Looking back, maybe doing this alone wasn't the greatest idea. Cisco should've known this, he was smart.

It was common knowledge to not face an armed robber without powers, or a weapon, for that matter. And yet he did.

Cisco blamed the part of his mind that had to be a hero, had to do the right thing, all of the time. It was that feeling, that urge, that forced his shaking legs to his feet, and told the robber to back off.

It was a normal day, well, as normal as Cisco's life could get. Iris and Kamilla were both still stuck in the Mirrorverse, and Barry was losing his speed. Cisco knew that he should've been helping Team Flash, but he just needed a day to himself. To help his personal life.

So, he had gone grocery shopping for real food, much healthier than the instant noodles he usually ate (but he knew deep down that he wouldn't have time to eat it), and cleaned his apartment up a bit. Which, he admitted, took a lot longer than it should've.

Then, he went to the bank, to deposit some of the money Dante had left behind for him. It wasn't a lot, but Cisco figured it was about time to actually put it in his wallet.

At two in the afternoon, the bank was surprisingly busy. Cisco sighed as he got in line and began scrolling through his social media. But, his screen suddenly froze, and Cisco sighed in defeat, in annoyance.

Then, he got a sick feeling in his gut, and looked up from his phone. But it wasn't a Vibe, his powers were gone. He heard loud yelling come from the front of the line, followed but a high-pitched scream.

"Everybody on the floor!!!" A man shouted, Cisco obeyed, along with the rest of the people in the bank. He cast a quick glance upward, and saw a man at the front of the line, dressed in clothing reserved for the rich, and he held a gun high in the air.

"I'm glad to see that you all listen!" He shouted, and the room was dead silent. Cisco could feel his breath catch in his throat, and he fumbled for his phone. His heart hammered in his chest, and Cisco frantically tapped the screen, knowing that his panic button would alert the others that something was wrong.

Nothing happened, but Cisco kept tapping. Desperately looking to see if the robber was watching him, which, thankfully, he wasn't, Cisco pressed his finger to his contacts, but his phone didn't respond.

"We've set up a magnetic field around the building, no phone, watch, or any device of any kind will be able to work." The man yelled, grabbing a young woman who had pulled out her phone. Cisco quickly put his away, and hoped that the Flash would find them.

But then he remembered that Barry couldn't run like he used to. The hope that had begun to grow deflated in his chest.

They were doomed.

"Please let go of me, I'm sorry." The woman frantically said, her eyes wide in fear. The man chuckled, and threw her to the ground.

More men holding guns walked in the building, but they weren't security guards. Each bore an evil smile on their faces, and wore the same suit as the man-in-charge. They circled the room, as if they were challenging the civilians to rebel.

"Now, we know this isn't the richest bank here in Central City, we don't want your money. We want your patience, your compliance, and your silence. No one likes a loud hostage.

Cisco closed his eyes,and heard the frantic exclamations of the people around him. He had to do something, there was no way these people would become hostages. Not if he could help it. He opened his eyes once again in horror at what was occurring.

The robbers prowled around the room, grabbing a select few civilians, and dragging them to the back of the bank. An older lady (Why is it always an old lady??), a younger man, two twins, whose mother begged for their return (Who brought children into banks anymore???), and the woman from before who had tried to call the police.

Cisco felt a poke on his back, and slowly turned around. A woman with long blonde hair gave a shaky smile back to him. Her legs were crossed on the ground, and she glanced at the robbers. Cisco gave her a confused look, but she gestured to her back pocket.

He gave a small gasp. In it was a gun. He looked back at her, and she smiled, now more confident.

"I'm a cop." she mouthed, and Cisco nodded. She spun her body around, using Cisco's body to block the robber's view. As soon as she was about to get it, the woman was grabbed from the side, giving a slight yell.

"Well, well, well, won't you make a nice hostage?" The robber asked, and she flinched. The man gripped both of her shoulders tightly, and walked her to the other hostages.

Please don't notice the gun please don't notice the gun....

"What's this?" The man asked, gripping her waist, pulling the gun out with ease. Cisco felt pure fear grip his body, and he was frozen.

"Clever girl." He said, and pushed her towards the man in charge, giving him the gun.

"You were trying to play hero. Fair." The leader said, eying the gun. "Do you know what a hero's worst enemy is? Their own power."

The blond girl put on a brave face. "I'm a cop, CCPD. You won't get away with this!"

The man gave a laugh. "It's a shame that you won't get to see if you're right." He lifted the gun towards her head.

And that's when the hero instinct kicked in.

Cisco bolted to his feet, his hands forming into fists. "Leave her alone!"

All eyes turned to him, and Cisco pressed his hands to his sides, trying to hide how they were shaking.

"Who might you be?" The man in charge said, and three others pointed their guns at Cisco.

"My name is Cisco Ramon. Don't hurt these people, surely you have better things to do. Like, I don't know, join the Galactic Empire or something? Maybe become Stormtroopers, I'm sure the armor would fit you guys better than those stupid suits. I mean, where did you get them? Snobs "R" Us?"

The man's face turned to a scowl. "Do you want to die?"

"That depends if you plan on paying for the funeral, because my family will most certainly just want to throw me in a ditch or something like that, we're not the most well-off. But, hey, if you want to throw my body in a dumpster, but all means, go for it!" Cisco knew that he was rambling, and the longer he talked the more likely he was going to get killed a. But he had no clue what else to do.

"But, if you want to throw me in a dumpster, maybe make sure it's free of bugs and stuff like that. Because, strangely, I have a crazy fear of spiders. And ants. Oh! And don't make me forget the bees. " Cisco gave a shaky laugh. "Trust me, bees can kill, let me tell you!"

One of the robbers decided to get a little closer to him, and Cisco decided that he had talked enough.

He felt a strong hand on his shoulder, and Cisco knew that it was time to put his hand-to-hand combat skills to action. He swiftly grabbed the man's hand, and used his momentum to fling the guy over his shoulder. Another man approached him. Cisco ducked under the punch that was thrown, and threw one of his own. Kicking his leg out and up, he hit the man hard in the chin, knocking him out.

But this was no victory, and Cisco found this out when a bullet pierced his stomach.

He screamed, and fell to the ground, bleeding out. He vaguely felt a boot hit him in the shoulder, but he didn't care. His torso was in a fury of pain, and his vision began tunneling. Cisco blinked, forcing himself to stay awake.

His breaths were quick and shallow, and he knew that he was dying. Something was wet under him, wet and warm.

Eventually there were loud noises around him, and someone applied pressure to his stomach, making him cry out in pain.

"Cisco! Cisco, it's Joe! Stay awake for me, okay? Keep your eyes open!"

Cisco opened his mouth to respond, but instead quickly vomited up blood and bile, gasping for breath.

"Medic!! We need a medic over here, stat!" Joe yelled, and footsteps could be heard.

Cisco tried to focus on Joe's voice and his fatherly concern that was clearly written on his face, but everything hurt so, so much.

More pressure was put on the wound, and more voices could be heard, telling him to stay awake, to look at them. Cisco heard words like bleeding and transfusion, but he wasn't concerned.

At this point, he wasn't concerned about anything. Not even the fact that he was bleeding out in a bank.

Strong arms hoisted him on to a stretcher, and more pain flared up, and Cisco didn't like that.

Cisco welcomed the darkness that consumed his vision.

-------------------------------------------

Barry sat in the hospital waiting room, his foot jiggling in its place. He brushed his hands through his hair repeatedly, trying to get rid of some of his nerves.

It wasn't helping, it only made him more anxious.

Somewhere, in the hospital, Cisco was in surgery, surrounded by surgeons and doctors but still so, so alone. Barry should've been there. He should have helped Cisco.

Barry remembered getting a call from Joe, saying that there was a robbery that one of their cops had alerted them of from an old-school pager, but that it was likely minor. Basically saying that The Flash wasn't needed.

Barry didn't think any further about it, he had to save his speed to get Iris out of the Mirrorverse, so if it was a minor robbery, the police could deal with it alone.

He was dead wrong.

Joe had walked into Star Labs, blood stained on his coat, tears in his eyes.

"Barry..." Joe said, his voice cracking. "Cisco was in the bank during the robbery. He was shot."

They had driven to the hospital together, though, to be honest, Joe probably shouldn't have been driving, he was so worried, but Barry clearly couldn't drive, either.

Barry's hands were constantly shaking, and whenever a nurse entered the waiting room he begged them for more information. He had to know if Cisco would be okay.

They never did know, and Barry was led to believe that the worst happened to him.

Joe had to deal with some police business regarding the robbery, so Barry waited for hours,all alone, constantly thinking of how badly he had failed his best friend.

"Excuse me?" Barry looked up to the voice, and saw a long blond haired woman standing in front of him. She wore police garments, and took a seat beside him, giving him a sad smile.

"I'm Lilianna Hart, I was at the robbery when it occurred. I know you're worried, but can I talk to you quickly?"

Barry nodded, and she continued.

"Cisco Ramon is your friend?" She asked, and Barry nodded again. "He's a hero. He distracted the guards long enough for me to send out a page to the police. If it weren't for him, a lot more people would've been hurt. I just thought I'd let you know."

Barry gave a small smile. "Thanks. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that, too."

"I hope he'll be okay." She said, glancing down the hall.

Barry sighed. "Yea, me too. He's strong, but it seemed really bad."

"It was, but if he could face down robbers like he did, I'm pretty sure he'll make it out. Hopefully."

They stayed silent and still for a while, until she reached inside of her pocket, and gave Barry a card. "Could you give this to him when he wakes up?"

Barry took it, and smiled when he saw her name and phone number on it.

"Sure."

With a smile as bright as the sun, Lilianna left the room, and Barry put the card away. Cisco was going to be pretty interested when he sees the card.

If he wakes up, a voice says in his head, but Barry shushes it. Not if, but when he woke up.

When.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Cisco heard voices. Soft voices, voices that told him that they were sorry, that they should've been there, and that it was all their fault. He focused on the voice, and relaxed. Even though what it was saying was disturbing, it was comforting to know that he wasn't alone.

Then the pain hit him, and the relaxed feeling he once had vanished. His muscles tightened under the thin shirt he now knew he was wearing, flaming hot needles pierced his skin.

Cisco groaned, and squirmed in the bed. A strong hand gripped his arm, and Cisco opened his eyes, frantic. It was the bad men, ready to hurt someone or himself and he had to get out of here-

"Cisco! It's me, Barry! You're in the hospital!"

Cisco's eyes focused on Barry, and he breathed a short sigh of relief. Barry gave a worried smile, and let go of Cisco's arm.

Cisco tried to form words, but his mouth was completely dry. He looked at Barry, hoping to communicate his confusion through his eyes. Luckily, Barry caught on.

"You were shot in the stomach, unconscious even before they got you to the ambulance. It was bad, we didn't think that you'd make it. You had to be put through surgery"

Cisco swallowed and ignored the pain it caused. "But, the magnetic field-" he said with a cough.

"The cop that was at the bank, her name is Lilliana Hart. She had an old-fashioned pager that worked despite the magnetic field around the bank, and she sent a message to Joe. He got there as soon as you were shot."

"She's good looking." Cisco said, and Barry laughed, giving a knowing smile.

"I think your pain meds are affecting your brain activity, Cisco, you're with Kamilla. Well, not right now given she's stuck... you know what, forget about it. Get some rest, okay? I'll be here when you wake up."

Cisco nodded, but inhaled sharply at the pain. How could he be so dosed up on pain meds and yet feel this sore?

He was about to ask Barry, but he suddenly felt so, so tired.

He would close his eyes, just for a little. No harm in that.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Cisco woke again, he was in a lot less pain than before. He glanced around the plain hospital room, and took in the flowers and get well soon cards that greeted him. He smiled, and saw Caitlin sitting in a chair beside the bed, typing on her laptop.

"Hey." Cisco said, and Caitlin looked up a smile on her face.

"Hey, I didn't know you were awake." She said, and Cisco gave a small laugh.

"I see that. What are you working on?"

She shrugged, and put the laptop away. "I was just updating the team's medical files, just in case we need the information one day. Did you know that Iris is allergic to cilantro?"

Cisco raised his eyebrows. "Is that really important? Are you using herbal medication now or what?"

She gave a light chuckle. "No, I just thought it was interesting. How are you feeling?"

Cisco moved his arm, and gently touched his stomach, which was covered in bandages. When he pressed, he felt some pain, but not as much as before.

"Fine, I guess. I assume I'm really dosed up with pain medication?"

"Yup. Morphine."

"Ahh, that's why I feel so much better." Cisco said, giving a laugh. Caitlin smiled, and placed her hand on his.

"We were so scared. When Joe called and told us what happened....we thought that we were going to lose you."

Cisco squeezed her hand assuringly. "I'm going to be fine."

The two sat in silence for a little while, the constant beeping of the heart monitor echoing through the silence. Caitlin glanced at the clock, and gave a frown.

"The police want to talk to you about what happened and get a statement from you. They'll be here soon."

Cisco sighed, knowing that police statements could take forever. "Ok."

Caitlin got up to leave, but Cisco gripped her hand, pulling her back.

"Was anyone else hurt?"

Caitlin smiled and shook her head. "No, you delayed them enough so the police got there just in time. You're a hero."

Cisco let go of her, and slowly brought himself into a sitting position. "I guess I am."

Caitlin left, and Joe came in, holding a notebook. After exchanging their hellos, Joe sat down, and Cisco told his side of the story.

---------------------------------------------------

Cisco was released from the hospital in under a week. He was back at Star Labs soon after, catching metahumans like before. Iris and Kamilla were eventually freed from the Mirrorverse, and Barry finally had an artificial Speedforce.

Things were getting back to normal.

Until, one day, he and Kamilla got in an argument over priorities, and they broke up.

Cisco was devastated, and hid in his apartment for days, knowing that his heartbreak was his fault. All Kamilla wanted was for them to spend some more time together, but Cisco focused on creating more of the metahuman cure. Thus, they broke up.

Cisco wasn't the man that she wanted.

Unlike his breakup with Gypsy, Cisco decided to keep going with his life as soon as possible. He wouldn't touch an ounce of alcohol, and would recover quickly and easily.

Boy, that was a lie.

He was a mess weeks later, and one day, began to throw his personal objects around his apartment, not caring what broke or what survived. It was when he reached for a stack of papers that he saw a small card.

He wiped the tears from his eyes, and picked it up, reading what was on the card.

Lilliana Hart - (828) 464-8771

He remembered when Barry had given him the card, saying that Lilliana wanted him to give it to him when he woke up. Cisco smiled, and picked up his phone, dialing the number.

"Hello?" Her pleasant voice asked, and Cisco spoke up.

"Hi, this is Cisco Ramon. You know, the guy who was shot?"

Lilliana gave a bright laugh. "Yes, I do remember. Luckily you're the only guy who I know that has been shot recently, or else I would be confused."

He laughed, and lowered himself on the couch. "Have time to chat?"

"Sure! I'd love to." Cisco smiled at her response, and grabbed a blanket, settling down.

With that, they talked far into the night, and Cisco found himself as her on a date, and she said yes.

As painful as getting shot was, Cisco was very thankful something good came out of it.

He believed that he was in love once again.