If there was one thing Parker remembered clearly about her hometown, it was that every blue moon, Central City would get hit with a full night of rain. Puddles would form on almost every inch of sidewalk; sewers would be filled to the brim; when stepped on, grass would squirt water for an excessive number of seconds.

Close to midnight, back at home from the CCPD, Parker remembered she needed to finish a part of her interview for S.T.A.R. Labs. Using her sketchbook, she was required to draw a banner for their newly built Particle Accelerator.

Except, she couldn't find her sketchbook.

Given that she had previously gotten halfway through the drawing, Parker decided to venture through the storm to the CCPD, presumably where her sketchbook was, considering she came straight home after her job interview with Eddie Thawne.

Parker was the only person in Central City to attempt walking outside during the insane weather. The umbrella above her head wasn't useless, she learned, since the wind was pushing the rain to come at her from straight ahead. Puddles on the sidewalk were forming, seeping through the holes of her shoes and splashing water up her pant leg with each step.

While the umbrella wasn't good for blocking rain, it proved worthy of shielding Parker from asshole drivers who drove through puddles on the road to splash water at her. Some weren't unintentional, she knew, but the mere action was wearing her patience thin.

Jerked forward by a rough gush of wind behind her, Parker lost the grip on her umbrella. It was picked up by the harsh wind. It landed in the street a block away.

A dark shadow grew on the sidewalk where her umbrella fell. On the edge of Central City, a distinctive glow was producing an intense light. Thrashing clouds above her illuminated the sky. Flashes of light threatened to touch the city. When one finally did, the single bolt of lightning crashed a short distance from her

A panicked shriek came from her mouth, diving underneath an awning for safety. Panting heavily, Parker slipped her phone from her pocket. Miraculously working, she aimed to call Cisco Ramon, the man her interview was with, to tell him she couldn't complete her task in time.

A text message from Iris caught her eye first. It read: Hope the building that got hit wasn't the CCPD... Barry's in there...

Frantically, Parker wiped the lenses of her glasses on her damp shirt, smearing the water to a point where she could see, although it was blurry.

One building on the block was required to leave their lights on all night. Parker's destination, the place where Barry Allen resided, was nothing more than a dark building.

She sprinted to the CCPD. Scrambling up the Emergency Staircase, she took a longer amount of time, having to shove through the employees going the opposite way.

"Barry?" she called desperately. "Has anyone seen Barry Allen?!"

"Try his lab," yelled a cop passing by.

Parker shoved through the doors on the top level. Slipping a numerous amount of times, from her wet shoes racing against the tiled floor, Parker ran past the staircase to the lobby, into the continued hallway where Barry's Lab was found.

Through the scattered moonlight, she spotted a body sprawled on an overturned shelf. She crawled over the fallen racks of science equipment.

Close enough, she snatched Barry's outstretched hand and shook it frantically. Barry continued to remain unresponsive. With trembling hands, she called the hospital.

"Help! Please, I'm at the Central City PD, I need someone here. My friend.."

"What can you tell us about the condition?"

"Uh...? He's unconscious. I think he may have gotten struck by lightning," rambled Parker.

"We'll send an ambulance right away. Stay with him."

Parker used her wet sleeves to wipe the blood from Barry's forehead. Fingers intertwined with his limp ones, she set her head on his chest, praying he wasn't dead just yet.

NINE MONTHS LATER

Clusters of people were effected by the Particle Accelerator Explosion. As a result, F.E.M.A. classified S.T.A.R. Labs as a class four hazardous location. It was barely a company anymore, and so many people hated the man responsible: Dr. Harrison Wells.

Working for the company that the city despised held minor setbacks, Parker guessed. It hadn't mattered, in the end, to her. Living on her own meant working two jobs. She needed to try, at the very least.

"You've got it," Cisco Ramon had said, the second she walked through the sliding doors of the Cortex, "You've got the job. Welcome to the team. We're going to make a kick-ass duo, my new graphic designer."

Between working at the CCPD and S.T.A.R. Labs, Parker found the time to sneak into the hospital. Barry had fallen into a coma. It just so happened that she was there with Dr. Wells the night Barry was diagnosed with what the Doctor's called, "cardiac arrest."

"It's not cardiac arrest," he had muttered to her. "His heart is going too fast for the machine to register."

Barry's quick heart exerted an oddly excessive amount of energy, explained Dr. Wells, which resulted in the power at the hospital frequently shutting on and off.

Parker was not, by any means, a tech genius. She knew not of what the advanced machines surrounding her everyday did, let alone how to work them, yet she was the one to present the idea of bringing Barry to S.T.A.R Labs, figuring that with the right tech, what was left of the team could stabilize him.

It took a little convincing to get the West family to agree. With a few hours to think, they agreed, with the assurance that Parker, a girl they trusted, would be there to watch over their beloved Barry.

As referred to before, nine months passed before Barry Allen made his spectacular return to the real world. On that day, Parker Sylas was stuck at the CCPD. She worked on a sketch in Barry's Lab. If asked, she claimed it was for the silence, to help her concentrate. The cops, especially Joe and Eddie, knew it was truly for the booming stereo Barry kept in his space.

"He looks fine. Still very dead looking, but fine," said Cisco Ramon, over the phone."Caitlin's checking up on him now."

"Dr. Snow," corrected Caitlin sharply.

Parker felt Cisco's eye roll through the phone. In their numerous months of being stuck together, every single time Parker and Cisco referred to Caitlin by her first name, she corrected them hastily. To be entirely honest, she wasn't a welcoming person. It wasn't hard to deduce exactly why.

"Can't read my, can't read my, no, he can't read my, poker face..."

"Why is this song on?" snapped Caitlin.

"'Cause he likes it! I checked his Facebook page," replied Cisco. He began to sing along.

"You're off tune, genius," chimed Parker.

"So what? The only reason you know that was because you were probably in Glee Club, dweeb," shot Cisco playfully.

"Yeah, four time champions, actually," said Parker.

Completely missing her joke, Cisco challenged her to a karaoke battle.

Detectives Thawne and West sauntered into the Lab. They smiled politely at her.

"I have to go, Cisco, I'll be there soon," said Parker, ending the call. "What can I do for you, Detectives?"

"Just checkin' up on the progress," said Joe.

"Looking good," complimented Detective Thawne.

Parker's pencil halted. Eyes cold, she moved them from the paper to the Detective. Her glare succeeded in making him uncomfortable, ultimately, causing him to leave the conversation, then the room entirely.

Heartily laughing, Joe said, "Wow. I have to learn how to do that. What's your secret?"

Parker shrugged, handing over the sketch. "I instill terror in the hearts of men, Joe. It's a personal joy."

"If you say so," said Joe. "Thanks for this, Park!"

Two hours remained until her shift ended. Parker ventured into the break room for food. Eating a sandwich, labeled with Thawne's name, she sprawled across the couch to read yet another comic.

Barry

When he returned to the CCPD, the officer's cheered, clapped him on the back as they passed, or verbally expressed their joy for his return. Barry smiled to all of them, to be nice, but he held a strong feeling most of their reasons had to do with the fact that there was nobody else to pick on while he had been hospitalized.

It hadn't mattered what the other's said, however, because Joe's everlasting hug made up for every little tease.

"You scared the hell out of us, kid," chuckled Joe.

"That was quite the nap you took there, baby face," said an officer, walking by. "and you still look twelve."

Barry shared a laugh with Joe and Iris.

"You look okay. Are you really?" wondered Joe.

"Yeah," agreed Barry convincingly. In all honesty, he didn't know.

"Detective West, we've got a five-fifty in progress at Gold City Bank. Two dead. Storm's really picking up on the south side. I'd grab your gear," warned a woman.

"Sorry, Barry, I gotta run," apologized Joe, grabbing his coat.

"Do you need my help?" offered Barry.

"No, no, there'll be plenty for you to do once you settle in. Let's go, partner!" called Joe.

Shrugging on his coat as well, Detective Thawne worked to follow Joe. "Hey, Allen!" he said, surprised. "Good to see you."

"Thanks, Eddie."

"Hey, Iris," said Eddie. He smiled.

"Detective, you should go. My Dad doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Eddie fought to hide a frown. He forced it away and hit Barry's shoulder as he passed. "Glad you're back."

Watching Eddie leave brought Barry's attention to a memorial stand in the center of the workplace. Barry moved to examine it.

"The night of the explosion, Clyde Mardon shot and killed Chyre," explained Iris. "Mardon and his brother died escaping. Their plane crashed."

"Iris, got a minute?" called a cop.

Left alone, Barry took a glance throughout the office. He walked to Joe's desk, where he figured the spare key to his lab remained. On the way, a desk name tag caught his eye:

Parker Sylas:
Head Sketch Artist

Barry returned to Iris. Excitedly, impatiently, he tapped on her shoulder. All growing up, he remembered sleepovers with the two girls at their house. He assumed Iris still spoke to Parker, and could tell him where she was.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," said Iris politely to the cop. She turned. "What, Barry?"

"Have you seen--"

"--your knight in shining armor?" guessed Iris. "Glad to see Parker has finally crossed your mind."

"Wait, what?" breathed Barry.

Iris clapped her hands, nodding in remembrance. "Right. You don't know. Well, find her, have her explain. I'm almost positive she's in the break room sprawled out on a couch."