Having a girlfriend hadn't worked for Oliver since he became the Arrow, that he tended to preach about. Barry listened. He didn't share Oliver's values, and he definitely didn't believe his feelings for Parker were going to diminish because he shared what happened to his previous girlfriends. Oliver Queen was not Barry Allen. 

Trial and error was how Barry's life worked now. Being with Parker was a risk, they both knew it, and he was all in. It was time to see if she felt the same. 

So, Barry called dibs to drive the van from the train station. He didn't take them back to S.T.A.R. Labs at first. He started to drive, asking her to close her eyes. 

"Why?" she asked. 

"Because I asked you to," sighed Barry. 

Parker stared at him. "Do you really think that's a good reason?" 

"I'm going to take you somewhere, just trust me here, Park."

"And I say again: do you really think that's a good reason?"

"I will stop this car."

Parker pondered the idea, for a second, until she noticed the line of cars trailing behind them. Sighing, she placed her hands over her eyes and leaned back in the seat. 

"Thank you," grinned Barry. 

"Leave me alone."

She and Barry drove in quiet silence, in which Parker pretended to be angry about having to close her eyes and Barry continued to annoy her by not telling her where they were going. At last, when they were both tired of arguing, Parker slapped on the radio. She turned it obnoxiously high to drown his voice out. 

"All right," said Barry, placing the van into park. "Open your..."

Parker opened her eyes when he stopped the car. She stared blankly at the prison in front of them, at a loss of words. Her lips were split. 

"Parker?" wondered Barry. 

"I-I can't meet your father, Barry," she whispered. 

He frowned. "Well, why not?" 

"That's a part of your life that's special to you, private, I can't intrude on--"

"I want you to. I want you to meet him, please," he pleaded. 

Parker ran her fingers through her hair. She turned to look Barry, biting her lip. Thinking about how devastated he would be if she disagreed caused her to nod. She prayed to the Gods above to give her strength for the impromptu meeting. 

On the way into the prison, Barry spoke excitedly, giving her a full detail of what was going to have to happen for them to enter. 

Parker watched him talk, unable to fathom how much he trusted her. A true level of trust had to exist to introduce someone to a family member holed up in jail. To think that she was of such importance to Barry meant the world to her. It left her speechless.

When Barry and Parker arrived, Henry Allen waited on the opposite side of a glass window. From the moment he saw the woman behind his son, his brow furrowed, his gaze stuck on Parker. 

Barry held the chair for her. She sat. He knelt on the floor next to her, placing his arm on her thigh. Parker instantly scooted over, pulling him onto the chair with her. 

"You're making me look bad," she whispered sharply.

Barry rolled his eyes. He grabbed the telephone on their side, holding it between their ears. 

"Who have you brought for me to meet?" asked Mr. Allen. 

"This is Parker," introduced Barry. 

Timidly, she continued, "Hey, Mr. Allen. I'm Barry's, uh, friend, I guess."

"Well, it's always a pleasure to meet a friend of my son's. What brings you two around?" asked Mr. Allen tensely. 

"Just wanted to say hello, see how you're doing," said Barry. 

"I'm fine, Bar."

Parker understood why Mr. Allen was being strange with her. It wasn't because of the unexpected visit, it was his own fear of another person judging him. He didn't know the entirety of Parker's knowledge on his case, nor what her beliefs on it were. To flip their first meeting about, addressing the subject was necessary. 

"...then our friends visited from Star--"

Pure nerves beat against the walls in her stomach. She pushed past the aching in her shoulder to clasp Barry's hand in her own, latching on tightly. It didn't flush away the nerves. It served as a comfort for what she was about to say. 

"Park?" wondered Barry, curious to why she suddenly took his hand. 

"Mr. Allen, I don't believe for a second that you were capable of murdering your wife. All those years ago, when I first heard, I didn't. I still don't. And I may not be as smart as your son, but I will do all I can to help him get you out of here. I'll do whatever it takes to prove your innocence," said Parker. 

"Barry," chastised Mr. Allen, wiping his eyes roughly. "You shouldn't--"

"He didn't influence my thoughts at all, Mr. Allen. I want to help. I'll do it with or without your blessing, honestly. You can hate me when you're out of jail," she told him. 

She offered a smile, which typically portrayed happiness, but that wasn't the case with her. Her eyes were struck with fear. Her smile ranked as a grimace, more than anything else. 

Mr. Allen blinked back his tears. Chuckling, he told her, "Parker Sylas, you call me Henry."

xxxx

In there was the first he had heart of her feelings about his father. On her own, she had made the decision to believe his father was innocent. She wanted to help Barry prove Henry innocent. All those choices were made without his influence. He was absolutely smitten with her. 

"Is it raining?" wondered Parker. 

"Stay here. I'll pull the car up," offered Barry. 

He looked around, ensuring no one was around. He used his speed to get into the car without an inch of rain touching his body. He drove the van to the entrance of the prison, where Parker jumped in, then proceeded to slap his hand in shame for using his speed. He rolled his eyes. 

When he parked in front of Parker's apartment building, she reached across the gap between their seats to grab his hand. She smiled at him. He grinned. 

"Thank you for that. Thank you for trusting me enough to let me into that part of your life," she said honestly. 

"You did perfect, Park," he assured. 

"Good. That's good," she said proudly. 

"It is," said Barry awkwardly. 

"Well, goodnight, Barry," she said.

Barry used his speed to grab her from the van and bring her to the front steps of her apartment building, untouched by the rain. He winced when she started to cough, trying to catch her breath. He meant for it to be a grand gesture, not for it to ruin the mood. 

"I'm so sorry, Park, I'll warn you next time," he frowned. 

"Gotta cough up a lung every once in a while, don't you?" she said jokingly, patting her chest lightly. "Thanks, though. Goodnight, for the second time."

"Park, wait," he said.

"Yeah?" she asked. 

"I should admit something to you before I chicken out," he said. 

"Yeah?" she said again, chuckling. 

"I've had a numerous amount of wishes since I can remember. I wanted my parents and I back together, I wanted to fit in at school, I wanted to find a girl that liked me back. When I ran into you again, the last thing I thought was that you would turn into one of my wishes," he told her.

"Never thought I'd have a thing for Barry Allen," admitted Parker. 

Barry smiled. "My wish is you, Park. I want to be with you. I'm going to give you my all to make you understand that I seriously want to try this out. I think it'll be more than worth it, in the end."

"You know, you didn't tell Iris you were confessing tonight. She might kill you," said Parker thoughtfully. 

"It'll be worth it, if I get a good answer," he said nervously. 

"Yes," said Parker obviously. "I should go now. Gotta, um, let the cat out."

"You don't have  a... Oh. Is 'cat' code for I have to call Cisco?" wondered Barry. 

Parker kissed his cheek. "You know me. Goodnight, Bar."

Barry waited for her to slip into the lobby of her apartment building, then he struck his fist in the air excitedly. Proud of himself, he leaped from the stairs, feeling so happy he almost did a number from 'Singing in the Rain.'

xxxx

The following afternoon, Parker didn't greet anyone when she entered S.T.A.R. Labs. She headed straight for the cabinet next to the door, pulled a blanket, then secured it tight around her shoulders like a cape. 

"How come my costume never had a cape?" wondered Barry. 

"No capes," scolded Cisco. 

Parker slapped his bicep as she shuffled past him. "Didn't you ever see The Incredibles? There was, like, two whole minutes dedicated to why superheroes should never wear capes."

"Okay, sorry, my bad," laughed Barry. 

Parker lowered herself into her computer chair. She curled into the seat, burying her face into the blanket. She closed her eyes. 

"What's up, Sleepy?" asked Barry. 

"I spend my entire morning listening to Eddie go on and on about his task force to capture you," groaned Parker. 

"Why was he sharing that with you?" wondered Dr. Wells. 

"He wanted me to make a sketch based on what he remembered, but, obviously, I can't draw well right now," said Parker, looking to her sling. 

Cisco brought his eyebrows together. "Park, I thought you were a lefty?"

"Eddie Thawne doesn't know that," sang Parker. 

"Shame on you," laughed Cisco. 

"In other news, Parker, we have an early Christmas present for you," mentioned Dr. Wells. 

Parker shook her head. "Guys, come on. You don't have to--"

"Shut up," shamed Cisco, Barry, and Caitlin. 

From the conjoined lab, the three wheeled a large contraption in. A red bow was placed on top of it. 

"Barry said you majored in art and design in college," said Caitlin.

"Plus, you handmade the suit," added Cisco. 

"So, we thought, for the future, this would help you to do that a little faster and easier," continued Caitlin. 

"It's called an industrial fabricator. It's basically a giant sewing machine that's super fancy. We don't know exactly what it does, we just thought you would like it," said Barry.

Parker pouted with gratitude. "You guys, this is beautiful... Thank you so much. I won't fail you with it, promise. I'll make sure this is money well spent."

"Come with me, Park. We'll figure out how it works," said Cisco. 

Parker followed as Cisco pushed the wheeled machine down to Casa de Genius. He placed it on her side of the room, fitting it nicely between the mini-fridge and a shelf filled with odds and ends for sewing or drawing. 

"I think you throw in fabric right there," said Cisco. 

"Pretty much. I mean, it basically is a giant sewing machine. Then you press this button right here, it saves the design to memory, and you're free to mass produce it," explained Parker. 

"Well, I have your first project for it," offered Cisco excitedly. "I want to give Oliver a new suit. I looked at it and saw so much room for improvement! I mean, imagine if it was lighter and had more room for equipment. And that hood? It could be replaced with--"

"The hood stays," interrupted Parker. "The night we were hammered, Felicity spent hours going on about why the hood is sentimental to Ollie. I can't remember why we cried about it, though. It's not a super depressing story..."

Cisco raised his brow. "All right. I have to go install a camera on Barry's suit, but if I leave you here, can you do it?"

"What, now? By myself?"

"Duh."

"Dude, I can't even move my right arm. I can't make the suit now," said Parker. 

Cisco tapped his fingers against the fabricator, brainstorming mentally how he could fix the situation. 

"Why don't I tell you what to do?" asked Parker. 

"I can ask Dr. Wells to install the camera," agreed Cisco, shrugging. 

"First, call Bar and tell him to get us polymer kevlar weave," said Parker. 

"Will do," said Cisco. 

Cisco ripped the fabric from Barry's hands the second he walked in. He loaded the fabric into the machine as Parker explained, then went to work pressing different combinations on the panel.

"Christmas present for Ollie," explained Parker. 

"Got it," said Barry. "Mind if I sit in?"

"Knock yourself out," she said. 

After that, she ignored him. Her focus was on Cisco's use of her machine. He was slow and careful with every inch of the suit. Parker watched over him with hawk eyes, uttering detailed and specific directions to ensure no problems posed. 

"Cisco? Parker?" called Caitlin. 

"Shhh!" yelled Cisco and Parker. 

Caitlin peaked into the room, her eyes wide. She quietly walked to where Barry sat, watching the two work, wildly entertained by it. She asked, in a whisper, what they were up to.

"Apparently, the hood has to be constructed in silence," whispered Barry. 

"I see," giggled Caitlin. 

So, Caitlin and Barry watched the other two precisely work on attaching the hood to the body of the suit. When they finished, clear by the heavy exhales, Caitlin opened her mouth to speak. 

"No!" said Parker. "We need a moment of silence for how amazing we just did. 

"Bless," praised Cisco.

Caitlin raised her eyebrow. "Can I talk now?"

"Proceed."

"We had a tradition of Secret Santa here, so I was wondering if we're continuing that, or if we're all getting presents," said Caitlin. 

"I'm getting you all stuff," said Cisco. 

"I'm down," agreed Barry. 

"As am I," said Parker. 

"Hell yeah!" cheered Cisco excitedly.