chapter seventeen ; aftershock

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The outside wave of the blast caught up to Barry, causing him to tumble. He got up as soon as they fell checking on Caitlin to make sure she was okay and informed the team back at the Cortex they were fine.

Caitlin stood up, staring at the source of the blast, where Ronnie was, "The nuclear explosion. There's no telling how much radiation we were exposed to."

Cisco checked the readings of Barry' suit, "This can't be. The suit.. it's reading the radiation level as normal." Dr. Wells turned his attention to the screen in front of Cisco.

"There's no radiation."

"Let's go," Barry said looking at Caitlin and picked her up, racing the two of them back towards the center. Carefully walking down the sides of the newly formed crater, Caitlin called out for Ronnie while Barry called for Stein.

Through the smoke, a body was seen, moving slightly on the ground. Tentatively, Caitlin approached, a somber expression on her face, "Ronnie?"

Kneeling down beside him, Ronnie began to cough. His clothes were torn to shreds and his face was blackened by soot. He looked around him until his eyes settled on Caitlin before him and reached out to touch her face, "Cait."

Caitlin looked at him with utter concern, "Tell me your name."

"Ronnie Raymond," he said simply before the two shared a kiss. Barry watched the intimate moment before another voice cut through the barren land.

"Uh, pardon me, but obviously I need a change of clothes," an elderly man said, his clothes torn as well, dirtied, and glasses scratched.

Barry laughed in disbelief, "Nice to see you in the flesh again Professor Stein. We're coming home. All of us."

Barry reached each person individually to S.T.A.R. Labs, briefly stopping by Professor Stein's house and Caitlin's to get each man their own clothes. When he returned, he saw Cisco, Caitlin, and Ronnie reuniting while Professor Stein stood in the back.

"Excuse me, but do you have a place where I can freshen up?" Stein asked as he held up the clothes Barry gave him. Dr. Wells led the way as the rest went into the Cortex.

Barry's and Caitlin's phone each went off, one after the other as they were walking. Barry checked his and announced it was Nat. "She was asking if we heard about the explosion?"

Ronnie turned towards Caitlin, "Natalie's in town?"

Caitlin entwined their hands together and a brief frown fell upon her face, "Yeah. She moved here a while ago. I don't know how I'm going to explain..you. We haven't told her yet about all of this." Caitlin shook her thoughts out of her head and the smile returned to her face, "Let's go check on your vitals."

After Dr. Wells and Caitlin examined Stein and Ronnie, the two made it clear that they did not want to spend anymore time together and Barry was designated to take Professor Stein home. As the two walked up to Stein's house, Martin hesitated before he announced he was home. He turned to Barry, choosing his words carefully, "How..I don't know what I should say."

Barry gave him a smile, "I don't think you need to say anything."

Hearing the two speak, Stein's wife opened the door, pulling in a long breath when she saw her husband in the flesh. Martin tried to stumble out an apology but Clarissa pulled him into a kiss, the two thanking Barry as he turned to leave for bringing him home. As Barry was just about to start running, his phone rang and a picture of Natalie popped up on the screen.

Sliding the answer button, Barry raised the phone to his ear, "Hello."

Barry could hear Nat giggle slightly, "Hey, Bare. Sorry, I'm calling-"

"Hey, don't apologize. Besides, I like hearing your voice," Barry said suddenly, the emotions of all of the love he's seen today fueling his confidence.

"That's sweet," Nat said, the smile evident in her tone, "But I was calling because Joe needs you. He said he's called you and left you voicemails and then he called me. He said he's waiting for you back at your lab."

Barry nodded his head as he walked down the sidewalk, "Yeah, okay."

"Great. I'll let you go now. I'll probably see you tomorrow at work. Whatever it was it sounded important. Meanwhile, my brother and I are spending the whole day together. Hopefully he doesn't try to burn my house down this time," Nat said with a light laugh.

"He almost burned your house down?" Barry chuckled.

He smiled as Nat's laugh rang through the phone, "I'll tell you about it later Now go see Joe. Bye Barry."

"Bye Natalie," Barry said as he reluctantly ended the call and sped towards his lab where Joe was waiting for him.

At her house, as Nat set her phone down on the coffee table, she headed to the microwave and removed the now popped popcorn from inside. "Okay, have no clue if Cisco will be able to have a game night tonight but that doesn't mean that we can't have fun right?" she called out to her brother as she poured the butter over the popcorn and mixed it up.

"Hey, sis, what's the Wi-Fi password?" Chris called back, ignoring her question.

As Natalie walked into the living room carrying the bowl, she picked up a pillow and lightly hit him over the head, "I thought we were going to try and be unpugged."

Chris looked up at her with a sly smile, "Yeah, Nat, we both know that's not gonna happen. No matter how hard you try."

Natalie cracked a smile as she set down the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table, "So what do you need the password for?"

Chris pulled out his laptop and booted it up, "Trevor texted me. He wants us to Skype him and mom."

"Well you could've just said that in the first place. I would've said yes," Nat said, helping him plug in the laptop to an outlet.

"I thought it would've been funny seeing mom react to you denying her being able to talk to her baby son while he is away from home. On his own," Chris said, faking a sad face.

A smug grin formed across Nat's face, "If I went down you would go down too, little Chrissy."

Chris picked up a pillow and threw it at Nat as she was standing up from her crouch, "Never call me that again. I told you that before."

Nat pouted and tackled him, planting small kisses on the top of his head, "Aww baby Chrissy."

After Chris had successfully managed to crawl away, he turned the laptop towards his sister, "Password. Please."

Natalie typed it in, but before she could hit connect, Chris hit "show password", wanting to see what is was for further devices. His lips formed in a small line, "Really? "thelittlemermid" is your password?"

Natalie shrugged her shoulders, "What? It was my favorite movie when we were kids. Plus it's easy to remember."

In no time, Chris pulled up Skype and called their brother Trevor. Unclear at first, the picture cleared up an revealed a slender young man with short, dirty blonde hair and deep brown eyes, similar to Natalie's. A small wave of panic went through Nat upon seeing her brother, he looked so similar to her dad. The blonde hair, the slight scruff of a beard around his face.

"What's up, sibs?" Trevor said, settling down in his seat.

"We're bored," Chris said blankly, reaching for some popcorn.

Natalie lightly shoved her brother and turned her attention to the laptop, "No were not. We're having a lot of fun. Where's mom?"

Trevor looked behind him and shouted, "Mom? Mom! I've got Chris and Natalie on Skype!"

An inaudible voice answered him and a shadowed body took a seat beside him. Turning on a lamp, the light glared and softly revealed the gentle face of their mom. Her brown hair pulled into a low ponytail, her cheekbones frames perfectly, the deep blue of her eyes. The kids' mom was beautiful and the light of their lives. She was the reason they were who they are today.

Looking at the screen, Natalie could see her mom's eyes dew up and her hands pulled to her chest. "Oh my beautiful babies, how have you been?" their mom asked in her gentle voice.

"We're good mom. I'll be home soon enough. I just have tonight, tomorrow, then I'm on the train home Tuesday evening. I miss my own bed. Nat's guest room is mint green," Chris said, cringing at the last bit.

"He set off all of the smoke alarms this morning, mom. He tried to make your famous French toast," Nat said as she pulled her brother into a side hug.

Their mom gasped and chuckled, "He didn't burn anything, did he?"

"Just two pans. And my ego," Chris mumbled.

Trevor and their mom laughed at the sight of the pouting boy.

"I got accepted to Keystone University," Trevor exclaimed, a bright smile on his face. Their mom hugged him, the pride in her eyes.

Natalie and Chris gave him their congratulations as he was showered in love by his family.

"Oh that's not the only news in this family," Chris piped up, staring at Natalie from the corner of his eye."Natalie has a boyfriend.

"No!"

"Aww sweetie."

"He only asked me out today, mom. And no?" Nat said, her attention on her brother.

"You're my big sister and I don't even get to tell at him," Trevor said, his eyes squeezing into slits.

Chris chuckled, "Don't worry, I already did that."

"There's no way you scared him, Chris. You're just a kid," Trevor taunted.

"I am not. And I did scare him. He's kind of a nerd," Chris said defiantly.

"Hey he is not that much of a nerd. It's cute. He's very sweet, intelligent, and he's really caring. And yes, Chris did scare him a bit.." Natalie told her family.

"Well sweetie, if you're happy then I am. I just want to meet him sometime," their mom said.

Natalie nodded her head and smiled. For the next hour and a half, the family of four caught up, mostly everyone catching up on Natalie's life away from her old home. She told them everything that had happened, everything about the Flash. She promised Barry she wouldn't try to look into him more, and in her book, telling other people about him would break that promise.

As Chris was talking animatedly about his train ride to Central City, Natalie glanced up at the windows, "I can't believe it's already dark. How long have we been talking for?"

Trevor glanced at the screen on his side, "Almost 4 hours."

On cue, their mom stretched and yawned, "Well kiddos, I'm beat. Plus I have to work tomorrow. So do you Trev. I'll see you soon, Chris and Natalie. I love you both."

"Love you too, mom," Nat said as she blew a kiss at the screen and Chris ended the call.

"What now, lil bro? We can either stay up or go to bed," Natalie said as she stood up.

Chris stretched out on the couch, "I'm up for a night up. But we are going to need some reinforcements. And by that I mean coffee."

Natalie couldn't help but laugh at her brother's appearance, sprawled out on the couch, "I will go to Jitters and stop by the store to get some snacks. I don't know how long I'll be so you can start any movie or tv marathons you want. Just don't burn anything this time or break anything."

Chris nodded his head and shooed her away, "Go, go, go. I need coffee."

"I'm pretty sure you're already hyper enough," Nat mumbled as she headed towards the door, grabbing her coat, phone, and wallet on the way.

Hailing a cab, Natalie first stopped at the store. She grabbed a large basket and went straight to the junk food aisle. Grabbing hers and her brother's favorite snacks, the basket was filled with Muddy Buddy's, Bear Naked Chocolate Oats, donut holes, chocolate bars, Pringles, and Snapple. Judging by the weight that they would be reinforced with snacks, Nat hailed another cab to Jitters, the two snack bags in tow. On the way, her phone buzzed and Natalie shook her head when she read the text, her brother saying he's going to bed and they would just have to eat everything tomorrow.

Holding the bags in one hand, Natalie pushed open the door, her head focused on the contents to make sure they don't spill. As Natalie stood near the counter, getting out her money to make it easier to pay, a familiar voice rang through the cafe.

Natalie tilted her head, remembering it as the same voice from her phone call with Caitlin earlier, only less gruff. But she could have sworn she'd heard the voice somewhere else.

Lifting her head and searching the cafe for the voice's owner, Natalie's eyes settled on something she could not believe. Less than 10 feet away from her was something impossible.

"Sounds like you had some crazy times," they said. They looked exactly like him, but it couldn't be.

The person sitting across from them laughed, "Yeah we have." Their back was towards Natalie, but she knew it was Caitlin's voice.

"You ready for things to go back to normal?" Natalie saw the glint in the man's eyes as he grabbed Caitlin's hand. She was still trying to figure out what was going on, still standing there by the counter in shock.

"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked. Both at the table oblivious to Natalie.

The impossible shook his head, "I was thinking..we could leave town. Have a fresh start."

"Our lives are here. My job is here," Caitlin responded. To Natalie, all of the voices in the room started to sound distant as what she thought was real crumbled. Wondering how he could be there, sitting with Cait. He looked too much like him.

Natalie's voice quivered as she found the courage to speak. "Ronnie?" she muttered in a small voice only she could hear.

She saw Ronnie mumble something to Caitlin, making her shake her head.

"I stayed at S.T.A.R. Labs because I believe in Dr. Wells. But.." Caitlin began to lower her voice, making it unable for Nat to hear.

Natalie, unable to rip her gaze from the scene before her, felt a small tap on her shoulder.

"Ma'am. Are you alright?"

The person tapping her pulled on her shoulder roughly, causing Nat to drop her bags, all of the contents spilling on the floor and the Snapple glasses to break. The commotion caused everyone to focus on her, including Caitlin and Ronnie. Caitlin's eyes went wide when she saw her cousin standing there, and her gaze on her fiancé. Careful where she stepped, Caitlin rushed to Natalie and guided her over to their table.

Placing hands on both of her shoulders, Caitlin spoke to Natalie in a hushed tone, "Nat, I can explain."

Natalie pulled back from Caitlin's reached, bumping into Ronnie, causing her to jump back more, "How-How is he alive? You said he was dead. That he died in the explosion."

Caitlin looked at Ronnie for help and then looked at Nat, opening and closing her mouth, unable to form the words to explain.

Nat's hands began to shake and she held them in front of her in an attempt to keep them in control, "Tell me Caitlin! How- What the hell is going on!"

"Excuse me, is something wrong here?" A man asked. Caitlin's gaze went from the man, to Natalie, and finally to Ronnie's jacket.

"Get down!" Caitlin yelled as soon as she saw the red dots on each of them, pulling Natalie down to the ground as Ronnie crouched. Natalie heard the sound of shots, breaking glass, and screams. When she looked up, she saw the man trying to help grasping at a vial that was sticking out of his neck, crumpling to the ground.

Natalie's shock at the fact Ronnie was alive was pushed back at the danger. Ronnie looked at the two of them and then towards the back of Jitters, "Both of you, get out of here!"

Caitlin looked at Ronnie, "No, not without you!"

Ronnie flinched from the sounds of the shots flying, "You have to. I'm right behind you. Go!"

Natalie looked at Caitlin, fear flooding her brain and grabbed Caitlin's arm. Standing up a tiny bit from their crouch, Natalie pulled Caitlin into a run towards the back exit, hunched down to try and avoid the shots. When they came out into an alleyway, Natalie stopped running when she didn't hear Caitlin's footsteps.

Caitlin looked at Natalie and turned back towards the door they came from, "Ronnie's still in there!"

Natalie ran and hugged her arms around Caitlin, holding her back from running back in, struggling against her cousin's pull, "Cait, there's people trying to kill us in there! Let's go! He said he was coming! We have to get out of here, please."

Caitlin stopped struggling, "The van. We borrowed a S.T.A.R Labs van. We can go get it and come back!"

Natalie stood frozen for a second but quickly ran after Caitlin as she took off towards a parking lot, "Cait, we can't go back! We'll die."

Stopping in the middle of the street, Caitlin turned on her heels and ran back to Nat, holding onto her shoulders, "You have to trust me, okay? After tonight, you have to trust me. Eerything will make sense later."

Natalie nodded and the two began to run again, searching for the van in the dark, adrenaline pumping in their veins. Caitlin tossed Nat the keys as soon as they found it, "You drive. I'll tell you where to go. It'll be easier, you just have to drive."

Nat nodded her head as she climbed in the van, buckled in, and started it. "Go back to the alleyway. And drive fast," Caitlin demanded.

Natalie drove in silence and did as her cousin asked. As she drove, several figures came into view. One man was standing while several were knocked out on the ground. And there were two moving figured on the ground, one kneeling down and the other writhing. "Caitlyn?' Nat asked, unsure of what she should do, but didn't take her foot off of the gas.

Caitlyn started to move towards the back of the van, "Make the side of the van face them and stop. We're getting them and once they're in, get the hell out of here!" Natalie jerked the steering wheel and slammed her foot on the break. Caitlin swung open the back doors, "Get in!"

Out of the rear view mirror, she saw Ronnie punch the standing man to the ground and help the writhing man into the van. Natalie had a flood of questions as she saw the man's appearance but decided to keep her mouth shut until they were well away from there. Caitlin and Ronnie pulled the man in while he seemed to scream in pain and then shut the doors.

"Go, Nat! Now, go!" Ronnie yelled, waving at her to leave the scene. Natalie backed up and slammed her foot on the gas once they were straight on the road again, panicking slightly as she saw the men stand up holding guns and in military suits. The man was making a big commotion back there, screaming and taking heavy breaths.

"Where do I go?" Nat asked as she sped down the road.

"S.T.A.R. Labs. And slow down now. We don't want to get pulled over for speeding," Caitlin said as she moved to help the man.

Natalie peered in the mirror, "That's-that's the Flash. Isn't it."

Caitlin looked up and saw Natalie's reflection in the mirror, "We'll tell you everything. Just get to S.T.A.R. Labs."

Natalie nodded, locking in all of her questions and fear and focused on the road ahead of her.