A/N: Here's the next chapter. Also, funny story, when I moved last month I lost the outline I made for this story and had to make a new one. I'm certain we're still on track though. Enjoy!

"Wally?" Dr. Miller asked, gesturing to him from the door to the one-on-one room. "Your turn." Wally got up from his bean bag, holding his notebook close to his chest. Once inside the room, he took his usual seat while Dr. Miller shut the door behind him. "How are you today?"

"Fine, I guess…" Wally replied quietly.

"Fine is better than not fine. Why don't we start with your journal? Do you want to read me the good things that have happened to you this week?"

Wally opened his notebook and hesitated for a second before he read it. "Thursday I re-read one of my favorite science books, but I only got halfway through. On Friday I helped Aunt Iris cook dinner. Saturday I read the other half of my book. Sunday I went for a walk with my aunt and uncle around Central. On Monday, Aunt Iris bought cookies from the really nice bakery on her way home from work. On Tuesday I texted my friends for the first time a few weeks; I also did it earlier today."

"Good. Which of these things would you say is your favorite?"

"Uh…I think…texting my friends."

"Why is that?"

"Because… I'm starting to miss them. It's weird because…before I didn't really care that I wasn't talking to them. I was actually ignoring them. But when I texted them…it was like before. They weren't even mad at me for everything I've been doing." Or not doing, depending on how someone viewed his behavior toward his friends.

"Do you think your friends understand the stress you've been under?"

"Oh, yeah. Absolutely." For one thing, Dick and Roy understood Wally's situation on a personal level; not to mention how Hartley and James regularly tried robbing banks int= their free time, so they weren't ones to judge anyone. "But…there's other friends I haven't still haven't seen in a couple of months."

"Why not?"

Wally shrugged. "I didn't want to. They- They tried helping me before when I was catatonic, but when I came out of it…I just pushed them all away. Then I got grounded."

"Do you think you can handle seeing your other friends again?"

"…I don't know." Wally knew the Team wanted to help, but the thought of going to Mount Justice, especially with his speed still not working, made him sick to his stomach.

"That's fine, Wally. Whatever speed you want to do this is a good one. Don't stress yourself out."

"I try not to."

Dr. Miller smiled a little. "What else has happened in your life recently?"

"…I start summer school on Monday."

"You don't sound excited about that."

At first, Wally didn't say anything, but neither did Dr. Miller. 'I get the feeling she won't talk until I say something about it,' he thought. Wally tried not to sigh. "School's just so…much. It's loud and crowded. I feel like I'm going to jump out of my skin. And that's without feeling like I just…can't do the work. My brain just…doesn't want to do any of it. And now I have to go to school in the summer when it's hot and sweaty. But…if I don't go to summer school, they say I have to repeat 10th grade."

"Whose decision was it for you to go to summer school rather than be held back?"

"…Mine." Wally shrugged when Dr. Miller gave him a surprised look. "Summer school will suck but…repeating 10th grade would suck even more." Worry about how disappointed his parents would be if he failed his sophomore year made him wipe his hands compulsively on his pants. "So…lesser of two evils, I guess."

"Well, I wish you lots of luck. Would you like to practice grounding techniques for the res tour one-on-one time? I'm sure they would help you. It would be a good chance to practice, since you, presumably, won't have as many people around during summer school."

"Sure." The ground techniques, really just fancy breathing exercises, was something they'd practiced the previous session as well as this one, as a group. It was designed to not only calm someone down from anxiety or panic attacks, which Wally knew was specifically for him, but for calming down during an argument as well. So far, Wally hadn't rally tried using one in a real-life situation. But…he was giving this counseling thing a chance, so he did as Dr. Miller told him, trying to breathe through his anxieties.

— —

Several days later, Wally picked at his breakfast, moving his eggs around on the plate to make it look like he'd eaten more than he had.

"Stop playing with your food," Barry told him. "And don't look so glum. Summer school only covers the basics, so you won't even be learning a lot."

"I know," Wally replied. "I'm just…not feeling it."

Barry almost snorted out his coffee. "You're not 'feeling it'?"

"Mhm."

"If you want to wait until fall and repeat 10th grade, you can always do that-"

"No!" Wally slammed his fork onto the table. "I'm not repeating my sophomore year."

"Ok, ok." Barry held his hands up, hoping to placate the sudden anger in his nephew's eyes. "But you know that Iris and I are ok with whichever option you choose, right? If you decide summer school is still too much right now, then we can pull you out. We won't be angry or disappointed if you want to just start over in September."

Wally sighed. "I know…" He turned back to his barely touched breakfast. It was silent for a few minutes before he spoke again. "So…Uncle Barry…"

"So, Wally…."

"…When can I go back to Mount Justice?"

Barry froze with his coffee mug raised. After a moment, he slowly lowered it. "You want to go back to Mount Justice?"

"…Yeah. I think I do."

"What brought this on?" It had been weeks since Wally had shown any interest in seeing his friends.

"I don't know…" Wally pushed his scrambled eggs around his plate. "Just… Dr. Miller asked me about my friends and I… I don't know. I guess I want to see the Team."

Barry sighed, really wishing he didn't have to be the bad guy. "You know you're still grounded, Wally."

"I know."

It was quiet for a minute as Barry took a deep sip of his coffee. He set it down with a sigh. "If you can make good progress at summer school, real progress, not just barely passing, then I'll talk to Iris about ending your grounding."

"You will?"

"Yes. But you need to show us you're taking summer school seriously for three weeks?"

"Three weeks? But..that's so long."

"I know, but we need to see that you're taking your responsibilities seriously."

"Ok."

'Is that it?' Barry thought as Wally went back to picking at his food. 'He's not going to fight me? Or yell? I just…offered him a deal and he agreed?' A sense of pride bubbled inside him. Maybe he was starting to get a handle on this parenting thing. They sat in silence for several more minutes until the doorbell rang. Barry frowned. 'Who is that? We're not expecting anyone…'

"Wally," Iris, poking her head into the kitchen. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes," Wally replied standing.

"You're barely eaten."

"I'm not hungry, Aunt Iris."

Iris thinned her lips but eventually nodded. "Fine, but take a couple of speedster bars with you, just in case."

Wally scraped and put his plate in the sink, then snagged two of the special food bars. 'I don't even know if they'd do anything for me,' he thought, dumping them into his backpack. 'My metabolism hasn't exactly been acting normally without my speed.' A twinge of worry popped up in the back of his mind, but Wally pushed it away. 'I need to stay focused on trying to get through summer school. Especially if I want to see the Team again.' While he couldn't place why exactly he wanted to see the Team, it just felt right. Like something, he had to do. 'Maybe by the time I'm allowed to go, I'll actually have a reason.' He grabbed his bag, then left the kitchen. As soon as he walked into the living room though, he stopped. "What're you guys doing here?"

"Did ya think we'd let you go to summer school alone?" Hartley asked.

"…Yes?"

"We'd never make you suffer alone."

Wally crossed his arms as Barry and Iris walked in behind him. "So…you guys just so happened to fail all your classes too?"

Hartley shrugged. "Maybe we did, maybe we didn't. Either way, you're stuck with us."

"Like glue," James added. He held up his right hand, which had a strange-looking glove with suspicious nobs on the fingers.

Wally took an unconscious step back. "James…buddy…please tell me you don't have glue in that glove."

James lowered his hand, looked at it with a frown, then Wally. "What's wrong with it?"

"…Nothing. Let's just go. Don't…touch anything."

"Bye, boys," Iris said as they left.

"Bye!" Wally called.

"Get it Flash?" James asked as he passed the older speedster. He wiggled his gloved hand at him. "Sticky fingers."

Barry face-palmed and kept his hand up until he heard the door close. "Remind me why we let Wally be friends with them again?" he asked.

"Because none of his other friends live in the state," Iris replied matter-of-factly.

"Mhm." Barry followed her back into the kitchen so they could finish getting ready for work. "Speaking of which, Wally asked if he could go to Mount Justice."

"He did?"

"Yeah."

"What did you tell him?"

Barry shrugged as he put his dishes away. "The truth. He's still grounded, but I did say that we would talk about ending his grounding is he shows commitment and improvement during summer school."

"Well, …that seems fair."

"I thought so."

Iris caught Barry by his shoulder and turned him to look her in the eye. "You're not worried about putting too much pressure on him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Things have been good since Mother's Day… But it's only been two weeks. You don't think putting more pressure on Wally will cause him to lose some of the progress he's made?"

"…I think he can handle it." Barry took Iris' hands between his own, eyes locked on hers. "The way I see it, Wally has three options. One: he can drop out of summer school, repeat his grade, and stick out the rest of his punishment. Two: he can stay in summer school and stick out his grounding. Or three: he can work hard in summer school and earn time off his grounding to go see his friends. I am fine with any of them, and I think you are too." He waited for her to argue, but Iris nodded. "And whatever Wally does, it will be his decision. He can do what he wants, and we'll support him."

Iris smiled a little. "I would say I'm proud of you for figuring out a way to help Wally, but I think I'm more proud that you two aren't fighting anymore."

"I know." They kissed for a moment before Barry's watched beeped at him. "We should go before we're both late for work."

Iris nodded as she followed him out of the kitchen. 'I hope this means we're on the right track.'

— —

Summer school turned out to not be as bad as regular school. There was one benefit that Wally noticed right away: way fewer students. Only a fraction of the students attended, compared to a normal school day. For once, he didn't have the usual spike of anxiety when he walked inside. The work was also remedial; due to it being designed to make sure students understand the minimum needed to keep advancing in their grade. It also meant there wasn't a lot of actual work to do. Wally's brain didn't feel immediately overwhelmed and it was easier to nudge himself into doing the work. The teachers also let them eat lunch outside, which Wally, Hartley, and James took full advantage of.

"Isn't summer school pretty sweet?" Hartley asked, leaning against a tree.

"It's better than normal school," Wally replied as he unwrapped a speedster food bar.

"Anything is better than school," James replied. His gaze was locked intently on his hands. He'd taken another strange-looking glove from his bag and put it on his other hand. Now both hands were stuck together at the fingertips. "School is dumb. Teachers are dumb."

"Why?"

"They think I'm dumb."

Wally opened his mouth to point out his friend had just glued his hands together, but then closed it again. Instead of talking, he actually watched what James was doing. Yes, his hands were glued together, but from a super-glue secreting glove James had invented himself. And the way he stared at his hands was almost…calculating. Like he was studying them and taking mental notes. 'Almost like he's testing the durability of the glue or something.' And why wouldn't he be? Wally swallowed. 'James invents all his own crazy weapons and 'toys' as Trickster. He has a great understanding of science if nothing else.' Not unlike Wally himself. "You're smart James. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"You're smart." James shrugged. "Smart, but not all there."

"Not all there?"

James nodded. "You and me. It's ok."

For some reason, Wally felt warmth spread through his chest. 'James has grappled with horrible mental health for years, but he still goes out as a Rogue. He makes his weapons and spends time with us.' It gave Wally a strange, bright feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. A teacher blew a whistle, signaling the end of their lunch break. He quickly shoved the rest of his speedster food bar into his mouth as he stood. On the way back into the school, he threw his arm around James. His friend gave him a warm smile, hands still stuck together.

— —

Through some stroke of good luck, Barry was the first one home after work. He dropped his bag and coat by the kitchen table, then laughed when he saw Iris' phone. "No wonder she didn't answer my texts all day," he muttered. Usually, it was him forgetting things, so his brain was coming up with ways to tease his wife— as she so often did to him— as he walked toward the kitchen. He only made it to the doorway before the phone started ringing. Without thinking about it, Barry went over and picked it up. "Iris' phone," he said upon answering it.

"Mr. Allen?" Mr. Galad replied in confusion. "Is your wife there?"

"Unfortunately, no. She left her phone at home. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, actually. All the CPS interviews and background checks have finally cleared. The only thing we need now is a professionals evaluation of Wally's mental state."

"A professional evaluation?"

"Yes. Just to make sure he's thinking soundly and can make decisions unimpaired, and without undue influence from either party."

"Uh…We've been seeing a family grief counselor. Is she the type of professional you need?"

"That'll work fine. If you give me her information, I can call her and ask for the information. She'll probably have some release forms for you and Iris to sign next time you see her."

"Right, right." Barry gave Mr. Galad contact information for Dr. Miller.

"Ok. As soon as she submits the eval, we should have another hearing date. If all goes according to plan, we should have one in just a couple of weeks."

"That's…soon."

"Thankfully. I'll get in contact with you guys when I have more information. Bye, now."

"Bye." Barry hung up, then mechanically set the phone back on the table. He didn't move though, his hunger was momentarily forgotten. 'We could be having another hearing in just a couple of weeks.' Two weeks before Wally would have to sit down with the judge and decide where he wanted to live. Two weeks before the judge would make a final decision. Two measly weeks before Barry could potentially lose his nephew forever. A tremor began working its way through his muscles. Barry barely registered it as the tremor grew, turning into vibrations running through his body. Before he could really think about it, Barry pulled out his flash ring. In the blink of an eye, his suit was on and in the next blink, he was out the door. Keeping his speed below supersonic levels while he was in the city was hard, but as soon as he hit the plains, Barry let go. He zoomed across the midwest, to the California coast, and across the great expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Doing laps around the globe was normally the best form of therapy for Barry, but something inside of him refused to calm down. So, when he lapped back around to Cali, he slowed down and turned north.

The rush of wind and crackling of lightening woke Hal from his nap. "Ah!" he shouted, flailing off his couch. He looked up and raised his ring hand, ready to fight whatever villain had broken into his apartment and tried to sneak upon him. "Barry?"

"Hey, Hal," Barry replied. "What's up?"

"…I was sleeping." Hal lowered his hand, then heaved himself back onto his couch, stretching out again. He closed his eyes. "I just got back from Corps business. What're you doing here?"

"Uh…I- I don't really know."

Hal opened an eye, then sat up as Barry pulled off the cowl. The look in his friend's eyes was like…a storm. He could practically see lightning streaking through the veins in his eyeballs. "Barry, sit down, man."

"No…" Barry started pacing. "I can't. I can't."

"What's going on?"

"Got a call from the lawyer, you know our lawyer who's trying to help us keep Wally? Well, we might have our next hearing in a couple of weeks!"

"That's good-"

"Which is when Wally will tell the judge how he felt so emotionally neglected he had to turn to drugs and alcohol to feel better and how I've done nothing to make him feel better because despite being his uncle I'm a shit parent which shouldn't surprise me because I've also been a horrible hero-"

"Barry-"

"-and why shouldn't Wally tell the judge he doesn't want to live with us because I've been fighting with him for almost three weeks even though I was just trying to protect him from himself, but I don't know what I'm doing so, of course, he won't see it that way and things are good now but what if they get bad again before the hearing and Wally doesn't want to stay with us-"

"Barry-"

"-but he's a teenager which means whoever he wants to live with his pretty much who the judge will place him with but Wally is my nephew and I love him but what if that isn't enough and the judge lets his grandparents have him and then they'll take him away and I'll never see him again-"

"Earth to Barry!" Hal created a construct to stop the pacing speedster in his tracks. Predictably, Barry bumped into it, then looked at him. "Take a breather, man! You're going to burn a hole through my carpet and talk yourself into a panic attack." He let the construct disappear, then sat up. "Come sit with me." When Barry hesitated, he pat the empty cushion. "Come on." Barry sighed loudly but did shuffle over to drop onto the couch. "Ok, let's break down all of…this." Hal gestured vaguely at Barry. "What did the lawyer say to you." Barry opened his mouth, but Hal held up his finger. "Slowly."

Barry nodded and took a deep breath. "Mr. Galad said that he just needs an evaluation of Wally's mental state for the judge. It's just to make sure Wally can make the decision about who he wants to live without too much interference from us or his grandparents."

"And that's good, right?"

"…Yes. He's talking now and his mental health is still a huge work in progress, but he's already better than he was when this mess started."

"Ok."

"If everything goes smoothly, we should have our next hearing in a couple of weeks."

"The big hearing where the judge will decide where Wally is going to live?"

Barry nodded as he started rubbing his hands on his legs. "Wally has to have a one-on-one with the judge and tell him where he wants to live. Because he's a teenager, the judge will likely use whatever decision Wally makes."

"Ok. And…you're worried Wally won't want to live with you and Iris?"

"I mean…why would he?" Tears pricked at the speedster's eyes. "After all the mistakes we- I've made, the way I've ruined our relationship…why would he choose us?"

"Why? Maybe because you and Iris have always been like second parents to Wally? Or the fact that living with you allows him to stay close with his friends? Or maybe because his grandparents aren't even in the state right now, so how much could they really want him? Or, what about this wild thought, because Wally loves you guys and he knows that you love him." Hal put his hand on Barry's shoulder. "Don't lose hope. You keep saying you're not the hero you used to be, but the only that'll be true is if you give up hope. Because the Flash I know never gives up. Our Flash isn't a great hero because he saves everyone or has all the answers, he a great hero because he never gives up the hope that it'll all be ok. Without you, all we have is Clark and that isn't nearly enough optimism to balance out Bruce."

Barry snorted and rolled his eyes. "You mean that?"

"Of course I do." Hal squeezed his shoulder. "I have no doubt it'll work out, but if you're that worried, then just ask Wally if he's happy living with you guys."

"I don't want to influence him. If Wally really doesn't want to sat with us…I want him to be happy. And if that means leaving us, then that's what I want for him."

"For someone who thinks he's such a terrible parent, you seem to have a good grasp on it. As good as Bruce and Ollie at least. If those two can raise kids, you and Iris absolutely can." That made Barry actually laugh and Hal grinned. "Just calm down. You three are already family. Wally knows that."

"…I hope you're right." Barry looked up at his friend. "Thanks, Hal."

"Anytime, Barry. Besides, I basically owe you after all those times you talked me down from doing something dumb with Carol. Swear to God, our whole relationship would've been obliterated if it hadn't been for you. So have as many emotional breakdowns as you want with me."

Barry wiped his eyes quickly. "I don't plan on having that many. The whole point of counseling is to not have emotional breakdowns."

"Yeah, but you have to pay a counselor. Friends you can hold hostage with guilt." He threw his arm around Barry and after a second they both broke into peals of laughter.

'Maybe Hal is right,' Barry thought as he wiped his eyes again, this time from mirth. 'If I really want this to be what Wally wants, then I'll let him decide. Like I told Iris this morning, we'll support what he wants to do. But I'll never give up the hope that Wally understands how much we care about him and want him with us. I have to hold on to that hope. I have to.'