06

Welcome Home, Barry Allen


Barry whisper-sang to the music that poured from the tiny speakers on his cell phone that rested precariously close to the burner that roasted sausages in a sizzling skillet. He flipped them over his arm and up into the air, whirling around with his speed to catch it on a plate before doing the same with a stack of pancakes.

He stood back, looking over the spread of every breakfast item imaginable, silently counting to himself, working to figure out if he'd forgotten something. He pressed a hand to his chin, eyes scanning the eggs, biscuits, sausages, bacon, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, toast, orange juice, hash browns, fruit salad, pastries, and cereal. No…that seemed to be about it. He started to turn away, then realized he was missing the one vital thing that nearly every adult managed to thrive off to keep themselves alive after the daily grind of work and taking care of a family.

Coffee.

Right, he forgot the coffee. He looked at the coffee pot, frowned, and speed-searched the cupboards for anything that would work. It took him only a second to remember, he'd been gone for six months…and Cade didn't drink coffee. Never had and probably never would, from the way she reacted adversely to it. He wasn't sure what really made her make a face and stick out her tongue every time even the hint of coffee was in the air, but he was sure all the extra caffeine was something she didn't need, considering how already outgoing and borderline hyper she could be on a good day.

Barry thought for a moment, sped upstairs to whisk his wallet from his bedside table, ran back to the table by the couch, remember it wasn't upstairs, and ran all the way to Jitters. He threw the money on the counter, grabbed a Flash that was being handed to the customer in line, and ran all the way back to the loft. He spread all the food out onto the coffee table, moving slowly this time. Allowing himself to take on the music and the feeling that he couldn't ignore.

He was back.

With his friends.

With his family.

Away from the Speed Force and Savitar and…and the prison he was held in. He was able to live again. Able to experience life the way it was supposed to be experienced in slow time; seconds, minutes, hours. Not sped up to micro-seconds where he saw everything that was to happen in seconds that he couldn't see where his life started and ended.

A chuckle came to Barry's lips. He couldn't ignore the irony. A long time ago he would've complained about how slowly things moved in life—don't get him started on having to still wait for some of his tests to run at the CCPD—and now he couldn't get enough of it.

Just take those old records off the shelf. I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself. Today's music ain't got the same soul. I like that old-time rock 'n' roll.

"What are you doing?"

Barry turned to see Cadence, Brady, and Conner all staring at him as if he were crazy. Eyebrows raised and with identical—yet warring—expressions of disbelief on their faces. Even Brady's face was completely screwed up, looking at him with disdain.

"Oh!" Barry grasped his phone and turned down the music. "Hi, sorry, did I wake you up?" He looked at the clock on the wall and shook his head. "Of course not, day's just getting started." He chuckled, a little self-consciously. "Well, I couldn't sleep," he explained. "I don't know if it's the whole, speedster thing, with so many thoughts running through my head." He wiggled his fingers beside his head. "And, uh," He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I mean the couch…the couch's not so great for sleeping on. We should probably get a new couch."

He noticed Cadence lift an eyebrow and immediately cut himself off. It wasn't her fault he was sleeping on the couch, he was the one who suggested it. Because it was going to take time for things to get back to normal. It was going to take a long time.

After having stopped Samuroid from attacking the city, Cisco had immediately rushed Barry back to STAR Labs to run as many tests on him as possible. A unanimous response from the entire team, and before Barry knew it, he was lost to the darkness once more. This time, however, it was complete darkness. There was nothing in front of him to haunt him, to torture him. There weren't any images flashing in front of him, reminders of the things he'd done, hadn't done.

Nothing but darkness.

Until a tiny flashing light that slowly brought him back to the surface. Until he noticed the music that rang through his ears seconds before he heard the playful bickering of his friends around him. His lips twitched at the corners, moving into a smile as he heard the familiar strains of the bickering, of the solid beeping in the background of STAR Labs' equipment, of the hushed voices of those trying not to wake someone up but continuing to hover near just in case there was anything they could do.

"Are you sure it's appropriate?" He heard Caitlin asked, heard the worry in her voice. Something stirred in Barry's chest, hearing Caitlin's voice. He'd heard her over heir communication link and was relieved then, relieved to know she'd come back, and their team was back together.

"It's a good luck charm," Cisco's voice then said indignantly. "It worked before." That was it. That's why the song sounded familiar. Barry hadn't listened to Lady Gaga in a long time. Though, it did remind him he needed to update his Facebook page sometime soon. Since the Particle Accelerator Explosion, he hadn't thought much about it. Though it seemed that all his friends were still moving on with their social media accounts considering how much Cisco spent time on his phone.

"Last time he was in a coma."

"Well, waking up to gaga shouldn't seem too freaky."

"You guys didn't do this to me," Cadence pointed out, sounding a little envious.

"You were never asleep when you first met us," Cisco pointed out. Barry started to see a little better, watched Cisco wiggle a dangling Twizzler towards the fire meta-human. "And it's not like I'd do that when you're fresh out of the Heat Locker. That's too much like those saunas at your aerobics classes and, believe me, I'm not doing any of those again."

"Good point," Cadence conceded. Then she paused and asked with a laugh, "You're still upset about what it did to your hair?"

"That place really needs to work on their steam ratio for those of us who get treatments done and don't take to humidity."

"Guys, stop," Wally said. "He's waking up."

Indeed, Barry had woken up. And he'd never felt better. None of his muscles ached. No residual grogginess. Nothing that would've put Barry down for struggling through some of the toughest battles. It was like he was…reborn. Walking on air. Like he'd never experienced any wrongdoings in his life.

Barry slowly woke up, with all his friends and family around him, waiting for some sort of response. "Hey, it's me, Cisco," Cisco said slowly. "Your BFF. AKA Vibe."

"He knows who you are, Cisco," Iris said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah," Barry slowly sat up. "I know who you are."

Cisco let out an audible sigh of relief. He grinned around a twizzler poking out the side of his mouth, running a hand through his hair. "Good, because I didn't know if you were going to, you know, have lost your memory or attack us again or something."

"I attacked you?" Barry's eyes flew open in surprise.

"One thing at a time," Caitlin interrupted, holding up her hand. "We have more important things to worry about right now." She turned to Barry, lowering her voice. "How're you feeling, Barry?"

Joe leaned closer, placing his hand on Barry's cheek, gently rubbing his thumb over his skin. "You really scared us there for a moment, son," he murmured, voice rumbling deep in his chest, barely concealing his emotion over, finally, having his son back. "We didn't think you were going to come back."

Barry thought for a moment, worked to figure out what it was he was feeling. "I feel incredible," Barry replied. Incredibly was certainly the word. He felt incredible. "I feel…reborn."

Brady snorted. Cadence placed a hand over his mouth, giving him a disapproving glance.

"It's got to be more than incredible," Wally broke in. "You must feel amazing. Because, I, wow, I seriously hate to admit it, but you were faster than me. You were much faster than me. It's like…you were in the Speed Force for six months and you soaked it all in like a sponge."

"Maybe," Barry dismissed it. He quickly changed the subject, doing everything he could not to think about what he'd seen in the Speed Force. Tried not to think about Savitar's floating away and his parting words. "How, uh…how was everything while I was gone?" While he was gone. It's like you were on a vacation, not sacrificing yourself for the city.

"It was fine," Wally said. He casually folded his arms while Barry detected a sense of bravado to him. "But Team Kid Flash held down the fort while you were gone." He glanced at Iris with a raised eyebrow. Iris rolled her eyes, folded her arms, shook her head, and mouthed, "No," at Barry's questioning glance.

Thankfully, Brady corrected Wally first, moving out from behind his mother's hand. "We're not called Team Kid Flash!" His voice took on a tinge of exasperation before subsiding to a calmer one. "If anything, we should be Team Flare." He paused, eyes lighting up. "Or the Flare Force!"

Cadence grimaced, immediately cringing at the name that only an eleven-year-old-boy (and possible Cisco) would come up with. "Team Flash has a better ring to it."

Barry felt nothing but pride, still hearing that their name was Team Flash. Not because he knew the team was named after him, but because they still acted as the same team. They bickered and shot each other down like a family but were still there for each other when they needed it. None of them had changed.

He especially realized it when having returned to the loft that night and saw Conner sitting on the windowsill, waiting patiently—or rather, impatiently—for them to walk back through the door. He sat up straight, turning his legs to the floor when he saw Barry, Cadence, and Brady come through the door.

"You didn't come back to school," Conner said. "And then we got released early, because of what was going on in the city. Is everything okay?" His eyes widened when he saw Barry come through the door behind them. "There were rumors the Flash was back but…no one believed it."

"Believe it," Cadence said with a small smile. "He's back for good." She folded her arms and lowered her voice. "Why don't you guys do your homework while I get dinner started."

Brady all but whined. "I get taken out of school, stop a speedster from going on a rampage around the city, and still have to do my homework?" He reached out and shoved Conner on the shoulder as he passed. "Some friend you are, you could've just said I was sick or something."

"That excuse stopped working ages ago," Conner replied, voice fading away as he and Brady went to Brady's room. "Since you kept disappearing from class…"

"It's not my fault a lot of stuff happens in this city…"

Barry chuckled to himself. Sometimes, he forgot how young Brady truly was. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to handle school as well being a super hero on the side. It was easier for him, he could go to and from work as his job was isolated, but having to do that, and go to school, and act like a normal kid was probably too much to bear. Had Brady, when he was eight-year-old, mentioned to Barry about wanting powers, Barry would've talked him out of it.

"So…" Barry watched as Cadence shrugged off her jacket and moved into the kitchen, rubbing the back of her neck. "Conner's here," he said. Cadence nodded. "I bet Brady's happy to have him around." He still remembered how hard Brady had cried when Conner was forced to move away. "But is that really safe? I mean, Oliver—"

"—Oliver doesn't really have much say in what goes on with Conner lately," Cadence interrupted. "He hasn't for a little while now." She leaned against the counter, pressing her palms against it, spreading her fingers wide, then curled them into her palm. She squeezed her eyes shut before saying. "Sam's dead, because of Oliver. And Oliver thought it was better to have him here."

Barry's eyes widened. "Conner's mom's dead?"

Cadence nodded. "It's a long story. Conner wasn't safe in Starling City with him and Felicity…" a bitter tone came to her voice. "Not that he tried really hard. Conner was around Raisa more than Oliver but…" she waved a hand. "Oliver asked if I'd take him in and I did, no question. This is probably the most he's talked since he's been here."

"Is he okay?"

"For now. I think having Brady around has helped. But it's going to take some time before he's back to where he was." She turned her gaze to Barry, looking him in the eye for the first time since leaving the wind farm. "A lot of things have changed while you were gone, Barry."

"I-I know." It took Barry a second to recover from the revelation. He slowly moved around the counter toward her. "I, uh, I didn't expect everything to be the same. But…" he moved closer to her, noticing she watched his every move. He paused a few inches away from her. "I know I missed a lot. But I'm here now."

Cadence closed her eyes, shook her head. When she spoke, her voice quivered, as if she were on the verge of crying. "It's been hard," she admitted. "I've cried a lot. Almost every day. For the first couple of weeks I was a mess, if you could imagine." She chuckled a little. "Captain Singh was understanding at first, but even he got tired of it." Barry chuckled as well. That sounded like their boss, he didn't handle emotions very well when on the job. Cadence cleared her throat, brushing her hair behind her shoulders, voice growing stronger. "But I moved on, too. Tried to keep going." She looked him in the eye. "To keep running like you said."

"And you did," Barry insisted. He stepped forward, placing his hands on her cheeks. She paused for a second, moved to step away, but then leaned into his touch. "You kept everyone together. I'm so proud of you and for the decisions you've made. It sounds funny, especially after what you just old me about Conner, but maybe this was a blessing."

"You being gone for six months?"

He didn't miss the disbelief and confusion in her tone. "I can't tell you how I feel. It's like everything that was wrong in my life, the pain, my past, my mistakes, it's all gone. All I see is you, and us, and Brady, and our future together. It's the only thing I can think about. Moving forward, the future." He paused. "I know there's a lot of things I need to catch up on, there's a lot I've missed, but I'm here now. I can do that."

Cadence sighed through her nose. She reached up and looped her arms around Barry's neck, prompting him to wrap his around her waist. "There's a lot that's changed, Barry. A lot. It's not going to be easy for you to get back to…it's probably not even possible to go back the way we were. I'm not even the same person I was before you left—"

"—Do you still love me?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Of course," she replied.

"And you know I had to go into the Speed Force?"

"I told you to go."

Barry shook his head. "But that doesn't mean you understood."

"Of course, I understood," Cadence replied. "If you didn't go, the city would've been destroyed, people would've been killed." She removed her arms from around his neck and turned away, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "I just don't understand why it always has to be you." With that, she teleported from him.

Since then, Barry did everything he could to try and get things back to normal between everyone. It wasn't an easy thing to do, how do you get over missing six months, as if you were in a coma, but hadn't completely blacked out. Away but still in the same space that no one would've been able to understand. In a place where Barry couldn't talk about what he'd seen, if he tried again, what would keep him from spewing out all that babbling once more? Would anyone but Savitar be able to understand him?

And even then, there was having to get used to everyone once more. And the new dynamics, and for the first time since he was a child, since his parents died, Barry felt that he didn't quite belong, quite knew where he fit into everything. They weren't going to go back in a hurry, there were stepping stones that had to be made. So, he suggested to sleep on the couch until they found their footing once more.

And worked to get used to having Conner around when he was getting used to who was soon going to be his step-son by the end of the year. And how he'd need to figure out if the wedding was actually going to happen. And reconcile…reconnect with Iris and Joe and Wally. And figure out what was going on with Caitlin.

And…

And…

And…

Cadence ran a hand over her face, scanning over the spread Barry had made for himself. "I need to go to the store again," she muttered under her breath.

Barry's eyebrows twitched upwards. He twisted to gance behind him. "Oh," he uttered. Then he turned back to her. "I can go," he quickly offered. "It won't take me too long and I did make a lot." He scanned the food around him then gestured with his arm. "It's not just for me, though, it's for you, guys, too. I figured I'd make everyone breakfast."

Brady looked at him for a long moment. "You're afraid of going back to work, aren't you?" He asked bluntly. "I mean, with that haircut, I get it." He paused. "And you could really do something with your eyebrows." He made a show of motioning towards his forehead, making Conner laugh quietly while Cadence rolled her eyes.

"Just eat," She said.

"Thanks, Barry," Conner said quietly. He moved forward in an almost apologetic manner, his eyes downcast as he reached for the plate of pastries closest to him. He sat on the couch, side-eyeing Brady who practically cannonballed next to him, and gestured to the TV that had fast moving, flickering images on the screen. "What are you watching?"

"Oh! Cisco hooked me up!" Barry grinned. "I'm catching up on all the TV I missed when I was stuck in the Speed Force. When you're gone six months, the whole world's a spoiler. It's a one-thousand time sped up version of all my favorite shoes." He glanced at the screen and gasped aloud. "Oh! Jon Snow died! Oh, he's alive!"

Brady huffed, dropping a biscuit onto the plate with a light clink. "Thanks for ruining it! Mom just let me start watching." He leaned back against the couch, folding his arms tightly over his chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Barry quickly apologized. He started to apologize further then stopped, a slight odor hitting his nose. He sniffed a few times then said, "Hey, what's—" He broke off, noticing Cadence hold up her hand, shaking her head out the corner of his eye. He turned toward her. "What?" She motioned to him to the kitchen. He lowered his voice as he followed her. "Is it your perfume or something? Because if it is, it's not that bad. I mean, you have some better smelling ones. Like that cherry blossom one that's got some citrus in it." He started to babble. "I really like the smell of that one. Because it reminds me of our first date, not that that went well. I mean, it went well, as it can be for being targeted by the Reverse-Flash." Cadence gave him an odd look, making him stop. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Cadence slowly smiled. "And here I was thinking you'd need a jump start for you loopy brain."

"No, my brain's good." Barry tapped at his forehead with his knuckles, as if knocking on a door. "All of me is good."

"You still have a brain?" Brady intoned from the couch.

Barry started to turn toward him, but Cadence grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Don't take it personally, there've been days where he wants nothing more than for me to read his school books to him and then within the next hour being seen with me is like BEING the plague. I knew puberty was coming, but you'd think with his meta powers it'd manifest in some way for me to actually see it coming." She added under her breath, "Or those comic book wiggle-smells."

"Wiggle-smells?"

"You know, where a character smells and they have those green squiggly lines running off the." She jerked her thumb toward Brady. "'I've been dealing with that for a few weeks now."

"So why haven't you just told him he smells?"

"Because explaining the bids and the bees is one thing, saying, 'hey, you stink' is completely different." She shrugged. "Besides, it feels like some sort of a guy thing."

"Do you want me to talk to him? I could say something?" Cadence looked skeptical. "Hey, I had to deal with this…Joe had to do the same thing when I moved in with him and things are okay." He bobbed his knees. "I mean, I wasn't a meta and there wasn't a chance I'd blow a hole in the wall if I sneezed, but…"

There was a knock on the door before it swung open to reveal Ryder Moseley poking his head inside. "Dad!" Brady's entire face lit up. He leapt up from the couch, hurried to put on his backpack, kissed his mother on the cheek, and hurried to Ryder. "I'm ready to go!"

"I think this is the first time I've seen you excited to go to school," Cadence remarked.

"I'm excited to see Dad," Brady replied, still grinning up at his father, who ruffled his hair, pushing it into his face.

"I'll take whatever I can get that's not you moaning and whining and complaining about school and homework and tests and quizzes and projects." Cadence waved a hand, then waved to Ryder. "Thanks for taking him."

"You're welcome," Ryder replied. "I'll have him back after dinner." He rose his eyebrows, wrapping his arms around his son to keep him from lightly punching him in the stomach and chest. "That is, if it's still alright with y'all to take him to the site."

"The Flash can't fix everything, dad," Brady reminded him.

Barry frowned.

"Take him as long as you want," Cadence replied. "I can't remember the last time I had a night off." She tapped her cheek, turning her gaze to the ceiling as she thought about it. "One that wasn't entirely ruined by metas, anyway."

"You're a meta, mom."

"I was including myself in that statement."

Ryder and Brady laughed, the sudden sound making Barry's head jerk black, blinking rapidly in surprise. He hadn't realized how similar their laughter was until that moment. Or, now that he thought about it, how much taller Brady had gotten int the tie he'd been gone. And lost some more of the childlike roundness of his face, it mellowing out into more angles, much like his mother and father.

"We're going to be late," Conner reminded them quietly. He stood a few feet aside of Brady and Ryder, watching them with a peculiar sense of detachment.

"Right. Let's get going." Ryder let go of Brady and took a step back, swinging car keys into his hand. He paused, tilted his head, narrowed his eyes, sniffed, then took a step back when Brady moved to go past him. "Whoa!" Ryder placed his hand on Brady's face, stopping him in his tracks.

"Dad, you're crushing my face," Brady mumbled, voice muffled.

"Buddy, you stink." Ryder pushed Brady back then reached into the bag hanging off his side and produced a stick of deodorant, throwing it toward Brady. Brady immediately caught it in his hands, turning it this way and that to study it. "Put this on. Every day."

"Oh!" Brady twisted it in his hands, popped off the cap, then spread it under his arms. "Thanks. Bye, mom." He hurried out the door with Conner behind him.

"Bye," Ryder waved. "It's good to see you, Barry." The door closed behind them.

Cadence looked at her phone as it started to buzz and raised her eyebrows. "Mm. I've got to go. Captain Singh is calling me in. Must be serious."

"Wait, what about…?" Barry gestured towards the spread he'd made that was rapidly growing cold. "I'll just…I'll bring some to you. For lunch, maybe?" Cadence nodded, threw an arm around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the apartment.

Silence stretched around him. Barry sighed heavily, twisting his mouth to the side. "Welcome back, Barry," Barry murmured to no one, the apartment now empty.


The first thing Cadence noticed when stepping into the precinct was Captain Singh, Officer "Jonesy" Jones, Officer Pruitt, and Jordan standing in a circle, all speaking quietly. The second thing she noticed was a little girl sitting on a nearby bench, kicking her legs back and forth, stuffed in a large jacket, holding onto a dilapidated bear. The third thing she noticed was Captain Singh waving her over, lifting his chin the second he spotted her.

Being spotted by Captain Singh and waved over was never really a good thing. Captain Singh never got your attention unless something was bad news. But there was something in the message he left for her that let her know it was serious. Especially when her line of the CCPD was involved.

She heard snippets of the conversation as she approached the group. "Found her in the car, hiding under the seat," Jonesy explained, resting his hands on the belt wrapped around his waist, weighed down by the items every office was given when the joined the force. "Her parents were at the ATM when the meta attacked."

"Damn," Officer Pruitt murmured.

"We located her next of kin?" Captain Singh asked.

"Maybe an uncle?" Jonesy shrugged, letting out a long breath. "We're still tracking down his last known address."

"Well, we can't have her sleeping on a bench all day," Jordan said with a shake of her head. She looked toward the girl and frowned. "We've got to get her out of here."

"I'm guessing that's my queue," Cadence said, turning all attention her way. Captain Singh looked at her, nodded, then nodded toward the bench. Cadence nodded back, took a deep breath, the headed towards the girl sitting quietly on the bench, her hair spilling over her shoulders. As Cadence moved toward her, she studied the girl closely.

Whatever trauma it was she'd witnessed, it was more than traumatizing. Her eyes were red, watery, tears leaking down her cheeks. The tip of her nose just as bright, from crying so hard, from all the emotion she'd worked to throw out. The effort framing into her face. Framing into the fists that clutched the dilapidated stuffed animal that tightened every time someone came close to her. The girl studied Cadence as she sat down next to her.

Cadence crossed her legs at the knee and continued to look over the girl. Waited. Waited for the shift in her demeanor that let her know it was okay for her to say something. The way she did for every child she worked to help; the ones beaten and abused and neglected in ways that one could only hope was a movie and not real life. The girl certainly wasn't as bad as the others she'd helped escape their homes or take to trial in the last six months.

And they definitely weren't Frankie.

A smile came to Cadence's face as she thought about Frankie Kane, a smile that almost immediately dropped when she saw the suspicion that crossed the girl's face. Cadence used that moment to appeal to her.

"Hi, my name's Cadence," she said gently. "What's yours?"

The girl continued to sniff quietly. She eyed Cadence even further, wondered if she were a friend or foe. "I'm Grace."


A/N: So, what did you think? A juxtaposition for how things are for The Flash compared to how things are for Barry. Flash gets a hero's welcome (pun intended) but Barry may as well be a fish out of water. Anyway, with this story there's going to be a lot more action placed throughout rather than just leading up towards the end, so be ready for that. And those action scenes can be training scenes, sparring scenes, and actual fight scenes.

I do even have some ideas for Brady using his powers at school in a few interesting ways. I hope you all are ready!

Cheers,

-Riles

Review Replies

Natalie: Yep! It's like the Deadpool from Teen Wolf but there are some things that'll be a bit different as well. Rather, it's my own spin on it, so I hope you're excited.

DarkHelm145: Well, it's not going to take too long for the final bounty and things for the Speed Force to be see more. I plan on having the pacing for the different story threads to come together a lot faster than some of my previous stories.

Ethan: Geo was mentioned in the last story, actually. Very briefly, and probably only once, but Geo was mentioned. Otherwise, there's more of the hit list coming up fast. There's more than enough to keep things interesting as this story goes on.