Who: Molly Carpenter and Barry Allen What: Finding Molly When: Tuesday Night (backdated) Where: A Perfectly Filthy Alley Warnings: PTSD Molly Status: closed/incomplete/continues in comments
Sometime in the past hour Molly’s ghosts had faded away. The past however long it had been had been a special tour of her mental Hell. Bruce had been good to his word. She had found the food he left for her most of the time. Sometimes someone else got to it before she did or she forgot to look. She had definitely forgotten who it was that was leaving her food. She just knew it would be there at a certain time of day whenever she got too hungry.
So how did Molly know the ghosts were gone? Her energy was running on empty. The first thing that happened was her veils and shields failed. People looked at the street roughened girl in the oversized and filthy coat as she stumbled by. She stumbled a few times before she leaned against the wall of a building feeling exhausted and ready to fall over. Doing that in the main sidewalk was a bad idea. That led to getting arrested. Molly had learned that the hard way. So she rounded the building, and as soon as she felt she was out of immediate view she let go. Molly crumpled to the ground.
***
Despite Harry’s assurance that Barry would never find her, he hadn’t stopped looking. He knew the older man - who knew Molly well - probably knew what he was talking about, but he couldn’t just stay idle while the girl he cared about was out there alone, traumatized and possibly in danger. What kind of superhero - what kind of person would he be if he did that? Not one he’d ever want to look in the mirror.
He hadn’t slept much in days. True, sleep wasn’t something he needed as much of as other people, but he needed more than he’d been getting recently. But the idea of laying down in bed and trying to rest was simply abhorrent. He didn’t want to do it. He wanted to find Molly, and when he knew she was safe, well, then maybe he could sleep.
He hadn’t had any luck, though. He’s slowed to a walk, not out of exhaustion but out of frustration and almost grief. That was when he saw the girl stumble into the alley.
“Molly?”
In a second, he was beside her, catching her before she could hit the filthy pavement.
Someone caught her. Oh, thank god. Molly’s instincts weren’t making her want to blast them into next week so it was something she trusted. Not that she had much choice in the matter but she let herself lean against her hero.
“...who?” She peered through her hair to see who had her then all but cried out when she recognized him. “...barry!” A sob escaped her as she clung to him.
***
Barry wrapped his arms around her tightly, easily supporting her weight. He wasn’t about to let her go, in the fear that if he did he’d lose her again. And he wasn’t going to let that happen. She was safe and he was going to keep her that way.
“Shhh,” he said, his voice gentle and comforting. “I’m here. I’m here, and you’re safe, okay? We’re going to go back to your place and wrap you up in blankets, and I’m not leaving.”
***
Her head was pounding in obvious reaction to her ordeal. She knew something had happened, but couldn’t think through the headache to remember what. The worry in Barry’s voice was obvious, however so guilt joined exhaustion.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re all freaked out because of me. I didn’t mean to. Please don’t be mad okay?”
***
That yanked at Barry’s heart and he tightened his grip on her.
“Oh, god, I’m not mad. You didn’t do anything wrong. It was just the - well, you know.” He didn’t want to bring the ghosts to the forefront of her mind if she wasn’t thinking about them right now. That would just be cruel.
“It’s just that I love you, and I hate seeing you hurt. And I couldn’t find you. And that scared me.”
His voice was quivering a bit with emotion.
***
Everything came screeching to a halt around Molly as Barry’s words sunk in. She looked into his face, not meeting his eyes...locking eyes would be the absolute worst thing to happen right now...with a stunned look on her face.
“...you love me?”
***
Barry hadn’t even realized he’d said it. But was it true? It absolutely was, and he wasn’t about to take it back now that it was out.
“Yeah, I do,” he said, and gave her a nervous, goofy sort of smile.
***
She could just hear everyone saying it was really quick for this to happen. She didn’t care. It was a one in a million chance for her to meet anyone who wouldn’t run away from her and her issues. For that person to say he loved her after she’d disappeared like she had? That was a miracle, and she wasn’t going to question it.
Tears spilled over to streak down her smudged cheeks as a smile shook her lips. A moment later she was hugging herself to him with her shoulders shaking.
***
Well, Barry did everything quickly. It was kind of his thing. And since he’d arrived here, Molly had come to mean the world to him. He’d been terrified when he couldn’t find her, and now that he had her in his arms, the emotion came bubbling over. “Let me take you home. Please. Get you something to eat. See you safe.”
It mattered to him more than just about anything else just now.
***
Molly nodded against Barry’s chest, her fingers clutching his shirt. “I’m cold,” she said...which reminded her. “I need to get Bruce a new coat.” This one was pretty much toast for everything it had been through.
She just wished her head would stop hurting so she could do more than feel. Her emotions were all over the spectrum at the moment. It felt good to let Barry take the reins on this...even if she did feel like she crawled through all of Madison Valley’s gutters.
***
He was pretty sure that Bruce wasn’t overly concerned about getting a new coat, but didn’t mention that to her. It didn’t seem important right now.
“I’m going to take you home,” he said softly, and before she knew it, they were at her doorstep, and he was holding her in his arms. “Hopefully that warmed you up a little, too?”
***
There was never going to be a time when she was used to that, but this time it didn’t matter. She didn’t need a reason to cling to him. “You warm me up,” she said, not really wanting to let go.
She didn’t have her keys, and chances were her apartment was still a wreck from when she’d ran from her ghosts a week ago. Molly didn’t remember any of that until just this moment. “Um…”
***
Barry didn’t even care a little bit about the ‘wreck’ part. Getting in was different, though. He sat her down, but still kept an arm around her, hoping that his heightened body heat kept her comfortable.
“Do you know where you left them? I can go get them…”
***
She looked up at Barry with more tears in her eyes, this time from frustration and hopelessness. “...I think they’re inside.”
Molly sniffled again before she hid her face against him. “...I’m stupid. And worthless and crazy and a mess.”
***
“Hey,” he said, and although it was sharp enough to get through to her (he hoped), it was also a very gentle tone. “Hey, no you aren’t. You aren’t any of that. You’ve just had a rough couple of days. Everyone has a rough couple of days sometimes, okay?”
He looked at the door and at Molly, and then back at the door.
“Okay, give me just a second and I’ll phase through the door and then let you in.”
And in no time, he was inside, and opened the door for her.
“Come on in, see, no harm done.”
***
She wasn’t sure what he meant by phasing through the door, but a moment’s patience answered that curiosity. How he did that would be filed away to be addressed later. Right now all she could concentrate on was getting up off the floor. Easier said than done.
Molly staggered through the door and took in the mess she’d made of her apartment then sighed. It had been a good thing no one had been here when this happened. She might have killed them.
“Barry?” Her voice was small, the look she gave him entirely helpless. “I need you.”
***
“Yeah?” He said, looking back at her. “Well that’s good, because you have me, and I’m not going anywhere.”
He meant that. He’d crash on her couch tonight, sleep at the foot of her bed, whatever she wanted him to do. He wasn’t going to leave her until she was better, and until he’d let Harry know that she was back. But he wasn’t going to do that until he was sure she was okay.
***
The faintest smile lifted her lips. God, he was so sweet. She didn’t deserve him. “I also need a shower and I don’t think I can move from this spot without falling on my nose.”
Her skin was crawling and she just knew her hair had things in it best not thought about. More than anything she wanted to be clean, then maybe eat everything that was left in her fridge that hadn’t expired then sleep for three years.
***
“Um, maybe you should take a nap first?” He said. He was willing to help her with almost anything but being in the shower she’d have to be naked. Unless, of course she was wearing a swimsuit…
“Yeah, just take a nap and when you wake up I’ll help you with the shower?” Then she’d be able to stand and it wouldn’t be making him blush just thinking about it. Like it was now.
***
Who wore a swimsuit in the shower? She certainly didn’t and these clothes would have to be burned once she got them off. Barry was forgetting one important thing with his plan. She was definitely not sleeping in these clothes.
Molly nodded because sleep sounded perfect. She wasn’t certain how long it would last. As soon as she wasn’t exhausted the nightmares would come hard and fast. Experience on the streets of Chicago had taught her that.
With that in mind her expression turned a bit pathetic. “Stay...okay? I don’t want to be alone.” Her voice shook from fear and being tired.
***
Barry nodded. There was no question of him going somewhere else; it simply wasn’t going to happen. He was going to stay here with Molly as long as she needed him. Even if he didn’t care about her, he would have stayed. It was nice to be needed, and he hadn’t really felt needed since he arrived here. But his motives were far more pure than that.
“Of course. You’re not alone. You won’t be alone.”
***
Molly nodded, relieved then let Bruce’s coat fall to the floor with a shrug of her shoulders. Then she started trudging toward the couch, not entirely certain she could make it to the bedroom. Not to mention, if fractured memory served, that was where this all had begun and her bedroom was more trashed than the rest of her apartment.
However, probably to Barry’s chagrin, she was also shedding the rest of her clothes as best she could as she made her way to the couch.
***
Barry was trying not to look. Really, he was. He was trying to be a totally proper gentleman, but he couldn’t help just a tiny peek. And that wasn’t such a terrible thing was it? He turned away before she was wearing anything less than underwear, though. He wasn’t that much of a creeper.
He saw her safe to the couch, then moved to the recliner across the room to doze a little himself. It took a lot to tire out Barry, but the past few days of searching had done just that.
***
Molly had been right. The nightmares came, and they were very unforgiving. It was a good thing her energy stores were empty or she might have lashed out with her magic when she woke up screaming.
Fortunately, her surroundings didn’t match the nightmare so she realized it wasn’t real right away. It did leave her gasping for breath as she curled up over her knees and sobbed.
***
Barry wasn’t sleeping that heavily, curled as he was in the recliner. He was keeping one ear open to listen for Molly anyway, so when she cried out he was up immediately almost as instantly at the couch to help her.
“Molly...Molly, it’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay. I’m here.”
***
Molly lurched for Barry, glomming onto him in desperation. Of course the sudden movement dislodged the blanket that had been covering her.