Happy Friday! :)

Here's the next chapter to get you off the cliffhanger! I hope you enjoy it!

I'm pretty sure there is only one more chapter to this fic. Hopefully it will be out before next Tuesday so the finale can BLOW. MY. MIND.

Then, if I'm lucky maybe some new fic idea will roll around to keep me occupied while we wait for season 2! *fingers crossed*

You guys are the best readers, I love each and every one of you. Thanks for reading and reviewing! You keep me going!

Shout out to kalem (I'm allergic to sad endings, don't worry!), KyannaLashae (Sorry! I love these babies too!) and PoptartLegit because your review was awesome, and then I lol'ed when you identified yourself after.

All my reviewers are awesome! :D

Chapter 21

Barry drifted through the darkness, undisturbed at first. Slowly the darkness rolled and shifted, eventually shaping into black tendrils. They wrapped around his body. They slid around his torso, through his armpits and crushed his chest. They wrapped around his ankles and arms. He tried to fight them, but found his attempts terribly weak. He couldn't unwind the tendrils; they only gripped tighter. He couldn't throw them off.

He felt himself being dragged uphill along grassy banks, back to the pond where he had watched his parents and Iris drown, and nothing he did slowed that progress. He tried to cry out for help and found himself mute, his chest filled with crushing, aching, splintering pain that was starting to travel to his outer limbs.

Just like his dream, a voice drifted over the scene. But this time others joined it. Urgent, intense, distressed, a cacophony of words drifted over him that made very little sense.

"…are we sure he can take this…"

"…pretty sure that's what they tell you not to do in cases like these…"

"…there are no cases like these when it comes to Barry…"

"…normally his body could handle it but his healing has been slowed…we have to hope for the best…"

"…don't have a choice…"

"…please let this work…"

By now Barry felt that he had been dragged for miles, and the pain in his limbs was starting to intensify. It competed with the pressure of the tendrils wrapped around him. He was about to try to pull free again when he suddenly found himself dropped into the middle of the pond. The water enveloped his body. The shock of it caused his body to tighten in full spasm, the oxygen in his lungs evaporating as he struggled to draw in air.

He couldn't breathe.

The pain he had felt before was bad, but it was nothing compared to now. Prickling spasms of heat shot through his entire body, radiating from his chest again. He thrashed in the pond, trying to find his way out. Hoarse screaming tore out of his throat. He felt his heart pumping painfully, every vein throbbing. It was agony.

"Hold him!"

"…so sorry..."

The tendrils were still wrapped around him, trapping him in the water, in the pain. He fought them with all the strength he could muster. The tendrils became bands, thicker and stronger, pushing him farther down into the depths to lie with his parents. He could feel the darkness reaching for him. Utterly terrified and in more pain than he could endure, he thrashed and kicked to free himself.

"Barry…Barry…it's okay. You're going to be okay. Listen to me."

Her voice slipped in like one of the black tendrils, wrapping around him but without pain. Breathing in agonized gasps, he automatically turned to find her. There was a small pause in which the other tendrils eased their grip somewhat.

"Keep talking."

"Barry, just listen to my voice, okay? Don't think about anything else. You're going to get through this."

She was in the water with him, under the water with him. That beautiful smile dominated her face as her hair floated around her, creating a dark halo of black tendrils. She was smiling and he wondered why she sounded like she was going to cry, but the question left his mind as she started speaking again. Her words wove around him.

"Just be still, Barry. Everything is okay. I'm here. Don't fight it. Don't fight it."

The tendrils of her hair wrapped around him, soothing instead of restricting. One moved up to push his hair off his forehead, stroking it lightly.

"I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through this, Barry. We'll get through this together."

The pain was starting to ebb away slightly and his breathing slowly became easier. His body finally stilled as her tendrils wrapped him in a comforting embrace, and even though there was still pain throbbing in his chest out to his fingers and toes, he knew that as long as she was there he could endure it. They could handle anything as long as they were together, even the darkness. Still under the water, he let her arms reach for and wrap around him, and then willingly sank with her into the dark depths.

The sound of water lapping was the first thing he registered; followed quickly by the voice of someone he'd know anywhere.

"Okay, Barry I think it's been long enough. I had my fill of staring at you while you slept the first time around." There was a pause. "Barry, I'm waiting." A deep breath was drawn. "If you don't wake up I'm giving the ring back."

His eyes popped open. "You wouldn't." His voice was slightly ragged.

Iris was sitting next to him, sliding her mother's wedding ring up and down its chain. A relieved sigh escaped her. The worry left her face as she smiled at him. "Now you don't have to find out. Too bad I couldn't do that the first time around."

He smiled back at her, albeit weakly. He realized his surroundings in the next moment.

"I'm in the bathtub."

He was definitely in the upstairs bathtub, suit and all. His mask and hood were off, but the rest of his body reflected red under the water. The tepid water was up to his neck, his legs folded in to accommodate their length so that his knees stuck out at awkward angles.

"Yes." She agreed. "You are in the bathtub."

Looking at the water, suddenly things in his dream made much better sense. He cleared his throat lightly. His throat felt really raw. "Mind telling me why?"

Joe's voice interrupted them. "Is he awake?" His head popped into the bathroom. "Oh thank God, I think I'm getting too old for this. You gave us a scare, Barry."

Cisco rushed into the tight space, followed quickly by Caitlin. Elbow room was getting very minimal. Nevertheless Cisco moved closer to the tub to give Barry what turned out to be a very wet high five, and Joe slid in closer to ruffle Barry's hair since that was one of the only things above water level. Their excited voices echoed in the tiny room, creating quite a din. Caitlin reached for his wrist to check his pulse.

"Dude, seriously. Now my suit is all wet. Look what you did to it. And I can't even be mad, you were at death's door!"

"Pulse is almost normal again. Well, for you. Please Barry, don't do that again."

Iris just sat opposite him, smiling. Barry automatically smiled back. She reached for his hand he stretched his out for hers, dripping water on the tile floor. Barry pulled himself out of her eyes and addressed the group. "Do I have to stay in here much longer? Why'd you put me in here?"

Caitlin shook her head, giving him a look. "You let yourself get stabbed, Barry. That's what caused this whole mess." The others nodded and murmured in agreement.

Barry eyed the little group, wondering how much trouble he was in. "It was the only way to throw him off and get the advantage."

There was a moment of silence in which they all just stared at him. Finally Cisco looked at each person in turn gauging their response. There were mumbled replies, a few shaking heads and a definite snort. He turned back to Barry.

"No. Uh-uh. Not buying it. Any plan that involves a giant meat probe and your chest is a bad idea, sorry."

Barry laughed slightly. It quickly became a groan as he leaned forward, clutching the stab wound. "Ow." It still hurt. He realized how weak and exhausted he was. "Okay I see your point right now. Can I get out of here? I think my bed would be more comfortable."

Caitlin gave him a stern look. "You only get out of there if you come back to S.T.A.R. Labs and get a full body scan. I need to make sure you don't have any residual problems."

Barry looked to the others for help, but it was obvious they weren't going to give him any. He sighed. "Okay, fine. But seriously reinforced tripolymer in water is not a fun experience."

Joe gave him a look. "Neither was hauling you all the way up those stairs."

Joe was elected to stay behind as the others vacated. He helped Barry to his feet and out of the tub. It became apparent very quickly that Barry really needed the assistance. He was a bit unsteady and got tired after only a few minutes.

Joe assisted Barry in shedding his waterlogged suit and getting dressed in some comfortable sweats. Barry realized that it wasn't just the stab wound that was tender. Much of his body felt sore, not just from fighting but deep inside as well. A look at the clock told him he'd only been in the tub for forty minutes, tops. He was obviously still attempting to heal.

The group was waiting downstairs as Barry slowly descended, holding onto the banister the whole way. His gaze fell on the broken coffee table and traveled to the fragments of dining furniture.

"Joe, I am so sorry-"

Joe's hand came up. "Nope. Nothing to be sorry for. People are more important that furniture, and we're all still here. I always hated that coffee table anyway."

Barry's mouth curved in a weak smile as Iris moved to his other side. The look they shared agreed that Joe had really liked that coffee table. Iris put her arm around his waist and his arm over her shoulders lending him much needed support on his way out to Joe's car.

After a complete physical assessment and many tests, Caitlin was satisfied that Barry was on the mend. She warned him to take it easy for the next day and get as much rest as possible.

Barry was lying on the usual bed in S.T.A.R. Labs, head raised so he could talk. Iris was sitting directly on his left holding his hand. Joe was sitting on the end of the bed. Caitlin was standing as she usually did when in full doctor mode, while Cisco had pulled up his own chair.

Barry was shaking his head. "I don't get it. I've been stabbed before. It's never caused this much trouble."

Caitlin raised her eyebrows. "You were never stabbed in the chest and then hit with a cold grenade at almost point-blank range either. The "needle", if you can call it that, was huge and left a large hole. When the cold grenade went off right next to you, some of it got inside your chest cavity."

Barry mulled it over. "Shouldn't that just cause some frostbite in the muscle tissue? I mean, he didn't stab my heart."

Cisco had a look that was halfway between sheepish and pride. "Well, you know when I designed those, I designed the cold to hit the target and then expand as it froze to cover greater area."

Barry nodded. "So it expanded in my chest?"

Cisco inhaled to speak, then looked away. "Yeah…"

Caitlin took over. "That wouldn't have been the end of the world, but Cisco had made these grenades a bit more specialized."

Any trace of pride disappeared from Cisco's face, replaced by shame. "I increased the expansion by a third. I wanted them to really pack a punch."

"Well, they did." Barry rubbed his chest.

Caitlin continued. "When it went active and started expanding your natural healing ability was slowed due to the absolute zero cold as always, and the freezing effect was also spreading all through your chest cavity. As near as I can tell, it slowed your heart and started traveling along your blood vessels, crystallizing them as it went. Your hyper healing was not available to counter it, and it was basically shutting down your system. It's possible it could have frozen your whole body from the inside."

Barry frowned, remembering the feeling of pain spreading along his extremities. "Yeah, I think it was trying to."

Caitlin gave him an apologetic look. "We had to get you warmed up immediately to stop the spreading and try to enable your healing. I didn't have any of the equipment I needed and no time to get you to S.T.A.R. Labs, so we had to resort to…drastic measures."

Barry nodded. "A bathtub full of warm water." The memory of his body spasms and the increased pain filtered in. "You know, they say that's exactly what you're not supposed to do when people are suffering from hypothermia."

"That's what I told 'em!" Cisco raised his hand.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "I'm aware of that. But you are not a typical case anymore, and it was that or let you die. I was hoping your body could counteract some of the shock to your system if we just got it going. Which I think it did."

Barry pretended to weigh the options. "Yeah, I guess you made the right choice there." He gave her an appreciative look. "How did you figure all that out? We were miles away from all your medical technology."

Caitlin crossed her arms and stood taller. "That stab wound was deep and should have bled a lot and it barely bled at all. I figured it had frozen some and slowed the bleeding. From there it was easy to realize what might be happening. There's more to me than machines and medical tech."

Barry smiled. "Yes there is. Thank you."

She smiled back. "No problem."

Cisco stood up and approached the bed. "Barry, man, I'm sorry. I built those grenades and made them even more than they were, but I never expected this to happen. I almost killed you. I am so sorry."

Barry shook his head. "I let myself get stabbed. No one could ever see that coming. Why did you build more, though, and how did you get them?" He turned to Iris.

Iris looked slightly sheepish as well. "I asked him to make me some. I knew investigating the Reverse Flash and Wells would be dangerous, and I wanted something that would actually work against him."

Barry looked back to Cisco. "You built those grenades to do more damage because you made them for Iris?"

Iris looked at Cisco across the bed. "What, you think I can't take care of myself?" Joe put a hand over his face to hide a smile. He was very glad he wasn't Cisco at the moment.

Cisco stuttered slightly in his haste to explain. "No, no it wasn't like that. But you'd already been targeted once and I thought it was very possible you would be again. I thought it would be a great idea for you to have them when you asked and I wanted them to really protect you. I-I know how important you are to people…"

Barry put out a hand to touch Cisco's arm. He realized that Cisco had been trying to protect Iris as much as possible because he knew how much Barry loved her. "Cisco, thank you. I couldn't ask for better friends. If Iris hadn't had those I'd probably be toast right now. He would've taken my speed and probably killed me. Thanks for looking out for us."

Cisco smiled hesitantly. "Anytime Barry. We need to stick together. Especially now…"

The unspoken thought hung in the room, understood by everyone there. The empty wheelchair in the main cortex had been a sobering reminder that their trusted friend and mentor had betrayed them all and was still at large.

A heavy silence descended. Caitlin was the first to break it. "Well, Barry needs his rest and we all should get some, too. Doctor's orders."

Cisco nodded and said his goodbyes. After strict instruction about getting some sleep and not letting Iris and Joe stay too long, Caitlin did the same.

Cisco put an arm around her shoulders on the way out and gave her a squeeze. Caitlin's doctor facade began to crack. "I just can't believe it, Cisco. Dr. Wells…"

Cisco squeezed again, reassuring. "I know."

Joe smiled at Barry and Iris from the end of the bed. Barry could tell he was still relieved that they were all alive. He smiled at Iris, still holding her hand, then looked back at Joe.

"How did she even convince you to let her back in the house, Joe? I never thought you'd let that happen. What did she do, knock you out?"

"I would have, if it came to that." Iris gave them a sly smile.

Joe laughed slightly. "I guess I just got a good look at my daughter's superpowers. And I realized I couldn't hold her back. You were in danger and she had the plan and the weapons. There was no stopping her." He smiled at Iris, who looked pleasantly surprised.

"I have superpowers? Enlighten me."

Joe's smile was full of pride. "Guts and love, baby. Barry was right. Your superpowers are guts and love."

Iris giggled. "I like that. Way better than super speed." She gave Barry a challenging look. He laughed, then quickly stopped and pressed a hand to his chest.

"Ow."

Joe stood up. "Well, I'm heading home to get some sleep. Be back bright and early in the morning to check on you. Get some sleep, Bear. Iris, you want a ride back to the house?"

Iris hesitated. Barry jumped in. "Maybe she can stay just in case I end up relapsing or something. She can sleep on the cot in the other room."

Joe looked at them both. "Uh-huh. Is this gonna be like those sleepovers where you two stay up half the night? You are not thirteen any more and you need your rest if you want to get better."

"I promise I will let him sleep, Dad. I know he needs to heal."

"Okay." Joe relented. He gave Barry a gentle hug, Iris a longer one, and headed out the door.

There was a short silence as the two sat together. Barry fiddled with Iris's fingers, running an index finger up and down them. Her fingers finally moved and held his hand tightly, and he looked up to meet her eyes.

He realized how traumatizing the entire evening must have been for her. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears and she looked like she wanted to say something.

"What?"

She opened her mouth, and everything came out in a rush. "Barry, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that using the grenades might hurt you like that. And you were hurting so badly in the tub but it was the only way to help you… I feel responsible."

He lifted her hand and kissed the backs of her fingers. "If not for you, I'd be dead. I let myself get stabbed, and I didn't even realize what might happen. You were so brave. You made a hard call, but you made the right one. I'll be okay. And we'll get through this together, remember?"

The weight she'd been carrying seemed to roll off her shoulders. She smiled at him, leaning over the bed to kiss him. His hands ran through her hair and held her close as he savored it. When they parted he smiled into her eyes.

"Thank you for fighting for me."

She planted one more quick kiss on his lips before moving back. "Always will."

He laid back the corner of the blankets covering him, extending an invitation. She gave him a stern look. "You're supposed to get rest, Barry. Remember?"

He looked like a sad puppy, all eyes and disappointment. "I'll sleep best if you're next to me. I'll keep you warm. Look at me. I'm covered in sweats. I'm soft and cuddly." His tone was playfully persuasive.

She giggled. "How can I resist a soft and cuddly Bear? Okay fine. We'll both sleep better. But I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm fine. Just sleep on this side so you're not lying on my stab wound. It's still a little tender."

Iris turned off all the lights except a small one in the farthest corner from the bed, then slid fully clothed into the bed next to Barry. There was the requisite shifting and sliding as they both attempted to find a comfortable position in a bed meant for one person. Finally Barry was tilted on his side with an arm around Iris. Her head rested on his chest opposite the stab wound.

They were both quiet for a while, reflecting on the events of the night. They held each other in the darkness, each glad the other was safe. To Barry it almost felt like his dream again, wrapped together with her in the darkness. Just like then, it was soothing and comforting. Finally Barry's voice issued out of the darkness, quiet and heartfelt.

"I love you, Iris."

Her hand on his chest moved to his cheek. "I love you too."

"Thank you for being there for me."

"That's what we do. I never want to lose you."

"Same here. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. But thanks for helping me, twice even. That time in the tub would've been so much worse without you there."

Her head lifted slightly in her surprise. "Wait, you remember that?"

"Some of it. I thought I was dreaming, but the pain was sure real. But then you were there, and it was bearable. I knew I could get through it if you were with me."

She turned his face to give him a kiss. "I knew you could hear me."

"You told me once I am never too busy to answer you. I think you were right."

"Nice to know you realize this." She didn't even bother asking when she'd said it. They both knew it was the other timeline. "And that some things never change."

There was a giggle and a huff of laughter, until the laughing suddenly stopped.

"Ow."