Timshel

summary: They had come together to fight an evil regime from another earth, to protect their home and the ones they love because thats what heroes do. But when one of their own is injured, sometimes being a hero is as simple as using your hands to save one person. [crossover/4x08 speculative story]

genre: Angst, Hurt-Comfort, Friendship

rated: T

author note: I love the crossovers, not only because of the grand scale story telling, but because it brings together interactions between characters we don't normally see. This is just some story speculation on what it would mean if Barry was hurt, the chain of people it takes to save someone in their own way, with their own strengths. Title inspiration and lyrics from "Timshel" by Mumford & Sons.

But you are not alone in this

And you are not alone in this

As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand

Hold your hand

The ringing in her ears was the first thing Alex became aware of, piercing through the black to let her know she was still alive. She peeled open her eyes, her vision foggy and the world unfocused as her equilibrium tried to adjust. As her sight began to focus, she realized it wasn't just her vision that was hazy. Smoke surrounded them and added to the haunting atmosphere she could feel around her. It was dark, loud, the air cold with November evening but the heat from nearby flames of the explosion was oppressive.

Suddenly Alex remembered where she was. Earth X. They were fighting their way out. They had destroyed the Doomsday device, their furor dead, and now she and the Earth-1 heroes were trying to fight their way off this Earth and back to the Waverider where she knew Kara had been taken to safety after being rescued from her evil counterpart. They had broken off into pairs and she had been fighting alongside The Flash. They had been surrounded, Barry zipping all around, taking them down at super speed while Alex fired and fought those around her. And then she had heard Barry yell her name, saw the explosion in front of her, and felt the air buzz around her with electricity before everything went black.

With sluggish movement, she drew her arms out from beneath where she lay face down on the pavement and pushed herself up on shaking limbs until she was seated upright. The world spun momentarily as her body fought to regain its balance. Her head hurt but a quick search with her hand revealed what just felt like a small gash on her right temple. Her right arm felt like their might be a fracture but nothing major. Bracing her left hand against the pavement, ready to get back into the fight, her heart sunk when she felt blood, warm and wet beneath her palm. A cursory look at her own body did not reveal any exposed or bleeding injuries, but then her mind focused as she pieced together the moments before this one. The buzz of electricity that surrounded her, that pulled her fifty feet from where she had been in the center of the street just seconds before the explosion, had been the Flash. Looking over her to her left, she saw the streak of blood that led from her spot to about five feet away where a crumpled pile of red lay motionless.

"Barry," she exhaled, climbing to her feet, ignoring the pain in her knee and ache in her side, knowing she had bruised something either in the fight or in the fall from the explosion. She followed the streak of blood like a trail. He must have ran her to safety before being hit by something, the force pushing him away from her, staining the pavement as he slid to a stop.

Alex dropped to her knees beside the man laying crumpled within himself on his right side, his limbs sprawled as if he was a rag doll dropped by its careless owner. With hesitant hands, she reached for his neck to feel for a pulse but nothing came through the thick material of the neckpiece of his uniform. With a hand on the edge at his chin and the other at the bridge of his nose, she gently peeled back the mask, pushing it down behind his head until she could expose his neck. She slid her right hand between his head and the pavement, cradling it gently as her other reached with shaking fingers to his neck. After a moment of held breath, she felt the beat, weak, rapid and irregular, but there. His mouth was open, taking shallow and rapid breaths and she let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good. Stay with me, Barry" she spoke to the young man, her firm but gentle hand moving from his neck to his shoulder, the other still bracing his head as she rolled him onto his back so she could get a better look at him. He was unresponsive, a large scrape across his right cheek she guessed from where he had slid along the gravel. She called out his name again, his brow furrowed, and she knew he was semi-conscious. Her eyes and hands explored his head, chest, and arms looking for injures, searching for the source of the blood trail, halting when she saw the gaping tear along the right side of his abdomen. "Oh, god."

She shrugged off her jacket, uncaring of the chill in the air as she crumpled the fabric into a ball and pressed it against the bleeding wound. She knew it was filthy and risked sepsis but she had to try to keep him from bleeding out. The wound shape was irregular, about the size of a tennis ball but oblong and jagged and she could see the tip of shrapnel sticking out at the top. As she applied pressure, a pained moan had her look up at Barry's face where she could see his eyes open now, staring up at the sky.

"Barry! It's okay, you're gonna be okay," she said reassuringly, still applying pressure with the one hand while she cupped the back of his head again. He opened his eyes a little more, blinking slowly as he met hers. He was pale, eyes unfocused. He opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to speak, drawing in short and gasping breaths. She felt his arm between their bodies lift to touch the side of her face where blood dripped from the gash at her temple.

"You're...hurt," he said between pants for air, his brow furrowed again in either confusion or concern she didn't know. All Alex knew was that Barry reminded her so much of Kara, seemingly always more concerned with the people around them rather than themselves. Coming as Kara's date to the wedding of her inter-dimensional friend, Alex was excited to meet the famous Barry Allen that her sister spoke so highly of. Barry was sweet and awkward like Kara, and the Flash was brave and heroic like Supergirl. And although Alex knew Barry was her age, she couldn't help but look at him now and think he was far too young to be so ready to self-sacrifice.

"I'll be fine," she chuckled softly, unable to help her fingers scratching gently at the back of his skull in an attempt to comfort the injured young man. "And so will you."

He looked like he was going to say something but the slight shift of his body caused him to clench his teeth as he bit back a moan. Suddenly she realized there were voices speaking over the comm's in her ear, almost missing them entirely witg her attention being so focused on Barry.

"We're here! The Waverider is coming in for a landing." Felicity, Overwatch.

"Tell them to prep the med bay." Sara, White Canary.

"I don't have eyes on The Flash or Alex." Nate, Steel.

"Spread out, search the area," she heard Oliver, the Green Arrow, order and she latched on to that voice. Kara had said he was Barry's mentor, the team's rock, and after working alongside him the past few days she knew he was what she and Barry needed right now.

"Oliver!" she called into her comm. "Barry's hurt, I can't carry him alone."

"What's your location?" he responded urgently. Alex looked up, trying to get her bearings on where they were versus where the fight had begun. She recognized the statue commemorating Hitler in the distance, remembering seeing it when they first began this fight.

"About 60 yards west of the Hitler statue in the square," she answered, interrupted by a wet cough from the man beneath her. She looked down and saw him gasping for air between the coughs.

"On my way!"

"Barry, hey, you're okay," she slid her arm behind his back, keeping pressure on the wound with her other hand as she moved him to a sitting position, leaning against her, hoping the position would help him breathe easier. "Barry, you gotta hang on. Kara has like three friends and she'll kill me if I let anything happen to you."

She was rewarded with a small, tired smile. His breathing came a little easier now but she could tell he was still struggling. She swallowed down her fear as she saw a trickle of blood start to gather at the corner of his mouth. The sound of someone running towards them had her let go of the jacket pressed against his wound and pull out her gun from her hip. She aimed as she pivoted where she knelt, still cradling Barry against her with one arm, but dropped the weapon as she saw it was Oliver running towards them. She turned back to reapply pressure to the wound, swearing as she saw the jacket was nearly soaked through.

"Shit," Alex cursed, Oliver dropping to his knees on the other side of Barry.

"What happened?" he asked, moving her hand aside to inspect the wound.

"One of the soldiers had an explosive," Alex spoke, still holding Barry up against her as she watched Oliver tend to Barry as she spoke. "He sped us out of there but he must have gotten hit by a projectile."

Oliver palpated the wound, trying to get a feel for the severity. He was in no way as adept as Dig was with his field medic training, but Oliver had patched himself up enough times to be familiar with concerning wound attributes. It was a large tear in his uniform, the wound deep, skin and muscle torn through. Internal damage wasn't just a possibility, Oliver knew it was likely. He grabbed the jacket and turned it inside out, the inner lining not all the way soaked through yet with blood. As he put complete pressure on the wound, his force a little harsher than Alex's had been, Barry let out a gasp and pained whimper.

"I know, I know, it's okay," Oliver tried to assure, catching the red gloved hand that tried push away the green gloved hand causing him discomfort, the other still pressing against the wound. "Barry, talk to me."

He searched Barry's face, watched as his eyes rolled back in his head before opening up again, looking at Oliver briefly before closing again.

"No! Barry, come on," Oliver let go of Barry's hand to lay it against the side of Barry's neck, bringing his face to look at him but Barry's eyes fluttered. "Barry!"

The sound of Oliver's, the Green Arrow's, yell caused Barry's eyes to fly open, his breathing quick and uneven. His eyes seemed to search above him before settling on Oliver.

"Ollie," Barry rasped.

"Alex, go signal the others," Oliver asked of the woman as he moved around to kneel beside her on Barry's right. Alex didn't need to be told twice as she eased Barry to lean against Oliver, moving Barry's own hand to lay pressure on the wound, now pressed to Oliver's side to keep it in place. Oliver shifted his arms around the red clad hero, an arm braced behind his back and the other stretched over his chest to cup the side of his neck and ease Barry's head against his shoulder. Hesitating just a moment in her reluctance to hand over the responsibility of the speedster, Alex climbed to her feet and sprinted towards the nearest opening in the street to signal for the ship to land, knowing Barry was safe in Oliver's hands.

"Alright, Barr, I need you to stay with me."

"Tired," Barry's breathing was labored, his chest heaving as he tried to pull in enough air.

"I know, kid, but you have to hang on. Do not make me look Joe in the eye and tell him I lost his son, he already thinks I'm a bad influence," Oliver tied to appeal to Barry, trying to rouse him with a gentle shake of the head. Barry's eyes were blinking slowly again as he tried to stay awake and Oliver knew he was losing him. "Barry, listen to me. You have to hang on just a little longer until we can get you some help, okay? You're supposed to have your happy ending, remember? You got the girl, you can't leave her behind. You can't let Iris become a widow before she becomes a wife."

The man in his arms was silent for a moment and Oliver feared for the worst until Barry's eyes finally focused on him.

"Iris," Barry exhaled, hooded eyes pleading with Oliver, tears of pain mixing with the dirt and blood caked on his cheeks.

"Yeah, buddy," Oliver smiled sadly, swallowing his own tears as he tried to keep his fear at bay. He didn't know when Barry became a person that could cut through the Arrow exterior, but much like Thea, Felicity, Sara, Laurel or John, somehow Barry Allen became a part of his family that broke down the shell he'd worked so hard to fortify. The whooshing sound above them as the ship descended was the answered prayer Oliver didn't even realize he'd asked for. "I'm gonna get you home, Barry."

He shifted the nearly limp body against him, pulling him deeper against his chest as he moved one arm beneath Barry's knees and lifted him up. A pained groan and a gasp came from the injured hero as Oliver got a firm grasp on him. Barry was not light; he was lean but a solid 180 of muscle that was currently complete dead weight in his arms. His injuries were too severe to carry him in a fireman's carry over his shoulders but if he was being honest, Oliver needed to be able to hear and feel the struggled inhale and exhale that assured him that despite the pallor of his clammy skin and blood staining both their uniforms, Barry was alive. As he jogged towards the descending drawbridge to the ship where Alex was now waiting, a song his father had liked came immediately to Oliver's mind.

'But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him. He ain't heavy, he's my brother.'

Oliver would carry him back to their Earth himself if he had to.

"Just hang on," Oliver whispered, not begging for Barry to hear him but for the universe to please just let him hang on a little longer. He made his way up the bridge and into the Waverider. He knew there were other injured, knew he should pass off Barry and help make sure they got out of here, but he trusted Sara to lead them to safety and right now, all Oliver could focus on was the man bleeding out in his arms. As he ran, following Ray as he led him to the med bay, Oliver spared a look down to see Barry's head fall back limp over his arm, mouth slack, eyes closed, and chest rising and falling in irregular breaths. Oliver adjusted his arm, bouncing the young man's upper body slightly so that his head lolled onto Oliver's shoulder instead.

"Caitlin!" Oliver shouted and as they rounded a corner, he saw both Caitlin and Cisco in the doorway. Entering the room, he saw that Wells of Earth 2 was also there ready to assist.

"Lie him down," Caitlin said as Oliver came over to the gurney. As he gently lowered Barry down, Caitlin came behind the front end and stretched her arms to stabilize Barry's neck and head. He let out a cry in pain at the sudden jarring of his body as they lay him down on the bed.

Harry stepped forward and immediately replaced the stained jacket with a clean towel to keep pressure on the wound until Caitlin could take a look. Oliver reluctantly stepped back as Caitlin and Cisco began to work with trained expertise, years of unfortunate practice creating a well-oiled machine of tending to the speedster. Oliver himself had suffered many injuries as his time as a vigilante. But injures were more life-threatening on a regular basis for the hero of Central City fighting people with dangerous and deadly powers. He didn't want to leave his side, but Oliver knew the hands he'd passed Barry off to were capable and cared as much for Barry's wellbeing as he did, if not more. Barry was a part of his family, but these people, Cisco and Caitlin, were as nuclear of a family as it got for Barry, coming second only to the Wests. He was leaving Barry's fate in their capable hands, his own covered in blood and desperately needing to feel like he was helping, which he couldn't do in here. With one last look at Barry, he turned on his heel and ran to go assist the rest of the team.

"The systems still work but Gideon's interface has been damaged. She won't be able to guide us through this," Ray said as he came over to assist, strapping the wrist cuff that measured Barry's vitals.

"We've never needed her before," Cisco said, quick to take the shears to the new suit, despite how hard he'd worked on it, without giving it a second thought. With Ray's help, they were able to maneuver the rest of the top half of the suit off Barry's body as Caitlin slipped an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, securing it behind his head.

The second the cuff was attached to his wrist, the monitors released ear piercing beeping conveying that their patient's vitals were at dangerous levels. Barry's blood pressure was dropping and his heart rate increasing.

"Harry, elevate his feet! He's going into hypovolemic shock," Caitlin ordered. Harry immediately grabbed two pillows and maneuvered them underneath Barry's legs to elevate his feet. Caitlin ran over his body with the ship's portable scan, revealing a perforation in his gastrointestinal tract. "He's not going to make it to S.T.A.R. Labs for the bags we have on reserve."

"I got this," Ray said, grabbing a piece of glass that resembled a microscope slide from one of the cabinets. He picked up the discarded jacket and squeezed a few droplets from the dripping fabric onto the glass slide. Ray then moved to one of the panels behind the wall and placed the blood sample into a slot, punched a few buttons, and they all watched as one of the tubes connected to the wrist cuff around Barry began to fill with red. "It's a blood transfusion machine that can repli-"

"Explain later," Caitlin snapped, not looking up from where her gloved hands were steadily removing debris with forceps from Barry's injury, Cisco standing by with a metal dish to retrieve them and Harry assisting with the surgery. "I need you to get me gauze and a suction tube."

It had taken them three hours to stabilize him. Shrapnel from the blast had punctured his stomach causing internal bleeding. Caitlin sutured the tear and was grateful they were able to avoid peritonitis, but he'd lost a lot of blood and even with her stitching up his abdominal wound, it would take him at least half a day to heal.

It had been too risky to move him to S.T.A.R. Labs when they finally arrived after an hour into the surgery. They had stayed in the Waverider until his vitals stabilized, until she was sure he was safe to transport. When they finally moved them into her medical lab, Caitlin had made it clear to everyone they would need to wait until her go-ahead to visit while she and Cisco got him settled. She did not want to be crowded while they worked and the list of people that protested couldn't even be counted on two hands, from Felicity to Kara, team Arrow to team Legends, to Oliver and Alex who had been the ones to find the injured hero. The voice of reason that backed her up though was the person who had the most right to be in the room with them. With a strong voice despite the anxiety that was building under the surface, Iris had kept them all at bay, leaving the two people that had been tending to Barry's medical needs for over four years to know what was best for him.

For the first time in over three hours, Caitlin allowed herself a moment to breathe. Barry was unconscious but his vitals were steady, weak but getting stronger. Now in the hospital bed that essentially belonged to Barry due to how much time he'd unfortunately spent in it, Caitlin and Cisco finally felt as if they had home field advantage, knowing this med bay like they could navigate with their eyes closed bringing just the smallest amount of comfort to ease their stress.

With the largest wound bandaged, Caitlin now set to cleaning out a few minor gashes and scrapes that littered the speedster's body, sparing a few glances over to Cisco as he wiped at the blood stained on Barry's face, gentle but determined strokes washing away the blood caked on his forehead, cheek, and mouth. They had removed the rest of the uniform and changed him into his sweatpants and black zip up hoodie, just like they had done a hundred times before. They had hooked him up to all the necessary medical equipment to monitor and aid in his treatment, just like that done a hundred times before. As routine as it felt, despite how many times they'd experienced moments like this, it still pained them to see their friend injured. Nothing about this was comfortable except the silence between them and the now steady beeping rhythm of his heart from the monitor.

Her cold powers had come in handy while trying to fight the Nazis of Earth-X, but her skills as a doctor, being entrusted once again to save her friend, that was where Caitlin found her true measure of worth. She checked the IV in his arm, made sure the nasal cannula was tucked neatly behind his ears and spared a moment to sweep her hand over his clammy brow with a silent prayer, begging him to stay with them. She looked up to see Cisco staring at her with tired but sympathetic eyes and knew he felt the same as she did. She knew that as much purpose as he found in being Vibe, this team of three meant more to him.

It was where it had all started, the two of them tending to the man laying in the bed below. The difference now was that instead of scientific curiosity and determination as they tried to help him stay alive, it was driven by love and necessity. Instead of a hand hovering at his radial pulse, Caitlin's hand covered the wrist with fingers gently rubbing up and down his skin in comforting movements. And just like he had every time Barry needed something to hold onto when in pain, Cisco had Barry's hand held firmly in his; this time though it wasn't to provide an outlet for his pain but a quiet reassurance that they'd made it.

A soft knock on the door interrupted their silent moment as Iris gently eased her way into the room.

"Is he..." she began to ask, her voice low as if she was afraid to wake him.

"He's going to be okay," Caitlin smiled at her. Iris let out a sigh and moved towards the bed. Cisco and Caitlin both backed away, knowing it was her time now to take over the care of the man that meant so much to all of them. Cisco moved one of the chairs from the desk to the bedside for her and he and Caitlin both exited without another word.

Iris lowered herself into the chair beside the bed, staring at Barry's face as if she needed to memorize every detail. The truth was she already had. She knew his face better than her own; every smile he had in his arsenal, every freckle on his pale skin, the length of the scar on his forehead and the exact angles of his jaw. She'd grown up with that face and became enamored with it in recent years. However, she wished she hadn't become so used to seeing it like this, in forced rest as his body healed. From the coma to bedside vigils for the Flash, she'd spent many nights like this one. Nights where it was hard to see his face through the distractions. His head tilted slightly to the side on the pillow, facing her; the smooth surface of his skin interrupted by the tubing coming from his nose as it travelled across his cheeks before disappearing behind his ears, white butterfly bandages covering a gash on the right side of his face.

She tenderly adjusted the blanket that was pulled up to the mid-section of Barry's chest, a black hoodie that was zipped up just enough to reveal the top of the wrappings she knew that covered the wound that could have taken him from her. The wires from the pads attached to his chest monitoring his vitals connected to machines and screens that brought comfort to Iris, the sounds and images that had become reassuring reminders that Barry's heart was strong and he was still here.

"Hi, honey, " Iris started, her voice cracking slightly as she inched the chair as close to the bed as she could. She reached for Barry's left hand, holding it in-between both of hers, squeezing it lightly, cautious of the IV lines. "I'll be here when you wake up, okay?"

Still holding his hand in her left one, she leaned forward and gently lay the other atop Barry's head, fingers brushing through his hair.

"Take as long as you need, but when you wake up you have a lot of people that want to see you," Iris smiled sadly. "And not to put any pressure on you, but you still owe me a wedding."

Iris wasn't sure how long she stayed like that, holding his hand and stroking his scalp. She didn't know at what point she fell asleep but the feel of a caress on her head drew her from her slumber. As she slowly awakened, she could feel long, gentle fingers gliding through her hair. Lifting her head slightly, she was not all that surprised to find she had fallen asleep in the chair, slumped forward, her arms pillowing her head atop the mattress. She was surprised though to see Barry's eyes peeking out through half opened lids, smiling rather dopily and sleepy at her as his hand gently combed his long fingers loosely through her hair.

"Hey," Barry breathed softly. Iris sat up and reached for the hand that had been in her hair, clasping it in her own and squeezing it as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside him.

"Hey," Iris smiled back at him through tears, lifting the hand she was holding in hers up to her lips and placed a gentle kiss on the inside of his wrist. She wanted to ask him how he felt, knew she should probably get Caitlin now that he was finally awake, but she needed this moment with him.

"Iris, I'm sorr-"

"Shh," she shook her head, bringing her hands to frame his face between them, palms resting upon his cheeks as she brought her face just inches from his. "Don't. You're safe, you're alive and you're with me. That's all I need."

Her thumbs stroked gently along his skin, still cold but warmer than it had been as he healed. She could see it in his face that he was in pain from his injuries, unable to use painkillers because of his powers. But he didn't moan, didn't complain, and she was reminded once again how strong her fiancé was.

Fiancé. He should have been her husband by now, before all this started. For a universe that seemed to insist they were destined to be together, it sure did have a nasty habit of trying to pull him from her. The lightning, evil speedsters, time travel and now Nazis. Their life wasn't normal. But as Barry closed his eyes, leaning his cheek into her touch with a sigh and smile, Iris realized neither was her love for him. This thing between them, there was nothing normal about that. It, like the man before her, was extraordinary.

"Do you remember our wedding?" he asked suddenly, pulling her from her thoughts.

"How can I forget," she chuckled incredulously, her voice quiet. "We got interrupted by Nazis halfway through our vows."

"No," he smiled, bringing a hand up to clasp the forearm by his cheek, gently gliding his hand back and forth across her skin. "No I mean our first wedding. When we were ten. Before my mom, uh...before Joe took me in."

She looked at him in confusion until the memory came to her. How she had forgotten about that she'll never know but it was clear to her now. They had been friends for almost a year at that point when on one particular afternoon playdate, they decided to get married in her living room. She had worn a princess tiara with tissue paper taped to it for a veil and Barry a top hot from his magic set. She had ripped flowers from the garden and they were married by the stuffed T-Rex the two of them had won after pooling their tickets together at the city fair earlier in the summer.

"You said to me, that if we were going to be best friends forever," he paused, breathing deeply through a wave of pain and grateful for the nasal cannula supplying oxygen, "then we had to get married."

"That is not how it happened. I don't think I was that bossy even back then," she laughed, pressing her forehead to his. The pad of her thumb caught a tear that escaped from the corner of his eyes. Pain, struggle, or exhaustion, she wasn't sure what the cause was for his tears. She did know the ones escaping her own were of relief.

"Yep. That's how you proposed," Barry said, his eyes beginning to grow heavy even though his smile din't waver. "Looked me right in the eyes and threatened me. I think you even called me Bartholomew."

He nudged his nose against hers and she couldn't help but lean in for a kiss. It was small and quick, not wanting to steal his precious breath even though he was always taking hers away.

"And you've been mine ever since," she whispered when she pulled away, only far enough to place a kiss upon his forehead. He nodded briefly, still smiling as everything about his body started to slow in exhaustion. He fought to keep his eyes open, his breathing became deeper, and the hand gently holding her forearm began to lower to his side.

"Iris, is everyone okay?" Barry asked quietly, eyes closing as his brow furrowed. She bit her lip, wanting so desperately to tell him yes despite it not being the truth. A few members of the team had been hurt as well, albeit not as badly as him, and they had lost Professor Stein. But Barry's eyes were fluttering closed as he began to give into exhaustion and she couldn't bear to burden him just yet.

"It's all going to be okay," Iris said quietly, her thumb stroking gently across his cheek as the hand adorned in the engagement ring moved to gently clasp his. "Rest, love."

As his breathing evened out, Barry shifted his hand from where she held it to thread his fingers between hers. With their hands interlocked, Barry holding on to her as tightly as she held onto him, Iris could believe now that he was okay. For the first time in a few days since all this started, she felt like he was safe again.

Barry and Iris had invited everyone to celebrate with them as they held hands and exchanged vows, all coming together to celebrate their union. But instead this group of people, with the addition of a few new comers, had come together again protect their home from those who would do them harm. They had stood together side by side and used their gifts, powers, and skills to face down impossible odds and save their world. But as remarkable and brave as it was, in this moment Iris was just grateful they had extended their helping hands to save the man sleeping peacefully now, her world.