Chapter 2: Joe

Joe entered his home, closed the door and took in the peace and quiet. He closed his eyes and just listened to the sound of nothing in particular. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and glanced around the room, before focusing on the pictures that adorned the mantel. Images of his family, two sons with super speed and a daughter who was too inquisitive for her own good smiled back at him. He loved each of them, even if they were the reason he was going to have an ulcer before the year was out.

After hanging up his coat he made his way over towards the couch. Wally wasn't home yet, hopefully he was working on a school project and not hanging out at the lab, trying to get a handle on his speed. Iris was at the paper working on the biggest story Central City had had in a long time. And his other son was partying with a vigilante, an alien with super powers, an ex-criminal, though he had strong doubts about the ex part, a man who could turn himself into steel, a billionaire who liked to fly…and the list went on.

He was proud of his kids, and the amazing people they'd grown up to be, but that didn't make him worry any less. Barry carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and Iris wanted to make the world better. When his daughter wasn't hanging around S.T.A.R. Labs, she was out tracking down leads on stories that had people shooting at her. And then there was Wally, who wanted to be just like the Flash and save the world, but unlike Barry, his youngest son seemed to want to run head first into danger and not use any restraint.

When did his life get so out of control? It used to be so simple. Go out every day, hunt down plain old criminals who robbed banks and then bring the bad guys to justice. But now, now there were metahumans, aliens, speedsters from the future, and speedsters who claimed they were Gods. To top that there was universe upon universe of other Earths with individuals who shared the faces of people he'd known all his life. He missed the days when the only thing he had to worry about was whether Barry was in his room and not running off to try and see Henry at Iron Heights. He'd take jumping in his car and dragging the young boy home, kicking and screaming, over worrying about his son boarding an alien spacecraft that would take him so far away that he would have no way of bringing the boy back.

He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. When Joe had called Iris earlier, he'd left out a big part of what Cisco had told him. The young scientist, in his excitement to share the whole story, had gone on and on and let it slip that Barry had almost turned himself over to the aliens, as part of some deal the Government had made. Cisco had said that the speedster had only changed his mind when Oliver and the group had banded together and showed his son that it was better to work as a team and fight rather than sacrifice one person for the good of many. Noble sacrifice or not, Barry not being in their lives would leave a big hole. He may have whole-heartedly agreed that it was time for his oldest son to move out on his own again, but Joe didn't want to think about not seeing his son every day. The young man had so much heart, the world would be lost without him. And Iris, he didn't even want to think about what it would do to her. Man, he really missed the simple days, days when he'd come home and find two young children sitting at the dining room table doing their homework.

He glanced over towards the room where so many dinners had been shared, and his trained detective eyes caught sight of two envelopes that he was sure hadn't been there before. Hastily he stood up from the couch and then made his way towards the table. He quickly recognized his older son's handwriting, and wondered just what Barry had done now. Picking up the one addressed to him, he sat down on one of the dining room chairs and opened the envelope. His hands trembled slightly as he pulled out the paper inside and began to read.

Joe,

Since I probably won't ever get a chance to talk to you again in person, there is one thing that I need to say, before anything else, and that is Thank You.

That's something I don't think I have ever truly taken the opportunity to tell you, at least, not the way you deserve to hear it anyway. I hope you know by now, and while it may have taken me a long time to realize it, you are the best dad any kid would be lucky to have, and I was very lucky to be one of those kids. You took in a boy who had experienced the unspeakable trauma of seeing his mom murdered by the unexplained and never gave up on him. You may not have always believed in what I saw, but you still showed me love and understanding. You chased after me every time I ran, even if I was just trying to go see my dad at Iron Heights. You must have lost a lot of sleep back then, especially since you stayed by my bed each night till I feel asleep. Though, with my duties as the Flash, you probably still lose sleep every night. But no matter what, you loved me like I was your own son, and that is something a simple Thank You isn't enough to cover.

It doesn't matter whether it's love or blood that ties you to us, but Iris, Wally and myself are the luckiest kids in the world to have a dad like you.

Everything I am today, is because of you. You gave a scared little boy a home, a family, love.

I am turning myself over to the Dominators so that everyone will be safe, not just the ones I love, but everyone I swore to protect when I started being the Flash. I don't see any other choice, I created this mess and it's my responsibility to clean it up. I just ask one thing of you now, Joe, don't hold Wally back. Give him the support you have given me over the last two years, because I am passing the title of Central City's guardian over to him. He needs to know that you believe in him. If not, he'll either falter or he may seek support from someone else, and that person might not have his best interests at heart, not like you do.

I know it's not the best advice, at least, nothing close to good old Joe West advice, but it's the best I've got. Don't let Iris and Wally slip away, no matter how many disagreements you guys may have. You are better together, as a family. You've always been there for Iris and me and you've been there for Wally since you found about him and he became a part of our family.

We've all made choices, that, right or wrong, we did because we thought it was the right choice at the time. One of the best things I learned from you was that you can get through anything when you have good people to support and love you. Never stop being there for them.

It doesn't seem quite enough, but thank you, Joe, for everything.

I love you, Dad.

Your son,

Barry

Joe stared at the letter, letting the tears well in his eyes. It seemed no matter what Barry did there was always one more thing that made you love the young man more. It almost broke his heart to know that he might never have gotten a chance to hold his son again. It was bad enough watching Barry get beaten so badly by metahuman after metahuman, even to the point that he had been paralyzed for days, but at least he was still with them. The thought that aliens might have taken him away from them forever, and done God knows what to the speedster, sent a chill down his spine.

When he'd first learned from Cisco that Oliver and the group had talked Barry out of turning himself over to the Dominators, it hadn't seemed real. Joe had just chalked it up to another notch in the crazy world they were living in. But after reading his son's goodbye letter, it wasn't something to take lightly at all. In fact, it scared the hell out of him to realize just how easily he could lose his son. But he knew Barry and it was just who the young man was. He wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself, regardless of the reason, if it meant saving even one person. And he knew that his youngest son was the exact same way.

Hearing the key in the lock, he continued to stare at the letter. He was pretty sure it was Wally finally returning home, but he didn't have the heart to look up when the door opened. Joe almost hoped it would be Barry, so that he could hug the man, tell him how proud he was of the speedster and then slap a pair of power-dampening cuffs on him and lock him up somewhere for the next ten years.