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When Caitlin got kidnapped by Grodd, Morgan involved herself, because of course she did. She and Caitlin were still fighting, but Caitlin was still like an older sister to her, and Morgan wouldn’t let her be hurt if she could help it.
Terror seized Morgan’s heart—she knew who Grodd’s master was, and why else would he capture Caitlin after doing nothing all this time—
Breathe. Breathe.
She obeyed, with a slow, deep breath, and…surprisingly, she felt a lot better. …thanks.
Don’t mention it.
Jesse seemed to be in an oddly good mood today. Which actually made her realize…
You know, you sound like me, and you have the same first name. What are the odds that you look like me, too?
I guess we’ll never know.
Her heart clenched, and any annoyance she’d previously felt with this girl flew out the window. Hey, no. We’re gonna rescue you, Jesse.
We?
They. We. I don’t know. But you’re not gonna die in there, okay? I promise. And she meant it, truly. No one deserved to die at Zoom’s hand, and this girl certainly didn’t deserve Morgan’s annoyance on top of the torture she was no doubt facing. I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk.
That’s putting it lightly.
She frowned. Hey! I’m trying to be nice here!
Really? You’re failing miserably.
Just for that, I’ll call you something mean. Something like Screaming Girl. She wouldn’t, truly, but she’d say anything to make Jesse stop teasing her.
Ooh, can I call you Whiny Girl, then?
She rolled her eyes, silent for a while, because what could she even say to that?
…seriously, though, thank you. I really hope I get to meet you.
She smiled. Me too, Jesse.
And…wait, you said we have the same first name? Sounds like there’s a story there.
I’ll tell you when we meet.
Sounds like a plan, Morgan.
With that promise in mind, and Jesse’s tangible relief, she marched into STAR Labs, wondering if Grodd’s abduction of Caitlin was connected to Zoom, rather than—
“Hello, Morgan.”
She froze at the sight of a man in a yellow suit with that voice…that terrible, deceptive—
“Morg—?”
“St-stay away from me!” She cried, nearly stumbling over herself, trying to get away, to get away from him—the liar, the traitor, how dare he, after everything he did, just waltz in here like it was nothing—
Breathe! You have to breathe!
“—gan? Morgan!”
It was too much, it was all too much— why is everyone telling me to—?
“Breathe! Morgan—”
“I can’t!” She screamed. “I can’t, there’s not…there’s no air! I can’t—”
“4. 12. 1.”
“Wh-what…?”
“Repeat after me. 4, 12, 1.”
“F-four…12…o-one…”
“13, 22, 11.”
“Th-thirteen…twe-e-enty-two…el-l-leven.”
The voice, calm and escaping identification, kept droning numbers, and she kept repeating them, until her speech smoothened, and her breath evened out, and she registered a gentle pressure on her hands. She slowly opened her eyes, realizing it was Cisco who was holding her hands, looking worried. “You good?”
For a moment, she relaxed. “Yeah. Thanks.” Then she remembered, and her eyes widened. “Cisco, Thawne—”
Instead of the fear that she expected, annoyance crossed his face. “Harry! I told you not to wear the suit until we’re ready!”
“I thought we were!” Harry argued from somewhere outside her line of sight. “And how was I supposed to know she’d be here?”
She relaxed fully, the reality of the situation catching up with her. Harry had been wearing the suit. Thawne was still dead. She was okay.
“...her hands shaking?”
What?
“Mo?” Cisco squeezed her hands. “You’re okay. We’re not gonna let anything happen to you.”
“I know that,” she replied, blushing as she pulled away from him. “I just wasn’t expecting…that.” She managed to raise her gaze to meet Harry’s, and her hands shook in earnest, but she clenched them into fists, hiding them in her lap. “What’s that getup for?”
“Rescuing Snow,” Harry replied grimly. “Apparently, Grodd only answers to one person.”
“Two, technically. But…yeah, if Caitlin’s kidnapped…” She hated that Harry putting on the Reverse Flash suit was their best option, but…anything to save Caitlin. “Has Cisco briefed you on acting like D—like Thawne yet?”
“Not yet.”
“I was getting there,” Cisco protested.
“I’ll do it,” she offered. “No offense, Cisco, but I’d know better than you. And I’m not sitting idly while you save Caitlin.”
Cisco frowned. “I don’t like this.”
“And I don’t like Caitlin being kidnapped,” Morgan snapped. “And neither do you! The more time you spend arguing, the more time we’re wasting.”
Cisco sighed. “Fine. Harry, meet at the van in ten.” And with that, he set off, presumably to prep said van.
“Come on, lay it on me,” Harry said briskly. “We’ve got a doctor to rescue.”
She nodded. “Right, so, there’s a few components to acting like Thawne.” The gaslighting, the manipulation, the lies… “Charm is at the heart of it. You have to sound and look trustworthy.”
“Uh-huh. Got it.”
“...except you don’t, Harry. People trust you when you’re in a businessman getup, but you’re not right now. It needs to come out in your voice.”
“And you don’t think it does?” Harry scowled, and bizarrely, Morgan tried to suppress a smile. That was exactly the sort of open fury that Thawne would never dare show her, right up to the bitter end—his fury had always been subtler, with only one exception. That sort of thing was increasing her trust in Harry by the day, especially since she fully knew his agenda and motives now.
She understood doing anything to save her loved ones, and he was risking his life to save Caitlin when he didn’t have to, and he hadn’t done anything drastically against the team. She wasn’t going to fully trust that he wouldn’t turn on them, but she understood why now, and that meant something.
“I don’t think it does, no. I think you rely on your accolades to inspire trust. Since Thawne fabricated his, he had to back it up with the way he spoke. He had to sound like he knew what he was talking about, and that he could bring others along for every step of the ride… without getting impatient or frustrated. At least on the outside,” she added bitterly.
“...right.” He was scrutinizing her, clearly for that last comment, but to her relief, he didn’t remark on it. “So, how should I talk?”
“Uh…well, we should use some sample sentences, right? Like… let’s start simple.” She pursed her lips, thinking. “How about, ‘My name is Eobard Thawne.’”
“Grodd wouldn’t know me as Thawne, though, would he? He’d know me as Wells.”
“Yeah, but we should get you in the Thawne mindset first.”
“We don’t have all day, Morgan, we need to hurry this up!” He snapped.
“Okay, okay, fine!” She sighed. “‘My name is Harrison Wells.’ And remember, you have to sound like you can be trusted!”
He took a deep breath, smiled—that…shouldn’t look as weird as it does—and said, “My name is Harrison Wells.”
“You look constipated.”
“Well, excuse me if the only direction I got was you have to sound like you can be trusted!”
She flushed at his poor imitation of her voice. “I don’t sound like that!”
“Well, it’s a near thing!”
She groaned. “This is hopeless! There’s no way Grodd’s ever gonna believe you’re Thawne!”
“Well, isn’t it your job to teach me that?” He shot back. “Seeing as you’re his daughter, shouldn’t you be the expert in how he acts and talks? Or are you suggesting we give up, leave Snow to her fate?”
“Of course not!” She cried, horrified that he would suggest such a thing.
“Then try harder!”
She clenched her fists, registering that they were shaking again but not caring. She had one more trick up her sleeve, and she hated to use it, but they had no time. “You wanna know what Thawne was best at, Harry? The trick that could make you the perfect Thawne? He knew how to make you think you were in control of the situation. He could make you feel like the most special and important person, in the room and to him…and then he could rip that out from under you in a second. That’s Eobard Thawne.”
Something passed through Harry’s eyes that Morgan couldn’t decipher, and then something…changed in his face. “Hello,” he said slowly, and Morgan tensed. “My name is Harrison Wells.”
This isn’t Thawne, this isn’t Thawne, this isn’t—
“I’m guessing that was good?”
“Yeah,” Morgan said, trying to focus on breathing and her grip on the table and not panicking because this isn’t Thawne, you idiot, you know this is Harry, you’re the one who—
“We should practice some more,” he suggested, eyeing her carefully. “Unless you’re not feeling up to—?”
“I’m fine,” she snapped, straightening up. “Let’s practice a bit more, then we’ll go meet Cisco.”
They ran through a few more phrases, and Morgan worked on keeping her breathing steady and not panicking every time Harry’s voice changed.
She remembered Tina’s suggestion from months ago, that she see a therapist. Though it wouldn’t be for the grief reason Tina was thinking, Morgan was beginning to see the merit in that idea.
Cisco didn’t take kindly to Morgan showing up at the van unannounced.
“Absolutely not,” he protested. “We’re not making you a target too!”
“We won’t be going in, right?” She pointed out. “If you think I’m gonna wait a single extra second to see Cait—”
“This isn’t a game, Morgan!”
“I know that!”
“Both of you, shut up!” Harry snapped. “We’re wasting precious time, let’s go!”
Cisco couldn’t argue with that logic, much to Morgan’s relief, so they all loaded into the van and went about scouting the bell tower sites. There were three where Grodd could’ve taken Caitlin, though two of them seemed to be empty, so they were heading for the third.
As they disembarked at the third location, Cisco ran one final check with Harry, offering up a phrase that Morgan couldn’t remember ever hearing, but it wasn’t so unbelievable to think that Thawne had said it to Cisco before.
“Ramon,” Harry said, looking incredibly annoyed, “I’ll be fine—”
“See these anti-mind-control earbuds I made you?” Cisco opened his hand to reveal them. “They could fail, and if they do, you’re toast. I trust Morgan, but I also wanna make sure you can do it without fail. Got me?”
Harry sighed, but he took a minute and recited back the phrase. “Cisco. In many ways…you’ve shown me what it’s like to have a son.”
Cisco froze, a ghost of a memory flashing before his eyes, and Morgan winced. Her brief lessons to Harry had worked wonders—apparently too much—and she reached forward to shake Cisco out of his daze. “Cisco, come on, we have to hurry. How was it?”
“Perfect,” he replied tightly. “Nice job, both of you.”
She frowned at him. “Are you—?”
“I’m fine,” he said firmly. “Harry, got your earbuds?”
“Yes, and I’ll be fine,” Harry said. “Keep out of sight.”
The rescue was nearly flawless—Harry was able to coax Grodd as well as Thawne ever did. As proud as Morgan was of herself for being able to impart that wisdom on Harry in such a short time, she also regretted it. It didn’t escape her that she’d just given him a tool to hurt them all, if he so chose.
No weaknesses in front of strangers, Starlight.
As psychopathic as Thawne had been, he’d been right to teach her that. And she’d gone and broken that important rule just when it mattered most.
Cisco’s hand was warm in hers, squeezing whenever she tensed. She didn’t dare speak, more concerned with Caitlin and Harry, but she was nervous, eyes fixed on the church as she waited to see Harry and Caitlin run out to the car. And based on how things were going, it was likely that would be soon.
But then, of course, things went awry.
“Now that I’m back…we don’t need Caitlin anymore, do we buddy? So we can let her go. Let me get her out of here…please.”
Morgan froze. If there was one thing Thawne never said, it was please with that much clear desperation. No! How did I forget to—? Harry!
“Father never ask,” Grodd snarled, “Father take! Who are you?!”
“Cisco, you gotta get in there, man,” Barry pleaded, and Cisco and Morgan both knew he was right.
“Don’t you dare follow me in,” Cisco warned, and when Morgan nodded, he slipped out of the car and racing for the door. The Team’s focus shifted to rescuing Caitlin, and it was going decently well, until…
“Harry’s still trapped, we can’t leave him here!” Cisco protested. “What do we do?”
“Grodd’s stealing drugs, right?” Morgan said, rolling her eyes at the shocked collective cry of “Morgan?!” over the comms. “Hello, one focus at a time! What if we could use those drugs against him? Mess with his head somehow?”
“Yeah, an overdose of those could shock his brain,” Barry agreed, the first to recover. “Hit him with as much as you can, Wells!”
As Harry did his thing, Morgan tried desperately to ignore the way his impression of Thawne made her tremble.
Luckily, the Team had some words for her, which proved a decent enough distraction.
“Morgan, what are you doing there?” Barry demanded.
“You didn’t honestly think I’d just sit back while Caitlin was kidnapped, did you?”
He sighed. “Morgan—”
“No!” She snapped. “Look, Barry, Zoom literally broke your back, but no one’s benching you! Meanwhile, you’re out here benching me for no reason!”
“Because I’m the only one who can beat Zoom! And I’m an adult—you’re a—”
“Barry!” Iris interrupted sharply. “Maybe let me handle this?” A few moments passed, then she said gently, “Look, I get it, okay? You were an amazing hero, and I understand wanting that back—”
“But you don’t get it, Iris!” Morgan sighed. “You’re already in it, and you don’t have powers, and I was doing the superhero thing before Barry anyway!”
“...I’ll give her that one, she’s right.”
“Barry!”
“Tina never told me about that,” the mysterious man said.
Morgan frowned. ”Sorry, who are you?”
“Oh, Morgan, this is my dad!” She could hear Barry’s smile over the comm.
“...wait, your dad?!” She blinked. “Isn’t he in prison?”
“Slugger, how much exactly have you not told her?”
“I—!”
“Okay!” Cisco slid into the car, slamming the door, Harry and Caitlin sliding into the backseat after him. “Time to go!”
“Wait, what happened?” Morgan looked between them—Cisco looked panicked, Caitlin looked shaken, and Harry…
Harry, most terrifyingly, looked grimly determined and unrepentant.
“Caitlin,” Morgan said, “are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Caitlin assured, though her voice was still tense.
Morgan nodded slowly, not trusting herself to speak. No one really felt much like talking, so Morgan sat back in her seat and stayed quiet for the rest of the drive.
Plus, now that Caitlin was rescued, things were awkward between her and Morgan again. Of course.
They reached STAR in short order. Meeting Henry Allen properly was certainly a strange experience, if only because Morgan realized that this was the man Tina had started dating.
“You’re every bit as wonderful as Tina says,” he praised, and though it made Morgan blush, it also made her realize just how strange it was, that Henry Allen knew her, but she hardly knew him.
Barry seemed to realize this around the same time she did, and they traded slightly awkward glances. Them being stepsiblings was an exciting prospect, but…it was the stepparent thing that gave them both pause. After all, just as Morgan barely knew Henry, Barry barely knew Tina.
Something to work on, I’d say.
And for Morgan…there was also a strange feeling within her that she couldn’t describe.
That’s called jealousy.
Shut up, no it’s not.
Keep telling yourself that, Morgan. It’s stupid of you, by the way. Do you really think this Tina person loves you any less just because they’re dating someone new?
Are you allergic to shutting up?
No, but I bet you are , Morgan. Ugh, I wish you had a last name I could call you by.
I do. But it’s complicated.
You’re complicated.
…yeah, no duh. More reason for us to meet.
Sooner rather than later, I hope.
Her heart clenched. Sooner, Jess. Just hold on a little longer.
I’ll try.
Naturally, things being how they were, they had a new problem: how to get rid of Grodd.
Morgan knew very little about Grodd to begin with, only having seen him once and having never interacted with him, on Thawne’s orders. It was, Morgan realized each time they faced Grodd again, one of the best things Thawne had ever done for her.
So, naturally, everyone’s first instinct was to make her leave before they took on Grodd directly, but she put her foot down.
“Absolutely not. You think I’m gonna leave just to come running back when one of you gets kidnapped again?”
“Leaving would be safer for you,” Harry pointed out, with a look in his eyes that Morgan couldn’t place.
“We’re well past safer,” she fired back. “I won’t be out in the field, I’m not that stupid, but I’m going to help. If Iris can be here, why can’t I?” This place is my birthright, she didn’t say, but she knew it was heard.
Cisco sighed. “Okay, fine, but we’re still up a creek here.”
“Are we?” Joe retorted. “After everything he’s done, I’d say death is the least he deserves.”
“But he’s only like this because Thawne made him this way!” Caitlin protested.
“Yeah, but Cait, he kidnapped you, and you could’ve died,” Barry pointed out.
“You didn’t see what I saw,” she argued. “Grodd’s getting smarter. He’s lonely and sad…he wants more apes like him.”
“So you’re saying he wants kids?” Cisco looked nervous, and understandably so. “Because I'm pretty sure one telepathic Grape Ape is more than enough for this city.”
“Company, Cisco,” Morgan realized. “He wants friends.” Friends who understand him…who he hasn’t hurt. Who he can’t hurt.
“Exactly,” Caitlin agreed, smiling sadly at Morgan. “He’s the only one of his kind here, and that’s incredibly isolating.”
“In that case,” Harry said, “I know somewhere we can send him. When the singularity exploded and I discovered the breach in S.T.A.R. Labs, I ran similar tests and discovered 51 additional breaches. The difference being, the breaches in Central City are scattered all throughout the city, whereas counterparts in my world most definitely are not.”
“The other 51…they’re all at one location, on your Earth?” Morgan clarified.
“Precisely,” Harry agreed. “And I was in the process of figuring out where when Dr. Snow so gallantly convinced me to stay, but if I’m correct, this breach is gonna get Grodd as close to home as he's ever likely to get.”
“Even if you're right, how do we bait Grodd to go through it?” Cisco asked.
“My son will do it.” Henry smiled at Barry, who looked nervous. “Won’t you, Flash?”
“Barry,” Morgan said slowly, “you don’t have t—”
Barry smiled slightly. “I appreciate the backup, Mo, but Dad’s right. I need to do this.”
“If you say so.” Morgan couldn’t deny she was worried for him. Is this really his decision…or his dad’s that’s being thrust on him?
“For the record, this is a stupid idea.”
“For the record,” Iris retorted, “you’re not allowed to pass judgment after all the stupid ideas you’ve ever had.”
“Rude,” Morgan muttered, her eyes still fixed worriedly on the screen mapping Barry’s location, in the same place as Grodd and Caitlin.
“You want Caitlin, Grodd, you’re gonna have to catch me first!”
“So Barry’s gonna lure Grodd in front of the breach?” Henry mused, perhaps as much as a distraction for her as a genuinely curious question.
“Yep,” Joe said, “and once he gets him to the right spot, Cisco’s gonna blast him into Earth-2 with his thingamajig.”
“Speed cannon,” Iris corrected.
“Exactly.”
Iris rolled her eyes affectionately and shared a grin with Morgan.
“Well, things have surely gotten a lot more complicated since I got out of prison.” Henry sighed.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Morgan offered, “things have gotten complicated ever since I was last living in Central, last year.”
Henry looked at her curiously. “Barry and Tina did mention you left. Why’s that?”
She shrugged, a little uncomfortable—he was still dating Tina, after all, and she wouldn’t ask him to keep secrets from her. “After…well. To put it simply, it turns out the man I thought was my father actually semi-raised me under false pretenses. After all was said and done…I didn’t really feel much like staying. I kept visiting for Tina, but…Starling City was normal. Not safer per se, but…I was happy there.”
Henry hummed, regarding her. “And yet, here you are.”
“Here I am,” she agreed, smiling slightly. “I guess I’m a Central girl at heart, no matter how far I might go.”
“And for what it’s worth,” Iris said, squeezing her hand with a smile, “we’re all glad for it. Even if we wish you’d stop leaping headfirst into danger all the time.”
“I have the powers for it,” Morgan pointed out.
“Powers?” Henry’s eyes widened.
Morgan blushed. “Did Tina not get to mentioning that yet?”
“Not really, no. But I’m not all that surprised anyway.”
Morgan laughed at that. Henry Allen sure was something, and Morgan was suddenly very glad that, out of all the guys Tina could’ve chosen to date, she chose him.
Naturally, just when things were going well, they went to hell.
“I don’t have eyes on Grodd, does anyone see him?”
“Don’t freak out,” Morgan said, even as her own pulse quickened. “It’s probably fine.”
“Yeah,” Iris agreed, looking shaken as well. “It’s probably—”
“Where is Caitlin?” Grodd snarled, and moments later, they heard Barry cry out as he was knocked back.
“Oh my God,” Iris murmured, as Morgan’s eyes went wide.
“Get up, Barry,” Henry said firmly.
“Where is Cait—”
“Right here!”
Morgan froze. “What is she—? Is she nuts?!”
“Question of the day,” Iris muttered, looking incredibly worried.
“Flash is my enemy!” Grodd growled. “And now…so are you!”
“No!” Caitlin cried. “He was trying to save me from you! We didn’t understand what you wanted…but now we do. I can give you what you want,” she added, both gentle and pleading at once in that uniquely Caitlin way, “I can give you a home. You just have to trust me.”
And, miracle of miracles, Grodd listened to her, coming to the middle of the circle, and Cisco turned on his speed cannon…but it wasn’t enough. Grodd was too strong.
“He can’t lose,” Morgan whispered. “This city…it can’t afford that. Whatever sweet wishes Grodd might have, he’ll take it out on Central, and the people here don’t deserve that.”
Henry nodded, moving to the mic. “Barry,” he said, “you can’t let Grodd get free. Conquer your fears, son—believe in yourself!”
Barry always had a knack for getting people to believe in the impossible, Morgan included a number of times. But now…now he proved to her just how effective a father’s pep talk could be, when given by someone who actually loved his kid.
Wonder what that’s like.
Yet still, as everyone celebrated, Morgan couldn’t help but feel relief…and love. Love for everyone in this room…everyone so inextricably tied to Central that, for a single moment, Morgan wondered why she’d ever left.
Maybe when the year’s over, if Zoom’s all done and dusted…I’ll look into a transfer.
If we’re gonna be friends, that does sound like a good idea.
Getting a little ahead of yourself there, Jesse?
Dad doesn’t call me Jesse Quick for nothing.
Morgan laughed at that.
“I can’t believe something good finally came from that suit,” Caitlin murmured.
“Even still, we should destroy it,” Morgan said, looking at Cisco instead of at that horrendous suit.
“Agreed.” Cisco shuddered. “Still gives me the creeps.”
“Let’s do that, but see if you can figure out how to get it back in this ring first.” Barry tossed it at Cisco, who caught it easily. “Might be nice to have something like that instead of carrying around a bag all the time, y’know?”
“I can help with that,” Harry offered, and when everyone threw him a weird look for that, he shrugged. “What? I know a thing or two about microtechnology.”
“Yeah, you know a thing or two about a lot of things,” Cisco remarked warily.
Morgan rolled her eyes. “You say that like it’s a bad thing, Cisco.”
“Frankly,” Henry said, “as long as what he knows keeps my son, girlfriend’s daughter—” he smiled at Morgan, and she smiled back, even if the designation still felt a little odd “—and these good people safe…well, the more you know the better.” He extended a hand to Harry with a warm smile. “Pleasure to meet you, Harrison. Again.”
“Dr. Allen,” Harry echoed in kind, with a smile of his own that actually seemed…
“Is that a real smile I see?” Morgan teased. “Did someone actually get Harry Wells to smile for real?”
Harry scoffed. “Mind your business, Morgan.”
“Aww. Nice while it lasted, I guess.”
“So, Dr. Wells,” Caitlin said, “this place we’ve sent Grodd…where is it exactly?”
“It’s a refuge,” Harry said, “where gorillas subjected to lab experiments like Grodd can roam freely.”
“That’s…really nice, actually.” Morgan smiled. “He’ll be happier there, I think. It’s for the best.”
“I still feel like I betrayed him.” Caitlin frowned. “His trust and all that…”
“No, don’t say that,” Cisco objected. “You didn’t betray him…you gave him a better life. Like Morgan said, he’ll be happier there. I still don’t understand, though,” he added to Harry, “why do the breaches on our Earth lead to different places on yours?”
“I don’t know yet, Ramon,” Harry said, “but I do know we have to close them all, and I don’t know how to do that.”
“You don’t have to do it alone anymore,” Caitlin said gently, “any of it. We defeated Grodd together, and if we stay that way, we’ll figure out how to close the breaches, get Zoom, and get your daughter back.”
Morgan’s eyes softened. “That’s…her name you called me, the first time we met, right? Jesse Wells, your daughter.”
“It is,” Harry agreed, his own gaze softening slightly as he looked at her. “You remind me a bit of her. Not just in looks and voice…in some of the ways you act. Including the stupid, reckless ideas,” he added, sounding almost like he was teasing her.
The absurdity of it made her laugh, but she said, “Well, I can’t wait to meet her, and see for myself.”
I can’t wait to meet you either.
Morgan smiled. Yeah. We’re gonna be alright.
“Morgan?”
She turned to see Caitlin standing there, her eyes a little softer than in past weeks. “Hi, Cait,” she said slowly. “I’m…I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Me too,” Caitlin agreed. “And…Cisco told me how insistent you were on saving me. I wanted to thank you. Without you, I’m not sure Harry would’ve been able to put on such a convincing Thawne performance.”
“Cait, of course!” Morgan squeezed her hand. “Even if we fight…you’re still my sister, and I’m not leaving you to danger by yourself. As for Harry…well, I’m sure Cisco could’ve helped—”
“Cisco shouldn’t have to deal with that. But then again,” she added softly, “neither should you. I’ve been unfair to you—”
“Cait—”
“No, listen, Morgan. I don’t agree with your accusations of Jay, and I don’t know that I ever will, but…I’m sorry for snapping at you. More importantly,” she said gently, “I’m afraid I pushed you away when I was only trying to help, and I’m sorry for that.”
Morgan swallowed the lump in her throat. It hurt, because she was right, and she knew it. She knew it now more than she had when she and Caitlin fought…
But she could never tell her. She’d already told Gideon to keep Jay’s threats a secret from the Team, knowing the consequences if they found out. The stakes were too high to risk.
So instead, Morgan took a deep breath, swallowed her tears, and said, “No, Cait, I’m sorry. I think…I think you’re right about Jay. I think I really was just being paranoid.” Her voice hitched.
Caitlin’s features softened. “Oh, Morgan…”
“I thought I could come back and help you guys,” Morgan choked out, “even without being Sentry, but…but all I’ve done is make things worse! I didn’t even think that was possible after Barry got—but—”
“No, of course not!” Caitlin hugged her tightly, and Morgan clung to her as tears streamed down her face. “You’re always welcome here, Morgan, Sentry or not, and even if we all wish you’d take care of yourself more, you have been helping. Especially today…you proved that you don’t need Sentry to belong on this team.
“And if you felt unsafe around Jay,” she added, “even though I don’t agree, even though you’ve changed your mind…I should’ve still tried to help you get to know him. I’m sorry you felt like you were alone.”
Alone? No, I guess I’m not. But Cait…there’s so much you still don’t know.
“Well, I know better now.” She smiled, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. “I love you, Cait. All of you.”
Caitlin smiled right back, as bright and warm as Morgan remembered, and the knife of guilt dug deeper in her heart. “We love you too, Mo.”
Later that day, Morgan sat in her apartment, turning her phone over in her hand, Tina’s words running through her head.
“But you have Caitlin and Eliza right here, Bug. Don’t let them slip you by, or you may find yourselves further apart than you ever imagined. Morgan? Do you promise me you’ll try to reconnect with them?”
“I promise.”
She couldn’t tell Team Flash what was really going on. And…true, she couldn’t tell Eliza either, even by doing this. But she’d already made amends with Caitlin, and Eliza had been right about Thawne (even though she didn’t know the full story), so maybe she could help with this too, by figuring it out before being told.
And Morgan could surely use her other older sister right about now. So she took a deep breath, unblocked Eliza, and called.
Two rings later, Eliza picked up, with an all-too-hopeful, “Morgan, is that you?”
“Hi, Lizzie.” Morgan smiled sadly. “Been a while. Can we talk?”