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"Barry!"
Harrison was frantic. It was a regular mission, metahuman gone rogue, and everything was going smoothly until it wasn't. They had heard Barry yell, the sound of an explosion, and then the coms had shorted out. They received a minute or two of biodata from Barrys suit before that signal shorted out as well.
Everyone was silent for a moment before Harrison spoke.
"Call Joe West. Give him the coordinates to Barrys last location and have him meet us there. Tell him not to bring his partner or anyone else." He snapped at Cisco and Caitlin before turning and leaving the room.
It was times like these where he wished he hadn't picked the wheelchair as his cover. Getting in and out of vehicles was a hassle but this was for Barry so he did it with a cold efficiency and determination.
Once they arrived and all piled out of the car they spread out immediately to search the fiery rubble. They were so far out of town that it didn't look like any responders would be coming to 'help' and for that he breathed a sigh of relief.
They searched for five minutes before they heard Joes cruser pull up. Cisco and Caitlin looked up at the sound.
"Keep searching. I'll deal with this."
He made his way over to Joe who looked angry and very very worried.
"Detective West" Harrison greeted.
"Wells, what the hell is going on here?" The mans eyes scanned the rubble and then focused on Harrison.
"Barry went up against a new metahuman. It didn't go well. We lost both his coms signal and the biosignal from his suit. He may be gravely injured and we need to find him."
"What?"
Joe stomped over to Wells and grabbed him by his coat, lifting him up and out of the chair. Harrison didn't struggle.
"I told you, all of you, that this was dangerous. That Barry would get hurt. He's not some superhero. He's just a kid who can run fast and you put him out here in harms way."
Joe dropped him back in his chair.
"You don't even care do you? He just some science project for you to use to help you fix your fuck up."
Harrison glared and straightened himself out. "You have no idea what you are talking about detective. Just because I allow Barry to do things on his own, to make mistakes and learn from them, does not mean that I wouldn't give my life to ensure his safety. So do not talk about things you don't understand. Shut up and help us find him."
And with that Harrison turned and left the man.
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Joe was surprised at the ferocity of Wells' words. He really didn't like the man but it was getting harder and harder to deny that Wells did in fact care for Barry.
He pulled out his flashlight and started searching, making sure to stick close to Wells to keep an eye on him. They searched for what seemed like hours before he heard Wells yell out Barrys name.
Joe turned to see Wells gripping the arms of his chair and sliding out and down to the ground next to a small pile of rubble. He ran over and the man was sitting on the ground pulling large rocks from the pile. Underneath that pile he could see bits of Barrys costume. He immediately sprang into action, helping to pull away the obstruction.
When they cleared everything Joe was stunned. Barry looked so broken, suit torn, blood everywhere, it was hard to look at. Joe couldn't move, what if...
He watched Wells tap his coms and call over the other two. Then he slid in as close as he could and touched his now bleeding fingers to Barrys neck.
"Oh thank God." Wells looked up at him, relief evident on his face. "He's still alive, barely, but he's alive. Go get Caitlin and Cisco, tell them to get the van over here. We need to get Barry to StarLabs as soon as possible."
Joe took one last look at Barry and then ran off to meet the other two.
"What's going on did you find Barry?" Caitlin asked as soon as he was in range.
"Yes we found him. He's in bad shape. We need to get the cars. Come on."
They ran as fast as they could and hopped into their vehicles. Joe led them to where Barry and Wells were and parked. Hopping out of his car he spotted them. Wells had Barrys head cradled in his lap and was gently running his finger through the boys hair. Barry was awake and they were exchanging words quietly. Barry saw him approach and coughed.
"Hey Joe... You weren't worried were you?"
"Nope. Not worried at all." He lied.
Cisco and Caitlin came up behind him.
"Is he okay to move" Caitlin asked.
"It should be okay. Detective?" Harrison looked at him and then down to Barry. "This is going to hurt Barry."
Barry nodded and smiled weakly at Joe. "Let's do this."
Joe crouched down and picked the kid up gently, cringing at the pained sounds Barry made. He walked him over to the van and layed him out on the back seat. Caitlin immediately climbed in and went to work while Cisco hopped in the drivers seat.
Joe turned to see Harrison attempting to pull him self back into his chair and sighed.
"Here, let me help."
Harrison blinked in surprise and allowed himself to be hoisted back into his chair.
"Thank you."
Joe watched as Wells loaded himself up into the van. He nodded at Cisco.
"Meet you there."
When they got back to StarLabs they went to work immediately. Apparently the force of the blast had broken many of Barrys bones and almost all of them needed to be rebroken and set properly because his body had already started to heal them wrong. It was hard to have to stand there and listen to Barrys screams for what seemed like forever. But it was also educational. Wells had sat there the entire time holding Barrys hand, supporting him and keeping him calm. Joe was starting to think he was horribly wrong about the man and that worried him even more.
Once all the bones were set everything calmed down. Barry was ordered to stay in bed for a week to give his entire body time to heal. Joe left him there to do just that. He visited every day and was always greeted with the sight of Wells at Barrys bed side. Sometimes they were talking, or playing chess, or just doing their own things, but Wells was always there.
When the day came for Barry to go home Joe pulled Wells aside.
"First I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for him.... And second.. I'm sorry. I misjudged you. It's obvious to anyone with eyes that you care about Barry very much, probably too much.. But still."
Wells looked up at him and smiled slightly.
"Thank you Detective."
He shook his head. "You can call me Joe."