Barry was hurt. Tears poured down from his eyes, one of which was bruised, same as the whole left side of his face. His hands were grasped on to his ribs, hands which were cut up...and bloody.
"What happened?" Iris asked as she went to his right side, the one that appeared to be less hurt. He smelled of rain water and dark roast. And he was shaking, a look of sheer terror still etched on his face.
"Barry" She said slowly. "I need you to tell me what happened" and in response Barry pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. For a second she thought it was only a crumpled piece of plastic, until she realized it was a lid for a coffee cup.
"Car" he said in such a small voice that Iris felt like crying as well. How does the fastest man alive get hit by a car? She thought. Unless he blacked out while crossing the street, and went into one of his mind fazes...
"Oh my God, Barry" Iris said, pulling off hood so she could see his face better. In the light it looked worse.
"Hurt" he replied and before Iris could catch him, he collapsed, sprawled across the floor. Quickly Iris reached for her phone while bending down to check Barry's pulse. It was faint. She then pressed Caitlyn's name so hard she almost broke the screen.
"Iris?" Came a voice from the other line.
"Caitlyn, Barry's hurt and I need your help now!" Iris basically yelled.
"I'll be right there" she said.
A half an hour later almost the entire team stood back in the cortex of Star Labs, well everyone except Joe who Iris couldn't bear to call and Harry who had gone on a small trip back to Earth-2 . Wally stood in the corner, his hands in his pockets as he bounced on the balls of his feet. Iris repeatedly sat down and got back up from her chair multiple times as if she couldn't decided which position she preferred. Cisco walked back and forth with his hands running through his messy dark hair. "What happened?" He asked, coming to stand still and looking up at Iris.
She hadn't exactly told them. All they knew was Barry was hurt, and nothing else.
"It...it was a car" Iris stuttered as tears filled her eyes. "We were out of coffee in the loft and...he went out...before I could stop him".
"Someone should call dad" Wally said.
"No" Iris said. "Not yet" Iris said, hands on her forehead. Her dad knew something like this would happen, and because Iris didn't listen Barry was hurt because of it.
"Iris" Wally said.
"No. Ok, we'll figure this out" Iris said as she walked over to Barry and grabbed his hand. He squeezed back, gently. His eyes open just the slightest bit.
"Try" he whispered. But it wasn't advice for her to take, it was what he was already doing.
"I know babe" she said, not noticing the tear that had slipped down his cheek. "But right now I think you should rest" Iris then placed a light kiss on his forehead and walked out of the medbay, together with Caitlin and Cisco while Wally stayed behind to watch over Barry.
"Iris" Caitlin began slowly. "He can't keep going like this".
"I know" Iris replied.
"We're trying to help him here but it's not working. This time it was some bruising, a few broken ribs, but next time?" She asked.
"Caitlin's right, Iris" Cisco added quietly. "We can't do this alone, he needs to see a therapist. A real one. Joe said that Singh gave him a list?"
"How did you know that?" Iris asked, remembering the conversation with her dad.
"Well you two weren't exactly speaking quietly" Cisco said shrugging.
"Fair enough. But you guys are right, he needs help, professional help" Iris admitted.
"Hey, we're here for you, if you need it" Caitlin offered.
"Thanks Cait" Iris replied but all she could think about was the inevitable conversation with her father that she desperately wanted to avoid.
Thanks to the rapid regeneration in his cells, Barry's ribs were healed in less than six hours, as he slept. The bruising, as Caitlin told Iris, would take until the next day to fade completely. And after this accident no one wanted to let Barry out of their sight, but seeing as Iris decided that the two of them would stay at Star Labs the rest of the night and probably hang out there the next day this matter wasn't really a problem. Iris had indeed called Joe that night which led to a not to easy conversation to have. It did make him feel a bit better when Iris told him that she and Caitlin would be calling a few therapists the next day, after telling Barry about the idea first, and luckily Iris managed to convince him to stay home that night and to come to Star Labs in the morning.
"Morning" Cisco yawned as he jumped through a breech into the cortex carrying many cups coffee from Jitters. Iris excepted hers with a small smile but she felt a knot in her stomach tighten as she smelled the dark roast and remembered the events of last night. She then walked over to the main computer table and lightly tapped a sleeping Caitlin on the shoulder, who jolted awake almost instantly.
"What time is it?" She groaned.
"7:46" Iris said checking her phone. "But we got coffee" Caitlin smiled gratefully taking the sweet smelling drink.
"Um, I got the coffee" Cisco pointed out. "Breached there and everything".
"Right. Correction, Cisco got the coffee" Iris said rolling her eyes in Cisco's direction. Just then they all heard a small groan as Barry made his way slowly into the cortex, one hand at his ribs and the other holding his notepad and a pen as he walked.
"Hey Barry" Cisco said, brightening up as he made his way over to help his best friend. "How're you feeling?"
"Terrific" Barry replied.
"Sarcasm? This early in the morning? That's a good sign" Cisco said putting an arm around Barry's waist. Barry smiled.
"And three syllables!" Cisco joked, but Barry stopped smiling, thinking his friend was making fun of him. Iris and Caitlin both gave Cisco the same stern look. "Ok, not funny. I get it" Cisco assured, helping Barry into the chair next to Caitlin. "But seriously Barry that's good".
"Anyways Bar..." Iris started knowing that she'd have to ask Barry about the therapy thing today at some point so she might as well do it now. He didn't answer though and one look down at her fiancé and she saw he was already drawing away. But Iris continued, hoping he was listening. "So I had this idea, well technically it was my dad who had the idea but anyway we'll only do it if you agree" Iris took a deep breath while Cisco and Caitlin merely listened in.
"How would you feel about going to therapy?" She asked. Almost Barry dropped his pen on the table and looked up at Iris and gave her such a stare that she felt so guilty for bringing up the idea at all.
"It doesn't have to be alone, Bar. I could be there with you and stay the whole time" she offered but really Iris hoped from the beginning he'd want her to come.
"Not...crazy" Barry was able to stutter out.
"Hey, no one said that, Bar" Cisco said from the side. Caitlin nodded.
"We just think this might be good for you" Caitlin added.
Barry looked at the trio though none of them could tell exactly what he was thinking. But eventually he nodded. "Thanks Bar" Iris said taking his hand, hoping this wasn't a horrible decision on her part.