Chloe: He would get a pass one episode, maybe too, but even after that, he doesn't seem at all concerned with Cisco or Caitlin's problems, 5x06 aside. Which is continuing a trend of Barry not caring about what goes on in their lives unless it affects him. The old Barry, no matter what he was going through, would have made time to be there for Cisco during his break up and Caitlin during everything with her dad.

Spino: I took it down because I'm continuing it.

Guest: Patty still has contacts and friends back at CCPD.

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, it won't be such a long break next time.

Star Labs

Afternoon

Barry was in the cortex, going over some things on the computer when Nora walked in.

"Hey," Nora said and Barry nearly jumped. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Its fine, I was a little preoccupied," Barry said trying to save face and his heart did something weird when Nora flashed him a look Patty had often given him when she knew he was being less than honest with her.

"What are you doing?" Nora asked as she walked up to her father's side.

"I'm doing a little research on a place called 'Vic Stone's steakhouse'. I'm having dinner with your mom there tonight," Barry explained and she looked over at him.

"Like a date?"

"No," Barry said immediately although, for a reason he couldn't name, he felt like he'd just told a lie. "We need to talk about a lot of things, mostly about where we go from here. Plus, I'm still dealing with Iris."

"How's that going?" Nora asked awkwardly after a beat.

"Well, I met with a lawyer this morning and I've filled for annulment. Now I just have to wait," Barry said and Nora looked guilty.

"I'm sorry dad. I didn't come here to break up your marriage," Nora told him.

"I know and you didn't. The moment Iris decided to keep you a secret from me; she destroyed us, not you. So…do you know if your mom's favorite flower are still roses?" Barry asked and Nora laughed.

Mid-Way City

Night

Patty checked her watch before looking around for Barry. He was late. Only a few minutes, but still late. She was just about to pull out her phone and call him when she saw him making his ay though the door. He saw her and made his way over to her.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. There was a robbery In Central City and I had to stop it before heading over," Barry explained as he sat down.

"It's fine Barry. At least now I know why you're always late all the time," Patty joked and Barry smiled slightly. "But are you okay? You looked pretty upset when you left the other night. You don't have to tell me if you don't-"

"Iris knew," Barry cut her off and her look of confusion caused him to elaborate. "She got your message. She deleted it and never said a word to anyone. She would have been perfectly happy letting me believe I didn't have a daughter."

"Wow," Patty said after a moment. "I'm so sorry Barry."

"It's not your fault. And I'd rather talk about what we came here to talk about, so can we please change the subject?" Barry almost begged and Patty nodded.

"Yeah, I think we should. So…Nora came back from the future?" Patty asked, finding it hard to believe.

"It sounds like a bad sci-fi movie, but yeah. I didn't believe it either at first, but Caitlin ran some tests, her DNA matches up with both of ours," Barry pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of Nora, handing his phone to Patty. "She looks like you."

Patty wordlessly took the phone and looked at the picture of Nora. Barry didn't say a word as he allowed Patty to process this. Hey, he could relate to having his whole life turned upside down by a full grown daughter.

"She looks like you to," Patty said as she handed him his phone back.

"By all accounts, you did an amazing job raising her. I wish I could have been there to help you do that," Barry said in guilt.

"That wasn't your fault Barry, I know that now," Patty quickly assured him.

"Maybe, but I wasn't there for her. Or you. I can't change the past, but I can make a better future. I don't want to be a dead beat dad Patty. I grew up without one father, I don't want Nora to go through the same thing," Barry told her emotionally.

"You won't be, but we have a lot to figure out. I can't expect you to give up being The Flash," Patty noted.

"And I can't expect you to leave your whole life behind, uproot Nora just to come back to Central City. So…where does that leave us?" Barry wondered.

"I guess we have a lot to figure out," Patty said tiredly.

West House

Same time

Nora was flipping through some of Joe's old scrap books, looking at pictures of her dad. She paused as she came upon one of her father and mother. Her dad had his arms around her mother's waist as she laughed while he kissed her cheek. Nora simply stared at it for a moment, not even noticing Joe walk over.

"Everything okay?" Joe asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I was just looking through some photos," Nora said and Joe caught a look at the photo which had caught her eye.

"That was taken at the Christmas party we had three years ago," Joe told her softly and she nodded.

"My dad and mom…were they happy together?" Nora asked as she looked up at him.

"Before your mom, I never thought your dad would be happy again," Joe admitted as he remembered how sad and alone Barry had been after Ronnie and Eddie died. "I was so happy she proved me wrong. I think letting your mom go, not telling her everything, is one of the biggest regrets of his life. Looking back, how fast he moved with Iris should have set off warning bells. She wasn't a rebound but…moving that fast with Iris was just not Barry. I think he threw himself into his relationship with Iris because losing your mom hurt him a lot."

Nora nodded softly, gazing at the photo one more time before closing the scrapbook.

Midway City

Later

"My mom's birthday is next week," Patty told Barry as he walked her home. "I was planning a trip to Central City so that Nora and I could surprise her. Maybe I'll come a few days early, so Nora can meet everyone."

"I think they'd like that. And you could meet Nora," Barry noted and she nodded.

"It's still weird that our daughter is only a few years younger than us," Patty noted and Barry chuckled.

"Tell me about it," Barry said as they stopped in front of Patty's house.

"Well, I guess this is where we say goodnight," Patty said.

"Yeah," Barry said a little disappointed. "So…I'll talk to you soon then."

"Barry," Patty said as he turned to speed off and he paused, looking back at her. "Would you like to come inside, meet her?"

"Won't she be asleep?" Barry asked and Patty shrugged.

"She'll probably be up at least once tonight. If not, you can crash on the couch, meet her in the morning if you'd like," Patty offered.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Barry almost immediately accepted.

Patty smiled and they walked up to her front porch. Patty unlocked her front door and they walked in. A young woman with dark hair was sitting on the couch, reading a book when they walked in. She looked up and was surprised to see them.

"Hi Angela," Patty said as the young woman put her book down and got to her feet. "Barry, this is Angela, my babysitter. Angela, this is Barry, Nora's father."

"Nice to meet you," Barry held his hand to Angela ad she took it politely, although she eyed him wearily.

"You to," Angela shot Patty a look that Barry couldn't read before dropping Barry's hand. "She went down an hour ago. We didn't have any problems tonight."

"Good, that's good," Patty pulled some cash out of her purse and handed it to Angela. "Here's tonight's payment."

Angela nodded, flashed Patty a smile before shooting Barry an unreadable look before walking out.

"Sorry about her," Patty apologized but Barry waved her off.

"It's fine. I'm the son of the man who was convicted of killing his wife. You think this is the first time people have judged me? I had to develop a thick skin growing up," Barry said and Patty's eyes softened.

"That doesn't make it okay Barry," Patty said as she put a hand on his arm.

"No, it doesn't, but I learned to stop letting what strangers thought bother me," Barry said as they heard what sounded like a baby cry.

"That's Nora. Look like you'll get to meet her tonight after all. I'll be right back," Patty, without thought, kissed him on the cheek before walking off.

Barry froze; her kiss feeling like a jolt of lightning hit him. And he has a pretty good idea what that feels like. He remained frozen until Patty remerged a few moments later, a toddler in her arms.

"Barry, this is Nora," Patty said softly and Barry's attention snapped into focus.

Barry's gaze was immediately drawn to the young girl in Patty's arms. She has his hair color, something he's already known, but now it barely made it to her neck instead of the long curls of her adult self. Her brown eyes were wide with innocence as she looked up at her father curiously. She was dressed in, of all things, a Flash onesie. Patty loved inside jokes, Barry noted absently as he stared at his daughter.

"Nora, honey…this is your daddy," Patty whispered to her daughter as she saw Barry was lost for words.

"Hi," Barry said as he found his voice, stepping close to Nora. "I'm sorry I haven't been here before now. I wish I had. But I'm here now."

"Do you wanna hold her?" Patty asked softly.

"Can I?" Barry asked hesitantly.

"If she'll let you. Do you think daddy can hold you?" Patty asked her daughter softly.

Nora didn't respond, simply stared up at her father silently. Deciding to test it, Patty began the process of handing Nora to Barry. She fussed a little but calmed down as Barry took hold of her. Patty smiled as she stepped back, seeing Nora already had Barry wrapped around her finger.

"Hi," Barry said as he gazed down at his daughter. "I know I haven't been here and we have a lot to catch up on. But I want you to know, no matter what happens in the future…I love you. And I will fight for you until my last breath."

Was I the only one who found it weird how fast Barry and Iris moved in the relationship? They went from not dating to dating to living together to being engaged in less than a year. Even Olicity moved slower than them. It just wasn't realistic and felt super rushed.