A Week Later

Winnie was finally able to walk by herself, though she found herself more prone to tripping, stumbling, and bumping into things.

After spending so much time in the lab, Winnie was allowed to go home and despite having to check in everyday to make sure her progress didn't falter, she was still exceptionally excited to go home.

Joe invited Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells to come to a welcome home party that Iris had organized. Dr. Wells was the only one who declined saying that he wasn't in the mood for a party and would only dampen the fun. 

Once there, Winnie had to take a second at the front door to just breathe in the smell of home, letting memories crash over her like a tidal wave.

When Joe had opened the door, something similar to that of a rabid animal had attacked Winnie and knocked her over. Groaning, she opened her eyes to greet her sister.

Iris was over the moon to have her sister back. She'd been waiting for what felt like centuries to see Winnie, ever since Joe had told her that she was awake. Iris hadn't gotten the chance to see Winnie because the previously comatose woman requested her sister wait until she could finally walk again.

That day, tears of joy were wept and stories exchanged, and by the end of it, everyone wasn't surprised to find Winnie sleeping on the couch in exhaustion. 

Carefully, Joe picked up the tired girl and brought her up to the room Iris had cleaned up. As he laid her in bed, tucked her under the covers, and gently pecked her on the forehead, Joe glanced around the room where he'd spent many nights comforting his daughter. 

He sighed at the thought of how much she'd grown into a beautiful young woman, at least in his eyes she was.

When he'd made his way downstairs, he came down to find everyone setting up for a game of Catan and even though they had waited for Joe to come down, he ended up not playing, for he'd found the game too confusing. 

Instead, the older man just grinned as he watched the four young adults laugh and have fun, despite Barry's competitiveness.

Late into the night, they'd finally stopped playing and Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco had to leave. This left Iris and her dad at home while Winnie slept. It reminded Iris of all those nights she'd spent fretting over Barry and Winnie with her father during Christmas time. 

And just like those nights, Iris sat cuddled into her father's arm, both sipping at their coffee. But, rather than crying, each wore a radiant smile on each of their lips, glad that their family would be okay, that everything was going to be okay.

---

Winnie woke up early the next day. She got out of bed, brushed her teeth, changed, and made her way downstairs.

She could hear her father singing in the shower and decided to make them breakfast. Quickly, she turned on a speaker connected to her phone where she could play some of her favourite hits.

Cracking open four different eggs, she whisked the yolk with some milk, added a pinch of cinnamon and salt for extra flavour, and grabbed the bag of bread sitting on the kitchen counter. 

She started dancing along when 'She Loves You' came on as she dipped each slice into the pale yellow mixture, and placed two slices on the frying pan at once and waited for it to cook. 

Once she knew they were ready she repeated the motions until the egg mixture was all sopped up and took out a package of bacon. 

When all of the food was cooked, she set up each plate to look pretty, drizzled on some maple syrup that Danny had bought her from Canada, and sprinkled some powdered sugar for extra effect. 

She then stuck her head in the fridge searching for some kind of fruit until her eyes landed on a box of washed blueberries and strawberries. She took each and placed a few of either fruit on top of each plate. 

Joe had come down the stairs just in time to see Winnie setting up the table. He could already feel himself salivating at the smell.

"French toast? Before work? God, I've missed you so much." Joe said kissing his daughter on the top of her head. He wasted no time sitting down and dug in.

"Well dad, I figured that you probably missed having someone cook you some delicious meals." She said, eyeing the stairs for Iris, "Considering who you've been living with the past few months. Besides, it's the weekend, who doesn't love French toast on the weekends?"

Joe chuckled in between mouthfuls as Winnie walked back over to the fridge.

"Orange juice?" She asked.

Joe nodded as he grabbed the jug from her hands, "Thanks."

Winnie sat down and started to eat as well. The two sat in a comfortable quiet enjoying the food and the company.

"Oh my god! What is that smell?" Iris exclaimed from around the corner, her eyes widening in excitement when they spotted the beautifully prepared meal.

She rushed over to her sister to give her a tight squeeze, "See, this. This is why I love you, so much. So, so, so much." 

Winnie sheepishly smiled from her sisters large bouts of affection as Iris sat herself down to eat the delectable breakfast.

"So, Iris... you're going into work today." Winnie asked.

"Oh, yeah. Have to work after all. You can come visit whenever." Iris answered. "What are you planning on doing?"

"I was thinking that I could head down to My Begonia and see if Mrs. Pemberton would be willing to let me work for her again."

"I'm sure she would, you're an amazing gardener." Iris assured her.

"Which reminds me, did you guys take care of my garden while I was gone?" Winnie asked looking between the two.

Iris and Joe looked at each other conversing with their eyes, she could see the sad looks they exchanged.

"Guys... what's wrong?" Winnie asked putting down her utensils. She got out of her chair and rushed to the backyard where she found her garden.

When Winnie saw the state of her favourite place in the world, she nearly burst into tears. Instead, she just got down on her knees and took in the devasted garden. Iris had raced out to comfort her sister knowing what she would find.

"I'm so, so sorry, Winn. Dad and I, we-we both tried but no matter what we did, nothing helped and this happened." Iris leaned down hugging her sister and stroking the top of her head, not knowing what else to say.

All of her plants were dead, dried and a horrible yellow-brown colour. The flowers were wilted, drooping in the most depressing way, drained of all their colour. It was no longer blooming with life but, rather decaying and withering. 

"I know you guys didn't mean it." Winnie whispered, "I just... it's so sad."

Slowly, she rose from where she sat and took a few steps into the rotting garden. She didn't stop until she found a little shaded spot by the fence. There, sat a small bed of dirt and rocks that surrounded the patch in the shape of a heart. 

Looking at the dead tulips she felt a single tear fall from her eyes. This was for Barry's mom and it was just as far gone as she was now. The whole place was desolate and it filled Winnie with a heavy heart.  

Yes, these plants died in the winter but, she would usually tend to them in the spring until the whole place was flourishing with life. 

She traced her fingers over the wilted petals of the flower and closed her eyes, wishing and willing it to live, to become vibrant once more. 

When she opened her eyes once more, the flower hadn't changed. It was stupid but, Winnie had hoped that it would work, she was willing to believe that it would. 

But nonetheless, miracles like that weren't possible. Hopeless, she made herself a promise that she would fix everything and make the garden beautiful once more.

She glanced behind her at Iris who had watched the whole episode, wishing she could do something to help her.

Before leaving, Winnie quickly lay down on the grass and looked up at the tree towering over her, both being the only green left in the backyard. She imagined the lushness that once was and could practically smell the light floral scents wafting through the air. 

With one deep breath, she felt herself smile at the thought of bringing in new plants to the garden. She got up from where she had been lying down and went to finish her breakfast.

If she had turned back around, if Iris had been paying more attention, the two girls would have noticed the tulip that Winnie had been touching slowly lift its bulb to the sun and just the smallest bit of its stem became green.

---

Winnie was walking through the city, passing by familiar shops until she stopped in front of My Begonia. 

She took a look at the pink and green sign and could see the shop bursting with all kinds of flowers and plants. She opened the door to find a customer in one corner inspecting some of the shrubbery and Mrs. Pemberton casually spritzing a few flowers with a spray bottle.

Hearing the door ring, the elderly lady looked up to see her favourite gardener walk in. 

"Winnie! Oh, it's so wonderful to see you. Are you in town to see Barry?" She asked cheerfully.

Winnie gave Mrs. Pemberton a confused smile, though it was a smile nonetheless, "Mrs. Pemberton! It's great to see you too! But, what do you mean am I in town?"

"You moved to Starling, didn't you?" 

"Actually, that's why I'm here Mrs. P. I was apparently moving but, I actually was in a coma with Barry. I just got up and moving recently and I was wondering if I could maybe... have my job back? If you're hiring that is." Winnie explained timidly.

Mrs. Pemberton was shocked by the news, she moved over to where Winnie was standing and gave her a warm hug.

"I'm so sorry, honey. I can't believe I didn't know. First, I hear Barry was in a coma and now you. Of course you can have your job back, I could always use the help." She assured the young woman.

"Thank you." Winnie said giving Mrs. Pemberton a tight squeeze.

"No need to thank me but, you don't need to come in until the weekday. Today is Saturday! Go enjoy it."

With that, Winnie headed out to Jitters and began to wander the streets looking for something. She didn't realize where she was going until she'd reached the front of the Central City Animal Shelter. 

She walked inside and found someone very familiar sitting in the front desk.

"Winnie!" Danny yelled, hurdling over the desk and launching himself at her. He immediately pulled her into a tight hug and wouldn't let go, fearing she were imaginary. 

"Hi, Danny. I missed you." Winnie whispered into his chest.

"Oh my god! You were in a coma but, now you're awake!" He let go of her to get a better look at her, "Wait... when did you wake up? Why didn't you call me?!"

"I woke up a couple weeks ago. I really wanted to call you but, I don't remember my password and nobody really remembers phone numbers anymore. I would have come to you sooner if I didn't have trouble walking after I woke up." Winnie rambled, tucking a hair behind her ear. 

Danny just stared at her, his eyes boring into her own. She wasn't sure how angry Danny would be considering that she'd probably worried him sick. 

But instead, he began to grin, "It's okay, it doesn't matter now. What does, is that you're awake and happy. You're happy, right?"

"Yes, I am." Winnie responded, a similar expression crossing her face.

"Come on, there's so much I wanna tell you." He said, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind the desk. 

The two friends had been volunteering at the CCAS since they were in high school getting their hours. Danny loved it so much, he was studying to become a veterinarian at the same time as volunteering. 

They had been there for so long that they were trusted to be there alone and supervise themselves, if they wanted to. After Winnie had gone into a coma, Danny would go in more often since it made him think of his friend.

"So, how's university? Make any friends? Any special friends?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows at him playfully. 

"What... no. I didn't make any friends, of any kind." He said. 

"But, who did you hang out with while I was gone? You weren't lonely were you?"

"No, of course not. I... uh... I was busy studying. Besides, I couldn't find anyone as amazing a friend as you." He stuttered.

"Aww. I love you, too." Winnie said, giving him another hug, "So, what else is new?"

After they let go of each other, he sat down on his chair and Winnie sat down on the one that was usually hers. 

"I'm graduating in two years."

Winnie's face lit up at that thought and decided to tease him, "Will I have to call you doctor soon or do you prefer PhD?" 

"Stop it." He said nudging her, a light blush crossing his cheeks, "You're embarrassing me, it's not that big of a deal. It's still two years away"

"But, that is a big deal. You're going to be doing so much to help poor animals that need homes. You'll be taking care of them and if you really needed to, you can legally operate on humans. So, technically you can also help humans too! You've worked so hard, you deserve some embarrassing compliments."

Danny didn't know what to say, so instead he grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Are you here to just distract me or are you here to help?" He finally said.

"Help, I guess." She sighed, getting up.

"Why don't you head into the back? I'm sure Frannie could use some help walking the dogs."

"Why not? I've got nothing better to do." She stood up, smiled at Danny one more time and disappeared behind a door.

She walked into the back to find a jungle of animal noise filling her ears. She walked through the aisles between the cages, glancing into every other one. Inside, she saw the cutest creatures and wished that she could just let them all out and play with every single one.

As she made her way to the feeding area, she looked inside one cage to see a brown bloodhound with big floppy ears and droopy eyes. It was staring at her and she must have gotten distracted looking at it because the next thing she knew, she had fallen on the floor.

Groaning, she looked down to see water and figured that she'd slipped.

"Are you okay?" A deep, gravelly voice asked.

"Yeah, I just slipped." She responded, lifting up her head to see the speaker. 

But, when she turned her head to look, no one was there. Checking in front of her, the hallway was empty and all she could hear were dogs scratching the floors, barking, and a few chirps here and there.

Confused, she said, "Hello?"

She glanced around the area once more finding no one else around her. Spooked, she turned her head to the left to see the bloodhound still staring at her intently.

"Winnie? Is that you?" A feminine voice came from behind her, "Are you alright?"

Winnie swiveled her head to see Frannie, concern and surprise etched across the slightly older woman's face.

Winnie was a bit scared. Was she hearing voices? 

"Uh, yeah. I was just admiring the floor a bit... very shiny." She said, awkwardly trying to get up, "Danny sent me here to help you with the walking."

"Of course." She said helping Winnie get up. Frannie led her to the back and started to grab a few leashes. As the two began to clip them on the collars of the dogs, Frannie began to speak, "So, when did you wake up?"

"A few weeks ago." Winnie answered, "I wonder how many times people are going to be asking me that question for the rest of the year?"

"I'm sure it'll be plenty." Frannie replied, "Though, I am glad you're back. CCAS hasn't been the same without you."

"Thanks, I'm glad to be back." Winnie said, glancing over her shoulder once more just to be sure there was no one behind her.

---

What do you think is going on with Winnie?

I hope this story is still interesting and that you're enjoying the story.