A/N: The scene w/ Killer Frost discussing why getting Barry's memories back ASAP is a necessity (which followed up the scene in the previous chapter) should be assumed as having taken place exactly when and how it was in the episode. This chapter begins near the end of the scene following that where Joe and Iris are discussing Barry's condition while he runs in the speed lab. It becomes canon divergent when it continues past what the episode showed us. Everything that took place in the episode in between the scene in the first chapter and this chapter is the same.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

*Many thanks to my awesome beta, sendtherain, for being wonderful and looking this over for me. :)

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Chapter 2 - Can't Change What the Future May Hold

"You don't want his memory restored, do you?"

She should've known her dad would connect the dots. He always knew her so well, sometimes better than Barry. But it did make things difficult. It made it impossible to deny the secret she harbored inside, the one she'd been trying to ignore because of the implications it held.

"Dad, I…I can't say seeing him happy and light isn't something that I have wished for him, because yeah, it is."

"Sweetheart, I wish that for him too. But you didn't fall in love with the Flash. You fell in love with Barry Allen."

A fact she was aware of, but not something she couldn't tackle – or wasn't willing to combat.

"Dad, I know this is a different version of him, but he's…" She thought of his laugh, his instinct to help, his smile, the way he looked at her, the way he kissed her, the way her heart beat faster every time his body moved closer to hers. "He's still Barry."

"No, he's not, honey."

How is he not? Her eyes bored into him, wanting an answer she knew he wouldn't give.

"Look, up until yesterday Barry had twenty-eight years of experiences to define him. And some of those memories were bad, but some were good too. But without those memories, the Barry Allen we know and love…is gone."

She hated when he was right. It didn't change how she felt though, or the pain that already arced through her imagining this happy-go-lucky version of Barry suddenly laden down with the weight of past tragedies and regret. It broke her heart. She was on the verge of tears even now.

Barry's woo-hoo as he ran even faster could be heard from the tunnel above them.

"I don't know, Dad." She walked away from him, creating space. Her eyes watched the tube where Barry ran. "You know part of me can't help but think that this is some sort of gift, you know? That this is the life that he was supposed to have."

Her dad didn't respond to that. She was grateful. She had no other arguments to offer up except the ones she'd already given him. She was scared to death of dying, but her shoulders slumped and tears nearly rose to the surface every time she saw her Barry sunken in on himself when he thought she wasn't looking.

"I agree with Iris," a familiar voice sounded, the presence of the person who accompanied it striding towards them.

"Wally," Iris said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Did something happen?" Joe asked, his hand already on his gun.

"No, no, nothing like that," he assured them, gesturing for his dad to relax, which gradually he did. "Caitlin…or Killer Frost…or whoever is working with Cisco and Julian to come up with a way to get his memories back. From what I could tell when I left, she's behaving. She wants Barry's memories back so Savitar will have his memories back, so he can…" He fell silent.

"Kill me," Iris finished quietly.

Wally didn't respond to that.

"Barry won't let that happen," Joe said confidently. "Once he gets his memories back, we'll be back on track to finding a way to defeat Savitar. Everything will be fine."

"But what if it isn't?" Wally's eyes held as much painful depth as Iris knew were in hers. "What if we do everything we can and Iris still dies?"

Iris looked away, aware of his gaze traveling to her downcast face.

He took a breath. "I know Barry is going to do everything in his power to keep you safe. We all are working together to make that a certainty. But Savitar has always been one step ahead. And after what we did to Barry's memories, I don't think we want to risk tampering with them again just to put Cisco's proposal to the test."

"No," Iris said instantly. "We're not messing with his brain again. Who knows what damage we'll do if we tried a second time. It's not like we have a scientist we can trust to help us out with it, at any rate."

"Right. Which is why I think we need to hold off trying to get Barry's memories back. At least until after you're supposed to die." Iris's gaze lifted to Wally's a beat before he looked back at Joe. "Savitar won't exist. He won't even try to kill Iris. After we're sure he's gone for good, we'll get Barry's memory back using whatever technology Cisco and Julian are figuring out with Caitlin right now."

"What makes you think she'll go along with this plan once she knows what we're up to? Whatever she wants from Savitar, she won't get it if he disintegrates before she gets it."

"That's why we won't tell her. We'll let her figure it out, tell us how it works, and then we won't use it until after May 23rd. We can lock Caitlin in the pipeline or even let her leave. It won't matter. She can't get Savitar to remember anything if Barry doesn't first."

Iris turned to her dad, hopeful. With Wally on her side, and with such great logic to accompany him, how could he not seriously consider it?

Joe gazed at the two of them for a long while before answering.

"You do know that if Savitar never remembers, you'll never get your powers back, right?"

Wally shrunk back a little but nodded. "I know." His eyes fixed on Iris. "But this is more important."

"Wally—" Iris's voice broke, but he brushed her off.

"There are other ways to help people than with super speed. As dad told me many times before I got my powers." He locked eyes with Joe, urging him to agree, ignoring the guilt clear on Iris's face.

"And what about Central City needing the Flash? You can't teach him everything he needs to know before the next metahuman criminal needs to be stopped."

"I know. But I think you guys are forgetting something very important."

Joe and Iris shared a look and then looked at him confused.

"Me, Barry, Jay… there's one more speedster out there." Wally didn't wait for the look of dawning realization to quiet on his family's faces. "And I know she'd be willing to help." He paused. "Iris." He took a step towards her. "The best way to lift the weight off Barry's shoulders and save you from being murdered in a month is for me to get Jesse, have her protect the city and help me train Barry to be the Flash he's always been. And once you're safe, we'll get Barry's memories back." He lifted his hand to her face and brushed his thumb against her cheek. "And then you can both plan the wedding of your dreams."

Iris's breath caught in her throat, but before she could respond –

"Let's do it."

Startled, all three Wests turned to see who had spoken. It was Barry, no longer running to his heart's content in the speed tunnel above them.

"Barry." Iris stepped away from Wally and closed some of the distance between her and her fiancé. "How much did you—"

"I heard enough," he said fiercely. "You're not going to be murdered, Iris." He took her hands in his own. "I would rather go without my memories for the rest of my life than to see that happen to you. And I know that the me with my memories would say the exact same thing."

Caught up in him, Iris kept half her mind focused on any interjection that might be voiced from her father, but there was none.

"You should know the situation, Barry."

He shook his head. "No. I told you I don't want my memories back until you're safe."

She smiled sadly and took his hands in her own.

"Telling you what happened isn't going to make you remember it as a memory, Barry." She gestured to the hall leading outside the speed lab. "C'mon."

Reluctantly Barry let Iris lead him out of the room, worry and uncertainty spreading through him when Iris looked over her shoulder to share a look with her father and brother.

"I won't change my mind about this, Iris," he said adamantly as soon as they were out of sight. "If anything, knowing all the details about the situation will only make me more convinced not to get my memories back."

Iris forced a smile. "I know. You're probably right. But you should still know."

Barry sighed and nodded, accepting the inevitable. "Alright. Who's Savitar?"

...

A/N: Starting in chapter three, EVERYTHING will be canon divergent. This is the last chapter that contains word-for-word material from the episode in the same setting as it was shown to us when it aired.