Author's note: This oneshot will be in Joe's perspective for a prompt.

Joe stared at his dinner table, where his family were tucking into his lasagna and salad Caitlin had helped him make. It was Sunday evening, otherwise known as family night. Barry, Caitlin, and Abby were there, as was Wally, and Jesse. Sipping his iced tea, he thought briefly on the fact that he wished Iris was there, too. He knew that with Iris coming back, things were most likely going to change; life was most likely going to throw him another curveball. But, for now, in this moment, he was utterly content to be sitting where he was.

Caitlin was laughing at something Abby was saying, and Barry had his arm slung behind the back of Caitlin's chair casually, smiling at his two girls. Joe remembered the days when Iris and Abby were his two girls, and remembered them well. He often wondered what would have happened had Iris not left. Would she and Barry still be married, raising Abby together? Joe would have said yes at one point in time, without hesitation, but now? Now he wasn't so sure. Not with the way he saw Barry looking at Caitlin when she wasn't looking.

As the meal ended, Joe leaned back in his seat, smiling at his family.

"Grandpa Joe, what are you smiling about?" Abby asked curiously, and Joe laughed gently.

"Nothing, Abby, just happy to be here," he said kindly, and she giggled.

"Your lasagna was good! Almost as good as mommy's," the six-year-old stated, and Caitlin, and Joe, shared a secret smile. When the meal was over, and Abby had run off to go play in the den with some of her toys quietly, Caitlin stood up and made her way to Joe.

"C'mon, I'll help you clean up," she murmured, and he nodded his head gratefully.

"Thanks, Cait," he replied, smiling softly. The two of them made their way into the kitchen, and Joe began washing the plates while Caitlin dried. Call him old fashioned, but Joe liked doing things manually – such as washing dishes. It was about ten minutes into the cleaning up process, that Joe cleared his throat, and looked at Caitlin. She smiled kindly at him.

"I-I got a call from Iris, earlier this afternoon," he began, still scrubbing his dishes with the little brush he held in his hands.

"Oh?" Caitlin asked as she dropped her eyes back to the task she was doing. He nodded his head, dropping his eyes back to his task, as well.

"Yes. She asked if we could meet up for coffee," he murmured, suddenly nervous. He shouldn't feel nervous; he knew Caitlin would never begrudge him the chance to fix the shattered relationship he had with his daughter. However, Caitlin was his daughter now, too, and he didn't want her to think anything was going to change because of coffee with Iris.

Somehow sensing his inner turmoil, Caitlin spoke up.

"I think that's great, but don't go thinking you're going to hurt my feelings," she said gently, and Joe looked at her.

"Am I that easy to read?" Joe asked with a dry chuckle, and Caitlin smiled fondly as she shook her head.

"No. I just know you. Know the way your mind operates," she replied simply.

Joe smiled at her,

"Thanks, Cait," he said quietly. "You being in Abby's life has only been a blessing."

Caitlin hummed as she continued drying the dishes, and he left the conversation there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Joe stepped into Jitters, and glanced around, before making his way to a table tucked into a back corner. After placing his order, he sat down, and waited for Iris to show up; Wally said he'd be about ten minutes late.

Sipping his coffee, he kept his eyes roaming around the shop, periodically landing on the door. He took in his surroundings, noting his astuteness and chalking it up to being a detective for as many years as he had. Eventually, on his third glance around, he heard the tinkling of the bell at the door, and spotted Iris making her way in. Glancing at his watch, he figured Wally would be behind her shortly.

Once spotting him, Iris made her way over and sat down, shifting around in her seat as she looked at the menu. She was nervous, he could tell. He really couldn't say that he wasn't.

"Where's Wally?" Iris finally asked, after placing her order. Joe took a sip of his coffee.

"He'll be here soon," he replied, cutting his eyes to the door again. He'd very much like it if Wally walked in at that precise moment, so he'd have someone who understood how he was feeling sitting beside him. It was an odd feeling, feeling so uncomfortable by his daughter's presence. She had left for five and a half years, never looking back. She didn't call. She didn't reach out. Nothing. For his part, he searched the ends of the earth for her, finally finding her in Chicago. Once he saw that she was safe, he went back to Central City, leaving her to herself and the choices she made.

Just then, the bell tinkled again, and they both looked up; Wally was walking in.

As soon as he sat down at their table, Joe felt himself relax.

"Hey, Iris," Wally murmured, and she smiled at him.

"Hey, baby brother," she replied softly.

"Haven't been that in quite a few years now. What's it been? Over five, I believe?" Wally demanded, and Joe wanted to kick him. While he knew where his anger was coming from, having felt it many nights himself, he didn't want his son to scare Iris off. Iris smiled gently.

"But who's counting, right?" Iris asked quietly.

"Who's counting, indeed," Wally whispered.

The three of them sat there, as Joe played with the lid of his coffee.

"What are you doing here, Iris?" Wally asked bluntly. She looked up at him in surprise.

"I'm here to see my family," she said.

"And get back with Barry?" Wally challenged, and, again, Joe wanted to kick his son.

"I don't think there needs to be a reason to pull Barry into this," Joe began, but Wally held up a hand.

"Spare me, dad," he muttered, before cutting his eyes back to his sister.

"You left, Iris," he stated, and Joe watched as she blinked.

"You left without a clue as to where you went or why. You can't do that to people who care about you. And, you sure as hell can't come waltzing back into our lives like nothing happened. I got married. Barry got engaged. Abby has a mother who loves her very much," Wally stated.

"How can Barry get engaged if we're not even divorced?" Iris challenged, and Wally shrugged a shoulder.

"You leaving was like signing the divorce papers yourself," Wally replied.

"Besides, I know he's going to want your actual signature on them sooner or later," Wally added.

"Well, I won't sign them," Iris dismissed.

"Haven't you put him through enough? Leaving, when Abby was only half a year old? Not looking back once, or calling? You left him to be a single parent, which is something you hated experiencing; you told me so yourself," Wally exclaimed.

"I admit, I made a mistake," Iris began, but Wally interrupted.

"No, a mistake is drinking the extra shot of tequila when you know you should stop. You made a choice. You left. Now, you must live with all the choices we made. With the choices we made to carry on with our lives," Wally stated.

Joe was watching his son in surprise. Not once, in the five or so years had she been gone, did Wally ever voice his resentment. He placed his hand on his shoulder, hoping to offer some comfort, but he shrugged it off.

"I don't need to be placated," he snapped. "I needed my sister. She left. Now, I don't need anything from her." He stood up, having not ordered any coffee.

"I mean it, Iris, stay the hell away from Barry and his family," he added, before walking out of the shop.

Joe stared at the closed door for a long time, before putting his thumb and forefinger to his temple, and rubbed his forehead.

"Iris, I – ", but Joe didn't know what words to use; what words would heal the ache.

"It's fine, dad," she murmured, staring down into her coffee. But it wasn't, not really. And Joe didn't know if it ever would be again.

Author's note: Just a oneshot about Iris being back. If you have a request, leave it in the comments! XOXOX