Work Text:
Caitlin come find me.
The words stare up at her from the brown paper she'd rolled out. Four simple words that hold so much weight, four words that stare up at her, making her heart race with yet more evidence to say her father is still alive and going by this hidden message, that he wants her to find him.
A thousand questions float around her mind. The ones at the forefront are why would he fake his own death? Only to then want to be found? Why even fake his own death in the beginning? What reasons could he have to justify something like that? How is her mother involved in all this? How could he do this to her?
To his own daughter? A little girl who worshipped the ground her dad walked upon, who looked up to him, learnt from him.
Caitlin drops the pen to the desk, letting out a ragged breath. Cradling her head in her hands, she closes her eyes, blocking out the words that stare up at her. It's another one thing to weigh her down. She'd been honest earlier with Ralph, despite the nature of the note and the circumstances surrounding it, she had been happy to find it. The single sheet of paper offering her the closure she'd always been searching for until it hadn't... until this. She hadn't meant to stumble upon this, all she'd been doing was looking through her dad's notes.
Those notes lead her to believe that her dad is alive and wants her to find him.
The words keep repeating themselves over and over in her mind and she tries to push them away. Because as much as she wants to jump head first into this, jump into figuring this all out... she's tired. Today has been a roller coaster of events and emotions, and she's worn out. All she wants to do right now is go home, go to bed and wrap herself in Harry's comforting embrace.
Rolling up the paper and gathering her dad's letter and work notes, she moves over to her desk and sets them inside the drawer. Sliding it closed she turns then removes the key before sliding it into her pocket for safe keeping. Grabbing her bag and coat, she turns of the lights and heads for the door, closing it gently behind her. Crossing through the med bay towards the exit, she stops abruptly when she rounds the corner and nearly collides with the newest 'member' of team flash.
"Ah, my apologises belle femme."
Brushing away his French words, whatever they may mean, Caitlin shakes her head. "It was my fault, I was lost in my thoughts."
Sherloque nods, sipping his tea. His eyes scrutinise her. "About the case you're working on, Oui?"
"There's... been a recent development."
"Intriguing and do remember, my assistance and services are available to you, should you require them."
It's a kind offer she'll admit. "Thank you, that's very kind but I'm afraid I couldn't afford your rates."
Sherloque chuckles. "Many can not," he admits before smiling at her, a twinkle in his eyes. "But for you, such a beautiful lady, I'd offer my services for free, right."
Caitlin's face doesn't hide her surprise, not just by his offer but by his brazen flirtations. "Oh uh..."
"It would give us an opportunity, don't you agree? To get to know one another more closely."
She catches herself before she can roll her eyes. Harry will just love this when she tells him. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass on the opportunity of becoming your eighth wife."
"Are you sure, belle femme?"
The way he says it is like she really needs to reconsider what she's potentially missing out on. This time, she doesn't stop herself when she rolls her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. Besides that, I'm dating someone."
"Un amour?"
She knows enough French to know what that means. "Yes."
"Well, I tried." He says obviously defeated before muttering something in French.
Just as she's about to make her excuses to leave, her cellphone chimes, indicating she's recieved a text. Reaching into her pocket she hits the notification to see that it's Harry, asking if she's coming home. It makes her smile, the domesticity already between them in such a short amount of time as she types out that she's on her way.
"Your amour?"
Before Caitlin can answer he's at her side, looking down at her home screen. The picture of her and Harry stares back at them, taken late at night in bed, the photo evidence enough of what they'd been doing prior to the image being taken.
"A counterpart?" He pauses obviously surprised, like he's considering the new information. "It seems the young doctor isn't immune to the Wells charm after all. Très bon."
"Yes well, I'm heading home now, goodnight." She bids politely, setting off once more for the elevator.
"Bonne nuit."
Fifteen minutes later, Caitlin finally let's herself into her apartment. Closing the door behind her, she just stands there in the hall, taking a deep breath and allowing the warmth to sooth her. Dropping her bag into the closet opposite her, she removes her coat, hanging it besides the black overcoat before kicking aside her heels. Curling her toes into the plush carpet beneath her aching feet, she heads out of the hall and further into the apartment. Stepping into the main room which is actually an open plan space consisting of her kitchen, dining and living areas. The room is empty, two lamps are lit on either side of the room and Caitlin detours towards the kitchen, intent on making herself a cup of tea before calling it a night. A few minutes later instead of the twenty it took Harry's French counterpart earlier, she sighs in appreciation as she sips her finished tea.
Grabbing the other cup, she makes her way towards her bedroom. As she nears she can her the familiar voices of the news channel she favours, the anchor detailing the arrest that was made earlier that day of David Hersh. When she steps into the doorway she finds Harry sprawled on the bed, propped up against the pillows, glasses on and a book in hand. He's a sight for sore eyes, especially dressed in only his boxers and a t shirt.
"Hi."
Harry looks up from his book, a soft smile spreading onto his face at the sight of her in the doorway. "Hey, long day?"
Caitlin frowns as she moves towards the bed, setting his mug down on his night stand. "I look that bad, huh?"
Harry marks his page, setting it aside as he reaches for her. Pulling her down so he can kiss her hello. "You're as beautiful as ever."
"Nice save," she mutters, pulling away and making her way around the bed to her side. Handing him the mug, she crawls into bed, leaning back against his side and accepting the mug when he passes it back. She sighs when his arm wraps around her, his hand spreading out over her stomach. She places her free hand over his.
Harry presses a kiss to her hair, closing his eyes and breathing her in, just enjoying having her close. He'll admit if only to himself that he's missed her today.
"Did you and Disney have fun breaking into your mom's building?"
"Somehow Ralph manages to make every situation fun though this time I found more than I thought I would."
"How so?" He questions softly, his fingers creeping along the edge of her blouse, teasing the skin there.
"I found a letter addressed to me in my mom's files, from my dad. It was a suicide note."
His eyes fall closed, his heart aching for her. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know that mustn't have been what you hoped to find."
"Actually, it was good. It allowed me something I never had before, closure and that meant a great deal."
"I'm glad," he tells her except he senses that's not it. "But I sense a but coming."
Caitlin turns her head to look at him, meeting his eyes, so blue, so full of life and love. "He still alive."
Harry face crunches up in confusion. "But I thought the letter indicated that he..."
"No," she shakes her head. "At first I thought so too but after thinking about it, it just didn't seem like my dad, you know. He wasn't the letter type so I looked through some of his work notes, some of it didn't make sense until I figure it out."
"What did you find?"
"When I was young, he would teach me the periodic table and he would let me create my own. Well the gaps that didn't make sense in his work was my elements which when worked out, is a message."
"What did it say?"
"Caitlin come find me."
"Well that's certainly a loaded message."
"It is."
Harry's hand tangles in her hair, fingertips gently massaging the back of head. "What are you going to do?"
She shakes her head, lifting her cup to her lips. "Nothing," she tells him. "At least not right now. Right now I'm tired and tomorrow, I'll figure everything else out."
"I'll come by the lab with you, see how I can help."
Caitlin turns surprised eyes to the man at her side. "Are you sure?" Knowing exactly how big a decision it is for him to come back.
"I've been thinking about it all day, I want to help, you and the team as much as I can."
She twists around so she can trail her fingers along his jaw, her lips following soon after. "I'm happy for you." And she is, that he's made a decision he's happy with. Moving away from him she leans over to set her cup down on her nightstand before moving back into his embrace. She curls into him, her head on his shoulder.
It's quiet between them for a few moments, just enjoying each others embrace when Harry breaks the silence.
"I was uh... I was thinking about moving back into the lab."
Caitlin tenses against him, his words knocking her harder than he probably intended. Lifting her head from his shoulder she meets his eyes. "If that's what you want."
Harry shakes his head, his expression reassuring. "I just don't want you to feel like we're rushing things. I've been staying here since I came back and I don't--"
Caitlin fingers cover his mouth, stopping his words. She shifts on the bed until she's straddling him, her mouth dropping to his. "I want you here with me because I love you," she mutters against his mouth before pulling away. "But if you want to go back, then that's fine too."
Harry stares up in wonder at this woman, a woman who loves him for exactly who he is, even if he now finds himself lacking. "I want you to be comfortable."
"And I am," she tells him honestly because after all she invited him to stay with her. "Harry, stop thinking about what you want for me and think about what you want for you?"
There's an intensity in her eyes as she stares at him and it compels him to be honest. "I want you."
"Do you want to stay here?"
"Yes but only if you--"
Her lips smother what she knows is coming.
"You want to stay, I want you to stay so I think that answers the question, don't you?"
"Right," he nods, his hands slipping underneath her blouse to span the small of her back.
"Good."
They both stare at each other as they come to realise the big decision they've just made, they're now living together, officially. To some it may be to soon, to quick but to them it just feels right.
This time when she kisses him, it's deeper and it draws a groan from his throat.
"I thought you were tired," he mutters between kisses, his fingers creeping around to find the zipper of her jeans.
Caitlin smiles against his mouth. "Not that tired."
Tomorrow will bring change, Harry will go back to work at the lab after his short time off and she'll start the hunt to find her dad. But the one thing that won't change is this, being together. Together they'll be by each others side, through everything that comes their way.
The end.