[ barry's pov ]

I push on Zee's stomach repeatedly, switching between her chest and her stomach, wanting to get at least one breath out of her. I squeeze my eyes shut, still trying no matter how many times I was told that she was gone. I couldn't accept it.

Within a second, Zee's mouth opens as she gasps for air once, starting to breath again but barely, not opening her eyes, still unconscious.

My head snaps back, "You said she got the poison from Star City- right?"

Joe nods, as I scoop Zee up in my arms, before running off, speeding to Star City, running into where the Arrow Bunker was, holding Zee in my arms.

Oliver turns slowly, looking at me, his brows furrowing, "What's going on? Is she okay? Are you?"

Felicity turns in her chair, her gaze landing on me, "Oh- wow- god-"

John's eyes were filled with confusion as he looked at Zee, rubbing the back of his neck.

"She took a poison- that was supposedly made here- I-" I sigh in defeat, "Please- save her. I don't know what to do- and I can't lose her too."

"Okay- okay-" Felicity jumps up, "Lay her on there-" she points as I do as she says, I slowly step back as I watch John get to work on Zee, Felicity typing away, Oliver making some sort of tea.

I pace repeatedly, sniffling, running my hands over my face, wiping the tears away from my face.

I heard a gasp for air, as my head snaps towards Zee, seeing her eyes open sightly, as she was breathing slow, Oliver having her drink some sort of tea as Felicity made something to fully cure her of the poison, as I could tell they've dealt with this type of thing before.

"She's going to be okay." John rubs my back, as I give him a sly nod, watching everything go down.

-

[ zee's pov ]

My eyes slowly open, my vision being greeted by a bright light above me. I lightly cough, as I blink a few times, for my vision to get more focused, sitting up slow on the hard table surface I was laid.

I look around, noticing Barry pace back and forth a few feet away from me, my eyes drifting away and landing on Felicity, who was typing away on her computer, as I realized I was in the bunker. My gaze falls onto where John and Oliver's suit's once were, taking notice that they were gone doing their night job.

My gaze falls on Barry again, as my voice quietly croaks out, "Barry?"

Barry stops, his head snapping towards me once I slip off the table, and stand at my feet.

Barry runs over to me, engulfing me into his arms, holding me tight to his chest, sniffling.

Felicity glances at us, "Hey- thank god you're okay- Barry was- literal- full on tears when he came in here-"

"Felicity." Barry warns as she just innocently smiles, taking the note that she should shut up, before standing up, as John and Oliver walk into the room, in their suits, but without their masks on.

"Zee- hi." Oliver smiles at me, "Glad to see you're okay."

Barry looks into my eyes, "She doesn't have the gold specks in her eyes anymore."

"It's nothing some- herbal tea from Lian Yu, John's hospitalization, and Felicity's smarts couldn't fix." Oliver puts his bow down.

"Yeah- we've dealt with something like this before. It was good, you brought her to us as soon as you could." John nods at us.

"Thank you-" I pull away from Barry, smiling at them weakly, "Thank you- for saving my life."

Oliver gives me a nod, followed by a small for all of them, as Barry looks at me, Oliver and John walking over by Felicity.

I see how upset Barry was in his eyes, as he spoke up, "Why would you take the poison?"

"Because I didn't want you to lose another parent figure- because it would absolutely crush you?" I state the obvious.

"And losing you wouldn't?" Barry questions, small tears in his eyes.

"You can't be upset with me right now- I practically sacrificed myself so you can have Joe- Reign wasn't going to let us leave with the both of us alive." I told him, feeling myself slightly upset that he could even be upset with me for this.

"I'm upset because I could've just lost you." Barry argued with me, "If it wasn't for Oliver, John and Felicity- you'd be dead right now- and that's what would crush me."

"And losing Joe wouldn't?" I argue, before shaking my head, not wanting to continue this conversation in front of Oliver, Felicity and John in the bunker, wanting to be done with this conversation over all.

I understood why Barry was upset, but either way, they would've been crushed. If he ended up with Iris in the future, that would mean he would've gotten over my death if this did actually go through. Losing Joe would be much worse for everyone.

Barry grabs my wrists, ready to drag me out of the bunker, as I pull away from him, "Don't- touch me-"

He turns and grabs my wrists again, as I pull back once more.

"Woman!" He raises his voice lightly, clearly getting somewhat annoyed that I kept pulling away, but keeping at bay, being okay with it, as he grabs my wrists, pulling me into him, before grabbing my waist and throwing me over his shoulder.

I gasp, a small shriek leaving my lips as I hit his back, a unintentionally giggle leaving my mouth.

"Is that what our relationship looks like?" Felicity asks Oliver, a small smile on her face.

"Somewhat." Oliver nods slow, pecking her lips.

Barry smiles at them as once last thank you, before running out of the bunker with me, running back to Central City.

-

The minute Barry had put me down, I was engulfed in hugs by the team. My heart felt as if it would burst of happiness due to how much they cared and how they were glad I was okay.

Iris was in the point of tears, not wanting to let go of me, as this was cut short once we all moved into the breach room.

Turns out Harry and Jesse were going home. Jay was going to run them to Earth Two, as they would help him get back to his Earth, which was Earth Three. We all stood in the breach room, as Harry and Jesse said their goodbyes.

"Detective Joe West." Harry shook Joe's hand, "You have great kids. Take care of them."

"Same to you. Make sure you take care of that beautiful girl." Joe points to Jesse.

"Will do." Harry smiles, before moving to Barry, hugging him, "I'm a better man than I was when I got here, and that's cause of you."

"I'm not the same either." Barry agrees.

Cisco speaks up, "Hey, uh- don't be surprised if I project myself over to Earth Two, you know, just to throw your stuff across the office."

This earns a laugh from the both of them, "I'll miss you too, Cisco."

Harry moves over to me, the smile still remaining on his face, "Young."

"Wells." I say his name, my arms crossed, as I smiled up at him.

"I'm glad you're okay." Harry said, "You're even stronger- and smarter than you think. Don't let that go to waste."

"I won't, Harry." I smile, small tears filling my vision as I realized I was going to miss him being around, no matter how much I didn't want to admit it.

Harry hugs me, as I return the gesture, before he lets go, giving us all one last look.

"Ready?" Jay Garrick asks, putting on what was once Hunter's helmet, as Harry and Jesse nod, before Jay runs, creating a breach, taking the two of them with, leaving us with their absence.

-

I stood in the West Household, completely changed into a pair of jeans and one of Barry's crew necks, my hair down and messy, as I sat with everyone in the living room, everyone trading jokes and sharing laughs.

From the corner of my eye, I notice Barry leaving quietly, taking note that he hadn't join the fun since we had gotten back.

I slowly got up, following Barry out, closing the door before seated myself next to him, my back against the frame, facing him, speaking up quietly, "What're you thinking about now?"

After a small silence, he answers, "I just can't stop thinking about my dad's doppelganger." Barry admits. "Seeing him, knowing that he's out there- that should've made it easier."

"Seeing someone you watched die isn't easy, Barry." I say softly, the sympathy rolling off my tongue with my sentence.

"It just made me miss him even more." Barry spoke.

I stay silent, giving him my full attention, listening to every word as he spoke again, "We just won. We just beat Zoom. Why does it feel like I just lost?"

"Because losing someone isn't supposed to be easy, Barry. I know- you probably thought that beating Zoom would help- fill that hole that was made when you lost your father-" I say, my voice low and filled with sympathy, "Beating Zoom didn't help fill the emptiness of losing someone you love."

"I feel so hollowed out inside right now." Barry whispers, his eyes glossy, tears filling his vision.

"I know- exactly how that feels." I spoke with completely empathy, grabbing his hand, holding it in between mine, "But you have me. You have a whole- team. To help you get through this."

Barry speaks up in once more a whisper, "Why did you take the poison?" He questions, bringing up this topic due to us not discussing it since we got back, and us having this conversation now.

It takes me a second to come up with an answer, as I look into his eyes, his eyes slightly red, the tears in his eyes threatening to fall.

"You wanna know why I took that poison, Barry Allen?" I repeat what he had just asked me, as I tighten my grip on his soft hand, "Because I knew no matter what the circumstances were, I would end up right here, right now. With you- talking to you- holding your hand- being there for you. I knew you would save me. I trusted that you would save me."

A small tear slips his eye, a weak smile crossing his lips, as I spoke again, "And there is no doubt in my mind that if there is every a situation where I am hurt, kidnapped, or could die, that in the end, you would save me- and I would be here with you."

"I feel more broken than I have ever felt in my life." Barry admits quietly, "I need to fix what's wrong with me. I need to find some peace."

I go silent, as he continues to talk, the words he spoke bringing my own tears to the surface, "I can't keep dragging you along- I can't keep you hanging on a thread of hope that one day I'll get better- that one day I'll be better for you."

"What are you saying?" I question in a whisper, keeping my stare on him, and my grip tight.

"I can't do this with you right now, Zee." Barry told me, "Don't get me wrong- I want you. I need you. More than you'll ever know- but I'm not okay, right now. I need to get better- I need to fix what's wrong with me- I need to fix the emptiness I feel before I can continue whatever we have."

I give him a small nod, understanding, a tear accidentally slipping my eye, as I sniffed quietly, looking down at our hands, "Whatever you need to do, do it. Take as much time as you need- do whatever you need- to get better- and fix the emptiness. I'll be here."

I look back up at Barry, as he leans in, pressing a soft kiss to my lips. I melt into the kiss, knowing that this would be our last one for a while, before he pulls away.

"I love you." Barry tells me, as I slowly let go of his hand.

"And I love you." I say, before getting up, wiping my tears, walking back into the house, seating myself down where I sat previously, grabbing a beer, opening it, before taking a long sip, my eyes closed, letting the bitter liquid slip down my throat, leaving a trail of taste on my tongue.

Little did I know, the end of Barry and I's relationship wasn't going to be the only thing that changed that night.

I literally apologize in advance, this is probably one of the worst chapters I've written. I wanted to include arrow somewhat and it all just came down hill, and I'm sooo sorry that this chapter wasn't the best.