Son, My Son

summary: Without even a moment to process life without his powers, a sick day at home turns into a day for Barry that has him questioning the universe's timing when a man comes looking for revenge on Joe. Barry's limits are tested, Joe's love is questioned, and the two aren't sure how they're going to make it out of this one unscathed, physically or emotionally. [Takes place right after 2x19 and before 2x20]

genre: Angst, Hurt-Comfort, Family, Drama

rated: T

authors note: title inspiration and lyrics are from "Son My Son" by Milo Greene.

Chapter 2

Just remember the weight of your world's only resting on me

"I didn't realize tonight was movie night?" Cisco looked up to Iris as she ended the phone call. She had stopped by STAR Labs after work to see how the hologram-Flash idea was coming along so she could give some good news to Barry tonight. After Barry hadn't answered her texts, she tried her Dad to see if he'd heard from him. She had not been expecting the conversation to go the way it did though.

"It's not," Iris said, holding her phone to her chin as she thought, before turning on her heel to exit the cortex. "We have to call Captain Singh."

"Why?" Cisco called out, grabbing his coat from the nearby chair before chasing after her as she left.

"My dad called me Honey Bear," Iris said as she pressed the elevator button, staring at the door.

"I don't know if that's a reportable offense, Iris. I mean its kind of an adorable nickname," Cisco scratched his head, as they entered the lift and made their way towards the surface. He watched with curiosity as Iris called the Captain, informing Singh that her father and Barry were in trouble, pleading with him to rush to the West home.

"Iris, what's going on?" Cisco asked as she hung up.

"It's code," Iris said, turning to face Cisco. "When we were kids the son of one of the cops my dad worked with was kidnapped. Anytime the kidnapper called for ransom demands the child could never give her anything helpful to work with to find him because he was too afraid of making the kidnapper angry. The child was missing for two weeks before they found him."

"That's awful."

"So when we were kids, my Dad came up with some codes for us to use so we could alert each other we were in danger. We went with nicknames we never use. Mine was Honey Bear, Dad's was Papa Bear, and Barry was Bee."

"That's really smart," Cisco followed Iris out of the elevator as they reached the main level.

"He said you have to make every word count. Dad used my nickname to let me know that he's in trouble, and used Barry's to let me know that Barry was with him. He also said that Barry is sick and he didn't want me getting sick too."

"But we all already know Barry's sick."

"I think he means that Barry's hurt and he doesn't want me to get hurt either. He told me to let David know, that he gets first pick…David is Captain Singh," Iris barely waited for Cisco to close the door to her car before speeding off out of the lot. "Dad wanted me to call in the cavalry first."

"First?" Cisco asked, quickly buckling as Iris made a sharp turn.

"Yeah. Because he knew I'd also come the minute I understood the message."

Barry grunted around the gag still shoved between his teeth, the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he was backhanded once more. Bound as he was to the chair, he couldn't even try to escape yet another slap, grunting in pain, eyes watering as Hansen's hand struck the cheek that he had previously gashed with the blade. He could hear Joe shouting, crying out for him to stop throughout the beating Cal had been inflicting on him.

Cal then punched Barry hard in the hip. Barry gasped in air through his nose, doubled over as in pain as far as the restraints would allow. Barry could feel the slow drip of blood down his hip from the wound. It was a small enough blade, narrow and not long, causing enough pain and internal damage without leaving a gaping wound that would result in Barry bleeding out too quickly. He was familiar enough with the sensation of cracked ribs to know that the few that been bruised from his encounter with Griffin Gray were now cracked.

"What do you think, West?" Cal called over to Joe as he bent over Barry, grabbing him by the chin, lifting his head and forcing Barry to stare at him. "Have you suffered enough? Or do we need to have a little more fun with Barry?"

"You sadistic prick," Joe didn't even try to hide the anger or emotions bubbling inside him. Joe had struggled in his bonds, rocking his body as much as he could within the confines of the restraints. Cal had gotten a few punches in on him too after stabbing Barry, but quickly returned his attention to the young man. Joe's aging and battered body protested against the vigorous struggling but it didn't stop him from trying to break free.

"I think it's time to put the surrogate son out of his misery," Cal threw Barry's head back before moving away. Barry's head fell to his chest, hanging limply, the strength to hold it up gone.

Cal grabbed the knife, laughing as Joe shouted out to him, but Hansen surprised him when he used the knife to cut at first the zip tie that linked Barry's bound wrists to his knees. He then cut the two ties that stretched over Barry's chest and waist that had kept him restrained to the chair. Barry instantly slumped forward as they fell away, too weak to hold himself up. Cal caught him, one arm around Barry's back and the other linked in Barry's arm. He left the bindings that bound Barry's wrists in front of him, as well as the ones at his ankles and knees binding his legs together,and started to half carry, half drag Barry towards the stairs.

"Where are you going with him?!" Joe shouted. Cal paused, turning around to face where Joe was still struggling in the chair.

"I told you. I'm going to put Barry out of his misery. But we're going to do it where you can't be with him in his last moments. Just like I couldn't be with my father in his. Then I'm coming back to finish you." And with that, Cal threw Barry over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried him up the stairs.

Joe had called after him, shouting anything he could to bring Cal back down, calling for Barry. He got no response. The air was heavy in silence for a few minutes, for what felt like forever to Joe.

And then a single gunshot echoed through the house.

Time had seemed to suspend. He'd heard the sound of gun shots countless times in his life, and he knew it was his own perception versus reality, but Joe would swear that shot was the loudest he'd ever heard. It felt as if the sound reverberated in his own body. Joe could feel his heart stop, could feel it break.

Gathering some sort of strength, he called out for Barry, unable to hide the despair in voice or to stop the tears that rolled from his eyes as he was met with silence. A few moments later Cal descended down the stairs, a smile on his face as he approached the dining room table, Joe its only occupant now.

"Why," Joe cried, head shaking. It wasn't a question to Cal really. It was more to the universe. Why Barry? Why take Barry, his son, away from him after bringing Barry into his life in the first place. The boy was a hero, even before the Flash. He didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to suffer for something that was nothing but Joe's responsibility.

"I told you I would make you suffer. And now I have," Cal spoke low and angry, as he slowly approached the chair. "Your son was a means to an end. Your end."

Cal raised the gun to aim at Joe. Joe was unmoved by the barrel pointed at his heart or the disdain in the steel eyes that met the hate and anguish burning in Joe's brown ones.

Suddenly the door crashed open. Cal was quick to fire at the police that came running in but three uniformed cops rushed at him, followed by Captain Singh, wrestling Hansen to the ground. As the officers subdued the attacker, Captain Singh ran ran over to Joe, quickly pulling out his pocket knife.

"David, thank you," Joe whispered as his Captain worked at cutting him free.

"Lucky for you your daughter is so smart, Joe. And lucky for us we beat her here or I think she'd have stormed in before we could," David said as he cut the last binding free. He helped Joe to stand, steadying the other man before realizing something was missing. "Where's Allen?"

"David, when Iris gets here keep her downstairs for now, please," Joe begged, a desperate hand grabbing Singh's shoulder with his uninjured right arm.

"Barry?" Singh asked hesitantly.

"I don't know," Joe shook his head, "just keep her down here until I know." At David's nod, Joe darted past Singh and bounded up the stairs two steps at a time, despite the pain in his body.

Joe ran down the hall, sock clad feet slapping against the hard wood floor. He paused long enough in each doorway to search for Barry, moving past Wally's empy room, then Iris' old room, past Barry's and the bathroom until he skid at the end of the hall to his open bedroom door, and the breath he didn't know he was holding was released at the sight in front of him.

He had expected to see Barry lying dead in a pool of blood on the bed but almost collapsed in relief at the sight of the hunched figure on the floor seated up against the footboard. Barry sat propped up against the wood panel, his knees and ankles were still bound with the zip ties but his arms were pulled above his head with duct tape securing his bound wrists to the closest post of the footboard. A piece of duct tape was stretched over his eyes as well, blindfolding him. In the wall above the bed was a single bullet hole, shattering the glass of a hung framed picture of Joe, Iris and Barry at Iris' sweet 16.

"Barry," Joe whispered, running over to the foot of the bed. He knelt down onto his knees onto the floor and rested one hand upon the barely conscious man's neck, feeling for a pulse, both relieved and worried to find one rapid but weak fluttering beneath his fingers.

As Barry felt the hands on him he instantly flinched, pushing himself back against the wood footboard behind him as much as he could and pulling at the tape binding him to the post, struggling to get away from the new presence.

"Barr! It's alright, it's me!" Joe said, reaching up to hold Barry's face between his hands, tilting his head up and revealing the bruised and bloodied face of his son. Barry's struggling ceased at the sound of Joe's voice, leaning into the hand at his face.

Still cupping Barry's face with one hand, Joe used his other hand to peel away the duct tape from Barry's eyes as gently as he could. Barry blinked open his clenched eyes and sighed behind the gag at the sight of Joe, unable to stop the tears escaping.

"It's alright, Barr," he said softly. Joe supported Barry's head up with the one hand resting on the side of neck and used the other to hook two fingers between the scarf and Barry's uninjured left cheek. He pulled it down from Barry's lips, letting the cloth hang around his neck. He grazed the bruised and cracked corners of Barry's lips and then reached into his mouth with his finger and thumb and pulled out the soaked handkerchief from between his teeth.

"Joe," Barry couldn't stop the sob of relief that escaped from his now free mouth. He was unable to stifle a cough at the dryness of his throat between having been gagged for so long and the virus still coursing through his body.

Joe reached up to tear away the duct tape binding his wrists to the post. As the tape came free Barry lowered his arms and surged towards Joe, fisting Joe's shirt in his still zip tie bound hands. Joe caught Barry as he slumped forward; one arm moving around the shivering young man's back, pulling Barry to his chest while the other moved to the back of Barry's head.

"He told me he was gonna kill you…heard a gunshot and yelling…I thought, I thought…" Barry's talking was fractured, heavy breathing and quiet as Joe and Barry clung to each other like life vests. Joe sat back on his heels, pulling Barry closer to him as he rocked him back and forth gently as they both allowed themselves a to surrender their mix of anguish and relief. His hand rubbed circles across Barry's shoulder and he could feel the heat radiating off Barry's fevered body, the illness and fear causing him to shake violently within Joe's embrace.

"I thought I lost you," Joe felt his own tears flow as well, his voice shaking in anger and grief. Barry's face was buried into Joe's chest, Joe's hand at the back of his head gently massing his scalp back and forth as he tried soothing himself by providing comfort to the young man gathered in his arms.

As his breathing calmed, Barry pulled away slowly, aware and uncaring that tears were still rolling down his cheeks. He could sense Joe was reluctant to ease his embrace. He pulled away only enough to hold Barry's face between both of his hands, cupping his cheeks.

"Oh, Barr," Joe sighed as he looked at his son. Barry was pale, dried blood painted his face from the corners of his mouth and the left side of his face heavily streaked with blood from the wound he received at the hairline before Joe had even entered the house. His right cheek was stained with drying blood that had spilled from the knife cut.

"He said he wanted you to think I was dead before he killed-" Barry's words were interrupted by coughing, tears of pain rolling down his blood stained cheeks. Joe moved one of his hands to stroke through Barry's hair, some strands caked with dried blood at the top of his head, the other hand slipping between Barry's still bound wrists and held tightly. Barry squeezed the hand between his two shaking ones tightly.

"Barr, hey. Shhhh, save your strength," Joe choked out, his own tears rolling down each cheek. Barry's head leaned into Joe's hand as he cupped his face, his thumb softly stroking Barry's cheeks, his breathing becoming shallow and labored as he continued to cough.

"Help! I need help up here!" Joe shouted over his shoulder as realization of their situation broke through the overwhelming relief of finding Barry alive. "He's up here, he needs help!" He immediately heard footsteps below him heading up the stairs and Iris and Singh calling out for Joe.

"Let's get you outta these." Joe slowly pulled his hand away from Barry's face, allowing his son a little time to gain the strength to keep himself upright. He ran over to the dresser against the nearby wall and retrieved his pocket knife from the small top drawer before kneeling back down in front of Barry. He cut the ankle and knee bindings first. He then moved to Barry's wrists which were slick with blood from struggling, the band of the watch that Joe had gifted Barry this past Christmas stained red. The zip ties had tightened considerably from Barry's struggling during their captivity and were deeply embedded in Barry's flesh. Joe had to be very careful where he cut to avoid slipping and hurting him further. As the plastic snapped, Barry cried out as the sudden tension released around his wrists and sent shock waves of pain through his arms.

Captain Singh and Iris came bounding down the hall and ran over as Joe caught Barry by the shoulders as he started to fall forward.

"Barry!" Iris exclaimed as she moved to the right side of her father to kneel beside Barry.

"Watch his hip!" Joe warned.

"We need those paramedics here now!" Captain Singh ran to the doorway, yelling out into the hall before turning to face the small group huddled around Barry.

"It's okay. It's okay," Iris whispered as she moved closer to Barry, supporting him up against the footboard, replacing her father as he moved to stand. First she reached behind Barry's head and unknotted the stained and damp scarf, pulling it away from his neck and throwing the offending makeshift gag to the floor. She rest one hand atop his hot forehead, gentle fingers threading through his hair as she steadied him by the shoulder with her other hand. "Barry, you're safe now. We're going to get you help."

"Iris," Barry sighed, nodding and taking comfort in her presence as she supported his weight. Iris could see the pain in his face, the shivering of his body as he tried to say something. But nothing came out, his breathing sounded scratchy and shallow.

"Hang in there, Barr," Joe said in desperation as Barry's eyes closed as he leaned into Iris' touch.

"Joe," Singh interrupted the father's worried ministrations. Joe reluctantly shifted his gaze from his son to David as he motioned for Joe to step away so they could talk.

"Hansen?" Joe asked, crossing the room to stand by David.

"The uniforms are going to take him down to the precinct where he'll be locked up waiting to be interrogated."

"I want in on it, David," Joe said.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Joe," Singh shook his head, "You should go with Barry to the hospital. He needs you there. Not to mention you need to get checked out yourself."

"That bastard hurt my son, David!" Joe wanted to say more but their attention was caught by the the flurry of sounds coming from downstairs, Cisco's voice guiding the paramedics on where to go as they made their way through the house. Suddenly, Barry moaned as a wave of intense pain consumed him.

"Barry!" Iris shouted, gripping Barry's arm. He let out another cry and a pain filled moan, clenching his eyes closed. Joe and Singh rushed over, their concern for the young man intensifying as a violent cough caused Barry's whole body to spasm, his hand reaching up to grip at his chest as he struggled to breathe, fingers clenching at the fabric of his blood stained t-shirt.

"Barry, hang on, son. Just hang on!" Joe was frantic as David pulled him out of the way so the medics could do their work. His heart nearly froze as he watched Barry's body convulse as he coughed violently, small droplets of blood staining the mucus he coughed up.

The EMT's set to work, grabbing Barry's body and gently but quickly started to maneuver him onto the stretcher, one efficiently attaching electrodes to Barry's chest, monitoring his heart, another affixing an oxygen mask over his mouth as they lifted the stretcher and rushed down the stairs, followed closely by Iris, Cisco, Joe and Captain Sing. David went over to the officers , Iris, Cisco and Joe followed behind the stretcher as they moved Barry outside the house and into the awaiting ambulance.

"Shouldn't we be taking him to STAR?" Cisco asked. "I mean I know we don't have Caitlin but…"

"There's no Speed Force in his body. He doesn't have his rapid healing so he can be treated by regular doctors without any questions being asked," Joe answered in a hushed voice. "Iris, go with Barry in the ambulance. I'll be right behind you," Joe patted his daughter on the arm, Iris nodding before she climbed in after the paramedics, sitting on the side, gripping Barry's hand as the paramedics worked, the ambulance doors closing behind them.

"Joe, go to the hospital with your kids, that's an order," David instructed as he came over to where Cisco and Joe watched the ambulance take off.

"Five minutes with Hansen, David, then I'll have Cisco take me to the hospital," Joe wasn't really asking Singh, Cisco watching the exchange.

"Five minutes," David said, leading Joe over to the squad car and opening the door so Joe could address Hansen.

"You really thought I shot him didn't you?" Cal smiled up at Joe, laughing. David and Cisco each laying grounding hands on Joe's arms to keep him from attacking the man in custody. "You should have seen your face."

"Why?"

"I told you. My goal was to make you suffer and then kill you," Cal spat out. "Your bastard kid just provided a fun way to do that."

"You went too far. He was barely breathing when they took him away," Joe shrugged off the hands holding him back, grabbing the collar of the man cuffed in the backseat of the car.

"Then you better go before you miss the chance to say your goodbyes," Cal sneered. "Like I did."

"I'm sorry you lost him, but he made his choices. And so have you. This is on you. If that boy dies, there is not a cell strong enough in Iron Heights to save you," Joe moved in real close so Cal couldn't just hear his words, but feel his anger.

"That a threat, Detective?" Cal flinched.

"No, that's a promise. A father's promise," Joe shoved the man before releasing his grip, slamming the car door shut. "Okay, Cisco. Let's go."

"Barry, just hang in there," Iris pleaded behind the lump in her throat, feeling the stinging in her eyes of fearful tears. Despite all the flurry of activity around him, medics shouting numbers and names of drugs, Barry's eyes stayed locked onto hers, his hand holding onto Iris' as tightly as he could in his lax grasp as they guided the stretcher into the Emergency entrance of Central City General Hospital.

"B.P. sixty over forty and falling," one called out to the other paramedics.

"Barry you have to stay with me," Iris called out to Barry.

"Ok, what do we got?" a doctor appeared by the gurney side as they rushed down the hall, an EMT filling him on the numbers and details of his vitals. "What's his temp?"

"Came in at 103," one of the medics responded. "Mid-twenties. Stab wound to left lateral pelvis, superficial gash running from the clavicle across chest, trauma to the torso."

"Okay, start I.V, hundred cc's of methicillin," the doctor continued to prattle off instructions until they reached the emergency room. The medics wheeled Barry past the doors in to the emergency room, forcing Iris and Barry's grasp on each other's hands to break. The doors closed behind the gurney and the doctor turned to face Iris.

"Ok, I need to know what we're dealing with. What happened?" the doctor addressed Iris.

"His name is Barry Allen," Iris responded. "He and my father work for the CCPD and were held hostage in our home. My father said he was beaten pretty badly."

"Anything I need to know about the Mr. Allen?"

"He was suffering from a sinus infection the past few days before all this," Iris supplied. "And his ribs were bruised last week after he…he took a bad spill down the stairs."

"Ok," the doctor nodded, none the wiser of Iris' lie about how he came to have bruised ribs. "I'll be out with an update when I can." With that, the doctor pushed his way into the ER, leaving Iris standing there alone.

She couldn't help but be transported to that night Barry was struck by lightning, left behind swinging doors and the doctors working to bring Barry back to life. She was powerless to help as one of the people she loved most in this world was in pain, forced to just watch and wait.