Here is the next chapter. I was very excited to write this one. Enjoy! Thanks for reading!

Chapter 9

That evening Barry answered his door, expecting Iris there to pick him up for the movie. The minute he saw her, he knew something was different. Iris looked... vulnerable. It was the only word he could think of to describe it. Her eyes were wide and full of emotion, and she looked at him for a moment as if she couldn't really believe he was standing in front of her. He looked back at her, terrified that she had figured out everything.

Iris had gotten through work by the very skin of her teeth; even though she was sure she had broken more dishes and gotten more orders wrong than she ever had in a single day. The beeping sound of the heart monitor had followed her into sleep and work. She felt emotionally fragile. She stared at Barry. She had needed to see him all day, just to make sure he was still there.

"Iris? You okay?"

She walked into the apartment and put her bag down. "I don't want to go to a movie tonight, Barry. I want to talk."

He briefly thought of closing the door with himself on the outside of it, but decided against it once he looked at her face again. She didn't look angry. She looked like she needed a friend. He closed the door and walked past her towards the couch. He waited there for her to come in further. She just stood there.

"Iris, talk to me, tell me what's going on." He was getting really worried.

She looked at him with new eyes, noticing for the first time in years how cute she thought he was. She took several steps closer until they were standing face to face, within arm's reach of each other. Their eyes locked as she raised her palm and placed it on his chest, directly over his heart. Of its own accord, his hand rose up and placed itself over hers. She took comfort from the steady beat of his heart, even if it was pretty fast.

"It's still beating." She said, a small catch in her voice. She looked overcome with emotion.

His smile didn't remove the concern from his eyes. "It's still beating, Iris."

They were still searching each other's faces, each seeking reassurance. The air was charged around them. Undercurrents of emotion and something else filled the empty space between them. Something had to give soon.

And it did. Iris suddenly hugged him, clutching him painfully tight. Unlike before, this time she did wrap her arms around him, holding onto him with everything she had. His arms immediately went around her as well. They clung to each other for a few minutes, until Barry realized his shirtfront was wet. He looked down at the top of her head; her face was buried into his chest.

"Iris?"

Her shoulders began shaking now, so he helped her sit on the couch and grabbed the tissue box again. She wiped away tears impatiently as she tried to get out what she had come to say.

"I'm sorry Barry, but something happened last night, and it has really helped me realize some things."

A tiny wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows as he listened. "Like what?"

"I had an experience that reminded me so much of when you were in the coma, and it was horrible to remember that. You were just gone but your body was still there and your heart kept stopping and every time I visited you I could tell you were drifting farther and farther away from me. It hurt so bad to have you gone, Barry. I missed you so much."

Barry looked at her, feeling helpless to reassure her. It had never occurred to him that seeing him in that bed last night had reminded her of those nine months. He wasn't even sure what to say, since he was pretty sure his usual response of "I'm sorry" was getting old. The coma had been the blink of an eye to him, and when he woke up life had taken such crazy turns he hadn't had time to even consider the damage those long months had done to her and Joe and his father. Even then, he had begun to view the lightning strike as a good thing because it enabled him to help people the way he had always wanted to. Guilt filled him as he realized that same event had caused her so much pain.

"I'm so sorry Iris." He just couldn't stop it from coming out. She simply looked at him, her face full of misery. Tears began falling freely.

All he could think to do was wrap his arms around her and let her know that he was there. He was alive, and he was there for her, in every way he was able to be.

So he did just that. He scooted closer on the couch and held her. For several minutes she just wept. Then words started spilling out of her; it was like she couldn't contain them anymore.

"You just left me, Barry. You left me all alone after everything we had been through together. You were supposed to be my best friend forever and instead I got a friend in a coma and that damn heart monitor and then you came back like nothing happened and told me you love me and I was with Eddie and what was I supposed to say? But don't you dare ever think I don't care about you, Barry Allen!" Her voice had risen in volume. She was thumping his chest now. "Don't you dare!"

"What? No, I didn't!" She raised her tear-streaked face to look at his earnest one. There was a pause, and then he pushed a strand of hair away from her face and said softly. "I never thought you didn't care."

For some reason, that seemed to make her feel better. Her tears subsided. She took a deep breath, and with the exhaled air went out all the stress, turmoil, and crushing weight that felt like it had been there for so long. She turned her head so one ear was pressed against his heart like she still needed to know it was there. Wordlessly he adjusted his legs to that he was partially reclining; then she could lay her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Her arms crept around him. One of his wrapped around her shoulders. They stayed on the couch in that position for a long time in silence.

As Iris listened to Barry's rapid heartbeat, she was finally able to admit to herself that she now thought of Barry as more than a friend. She wasn't really sure if she felt that way before the coma. It was possible she had been stuffing thoughts like that away for a long time. But the coma had helped her realize how important he really was to her, even if it took a while to sort through. She thought back to Christmas and remembered the thrill of excitement she had felt when she realized Barry's present to her was a ring box. She had suppressed it. Barry's present had been so heartfelt and beautiful; she should have seen his feelings for her right then. But Eddie's present had also been in a ring box. She had experienced a moment of fear looking at it. She had been relieved that it had just been a key. If that hadn't let her know how she truly felt, her response to Eddie should have told her. Instead of saying yes, she had said I love you. Because she didn't want to hurt him by saying no, but part of her did not want to say yes.

Iris closed her eyes, memorizing everything about where she was right now. She felt more safe and secure than she ever had in her entire life, even when The Flash had carried her. This moment felt like she had finally made her way home after a very long and difficult journey. She never wanted to leave. Not even for The Flash. Her arms gave Barry a light squeeze and she murmured. "Don't you ever leave me again."

Barry tried not to think about last night and the dangers of his second job. He wrapped both arms around her and replied. "I'll do my best."

Barry held Iris tight and stared at the ceiling. The last thing he wanted to do was put too much pressure on Iris. But everything Iris had done and said tonight had caused a tiny flare of hope to start. He had loved her for so long that a part of him had been resigned that it was never going to work out. In many ways he had accepted that, even after she broke up with Eddie. But now he wasn't sure what to think, and he was afraid to ruin it. Maybe he was misinterpreting things. There were many ways to interpret the word "care". He had always known Iris cared about him as her friend, even if she didn't have the same feelings of love for him. Maybe this was just the universe's way of messing with him, since it seemed he might just be on the cusp of everything he'd ever wanted but with one huge catch. He stared at the ceiling and wondered if he should just forget his promise to Joe and tell her the truth about The Flash. Finally he decided not to, less because of his promise to Joe, and more because he was terrified she would hate him for lying to her.

The lightning had changed everything.

He kept his arms around her and tried to remember everything about this moment. His worried face stared at the ceiling. Iris, exhausted after her lack of sleep the night before, fell asleep. He lightly kissed the top of her head, so light that she wouldn't feel it. Then he held her and wished he would never have to let her go.

Iris had been lulled into sleep by Barry's heartbeat. At first she slept well, warm and safe. But then Barry's heartbeat slowly became the beeping heart monitor. Each shrill, fast beep caused more and more distress, until Iris woke with a start and realized she was still lying on Barry's chest. She looked up to see if he was asleep too and met his eyes. He was watching her, looking slightly concerned.

She smiled tentatively. He did the same. This was new territory.

"Hey." He said softly.

She smiled a bit wider. "Hey."

She sat up and stretched. He tried to wake the arm that had fallen asleep. She giggled, watching him. "Sorry."

He laughed a little too. "It's okay."

She checked her watch. "Oh, it's getting late! I should head home."

Barry nodded. He was completely unsure about what the appropriate action was at this point. So he went to his default. When in doubt, be her best friend.

Iris stood up, for the first time in a very long while feeling like she knew what she wanted and who. She looked up into Barry's face. She looked so open and honest right then, and very happy. Barry looked back at her, holding his breath without realizing it. More than anything, he wanted to be deserving of that look, if it meant what he thought it meant. He opened his mouth. He needed to tell her about The Flash.

"Iris-" He stopped, his throat constricting.

"Yes?' She looked up at him, looking at him with clear eyes and a smile on her lips and maybe even a bit of hope. But all he could think of was the hate he would see when he told her. So much had happened between them recently while he was wearing that suit. Secrets kept for too long always hurt more when they come out. He fought the urge to cry, crushed under the weight of his circumstances. Ones he had helped create. Finally he shook his head, smiling to cover it.

"Nothing."

Iris's eyes dimmed just a little bit, but she recovered quickly. "Okay. See you tomorrow I hope?"

"Yeah." He smiled.

She smiled wider. "Good." She turned away, undaunted. Iris West wasn't afraid of a challenge. There was always tomorrow.

Barry watched her leave, feeling slightly sick. Maybe he'd try again tomorrow.

It was hours later, just as Iris was on the verge of sleep again, that she finally understood what her subconscious was trying to tell her. Drifting in half-asleep, her mind wandering and in a state of free association, it dwelt on the events of the night, especially Barry's heartbeat. The rapid heartbeat she had listened to tonight that was the same as the one on the monitor during his coma…she knew that heartbeat so well by now...the one that she had felt on her palm twice now beating in his chest…the exact same rhythm and pace as the one that she had heard while The Flash lay in the bed at S.T.A.R. labs, followed by a flat line when he had jumped up…

Iris sat straight up in bed, her heart pounding, gasping for air. The ringing of a flat line pulse was still in her ears as she sat in the darkness with one thought in her mind:

Barry is The Flash.