Barry remained kneeling in front of his father's grave out in the rain, feeling the freezing drops falling on his nose and mixing with his tears on his face. He didn't know how long he'd stayed out there in the pouring rain, the rain soaking into his jacket and dress shirt. All he knew was that he was breaking into shivers, his eyes burning continuously with tears as he remembered Henry's last words to him before Zoom passed a hand through his heart.
"You mother and I love-."
Barry didn't know if the shaking in his body came from the cold or from his tears, maybe a little bit of both. All he knew was that his father was gone, but he also knew that he needed to be the one responsible to take down Zoom himself. He needed to do it himself, to prevent Zoom from doing much worse.
"Dad," he whispered. "I-I swear to God I will make him regret what he did to you." He rested a hand on the headstone, allowing a shaky breath to escape his lips. "I-I-I-you were everything to me, Dad." Barry leaned his head down, sniffling, not knowing what else to say. He wanted his mom and dad back; he wanted to see them alive again. It hadn't occurred to him until now that in the original, original timeline, before everything had been screwed up by Eobard Thawne, that his mother had been alive to see him become the Flash. She had been alive in the year of 2024, watching him be the hero that she knew that he could be. The thought of that angered him; this started with the Reverse Flash, from the front, to the middle, to the backend, every bad thing that had happened in Barry's life had been because of the Reverse Flash. His whole body shook as he felt more tears falling from his eyes. He didn't know what he was doing out here. He should be home with Joe, Iris, Harry, Jesse, Caitlin, Cisco and Wally. That's where he should be. But he couldn't bring himself to lift himself to his feet. He couldn't find the strength in his body to do it.
Suddenly, he felt something covering him from the rain; an umbrella. He didn't even bother looking up until he felt a feminine hand on his shoulder.
Iris.
"Bar, you've been out here for two hours," Iris whispered to him.
Really? Two hours. It didn't seem that long of a time.
"Come on," Iris whispered gently. "We should get you home, get you something to eat."
Barry shook his head.
"Something to drink, at least," Iris insisted.
Barry shook his head again. He was scared that any food he'd put in his mouth would just come back up.
"Barry, what do you want?" Iris asked him gently, her voice soft.
"I don't know what I want," Barry whispered.
Iris nodded her understanding. She knelt beside Barry and tilted his face towards her as more tears made their way down his cheeks. She wiped them away with a kiss, but she noticed the way Barry refused to allow his body to relax. She just tousled her fingers through his wet hair, looking into his hazel eyes, which were filled with pain, suffering, heartache and anger. She wanted to take some of that pain away from Barry, to at least take a little bit of the suffering away from him and take some of the burden off his back.
"Bar, Barry listen to me," Iris whispered as Barry started to sob quietly. "You're not the only one who has lost somebody. I-when Francine died, I-I felt myself in so much grief for the mother that I didn't even know. When Eddie died I never got the chance to tell him everything that he meant to me."
"Iris this is different," Barry whispered. "They're both gone."
Iris nodded as Barry referred to his mother and father. "I know," she whispered. "I know, but you cannot continue to try suffering out here all by yourself. Please Barry come home with me and let somebody take care of you for a change." She took his hand and simply got him up and onto his feet, guiding him to where the car was. Iris turned to heat on in the car, full blast, as Barry shivered at super speed to try and warm himself up. Iris reached for a blanket that was in the backseat of her car, and wrapped it over his shoulders. "What do you want to do?" she asked him softly.
Barry shrugged. He didn't know what it was that he wanted.
Iris just squeezed his hand, just being there, her presence so comforting that she made it easier. "How about we go home and you just sleep?" she suggested. "I'll stay with you."
Barry nodded as Iris drove them both home. He stayed silent even as Iris got him into the house, even as she helped him get changed into some sweats, even as she helped him lay down on the bed, underneath the layers of blankets that cocooned him. She stayed next to him on top of the bed, holding him close to her and playing with his hair soothingly. She pressed the gentlest of a kiss against his forehead as he closed his eyes. Barry knew that no matter what, with Iris he would be safe and sound in her arms. He always knew that no matter what, the sound of Iris' voice was going to bring him home. Even though his father and mother were gone, he still had a family. He still had Joe, who essentially was his father. He still had Caitlin, who was so kind, compassionate and motherly and acted like a mom to the whole team, who was the advice giver and cooked dinner for everyone once a week. He still had Cisco, his brother, his best friend, the guy that watched Wrath of Khan with him and cracked jokes through the comms. Hell, he even had Wally, his foster brother. Despite what Zoom had taken away, he still had his team, his friends; his family.
And was going to make damn well sure that Zoom would never touch any of them.
A/N
Hope you all enjoyed. I just thought of this idea while watching some episodes in season two and reading some fanfictions based around the Flash season 2 finale. As you can probably tell by now I am a big WestAllen shipper; I love everything about Barry and Iris and their relationship, plus I adore Candice Patton; she's one of my favorite actresses. I also have another fanfic that I am writing right now called Flash and Angel, and I am planning on making it a series on this account. If any of you want to check it out, favorite it and review it, I would greatly appreciate that, as I am trying to create a following with it.-
XOXO, Dani
