These next few chapters are going to be more mentioning The Flash, then actual meet-ups, but I feel as though we need to get a little Barry and Iris relationship grounded. ;)

Joe was paralyzed. Locked in his place when he saw his children being recovered from the rubble of the building. No one knew. No one knew they were down there. No one knew it was them. The police station received a report of a building collapsing, and it was standard procedure for an EMS team to search for any people. Never in his right mind did he ever think he was going to witness his children being rescued. The Flash and Iris. What the hell were they doing in that building!?

Joe called Cisco and Caitlin to specially escort Barry to STAR Labs, and then hopped in the ambulance with Iris to Central City General Hospital.

"She has a broken rib, a few cuts and scrapes, and severe dehydration, but other than that, your daughter was lucky." Doctor Lambert said as he brought Joe into the room to see Iris. "I heard that The Flash was also recovered from the rubble? Do you know how he's doing? I figured since you were a cop, you might know something."

Joe shook his head. "I'm sorry, I wish I knew." That wasn't a lie. Joe had to choose between Iris and Barry to be with, and since Barry had Caitlin and Cisco, Joe needed to stay with Iris. He tried calling Caitlin, and when she didn't pick up, he tried Cisco. Neither one answered their cell, so at the moment, he was in the dark about his son's current condition.

Joe sat down in the chair next to Iris' bed, and waited for her to wake up. She and Barry were going to have a lot of explaining to do.

***

If Barry was ever asked to define Hell, he would choose this very moment. The searing pain in his leg, the infection, the nausea, the dehydration, the migraine, the labored breathing. Barry felt like he should be dead, and someone was playing a cruel trick on him. A bright light burned his eyes, when they cracked open, and immediately he recognized he was in STAR Labs.

"Cait, he's awake!" Cisco shouted, stepping closer to Barry's bedside.

"Barry! Hey, how are you feeling?" That was Caitlin's standard question to Barry whenever he woke up from taking a beating, or getting injured. It almost became so automatic now, that it didn't really carry much meaning. Caitlin always knew his response was going to be I'm fine. This time, however, he immediately pushed himself up from the bed, and said something different.

"Iris. Where's Iris!?" Barry winced at the harsh movement, and slumped back into the pillows. "Is Iris okay?"

"Woah, Barry. Take a chill pill. Iris was a little beat up, she was taken to CCGH, but it was you who really needed the medical attention." Cisco explained.

"I need to see her, Caitlin. When can I leave?"

Caitlin shook her head, and gave Barry a sad look. "I'm sorry, your leg is going to take a good six or more hours to heal. You need to rest."

"Flash." That was the first word that slipped from Iris' mouth when she came to. Not where am I? Not how did I get here? Iris needed to know if Flash was okay. Much like Barry.

"Iris, baby. Hey." Joe squeezed her hand.

"Flash is he...is he alright?" Her voice was riddled with panic, and slightly hoarse from a dry throat.

Joe felt a slight twist in his gut. He truly didn't know how Barry was doing at the moment. He was in pretty bad shape when he last saw him. Ghostly pale, blood everywhere. He made note to call STAR Labs again after his conversation with Iris.

"He made it out of the rubble." Joe said, smiling sadly as Iris's tense shoulders visibly loosened.

"Is he here?"

"No, his team escorted him to their...base of operations. He's getting medical attention."

Iris had a bunch of questions for Joe at the moment. She looked around the room, and then back at her dad. "Where's Barry?"

Joe's face fell, he hadn't thought about that. About Iris noticing Barry's absence. In any other situation, Barry would no-doubt be at Iris' side, holding her hand, and cracking jokes to lighten the mood. That's one of the many reasons why she loved him so much. Love?

"He's…" Joe paused, voice catching in his throat. Make up a lie quicker than that! "...a little caught up at the moment."

Iris' eyes stung. She wanted Barry with her right now. "With what?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with at the moment, now tell me, Iris, why the hell were you in that building!?" Changing the subject was better than lying to her. Joe was always a terrible liar.

luckily Iris shrugged it off, and answered his question. "I was investigating a potential drug dealer hideout, and asked Flash to tag along for protection. We sort of found the drug dealer, turns ot he was a meta, and long story short, he used his stupid meta powers, and knocked the building on top of us."

Joe was going to kill Barry.

Iris was quick to jump to her next question. "So, did you see their faces?"

"Huh?"

"Flashie's team, did you see their faces when they picked him up?" She coughed slightly from suddenly raising her voice.

Joe rubbed his neck awkwardly, and stuttered a little. "Um...well…" He really was terrible at lying, especially on the spot.

Iris' jaw dropped. "You know who his team is!?"

"No." Joe peeped, face going pale.

"Wait. Do you know who he is!? It would make sense, you work in law enforcement, Flash helps ot with law enforcement. You know who The Flash is! Dad! Tell me!"

"Iris. I can't do tha-"

"Wait. Does Barry know who The Flash is? he's in law enforcement." Iris was really starting to work herself up.

"He...uh...you know what, I need to make a phone call. I'll be right back, honey." Joe felt instant relief when he managed to get out of that situation, and even more relief when he called Caitlin, and she said Barry was fine, just needed to heal.

Iris' eyes stayed wide even after Joe was out of the room for multiple minutes. If Barry knew who The Flash was, she was going to pry it out of him.

Barry could start limping around on his leg after about three hours, though Caitlin was against it.

"You really need to rest, Barry." Caitlin urged, walking behind Barry as he hobbled towards the cortex desk to sit next to Cisco. "Straining your leg is not going to help it heal."

"Cait, I'm a speedster. Us speedsters need to stretch our legs. We go nuts when we don't move."

He plopped down next to Cisco, and gave him a bright smile, then looked back up at Caitlin, his face falling slightly. "You called Joe, right? He said everything was okay with Iris?"

Caitlin nodded.

"I need to go see her." Barry hopped up from his chair, his wince going unnoticed by Cisco and Caitlin. He was quick to address it though, putting up a dismissive hand. "Calm down, I just forgot it was injured."

"Barry, you are such a dork." Cisco laughed. Who could forget they had a broken leg, and just stepped on it carelessly. Only Barry.

"Do you think you would be able to hide that limp from her?" Caitlin asked, crossing her arms.

"Guys, she's probably going to be more suspicious if I don't show up. She's been there for over three hours, and I haven't come to visit her with my worried what-were-you-thinking speech." Barry gave his best puppy eyes at Caitlin, and then looked at Cisco. "Please?"

"Oh, Barry! NO!" Cisco laughed, shielding his eyes with his hand. "Don't use your puppy-dog eyes!"

"Ugh! Fine!" Caitlin finally gave in. It was true, Iris was going to get suspicious if Barry didn't show.

When Barry made it to Iris' hospital room, he took in a deep breath outside the door, before stepping in.

"What were you thinking, Iris!?" Ah, his signature line.

"Barry! You're here!"

As always, leave a review! I really do hate asking people to, it's sort of annoying, but...they REALLY do make a difference. Thanks. XD