Hey guys! Thanks for all of the great comments, I'm so happy you have enjoyed these.

This is the final installment that I have ready to post. So please rush over to my profile to vote in the poll on which one I should do next.

Thanks again, and enjoy!

Stitches.

"Come on, Barry!" Iris begged, standing between him and the door.

Barry sighed at his crush, he placed a hand on his head and scooted passed her. "Iris, I said no!" He exclaimed, as he continued walking.

Iris grabbed her best friend's arm, the soft red flannel sleeve twisted under her grip. "Barry! You just got your license! Come on, just a ride!"

Barry looked at Iris, her brown eyes burned with determination. His heart beat a bit faster just looking at her.

He had known her for ages, long before his mother had been killed by "the man in the lightning", his father had been put in Iron Heights Prison, and Joe became his foster dad.

His shoulders slumped. "Fine.." He groaned, turning around and walking to the door, the feeling of guilty defeat churning in his stomach.

He turned around and looked at Iris, her long raven black hair waved gently over her bare shoulders. "Do you have the keys? I know Joe didn't take the Sedan..." He asked, standing on his tip toes as he looked in the small basket for the keys to the Chevrolet Sedan that Joe had gotten the two of them.

Iris placed her hands on her hips. "Bartholomew!" She exclaimed, causing him to shoot her a glare at the mention of his first name, "you just got your license, and you wanna drive the Sedan?"

Barry's eyebrows furrowed, and he lowered himself. "Iris, what are you talking about, that's our car!" He told her, running his hands through his hair, "it's not like we can take Joe's convertible!"

Iris smiled, holding out a pair of keys. "Actually.. we can."

Any smile on Barry's face faded as he realized what she was holding. "No," he stuttered, backing away as if the keys were his kryptonite, "I don't even wanna drive, there is no way I'm driving Joe's convertible, no.. no, you'd have to kill me, no."

Iris' smile faded too. "You promised you would drive me to get ice cream after you learned to drive." She said, a hint of sadness in her voice, which Barry knew was fake.

Barry sighed, knowing she was telling the truth, whether or not the sadness was fake, and that she knew he didn't break promises. "I meant in the Sedan, the car I'm actually allowed to drive."

"You never said that though." She pointed out, looking as if she had this fight won.

Barry sighed again, swearing under his breath. He stood there for a second, pursing his lips, then he walked over to Iris and grabbed the keys from her hands. "I hope you know what Joe will do if something happens." He warned, walking out the door and to the driveway where Joe's black convertible was parked.

Barry hesitated as Iris jumped in, her smile fading as she waited. "Oh, come on," she groaned, lifting her hands in frustration, "you're not getting cold feet are you, Bartholomew?"

Barry cringed at his name before pointing to his red flannel shirt. "Please Iris, I'm always cold." He told her, climbing into the forbidden car.

···

Barry looked out the large window, his thoughts, and eyes were on black convertible. His stomach swam with guilt, wishing that he hadn't caved in when Iris had asked him to take her.

"Hello, earth to Barry.." Iris called, making Barry snap into attention, "watcha thinking 'bout?"

Barry looked back over at the car, causing Iris to sigh. "You know, I thought this would be a whole lot funner.." She told him, "but no, you had to go and get all guilty." She poked at his chest.

Barry swatted her hands away, keeping from remarking about how she was the one who wanted to take the convertible, and that he would have been fine taking the Sedan. "Are you ready to order yet?" He asked instead.

···

They walked along the sidewalk, not far, but to a small park where they could enjoy their frozen novelties.

Barry looked over at Iris and smiled. "Okay, I will admit," he started, licking his vanilla ice cream cone, "this is really nice."

Iris rolled her eyes, then laid her head on his shoulder. "So you're happy we went now?" She asked, as he wrapped his arm around her.

He nodded, licking his ice cream again, trying to eat it slow enough that he could enjoy it and not get brain freeze, but fast enough that it didn't melt all over him. "Yeah, I am," he told her, looking at her and receiving a goofy grin from Iris, "although, I would like it better if you had let me take the Sedan.."

Iris rolled her eyes and put her mouth to her peppermint ice cream.

Barry looked at his watch, it was 6:28 p.m. he sighed, he hadn't wanted to go, and now he didn't want it to end. He had forgotten how fun it was to spend the day with Iris, it was hard to find time to spend with her with all of the school he was doing, especially with being in the Advanced Placement Program.

"Iris.." He said, looking down at her.

Iris sat up, looking at him with her glistening brown doe eyes. "Hmm?"

"We should do this again soon."

···

It was dark now, the only indication that there was a road was the headlights from the car they weren't supposed to be driving. They were both quiet, they knew they had been out too long, and not only that but that they had taken Joe's convertible.

Barry spent most of his concentration on the road, the dim headlights were barely enough to penetrate the dark. "You know that Joe is going to kill us, right?" Barry half joked, giving Iris a quick glance before focusing on the road again.

It happened fast, before Iris could even come up with some snide remark. A yell from Barry, a scream from Iris, tires skidding, the sound of glass shattering and metal being torn, then darkness...

···

Iris moaned, her ankle was throbbing, then her heart skipped a beat. They were in a ditch, wrapped around a tree, the damage mostly on the driver's...

"Barry!" She screamed, struggling to unbuckle her seatbelt and get to him.

His head was bent forward, touching his chest, blood oozing from his forehead, the glass from the shattered windshield had cut through his flannel shirt and blood was freely flowing from his arms. Iris knew that there was more damage, but it was impossible to see how much there was. "Barry?"

Barry's eyes fluttered open. "Iris?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "Iris, what happened?"

Iris bit her lip, but before she could answer Barry gagged and vomited. Her stomach lurched at the sight, but her stomach was churning anyway.

She struggled with her seatbelt again while Barry continued to empty his stomach. "Barry," she called, "are you okay." She knew it was a dumb question, but she still felt the need to ask it.

Barry whimpered, gagging again, mostly dry heaving at this point. "Iris," he asked between gags, "what happened?"

"We..." She stopped, taking a deep breath as a wave of guilt hit her, "we wrecked the convertible." She told him, her voice cracking at the end.

Barry moaned, leaning his head back on the seat. "Iris... everything hurts..." He whispered, closing his eyes.

Iris also leaned back, her seatbelt feeling like it was choking her. "I know.. where does it hurt the most?" She asked, keeping her eye on her best friend.

Barry's head lulled to the side, looking her in the eye. "My head, my chest, and my left... no, right leg." He replied, before turning his head again, "so.. tired..."

Iris' heart skipped. "Barry, don't fall asleep!" She yelled, "you probably have a concussion!"

"Tired..."

"Barry, come on, stay with me! Say something!" She screamed, leaning forward until the seatbelt burned against her chest and neck.

Barry didn't answer, his head didn't move towards her. "Barry?" She asked, nervous fear tugging at her gut.

He stayed unresponsive.

···

Iris yelled for help as the sound of sirens filled the air, and bright lights blinded her. "Help please!" She cried.

"Hey," a paramedic soothed, running over to the car, "you're gonna be okay." He said, getting her released from her seatbelt, as another paramedic ran over.

"Barry.." She cried, watching as two paramedics rushed to get him out.

"Hey," the paramedic called, "I need you to stay focused, are you hurt anywhere?"

"My ankle, and my hand." She said, looking back at Barry, who was being put onto a stretcher, one of the paramedics diagnosing the injuries he had.

"Okay, I'm going to lift you onto the stretcher, I don't want you putting any weight on it."

Iris nodded, and he lifted her onto the stretcher.

···

"Iris!"

Iris turned her head, and smiled. "Dad!" She cried as Joe pulled her into a hug.

"Baby, are you okay?" He asked, looking at her.

Iris nodded. "I'm fine, daddy." She told him, locking her arms around him, what she said was true, she had dislocated her ankle, sprained her left wrist, gotten whiplash, and a cut deep enough for stitches, but they said she would be healed in a month.

Joe sat down beside her. "Is Barry out of the examination room?" He asked, grabbing her hand.

Iris shook her head. "No, they wanted to watch him till he woke up." She whispered, looking down at the hand her father held. She felt guilt rushing through her, she knew this was her fault.

Joe shifted, looking at Iris. "What happened, baby?"

Iris wiped her eyes, she hadn't even realized she had been crying. "Barry... Barry and I went out and got ice cream, but we accidentally stayed out too late, it was really dark... we crashed into a tree!" She wept, tears coming full blast now.

Joe held her close, pressing her to his chest as she wept. "Hey, it's okay, baby. It'll be alright." He soothed, running a hand through her black hair.

Iris felt her guilt come to a full boil, she knew Barry would probably be blamed for this if she didn't tell him now. "Dad.. there's something I have to tell you." She started, getting Joe's attention, "it wasn't the Sedan..."

Joe's eyebrows furrowed, and he crossed his arms. "What do you mean, Iris?"

Iris sighed, fidgeting with her fingers. "I forced Barry to.. we took the convertible." She cried, her voice cracking at the end. "I'm sorry!"

Joe inhaled deeply, rubbing his head and staying quiet.

Iris bit her lip, she knew she was in big trouble.

···

"Barry, he's going to send me to jail, and shoot me seven times while I'm in... no, he's going to kill me seven times then leave my body to rot in..." Iris rambled, wishing she could get up and pace, but her newly relocated ankle kept her from doing so.

"Iris!" Barry cried with a shaky voice, putting a bandaged hand on his throbbing head, he was trying not to puke again, and her constant chatter was making him feel worse, "please!"

Iris closed her mouth, Barry had been awake for less than an hour, he had been diagnosed with a major concussion, a broken leg, two broken ribs, and numerous cuts up and down his arms from glass and metal, a few of them deep enough to need stitches. "Sorry." She whispered.

Barry slowly moved his head so he was facing her. "I don't think he's gonna kill you..." He told her, his speech slurring slightly, a normal sign of a concussion.

Iris put her hand on his, causing him to look up at her. "Hey," she said, brushing a runaway lock of hair back into it's place, "you okay?"

He closed his eyes, he looked almost peaceful, aside from the shallow breathing due to his broken ribs, and the few bandages wrapped around his thin body. "I've been better..." He whispered, holding her hand in his bandaged ones, "my head is killing me..." He added.

Iris looking down at her hurt wrist, Joe had left her with Barry while he dropped off his police car in exchange for the Sedan. "Joe will be in here soon, I'm not sure if he'll want to talk to us as soon as he gets in here, or wait till we're at home and he can shoot us." She rambled, absent mindedly squeezing Barry's hand tighter, causing a whimper to escape him, immediately making her loosen her grip. "Sorry, Barry."

···

Iris looked back at Barry as she fiddled with her fingers as much as she could with her hurt wrist, it was 2:00 a.m. They were released from the hospital at 1:35 a.m., and Barry had been placed laying down in the backseat of the Sedan and was asleep after five minutes.

"Dad," she started, looking back out the window, "I'm so sorry."

Joe looked at her for a moment, then back at the road. "I know you are, I just can't talk about this yet."

Iris nodded, looking out the window. The road was well lit in comparison to the one they had driven on earlier, the bright lights from the buildings threatened to blind her.

She closed her eyes, if she focused she could hear Barry softly snoring, a deeper sounding inhale to a lighter exhale, which she thought was adorable.

As she listened she felt another wave of guilt building up, it was her fault they were driving home at 2:00 a.m., it was her fault that her father's convertible was wrecked, it was her fault her father was angry, and it was most definitely her fault that Barry laid in the back of the Sedan with a broken body because she had forced him into taking a car she had no permission to even think about driving without Joe around.

She reached back and grabbed Barry's right hand from where it laid sprawled over his body and towards the floor of the car. She rubbed circles around the soft pale palm of his hand with her thumb. He had the softest hands she had ever felt, yet he never used any special soaps or moisturizer. There were times she had begged him to share his secret on how he kept them so soft, but he would just laugh and say it was a science experiment gone wrong, something she knew was a lie.

Iris leaned back against the seat, just holding his bony hand. She loved the boy with all of her heart, she hated the fact that his mother being murdered in front of him by his father was the reason he was here with her, but if that hadn't happened she wouldn't know Barry half as well.

It killed her to think that she was happy that he had come to live with them under these circumstances, it killed her to think he had just had these circumstances come into his life, it killed her to remember the panic attacks he would wake up with in the middle of the night, it killed her to remember his fear of storms because of this "man in the lightning" guy who he was convinced killed his mother, but the thing that hurt her most was the fact that he had dedicated his entire life to trying to find a way to prove that it was not his father, even when all the facts point to his evil father.

Iris' eyes opened when the car came to a full stop and the engine stopped purring. She yawned, realizing that she had fallen asleep. "How long was I asleep?" She asked, stretching her left arm, her right hand still in Barry's.

"Not long." Joe whispered, stepping out of the car.

Iris grabbed her crutches and gently willed her body out of the car as Joe picked up Barry and held him in his arms.

Pain radiated through her foot and leg as accidentally stepped with her left foot. She let out a quiet whimper, but continued walking until she was laying down on the couch in their living room.

Joe placed Barry in the large armchair beside Iris, and pulled an ottoman up and placed his leg on it. His eyes fluttered open for a moment before they shut again, a small whimper escaping his lips.

Joe leaned in and kissed Barry's forehead. "It's okay, Barr," he soothed, running a hand through Barry's spiked hair, "you're alright, just go back to sleep."

Joe turned around and walked over to Iris, sitting on the ground by the edge of the couch. "Night Iris," he told her leaning in and kissing her cheek, "I love you, baby."

Iris smiled. "I love you too, dad."

···

Iris and Barry gave each other a nervous glance. "We're so screwed.." Iris told him, looking down at her hand.

It was the afternoon after their accident, Joe had told them that he wanted to talk to them after work, and he was only five minutes from being home from the precinct. And Barry and Iris were both beginning to feel the nerves of being in trouble.

They both knew that Joe was a kind and loving father, but they weren't sure if he kept up that image up when his nice convertible was wrecked.

Barry stayed quiet, but did nod in agreement. Honestly, he wasn't sure what kind of punishment to expect, he didn't get in trouble half as often as Iris. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he was actually in trouble. He was pretty sure it was the time when he did a science experiment without Joe's permission in the garage and it exploded, not only making the garage uninhabitable for two weeks, but it made the yard smell rancid for another three after that.

But that was much different from wrecking a convertible that belongs to your foster father..

···

"I've thought long and hard about this." Joe told them, making both teens squirm a bit. He had a voice filled with authority, filling both of their stomachs with a pit of shame and fear.

Iris looked over at Barry, then back to her father.

"Joe, I'm really sorry." Barry whispered, keeping his gaze on his foster father. He wasn't saying it to get out of trouble, but because he loved Joe, and wrecking his car had probably fractured their relationship, he didn't want it to be permanent.

A thin smile found it's way to Joe's face then it changed back. "I asked a few co workers about good punishments, but most of them were too extreme, but this is what I decided." He started, taking a minute before continuing. "You two are both grounded till Barry's cast comes off."

Iris and Barry looked at each other, they knew the cast would be off in six to eight weeks, so it really wasn't as bad they thought it would be, especially since Iris had been expecting to be thrown in jail.

"I'm not finished," Joe continued, "I asked the mechanic how much it would be to fix the car, luckily, you two didn't completely total it, it's a seven thousand dollar repair because the engine was damaged. So, as soon as you both can, you two will be getting a job to pay that off."

Iris and Barry both nodded, they understood completely.

···

Iris sat at Barry's desk her homework sprawled out on it. "Hey Barry," she started, taking her pencil's eraser out of her mouth, "can you help me with this problem?" She asked, handing him the paper.

He looked at it for a moment before heading it back to her. "It's seventeen." He told her, closing his eyes and leaning back down.

"Thanks, Barry." She said, writing down the problem.

"No problem." He replied, leaning over so he could see her.

"Hey Iris?" Barry whispered, trying to get her attention.

"Hmm?"

"Remember yesterday, when I said we should do it again soon?" He asked, his forest green eyes glittering, causing her to smile.

"Yeah, what about it?" She answered, putting down her pencil and changing her position.

"I think it would be better if we didn't."

Iris laughed, it wasn't a gentle laugh, but a roar. "Agreed."