Caitlin Snow brought the water bottle to her lips and drank like she had been lost in a desert.

"Cait, slow down," Cisco warned her, "you're going to make yourself sick."

"Just worried is all."

"It'll be fine." He said, as if he wasn't channeling his nervous energy into the five sticks of watermelon flavored gum in his mouth.

It had been a week and a half since the particle accelerator malfunctioned, a week and a half since Ronnie and so many other people lost their lives. Sure, Caitlin and Cisco had been close before, but now they were joined at the hip like the explosion was a vacuum that would suck them in if they were alone. She's been on his couch for the last ten nights because her place felt empty without Ronnie. He's spent the last ten days trying to cheer her up but, really, he couldn't put his heart into it.

Cisco met Ronnie's mother for the first time. She had come to pick up some of Ronnie's things to bring home. The woman embraced him but Cisco's sure she noticed the survivor's guilt. Not that it wasn't gnawing away at him already, what with Caitlin crying on his shoulder daily. At his worst, usually no more than a passing thought, he wondered if he should have gone instead.

But now was not the time for personal matters, no, right now, they needed to be professionals. While the press had been eating up Harrison Well's hubris and god complex, they wanted to talk to everyone else involved in Star Labs, well, anyone willing to show their face. That group entirely consisted of Caitlin and Cisco. "Where is everyone?"

"Job interviews for Mercury Labs?" She doesn't think she's ever heard him sound so bitter.

"Then why are we here?"

Cisco considered this, it was a good question. They had every reason to leave. Trying to save their names from being dragged through the mud was cowardly but understandable and after Caitlin's loss, no one would hold it against her. So, why were they here? "We're the only ones strong enough."

Caitlin sighed. "I'm not feeling that strong these days."

"You are." Caitlin's pretty sure that the smile he gave her could cure cancer and stop wars simultaneously.

They were interrupted when a PA suddenly appeared. "Dr. Snow, Mr. Ramon, we're ready for you." Caitlin grabbed her jacket and her purse and Cisco spit his giant wad of gum into a nearby trash can. They walked up the steps to the platform. A table was set up with three microphones and a pitcher of water. Dr. Wells was already waiting at the end of the table. Cisco pulled a chair out for Caitlin and after she was seated, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. No matter what they say, just keep a straight face." He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a quick comforting squeeze before taking the seat next to her.

Little did he know, she would take his advice for the next nine months.