Caitlin rolls her dress down in a hurry and tries to leave, but Barry stops her by holding her hand.
"Cait, wait!" Barry stops her.
"I can't do this... I am feeling as if I am slowly losing control. A single mistake and I might hurt one of you, worse, even get one of you killed," Caitlin says, and her reasons are very valid.
Her powers are far more volatile than anyone expected.
"You are not going to hurt anyone, you are not that person," Barry says.
"Barry! I have no control over myself. Sometimes I feel like I have two people inside me fighting for control. Just a few seconds ago, I felt myself losing, and you were about to get hurt. I can't do this anymore!" Caitlin shouts.
Her emotions start spiking again, her eyes start glowing white, and the temperature of the room drastically starts falling. She doesn't just look frustrated; she looks angry.
Barry notices her volatile nature and realizes he needs to change the subject. Talking more about this would just frustrate her more.
"Okay, I understand, but remember what I said when we started all this? I need you guys so that we can help people together, but now it's my turn to help you. I promised to be there for you, through thick and thin," Barry says and pulls Caitlin into his embrace.
In his warm embrace, Caitlin immediately breaks down and starts crying. Her emotions are all over the place, and right now, the only thing she needs is not words of affirmation, but just something to cry on.
Barry takes her back to bed and lets her cry it all out until she falls asleep.
He looks at her sleeping and is a little worried about her. He did catch her saying that she is fighting for control against a part of her from the inside.
Caitlin clearly has no idea about what it is, but Barry does. He knows the future. Caitlin has another entity inside her, which seems to have become or is about to become conscious because of Caitlin's recent power gain.
The only way Barry can think of helping Caitlin is by teaching her how to control her own powers. And that might be a very difficult task.
____________________
Morning lights up Barry's apartment.
Caitlin's eyes flutter as she slowly opens them.
She looks around and finds herself alone on the bed. She sits up and sees herself in a comfortable gown. She smiles and starts looking for Barry.
Now that she has a much sharper nose, she can smell the breakfast being prepared.
Recalling last night, she feels a little conflicted but also relieved that she has someone to hold and cry to. Everything that's happening with her has caused her a lot of stress. Having Barry has made it a little easier.
She rolls out of bed when she suddenly hears a chime. It's Barry's phone.
Caitlin turns to look at it and sees a message pop up on the screen. It's someone named Linda.
'Linda? Who's that?' Caitlin wonders. The message is still on the screen.
Curious, Caitlin picks up and reads it.
[Hey, haven't heard from you yet... Just wanted to know if... You know... go on a date?]
Caitlin doesn't know what to think of this as she reads it. Another girl.
"Hey, you are awake. I made some breakfast," Barry says.
"Here, someone named Linda messaged you," Caitlin says and hands the phone back to Barry.
Hearing Linda's name made Barry quickly take the phone from her hand to look at the message.
Barry reads the message and can't help but smile a little. He never expected Linda to be so bold as to ask him on a date. Well, then again, she was the one who gave him her number.
"So... Are you going?" Caitlin suddenly asks.
"Huh? Ugh.... I don't know," Barry looks up at Caitlin and finds it hard to express what he is thinking. Sure, he liked Linda. She is beautiful, bold, and didn't even hesitate to express her interest, and now she is asking him on a date. But to admit that he wants to go on a date with a girl before another girl with whom he is sleeping is not a good idea. Even if they have agreed to keep it casual.
"You should go," Caitlin says, surprising Barry. Never has he heard a woman tell the man she is sleeping with to go on a date with another girl.
"Umm... are you sure?" Barry asks.
"Yes... It's not like we are dating. We did agree to... You know, keep it casual," Caitlin says.
Barry looks at Caitlin as she gives him a forced smile. He doesn't know what Caitlin is thinking, but he doesn't want to figure it out.
"Okay..." Barry says.
"So... This Linda. Where did you meet?" Caitlin asks.
"Ugh... I met her at Central City Picture News when I tagged along with Iris for her interview. She's... a sports reporter working there," Barry says.
"Oh, well. You go on that date. You deserve some free time with all the lives you save, and I am going to head to S.T.A.R. Labs. Cisco probably needs my help," Caitlin says and gets ready to leave.
Barry's not blind. He can obviously see that Caitlin is being a little distant. But he is not worried. He knows they will be okay.
The bond between them is a lot stronger than ever.
She is clearly going through a hard time because of her volatile powers,
It's best to let her figure things out before he tries to help her.