Pushed Away! (75th chapter special)

Thawne walked into the Cortex with a sigh as he looked around. Nora and Jay were talking to Joe, Wally and Eliza. Thawne asked "have any of the others come in yet". Jay said "Cisco is down in his workshop, I haven't seen Barry, Kara or Caitlin yet". Thawne sighed and said "Barry and Kara still avoiding everyone". Joe sighed and said "they blame themselves for what happened to Cisco, Barry did the same thing when Ronnie died". Thawne nodded and said "but that time he worked here alone, didn't want any of us around". Nora nodded and said "this time they aren't even going out and stopping crimes". Thawne said "someone needs to talk to them, we can't stop Savitar without them". Joe shook his head and said "the more you push Barry to do something, he won't, once he's made up his mind, there is no changing it". Thawne sighed and nodded. Nora said "we need to show them it wasn't their fault, could you go at least try to talk to them, maybe not to come back here, not yet, just to see how they are doing". Joe nodded and said "I'll drop by after work, but no promises". Nora said "thanks Joe". Joe nodded and grabbed his coat before heading out. Thawne said "well I'm going to go check on Cisco, tell me if Caitlin comes in". Jay said "will do".

Thawne made his way to Cisco's workshop. As he approached the room, Thawne heard Cisco curse a few words, followed by a loud slam. Thawne turned the corner and entered the workshop to see a few knocked over tools on the floor. Cisco sighed and said "leave them, I'll get them later". Thawne asked "are you ok". Cisco shook his head and said "I feel so useless, I haven't seen my best friend in two weeks, I can't go tell him it wasn't his fault, and that it wasn't Kara's either, after Barry pushed us away the first time, I swore I'd never let it happen again, but I couldn't do anything". Thawne took a deep breath as he looked at Cisco's prosthetic arms. . Cisco sighed and said "I can't even use my powers anymore, what use am I". Thawne took a seat at the other side of Cisco's desk. He said "I get that Cisco, feeling useless like that, I had to spend fifteen years acting like someone I wasn't, I had to kill Barry's mother to restore the timeline, I hated having to do it, then I had to watch Barry go out there and risk his life, and try to stick to the timeline as much as I could, I felt so useless but then I remembered something that helped me". Cisco asked "which was". Thawne said "I wasn't just someone with super powers Cisco, you aren't either, you are smart Cisco, you helped so much even without powers, if anyone can find another way to help this team, it's you". Cisco smiled slightly. Thawne asked "I take it you are still getting used to the arms hence the tools on the floor". Cisco nodded and said "I swear, learning how to making the tachyon enhancer was easier". Thawne said "you'll get there Cisco, we all have faith in you". Cisco nodded and said "thanks, but I think I'll feel a lot better when Barry and Kara are back here and not acting like the stubborn people they are". Thawne sighed and said "we're working on it, but they aren't the only ones who haven't shown up again today, it's the second day that Caitlin hasn't shown up". Cisco said "well we did question her a lot about her powers and why she didn't tell us and then her storming away, can you blame her". Thawne said "I suppose not, I'm just glad that she can control them, God knows what would happen if she didn't". Cisco said "she had Barry and Kara to help her, I'm just worried about what will happen if they give up being heroes completely". Thawne said "we won't let it happen". Cisco said "I hope so, but Barry can be really stubborn, and Kara is just as bad, it might take a while so we should maybe plan for if they don't come back". Thawne nodded and said "I'll get on it, go see Caitlin, she needs her friend". Cisco said "I'll try but I swear she can be just as stubborn as Barry and Kara".

Cisco hesitantly knocked on Caitlin's door with his gloved hand. He then stepped back from the apartment door and waited patently. He sighed when he got no answer so he stepped towards the door again and knocked a little louder then once again took a step back. He knocked on the door again when he got no answer and shouted "Caitlin, it's Cisco, can we talk". He sighed when he got no answer so he turned to head out. Once he got to the lobby, Caitlin was coming into the apartment block. Once she saw Cisco, her gaze dropped to the floor. She softly asked "why are you here Cisco". Cisco sighed and said "you haven't been in Star Labs since yesterday morning, we're all worried about you". Caitlin said "well I'm fine so you can go". Cisco asked "where were you". Caitlin said "visiting someone now can you please leave, I want to be alone". Cisco asked "if it's about me and Thawne, we're sorry, we shouldn't have bombarded you with questions about your powers". Caitlin finally looked up at him but avoided looking at his arms. She shook her head and said "it isn't about that Cisco, I get why you were both upset with me for not telling you about my powers". Cisco shook his head and said "no I get it, I didn't tell any of you about my powers for a while, I was just concerned, I mean with Killer Frost". Caitlin said "well I can control my powers, Barry and Kara were a massive help, I'm ok". Cisco nodded and said "ok..... I'll just get going then, Thawne and Jay are going to be training, I should get back". Caitlin nodded as Cisco began heading towards the exit. She turned around and said "I was visiting Barry and Kara". Cisco turned around to face her. Caitlin said "they're doing ok, but they blame themselves for...." . She gestured to Cisco's arms without glancing at them". Caitlin said "and I do too, we should have been able to stop him but we couldn't, how can I be there, and constantly be reminded that I failed one of my best friends". Cisco smiled a little and said "Caitlin, you didn't fail me, I'm still alive, I'm fine, yeah It sucks that I can't use my powers but, that isn't all I have to offer, I can still help out, I thought I was useless at first, but Thawne reminded me that I'm not just a guy with super powers, That there is more than I can do, and it wasn't like I went out a lot anyway". Caitlin nodded as tears fell from her eyes. She hugged Cisco tightly and said "I'm sorry". Cisco hugged his best friend back and said "you have nothing to apologise for". Caitlin shook her head and said "I'm sorry that I won't be there, I just need time away, I just need to be away from the lab for sometime". Cisco nodded and said "well you are always going to be welcome back, you always have a place there, I'm sure that Barry would say the same, and the same also does apply to Barry and Kara". Caitlin nodded and pulled away from the hug. She gave Cisco a grateful smile and said "thanks, but you do know that it's going to be hard to convince Barry and Kara to come back, it'll be harder than last time". Cisco sighed and said "oh we know, we just hope we can get them back soon otherwise they'll feel worse if something bad happens". Caitlin nodded. Cisco asked "are you still up for hanging out from time to time". Caitlin said "we'll see". Cisco nodded and said "good enough for me, see you later Caitlin". Caitlin said "see you later Cisco". Cisco watched as Caitlin headed away out of sight before turning to leave.

Joe pulled up the car just outside Barry and Kara's house and removed his seatbelt. He blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes before opening the car door and shutting it. He locked the car doors and then made his way up the small steps to the front door and knocked. It took a moment but Kara answered the door with a small smile. She said "hey Joe". Joe smiled slightly and replied "hey Kara". Kara stepped to the side and said "you can come in, can't have you out in this weather". Joe nodded in thanks before stepping into the house and out of the rain. He took his coat off which Kara took from him and hung it up to dry. Joe then followed Kara into the living room where Barry was lying on the floor with Dawn in his arms as he pretended to make her fly which made Dawn giggle a little. Barry smiled at his daughter and said "you are gonna be just like mummy aren't you, you're gonna be just as brave and strong as her". Kara smiled and sat down on the couch. Joe chuckled and said "we all know you won't let her out to be a hero like you son". Barry smiled a little as he sat up with Dawn in his arms. He chuckled and said "hopefully by the time this one is eighteen, there won't be a need for heroes". Joe nodded as he sat down. Barry stood up and asked "do you want anything to drink". Joe said "a water would be nice, thanks Bar". Barry nodded and handed Dawn over to Kara and then headed towards the kitchen. Joe smiled a little and asked "how is she". Kara smiled at her daughter and said "great, she's really healthy, I just can't believe that she will be six months old on Christmas day, she's getting big". Barry returned from the kitchen and handed Joe a cup of water and then sat down next to his girlfriend. He said "and we've almost been dating for six months as well, that'll be in January". Kara nodded and said "I can't believe it's been that long though". Joe glanced at the corner of the room and asked "is that a box of Christmas decorations". Barry said "well it's December, Christmas isn't that far away, we're going for a tree tomorrow and decorating the house". Kara beamed and said "I'm so excited, it's my first Christmas with Barry and our little Dawn". Joe said "you'll enjoy it, there is nothing better than spending time with your family and celebrating Christmas with them". Kara nodded and said "we have no idea what to get Dawn, we don't just want to buy her clothes, we already have a bunch". Joe chuckled and said "I was the same with Iris". Barry asked "what did you end up doing". Joe said "well I bought her baby toys, of course she was still too young to play with them at that point, but it was for the future, when she was a little bigger and they were more suitable for her". Kara smiled and said "that's great help actually, thanks Joe, me and Barry can have a look tomorrow before we go for the tree". Joe said "I can't believe it's December already, I haven't even thought of decorating yet, I honestly hadn't properly realised it was that time of year". Barry chuckled and said "it's the only thing that's been on our minds recently".

Joe nodded with a small smile. He asked "how have you both been holding up". Barry and Kara's smiles disappeared. Barry sighed and said "we're getting there, how is Cisco". Joe said "he's doing ok, he felt pretty useless until this morning when Thawne convinced him he wasn't just Vibe, that he was Cisco Ramon too". Kara nodded and looked down. Joe smiled a little and said "he wants to see you both". Barry shook his head and said "it's for the best if we stay away from Star Labs". Joe said "I get it Barry, your friend got hurt, you blame yourself, and you want to keep everyone safe, but you know that it's better if you are backed up by your team". Barry shook his head and said "I pushed you all away before all because of me, Eddie and Ronnie died, then look what happened after we got team Flash back together, we trusted someone who turned out to be Zoom". Joe said "we didn't know that". Barry shouted "I did know that, I knew there was something off about 'Jay', but all of you convinced me that we shouldn't treat everyone like the next Wells, look what happened because of that Joe, Zoom learned everything about us that he needed, he took Wally, he took my speed, he then took Caitlin, and then he murdered my dad, if you had all listened to me, that wouldn't have happened". Dawn had started crying which snapped Barry out of his anger. He sighed and took Dawn from Kara and attempted to calm her. Joe nodded and said "we should have listened to you Bar, you were right about him, I was just afraid". Barry asked "of what". Joe sighed and said "that you were becoming Oliver". Barry sighed and said "Oliver may seem like someone who doesn't trust easily, but he has his reasons, as have I, after Thawne, I didn't want anyone else getting hurt, but people did, Caitlin was taken and held captive by Zoom, my dad died, and because of Flashpoint, Caitlin had the powers she was afraid of getting". Joe asked "so what are you going to do when Savitar shows up". Kara said "we'll handle him, Barry is right, we need to do it ourselves, it's our fight, no one else's". Joe asked "and there is no way to convince you both". Kara shook her head and said "we're sorry". Joe stood up and said "just be careful ok". Barry nodded and said "we'll try". Joe nodded and said "thanks for letting me in, I'll see you both later". Barry stood up and gave Joe a hug. He said "see you later Joe". Kara then gave Joe a hug. She said "see you Joe". Joe smiled a little and said "bye Kara". Kara pulled away from the hug. Kara and Barry who was holding Dawn, followed Joe to the front door. Joe took his coat and put it on. He then headed out and got into his car where he released a sigh. He smiled a little and waved goodbye to Barry and Kara before pulling away and driving off.