A/N: I have actually almost written this entire story. It's going to be 20 chaps total! Luckily for y'all, over half of those chaps have been beta'd, and I should be uploading them all here soon. I hope you enjoy!

*Many thanks to sendtherain for beta'ing.


Chapter 3 -

Another bump in the road had Iris bracing herself as her body involuntarily lifted off the seat, since Cisco refused to slow down. He wasn't going all that fast to begin with, but speed bumps had a way of turning a regular car ride into a roller coaster if you didn't slow down for them. The first one had Iris bumping her head on the ceiling of the cab.

"Whoa, are you okay?" he'd asked when her face came into view of the rearview mirror just before the thud.

Iris braced herself against the door and tucked the toes of her heels underneath the front passenger seat to ground herself.

"I'm fine."

That was the first time.

After the third speed bump within a block, Iris had started to grind her teeth.

"These speed bumps, I tell ya…" Cisco said with a chuckle, one she did not appreciate.

"Why are they here?" she asked, placing an arm above her head to block the ceiling from hitting her when they crossed over another speed bump.

"School zone," he informed her.

"Let me guess. Only school in the whole town," she said dryly.

"Good guess," Cisco said with a grin.

Iris rolled her eyes.

"Are we-" Bump. "Almost-" Bump. "There?" she ground out.

This time Cisco's chuckle was a little more strained.

"Another ten minutes probably," he paused. "But after I turn this corner right here…" He turned onto a clear street. "No more speed bumps." He glanced at her through his rearview mirror. "See?"

Iris heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness."

She rolled down the window in her car door and inhaled the sweet, summer air.

"You like the outdoors?" he asked casually.

"It's not my favorite."

He frowned. "Oh."

"But it's a little sticky in here, so I figured I'd try and catch a breeze."

"Oh." He grimaced. "Sorry about that. I'm working on getting air conditioning for all my cabs."

"You have more than one?" she asked, not trying to sneer but coming across that way.

Cisco bristled but spoke as calmly as he could.

"I have three."

"Are you the only driver?"

His hands clenched on the steering wheel.

"Barry helps me sometimes."

He expected her to ask who Barry was, but she didn't, and she was muttering something he couldn't quite make out.

"Why does he do that?" she asked, resting her arm on the windowsill.

He was baffled. "It's what good friends do, I guess."

"You're friends with him?" she asked, sneering on purpose this time, and Cisco felt himself get defensive.

"Yeah. Barry's a great guy. You should meet him." Though he had a feeling she already had, and they hadn't quite gotten off on the right foot.

"I already did," she said. "Unfortunately," she muttered under her breath.

Cisco didn't know what to say to that, so he kept silent, rolled down his own window so there'd be a cross-current for her, and drove down the smooth, country roads until finally they reached the Allen's Bed and Breakfast on the outskirts of town.

"We're here."

Iris examined the property. Tall grass was growing all around the back of the house, but the front lawn was cut well. The house was a light blue with white trim and had pretty peach-pink curtains hanging in the windows. The front porch was wide with a couple wooden chairs and a swing. A potted plant sat in the corner. The sign right by the road was in need of a paint job, but if you didn't look too hard at it you couldn't tell.

Iris was just used to looking hard.

She rolled up the window, grabbed her purse and opened the door, then paused.

"Oh. How much do I owe you?"

He waved her off. "No charge."

Her brows furrowed. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "I give all my customers a free ride the first time around. Besides, you're from out of town and probably aren't staying long, so-"

"Do you know who I am? Who my father is?"

"Uh…"

"Nevermind. Just take the $20." She handed the bill over to him.

"Oh, I don't think-"

"I know it was more than that, but if you won't tell me…" She looked over to the meter in the front, center of the car and saw it hadn't even been turned on. She sighed. "Just take it."

"Wait, Miss!"

He got out of the car and started to run after her, but she was surprisingly fast in her high heels, so he stopped when she reached the top of the stairs leading up to the porch and went back inside his yellow cab, driving away almost simultaneously when she knocked on the door.

No one came to the door at first, and Iris scolded herself for not asking Cisco to wait to see if someone was actually home. The town was small, but it wasn't exactly just a block or two to the next property. This house was a good chunk of time by car. Who knew how long it would take her to walk, in heels no less, to the next suitable resting spot?

Just as she was about to turn back around or at least rest for a few minutes on the cushioned swing, the knob turned and the door opened, and the sweetest woman Iris had ever laid her eyes on smiled at her, beckoning her towards her without even saying a word.

"Are you looking for a place to stay, darling?"

"I…I am." Had she actually stuttered?

"Come inside," she said, stepping back so Iris could do exactly that. "I just brought out some fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and apple cider."

The offer was too enticing to refuse, so she followed her inside to the kitchen.

"Look who I found standing on our porch, Henry."

A man looking to be about the woman's age with somewhat graying hair and a solid build – and a cookie halfway to his mouth – sat at the table and smiled.

"A guest?"

"A guest." The woman smiled warmly.

Henry stood up and circle around the table to shake Iris' hand.

"I'm Henry Allen, and this is my wife, Nora." He pulled Nora in to wrap an arm around her waist. "How long do you expect to be staying with us?"

Iris could hardly catch her breath. The love radiated off of them in waves. She couldn't get enough of it.

"I…um…about a week. My car's being fixed in the auto shop, and that's how long they said it would take to get the part and fix it."

"Oh, the auto shop!" Nora cheered. Iris' eyes widened, and Henry chuckled.

"Excuse my wife's enthusiasm. You see, our son works there. He's probably the one working on your car."

Iris forced a smile, for the first time in a long time not feeling the inclination to be snippy with someone who even slightly annoyed her. And Nora hadn't really. It was sweet how much she loved her son. If Iris pretended Barry wasn't their son, she could ignore the irritation completely.

"Probably."

"His name's Barry," Nora gushed, and Iris had to resist the urge to frown.

So much for pretending.

A few hours later, Barry rolled up to the Bed and Breakfast, noticed no one was sitting on the porch, and decided to sit in his truck for a few minutes before going in.

He normally only came for dinner at his parents' place on Sundays, but after Cisco had returned from taking Iris there and did not appear to be acting his cheery self, Barry decided to take action. Iris West had already pissed himself off and one of his best friends, who rarely let anything bother him, which was bad enough. He was not going to let her be a pest to his parents too.

It was true they hadn't had much business lately, and so Iris with her fancy credit card could do wonders for them, but not if she acted as if they were beneath her with every word she uttered. He needed to protect them from her, and if that meant having dinner with them twice this week, well, that was hardly a burden to bear. He adored his parents.

A bouquet of his mother's favorite flowers in one hand, Barry exited his vehicle five minutes later and walked up the steps, not even hesitating to open the door and step inside. What he didn't expect was to see Iris walking down the steps in a very familiar summer dress he could've sworn he'd seen in old pictures his mom had shown them.

"Iris," he said, confused and briefly riveted. "You look…"

"Oh, are those for me?" she asked, snatching the daisies from his hand and inhaling the scent. "They're not my favorite, and they hardly make up for what you've done to me, but I suppose it's a start." She paused. "Barely."

Barry's eyebrows narrowed and he took them back, making her frown.

"They're not for you."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and heat flooded her face, both annoyed with him and embarrassed for herself.

"Oh, Barry!" Nora gushed, coming in through the back door. She quickly took her apron off and washed her hands of the dirt covering them. Then she went to her son and hugged him tightly. "It's so good to see you." She pulled back, still grinning. "I was just doing some gardening. Your father's in the back, chopping wood."

For the first time, she noticed the flowers in his hand. Her eyes widened with delight.

"Oh, daisies! My favorite. You shouldn't have."

He obliged her with a smile. It was the same thing she said every time he brought them to her.

"Yes, I should." He leaned down to press his lips to her cheek. "You deserve them."

Her smile was so wide, Iris was starstruck by it. And so was Barry.

"Well, let me just put these in some water, and then you can tell me all about your day before I start to make dinner. Iris, would you- Oh!" She turned to her son excitedly. "Barry, have you met Iris? She's going to be staying with us for a whole week!"

"Yes…" Barry forced out. "We've met."

Iris forced an equally strained smile and said, "Just now."

Barry gave her a curious look, wondering why she felt the need to lie, but he didn't call her out on it. He didn't particularly want his parents to think badly of her when they clearly felt otherwise from the onset.

"She's such a dear, Barry. Are you the one working on her car?"

He nodded. "I am."

"Well, you make sure you fix it right and good, so this little lady doesn't have to come back and complain."

Barry held back a snort. He was sure she'd love to do exactly that – and demand her money back too. But again, he said nothing implying that opinion.

"I'll do the best I can," he said, aware of Iris eyeing him skeptically just a few feet away.

"Well, come out into the sunroom with me, honey, and tell me about your day. Iris, would you mind getting Henry from the back and telling him Barry is here?"

"Oh, sure," Iris said with a smile, and not a hint of irritation, which surprised her as much as it did Barry.

She disappeared out the back door, and Barry followed his mother into the sunroom where they relaxed into some wicker chairs.

"So, tell me." She patted his hand. "Anything interesting happen today?"

Barry watched through the screen window as Iris walked through the backyard to where his father was chopping wood and got his attention. His eye caught how the blue-and-white polka dot dress swayed in the breeze and the glide of Iris' gate as she approached the opening where the stump sat and wood lay in a pile. Her long hair was now in a braid down her back that he suspected his mother had done. All of which seemed very strange and so unlike what he thought he'd be walking into.

"Not much," he lied, bringing a glass of apple cider to his lips.

In the distance, Henry smiled when he became aware of Iris, and smiled wider after she presumably told him his son had come for a visit.

As they headed back to the house, Iris caught Barry's eye for the briefest of seconds before looking away.

Barry suspected things had just become very, very complicated.