When he opened his eyes again, he was in the Medbay.
"You're awake."
Barry stared at everyone above him.
They all looked concerned, but Barry didn't really care anymore. Why should he? They left him t die!
"What do you want?" he asked calmly.
They all shared a glance.
"We want you to stop overworking yourself," Cisco said.
"Fine. Can I go home now?"
Caitlin shrugged. "As soon as you're better, yeah."
Barry nodded slowly.
"You know, I was actually okay. But you all ruined that."
Iris actually laughed.
"No, you weren't, Barry. You were going to get yourself killed."
"That's better than being locked in a cell and being starved to death by your own family!" Barry shouted.
They shared a glance again.
"Do you need to go back to the cell?" Joe asked.
Barry growled at them.
He grabbed Joe by the collar of his shirt and shoved him up against the wall.
"I don't need it, nor did I ever. Never bring that up again, and stay the hell away from me."
And then he was gone.
...
When Barry woke up, alone, he was ashamed.
He had cried in front of a criminal!
Was that really the issue, though?
His "family" had locked him up for being sad.
He needed comfort, but there was no one left to give any.
If a criminal was the only person willing to give it, then why should Barry judge?
...
"Food, plans, etc?"
"Actually, I need your help."
Len groaned.
"I have my girlfriend over," he moaned.
Mick shot him a look of surprise.
Since when did Lenny do girlfriends?
"What's her name?"
Len looked at him before it dawned on him.
"Uh... Sara."
"Well, that's new."
Len nodded slowly.
"So, how can I help?"
...
A few days later, Barry was back at the precinct.
"Are you really sure you want to do this, Barry?" Singh asked with a heavy sadness in his eyes. If Barry left this precinct, Singh wouldn't be able to help him.
Barry nodded.
"Yeah. I need to get away for a while."
Singh nodded.
"Barry, is there something going on between you and Joe?"
Barry smiled at him. Not one of his "light up the room" ones, though. It was more like he'd seen a lot of pain in the world and was sad that it existed.
"Yeah, Captain. There is. It's one of the reasons I'm leaving. But it's not the only one."
Singh could tell that he wouldn't get Barry to talk, so he let him be.
He handed over the rest of the paperwork, which Barry signed without any hesitation.
As he was walking out the door, Barry spared one last glance over his shoulder and said, "Goodbye, Captain. I hope you know that you were the best boss I could have asked for."
Then he was gone.
...
"What makes you think he's going to let us help him?" Len asked.
"Well, he sobbed into my shirt last night," Mick held up said shirt, "so I don't think he'll fight much. And even if he does, so what?"
Len shrugged. "I don't want to force him."
Mick nodded. "That's fair, but there's a point where you need to be forced, and he is well over that line."
...
Barry was going to a precinct all the way down in Star City. He was hoping that he could help keep Oliver and friends out of jail while avoiding every one he knew.
But he had to pack.
Which is what he was doing when Mick Rory and Leonard Snart marched in.
He smiled at them, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"What's up, Mick?" Barry asked.
"We want to help," Snart answered for him.
Barry smiled up at them.
"If you actually want to, be my guest."
The criminals shared a look.
"Seriously? We expected more of a fight."
Barry looked at them.
"I'm not fighting anymore."
Barry turned back to the suitcases.
"Because I'm running."
...
"Leo!"
Len whimpered at the loud yell his father had given.
When he sounded like that, it only meant one thing.
At least it wasn't Lisa. That was the only thing that brought him comfort, but even then it wasn't a whole lot.
As he ran toward his father, he was stopped by a hand on his wrist.
He flinched away, but the hand didn't let go.
"Where are you going?" Mick asked.
"Uh... Lewis called me," Len tried to explain awkwardly.
Mick raised an eyebrow.
"Then why do you look so terrified?"
"Because I know what he's going to do," Len whispered.
Mick stared at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug.
"So he does abuse you," Mick said. It wasn't a question.
Len nodded against his shirt.
"You don't have to, you know. You could run away."
"I have a little sister. I couldn't do that to her."
"Take her with you," Mick suggested, but even he could see it was pointless.
Len shook his head.
"I'm sorry Mick, but I can't. He would find us or catch us, or I would have to leave Lisa behind. Too many things could go wrong."
Mick nodded slowly.
He could tell that trying to convince Lenny of anything different was pointless, but there was still something he could do.
"Leo!"
Len sighed, tears filling his eyes.
"Thanks for trying Mick," he sighed sadly.
But Mick was already walking toward Lewis's voice.
"What are you doing?" Len hissed.
"I'm not letting you do this by yourself. Not now, not ever."
With that, he walked over to Lewis.
"I'm all you got today," he smirked, causing Lewis to whip him.
...
Note: So, this is the last chapter, but I will have an epilogue. Maybe 2.
I hope you enjoyed!
