"Who doesn't have an elevator?" Cisco complains as him and Caitlin turn to begin their twelfth flight of stairs. "You're trying to kill me."

"It's good for you." Caitlin argues through her heavy breathing.

"You know, if we'd brought Barry, we would've been up there ten minutes ago."

"I don't want Barry to know I'm looking yet." Caitlin says, leaning against the door of the fourteenth floor to catch her breath.

"And why not?" Cisco drops to his knees on the fourteenth-floor landing and lays on the cold cement. "Oh, sweet Jesus we're there."

"Because I don't want anyone to have an opinion on which place I pick." She says as she slides down the wall and sits against the door with her legs out in front of her. "This is my place. No help. No ties to anybody."

"Then why did you bring me?" Cisco says, face down on the cement.

Caitlin laughs at the sight. "Because you're my best friend and you offer company without the unwanted advice."

"Good to know." Cisco says sarcastically, his voice slightly muffled because his nose is pressed into the ground.

"And because I know you'll never leave me." She says, standing.

"I might if you ever make me climb fourteen flights of stairs again." He rolls over and makes a show of trying to get to his feet. "My unwanted advice: don't move somewhere that will kill anyone attempting to visit you."

Caitlin laughs as they open the door and make their way down the hall to the apartment they are looking at. After spending a whole five minutes walking around, they bid the landlord a good day and quickly walk to the stairwell to begin their trek back down to the ground floor. Once the door to the stair well is closed, they both burst into laughter. They laugh for five floors before coming to a stop to catch their breath.

"Was he serious?" Cisco says through teary eyes and laughs. "That place had an actual hole in the wall. The size of a tire."

"The hole? I was too distracted by the smell in the kitchen." Caitlin snorts out. "Smells worse than when I left that milk in the fridge for nine months."

The two continue to laugh their whole way down to the ground floor. When they get to Jitters for a lunch break, they're both exhausted from laughing and from a full morning of apartment hunting. They sit down with their coffees and sandwiches and begin talking about the places they saw, and the ones left that afternoon.

"You know you can afford to raise the rent. I don't understand why you're so stingy with your money." Cisco says through a full mouth.

"I just want to keep a good nest egg in case something goes wrong at S.T.A.R. Labs. You and I are lucky we're still making money at all. You can barely consider what we have a job." Caitlin explains. "I try to keep my budget low."

"Fine. But if you're gonna get a crap apartment, might as well get one closer to me. Might save you on gas." Cisco says.

"Remember what I said about unwanted advice?" Caitlin jokes, raising her eyebrows.

"Ouch."

They both start laughing.

"I'm kidding. I was considering it anyway. Our 3:00 appointment is my favorite. And it's close to you." Caitlin says. She laughs at Cisco's ear-to-ear grin and finishes her sandwich.

"So...speaking of that unwanted advice," Cisco starts. Caitlin looks up from her coffee at him. "What made you so determined to do this alone?" He looks at her thoughtfully. "I mean alone with me." He corrects.

"Ronnie picked out that house. I had no say in it. I didn't really want a say, but when it was just me...I really didn't like it. It didn't feel like my house." Caitlin says. "If I let Barry go with me, he'll want to help, and in doing so...I'll probably end up picking the place he likes the best. If something happens between us...he'll be tied into that place too. It still won't be just mine."

"I get that." Cisco says sincerely. "But is that all it is?"

"Yeah." Caitlin says in an almost convincing voice. "I just need this to be mine. Just this one thing." She says, looking sadly up at him. "I need to be in control of my own life.

Cisco's cell phone beeps and he pulls it out to look at his text. "Joe needs my help at the station with something. Something to do with more cleanup." He looks at her guiltily.

"Go on." She says, smiling at him and gesturing toward the door. "I can handle this."

"Yes, you can." He says, smiling at her. She smiles back and he runs out. She takes a deep breath and stands to head off to her next showing.

**********************************

The next morning Caitlin walks into Jitters and is immediately greeted by a wide-eyed, beaming Iris.

"Caitlin! Are you ready for today? Cause I'm ready for today." Iris says excitedly.

Caitlin laughs and finishes her order. "I'm ready for today, but I'm not sure I'll be ready for you until I've finished my first cup."

Iris laughs and sits down at their usual table. "I was upset at first that Eddie wanted to have the wedding so soon, but after talking, I agree. I wanted to stick around until all this crazy was cleaned up, but we talked about it and...if we keep waiting for the next crisis to be over then we're never gonna get married. So now or never."

"So, you guys chose a week from now? Really cramming it in." Caitlin says. "But I completely agree. No sense in waiting till things quiet down."

"It'll lift people's spirits too." Iris says. "Who doesn't love a wedding?"

Caitlin raises her eyebrows and takes a drink. "So, what all do we need to get done today?"

"Not much. Just need to go in for my first and final fitting on my wedding dress, find you a dress, pick out the flowers, buy some decorations for my dad's backyard, plan the bachelorette party, and secure a minister." Iris rambles off.

"Oh, that's it?" Caitlin says sarcastically, eyes wide. "And what is Eddie doing?"

"Working." Iris huffs. "Him and Barry are supposed to go pick up their tuxes tomorrow and help us set up the decorations." Caitlin nods. "Oh, and we've decided to just do a bachelorette/bachelor mini-party."

"Meaning?" Caitlin asks.

"Meaning a day full of unnecessarily competitive living room games, a nice dinner with just the four of us, then a night out with Cisco like old times." Iris explains.

"That actually sounds fun." Caitlin says, sounding surprised. "When are you wanting to do this?"

"Two days before the wedding." Iris says.

"So...two days from now?" Caitlin clarifies. "Do we need to get reservations somewhere?"

"That's what we're gonna get done today."

"Alright then. Let's get started."

The two head out of Jitters, a to-do list in their hands and a fast pace to their walk. They drive around town all morning, picking up decorations, asking churches for a minister, and looking at flower arrangements. By lunch time the only thing they have left is picking up the dresses, making dinner reservations, and finding a minister.

"We should drop the decorations off at Joe's before we go get the dresses. It'll clear up the back of my car." Caitlin suggests.

Iris agrees and takes the last bite of her salad. "I wanna burn off some of this lunch too before we go try things on."

Caitlin chuckles. "That'll probably be good too."

When they get to Joe's, Caitlin backs in and Joe opens up the back gate. Barry was home picking some things up and walks out back. Him and Caitlin haven't seen each other since their movie night on the top of Jitters a week ago.

"Hey." Caitlin says, trying to sound like she hasn't partially been avoiding him.

"Hey." He says back flatly, trying to sound like he hasn't also been partially avoiding her.

Iris leans over to Caitlin as she sets down a basket of flowers. "Could cut this tension with a knife." She whispers to Caitlin. "What happened between you two?"

"Nothing. I think we're both just dealing with some stuff right now." Caitlin whispers back.

"Well...if you're both dealing with it, why not deal with it together?" Iris suggests. "I swear, you two may be too alike for your own good."

Caitlin looks at her with a curious eyebrow raised. Iris sighs. "Stubborn." She states.

Caitlin rolls her eyes and smiles. "Well, I'm not gonna argue with you there."

Barry and Joe help them move everything out of her car with very little conversation. Barry tries multiple times to get Iris to go inside to get something to he can speed everything out of the car, but she's unsurprisingly just as stubborn as he is and is convinced Caitlin would be more comfortable with her out there with them.

"I'm gonna drop the dresses off here, dad." Iris says before they leave. "Caitlin and I are gonna get ready here before the wedding and Barry and Eddie can get ready at our place."

The two boys nod and Caitlin and Iris take off to the dress store. On the way, Iris calls and makes reservations at a restaurant for the joint bachelor/bachelorette dinner. They arrive at the dress shop.

"So, you've already picked out your dress?" Caitlin asks.

"Yeah. I found it on their website. Now let's just hope they have one in my size that only needs minor adjustments." Iris says.

The woman who met them for their appointment brings out the dress Iris requested, and she beams at it before it's even out of the bag. As much as she hated weddings, Caitlin had to admit the dress was stunning.

"Iris, you look amazing." Caitlin beams behind her in the mirror.

Iris is looking at herself in the mirror then looks back at Caitlin. "Not just me. Go look around. All the bridesmaid's dresses are in the back. Wanna make sure we look good together." She smiles.

Caitlin laughs and heads to the back. She walks back out in the first pick that was in the color Iris wanted: baby pink. Iris is sitting on the couch in the middle of the room, her back against an armrest and her legs stretched out on the seat. She's sipping champagne with an amused smile on her face.

"Hmm. I like it, but we could do better." Iris states.

Caitlin goes back and walks back out in a slightly darker pink dress that is a little more form fitting with cap sleeves.

"Gross. What are you the mother of the bride?" Iris says, taking a sip of her drink. "Next!"

Caitlin comes back out in a lighter baby pink dress that makes her look about as white as piece of paper. It shows off too much in some places and not enough in others.

"The fact that you even put that dress on is insulting." Iris says between laughs. "Next! And I need a refill."

Caitlin laughs and walks to the back again. When she walks back out, Iris sits up and scoots closer to the mirror. "That one is...perfect." She says, kissing her hands like a proud chef.

Caitlin turns and looks in the mirrors, shifting to look at different angles. "Ya think?"

"Oh." Iris says walking up to stand next to her. She puts her arm around her and leans her head against Caitlin's shoulder. "I'm positive." Caitlin smiles at her in the mirror.

Caitlin takes her turn to sit in her dress and drink, sticking to sparkling water since she's driving, and watch as Iris gets some minor adjustments made to her dress. When they're done, they bag up their dresses and the two walk out.

When they get back to Joe's, Barry has left. They drop their dresses off in Iris's old room and sit down in the living room to order some take out. While they're eating, Caitlin gets a call from Clarissa.

"I've gotta take this." Caitlin informs Iris before walking out to the front porch.

"Hi Clarissa." Caitlin answers.

"Caitlin, honey, how are you?" Clarissa answers back.

"I'm doing alright. Is everything okay with Professor Stein?"

"Oh yes, he's doing great. I actually called to see if you wanted to join us for dinner this evening." Clarissa offers.

"Oh, Clarissa I would love to, but I'm sitting here with Joe's daughter. We've been running errands for her wedding all day and just sat down to dinner."

"Well then I won't keep you. Would you want to join us tomorrow?" She asks.

"I'd love to. Just let me know what time."

"Say, 6:00. Oh, no get here a little early. I love hearing about weddings. I wanna hear everything." Clarissa beams. "Y'know, Martin used to officiate weddings here and there and I used love going to all of them. Such a beautiful day."

Caitlin laughs. "I'll be sure to get there early then." Clarissa says bye and is about to hang up when Caitlin stops her. "Wait, did you say Professor Stein used to officiate? Is he still ordained?"

"I believe so."

"Would he be interested in officiating a wedding this Sunday?" Caitlin asks, sounding way too desperate.

She can hear Clarissa call to him in the background and ask. "He'd love to, dear."

Caitlin lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime. I'll see you tomorrow." They both hang up.

Caitlin walks back into the living room with a wide grin on her face.

"What are you grinning about?" Iris asks, giving her a suspicious look.

"I found you a minister." Caitlin says proudly. "Well, a professor, but an ordained one."

"Really?" Iris says, standing up. Caitlin nods. Iris squeals and runs around the couch to hug Caitlin. "Thank you, thank you!"

Caitlin laughs and hugs back. "So, did we get everything done that we needed to?"

Iris nods. "Yep. Now we just need to get you and Barry talking."

Caitlin rolls her eyes and Iris laughs. They return to chatting, watching tv, and eating their dinner before they both pass out on the couch. Joe walks down to check on them and chuckles to himself when he sees them asleep on the couch. Barry walks in and right as he's about to announce he's home, he hears Joe shush him. He looks up and Joe points to the couch. Barry smiles.

"They had a long day." Joe whispers. "Iris ran her all around town." Barry chuckles and smiles at the two then looks back at Joe. "You two haven't talked since the accident, have you?" Joe asks.

Barry shakes his head. "Not since that night."

"Why?"

"What do I say?" Barry says as they make their way into the kitchen so they can talk. "She lost Ronnie...again. All because I couldn't fix the problem. She lost the man who has been a father to her for fifteen years. And what do we have to show for it?" Barry's voice is getting slightly more aggressive. "Nothing. We don't have a confession. We don't have bodies. The town looks like an F500 tornado swept through it and we really don't have an explanation. I didn't get to save my mom. I didn't get to free my dad. We lost so much. And gained...nothing." He says, clenching his fists against the countertop.

"You didn't cause the black hole, Bar. You made a decision to try to stop it, and Thawne worked against you." Joe explains. "Caitlin doesn't blame you and you can't blame yourself. But you need to talk to her. You two understand what the other is going through better than anyone else. You need each other."

Barry peeks around the kitchen door to see Caitlin on the couch. He leans back in. "I don't think she needs me as much as I need her." He admits to Joe. "She's stronger than I am."

"Don't assume that just because she's putting on a good face, that she's okay." Joe says. "Yes, that girl is strong. One of the strongest I've seen. But she's also very good at hiding her feelings. Especially if she feels someone else may be feeling more." Joe raises his eyebrows at Barry. "Talk to her. Or I'm gonna lock you two in a room and make you talk."

"I'll just run out." Barry says smirking.

Joe scoffs and pulls Barry in, giving him a side hug. "You're stubborn, did you know that?"

"Wonder where I got that from?" Barry responds, looking accusingly at Joe.

The two laugh and head up the stairs after putting blankets over Caitlin and Iris.

***************************

Caitlin wakes up first and looks around to assess where she is. She stretches her neck and sits up, rubbing the back of her neck and yawning.

"Not the most comfortable sleep I've had." Iris says, yawning next to Caitlin.

"Not the most uncomfortable though either." Caitlin says, smiling at Iris.

They clean up their dinner mess and head out to get a nap in before they come back and start setting up the decorations in the back yard.

Iris wakes up from her nap when Eddie and Barry return from picking up their tuxes. They hang them in the closet and three of them drive back to the Joe's house to start setting up. Caitlin arrives just minutes after them. They spend that afternoon setting up the backyard, hanging lights, putting up chairs and flowers, painting, and nailing wood together. Caitlin and Barry make light conversation, but nothing too deep. Caitlin mostly bounces back and forth from working with Iris and Eddie. She spends very little time with Barry.

Iris and Eddie notice and try to force them together a few times, but with very little success. The four agree to meet back there the next day for lunch and games before heading off to dinner. Caitlin calls Cisco to invite him to go out with them after dinner and he quickly accepts.

**********************

After an afternoon filled with surprisingly fun and not awkward games and competition, which Iris and Caitlin came out victorious in all of them, they all leave to get ready for dinner.

Eddie and Iris arrive at the restaurant first and go in to get their table. Caitlin pulls into the parking lot and steps out in the same dress she wore the night her and Barry went out. He hair is down and her make up is done up. She's wearing nice heels and hoping this time she fits in a little more than she did wearing this in a biker bar. She starts walking to the front and stops when she sees a streak of yellow lightning stop around the corner of the restaurant. She stands and waits for Barry, who is in dark jeans, a collared shirt, and a long black jacket.

"You look nice." Caitlin says, smiling lightly at him as he walks up to her.

"I'd say the same, but it'd be an understatement." He says, sounding sincere, but not very cheerful.

She reaches for his arm and stops him before they go in. "Can we talk later? Or tomorrow if you want."

He gives her a weak smile. "Yeah, sure." He takes a deep breath as she starts to walk away. He reaches for her hand and stops her. "I'm sorry I've been distant. I'm just...trying to process, I guess."

"I know. Take as long as you need. Just know that I'm here to talk if you need." She smiles at him.

"I've just never felt this hopeless." He says, his voice almost a whisper. He barely gets the words out before he walks away from her and into the restaurant.

She stands there for a moment, not sure how to process what he just said. Partially because it hurt, but also because she feels the same way. She walks in, just seconds after Barry and they make their way to the table with Iris and Eddie. They both put on a good face for the evening, only having group conversations so that it's not obvious that they aren't directly talking to each other.

When they're done eating, Caitlin texts Cisco to let him know where they're heading and the four make their way to their usual bar. Iris and Eddie make their way to the dart board while Caitlin and Barry get their drinks. They found out earlier that they were expected to pay for everything that evening, so they assumed that carried onto drinks at the bar too.

Caitlin and Barry just sit down when Cisco walks up and joins them.

"Damn, I didn't know we were dressing up this time." Cisco says as he walks up to them.

"Sorry to leave you out." Caitlin jokes, scooting the drink she got Cisco over to him.

The three sit and talk about nothing important for a few minutes before going over and joining Iris and Eddie at darts. By the end of the night, all of them are laughing and having a good time except Barry, who has sat off to the side most of the night. He sneaks out around midnight and doesn't realize that Cisco notices.

He steps outside and takes a deep breath of the night air.

"Why so down, Flash?" Cisco asks, walking up to him.

Barry turns to look at him and sighs, turning around to face the street. "Just, feeling a little disappointed lately, I guess."

"Thawne?" Cisco asks.

"Yeah, man. How am I supposed to feel?" Barry says, sounding defeated. "My whole life, there has been this tangible thing to chase. The man who murdered my mom. Find him. Prove he's guilty. Free my dad. Now...I found him. And he's gone. And I can't prove anything. It's completely out of my control. There's nothing left to chase. Nothing left to reach for. Nothing left to hope for. Just...dead end." Barry's voice is low and sad. He's kicking rocks around at his feet.

Cisco stands next to him and stares at the street with him. He doesn't know what to say. Barry was right about most of it. There was nothing left for them to do in regard to his dad. But nothing left to reach for? He had the rest of his life to live. But he knew that wasn't what Barry needed to hear right now. So, he just stood there with his friend.

Inside the nook in the side of the building that holds the door to the bar, Caitlin lowers her head and takes a quiet deep breath. She looks up, feeling water in her eyes, to keep any tears from falling. She looks back at the two boys and walks back into the bar, hoping the alcohol will help her push away what she just heard.