“JESUS” Lisa cried out, jumping back as Cisco almost headbutted her. She heard him hit the floor and could hear his breath leaving him in shuddering pants. He scared her, to say the least, but what terrifying was how he was acting. She could see so much of her and Len in that moment it tore at her.
Kneeling down in front of him, she reached to touch him but decided against it for now. “Cisco. Cisco. It’s me. It’s Lisa. You’re safe. You’re home. I’m here.” she talked slowly and kept her voice level when all she wanted to do was scream ‘Who hurt you?’ then find them and make them suffer.
Cisco stayed crouched in the shadow, blinking the sleep from his eyes and allowing them to focus on the woman before him. He recognized he was in his room, at home. It was all a dream. “It felt so real.” He muttered, clutching his chest, feeling the heartburn. These nightmares were getting worse and worse each time he fell asleep. “Lisa? Oh Lisa, it was terrible.” He whimpered, leaning in and hugging the woman weakly, as if the physical touch could take away the fear and hurt he felt.
“He killed me. I can’t escape that timeline, ever.” Cisco said, releasing his friend and walking to the bathroom. He closed the door behind him as he continued to mumble. “I can’t get away from him. He was erased from time, but now he’s back. I don’t understand.” He grabbed a few towels from the cupboard before crawling in the bathtub and curling up under the fluffy makeshift blankets. “Parties are fun, aren’t they?” He mumbled just before falling back to sleep.
Len took a few steps. He was a little unsteady, but he thought if he had to force himself to move, he would be all right. What concerned him was that he seemed to be getting worse, instead of better. Physically he seemed a little stronger; the ribs weren’t hurting as much, but mentally he felt like he was slogging his way through heavy mud. It didn’t help that his coordination felt off, and that the fatigue seemed to have become a constant companion. At least the testing seemed to be done. Maybe some answers would be within the results.
“Do you know if she’s still in Chicago? I don’t want her to get much of a chance to call for help before we go talk to her,” Len said as he leaned heavily against the wall and closed his eyes. “I need my phone, Cisco. Have t’call someone. We’re going to need a fast way to get to wherever we need to go.”
“I don’t know, It’s not like I got the girl’s number or anything.” He laughed, remembering her shooting him down when he did ask. “It’s likely, but I can’t guarantee it, however.” He stood up straight when the man leaned against the wall. “I’ll go get your phone. You, take a seat. I don’t need you passing out on me.” He said, wheeling his desk chair over before getting the man’s phone.
“Who are you calling, anyway? You have a speedster friend?” He quipped, holding out Len’s phone. “I could arrange a private jet, you know.”
Lisa watched Cisco protest sleep then finally drift. She was rifling through his comics when she heard him talking loudly. At first she brushed it off and moved onto his Star Trek collection and frowned at his lack of anything related to Deep Space Nine but he seemed to favor Voyager from the amount of merchandise he had. She would start the most infamous geek argument in the morning-Who was the better captain.
When he continued to talk in his sleep she decided to check in on him. He was crying out in such pain and horror. Leaning over him when he uttered “I won’t tell. Please.” immediately had her flashing back to her childhood.
Daddy, please..I won’t tell…please don’t
She gagged and raced from the room, heaving into the toilet. She was relieved he wasn’t awake for that. She did not want to explain having such a visceral reaction. Rinsing out her mouth, she went back to him and sat on the bed beside him.
God he seemed so terrified. He never sounded so scared before, even when her brother had him. This was different, who hurt him so badly? Unfortunately she knew the feeling, placing her hand on his chest she leaned over him. “Cisco, Cisco, wake up.” she called, trying to wake him.
His breathing got faster as he felt her hand on his chest. “His hand is vibrating. He’s going to kill me!” You’ve shown me what it’s like to have a son. “Help me! Help me, please!” Cisco yelled as he could feel the vibrating hand rip through his chest. “AHHHH!” He screamed, sitting up in bed, jolted from the nightmare. He scampered out of the bed and into a shadowed corner, taking in his surroundings as the tears ran down his face.
“What?! I can’t pretend to not know something like that!!!!!! You’re…she’s….I’m gonna be a dad Cisco.” He laughed a bit, smiling softly. “I’m not opposed to locking her away for her safety. I’ll protect her with my life Cisco…pregnant or no.”
“I never said anything about pretending you didn’t know, I just said not to mention my name. I don’t need her to be mad at me.” Because I’m already mad at her. “Seriously, man.” Cisco found himself not knowing what to do with his hands, so he shoved them into his pockets and started at the street as a car zoomed by.
“Oh, okay…” Barry shrugged a bit before nodding. “Sure! I’d like to see all you can do.”
“Dude. Then you should definitely speed us back to the lab. Or somewhere. Maybe not the lab, on second thought. I don’t want the building falling down on us. Bring us to somewhere desolate, abandoned warehouse maybe?”
Laurel just smiled at him. “Even the best of us get taken down sometimes. We always get to deep into it, and we end up right where you are.” She shook her head, and she looked back into his eyes. “No clue, but if you do feel like you ever need someone, I’m here.” Laurel turned around for a moment, and she smiled hearing his words. “I know.” She turned back to him smiling. “If you need pointers on how to go into the whole patrol thing, you can come with me on my next one.”
“I don’t think I’ll be going out to patrol until I train and build up a little bit more strength. Thanks, though. I’ll keep that in mind.” He smiled as their eyes met.
Cisco backup 