Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Green Hal37: Well, from the sounds of it, he restored the minds of others not involved in Crisis. By the way she speaks in then Arrow finale, Moira sounds like she remembers what happened in the pre-Crisis Earth. In this, he restored the minds of everyone involved with the various teams.
Chapter 4- Coming to Terms
Barry sighs as he pulls the car up to his house. He and Patty had gotten off of work a few hours ago, and had finally gone shopping for some items for the babies. They had bought a pair of cribs, a changing table, and several other items that were important to have. They had also planned a day for the following week to go shopping for clothes and toys for the twins, which they felt they could finally do after learning the genders three days earlier.
Shutting the car off, Barry lets his head fall against the steering wheel. "What?" Patty asks concerned.
Barry turns to look at her. "I love you, sweetie. But your indecision over the cribs was driving me nuts," Barry says.
Patty smiles sweetly at him. "Sorry, Barry, but I only want the best for my babies," she says. Barry just sighs in response.
Patty climbs out of the car, which is not as easy as it used to be. She looks at Barry and says, "I'll go get started on dinner."
Barry nods. Then, he goes around to the back of their car and opens it up, before he starts unloading everything. Thankfully, there really isn't anything that's too big he can't carry it at super speed. Thankfully, it only takes him a few seconds to unload everything and take it up to the room they've set aside for the twins' room.
After he's finished unloading everything, he speeds down to the kitchen and starts gathering things for the meatloaf and mashed potatoes Patty had planned to make that night. By the time Patty reaches the kitchen, Barry already has everything ready.
Patty just giggles a bit and shakes her head before saying, "I should know by now that I can't beat you to the kitchen, especially with these two slowing me down," patting her stomach as she finishes.
Barry just laughs before walking over and giving her a quick kiss before saying, "Alright. Let's get to work fixing dinner."
The two head back over the counter, and Barry gets started peeling potatoes while Patty gets started on the meatloaf. Although Barry could have the potatoes peeled, chopped, and in the pot in a second or two if he wanted, he's found that when cooking with Patty, he likes to go at normal speed so they can cook together.
Within about 20 minutes, the meatloaf and the potatoes are ready. Barry dumps the potatoes chunks into the pot to let them start cooking, and Patty slides the meatloaf into the oven.
It takes about 40 minutes for the meatloaf to come out of the oven. By the time the meatloaf is out of the oven, the potatoes have finished boiling and been mashed and seasoned, and sitting on the table. Patty spreads some marinara sauce over the meatloaf before bringing the meatloaf over to the table.
"You're such a good cook, sweetie," Barry says with a big smile.
"Glad you enjoy it so much," Patty says.
Patty sits down with Barry, and they finally start tucking into their dinner, having a nice conversation about baby names now that they know the genders. They have both said they definitely want to consider naming them after their deceased parents, but they are also considering other names.
Once they finish up dinner, Barry speed cleans all of the dishes in a few seconds and putting the leftovers away in the fridge. Then, Barry speeds over, then picks her up and carries her at normal speed into the living room.
"Alright. Shall we watch a movie together?" Barry asks.
"We shall," Patty says with a smile.
"Alright. Just remember, we need to get to bed a little earlier tonight so that we can get up in time to make it to Oliver's memorial service tomorrow," he says.
"Of course," Patty says.
Barry sets Patty down on the couch before walking over to their bookshelf that has all their movies on it. "So, what shall we watch tonight?"
"I'm thinking…Lord of the Rings," Patty replies.
"Good choice," Barry says with a grin. He pulls the DVD case for Fellowship of the Ring off the shelf and pulls the disc out, sliding it into the DVD player.
Barry sits down beside Patty, remote in hand. Once the main menu comes up, Barry presses play.
Almost the second Barry presses the button, there is suddenly a knock at the door. Barry and Patty both look towards the door in confusion, then at each other, both wondering if they heard that. Then, right as Galadriel's voice starts coming over the TV speakers, they hear another knock, followed by the sound of Iris' voice calling out, "Barry, if you're there, it's me!"
Barry's eyes widen for a second, then his face falls as well as his head and he sighs, pausing the movie as he does. "I was afraid this was gonna happen sooner or later," he mutters.
A moment later, Patty rests her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Barry. It was gonna happen eventually," she says. Barry looks at her, and he can see a flicker of nervousness in her eyes.
Barry reaches forward and takes her face in his hands. "Patty. I promise. I love you. I love you and our children so much, and I will never leave you," he says.
Patty smiles. "I know, but it makes me feel better to hear you say it again," he says. The two then share a kiss.
As they pull apart, Barry says, "Do you want to go wait in the other room?"
"No, I'll stay with you. If this is gonna happen, we should face it together. Plus, this may be as good a chance as ever to tell Joe about the twins if he's here. It's probably gonna come up with Iris, so we may as well tell Joe if he came with her," she says.
"You're probably right," Barry says. He then stands up and pulls Patty to her feet. The two then walk over to the front door.
Barry takes hold of the doorknob, takes a deep breath, squeezes Patty's hand extra tight, then opens the door. As he does, he sees both Iris and Joe standing on porch. Joe is dressed as if he just got off of work, but Iris is dressed rather fancy as if she was dressed for a date.
"Barry!" Iris cries with relief. She tries to reach out for Barry, whether to embrace Barry or kiss him, Barry's not sure. However, he steps back before Iris can get a hold of him.
Iris looks confused, but internally, this action worries her. "Barry?" she asks.
"Why don't you both come inside?" Barry says, and he and Patty step back to allow Iris and Joe to enter the house.
As soon as she steps in, Iris and Joe both turn to face Barry. It is then that they really notice Patty, and how tightly Barry is holding her hand. A second later, both of them register Patty's growing baby bump, Joe with surprise, and Iris with horror.
"Patty?" Joe says in surprise
"Hey, Joe. It's been a long time," Patty says.
"Barry, what is going on here?" Iris demands, anger creeping into her voice.
"Joe, why don't you and Patty head into the kitchen and talk? I need to talk to Iris alone," Barry says, deciding it probably would be better for the two of them to have this discussion alone.
"Okay," Joe says slowly. He then walks with Patty into the kitchen.
As the two enter the kitchen, Joe looks at Patty. "I hope you know I didn't come here looking to help Iris take Barry away from you. I just came to help her see the light and make sure she didn't do anything too drastic," he says.
"I know," Patty says.
Joe nods. Then, he points to her stomach. "So, you're pregnant?" he asks.
"Yup. Four and half months. And not only that, I'm carrying twins," she says.
"What? Twins?" Joe asks in surprise.
"Yeah. We're both sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but my pregnancy has been pretty high risk from the beginning, so we decided to wait until we found out the genders to tell people so we know I wasn't going to lose them," Patty says.
"And do you know the genders?" Joe asks, feeling excitement start to rise.
"Yes. Just a few days ago. We're having a boy and a girl," Patty says.
Joe stands there for a second, feeling a sense of excitement growing stronger, feeling more and more happy as he realizes he's going to be a grandpa.
"Are you okay now? You said it was high risk," Joe says.
"Yeah. I was out action for a few weeks because my morning sickness was so bad, and I almost lost them early on, but I'm doing much better now, and the doctor said the babies couldn't be healthier," Patty says.
Joe is quiet for a few more moments before he says, "I'm excited. For both of you. You both are amazing people, and you're gonna make amazing parents."
Patty smiles at her former partner. "Thanks, Joe," she says, and gives him a hug, which Joe happily accepts.
As they separate, Patty suddenly looks down at her stomach, then back up at Joe and says, "They're moving a lot right now. Do you want to try and feel your grandkids moving?"
Joe is quiet for a second before he says, "Sure." Patty smiles as she takes his hand and puts it against her stomach. A second later, Joe feels one of the twins kick, and smiles brightly.
Back in the entryway, right as Joe and Patty walked into the kitchen, Barry walks into the living room, Iris following behind him. As soon as he turns to face her, Iris says loudly, "What is going on, Barry?"
"When I woke up after the Crisis, I woke up in this house. I came downstairs, and found Patty making breakfast, and 4 months pregnant. Oliver created this life for me when he restarted the universe, where I never let Patty go, and I married her," Barry explains.
"But you remember everything that happened before the Crisis! J'onn told us you did! You remember that we were married! I know you still love me! Why didn't you come home?" Iris cries, her voice getting louder and louder.
"Because, Iris. After what happened to me, I will never let children of mine grow up without a parent," he says.
"You don't have to be married to Patty to do that! You can still co-parent with her if we're together!" Iris says desperately.
Barry narrows his eyes. "Excuse me, Iris? Did you really just say that?" he demands.
"Yes! What happened to you being in love with me for your whole life? What happened to our marriage vows? Did Oliver changing things really take that away from your heart? Are you really just gonna let Oliver play God with your life? Haven't you always said that we decide our own fate?" Iris demands desperately.
To Iris' surprise and fear, Barry just looks angrier at this statement. "I'm going to tell you why you're wrong for several reasons. One: Oliver already knew me better than all but a few people, and the power he gained allowed to see everything. With that power, he probably knew more about me than anyone else. He was wiser than most people I know, and with his new power, if he felt this was the better life for me, I'm inclined to believe him. Second: After taking some time to reflect on it since I woke up after the Crisis…I realized that the reason in the pre-Crisis Earth that I got involved with you so soon after Patty left is not because I finally had my chance, but because I was hurting so much from Patty leaving and I threw myself into our relationship to distract myself from that pain. In the week since I woke up here in this house with Patty, I've remembered how much I love her."
"Please, Barry! You're supposed to be mine! Please, just come back to me! I know you love me more than her! I know you're really just trying to stay with her because she's pregnant! But that was a different you! You're a different you now! The one that was married to me! Please, Barry, just come back with me! I love you! You're my husband!" Iris cries. She tries to reach out to pull him in for a kiss, but Barry grabs her hands and holds them away from him.
"No, Iris. I know you're upset, because now that you remember our old life, you want I back. But that's never going to happen, Iris, and you need to accept that. I am not going to divorce Patty just because you think I belong with you. The only reason I ever let Patty go in that other life is because I was too worried about Zoom hurting her and refused to let myself be talked into sense. I consider a gift that Oliver reworked the universe so I was a little less stubborn. My life has been so much better and with so much less tragedy than it was before. I love you Iris, and a part of me always will. But this is my life now. Regardless of what you may think I feel, I love Patty, Iris. I would be in love with her even if she wasn't carrying my children, and the fact she is carrying my children only makes me love her that much more. I plan to spend the rest of my life with Patty, and nothing you say will change that Iris. I don't want to hurt you Iris, but nothing you say is going to change my mind. If you refuse to accept it, then I am not going to continue any kind of relationship with you," Barry says.
Iris looks at Barry, shocked. She had been so certain he would come back to her when she showed him she remembered their marriage and that she still wanted him.
"I need you to leave, Iris. If you refuse to accept that I'm married to Patty, then I don't want you near her or our children. I don't want to hurt you, Iris. But I will stand by my wife, who is a better match for me than you ever were. If you can learn to get over your hurt and accept that we are not married, then we can have a friendship again. But, until then, I don't want you coming back here," Barry says firmly.
Iris looks at Barry with pleading eyes. "Barry, please," she pleads one last time.
"No, Iris. This is it. We will never be together in this life," Barry says.
Tears begin to roll down Iris' cheeks. Finally, she turns away from Barry and storms back out of the house.
Barry walks into the entryway, right as Joe and Patty come walking out of the kitchen. Joe looks at Barry, then pulls him in for a hug. The two just hug for a few moments before they let go.
"I'm happy for you, Barry. I really am," Joe says.
"Thanks, Joe," Barry says.
"I'll keep an eye on Iris. Make sure she doesn't try to disturb you," Joe says.
"Thanks," Barry responds.
"And I hope you'll keep me updated on how the babies are doing," Joe says with a smile.
"Of course, Papa Joe," Barry says with a smile, remembering when Joe told him that was his preferred grandpa name.
Joe chuckles. "I wish both of you the best. I'll keep in touch," Joe says. He then turns and walks out of the house.
As Joe closes the door behind him, Barry looks over at Patty, who looks back at him. "How did it go?" Patty asks.
"Badly. Pretty much, she tried just about every argument she could think of as to why I should come back to her and resume our marriage from our previous life. I think I managed to convince that I'll never go back to her, and that you are my future," Barry says.
Patty smiles. She then walks up to him and kisses him gently. As she pulls away, she smiles before saying, "Well, shall we finish our movie?"
"That sounds like a nice idea," Barry says with a smile, and they walk hand in hand back to the living room to continue watching the movie, just feeling happy to be together.
And, I'll end the chapter there.
I hope I did this well, and the confrontation sounded realistic. This will Iris' last main appearance in the story, though she may make brief appearances one or two more times.
Next chapter will include Oliver's memorial service. I may also introduce the conflict of this story. Until that chapter is up, please leave a review and stay tuned!