"Hey, Barry, it's been a week since you were struck by lightning, I think it's time for you to wake up."
"Barry, it's been a month, I think you need to wake up. You've been asleep a month too long."
"Barry, please wake up, it's been nearly two months. I… Detective Pretty Boy asked me out to coffee, and I said yes, but you need to wake up so you can approve of him. Dad hasn't been the same since you were struck by lightning. He's been… closed off, like if you don't wake up, he'll have nothing left to live for. Barry, you're affecting all of us, we need you to come back."
"Barry, I don't know if you can hear me, but today's your birthday, and I know you can't make a wish, so I'll make it for you. Barry, please wake up. I even bought you a cake, and I don't want to eat it alone, so please, just… wake up."
"Barry, as of today, you've been asleep for nearly half a year, it's not funny anymore. I overheard dad arguing with the doctors about pulling the plug, and I'm afraid that if you don't wake up, they might not go to dad first. Barry, please, just… just wake up. For me?"
"Bartholomew Henry Allen, you've been asleep for a full year. Why didn't you tell me you knew Oliver Queen? Him and two other people apparently come to visit you a lot, and somehow, I haven't seen them until today. Even when you wake up, I don't know if I can forgive you for this… Of course I can, not hearing your voice for a full year… Barry, please, I don't know if anyone can do this anymore."
Iris sighed, as she got up. She placed her hand on Barry's, another tear falling down her face. She looked up at the heart monitor. He hasn't flatlined for nearly four months, but that didn't mean anything to her. She still felt like he would die whenever she walked away from him.
Barry's brain waves apparently spiked around the same time, but other than that, the doctors said he still wasn't waking up.
"Hey baby doll, I think it's time to go," Joe said, entering the room. Joe and Iris had this thing where they would both go see Barry, then Iris would leave for five minutes, and they would trade places after that time. They thought of it as their ways of keeping each other sane.
Iris sighed. "Barry, please wake up soon," she said, as usual, before following Joe out of the room.
"Eddie called, he said you weren't answering your cell," Joe said, once they were in the hall. Iris took her phone out of her pocket and said, "Tell him I turned it off. Honestly, he should know I turn it off every time I come to this god-forsaken place," as she turned it on.
Joe chuckled, but like it has been the last twelve months, it was forced. Neither of them could laugh, not when Barry has been comatose for a whole year.
His muscles have greatly deteriorated from lack of use. One would think he hasn't been eating properly, nor been in the sunlight recently, due to how thin and pale he was. But they kept him on a feeding tube regularly, food had nothing to do with anything. His hair looked extremely greasy, often making Iris wonder how much they bathe him here. He didn't smell bad, and Iris assumed it was from them bathing him, but people in coma's may not be able to sweat either.
Iris' phone turned on, greeting her with the brightest screen setting it could manage. Once it was loaded, she saw there was sixteen missed calls from Eddie.
"Sixteen calls, dad," she said, showing her dad her phone. Joe snorted.
"Yep, that's the right guy. Be lucky it wasn't a relative or something," he said, and Iris rolled her eyes at him before calling him back.
He didn't answer.
"Goddamnit," Iris mumbled, before saying into the phone, "Eddie, you called sixteen times. You knew I was visiting Barry, and I don't have my phone on when I visit him. Call twice, and if I don't answer either time, I can't talk. Got it? Love you," she finished, before hanging up.
She did love Eddie, but sometimes he was just… a lot to handle. Sixteen missed calls was nothing unusual, and he was way too overprotective, but they both had a love stronger than words could explain for each other. She just wished he would let her see her comatose best friend without interruption every once in awhile.
"I should get back to the station," Joe said with a sigh, as they approached the car they. "Barry doesn't wake up soon, Singh may have to fire him," he added with a sad tone. Iris furrowed her eyebrows. "Isn't he on medical leave?" She asked, and Joe sighed. "Medical leave can only last so long, Iris. We can try to fill out another form if he doesn't wake up by January, but once the current one runs out…" The words, He may lose his job, went unsaid. Iris looked down.
"Of all the people to get struck by lightning, why did it have to be Barry? He's the nicest person on this awful planet," she said quietly, and Joe put a hand on her shoulder.
"He'll wake up, Iris," he said softly. "He has to."
"Barry, it's been a year and a half, and I don't even know what to say to you anymore. Dad's lost hope, we somehow managed to keep your job, but in three weeks Singh's going to have to let you go. Trust me, he doesn't want to, but he has no choice. Maybe you can get it back if… when, you wake up," Iris said sadly. "Wow, even I'm starting to have doubts. Barry, that's when you know it's bad. You know, I had to talk dad out of pulling the plug again yesterday. I had to pull the whole, "If you pull the plug, you kill your son, and how would you be able to live with that" thing. Even Grandma Esther had to chime in, and you know how she is about getting to emotional. She's a strong woman, Barry, but like I've told you countless times, this coma has affected everyone," Iris finished, before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.
"Don't die on us, please," she whispered, before grabbing her purse and leaving the room. Her and Joe stopped going together about two months ago, around the same time Joe lost all motivation to do anything. Iris got lucky when Eddie asked her to move in with him, because after she moved out, the house became a pigsty.
Did she feel bad for moving out? Of course she did. Her dad was barely holding on. But she would go there every day, make sure he was ok, and sometimes make him dinner (and take a shower). She would clean up the house for him about once a week, hoping that a clean house would make it better.
It was honestly scary how bad her dad had had gotten. He's lost even more weight, he almost never eats or sleeps (even though she has Eddie to make sure he eats lunch at the station), and she didn't know who she was worried for more: Barry or her dad.
But no matter what condition her dad was in, she wouldn't let it hold her back from chasing her dream job as a journalist. Central City Picture News gave her a job offer about a month ago, and she wasn't about to refuse it because of her dad or Barry. She's been wanting to work at CCPN since she discovered her love for writing.
She pulled up to her dad's house, and parked the car. She had a strong feeling that she was going to be eating there tonight.
Opening the door, she looked around to find the house not already dirty, which hasn't happened.
"Dad?" She called out, stepping into the house. What she didn't expect was Grandma Esther shouting from upstairs, "He's up here!"
Iris practically ran upstairs, excited to see her grandma, and for the fact that she didn't need to babysit her dad anymore.
"Grandma Esther! Hi," Iris said, smiling, then looked at her dad, who looked annoyed as hell. "You ok, dad?" She asked, and Joe just groaned.
"Someone has to keep him in check, and I figured his mother should be doing that instead of his daughter," Esther said, and Iris gave her a hug. "Thank you so much," she said, feeling as if a small weight was taken off her shoulder.
"Barry, it's been awhile since I've visited you, and I'm sorry. But, it's officially been two years since you were struck by lightning. Barry, you're brain keeps showing activity, why won't you just wake up? You lost your job, your rent ran out - ok, maybe not good motivators. Dad's barely holding it together, I'm barely holding it together, seeing as it's been months since I last talked to you. Barry, it's been months. It's been years, actual years, since we've been able to talk to each other. That's too long. Your dad thought you died in the coma, until they brought him to see you again. I guess that's my fault, I haven't had the guts to visit him. I just… I feel like everything's on my shoulders right now. You know, Eddie proposed to me, and I wanted to say yes, I really did, but it occurred to me that you barely even know him. Plus, it wouldn't feel too great to wake up to your best friend being married," Iris said to Barry, who's just as lifeless as ever.
It's been two years. Two years. Iris didn't know how much longer she could do this. Her and Joe talked about it, and they both decided that if he was still comatose by year three, they would pull the plug. But if things came to that, she would never forgive herself.
"Nine months, Barry. You've got nine months to wake up, please, just wake up. Wake up, please Barry, wake. up."
"Eight months, Barry. I don't know how much more I have to tell you. I hate myself more each day, for setting this… this deadline on your life, but what if you never wake up? You know, at least our last memory was a good one. Well, until I got mugged. Hey, even though we didn't get to watch it get launched… or explode, we still got one last good memory, right?"
"Six months, oh my god, I don't know if I can go through with this. I haven't visited you for a month, but I got a promotion with my job, and I've been busy. You understand, right? Anyway, I have to go, but I'll be back soon, I promise."
Two months passed when Barry finally showed the first signs of movement. Four months from the day they were going to unplug him from the machines.
Joe was the first one they called, and then Iris. The duo, and Eddie, met at the hospital, eagerly awaiting news.
"Barry's been out for nearly three years, so don't overwhelm him. It'll definitely take time for him to get used to this new world," The nurse warned them, before letting them in the room Barry was in.
He showed no movement for about three more hours, until his hand twitched, taking the three by surprise. It was about five minutes before it twitched again.
It went on like this, Joe and Iris hovering over Barry, for hours, with Eddie by the wall, until Barry finally squinted open his eyes. As fast as that happened, he screwed them shut. He tried to say something, but instead let out a dry cough. He hasn't used his vocal chords for years, after all.
"Barry, oh my god, Barry," Iris practically sobbed as he tried to open his eyes again. Joe quickly went to turn off the lights, making it easier for Barry to look up at them.
"Wh't.." Barry could barely say the word, but both Joe and Iris understood what he meant.
Or so they thought they did.
"You were struck by lightning, you were in a coma for nearly three years, Barry," Iris told him, and Barry suddenly furrowed his eyebrows. He tried shaking his head (but not really succeeding), and moved to get up. He didn't get much in that, though, as his arms immediately failed him and he ended back on the hospital bed.
"Barry, are you ok?" Joe asked, and Barry looked at him with worried eyes. He then looked around, as if trying to identify where he was, then looked at Iris, tears building up in his eyes.
"Barry, you're at St. Andrews, you were - " This time, Barry somehow managed to successfully shake his head.
"Fl'sh," he tried saying, clearly straining his voice. Iris furrowed her eyebrows.
"What the hell is a flash?"