Mary stood with Rudolph by the door, she leaned against him with his arms around her as she silently cried. This was the first time they'd heard their son was alive and back… Joan stood next to them, a hand on Mary's shoulder as quiet reassurance that what she saw was real. Jay stood with Barry on the other side of the room, quietly bickering about something. Bart leaned against the back of the couch, eating some chicken whizzies and looking bored. Irey stood at the back wall by the corner, trying to hide from the whole situation going on. She hadn't wanted any of this to come about.

Wally sat on the couch, Artemis beside him, calmly rubbing his back while he stared blankly down at the floor.

Moments ago Mary and Rudolph had walked in and they instantly froze upon seeing their boy and when Wally looked at them, Mary instantly broke down into tears. Pain of not hearing from him was what kept her from running to him, and was what made his father give him an evil glare. His glare didn't last long as he was happy to see his son.

Barry sighed about something Jay said and moved to sit on the couch across from Wally. He leaned on his knees and hung his head for a moment as he thought about how to put what he was going to say.

Jay looked over at Irey, a serious look on his face that made her only want to disappear more. She hid in the shadow of the rooms corner, she could be seen but she held so still she may have truly been invisible. Her grandparents and Joan had yet to see her, so it might have been working.

"Mary, Rudolph," Barry began but was quickly interrupted.

Wally stood up, his fists clenched for a moment. "Please come and sit down with us," He said, not looking up at them. After a moment and a long breath, he relaxed and glanced up at them, sadness riddling his face. "Please Mom."

Artemis scooted down to the end of the couch to make room for them to sit with her and Wally. Mary pulled Wally down to sit next to her as she did and finally hugged him, holding on to him tightly.

Wally was momentarily shocked by this. "Mom…I'm sorry. I know I should have contacted you right away—"

"—I'm just glad you're alright, Wally. I'm just glad you're here," She said softly, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'm happy, oh so happy."

Wally wrapped his arms around his mother, soaking in the love she was giving to him. He blinked to keep the tears away but was having a hard time with it. "I love you, Mom"-he looked at Rudolph-"Dad." Rudolph wrapped his own arms around the two in a large and warm hug.

Irey watched the happy family reunion with a small smile, happy that it seemed to be going okay so far. Jay leaned against a short bookshelf, looking to his right out the window at space. Joan stood behind the couch Wally and them sat at scolding Bart for being so messy while he munched and tried to convince him to go get a napkin.

Bart groaned and sulked out of the room, coming back a moment later without the Whizzies and rubbing his hands on a napkin. He smiled at Irey but said nothing, sensing she didn't want to be added or noticed by the others. She returned the smile and watched him jump into one of the side chairs with a broad smile.

"As you realize we wanted to have a serious family meeting as there is more to talk about then the fact that Wally has returned home," Barry said. "There are a few more things we'd like to go over with everyone here."

Joan walked over to stand next to Jay, holding his hand. "Where is Iris, Barry?" She asked.

"Work. Had to work late on a story," He replied quickly.

The three of them broke up the hug session and sat back. Mary though, didn't let go of Wally and kept an arm held around his, holding on to his hand like he was six years old again. "Well get it out Barry," Mary cooed. "I'd like to be able to actually see my son at some point."

Barry smirked and then looked at Wally. "This was called because he needs to talk to us, not so much of us talking." Artemis instantly looked down at her hands as she rubbed them together. "Wally, I know that you don't like this and want to wait until your ready, but Jay and I need to hear about this now. Not later when something happens."

Wally frowned, glancing down at his hand in his mothers.

"What happened while you were in the-" Barry glanced at Irey – "Speed Force?" Irey nodded.

Wally's frown turned into more of a scowl. "I don't understand why you guys want to know so badly? Irey could tell you what it's like just as much as I could."

"Who is—"

"We'll get to that after, Joan," Jay said, glancing at Irey in the corner.

Start with the problematic and end with the possible good news, Irey thought. Total Barry move, she smirked. That was how he handled most things in the future as well, bad first and then the good to make sure he ended situations on a good note and didn't have others leave angry.

"We need to hear it from you," Barry stated, completely serious. "I can tell that it's been on your mind and it's keeping you distant from all of us."

"You've been hanging around Canary way too much," Wally commented with a small laugh.

Barry said nothing and there was a long moment of silence.

"Wally," Mary coddled, squeezing his hand. "You know that we are here for you, right? That you can talk to us about anything?"

Wally looked up at her and then around the room at his family. "I know…" He looked down in shame and Irey did the same, knowing exactly how he felt. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's that…I'm ashamed of it." He released Mary's hand and stood up and walked to the edge of the couch beside Artemis.

Even to Artemis this was news and she looked mildly shocked. "Wally…"

Wally looked at her with a small smile and then turned to look at Barry, serious. "You want to know what happened while I was inside the "Speed Force"? You want me to explain to you what it was like to be slowly…eaten? Have all your powers taken from you? And yet still be so happy, so calm. Be so at peace when you knew that you left with so much left to do." He glared down at the floor and then looked up at Irey. "And then when someone came to save me, I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave the peace and happiness I had inside of there, that I tried to pull my savior into the Force with me. I purposefully put Irey in the position to be caught by the Force because I wanted so much to stay in there….

"I didn't want to come back even though I knew what I'd be coming back to," he continued, looking at his loved ones. "I wanted to stay and it was going to do what it could to keep me there. On my own, I would never have gotten out and would have just…become a part of the Force."

They all held their own looks of shock and sympathy. Artemis stood up and hugged Wally, tears lining her eyes. "I love you Wally," She said softly. "No matter what." Wally stared straight ahead of him, his eyes watering again. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, missing what he had deprived himself of.

Jay stood up straight, clearing his throat. "The Force, it kept you there?"

Wally pulled away slightly from Artemis, "Yeah. It wanted me there more than I wanted to be at first. It grows on you, pulling on every fiber of your being and pulling you into it. Making you a part of it…"

Jay crossed his arms, looking troubled by his thoughts.

"What is this Speed Force?" Rudolph asked with a tone of concern.

"It's where our power comes from," Bart piped, speaking for the first time. "It's what gives us our powers."

Rudolph and Mary both had a look of horror. Rudolph asked, "And this was what…eating my son?"

They were all silent as none of them had the answer to it.

Nightwing stood at the Commands on the top deck, typing rigorously on the holographic computer screens. He had six screens open with information about time travel, what info they had on boom tubes, and general information on time based technologies.

"Looking to build yourself a time machine?" Barbara quipped.

She walked into the deck from the Zeta tubes, walking over and looking up at the screens he so intently stared at. "I'm looking through all of the options," He stated not looking at her.

"For returning Irey to her own time?" She asked, but knew the answer. "You realize that it is probable that we do not have the technological means to build a time machine. Both her and Bart came from the future, using future technology."

Nightwing began to type quickly again and pulled up a seventh screen that overlapped most of the others that held information and picture specs of Bart's time machine. "Bart's was destroyed with the Mountain but that doesn't mean we can't learn from his design."

"And why would Bart still be here if he could've built himself another?" Barbara crossed her arms and stood next to Nightwing, looking up at him. "This time doesn't support their technology, Dick. We'd fail as soon as we began. Did you not see how hurt Irey looked that she was stuck? Bart didn't have much of a problem but he had a plan to stay from the start. Irey didn't, she had planned on going back. None of what's happened she planned for."

"And you've talked to her about it?" He asked, slightly cynical.

"Yes."

Dick glanced at her and then sighed. "I'm just looking at the options Babs. Wally is my best friend and I don't want him or his family to have to suffer through anything if they don't have to."

She grinned, "What a kind guy. Now go out on patrol and let yourself think about it for a couple of hours. If you come up with something, talk to Wally, or better yet, Irey."

Nightwing smirked, "Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't said anything to her."

"Why not?" She asked. "It's not like she bites. If anything she's afraid we might. She's a kind and good kid, quite the Speedster."

He smiled at her praise, though she probably wouldn't say that to Irey. "I don't really know. I've just been worried about Wally and Artemis, I haven't stopped to ask her how she's doing." He rubbed a hand through his hair. "Is she doing okay?"

Barbara smirked and shook her head as she walked off. "Ask her when you get back."

Hey all :)

This chapter has been stewing in my mind for a while (had a bit of writers block honestly) but I finally got it out. Added a little Barbara and Dick at the end, I know it doesn't make much sense to be in there but I promise I will tie it in.

Sorry for the long wait for the chapter, next will be soon!

Enjoy

XD