It was the same throbbing pain Iris felt the first time she woke up in the room that brought her back to consciousness. It took the woman a few moments before she dared opened her eyes, not ready to take in the familiar surrounding that haunted her whenever she would awaken from her sleep. The only pleasant sight lately was Barry, and as she moved her hands around to find the warm flesh of his body, she was left with emptiness.
Iris immediately opened her eyes, only now aware that there was a obvious beeping sound next to her. Next to her bed. There was not much in the room, but it was far more than what she remembered. The stiffness of her left arm, the same arm she moved when looking for Barry, laid against the sheet with a needle planted in her vein. In the distance, she heard the shuffling of feet and murmuring, both male and female, and...her dad?
"...I don't know, Wally. Look…I understand you're angry, I understand you want answers, you want to find them, I get it. But right now we have think about your sister…"
Dad. Iris opened her mouth to call out for her dad but her mouth was dry. It was as if someone had stuffed cotton balls in her mouth and her first instinct was to look around for water.
"Look, I'm back at the hospital. I'm going to talk to the nurse real quick and see how Iris is doing. We'll talk more later, ok?" Iris heard her dad say, and she realized then that he must have been on the phone with someone. Behind the curtain, separating her and what she could assume was another patient or an empty bed, Iris could hear the slow heavy footsteps of her 6"3 father approach the side of the hospital room she occupied.
"And Wally, don't do anything stupid." She heard her father sigh before hanging up the phone, and before Iris had a chance to speak or sit up, her father appeared from behind the curtain.
"Iris." Joe announced, in shock. He stopped in his tracks, a few inches from the end of Iris's hospital bed, with his coat in one hand and his cell phone in the other. His eyes were weak and the darkness under them was unmistakable.
God, he's a mess, Iris thought as she continued to inspect her father. His shirt was wrinkled and his face a bit oily, likely from not being washed. She imagined it was a while since the last time he stepped foot in their house, and even longer since he had a proper rest. His appearance contrasted his demeanor on the phone, and Iris knew well enough despite the stress, her father knew how to appear calm and collected.
"Iris, baby." Joe moved quickly to his daughter's side and wrapped her tiny frame in his large arms. He kissed the top of her hair and Iris could feel a trickle of tears seep down his cheeks onto her temple as he leaned his head against hers.
"Dad...I'm...I'm so glad...to see you." Iris managed to say, despite the dryness in her mouth, and she felt some tears of her own run down as she squeezed her father even tighter.
Joe pulled away slightly to look into his daughter's eyes. "How long have you been awake, baby girl?"
"Just woke up now. How long have I been here?"
"A few days. You were out since I found you." Iris's eyes widened. How did she not know? The last time she was awake, she and Barry were...Barry!
"Where's Barry?" Iris whispered out loud, even thought she was not entirely sure her father knew who she was talking about.
He might have not made it out alive, she thought for a moment but quickly dismissed the idea.
"Barry? Oh that lanky kid." Joe said, more to himself than to his daughter. "He came to visit you, Iris. He was discharged two days ago. He's uh..he's been worried about you."
Iris sighed in relief. Knowing Barry was not dead or stuck in that place was all she needed to hear. She did not know what would happen now. Did they find their kidnappers? How exactly did her father find her?
Iris's questions were left unanswered as Joe quickly dismissed them, in turn, encouraging her to get some rest. Joe noticing his daughter's need for something to drink, fetched her a container of water and Iris drank about two cups worth.
"Dad, I'm pretty sure I've had more than enough rest. Why was I out so long." Iris said and placed the empty cup on the small hospital table next to her bed.
"You were severely dehydrated when we found you." Joe, who was now sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, reached his hand out to palm the side of her face gently.
"Now, come one, you need your rest.' He pulled his hand away and his eyes lowered slightly, as if in deep thought. "We'll talk about it more when you return home."
Joe left the room to find a doctor, leaving Iris alone again. She closed her eyes and melted back on the bed, her mind flooded with happy thoughts. Home. Wally. Her dad.
Barry.
Despite what her father told her, Barry never visited her that day. Instead she was greeted by her boyfriend, who rushed over as quickly as he saw her and pulled her into a deep embrace. He smelled familiar, like what she remembered, but this was not the same man she left behind. Instead of anger from their last argument, there was joy and love and it warmed Iris's heart at witnessing this side of Eddie, the side of him she forgot existed. They had spent so much time distinancing from each other, she forgot how it felt to have him take her so lovingly into her arms and shower her with kisses.
The last day at the hospital, as Iris was collecting her things and preparing herself to leave, she asked her father about Barry. From the corner of her eye, Iris could make out Eddie's form as he was sitting on one of the chairs next to the window, and she noticed his body stiffen.
"Iris, we thought it would be best if he didn't visit you anymore." Joe said.
"What?" Iris was shocked. She didn't think he would just forget about her, not after what they went through together.. "You can't be serious?" she followed.
"Iris, after what you've been through, and what went on between you two. What he did to you…" Iris noticed the angry look on her boyfriend's face and it only irritated Iris even more. "We are just looking out for you, baby."
"Barry is not the bad guy here." Iris reassured them but her father, who was leaning against the wall under the small hospital tv, was not having any of it.
"Iris, you don't even know this man. Look, sweety, I get that you been through a lot these past couple of days…"
"Do you?" Iris responded and zipped up the duffle bag her father brought from her apartment. Placing the strap of the bag over her shoulder, Iris looked around once more to make sure she wasn't leaving anything behind. Iris took the cell phone which was lying on the bed and placed it in the back of her jean pocket. She noticed a big ugly crack on the screen of her phone when her father brought it to her during one of his visits. Apparently it had survived during her struggle with her kidnapper before she was taken, but not without sustaining some injury. It was her father who had kept the phone after a police officer found it lying on the ground next to her car. It was the only piece of evidence they could find of a struggle, aside from noticing Iris's car door opened.
Iris looked at both men and without saying another word left the room.
A few times a day Iris would receive a call from work, from a coworker or her supervisor, checking up on her. There were a few instances of news reporters showing up at their house, trying to interview Iris about the events.
It seemed the investigation would lead to a cold case, trying to find the men responsible for Iris and Barry's kidnapping proved to be harder than anyone anticipated. It wasn't until Joe was alerted about a video that surfaced on the internet, that he and everyone on the case discovered the truth of what happened to Barry and Iris. The video had been sent to one Joe's coworker, who was also on the case, and what he saw in it shocked him. They would soon realize that there was no way to track the original uploader on the surface web.
Joe insisted that Iris stay at his home for at least a few days until things settled over. He did not mention to her what he had discovered, afraid his daughter would not handle the news. The events from the kidnapping and her stay at the hospital were still fresh in her mind.
Sleep did not come as easily as Iris would have hoped. The only comfort and hope in Iris's life was her family, who were by her side, giving her the support she needed. Still, Iris thought about Barry and wondered from time to time how he was doing.
It was a few days after Iris was discharged from the hospital when Joe decided on a movie night, suggesting they watch a series of classics that both Iris and Wally enjoyed growing up. Iris was propped up on pillows on the couch, while her father sat on the opposite end and Wally deciding to occupy the floor. Eddie was working overtime and promised Iris he would visit as soon as he finished his shift at CCPD.
A doorbell sounded at around ten o'clock. Not expecting visitors, the three eyed each other curiously before Joe went to check at the door. Looking through the peephole, Joe could make out the figure at the other side and grumbled quietly before opening the door slightly. Despite Joe's best efforts in remaining quiet enough so his daughter would not hear the conversation, Iris could make out the words coming from both men after she quietly got up from her place on the couch and inched close and closer towards the door.
"Are you stalking now?"
"Joe, I'm sorry but I need to see her. I heard she was discharged from the hospital. I know she is staying here, please let me talk to her."
Barry. Iris had tiptoed until she was a few feet behind her father and now she could clearly hear the gruff sound of Barry's voice. She even heard his deep breaths as he tried to convince Joe to let him through.
"Barry, this is the last time…"
"Dad!" Joe jumped slightly at the sound of Iris's voice, and when he turned he saw his daughter's figure standing behind him, a shocked expression on her face.
"Barry." She whispered, before squeezing her way through her father and the door frame and jumping into Barry's arms. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and her legs wrapped themselves tight around his hips, while Barry wrapped his arms tightly around her Iris's small waist.
"Iris." She heard him whisper, his breath softly grazing her neck.
A throat clearing brought them back to the present moment. Iris realized she and Barry were still in front of the door while her father stood at the door frame, eyeing them carefully. Realizing the inappropriate position, Barry released Iris from his grip and let her down gently until her feet touched the ground. In that moment, the pair took in the sight of the other. Iris noticed his rugged look, and the bags under his eyes told Iris that she was not the only one not getting much sleep.
"Come inside." Iris invited Barry and took his hand, leading him inside to Joe's objection.
"Dad, I think it's fine." Wally interjected as he appeared from the living room, wanting to see the commotion. "Maybe we should give them a moment?" He signaled with his head to upstairs and Joe was quiet for a few seconds, flashing a distrustful look at Barry before sighing and leading the way to the second floor, Wally following behind but not before giving the pair a small smile. Both Wally and Joe climbed the stairs and went to their respective rooms, while Iris and Barry took a seat on the couch, a few feet apart from each other.
"So, your staying with your dad?" Barry asked as he turned to the woman beside him. "I just remember you saying that you had your own apartment."
"Yeah, we thought it would be a good idea if I stayed over for a few days. So I won't be alone."
"What about your boyfriend?" Barry asked, looking briefly at her chest before reverting her eyes back to her eyes.
"We don't live together. How do you know I have a boyfriend?"
Barry looked down, almost as if contemplating how much he should say. "The papers. We're all over the news, Iris."
Barry began tucking softly on the hairs on the back of his head, contemplating whether he should bring IT up, not knowing how much Iris knew.
"Iris...you know about the um, the video, right?" He asked, hesitantly.
Iris stared back at him, shocked and confused. What video? What is he talking about? Panic began to settle in, seeing the upset look on Barry's face had Iris thinking that it was something bad.
"They found a video of…us…what we did back at that place. When they forced us...They recorded it."