"This night is winding down but time means nothing
As always at this hour time means nothing
One final, final round 'cause time means nothing
Say that you'll stay, say that you'll stay"

– After Hours, We Are Scientists

Day had broken over Central City; its workforce mobilising as radios and TVs were switched on all over the city, several cartons of orange juice cracked open and bowls of cereal consumed. Wally West was bolting down breakfast with a large paper napkin tied round his neck and the 24-hour news channel whispering away in the background. Glancing over at the clock he still had time but his temporary flat mate had yet to show her sleepy head. As if Shayera had heard Wally's frantic thoughts she soon shuffled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, without so much as a good morning. Returning to the living room with an impossibly large glass of water she knocked it back. Once done her green eyes opened, glancing down she noticed her attire.

"How'd I get out of my clothes?"

Wally looked to the left and towards the TV, casually whistling as he did so.

"Wally?" her voice was more insistent, a hint of steel had begun to creep in at the edges

"It was quick, didn't see a thing." Shayera looked at Wally, a hard unreadable expression in her eyes. "I did not enjoy it... Like at all." Wally clarified, hoping that she wouldn't try and hit him.

Shayera remained silent, her eyes skimming over Wally's own choice of clothing, a charcoal grey suit; she raised an eyebrow.

"That explains the napkin... you run out of clothes again?" Wally's fellow red head questioned as she slumped onto the sofa, placing a cushion in her lap.

"No!" Wally exclaimed, "That was one time, seriously. It's a work thing."

"I thought you were a lab tech?"

"I am but Callaghan's off sick, so I'm going to be the expert witness in court today. I have to look respectable, trustworthy and ... intelligent."

"Intelligent?" Shayera reiterated.

"It's probably because I'm such a stud; people don't think I'm smart." Wally announced before promptly dropping a dollop of syrup onto his strategically placed napkin, mopping it up with a slice of French toast he deposited the tasty morsel into his mouth.

"Uh huh..." Shayera nodded, clearly not believing a word he said. "I'll just put some clothes on and get out of your hair."

Standing up Shayera wandered back towards the kitchen, the sound of running water could be heard before she deposited the tumbler in the rack; walking back to the living room she stopped hesitantly in the doorway, scuffing her foot against the worn carpet.

"And Wally, thanks for last night. I didn't mean to ruin anything for you..." her cat like eyes were firmly fixed to the floor, speeding over to her Wally placed a gentle hand under her chin.

"Anytime Shay, that's what family does."

Shayera rewarded him with a watery smile, before hastily wiping her nose and ducking into the bedroom.

Having laid his hand on a Bible, Wally was sworn in before giving his statement; there was something about the witness stand that sent nervous tremors down his body. Coughing anxiously he looked at those assembled in the courtroom; the district attorney was nodding at him encouragingly whilst opposing counsel had his head buried in notes, every so often scribbling something down. The jury was seated across from him, each and every one of them staring at him, Wally scratched the back of his neck.

"Mr West..." the judge presiding over the case looked at him pointedly.

"Yes your Honour,"

"Please direct your testimony to the members of the jury."

Wally nodded before recounting his statement, every so often being prompted by a question from the prosecution. Shifting in his seat Wally breathed a sigh of relief as the attorney backed off, but he was not done yet. The defence lawyer got to his feet buttoning his suit jacket as he did so, taking deliberate and measured steps toward the seated red head and the dock, he began his cross examination. Several objections cried out by the district attorney later and Wally West was done with Winston v The People.

Leaning against a pillar outside Central City's high court Linda Park looked down at her watch. Wally had mentioned earlier that he was due for the first time in court that afternoon, a surprise dinner invitation the day after a relatively successful date was probably breaking every rule in the book. But as it stood Linda Park cared a lot for Wally West and not much for rules. Pulling out her phone to check her messages Linda's eyes skimmed across the people dotted about, some looked like lawyers, others court officials on a cigarette break. One man caught her eye in particular, a tall, good looking black guy with the air of an ex military officer was walking quickly up the steps, changing his mind he skipped down a couple before parking on the cool concrete. Pushing the black sunglasses further up his nose John Stewart looked across the busy street that stretched out in front of him; dinner with Wally had once been a tradition, but their busy lives and commitments had either one of them asking for a rain check. Finally having managed to settle a date it looked like the two old friends and teammates were about to catch up. Fanning herself in the evening heat Linda smiled when she spied Wally emerge from the building as he loosened his tie, pushing herself off the column she walked towards the red head; in her excitement she failed to notice John take a similar path.

"How about an exclusive interview with Channel 4, say over dinner." Linda did her best to pout as two slender fingers walked their way up Wally's chest. "Or maybe something more intimate, like a bath... I'm not picky." Flushing ever so slightly Linda smiled coyly, however, to her chagrin Wally was not bumbling away in an abashed fashion but was staring over her head with a look of pure horror stamped across his features. Turning back Linda spotted the tall black guy she had observed earlier; he was wearing a grin that suggested he had clearly heard everything. Linda blushed.

"Hey hot shot..." John smiled, "you ready for dinner?"

Wally looked from an alluring Linda to the earnestly smiling John. This could prove to be a problem; Wally laughed nervously.

"Uh... John, this is Linda." Pushing the petite woman forward Wally finished his introduction with the appropriate hand gestures, "Linda, this is John."

"Hi," Linda squeaked as she held out her hand and sure enough John presented her with a firm handshake accompanied by a gruff hello.

"So, now that we know who everyone is, lets go to dinner!" Wally exclaimed, before waiting for either one of his companions to reply Wally powered off, calling out over his shoulder, "I know this great little Italian."

Both Linda and John looked at each, both unsure of what to say, finally John gestured to the reporter to go ahead. Smiling hesitantly Linda started after Wally, firing off basic questions at John; increasingly aware that she sounded like an interviewer.

Hidden behind bits of cardboard the meal had gone well, a while later the waitress had come to take their order - that too had gone well. But now with the protection of the menus taken from them the three dinner companions were not making conversation. Linda took a gulp of her wine; as the liquid slid easily down her throat she tried various conversation openers in her head. Apparently, Wally hadn't thought this far ahead, just assuming that everything would work itself out once they reached the restaurant. Placing down her wine and taking an all too aggressive bite from a breadstick Linda addressed John.

"So have you met Wally's sister too?"

"Uh sister?" John raised an eyebrow as he supped on a bottle of beer.
"You mean..."

"Sharon." Linda clarified, eyeing the ex marine opposite with newfound suspicion.

"Oh, right. Shay. Yeah we er..."

Wally's eyes flicked from Linda to John in quick succession, a sudden panic welling up. "We don't have to talk about my sister...please! Lets look at the menu."

"But we've ordered," the reporter pointed out, her gaze shifting to Wally.

"Right..." Wally nodded his agreement, before adding, "But what about dessert, always helps to plan ahead."

Apparently John had not been listening to the shift in conversation, "Shay and I..."

"Oh, you're..." Linda pulled a face, before doing her best to cover it up.

"What was that?" John looked at the Asian woman as if trying to determine whether he had in fact seen a look that quite clearly read; 'oh, you're that guy'.

"Nothing." Linda looked sharply at the menu board over the bar. "Oo they have cheesecake."

"Hey, would you look at that..." Wally added before shooting John a look, the two friends then proceeded to have a highly expressive conversation by means of eyebrow movement.

Turning back to the two men Linda smiled winningly, hoping that John would overlook her social gaff; it really wouldn't be good if she somehow got drawn into a lovers argument as a character witness on behalf of Sharon.

"Well, right. That's how I know Wally," John quickly improvised. "Through Sharon."

Linda nodded slowly, she could feel the question coming up - the inquisitive side of her nature would not lie down and die. "Isn't that a little awkward, staying friends with Wally I mean?"

"Most things in a life are only as awkward as you want them to be." John defended stoutly.

"Yeah right..." Wally muttered under his breath as he took a slurp from his drink.

"Hey, what's that's supposed to mean?" John demanded, all but forgetting that Linda was there.

"Well whenever I'm in a room with you two. The tension - its a little scary." Wally held up his hands in defence noticing John's gaze trained at him, "I love both of you guys but sometimes it's a little hard."

"A little hard?" John nodded slowly, "Right and its easy for the two of us..."

Linda looked from both Wally to John, trying her best to interject but for some reason the words would just not come out.

"It might be easier if, I dunno..." Wally petered off, his eyes frantically searching for a waiter bearing gifts. Rescue was not in sight and John was still looking at him expectantly. "Look, you told her you loved her and then you just leave. You made the choice John, what's difficult is that Shay had no say and the rest of us have to tiptoe round you guys." Wally abruptly stopped, breathing heavily. On reflex Linda reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. By the looks of things Wally had never told John just exactly what he thought. But as if God had taken pity on the diners, a plate full of spaghetti was placed in front of the speedster before anything more could be said. Ignoring the tantalising smell of garlic bread and pasta John spoke up, "Its not that simple... I'm with Mari."

"The supermodel?" Linda suddenly blurt out, her cheeks colouring almost instantaneously.

"Right," John nodded absentmindedly.

"And what does Mari think about all this, about Rex?" Wally questioned, there was definite steel to his gaze.

John for a moment looked like he was about to retort but instead he forked several bits of penne into his mouth and began to chew, his eyes stormy. Linda followed suit and began to dig into her seafood dish, smiling through a mouthful of food she quickly swallowed. "How's the bolognaise?"

"Good..." Wally nodded, as he promptly took another bite. The rest of the meal followed in a similar vein, having emptied their plates of food a chirpy waitress named Rachel came over. Sweeping away their plates she simultaneously asked if they wanted any desserts. Linda looked from John to Wally; whilst the cheesecake was awful tempting she had no desire to prolong the extremely awkward meal.

"I'm good thanks..." Linda smiled at Rachel; to her credit the waitress did her best to ignore the two men who were now resolutely looking at the chequered tablecloth. "Could we have the bill?"

Having settled their bill John, Linda and Wally stood outside the restaurant; taking a few steps away the reporter pulled out her phone hoping that giving the two space was the best course of action. Wally stuffed his hands into his pockets as he tried his best not blurt out an apology, John was his friend but that didn't mean he had to agree with the way he'd gone about things. John seemed to be on the verge of saying something, scratching his shoulder he looked bashfully at the red head.

"Look, I know I haven't done things as well as I could have... I just, I need to be able to make my own decisions and not feel like I'm being backed into a corner because destiny says so. Shay got hurt because of it but I'm not about to change my mind."

Wally nodded, "Yeah I guess you have your reasons, but I don't like seeing either of you guys hurt. Sorry about earlier..."

"Don't worry about it hot shot, I needed it." John replied, the usual warmth to his voice returning. "I'll see you next time you're up top, right?"

"Yeah," Wally nodded before sending Linda a surreptitious look.

Noticing, John smiled, "Looks like I ruined her plans, see you soon kid." Clapping Wally on the back John called out to Linda before waving good-bye.

"So..." Linda started as she walked towards Wally, a half smile playing across her features.

"Er, you probably didn't need to see that."

"I shouldn't have said anything," Linda replied. "Sometimes I can't keep my mouth shut."

"No, some of that stuff needed to be said." For a moment Wally's eyes looked distant and he was lost to her, coming back round he flashed Linda his winning smile. "So if you want that cheesecake we can get it to go, my place isn't too far from here." Wally just refrained from biting his lip as Linda teetered on the edge of an answer; it was basically the same as asking her up for coffee and everyone knows what that means.

Nimble fingers ripped at the thin cardboard box encasing the fabled cheesecake. Linda let out a slight moan as she finally revealed two creamy slices of baked perfection, placing the portions onto plates she handed one over to Wally. Shuffling towards the sofa Linda's eyes had widened as the silver fork in her hand speared a small bite, once it was in her mouth she was in heaven. Wally grinned at her reaction; Carlo's did the best cheesecake in town.

"Good huh?" he questioned through his own mouthful.

"You have no idea..." Linda whispered before taking another bite.

In no time at all the couple had cleared their plates, leaning back into the sofa Linda pulled up her feet and closed her eyes, content.

"I'm just going to go change out of this suit, be back in a minute." Wally offered and then disappeared into his room. Quickly whipping off the suit he pulled on shorts and an old tee shirt before addressing the mess that was his bedroom, maybe he was being premature but he didn't want to be caught out. It was at times like these he thanked God he had super-speed. In what still seemed like a relatively quick time to Linda, Wally was back out on the sofa. Leaning into the now seated red head Linda rested her head against his shoulder.

"TGIF huh?"

Wally didn't say anything; instead he had been transported back to his teenage years and dates at the movies. It was the all-important moment, did he put his arm around her shoulder or did he keep it where it was? Did he employ the patented casually yawn and stretch technique used by adolescent boys world over? Biting the proverbial bullet Wally wriggled his arm free to place it around Linda's shoulder and pull her closer towards him; to his pleasure Linda did not seem to be complaining. Instead he could have sworn he heard the slightest murmur of a moan. Without really registering what she was doing Linda's hand snaked across Wally's stomach, feeling the contours of his abdomen beneath the soft, worn cotton. A frisson of excitement ran through the speedster's body as Linda's hand travelled further up his chest, her fingers teasing at his neck just as she cupped his face in her hand, pulling him down to her. Their eyes met and within an instant their mouths came together, soft kisses soon became more eager and insistent. Any further concerns Wally might have had about whether Linda wanted his arm around her waist were brushed aside as the reporter virtually fell into his lap. Eager hands grappled with his tee shirt as Linda tugged the cotton material over his head, revealing what she would later describe to Marla as the closest thing she'd seen to Michael Angelo's David. Pulling Linda closer to him, Wally's lips roughly grazed her neck eliciting a shuddering gasp; gathering Linda up in his arms he rose to his feet as her legs came to rest snugly around his hips. Making quick work of her top Linda's warm skin was soon pressed up against his torso as he carried her towards the bedroom.

A/N: I hope that wasn't too graphic for anyone, personally, I think I kept it pretty tame. Anyway, John has met Linda and more clues have been dropped, maybe our intrepid reporter will actually do some investigating and fit things together. Also in England etc criminal cases tend to be R v so and so, obviously there is no crown in the US so I'm not really sure if I got the hypothetical case name right. Well, I hope you guys liked it and let me know!