A/N: I hope you enjoy. :)

*Many thanks to sendtherain for beta'ing.

*I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.


Chapter 2 -

Barry stood, watching Iris and Nora say goodbye to everyone else at STAR Labs, and tried his very best not to look depressed. Whenever Iris and Nora turned his way, he put on a brilliant smile. And truthfully, it would be fun getting to go on a vacation with Nora when they'd never had one together. He just wished it wasn't right now.

He was all for embracing being a father to his adult daughter – though it was still a little weird, he couldn't lie – but his need to have Iris all to himself was stronger than it had ever been, especiall after existing in a reality where she thought he looked like Oliver. And now every time they shared even the purest, fully-clothed moment, it would likely be interrupted by their very chatty, very present daughter, Nora West-Allen.

Somehow, he had to get his mind right. Iris had obviously accomplished it already, which was understandable since she hadn't experienced a separate reality that she could remember.

"This was awfully nice of you to suggest," Joe said, who also had no memory of the alternate reality and had come back to Central City with Cecile and Jenna for the Christmas holiday season.

"Actually, I suggested it!" Nora chirped, beaming proudly.

Joe looked over at her. "Oh, did you now?" He looked back at Barry, smiling. "How did that come up?"

"Oh, simple really." Nora bounded over. "I went upstairs to wake up my parents, and –" She paused. "Well, they were already awake."

Iris cleared her throat, stepping across the room before her dad could connect the dots.

"She heard Barry and I talking about a vacation before Christmas and –"

"Invited myself along!"

"I…see." Joe looked back and forth between his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter.

"We'll be back in time for Christmas," Barry said, squeezing Joe's shoulder. "It'll only be a week, maybe ten days."

"Ten days," Nora said, with stars in her eyes.

Barry swallowed hard and muttered under his breath, "Or maybe seven."

Cisco, who was watching the entire scene unfold before him, suddenly picked up on the clues dropping like flies. Something was very wrong here.

"Hey, Barry?"

Barry looked over at him, relieved to briefly be out of the conversation involving the enthusiasm of a family vacation.

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He gestured to the hall.

"What- Uh, sure, man." He lowered his voice as he slipped past his girls, "'Scuse me."

He followed Cisco into the hall until they couldn't be heard and that's when his best friend hit him with the mother of all questions.

"Why aren't you excited about this vacation?"

"What?!" Barry squeaked. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, voice still high-pitched. "I am. I totally am." He willed his voice to lower. "I am." But it lowered a lot, making him look awfully suspicious.

Cisco folded his arms.

"Spill, Bartholomew."

Barry sighed.

"Okay, so there was this time change…"

Cisco hit him.

"It wasn't my fault this time!"

"Whose fault was it then, Flash?"

"Shh!" He looked around worriedly.

"No one can hear us." Cisco rolled his eyes. "But you, sir, have some explaining to do."

Barry looked back at him and prepared to tell his tale.

"Okay, well, there's a lot involved, and I'll tell you all of it some other time, but there was a crossover and the bad guy was constantly changing realities to what he personally wanted."

"Huh. Seems legit. Go on."

"In the first reality I woke up to, only one thing had changed. I was Green Arrow and Oliver was the Flash."

Cisco almost laughed at the 'Green Arrow' bit. Almost. But then he started to understand.

"Wait. Just you two had swapped? Not your wiv-"

Barry shook his head.

"Ah. So, you had to see Iris madly in love with Oliver thinking he was you."

Barry glared.

"Just clarifying!"

"Yes," Barry ground out.

"Did you ever get through to her? I mean, as Oliver?"

"Eventually, yeah."

"What'd you say?" Cisco asked curiously.

"That she's my lightning rod, obviously."

Cisco's lips twitched. "Works every time."

There was a pause, then—

"Wait, if you had to see that, then I'm guessing your suggestion of a vacation was actually as a redo honeymoon and that Nora jumped to conclusions and invited herself, and she was so excited you didn't know how to say no but now you're stuck?"

Barry winced. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

"Dude, why didn't you tell me? We can get Nora out of the picture. Surely she'd understand if you told her."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Why not?" he demanded.

"She's never had a vacation with her dad, Cisco."

Cisco softened.

"If I take this away from her now… after we just had that breakthrough over Thanksgiving, I…"

"So, don't take it away from her. Plan a family vacation over the summer. Cicada should be locked up by then, and you'll probably have a few months before the next Big Bad comes around trying to kill you and everyone you love." He patted his arm lovingly.

Barry snorted. "I wish I could say you were joking."

"But I'm not. Go with God, my man." He pushed him back towards the cortex. "Oh, and out of curiosity, who else knows about this crossover that none of us remember?"

"Just Iris. Listen, I can't just—"

"You can and you will. Go!"

They both entered the cortex again, just in time for an ecstatic Nora West-Allen to squeal and call her dad over for a family picture. Everyone else was smiling watching them, and even Iris warmed to seeing him again. Barry wondered if she was as prepared for this trip as he was.

"Come on, babe," she called out to him, gesturing to their daughter. "Picture time!" She laughed a little.

Cisco suddenly understood.

"Have a fun family vacation, oh, dear friend of mine." He clutched Barry's shoulder.

"Thanks," he said dryly.

He squeezed his friend's hand to near pain and then rejoined his family.

It took only seconds for Nora to start her interrogation once they'd gathered their luggage together at the loft.

"So, where are we going?" she asked, swinging one leg over her knee as she sat on top of the only half-filled suitcase meant for her.

"Bali," Iris said, or started to. "It's where we had-"

"Your honeymoon! Oh, yes! I love Bali."

Barry's lips twitched. "You've…been to Bali before?"

"Mhmm." She nodded ecstatically. "You didn't tell me much about your past growing up, Mom, but I did manage to find out where the two of you went on your honeymoon. It's a trip getting there, isn't it?" She blew a lock of hair out of her face. "Thank goodness we're speedsters and don't have to get sweaty sitting on a plane for a day and a half."

Barry thought about the plane trips last year, and how well, yeah, they would've loved to spend their time doing other things and were pretty much exhausted by the time they arrived, but it was also a sweet time, and a sexy time for part of it, despite the complications of a tiny bathroom. The next time they were able to get away, he'd been hoping to get some of that first-class mile-high seating where you actually had a private suite and your chairs turned into a bed.

Not to mention, he'd planned to up the romance with the type of hotel suite they got this time. Maybe they'd get a villa or one of those tropical huts that extended way out into the water.

But all of that was moot with a third party.

"That sounds great," Iris said, and Barry realized Nora must've been talking, listing things she wanted to do or things she had done. At least he guessed that's what it had been when Iris' elbow hit his side forcefully.

"Ow," he mouthed. Neither woman took note of his reaction.

"So, we're speeding there, right?" Nora asked hopefully. "I want to get started right away. Today should be a beach day!"

Barry thought of his and Iris' beach days the year before and how this would be nothing like it. But then he reminded himself why he'd agreed to this venture in the first place. Nora's eyes were glittering as she looked up at him, likely imagining all the father-daughter moments they hadn't gotten when she was growing up that she would now get.

"Sure, why not? We'll have to stop at a hotel first and make sure there's actually a place to stay, though, since this isn't a day trip," he joked lightly. Neither woman got it.

"Great!" She cheered, jumping up and down. "It might take a couple trips, but I'm sure we can get all the suitcases to the villa I stayed at when I was down there."

"Are you sure it'll be there, Nora?" Iris asked. "I mean, we are 25 years ahead of schedule," she joked. Nora laughed lightly, obligingly. Barry hid a smile.

"It should be there," Nora said, eager to get past the awkward moment and bad mom joke. "But if it's not, there should be some like it. It's not like villas were just invented in my lifetime."

Iris looked at Barry who smiled encouragingly. A possible villa had been part of his plan initially anyway.

"All right, a villa it is."

Nora was gone with half the luggage in her arms before returning back for the rest.

"See you guys there!"

And then she was gone again, leaving no indication of exactly where in Bali she was going to. It was a tourist destination. She could've literally gone anywhere.

Barry looked down at his wife of one year and grinned.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing. I just like my piece of luggage I get to take with me, that's all."

"Did you just call me a piece of luggage?"

"Light as a feather," he promised her, then sealed his promise with a kiss.

Iris moaned in irritation when he pulled away.

"What?" he asked on a laugh.

"Who knows the next time we'll be alone together like this? You're gonna leave me with just a peck? Really?"

He laughed, then sped her to the side of the building for a hot 'n heavy passionate kiss worthy of an award. Iris was breathless when he pulled back this time.

"Was that better?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as she nodded.

"Ready now?"

She took a breath and nodded.

"Let's get this family vacation started."

In a flash of color and wind, they were gone.