15 years ago…
"Auntie Iris!" little Wally screamed with delight and jumping into the open arms of his aunt. Iris West smiled down at the little boy that was now squirming in her hold, trying to break free so he could run around some more. At the age of three, he was just a little bundle of giggles and energy.
Iris put her nephew down and looked back to his parents. Her sister, Keeley, and Wally's father Brian. They looked exhausted, which was understandable; Wally was quite a handful. So Iris had gladly agreed to watch the little monster for a the couple hours, she had insisted, knowing her sister had barely been out of the house the full three years since the little boy was born.
Even with her hair a mess and dark circles under her eyes Keeley was still the prettiest sister. While Iris had their father's dark hair and dark blue eyes, Keeley took after their mother; she had a beautiful head of thick, red hair, the kind that only came from true Irish blood, and her eyes a gorgeous green.
Iris turned to look at the man next to Keeley. He was average on her good-looks scale. He had brown hair and blue eyes, the picture of average actually. She couldn't think of anything about him that wasn't average, even his personality was bleak in comparison to her sister's free spirit. She never really could figure out why the red head had married such a dull man.
Iris was jerked back into reality as Wally squealed in joy as his uncle tickled his stomach. "You're sure you can watch him? Because, really, you don't have to…" Keeley, always polite, trailed off. Iris simply smiled sweetly at her little sister.
"Nonsense, when was last time you two had a night to yourselves?" The pair was silent. "Exactly. You guys need a night to just relax and enjoy each other. Barry and I can handle this little monster," she said the last part as she joined in tickling the toddler in her husband's arms.
"If your sure…"
"I am."
"Alright. Wally, Baby, come give Mommy a kiss." The little red head ran into his mother's arms as she bent down to his level. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her he loved like a good little boy. "You behave for Auntie Iris, okay?" Wally nodded. After one more kiss he ran back into the house, not bothering to say good-bye to his father; they weren't close.
Iris said her good-bye as well and watched her sister's car as it backed out of her driveway and drove down the road. Satisfied Keeley wasn't going to come back, insisting she had forgotten something (she had already done this twice), Iris went back into the house to search for her boys. She found them sprawled out on the couch watching some mindless cartoon about a talking sponge with way too many names. She smiled at the image of her husband lying there with the little boy next to him, both fascinated with the show, the colors reflecting off the TV and hitting their faces.
Suddenly a beeping could be heard and the two adults knew it wasn't the phone. Iris sighed as Barry placed the boy back on the couch after he had gotten up to see what the trouble was now. The life of an ever-busy superhero. Iris went to sit down next to the toddler. She pushed his red curls out of his face; he didn't seem to even notice, as the sponge went on singing about shoe tying. Barry came back a minute later.
"I gotta go, Iris," he said dejectedly. He was looking forward to spending time with his only nephew.
"I'd ask 'do you have to?' but I know it's a lost cause."
"Iris, I'm sorry—" but she cut him off.
"I know." She pulled him into a hug. She kissed him quickly and sighed again. "Just be careful and try to get home before dinner?" She phrased it as a question but he knew her well enough to know it was a command.
"I'll try." He kissed her once more and then he was gone. Wally must have lost interest in his show because he turned his head to face Iris as she sat down next to him.
"Wherw did Uncy Barry go?" he asked in his cute little boy voice. She sighed and brushed his hair back soothingly as he frowned.
"He had to go, Baby," she said. Wally's frown turned into a full out pout and his lips trembled in that about-to-cry way. "But he'll be back," she added trying to avoid the tears she knew were coming. Her words did nothing to comfort the boy and tears started to slowly make their way down his face.
"Oh, Wally," she cooed as she brought him close to her. He climbed into her lap and stuck his thumb in his mouth, a habit she thought he had let go of when he turned three; apparently not. She rocked him back and forth trying her best to get him to stop crying. She stopped and looked down at him.
"How 'bout we make a pie?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ten minutes later, they had added all the ingredients and Wally was now stirring them together under the watchful eye of his aunt. Iris thought this particular activity would bring the spark back in the young boy's eye but it did nothing but make a mess of her kitchen and use up all her eggs. She turned around for just a second to wash the dishes in the sink when she heard a clang of metal on the floor and wails of a child in distress. She turned back but it was too late. The pie ingredients were all over her precious kitchen floor and the little boy was now crying again.
"Oh, Wally, it's okay," she said as she picked up the bowl and put it on the counter. She then picked up her nephew and gently rocked him back and forth and tried to wipe the mess up at the same time. She stopped her hopeless attempt to clean up the pie batter and turned all her attention to the still crying boy in her arms. "Shh, Wally, it's alright, don't cry, we'll just make another one, okay? Don't cry, Baby," she said while rubbing comforting circles on his back.
Iris re-gathered the needed items to make another pie, all the while trying to sooth her nephew. It wasn't until she started to stir the batter that he started to settle down. "There, there," she whispered and started to softly sing a song she remembered her gran-gran singing when she was a little girl.
When the world is gray and bleakBaby don't you cry
I will give you every bit of love that is in my heart
I will bake it up… into a simple little pieIris swayed as she sang and the boy's sobs settled into occasional sniffles.Baby don't you cry gonna make a pie
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Baby don't be blue
Gonna make for you
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with strawberry love
Baby don't you cryGonna make a pie
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart.
Baby here's the sun
Baby here's the sky
Baby I'm the light and I'm your shelter
Baby you are mine
I could freeze the time
Keep you in my kitchen with me forever
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with strawberry love
Baby don't you cry
Gonna make a pie
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart.
Gonna bake a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with butterscotch love
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with banana cream love
Baby don't you cry
Gonna make a pie
Hold you forever
Hold you forever
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart
She finished the song with s kiss on Wally's head. The boy had fallen asleep during her lullaby so she set him down on the couch in the other room momentarily. She put the pie in the oven and then brought the sleeping toddler upstairs to where he would be spending the night. She put him in the middle of the bed and proceeded to put pillows around him to make sure he didn't fall off the bed while he slept. (Keeley was forever reminding her that he hadn't outgrown his crib yet.) She kissed his forehead once before turning to clean up the disaster that was her kitchen.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Barry came home just as she was setting the table for dinner. He greeted her with a kiss before going upstairs to shower and change. When he came back down he helped he with silverware. He caught her hand as she was putting the last plate down and brought her close to him. She sighed and leaned into the embrace.
"He wasn't too much trouble was he?" Barry asked after a few minutes had passed. Iris sighed again and pulled back to at look her husband pointedly.
"Well, after I told him you were gone he started to cry. So I tried making him a pie to cheer him up but he spilled it all over the floor." Barry winced; he knew how much his wife took pride in how clean their kitchen floor always was. "So we made another one and I sang him a song." He raised an eyebrow at this. "What? I can sing!" He continued to look at her. "Well it seemed to calm him down. He's sleeping upstairs. Why don't you go get him and bring him down? Dinner's almost ready."
Wally never stopped talking once while they were eating. Both adults tried their best to listen to what he was saying but he wasn't very articulate and he talked awful fast for a three-year-old. The good news was that all his talking had tired him out, so he didn't but up a fight when Iris told him it was bedtime. He let her put him in his feet-sy Flash pajamas (a gift from his uncle Barry) and carry him upstairs without complaint. Iris tucked him in for the second time that day and kiss his forehead before going to join her husband in their own bed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was 2:43 A.M. when the phone rang. Barry got it first considering. She heard him murmuring quietly, trying not to wake her. Too late."Hello," he said groggily, sleep still evident in his voice. She heard the person on the other side say something back. "Yes, I'm her husband. It something wrong?" More murmurs from the other voice. Barry was silent for a while, then, "Yes, I understand. Thank you." And then he hung up. He turned on the light and touched her shoulder lightly.
"Iris, Sweetheart, wake up." She turned and knew the minute she saw the sadness in his eyes that whatever it was, it wasn't good news.
"What? Berry, what is it?" she asked frantic, immediately alert.
"That was the hospital." It took a moment for this information to settle in her brain before she realized what that meant. She gasped; her hand went to her mouth as she mentally went over every single person that it could be: her mother, her brother, her sister, one of Barry's friends from work, one of his friends form work, one of her friends…
"Who, Barry? Who is it?" He stayed silent. "God damn it, Berry, who!?" she all but screamed at him. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Its Keeley, Iris, her and Brian were hit by a semi on the highway." He said nothing else but she knew by his gaze that they didn't make.
"No," she whispered. "No, no, no, no, it can't be Keeley, not my Keeley, not my baby sister. No! They must have made a mistake. No!" she screamed. Barry wrapped his arms around her and she struggled against his hold at first. But soon her shouting turned into sobs and he just held her making soft comforting noises.
After she had settle down, everything sort of sunk in. Her sister was dead. And if her sister was dead it meant that she wasn't going to be picking up Wally tomorrow. She would never pick up Wally again. She realized what this meant.
"He's ours now," she whispered to her husband. He gave her a questioning look. "Wally. He's our responsibility now. Oh my God," she said as she had another realization. "The poor baby's an orphan, Barry! An orphan! He's all alone now, Barry." He shushed her again and pulled her back into his embrace.
"Shh, he's not alone, Sweetheart, he has us. And we're going to take care of him and love him and teach him right from wrong. And we're going to make sure he never forgets his parents, okay?" She nodded into his chest. "Okay," he repeated and continued to rub soothing circles on her back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next few days were hell. They morning after the call from the hospital they had to call everyone, that included Brian's family, they had to make arrangements for the bodies and arrangements for the funeral. They had to call Keeley's lawyer for the will to be read and to ask who Wally's guardians were now (it had been her and Barry). They also had to arrange for Wally's things to be brought to their house and what to do with the rest of the family's things and the house. They had to figure out what to do about pre-Kindergarten for Wally, too. To say they were busy was the understatement of the year.
And poor, little, naïve Wally had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that whatever it was it was making his 'Auntie Iwis' sad and so, whatever it was, he didn't like. And that was why, on the morning of the funeral, three days after that dreadful call, Wally was making a fuss. He didn't want to wear the suit his aunt was trying to get him to wear. The suit was stupid and itchy and he didn't want to wear it on a Monday. It was the tenth time Wally had thrown the tie off that Iris lost it.
"Damn it, Wally! Why can't you just wear the stupid tie?" she yelled and sat heavily on the bed with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Wally got up off the floor and ran to his aunt.
"Auntie Iwis?" he asked, scared. He didn't mean to make Auntie cry. He ran and picked up his tie and desperately tried to get it around his neck like Iris had. "Auntie Iwis? Don't cwy, I got da tie see?" he asked but she didn't lift her head to see. "Pwease, Auntie Iwis, pwease don't cwy. I didn't mean to make you cwy. I gonna wear da tie just don't cwy!" With some effort, he climbed on the bed and sat next to her. He wrapped his little arm around her as much as he could and used the other to brush back her hair like she did when he was sad. He didn't know what to do until he remembered the song she had sang him. Unsurely, he sang the chorus as best he could,
Baby don't you cry gonna make a pie
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Baby don't be blue
Gonna make for you
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with strawberry love
Iris lifted her head as her nephew recited the song she had sung to him not three days ago. He noticed and smiled a little. "Iwis feel better?" She smiled back and wiped the last of her tears away.
"Yes, Baby, that made me feel much, much better," she said and hugged the little boy close to her. When she pulled back he looked guiltily at her.
"Didn't mean to make you sad, Auntie. But I gonna weaw da tie, akay?" Iris smiled sadly back at him. He had no idea what was going on.
"Oh, Wally, I wasn't sad because of you. And I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was just frustrated at everything and took it out on you." She took Wally into her lap and retied his tie until it was perfect. Then she sighed and decided it was time to tell him what was going on and why he needed to wear the suit in the first place.
"Wally do you know why Uncle Barry and I have been so busy and sad lately?" The red head shook his head no. "Okay." Iris wasn't exactly sure how to break it to a three year old that his mommy and daddy weren't going to come back.
"You know how Mommy didn't come pick you up a couple days ago?" Wally nodded. "Well that's because Mommy and Daddy had to leave us ad go to Heaven. They're gonna be there for a while and we're not going to be able to see them for a very, very long time."
Wally frowned. "Why Mommy went wifout me?"
"Well, Baby, Mommy didn't want to go but she couldn't decide. When she had to go she had to go and she wasn't allowed to come and say good-bye or take you with her. And Mommy wants you till live here with me and Uncle Barry for a long time before you go to Heaven. Do you understand, Wally." The little boy nodded unsurely at first but eventually he smiled and said,
"Does that mean that I gets to stay here wif you and Uncy Barry foeva?" Iris smiled.
"Yes, Wally that's exactly what it means."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Present Day…Iris West-Allan was busy making a pie in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She wiped her hands on her apron and went to answer it. She was pleasantly surprised to see her nephew, Wally West. She smiled widely.
"Wally!" she said and brought the boy in for a hug. Over the years her little Wally had grown up and now was able to look down on her; she didn't like it, it made her feel old. "Why haven't you been home to visit your old aunt since…well it must have been since last Christmas. You better visit more often or else no pie for you," she warned, but smiled as his face lit up at the mention of her pie.
"You made pie?"
"When am I not making pie, boy?" she joked. She missed Wally dreadfully when he wasn't home. She was always worried about her boys out there risking their lives for others.
"Come in now out of the cold." It wasn't until Wally moved aside that she noticed the girl that had, apparently, been there the whole time. She hit her nephew on the shoulder, hard.
"Ow! What was that for?" Wally asked rubbing his, now sore arm.
Iris huffed and looked apologetically at the pink haired girl. "Sometimes I wonder if I got anything into that thick scull of his," she whispered to Jinx, who smiled shyly. Then she hit Wally again.
"Ow!"
"Where are your manners, boy?" Iris motioned towards the girl.
"Oh yeah, sorry Jinxy. Aunt Iris this is Jinx, Jinx this is my Aunt Iris."
Iris shook the girls hand. "It's nice to meat you, dear. Now, why don't you both come in before you catch something?"
Once they were all settled in the living room she went to get drinks for everybody. Once she was back and everyone had a cup of tea, she looked at Jinx.
"So, Jinx, was it?" The girl nodded. "So, Jinx, how do you know my Wally?"
Jinx looked nervously at Wally but he smiled at her to tell it was all right. She smiled back. Iris did not miss this interaction.
"Um, we kinda work together."
"Oh," Iris said. Well that explains the hair, she thought. "Well, it's good knowing he has someone looking after him out there."
Wally blushed, "Aunt Irriiiis!" he complained.
"Don't you 'Aunt Iris' me," Iris warned and Jinx had to stifle a giggle at the sight of Wally being told off by a woman half his size. "Now Wally, why don't you take Jinx in the kitchen and finish that pie I started, hmm?" she said and Wally took Jinx's hand in his and pulled her along with him to the kitchen. The phone rang and Iris went to answer it. When she went back to the kitchen to bring in the, now cold, tea, she smiled softly at the sight in front of her.
The girl, Jinx, was stirring the batter in the bowl and Wally stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, one hand on hers, helping her stir. His head rest on her shoulder and he swayed them as he sang softly a song she knew quite well.
When the world is gray and bleakBaby don't you cry
I will give you every bit of love that is in my heart
I will bake it up… into a simple little pie
Baby don't you cry gonna make a pie
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middleBaby don't be blue
Gonna make for you
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with strawberry love
Baby don't you cryGonna make a pie
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart.
He kissed her cheek and she giggled. Jinx sighed and leaned back into Wally's chest.
"I like it here," Iris heard her say softly. Wally kissed her again, this time on the top of her head.
"Good," Wally replied, "then we can come back anytime you want. My aunt and uncle were the ones who rally raised me. I feel bad for not visiting more often."
"And you should," Iris said pretending to walk in for the first time. "Wally turned form Jinx and smiled at his aunt. He looked back at Jinx who was stirring the mix with careful strokes, not wanting to mess up in front of Wally's family.
Iris knew the look Wally was giving that girl. It was the same look Keeley had told her Barry would give her. It was look of love, she had said. Keeley was right. Iris smiled wide. Her boy was in love. She couldn't wait to tell Barry.
"Wally," she said and Wally head snapped away from the girl to her.
"Yeah?"
"You going to keep that promise you made me?" Wally gave her a confused look and tried to remember the certain promise his aunt was speaking about. She hummed the tune of their song and he smiled. Wally looked back at Jinx who was looking at him curiously.
"Yeah," Wally replied. "Yeah, I think I will." Iris was satisfied with this answer and decided to give the young couple some time alone. Just as she was walking out she heard Jinx ask,
"What promise?" Iris stopped where she was and listened for Wally's response.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
12 years ago…
It had been three years since the accident and Wally was six. It was summer and he was in the kitchen with his aunt making pies, his favorite thing to do with her. They were both humming their pie song as they each worked on their own pies. As they came to the finish of the song his aunt turned to him and said,
"Wally, will you promise me something?" Wally looked curiously at her.
"What kinda promise?" Iris smiled.
"I want you to promise me that when you grow up find a girl you love, you have to teach out pie song so that when you have kids of your own you can sing it to them. Can you promise me that, Wally?"
Wally thought about this and the he smiled back with a toothless grin. "Okay, I promise, but I'm never gonna get married. Girls are icky!"
Iris gasped in faked shock. "But, Wally, I'm a girl, do you think I'm icky?" Wally laughed at his aunt and shook his head as if she was the child.
"Silly Auntie Iris, you're not a girl, you're and auntie," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Iris smiled back at the little boy she loved.
"Oh, okay, as long as I'm not icky."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Iris smiled at the memory and waited for Wally to answer. But all he said was, "I'll tell you later."
But then as Iris was walking down the hall she heard him say, "Hey Jinxy?"
"Yeah?"
"You're not icky."
Iris smiled.
Hold you forever
Hold you forever in the middle of my heart*------------*------------*------------*
So this sort of just came to me when I was watching Waitress and she was singing this song. I think its kind of a cute one-shot with just a hint of tragedy, but tell me what you think. And I know Jinx is kind of OOC but I figured she would be nervous meeting Wally's family, so yeah. The song is not mine and neither are the characters. The song is Baby don't you cry (the pie song) by Quincy Coleman & Andrew Hollander from the movie Waitress.
Please review and thanks for reading!
-Sammy-