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Iris walked into S.T.A.R. Labs with a fresh coffee for everyone and a change of clothes for Caitlin, who hadn’t left Barry since the whole Zoom incident. Barry had been unconscious for three days afterwards, his body needing time to heal after so much damage had been done but he had finally woken up yesterday only to discover the condition of his spine.
Seeing the hero so badly hurt was scary for everyone and had left the team more than a little impatient to have him healed again especially since the wait was usually only a few hours.
Setting the Coffee’s down she set Dr Snows bag of clothes down and waited for the woman to finish with Barry. The biochemist was closely monitoring the downed hero and Iris could barely contain her questions when Caitlin finished and met her in the main lab.
“How is he today? Any change on his legs?”
The woman sighed, exhausted and took the offered coffee gratefully.
“I’ve run some tests but I just don’t know if this is permanent or not. Zoom snapped Barry’s spine and while the bones have healed there is still damage to his spinal cord and I just don’t know if that’s something his speed healing can fix.”
Iris nodded, and laid a hand on the woman’s shoulder.
“You did an amazing job saving him Caitlin and we’ll never be able to thank you enough for how many times you’ve saved our Barry.”
“I just wish I could have-“
“He doesn’t blame you for not being able to fix it and neither does anyone else. We’ll figure this out, weather he heals or not we’ll be okay.”
Iris hugged the woman and gave her a smile before looking towards her best friend’s room. He was lying in bed staring at the ceiling and hadn’t noticed her presence yet. Taking a deep breath and settling a smile on her face, Iris walked to his room.
Barry turned his head at the sound of her footsteps and smiled a little when he saw it was her.
“Hey Iris.”
“Hey Bar. You feeling any better? Your chest still bothering you?”
He turned his head to the side and stared at the wall. He was in no mood to talk about his current condition. His whole life revolved around his ability to run and now he couldn’t even get out of bed. There was little left of him but a joke and he had no interest in being the universes punchline.
Iris knew where his head was going, she could see his walls being built and refused to let him ignore her.
“Barry Allen, I’ve lost you too many times to lose you again. I won’t let you shut me out.”
He sighed and turned his head a little further towards her as a small apology.
“Caitlin said my ribs are all healed and I can breathe better now.” His response came with a bitter tone but Iris ignored it.
“That’s great!”
“Not really. I’m still stuck like this.” The speedster hit his thigh and Iris winced at the thump it made, knowing that no matter how hard Barry hit, he wouldn’t feel it.
“Barry, Cisco’s fixing up a wheelchair for you and-“
The Flash thumped a hand down on the bed again and whipped his head round to glare at Iris, though there was more sadness in his eyes than rage.
“I don’t want a wheelchair Iris, I want to be able to walk! How am I supposed to be The Flash like this? How am I supposed to help people? I’m useless now! I couldn’t save my Mom or Eddie or Ronnie and I couldn’t stop the reverse Flash or Zoom and now I can’t even protect the city! What am I supposed to do? Who am I supposed to be without my speed or my legs?”
His voice cracked as tears slipped from his eyes and Iris couldn’t help tearing up at everything they’d been through only to have ended like this. Iris sat on her best friend’s bed and took his hand in hers as she brushed the tears from his cheeks.
“Barry Allen you listen to me, I watched you die over and over on that night you were hit by lightning and I watched Zoom shake you around like a rag-doll, and show you off as a half dead trophy.”
She was crying now but she fought to keep her voice strong because he needed to hear her.
“I sat in that Lab and watched Caitlin try to put you back together after what that monster did. You were stabbed three times, had eight broken ribs, your lungs were filling with blood, drowning you, your lungs were collapsing, you had head trauma and he snapped your spine Barry! Your heart stopped for almost half a minute before Caitlin got it started again and for that thirty seconds I had to live in a world without you in it. I don’t plan to do that ever again.
This situation sucks Barry, it’s awful. But you’re alive. You’re here and your breathing and talking and I don’t have to go to my best friend’s funeral. After everything we have been through, after everything all of us have been through, don’t you think we can figure this out? No matter what happens, weather you heal or stay this way, we will always be by your side and you will be okay.
I love you Barry Allen, you are my best friend in this world and all the others, and I will never leave you.”
Barry’s face crumpled and he finally let go of everything he’d been feeling. Iris slid her arms underneath his back, being careful of everything, and held him as close as she dared without hurting him. She tucked her nose into his neck and closed her eyes just relishing in the fact that she hadn’t lost him.
Placing him back down and wiping her eyes, Iris stroked his wet cheeks.
“You are the most resilient man I’ve ever met Barry, I mean you were blind last week, this is nothing.”
Barry hiccuped out a laugh and squeezed her hand.
“Thank you Iris.”
The woman smiled, her eyes shining, and pecked kisses all over the speedsters face, letting out words between each one.
“Anything – for – my – Barry. Now how about we watch some movies and get a few pizzas because I’m starving and you can never eat enough of them.”
Barry listened to her babble on and smiled, thanking everything he could think of that he had Iris West around to knock some sense into him when he needed it.