Song: Ghosttown by Madonna

Description: In which the last temptation of Barry Allen wasn't the blood of Ramsey Russo, but rather, the life of Caitlin Snow.

This has been sitting in my drafts for probably over a year and I finally decided to finish it. This was basically everything that bothered me about the pre-crisis countdown, nailed to the wall and scorched with extra Snowbarry feels.

6x08 AU/canon divergence.

...

Guilt.

Of all the difficult and painful emotions swirling around within Caitlin Snow, perhaps the most prominent of them all was guilt. She felt guilty because of what had happened to Barry, and guilty because Ramsey was the one that did it. Guilty because she hadn't been there when it all happened, and guilty because of the distress it had caused Frost. Even now she felt guilty, because any time she spent in control was time taken away from Frost.

For weeks, Caitlin had felt as though she was pulled in two directions at once and it was a wonder she had actually managed to keep it from her icy counterpart. She wanted so badly to be there, to be present and to make the most of the time she had left with Barry, but at the same time, she had made a promise. She had promised Frost that she could have the wheel, she had promised her that opportunity to live her own life, and she intended to honor that promise, even if it meant sacrificing a bit of her own life in the process.

Caitlin drew in a heavy inhale, her mind feeling as though it were a chaotic tempest. She needed to focus, she needed to breathe. She had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't as if it even mattered right now anyway. Frost had refused to come out ever since Barry had disappeared in a blur of gray lightning. She was still there, of course, Caitlin could feel her, but she was deep within their shared consciousness and the bioengineer doubted she was even aware of what was going on at the moment. It was just Caitlin now; Caitlin and the mask of bravery that she had put on nearly every day of her life, even when she didn't truly feel it.

These were the thoughts that played through her mind as she stood near the edge of the street, eyes fixed on the worn-down warehouse that loomed before her. It had taken her and Cisco a better part of the night but they had repaired the damage Barry had done to their computer system, and had started the painstaking process of trying to track a Bloodwork-infected speedster. It hadn't been easy, but they had done it, and it had led them there.

"I don't like this plan," Cisco's uneasy voice sounded from within the earpiece she wore. "You need more backup."

"You guys are my backup," she replied, forcing a false calm into her tone.

"Caitlin, I'm serious—"

"Cisco, Ralph is still bedridden at ARGUS, Frost is too shaken, and we are running out of options," she cut him off, the pressure of all that had happened, and all that had yet to happen still, finally beginning to creep up on her.  "We can't wait, we don't have time. With a speedster like Barry, we could be looking at an entire city full of blood zombies before dawn."

There was a beat of silence over the link and Caitlin suspected he knew she was right.

"And besides that—" she grew quiet, her hand clamping down on the fabric of her overcoat as a familiar ache reverberated through her chest, "—Crisis will be here in a matter of hours. We can't fight what's coming without him."

Caitlin breathed in once more and clenched her fists, willing herself to be strong. "I have to try."

There was shuffling over the line and something akin to a tired, defeated sigh.

"Just be careful," Cisco finally relented, "I can't lose any more friends tonight."

Caitlin nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "You know the plan?"

"Obviously. I'm on stand-by if this goes sideways," Cisco assured as the sound of a clip snapping into a pulse rifle could be heard.

At that, Caitlin finally moved from where she had been concealed in the shadows and ducked across the street at a quick pace. She wasn't really sure how much good being stealthy would do; it was likely that Ramsey already knew she was there, or at least suspected she would come. But in the end, it made her feel better, and Caitlin could use all the reassurances she could get right now. Nothing was set anymore, nothing was sure, and that was both a blessing and a curse.

A few moments more, and Caitlin found a small back entrance into the hulking metallic building. She slipped inside without a sound, making sure to keep her steps light and her breaths shallow.

The second she set foot inside, she was hit by a putrid, overpowering smell. After that her eyes finally adjusted and she became fully aware of the sight that had been waiting there to greet her. The walls and floors were smeared and coated with blood and pulsing ooze. The building itself was almost completely dark, save a few dim lights that shown down from the high ceiling, illuminating the piles of twitching bodies that lay in the corners and along the walls.

Despite her years of medical training, Caitlin found herself swallowing down the bile that rose in the back of her throat. Every logical instinct in her told her to run, told her that she was in over her head and that this was suicide. She ignored them all and kept moving, the determination that burned in her heart proving stronger than the fears in her mind.

It wasn't long before the gurgling, churning sound of something awful entered her ears and Caitlin realized she was close. She made her way around another corner, her goal finally in sight. Ramsay stood in the middle of the room, his eyes an abysmal black. Barry was kneeling down in front of him, black aether flowing into him from Ramsey's fingertips.

"Go," Bloodwork instructed after he was finished. "Bring us more brothers and sisters."

Barry rose to his feet, tendrils of obsidian snaking down his body. Caitlin gathered her courage and stepped into the light, knowing it was now or never.

"Barry, you need to stop!" Her voice echoed loud and clear in the open room, causing both men to start and whirl around.

"Oh, hello, Cait," Ramsey wore an unsettlingly easy smile. "So glad you could join us."

"Stop it," she warned him coldly. "You don't get to call me that anymore. Not after what you've done to my friends, my family, to all these people."

"I gave them a gift, I gave them life," Ramsey snapped back.

Beside him, all Barry could do was snarl and bare his blackened teeth, like a rabid dog on a leash.

"This isn't life, Ramsey," Caitlin spoke more softly this time, hoping there was still a part of him she could reason with. "This is death and pain, and the absence of everything that makes life worth living. You were a doctor, your mother was a doctor, you swore to save people's lives. You have to know this isn't right."

He looked at her as she spoke, and something in him seemed to shift. His features twitched and the black in his eyes momentarily cleared away.

Emboldened, Caitlin moved closer, putting forth a pleading look. "It isn't too late. You're sick; please, just let us...let me help you."

He regarded her for a beat more, then the dark film on his eyes once again slithered back into place.

"You don't get it, you never got it. You're just like mum," he replied, face twisting into a sickened look. "I tried to give you my gift, just as I tried to give it to her, and you both rejected me time and time again!"

"Ramsey, don't do this," she warned, shaking her head.

"You're holding me back, you're holding all your friends back. I won't let you do it anymore. I won't let you stand in between me and my blood brothers and sisters!" He bellowed, the sound of distant inhuman shrieks echoing through the warehouse.

Caitlin found herself taking a step back, trying to will the ice in her blood to the surface.

It was then that he turned to Barry, a wild look on his face. "Kill her."

Like a puppet on a string, Barry obeyed, bending to the will of his master. He stalked toward her, his hand becoming a blur of speed as he held it up like a weapon beside him.

A part of Caitlin supposed she should have been afraid, and even realized how unwise it was not to be. But she just wasn't, and at this point in her life she doubted there was anything Barry could do that could truly make her afraid of him. She had seen him at his absolute worst, and visa versa. Once upon a time, they had both borne witness to each other's descent into darkness; this was nothing new to her.

Caitlin held her ground as Barry approached, eyes never leaving the black wells that had once held a vibrant green. He stopped directly in front of her, a twisted grin on his coal-colored lips.

He drew his arm back, lining it up with her chest. She could hear Cisco begin to yell through the com, frantically hurling questions and calling her name. Caitlin didn't answer, she didn't move, she only watched. She watched the tremble in Barry's shoulders and the drag in his step. She watched his uneasy swallow and the forming crease in his brow.

When the moment came, Caitlin didn't even flinch. She looked him right in the eyes as he thrust his hand forward, knowing he held the power to end her life in a blink. Suddenly, everything around her seemed to grow quiet, Barry's hand stopping just inches from her chest, fingertips grazing the fabric of her blouse.

He breathed out shakily, giving her the most contradictory look she had ever seen any human being wear. He was menacing, yet confused, deranged, but afraid.

"What are you waiting for, finish it!" Ramsey's shrill words cut through the air.

Barry jerked his head in his controller's direction, the rest of his body unmoving.

"He's right," Caitlin stated, shocking herself with her own bluntness. "What's the big deal?" She only shrugged, "Come on."

The speedster's pitch black gaze slid back to her, and she could visually see the war that raged within him.

"You wanna be just like Bloodwork now? Then live up to it. Because this is what he does, he hurts and kills his friends because nothing else matters to him anymore. Right?" She continued, mirroring the words he had long ago said to her.

"Right?" she raised her voice a bit this time, grasping his wrist and jerking his fingertips directly over her heart.

She felt him jump as she did, tensing beneath her grip as his gloved hand pressed into her skin.

"Come on, kill me Barry," she whispered the challenge, leaning a little closer.

His limbs remained frozen in place and features so utterly torn. He was struggling, two halves of him battling it out, each vying for control.

"You can't do it, I know you can't. Because underneath all that blood and pain, I know that Barry Allen is still in there," she finally spoke it, her voice as sure as it was steady. "My Barry, the one that saves people, the one that would do anything for the people he loves. The Barry that's a fighter."

Suddenly, it was as if something in him finally broke and for the first time the black in his eyes began to clear. The sinister dark mask that had been there moments before fell away, revealing the scared and broken man beneath.

Behind him, Ramsey let out a frustrated "No!" and reached his hand towards Barry, scrambling to regain the ground he had lost.

"C...Cait," Barry managed to choke out, tone barely higher than a whisper as he fought against the infection in his blood.

The hand that had once been meant to be the instrument of her demise, Caitlin now held tightly in her own, as if anchoring him to reality.

"I'm here, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere," she assured him, her other hand coming up to hold his cheek. "But you have to fight this, you can't let him win."

"I'm so scared. I don't wanna go, I'm not ready yet," Barry confessed, his words coming out fast and his breaths quick and uneven.

"What if—" he choked for a moment, every muscle in his body trembling and flinching as Ramsey attempted to sink his claws in deeper. "What if this is the only way?" He finally forced the words out, desperation saturating every syllable.

"It's not, I promise you, it's not," she stepped even closer, Barry leaning into her touch despite the obvious pain he was in. "We will find another way, I'll help you. I promise there's another way, but this isn't it."

For the first time in months, a peace seemed to settle over Barry. There was still a sadness, a weight far too heavy for one man to carry, but there was also a calm, and a vulnerability that few had truly seen. He nodded, his green eyes never leaving her. She mirrored him and a silent understanding passed between them.

"Do you trust me?" She asked him softly.

Barry's eyelids slipped closed and he let out a shaky breath, leaning his cheek into her palm as her thumb gently wiped away a stray tear.

"Always."

Caitlin smiled, in an almost melancholy way, and nodded.

In one swift motion, she let go of him and shoved him away, jumping back as the words "Allegra now!" flew past her lips. He barely had time to react before the other woman stepped out from the shadows by the door, hitting him square in the chest with a blast of UV rays. The impact sent him flying across the room and tumbling to the floor.

Caitlin took off running the instant he hit the ground, Allegra not far behind. The doctor got there first, diving to her knees and sliding to a stop beside him. She quickly rolled him over, his body completely limp.

"Oh no I killed him didn't I!" Allegra blurted in shrill terror, running up beside them.

Caitlin shook her head, watching as the ultraviolet rays seeped into his suit and spread through his body, burning away the black infectious goo as it went.

"It's working," Caitlin breathed out with a hopeful and awed laugh.

The rays soon dissipated, leaving behind no traces of the inky black blood.

Barry still laid motionless, a loose strand of hair splayed across his sweat-smeared forehead. Caitlin reached for him, shaking his shoulders and calling his name. She felt a bit of panic rise within her when he didn't respond, her fingers digging deeper into the fabric of his scarlet suit.

"Barry!" She called again, leaning over his fallen form.

This time his eyes flew open and he gasped out the word "Caitlin," his whole body starting as his hands latched onto her forearm and elbow.

He stared up at her, wide eyes frantic at first, only to immediately soften. She let out a breathy laugh, and he smiled in response. She hovered over him for a beat or two, her hair hanging down and a bright light silhouetting her like a halo.

Barry wanted to stay like that forever. To live in the moments-in-between, where nothing was quite the same and all the bad things had yet to happen. Where he wasn't burdened by the choices he had made. Where he could just...be.

Slowly, Barry pushed himself to a sitting position, only to have Caitlin immediately launch herself into his arms. Her embrace was swift and solid and grounding, laced with a faint desperation. He closed his eyes and held her tightly, tighter than he ever had before, and tucked his face into her shoulder.

The moment was broken when Ramsey's raspy and inhuman voice entered the fray. "What have you done!" He all but screamed.

They jumped and broke apart where they both still knelt on the ground. Allegra physically backing away.

He bared his teeth and snarled. "I will not be denied! You will pay for this."

A gurgling and bone-crunching sound filled the air and Caitlin watched in horror as Ramsey began to grow, thick layers of muscle and blood and tissues Caitlin had never even seen before coiling itself around him. His fingers elongated and an almost bare skull arose from the red oozing mass.

Caitlin wanted to scream, or maybe throw up. Or both. Ramsey took a hulking step forward and the floor shook beneath him. He raised his arm high above them but there was a sharp gust of wind and suddenly he was gone.

Caitlin blinked rapidly, now staring up at a crystal clear night sky instead of the warehouse ceiling. She looked around, realizing she, Barry, and Allegra were now several blocks away.

Barry's gaze found her once again and he immediately pulled her into another hug, a part of him still shaken from what Ramsey had tried to make him do. This time she buried her face in the crook of his neck, holding onto him like it was the last chance she would ever get to do so.

It very well might have been.

"Thank you," Barry whispered into her hair. "You brought me back."

"Both of you did," he looked to Allegra, who jumped a little, looking as though she had been caught intruding on a private moment.

"It was no big deal. I'm just glad I didn't fry you," she admitted, and Barry couldn't help but chuckle.

Caitlin slowly pulled away and Barry couldn't help the words that came out of his mouth next. "As appreciative as I am, you know that was a monumentally bad idea, right?"

"Thank you," Cisco's voice chimed over the coms, making Caitlin roll her eyes.

"Oh please, you invented that idea," she countered, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

He huffed a little under his breath. "Look, I know. But Cait, I could've killed you," he emphasized, ducking a little to meet her eyes.

"And I could've killed you."

"Yeah, but you didn't—"

"Neither did you," her words seemed to cut through the cool night air, carrying a sense of finality.

A stillness and quiet settled over them after that, the pair simply looking at each other for a few long moments, as though they both came to a realization. Their wordless conversation continued a little longer, a series of emotions playing out like pictures on a projector. Finally, they both seemed to arrive at some conclusion, a sad, yet resolute look finding it's way to their faces. They let their gazes drop to the ground.

Barry released a low sigh and pulled his cowl over his head. "Come on, we gotta get back to the lab. I think I know how to stop Ramsey."

"Care to share with the group?" Cisco inquired, voice crackling over the earpieces.

"When I was under Bloodwork's influence...all I could feel was just this awful fear, this darkness. But I also had access to his thoughts, his plans. He wants to use STAR Labs to spread the infection even further, like the Particle Accelerator spread the Dark Matter all those years ago. But I think we can use it against him," Barry explained, squaring his shoulders.

"How?"

The speedster glanced over at Allegra with a slight smile. "We gotta let the light in."

"Okay that's super cryptic. But I guess it's better than whatever the hell zombie-Barry had going on. Seriously dude, that's gonna haunt my dreams forever. I'll start prepping the pipeline," Cisco replied, followed by the sound of his office chair sliding across the floor.

"We're on our way," Barry told him, Caitlin watching as his voice and his posture slipped seamlessly into the persona he had crafted for himself so long ago.

All those years ago when he hadn't been the Flash, but rather the Streak, or occasionally the Red Streak. It felt like eons, yet at the same time, it could've been just yesterday that he jolted awake with a gasp, changing the course of Caitlin's life forever.

She wasn't ready.

She wasn't ready for Crisis, for that damn article to come to fruition. She wasn't ready to let him go.

Suddenly, Barry's hand found hers, interrupting her spiraling thoughts. She grasped it tightly, her sad eyes snapping back up to his.

"Together?" He asked, his words carrying the weight of the past six years, carrying every ounce of trust, every smile and every tear, stored tightly within those eight letters.

"Always," she replied.

It wasn't just an answer or even a reassurance; it was a vow, as binding as it was true.

Together, until the end.