Chapter 11: At the Hospital Once More

Iris sat by the bedside, listening to the soft jazz music dance through the air. Sighing, she leaned forwards, taking her father's hand in hers once more. She'd been with him all day. Barry had taken a few shifts over the past several days, but mostly it had been Iris. A few people had sent her cards and letters, but overall, she felt alone.

"Hey," Barry said from the doorway. Looking up, Iris smiled as he entered and took the seat opposite her. "Sorry, emergency at the lab."

"Have you told Dr. Wells that Dad isn't dead?" She knew instantly by his look that he hadn't. "Barry, you can't blame him. We don't even know if what Dr. Wells gave him is what caused Daddy to code."

"Iris, he was dead for three minutes. For three minutes his heart didn't beat. That's Eobard's fault. You can't convince me otherwise. He even told Cisco he was trying to kill Joe!" Barry glared across at her, reaching down and taking Joe's hand carefully.

"Did he say why?" Iris wasn't sure what to think, but a big part of her didn't believe that Harrison Wells would casually kill Joe. "I mean, why not do something more drastic? Why risk it failing?"

"Maybe he didn't know it would fail." Barry was so tired of having arguments about this. It was like everyone had forgotten what the last man with the face of Harrison Wells had done to them. Done to him. "Iris, he tried to kill Joe. I can't let him know that Joe lived."

"Are you going to keep him in a cell for the rest of his life? Barry, Dad is going to ask for him. They are best friends. You don't think Dad is going to wonder why his best friend just dropped out of his life?"

"I'll figure something out. Oh, and we just found out, he's a meta."

"Dad?"

"No. Eobard, Wells, whoever the hell." Frustrated, Barry ran a hand through his hair. "Hartley tried to reactivate the accelerator to further discredit Wells. He was using some sort of concussive shock wave to charge it and Wells managed to dissipate the wave with one he created."

"So, he has this awesome power that we've never seen him use before and he uses it to save the day?" Iris didn't think this sounded like something done by a villain.

"He did it to save his own butt. He and Cisco were trapped in the pipeline by Hartley."

"Barry, please, ask questions about this. I don't think we have the entire story."

"Iris, he tried to kill Joe. He's been keeping the fact that he's a meta from us. What more do you need? The only way to protect Joe is to keep Wells in the dark. Nobody tells him. Cisco thinks he can build something to inhibit Wells's power and track him. We'll put cameras in his home and keep him isolated."

"And what do we tell Dad? What do we do when Dad wants to go visit?"

"Iris, if he wakes up, he'll be quadriplegic. Dependent on us. We tell him that Dr. Wells isn't home or doesn't want to see him because he blames himself for what happened to Joe." Barry shrugged. He didn't understand it at all.

Iris's eyes narrowed and fresh tears started to form. She'd been so worried about her father just waking up and surviving that she had managed to forget the quadriplegia. How would she take care of him? They'd have to sell the house or put in ramps or something. There was so much to consider. First though, her father had to live through it. She clutched his hand tighter, letting the tears fall. At least he was breathing on his own. She'd taken that as good news. It had shocked the doctors and nurses.

Seeing her tears, Barry looked away. He felt bad for bringing it up. Angry at himself, he gave Joe's hand a squeeze, knowing he'd probably never feel it squeeze back. It hurt so much. To have to wonder if this was the end or if he was going to spend the rest of Joe's life taking care of the other man. Tears started to fill his own eyes and he shook his head angrily. He had to be strong. Nobody else had been able to see things as they really were, so he had to do it.

They sat there, crying silently, both in their own little hells. Eventually Barry had to get up and move around some. "Coffee?" Iris shook her head at the single word. She'd made sure to eat a big breakfast before coming in to visit. They weren't allowed to bring in food, so she ate huge breakfasts and fasted the rest of the day. Nodding, Barry took a moment before leaving the room.

"Daddy, I need you," Iris whispered. "I need you to do what you have to do." After so many days she'd started to accept that he might never wake up. She spent every day by his bedside, playing music for him, reading to him, singing to him. It was Barry all over again, only this seemed more final.

B.B. King performing "Sweet Little Angel" started to play. Memories of her father singing her an altered version of the song to her as a child drifted up. They made Iris squeeze her father's hand a little harder. She closed her eyes and rocked to the music, listening to the voice. Suddenly it sounded different. It was singing the words her father used to sing. Iris froze and clutched at her father's hand tightly. It squeezed hers back, weakly, but it did. Her eyes snapped opened and she looked to the head of the bed to see her father's eyes fixed on her as he sang along with the song. The song ended and Joe fell silent.

"Daddy?" Iris whispered the word.

"Do you remember when I used to sing that to you at bedtime?" His voice was barely a whisper, but his eyes spoke volumes.

"Daddy." Iris flung herself into him, forgetting his injuries. His little grunt of pain reminded her, but when she started to pull away, his arm came up around her and pulled her closer.

"Give me a damn hug," Joe muttered. He pulled her close and tears fell from his eyes, mixing with her own.

"Iris, look," Barry began as he entered the room. He paused, staring. Joe was hugging Iris. He was hugging Iris and talking to her. "I'll get a doctor." Without waiting, Barry raced from the room, the image of Joe holding Iris and whispering in her ears burned into his mind.