Author's Note: I know I haven't touched this one in a bit but I got a breakthrough on Great Power. So I was stuck on that for a bit. Hoping this will get me back up in this story though.

10. Back to Normal… Ish

Barry was forced to take a few more days sabbatical when news reached the CCPD of Snart and Rory escaping in route to prison. It gave Barry more time to hang out at Star Labs, to train and race around as the Flash. She danced a little victory jig as she raced back into Star Labs, the Royal Flush Gang out of commission and surrounded by police. Cisco cheered.

"Aw yeah! The Flash triumphs again! We gotta get a picture." Barry laughed loudly.

"Pretty sure rule one of having a secret identity is not to take photos in your costume without your mask on." Cisco pouted.

"Come on! For the future generations! They'll want to know about all of this!" He said gesturing to Barry, still in full costume. Barry laughed. Dr. Wells smiled.

"Cisco has a point. As scientists we are under an obligation to record our escapades for future generations." Barry laughed again.

"If that's the case then we all need to be in it, after all I don't do this alone. Without your shortcut the Royal Flush Gang would have gotten away tonight Dr. Wells. And Cisco makes all my equipment, and Caitlin keeps me breathing. We all have to be in this photo." Caitlin snorted and Cisco bounced, Dr. Wells nodded.

"When you put it that way…" Caitlin frowned as Cisco handed the camera over to Barry.

"Can I put on some makeup first?" Barry laughed. Cisco snorted.

"The future doesn't care about your makeup Caitlin!" He steered her over to Dr. Wells. Cisco stood on the doctors left, Caitlin on his right, an open space left open for Barry in the middle. She held up Cisco's phone.

"Smile!" She clicked the shutter and raced in an out of the photo in seconds. She checked it and grinned. The photo hadn't even blurred. Caitlin raised an eyebrow at her.

"Does that count as a Selfie?" Barry's grin widened.

"Hell yes it does!" She handed Cisco's phone back over to him and checked her watch.

"Gotta meet Joe for dinner. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She flashed into her regular clothes and zipped out of the building. She sped home and opened the door at a regular pace, for which she was glad when she spotted Iris holding a box of stuff.

"Hey! I thought the whole point of moving out was that you are no longer at home?" Barry quipped at her sister. Iris stuck out her tongue.

"I forgot some stuff." Joe came in a dish in his hands.

"Sure you don't want to stay for dinner, we're having spaghetti a la me!" Barry giggled. Joe called baked spaghetti that, and had since she was a kid. She could smell another pan of it baking for which she was glad, she was starving and if there had only been one pan she knew she would have to go out for seconds after dinner. Iris laughed as Joe set down the first pan and headed back into the kitchen.

"I wish I could, but Eddie has been painting all day and I promised I'd help." Barry laughed and snagged a roll as she sat down. Joe came in with a second pan and Iris frowned.

"Are you expecting more people?" Barry covered quickly.

"Caitlin and Cisco said they might stop by for dinner. Cisco eats like a teenage boy." Iris nodded and Joe raised a hand as she turned to leave and Barry began to serve herself.

"Oh someone from Central City Picture News called, they left a message. I left the number on the fridge." Iris's eyes went wide.

"Oh my god! Why didn't you tell me!" Joe raised his hands in surrender.

"Chill I just did." Iris rushed into the kitchen where Joe kept the old landline he insisted on having. Barry never understood that, no one had a landline anymore. But she was too busy piling green beans on her plate to pay much attention to that right now. At least until Iris screamed from the other room. Barry leapt to her feet, her fork clattering to the floor. Joes hand dropped to his sidearm, which he wore almost constantly now. He put up his other hand, still clad in the oven mitt.

"Was that a good scream or a bad scream?" Barry was practically vibrating. Then Iris laughed from the kitchen and Barry relaxed. She stopped vibrating as Iris came barreling out of the kitchen smiling like the Cheshire cat.

"Such a good scream! Oh my god! Central City Picture News just offered me a job as a reporter! Their editor is a fan of my Blog!" Barry bit back a laugh and hugged her sister. She was still shaking slightly and Joes hand was still close to his sidearm. Iris seemed to notice the tension in the air.

"You guys ok?" Barry nodded hugging Iris close for another moment.

"Fine." It was Joes turn to cover.

"With everything that happened over the last week, we're just a bit on edge." Iris wrapped Barry in another hug, remembering that Barry had been kidnapped just a few days ago.

"I'm sorry!" Barry shook her head.

"No, I'm fine! I promise." Iris grabbed her box, an awkward silence had fallen.

"Congrats on the job!" Barry managed, she was starting to shake again so she grabbed her fork off the floor and headed into the kitchen. She steadied herself on the sink for a minute until a hand came down on her shoulder, she whirled, fast as lightning and spotted Joe, hands raised.

"Iris headed out. You ok?" Barry took a shaky breath and shook her head.

"No. I think we should tell Iris. About the Flash. She's getting suspicious and we know the Reverse Flash knows who I am. It makes Iris a target, worse one who doesn't know she'd a target, or why if she does. Good what if being the Flash is doing more harm than good." Her last sentence came out as a whisper, like she hadn't meant to say it out loud. Barry was shaking so bad her hands were sparking. Joe leaned on the counter, he couldn't get too close to Barry when she lost control, no one could. The sparks she was putting off burned like hell.

"Barry. There's been no sign of the Reverse Flash since Christmas. You're doing everything you can to prepare for when he comes back right?" Barry nodded, the vibration slowing slightly.

"Yeah." Joe nodded and stepped forwards as the sparks stopped flying.

"There's nothing we can do but prepare for the moment. Iris is safer not knowing. The Reverse Flash doesn't seem to have an interest in anyone but you now. You need to make sure you're ready next time he shows up. Let me worry about Iris. Ok?" Barry finally stopped shaking entirely. She nodded.

"I've got something for you by the way." Barry raised an eyebrow as she grabbed a new fork and headed back out to her spot at the table. Joe dug around in his bag for a moment. He pulled out a bundle of envelopes and handed them over to Barry.

"Captain Singh has been getting them for a while now but they started piling up on his desk and I volunteered to take care of them." Barry frowned. The envelopes all appeared to have children's handwriting on them, ranging from scribbled Crayon to careful if shaky marker strokes. Joe pushed the envelopes across the table as Barry inhaled a roll. Barry took up the first envelope, it was bright eye searing yellow and written in red crayon was the simple work 'Flash'. Barry raised an eyebrow and popped open the envelope. A hand drawn card fell out. She scooped it up with one hand as she twirled spaghetti on her fork with her other. The picture was of a woman and a female child, both drawn as stick figures, standing hand in hand while a smear of yellow stretched into a building that appeared to be on fire. She opened the card, still confused.

'Dear FLash thats how mom says youre supposed to start letters. THank you for saving my mom and me when our house burned down. Youre the coolest superhero ever much cooler than the arrow. Paige. PS I hope you get this. Mom says she doesnt know how to get it to you so were gonna give it to a police officer cause she says they might know.'

Barry stared down at the card in her hand, tears welling up in her eyes. She opened the next one and found a drawing no note this time, it was again a yellow blur, though this one had red in it and there were lightning bolts scattered through it. The kid who had drawn this was probably a bit older than the last one, the handwriting in the corner was neater. It had a date from about two months ago on it, and the name Billy written under it. There was a car drawn behind the smear of yellow, a bright but slightly different colored hummer. Under his name Billy had written 'Thanks for saving me Flash!' Most of the rest of the envelopes were of a similar nature. A few had clearly been dictated to parents who had written what their children had said in careful pen strokes and let them sign the bottom of the page in crayon.

All told there were about two dozen letters and cards, some just drawings. Barry was crying. Tears streaking down her face, her plate forgotten, a smile on her face. Joe stood and stepped over to her pulling her into a hug.

"Look at those and tell me the Flash is doing more harm than good." Barry laughed wetly into her foster father's shoulder.

Across town Dr. Harrison Wells was drinking a soothing glass of scotch when he was attacked in his own house. Every piece of glass in the house shattered as he dove for cover.