Frozen Flashpoint

Chapter 36: Farewell into a New Future

summary: The time has come for a certain speedster to return home—but what does the future hold now?

The medical checkups took a lot longer than any of them anticipated. Barry always considered Caitlin to be quite thorough in her checkups, but Carla was in a league of her own.

Barry actually made the mistake of grumbling about the fact aloud, causing his fiancée to glare at him while Carla chuckled and replied lightly, "It's all in the experience, dear. Give Caitlin another decade or two, and she will be the same."

A look of both pride and fear flashed in Caitlin's eyes, though considering it distracted her from glaring at him, Barry made the wise choice of not commenting and keeping his head down.

But now that it was all over and done with, the team decided to throw some sort of party in the West house that evening.

Barry was initially against the idea, as they just lost one of their own, Marlize. But Caitlin, Jesse, and even Lyra were quick to accept the idea, wanting the victory to be celebrated to honor the sacrifice of the woman, and Barry couldn't possibly disagree with them, so the party was green-lighted.

With that, all of them went to their own homes to get ready. Barry, Caitlin, and Lyra were the first to leave as they promised to come help Joe set up the garden for everyone's barbecue.

The moment they closed the door to their loft, Caitlin was quick to announce, "I got dibs on the shower. See you two later."

Without giving either of them the chance to argue, Caitlin went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Barry and Lyra blinked twice before Lyra chuckled and turned toward her room, calling over her shoulder, "Well, I will go find something to wear, Dad."

Barry couldn't help but be surprised with the drastic change of attitude from the Lyra of a few hours ago to this one. He couldn't help himself but call out, "Lyra, can I talk with you for a moment?"

Lyra turned to him with a smile and a confused look on her face, saying gently, "Sure, Dad, what's up?"

Barry raised an eyebrow at her and began carefully, "Don't take it the wrong way, but I'm worried about how like... yourself you are acting."

Lyra tilted her head with a small frown and asked, "I'm not sure what you're getting at, Dad."

Barry sighed before saying gently, "Look, I know how much you cared about Marlize, and seeing what happened couldn't be easy. You don't have to hide your pain with me; I want to help you."

Lyra launched herself forward and hugged Barry tightly for a moment before pulling back with a small, sad smile. She responded, "I know, Dad. It's just... I spent some time today thinking about the Marlize I knew, and for the first time, I noticed the longing in her eyes. She always wanted to be with her husband; she loved him more than she hated the monster he became. It might not be ideal, but just maybe it's better than her living on with everyone telling her what a monster the man she loved so much ended up being."

Lyra looked away and finished quietly, "I know it seems wrong to say it, but... I think it will..."

Barry pulled her back into his embrace, cutting her off, saying gently, "You don't have to explain. You knew her better than any of us. If anyone, then you have the right to reach this conclusion, and no one can tell you otherwise."

Barry could feel Lyra smiling into his chest before he heard her saying, "Thanks, Dad, it means a lot." Before Barry could say anything else, she turned around and ran to her room, calling out, "Still need to choose my outfit, see you soon."