The Allen Family's old house stood abandoned in the street where the tragic death of Henry and Nora Allen took place so many years ago: nobody had bought the house in the years since the murder of both of Barry's parents, and yet it had never been torn down as well as Joe West had made sure to keep it standing as a tribute to Barry's parents...and to Barry himself...Yet nobody knew that the house was still being used by the sole survivor of that terrible night even after all these years!

Killer Frost had been using Barry's old house as a hideout ever since Barry died and then came back to life alongside himself, and it was the only place that held any meaning to the cold-hearted alter ego of Barry, for despite how cold and heartless he seemed...even he felt great sorrow, pain and even occasionally the odd tear form whenever he came to this place. It was also one of the rare times he ever let Barry have control, because he knew that regardless of how badly he was affected by this place...Barry had seen the events first hand, and this place affected him far more then it ever could affect him.

And there was a good reason for that: whilst they may be, in more ways than one, the same in terms of looks and powers, and for all intents and purposes they were the same person: they were 2 completely different beings, 2 completely different personalities, and not to mention that Killer Frost had only awoke from within Barry when the latter died in the car crash, bringing back Barry in the process. Killer Frost had never met Barry's parents, even though he knew of them, he had never felt love, empathy or remorse for anyone, and Killer Frost was a remorseless...well, killer, for lack of better words at the time, whilst Barry was a kind hearted yet broken soul.

So why did Killer Frost feel so much sadness and pain when it came to this place? It was simple really, although he would never tell Barry the reason whenever he asked: It was the one place that brought Barry so much pain and suffering out of any place because of what it represented to him...the day 2 Speedsters came and took away Barry's parents from him! Killer Frost could care less what others were like towards him or Barry, as he had shown when he fought The Flash the night prior...but he surprised himself by how protective he could be over Barry himself at times, which did not sit well with him.

Killer Frost continued to move within the house, looking at each and every picture that was on the wall as he continued to search: the only reminders of Barry's former life with his parents that still remained. Sure, there were a few other things that had been left behind, but the pictures held his attention the most than anything else. He continued to look through the house before entering Barry's old bedroom...and it was at this moment he allowed Barry to take brief control so he could have a look inside as he usually did everyday like a ritual of sorts.

Barry slowly walked over towards a table near the window, slowly picking up a lone picture in a broken frame: the picture showed him with his parents in it...and it had been taken mere days before their death...Barry began to tear up upon seeing the picture, and tears started to fall down his cheek, with a few droplets landing onto the broken glass from the broken frame, before a now all to familiar voice began to speak to him from within his head, from within his mind...the voice of his mental captor...the voice of Killer Frost!

"We will make them pay, Barry...we will make them all PAY!" Barry wiped tears from his eyes with his sleeve, which was a futile effort as he continued to cry a bit more, before he said slowly in a whisper. "Why are you doing this...? Why did you hurt Caitlin...? Why won't you let me be free...?" There was a long pause of about a minute from Killer Frost after that...but he soon spoke from within his mind once again, this time in a surprisingly more somber tone, yet still a rather enraged and threatening one too.

"Those people that I killed, that WE killed, Barry, deserved their fates afflicted upon them for all the things that they had been allowed to get away with! As for why I hurt your precious Caitlin? You'll find out soon! And as for your freedom? Isn't it obvious Barry?" Barry could not begin to fathom what he was trying to say, simply shaking his head...to which his icy alter ego laughed a bit darkly before responded in a foreboding and haunting way. "You will never be free from me Barry! Because no matter what you do, no matter what you try to do, and no matter what your so-called 'friends' will try to do...you will never be rid of me forever, Barry! You can never escape me!" And at that, Killer Frost retook control.

"Barry?" Killer Frost soon heard behind him, and he looks behind him and sees, of all people, Caitlin standing behind him in the doorway dressed in her Flash outfit. "I told you not to follow me, Flash!" Killer Frost said coldly, no pun intended, glaring a hole into Caitlin's soul as his icy eyes stared at her in anger. Caitlin however would not be put off by this though, she had to try and get through to Barry somehow, and she swore to herself that she would get her friend back.

"I know you let Barry take control, Killer Frost. I know he is still in there, my friend, my Barry, is still in there...and I'm going to get him back." To her surprise, Killer Frost just laughed a bit mockingly before saying slowly "'Your Barry'? You claim to be his friend, but you made it perfectly clear that you wanted nothing to do with him all those years ago!" Those words felt like a bullet to the heart for Caitlin, assuming that he was referring to their fight at the party years ago...but she was about to find out that wasn't what he was referring to...

"Tell me: all those times that he tried to call you to apologize for ruining your friendship after that party years ago, you never bothered to answer back no matter how much it tore him apart...and yet the one time you do decide to call back, it's when Barry was in hospital, why was that? Some sort of sick joke?" Caitlin backed up at hearing that, stuttering a little as she said in disbelief. "Y-Your lying! Barry wasn't in hospital! He...He must have been busy!" Killer Frosts eyebrow raised at that in genuine surprise, but his sinister smirk made it all the more worse before he laughed mockingly at her.

"Oh you didn't know? Well this is just rich! Cisco didn't even tell you he was in hospital the day you called back!" Caitlin felt his heart clench at that as she felt herself lean against a nearby wall, shaking her head in denial. "No, no you're wrong! Cisco would not keep that from me! Not about Barry!" She said in an attempt at catching a potential bluff, one that she wouldn't find. "And yet he did. So how does it feel, huh? To know that your best friend hide that from you? Another person who let Barry down!" Killer Frost said as he began advancing towards her, his smirk having dissolved into a glare as he spoke harshly towards her once more.

"You, Cisco, even the Wests: you all messed with Barry's lives, broke him piece by piece, abandoned him when he needed his friends the most, and he was left to pick up the pieces from your cruelty and selfishness! Somethings you break cannot be put back together, Flash! And the only reason you give a damn about him now is because you want to get rid of me and pretend that we aren't the murderers that we clearly are for killing those thugs who got what was coming to them! You're no hero, Caitlin Snow! You didn't even have the guts to give Barry a chance!"

Caitlin shook her head at that, managing to get a defiant look on her face as she said "You're wrong, Killer Frost! You say I only care for Barry because of your crimes, well you're wrong! I never stopped caring for Barry, not for a single second! I thought about him every single day when we were apart, and when he died I broke in more ways than one because I lost the only person that I cared as more than just friend since Ronnie died!" Killer Frost stopped a bit as he glared at Caitlin.

"Barry was one of the only people that could keep me in check and was the one person I knew who shared my pain...and maybe I can't change what happened all those years ago, but I care for him more than anything...and deep down in that...that cold heart of yours, the Barry Allen I know is still in there and I will bring him back! The Barry that I...that I..." she felt herself slipping a bit as she tried to say the words that were engraved into her heart and soul...but she felt herself unable to say it. Killer Frost just laughed humorlessly as he stared at her with contempt.

"The Barry that you love?" He finished, causing her to flinch a bit at her words being said by the ice cold monster in front of her. "Well guess what, Caitlin! He's not coming back ever again!" And at that, he fired numerous icicles directly at Caitlin from his hands, but Cait was able to get out of the way just in time with her speed...though she seemed to still be favoring her injured leg! Killer Frost chuckled a bit at this development. "Well, well, well...isn't this a surprise? The Flash is still injured and can't run far anymore!" He began to fire more icicles directly at Caitlin, and once again she barely managed to dodge it, but ended up stumbling down the last few stairs.

Killer Frost began to descend down the stairs and smirked as he looked down at her disappointed. "And here I thought I would have some fun toying with you like last time...ah well!" He was about to fire more icicles at Caitlin...but then Cisco appeared out of a rift portal and blasted Killer Frost with a burst of rift energy straight into his chest, causing the icy alter ego of Barry to crash back first into a nearby wall, damaging and cracking a wall.

Cisco then helped Caitlin to her feet before creating another portal as they jumped through it. Killer Frost slowly got up as they began to jump through, and he soon ran after them in pursuit as he said aloud "Oh no! You're not getting away this time!" Cisco and Caitlin soon reappeared not too far down the street from the house, and Cisco could see that Caitlin wasn't right or fully healed, and was surprised when she pushed his arm off of her. "Caitlin, he's on his way!" Cisco tried to argue, but Caitlin soon said in what sounded like a pained voice "Then...get into position...before he gets here!"

Cisco was confused by this, wondering why she sounded emotionally pained in her voice, but nodded as he went to a position to flank Barry if needed...which he figured they would need. Caitlin was able to straight herself up just in time, as she soon saw Killer Frost appearing in the distance...and boy did he look mad!

Killer Frost soon launched multiple icicles towards Flash, and she was barely able to use her speed to get out of the way and take cover by a nearby car. This was one of times she wished her super healing abilities would work quicker, because this was a one sided battle otherwise until Vibe could act. She continued to try to dodge out of the way of Killer Frosts attacks...that was until he changed his tactics completely, and instead of sending of sending icicles towards Caitlin, he used the his powers to freeze the road whilst she was in mid run, causing her to trip up and land badly on her back, further injuring her already injured leg as that crashed onto the ground as well, and causing her to writhe in pain as she landed near Killer Frost.

Killer Frost approached Caitlin and smirked a cold smirk as he looked down towards her, creating an icicle in his hand to use against her as he mocked her. "So how's the leg? Still injured? How you thought you could "save" Allen is beyond me..." Caitlin tried to ignore his mocking, but soon shut him up as she tripped him up by taking out his leg, causing Killer Frost to land on the ground on his back, dropping the icicle dropping and shattering on the ground as he was tripped up...and now both The Flash and Killer Frost were laying injured on the ground on their backs next to each other.

"I'm sorry Barry...I should have looked for you..." Caitlin said slowly, not being aware of Killer Frosts eyes glowing a bit more as he began to speak. "That was painful, Flash...but this will hurt you more!" And soon Killer Frost surprised Caitlin completely as he got up to his knees...and shockingly pressed his ice-cold lips down onto Caitlin's in a kiss, her body beginning to freeze up and go as blue as a corpse as he began to steal her bodies heat and attempt to kill her...

Or he would have killed her from his literal kiss of death if Cisco hadn't acted at this point, as he appeared and blasted Killer Frost off of Caitlin and straight into the side of a nearby car with a massive pulse of energy from both of his hands, knocking Killer Frost out instantly as the back of his head collided roughly with the side of the car! Cisco ran over to Caitlin, kneeling down below her in concern for his sister-figure. "Start vibrating quickly! It'll warm your body up to fight the cold!" And Caitlin did just that, as she used her speed powers to vibrate her body enough to create enough body heat to warm her up and return her to normal.

She looked over to the unconscious form of Killer Frost and felt tears slowly fall down her cheek, not because he'd tried to kill her just now...but because it had resorted to violence to take him down...and because her first kiss with Barry was whilst he was being controlled by Killer Frost...

It didn't take them long to get Killer Frost's unconscious body back to S.T.A.R. Labs and into one of the cells in the Pipeline...but it took a while for that same icy villain to regain consciousness after the nasty collision he had. Killer Frost definitely had a headache at the least from having his head smashed against a car, but strangely that was about the worst of it too, no doubt due to his cold powers being able to heal his body quickly. When he did awaken however, he saw that his captors, Caitlin and Cisco, were standing outside of his cell in casual clothes...but they weren't alone: both Dr. Wells was there and Detective Joe West was there as well, and the only one who didn't look teary eyed or sad at seeing him in the cell as he was currently was Dr. Wells.

Killer Frost glared at them as he began to stand up slowly, his ice cold eyes looked like they were carving a hole into the souls of the 4 people in front of him. "Well, what do we have here? It's a damn reunion...except for Wells, Barry never met him before." Frost explained with venom in his voice, and he chuckles a little darkly as he looks between them. "Didn't bother to bring Iris or Wally here? Or even Eddie as well? Or do they not know of this secret you keep from them? Not that it matters..."

"Barry..." Joe began to speak, before Frost banged his fist harshly against the glass shouting out "THAT'S NOT MY NAME!!!" Joe was starting to lose his nerve, but didn't for his foster sons sake. "What happened to you Barry...?" Frost looked towards them all as he glared, his eyes scanning over everyone but Wells as he spoke. "I broke, Joe...I'm broken, as he has been for years. And you, Caitlin and Cisco each had a role to play in it! You all broke me! You all broke Barry! You tore into him just as the man in yellow did all those years ago piece by piece until, in the end, there was nothing left of him but the pain and the bad memories alongside a broken body..."

He looked towards Cisco as he spoke more. "Cisco? He broke Barry because the only time he showed up to check on his supposed "best friend" was when he was in the hospital after he had been attacked by a knife wielding hooligan who tried to mug him, and even then he thought it was best to not tell Caitlin that he was there for whatever reason...leading Barry to think she didn't care about him anymore." He then looked towards Joe as he finished, and continued to speak before he could give Cisco a chance to defend or explain himself.

"And Joe? Well, you and the rest of Barry's supposed "family" all had a role to play in breaking Barry, didn't you? You never believed in him when he repeatedly spoke of the man in yellow killing his parents all those years ago, you thought he was delusional or hysterical when what he saw was the truth, put it down as "trauma" on his part a supposed house invasion gone horribly wrong! Yet as soon as Caitlin became "The Flash", you start to believe in it finally, and only after we were thought "dead"!"

Frosts harsh words were certainly doing their job at hurting and breaking the 3 individuals who knew Barry the most, but only Caitlin was the one who believed, or wanted to believe perhaps, that Barry was still within Killer Frost...it was then, however, that Killer Frost turned to look at her, his eyes conveying more hate and pain then they had when he had spoken to Cisco and Joe.

"And then...there's you, Flash! You, who knew everything about Barry, from the most personal details to the things that he didn't even talk about to anyone else or that nobody else believed in...You were the only one who shared the same pain of loss that we have, that he had...Hell, you were probably one of his biggest supporters and sources of hope and happiness when he needed it the most, if not the biggest supporter...And yet still, you managed to break him more than most when you broke his heart, broke his confidence, broke your friendship...and then abandoned him when he tried to make things right when he came to the conclusion that he had been in the wrong!"

Every word that came from Killer Frosts mouth stung Caitlin emotionally, each word felt like she was being stabbed in the heart by one of his icicles, and even now she found it impossible to keep her tears at bay as they fell down her face, and only two words came to Caitlin in response, her voice sounding broken and upset. "I'm sorry..."

Killer Frost just scoffed at her. "You're "sorry"? Well guess what? It's a little too late for that Snow!" He looked between all of them as he said to them in a heartless tone "You're all too late for that! So, I'll tell you what: you losers let me go, and I'll leave. I'll leave, and leave you alone to your sad and miserable existence whilst I take pleasure in knowing you are all suffering over my weaker halves pain." Caitlin shook her head as she moved to the console to close the cell hatch, saying as she did so. "No...we're not letting you out Barry...we'll help you somehow..."

Killer Frost glared at them all, not saying a word as he was sealed in completely within the Pipeline. Caitlin slowly looks to Dr. Wells before asking desperately "Is there anyway that we can get Barry back from within that...that...thing?" She didn't even want to consider Killer Frost as a person right now, even if he had every right to be considered one. Dr. Wells was silent for a while, but soon said after a bit in an apologetic tone "I don't think there is. I'm sorry, Caitlin, but somethings that break can't be fixed." And with that, he soon left the room, and for the first time in her life Caitlin wasn't sad he was...even if it was a gesture of respect.

Joe continued to look at the sealed hatch to where Killer Frost's cell hid behind, looking like he had lost a son again, and there he remained as Caitlin and Cisco began to leave the room. Cisco soon slowly looked to Caitlin. "Caitlin, I..." He began, but before he could continue, Caitlin stopped and looked to him with tear stained eyes. "Why didn't you tell me, Cisco?" was what came out of her mouth, and Cisco knew what she meant without needing to inquire about it.

"I wanted to...but, after how badly you and Barry ended things at the party years ago...I guess I thought it wouldn't be a good idea at the time. I swear I didn't know you two had exchanged calls, or tried to. I'm sorry..." Cisco tried to defend himself, more tears forming in his eyes at the thought of hurting both of his best friends. Caitlin though hugs him slowly as they both cried, neither saying a word as they both thought on how broken their frozen former friend was...

It was about an hour before Joe had left the Pipeline and joined Caitlin, Cisco and Wells at the Cortex, though Caitlin was the only one who was still looking at Killer Frost on the computers. The others were because they either couldn't, in Joe and Cisco's case, or didn't want to, in Well's case. Caitlin looked to a picture that she and Cisco kept on the desk in the Cortex, well mainly her similarly to the picture in the other room that she stared at the day she decided to be The Flash.

The picture was when the trio were out with Iris and Wally, all bowling. Barry has a bruised eye in the picture, as the same day the picture was taken he had gotten into a fight with his nemesis of a bully, mainly for being around Iris as she was one of the popular kids at the time, but he hadn't let that spoil their evening out or stop him from smiling like he always did in the picture...Caitlin noticed that she and Barry had a hand around the others waist as they smiled in the picture, something she hadn't noticed at all when the picture was taken or since until today.

It was then that she thought of something: she and Barry had been very over-protective of each other since the day they met, and a number of times he did get bruises or beaten up by bullies was because he was friends with the "nerds" as the bullies would put it or just for standing up to them when they picked on her or Cisco. She had even been told on a number of occasions by Cisco and Iris that Barry even took beatings when he the bullies were saying horrible or nasty things about her alone, always being quick to rush to her defense no matter what.

She couldn't help but smile a little as she looked at the picture, even if it was a sad one. 'You always stood up for me even when I asked you not to, Barry...' she thought to herself, never voicing it aloud though...that was then that it struck her: Barry would always protect her if she needed it or not regardless of how he was or how he felt towards her, bad moments or arguments be damned as far as he was concerned over her...and it was then that thought of a crazy idea that she wasn't 100% sure would work...especially as she looked at Killer Frost in the cell...this would either work and bring Barry back...or backfire and Killer Frost would kill her!

Caitlin soon looked to the others as she said slowly "Whatever happens...don't interfere..." and soon she began to leave the room towards the Pipeline, much to the confusion of Joe, Cisco and Wells. Caitlin felt nervous even being near the entrance to the Pipeline, in fact if it hadn't been for the fact that the others were with her or that they were trying to help Barry earlier she probably would have ran out of the Pipeline earlier. Now she was on her own, and the nerves continued to build up more, but she fought them off for one reason: Barry.

She soon reached where Killer Frost's cell was, and she knew that the others were watching from the Cortex, and soon used the terminal to show Frost's cell to her, causing Cait to be visible to the ice-cold killer. "So...back again? Must be a record already!" Killer Frost sarcastically said as he began to stand up and glare at Caitlin. Caitlin though showed no fear on her face this time, and slowly looked at Killer Frost.

"I'm here to get Barry back." she began, but Killer Frost just scoffed. "You've tried 3 times now to bring him back, and 3 times you have failed. What makes you think you can succeed a 4th time? Are you going to threaten to kill me to bring him out this time?" He mocked her with the last question, but the speedster in front of him just shock her head. "No." she simply said before walking to the console...and to the surprise of Killer Frost, Joe, Cisco and Wells: Caitlin opened up Frost's cell, allowing him to freely walk out of it, which he slowly did until Caitlin stood in the front of him in the way.

"You know, for someone that's supposed to be a genius scientist: that, what you just did, was an awfully dumb move you just did." Killer Frost said, more as an observation and in confusion at her actions than anything, clearly not sure why she did that after all the trouble she and Cisco had gone through to get capture him. "What are you up to, Flash?" he asked confused as he looked directly at her, his frozen eyes staring into her brown eyes.

"You're free to go, Killer Frost..." Caitlin said simply, but Killer Frost was clearly not convinced about that, which he called her out on. "What's the catch? You wouldn't be doing this if you didn't have a catch or motive." The speedster shook her head a bit, knowing he was too smart to not realize there was something off about her behavior. Soon though she clarified her questionable actions. "Like I said: you're free to go...but "the catch", as you call it, is that if you want to leave this room or this building...then you're going to have to kill me."

Her 3 companions in the Cortex were shocked by Caitlin's words, Wells being the first to voice his concerns. "What is she doing!?" Cisco, however, realized what she was doing as he shock his head. "No, wait. I think things are going to be okay...if what I think she's doing works..." The 3 of them watched cautiously and concerned, whilst Killer Frost scoffed a bit at Caitlin's ultimatum. "So...you want to go for round 3, is that right, Flash!?" He asked, with venom in his voice as he took a step forward...to his surprise though, Caitlin just shook her head again.

"No. I'm not going to fight you, fight Barry. If you want your freedom though, you have to kill me right here." Killer Frost glared at her as he clenched his hands into fists briefly...though he didn't realize one of his hands was shaking a little from her words. "Don't think I won't destroy you, Snow!" he said as he began creating an icicle in his non-trembling hand, but Caitlin spurred him on defiantly. "Then do it, and prove you are a killer then."

Killer Frost lifted his arm above his head, preparing to thrust the icicle right into her heart...but as soon as his arm came down towards her...it suddenly locked in place and stopped, the sharp tip of the icicle barely inches from going into her, Caitlin silently letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and Caitlin noticed that Killer Frosts hand was shaking and sweat was slowly falling unknowingly down his brow. Killer Frost looked like he was struggling to fight for control again, and looked angered too, saying slowly under his breath "No Barry...!""

Caitlin was surprised by that, but soon said to Killer Frost "What are you waiting for? You wanted to kill me, here's your chance! Or are you not in complete control as you thought?" Killer Frost didn't respond, trying to force the icicle to pierce into her and wound her at the least...but his hand was defiantly not moving, and he grimaced a bit as he felt his other hand move to his head.

"You can't do it, ad you know why? Because the Barry I know and care for, that we all care for, could never harm the ones he cares about the way you want to! He's fighting you, as he fought for us all so many times! He can't kill me, and neither can you, because underneath all of that ice and cold and locked within that icy prison of a heart: you are still Barry!" Caitlin said as she grabbed fiercely onto Killer Frosts arm to prove that he couldn't kill her...and then it happened...

Killer Frost soon closed his eyes and dropped the icicle on the ground, the icicle shattering into a millions tiny pieces upon impact with the floor, and he gripped onto his head as he dropped to a knee, grimacing in pain and agony. Caitlin knelled down as soon as he did and soon spoke not to Killer Frost but to Barry. "Barry, fight him! Come back to us, to your family! You're stronger than him, you're one of the strongest people I've ever known! Fight him! Come back to me..." that last part she said almost quietly, barely audible to hear...but hear it someone did...and soon Killer Frost looked up to look Caitlin in the eyes...before his eyes changed from the icy color they were to the Barry Allen green color, and then instead of his long dark hair and half-scarred face: there was Barry's normal short hair and regular face instead!

"Caitlin...!" He said, and for the first time in so long: Caitlin could hear the voice of her old friend and crush, and not the voice of Killer Frost! Barry was back! "Barry!" Caitlin said with tears in her eyes as she immediately clung to Barry in a hug, which Barry instantly reciprocated as he hugged her back instantly as he himself began to cry tears as well. They weren't the only ones to cry as well, as Cisco and Joe were doing the same as well, though theirs, like Caitlin's, were tears of joy and happiness. The only one not crying was Dr. Wells, but Cisco assumed it was because he preferred to not show his feelings on the outside...if only they knew what was really going on within his mind...

It took some time before either Caitlin or Barry were emotionally ready to leave the Pipeline, and as they walked towards the Cortex Caitlin noticed that Barry was uncharacteristically silent as they walked, and kept looking towards the ground with anything other than a smile on his face. Caitlin soon stopped them from moving further as she gently placed a hand on his arm, asking concerned. "Barry? Are you...are you okay?" Barry looked up a bit and looked at Caitlin silently before shaking his head...and then forcing a small smile. "No...but thanks for asking...Can we talk later?" She nodded to that, knowing now was not a good time to talk with Barry about things from the past...be it Killer Frost or otherwise...

They continued to walk on a bit towards the Cortex...and upon entering the Cortex: Barry was immediately engulfed by a hug from his foster dad, which Barry immediately returned. "I'm sorry, Joe..." Barry said, barely above a whisper, but Joe just shook his head as he said to him "You've got nothing to be sorry about Barry. I'm just glad that you're back!" That caused a teary smile to appear on Barry's face as they hugged a bit longer, and Caitlin smiled at the scene. As soon as Joe parted from his hug with Barry, Barry looked towards Cisco and walked over to him as Cisco smiled a little to his old friend.

"Barry, I'm so sorry I didn't tell Caitlin, I..." Barry just silently chuckled a bit before saying "It's fine, Cisco. Just, tell me what things I missed in the sci-fi world and we'll call it even." Cisco laughed a bit at that, before both friends hugged one another for a brief time. When they did part from the hug, Cisco handed Barry a couple of modified cuffs of sorts saying "Here. These should help keep old icy locked away. It'll help until I can get you something else more helpful." Barry took them and nodded smiling a bit. "Thanks...'Vibe'." And both laughed a bit, before Barry looked over and saw Dr. Wells...and to say Barry was almost speechless at seeing one of his idols was an understatement, though it definitely was not an unwelcome site for Wells.

"Mr. Allen, it's good to finally meet you. Dr. Snow and Mr. Ramon spoke about you often, all of it good I assure you." Wells soon said as he held out his hand to Barry, which the latter took and shook as well. "It's very nice to meet you, Dr. Wells." Barry said, smiling like a kid at Christmas, causing the 3 people who knew Barry best in the room to laugh a little at seeing this side to Barry. Wells allowed himself a small smile as he soon said all business "When you have a moment, we should perform some tests to make sure everything is fine, and to examine your powers a bit more."

Barry looked to Cisco and Caitlin at that, as if silently asking with his face 'Is this normal?', which caused the two to laugh a bit before Cisco soon said suddenly whilst laughing and without thinking "Maybe Barry should come and work for us, that way he can get tested often." Caitlin stopped laughing at that, and Barry had a look of disbelief and uncertainty on his face. Caitlin came to the rescue on that though. "Maybe it's best to let Barry think on that. He has just gone through a...traumatic period."

She regretted the use of the words "traumatic period", but Barry didn't seem to mind it, in fact he seemed appreciative about her helping him out a bit. Joe soon said after a bit. "I drive Barry back home. Your room is still there for you." Barry nodded to that smiling a bit as he placed on the bracelet-like cuffs that Cisco had given him onto his arms before looking to Caitlin and said slowly "I...I need to speak to Caitlin first. Alone. If that's okay with you guys?" The others got the message and nodded leaving as Cisco said "We'll wait in the lab."

Soon Barry and Caitlin were left alone, and now they looked very awkward with each other in the room alone, even if it was Barry's idea...especially considering the last time they were alone that didn't involve Killer Frost...On one hand Caitlin was happy, ecstatic even, that her Barry was back and Killer Frost was locked away and unable to cause any harm...but on the other hand, she was terrified and nervous as well considering how things ended between them the last time they were left alone years ago.

Barry was the first to break the metaphorical ice between them. "Killer Frost was right about one thing...you did break me in a way Cait..." he began, causing Cait to look up to her surprised, but he held his hand up to stop any response before saying slowly "But...I don't blame you Cait. I never did. I was...hurt, I admit that, but I realized a day or two later that I did more of the damage than anything else. I...failed to consider that you might not have wanted to date after...after what happened to Ronnie. And for that I'm sorry Cait..."

Caitlin was surprised by this: she had half expected for their fight to be rekindled, or for something else bad to happen between them...but she hadn't expected this. She slowly walked over to him as she said whilst biting her lower lip "Barry...I was going to apologize myself..." Barry raised his eyebrow to that "Why?" he asked. "Because...because I cared for you back then as well, still do as hard as it is to admit it...and instead of just talking to you about it...I pushed you away...and I've regretted that ever since..."

Barry was surprised by that, Caitlin dried her eyes a bit as she continued, not yet letting Barry speak. "I thought that we weren't meant to be, and...and when you died...all I could think about was you. Of how much I wish I could turn back time and stop myself from fighting with you years ago, or apologize to you for the fight and make things better..." she was interrupted however as Barry had walked up to her and pulled her into a hug, no further words needed as Barry seemed to understand, as they both seemed to silently understand whenever they hugged.

After some time, they pulled out of the hug, and Barry soon smiled his signature smile that she'd missed dearly for years, causing her to smile back a little as well. "Tell Cisco to pick me up tomorrow, preferably without his powers. If I am going to be working here with you guys then I need to learn the root." Caitlin gasped surprised by that, but smiled nodding as she answered "Okay." she began to nervously ask "Barry...about...us?" Barry sighed a bit at that.

"Give me some time, Cait. I still care for you as more than a friend...but I think we both need time before...talking about it or committing to anything." Barry replied, and the speedster needed her head in understanding. It wasn't the answer she had, admittedly, been hoping for but he wasn't rejecting the idea of them being more than just friends even after all these years. They headed back to where the others were, and after both shaking Wells' hand again and hugging both Caitlin and Cisco once more: Joe took Barry back to the West house.

About an hour later: Caitlin returned home. It was about midnight by the time she had gotten home, but considering how hectic the night had been it was understandable. She had relayed Barry's message to Cisco, and to say that Cisco was surprised yet giddy like a kid on Christmas Eve wouldn't be incorrect. Even Dr. Wells had seemed eager on that, which surprised her. As she laid down on her bed, her head getting comfortable on the pillow, she couldn't help but smile at the thought that, against all the odds thrown at her and the others...they had Barry back, she had Barry back! And she was determined this time not to lose him again no matter what. If only she had known just what new challenges had been born with the return of Barry...not just for her and the rest of the team: but for Barry as well.....

Author's Side-Note: So Barry is back to normal and Killer Frost is, for the time being at least, sealed away and defeated thanks to Caitlin. But how will things go now that Barry is a part of Team Flash? Will things be better for Barry and Caitlin now that they are friends again? And most of all, what does fate have in store for Team Flash next?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it wasn't my best piece of work admittedly and it certainly was one of my toughest chapters I had to make. Killer Frost isn't gone forever, naturally, and he will make a few appearances here and there. Next chapter will involve another cold wielding villain, and hopefully it'll go better and/or easier than this chapter was. Anyway, hope you have a nice day and see you in the next chapter!