"You're insane." I mumble, scooping ice cream into my mouth, as I stay seated on the couch with Barry, my hair messy, my cheeks strained with dry tears, my eyes puffy and slightly red still, as I was dressed head to toe in Barry's clothes.

"Why am I insane?" Barry's voice is raspy, laced with exhaustion, as he continued to eat his own ice cream from his bucket.

"It's four am- and you're awake eating ice cream with me." I sniffle, looking at him, "You're insane."

"Or- I'm just in love." Barry cheekily says, tiredly winking at me.

"Barry." I huff, sniffling again, "You're honestly insane. But I love you for it. So- it's okay."

"At least you love me for it." Barry leans his head against my shoulder.

"We both have work tomorrow." I sigh, taking another bite of my ice cream.

"So?" Barry kisses my cheek, "You were upset and couldn't sleep. I can't sleep knowing you're upset."

I silently shrug, picking at my ice cream with my spoon, looking at him, thoughts filling my mind, causing me to slightly tear up again.

Barry sat up, keeping eye contact with me, "I'm listening."

"I never wanted to admit that I was scared of losing you in the future." I broke eye contact and looked down at my ice cream, "But- in reality, it's my biggest fear."

Barry's expression softens, as I went on, my voice becoming weak and cracking towards the end of my sentence, "I fell in love with the man who would give his life to keep the people he loves- and the people of this city safe. And- I love you so much for it- because your heart is bigger than anyone I've ever known. But, you've always taken more than you can handle and I-"

I looked up at him, my bottom lip quivering lightly, as I refused to let the tears in my eyes fall, "I know- one day I'm going to lose you- as much as I dread it. I'm so- scared, Barry. I'm so scared- that I'm going to lose you forever this time."

"Hey- hey-" Barry pulls me into him, wrapping his arm around me, "I love you. And- just like you said- when this problems comes- we're gonna face it. And we're going to change the future if we have to."

"Don't quote me at a time like this-" I pout, Barry letting out a little laugh, kissing my cheek, as I blinked away my tears, a weak smile forming on my lips, "I guess you're right."

"I don't want you to be upset over this, okay?" Barry leans his head against my shoulder, "I know everything with Nora- triggered every emotion you've kept bottled up, but, I want us to be happy- I don't like seeing you cry."

I give him a weak nod, looking at the time, "We have to be up for work in a few hours." I look at him, "I feel bad now."

"We can both just call in late." Barry kisses my neck lightly, "Problem solved."

I hum in response, "I guess so."

I looked at him, a weak smile on my lips, as he gave me a soft smile. I peck his lips, only for the kids to turn deeper, the ice cream buckets moving to the coffee table, clothes off and the blanket over us, the next many moments we shared together filled with lust and love.

-

"Good morning." Sherloque greets us with his tea cup as Barry and I walked in around 8 am, small bags under both of our eyes.

"Oh, his accent is so soothing- I could fall asleep right now." I mutter under my breath, Barry lightly nudging me playfully.

I was dressed in a pastel mint green long sleeve, which was tucked into a pair of blue ripped jeans, my legs once again exposed due to the amount of rips in them, Barry's jean jacket on, my hair wavy due to me not having the energy to do it this morning, as we were both tired out of our minds. Barry had his arm around me, holding me close, as I slipped my coffee that Barry held for me, my head leaned against his chest.

"Morning, Sherloque." I tiredly greet him, sipping on my coffee, Sherloque walking over to me, a look filled with suspicion crossing his features.

"Flushed cheeks, slightly swollen lips, glowing skin, your undone hair, the scent of Monsieur Allen, the smile that hasn't wiped off his face since he got here-" Sherloque looked at me, "It can only mean one thing. Monsieur Allen satisfied your sexual needs last night."

I choked on the cold coffee that was slowly making its way down my throat, as I fell into a coughing fit, Barry's face instantly going red at Sherloque practically exposing us, even if we were the only ones here.

Barry puts down the coffee's onto the desk, rubbing my back to calm be down, and once I had, he pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me from behind, burying his face into the crook of my neck to hide how embarrassed he was.

"Your reactions just proved me correct." Sherloque hides a grin, sipping his tea, heading back over to the clear board which he was previously writing on.

"I-" I put my hand on Barry's head, playing with his hair, "We just didn't get much sleep last night, that's all-"

"Because you two were up most of the night satisfying yourselves?" Sherloque wrote on the board.

"No- I-" I stammer, as I felt Barry start to softly laugh against me, slipping away from Barry, linking arms with Barry, Barry grabbing both coffees, "You know what, Barry and I- we have to go- and train. With- Nora. So- we'll be in the Speed Lab if you need us."

"No naughty business-" Sherloque calls out behind us, cause me to turn instantly.

"Sherloque-" I began to make my way over to him, only for Barry to wrap an arm around me, holding both coffees still, pulling me into the Speed Lab.

"Okay- okay-" I kiss his cheek, slipping away, grabbing my drink, sipping the caramel flavored coffee.

After an hour of waiting for Nora, Barry and I had fallen asleep on the ground, leaning against the railing, seated on the steps, Barry's back against the railing, as he held me tight in his arms, the both of us dead asleep.

Eventually, I had woken up, waking him up accidentally in the process, trying to get free of his hold, my eyes landing on the time.

I sigh, standing up, stretching lightly, "Let's just call it, Barry. She's not coming. Again."

"She's probably just helping with Jenna so Joe and Cecile can sleep in." Barry stood up, stretching also, resting his hands on his head, his muscles flexing.

"Every day for the past two weeks?" I huff, looking at him.

"They look really tired." Barry innocently tries to reason, as I shot him a look, "They do."

I roll my eyes lightly, my attention caught to the monitor when it starts to beep rapidly, my eyes landing on the screen, "Tripped alarm at Central City Art Gallery. Someone stole a Monet."

"At 10:00 a.m.?" Barry's tone was high, "That's bold."

"CCPD's en route, suspect heading west on Ruger." I looked at him, "Go."

Barry whooshes off, as I made my way back to the cortex, standing behind the console, slipping off Barry's jacket, "The thief just turned on to Ramirez off of Fifth."

"Almost there." Barry's voice came through the comms, and then seconds later he speaks again, "He's not carrying anything."

"Because he handed it off to someone else." Nora's voice suddenly fills the line, causing both Barry and I to be confused.

"Nora?" I question.

"Nora?" Barry's questions right after me.

"Uh, where's he headed?" I quickly ask, my eyes scanning over the screen.

"I got him." She snips, "I can stop someone on a motor cycle."

"No, Nora, let Barry help-" I began, only for her to cut me off, shutting off her comms.

I scoff, feeling frustrated, "I know you did not just cut me off, miss thing."

-

"This is why we train, Nora." My tone was louder than usual, Barry stood next to me, Nora seated in my seat, just staring at me, as I continued to yell at her due the occurrence of her actions.

She had gone after the guy herself, and she did catch the bad guy, but had almost gotten two people killed if Barry didn't get there in time and saved those two people from almost dying in an motorcycle explosion. Now, Barry was silent next to me, knowing that Nora needed to hear what I was yelling at her about, Nora silent as if she didn't care what I said.

"Every single day." I demand, "Not when you feel like it, not because you're mad, because this is what happens when you don't train- when you don't train- you're not aware of your surroundings, and it's either you, or the victims that get hurt in the process. And, this is exactly why you always have someone in your ear when you're in the field- to help you."

"I know that." Nora rolls her eyes.

"Then why did you turn me off?" I raise my voice into a slight shout, anger boiling within me, one that I couldn't understand where it was emerging from.

"Because I can't listen to you anymore." She snaps, "It's always the same condescending, I-know-better-than-you crap."

Barry's facial expression changes, as he stared at Nora in disbelief, scoffing quietly to himself.

"I do know better than you." I grit my teeth, "I have been doing this way longer than you have. You may think you've turned into a hero overnight because you discovered you had speed, but I've been doing this for over four years, Nora. I know right from wrong, I've trained in the Speed Lab every night with Barry- I made sure I was ready before I got out onto the field."

"You have no idea what it's like to be on the field. You've never fought against any type of metas before. If anything, you wouldn't be able to last against them. They have abilities and you don't." Nora said to me, scoffing.

Barry looks at me instantly, awaiting for what I was about to me.

I let out a pathetic laugh, my eyes instantly turning crystal white as I looked down at her, "There's so much you don't know about me. Man- props to future me."

"I can't believe you." Nora scoffs once more, "First you hide my powers, and then you don't even tell me you're a meta yourself."

"We're not talking about this right now, Nora." I dismiss, crossing my arms, "You can't just cut me off during a mission. Two people almost got killed."

She looked at me, her fist clenching, "Well, you know what, Mom? That's exactly what I'm gonna do. I just want to be me and you sit behind your desk and you say "no" every time and I've been hearing it my whole life and I'm sick of it."

"Your whole life?" I repeat, staring at her.

"Yes, Mom." She yells, staring at me dead in the eye, "Since I can remember, and you never change."

My tone falls dangerously low, "Being a hero doesn't mean catch the bad guy. It means keeping innocent victims safe from said bad guy, sacrificing yourself- giving your life if you have to. Today's mission showed me you can't tell the difference. I'm really starting to agree with my future self for suppressing your powers."

She sat up, her jaw clenched, "I hate you."

I huff, turning around, starting to walk down the hall, away from the both of them.

"Zee." Barry began, only for me to put my hand up and stop him from saying any further, continuing to walk away.

"You know, Nora, I wish you would try to understand who your mom is today, and stop seeing her as who she becomes in the future." Barry quietly said to her, before following me right after.

"Zee, babe-" Barry grabs my arm, stopping me, as I looked up at him, staying silent, "This will get better. I promise."

"I'm going to take your word for it." I slowly nod, weakly smiling up at him, trying to be strong.

-

"Can you describe the man that you saw?" I question the victims of today's crime scene, writing down small notes on my notepad.

"I'd barely call him a man, the way he moved." The woman explained, frightened by the thought of last night's events, "And when he looked back at me, it was terrifying."

I nod, the cool breeze that blew through the air blowing at my hair lightly, "Could you see his face?"

"No." She shook her head, "He was wearing some sort of clown mask."

"And you're sure the necklace is the only thing that was stolen." I ask, my eyes glued to my notepad.

"Yes, and it's irreplaceable." The man next to her said, "Thank you for helping, we really appreciate it."

"Yeah-" I nod, closing my notepad, stepping away from them, looking out into the street, clicking my pen over and over.

"Hey." Barry's voice catches my attention, pure happiness laced in his tone.

I turn and looked at him, "Hi-"

"How's everything going so far?" Barry smiles down at me, happy to see me, especially since we'd been carried away with different things all day.

"A million dollar jewelry theft is interesting enough to keep me awake." I shrug, looking at him, "You?"

"I literally just finished all the cases I missed during my absence. My brain is exhausted." Barry admits, his smile not leaving his lips.

"Awh." I weakly smile at him, "Well, I have to work on this case, so I'll see you at Star Labs later, all right?"

"Okay, wait, hang on-" He grabs my arm quickly, his tone ranging high, stopping me from turning away, "I mean, we're working on the same case."

"As we always are." I trail off, staring at him, not knowing where he was going with this.

"Why don't we pool resources, maybe solve this one together." Barry suggests, shrugging lightly, smiling wider at the thought, letting go of my arm.

"Oh?" I was speechless, my eyes scanning around me, "I mean, I don't know-"

"Come on, grab some Big Belly on the way to Star Labs." Barry persuades, his teeth shining as he smiled, a look on his face that I couldn't deny to, his tone boyish and romantic, "It'll be like a date."

I exhale through my nose, giving him a genuine smile, "Okay, fine."

"All right, come on." Barry wraps his arm around me, leading me towards his car.

-

[ nora's pov ]

"This is the life." I giggle, sipping my Killer Frost drink, "Seriously, I could stay here forever. No worries, no schrap from mom-"

"Wait, wait, wait, what was that?" Cecile stopped me, looking at me, seated on the ground still.

"Schrap." I told her.

"Schrap?" She repeated in a questionable tone.

"Schrap." I began to explain, "You know, like all the nagging that mom does. I mean, she acts like she supports me, but what she really wants is a boring, quiet daughter who just wants to stay inside all day instead of go out and do anything that might be the least bit dangerous."

"Nora," Cecile's tone was suddenly strict, causing me to shut up quickly, "This is the West house. In it, every parent is given respect, most especially your mother. Everyone family member, every elder, every person is given the rightful respect deserved. With everything your mother has gone through, I am sure she raised you as best she could."

I sat up, "She raised me to be afraid of the world. But I'm a hero, you know, like dad. And we have to keep moving until everyone that needs us is safe."

"Okay." Cecile stood up, tossing a screwdriver at me.

"I'm sorry, what is this for?" I question, putting down my drink.

"When Papa Joe comes back, this table is going to finally be built." Cecile instructs, a pout falling onto my lips, "You wanted to keep moving."

"Do I have to?" I whine.

"All right, I'll make you a deal." Cecile began, "For every chore you do I'll tell you one thing Papa Joe told me about your father that didn't make it into the precious Flash museum."

"Oh, Mama Cecile, the museum has a complete record of all of Dad's accomplishments." I nod towards her.

"Including the time Barry ended up in an alternate past filled with golden giants called "Grodans"?" She looked at me with her eyes wide.

My eyebrows furrow with confusion, "Wait, what?"

"Grodans." She taunts.

I shrug, getting up, whooshing around, quickly setting up the table, sitting back down on the couch, "Done. So then what happened?"

"Not done." She stared at me, "Wait for it."

Suddenly, the entire table falls over and breaks apart, Cecile holding up the bag of screws, a pout falling onto my lips.

-

[ zee's pov ]

"I want to cancel my subscription." I mutter, shoving a fry into my mouth.

"Of what?" Barry looked at me confused.

I shot him a look, "Motherhood."

"Zee." Barry softly laughs, eating a fry.

"What?" I throw my hands up dramatically, "This stuffs complicated. I'm stressed."

"Well, you got me to make sure you remain stress-free." Barry kisses my temple, feeding me a fry.

"Dude, if I knew we'd be the best married couple that ever existed-" I looked at him, "I would've married you sooner."

Barry laughs again, kissing my cheek, then looks at the screen in front of us, "That's weird."

"This is the part where you explain to me what's weird because I don't understand science." I told him, sitting up.

"It says the hair I found is human but it can't pull any DNA." Barry reads, looking at me confused.

"Maybe run it again?" I suggest, as he shrugs, running it once more, eating a fry.

The alarm starts to blare, my head snapping towards the monitor above us, "Somebody called in a bomb threat at Seaver Architects."

"I got it-" Barry got up, rushing off.

-

"So, he squeezed his way through an air conditioning vent?" I question, staring at him.

"Yeah, he could stretch kinda like Ralph, except he was wearing a-" Barry started.

I sigh, finishing for him, "Clown mask."

"Yup." Barry nods, leaning against the railing.

"Just like the guy that stole the Winehouse necklace." I huff.

"We got a stretching clown meta." Barry pieces together, standing up straight.

"Yeah, that's not creepy at all." I say sarcastically, "Did you find any more of those weird lines?"

"No, and if there's more, they're buried underneath tons of rubble, just like our meta, unless he was able to stretch out of that one too." Barry starts to say in realization. "Which I'm sure he was. The lines."

I look at him, confused, as he rounds the console, now next to me, leaning over me, loosely having his arms around me, typing away on the screen in front of me, "Huh?"

"Well, I mean, our meta can stretch and contort, right?" Barry began to explain, "What if his fingerprints can too?"

Barry pulled up the recognition, "Got him. Peter Merkel. And he was arrested for B&E two years ago."

"Peter Merkel." I repeat, pulling up an article, "As in the son of Billionaire Theresa Merkel?"

"Yeah- apparently." Barry stood up straight, as I remained seated in my chair.

"How does someone go from being a member of high society to stealing heirlooms and blowing up buildings?" I question, looking up from the screen and at him.

"Maybe we should attend this gala she's hosting and ask her ourselves." Barry suggests, putting his hand on my back, looking down at me with a sly smile.

"Uh, I don't know, what if Merkel's there?" I hesitate, making eye contact with him.

"So what?" Barry shrugs, "We'll come prepared. Some meta handcuffs for me, a taser for you, and we get to dress up."

"Barry." I stare at him in disbelief, a small laugh following.

"What?" Barry boyishly smiles down at me.

"This is a meta investigation; this is not date night." I stare at him with an amused look, trying my best not break out into laughter.

"I'm just saying, I look really good in a tux." Barry puts his hands up in surrender, "And you look gorgeous in a dress, so let's give this gala a shot."

"Fine." I roll my eyes playfully, giggling.

-

Barry and I slowly walked into the Gala, eyeing everyone slowly, Barry's hand on my lower back as he lead me through everyone.

With the help of Iris West, I was dressed in a off the shoulder, long red dress, that had a side slit, gold heels on my feet, diamond drop earrings dangling from my ears, the side sections of my hair clipped back, my hair straight as ever.

While Barry, getting ready on his own, had dressed in a black tux, with a matching bow tie.

"You look amazing, by the way." Barry whispered in my ear, his eyes raking up and down my body, taking in the dress I had on.

"Thank Iris." I point at him, "I'm 27 and I still can't dress for an event like this by myself."

Barry smiles, kissing my cheek, my focus directed towards Theresa, Barry taking notice, starting to pull me along towards her, "There's Theresa Merkel. Come on."

"Wait." I stop him, "What are we going to say? We can't just ask her if her son was recently hit by dark matter into shrapnel."

"You'll think of something." Barry quietly says to me

I stop, "Me?"

Barry shot me a crooked smile, causing me to roll my eyes and face Theresa, clearing my throat to catch her attention.

Barry and I slowly walked up to her, as she looked at us with a blank expression, as we tried to be polite as possible.

"Hi, Mrs. Merkel." I greet her, "I'm Zee Allen-"

"Oh, I know who you are." She cut me off, causing me to gape at her, "You were the one who used to write about those lunatics and the heroes that caught them, but now you're a Detective, is that correct?"

"I- yeah." I stammer.

"I'm Barry Allen." Barry introduces himself, shaking her hand.

"Ah." She looks between us, "And you're obviously not here to make a sizeable donation which means you, my dear, are here on assignment."

Barry and I go silent, as she took that as an answer, "All right, ask whatever you like. You have two minutes."

"Well, it's about your son, Peter." I clear my throat, "When was the last time that you saw him?"

"That would be two years ago when he broke into his own house." She answered, "I was out of town, and my staff had him arrested."

"Do you know where Peter is now?" Barry asked next.

"No, and I don't care." She replied coldly, "See, I gave him the world. The finest private schools, his own wing to play in. But he just never appreciated it."

"Enjoy the party." She dismissed, then walked away.

"Well, she's done her research on me." I mutter, looking up at Barry.

"Yeah- she has." Barry eyed her, then looked at me, "I feel kinda bad for him now."

"She's so- cold." I put into context, "Can you imagine what that was like?"

Barry looks around, changing the subject, "Hey, you know what?"

"What?" I looked at him.

"It's not a date without a dance." Barry smiles, grabbing my hand, pulling me onto the dance floor.

"Barry-" I began, only to cut myself off when he spins me, pulling me into him, holding one of my hands in his, placing my free one on his shoulder, placing his hand on my waist, slow dancing to the music.

"What's up with you and these dates today?" I question, laughing weakly.

"I just-" Barry lightly shrugs, "I love being the reason that smile is on your face- or that laugh- comes from you."

A small blush takes upon my cheeks, as I look away, biting my lip to hold back a smile.

"You know, we never really had our actual first dance." Barry mentions, as we continued to slow dance to the elegant piano music that was playing.

"Unless- you count all the times we jammed out at home- I guess we haven't." I shrug lightly, a small laugh leaving Barry's lips.

Barry and I go silent, as he just eyes me over and over, the smile on his face not wiping off.

My facial expression changes completely, as thought after thought swarmed through my mind, causing me to need some air.

I looked up at Barry, "I need some air- I- I'll be back."

I step away from him, leaving the building, standing outside on the steps, my tongue pressing at the roof of my mouth to keep all emotions held back.

"Hey." Barry comes behind me, "You okay?"

I looked at him, "She gave her only son everything that she had and it wasn't enough. Just like I'm not enough for Nora."

"Zee-" Barry grabbed my hands, "You are nothing like that woman in there."

"How am I not, Barry?" I reason, "I mean, I love our daughter so much, but she hates me. Because I turn my back on her just like Theresa Merkel did to her son. I lie to her about everything that she is. And I prevent her from living the life that she deserves."

Barry stays silent, as I huff, "I'd hate me too."

"Zee, you are never going to be the person that Nora knows from the future." Barry tried to comfort me, as he was doing everything he could to keep me happy and take my mind of this, but some how, we always ended up discussing this.

"It's not even up to us. With the way I lashed out on her-" I looked at him, my voice shaky, "I've already become her and I didn't even have a choice."

-

"You know, this case will keep until morning." Barry walks into the The Lounge, seating next to me on the couch. We had changed back into our normal clothes, working on the case we needed to stay focus on.

"Yeah, I know, I guess, it's just Merkel's still out there." I sit back, "And the gala was a dead end and all we know is that he committed two completely unrelated crimes."

Barry stares at me, knowing this isn't what I wanted to talk about.

"I don't know what to do about Nora, Barry." I break, sighing, "I know I've been probably irritating the everything out of you because of this but-"

"You're not, I promise." Barry stops me, as I shut up instantly.

"Well, look." Barry went on, "I mean, you know I'm on your side with this. If you dampen her powers in the future, it's because you care about her. You're doing it to keep her safe."

I shrug, "Just because I can protect her doesn't mean that I'm a good mom."

Barry looks into my eyes, finally piecing together what had been bothering me this entire time, "Zee, just because you didn't have your mother your entire run doesn't mean you're going to end up worse."

"I didn't have a mom to- teach me how to cook- or how to clean myself up for a gala- or- anything basic I should be- showing my daughter- or acting upon-" I looked away, "Nora's going to push me away because I have no idea how to be a mother."

"That's not gonna happen." Barry squeezes my hand comfortingly, "Choose a different route. Make a different choice when you raise Nora. If you don't want to be that person, don't be that person."

"It's not that simple, Barry." I shook my head.

"You're not Zee from the future, and you don't have to be, ever." Barry told me, "I think you should stop worrying about who you might become and reconnect with who you are, now."

I looked at him, slowly nodding, "Okay."

"Now, let's go home, all right?" Barry kisses my hand.

"Actually, can I meet you there?" I question, "I think I've got something."

"Okay." Barry pecks my lips, leaving me alone to do my work.

-

[ nora's pov ]

"Okay, one more." I begged.

Cecile nods, "So, when your dad was around the era where his greatest enemy was Zoom, he had a difficult decision he had to make just before he defeated Zoom, this being right after your grandfather was murdered. He was trapped in Zoom's lair with your Papa Joe, and his evil doppelganger had given him a choice. To drink a venomous poison regenerated just for a meta human, or give it to Papa Joe. So either way, your mother would lose someone she loved. It's either she lost another father figure, or the love of her life. He took the poison instantly, sacrificing himself, so your mother wouldn't hurt over the loss of another parent."

"Wait, but dad's doppelganger wasn't evil-" I realized, looking at her, "That story wasn't about dad, was it?"

"It was about mom helping dad." I continued, "Wait, were all those stories you told me about mom?"

Cecile weakly smiles at me, "Nora, you're projecting all of these feelings that you have about Zee 30 years from now. You're not getting to know who she is today."

"These stories that I told you, they're what made me fall in love with this family." Cecile went on, "Made me realize how special this family is."

"So, If you liked them, plenty more in here." Cecile smiles at me.

-

[ zee's pov ]

"Guys, Merkel kidnapped Barry." I rush into the cortex, dropping my phone onto the desk.

"What?" Cisco questioned.

"How's that even possible?" Caitlin questioned right after him.

"He's got Barry's meta-cuffs." I dial Nora's number, keeping the phone flat on the desk.

"Well, that would do it." Sherloque says.

"Who are you calling?" Ralph asked as they made their way over to me.

"Damn it, Nora pick up." I mutter, huffing, redialing.

"I'll ping Barry's cell, see if I can get a location." Cisco came next to me, doing just that, "He's in Eaglesham apartments on Simone Ave."

"I don't think he's in the apartments so much as on them." Caitlin stares at the screen.

"Okay, we don't have a speedster, Cisco can't breach, and Killer Frost is out of commission." I list, "We need to come up with a plan to save Barry now."

"The extrapolator." Cisco tells me, "We can reach in and grab him."

I turn, "Great, where is it?"

"Right. Uh, about that-" Sherloque trails off, pulling it out, "I broke it."

"Are you kidding me?" I looked at him.

"How did you break this?" Cisco asked, "Batting practice?"

"It's not user friendly." Sherloque said.

"You're not user friendly!" Cisco shot right back at him.

"Cisco." I looked at him, "How long til it's fixed?"

"It's going to take me at least an hour to fix it." Cisco looks at me.

"Cisco, we don't have an hour." I run a hand through my hair, stressed.

"No, but we do have me." Ralph walks in, suited up, "Let's go save The Flash."

"That was inspiring." Sherloque puts his fist over his heart.

"You got a cuff key?" Caitlin asked me, as I held it up.

"Got it." I walked down the hall with Ralph, "Meet you there?"

Ralph nods, as we both ran out of the Labs, Ralph trying some sort of Spider Man sling shot, as he had told me that he saw it in a comic book, as I flew above him, heading in the same direction, same destination.

Within minutes, we had reached the top of the building, Barry and Peter's voices coming into hearing distance.

"Suffering can't be stopped." Peter's sick voice said to Barry, "Especially hers."

"If you touch Zee-" Barry started to threaten, all up in Peter's face, even if he was tied up to a chair, balancing at the ledge of the roof.

"Don't want to hear your pain." He taunts, "Only your wife's."

"Let him go." I said loud and clear, my eyes glowing a crystal white, my fists burning with flames, Ralph stood next to me.

"The wife." He looked at me, Barry's eyes wide with panic, once he sees me, not wanting to see me get hurt, "You fire, he dies."

"Okay." I cool down completely, going back to normal, my hands up in surrender, "Just- please don't hurt him."

"You heard the lady, Raggedy Dandy." Ralph demanded, "Let him go."

"Okay." Peter knocked Barry off the ledge, causing me to let out a gasp, and run to the ledge, jumping off right after him.

Barry looked at me with wide eyes, as he fell fast, my hand holding onto the key tightly, as I used my flight abilities to catch up to him, grabbing onto the cuffs, attempting to hold him up, shoving the key into the hole, the both of us now falling to our deaths.

"Oh god- you're heavy-" I mutter, turning the key forcefully, unlocking the cuffs, his powers instantly surging through him, his eyes sparking with electricity as he broke free of the hold, grabbing onto me, running to the ground, stopping at the sidewalk, holding me bridal style.

Barry holds me up, our heads snapping at the sudden sound of the chair hitting the ground.

"Mom!" Nora's voice surprises me, as Barry puts me down, my eyes wide as ever along with Barry's, Barry staring at me, as I stared at Nora, "Holy schrap. You just threw yourself off a building to save dad?"

"Oh my god- I did." My eyes looked as if they would pop right out of their sockets, as I just processed what had happened.

"That was beyond schway." She boasts, looking between the two of us.

Barry was breathing heavily, as was I, as he pointed at me, "You're crazy."

"I think we've already established that, many- many times." I regrettably blink long and hard, then look back at him.

"Thank you. I love you." Barry tells me, pulling me into a kiss the second after I said it back.

The minute we pull away, a gasp leaves my lips, as I looked up, "Ralph is still up there."

"I hope I don't land on my keys!" Ralph's echoed voice came closer, as he fell onto a car, my eyes widening at the sight of him.

"Ah." Barry clenches his fists, cringing at the fall.

"Uh." Ralph swallows, "You guys still have those meta-cuffs?"

-

"Zee Allen, I know badassery when I see it and that was raw, unrefined, cage-free, non-GMO, badassery right there." Cisco acknowledges, causing me to playfully roll my eyes.

"You dove off a building." Caitlin shot me a genuine smile.

"For me." Barry's lips fall into a lovable pout, his hand flat on his chest.

"Oh my god, why are we still talking about this-" I drag out, feeling overwhelmed, as I hid my face in Barry's chest, Barry wrapping his arms around my shoulder's, my cheeks turning red.

"Awh, she's blushing." Barry plays with my hair, quietly laughing down at me.

"What was going through you mind?" Nora asked, my heart filling with warmth at the sound of her actually speaking to me without an argument emerging.

"Uhm, my god, this man is heavy?" I honestly said, Barry chuckling, putting his hand into a fist, placing it on my head and rubbing it back and forth, messing my hair up, causing me to scrunch my nose and close my eyes in the process.

Nora was quick to snap a picture of us instantly, using her speed, then returning back to what she was speaking about, "I mean, weren't you afraid? You're not a speedster."

"Nope-" I shook my head, fixing my hair, coming up with my best answer, "But, I knew what I had to do and I did it."

"Wait-" I point up at Nora, "That's a lie, I had no idea what I was doing and I didn't want my husband to die. Thus- the idiotic decision I made."

This earned a laugh from everyone, Ralph speaking up, "Well, not to interrupt this wonderful moment that I just interrupted, but, you know, I helped defeat- that boneless bozo too."

"Couldn't have done it without ya, Ralph." I gave him the appreciation he wanted.

"It wasn't so easy." Ralph nods, "And that God, that mask. It's like one of those porcelain dolls that's gonna kill you while you sleep."

"Okay, that's enough, you're gonna give me nightmares." I wave him off.

"I thought it was more like a ragdoll." Cisco nicknamed him, looking at us, smiling, "Yeah, that's right. Still got it. Hold your applause."

"Guess it's off to Iron Heights for slippery old ragdoll." Ralph says, following Cisco and Caitlin our, Nora starting to leave also.

"Oh, wait, you're- you're leaving?" I looked at her.

"Yeah, um, there's something I need to do, but I'll be right back." Nora smiles at us, "I promise."

"She looks happy." Barry smiles, as we watched her leave.

"Yeah, she really does." I trail off, looking at him instantly, "Wait-"

"What?" Barry looked at me.

"Nora and I had a conversation- and we didn't scream at each other." I told him, excitement threaded in my tone, "She looks happy after talking to me- to us- to the team- usually she barely says two words to me and when she does we scream at each other-"

Barry starts to smile widely, as I squeal his name, jumping onto him, engulfing him into a hug as he lets out a laugh, holding onto me tight.

-

"Where did you get that?" I ask Nora, looked down at what rested next to her, as she was seated in the Speed Lab, writing in her journal.

Nora smiles up at me, picking up the large photo album, gesturing for me to sit next to her.

I slowly sat next to her, looking down at the pages, "Your Dad's always adding to it. I don't know why."

"It's your life." Nora looked at me, "When I crashed with you guys- I actually caught him looking through this a few times. He always has the biggest smile when he stops at this page."

Nora pauses at a page, pointing at a photo. It was a photo of Barry and I, at the beginning of our twenties. I was very into photography, and it was the autumn season. So, when Barry came home to visit during his last year of college, I had convinced him to let me take pictures of him.

I had set the camera timer for ten seconds, and had went over to him, to give a few finishing touches, only for him to grab my waist and pull me onto him unexpectedly, so I would be in the picture too, leaves falling, the picture snapping at that exact moment.

"You make him crazy, mom." Nora looked at me.

"I really do, don't I?" I laugh lightly, leaning my head against the railing.

Nora flipped through more pages, "Exposing a corrupt school teacher at the age of 15, started a fire in the Chem Lab at 16- I mean, you never talk about this stuff."

"In the the future, I mean." Nora corrects herself, "It's, um, one of your off-limits topics. I'm not allowed to ask about it."

"Nora." I began, pressing my palms together, "I am not that person in the future. And nothing is off limits to me, okay? I'm not gonna sit behind a desk and say "no." I want you to live your life. And I want you to be a part of mine. No secrets, no lies, just- is- being who we are today. I don't want there to be any tension between us over something that I haven't become."

"Really?" Nora weakly smiled at me.

"Yeah, really." I nod.

"Did you and Dad really crash Papa Joe's car after taking it for a joy ride?" Nora excitedly asked me.

"I'm gonna kill Cecile." I run a hand through my hair, letting out a distressed laugh, "But, um, yes. We did. And he got us Big Belly afterwards- so it was pretty much a win-win."

"That's cool, mom." Nora laughs.

I laugh quietly, "Taking Joe's car out for a joy ride, crashing it, and managing to get Big Belly right after is- cool?"

authors note:

omgggg, i love this chapterrrrr.

barry and zee are hella cute in this chapter, y'all be spam the comments with your reactions. love you even if I've repeatedly asked for comments cause I'm a thirsty bitch for those comments.