Barry had been coming to see Henry almost once a week, at least once a month, since he was first in prison, but never before had he noticed such a glaring difference in his son's countenance from one week to the next.

The previous week, Barry had been drained, sullen, and distant after the events facing Eobard Thawne, the man Henry now new was the true murderer of his wife, who had taken all of these years away from him after first taking his love, and who had tried to ruin Barry's life and in turn kill him before the end.

Henry had never felt so helpless being behind bars as he did watching his son become a superhero, facing danger and death every day. Being a CSI had at least been a safer option than becoming a detective like Joe West, but there was nothing safe or benign about being The Flash.

Henry didn't know how he felt after Barry explained that his wife's murderer was now dead, but 'peace' wasn't the word. Relief maybe, but only slightly, because Barry's haunted face didn't make the events feel anything like closure. Barry didn't go into detail that day, but whatever it was he had intended to do to be rid of the Reverse Flash, as the man seemed to be called, had instead ended with Detective Thawne killing his own would-be descendant, which also ended any chance they had at proving Henry's innocence.

Barry had exuded sorrow over that, spouting apology after apology that Henry did not need to hear. None of this had ever been Barry's fault. It didn't matter if some crazed man from the future had come back in time because of Barry; being someone worth idolizing as a hero so revered and up on a pedestal that Eobard felt the need to tear him down didn't blemish Barry's character, it just made Henry prouder.

He had long ago accepted that the real killer would never be caught, that he was never going to be absolved of his wife's murder, and that was okay, because his son was safe, and he knew the truth. Henry had spent the last fifteen years managing to get by. He could handle however much longer it took before he got to taste freedom, even if that day never came.

So he was happy when, a week later, Barry's entire persona had changed. He looked rejuvenated, excitable in a way Henry was more used to and loved to see in his son. Apparently, it had been one hell of a week.

Barry talked hushed and fast about an encounter with Captain Cold—Leonard Snart, Henry remembered from the man's own time in Iron Heights, who it didn't surprise him at all had embraced a more theatrical alias—and how an accident had caused him to forget his identity. Barry seemed hesitant to go into much detail over what happened in the days that followed, but confessed that Snart had reformed, or at least planned to reform after spending most of the week in Barry's care.

The thief was at S.T.A.R. Labs now, being tended to after being frozen with his own cold gun, which Barry had rescued him from. It sounded like a thrilling adventure, with danger and suspense Henry wasn't sad to have missed out on, but that had concluded with a happy ending. At least Henry hoped it would be as happy in the long run as Barry seemed to think, but when he pressed, it seemed even Joe was thinking positively about this development.

The following week, Barry was anxious, feet tapping on the other side of the partition. Henry couldn't hear them tapping, but he recognized the way Barry's body bounced, his eyes alight, and an ever-present grin on his face. Everything was going well with Snart and his friends. No sign of betrayal, his leg healing nicely. Barry talked so much about Snart, they barely had time to catch up on non-Flash related things before it was time for him to go.

The next week was much the same, Henry thought, though the anxiousness had subsided somewhat, a gentler rhythm in Barry's fidgeting, like he was finally calming down and settling into how his life had changed. He was still a superhero with powers, but now one of his worst villains and a handful of others were on his side, helping him and Detectives West and Thawne clean up the city.

"He's not back on his feet yet, really, but Caitlin says he's doing really well, and his leg should heal soon and almost be back to normal. He might have a permanent limp though, but hopefully not a bad one…" Barry rambled on and on about Snart, and Henry let him.

Just seeing Barry, talking with him, was always more than Henry would ever ask for. Anything that made Barry light up like this had to be a good thing. And it should come as no surprise to him that his boy would throw himself all in to redeeming a man others might have given up on.

"He's even willing to try and talk down some of the others, you know, the metas he helped set free before? He figures they owe him, and he can probably convince them to at least play nicer with the police until we sort out a better way to detain them legally. I'm actually really happy looking back now that the whole Pipeline thing was a bust and Len stopped us from sending them to Oliver's island."

Henry was too. That plan had never sat well with him. And if Snart—Len, Barry called him so casually—was pushing Barry down a more moral path than the opposite direction within their new arrangement, how could Henry find fault with that?

It was the next week that Henry started to wonder if he was missing something. Barry seemed somber, drained again, anxious somewhat but in a different way, like he was frustrated and aching because of it. Henry hadn't seen Barry quite like this since when he was in the worst of his pining over Iris. He knew that couldn't be the case now. Barry talked only happily of Iris and Detective Thawne, wistful maybe, but never out of jealousy anymore.

"Are you seeing someone, Barry?" Henry asked.

"Wh-What?" Barry sputtered, nearly dropping the phone in a magnificently clumsy display. "No, why…why would you think that? Who would I be…seeing?"

He'd inherited Henry's almost complete inability to lie, which had always been a blessing. "Is there someone you wish you were seeing? Someone new? I know it's not Iris anymore."

"Of course not," Barry dismissed the notion of Iris with complete sincerity only to immediately drift his eyes to the small tabletop in front of him. "There's maybe…someone, but…I haven't really wanted to say anything until I know where things are going to go. It's complicated. We're working together tonight actually, for the first time, and I'm hoping…" He grinned goofily and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. He glanced up at Henry sheepishly. "I don't know if you'll approve. Joe barely does. No, Joe really doesn't, but he's trying to be supportive? Just give me one more week, Dad. He keeps pushing me away, and I don't know if it's because he's not interested or just…hesitant."

"He?" Henry prompted. He knew Barry wasn't particular in that regard, and he'd never minded hearing about Barry's crushes and dates over the years, whoever they had been, but men were rarer. Women always had to compare to Iris somehow, but men had to catch Barry's eye in a completely different way.

"Yeah," Barry said with a smile. "He's really great, Dad. He can be really great. I just need to figure out where we stand. It's not like with Iris. I know he…I mean, I think he wants me…" His eyebrows scrunched as he looked away again. "There were these nights we stayed up talking for hours. I've never really done that with anyone. We know so many things about each other now that few, if any, others do. Sometimes, when he looks at me, I…" His mouth quirked with this uninhibited smile of pure bliss and—wow, that was love. Barry had been doing an amazing job of hiding that expression over the weeks. "I know it's sudden, but it's what I always wanted, Dad."

With Iris, Henry's mind supplied, but that was never meant to be. Maybe this time it was. Maybe this man was the one Barry and been waiting for, always pining for a storybook romance and thinking for so long he could find it with someone who didn't see that ending in him. But it didn't click for Henry who this new man could possibly be, even with all the evidence, not at that moment.

"That's great, kiddo," he said. "I'm happy for you. Keep me posted, huh? I want to hear all about this guy once you're ready to tell me about him."

"Y-Yeah, Dad…of course." And if Barry seemed nervous about that, well, who wouldn't be when introducing someone to their father for the first time?

It was a week and a half later before Barry was able to visit him again, but the day before their planned meeting, Henry found himself cornered by another inmate. He was usually left alone, as he tended to keep to himself, never made any trouble, had made few friends and certainly made an effort not to make any enemies, but suddenly a large, burly man boxed him in out in the yard, away from view of any guards.

Henry's instincts were to negotiate, diffuse the situation as quickly as possible. "Whatever you want from me, I'm sure we can talk our way through it," he said, raising his hands in appeal. He had many privileges others didn't after fifteen years of good behavior, and he never wanted to spoil that, even if there was no chance of parole someday.

The other inmate remained stoic, calculating, but didn't move any closer or seem ready for a fight. "I got a message for you, Allen. From Captain Cold."

Henry's hands dropped. "Snart?" Weren't he and Barry on good terms now, his friends working alongside The Flash while he recovered from his leg injury? Only it should be almost healed by now, judging by Barry's accounts, and he'd probably be ready to hit the streets again soon…

"We're working together tonight actually, for the first time…" Barry's words from the previous week echoed in his mind, from when he'd switched topics and began talking about the young man he was interested in. Only maybe it wasn't a 'young' man as Henry had suspected.

He lost his breath at the realization, and had to force his attention back on the man in front of him.

"Looks like you're getting out," the inmate said. "Be ready. And don't let anything slip to your kid." He held Henry's gaze with a steely glower before walking away.

Dread washed over Henry. It was Captain Cold. Barry was in love with Captain Cold. And now…what? The villain himself was going to break Henry out of prison? They'd never crossed paths directly when in Iron Heights at the same time. If he was doing this for Barry's sake, didn't he know it wasn't what Barry would want, that it wasn't what Henry wanted? If he had, he could have had Barry whisk him out of jail months ago.

Worse, Henry wondered if it was all part of some ploy, that the Rogue wasn't reformed or doing this as a favor to Barry, but with sinister motivations instead, to use him as leverage against The Flash. Why else would he send that warning through the mouth of someone so intimating, and with the mandate not to let Barry know what was going on? What had Barry gotten himself into? How had this man twisted things to steal Barry's heart like he had stolen so many lesser things during his criminal career?

Henry didn't sleep much that night. The inmate who had spoken to him was ever within viewing distance when he wasn't in his cell, watching him like a sentinel.

When he went to meet with Barry the next afternoon, Henry was tense, stiffer than usual to counter Barry's excitable fidgeting. At least Barry's bouncing legs and wild gestures were from enthusiasm and joy again, only Henry couldn't respond with similar glee when his son finally confessed why.

"I know it must sound crazy, Dad, but I am so happy," Barry said, after explaining the missing details from the past several weeks.

More had happened while Captain Cold was at S.T.A.R. Labs than just a villain reforming, and now, after weeks of taking things slowly, Barry and 'Len' had finally gotten everything out in the open between them this past weekend and were officially together—a couple. Snart had even had family dinner at Joe's home.

This man was a menace, a con artist clearly, and he'd conned Henry's son and even those watching over him. A darker plot was afoot, and Barry had no idea, didn't suspect ill-intent in the slightest. What could Henry do? What would Snart do if he failed to play along, if he told Barry his fears now, explained about his encounter with the other inmate and his 'message' from Captain Cold?

It was too big a risk. All Henry could do now was wait things out, and hope, pray, that his son wouldn't be in too deep, or hurt too badly when it all went down. Because no matter what Snart really had planned, Henry would not let anyone hurt his son if he could do something about it.

"I'm happy for you, Barry, but please…be careful."

"I know, Dad," Barry said so dismissively, so trusting. "It's really okay. I have a whole team watching my back out there, and with Len now too, you really don't have to worry about me anymore."

No. Now Henry had reason to worry more than ever.

Len stared nonplussed at Mick. "You contacted Heinrich to deliver the message to Allen," he stated more than asked, but had to repeat it if only to believe what he'd just heard.

"Who else do we got in Iron Heights right now we trust enough for something like this?" Mick shrugged.

Len clenched his fists to keep his anger to a mild simmer. "Mick…Heinrich's loyal, sure, always good for a job when we need muscle, but he's got no mind for subtly. He'll have Allen thinking I'm planning a breakout or something."

"So?"

The simmer kicked up a notch to a low boil. "Because it's not a breakout, Mick. I just wanted him keeping a closer eye out. The last thing he needs is for some stupid shit to go down around him when he's finally about to be released. Now he might be the one doing something stupid if he starts suspecting…" Len shook his head when Mick continued staring with a furrowed brow of confusion like he just didn't get the issue. Of course when it finally did click for Mick how this could be bad, he just scowled harder and crossed his arms all defensive rather than apologize.

"You want me to contact him again?"

"No. No, Mick, it's fine. We're nearly set now anyway. As long as Heinrich's keeping a close eye on Allen, and he passed along the message to not let Barry know anything."

"Yeah, yeah, I made that part clear," Mick assured him—however little an assurance anything was at this point. "Nothing's gonna spoil the surprise for Flash."

"Good. Thank you," he said more deliberately, because he could tell by Mick's stance how close he was to boiling over in much more hostile ways than Len had been about to.

Assuaged that he'd done mostly okay at this job Len had given him, Mick grinned and smacked Len on the shoulder. "It'll be fine, Len. Who'd have thought, huh? You helping get someone outta jail by legal means."

"Certainly neither of us," Len said, and had to share at least a mild grin with his friend. Strange times and all.

"I told you, you should have just left things alone and surprised Barry's dad too," Cisco said as he walked up to them, multi-tasking hard at work on his tablet.

Cisco had told Len that, but the closer they'd come to making this work, the more Len had grown anxious that something would happen to Allen in the final days. Barry had suffered through enough heartache for his family.

Len's father belonged behind bars, but Henry Allen deserved to see his son without glass separating them each week. The idea of someone innocent rotting in prison had never sat well with Len. A few people free in the world who maybe shouldn't be were one thing, but someone imprisoned who didn't belong there, well, that was where the justice system was really broken in Len's mind.

Cisco had stared at him for a long while after he confessed that, but the kid had only been too eager to jump to Len's aid when he explained his plan for getting Allen free.

After learning the full details around Eobard Thawne, and that his body, reverted to its natural form and no longer taking on the guise of Harrison Wells, was secure in S.T.A.R. Labs, he hadn't been able to leave the idea alone. And he'd had a lot of time to himself while waiting for his leg to heal.

They had DNA from Nora Allen's crime scene with unknown origins, but now they had a source. All they had to do to get the case reopened was present that evidence.

"It might not be enough," Joe had said when they brought him in on it. "All it would prove is that Thawne was there, and with it coming from a dead body, one with no past, no identity, there'd be too much suspicion. If we'd gotten a confession out of him…"

"He would have had the wrong face, Detective," Len said, "at least if the rest of events played out the same. How would that have helped? Then we couldn't even use the body we have, other than switching to the shriveled remains of the real Wells, which would have raised even more questions, and destroyed the man's reputation. I doubt Barry or his father would have appreciated that."

Joe nodded in agreement.

"But we'll need more evidence, you're saying?" Cisco pouted.

"I assumed as much anyway," Len said, catching Joe's stare. He'd called the pair over to his apartment during the second week of his more laid up recovery, and sat with his leg propped while the two men sat across from him on the sofa. "Detective, the rest of what I propose we do to give the DA ample reason to reopen this case may involve a few…illegal endeavors," he held Joe's gaze as it narrowed, "but I assure you, it'll get the job done, and by the end of this, an innocent man will finally go free. Isn't that the crux of the matter?"

Cisco looked to Joe, but Joe kept his eyes centered on Len. Finally, he said, "How illegal?"

A confession was no longer possible, but it wasn't a clincher in cases on its own anyway. Now, it was about volume. Now, they had a body, a face, even without an identity. So they just needed Cisco to create him one. Then the man needed contacts, witnesses to place him near the crime scene and corroborate the evidence of DNA as something more sinister than coincidence. With enough things adding up, between the three of them, Len was certain they could make it work.

Well, four of them. He'd called Mick in on things for Heinrich's part, though he'd been hoping for someone a little more user friendly to speak with Allen. And really, it was five of them, if Len was being honest.

"How's it looking, Gideon?" Cisco asked his tablet once Mick walked away, where he had since rerouted the computer from the future for quick conversations rather than having to go into Thawne's secret room each time. This left Len and Cisco alone in the main area of the labs, finalizing the last steps of the plan that Joe was working hard to get into place from the precinct.

"Right on schedule, Mr. Ramon," the feminine voice replied. "According to the new timeline, Henry Allen is scheduled to be released from prison in a few weeks."

"Well, the future's on our side," Cisco grinned.

Len eyed the tablet with distrust. "You can't tell me this wouldn't be easy to abuse."

"Are you saying you'd abuse it?" Cisco challenged him.

"Aren't we abusing it right now?" Len challenged back.

Cisco shrugged. "It's for a good cause. And besides, we already agreed, after righting this last wrong of Thawne's—at least as much as we can without actually rewriting history—we're disabling Gideon. No one wants to live out a self-fulfilling prophesy. If Barry's meant to create her, he still will, and we'll get to talk with her again someday. Plus I totally need to be in on this. I mean, can you imagine Barry creating something like this without me?"

"Actually, Mr. Ramon—" Gideon began, but Len spoke over her.

"Nothing about the future unless we specifically ask, Gideon."

"Understood," she replied. "My apologies, Mr. Allen."

That stopped Len cold. "Gideon… you're aware I'm not Barry, right?"

"Of course. In this time, you are known as Leonard Snart."

Len furrowed his brow at the way she'd just worded that. "So why did you call me Mr. Allen?"

"Because my records indicate that current changes to the timeline will eventually affect your naming convention."

"What?" Cisco sputtered while Len gaped at the tablet.

"In the future timeline, Leonard Snart will eventually be known as Leonard Allen. Would you prefer I revert to calling you Mr. Snart instead?"

Cisco made no attempt to pick his jaw up off the floor as he looked at Len. After all, he and Barry had been together for less than a week. If it hadn't been for Cisco's prodding last Saturday after the disaster of his and Barry's sparring session, they might never have gotten together. But apparently, one day, Len would finally have a reason to leave his father's name behind forever, and he really couldn't be anything but pleased by that thought.

"No," Len said, "thank you, Gideon. How about we stick with Len, so there's no confusion."

"Of course, Len. My apologize again if I said too much, but your orders did say to reveal future events if specifically asked for."

Cisco choked back a snicker.

"That they did, Gideon," Len said, elbowing Cisco in the side. "Keep working, kid. We're not there yet, even if the future is telling us we're on the right path here. And you're sure…you're sure it was the right call to leave Barry in the dark about all this?" Nothing grated on Len more than revealing insecurity, but being truthful with Barry was one of the things he'd promised the speedster, that he'd never lie to him, about anything.

"Totally, dude," Cisco shot him a knowing eyebrow raise. "After everything he's been through, getting his hopes up before we knew for sure if this was going to work would have devastated him if it didn't. Now, once everything's in place, it'll be the most amazing surprise he never saw coming. It's not really lying, just waiting until the right moment to reveal the truth."

Len grinned at the kid. "You'd make an excellent evil mastermind, you know."

"Don't tempt me, Cold," Cisco said with the usual surge of confidence he wore around Len these days. "Because you would be the first one crushed under my heel."

"Oh really?" Len loomed over him with as much menace as he could muster, which was still fairly impressive most days, even if he didn't mean it.

Cisco deflated for maybe a moment before bouncing back. "Yeah, really. I'm majority shareholder of S.T.A.R. Labs now, you know? Think of all the power at my fingertips."

"Wells' will left his shares to you and Caitlin jointly," Len reminded him.

It had been a huge deal to discover that. After using Wells' real body to prove to the board that he had passed away in a 'freak accident', his will had been called up shortly after, and while it had taken some time for the lawyers to go through it all, Team ColdFlash had discovered only just this week that Thawne—seeing as how the will was drawn up long after the real Wells' demise—left everything to Cisco and Caitlin.

He may have wanted to kill Barry and return home to a future where The Flash no longer existed, but it seemed he wouldn't have killed Caitlin or Cisco if things had gone to plan. That didn't change either of their opinions on him, and they almost would have refused the gift from such an evil source…if they didn't really, really want to accept it, if only to continue providing Barry support with S.T.A.R. Labs' backing.

They still had the board of directors to deal with, and they had to focus more of their efforts on actual research more often, but both of them took that in stride. Thankfully, it seemed they knew Ray Palmer quite well, who Caitlin had contacted right away and gotten to promise he'd help them sort through a few of the more business related items they didn't understand.

"Same difference," Cisco said. "At least Reverse Flash was good for something."

Len shook his head and turned to head out of the room, but stopped in the doorway to offer Cisco another gauging, grateful look. "Thanks for this, kid. Really."

"Please," Cisco shrugged the whole thing off, as if he wasn't a genius and a huge part of how they were about to save an innocent man from life in prison, "between you, me, and Joe, it's child's play. And it's not like I wouldn't want to do this for Barry anyway. But as a surprise from his new boyfriend? You are setting the bar way too high, man. Stop making the rest of us look bad." He stuck out his tongue—actually stuck out his tongue at Len like some preteen brat.

Len laughed the whole way to the elevators. It was finally all coming together. In a few weeks, Henry Allen would be a free man.

Henry's heartrate stuttered in nervous anticipation when he saw Joe West relieve the guard that normally kept watch during his visitations. Then his pulse skyrocketed when he watched a man in a tightly fit baseball cap slip in to speak with him instead of his son as expected.

Henry recognized the man's face once he sat. Those blue eyes were memorable after seeing them all over the news several times. Although lately…lately the news was saying something new, but Henry wasn't sure he believed it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Allen," Snart said, calm and collected despite the slight hunch to keep his body and face hidden from the cameras.

"Forgive me if I'm not sure I share the sentiment, Mr. Snart." Henry eyed Joe at the door, who seemed relaxed enough, only slightly on guard since, even with a clean record now, it wouldn't exactly look good for Snart to be seen here.

Snart nodded without rancor or disappointment. "Barry said you seemed skeptical. I imagine Heinrich didn't help much with that. I asked our mutual friend, Mick Rory, to make sure a message was passed along to you so you'd be ready when the time came, keep your head down a little more than usual maybe, just in case. My apologies if some of that got lost in translation. This isn't a breakout."

Henry sat up straighter. "I figured that might be difficult considering Joe West is currently acting as your bodyguard. How did you manage to win him over, Snart? It's only in recent months he actually starting trusting me."

"We have an understanding," Snart said. "And a good dozen people behind Joe at number one who would gladly see me dumped in the river if I ever so much as gave Barry a bad day. I simply want to offer you the chance to usurp his standing, sir, and take that spot for yourself." He smiled, not quite a smirk but with the edge of one teasing his lips in self-satisfaction. "You're being released today, Mr. Allen. Legally. And please…call me Len."

"What?" The information didn't immediately sink in. Henry looked to Joe again, who was also smiling. "How…?"

"A little elbow grease. A dead man from another time. Some very complicated science. And a few friends who owed me favors. All more than worth it to get your case reopened, and enough evidence to prove your wife was killed by someone else. It's time to come home now, Mr. Allen. We came to take you to your son. And if you'd prefer to clean up a little first, change into something other than the clothes they'll release you in, we can stop off at West's home. Barry will be at the labs. He has no idea he gets to see you today."

Something chipped away inside of Henry, something rusted over and jagged that he always tried so hard to keep Barry from seeing. Snart's eyes betrayed nothing but earnest affection when he talked of Henry's son.

The other guard came back in with something for Joe to sign. It wasn't a trick. It wasn't a game. It wasn't leverage. The insistence to not tell Barry had been to keep this as a surprise.

"This is real," Henry said like an exhale.

"It is. We—"

"You love Barry."

Snart hesitated but more in surprise that Henry had asked that particular question, though it hadn't come out as much of a question in the end. "I do. We'll see you in a few minutes, Mr. Allen."

"Henry," Henry corrected him, not doubting for a moment now that whatever love Barry felt for this man it was returned tenfold. The phone shook in his hand when he heard a voice call him away, to go back in for processing, so he could be released—finally released. "Thank you," he said before hanging up, and the man looking back at him through the glass merely nodded.

A few minutes later, Henry was in the passenger seat of Joe West's car.

"Dude, seriously, I am starved. Where is Len?" Barry asked from his perch on the countertop of the main console in the labs. He hovered over Cisco at the computer. They were supposed to meet for lunch.

"He's on his way, man, cool it. Have an energy bar."

"Uck." Barry made a disgusted face. Those were for emergencies only for a reason. "I thought he said noon. What was he up to this morning?"

"He, uhh…had an errand to take care of with Joe."

"Joe? Len's with Joe? That's a frightening thought. Just the two of them?"

Cisco shrugged. He kept his attention on the computer screen, but he didn't appear to be working.

"Why are you avoiding looking at me?" Barry asked, leaning left to get more in Cisco's sightline.

Cisco flicked his eyes up for a brief second. "Your face is distracting."

"But you're not doing anything." Barry could see the screen if he sat forward. Cisco had been looking at camera footage a second ago, hadn't he? But now his screen showed Flash suit schematics that he wasn't actually doing anything with.

"Because of your face, man, what did I just say?" Cisco said, his own face going red, voice shrill and body tense.

"What's going on?" Barry hopped down from the console, crossing his arms in suspicion.

"Nothing!" Cisco spun to face him.

"Cisco…"

"Hey, Scarlet, starving to death yet?" Len called as he entered, directly in front of Barry since he faced the main entrance into the labs. He wore dark jeans, a black button-down, and his navy trench coat that Barry had expressed multiple times was his favorite. The whole look was one of Barry's favorites actually.

"What are you guys plotting?" Barry asked, tightening his arms and refusing to be swayed by how unfairly hot his boyfriend looked, or the confident swagger he had as he crossed the room toward Barry. Barry stepped back to deflect their usual greeting, which often included Len crowding in close and kissing Barry's hairline. He had rights to be skeptical and wanted an explanation.

Len sighed when he reached the console, keeping Cisco in his roller chair between them. "You need to work on your diversions skills, kid."

"Hey, I was doing fine," Cisco scowled. "You're late. Barry's hunger pains don't take as well to subterfuge. "

Barry glanced between them both. "Well?"

Len didn't appear upset with Cisco, more like fondly exasperated, confident still, and not at all worried that he was in trouble with Barry for keeping something from him. He tapped his fingers on the top of the console, and tilted his head back toward the entrance. "Just keep your attention there, Scarlet. I'm hoping you'll forgive us this one."

Barry's arms dropped as he grew increasingly more wary. What had they done? How did it involve Joe? Why were they sharing smiles now that made Barry very, very nervous?

Nothing could have prepared him, however, for what actually came in through that door—or rather, who.

Barry heard voices first, Joe's initially, then someone else. Someone familiar, but…it couldn't be. He didn't believe it even after his eyes took in the same truth his ears had already suspected. "Dad…?"

Henry Allen looked better than Barry last remembered seeing him, always through glass, in prison clothes, haunted and weary. Now he wore brand new slacks and a crisp white shirt, looking refreshed, almost carefree. The most recent memories of Barry's where his father looked even remotely close to this was from over fifteen years ago.

"Hey there, slugger," Henry said, smiling warmly.

"We promise it wasn't a breakout," Joe added with a smirk at Len.

"I apologize again for Heinrich, Henry," Len said—calling Barry's dad by name. "That's on me for asking Mick to pass along the info. I told Mick he owes you a beer."

Henry laughed. "Now that's my kind of apology." His warm smile passed to Len just as easily, before he finished his trek to the console, to Barry, and Barry realized he wasn't imagining this.

When his dad finally got close enough, all the tension in Barry snapped and he surged forward at Flash speed, nearly toppling the man over in his haste to embrace him.

"How…?" Barry gasped into his father's shoulder. He squeezed as tightly as he could, and felt Henry squeeze just as firmly back.

"The details are a bit complicated," Henry said, "but I'm sure your friends can explain. The mastermind behind it all, though, isn't the man I feared him to be. I'm sorry if I seemed unsupportive of your relationship, Barry. I judged Len before I knew him. When all this time, before even meeting me, he was working to get me home to you."

"Len?" Barry blinked tears out of his eyes when he pulled from his father's arms. He looked to Len still at the console, arm resting casually, a subtle smile on his face.

Cisco's grin was hardly subtle by comparison, or Joe's. Joe came to stand beside Len, the three of them representing so many different parts of Barry's life as he took them all in, Joe and Len behind the console, Cisco still sitting at it, and there in front of Barry was his own father, finally out of prison.

"We can explain the finer details over lunch," Len said. "That is, if you don't mind your father joining us, Barry?"

Barry huffed a laugh, almost choking on the shock, on the tears thick in his throat. He zipped to Cisco and hoisted him out of his chair for a lightning fast hug, then flashed to Joe, embracing him as tightly as he had his father, and finally blurred with such impressive speed over to Len that he rocked the former villain back on his heels as he pulled him in close.

"I want to hear all about it, and yes, Dad is totally coming to lunch, and oh my god I can't believe you actually did this, I don't even care how, I just…" He took a breath from his gushing rant to pull back from Len and just look at him, at the sweet, loving expression Len wore, that Barry never would have thought existed on Captain Cold, but there it was, all for him. "Thank you."

"Don't thank him yet," Henry called over. "There's quite a bit of third degree I can finally unleash on you about all this," he glanced around the labs, "so why don't we go grab that lunch."

"Joe?" Barry turned to his adopted father.

"Sadly, I have to get back to work, but we'll do dinner tonight. Where do you think Henry's staying until we get him back on his feet?" He patted Barry's shoulder.

"And while I would love to be a really weird forth wheel to the boyfriend meeting the father scenario…I'll pass," Cisco said as he settled into his chair again after his whirlwind Barry hug. "Start coming up with your first order for Team ColdFlash family dinner night, Mr. Allen. It's a thing we do now. You totally get dibs on the next meal plan."

"Team ColdFlash?" Henry repeated, meeting Barry and Len at the entrance as they headed off behind Joe to leave the labs.

Barry still wondered if his father would suddenly vanish like a mirage right before his eyes, but this was real, his family even more complete and still growing, and all because of someone he had once thought of as an enemy.

He slid his hand into Len's as they headed for the elevators, relishing in the cool, firm contact as their fingers laced together. "The concept is still a work in progress," Barry said, thinking of how the team fought together and rotated patrols, but still had a few kinks to work out, "the name though…" he glanced at Len, at his faintly smiling boyfriend who had performed a miracle somehow to make this possible, "that…is definitely here to stay."

TBC...

I hope you all enjoyed this one. Next Epilogue chapter will be movie night, with some ahem, naughtiness, and then a somewhat angsty chapter, both of which I hope to get done and posted before the show returns. Thank you all so much!