In A Blink ? Barry Allen/The Flash

28.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dr. Wells rub his mouth with his hand, "Natalie, we'll find them-"

"To be honest, right now I really don't care about what happens to my dad. Just.. We have to get Henry back," Natalie snapped. Caitlin seemed taken aback by her cousin's words and squeezed her hand, "Nat, you can't possibly mean that."

Natalie opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it when she saw Joe and Barry walk in, somber expressions on both of their faces. Grabbing Nat's hand, Barry pulled her into a hug, burying his head in the crook of her neck. Reaching up, Natalie wrapped her hands around Barry's back, running her hands up and down and slightly rocking back and forth, "It's gonna be okay. We're going to get your dad back."

"And yours too, Natalie," Cisco added as the rest of the team watched her comfort Barry. Natalie peeked over Barry's shoulder, "Like I already said Cisco, I really don't care.."

Joe looked at Natalie and sighed, knowing arguing with what she was saying wouldn't help anyone, "Axel Walker, he's been corresponding with James Jesse through snail mail for over a decade." Barry moved his head from her neck and moved to hug her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, "I should have been there."

"We're going to find your dads, okay? No matter how you may feel towards them," Caitlin added as she placed a hand on Barry's back, looking pointedly at Natalie for the last part. Barry sighed in disbelief before looking at Dr. Wells, "I should have listened to you." He let go of Natalie and stormed out, heading to the pipeline with Joe following him.

"Can you guys cut all of the microphones and video?" Nat asked as she began to follow them, continuing only when Caitlin nodded. When Natalie got to them, she saw Barry curled up on the floor, his arms wrapped around his legs and his back facing her while Joe talked to him. She hung back, not wanting to interrupt them, her heart aching as she listened to Barry beat himself down for trusting Wells. As Barry broke down even more, Joe waved her over.

"I can't lose my dad, Joe," Barry cried as he buried his head in his knees and pulled his legs in closer to his body. Natalie rested a hand on his back as she walked around and crouched in front of him. "Barry. Barry, please look at me," Natalie pleaded softly. Barry lifted his head up, his face red and wet from crying. Natalie wiped the tears away with her thumb and cupped his cheek, "Listen to me, Barry. We are going to find him." Pressing the space between them, Natalie gave Barry a soft kiss, wet and salty from his tears before pulling him up and trailing Joe back up to the Cortex.

As they were walking back, Joe cleared his throat before he spoke, "Natalie, I know you think that you don't care what happens to your dad.."

"Look Joe, I don't really know what I'm feeling right now," Natalie explained as she held tightly on to Barry's hand. "I know I don't want him to die. But a small part of me can't help but feel if he was gone, then I wouldn't have to deal with the trouble that would follow once he's released. So I don't want to focus on him right now because I can't focus on one single thought." Joe simply nodded his head and didn't push any farther.

Barry hovered behind Cisco as he worked on the computer scanning the traffic cams when Joe got a call from Iris. He switched the phone into speaker mode and James Jesse's voice echoed out as he spoke and Joe sent Cisco to work on pinging Iris' phone. When the Trickster mentioned something coursing through the veins of those he was around, Caitlin immediately went to work looking up what it was. "Tri-Methyl Mercury 32 is a relatively fast acting poison," she announced gravely. Dr. Wells took this as his chance to intervene, "We can start synthesizing an antidote right now."

"She's at City Hall," Cisco announced once he finished his task. Natalie's eyes went wide in realization, "The mayor's having a fundraiser there tonight. Iris was invited to get some questions from him for an article." Barry looked at her and nodded his head. "Do not underestimate the Trickster," Dr. Wells warned Barry before he speedily changed into his suit and raced there.