There was many reasons why we ran, but usually, it was to avoid what was right in front of us. A decision to be made or a dilemma we had to face. 

Lately, for me, it felt like running was all I had been doing.

Well, that, and using fire to fly through the sky as Pyra, landing on a building rooftop, letting the fire fade, speaking into the suit. "What you got for me, Cisco?"

"You've been playing Good Samaritan all morning," Cisco told me.  

"What the hell else am I supposed to do?" I asked. "Barry's at work at the CCPD, and I have work to do here, too, since I don't have to be at the fire station today."

"Oh, I don't know, Vera," Cisco told me sarcastically. "Maybe you could take a break."

"We cannot afford to waste any more time," Harrison told us. 

"What, 'cause we've just been sipping Mai Tais since you got here?" Cisco asked sarcastically.

"I don't know what you've been sipping since I got here, but Barry and Vera need to get better and stronger, more powerful," Harrison told him. "We need to train to prepare for Zoom and Phoenix."

"Oh, I see," Cisco told him. "You haven't had your coffee this morning."

"I had my coffee this morning," Harrison told him. Cisco slurped on a drink. "Don't slurp." Cisco slurped just to get on his nerves. "Don't. Don't. Don't."

"Runaway chemical transport truck heading south on Kester," Cisco told me. 

"On it," I told them, using fire to fly through the sky. Several police cars were following the chemical transport truck. I landed on the step outside of the driver side's door, looking inside to see no one was there. I got inside, hitting the breaks, but it kept going. "Hey, I can't stop the truck. Somebody rigged it." The truck took off a nearby car's door. I looked back. "Sorry!"

Barry zoomed into the passenger seat, as the Flash. "We can't let this truck crash. If we do, we'll take out a whole city block."

"Great," I told him sarcastically. "Thank you. Thank you for that." I swerved the truck to avoid hitting oncoming cars. "That was close."

"Oh, and the plot thickens," Cisco told us. "Dead end up ahead. You got to get out of there!"

I thought for a moment. "Barry, what kind of chemicals are in the truck?"

"Tetracholorobenzene, tri-chlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene," Barry answered.

"Okay, Bill Nye, how hot can heat transfer be without causing a nuclear explosion?" I asked.

"Uh..." Barry trailed off.

"83 degrees," Cisco answered.

"Got it," I told them, looking at Barry, finding a tire iron nearby, holding it toward him.

Barry smiled. "Yes!"

Barry zoomed out of the truck.

I sighed, using fire to fly out of the truck. I landed by the dead end wall, turning back to the truck, using fire at 83 degrees to create a wall, waiting for the truck to come closer.

Barry zoomed around the truck to take the wheels off with the tire iron.

The truck was still going, sliding across the reminder of the concrete street because of the momentum from the speed that it had been going.

The wall of fire brought it to a stop, jostling it very much, but nothing else happened. 

The police cars drove closer, parking. 

Barry walked closer to me.

I smiled in relief. "That one was a little close."

"Nice!" Cisco told us.

Barry looked at me. "Now can you please, please take a break?"

I sighed, giving in, nodding sheepishly.

"How's that for training?" Cisco asked.

"Great," Harrison answered.

"Look we're gonna catch Phoenix Zoom," Cisco told him. "We got Turtle locked up in the pipeline. All we got to do is use him to figure out how to steal Zoom's speed."

"And then we'll still have Phoenix to deal with," Harrison told him.

"We'll get your daughter back," Cisco told him. 

"That might take longer than we thought," Jay told us. 

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Because Turtle's dead," Caitlin answered.

"Guys, we need you back here stat," Cisco told us.

"All right," Barry told them. "We're on our way."

I took off to the sky, using fire to fly.

Barry took off, running at zooming speed.

~

We were in the Cortex's pipeline, looking at Turtle's dead body in his cell.

"He better not be pulling a Juliet," Cisco told us. Caitlin and I looked at him weirdly. "Yeah, that's right. I see plays."

"He's dead, Cisco," Caitlin told him.

"How'd this happen?" Harrison asked.

"Preliminary brain scan shows an acute brain aneurysm," Caitlin answered. 

Quinn glanced at Harrison. "The night we captured him. How's that for timing?"

"What does that mean?" Harrison asked. "You think I did this, Tate?" Quinn raised her eyebrows. "This man is the key to us stopping Zoom, one half of the team that has my daughter. Why would I want that?"

"Never understood why you do anything, Harrison," Quinn told him.

"That's fine with me, Quinn," Harrison told her. 

"Guys, look," I told them. "We need to figure out how to stop Phoenix and Zoom. Everything we've tried so far has failed. We need to start thinking outside the box. I mean, we haven't even figured out how to close the breaches yet. Maybe that's where we should start."

"That's a good idea," Harrison told us. "I'll get on that."

"I'll help," Cisco told him.

Cisco and Harrison walked out, leaving.

Barry's phone buzzed. "I got to get to the CCPD. I'll check in with you guys later."

"Okay," I told him.

Barry zoomed out, leaving.

Jay crossed his arms over his chest. "Every time you think that Wells is on your team, something happens that makes you doubt it."

Caitlin nodded in agreement.

I looked away.

~

Cisco had had a vibe about the Reverse-Flash being back.

Barry was still at the CCPD, and had yet to get the message.

I got to Mercury Labs, where the Reverse-Flash was cornering Christina 'Tina' McGee. 

"Pyra," Eobard Thawne told me.

"Eobard Thawne," I told him.

"You know who I am?" Eobard asked.

"You died!" I told him.

"Good to know," Eobard told me. "And guess what, Pyra? I know what time period you and the Flash are from. So that means very soon... you will die."

I shook my head.

Eobard zoomed closer, jumping up in the air to punch me in the face extremely hard, making me fall.

When I stood, Eobard and Tina were already gone. I looked around in frustration. "No."

~

I was in the Cortex with the team.

"You okay, Vera?" Barry asked.

I nodded. "I'm good, yeah. It's just a lot."

"Eddie Thawne died so Eobard Thawne should have been erased out of existence, right?" Joe asked.

"Not necessarily," Harrison told us. "It's possible Eobard was in the force, protecting him like a bomb shelter, keeping him alive and his time line intact. It's what's known as a 'time line remnant'."

"A what now?" Joe asked.

"Here, let me show you," Harrison told us, walking over to the dry erase board to draw out the explanation. "This is now." He drew a circle. "Here, today." He drew a line, and then another circle connected to it. "This is the time Thawne comes from." On the other side of the first circle, he drew another line, and then another circle connected to it. "This is the moment you all erased him from existence, but since Thawne is from the future..." He drew a line connecting from the third circle to the second circle. "This is where his time line begins. That's why he's still alive. This Thawne has not yet traveled back in time to kill Barry's mother or Vera's family. He's here now in this time period for the first time. 'Time line remnant'."

"Explains why nothing's changed," Cisco told us. 

"Yeah, it also explains why he didn't know my name or that we have met before," I told them.

"To him, you hadn't," Harrison told us. "Not until the future."

"If Thawne dies before he can time travel again, will that save my mother and Vera's family?" Barry asked.

"No," Harrison answered. "That's not how it works. In our time line, they are already dead, and their deaths are fixed points. Nothing can change that."

"All right, well, I'm gonna end this, him, in this time once and for all," I told them.

"Let's find Dr. McGee, then we'll figure out what to do about Thawne, okay?" Barry asked.

"I got to go check on Iris," Joe told us. 

Harrison looked at Cisco. "Ramon."

Cisco and Harrison walked out, leaving.

Barry looked from me to Caitlin. "I know you're worried about Dr. McGee and the Reverse-Flash, but we're gonna get her back and take him down."

Caitlin sighed.

"Where's Jay and Quinn?" I asked.

"Did Quinn tell you what's wrong with Jay?" Caitlin asked.

I nodded.

"What about Jay?" Barry asked.

"He's sick, and it's getting worse," Caitlin answered. "When Phoenix stole their powers... Quinn was more resilient to the fire, because she's a blaze. But being Jay's a speedster, he was more vulnerable to it. It affected him on a cellular level. They're trying to do something about it."

"All right," I told her. "Like what?"

"I suggested that we should replace his dying cells with healthy ones indistinguishable from his," Caitlin told us. 

"How do we do that?" Barry asked.

"By finding his Earth-1 doppelganger," Caitlin answered. 

Barry and I nodded.

~

Barry and I were at his lab in the CCPD.

Barry was running facial recognition under the name Jay Garrick for the Earth-1 doppelganger.

"Caitlin said that the facial recognition at STAR Labs didn't find anything, either," I told him.

"Well, there's still some more programs we can try," Barry told me. "Trust me, we'll find him."

I smiled  small smile.

Patty walked in, looking at me. "Hey. Hi, Vera."

"Hi," I told her.

"Uh, can we talk?" Patty asked.

"Sure," I answered.

"Uh, I'll let you know what I find," Barry told me. "Meet me back at STAR Labs."

"All right," I told him. Barry walked out, leaving. I looked at Patty. "What's up?"

"I didn't know you guys worked with STAR Labs," Patty told me.

"Yeah," I answered. "Joe, Barry and I help out every once in a while."

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but there's a lot of weird stuff that happens over there," Patty told me. 

I chuckled. "Is that what you came to tell me?"

"No," Patty answered. "Uh, I'm leaving in two days, and I just wanted a chance to talk to you before I left."

I nodded. "Good. I'm glad. I wanted to talk to you, too. You know, have a better... goodbye. I'm gonna miss you."

"Gonna miss you, too," Patty told me. 

We hugged, pulling away. 

"You're gonna miss the action, huh?" I asked.

Patty nodded. "Maybe a little." She took a deep breath. "But I know that you'll be getting plenty. With Barry."

I raised my eyebrows. "Well, now, that depends on what kind you mean."

Patty chuckled. "Uh, Captain Singh had me go through some of Barry's old cases for documentation and records and all of that." 

I nodded. "Okay."

"All of them involved the Flash and Pyra saving the day, with details that Barry couldn't have possibly have even known," Patty told me. 

I nodded, turning to face the windows behind me. "That's weird."

Patty nodded. "Yeah, it--it is weird. And Barry was struck by lightning two years ago, the same night that you were burned alive, but survived. The Flash runs as fast as lightning. And Pyra can literally turn herself into fire, and blast it, and control it to her will."

I turned to face her. "Are you suggesting that Barry's the Flash and I'm Pyra? Patty, that--"

"That is the only thing that makes sense," Patty told me. "I mean, you and him are always together."

I chuckled nervously, shaking my head. "Not always."

"You know what I mean," Patty told me. "I didn't really let myself believe until the other day. The morning after they saved me from that man that tried to kill me. That night, I gave Pyra a hug, and noticed that her skin felt like she had a temperature, which I guess makes sense given what her power is. And then the next morning, I give you a hug, just like I did a moment ago, and I felt that exact same thing."

"I--I'm just hot-blooded," I told her. "Some people are like that."

"Not when they feel like they have a fever that should put them in the hospital, and you seem pretty okay to me," Patty told me. "You want to tell me that you're not Pyra, Vera? Go ahead. But you're a terrible liar. See you."

Patty smiled a small smile,  walking out, leaving.

I sighed, closing my eyes, looking up at the ceiling.

~

Barry and I got back to STAR Labs.

Cisco had a vibe with goggles that helped him vibe... of Eobard killing Tina.

"Dr. McGee is dead?" Caitlin asked worriedly.

"Harry and I were trying to hone my powers to find Phoenix and Zoom, and then we ended up using them, finding the Reverse-Flash, and that's when I saw him kill her," Cisco explained. "And then he left."

"He left?" Barry repeated. "What do you mean, he left?"

"McGee built him some kind of speed machine, and he ran into it and got flung back to the future," Cisco explained.

I sighed.

"You'd need superluminal energy to send someone through time," Harrison told us.

"You mean like tachyons?" Barry asked.

"Tachyons," Harrison answered. 

"We can track their location once they've been activated," I told them. Harrison typed at the computer. "Anything?"

"Nothing," Harrison answered.

"Cisco, you're sure that's what you saw?" Barry asked.

"I'm positive," Cisco answered.

"All right," Barry told him.

"What else did you see?" Harrison asked. 

"There was all sorts of weird tech everywhere," Cisco told us. "There was a clock."

"What time did the clock say?" Harrison asked.

Cisco tried to remember. "9:52, I think. How--how is that relevant?"

"It's 6:00 now," Harrison answered.

Cisco stood in surprise. "Are you telling me I can see the future?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you," Harrison answered.

"Those goggles are getting named, immediately," Cisco told us.

"But that means Dr. McGee is alive," Caitlin told us.

"That's right," Harrison told us.

"Yeah, okay, we have three hours, 52 minutes to find her and stop the Reverse-Flash," Barry told them. "Let's do it."

"It'll take a few minutes for the device to reach full power once it's activated, but when we find it, you're gonna have to get there fast," Cisco told us.

I looked at Barry. "Hey, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah," Barry answered. We walked out into the corridor. "There's no Jay Garrick on this Earth, but I did find Jay's doppelganger. His name is Hunter Zolomon. His mother died from childbirth, and he was bounced around from family to family, but he was eventually adopted and raised by the Zolomans. Jay and Quinn are gonna find him and see if their plan will actually work. Now, your turn. Why do you look so distracted?"

"We got a problem," I told him. "Patty knows you're the Flash, and that I'm Pyra."

"What?" Barry asked.

"She caught me off guard," I told him. "I mean, I played it off, but come on. She's a smart girl. Anyway, she was going through some case files, noticed that in your filing, there were way too many details, details that an outsider wouldn't have known. Then she saw us together, and then there was the hugging thing." Barry looked at me in confusion. I shook my head. "Don't ask."

"Maybe you should tell her," Barry told me.

I shook my head. "No. I mean, she's trustworthy, but it's not even about that, Barry. I--I don't want another person that Zoom or Phoenix or Reverse-Flash or any of these metahumans can use against me, or against you. I don't want it. Patty can't get hurt over this. I love her like a sister. I do. But she's safer out of Central City than she is in."

~

We were in the Cortex, near 9:50.

The alarm on the computer beeped.

"Tachyons!" Cisco told us. "87th and Avenue J." Barry zoomed to get both me changed into the suits, zooming us out of STAR Labs, through the streets. "Must be one of Mercury Labs off-site facilities."

"Hack into their se--" Harrison started.

"I've already hacked in the security feed," Cisco told us.

"And once that--" Harrison started.

"I'm one step ahead of you," Cisco told him. "Uh-oh. Guys, hurry up."

"He's gonna kill her," Caitlin told us.

We got to the warehouse.

Barry zoomed toward Eobard, pushing him away from Tina, making him fall to the floor.

I ran up next to Tina. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Tina answered.

"Flash, get her out of here," I told him.

Barry grabbed Tina, zooming her out of the warehouse.

I set fire to my hands, looking at the speed machine that was the gateway to the future. I threw fire all over the machine, setting fire to it, destroying it.

Eobard stood angrily. "That was my way home!"

"You're not going anywhere," I told him.

Eobard was breathing heavily with anger.

~

Eobard stepped closer. "You haven't won here, Pyra. I'll find another way back."

"You're gonna have to get through me first," I told him.

"You really think you can stop me?" Eobard asked.

"Let's find out," I told him.

Eobard pulled on his hood mask. "Catch me if you can."

Eobard zoomed out of the warehouse, leaving.

I sighed in annoyed exasperation, using fire to fly out of the warehouse as fast as I could, after Eobard.

"Oh, it's on," Cisco told us.

Barry came out of Mercury Labs from dropping off Tina, zooming outside to see Eobard racing on the streets and me racing in the sky, zooming after Eobard.

"Get him, guys," Joe told us.

Barry tackled Eobard to the ground underneath the bridge. "Not fast enough, Thawne."

Eobard zoomed to pin Barry to the ground, his hand phasing to try to kill him.

I reached them, throwing fire toward Eobard from the air, using fire to fly closer. Eobard stood. 

I flipped through the air to kick Eobard with fire, making him fall to the ground, landing on the ground next to him, letting the fire fade, picking him up, slamming him against the nearby stone beam. "I will never lose to you again. I will never watch you kill another one I love ever again." I let fire engulf my hands, punching him in the face with fire. "This war between us? It ends now."

I continued to punch him with fire, making him scream, lost in anger and hate, not just at him, but at myself, because he had made me kill my family.

Barry stood, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You got to stop. Hey. Hey." I stopped, breathing heavily, letting Eobard fall. I delivered a flaming-hand knock-out punch, making him fall unconscious. I turned to face Barry, trying to hide how much this really got to me. Barry pulled me into his arms, speaking to the others. "Get the cell ready."

~

We were back in STAR Labs, in the Cortex, looking at the surveillance footage of Eobard in his cell.

Joe looked at Cisco. "Hey, he can't..."

"Phase his way out?" Cisco finished. "No, he can't do that."

"It's the same cell we used to hold Dr. Wells last year," Caitlin told us.

I walked toward the door.

"Vera, where you going?" Joe asked.

"I'm going down there," I answered.

"No, you're not," Harrison told me. I stopped, looking back. "The more he learns about you, the more you will alter the timeline."

"He made me kill my family," I told them.

"He's from the future," Harrison told us. "He hasn't done that yet. He doesn't even know who either of you are yet, and you need to keep it that way."

"You already said that my mother and her family's gonna die no matter what we do," Barry told him.

"There's ramifications any time anybody messes with the timeline, and it's impossible to predict what those ramifications are going to be," Harrison told us. 

"You caught him and you stopped him from killing Dr. McGee," Caitlin told us. "In my book, that's a win."

I shook my head, looking down. "This doesn't feel like a win." Cisco's nose started to bleed. He walked over to get a tissue to wipe it away. My phone buzzed. I pulled it out to see  a text from Patty asking for me to meet her. "I gotta go."

~

I was changed back into normal clothes, sitting in my loft, playing a song on the guitar, singing 'Flares' by the Script. "Did you lose what won't return? / Did you love but never learn? / The fire's out, but still it burns / And no one cares / There's no one there / Did you find it hard to breathe? / Did you cry so much that you could barely see? / In the darkness, all alone / And no one cares / There's no one there / But did you see the flares in the sky? / Were you blinded by the light? / Did you feel the smoke in your eyes? / Did you? / Did you? / Did you see the sparks filled with hope? / And you are not alone / 'Cause someone's out there / Sending out flares / Did you break but never mend? / Did it hurt so much you thought it was the end? / Lose your heart, but don't know when / And no one cares / There's no one there / But did you see the flares in the sky? / Were you blinded by the light? / Did you feel the smoke in your eyes? / Did you? / Did you? / Did you see the sparks filled with hope? / And you are not alone / 'Cause someone's out there / Sending out flares." I stopped playing, still singing. "Someone's out there / Sending out flares / Did you lose what won't return? / Did you love but never learn?" I started to play again. "But did you see the flares in the sky? / Were you blinded by the light? / Did you feel the smoke in your eyes? / Did you? / Did you? / Did you see the sparks filled with hope? / And you are not alone / 'Cause someone's out there / Sending out flares / Did you see the flares in the sky? / Were you blinded by the light? / Did you feel the smoke in your eyes? / Did you? / Did you? / Did you see the sparks filled with hope? / And you are not alone / 'Cause someone's out there / Sending out flares."

I continued to play the song until the last notes, ending it. 

There was a knock on the door.

I stood, walking closer, opening it.

Patty was outside. "Hey."

"Hey," I told her, stepping aside.

Patty walked in.

I closed the door behind her.

"I wasn't sure that you would see me, considering the accusations I threw at you earlier," Patty told me. "And I know that you've been busy. Flying the skies of Central City." I sighed, turning to face her. "I know you're Pyra, Vera. And I know that Barry's the Flash."

"Patty, come on," I told her. "Look, what you're saying, it's insane. Okay?"

"Look, you don't have to lie to me anymore, okay?" Patty asked. "I understand--I understand why you didn't want to tell me. I understand everything."

I closed my eyes, shaking my head. "Patty..."

Patty had a piece of ice in her hand, placing it against my skin.

I jerked back at the cold, but the ice was already quickly melting away. 

Patty held up the melting ice in her hand. "I've never seen ice do that for other people."

I sighed, looking up. "What do you want me to say, Patty?"

"The truth, Vera," Patty answered. "I just wanna hear the truth. Once."

I pressed my lips together, knowing that there was no way to deny it now. "Okay." Patty nodded. I held my hand up slightly in front of me, letting a ball of fire appear and curl around in my hand, looking up at Patty. "I'm Pyra."

Patty was in awe.

I let the fire fade, lowering my arm.

"And Barry?" Patty asked.

I shook my head. "That's not my secret to tell."

"It's okay," Patty told me. "I know, anyway."

"What's the point of this?" I asked.

"Maybe, after I do what I want to do, I can come back here and help you," Patty told me. "Help you in ways that no one else can."

I shrugged. "Sound plan."

 I managed only a small smile.

~

I went back to STAR Labs, opening the door in the pipeline to look at Eobard in his cell, hidden in the shadows.

Barry was standing by my side.

"Why do you hate us so much?" Barry asked.

"I didn't always," Eobard told us. "Neither was my little sister, Meredith. We were obsessed with the two of you. For so long, we wanted to be the Flash and Pyra. We spent years figuring out how you two came to be. Duplicated the reaction... and it worked." He chuckled. "We became like you."

"Right, so what happened?" Barry asked.

"This ability to travel through time revealed a truth," Eobard told us. "Our fates were to become your greatest enemies. We were never going to become you, so we became the reverse of everything that you were. The more people you saved, the more you were loved, the more we had to take from you."

"That is why you made me kill my family and killed his mother?" I asked. "That's why you ruined our lives? Because you couldn't be us?"

"What happened to Meredith?" Barry asked.

"Pyra and Meredith were in their fiercest battle ever, and in a strange twist of fate, she was killed," Eobard answered. He looked at me, even though he couldn't really see me. "By you, Pyra. You killed her. You swore it was accident, and even if I did believe you, because I saw it with my own two eyes, I was never going to stop until you paid for it."

"Our race is over," I told him. "And you lost."

 "I've learned what time period you're from," Eobard told us. "And one day soon, I'll learn your names."

We heard Caitlin's voice through the intercom. "We need you in the Cortex, now!"

I sighed, hitting the button to lower the door between us and Eobard.

~

Up in the infirmary lab, Cisco was lying on the bed, seizing, his nose and mouth bleeding.

The others were gathered around him worriedly.

"What's happening?" Barry asked.

"He's experiencing an uncontrollable amount of electrical energy in his brain, putting him in a prolonged state of chronic seizing," Caitlin answered.

"What?" I asked. "Can you stop it?"

"I don't know," Caitlin told us.

We looked at Cisco worriedly.

~

Joe, Harrison and Barry tried to hold the seizing Cisco down.

"Hold him down!" Caitlin told them.

"We're trying!" Joe told us.

I held Cisco down.

"Sedate him, Snow, now," Harrison told her.

"Benzodiazepine," Caitlin told us. "This should do it."

Caitlin injected Cisco with the sedative.

Cisco slowly stopped seizing.

"Finally," Joe told us. Cisco started to fade in and out of existence. We gasped, backing away. "What--what was that?" 

"What's going on?" Cisco asked. "Where the hell am I?"

"Cisco!" Barry told him.

"It's the timeline," Harrison told us. 

"What?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"

"When--when you captured the Reverse-Flash, we ruptured the timeline," Harrison answered. "That's what this--all the blood and the seizures and that and all--Cisco is being affected to--to by the changes to the timeline. The changes to the past or the changes to the present, this is what this is. We need to do something. We need to do it fast."

"Like what?" Barry asked.

"We need to restore the timeline," Harrison answered. "We need to get Reverse-Flash and send him back to the future as quickly as possible."

"What?" Barry asked. "Are you--We just caught him. You want us to let him go?"

"Keeping him here is killing Cisco," Harrison told us.

I held my hands to my head, overwhelmed.

"If this is the only way we can save him, we got to do it," Joe told us. "You got to let go of Thawne."

"We can't," I told them. "Okay, all right, look. I destroyed the tachyon drive and the speed machine. There's no way to send him back home."

"You can," Harrison told us.

"What?" Barry asked.

Harrison looked at me. "You would act as a portal to the time continuum, as you did when you two went back in time to try to save your family and his mother." He looked at Barry. "Your speed coupled with Thawne's speed, that'll be enough to catapult him through the continuum. You can do it."

Barry and I looked at each other, nodding.

"All right," Barry told us. "All right. Let's do it. Let's do it."

~

Harrison went into the pipeline to get Eobard.

We were down into the particle accelerator to send Eobard home, as Flash and Pyra.

"I win again," Eobard told us. 

Harrison looked at me. "All you have to do is match their speed and create the portal as you did before." He looked at Barry. "All you have to do is provide him with enough momentum to get him through the portal made by Vera fast enough that he'll get through fast enough without burning alive."

"All right," Barry told us.

I turned to Eobard. "Time to send you back where you belong."

"We'll meet again soon," Eobard told us. 

"I know," Barry told him. "So does she. And every time, we'll be ready for you."

We walked out onto the catwalk above the floor. I turned away from them to face the other way. 

Eobard and Barry jumped down, zooming in the direction they were facing.

I used fire to fly into the direction I was facing.

We were on the outer edges, using the first couple of go arounds to build up speed and keep that speed up, closing in closer and closer to the middle. To go as fast as they were going, I was completely engulfed with fire, fire that burned hotter and stronger and bigger than anything I had ever done before.

 I didn't slow down, seeing them coming from the other direction, head on. I turned completely into flame before I could think about it. 

Barry grabbed Eobard, throwing him through the flame. 

Eobard reached back to try to pull me in.

I struggled, fighting back. "Flash!"

Barry zoomed closer, grabbing the hand I held toward him, pulling me back.

The portal closed.

I returned completely into human form.

Barry and I fell to the ground, looking at each other, breathing heavily.

~

Upstairs, with his hood mask pulled back and my mask off, we immediately went to see how Cisco was doing.

Caitlin smiled in relief. "He's gonna be okay."

We sighed in relief.

~

The next morning, Cisco was just waking up, groaning in pain. "My head feels like it's in  vise." He looked over us. "What happened?"

"I think you vibed one too many dimensions," Harrison told him.

"Maybe I should stop doing that," Cisco told us.

Joe laughed. "Yeah, he's gonna be fine."

"How did you, um... get the vibing to stop?" Cisco asked.

"We sent Thawne back to his time," Barry answered.

Cisco looked at Barry and me in surprise. "You let him go?"

"We couldn't let him take another person we cared about," I told him.

"Thank you," Cisco told us.

"Of course," Barry told him.

"Okay, I think I need a Big Belly burger," Harrison told us. "Anyone?"

"I'm good, thanks," I told him.

"Yeah, no pickles," Joe told him.

"Two triple triples, please," Cisco told him.

"You got money?" Harrison asked.

Cisco gave him a look, looking away. "Hmm."

"Rest up, okay?" Barry asked.

We walked out, leaving.

~

I was at home, playing on the guitar again, but not playing anything specific, just a few chords absentmindedly.

Barry walked in. "Hey."

"Hey," I told him. "You know, before we were together, you always used to just walk in, too. I'm glad at least that hasn't changed."

Barry smiled a small smile. "What's got you so distracted?"

"What doesn't?" I replied. "I got to say goodbye to Patty. She's on a train to Midway City right now. And, uh, we had to let go of the guy that ruined our lives."

Barry sighed, nodding, sitting in front of me. "Listen to me. Thawne knows about me. He knows about you. Last night? That was where he learned about us, all of us. It's how he knows about STAR Labs, how he knows about the Harrison Wells from this Earth. And there's nothing I can do about it. There's nothing you can do about it. This was his origin story, and it's going to happen no matter what we do. But we sent him back to his time. We saved Cisco. And maybe this was a good thing. You know, we can move on with our lives, and we both can finally let go of him."

"We could send him three centuries from now," I told him. "He'll always be a part of us. Both of us."

Barry knew I was right, nodding, looking down at the guitar in my hands. "Let's get your mind off of it. And mine, too. Play me a song. Something that makes you feel like it's gonna be okay."

I looked at him for a moment, nodding. "All right." I started to play 'Compass' by Zella Day. "We can build a tree house in the pine trees / We can keep our secrets buried underneath / Wild flowers crushed between your fingers / Clinging to the wild things that raised us / Compass points you home / Calling out from the east / Compass points you anywhere closer to me / If we make it out alive from the depths of the sea / Compass points you anywhere closer to me / Where you are, I will be miles high, in the deep / Where you are, I will be anywhere, in between." Barry smiled a small smile as he listened to the notes I played during the short break of singing. "Take me to the garden of your ecstasy / Make myself a heaven from your falling leaves / Woven in the fabric of your tapestry / Cover me in honeysuckle memories / Compass points you home / Calling out from the east / Compass points you anywhere closer to me / If we make it out alive from the depths of the sea / Compass points you anywhere closer to me / Where you are, I will be miles high, in the deep / Where you are, I will be anywhere, in between / I will take the pieces, put them back together / Even when the grass isn't green enough / Taking all the badges, building ourselves a mansion / Love you in the way that you needed love / Where you are, I will be / Where you are, I will be miles high, in the deep / Where you are, I will be anywhere, in between."

I played the song till its end.

Barry smiled a small smile. "A love song?"

"You told me to play something that makes me feel like it's gonna be okay," I told him. "That's the message from me to you. You're the one that makes me feel like it's gonna be okay. Not some song. You."

Barry leaned closer to place a hand on my cheek, kissing me. We continued to kiss for a long moment. I pulled the guitar off my lap, placing it on the floor. Barry stood, pulling me with him toward the open double doors that led to my room, without breaking the kiss. I pulled away, lifting his shirt over his head, placing it aside. He backed away, pulling me lightly, slowly with him, keeping my gaze with his, laying down. I smiled, crawling closer, above him, kissing him slowly, sweetly, but passionately. We sat up long enough for him to pull my shirt over my head and lay it down, lying down again. For a moment, we just looked at each other, both smiling slightly, breathing just a little heavily. I kissed him for a long, sweet moment. We held our hands above his head on the bed, fingers intertwining. He rolled me onto the bed, still having them linked, continuing to kiss me. I wove a hand through his hair, pulling him even closer.

He was the one that made me feel like things would be okay.

Not okay, like, there was nothing to worry about, because there was always something that was going to come for us, or something that we had to stop.

But okay, like, we would always get through it, and we would always get through it together.

And even if one of us lost our way, we would find the other again.