It was late at night, the full moon shined so bright it made the water by the docks look too relaxing. The chilly air felt good against Daniele's skin, she could smell the fresh start of her new life and it made her anxious to find out the new changes in it.
A fast wind in front of her announced the arrival of her brother from his run for a hot cup of coffee to keep them both up until their guest decided to wake up. "Got something in your mind?" The scarlet speedster asked as he handed the coffee to the woman in front.
Danielle smiled as she opened the cup and took a small drink. "It was good to see her again, Bar. She was scared, but at least she is alive now."
"I sometimes forget that the last time you saw her, she was on the floor after everything happened." Barry's tone of voice gave away that he was feeling rather guilty, but he simply shook his head to fade away those thoughts. "But now we will all be together, as the family we were supposed to be. I promise, Dan, I will make things right this time."
The redhead placed her hand over her brother's shoulder, offering him a warm smile. "So will I, Bar, so will I."
That night, both siblings agreed to sleep on the warehouse just in case the cell Barry made wasn't strong or good enough to hold the other speedster inside. Danielle wasn't sure if she wanted to speak, or even see the man inside the cell. She did not want to fall for his words again, even if deep inside, she still loved him.
So when the morning came, and both Barry and Thawne were still sleeping, Danielle found the perfect opportunity to find about their new life, how much everything changed to what they knew before and how better, or worse, it got.
The first stop to finding about everything was the library, the only public place where any civilian could have access to the internet. So after finding a free computer, she began her research. Naturally, the first thing she looked up for was for any reports of the night Nora Allen was not murdered and what the people had to say about the accident.
"Suburban family attacked at night, claims a man dressed in yellow attempted to kill wife." The redhead began to read through. "The Allen family, as people around the street know, was attacked at night just few minutes before bedtime. Dr. Henry Allen was injured and thrown at the wall with minor bruises as his wife, Nora Allen, was threaten with a knife. Their son was found by the police blocks away from the house while their oldest daughter was found past out on the floor of the kitchen. Authorities claimed that the man who attacked the family was nowhere to be found, asks the people from Central City to keep an eye out."
A small smile appeared on her lips as she was done reading the newspaper article. After all, Barry's plan worked and their mother was safe and sound. So knowing this, she proceeded to look herself up on the web, hoping something about her life now could appear. It took her at least 15 minutes to finally find a social network of herself, hoping there was indeed some information that could help her find more about what happened to her in the last years.
"Let's see. Working place says Central City Hospital, so I'm still a psychiatrist, good. Place of study, Central City University. Relationship status…married?" The redhead stopped for a moment to read again that part. "Married to James Jeffrey. Now who might you be, James Jeffrey?"
Curiously, Danielle clicked on the profile of the man she was apparently married in this new life. His profile picture was the two of them, but there were also three little kids on the photo as well and a husky dog. The boy on the right had bright chocolate hair, just like the man, but his eyes were the green her eyes used to be before turning violet. The boy on the left was the same image of the man, only his hair was a combination of her own hair and the man's hair, a dark auburn type of hair and hazel eyes. Lastly, the little girl on the middle was the same image of herself. Her hair was bright orange and her eyes as green as grass.
Her right hand moved over her face. This new life of hers involved a new man on her life and three kids of her own. It was something she couldn't believe, but it was real. She thought on going with Barry, let him know about this new discovery, but she also thought of going to their old childhood home to visit her now alive parents. But as she wondered what to do, something on her jacket pocket began to ring, it was her cellphone showing a call from James.
"Hello?" The woman answered a bit unsure on how to do it since she did not know the man.
"Danielle, my love, you finally pick up. I am worried sick about you. Where are you? You didn't come home last night and when I woke up today, your side of the bed is still made." The redhead glanced at the clock on the computer, it was 9:21 am. Still early. "Danielle, are you there?"
"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I lost track of time." She lied, trying to think of some better excuse. "I went with my brother to grab some beers last night and we fell asleep outside my parent's house."
There was a small silence from the other side and she thought it was rather weird. "Where are you? And don't lie to me, Danielle. You and your brother don't even get along."
"What?" The redhead asked confused over his words.
"Are you drunk? You know what, don't even answer. Just tell me where you are and I'll pick you up."
Danielle silently sighed, apparently there was more to answer. "I'm at the central library. And by the way, I'm not drunk."
"I'll be there in 10." After those words, the line went dead.
She once again glanced at the computer with the profile of this man open. She took him in. He was tall, her head barely reached his shoulders, and she was not the small type of woman. His hair was light chocolate and light brown eyes, but his smile was what caught her attention. It was big and simply beautiful. He was a handsome man, she had to admit. And according to his profile, he was a medical doctor working at the CCH as well.
Once she closed everything on the computer, Danielle followed to go outside to wait for the man. She didn't know what car he drove, so her best idea was to stay on the stairs that led to the main entrance and wait.
She grabbed her phone once again, noticing how there were some adjustments on her list of contacts, most of the names were new and she did not know them. She looked for Barry's name, but there was nothing about him. What she did found was one familiar name on the list, Caitlin Snow. But she was surprised when she clicked on the information and found out Caitlin was the dental doctor for her kids.
A honk made her turn away from her phone and see a black Bentley car pull over the sidewalk. The door opened and it was indeed the man she was looking for minutes ago in the computer. She was still confused about all this, but decided to act like if everything was the same and so she headed down the stairs to meet the man.
When she was in front of him, Danielle thought it was okay to offer him a smile and he simply wrapped his hands around her to pull her into a hug. "You had me worried sick, babe."
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again." It was the only thing she thought on saying after they broke apart.
James opened the door for her and she stepped inside. The car was really beautiful outside but inside, it was a whole new world. When the man came inside again, he looked at her and examined like if she was one of his patients.
"Your mouth is not dry, your heartbeat is stable, and you don't look like you have a headache. You were not drinking, you were at the library doing it again, weren't you?" He began asking but she couldn't help to be confused on what he was asking. "Don't need to lie to me, Dan. I know you were probably searching for your brother in there."
Danielle fell silent, leaning back on the seat as she looked down to her hands. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was doing."
"You know that if there's anything troubling you, I can help." James's right hand moved to hold her own hand, and even if she thought it was a bit weird, she held it back.
The road back to their home lasted about fifteen minutes since the traffic was a bit heavy. She was a bit amazed when they arrived to their home, or more like their mansion. It was in an exclusive part of Central City and it was for sure the biggest one in the neighborhood. She was too amazed by the house, she didn't notice when James got out of the car and headed to open the door for her.
"You sure you are fine, my love? You seem a bit off." The man asked as they walked inside the place.
"I'm just…tired. That's all." Danielle responded and was taken by surprise when the man leaned over to kiss her. That's when she took the opportunity to get inside the man's thoughts, glance into her past and know everything about him and what happened to her.
They met in med school, he was already on his last year and she was still missing two good years. They had many dates and began a relationship since their fourth date. They were on their first year anniversary when James proposed and she said yes, though the wedding took place two years later, when Danielle graduated. Honeymoon in the Bahamas. They had their first child, James Jr., three years later, followed by George a year later, and finally, Nora a year and a half later. James came from a wealthy family and he was never ashamed to express it. Their kids were not spoiled, Danielle always made sure to keep them down to Earth, but James was the one to always buy them whatever they wanted.
In summary, she seemed to have a great life with him. And even if this was the first time she saw him, she could tell this was what she always wanted. So when they broke the kiss, she smiled at him and went to hang her coat on the near closet.
"I'll take a shower and make some cupcakes. I feel like I owe it to you and the kids." The redhead said with a happy tone that made James laugh.
"Honey, I'm sure they'll love it." He placed a kiss on her cheek before checking his watch. "I have to run, have a few patients to check before lunch. Call if you need anything, I love you."
With that said, James exited the house once again and left Danielle on her own. She stood there in the middle, not knowing the place at all. So she began exploring the rooms, finding the house quite big for them but it was still perfect. The garden was by far her favorite place. The grass was well taken care of, the flowers decorating were very colorful, there was even a pool by the middle with a Jacuzzi, and even a fireplace. On the far end of the garden, she even noticed the dog on the photo playing with what looked like a bone toy.
She proceeded to go upstairs, explore the room in there. The first bedroom was of course the main one, theirs. It was way too big and the things inside were too luxurious. It had a bathroom inside and two walk-in closets, one for him and one for her. The kid's bedrooms were on the other side of the upstairs living room, which was more of a game center with stuff for the kids to entertain, and even a small library with books of their likings. The three bedrooms belonging to them were big but not as big as the main one. She didn't feel like going inside, thinking it was an invasion of privacy toward the kids, so she decided to wait.
Just when Danielle was heading to her bedroom, her phone ringed. It was an unregistered caller, but she picked up either way. "Dr. Allen speaking?"
"Danielle! Where are you? I woke up and you were gone."
"Barry?" She asked while looking around and going inside the bedroom. "I went to the library, I had to do some investigation about my life in this time."
"I was thinking of doing the same, but I was thinking of going with our parents. Who better is there to tell us about our lives here?"
Danielle sighed, glancing out of the window. "Barry, I already found out about me. I am married and have three gorgeous kids. In fact, I just met my husband and he brought me home. Jesus, Barry, you have to see this place, it's unbelievable."
"You know I can get there now, right? Just tell me where it is."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Bar. James told me something that I found odd." While speaking, the redhead sat on the edge of the bed. "Apparently, we don't get along in this life, something happened and we don't talk to each other. I don't know why, but it's been years since we last talked."
"What are you saying? We are talking right now, aren't we?"
"I know we are, but we can't just do this if we don't know what is going on. I think you should meet with mom and dad, try finding out whatever that you can and we will find a way to fix this. But we can't do it from one day to another, just like that."
Barry took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, I'll go with them. But if something happens, call me right away."
"Yeah, don't worry about that, bro."
After the line went dead, Danielle placed her phone on the charging dock by the nightstand of what she thought was possibly her side of the bed and then went ahead to turn the shower on, taking a rather long shower.
When she was done and she was already drying her hair, she heard her phone ring once again. The caller on the ID said 'James' school' so she picked up right away. "Yes?"
"Dr. Allen? This is Mrs. Winter from Carmichael Elementary. I'm sorry to bother you, but it seems your son got into a fight with another of the students in here. He's doing fine, just a minor cut on his left eyebrow. We would appreciate it if you could pick him up, he'll be suspended for two days."
Danielle sighed from the other side of the phone and glanced at the clock. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Thank you, Mrs. Winter."
Just as she said, once Danielle finished getting ready, she firstly had to try and figure out which of the cars in the garage was hers and then, she took off to her childhood school. This feeling of having to pick her son from school was a very new feeling to her. The only time she got the time to have a child, he died so young and now she had three new kids which she can't even remember carrying or taking care of as they grew.
The school was the same as she remembered when she attended there, only a bit more modern. She walked to the receptionist and told her the reason of her visit. The woman nodded and asked her to wait as she went for the boy. But while waiting, Danielle felt every type of feelings inside to meet her first born boy. Though she had to calm herself down to not make it too obvious.
So when the receptionist came back, to her surprise, she came with the other two kids of hers. She was confused on why bring the other two with her but the receptionist simply said 'So you don't have to make another trip later on.'
The little girl, Nora, the moment she crossed the door she went ahead to embrace her mother and Danielle felt so much happiness inside of her while kneeling to her size and hugging her back. "Mommy, look, Mrs. Green asked us to draw our family and I drew us!"
The redhead grabbed the paper the little girl handed to her and looked at it. She was young, but the girl surely had some talent when it came to drawing. "It's beautiful, baby. We'll place it on the fridge when we get home, okay?"
The little girl nodded and Danielle stood up again, looking at the other two boys. She placed a kiss on both and motioned them to go outside. After making sure Nora and George were safely buckled on the back seat, Danielle went to the driver side and placed the seatbelt as well while glancing at James Jr.
"Do you want to talk about it?" James simply shook his head without wanting to look at his mother. "If you think I'll get angry, I won't. I just need you to tell me what happened."
As Danielle started the car and started to drive, the eleven year old sighed and crossed his arms. "There was a boy bothering one of the girls in my class. I tried to tell him to stop it but he didn't listen and he punched me so I did the same."
The former green eyed woman glanced at the boy, he reminded him of Barry when he was about his age and how he always would get in troubles. "Hey, between you and me, you did the right thing. That bully deserved it, he shouldn't have bothered that little girl."
James smiled at her words and felt so proud of himself. "Do you think dad will get mad?"
"Don't worry about it, honey." Her smile made him feel better. When the light turned red and she stopped the car, Danielle looked to the other two kids on the back and without second thought asked. "You're out early and I didn't make food, what do you guys want to eat?"
"Mommy, mommy! I want pizza!" The young girl exclaimed with a big smile.
"We always get pizza, Nora." George said with a roll of eyes. "Can't we get burgers or something different?"
"Well," Danielle said while looking at James. "What do you say, should we get pizza or burgers?"
James thought about it for a minute before glancing at his young siblings on the back. "I would rather have Big Belly Burger."
"Fine, then it's decided. Let's go and get some burgers and fries."
It took them about an hour in between reaching the place, ordering, and going back home to enjoy their meal. Danielle asked them all how their days went and was happy to hear all of them had a good time. Other than James' small fight, they all had a good time and that made the redhead feel pleased with them.
It was about five o clock, the kids were on their rooms doing their homework and Danielle was already covering the top of the cupcakes with some sweet icing when the doorbell of the house rang. She cleaned her hands on the towel next to her and went over to open the door. Her heart skipped a bit when realizing who was at the door, her own parents. She stood still, not even blinking or breathing.
"Honey, are you all right?" Her mother asked. Her mother was talking to her. Her mother stood there in front of her breathing and talking and…alive. "Danielle?"
"I'm…I'm sorry. It's just—"She stopped, she couldn't find words to say as she just rushed over and wrapped her arms around the other woman. "It's just so good to see you, mom."
"Oh," Nora Allen laughed as she returned the hug. "It's good to see you too, dear."
Danielle had to fight the forming tears on her eye as she then proceeded to hug her father. "What type of bug bit you today, princess?"
"I'm fine, dad." She said while backing from the door and letting them in. "What brings you guys over here?"
Nora glanced at her husband with a funny look before glancing back at her daughter. "It's Tuesday, dear, we always come here for dinner, remember?"
Danielle made an 'oh' expression with her face since she had no idea this was a usual thing for them to do. "Right. It's just that I have so many stuff on my mind lately and I forgot it was already Tuesday."
The three walked to the kitchen and just as they were doing so, small footsteps were heard coming in a hurry down the stairs. "Grandpa, grandma!" The youngest of her kids began yelling as she was the first one to appear in the kitchen.
Henry lifted the girl up and kissed her cheeks. "How's my little sunshine doing?" He asked while Nora got close to give her granddaughter a kiss as well.
"I'm fine." She responded with a laugh while Henry tickled her.
Soon after, the two boys appeared to say their hello. Nora crouched as the two boys kissed both sides of their grandma's cheeks. "James, what's that in your eyebrow?" Nora asked while standing up and looking at the boy's face.
"He got into a fight while defending a girl of her class from a bully." Danielle responded while winking at her son. "Reminds you of someone?"
Both Henry and Nora shared a look before Henry placed the little girl on the ground. "Runs in the family, apparently." Henry said with a chuckle.
"Have you guys finished your homework?" Danielle asked the three and they all shook their heads almost simultaneously. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go on then before your father gets home."
So as the three kids went back upstairs to their bedrooms, Danielle was left alone with her parents once again. She grabbed two cupcakes and handed it to them. "Coffee, milk, tea?"
"Coffee is fine, dear." Nora spoke in behalf of the two and the redhead went over to prepare some.
"So how was your day today? Any news?"
"Same old boring life, princess. Nothing new happens nowadays." Henry spoke as he took a bite of the cupcake. "But it looks like you have good news, it's not every day you act the way you are right now."
Danielle chuckled, serving coffee on three cups before going over to sit with them. "Oh, dad, there's no news this time. I'm just happy to have you guys with me."
"My dear, we will always be here for when you need us. You know where to find us if you ever need something." Her mother spoke as she placed a hand on top of hers, making her smile even more than before.
"So, you liked the cupcakes?" She asked to change the topic a bit.
"They're delicious."
The rest of the night went by perfect in her opinion. While Henry decided to go over and play with his grandsons, Danielle and her mother began to make some dinner for when James arrived. Together, they made some pasta with chicken. Danielle couldn't think of a time she was as happy as she was right now. She was with her mother cooking for her family, something in her other life could've never happened.
When James arrived from work, everyone came together in the table and began eating. She felt a small emptiness when thinking about her brother and how he was missing this moment. She still needed to know what happened between them that made them fall apart, but right now, the important thing was to enjoy the night with her family and with her parents.
When her parents left and her kids, along with her husband, were sleeping, Danielle messaged Barry to meet back in that place where they were keeping their guest. Barry agreed, saying he was already there feeding the man in the cage.
It took her ten minutes to arrive there, making sure she didn't make any sound and wake her family up. When she arrived, she opened the door and stepped inside. She heard voices, from her ex-lover and from her brother. They were, as always, having an argument. When they heard her coming over, Thawne stopped talking as their eyes met. Danielle had to take a deep breath and do her best to ignore the fact that he was there as she hugged her brother tightly.
"I just saw them, Bar. I couldn't believe it at first, but they were there." She began telling him with so much excitement. "We should've done this since the beginning, this life is everything I dreamed of."
Barry could see the shine in her eyes, something he noticed had been missing for quite a while now. But that shine was suddenly shut down when she began remembering her foster father and her foster sister. "I miss them. Joe and Iris, where are they now?"
"So far I know Joe is still working at the CCPD, we're partners but he never showed up today at work. Iris is still a reporter as well." The scarlet speedster said as he sat down on a nearby chair.
"I found Caitlin. Apparently, she's an ophthalmologist for my kids and I have her contact saved on my phone."
"Kids?" The voice caught them off guard. Thawne, who had been listening to their conversation couldn't keep himself from asking when she mentioned that word.
Danielle didn't turn around and Barry noticed the change of attitude in her. He held her arms to stop her from turning around. "Maybe we should take this talk somewhere else."
"No, it's fine." She nodded being sure of her decision. "I'm still a psychiatrist, still work at the CCH but I never left for Starling City, I've been here all this time. Have you found something about our problem?"
Barry shook his head. "I had no time to talk about it when I visited them, I just couldn't find the moment to do it."
"Well, I found some photos on my house. Whatever happened between us happened after my second son was born. There's pictures of you when he was born but nothing when the girl was born."
"Three kids? That's your life now?" Once again, Thawne's voice interrupted the both of them. This time, Danielle turned around to face him but Barry stood up and placed himself in front of the woman. "So this is the life you wanted? The life I couldn't give you and now you enjoy so much?"
"Barry, can you give us a moment?"
"Dan, I'm not sure this is a good idea, just—"
"It's fine." She interrupted him and Barry simply sighed, walked out of the place to leave the two of them alone. "What do you want from me?"
"What do I want from you?" Thawne asked with a scoff while holding himself with his hands on the glass. "You, I want you. Or have you forgotten so quickly about us?"
Danielle clenched her jaw, her eyes beginning to take a really light purple. "Unfortunately for me, you're not so easy to forget. I've been suffering every day since the day you…disappeared. But I moved on. And now you're back here as if nothing happened two years ago, and I'm having a hard time trying not to look at you and think about it all."
"You better get used to it, love, because your brother's plans are to keep me here forever." There was a smirk on his face once he said that and Danielle had to look away. "But I do wish you the best, have the life I wanted for you, me, and Thaddeus. While it lasts, at least."
That moment, Danielle's heart skipped a beat. She always had her son in her mind, but now that he said it, it was like reviving that moment all over again. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, my love, why spoil the fun just now?" He asked with the smirk still on his face. "Go back to your house and to your family, I'm sure they miss you, just like I miss you."
Danielle wanted to say something else but she knew this is what he wanted to achieve and she was not going to let him have the pleasure of confusing her. So with one last glance at him, she proceeded to exit the place, saying her goodbye to her brother and going back home to her family and her husband. Tomorrow was going to be a new day.
Hello, everyone.
So okay, first of all I want to say I'm sorry for the very late update. I'm going to be honest with you guys: I have lost my muse to keep on writing this story. I had big plans for the rest of the season 2 episodes when we finally knew who Zoom is but it appears that my mind only lets me keep focused on school and leaves me with no time and no inspiration to write.
I don't know if I can be able to continue the season 2 trama soon, so I apologize if I let some of you down. I'll try again now that Christmas break is less than a month away for me but I can't assure anything just yet. So please, don't hate me because I know some of you have been waiting for me to update.
This is a small thing my mind was able to come up after watching the first episode of season three. Danielle traveled back in time with Barry to save their mother and her life has some major changes. When the idea came into my mind I knew I had to write it and share it with you, so let me hear what you guys think.
Again, I don't know if I'll be able to continue writing season 2. I'll try but if I fail, I will make a chapter summarizing what happened just so I can be able to jump into season 3 since it's doing so good and I already have few ideas on mind.
Remember, this chapter is not a continuation from the last one updated here in the story, it's just something I wanted to share to let you know I'm still constantly trying to write more of this story and that it is not yet over. Also, it's a small introduction to season 3.
Let me hear your thoughts, and if you have any suggestions, you know they are always welcomed. I love you guys, until next time. x