A/N: Based off the 3x02 extended promo & Candice Patton's quote that says: ""Once we kind of get out of Flashpoint, they're going to have to deal with knowing that they knew each other in that timeline and what that means for them in their relationship and if they want to move forward or if things have just changed so much that they can't." Enjoy. :)

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

...

"You need to tell me what is going on, Barry. Right now."

He stared into her eyes, still trying to decide what he was and was not willing to tell her. Everything? Nothing? Of all the bizarre things that had been going on since he arrived in this warped version of the old timeline, his relationship with Iris has changed. From what he could tell, they were still best friends. They weren't dating, because that last kiss hadn't happened, but she could see something was wrong. She knew him inside and out. This wasn't the first time she'd demanded answers.

"Barry," she demanded, the fire burning brighter in her eyes.

His calm demeanor faded away and the nerves that had been beating down on him all day shown all over his face.

"I went back in time," he finally said, running a hand through his hair.

She blinked. "What?"

"I couldn't handle my father dying, so I went back in time and saved my mother." He took a deep breath. "I changed the timeline."

Silence, heavy as lead, sunk in the space between them as Iris tried to process what he was telling her.

"Obviously you came back," she said quietly. Her eyes flitted up to his – why? But she didn't ask it.

"Yeah." He nodded and then turned away, pacing across the short corridor. "But it's different. It's not the same. It's-" He looked at her helplessly. "It's not the same as when I left."

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Joe were not estranged. Cisco wasn't in rehab, and Caitlin didn't have…cold powers." He gestured about wildly as he spoke, each example more agonizing than the last.

Iris's eyes widened. "Wait, Caitlin has the metahuman gene? I thought-"

And that was when he realized that nobody else knew. He squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped his fingers tightly around the bridge of his nose.

"I saw her…" He let out. "In STAR Labs. She was by herself and she didn't know I was there. And her hand, there was…" He rubbed his hands over his face. "Oh god, what have I done…"

Silence settled again before Iris said, "So, this is why you've been acting so weird, like you're confused by everything." He looked up at her hesitantly. "Because you are. None of this is real to you. None of it is what you remember."

"That's just the thing, Iris. I do remember. In Flashpoint-"

"It's what the Reverse Flash called the timeline I created when I went back and stopped him from killing my mother."

"But you killed him. Or Eddie did…" She was quiet for a moment and then shook her head. "He was erased from time."

Barry laughed under his breath. He'd thought maybe letting everything out would make him feel better, but he just felt worse.

"That version of him."

Iris's brows furrowed; she was confused again.

"Look, Iris, there is a lot that is different from the way I remember it. But you and I, we're still best friends. And the last time I left, well-"

"What?"

He sighed. "Let's just say I was expecting you to be on the porch at Joe's house when I came back. Or, at least inside waiting for me."

"But my dad and I don't talk, Barry. You know tha-" She stopped herself mid-sentence, remembering what he'd just told her. "You don't know that." She sighed. "Or you didn't."

"I messed up everyone's lives, Iris. I don't know what's the same and what's different, only that what is seriously wrong with everyone is because of what I did. I wish I could go back and undo everything, but-"

"No. That's…no. I think, given the circumstances that's a bad idea." She paused, her mind switching gears. "How long were you in this…Flashpoint?"

He sighed. "Three months."

"And you and I…were we? I mean, together?"

The look on her face was pained and hopeful at the same time. He couldn't even relish the fact that she'd basically admitted that on this warped timeline of his original life she still had romantic feelings for him.

"Almost," he said. "We had something. She felt it right away. And I-"

"What?" She shook her head again before he could say a word. "No, don't tell me. I don't want to know. We have bigger problems than me dealing with the fact that you might have been in love with another version of me."

"Iris-"

"No." She stopped him. "Don't."

His mouth opened in protest, but he made himself stay silent.

"I am going to tell you everything that I know," she continued. "You tell me what's the same and what's different. Whether I'm mad or not, I am going to help you fix this, Barry Allen."

He swallowed and nodded. "And what about us?"

She looked at him, tears threatening to fall.

"I don't know."

...

A/N: If I had written this after I first watched the promo, Iris prob would've been written a lot angrier. As it is, it's been a few days and I've calmed down. We'll see if she explodes in the ep or not. :P