Dedicated to NoraXSWest-AllenFam, CamrynKissel, damianflashpoint, @luciferandchloe2021, @bloodypunkkk for the all their support on my Arrowverse work! Love all of you :)

"C'mon, Cisco, pick up," Iris thought, her right hand's grip momentarily leaving her silver sedan's leather-covered steering wheel in order to let another responseless message drop into the scientist's already overloaded inbox, a limit that would surely have been reached by now had there been one.

Her fingers seemed to tremble intensely under even the simple task of driving or texting on her phone, but that didn't in the slightest make the woman stammer as she instead opted to push past the nerve-racking fear which was threatening to force its way up her spine in favor of getting to her desired destination quicker. Well, at least for as long as one could considering the dire circumstances which had occurred only an hour prior, that is.

She didn't know which sight had been a worse one to see; The slick, black-suited, demonic-clawed monster known as Zoom or the immense lines of ruby red blood streaming down both of her best friend's cheeks as the creature held what looked like his motionless body up for everyone at Picture News to see. Even thinking about the scene brought another eerily cold wave of anxiety rushing down the back of her neck at just the mere thought of the terrifying speedster's ominous speech;

"Look at your hero. This man is no God. He. Is. Nothing."

No, the woman's first thoughts of confusion weren't true in the slightest. Iris did know what had scared her the most in that very moment;

Seeing Barry in pain.

Zoom was holding him right there in front of me and I couldn't even do anything to help, to save him. And now, he could be really hurt or worse...and, and I didn't even get to tell him how much he means to me. No, I can't think like that because he's going to be fine. He has to be.

As Iris' absentminded attention shakily snapped back onto the concrete road which lay in front of her, she quickly noticed that the bustling streets of midnight Central City had been left behind in the wake of the large-casted shadow known as Team Flash's resident headquarters, S.T.A.R. Labs. Even in the pitch black darkness that covered the sky, the circular-framed structures' two pronged towers still stood just as tall as if the sun were at its peak brightness, its light reflected off of every glass panel that made up the entirety of the building's walls. The Lab's metal, disk-like base was partially shrouded by a small forest of leafy green trees (ones which Iris had only ever once seen anyone trimming up in the form of a bet Cisco lost with who they thought was Doctor Harrison Wells at the time), creating the perfect illusion that it was indeed an abandoned reminder of the city's worst disaster. Only, the reporter knew much better than to be deceived by such a notion.

And it's not just because I know Barry's The Flash. I mean, I would've figured it for myself, anyway....eventually.

Iris immediately pulled her car to a stop in one of the Lab's many empty slots, not that that was a very hard task considering the only other vehicle parked within its confines was chiefly that of her father, Joe's, old black SUV. Whether that was due to him being the only person currently present at the facility, she didn't know because unfortunately, not a single one of the scientists on the team owned a car.

Harry we've barely known so his problems are his own to deal with and Caitlin's reason I totally get about not supporting anything that promotes pollution, but it would be REALLY helpful if Cisco hadn't decided to forgo getting a car just because he became friends with The Flash.

Though, Iris didn't dwell too much on that particular complaint for she couldn't entirely say she wouldn't have felt the same way had she met Barry first as a superhero, instead of when they were kids.

Not that I'd trade those moments for honestly anything else. Which is why I really need him to be okay.

Iris felt the gentle midnight breeze blowing briskly through her long dark brunette hair as she swiftly strided forward towards the double-doored, shiny glass entrance. The vague sound of her black spool heels echoed distinctly throughout the empty lobby-like space which was the first floor of the Lab's interior. Multiple gigantic stacks of heavy cardboard boxes precariously seemed to lean up against nearly every wall which supported the structure's space, inconspicuously cautioning any intruder to reconsider their rash decision of breaking into the building in the first place for it appeared as nothing more than an unsanctioned storage room with little to offer up that was actually interesting. Items of which Iris quickly brushed past without care, her mind completely consumed by the singular thought of checking on her best friend.

Barry's gotten hurt before and he always ended up fine then, so what would make this time any different?

But even as she pressed the white glowing up arrow button on the elevator's small silver panel, a sinking sensation seemed to drop down inside her stomach. A feeling quite similar in coolness to the one she'd experienced earlier that evening, only with a much more muted after effect. Or rather, that the things she was feeling now were the after effect.

Of course, there's something different this time around because there was a literal super speed-powered monster trying to kill him! But that thing doesn't matter. None of it does. As long as Barry's okay...

Iris exhaled a tired breath, letting the still air which filled the wide elevator's space leave her lungs as her eyes slowly watched its metal door slide open, revealing the familiar hallway just outside the Cortex.

"If this is the type of freaking out Barry does everyday then, I'm really starting to see why he's exhausted all the time," Iris laughed, quietly to herself as she hurriedly made her way through the winding corridor, her mind temporarily letting the anxiety fade into the background of her thoughts.

An action that seemed very effective at passing time for within a matter of seconds, she reached the Cortex's space.

I guess sometimes the best way to relieve stress is to, well, not think about it in the first place.

But that's really hard to do when I don't want to and honestly, can't stop thinking about it. About him.

Though, those feelings of comfort disappeared just as quickly as they'd come at the sight of Cisco and Harry's faces.

Cisco was dressed in the same worn light blue jeans as he had been earlier that day, his long wavy strands of black hair resting playfully against the upper section of both his navy blue t-shirt and unbuttoned coffee brown flannel pullover. His usually goofily smiling face wore a much more anxious expression, one which seemed to only tug deeper at his lower lip as his right hand's fingertips absentmindedly tapped the main desk's metal surface.

Even to someone who'd barely gotten to know him, Iris could already tell the moment she entered the room how bad the team's plan must've gone solely from the emotionless scowl which was plastered firmly onto Harry's tired face. His slightly muscular arms were exposed freely to the room's air as he ferociously paced back and forth, the lowermost edges of his thick, wrinkled black tank top rubbing uncomfortably against his stomach with each movement he took in either direction.

But the sight that truly made Iris' veins go numb with fear were the thick splotches of dried marron blood stained onto the older scientist's clothing, ones which, despite possibly appearing old at first, seemed to move along with the man's patterned steps, easily transferring their darkened color from one line of fabric to the next.

That can't be Barry's, can it?

"What happened?" Iris asked as her eyes met Cisco's, desperately pleading for a more hopeful response than the one she was expecting to receive.

"Huh? Iris, you're here! Er, sorry I didn't respond to your texts!" Cisco exclaimed, his voice holding a tone much too optimistic to ever fool anyone who was actually listening to his words as he quickly jumped out of his rolling gray desk chair to meet her gaze.

Especially someone who cared as much about his answer as Iris.

"No, it's fine, Cisco. I don't even care about that. I just wanna know if Barry's okay," Iris spoke as she quietly dropped her small Autumn orange purse down onto the tabletop in front of the nervous tech guy, its similarly colored thin fabric strap draping softly over the surface's edge.

"Uh...yeah, he's alright. Caitlin's just patching him up," Cisco replied, vaguely, his eyes averting the woman's gaze as they seemingly abruptly became fixated on the dirty laces of his old white sneakers.

Did Zoom really hurt him that badly? What I am even saying, of course he did...I saw what he did.

"Cisco..." Repeated Iris, her voice holding just the sharpness it needed to in order to regain her friend's intentionally distracted attention.

Though, even a glare as powerful as that of Iris West didn't seem to change the minimal amount of speech from continuing to leave Cisco's lips.

A fact that was somehow nearly contributing just as great of a sense of dread throughout the room as the looming issue of Barry's safety was.

"He's lying," Harry stated, his answer given without any prior acknowledgement towards the woman's entrance, almost as if his words were said in automation, rather than in the form of an actual human response.

Though, that was something quite typical when it came to any sort of angry Wells, just usually said frustration included the throwing of a construction tool at one of his teammates.

Cisco and Iris both quickly whipped their heads around at the man's abrupt interjection, the latter's heart beating dangerously fast inside her loose, black-bloused chest.

"Seriously, man, really? I was trying to go easy on her!" Cisco groaned, pressing the tips of his fingers against the middle of his forehead in frustration.

"Well, there's no easy way to tell someone your best friend's dying, is there, Ramon?" Harry retorted, his eyes momentarily glaring over at Cisco before resuming his heavy black boots' pacing position across the room.

"What do you mean Barry's..." Iris began, though the rest of her sentence seemed to get stuck inside her throat before most of the words could even come out.

A problem which her mind instantaneously built an immovable brick wall in front of, completely refuting any possible mention of even thinking about uttering the cursed words ever again.

Nope, not possible. They're both being overdramatic because I know Barry's okay. He has to be.

"Can you stop saying that! Barry's not dead and you don't need to keep trying to freak her out! Not that there's anything to be worried about in the first place, of course!" Reassured Cisco as he placed his hand on her shoulder for a few brief moments before quickly resolving to remove it due to the mutual awkwardness that had unintentionally followed his action.

"Yeah, please don't ever do that again," Iris immediately requested, her gaze shifting cautiously between the men as their conversation continued.

I don't honestly know what I'm feeling stronger right now, my worry for Barry or my anger towards their constant bickering. Better yet, why can't it just be both?

"Not lying either, though am I?" Harry retorted, shrugging his halfway clothed shoulders vaguely, though that did not in the slightest prevent his feet from continuing the man's seemingly endless journey of back and forth pacing.

"Well...technically not entirely, but that's besides the point here," Cisco stammered, momentarily scratching the back of his head in confirmation of his own jumbled words.

A sight which would've typically brought a satisfactory grin to Harry's smug face if not for the insurmountable guilt that was so intensely weighing down on his chest.

"Can you two just quit it already?!" Iris suddenly exclaimed, her gaze boring daggers into both the scientists' distracted eyes.

An action which at least brought the man's attention who actually cared about what she said back down to reality.

"I get that we're all going through things right now, but the person in just the next room, he's the only one who matters right now! Not either of you or me! And if you two can't see that, well then, I guess you really didn't care about him as much as I thought you did," Iris scoffed, throwing down her hands to her sides in exasperation.

Her pained shout seemed to echo off of every one of the Cortex's hollow white-arched walls, the sound slowly fading into the dead silence which was suddenly left in their chaotic words' wake.

Almost as if Iris could once again see the six doctors frantically racing around the already crowded operating room, calling out various medical procedures she was too afraid to hear to one another as they pressed mCPRs to Barry's exposed chest. Continuously blaring beeps of muted electricity jumping from the device's dual metal-plated centers, each shock seemingly trying to reactivate the dying man's stopped heart. Only, it seemed impossible to Iris that any heart as big as Barry's could've ever stopped in the first place.

Though, the loudest noise that sounded throughout Iris' head, pounding incessantly against the inside of her skull, blocking out nearly every other thought that she could possibly have, was her own screams.

Her own terrified screams of her best friend's name.

"Barry!"

Iris quickly blinked several times to regather a sense of the world that surrounded her, quietly wiping away the silent tears which were so slowly slipping down her lightly mascaraed cheeks.

She noticed that the two scientists' eyes were intently staring at her as if they were awaiting her next word before they responded. At least, that's what the woman had first thought until Harry slowly walked over to meet her face to face, the angered wind that followed him somehow blowing a few messy strands of her dark brunette hair out of their resting places against the front of her loose V-neck black blouse.

"You're right, West. None of us matter. None of us ever mattered. But don't you dare for a single second even think that Allen is the only person who's hurting right now. Because last time I checked, we all lost to Zoom, not just him," Harry snapped, his every syllable seemingly being stated with an even sharper tone than the one before it.

Iris stood frozen in place for several seconds, each breath she inhaled getting slightly harder for her lungs to take in as she watched the man's furious form storm out of the room without listening in the slightest to any of Cisco's shouts calling his name.

"I didn't mean to say that, I just..." Iris began, her words once again trailing off into what felt like a never-ending pit buried deep inside her stomach, simultaneously sucking up all her words and feelings that weren't the dread creeping up her spine.

"Don't worry about it. He's just dealing with his own problems right now," Cisco replied, though his words held a sympathy for much more than just the woman who was currently standing across from him.

Almost as if he were intentionally stopping himself from saying something that he knew was right, yet voicing the words aloud really wouldn't do anything to help the situation, either.

Otherwise known as he feels just as helpless as I do right now. But I refuse to believe that there's nothing we can do because Barry wouldn't stop trying if things were reversed.

But before Iris could respond to her friend's comment, the nearby clear glass, silver-framed door of the operation room finally opened, revealing her tired father's tall form.

He was dressed in a simple navy blue shirt and worn black jeans, the prior's sleeves distinctly pulled up to his elbows in just the same way they always were anytime the man was worried about his adoptive son getting hurt due to his constant need to adjust their length when he was anxious (which needless to say, has happened a lot throughout my life, especially nowadays). Two thick black suspender straps wrapped tightly above the older man's broad shoulder blades, his treaded hiking boots colliding shortly against the floor's tile panels as he hurriedly strided over to where Iris and Cisco were standing shakily.

"Dad, what happened?!" Iris asked frantically, her words coming out with much more relief than she'd thought she'd feel at just his sight as she immediately wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug she could manage, something that brought the smallest of smiles to her dad's worn face.

"It's alright, Baby Girl. Everything's going to be fine," Joe stated, softly as he, too, wrapped his arms caringly around his daughter, letting her brunette hair fall anxiously against his heaving chest.

Everything will be once I know that he's okay...

"And you don't need to worry about Barr because he's going to be fine. Just got kinda hurt from his fight with Zoom, that's all," Joe added, seemingly reading her every thought as if they were clearly being displayed on her face for all to see.

Not that I'm doing a great job hiding it right now, but Dad would've probably known either way. I mean, it's my Dad I'm talking about here. He always knows. Whether I want him to or not.

"He is?" confirmed Iris, her eyes immediately lighting up with a hope they hadn't ever since the moment she'd seen the demonic monster that was so-called deemed the name, "Zoom," as she slowly pulled out of their embrace just to fully allow herself to gauge if his answer was truthful or not.

He's not the only one who knows when something's wrong. And in my defense, I am his daughter, after all, too.

"Yeah, he's alright. This time, anyway," Joe spoke, an understanding smile covering his face as his eyes met Iris' with a mutual sense of love.

Though, his words of relief didn't stop a silent sigh of regret from hanging invisibly in the background of his strong-willed voice.

Oh, thank God...Not that I ever doubted him or anything. I just really needed to know that Barry was okay.

"Yes! That's our boy!" Cisco exclaimed, ecstatic repose carrying the entirety of his tone as he not-so-subtly fist-pumped the air just behind the two Wests.

"Really?" Laughed Iris, playfully crossing her arms in fake annoyance as she easily spun around on the heels of her shoes to meet their friend's face.

"Sorry, I know you two were having a moment there and everything, but it's Barry we're talking about guys! How could I not?" Cisco countered, leisurely leaning up against the Cortex's barred silver metal center computer.

Though, his so-called "leisurely" posture resembled much more that of a certain awkward speedster's than the actual stance of a cool guy.

"Aha, sure. How about you just go try and find Harry before he does anything else crazy around here," Iris suggested, nodding her head clearly towards the doorless exit that the aggravated scientist had previously left out of.

"You can say that again," Joe muttered, the slightest bit of spite lingering in his otherwise calm voice as his brow furrowed agitatedly at his daughter's words.

Yeah, we definitely still have some things to talk about. Well, after I go see Barry first of course, that is.

Iris breathed a long breath, her hands cupping the long railing as her eyes conspicuously shifted their gaze towards the nearby glass door only a few feet away otherwise known as the singular barrier keeping the woman away from seeing her best friend.

"So I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you wanna see him?" Joe remarked, sighing lightly as he leaned against the bar beside her, his muscular arms crossed over one another.

"I didn't say that..." Iris protested, her left eyebrow raising defensively as she quickly turned her attention back onto her father.

"You didn't have to because that look on your face, the way you're wrinkling your eyebrows right now? Yeah, you only get that when you're worried about him," Joe commented as he pointed his finger knowingly over at his daughter who was clearly in denial.

"Well...yeah, you're probably right. But how could I not?! I mean, it's Barry we're talking about here, Dad, and I just wanna know that he's okay," Iris admitted, a silent smile forming on her face at just the act of saying his name aloud.

What can I say? Barry and I have been best friends since we were kids and even though he may be sorta annoying sometimes, that doesn't make me love him any less because, well, he's Barry. And he's perfect, adorkable nerdiness and all. And just knowing that he could've been dying and I wasn't even here to help him...that's something I can't even really bring myself to think about.

Joe chuckled lightly at Iris' retort, wrapping his right arm comfortably around her shoulders.

"Then, you don't have to wait any longer to see him. Just remember, our West family rule when it comes to him," reminded Joe, his voice somehow maintaining a tone of equal appreciation and concern towards his daughter's statement.

"Always assume it looks worse than it feels," Iris repeated, sighing quietly as she impatiently pressed her right hand's fingers against her forehead.

I really appreciate how much he's trying to protect me right now, but honestly, the sooner I can see him, the less worried I'm gonna be.

"Exactly. Now let's go check on him," announced Joe, his words bringing an immediate smile of relief to Iris' face as she quickly made her way over to the medical room door and pulled it open.

Okay, Barry, this is it. All you have to do is tell me you're going to be fine and everything will be okay again, for both of us.

Though, the sight that befell her hopeful chestnut brown eyes was far from the perfect scene her heart was wishing beyond belief would play out as soon as they entered the room.

For instead of finding her overly optimistic best friend protesting and or complaining about how he didn't need to be resting as he tried to pointlessly fight his doctor, Caitlin Snow's, fierce efforts to help him heal, Iris only found the scarily familiar sight of Barry's motionless body lying emotionlessly across the plain navy blue-blanketed medical bed placed in the center of the room.

Ruby red blood no longer streamed down both sides of his kind face like it had during Zoom's declaration of the hero's failure in Picture News, his occasionally dimpled pale cheeks now lined with merely the minor injuries' remaining cuts and bruises. A common occurrence that seemed to accent multiple sections of his exposed chest as his heart heaved for breath, his lungs seemingly clinging to any intake of air which they could receive without struggle. A request that was much less reasonable than most would usually assume it to be.

His head was propped up stiffly on top of several fluffy white-sheeted pillows to accommodate the thick foam rubber brace which was wrapped gingerly around his fractured neck, his messy brunette hair pushing softly back against the pillow barrier supporting it. Though, the thing that seemed to catch the woman's attention the most were the closed eyes which resided in the place of Barry's otherwise always shiningly supportive ones, their never-ending light sheltered, too, behind the impenetrable sedatives which she could only assume were previously one of the singular things keeping the prior dying man alive.

The only thought, the only word, which bounced endlessly around in Iris' mind as her gaze stayed fixated on her best friend's supposedly "resting" form was again the one word which somehow seemed to occupy the very best and worst moments of her life;

Barry...

"I just finished his last surgery about fifteen minutes ago, so most of his wounds should start healing in the next few hours as soon as the anti-speed boost fully leaves his system. Though, I did give him a few extra counter medications that should help get it out faster," Caitlin explained as she quietly slipped her left hand's thin fingers out of their gray plastic surgical glove, taking extra caution not to let its material snap too loudly in the still-aired space they stood within.

"Thank you, for everything you've done for Barry, tonight. Without you and Cisco, he might not be alive right now and that's something I'm not gonna easily forget," Joe stated, appreciatively nodding his head in the doctor's direction as he watched Caitlin pull her slightly blood-stained white coat off her shoulders.

Though his gaze did momentarily linger painfully on his son's obvious markings which lined his doctor's outer layer, a sense of internal praying for Barry's safety silently overtaking his every thought.

"Don't mention it. Honestly, you never have to thank me for helping, especially when it comes to Barry," Caitlin reassured, modestly, brushing a loose strand of her tensed brunette bangs back to their rightful place at the corner of her forehead.

"And remember, I'll just be out in the Cortex if either of you need anything," Caitlin spoke, her eyes temporarily darting onto the same place Iris' gaze had seemingly frozen upon as soon as she'd stepped through the room's glass entrance, the very place where their friend's form lay unevenly sprawled out across the medical bed, a cannula carefully pumping oxygen into his frail-boned body through his nostrils.

It's not that she didn't want to look away from her best friend's form, to help reassure her dad that everything was going to be okay like he was so bravely doing for her, to thank Caitlin for all the things she'd done that night to help save Barry's life, just to be there to support him like everyone else was. But there was something concealed deep inside her black-blouse chest that made it nearly impossible to do anything except, just stare at the man's lightly tapping heartbeat.

Almost as if the delicate drumming within Barry's chest wasn't only tethering his own life to the ground, but rather, both of theirs.

He just looks so weak and, and pale. And it makes me just want to take his hand and tell him everything's going to be okay, but I, I can't.

"Sa, sa, same goes for you, Caitlin," Iris stammered, her attention suddenly snapping back to reality as she swiftly gave her friend an awkward side hug, barely even taking notice of the tears which were glistening in her own eyes as she did so.

"Okay," Caitlin half-smiled, but her words were only said at that of whisper as her voice seemed to lose all sense of calming direction after she fully finished taking care of her patient, her otherwise professional guard breaking down in favor of letting her true worry for the speedster shine through.

And without another word, the doctor hurriedly exited the room, her white lab coat moving briskly in the anxious air behind her as she left.

Joe sighed a heavy breath as his eyes, too, carefully watched his adoptive son's gentle heartbeat, each thump only adding a slightly larger line of tiredness to the older man's face as he ran his hand instinctively across the bridge of his nose.

"So what do we do now?" Iris asked, her words finally breaking through what was an eerie silence which neither of the two Wests had dared to break for it felt like even the slightest of sounds could further disturb their possibly comatose family member.

"There's only one thing we can do, Baby Girl; wait," Joe answered, a solemn half-smile cresting onto the police officer's face as he met his daughter's gaze.

Even though it had only been a few hours since Barry had gotten hurt, Iris could already tell how exhausted Joe was from what she could only imagine was still the constant concern he'd experienced as he watched Caitlin slowly stitch his beaten body's wounds shut with what could only be described as a doctor's miracle work. And not even because she, too, felt a similar sinking sensation from only being beside him for less than ten minutes, but rather, from the painful longing hidden behind his tired, dark brown eyes.

How could we not? I mean, it's Barry and he's...well, he's not even just family to us. He's more than that. He's the person who, despite horrible circumstances, brought a light, a happiness, a love into our family when nothing else really could. He made it home again. And not just for me, but for Dad, too. Because as much as we need Dad, he needs us, too. Especially Barry.

"I know, I just really hate waiting," Iris admitted, quietly as she slowly dropped down into the small metal seat already positioned preemptively next to the unconscious speedster's body, her long brunette waves draping vaguely over its multi-barred backing.

"Yeah, but at least we've all still got each other. And just having him here, seeing him okay is all I need to keep going," Joe explained, placing a thankful hand down on his daughter's shoulder as his eyes drifted longingly back onto his adoptive son's form.

"Actually, I was thinking, how about I stay here with Barry for the next few hours while you get some rest?" Offered Iris, slowly looking up to meet her father's distant gaze.

It's not that Iris didn't want him to be there with Barry, too. In fact, there was nothing she wanted more than just collapse into her father's strong arms and let her eyes' every droplet drip down onto his shirt just as it had when Barry had first gotten comatose, but she knew despite him never actually saying the words aloud, that Joe was exhausted and needed to get at least the little rest he could.

And as selfish as it might sound, I don't really want to leave him alone right now.

"No, I think it would be better if I stay, especially since we still need to get back to work tomorrow," Joe stated, trying his very best to immediately dismiss his daughter's idea of being alone with any more stress than they were both already feeling.

"Trust me, there's no way I'm going to be able to get any sleep right now. Plus, we both know Singh's going to need you back at the precinct early to deal with all of tonight's mess, anyways," reasoned Iris, her words silently carrying more honesty than she'd previously believed she was letting herself feel in the first place.

Joe didn't respond for several seconds, seemingly carefully mulling over her every word before he finally answered.

"Alright, you can stay with him under one condition; You call me if you, either of you, need anything," conceded Joe, his quiet tone finding just the perfect balance between gentle and firm that told his daughter he was serious but still listening.

"Yeah, of course" Iris nodded, lightly as she felt her father's lips pressing a soft kiss against her forehead, her eyes shutting quietly at the feeling of his warmth.

I'm really lucky that I get to have a dad who loves me as much as he does.

"But just so we're clear, I totally won this argument, right?" Iris asked, tilting her head, half-heartedly, the slightest sense of victory coursing through her veins as she spoke.

Even though the reporter wouldn't go as far to say that she had to win everything never meant that she still didn't enjoy the feeling, especially when it was at the frustrated expense of either Joe or Barry.

"Aha, sure..." groaned Joe, his eyes rolling in fake agitation before he quietly exited the patient room, leaving Iris entirely alone with her thoughts.

Not that I can ever really be alone when Barry's here with me.

"So, I guess it's just you and me again," Iris sighed, her heartbeat slowing down slightly as her attention was fully drawn back onto Barry's nearly frozen form, her eyes cautiously watching his lungs' every breath quietly fogging up the sides of the cannula's clear tubes.

She instinctively felt her hand softly brushing a loose strand or two of his messy hair to the left side of his head, returning them to their rightful places amongst his usually perfectly combed brunette hair, the lightest skip of relief following closely behind her heart's beat at the feeling of her hand touching the smooth skin of his forehead.

"It's honestly not fair how many times this has happened to you," Iris remarked, her fingers absentmindedly dancing gently across his forehead for several more seconds before they slowly slid down off his face and onto the soft, white-sheeted mattress beside his bare, broken-ribbed chest.

Fair wouldn't really be a word I'd use to describe any of our lives, honestly. But Barry? Never.

Iris felt her eyes linger intently on where Barry's usually ocean blue ones were as she watched his heart's movements, the familiar sensation of its faint beat echoing loudly through her own chest. An action that somehow felt even more natural than the first time it had happened only minutes prior.

"I know you're always saying that you'll promise to do anything for me and I usually don't really take you up on that offer, but I think I might need you to do something for me just this once, Barry; come back to me, please," Iris quietly pleaded as she gingerly slipped her fingers in between his, tears of overwhelming sadness silently sliding down her cheeks as she looked longingly over at her best friend's face.

I can't do this, I can't do anything, without you. Because we're Barry and Iris. And we're always going to need each other. I'm always going to need you.

But in that very moment, whether it be by coincidence or something much more extraordinary, Barry's body began to shift slightly in place, his head turning uncomfortably onto its side, the foam rubber of his neck's brace restricting mostly any other movement from occurring in the first place, though his hand's fingers still somehow found a way to weakly press their tips against her knuckles, the smallest spark of orange and purple lightning delicately jumping from the two's touching palms. Almost as if he were, despite not even in the slightest being able to reach up, trying to wipe the tears from her cheeks. To comfort her with his supportive touch. To make her smile again.

Iris slowly shut her eyes, letting her every worried thought fade into the crowded background of her mind in favor of Barry's gentle hand touching her own.

Even when you're hurt, when you're like this, you still somehow find a way to make me feel like I'm the most special person in the entire world. And only you, Barry Allen, can do something so impossibly sweet as that. Only you can make me feel this loved.

It might've been seconds or hours before the speedster's feeble grip slackened its connection with her, his hand falling placidly against the soft blue and white-striped blanket which Caitlin had carefully placed over his heavily bruised legs.

Iris sat nearly completely still for several seconds afterwards without even the slightest thought of moving, her eyes lingering appreciatively on her best friend's peaceful face.

I guess Barry doesn't like waiting anymore than I do. Not that I expected anything less from a guy who's literally shown up late to every plan we've practically ever made. But, in a way, that just makes him even more perfect.

Iris slowly pushed herself out of her seat, shaking her legs lightly as she did so in an attempt to get rid of the tiredness which were making them numb. She stretched her arms upward as a quiet yawn which she'd thought would never come escaped her lips before her limbs casually dropped back down to her sides.

I just have one more thing I need to do first, though...

She carefully reached down onto one of the multiple open metal shelves located under the primary patient's reclining bed, sifting through various forms of resting patients' comfort items before she finally found just the specific object she'd secretly stashed out of sight for any time her best friend needed a little extra reminder of home in the form of a tiny velvet white ribbon.

Well, if you still counted the battered possession as white considering all the worn tears and miscellaneous stains which lined sections of its otherwise smooth surface. Not that it mattered much what color it was for the memories that were held within its thin fabric were stronger than that of the sturdiest quilts sewn together over years.

"There you are," Iris whispered to herself as she easily pushed her body back onto her black-heeled feet.

And without another thought, she gently lifted Barry's bruised right hand up and gingerly weaved the ribbon around it, her chestnut brown eyes remaining lovingly locked onto the soft smile which crept its way onto his face at the feeling of the familiar fabric being wrapped around his injured appendage.

I still remember the first time I gave this to him. We were thirteen years old and he'd just been sent to the hospital because, in typical Barry fashion, he'd tried to play baseball to impress some girl, one of which he refused to tell me the name of, and got his arm broken. That was the first day he told me about how his mother loved to knit, so I thought I could get him something to remind him that she was always going to be there to pick him back up, just like Dad and I would be, too. But I didn't have very much money back then to buy him a real gift considering Dad was already trying to juggle medical bills from Barry's injury on top of feeding two kids, but that didn't stop him from crying over how much he loved it when I gave it to him, anyway. And he told me that it meant everything to him. That I meant everything to him. We didn't have any money and we didn't even technically have four working arms, but we still found a way to make each other happy. Honestly, that's the night that I realized that no matter what happened to either of us, we'd always be there for each other. That I'd always want him there for me.

"Goodnight, Barry," Iris whispered as she gently planted a kiss on Barry's forehead, taking one last moment to steal a glance at his heart's peaceful beating before she resumed her seat beside the long medical bed, finally letting exhaustion overtake her own body, too, as she rested her head on the comforter next to the speedster's ribbon-wrapped hand and drifted off into a deep sleep.

And I'm always going to be here to take care of you, too.