chapter sixteen ; beginning the domino effect

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Natalie was pulled from sleep but refused to believe she was waking up, turning and clutching her pillow closer to her body. Her body tired but her mind awake, Natalie just laid there on her first day off from work, the thoughts flooding through her brain of the past few days. The clouds in the park, Jeff Midler's hanging body, seeing her brother again, the kiss.

Natalie couldn't stop the smile that spread on her face as she laid on her back and stared at the ceiling, remembering every detail. Her train of thoughts were interrupted by a loud beeping going off in her room. Realizing it was the smoke alarm, Natalie immediately sat up and rushed to the door and started to yell for her brother, "Chris! Chris, wake up!"

"Oh god. False alarm! Nat, It's a false ala-" Chris yelled back while Natalie stopped in mid-run towards the guest bedroom where her brother was staying. "Oh I'm in so much trouble," he mumbled before he shouted again, "How do we shut these things off?"

"Chris where are you?" Nat shouted as she covered her ears, the noise of the alarms starting to bother her.

"I'm in the kitchen."

As Natalie made her way down to the kitchen, clanging of metal against metal rang and the crisp smell of something burning filled her nose, making her move faster, "Something is burning. That is not a false alarm!"

When she got to the kitchen, she saw Chris standing in the middle of chaos. An array of contents from the fridge were spread out on the counter, two pans, both blackened, sat on the stove, grey smoke billowing from them, and Chris, flour covering his hands and smudged on his face.

Chris looked around him as Natalie stood in shock, "I tried to make mom's French toast."

Natalie shook her head and ran to the stove, turning off all of the burners, removing the pans and placing them on holders. As she placed some of the contents in the fridge, Chris grabbed a broom and chair and was about to hit the smoke alarm in the kitchen.

"Chris, don't you dare. Wash your hands and face, go grab my phone, and bring it here," Nat demanded and Chris obeyed.

As Natalie cleaned up some spilled milk and egg yolks, Chris returned with her phone.

Nat wiped her hands on a towel and called Caitlin, "Come on, come on. Pick up- Caitlin?"

Caitlin's voice rang through the phone as Natalie covered her exposed ear to try and drown out the alarms, "Nat, now isn't really the time- What is that noise?"

"I told you to stay away from me," a distant, gruff, but familiar voice sounded through the phone.

"And I will, but there's someone else who wants to talk to you," a distant voice, Barry's voice said.

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, wondering what was happening on the other side of the phone and why Barry was there. But she ignored it, focusing on her own problem.

"Look I need help, the smoke alarms-"

Another woman's voice sounded from the phone, "Martin! Do you know who I am?"

"Caitlin what's going on-"

Caitlin audibly huffed. "Call Cisco. I have to go," and with that she hung up.

Natalie pulled back from her phone as Chris went to the sink and tried to scrub the pans. Taking a deep sigh, Natalie did as Caitlin said and called Cisco.

Luckily, Cisco picked up right before it went to voicemail, "Whatever it is, I'm not really in the mood. And what's going on over there?"

"Cisco, the smoke alarms-" Natalie headed towards the front door to try and hear better, "My brother, he tried to make breakfast and it didn't go well, but the smoke made all of the alarms in the house go off and I don't know how to turn them off."

"I'll be right over," Cisco said before he hung up.

Nat ran her hands through her hair before she headed back into the chaotic house.

About ten minutes later, Cisco came over and went straight to work on turning all of the smoke alarms off. "Dude, next time," he said as he walked up to Chris, "don't try and make breakfast."

"Trust me, I won't. Nat, I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower. I smell like burnt bread," Chris said before he headed upstairs.

Natalie turned her head from her brother to Cisco, "Thanks, bud. It's been a pretty bad day so far."

Cisco nodded his head and took a seat on the couch, "Yeah, same here.

Hey, how did you know I could fix it?"

Natalie took a seat beside Cisco and crossed her legs on the couch, "Well, I called Caitlin first and she was doing..something. I could hear other people there, Barry was there. I don't really know what she was doing but I think whatever it was she wanted to stay there. And then she said to call you. So I did." Cisco nodded his head as he listened. "So what about you, Cisco? You said you had a bad start to the day too."

Cisco stared intently at the ground before him. Noticing, Natalie spoke up again, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I'm always here to help, or to listen, or to just be a friend."

"Thanks," he mumbled as he looked up at Nat and pulled her into a hug.

"You know, we could always go out for drinks, or blow off steam somewhere. Maybe this weekend jut make sure it's kid appropriate," Nat said with a light laugh.

Cisco chuckled slightly, "Drinks. Definitely drinks. But I think right now I could go for some extreme video slaying time."

"I wouldn't be very good at that, but my brother most likely would be up for that. And I would let it slide, this time," Nat said as she got up. "As long as you're up for it, then so are we."

"I'm down for that, but it would have to wait until tonight. I have to go to S.T.A.R. Labs today," Cisco said getting up too.

Nat walked with Cisco towards the front door, "That's alright, I'll text you later if Chris wants to have a game night."

Cisco nodded and started walking towards a car, "And Cisco, can you make sure Caitlin and Barry are okay? I have no idea what they are doing.."

A variety of different emotions flashed through Cisco's face before he nodded and started walking again.

~~~~~

Cisco got out of the car he borrowed from S.T.A.R. Labs and headed inside the building, still thinking about his conversation with Joe. Earlier this morning, he and Joe were talking about the blood sample they found from behind newly plastered wallpaper in Barry's old house. He was angered at the thought that Joe suspects Dr. Wells was the one who murdered Nora. He had no doubt in his mind that Dr. Wells, the person who helped him, his hero, was not the person.

As Cisco stormed into the training room, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes traveling up to the face of the guest in the room. "Ronnie?" he asked, pointing at the man, seemingly Ronnie, who was taking off some bands from his chest.

"Not..Ronnie.." Cisco finished, remembering that it was only his body and not his mind.

"Martin Stein," Ronnie/Martin said holding out his hand.

Cisco gave it a shake, staring at the man before him and trying to wrap his mind around the concept, "Cisco Ramon."

Ronnie/Martin set the device he was holding down, "Your colleagues are in the next room, not so subtly discussing my condition."

Cisco nodded and headed to the viewing area, closing the training room door behind him. "That's not freak at all," he said sarcastically.

"He's unstable," Dr. Wells said, turning the wheelchair so that he could look at Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin. "Ronnie's body is rejecting Stein's atoms like a host rejecting a parasite. The resulting instability is causing an exothermic reaction. His temperature, if it continues to rise, it may set off a chain reaction. He could go nuclear. By my calculations, h has no more than a couple of hours."

Barry glanced at Cisco and Caitlin before turning to Dr. Wells, "What are we supposed to do? You can find a way to separate them before that happens, right?"

Dr. Wells held out his hands in front of him, 'Any attempt we make to separate them could be catastrophic, a nuclear explosion. And an explosion of this magnitude would level this city."

Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco all looked at anything other than Dr. Wells, taking in every word he said but refusing to believe it was true.

"Unless..unless the host body were to be no longer functional."

Caitlin snapped her head up, eyes wide and blinking in disbelief, anger spreading through her, "You..you want to kill Ronnie?"

Dr. Wells stared intently on her, "No, I don't want to kill Ronnie. But in this scenario, Ronnie is the host body."

"If you kill Ronnie, you kill Stein! That's two people!" Cisco shouted, his voice risen in distress. He and Caitlin had just gotten back their friend, her love. They were not about to lose him again.

Dr. Wells sighed, "It's two lives, for millions."

Barry ran his hand over his face, thinking over everything. Thinking of any way to stop the domino effect and save both Ronnie and Stein.

Caitlin turned to Cisco and Barry, "Can you give us a minute?"

Barry and Cisco headed to the Cortez, leaving Caitlin to talk to Dr. Wells alone. When they got there, Cisco couldn't stop thinking of his friend, of Caitlin.

"We have to save them, Barry," he mumbled, pacing back and forth.

Barry sat in one of the desk chairs, "I know."

Cisco finally took a seat and fiddled with a pen, "You know, Natalie was kind of worried about you and Caitlin."

When Barry lifted his head from his hands Cisco continued, "She heard a bit of the conversation you guys had when you went to get Ronnie-Stein from under the bridge."

Barry shook his head in frustration, "I think we should tell her. I really think we should, Cisco. I mean, how are we gonna explain Caitlin's dead fiancé coming back from the dead. I'm sure she's met him before. And we are going to save both of them."

Cisco nodded his head, "I don't know, man. If she knows about all of this..It'll put her in a lot of danger."

Nodding in agreement, Barry sat his head in his hands.

"Why do you want to tell her so bad? I understand Caitlin being a reason and that Nat lives in Central City but.." Cisco asked, inclining his head.

Barry stood up and shook out his arms, "I don't-God, I have no clue." He ran his hands through his hair and settled on setting both his hands on the desk in front of him, "I just have this urge, this strong feeling in my gut to tell her. I trust her."

Cisco took in what he said before cracking the smallest smile. "Maybe you're in love," he sang.

Barry looked up at Cisco and shook his head, "No, I'm not. I like her. That's why we are going on dates-"

"It was one date," Cisco countered. "Plus she kissed you, man." After that, Cisco left to go talk to Dr. Wells on figuring out a way to save Ronnie and Stein while the said man himself headed into the Cortex. He told Barry how he knew of his condition, what was going to happen to him if they didn't separate Ronnie and Stein.

"I remember you, Mr. Allen, from the train. If I recall, you were headed to S.T.A.R. Labs with a girl..but not your girlfriend," Ronnie/Stein said as Barry sat down on the edge of the desk. Barry smiled to himself, thinking back on the memory and how back then things were so different. Thinking back to the time when he loved Iris.

"Yea, I still don't have girlfriend. But I'm working on it," he said with a conflicted smile, thinking on his recent dilemma on whether he should tell Natalie his secret.

The man before him smiled, "You know, Einstein had a great sense of humor too. "Any man who drives safely while kissing a pretty girl is not giving the pretty girl the attention she deserves". If I learned anything this past year, life's too short not to live."

Barry took in his words. Life is too short not to live. No matter how fast he was, there was something he couldn't out run.

Time.

No matter how hard he tried, there would come a day when he ran out of time, when his came to an end.

Barry texted Nat asking where she was, with her reply saying she and her brother were visiting Iris at Central City Picture News. Without a doubt, Barry took off. Jogging when he got closer to the building, and opened the door, searching the room for the three.

He spotted Iris and Natalie talking while Chris talked to a woman closer to the door, the boy nodding his head when he saw Barry.

Before Barry could make his way to Nat, the woman grabbed his arm, "Hey Barry! It's nice to see you again."

Barry shook his head in confusion, "I'm sorry.."

The woman flashed him a smile, "Linda. Linda Park. I gave you my number at the karaoke bar.."

"Oh..Well it was nice seeing you again," Barry said, backing up and heading towards Nat and Iris, who were laughing at Barry's little encounter.

Natalie smiled when she saw him, "Barry what are you-"

She was cut off by Barry grabbing her face and pulling her into a rough kiss. This time, her being the one in shock, Natalie relaxed into Barry, wrapping her arms around his neck and softening the kiss.

When Barry pulled back, she was out of breath and couldn't speak. Too amazed at what had just happened. Glancing around, Nat noticed all of the workers staring and smirked when she saw Linda's glare.

"I like you. A lot," Barry started, shaking his head animatedly as he talked, "And I have a whole lot of things going on in my life right now, but there's one thing that I'm sure of and that is my feelings for you. I know this is a bit crazy and we've only been on one date, but we know each other pretty well. And life's too short to live."

Barry took a deep breath and laughed lightly, "What I'm trying to say, and epically failing to, is go out with me. And not like go on more dates with me..be my girlfriend."

Natalie shook her head and smiled, "That is pretty crazy, Allen. But it would be crazy for me to say no.. So yes, I'll go out with you."

Barry shook his head in disbelief, "Yes? You'll be my girlfriend?"

Natalie laughed and grabbed the collar of his jacket, pulling him closer to her, and brought their lips together for a soft and gentle kiss. "Does that answer you question?" she asked when she pulled away.

Nodding his head and laughing to himself, Barry couldn't stop smiling. Both of them oblivious to the pained expression on Iris' face behind Nat and also to Chris approaching the two.

"So are you two officially dating now?" he asked, gently pushing the two apart."

Still smiling, Natalie turned her gaze from Barry to Chris and poked him, "Yes and there's nothing you can do about it."

Chris slowly nodded his head and turned to Barry, "You better not hurt my sister."

"I promise," Barry said with nod of his head. After the two boys had come to a silent agreement, Barry's phone rang. Answering, Barry's smile faded into a thin line.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to go. It's an emergency. I'll see you later?" Barry said.

Natalie gave him a small smile, "It's okay. But you are going to take me out on a date soon, okay Allen?"

Barry nodded, "Round 2." He pecked Nat's cheek and waved by to Iris before he headed out the door and raced to S.T.A.R. Labs.

Natalie shook her head at his retreating figure while Chris went back to trying to flirt with Linda. Iris stood next to Natalie, picking up their conversation before she went back to work, "Well, that was certainly something. You know, he does that a lot, leaving unexpectedly."

Natalie turned her head towards Iris, "Yeah I've noticed. But the way I see it, as long as he's trying hard, and he is, he really is, then it's okay. I trust him."

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry rushed into the Cortex, "You have something?"

Dr. Wells wheeled by where Caitlin was sitting, "I have an idea. It's a bit of a stretch but Cisco and I are going to give it a shot."

Caitlin looked at Dr. Wells, the gratefulness clear in her eyes and thanked him.

Just as Barry was about to go and get Ronnie/Stein, Cisco came in, "He's gone."

Immediately, Caitlin went to work on finding him while Cisco and Dr. Wells worked on his idea. In the meantime, Barry changed into his Flash suit and walked back to the others, seeing Cisco and Dr. Wells welding something, "You guys almost done?"

Cisco nodded as Caitlin approached them, "I found Stein. He's in the Badlands. It's in the middle of nowhere, 30 miles from Central City." Lifting his head up, Cisco opened his mouth in shock, "30 miles is the minimum distance of safety."

"He's sacrificing himself," Dr. Wells said, finishing his thought. "He has 12 minutes."

Finishing up the last few pieces to weld, Dr. Wells held out the device in his hands. Barry looked at Caitlin before he asked what it was.

"This is a quantum splicer," Dr. Wells said, informing him.

"Will it separate them?" Caitlin asked, staring unsurely at the device.

Dr. Wells looked at the two gravely, "We'll know in 12 minutes." Dr. Wells handled the device before he moved to give it to Barry, "Now, Barry even you can't outrun a nuclear blast so you get this to Stein and you get out of there as fast you can." Caitlin snatched it out of his hands and walked towards the exit grabbing her coat.

"I'm going with you Barry. You don't know how to operate the splicer," she said, despite Barry's protests.

Ultimately, the two let, speeding towards the Badlands. Once they left, Cisco called to inform Joe that the blood the had found matched the blood of Barry's but as in adult, to the dismay of the both of them. Rushing back to the Cortex when Caitlin and Barry arrived at their location, finding Ronnie/Stein with a gun in his hands, prepared to take his own life.

"Professor Stein!" Barry yelled as he set Caitlin down.

Ronnie/Stein looked at them, a pained expression on his face, "Get her out of here! You have to leave! All of those people. Clarissa, I won't let them die. I have to end this now." He began to raise the gun to his head.

Caitlin ran down to where he was standing and pleaded, "Please, Ronnie's in there."

"We can separate you!" Barry yelled, growing desperate, "We can stop the explosion."

Caitlin held out the device, "A quantum splicer. You have nothing left to lose."

Ronnie/Stein looked down at the device before he engulfed Caitlin in a kiss. "That was from him," he said as he pulled away.

Caitlin placed the device over his chest and immediately, he went into Firestorm mode, his hands in body being engulfed in flames. Caitlin's heart dropped, seeing her love, his body, on fire, "It's not working!"

Barry heard Dr. Wells and Cisco's shouts through his ear piece telling him to leave, and grabbed Caitlin as she reached out for Ronnie, pleading.

"Caitlin we have to go!" he shouted over the noise and Ronnie and Stein's screams. Picking her up and racing away from the blast, Caitlin buried her head in his shoulder as they sped away.

The only thing Barry could think about was saving the two of them and picking up the pieces afterwards. Caitlin had to go through losing her love twice. He hoped, as he continued running, not daring to look behind, that telling Natalie soon and having her at S.T.A.R. Labs with them would help. But now, he had to outrun the blast.