Caitlin wiped the sweat off her brow. She had to help, needed to help the poor people of Earth 12, even if she felt sluggish. Exhausted with every finger flex.
She had to help. She was the only one here who could.
Caitlin turned her stiff neck to Cisco, where he was in a chair much like his own back home. This Star Labs was all so similar, if they closed their eyes, their muscle memory would still serve them well.
But this was not Earth 1. Not at all, and Cisco was beginning to tell.
“Come here,” he repeated, firmer now.
Caitlin dropped the pipette and made her way over, slow wobbly steps and she realized how much her legs felt like jelly.
She fell into his lap, and his fingers curled protectively around her waist, preventing her from toppling over.
“I need to help,” she mumbled, her voice sounding funny to her own ears. She blinked, forcing her eyes wide. “I have to help.”
It was cold to her forehead, Cisco’s touch. Which was weird, for she always considered him cozy, his temperature heated in a pleasant comforting way.
“You’re warm,” Cisco noted. His hand moved down to her face, and Caitlin felt sleepy. “Hey, wake up. Why are you warm?”
He was concerned, but Caitlin couldn’t find it in herself to care why she felt burning hot. She just wanted to stay in his arms, Cisco holding her steady, safe.
“You shouldn’t be like this,” he said, and with some significant effort, he pulled himself up from the chair, Caitlin still wrapped in his embrace.
Caitlin felt the shift as he took her weight, slipping an arm under her knees as he walked out the Earth 12 Cortex.
She woke up to cold compresses against her face in her own bed. She blinked, realizing she was still curled up against her boyfriend. Cisco swept her hair out of the damp ice packs when she turned her head, resting against the headboard.
“Earth 12 made you sick. It’s not safe for you there.”
“What?” Caitlin tried to sit up, worried about her half finished work. “But the people–”
“Are fine now. Barry and Sherloque figured it out. You should have told me you felt funny.”
He shushed her, eyes soft as he pulled her back into his lap. She looked at her bedroom, the way she had clothes strewn all over the floor, and a curling iron half hanging out one of her drawers. The disarray she left it in their haste to pack up and go.
“Earth 12′s atmosphere is Frost resistant, that’s all I was able to figure out before I breached you back home. Something about the attacks from Icicle and the Killer Frost from their world.”
She indulged herself in snuggling closer, pressing her face into his chest. She didn’t feel quite so bad anymore, but still, she was tired and Cisco was always the best medicine.
“How do you feel?” he kissed her hair lightly, tightening his hold.
She closed her eyes. “Better now.”