His breathing was coming out rapidly. His heart hammering in his chest. He swore it was about to burst out. If not, maybe it would bleed out. Blood… He looked at his hand. Blood was staining it. Looking down he could see the spot on his stomach where the blood was coming from. Slowly, his shirt was growing wet with the crimson liquid. His breathing became faster.

Was he going to die? Was this it? After all these years? After all the missions he's been on? This was when he was going to die? What about Tracey and his mother? What about Darcy and the kids?

God, Darcy…

ooOOoo

"You look gorgeous," Barry said in Darcy's ear as the two spun around the dance floor.

Darcy's white dress flared out a little with each turn, the sequins and beads glittering in the dim lighting as they did. Looking at her, he could see a large bashful smile and a light dusting of pink on her cheeks. He always loved it when he got her to blush. It was a challenge, but a challenge he loved doing (and succeeding in).

"I love you," she said to him, the smile growing larger as they looked at each other.

He pulled her closer to her, kissing her hair as she laid her head on his shoulder. He didn't see any of their friends or family or any of the other guests around them. It was only him and her. No one else in the world mattered. No one, but her.

God, he couldn't stop smiling the entire night. And why should he stop? He was the luckiest man on Earth. He married the woman of his dreams.

ooOOoo

He stared up at the sky as he laid in the dirt. This was it. This was how it was going to end, wasn't it? He was never going to see Tracey or his mother again. He was never going to see Darcy, Ella, and Aaron again. He was going to lose his family. Shit! He was going to leave them on their own. What were the kids going to do without him? Without a dad in their lives? What was Darcy going to do?

The kids….

Another memory. Just like last time, another memory appeared in his head. He dug deep into his memory bank and looked through them. All of the memories of his kids growing up came flooding in.

ooOOoo

"Barry, I'm pregnant."

His jaw dropped. His eyes grew wide. He was frozen and couldn't say anything.

She was pregnant? She was pregnant… She was pregnant! Darcy was pregnant! With his child!

A smile grew on the man's face and immediately he jumped at her, wrapping his arms around his wife's body and pulling her into a hug. He couldn't help the laugh of joy that left his mouth as he spun her through the air. He was going to be a father! He and Darcy were going to be parents! He couldn't believe it.

He was going to be a father and he couldn't wait to find out what gender their baby would be. He was going to love them no matter what.

ooOOoo

He chuckled at the memory as a warm feeling washed over him. Love. That was all he felt whenever he went through his memories. As always they were clear as day. God, that day was one of the best days of his life. He could still remember when Ella was born and how Darcy stated she'd never get pregnant again.

He chuckled once more, but winced at the bullet wound in his stomach. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, trying to drown out the sounds of fighting around him and focusing more on the memories of his family.

ooOOoo

His hand was on fire! Looking down at Darcy he could see the pain in her face as she screamed out. He didn't even want to complain. There was nothing for him to complain about. Just looking at his wife he could see she was in way more pain than him. Then again he had also been through worse on missions. Bullet holes, stab wounds. Yeah, his wife squeezing the life out of his hand was nothing.

Except when it felt like it was going to break!

"Push, Mrs. Madison!" the doctor ordered.

Darcy's screams and a tinier scream mixed together in the air. Barry's heart fluttered as he looked from his wife to the doctor. Darcy had stopped screaming and was now panting as she tried to look in the same direction as her husband.

The doctor turned to them and smiled as he handed over a bundled up baby in a blue blanket. "Congratulations," he said lightly as he handed Darcy her son.

"Hi, sweetie," she said through tears. She placed a kiss on his tiny head, smiling and laughing.

Staring down at him, Barry couldn't get rid of the smile that was on his face. No one would be able to no matter how hard they tried. Since day one, he loved his son. He was never going to let him go, never let anyone hurt him.

Barry lowered his hand down to his little boy, brushing a light finger over his forehead. "Hey, Aaron," he whispered. "I'm your daddy."

He was a calmer baby compared to Ella. She was squirming and flailing all over the place when she was born. Still does even at four years old. Who knew what Aaron would be like when he got older, but not matter what, Barry would love his son.

"This time," Darcy spoke up, smiling at Barry, "I'm not getting pregnant again."

Barry chuckled, smiling down at her. "I love you, babe," he said, placing a kiss on her head.

ooOOoo

Barry smiled brightly as he watched Ella up on stage. It was the night of her piano recital and the little dark haired girl was smiling brightly as she played her piece for the show. He watched as her hands danced across the black and white keys. The bright look on her eyes, shining as she played each note. Anyone in the audience could see how much the five year old loved playing the musical instrument.

As soon as she was done she jumped from her seat and bowed and waved to the audience, smiling brightly as she was when she was playing. She waved animatedly down at her family as they smiled and waved back up at her.

Next to Barry was Aaron, still in his baseball gear. His son and him had just raced from Aaron's baseball game and made it in time for Ella's performance.

Man! Was he proud of his kids! Aaron had gotten the winning hit for his team and then here was Ella performing her piece beautifully! God, he loved them so much.

He waved at Ella, grinning up at her before taking a look down at Aaron. He smiled and ruffled his son's dark hair.

He was so proud of them.

ooOOoo

Pain washed over him once more. Worse than the last time. A groan pushed passed his lips, causing his face to scrunch up. This was it. This was definitely it. But there had to be a way to get back to his family.

God, please, please, just let me see my family again. Let me say goodbye to them and tell them I love them. Let me see them before I go. Please. Barry begged as he stared up at the sky. The sun beat down on him. He had to get back. He had to get home.

He was drifting. He could feel his eyes getting heavier. For once his memories were failing him. They were fading…

No he had to fight! He had to! For his family! He had to fight for his family!

"Barr-"

ooOOoo

The darkness soon vanished as he slowly opened his eyes. But instead of the desert he was just in, he found himself in the medical bay of the Avengers' Tower.

Sitting up was a bit of a project, his stomach shooting pains throughout his body. But he stopped, not from the pain, but from what he felt on his arm. Looking down he found Darcy fast asleep next to his bed, her hand clutching his.

He smiled as he ran his other hand through his hair. His smile grew as he saw her waking up. "Hey, babe," he greeted.

"Oh my god, Barry!" Darcy nearly screamed, jumping on him. "Oh sorry sorry sorry!" she said, backing away when she heard a moan coming from her husband. "Oh thank God you're alright," she said, burying her face in his shoulder as she hugged him again.

"I'm alright, Darc," he said, holding her tightly. "I'm alright."

"Daddy!"

Looking up, his smile grew once again at the sight of his two children running into the room. He could only guess FRIDAY alerted whoever was watching them that he was awake.

He braced himself for the two bodies that would soon be climbing on top of him. And he welcomed it. He wrapped his arms tightly around his kids, kissing their heads and never wanting to let go. He was never letting go. Never letting go of his family. He was complete with them and it was going to stay that way.

Thank you to the anon for the prompt. I am so so so sorry this took forever to post, but I hope you like it! Sorry if this isn't a chapter in Life at the Tower, but I felt this one was more fitting for another oneshot for Barry and his family. Just the way I had planned it out at least.

Thank you again for the prompt and I hope you liked it!

If you would like to send in prompts for my Marvel oneshots series Life at the Tower, feel free to send them to my tumblr, PM me them here, or leave them in a review.

My tumblr is winter-is-ending.

I would love to hear what you thought so please leave a review and I hope you have a good day!