EPISODE PLAYLIST:
01. I CAN BARELY SAY - The Fray
02. BLINDING - Florence + The Machine
03. CLARITY [LIVE] - Foxes

BOBBI'S POV

I didn't feel anything. There wasn't some overwhelming sense of physical awareness that thrusted me back to reality. It was just one second my mind was numb, and the next it wasn't. My eyelids were almost way too heavy to open but I felt like me again. My ears started working before I could see anything. Voice filtered in. They sounded like they were talking into a tin can. Nothing seemed to be working right. I could feel my arms and legs but they wouldn't move.

Nor would my head or my torso—or pretty much any other body part. It felt like superglue held down my eyelids. Then I heard a familiar voice. Leonard. Saying something snarky and sarcastic no doubt. It made me want to squirm, the inability to act. I pushed and I pushed—trying to force my eyes to open. And they did for a second. Then they faltered and closed again. It was a fight but I managed to get them open long enough to be blasted with light from a window.

I immediately squinted, sucking in a breath. Then all the pain hit me at once. A hot, burning in my side almost made my stone-like features cringe. Suddenly there was a small pop in my ears and then every sound seemed too loud. It was too dense, too raw. After a moment my eyes adjusted and I could finally look around. Where the hell was I? The first thing I saw was a white ceiling. Textured paint assured me I was in some kind of house and not a hospital. I hate hospitals. "Oh my god." A voice that sounded too loud startled me a bit, snapping my eyes left.

My vision was slightly off key and a bit blurred but I could make out Kendra, Sara, Rip, and Snart. My heart fluttered as my eyes stopped on Leonard. He was slouching in a plush chair in the corner, but shot upright a second after I'd looked at him. My eyes were quickly pulled back to Kendra. She burst into tears and rushed toward me, throwing herself on me, hugging me tightly. Moving my mouth seemed like a feat before.

But then a pain shot up my spine and I hissed, causing her to instantly move back. "Oh, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" she asked, extremely concerned. It only took a second of looking at me to start crying again. "We thought…I thought we lost you."

"And l-leave you here alone with these yahoos?" Every word was over pronounced. Every word was said incredibly slowly. It took so much effort just to get a sentence out, forcing my lips to move how I wanted them to. But it worked well enough. "Welcome back, Bobbi," Rip said, just before I felt something grab my hand. It was hard to tell what although it was easy to assume. It took some convincing, but I managed to curl my fingers in an attempt to return the gesture.

I inhaled through my nose and tried for a smile. It probably looked too weak to actually be a smile. It was more like a failed attempt at a frown. "Glad to be back," I replied, a bit brittle. "Where's everyone else?"

"Downstairs. Kendra, Sara—why don't we go tell them the good news?" Rip suggested, pointedly. I would've raised an eyebrow, but it wouldn't move even if I tried. Kendra sniffled and wiped at her eyes before quickly slipping out the door. Rip moved over to the door as Sara came over to me. "I'm glad you're not dead," she smiled.

"Same here," I tried to smile.

She gave my shoulder a squeeze before hurrying out into the hall, soon followed by Rip. The door clicked shut behind them and I suddenly got it. My supposed-to-be-dead mind wasn't as fast as I left it. A scooting sound caught my attention and I looked up. Snart pulled over a wooden chair beside the bed and eased himself into it. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" he commented, lightly. His voice was quiet, soft. Like he somehow knew my ears were sensitive.

I think finally got the smiling part down. It was still small, but it was a smile none of the less. "I feel like crap," I contradicted, lightheartedly. My throat was a bit too dry, making it almost hurt to talk. He suddenly got very quiet, his eyes casting downward. It almost made my eyebrows actually lift up. "I thought I'd never see you again," he looked back up at me with saddened eyes. "Well, not alive, at least."

His words reminded me of something, the thought bursting into my mind. Shit. I said I love you at the harbor when I thought I was dying. Maybe he really didn't hear it? The weight of those three words sank in like a bag of rocks on my chest. Secretly I was praying he couldn't see it on my face. To focus on the conversation, I moved my hand out an inch to reach for him.

As if to sense that I wouldn't make it all the way he took my hand, interlocking his fingers with mine, only a few inches off the blanket. "I didn't think I would see you again, either," I admitted, a pang of guilt blossoming in my stomach. "That's always the problem with me, isn't it? I don't think. I just do."

"That's what I admire about you." He slid his freed hand onto my cheek, brushing his thumb along my cheek bone, his expression softened. The truth was my entire body felt like it'd been literally squished in a wine press. But it didn't bother me when I looked at him. There was a brief moment of companionable silence. It was nagging at me now. I had to know. I had to ask. "Leonard?"

He raised a brow. "Yes?"

"I need to ask you something. At the harbor, when you came…I said something-"

"I love you," he interrupted. I stopped, my eyes rounding more than I thought possible. "You said I love you." He seemed slightly amused at my reaction. I didn't really know how to proceed with this. What do I say? Do I even say anything? Do I do something? I was a hopeless romantic when it came to watching movies like The Notebook. But in my personal life romance was something so foreign to me. The corners of his lips curved up.

"If it's any consolation, you did say it when you were about to die." He was teasing about it, but it was almost like he wanted that to be the reason I said it. Not because I actually meant it. But, the more I think about it, the more I'm tempted to say I did mean it. Didn't I? Isn't that why I said it to begin with? God, I can't even understand myself. I swallowed, inhaling. "I meant it," I said, firmly. I paused a beat before adding, "I'm in love with you, Leonard Snart."

He just stared at me a moment. All teasing or humor drained from his face, leaving behind only a slightly stunned expression of seriousness. It was almost like he was in shock. I'd never seen him look quite like this. "I'm in love with you, Barbara James," he said, finally. It was hushed, but not quite a whisper. I'd never heard my full name in his voice, but I might do anything to hear it again. If my heart wasn't beating faster it was now.

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my forehead before resting his forehead against mine. I let my eyes close, instinctively relaxing from the touch. My skin felt like an arctic blizzard compared to his. How long was I dead? It must've been a long time. That suddenly got me thinking. What did the team do while I was out? Did they get into any trouble? What exactly did they do to wake me up?

A knock on the door disrupted that train of thought. With how I was feeling it wouldn't be hard to do. A second after the knock, I heard the door hinges shift and briefly creak. Leonard sighed and sat back in the chair. "Sorry to interrupt, but the others are getting anxious," I heard Rip's voice from the door. Leonard looked to me for a reply. I inhaled, "Send them in." Rip nodded once and pushed the door open all the way, holding it in place. As soon as he did it the team started in.

Ray, Kendra, and Sara were the first in. Professor Stein, Jefferson, and Mick all came filed in just after. They seemed like a bigger group when they all confronted you at once, and when you're having trouble seeing clearly—like I was. It was getting better but it was still really slow going. "Welcome back," Ray beamed. "How do you feel?" Snart stood, dropping my hand, and hefted his chair more toward the end of the bed. My hand instantly felt too cold.

I tried to ignore it and smile back at Ray. "Like I was hit by a truck—but only on my left side."

"Well, that's better than I expected," he commented, sounding optimistic. I felt a pang of guilt hit my chest. Part of me was surprised Ray was even standing here. I thought for sure going to save Lizzie would mean losing him. But I guess the team figured it out without me. Apologetically, I replied, "I'm sorry I didn't choose you, back on the ship. I honestly didn't-"

He instantly waved it away with a light smile. "Eh, don't worry about it. I understand. You'd do anything for your family—just like the rest of us. And you're the one that actually died for a while there, so I think I owe you for keeping Savage distracted."

"Oh, is that how we're tallying it?" I smiled, fighting a laugh. "Okay. I can probably make myself live with that."

"Bobbi, we have a bit of a surprise for you," Sara sidestepped around Kendra to stand beside the bed. I raised an eyebrow curiously and she nodded to Rip at the door, before turning back to me. "Don't worry, you'll like this one." Rip stepped out of the room a moment. Then a second later returned, followed by a dark skinned woman that was all too familiar. My eyes almost instantly welled up. "M-mom?" I asked, in disbelief.

She smiled, teary-eyed herself, "Oh, I'm so happy you're alright." She made her way to the bed and sat just beside me. I forced my arms to move up and she bent to hug me as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders as tightly as I could manage. "How are you here?" I asked, pulling back to see her face. Something in my side pulled, and I felt a twinge, but I swallowed it down. I was too wrapped up in the situation to stop and fix whatever I just messed up.

Mom brushed my hair behind my ear and only then did I notice it. The puffy look to her cheeks, the red tinge to her eyes—both signs that she knew about Lizzie. Either that or she was just really worried about me. But something was pulling me hard toward the first option. "Your friends came to my house and told me you'd been injured. They were kind enough to bring me here," she answered, lightly. She always had a slightly southern accent.

But she claimed she'd never been to the south when I asked about it years ago. I instantly looked over at Rip. He gave a closed-mouthed smile, only confirming that it was his idea. "We thought it best that you wake up to family," he said, his hands in his pockets.

Sara scoffed at him and looked at me. "This was all his idea." Rip sighed heavily and gave her a mild glare. It only caused her to smirk back at him triumphantly. "Did they give you any trouble on the way here?" I asked, looking back at my mom. I was mostly joking. But I wasn't sure how well my sarcasm came across.

"Heavens, no," she shook her head with a hand on her chest, like the notion was totally and completely absurd. I smiled at her humorous expression. God, I missed her. "They were all very well behaved—especially the young man in blue. And apparently he's your newest gentleman caller?" If there was a mirror nearby, I'd probably see just exactly how red my cheeks were. Without it I had no way of knowing but they definitely felt very warm.

Snart gave his finest smiling smirk, with his arms crossed at the doorway. "Guilty," he raised a hand. I scrubbed my hand over my face with a mixture of a whine and a groan in embarrassment. I could just picture the smirks on everyone's faces. "Mom, really?" I asked, looking up at her.

She looked like she honestly didn't understand why I was embarrassed. "Barbara, honey, there's nothing to be ashamed of. He's very handsome-"

"MOM, STOP," I quickly interrupted, but the statement had already done plenty of damage.

"Hold on, she was just getting to the good part," Snart protested, sarcastically, very pleased with himself.

I shoved a finger in his direction. "You be quiet," I turned to my mother with a pleading expression. "Please, talk about something else. Please." Thankfully for me she agreed to stop talking about it. Unfortunately for me I would probably never hear the end of this.