Dedicated to AgentofDreams989, and damianflashpoint for all of their amazingly impossible support of my work! Thank you guys!

And and extra special dedication to luciferandchloe2021, who has read, voted on, and just left so many nice comments all across my stories! Thank you so much for all of your support, and I'm so happy that you like my work! Hopefully this extra special one that I know you've been waiting for was worth the wait :)

Massive spoilers for Season Nine to anyone who hasn't gotten to The Mask of The Red Death, Part Two yet, so be forewarned if you travel any farther. (cue suspenseful music)

I'm not entirely sure how to even put this scene into words. The beauty, joy, love, life that comes along with it. Everything that changes after it.

I just can't tell you how excited I was to see this come to be after all this time of it being teased to us, and in this episode, we finally got to see it! It happened!

Iris is pregnant!

Her and Barry get to start the family they've been wanting and waiting for for so long, and I am so, so, so, so, so, purely ecstatically joyously happy!!!

It's not a long scene, especially the scene section I choose from, but it doesn't have to be.

Just saying those special words aloud makes it more than perfect enough!

(Though I took a lot of liberty to add things of my own to it, due to its pretty short nature and not having too much of a specific emphasis on Iris, one of the two stars of this moment. And as a side note, I really wanted to include Joe's farewell speech, but just didn't think it fit well in the context of what I was writing)

I can't wait to see what happens next and where this goes, and each magical step for both Iris and Barry as they make their way through Iris' pregnancy and get to meet baby Nora!

(I swear, Barry's going to be the absolute best sweetest guy through all of it)

I don't feel like the words I've used here does justice to just how happy I am, but then again, I'm not entirely sure what could (lol).

So instead of listening to me ramble, probably having erased and rewritten the author's notes of all things thousands of times, and embarrassed myself countless others, including the end version too, how about you just have a nice read of my recreation of this miracle of a scene (for me anyway, everyone has their own preferences).

Anywho, just remember, there's always a lifetime's worth of firsts to get to experience for the first time, and it's even better when doing it with someone you love with your whole heart, whether that be a friend, a sibling, a parent, a partner, a child, or your everything, right by your side.

Now, Run Reader, Run!

Time Loops, new Rogues Gallery, teamup with our old Rogue's gallery, one of whom betrays us then backstabs his backer and redeems himself, evil speedster from another timeline that just happens to be an alternate version of one of our friends... yep. Sounds like a normal month for Team Flash.

I do have to say this though, even though I know that this won't be the last big story I get to break, thanks to Barry showing me that I'm not alone, if it was, it would be one hell of a story to go out on.

Multiple banners, including one large one that was strung above the entrance to the kitchen, reading " Farewell Joe, we'll miss you!" were hung up around various spots in the West house's living room, a selection of beers and wine (along with some soda too) sitting out on the kitchen table that chose to serve as a snack bar of sorts, mixing in with some of the man's most famous meals that he had insisted on making despite Barry and Cecile's kind protests.

Several of Joe's favorite games, mostly consisting of a few card ones such as Solitaire and Hearts, were stacked on the coffee table in front of the couch, ready to be used to destroy whomever its next victims to the grandmaster would dare enter, of which Barry and Iris herself had just befallen the same fate of.

The general low music and happy voices that echoed all throughout the party at the West Household as friends and family shared loving memories that they had with the man of the hour, Joe West, were filled with the reflections of all of the many times that he had been able to help each and every one of them there, and made all of their lives better for it.

And me most of all. Without him, I wouldn't have grown up to be who I am today. To have the life that I do now. He's the best Dad anyone could've asked for, whether you call him a surrogate one, adopted, or actual father, he'll always be just that for all of us.

And even more to me.

And even though I'm really sad that he's moving away, at least I know that I'll get to see him all the time. You know, husband who takes just as long to reach Paris as it does the bottom of the stairs with a single fathoom.

Iris watched as the other party goers intermixed with each other, the vast majority of them all gathered around her father as they asked him questions about his new home and how often he would visit, his cheery wide grin and laughter at the quickness at which they berated him clearly reminding him of his kids (especially Chester, who seemed to almost embody young Barry's spirit), and bringing a smile to his daughter's face as well.

I love it when he's happy. He deserves it more than anyone.

There were a few exceptions to that group though, with Mark having noticeably left in the middle of Joe's retelling of his and Singh's finest arrest, though it took Barry no time to notice his friend's solemn absence, leaving to find him just moments later.

That's his real superpower; his heart. And one of the best parts about him too.

Though they weren't the only two that had left the close circle of laughter that surrounded the Team's father-figure.

Iris herself, while only a few feet away, was leaning back casually against the room's cozy oak-wood fireplace as she watched her friends and family have fun, a glass of the party's best sparkling red martinelli held in each hand (one saved for Barry) as she took another light sip of her own.

She was dressed in a dark crimson red blouse that's fabric felt as though it was made of silk due to its breathable and light touch, alongside a pair of navy blue jeans as well, all clothes that felt relaxingly comfortable.

Which is a good thing, considering the chaos of the last few weeks, and the ones before that too...

" I just wanted to make sure that Barry's alright, and get see this from another view." Iris thought, smiling as she looked over at her father, who let out a victorious exclamation as he threw his hands together at his latest victory royale, Chester sitting open-mouthed at the utter defeat that'd just been handed to him via Solitaire.

I love you Dad, and I'm happy that you're moving on to the next big chapter in your life, wherever that may take you. And I'm even more happy to know that, no matter how far apart we are, you're always going to be one of the most important people in my life, and I will be in yours too. That's not just what family is, but what we are to each other.

" And as a strange side note, I also really needed to get some air. Dad's cooking must not be sitting very well." Iris thought with a light remark, a strange feeling that she couldn't quite place sitting within the pit of her stomach, a mixture of offsetting things she had been feeling in the last hour since the party had started.

But that's the curse of Dad's food sometimes. Even when you shouldn't want more, you always do.

" Nothing a little wine can't fix." Iris commented, as she took another sip of her dark red martinelli, watching the light swirls in the liquid for a few moments once she was done.

Especially the ones Dad gets. Henry really did give him some good advice.

" Hey, can I uh, call next game?" Mark inquired, as he sat himself down on the armchair opposite to the rest of the Flash Family, a careful optimism carrying his tone as the words left his mouth.

" Are you ready to lose?" Joe questioned playfully, as he shuffled the large stack of cards through each other, shining a toothy grin as he did so.

" I don't know old man, my game's pretty fierce." Mark quipped, rubbing his hands together expectantly as watched the deck be placed back onto the center of the coffee table.

" Without cheating, or just in the gambling department?" Joe smirked, with one eyebrow raised skeptically.

" For your information, I don't gamble, I just steal." Mark corrected firmly, Cecile letting out a short laugh at his joke.

" But fine, we'll play fair." the ex-con agreed, pulling out the several cards he had stashed up the sleeve of his elbow-length denim jacket and sliding it across the table to his opponent, who rather than be angry, laughed wholeheartedly for several moments before finishing their games setup, fully giving Mark what Barry had already told him he had; a feeling of family.

Which he should always have. Because that's exactly what he is.

" I get next go." Barry told his adoptive father, patting him lightly on the shoulder from behind as he passed, on his way to his wife.

" So many eager faces to lose." Joe laughed, merrily.

" Well if we throw enough people at you, one of them has to stick, right?" Iris commented, with a light grin.

" We'll see." Joe smiled, shaking his head once before getting back into his and Mark's game, of which Iris could already tell who the winner was before it even started.

Or, all of us can keep telling ourselves that at least.

Barry wore a patterned flannel jacket that was covered in squares that ranged lightly in colors between navy blue and dark plaids, though for a person who wasn't paying attention, it would easily be called just the first of the two.

His long black pants stopped just above his nice worn dress shoes, however any footwear of The Scarlet Speedster always seemed to have that look.

Though by far his most catching feature was his wide smile, his eyes lingering on his once thought dead friend for a few more moments before he turned back to his wife, the glow in his heart once he saw her brighter than anything else could ever bring him.

Perfectly matching mine everytime I see him.

" So, how did things go with Mark?" Iris asked, still leaning casually up against the dark oakwood fireplace, holding a half-drank glass of champagne and a full one as she did so.

" Pretty good actually." Barry replied, letting out a quiet sigh as he gently ran his hand through his hair, graciously accepting the second glass of wine.

While he couldn't get drunk (without a lot of effort) he liked to feel included.

" I just told him the truth; he's family now. Family can make mistakes, bad choices, hurt others, but that doesn't make them any less so that; family. And besides, who hasn't made mistakes here? Well besides you that is." he smiled kindly, before taking a sip of his drink.

" I'm pretty sure I'm not immune to messing up." Iris laughed jovially, though the loving smile and slight blush she wore was more than enough for her husband.

He's the sweetest, kindest person you'll ever meet. I'm so lucky to get to call him my everything.

" Remember that time in Highschool when I had us steal that truck?"

" Oh, for that derby? Oh yeah." Barry commented, as he lightly scratched the side of his head, thinking back to that chaotic memory that had been seared into his brain since he was sixteen.

" But that doesn't count, we were kids." Barry argued, as he leaned his shoulder against the homely bricks that he had spent countless nights snuggled up next to.

" Okay then, how about when I completely spaced on the deadline for the Mercury Labs article and got it out almost a week later than I should've?" Iris suggested, placing one pink-painted fingertip to her chin playfully as she spoke.

" You were out of it with your Time Sickness, you can't count that." Barry protested, dismissively.

" Um, Babe, that was last Friday." Iris laughed jovially, Barry's cheeks blushing a bright red as his memory became fully jogged as to his partner's schedule.

" Oh, um, well... in my defense, Mercury Labs gets broken into a lot." Barry joked, lightly gesturing outwards with his hands, the red liquid in his glass gently swaying with each word.

" Okay, you get a pass on that one." Iris conceded, with another light laugh, joy jumping between both of the two's hearts through each other's laughter.

A brief bout of silence fell between the two as they got lost in each other's loving gaze, wide and happy smiles spread across both of the partner's faces as they smiled at one another, still leaning comfortably against the fireplace as they rested their heads against its cool, smooth brick surface.

I could just stay like this all day. Happy, peaceful, loved. With him.

" So, now that Red Death's been put in Iron Heights," Iris started, still looking into Barry's sparkling ocean blue eyes.

" What's next on The Flash's agenda? Blue Tornado?" she laughed, jokingly.

" Well, I remember there being a certain Babymoon with a certain wonderful wife that he was in the middle of before all that." Barry answered vaguely, smiling ever so slightly wider as he did so.

" I think I remember hearing about that too." Iris agreed, Barry chuckling shortly in response.

" And I also remember a certain Hotel Spa being up next on that agenda as well." Iris hinted with a small grin, not-so-subtly, before taking another long sip of her red wine.

" Of course. How could I forget?" Barry smirked playfully, the two sharing another bright laugh.

We always seem to know how to make each other smile. A bonus of being married to your childhood best friend.

" But, all I really want is to spend time with you. With us." Barry said lovingly, as he gently reached out and brushed some of Iris' rose hair behind her ear, letting his hand rest softly on her cheek before lightly locking it in her own hand.

" To really get to appreciate just how lucky I am, to get to have you in my life, and one day soon, our family too." Barry told her quietly, the love in his heart perfectly carrying over into each and every one of his words.

" Yeah, but I think that I have to be the lucky one to have gotten you as my husband, Barry. To be your wife. Your home. Your lightning rod. That's something I'm always going to be thankful for." Iris told him, lovingly, as she gently squeezed their interlocked hands together, happily.

There'll never be a day that goes by that I don't tell myself how lucky I am to be married to the man right in front of me. The man that makes my everyday, every hour, and every minute better. The man that's my husband.

" Me too," Barry smiled back, happily, before Iris leaned in and gave him a short kiss, the spark between the two just as vibrant as ever when their lips met.

And not just the Speedforce kind, but that still too.

" And hey, only two more months before we start that family, not too long." Iris pointed out, with a knowing happy smile.

" Yeah, but until then, and every day after, we still have all the time in the world, just for us." Barry smiled compassionately, his eyes twinkling with love, as Iris just quietly smiled back at him, the two's hands still locked together lovingly between them.

Everyday that I get to spend with you, or our kids, is a day worth living.

" But right now, I just really want to beat Dad in at least one game." Iris stated, her more competitive side showing as Barry just let out a joyful chuckle.

" I'm not sure how possible that is," Barry laughed, as he looked over to their father, who was almost done destroying Mark, as the latter watched helplessly in the process.

" I thought that you were all about the impossible?" Iris questioned, with a playful eyebrow raise.

" I guess some things really are too far for The Flash's limit to reach." Barry explained with a fake sigh.

" But then again, I got you, so, nothing can be that impossible." Barry smiled, lovingly.

" Nothing is when we have us." Iris smiled back, the two squeezing each other's hands lovingly once more.

Barry just smiled back wordlessly, letting his endless smile tell the rest of the story as he just looked into his wife's beautiful eyes, taking a moment to really appreciate just how much he loved her, the woman who would always be his everything.

Just like he was for her.

Because nothing's better than us.

" Oh, and while we're over there, can you distract Cecile for a minute?" Iris asked, hopingly.

" She has the last of Dad's crumbledoodle cookies." she explained, her eyes meeting the last of the mouthwatering-sugary sweets from on her friend's red plate, and her husband's skeptical expression.

" What? You know how much I love those things, and she took like five." Iris protested with a short scoff, crossing her arms slightly defensively.

" Didn't you take the rest?" Barry poked, playfully.

" Well yeah, but that's not the point! Remember, us? Well half of us says she wants a cookie." Iris joked, lightheartedly, Barry not being able to hold back his laughter as she did so.

I can't help it! His cooking's really great, I mean, I grew up on those things! It makes me wonder how such a kitchen smoke hazard came from the same genes.

" Well in that case, two seconds once we get there, a quick shot of Flashtime, and it's yours." Barry winked, as he stood back upright and started towards the nearby game seating.

" My hero." Iris smiled, in an over dramatic tone as she joined her husband, the couple letting out another set of simultaneous laughter as they made their way back over to their friends.

And as they did, Iris felt her heart still glowing brightly with the love from the two's conversation, or just in general, from being right there, with her everything. Her home. Barry.

I can't wait to get to spend the rest of my life with him. Just like I get to every day. Team West-Allen, the strongest thing in the universe. And someday soon, we'll have another member too, and she'll be even better than either of us. Because she'll be our little girl.

And hey, maybe now that we defeated our big bad, we'll have more time to ourselves. To kick back and relax. Just be with each other. Tanning at a hotel poolside, with small little umbrellas in our martinelli's, sounds like paradise to me.

But for now, we have a going away party to get back to.

Though halfway on Iris and Barry's way back to their friends, a scene started to stir up from within the dining room just across from all of them, stopping the couple dead in their tracks as all eyes in the room fell on Allegra and Chester, and their somewhat private conversation that was now being held for all of them to hear.

" So, you know how you said we weren't going to talk about anything until after this whole Rogue thing was over?" Allegra started, catching her close friend over by the wine table (though of course he was pouring himself a glass of the nearby coke soda).

" Yeah." Chester acknowledged, nodding his head lightly in response, as he remembered his somewhat awkward conversation from earlier.

" Well, now it is, and - so - well - Chuck, that was the best kiss I've ever had." Allegra blurted nervously, rubbing her arm anxiously as she struggled to get her words out, before finally doing just that.

" Hm. Then, uh... I guess there's only one thing left to do." Chester answered, before the two leaned into a long kiss, one that had been long overdue, and was done right in front of the whole crowd of their friends to see.

Though they only noticed that part after it was a little too late.

" Ahem," Iris coughed quietly to herself clearing her throat, brushing some of her rose hair behind her ear with two of her fingers as she looked away to try and give her friends more privacy, voicing the strange mixture of slight discomfort and intrigue that every one of the people around her was sharing.

Though I'm not surprised. I mean, have you seen the way they look at each other?

" Oooh, I'm glad that Jenna is upstairs sleeping." Cecile cooed excitedly.

" Yeah," Iris agreed silently, Barry shifting uncomfortably in concurrence, some of the other guests choosing to focus on their drinks instead.

Allegra and Chester just wordlessly stared at their friends for a brief moment, their cheeks flushed a bright red of slight embarrassment, before turning back to each other, smiling happier than Iris had ever seen them, before they finally made things official between them as they went in for another kiss.

And I'm happy for them. Everyone deserves to have their own lightning rod. I'm just lucky enough to have Barry as mine.

" When did this happen?" Barry asked confusedly, blinking his eyes several times in bewilderment as he struggled to stop staring at the sight in front of him, his mind refusing to wrap itself around what he was witnessing.

" I think a better question is: what took so long?" Iris laughed lightly, smiling as she watched the same thing as her husband.

I mean, come on Barry, you should know better than anyone about waiting for your... your...

Iris' thoughts were suddenly cut off as a strange migraine seemed to hit her all at once, knocking the wind straight out of her as she lightly stumbled backwards a step.

" You alright?" Barry asked concernedly, quickly grabbing his wife's hand as she placed her wine glass down on the coffee table next to them, slowly sitting down on the nearby couch as she tried to regain her breath.

" Sorry, I'm fine. I just, I feel a little lightheaded." Iris admitted, between light slow breaths, her arms out cautiously as if to try and make sure that she didn't fall, her husband still caringly holding her arm in his own to steady her as he got down on his knees to be level with her, just as concerned for his wife over even something as simple as a headache then as over something much more serious.

" Gosh that's so weird I don't know why I feel that way, sorry." she apologized, feeling another wave of the throbbing feeling pulse through her spinning head as she held two of her fingers to her forehead and massaged it lightly, trying her best to shake off the strange feeling that had suddenly overtook her.

I don't know why I'm so lightheaded, I was fine earlier...

" I do," Khione stated cheerily, her forever bright and optimistic smile beaming across at both Barry and Iris as they looked to her in unison, though the latter still through her slightly disoriented vision.

But the words that would come next no one was prepared for, least of all the two people closest to her. And would change Barry and Iris' lives forever.

" You're pregnant." Khione announced calmly, Iris and Barry's eyes darting over to their friend in sudden shock as all other eyes quickly did the same, all noise falling silent in the West household as Khione's words still resonated with each of them, Chester and Allegra even pulling out of their embrace at the big announcement.

Though the bringer of said news seemed almost blissfully unaware of what she had truly just discovered, just looking around confusedly at her friends until her gaze met the lucky couple once more, realizing after more than a few moments where she must've gone wrong.

What did she just say? I'm... pregnant?

" Oh, you - you didn't know? Oh I'm so sorry." Khione apologized sympathetically to Iris, whose expression conveyed nothing short of shocked confusion, Barry snapping his attention back to his wife as well, a large, growing smile swiftly spreading across the man's features.

" Um, congratulations." she stated peacefully, with a raise of her glass, smiling happily at the miracle known as life, and the joy she could almost feel glowing out of the two people's hearts across from her.

" I wasn't supposed to be pregnant for another three months." Iris asked confusedly, as Barry jumped up and happily embraced his wife, referring to the map book plans Barry had told her about only a few weeks prior, which had told them this very special day would come later that year.

" I - I guess this means things really are changing." Barry beamed ecstatically, his hands held happily on his wife's arms as his heart burst with the feeling of the most special day of their lives, both of the soon-to-be parents' bodies shaking with unprecedented joy.

Things are changing, to something good.

To... to bring us our - our...

Iris and Barry just stared at each other for another few moments, each not saying anything as their words had completely left their bodies, their gazes locked together joyously as their sparkling eyes told the story of exactly how they felt, Iris' and Barry's massively glowing smiles just that of ones they'd only ever worn for their daughter.

How they'd been feeling, dreaming of this exact moment, for years. Since before they'd even first met their time-traveling little girl.

She was pregnant.

They were having a baby!

I'm... pregnant! I'm pregnant!!!

Barry pulled his wife into a close embrace as she did the same for him, both laughing heartwarmingly as they embraced one another for what felt like the first time, because it was the first, the first where their baby was there with them too.

Iris felt her head rest against her husband's shoulder as he squeezed her extra tightly, the absolute joy that coursed through the man's every muscle powered straight from his loving heart, at holding his everything, in more ways than one, close to him.

I can't believe it, I - I don't even know what to say. We're starting a family!

And everyone else was just as happy for them as a family could be.

" Well, congratulations you guys!" Cecile exclaimed, as she jumped up off of the couch next to Joe and rushed into a hug with Barry, both of them laughing joyously as she did so.

" Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. How could she possibly know that?" Joe questioned in a frantic flurry of thoughts, as he sat down next to his daughter and future granddaughter, quickly jumping into an excited conversation with her as he wrapped his arms around his Baby Girl and hugged her tightly, Barry coming up behind them and leaning forwards on the seat's edge joyously, not wanting to be even three feet away from his now two favorite girls.

" I don't even know." Iris admitted, still overtaken by the pure amount of shock and joy that made her heart glow twice as bright as it normally would.

I mean, you'd think I would be the first to know.

" How did you even know?" Cecile asked Khione, who seemed overall less phased by this than the rest of her friends (though no less happy for them).

" I just kinda did." Khione shrugged, innocently, still holding her never-ending peaceful smile.

I'm pregnant!

The excited and happy chattering from all of their friends echoed throughout the West-Household like a flurry of exclamations all trying to congratulate the West-Allens at once, every single one of them abuzz with the exciting news of their friends' change, and their soon-to-be new member of the family.

Though no one was even close to as happy as Iris and Barry themselves, both refusing to leave each other's side as their hearts' beat fast and overjoyed smiles glowed vibrantly, both in special ways that they couldn't even put into words.

Because that was the way that they loved each other, their family.

Their baby.

There is no love on this Earth that's stronger than that. Than my love for Barry, his for me, but most of all, for our baby.

" We did it, we're starting a family!" Barry exclaimed lovingly, embracing his wife in another large hug, laughing out with the purest form of happiness he had ever felt.

" I know! I know!" Iris cried ecstatically, her hazel eyes slightly teary from the love she felt pulsing inside her, all for their baby.
Before the full realization of their words, of everything that they just discovered, the world, their world, and how it would change forever, hit her.

" We're having a baby." Iris stated quietly, her voice one of complete disbelief at her own wonderful words, Barry pulling out of their embrace as he still held his hands gently on her arms, his shining blue eyes meeting the absolute loving ones of his partner.

" We're having a baby." Barry repeated, both of the two's smiles defying science as they somehow seemed to get even larger, lightly glancing down at Iris' stomach, before both of their gazes met once more.

" Ah!" Iris laughed wholeheartedly, as Barry did the same, before they pulled each other into a happy embrace once more, the two's beating hearts going as strongly as they had ever felt them.

Because they knew soon enough, there'd be three of them.

We're going to be parents, we're going to make our own family!

To start our own next chapter in our lives, with her.

I'm going to get to feel Nora with me, for the rest of my life, from this moment on forever.

To feel her grow each day, for us to get to do all of those firsts that she'll ever have.

To have a baby!

Our little Nora!

And that chapter, that I get to share with our amazing, excessive, perfect girl, and Barry, well that sounds like the best start to a new page I've ever read.

I'm pregnant!!!