Being drunk was a feeling unfamiliar to Barry, thanks to his speed, but he imagined it would be something similar to how he felt now. His vision felt hazy, his feet felt numb, his mind was filled with too many thoughts to think. What he needed was his mother, someone who clearly knew everything that had happened between the love of his life and him.

What had she done to me?

Had she found someone else?

Did she cheat on me?

Was I not good enough?

Barry stumbled into his house. He didn't have to seek his mother out; she sat in the living room awaiting his return. He fell onto the couch next to her, head in her lap. Staying still numbed his entire body.

"What happened, Barry?" wondered his mother softly.

"She had... Or, at least, I think she had..."

"She did."

Barry's first thought was a saddened, "When?" but something told him he already knew when. Suddenly, he shot up. Hurriedly, he asked his mother when he and Parker had ended their high school relationship.

"Shouldn't you know this?"

"Quick, Mom!"

"Uh, uh... You graduated in, what, '09? It was a few months into your graduation summer, remember?"

"Right, of course. Gotta go, Mom!"

In seconds, he was in his lab at the CCPD, typing wildly on the computer again. This time, he used his police resources to find her address. He was surprised to see she had a restraining order filed against her. He mentally made a note to inquire about that.

His plan was made. If he didn't catch her tomorrow at the elementary school, a confrontation at her home was going to have to occur. She had no option. He had no choice. He needed her, and she didn't know it yet, but she was going to need him again, too.

xxxx

Instead of waiting near the school, he decided to wait across the street at a Bus Stop. He sat on the bench, examining every woman who walked onto school grounds. It later was deemed unnecessary. He would know her body from a mile away, and he did, once she came walking down the street from her vehicle.

He briefly wondered how any child survived being in the car with Parker as the driver for six years.

At 3:15, children began to pour out of the school. Nannies and mothers alike found their children from the masses, then exited the black gate surrounding the elementary school.

His eye remained on Parker. She hadn't moved, other than to check her cell phone. When her head snapped up at a high-pitched scream, he turned to the entrance of the school.

Two children bounced down the front steps, pushing and shoving one another. Once they caught sight of Parker, they stopped. Both sprinted at her. Their crash into her legs almost knocked her off balance. She crouched, saying a few words. It seemed to register in their heads, Barry assumed, by their enthusiastic nodding.

Then, Parker allowed the boy to hop on her back. The girl, her hand tightly clasping Parker's, skipped alongside them. All three were giggling, laughing at words coming from Parker's mouth.

Barry stumbled across the street. Caught in his own surprise, he missed out on checking for passing cars. It was a wonder he didn't get hit doing so. He did get an obnoxious honk, which alerted Parker and the children to his appearance.

Parker's smile faltered. A whisper to the boy on her back caused him to let go of her. He then helped his sister into the vehicle.

"Parker," stuttered Barry.

"Barry, I need this to stop," she said firmly.

"Parker," he said again, because that was simply all he was able to get out. He hadn't gained the chance to look at the children. He wanted to know if he could see her in them. He needed to see what his Melody Nora should have looked like, if...

"I'm asking you to leave us alone right now," said Parker.

"H-How old?" gulped Barry.

"I think you know that answer."