Caitlin sits down at a desk next to Barry's bed in Star Labs. It's been hours. He woke up a minute after he passed out and couldn't string enough thoughts together to form a coherent sentence so she decided letting him sleep was the best course of action.

      Barry murmurs something, his words fast and lacking diction. Caitlin lowers her brows as she sets her clipboard down. He seems so disturbed. His body thrashes around for a moment, rolling side to side.

      "Where am I?" Barry shoots up into a sitting position. His breaths are labored as a petrified expression forms on his face. The same one he had the first day he woke up in the lab.

      Caitlin grabs his shoulders and gently pushes him back down. His skin is warm to the touch.

      "You're at Star Labs Barry. Do you know who I am?" Actual worry and emotion pours out of her as she coos. This was not how she was expecting her day to go.

      Barry coughs into his elbow while his eyes search Caitlin's face. "Yes."

      Caitlin nods while sticking a thermometer into his mouth. He isn't to the point of delirium yet, though there might not be much time.

      One hundred and three point one degrees Fahrenheit appears on the screen as the device beeps. It's higher than she thought.

"Eat this." Caitlin sticks one of the granola bars Cisco made when Barry first became The Flash in his face.

      He stares down the food. His face slightly resembles disgust as his head turns to examine the bar further. Barry shakes head No and lays back down in the bed.

      "Why not?" Caitlin's voice hints at agitation.  She doesn't understand why he's being so difficult.

      Barry wraps his fingers around his throat. It hurts to swallow his spit, he can't imagine trying to eat a whole granola bar.

"Oh," Caitlin whispers as she gets up from her stool. She's aware her bedside manner isn't up to par. Guilt eats at her because of it. But in order to truly feel for someone, she has to let her own emotions in-and she's not ready to do that yet.

She rummages through Ciscos not so secret stash of pudding, hidden away in a mini fridge in an unassuming cabinet by glass The Flash suit case. Barry not eating for a couple of hours is the human equivalent of not eating for a couple of days. But he's a grown adult, she can't force him to do anything.

Caitlin enters Barry's space to find him fast asleep. His head is turned to the side on the pillow with drool already coming out of his mouth. He looks at peace, no longer weighed down by the casualties in Central City or the impending doom that a future newspaper predicts. She doesn't have the heart to wake him up again.

      The faucet runs cold as Caitlin soaks a cloth underneath. It's the only thing she can think of to get his fever down that isn't medicine.

      Caitlin lays it across his forehead and pulls out her phone. "Could you pick Barry up after work? He's sick and cannot run home." She sends to Iris. She has her phone number for emergencies, though this is the first message they've sent to each other. "Also, this is Caitlin."

-:-:—:-:—

      Iris hovers over Barry. A sense of worry washes over her, familiar to when Barry was in a coma. Her body stiffens despite knowing that he is going to wake up this time.

      She places her hand on his shoulder and gently shakes him awake. His eyes flutter open as a dopey smile arrived on his face.

"Hey Barry," Iris says softly as she runs her finger down the side of his face. She could tell he isn't entirely with it.

"You want to go back to the apartment?" Barry nods and swings his legs over the side of the bed. He looks down at his outfit and chuckles, not having noticed that he is in his flash suit till now.

      "Yeah, I can run. Do you have a way of getting home?" Barry asks in full seriousness. Caitlin's nostrils flare in as she tries to hide her emotions from taking over her face. There was no way for Iris to get here if she didn't drive and Barry knows that.

"I drove here, I can drive you too. Go change and then we'll leave," Iris speaks slowly. He nods in response, zooming out of the room to quickly change and come back.

Caitlin turns around and tends to the technology, looking over Barry's lab reports. She had to give Iris credit, the amount of patience she has is much more than her.

>>>>>

Iris leans back on the couch as Barry rests his head on her thigh. He stretches out his legs across the rest of the sofa. She runs her fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him.

"You want to watch a movie?" Iris asks, hoping she can keep him distracted before he overexerts himself. Barry shakes his head yes as his eyes shut. The soothing feeling of Iris' nails luring him to sleep.

      "Which one? We have a bunch taped. Do you want me to read them off to you?" The response Iris receives to her question is quiet snores. She presses her hand against his forehead. Heat radiates into her palm.

      Iris turns back to the tv and flips through the channels. Barry is safe with her now. Worrying will do nothing.

      Barry shoots up into a sitting position as a series of coughs rattles through him. Iris rubs his back as Barry hunches over and clears his throat.

   "Iris?" His voice croaks.

      "Yeah Barry?" He sniffles and doesn't say anything. Iris internally sighs. She can't help him if he doesn't attempt to communicate.

      Her brain goes through a list of things he could want; food, attention, water, alone time, etc. The list could go on and on.

      She looks over at the clock under the tv. Nine pm. It's a lot longer than she thought. Neither of them ate dinner.

       "Are you hungry?" He nods his head. "What do you want to eat?" He shrugs. Absolutely no help whatsoever. But she couldn't really blame him.

      Iris gets up from the couch and walks over to the pantry. A box a cereal, a jar of olive oil, and a couple of random cans that don't actually make a meal. Their options are rather sparse. Iris' plan was to go to the store after work today but that obviously didn't happen.

      "You want pizza? I can order one" she calls out from the kitchen. He nods yes. A smile appears on her face as a victory song plays in her mind.

-

Barry ears ring from the buzz of the door as it echoes throughout their apartment. Black spots cover his vision as he pushes himself into a sitting position on his couch. Falling asleep was a blank spot in his memory, along with even being in his apartment at all.

His aching eyes follow Iris as she walked into the living room with two boxes of pizza. Eating is the last thing he wants to do, the idea of it alone makes him want to slip back into unconsciousness.

Iris pulls a slice of cheese pizza out of the box on top and dangles it in the air. Grease pools in the creases of the cheese. Her eyes meet Barry's as his face turns from confusion to disdain. Iris internally shakes her head. Barry is currently behaving like a toddler and she can't handle it. But she knows that he would do the same for her.

Barry reluctantly takes the slice of pizza and eats it. The strangely textured bread slides down his throat as if it is layered with needles. He gulps the couple bites down before pausing to examine the half eaten piece of pizza.

Was this good enough? He debates as tries to read Iris' expression out of the corner of his eye. Iris doesn't seem enthralled.

"Come on Barry, Caitlin said you need to eat," Iris' tone practically begs.

Barry nods and finishes the piece. He will do anything for Iris, whether it is saving all of Central City or being brave enough to eat the entire piece of pizza when sleep calls his name.

He wipes his hands on his pants without a care in the world and nuzzles his head onto Iris' lap before she can protest. The words Do you want to watch TV travel in one ear and out the other as he closes his eyes to return to sleep.

Stay tuned for part 3!