Short on Time

Chapter 99

"So you're not stuck here," was the first thing Iris said after Barry and Nora explained themselves.

"No, I'm not," Nora said.

"So, the reverse tachyons in your system?" Caitlin asked.

"Were put there because of me," Nora admitted.

"Are you kidding?" Cisco exclaimed. "You know how many credit card points I just blew trying to get rid of your negative tachyons? I just bought a brand new spectral tachyeometer when I could have my Fiji get away.

"Not that I have anyone to go with, anymore." Ralph looked at Cisco hopefully, "I'm not taking you to Fiji, Ralph."

"Why didn't you guys tell us about this before?" Iris asked.

"And why does Ginger not look surprised?" Joe added.

Barry and I shrugged as Nora beamed, "nothing ever gets past mom."

"But seriously," Ralph said, beyond confused.

Nora sighed and turned on her hologram to the newspaper article of Barry still missing twnety-five years after he first vanished. "Oh, my God!" Cecile breathed.

"Barry never returns?" Caitlin asked.

"Thats not all," Nora said hesitantly as she pushed back a few years to an article about the death of Light.

"You have to be kidding me," Cisco muttered.

"That's why you came here," Joe said. "To see you father, because you were raised without him."

"So what?" Iris asked, startling us all.

"Iris," Barry said gently.

"So what that that article says that you never come back. So what if the other one says that you vanished. So what that the future keeps saying that Ginger dies," Iris explained. "I mean, it's said other things before, right? We made it say other things before. So whatever the future brings we are gonna deal with it when it gets here. And change it if we need to."

"She has a point," Cisco said. "If there's anything Team Flash is good at, it's handing the future its own ass and then some."

"What he said," Ralph agreed.

"Well, looks like Nora's gonna need more training after all," I said smiling.

"Oh, okay," Nora said brightly.

I looked up as I heard crying from upstairs, "she's hungry," Cecile said and then paused. "And the twins are cranky."

"Of course they are," I said standing up.

"Do you need help?" Barry asked.

I shrugged, "powers that allow you to create an extra arm are great, but they can tell it's not an actual parent."

"Got it," Barry said as he stood up. "Yeah, why don't we, uh, all meet back at STAR Labs, all right?" Barry and I quickly went upstairs, but as soon as we held the kids, they stopped.

"Clingy children," I muttered as I bounced Henry. "You take them to STAR labs, I need to check on something."

"You okay?" Barry asked.

I smiled, "I'm rather used to being told that I die in the future."

Barry cringed, "I'm not."

"Don't dwell on it too much," I told him as I kissed his cheek.

"Don't have time to dwell on it," Barry muttered as he took Henry from me and ran off.

I quickly grabbed a baby bag and some things that I thought I would need later before hurrying down the stairs. Iris looked rather depressed, "you know that she just wants to spend as much time with Barry as possible, right?"