A/N: This story is NOT BETA'D. I do my very best to come across any spelling and grammar issues, even after posting chapters. However, I still need to apologize for the mistakes I miss.

Causal Nexus

Prologue

"Alright guys, I just ate way too much big belly." Joe groaned, his keys dropping to the end table as he made his way inside their home.

Barry followed suit, chuckling lightly as he patted him on the shoulder. "I don't think that's possible. Certainly not for me."

The lights in the house switched on as Joe, Barry, and Iris found their way inside the quiet and familiar house, dragging their feet from a long but eventful and uplifting night. At Joe's persistence, both found themselves dragged away to eat dinner as a family. After everything that had taken place recently, between Wells-not-wells-Reserve Flash, Zoom, Barry losing his father – it all came to be too much, and Joe had decided they were spending too much time away from each other.

It took a couple phone calls, a handful of very snippy responses from both kids, but the impromptu gathering was worth it.

"Hey," Iris spoke up, "no one told you that you needed to big-it-up with your order, dad. I think you were getting a bit green towards the end with that large fry."

He glanced over at his daughter as she made her way inside, thinking kindly of how much effort it took to get Barry out of his lab, and how much he appreciated her going through that for him. He knew Barry could be stubborn, hell most days it was the question of when he wasn't stubborn. But he also knew when the kid needed to take a breather and relax. And so did Iris.

"Not just large," Barry smiled, "big 'em size large. You almost gave me a run for my money there, Joe."

It was good to see him happy, even if it was just him being a little light on his feet.

Joe collapsed on the sofa and shook his head,"Oh hell no, Bar. Four burgers and five fries? That's the last time I offer to pay for your dinner."

Iris couldn't hold back her laugh, smiling sheepishly as Barry threw her an insulted expression. Both knew that she meant no harm, but she apologized regardless.

"It's all good Barry. Besides, Wally was getting pretty close there with his appetite as well." Iris recalled, looking around the room with a new found confusion. "Speaking of Wally, where'd he run off to?"

"Hopefully to burn off his three burgers and five fries." Joe groaned, "You boys need to pay your own way from now on, I ain't going broke from no speedst-"

Before Joe could even finish his sentence, before even Barry could register what had happened, a bright yellow light came flooding into the living room.

The gush of wind practically knocked Iris to the floor, if not for the end table she grabbed hold of.

"Wally?"

Barry's words hung in the air, leaving a deafening silence behind, no one daring to speak up.

Wally was practically frozen in place, not quite standing upright but not ready to run away either. His eyes were doing all the movements for him, darting back between Iris, Joe, and finally landing on Barry with an indescribable look washing over him.

Joe was the first to break the tension. "Wally….what's up?"

"Yeah," Iris said, "you look like you've seen a ghost."

"What time is it?" Wally practically snapped, his voice tense and strained.

"It's 8:15." Joe replied, confusion lacing his answer. "Did you go smoke something on your way back here, Wally?"

Joe tried to make a joke, but the humor fell flat. The air suddenly held a thick tension that everyone could feel, and Iris began to exchange glances between her father and Barry with a clear look of concern.

"Wally, what's going-"

He didn't let her answer. "What day is it?"

"Wally," Barry moved forward, "what did you do?"

Joe looked at his two sons and back at Iris, worry sinking deep into his stomach.

"What day is it, man?" Wally didn't hold back the snap in his voice, and if he listened closely, Barry could have sworn that he heard a bit of fear.

Something had happened between the time Wally left in his car from big-belly burger, to now. Barry couldn't pin down an answer to what that was though.

"June 23rd." Iris answered.

"June 23rd?"

"This isn't funny, Wally."

He ignored his sister, looking over to his dad instead.

"June 23rd?" he asked yet again.

"Wally," Barry said louder this time, "what did you do?"

It was something only the two of them could understand. Iris and Joe could sense something between the speedsters that they assumed couldn't easily, if at all, be understood by anyone else.

Wally suddenly slumped, his shoulders losing tension and his eyes losing the fear that lit inside of him. It was as if relief poured over him all at once.

He looked up at Barry, "I saved you, man."

Barry didn't get a chance to register what was said before Wally grabbed him into a bear hug, head on his shoulder as a weak sob escaped his chest. "I saved you, Barry."

Joe was staring at him, as was Iris. Barry could hardly hold onto Wally as he tried to wrap his head around the situation.

All he could do was sigh.

"Wally…what did you do."