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Caitlin looked away from the screen as Sherloque gently put a mug of steaming tea on the desk in front of her. The woman frowned.“Thank you,” she said a bit warily before taking a sip.Ginger tea, she noticed at once. She looked up at Sherloque briskly, her eyes going wide in surprise. No, he couldn’t know, could he? The man had proved himself to be very perceptive after all and Caitlin should not have been that surprised that he had discovered her secret before anyone else.The man winked at her before handing cups of coffee to Joe and Cecile. The woman took the cup in her hands and sighed in delight.“Man, you really missed coffee, didn’t you?” Ralph pointed out, amused by her reaction.“You have no idea,” Cecile said. “If I have to look at another cup of tea I might just- Oh-”Caitlin froze. She might have been projecting her thoughts a little too loudly. She chanced a glance at Cecile and winced when she saw the woman looking at her intensely.It doesn’t mean she knows, Caitlin tried to rationalize. It doesn’t mean anything.“What’s going on?” Joe asked.“Okay,” Cisco exclaimed, turning to them. “What are you guys talking about that could be more important than our meta problem?” he asked, clearly annoyed that they had been talking over him.“Nothing,” Cecile answered too quickly.“It’s nothing,” Caitlin told Cisco.“Now I know you’re lying,” Cisco told her.They were all looking at her, Caitlin realized suddenly. She glanced at Cecile and saw her mouthing “sorry”, a guilty look on her face.Caitlin smiled reassuringly at her before facing the team. “There’s something I need to tell you guys. Well, I guess Sherloque and Cecile already know so…” She took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant,” she told them.“Really?” Barry exclaimed at once, greening madly.“How did that happen?” Ralph chimed in.“That’s great, Caitlin!” Iris said, smiling at her friend.“What?” Cisco exclaimed. “Wait, how come Sherloque knew before we did? No wait- Who’s the father?” he asked. Then, turning to Sherloque, “Are you the father?” he asked, horrified.Sherloque’s eyes got comically wide. “Quoi? Non! Not me, obviously!”Cisco’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean ‘not you’?” he asked. “Wait, do you mean another Wells?” he exclaimed. Then, he turned to Caitlin. “Are you having sex with Harry?”“When did that happen?” Ralph asked.“Guys,” Joe cut in. “I don’t think that’s any of our business.”“Oh, I think it is our business,” Cisco countered at once, voice bordering on hysterical.“So… was it a one-time thing or…” Ralph asked.Sherloque snorted. “That would be rotten luck now, wouldn’t it?”Caitlin glared at him and the man stopped smirking immediately.“Look guys,” Caitlin finally said, getting fed up with their questions. “Harry and I were together before he left and now we’re not. Simple as that.”“So what, you get pregnant and the guy just runs away to another earth?” Iris asked angrily.“No! It’s not like that… He…”“He doesn’t know, does he?” Cecile asked gently. Caitlin shook her head. “Oh, Caitlin,” the older woman said, putting her hand on Caitlin’s shoulder.“You didn’t tell him?” Barry asked in disbelief.“I didn’t,” Caitlin finally snapped. “You want to know why? Because we almost lost him for good! Yes, he left me here but in a way I’m glad he did because he’s not safe with us. I want… No, I need him to be safe even if that means he’s on another earth. He’s with Jesse now and that’s all I could ask for. I know he would come back in a heartbeat if I asked him to, so that’s why I won’t.”“That’s bullshit,” Cisco said. “You’re afraid of how he’s going to react!”“I’m not!” Caitlin countered, glaring at him.“You are! Of course you are, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”“We shouldn’t be having this conversation at all,” Caitlin told him. “This is my decision,” she reminded them all.“Caitlin,” Iris started gently. “You should tell him. Give him a chance to make his own decision.”Caitlin sighed. Then, she turned to Nora, who had been unusually quiet since the start of the conversation. “What about you?” Caitlin asked.“I think your kid deserves to have a dad,” she said, her voice shaking.
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Caitlin had not even asked Cisco to open up a breach for her; her friend had volunteered as soon as she had made her decision to visit Harry on Earth-2. Cisco had suggested opening up a breach to Harry’s lab - which would have been the obvious choice - but Caitlin’s instincts told her that they wouldn’t find Harry there after what had happened.Caitlin came out of the breach in front of Harry’s apartment. She took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves, before knocking. She heard Harry’s footsteps through the door and she smiled despite her nervousness.“Caitlin?” the man said, clearly surprised to find her on his doorstep.“I hope this is not a bad time,” she said quietly.Why was she so nervous? He had told her he would come back eventually, after all. He just hadn’t said exactly when.Harry seemed to wake up from his stupor and stepped aside to let her in. “You’re always welcome here, I thought you knew that,” he told her sincerely.Caitlin took a deep breath, fighting back tears. “I’ve missed you,” she managed to say around the lump in her throat.Harry grabbed her hand firmly as he said, “I’ve missed you too. Are you alright? You seem upset,” he pointed out.Caitlin shook her head. “I’m fine.”“Do you need anything?” he asked her gently as he led her to the couch. “Coffee? Tea?”“Maybe some water, please,” Caitlin answered in a small voice.Caitlin used the short time it took Harry to come back with two glasses of fresh water to try to compose herself.“I was hoping you would come,” he said, smiling at her warmly.That was enough to make her burst into tears. Caitlin let herself fall into his arms and rested her head on his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. She felt Harry kiss the top of her head.“Don’t cry,” he told her gently, rubbing her back. “It’s okay, I’ve got you, you know that, right?”“I know,” Caitlin told him at last. She dried her eyes with her sleeve. “I can’t believe Cisco was right,” she mumbled. “I was so afraid of how you were going to react that I-”Harry frowned. “I know I’m not the easiest person to be around but I didn’t think you were afraid of me.”Caitlin gasped. “No! That’s not what I meant,” she exclaimed, taking his hand. “I’m scared you’ll want to do the right thing even if it isn’t the right thing for you.”Harry was looking more and more confused by the second. Caitlin bit her lip nervously.“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on and we’ll go from there. Sounds good?” he suggested.Caitlin nodded weakly. “I’m pregnant,” she told him quietly. “It’s yours,” she added as Harry remained frozen on the spot.Then, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she shut her eyes and sighed in relief.“Do you want me to come back with you?” he asked after a moment.“Only if you want to.”“Of course I want to,” Harry said. “I needed to spend time with Jesse but I would have come back to you eventually. I’ve missed you, Caitlin, more than I can say.”“I’ve missed you too,” she whispered softly. THE END