I try to wash him out, but like they say (the blood is thicker)

.

Barry Allen can remember the first time he met Wally West. It was the day Wally was born.

"Wait, you mean the baby's born already?" Iris asked from the backseat.

"Yep," her father, Joe West, answered proudly as he drove to the hospital. "He was born this morning."

Barry stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by.

"Why are we only hearing about this now?" Iris cried out. "I wanted to be there for the birth. Why didn't you get us as soon as they went to the hospital?"

Barry turned away from the window and said, "Iris, we were in school all day."

She replied, "I can miss one day, can't I? Besides, you ditched school yourself not too long ago."

"Wait, what?" her father asked.

"No I didn't," Barry replied with confusion.

"The start of October, remember?"

"I wasn't 'ditching,' Iris. I had the flu."

"Barry, which is a better reason for missing school: Merely being sick, or the birth of an older brother's first child?"

"Just so we're clear," her father spoke up, "you really were sick last October, right?"

"Yes!"

Barry and Iris were the same age, and they were in high school. But Iris' brother Rudy was older by several years, and he married early. This is why Iris was already an aunt.

They reached the hospital and rushed up to Mary's room. (They had to rush because Iris didn't give them any other option.)

"C'mon, Barry! You're so slow!"

"Geez, Iris! Don't yank my arm off!"

He understood why Iris was so excited. After all, the baby was her nephew. This was a big day for the West family. Barry was just along for the ride.

The trio entered the room. Mary - Rudy's wife, Iris' sister-in-law - was lying back in her bed, holding her baby close. Rudy sat right beside her.

"Is he all right?" Joe asked. "He's about ten days early." He half-expected to see the baby through the glass of an incubator.

"Little guy was in a hurry to be born," Rudy replied to his father, never taking his eyes off his child. "But the doctors gave him a clean bill of health. He's perfect."

The baby was wrapped up in a bright yellow blanket. His skin was still red and raw, but he wasn't crying. The baby quietly stared at the group through wide green eyes.

"Say hi to your aunt and grandpa, Wally," Mary said.

Barry smirked at Joe. "How's it feel to be a grandpa, old man?"

He smirked back. "Watch it, wise guy."

Iris leaned close to the baby. "Hi," she whispered softly with a big smile. "I'm your Aunt Iris... And this is your Uncle Barry."

Barry blinked. "Uncle?"

"Uncle?" repeated Rudy and Joe, almost at the same time.

She looked around the room. "Yeah, why not?"

"Well... You know... I'm not really a relative, so..."

Iris rolled her eyes. "Barry, we've been over this. You're not just 'some guy' who lives in our house. You're not a friend of the family. You are family. Wally is your nephew just as much as mine."

Barry was part of the family. He had mixed feelings, hearing that from the girl he had a crush on.

He looked down again and gently touched the baby's hand. Wally wrapped his tiny hand around Barry's finger.

Barry smiled. It felt nice to be family.

But he couldn't help but wonder, How are they going to explain me to the kid when he's older?

.

The Wests were Barry Allen's foster family.

Barry's mother was murdered when he was eleven.

And Barry's father was in prison.

But he didn't do it. Though whenever Barry told someone that, their response usually was, "That's what they all say."

But Barry's dad really didn't do it. His mom was killed by someone else.

Nobody really talked about it anymore. He knew that Joe and Rudy didn't really believe his father was innocent. Iris was the only one who ever listened, but sometimes Barry worried she was just humoring him.

The point is, this was why Barry Allen lived with people he wasn't related to. They were his family and at the same time they weren't his family. It was an awkward feeling, being with them during holidays and special occasions. The feeling got worse - and at the same time, easier to ignore - as the months became years and it really started to sink in that this wasn't temporary.

Barry's mother was dead and there was nothing anyone could do about that. Barry accepted that relatively quickly. But his father was alive. Barry kept hoping he would get his dad back. It took a long time for him to accept that his father would not be released before Barry aged out of the system.

Knowing his real dad was still out there, out of reach, Barry could never fully assimilate into the West family. They tried to make him feel welcome, but Barry couldn't help but feel like he was intruding during these family events.

He was a person who belonged neither here nor there.

.

Dear Dad,

Rudy's son was just born. Wallace Rudolph West. My first thought was "kids are gonna tease him with a name like that." But, that's life.

Apparently this makes me an uncle now. I thought it would be presumptuous to call myself that, but Iris insisted. She says that I'm part of the family. It bugs me that Iris thinks of me like a brother but

Barry stopped writing. After re-reading the last sentence he decided to erase it. He never told anybody about his crush on Iris, not even his dad, and he wasn't about to start now.

...She says that I'm part of the family. I have mixed feelings about that. It's almost like saying I'm not family with you anymore - even though I KNOW that's not how Iris meant it. I guess what I want is for us all to be family together. So if I'm Wally's uncle, I guess that makes you his great-uncle. That's what I want to believe.

He hesitated. Then against his better judgment, he wrote another sentence. The thought would probably make his dad sad, but Barry still wanted to say it.

I wish you could see him.

.

Author's notes: Originally this was going to be one of several flashback chapters in my other story "Fate Plays Favorites." But then I decided they would be better as their own fanfiction. Is it in the same continuity? This takes place so long before both "Fate Plays Favorites" and the canon cartoon that it doesn't make much difference either way.

While fiddling around with this story, I discovered that the Young Justice section only has 3 other stories featuring Jay Garrick on their list of characters. Only three? This makes four (If I finish it).

Chapter title comes from the song "Half Jack" by The Dresden Dolls.