"Who's that?" Nora whispered.
Barry leaned a little closer, trying to get as close to the open doorway as possible without making a sound. He shifted back against the wall slightly at the familiar voice, his shoulders dipping almost involuntarily. "Ronnie Raymond."
Barry and Nora had been going back in time, first visiting Team Flash's fight with Savitar, then with Zoom. Now, they were eavesdropping on the hunt for Reverse-Flash.
"That name's familiar," Nora said, searching his face. "Is he the… oh, wait."
"He was the first Firestorm, with Professor Stein," Barry said quietly, his mouth suddenly dry. "He died stopping the Singularity."
"That's a few days from this point, isn't it?"
Barry listened to the conversation for a second before nodding. "Yeah. Thawne's gonna give past me the chance to save my mom soon. When I don't end up doing it, the Singularity happens."
Nora looked at him carefully. "I want to see it."
Barry hesitated. That was one of his worst memories, because it represented his first real failure as a hero. He hadn't been able to save everyone. "Nora…"
"Please," Nora said.
Barry breathed out low and nodded, and they ran to the day of the Singularity. She'd already seen some of his worst mistakes. She may as well see the first.
"I know what to do," Nora said, as they watched the past version of Barry and Firestorm move into the swirling mess.
"What's that – Nora, wait!"
Barry watched as she raced towards the Singularity, tempted to follow but knowing that, if he did, his past self might see him. So he watched anxiously, actually biting his lip. He saw his past self catch the falling Professor Stein, and scanned the sky for Nora.
He saw her purple and yellow lightning a millisecond later, and ran towards where she seemed to be heading with a mixture of relief and apprehension. She reached street level and went to her knees. Barry froze.
"Nora, what did you-?"
She looked at him steadily. "Made something right."
Ronnie Raymond lay against the building, his eyes closed. Barry knelt next to him, feeling for a pulse, and breathed out low. "He's still alive."
"He needed someone to catch him," Nora said. "I did. And the timeline is still safe."
"How is the timeline still safe? This changes everything!" He didn't want to seem mad, because he was so incredibly proud that she'd found a way to correct one of his biggest regrets – but he knew Ronnie's death had been a critical part of Team Flash's past. It was part of what had allowed Zoom to get so close to them.
"Dad, I already thought of it. The timeline is fine if we bring him back to the present with us. That way, old you thinks he's dead, and everything plays out the same, but he's alive!"
Barry wanted to do a number of things at once, but settled with raking his hand through his hair as he looked from Nora to Ronnie. He couldn't very well run back and prevent her from saving him. He wanted Ronnie to be alive. But would the timeline let him skirt around it so easily…
He sighed. "I don't know if this'll work like you think, but there's no going back now." He leaned down and grabbed Ronnie, supporting his weight. "Let's go back to our time. Well, my time."
Nora seemed fully confident as they started running together. Barry wanted to be as sure of himself as his daughter, but looking at Ronnie, he still felt that mix of shock, apprehension, and uncertainty. His thoughts moved to Caitlin, who would still be in the lab when Barry and Nora got back. What if she saw Ronnie, and it didn't work out?
Barry landed on the floor of the cortex and staggered slightly from Ronnie's weight, but managed not to fall. He lowered Ronnie to the ground, feeling eyes on him as he did. He could sense how still they all were, but he didn't look away from Ronnie until he'd felt for his pulse again. Just to make sure. Ronnie seemed unchanged.
He looked up to see their shocked expressions, all locked on him. Except one. Caitlin was staring at Ronnie.
"What happened?" Cisco asked.
"Nora saved Ronnie from the Singularity," Barry said, standing.
"How did you not -? Oh, actually, I get it," Cisco said.
Nora looked at Barry, smiling. "He's fine, Dad. It worked."
Barry watched Caitlin move to Ronnie's side, practically dropping to the ground next to him. "It's really him," she said.
Ronnie groaned, and Caitlin started. Ronnie's eyes opened slightly. "Cait?" he asked.
Barry let himself start smiling at that, and more so as Caitlin hugged Ronnie and started talking to him.
It would definitely take some explaining and adjusting, but if this was the result, he was glad his daughter had convinced him to time-travel.
A/N: So I saw a picture of Ronnie in the promo for the 100th episode, and wanted to write this. I would love it if Ronnie came back. I don't know how likely it is, but this would be one possible way for it to happen, I think.