Warning: Based on the promo for 2.12 so here be spoilers!
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Something was wrong. Barry knew it . . . felt it . . . even as he raced toward Wally to pull him away from the car speeding out of control.
"Why are you slowing down?" Caitlin's voice in his ear confirmed his suspicions. "Barry? Is everything okay? I've been monitoring your speed and - -"
"WATCH OUT!"
Wally's panicked cry drowned out the sound of Caitlin's explanation. Spinning dangerously, the souped-up race car struck the curb at an angle and tilted to one side. Screaming, the crowd scattered out of the way as the vehicle cruised for several feet on two wheels, then clipped another car, turning it on its roof and sending it sliding along the pavement until it crashed into a concrete barrier. The expensive machine crumpled like tin foil, sending bits of metal and shards of glass flying.
As if in slow motion, Barry watched one of those sharp, jagged pieces hurtle straight into the heart of the crowd, straight for . . .
"Iris . . ."
He wasn't going to make it. His feet moved like lead, as if something pulled at him, weighing him down, making every step an effort . . .
He tried to run faster . . . pushed himself harder in a race against time, watching helplessly as that bit of broken glass outpaced him . . . got ahead of him . . .
He wasn't fast enough.
"No! Iris!"
He saw it happen, watched her body take the hit, saw her flinch with the impact and then look down in shock before her eyes rolled back in her head and she crumpled . . . and then he was there, finally at her side, too late to do anything more than catch her limp body before it hit the ground.
"No no no no no no no. Iris. Iris. Iris."
Sirens blared through the night, drawn by the sound of the collision. As they got closer, the crowd, gathered illegally, scattered until only Joe and Wally remained.
Barry knelt on the ground, still holding Iris, unable to look away from the bright red blood seeping out around the razor-like glass still embedded in her flesh, above her heart. He refused to let anyone pull it out, afraid to cause more damage.
"I couldn't get there . . . I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't fast enough. It's my fault. I couldn't get there in time. I couldn't get there."
"Barry." Joe didn't even realize he used Barry's name, and neither man noticed Wally's start of surprise, or his quick, assessing glance at the speedster. "Barry, we have to get her to the hospital. Now. Right now."
Squad cars screamed to a stop around them. As doors slammed, Joe yelled back over his shoulder.
"We need an ambulance! Call 911!"
Barry's arms tightened around Iris. "I'll take her - -"
Joe squeezed his shoulder, finally aware of the officers crawling over the scene of the crash. "No, son. The ambulance will take her. What you can do, Flash, is go get Barry, okay?" He waited until Barry looked up and then nodded. "Iris is going to need Barry Allen. You go get him and tell him to get to the hospital."
Barry held her until the last second, and then walked beside the stretcher as it was loaded into the ambulance. Joe climbed inside, too, repeating his instructions as the doors closed.
"Tell Barry Allen to get to the hospital."
He ignored everything, including Caitlin and Cisco's unending questions about what was happening, and even with his speed compromised, made it to the hospital only minutes after the ambulance. Pacing restlessly, Joe and Wally turned when he appeared in the door of the waiting room.
"Well?"
"She's in surgery," Joe said gruffly. "All we can do is wait."
So wait they did. Thirty minutes passed, and then an hour. The time stretched into almost 90 minutes when a scrubs-clad figure threw open a set of double doors and approached the men. His somber expression froze the breath in their lungs.
"I'm sorry . . ."
"No." Barry shoved past Joe and put his hands on the doctor. Neither of them paid attention to Wally, who collapsed into a chair and dropped his head in his hands. "No. You're wrong. YOU'RE WRONG! You get back in there and - -"
Tears ran thick and heavy down Joe's face as he tried to pulled Barry away. "Barry . . ."
"NO!" Barry's voice bounced off the walls and echoed down the corridor. The pain was crushing, the fear an icy weight that turned every heartbeat into a spike of agony. "No! No! Iris! IRIS! IRIS!"
He shook off the hands trying to hold him back. If he could just get to her . . . if he could just see her again . . . He could fix it . . . He could fix it . . .
He just had to get to her . . .
"IRIS! IRIS!"
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"Barry. Barry, honey . . . Barry!" Long fingers slapped at his damp cheeks. "Barry, wake up. Barry!"
Barry came awake with a jerk, opening his eyes to see Iris sitting in bed beside him, looming over him, her eyes huge and worried in the shadows that filled their bedroom.
"Iris." His arms crushed her close, holding her so tight she couldn't prevent a gasp of pain. "I thought I'd lost you . . . I couldn't get there . . . I wasn't fast enough . . . Oh, God, I thought I'd lost you . . ."
She managed to draw back just enough to touch his face.
"It was just a dream," she murmured. "Just a dream. I'm right here. See?" She grabbed his hand and laid it over her heart, over a scar long since faded by time. "Feel that? I'm fine. Okay? I'm right here. I'm right here."
He cupped her face in his palms, his heartbeat still racing as the dream - and the memories – refused to fade. "Don't leave me, Iris. Don't ever leave me. Okay? Ever. I get to die first, alright?"
A twinkle of humour replaced the worry in her eyes. "Sure. Whatever you say. You're dying first. It's a deal."
That bright, pretty smile he loved so much acted as a soothing balm to his fear. Barry laughed, a deep, husky chuckle that vibrated through both of them. He touched her lips with his and let the kiss linger.
"I love you."
Determined to put the nightmare behind them, Iris deliberately shifted closer and wedged one slender thigh between his. "Prove it."
He was more than willing. A gentle nudge rolled her beneath him; Barry followed up the change in their position by nibbling his way down her neck to lap at the curve of her shoulder and the soft skin revealed when he pushed the strap of her nightgown away.
"mmmmmmm."
Iris' hum of pleasure sent his heartbeat racing again, for much more acceptable reasons. He cupped her breast in his palm and moved lower.
"Mommy?"
"Daddy?"
The little voices coming from the doorway put a screeching halt to Barry's caresses. His head rose; their eyes met in a moment of shared disappointment.
"Hold that thought," he whispered. He stole one more quick kiss then turned toward the door. Beside him, Iris rose up on one elbow to look in that direction, too.
The twins stood just at the threshold, lit from behind by the glow of a small lamp left burning in the hallway. Dawn's hair was a wild halo of curls, her legs and feet bare beneath the hem of a bright yellow nightgown. Beside her, Don was barefooted, too, with the pooch of his belly visible as he chewed on the bottom of his t-shirt.
"Hey, guys." Barry kept his voice low and hushed as he spoke. "What are you doing up this late?"
"I had a bad dream." Dawn reached for her brother's hand, and leaned in close until their shoulders touched.
"I had a bad dream, too." He let the damp end of his shirt fall back down; together, he and his sister stared across the room with the same woeful pout.
Barry looked at Iris. With an amused shrug, she slid the strap of her own nightgown back up on her shoulder and moved over to the edge of the bed as Barry held his hand out toward the children.
"Come here."
An invitation was all they'd been waiting for. They scampered across the floor and with the ease of familiar habit, crawled into the big bed and found their usual places.
Barry hugged Dawn into the curve of his body as Iris did the same with Don.
"I had a bad dream, too," he said softly, pressing a kiss against her temple.
"You did?" Her dark eyes, set in a miniature version of her mother's face, blinked up at him.
"Uh huh." He grinned across the small bodies at Iris. "Mommy made it all better. She's magic."
Two little heads immediately swiveled in her direction.
"Are you really magic?" Don asked.
Iris nodded solemnly. "Yes, I am. Want to see some magic right now?"
They did.
She lifted her free hand and, waving it in the air above them, rubbed her fingers together.
"This is magic fairy dust, made just to help little boys and girls sleep and forget all about bad dreams. Do you see it?"
"I see it!" Dawn cried.
Not to be left out, Don immediately agreed. "Me, too! I see it!"
On the other side, Barry tried not to laugh. "Now you have to close your eyes so it will work."
Two pairs of eyes closed, leaving thick lashes lying in crescent moons against their cheeks. Warm and safe, they were asleep again within minutes.
With a hint of lingering concern, Iris watched Barry.
"Are you okay?"
He looked down at the bodies of their sleeping children and then at her, and the last memory of the crushing pain and fear of his dream faded.
"I am now."
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Thanks for reading!