.:7:.

Harrison leaned back in his seat and placed his hands on his stomach. His blue eyes trained on the wall across the room from him as a pensive look came across his face. To anyone that stumbled upon him in his home, at least, they would've seen pensive. Instead, he was able to perfectly mask the anger that was rolling through his body in surfable waves. Not just because of the Black Flash making its appearance, not because of the danger it was currently putting Barry in, but because he hadn't seen it coming in a sense. Not to say he had to know everything that went on in everyone else's lives, but it would've been nice to know about that danger when he had the chance.

Not to mention he was still very aware that the Assassination Bureau and the Suicide Squad weren't completely disbanded and there was a chance they could return. He was angry that his co-workers suddenly went shuttling off to Starling City without mentioning to him when or why they would be going. There was so much going on in Central City they couldn't afford to do that. If they truly wanted to help Oliver Queen get control over Digger Harkness and whatever else was running around over there, that was fine, they just needed to let him know first. Mostly so that he wouldn't find himself in the predicament he currently was, with Joe standing off to the left of him with a notepad open in his hand and waiting for his response to what he had just told him.

"I'm sorry, could you please repeat your question," Harrison said, turning back to the two detectives. "Do I think that Brady is in any danger?" He did his best to keep from his natural reaction to cross his legs on their own. Instead, he bent down and made a show of lifting his right leg over his left one. He leaned back and trained his cold blue eyes on the two men once more.

Joe cleared his throat as he shifted his feet. "I'm not accusing anyone of anything," he reminded Harrison. "I just want to get some answers. Despite my word that things are okay with Cadence and Brady, his safety is still being questioned. Especially considering he was seen getting on a midnight bus and demanded to be taken to STAR Labs, your facility." Harrison's mouth twitched at the corner for a moment. His silence causing Joe to cross his arms. "Look, I already talked to Captain Singh and tried to let him know there was nothing wrong that night, but the bus driver has insisted that we call Child Protective Services—"

"Child Protective Services?" Harrison repeated, his eyebrows suddenly flying upwards.

Though he managed to keep his cool within the face of a lot of things was the most surprising. He knew the implications of the message of CPS being called meant. It was something he and Tess had talked about a lot when they had gotten pregnant with Cadence; not because they were essentially worried about it, but because of the nature of their work and the long hours that was put in they were sure at some point someone was bound to get the wrong impression about their work and their parenting skills. It may have been a bit of a paranoid thought but they were being realistic.

"It's not my call, but considering how the CCPD had investigated Michael Bloom in Brady's kidnapping, knowing that she's a single mother, and then finding out that he was running around on his own past city curfew they feel that it is best that things be checked out."

"So what is it that you want from me, Detective West?" There was a hint of malice in his voice. Not that Joe knew the truth, that he was feeling nothing but incredible amounts of anxiety, of wanting to protect Cadence. True, he hadn't been able to be in her life the way he had always wanted, but she was his daughter and he was going to do his best to make sure she was protected. It was all he could do to make up for lost time.

"I just want some answers," Joe replied calmly. He suddenly appeared tired. "I don't want this as much as you do, all because we understand what it is that has been going on. But we can't tell everyone about metahumans not to mention I'll be investigated myself if I don't go through with Captain Singh's orders."

"Well, considering the things that I can't tell anyone else, I can understand why his safety would be questioned from time to time," Harrison said slowly. "However, when it comes to the things that I can tell others, I can honestly say there is no one I know that is a better parent." Including myself. He didn't say that part out loud; there were still some secrets that had to be kept within STAR Labs and those that were within their vigilante work of Starling City. If anyone else was to find out, it would be on their own time and when they felt it was needed to know.

"Thank you." Joe flipped his notebook shut and turned to walk away.

"Detective West," Harrison called after him, causing the African-American man to stop and turned back towards him. "Do you mind pushing my wheelchair over here?" He leaned forward, resting his hands in his lap. "I have a sudden need to go visit my old home."

"Your old home?" Joe repeated, eyes shifting for a moment. "Where?"

"Starling City."

"So while Barry and Oliver go to get information from Captain Lance we're just supposed to go Christmas shopping?" Catlin asked as she lifted her head from putting on her earring. She turned around to face Cadence, who was walking around the hotel room, picking up discarded sheets from the floor where Cisco and Barr had slept on the floor the night before. Unfortunately, Barry's room hadn't been figured out as of the last night and Caitlin and Cisco hadn't counted on the issue with Digger taking so long that they didn't think to get a hotel room. Brady had been quick to give up his bed for Caitlin to use so that he could sleep on the floor with the other boys.

Despite the snoring they had all managed to fit comfortably in the one room.

"Don't you think that's kind of weird? There has to be something else that we can do."

"If there's one thing I've learned from being in the Assassination Bureau it's that you don't dwell on things that you could or should be doing," Cadence explained. "You just go with what is good for you at the moment. Follow orders." She folded the sheets and walked them over to the closet. "It's not good to act like life doesn't still go on."

Caitlin was about to agree when everything happened in a sudden flurry of motion. She heard the door to the closet open, Cadence's shriek, and Brady's laughter before she saw Cadence suddenly teleported to the other side of the room, holding a hand to her chest. "Brady!"

"Gotcha, mom!" Brady declared, climbing out of the closet.

"Ugh." The fire metahuman waved a hand in front of her face to wave away the smoke that had erupted around her. "You made me smoke!" She crossed the room in a few strides and reached out, tickling him along the stomach and ribs. "Don't do that again." She ruffled his hair and lightly swatted him on the butt. "Get your shoes on, we're going out shopping."

"Presents!" Brady cried, his eyes growing wide. "I know what I want this year!" He quickly dashed over to his shoes and shoved them onto his feet. "C'mon, let's go! Let's go! We're missing valuable shopping time."

Caitlin laughed and grabbed her purse from the back of the chair and slung it over her shoulder. She followed Cadence and Brady out of the hotel room and over to the one that Iris and Eddie was sharing. Cadence barely had to knock before the door was opened and the young couple came out, already dressed in their warm clothes.

"Let's go! I'm ready to see what Starling City has in store for us," Iris beamed. She looped her arm through Eddie's and the group headed out of the hotel, hailed a taxi van into the center of the city, and started their walk around Starling City to find Christmas gifts. "Keep an eye out for something for Dad," Iris said to Eddie, leaning into his side. "I think if you get him something to, he'll warm up to your more."

"How much more warm can he be?" Eddie asked with a light laugh. "We're great as partners and I've proven that I'm protecting you very well. What else does he need?" He grinned at his girlfriend and Caitlin and Iris exchanged a knowing glance.

"That means you have no idea what to get him for Christmas doesn't it?" Caitlin asked him. He flushed lightly, causing Cadence, Iris, and Caitlin all to laugh at him.

"That's alright, finding a gift for the parents of anyone is always difficult," Cadence reassured him. "I mean, I still don't know what to get my Mom and Dad every year." Caitlin wanted to ask if she ever had gotten them a gift since she was kicked out but realized it would be the worst time to ask. A sudden wind blew and Caitlin's eyebrows furrowed when she noticed Eddie, Brady, and Iris shiver, pulling their coats on even tighter though she and Cadence didn't seem to feel it. Cadence, as she understood, had a higher body temperature and with her powers she didn't get as cold as quickly, but why wasn't she so affected?

"Mom?" Brady moved faster to keep up with his mother's pace and lightly tugged on the bottom of her light sweater. "Should I get something for Ryder?"

Caitlin held her breath. She didn't think Eddie and Iris knew about Brady being Cadence's son. But if they were surprised they didn't show it. Instead, Iris cleared her throat and asked. "Who's Ryder?"

"My Dad," Brady piped up. "He came with us to Central City." He turned back to his mother with wide eyes, still waiting for her answer on whether or not he should get him a Christmas gift. The fire metahuman chewed her lower lip as she thought about it.

"You can do what you want," she finally replied. "If you think you want to get him a gift, then go ahead and pick him out a gift." Brady nodded but didn't say anything else. His face was screwed up in a serious expression that Caitlin could only guess meant that he was thinking about what to get the man he barely knew.

They stopped into a high end store and looked around the pieces that had been laid out. Caitlin scanned over the watches, twisting her mouth back and forth as she studied them. Her mind immediately switched over towards Harrison. Would he want this as a gift? She asked herself, looking over the watch. He's a stickler for being on time but I don't think I've ever seen him wear a watch so much. Then again, Caitlin, you're not really sure the kind of things he's really into as it is. You don't really spend much time together talking. She felt her face flush and used the movement of moving her hair from her face to hide it.

"Watches huh?" Iris asked, coming up to her side. "Is it for your Dad?"

"Dr. Wells," Caitlin replied without thinking about it. She quickly backtracked, trying to hold her nerves in. "I mean…Cisco and I were talking about what to get him this year, but I'm not really sure." She looked over towards Cadence who was studying boxes that held matching ties, cufflinks, and pocket hankies. "What do you think, Cade?"

She turned around and glanced at the watches. "He doesn't really go for things like that. He's kind of…simple. I was going to get him a new set of clothes or something." She shrugged. It was then Caitlin knew she was having just as much trouble figuring out a gift as she was. She had seen Harrison Wells as a family friend that appeared at a few of her birthdays, maybe a Christmas here or there, maybe a science fair, but didn't really know about him in the fatherly way he wanted to come across towards her. To keep the tension at bay, she turned to Eddie. "We need a man's perspective, what do you think Dr. Wells would want as a gift?"

Eddie's eyes widened for a moment as he thought about it. He didn't really know much about Dr .Wells, never having really met him himself. But he was a man, he could figure out something that all men wanted. "You can do a lot of things for a gift. I think the watch is the best way to go, but if that's not really his thing then you can give him some sort of an electronic; an ebook reader. Maybe some clothes; a cardigan?"

"Would you give my Dad a cardigan?" Iris asked Eddie with an incredulous look on her face. As he tried to stammer an answer she laughed, placing her hand on his chest. "Babe, Barry wears cardigans."

"So I'll get one for Barry," Eddie said easily. Brady laughed to himself, easily noticing Eddie's plight. "For Joe I'll get him a new box of ammo that he can threaten me with, I'm sure he'll have a good time with that." Even though he was kidding, Caitlin could see a little bit of fear in his eyes. Caitlin wouldn't put it past Detective West if he had already threatened Eddie with a shot just for knowing they were dating.

"I think I'll just get him the watch," Caitlin decided on the spur of the moment. It wasn't a gift from her and Cisco anyway; it was a gift from her. Which was just as nerve wracking. She had no idea what they were, they hadn't talked about giving each other gifts and now there she was, picking one out without a second of thought.

Noticing movement out of the corner of her eye, Caitlin noticed that Iris suddenly shivered, bringing her hands up to her shoulders and hugging them tightly. "Ooh! You'd think by now they would know it's not a good idea to blast the air conditioner. It's so cold already."

She immediately flashed back to the same thing being said when they were in the fight against the Suicide Squad and Assassination Bureau. There were times where she had suddenly become cold or someone around her had mentioned a chance in temperature. Harrison had even implied something…The sudden realization startled her and she dropped the watch, nearly cracking it as it fell back onto the display.

"Are you okay, Caitlin?" Eddie asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She jumped. Not because of her physical attraction to him that she thought had gone away—not that she would even think of trying something, she wasn't a cheater (would it even be considered cheating?) and she only attracted to him physically there wasn't anything else there—but because if there was something going on, she didn't want to hurt him on accident. Most of it could have been chalked up to a coincidence but it was better to be sure than to not know.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Caitlin said quickly. She caught Cadence's eye and one look from the metahuman let her know she wasn't believed. Lowering her head, Caitlin walked to the register to pay for the watch being careful not to touch the cashier directly. Okay, so we she was starting to become paranoid, but she couldn't help it.

Who knew what could happen.

"Mom, maybe we can give this to Ryder?" Brady suggested picking up a leather bound wallet with a chain on it.

"I think that's a good choice, bud," Cadence said and handed over a bill and he went up to the counter to pay for it. Caitlin gave a small smile and held onto her bad as tightly as she could, noticing it was starting to shake. She really did not feel well. A warm hand on her wrist calmed her down a bit and she turned to find Cadence standing next to her. "What's wrong?" She asked her.

"I don't know," Caitlin admitted under her breath so that Eddie and Iris didn't hear them. Which was strange because she suddenly felt a whole lot better. The anxiety was gone, she wasn't shaking anymore. She didn't know for sure but she had the feeling that Cadence was using her healing powers to help her in some way. "I just…I suddenly felt so wrong."

"Let's get out of here then, get you something to eat. I doubt having nothing but coffee for breakfast helped out so much." Cadence removed her hand before looping her arm through her friends. "Dr. Snow, I'm prescribing you to eat something."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Nash," Caitlin replied and grinned at her friend, causing her to smile back. Then their cell phones buzzed with a message from Cisco that immediately caught their attention. They got a pinpoint on Marcos and they were going to head in to flush him out of his hide out. "Actually, that's probably a good idea." She raised her voice and turned to Eddie and Iris. "We're going to get something to eat. We kind of woke up late and didn't get a chance for some breakfast. Why don't you guys keep shopping for a while and we'll meet back up with you."

"Oh, well, if you're sure," Iris replied. "If you see Barry, tell him that I'm looking for him."

"No problem. Thanks for inviting us out, Iris," Cadence said to her. "Even though it was pretty short, I had a good time." Iris grinned and nodded, returning the sentiments and waved as Cadence tightened her grasp along Caitlin's arm and took Brady's hand before leaving the store. She walked for a few moments before looking around. "Coast clear?"

"Coast clear," Caitlin replied.

They teleported back to the Arrow Cave.

Barry raced through the streets of Starling City. Even though he had the speed, he was running a little late meeting up with Roy, Cadence, and Oliver. He hadn't had a lot of time to search the city the last time he had been there, helping Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity with their issue, while discovering Oliver's identity as the Arrow. As he went, shooting around street corner and starting back towards the coordinates once more, he felt a cold chill run down his spine.

For a moment he hoped that when he twisted his head around to see what it was that had caused the chill that he would see Captain Cold had suddenly managed to take on powers of speed and was shooting his cold gun at him. No. He couldn't be so lucky. Looking behind him he found the Black Flash on his trail, its menacing grin placed upon him as it continued to race along as hard as it could. Barry gritted his teeth and pumped his arms and legs as hard as he could, hoping to put some distance between them.

"You' can't out run me!" The Black Flash declared.

Just watch me, Barry thought. He sucked in a deep breath and put out another burst of speed, dodging back and forth along the streets of Starling City, moving out of the way of cars and people that came into his way, hoping to lose the Black Flash. But it continued to stay right behind him, far enough way to keep Barry feeling the pressure, but not close enough to catch him. Barry continued to run and run and as he took another corner and went straight towards the area where the others were waiting he felt the presence as was gone. He came to a stop in front of Oliver, Roy, and Cadence, placing his hands on his knees as he fought to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" Cadence asked, noticing as he looked over his shoulder every now and then. "Barry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Barry shook his head, standing up straight and bringing his hands to his hips. He shook his head. "Nothing…it's nothing." He then caught his breath and looked around at the abandoned area they were standing in, streetlamps illuminating a few patches in orange light. "So this is where he's supposed to be?" He shook his head and regarded Oliver with a grin. "I can't believe you're a member of the Russian Mob."

"What?!" Cadence's eyes widened behind her goggles.

"It's a long story," Roy said.

"Former member," Oliver corrected him. "Probably. We had a falling out last year." He looked around at the cars that sat around them, blocking them off from view of the entrance they were standing beside. "This is where they run their cyber crime operation." He looked over his shoulder as Diggle walked up to eth group in a few quick strides.

"Clinch the coast everywhere," he said.

Oliver nodded and came up with a quick plan of attack. "Roy, take the southeast corner. Cadence the southwest. Barry, scan the perimeter." Barry nodded and shot out of the area, circling the perimeter a few times and taking out anyone that came his way. He finally came to a stop after knocking out a bunch of men that were standing guard and turned around to find Oliver standing behind him, arm pulling back at the string of his bow, pointing an arrow at him.

He grinned. "I had eight seconds to kill!" Oliver let out a low growl under his breath as he relaxed his stance and walked over to the men to examine them. Barry's shoulders slumped as Oliver's gaze swept over him in a harsh glare. "Was that wrong?" Still, Oliver didn't respond as he moved by Barry and slowly headed inside. "What?" Twisting his mouth to the side, Barry followed Oliver inside before taking off once more.

He spotted Marcos, who tried to get up from his seat, and moved into his way. "My friend wants to have a word with you," he said as Marcos stared at him, eyes wide. All of a sudden there was a whistling sound as Roy's arrow shot by Marcos's head, imbedding the tip into the wall. Roy came around from a corner and pointed another arrow at him. Marcos turned to try and run and got struck in the jaw with a hard punch from Cadence, effectively blocking him off.

Oliver finally came up on Marcos's last side and stalked towards him, holding one up of Digger's boomerangs. "You made this for Digger Harkness," he growled, voice distorted with his voice modifier. "I want to know where he is!"

"Go to hell," Marcos replied with a hint of smugness in his voice.

In return, Oliver picked up an Arrow and shot it towards Marcos. The man screamed as the arrow embedded itself into his shoulder. Barry gasped, eyes widened as he took a step back from Marcos. He first looked over at Roy, who continued to watch the spectacle as if it were something he faced all the time, which in reality it was. Then he looked over at Cadence, silently pleading with her and she looked back at him, her right eyebrow ticking upwards for a second but she didn't make a move to stop Oliver either. Looking down at her hands, he could see the fingertips starting to turn orange, ready to use her powers in case the time came.

Barry gasped again, lower jaw dropping.

Oliver walked over towards Marcos, hand sticking out. "The only thing that hurts worse than an arrow going in is an arrow coming out!" His words increased in power and volume as he grabbed onto the arrow and started to pull, causing Marcos to scream one more.

"W-What are you doing?" He managed to get out.

"Getting some information!" Oliver snapped back. He kept his eyes trained on Marcos. "WHERE IS HE?"

"I don't know!" Marcos cried. But Oliver continued to pull not he arrow.

"He says he doesn't know," Barry insisted once Oliver continued to pull on the arrow, increasing the tortured screams of pain that came from his victim. He stared at Oliver, watching as there was no expression on the man's face as he waited for the truth to come out of Digger's accomplice.

"He's lying!" Oliver continued. "If you want to be able to raise your arm again, tell me where he is!"

Roy closed his eyes and turned his head away.

Cadence let out a breath through her nose and flexed her fingers.

"Here!" Marcos cried, holding up a phone with his free hand. "Here! He gave me this! It's encrypted. I had an order ready for him. I called he came. I don't know where he is, I swear." Whether from the pain or from fear, Marcos started to cry. "I swear!"

Oliver took the phone from his hand and motioned to Barry. The Flash grabbed onto Marcos and raced him to the SCPD, placing him in Captain Lance's office and grabbed a pair of handcuffs, linking him to the filing cabinet in the corner of the room, and then shot back to the warehouse, pulling his hood down. Now that there was no one around, they didn't have to worry about keeping their identities secret. Oliver, Roy, and Cadence followed suit.

"You tortured that guy," Barry said to Oliver, staring at him as if he had just been slapped across the face.

"I interrogated him," Oliver corrected the speedy metahuman.

Interrogated? What? Barry stared at his friend before taking in a deep breath releasing it in an incredulous sound. He couldn't keep this quiet. He had to say something. What Oliver had just done was wrong. "When my friends said your tactics made you a criminal I defended you because I thought you were supposed to be a hero." Oliver shifted his gaze away, setting his jaw. "That you were supposed to be better than them."

"There's a difference between wanting to get information and putting ourselves in danger," Roy came to his mentor's defense. He tightened his grip on his bow. "There are some times that we have to do thing that may be unorthodox to be sure that we can close down a case before someone innocent gets hurt."

"Like you did with him?" Barry shot back. "You don't have to work like that! There are other things you can do!"

"Barry." The steel in Oliver's voice immediately caught the attention of the younger vigilante. "You live in Central City where it's sunny all the time and your enemies get cute nicknames." He took a step closer towards Barry and glared at him with such intensity that Barry had to take a step back in fear that he was going to be hit. "You're not in Central City. I live in a city where my best friend was murdered, where a woman that I loved got shot full of arrows and went tumbling off of a roof top, where my mother was murdered right in front of me. So before you—"

"—my mother was murdered in front of me, too." Barry's interruption caused Oliver to falter for a moment. His face softened for a moment, realizing there was something the two of them had in common, but then Barry continued with as much emotion as Oliver. "But I don't use my personal tragedies as an excuse to just torture whoever pisses me off."

"Barry," Cadence called in warning.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Barry. I'm not as emotionally healthy as you are." Oliver started to leave the underground lair with Oliver trailing behind him. He started to check Barry with his shoulder, but then stepped aside so that he didn't run into the young man, and continued. Roy looked over at Barry and Cadence before following his friend.

"What's wrong with you?" Barry managed to choke out.

Oliver whipped around and pointed at the metahuman. "When we agreed that you were staying it was on my terms. If it is proving too difficult for you, you know your way back to Central City!" He and Roy left.

Barry lifted his arms then slapped them back to his side. He turned towards Cadence, who had her arms crossed over her chest. "I can't believe this! Why didn't you back me up?" He demanded, walking toward her. Her next words caused him to stop in his tracks.

"Because he's right," she said simply.

"Wha…?"

"We're not in Central City, Barry," Cadence said, repeating Oliver's words. "Things don't work the same way here as they did there. And in general!" She paused for a moment. "You can't go around thinking that everyone is a human that there is good in everyone that does bad things! There are people out there that are nothing but pure evil and they will do any and everything to do what they want to do without a thought to the people they are hurting or killing in the process and the best way to deal with them is to get rid of them." Her eyes searched Barry's as a moment of silence stretched between them. "Sometimes it's hard decision to make but you have to make that decision before someone else gets hurt."

"Is that what you did?" Barry asked. "Is that what you had to do within the Assassination Bureau? Is that what you had to do to try and justify trying to kill me?"

Anger flashed through Cadence's eyes like a flame and she stepped up to him before reaching out and shoving him in the chest. "As a matter of fact, yes! Many times it was something that I had to do! For my own reasons!" She took a deep breath before continuing, her voice getting louder and louder with each word. "I got rid of many evil in some ways that you don't want to think about all because I knew what would happen if I didn't! It's the way the world works, not everything is going to go your way, not everything is going to work the way you think it should, and not everything is going to be right. The sooner you realize that the sooner you'll stop being selfish and think that your way is the best way!" She took a step back. "Or else you're going to end up killed."

She teleported from the lair and Barry turned away, running his hands into the air.

He didn't know what to do.

A/N: Whoo, got another chapter done in the Arrow verse of Flarrow. To those wondering there will be some more laid-back/humor/friendship/family/romance moments coming along in the Arrowverse within the next few chapters.

To be honest there are many times where I've felt like not continuing the story despite how much I love it. I'm not getting a lot of feedback for the story and it can be pretty discouraging, I'm not the kind of person that will ever hold a story hostage for reviews but some kind words can be pretty motivating. But thanks to Alisha Winchester Collins and Guest who reviewed the last chapter.

Cheers,

-Riles