man only tightened his arms around Caitlin, whispering comforting words into her hair in an effort to calm her down.

Minutes passed until she seemingly had no more tears to cry out. Caitlin withdrew herself from her best friend's arms, wiping at her tear-stained cheeks. "Sorry, Cisco," she croaked, sniffing. "It's just so much to take in."

"Hey," he let out softly, rubbing his hands up and down her arms soothingly, "You have every right to be upset. You just missed half of a year of your life, lost one love only to gain a soulmate who just so happens to be in a coma. I think you should consider selling the rights over so they can make it into a Lifetime movie."

Despite herself, Caitlin cracked a grin. She was so thankful for Cisco - she doesn't know what she'd do without him.

"Caitlin," Dr. Wells interrupted patiently, wheeling his way over, "Hold your soulmate's hand."

Caitlin bit her lip as she cautiously moved her hand forward, eyeing the man as she did so, as if he would pop up at any given moment. Finally, her fingers grasped his and it was the most wonderful feeling she'd ever felt. His hand was so warm against her cold ones, and there was this surge of energy pouring through them that left a pleasant hum within her body. "He's taking some of my pain," she commented in awe, feeling her grief and sorrow minimizing with his touch.

"That's what soulmates do," Harrison Wells said with a nod. "And you're taking some of his."

Caitlin took that moment to really study her soulmate. He was handsome for starters. His body was lean but muscular and scattered with small beauty marks that she itched to touch. His hair was starting to get shaggy, but it looked soft, perfect for teasing her hands through. And even though his mouth was closed, she noticed the small indents of laugh lines on his face, indicating that he smiled a lot, and oh how she wanted to see him smile, especially at her.

"What's his name?" she whispered, desperate to learn what she could about her mystery soulmate.

"Barry Allen," Harrison replied.

Her heart constricted as she looked at her soulmate. "Barry," she spoke softly, testing out the name on her tongue. She smiled watery, trying to refrain from crying again. Barry - it sounded so right, and it sounded perfect when coupled with her own name: Barry and Caitlin. They sounded like they'd be quite the pair.

"Why is he still in a coma?" Caitlin wondered aloud, her eyebrows scrunched inwards as she thought of the world's unfairness. "If I woke up, why didn't he?"

Dr. Wells sighed. "You suffered similar injuries, but because the event happened to him directly, obviously he experienced it more painfully, thus his healing process will take longer, just like any other soulmate wound," he explained. "There's that and the simple matter of DNA and how much our bodies can undertake. You may be soulmates, but you still have different thresholds for pain and how your body reacts to them."

Caitlin nodded, knowing all of this but still needing someone else to say it out loud. "Is he going to wake up?" she dreadfully asked. She'd stand by Barry's side no matter what - unconscious or not - but she wanted to know, needed to.

"I'm optimistic," Dr. Wells said cryptically, but Caitlin ignored his weird tone in favor to inwardly celebrate her soulmate's chances of survival. She had good faith in Dr. Wells, so if he said Barry would eventually wake up, she believed him. She just had to wait.

"I thought now that you are better," Dr. Wells began, motioning with his hands the way he often did, watching her carefully, "that you might want to take over as his physician."

Caitlin turned to her boss, stunned by the request. "Me? But - I may have a medical degree, Dr. Wells, but I haven't - it's been awhile."

"Ms. Snow, I have the utmost confidence that you'll do fine. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise," he shared. "Plus, I'm hoping that if Barry's soulmate were to be the one taking care of him, that he'd wake up sooner."

Caitlin paused to think about it. What Dr. Wells said made sense. Maybe the combination of her presence plus her doctorly care would accelerate her soulmate's healing.

So the days carried on. Caitlin would monitor and care for Barry as his doctor, studying his muscles (not in that way! - though they were impressive as well) because they were in a chronic state of cellular regeneration, not to mention his DNA was abnormal looking. But when her doctor cap was off, she'd sit by his side, holding his hand, letting him share her pain over the still sore loss of Ronnie and hoping the pain she was taking from him would help wake him up.

Barry's foster father and foster sister visited from time to time too, both who Caitlin could tell loved Barry with all of their heart and were pained to see him in this condition. When the duo quickly found out that Caitlin was his soulmate, they looked at her with pained smiles, sympathizing with her, and proceeded to tell her stories of Barry - some old, some more recent.

It was from the Wests that she learned that Barry was in fact as clumsy as she thought he was, retelling of how no matter how hard he tried not to be, he would still end up tripping over air and walking into walls. She was told that Barry had a strange addiction to the chocolate muffins at Jitters and that he loved musicals and that he was almost always late to everything. Caitlin also learned that her and her soulmate had a common love for science, it being one of the main reasons that prompted him to become a forensic scientist at the CCPD.

"What were the other reasons for wanting to become a forensic scientist?" Caitlin had asked innocently.

Immediately Iris and Joe looked at each other uneasily, making the doctor instantly regret her question. Iris then turned to Caitlin, planting a strained smile over her face. "His mother was murdered when he was 11 - dad died too because of it," she sadly told her.

Caitlin's face fell at the story, knowing exactly what pain matched with that horrific event. She was instantly transported to that moment in her bedroom when she was young, bawling her eyes out because her heart hurt too much, and now she knew why. She instinctively moved to take a hold of Barry's hand, wiping a lone tear away as she did, wishing she had only been there for him then.

Through more stories that the Wests would eventually tell, Caitlin surmised that Barry was basically a puppy basked in optimistic sunshine. She could also tell that her soulmate's heart was just so big, and that he was just so caring and so goofy and so smart and so perfect for her. And while she appreciated Joe and Iris for telling her all of these things about Barry, it only made her yearn for her chance to experience it first-hand.

"Wake up, Barry," she whispered to him, sweeping his hair out of his eyes. "Please," she brokenly begged before kissing him on the forehead goodnight.

…

His head felt fuzzy. He tried to move but his whole body felt like it was being weighed down, like his bones were made of lead, anchoring him. He was internally screaming, trying to force his body to take commands from his brain with little success. The sounds he was hearing were muffled and distorted, though he thought that the melody of whatever music was playing sounded familiar. Was that...was that Lady Gaga?

"Cisco, what are you doing?" a voice, a very lovely voice that immediately soothed him, said with a hint of annoyance.

He tried to open his eyes, but everything was just so blurry. The people he was seeing, if they were really people, might as well have been blobs.

"He likes this song," another voice said happily, leaning over him.

"How could you possibly know that?" the lovely voice spoke again, closer to him now, leaning over him too.

"I checked his Facebook page," the man admitted matter-of-factly. "I mean, he can hear everything, right?"

"Auditory functions are the last sensory faculties to degenerate," the lovely voice said again. Every time the lovely voice spoke, he felt like he could hear and see things just a little clearer, but then the voice moved farther and farther away. "Noooo, stay," he internally thought.

Then as if his body was finally cooperating with his brain again, he jolted upright only to hit a lamp that was just above his head.

"Ow!" he yelled, slipping off the bed as he held his head where he just smacked it. However, he was immediately distracted by the fact that the woman a few paces away from him had said it at the same time too.

He looked at the woman for a beat, wondering why she felt so familiar when he knew he had never met her before in his life - because honestly, he would have remembered a beautiful woman such as herself if they had ever crossed paths. "Why did you say 'ow'? I'm the one that hit their head...unless you're my…" he trailed off, his eyes widening at the thought as he glanced at her.

"Soulmate?" she finished for him. Barry dumbly nodded his head. "Yeah, I am...hi."

Barry wasn't sure if it was because he just abruptly woke up or if it was the sudden knowledge that his soulmate was here with him, but he felt like he was starting to suffer from vertigo. "For real?" he squeaked out.

His presumed soulmate smiled, seemingly finding his response amusing. The action caused his heart to flutter. "Yes, Barry. I'm your soulmate, Caitlin," she said stepping closer to him, extending her hand.

Barry looked at her hand as if he had never seen one before. How did he end up here in a strange place with a pretty girl that was declaring to be his soulmate? Wasn't he just in his lab? This had to be a dream. So he pinched himself hard, hoping the pain might bring about some clarity.

"Ow," Caitlin stressed, giving him a stern look. "What was that for?" she said, retracting her hand to use it to rub the spot on her arm that matched exactly where he had just pinched himself on his.

Barry's eyes widened, his eyebrows skyrocketing as he quickly realized that this was really real and he really just hurt his soulmate. "Shit, sorry, sorry," he immediately tried to apologize. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming…" he let out, before his face morphed into a look of amazement and awe as he gazed at her. "I just...I never thought I'd ever meet you..." he confessed softly.

Caitlin blushed under his gaze, dipping her head down shyly while she bit at her lip. "I was beginning to think the same too," she admitted, looking back up at him under her eyelashes, smiling discreetly.

"How - how did you find me?" he wondered, then surveyed the room he was in with confusion. "Where even am I?"

"You're in STAR Labs, dude," a second voice interrupted. "I'm Cisco, by the way. I work here."

Barry nodded his head in recognition. "STAR Labs?" he let out puzzledly. "What am I doing at STAR Labs?"

"I think I can answer that," a third voice spoke, but Barry didn't need an introduction to who the voice belonged to since it was Dr. Harrison Wells himself, one of Barry's personal heroes. "See, Barry, your condition was very...peculiar...and the regular hospital was unfit. So with the permission of your foster father, we brought you here to stabilize you."

"Why was my condition peculiar? What happened to me?"

Dr. Wells pursed his lips, wheeling his way closer to where Barry stood. "While I was recovering myself," he said, gesturing to his legs, "the hospital we were at was experiencing these nasty power outages every time you went into cardiac arrest, however, that wasn't the case, Barry - your heart was just beating too fast for the machines to recognize your pulse. And because you were struck by lightning that was caused by the storm created by my particle accelerator, I felt that hosting you while you were in your coma was the least I could do."

Barry's mind started whirling again. "Struck by lightning? Coma? How - how long?"

"9 months," Caitlin whispered from beside him, and from her tone he could tell that it hadn't been an easy 9 months for her either. Then it dawned on him.

"Oh, Caitlin," he breathed out, reaching for her hand, and when his fingers clasped around hers, he suddenly felt so at peace, a beautiful feeling of give and take coursing through him and to her and back. "Were you in a coma too or…"

Caitlin gave him a strained smile. "I was in a coma, but only for 6 months…" she told him. "But I'm fine, I promise," she said, tightening her grip on his hand that ate some of the guilt away but not completely.

"Now that you're up, Mr. Allen," Harrison began, "we need to run some tests and-"

"With all due respect, Dr. Wells," Barry interrupted, turning towards the man, "Can I just go home? I'm sure Iris and Joe would love to know that I'm up, and," he paused, looking over at Catlin, his soulmate, with a tender smile, "I would like to start getting to know Caitlin too."

The blossoming smile that overcame her face at his words set a fiery of butterflies loose in his stomach.

Dr. Wells faintly smirked. "I understand, Barry. But I do insist that you come back soon so we can run some tests, to ensure your safety and all…"

Caitlin cleared her throat. "I'll make sure of it, Dr. Wells," she promised, sending Barry a side glance that told him that he had little to say in the matter.

"Whatever my personal physician says, goes," Barry joked, causing Caitlin to wrinkle her nose at the moniker, but curtly nod her head, satisfied.

.

The duo first visited Barry's foster father, Joe, at the precinct. The older man nearly teared up as he embraced the boy who he had always considered his son. Unfortunately, a detective's day is always busy, so Joe had to excuse himself much too quickly than any of them would have liked, but not without inviting Caitlin over to dinner the next evening, promising to make a Grandma Esther's special.

"I can already tell that he really really likes you," Barry stated, watching Joe leave the precinct to answer a call. "He only breaks out the Grandma Esther recipes for the people he likes."

"He probably just likes me because I'm your soulmate," she tried to justify.

Barry shook his head. "Eddie - Iris' soulmate - Joe couldn't stand him. Now, I don't know if that has changed much in the last 9 months or so, but the whole time they were together when I was awake, Joe never invited him over for dinner, let alone made a Grandma Esther special," he explained with a wink.

Caitlin fondly rolled her eyes before admiring the busy atmosphere of the police precinct. "So this is your day job..."

"Yeah...well, not quite," he said. "Here, let me show you something," he continued, grabbing her hand and leading her up the stairs and down a hall before entering a room that had high windows all along the back wall, giving away to a beautiful view of the city. There were also some microscopes, test tubes, evidence bags and a whole bunch of others things scattered around on the desks and counters.

She was confused at first before realization dawned on her. "This is your lab. Wow."

Barry hummed his reply. "And this is where I got struck by lightning," he added, walking around the area, looking at everything displayed. "They haven't changed much," he noted, before walking to a board and pulling the sheet down to display a numerous strings of red yarn that were pulled and pinned to map out and point to other various newspaper articles and photos.

"Your parents," Caitlin stated, moving to stand by his side, taking in everything that was on the board, specifically a picture of a good-looking couple that shared similar features to the man she was standing next to.

Barry nodded. "I don't know how much you know…"

"Just the cliff notes version that Joe and Iris told me," Caitlin admitted softly.

He swallowed, his eyes tracing everything over. "Their case went cold almost instantly. No one knew who could've done it, so I've been trying. But the thing is that they weren't murdered by some random person. This person - this thing - was different. There was lightning-"

"Lightning?" she interjected, her eyebrows furrowing.

He looked over at her. "Yeah, lightning. It swarmed her," he paused, probably noticing the look of disbelief on her face. "And now you think your soulmate is crazy, don't you?" he asked, sighing.

Caitlin shook her head, quickly reaching out to take a hold of his hand in hers. "No, I don't," she told him softly but determinedly. "I believe you. I don't know why anyone would lie about something like that - it's just shocking to hear is all."

He smiled at her, giving her hand a grateful squeeze as his attention went back to the board. "Thanks," he told her gratefully. "Iris was the only other person who truly believed me about it..."

Caitlin smirked as she eyed Barry jovially. "Is that why you had a massive crush on Iris in school?"

Barry head whipped around quickly, gobsmacked. "How-How did…" he groaned, dragging his free hand down his face. "Did Joe tell you this? I am going to kill him..."

"Iris, actually," Caitlin clarified and then watched as the color left Barry's face. Caitlin bit her lip. "I don't think you were as subtle as you thought you were."

"Evidently," Barry said before awkwardly clearing his throat. "So who did you like as a kid, hmm? The guy that ate his boogers?"

Caitlin playfully pushed Barry's shoulder. "No," she defended with an amused grin. "I didn't really delve into that when I was little. Boys had cooties and I was too busy reading books anyway," she said with a shrug.

Barry faked a scoff. "And what would have happened if you had met me back then?" Barry asked with a grin. "Would you have pushed me away because I had cooties?" he asked as he gave her a silly face.

She poked him on the side. "Well, if you are my soulmate, obviously you wouldn't have cooties - because that wouldn't be possible," she said, explaining her younger self's logic.

"Right, right," he said, looking at her with mock-seriousness before breaking his facade and letting a smile split out over his face. "So were you just waiting for Prince Charming to come around in between all of your work?" he asked with a glint in his eyes.

Caitlin fondly shook her head. "No," she answered softly. "I went on a few dates with a few guys before. Nothing ever stuck, especially when I knew they weren't...you know, you, my soulmate," she admitted with a sheepish shrug. "I never got why people dated people they knew weren't their soulmates, and then I met Ronnie…"

"Ronnie?" Barry questioned quietly, his face solemn of the childish grin he was wearing moments ago and replaced with curiosity.

"Yeah," she let out breathily. It had been a couple months now, but thinking about that night still left her raw. "I dated him for about a year, and I loved him, I did. But when the particle accelerator went off, he sacrificed himself. He stopped the explosion from being bigger than it should have been, but it cost him his life," she explained, her throat thick and silent tears trailing down her cheeks.

Barry's face faltered, and he immediately bought her into his embrace, holding her close. She could already feel the pain of Ronnie's loss lessening in his hold.

"I'm so sorry, Caitlin," Barry said quiety into her ear.

Caitlin nodded into Barry's shoulder, wrapping her arms securely around his waist, holding onto him for dear life, like how she had always wanted to hold her soulmate all her life when things were hard and stressful and unfair.

After a few minutes, she pulled away, trying to wipe at her eyes without messing up her eye makeup. "I'm sorry," she apologized with a shake of her head. "I made this outing really depressing."

Barry waved it off. "No, it's fine," he tried to assure her, smiling at her gently. "I mean, if we're going to blame someone, it's my fault, because I brought up my parents' depressing case, and your loss is still so fresh," he continued, shrugging, "and some things you just can't fight."

Caitlin let out a watery laugh. "We're quite the pair, aren't we, Mr. Allen?"

Barry laughed, his eyes shining as he regarded her. "Yes we are, Dr. Snow." He paused, letting the moment settle. "Why don't we visit Iris and then get a cup of coffee while we learn some more about each other - you know, the non-depressing stuff maybe…?" he asked with a playful grin.

She dipped her head, a small smile spreading across her face. "I'd like that," Caitlin told him kindly.

.

Barry ended up dragging her to a cafe, one called Jitters, where Caitlin soon realized was where Iris worked. The poor woman nearly dropped the coffee pot on an innocent customer when she saw Barry standing in the establishment's doorway. She had immediately ran to his side to engulf him in a bone-crushing hug. And when Iris noticed Caitlin was not far behind from her best friend, she hugged her too, knowing Barry's soulmate had been detrimental to bringing him out of that coma.

"Thank you," she said to Caitlin sincerely before promising the couple free chocolate muffins and coffee on the house.

"Iris, stay, catch up with Barry," Caitlin suggested after Iris set down their coffee and muffins.

Iris merely waved her off though. "We only have to catch up on 9 months worth of stuff. You guys have a lifetime to catch up with," she commented with a wink before walking away.

Barry laughed, looking over at Caitlin from across the table. "She has a point," he commented, reaching over to capture one of Caitlin's hands and hold it.

Caitlin let out a staggering breath, feeling light-headed, almost like she was dreaming - it was so hard for her to grasp that this was her life. The fact that she could feel her soulmate's warm hand in hers, hear his words and boyish laughter, see him so awake and energetic - it all left Caitlin's heart full and complete, swelling with so much affection that she felt like it might burst because there was no way she could possibly hold all of these feelings in one tiny organ for long.

They went back and forth, asking each other things they were curious about. (Favorite color, favorite movie, pets, friends, family, school, work etc) However, after telling Barry about the stories Joe and Iris told her, Barry light demanded he ask more of the questions since he was "at a disadvantage now" which coaxed her to tell him some of her embarrassing stories to counterbalance the ones she was told.

As Caitlin was retelling a particular childhood memory, she noticed Barry had been staring at her, more so than what she would have considered normal.

"What are you looking at?" she insisted over a laugh, her coffee poised mid-way to her mouth.

He grinned easily under her gaze, ducking his head in mild embarrassment. "I'm just amazed that I finally found you," he stated softly. "And I don't know how I got so lucky to have you to be my soulmate," he continued, tentatively rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "You're so kind and passionate and smart and beautiful - you're perfect."

Caitlin's cheeks tinted to a soft pink. "I'm hardly perfect," she murmured, looking down, her one thumb distractingly playing with the edge of her coffee cup rim.

"Well I think you are," he persisted, his gaze maneuvering to meet hers. "From the thoughts swirling in your head to the color of your eyes."

Her breath caught in her throat. "My eyes are just a boring brown," she said flippantly, pushing aside the compliment.

"Nothing about you is boring," he countered, smiling sweetly at her.

Caitlin blushed further. "I didn't know you were such a charmer…"

Barry let out a laugh, shaking his head. "I'm usually not this forward, but, I don't know if it's the whole soulmate thing or what, but I feel like I can be completely honest with you."

"Yeah," Caitlin said, mulling over the statement in her head before grinning at him, "I feel that way too."

His face broke out into a huge grin, those laugh lines of his so prominent. It left Caitlin feeling so content and warm all over.

"Hate to break this up," Iris interjected, appearing by their table with a guilty expression, "but we're closing in a few minutes so…"

Caitlin frantically checked the watch on her wrist, her eyes widening when she indeed saw that it was nearing 11pm. "Wow, I can't believe it's gotten so late," she exclaimed, getting up from her seat.

Barry looked equally as baffled as his eyes roamed the cafe. "I didn't even notice that it turned night and that most of the people have left," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck with a chuckle. "Do you live far?" he questioned Caitlin.

She shook her head. "No, I live just a few blocks away," she stated.

"Can I walk you home then?" Barry asked her, his eyes so big and hopeful that she couldn't have turned him down even if she wanted to.

She smiled. "Of course," she stated, linking her arm with his as they waved goodbye to Iris and walked out.

.

They had made light conversation the whole way back to her apartment, continuing where they left off at Jitters. She even allowed Barry to walk her all the way up to her door, though that was partially because she really didn't want this night to end.

The duo were currently standing in front of her door, watching the other with shy smiles.

"I really enjoyed myself today," Barry told her sincerely, his beautiful green eyes bright and piercing as he regarded her; it was hard not to get lost in the forest that was his eyes.

"Me too," Caitlin breathily agreed, forcing herself to look away. "Though I just wish I had known I'd be walking a lot today - I would have worn more appropriate shoes," she said, frowning down at her heels that were currently feeling sore.

Barry chuckled. "Is that why my feet feel weird? I thought it was just because I was adjusting to walking again," he admitted. "You should have said something. We could have taken a taxi or...something."

Caitlin raised a brow. "Or something - what, were you going to carry me?"

He smiled, laughter evident in his eyes. "If I had to, I would've," he simply replied, taking a tentative step closer to her.

"Sweeping me off my feet, like a knight in shining armor?" she questioned before pressing her lips down together in an effort to muffle her blossoming smile, her body gravitating towards him.

He shrugged. "Or just doing my soulmate duty of keeping you out of pain," he replied sweetly, and Caitlin nearly melted. It was then that the duo noticed their close proximity - their chests brushing against the other whenever they exhaled.

Barry cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "So...um…" he started, "can I - if you want to of course - I don't want to pressure you - even if we are soulmates, you know...um…"

Caitlin giggled to herself, watching Barry adorably stutter and stumble over his words. "Are you trying to ask if you can kiss me, Barry?" she asked knowingly, watching him with amusement.

His face relaxed under her gaze, understanding her joking tone as a good sign. He nodded his head sheepishly, shoving his hands deep into his pants pocket. "I guess 'trying' is the key word there," he admitted with a short laugh.

"I would love to," Caitlin said boldly, taking the necessary movement forward until she felt the impact of her lips on his.

Holding Barry's hand and being in Barry embrace - hell, even just being in Barry's close proximity - activated the soul bond between them, calming Caitlin and minimizing her pain. But kissing Barry, that was a whole other level of feeling. A feeling on a different plane of existence. It was like they were the only two people in the whole world, free from all the pain and suffering. All she could feel was Barry and the pleasant stirrings that Barry made her feel, and everything else was just static and white noise, blurred and vignetted.

They broke apart, resting their foreheads against each other's, letting their breaths intermingle as they tried to level their breathing. "Wow…" she said in between breaths, causing her to let out a giggle.

"Wow, indeed," he expelled, flashing her a dopey smile that made her heart flutter.

Caitlin cleared her throat. "It's late. I have work tomorrow. So…"

Barry's lips raised into an endearing grin as he caressed her cheek. "I won't hold you from your sleep," he told her. "But can I have another kiss?" he asked, almost childishly that she had to laugh.

"Sure," she conceded, and Barry was quick to press his lips back to hers.

He broke it, letting his lips hover so wretchedly close to hers. "Another?" he asked against her lips, before giving her another peck before she could answer. "Another?" he asked again then immediately proceeded to peck her soundly on her lips. He continued to do it a few more times, each kiss short but sweet.

"Barry," Caitlin eventually giggled out. "As much as I want to keep doing this, I'm dead on my feet and need to sleep."

He leaned down, brushing his nose against hers. "Okay. One more? Please, I promise," he told her, giving her puppy-dog eyes.

She rolled her own, but the feeling inside of her heart that was unfurling and blossoming couldn't refuse him. She wasn't sure if it was the soulmate bond or what, but she had already fallen so hard and so quickly for this goon. She finally felt whole and like she was on the cusp of grasping her purpose in the world. And it was all because of him.

She lifted a single finger. "One more," she told him, her words direct but her eyes starry.

He smiled gratefully at her as he cupped her face delicately in his hands. He reached down to kiss her softly, but the feeling it embedded within Caitlin hit her strongly. She could only kiss back, hoping that he was feeling every ounce of the peacefulness, serenity and, dare she say it, love that she was feeling.

Her body then began quaking, snapping her out of her happy place. Her mind instantly thought back to the night of the particle accelerator explosion, when everything began shaking. Fear spiked through Caitlin as she panically thought it was all going to happen again, but this time to take Barry.

It only took a moment later to realize that it was Barry doing the shaking. His whole body was vibrating and he couldn't seem to stop.

"Caitlin, what's happening to me?" she heard him wonder distraughtly, his words distorted by the vibrations.

Caitlin shook her head, her own worry manifesting on her face as she frowned. "I don't know," she said, "but we have to get you to STAR Labs. Now."

A/N: Sooo, yeah, Barry is still going to become the Flash. And since his accelerating healing is in place, I feel like this would allow for Caitlin to still be able to help him as his doctor. Regardless, I saw this prompt and instantly thought it was perfect for these two. They bonded over their shared pain and experiences, so this just felt so fitting. Please let me know what you thing in a review! :)