This is the last chapter. I reserve the right to write more if the mood strikes me, however. I didn't intend for this one to be very long. I'm sorry if that disappoints you, but I hope you like this. Loosely based on a recent episode.
Chapter 3: No More Hiding
******Two Days Later******
Patty wasn't sure what to do. Barry seemed to be avoiding her for some reason, and she didn't know why. Then he suddenly disappeared out of town. Joe wouldn't tell her why he had to leave so suddenly. Patty wasn't sure why the two of them could not seem to give her straight answers. It was starting to piss her off. Sure, she had her own secrets. However, she wasn't going out of her way to constantly mislead both of them. It was becoming more and more apparent that both her boyfriend and her partner were hiding something.
She'd come across another polgara demon and was able to kill it without interference from Joe. As she was heading back to her car, she spotted a man who looked exactly like Dr. Harry Wells. There had been a call claiming someone else had spotted him stealing something at a lab, but since the man was dead, the claim had been dismissed. Now, though, she was looking at Dr. Well's double and knew something strange was going on. She decided to follow him.
When he went inside Star Labs, she was more than a little surprised. Silently, she followed behind him, staying out of sight. However, when he stepped out into the open, she pulled her gun.
"Stop!" she ordered. Caitlin Snow, a friend of Barry's, didn't seem surprised to see the man. This was becoming more and more of a mystery.
"Patty, he's not who you think he is!" Caitlin called out.
Patty hesitated, but when the man moved with something in his hands, her instincts took over, and she shot her weapon. "Oh god! What did you do?" Caitlin gasped, shooting her a look of anger.
"I shot a dangerous criminal that faked his death!" she insisted. She didn't understand what was going on here or why Caitlin, who she thought was a law-abiding citizen, was suddenly harboring a criminal.
"He's not the Wells you know!" Caitlin said, pulling out her phone and calling someone.
"I'll call an ambulance," Patty said, reaching for her own phone.
"You've done enough. Just go!" Caitlin said.
"Excuse me?" Patty asked in disbelief.
Joe appeared. "You heard her. You can go. I've got this," Joe told her.
Patty gave him an incredulous look. "You've gotta be kidding me! I just shot a criminal that it supposed to be dead! He's the reason your old partner is dead, right?" Patty asked. "Why should I leave? I have to file a report. He needs to be taken in."
"Look, Patty, you need to trust me. Go. I got this," Joe told her, giving her that look that broke no argument.
Patty was beyond frustrated, but she didn't want to push things further—not while a man was bleeding in front of them.
A few days later, Barry returned. He claimed that a friend in Star City needed his help. Patty debated on whether or not Joe would've told him about her shooting Dr. Well's. Finally, she asked, "Barry, you and Joe are really close and share everything, right?"
"Of course. He raised me while my dad was in prison," Barry said.
His reply made her upset. If Joe had told him about her shooting Wells, why hadn't he asked her about it? A bit sick of the deception, she prodded, "Did he tell you what happened with me while you were gone?"
Barry weighed his answer. He wasn't sure if he should explain the entire Earth 2 mess or not. However, how could be begin to talk about Wells if he didn't? "He told me that you shot a man dressed as Dr. Wells, who came into Star Labs," Barry said tentatively.
"Is the man alive? I'm his partner, and he's shut me out completely!" she complained.
"The guy is alive," Barry said without saying more.
Patty looked at him expectantly. When he remained silent, she exploded, "You know what, Barry, I'm tired of this! I really like you, but you obviously don't trust me at all. Not enough anyway. Joe treats me like I'm a helpless girl. He ignores police procedure completely, expecting me to trust him, yet he can't even give me even half the same respect. I might've killed a man, and he's said nothing!"
"You've kept a pretty big secret of your own," Barry countered. "You told Joe that the Flash killed the thing on the roof. But Joe talked with the Flash. He knows you lied to him. You want him to trust you? How about you be honest? Joe told me about the jump you made. He also talked to Caitlin about if a woman her size could break the creature's neck." Barry paused and gave her a pointed look. "How did you become a metahuman? You weren't in Central City when the explosion at Star Lab occurred."
Patty was taken off guard by Barry's questions. He had checked into her. Joe knew she'd lied. Guilt flashed through her. Then she realized what his questions had revealed. "Joe knows who the Flash is?" she asked in surprise.
Barry blinked. How did things unravel so fast? They were sharing a coffee before their shift, a previous innocuous activity. Now things were confusing and complicated. "Yes, he does," Barry admitted.
"Do you know the Flash?" she asked.
Barry nodded. "But I'm not sharing any secrets with you until you share what secret you're hiding with me," Barry said, having decided that he had to know her better before he told her who he was. She was hiding something. She had superstrength. If metas were being created outside of Central City, he had to wonder if she was sent from the other earth by Zoom. Was she even the woman he thought she was?
Patty was silent as she considered his request. "I'll think about it, Barry. Right now, I'm just not sure about anything," she said sadly. She got up. "Thanks for the coffee. I'll catch you later." Barry gave her a sad look but said nothing as she left the café.
Patty got through her shift without saying much to Joe. He didn't want to talk to her—that much was obvious. So why should she keep trying? Feeling hurt and weary, she called up Xander, sharing what had happened.
Xander listened without interrupting. Patty finally stopped. "Well, what do you think?" she asked. "What should I do? Should I tell him my own secret?"
"It boils down to this: is he worth the risk? If you tell him and he's the right guy, it will draw you closer. If he's not the right guy, he could be totally freaked and your relationship will be over," Xander said.
"I think at this point our relationship can't go on the way it is. We both know the other is not being completely honest. How can we have a real relationship with secrets and lies between us?" Patty wondered.
"You could have a completely physical one," Xander said with a snicker.
"You know I want more than that. I want a family someday. I want a man who I can share my life and heart with," Patty said.
"I want that for you," Xander said.
"Then I have to tell him," Patty decided.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"I could love him, Xander. He's so great. He's brilliant and funny. He's got a huge heart. He makes me laugh," Patty shared. "I want him to be the one."
"Then tell him," Xander said. If the man ended up hurting her, then Xander would make him regret it!
******The Next Day******
Patty approached Barry at lunch. "Barry, I think we need to talk. Can you take a drive with me after work this evening?" she asked him.
"Yea, I'd like that," Barry said, smiling at her. He really liked her, and he didn't want things to be over between them. She was the first girl besides Iris that he felt like he'd truly connected with.
Patty gave him a big smile. "That's great! I'll meet you at my car at five," she told him. She'd decided the telling should come with a showing, so she was going to drive him to a nearby city that was known to have a vamp or two.
They went through a drive-thru for dinner. Patty explained that she wanted to show him something. It would explain who she was. Barry was glad. He didn't want things to be distant between them. If she could share more about herself, maybe he could do the same.
"So, Barry, the world is older than you probably think," she began after they'd finished eating. She glanced at him.
"I know the world is millions of years old. Science has proven that," Barry said with a shrug.
"Well, life is older than you think," she said.
"There's records of human life back during the prehistoric era," Barry countered.
Patty gave him an incredulous look. No one ever said that to Giles! "Can you just listen without interrupting? We can debate details later," she said.
Barry gave her a sheepish smile. "Sure," he said.
"So demons used to walk the earth. Eventually, they merged with humans and vampires were created. They were like a plague. Some shamans created a chosen girl that they empowered with the essence of a demon to fight the vampires. She was super strong. Fighting was instinctive to her. She had accelerated healing. She was only fourteen or so. She was the first vampire slayer. When she died, another girl was called. This has gone on for generations. Most didn't live to see their eighteenth birthday. They were chosen to fight vampires, demons, and all the forces of darkness," she paused to glance at Barry. He was listening with a smile on his face. He thought she was telling a tall tale. Luckily, she'd arrived at their destination. She pulled the car into a spot and turned off the car.
Barry looked at where they were and laughed. "So you brought me to a cemetery? You're really getting into the spooky stories, huh?" he asked.
Patty gave him a small smile. "It's not just a story. I'm trying to share something with you. Something that is important and real about me," she said.
"Okay," he said, a bit confused but willing to listen.
"Every slayer called had a Watcher. Someone to help guide and train them. Someone to record all the things that happened. Several years ago, one of the last slayers called lived in Sunnydale, California, a home to the hellmouth—basically a gate way to hell. She was different than all the ones before her because she refused to follow the rules. She had a Watcher who was the same. He loved her like a daughter. He didn't interfere much when she shared her secret with two friends. One of her friends became a very powerful witch. Together, they saved the world more than once. The final time, though, they changed the world. The witch made all potential slayers in the world slayers. They closed the hellmouth permanently, which turned Sunnydale into a crater," Patty explained. "After that, they went around the world collecting all the newly called slayers."
"Do you really expect me to believe all this, Patty? Do you believe all this?" Barry asked beginning to lose his patience with this story.
"Yes, I do," she said, getting out of the car. Barry followed.
"How could you? None of that makes any sense! If there were monsters and demons roaming the earth, people would know about it!" Barry said.
"People do know. Lots of them. Even the government—some branches anyway," she said. "I know it's true because I'm one of them."
"One of what?" he asked.
"I'm a vampire slayer," she said, facing him. "It's how I was able to kill the polgara demon—that's what it was. It's what I've been doing ever since my parents were killed by vampires when I was fifteen. That's when Xander and Willow found me and explained my calling. They took me to the hellmouth in Cleveland."
"What? You're a vampire slayer? That's crazy!" Barry insisted.
"But a man who can run faster than the eye can follow isn't? A man that can control weather isn't?" she pointed out. She began walking through the cemetery. Barry watched her pull out a wooden stake from the holster in her leg—the spot most cops kept a back-up gun.
"You have a wooden stake?" he asked in disbelief.
"It's the best way to kill a vampire," she explained.
"What, no garlic or holy water?" Barry asked sarcastically.
"Garlic doesn't do anything. Holy water and crosses do, though," she said, ignoring his sarcasm. "Civilians and Watchers use those. Slayers use stakes, crossbows, or swords. If you cut off their heads, they'll die."
"So you just walk around cemeteries and wait for one to appear?" he asked, trying to see how serious she was. She seemed deadly serious. Barry was beginning to think his new girlfriend had suffered some type of traumatic break from reality.
"They come out of graves. If you find them in cemeteries before they kill humans, it's always better," Patty said, looking around for movement.
"Okay, Patty, I've listened. It's time to go home. I'm sure we can find you a good doctor. There's got to be some kind of medicine that can help you think more clearly," Barry said very carefully.
Patty just shook her head. "I'm not crazy, Barry. I brought you here to prove it to you," Patty said. She said a hand break through a grave. "Stand back."
Barry looked and jumped back when a hand actually broke through the grave. He watched in disbelief as a body dressed in a suit broke out of the grave. Patty took a fighting stance. The man who came out of the grave had a deformed face. Barry assumed this was what Patty meant when she said vampire. He took another step back as Patty fought the thing. She moved like Oliver. He was more than a little surprised even though he'd seen her kill the demon thing. When she took the wooden stake and stabbed the vampire in its heart, it turned to dust.
"That is unbelievable!" he gasped. Cisco would die if he saw this!
She turned to him. "Everything I told you is true. The supernatural is real. Vampires are real. And I am a vampire slayer. That's my secret. Now you know everything," Patty said. She looked a bit nervous. "I hope that's okay."
Barry moved toward her, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Patty. I shouldn't have doubted you. I should know better than anyone that sometimes the impossible is real," he said. He pulled her close for a hug.
"So you're okay with it?" Patty asked, pulling back and gazing into his eyes.
"I think it's really amazing," Barry said, smiling. Then he kissed her.
"So I've told you my secret," she said. "When are you going to tell me what you and Joe are keeping from me? What's going on? Why is your friend Caitlin friends with a guy who is Harry Wells' double?"
"That's going to be a bit harder to explain," he said slowly.
"You can tell me anything, Barry," Patty said, giving him an encouraging smile.
"Well, you see…I'm sort of the Flash," Barry said.
Patty blinked. "What?" she asked, not sure she heard him right.
"I'm the Flash," Barry said with more confidence.
Patty tried to wrap her mind around his confession. It all clicked into place. She grinned. "That explains a lot!" she exclaimed.
Then Barry began telling her about the past year, unburdening himself in a way he'd never really done with another woman—not even with Iris. For the first time, he didn't have to hide who he was from her.
It felt great. It felt more than great.
It was perfect.
****The End*****
I still cannot believe we got no scene of Patty asking Joe what the hell was going on, so this chapter worked out my annoyance on the subject! I could've picked a more dramatic reveal, but I decided to make this more about the two of them than any other plot device.
Follow me if you want to know of any future stories. Thanks so much for reading, favoriting, or reviewing! I hope everyone has a great year in 2016!