Cisco and Caitlin jumped up when Iris made her way to the cortex. Cautious optimism bubbled just underneath the surface of the grief on their faces, probably due to the fact that Iris was standing upright, and not in a fit of tears. "Iris…" they said, in sync with Joe, who couldn't stand, due to her daughter's presence in his lap.

Iris started to respond, but Nora's wide-eyed fixation on the game on her grandfather's phone caught her off guard. It was well after Nora's bedtime, but she showed not a hint of fatigue.

Then it hit her. Nora wasn't asleep, because her routine had been interrupted.

Despite their hectic lives, she and Barry kept Nora on a strict bedtime schedule. No matter what happened during the day, she was always in bed by a reasonable time. Tonight, however, she was stuck in the lab without her bath or warm cup of milk. Most importantly, Barry hadn't been there to run through their bedtime singalong.

Iris pressed her eyes shut.

Nora obviously already missed her father. Soon, she would miss him for an eternity, and that was too much for Iris's heart to bear. A sob tried to rise up from Iris's throat. She caught it, hand pressed against her mouth.

"Iris. Is it Barry?!" Joe yelled, trying to get her attention. "How's Barry?"

That snapped her out of it. "Oh, I'm sorry." Iris said quickly, "I'm sorry, Barry's okay. Awake actually."

"Oh, Thank God." Joe said.

"Awake?!" Caitlin asked, in disbelief.

"And talking," Iris added.

"Can we see him?" Cisco asked, eager like a puppy dog, whose best friend had finally come strolling from down the street.

Iris smiled softly, placing a hand on her husband's best friend, shoulder. "Of course you can. Just—"

"We'll be quick. Nora needs him." Cisco said looking sadly back at the little girl, who had no idea her world was about to be turned upside down.

"Thank you," Iris said, eyes welling back up with tears.

"And you do too," Cisco replied, before pulling Iris into a tight bear hug. Despite their closeness, Iris could count on one hand the number of times that Cisco had hugged her.

Iris hated that this had been the occasion to prompt another one.

Soon, she felt Cisco's tears, streaming down the side of her face, onto her neck.

"You as well," Iris said, as they parted. "And Barry needs .friends," she continued, poking a gentle finger in Cisco's chest, then looking to Caitlin. "So you two go, while you can."

Cisco nodded stoically, then turned in pursuit of the med bay. Caitlin followed behind him.

Joe West, who'd been watching extended his free arm to his daughter, who he knew so badly needed it. Iris sniffed, then let her weight fall into the seat next to him, burying her face in his chest. "Oh, Dad," she said, finally allowing her tears to fall, freely.

"I know, baby girl."Joe's own voice was trembling, as he embraced Iris in a side hug. "I know."

Just like Iris with Barry, it was all he could say, for no words could fully encapsulate what he was feeling for the man he'd raised, or his daughter, who was losing her husband, and the father of her child.

Not to mention Nora.

Iris continued to take comfort in her father's arms until she felt a small hand on her shoulder.

"Don't cry, mama!" Nora said.

Realizing Nora was paying attention, Iris wiped her face.

"I'm not crying, baby," Iris said quickly, putting on her best motherly smile. It was the first time she'd ever lied to Nora or had had to put on a brave face for her.

But it would not be the last if fate had its way.

The little girl sat down Joe's phone, then crawled from his lap into Iris's. "Good. Mama too beautiful to cry," Nora said, repeating what she'd heard Barry say to her a thousand times. A soft kiss to Iris's cheek accompanied her comforting words.

"Thank you baby girl," Iris said, looking into Nora's eyes. She was every bit her father's child, from the way it was instinct to comfort her, to the way her eyes matched his shade of green's perfectly.

Iris looked over to her own father, who was crying silently. Though she didn't speak, her eyes said every bit of, "How am I supposed to tell her?"

Before he could say anything, Cisco and Cait returned from the med bay.

"Back already?" Iris asked, surveying their expressions. The closer they got, the more the severity of the situation hit her.

Cisco tried to speak, but a lump in his throat prevented it. Caitlin stepped in. "He doesn't have much time, guys, an hour at best. His heart rate has dropped to 350."

Iris gasped.

"He's in good spirits, considering everything," Caitlin added, to soften the blow. "Right Cisco?"

Silence followed. Cisco stood there, face blank.

"Right Cisco?" Caitlin asked again.

"He's really dying," Cisco deadpanned, staring off into the distance. "He's really dying. My best friend, my family is... dying. Barry is dying. I just. Can't."

"Cisco...," Caitlin said, attempting head off his breakdown.

"I'm sorry Joe...Iris...but I can't be here for this. I—" Cisco started, before running towards the exit.

Though she'd held up well up until this point, it was Caitlin's turn to break down. Voice thick with sobs, she relayed to Iris, "He wants to see you and Nora, Iris. Joe too," she said. Her voice was gentle, but there was an ominous warning in it. When she was sure Iris understood, she then turned to go find where Cisco had run off to.

"Well, I guess this is it," Joe said, voice laced with finality.

"You go first, dad," Iris offered.

"Are you sure?"

Iris nodded. "Yes, he needs you too," she said gently nudging him in the shoulder.

"Not nearly as much as he needs you and Nora."

"Please, It'll give me time to prepare her," Iris said, though her words were in vain. There was nothing she could do or say to prepare her daughter for this.

Joe West decided to take Iris up on her offer and go say goodbye to his son-in-law. "Like them, I'll be quick. Barry should spend his last moments with his wife and child."

Iris nodded, as more tears streamed down her face.

"I-I'm sorry," Joe said when he realized the reaction Iris had to those words.

"I know, dad. Go to him. Please."

Joe stood, took in a deep breath, before departing towards the med bay.

Left alone, Iris sat with her daughter, who'd grown oddly quiet.

"You okay, baby girl?" Iris asked, raking her fingers through her loose brown curls.

Without Joe's phone to occupy her, Nora was becoming restless. "I want dada," she said, stirring gently in Iris's lap.

"I know, baby," Iris said, softly.

"Now," said the almost four-year-old, humping her shoulders defiantly.

"We're going to go see him in just a few minutes, okay?"

"Yayy!" The little girl beamed, perking up. "I love dada."

"And dada loves you."

"THIS much," Nora said, stretching her arms wide the way Barry always showed her.

Iris laughed. "Yes. Even more than that actually."

Just the mention of Barry seemed to calm Nora a little. She sat in Iris's lap, facing forward, still enough that Iris could rock her gently. It was a task to keep her emotions in check and stifle her cries, but keeping Nora from feeling any of the sadness was enough to motivate her.

Soon enough, Nora would feel enough pain, and if she could shield her from it for even another second, it would be worth it.

When Iris saw Joe West emerge, in the room, Iris took in a deep breath.

"You need to go to him, now," is all Joe said. He wasn't crying anymore, but he looked just like a man who'd stared death in the face.

Iris blinked back her tears, and rose in haste, daughter cradled close to here.

"I'll be here if you need me," he added.

Iris nodded gently and headed back to the med bay.

Every step was excruciating. She couldn't get back to Barry fast enough, but also, she was dreading this reunion between father and child. The last gathering of their little family shouldn't take place in STAR labs.

It wasn't fair.

"There are my girls," Barry said, voice considerably weaker than before. Iris smiled at her husband, but couldn't help but cut her eyes at the heart monitor.

278.

Just 78 beats away from the onslaught of death. You couldn't tell by looking into his eyes though, mangled body aside, because all Iris saw was overwhelming relief that she'd made it back with Nora in time for a final goodbye.

"Yeah, we're here," Iris said gently.

"Oh wait," Barry said when he realized Nora's back was to him. "Can you?" He barely motioned for Iris to lift the sheets up over his body, so his daughter wouldn't see any of the scars on his body—just his face, which was still a little beaten up, but not like the rest of him.

One of the others had, thankfully, already sat him up already sat him up.

"Of course, baby." Iris used her free hand to fulfill one of her husband's last requests. Looking up at him gently, Iris said, "I couldn't tell her, I don't know how to break her heart Barry."

"It's okay," he said, taking her hand in hers. "Let me try."

Though Iris hated letting Barry bear this burden she, physically, wasn't able to do this right now. She nodded, then leaned down and kissed Barry. His lips were scabbed over, and rough, and yet it was a kiss she would savor for all of eternity.

"Nora," Iris said, attempting to pry Nora from her arms. Despite her resilience, the first signs of fatigue were showing on her. Her body drooped in Iris's arms, but it wasn't anything she couldn't be brought out of.

"Hmm?" She asked, raising her head.

"You wanted to see dada, remember?"

The little girl smiled. "Yes. Dada. Dada!"

Iris pivoted her body so that Nora was facing Barry. Her eyes immediately found her father. His skin was paler than normal, his face was bruised, and his lips were singed. The little girl turned and hid her face in Iris's arms. "That's not dada," she cried. "That's a monster."

Iris rubbed her hand up and down her back. "No, Nora, it is Dada."

"NO!" The little girl buried her face further into Iris's chest.

The monitor beeped again, and Iris couldn't help herself.

272.

270.

264.

"Nora," Iris said, voice distraught. "This is dada. He's just got a boo boo. You know how when you fell off of your tricycle, and dada patched you up with the dinosaur band-aids?"

The little girl peeked back at the man in the bed, one eye open, one closed "He doesn't have band-aids."

"I know. But."

"So. It's not my dada!" She said, turning back.

260.

258.

256.

252.

248.

Iris looked back at Barry, who looked utterly broken. "Oh, Barry. What am I supposed to do? She asked, panicked. We don't have much time left. "She's terrified."

Using her free hand, she grabbed Barry's hand in hers. He gave it a squeeze and brought his other one on top of hers. "I have an idea," he said, smiling.

"Babe?"

"Just trust me."

"Always and forever."

Barry cleared his throat, and suddenly Iris knew exactly where he was going with this.

"Can't say how the days will unfold," Barry sang, starting weakly. Slowly, Nora turned towards the voice responsible for the song Barry had not only used to propose to Iris, but also, the song that had become one of Nora's favorite bedtime lullabies.

"Can't change what the future may hold, but I want you in it, every hour, every minute," he continued.

"Dada?" Nora asked, looking around the room for the familiar face she'd heard those words from a million times.

Iris took a step closer to the bed. Louder, Barry continued, "This world can race by far too fast. Hard to see while it's all flying past, but it's clear now—"

"Dada!" Nora screamed, eyes wide, as she realized the injured man in front of her wasn't a monster, it was indeed actually her father. Nora nearly jumped out of Iris's arms onto the gurney. She landed in his chest like a brick, and Iris thanked the heavens that he was still hopped up on painkillers.

"Yes," Barry laughed. "It's dada. Can I have a hug?"

"Yes!"

The little girl snuggled into Barry's arms. He wrapped his arms around her, as tightly as he could on his own. Iris finished the distance, lifting his arms to close the embrace.

"There's my beautiful girl," he said, resting his head on top of hers. "I missed you so much," he said, tears streaming from his eyes in a fury.

"Sing, more dada. I sleepy," Nora cooed.

"Okay, but first," he said, glancing up at Iris who was watching, with both hands over her mouth, "I need to talk to you. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Mhmm."

Barry gulped. Iris squeezed his hand again. "How would you feel if I went to heaven?" He said, as gently as he could.

"With the angels?"

"Yes. With the angels."

"Can I come too?"

"One day, but hopefully not for a really, really, really, long time," Barry said.

"You want to go by yourself?"

"I don't want to, but I have to."

"Can I visit you?"

"Well, no. Not exactly."

"Then NO!" Nora said, tearing away from Barry. "No, no, no!" She sniffled.

Loss for words, Barry looked to Iris for help. Iris kneeled down, so she was eye level to Nora. "Baby, you know how dada is a hero, right? How he saves people?"

"Mhmm.

"Well, he saved a lot of people tonight. Me, grandpa, Uncle Cisco. Caitlin. Even you," she said, poking her gently in the chest.

"Me?"

"ESPECIALLY you, Nora."

The little girl smiled.

Iris continued. "You know why that is, right?"

"Why?"

"Because he loves us, and you, more than anything."

"This much?" The little girl outstretched her arms again.

"YES!" Iris continued, through her sobs.

"Saving everyone took a lot out of dada, though, and," Iris started, before the monitor beeped again: 236.

Iris bit back the cries lodged in her throat, unable to continue.

"You're doing amazing, Iris," Barry offered.

230.

228.

222.

"But now," she continued, it's time for him to rest, in heaven with the angels."

"Now?"

"Yes. They're going to come to get him really, really soon, Nora, so I need for you to give him the biggest hug and kiss you can scrounge up, and tell him how much you love him, okay?"

"But I don't WANT dada to go."

220.

"I know, baby. I don't either, but he has to."

218.

"Nora, baby, please," Iris pleaded.

"Iris. It's okay," Barry assured her. "She's just too young, baby."

Iris looked up at her husband ."I can't do this, Barry," she said, whispering. "How am I supposed to raise her alone?"

"Yes, yes you can. You are going to be a wonderful mother. You already are, and you're only going to get better by the day. I believe in you, more than you know," Barry crooned. "More than myself, even."

Soon, the room was filled with Nora's gentle snores. Both parents breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told, Nora was just too young to fully understand that her father was leaving for good, and never coming back. As much as Iris would have loved to prepare her, the pain would hit her in stages, as she got older.

Beep.

"Oh, God," Iris said. "216."

"Now, enough crying," Barry said. "Come lay with me, Iris. I can't think of anything I'd rather do with the rest of my time than lay in between my two favorite girls."

Iris had no choice but to climb into the gurney, even though this was the last absolute place she wanted to be. She and Barry were supposed to be in bed right now, fresh off of putting Nora to sleep, and getting ready to sleep in each other's arms.

She lifted Barry's left arm so that she was snuggled up against him, as Barry used his right to pull Nora closer to him.

"I love you so much, Barry, I'll never stop loving you, baby."

210.

"I love you too, more than anything."

208.

"I'll make sure Nora never, ever forgets you, how much you loved her, or the wonderful man you are."

206.

Barry pressed a kiss to Iris's mouth, this time deeper than the one before. They took their time, to really savor each other's mouths since it would be a long time before they could again.

"I already know that," Barry said when they parted. "I knew it long before we got together, and before Nora was even conceived. That's the kind of person you-"

204.

202.

200.

"The kind of person I-,"

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.