chapter forty ; t-minus 36 hours

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Barry cupped Natalie's cheek, his thumb stroking gently as he looked into her eyes and pecked her lips, pulling back to see the smile that formed on her face every time he did so. Her head rested on the pillow, their noses touching. The sheets were bunched up by their tangled feet, the blanket pulled over the two in the darkness.

"I love you," Barry said, his voice deep and husky. Natalie let out a light laugh and readjusted the way her head laid on the pillow, "Yeah, I know, Barry. You just made that very clear. And I love you too."

Barry chuckled at her comment and nodded his head as best as he could from where it laid on the pillow, "Well you made that clear yourself."

"You know, that was my first time.." Barry muttered as he removed his hand from her cheek, opting to take her hand and intertwine their fingers, staring at it like it was the most beautiful thing.

Natalie's eyes widened as she looked at him and smiled, "That was.."

Barry looked back at her and nodded, "Yup. You were. My one and only. I wanted to save myself, for someone I knew it would mean something with. I mean, why make love with someone you don't love?" Natalie let out a small 'aww' before pulling him in for a kiss, his hand again wrapping it's way into her hair before he moved to hover over her.

The two were so engrossed in one another that they didn't notice the calls of their names until the door busted open and the person let out a scream. Barry and Natalie both jumped at the interruption as well, breaking apart and pulling the blanket up to cover themselves as they both turned to the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Iris yelled as she stood in the doorway, turning towards the hall and covering her eyes as one hand was on the door knob. "Wait never mind, don't answer that question. Obviously it's each other."

"Iris..what-what are you doing?" Barry asked, flustered at the fact his foster sister and best friend had just found him in a compromising position.

"I just wanted to tell you that dad is sleeping well at S.T.A.R. Labs so I was wondering if you two wanted to have a movie night. Obviously you two had something else in mind," Iris explained as she kept her eyes covered.

Barry nodded his head, pulling the covers up to his neck, his face reddened from embarrassment. "Well we can still-"

"No we can't because every time I look at you I'm gonna keep thinking that you two were just having sex. I'm going to be having nightmares for days, so thank you for that," Iris deadpanned.

Natalie let out a small laugh at her friend's discomfort, "Hey! Well at least we have the blankets on. Let's not forget that one time I went to your house and I found you and Eddie-"

"Okay fine, you win!" Iris squealed desperate to get the other girl to stop. The two ended up laughing whilst Barry looked at Iris, disgusted at the thought Natalie had just brought up. "I'll let you two finish up and if you're up for it you two can join me for some movies downstairs."

"If you could start on the popcorn I will start on making some brownies," Natalie said as she clutched the blanket tightly to her chest, rolling over in the bed to reach over the edge and start picking up her clothes. A small giggle escaped her lips when she saw the pout on Barry's face. "I'm sorry, Bare. Iris ruined the mood. Blame her."

Barry snapped his head at his foster sister, whose eyes were still covered, and glared, "Oh I do."

Iris let out a laugh, "Well then you two get dressed and I will be in the kitchen. Hurry up so I don't start to think you two are doing something else. And please remember I am downstairs." As soon as Iris shut the door, Barry let out a groan as he fell back on the bed.

"You do know this isn't a one time thing, right?" Natalie said as she pulled on a pair of yoga shorts, trying not to laugh at the sight of her saddened superhero boyfriend. Barry's head snapped up at her, "Really? I mean..yeah, of course it isn't... Was it, Was I okay?"

She couldn't contain her laughter any longer and let it out, "Are you kidding me, Barry? I really have strong doubts that that was your first time."

Barry grinned at the ceiling, proud of himself as Natalie pulled on a sweatshirt. His smile fell when he read what it said, "We just had sex and you're gonna wear a sweatshirt with someone else's name on it? Who the hell is 'Stilinski'?"

Natalie looked down at her sweatshirt and laughed, "A fictional character that goes to a fictional high school in a fictional town. You've got nothing to worry about, babe. If only you agreed to watch Teen Wolf with me last week you would know. Now get dressed, we don't want Iris' creative mind to start thinking things."

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The brunette girl was in Barry's, and now hers as well, room sorting the laundry on the bed and placing them into the drawers. She smiled to herself when she looked at the framed photo Barry had on his dresser, his arms around her waist from behind and him frozen in the midst of placing a kiss on her cheek. Her smile widened when she saw the photo of her and her family right next to it, knowing for a fact that she wasn't the one to place it there. In the past two weeks, she and Barry moved all of her clothes, shoes, and everyday items into the West household while Joe had installed an alarm and surveillance system in her house so that they could see if her father tried to break in. They also brought over a few of her blankets, given her need to have them everywhere, which seemed to amuse the two men in the house when she wore it like a cape.

A knock at the door made her look up from the pictures. "Cisco just called, we need to get to S.T.A.R. Labs," Joe informed her. Natalie nodded her head, "You go on. I want to finish up the laundry cause I know if I don't do it know, it won't get finished later. I'll call a cab." Joe's lips formed into a thin line when he nodded and left.

Natalie stuck true to her word, finishing up the laundry as neatly as she could as she rushed, knowing that whatever Cisco had to say was probably important, muttering under her breath that she should have just abandoned the laundry. After getting of the cab, she walked into the building, rubbing her arms with her hands at the blast of cool air from the air conditioning hit her skin. She stopped in her tracks when the faint sound of a gun shot rang through the air, echoing off of the walls of the building. She picked up her pace, thankful that she had worn sandals rather than heels, and rushed to where he heard voices.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be stuck in that box!" she heard a woman yell, following the sound of impact and a groan from who she presumed as either Caitlin or Iris. Natalie's eyes widened when she saw a woman with her foot against Caitlin's neck, pinning her to the wall, and pointing a gun at her cousin's face. The brunette's eyes widened and stayed quiet, looking around frantically for anything that could help he before she decided tackle the woman. Her heart fluttered when she saw a large wrench lying on the table by an array of Cisco's tools and spare parts. Natalie grabbed it, making sure her grip was tight before she approached the woman, who's back was to her, careful so that she didn't draw attention just yet. The woman pointing the gun laughed tauntingly at Caitlin who squirmed under her foot, "Now you're the one who's gonna go into a box. In the ground."

"Big mistake, bitch," Natalie said as she swung the wrench as hard as she could, connecting it with the woman's head and knocking her to the ground unconscious. After staring at her slumped body and checking the woman's pulse to make sure she was still alive , Natalie pulled her cousin into a hug. "You okay, Cait?"

Caitlin rubbed her throat where marks from the woman's shoe were starting to appear and nodded her head, "Thank you." Natalie smiled sheepishly as she heard Iris come in, looking at the two, the unconscious woman and the gun on the floor. "She's a metahuman. She got out," Caitlin explained to Iris, "Natalie hit her on the head before she shot me."

"Should we move her back to the pipeline?" Iris asked as she stepped tentatively towards the two after grabbing the gun off of the floor, scared that the woman would pop up. The three each stepped towards the woman, Natalie and Caitlin each picking up one side of her front half while Iris picked up her feet. Iris handed her dad the gun while Cisco closed the door to her cell after the three placed her inside. "How do you think she got out of there?" Iris asked as she, Caitlin, Cisco, Natalie, and Joe stared at the metahuman's slumped body as the containment cell moved away, leaving the barrier to the pipeline open.

"Wells must have let her out," Cisco said just as Joe shushed them.

The elder cop held out his hand towards the group as he raised his gun and stepped into the pipeline. "Did you hear that?"

Caitlin glanced at the cop, "I checked all of the containment cells. Everyone's accounted for."

Joe shook his head, "No, no. Listen." The four younger adults all did as he said, stepping closer to where Joe stood, their eyes widening as they heard wails.

"Does anyone else hear someone saying 'help' or is it just me?" Cisco muttered breaking the silence. Natalie's eyes widened and she looked at Iris, "It has to be Eddie."

"We can't get our hopes up," Joe said as he looked at his daughter with the utmost concern.

Iris looked at her father, "Well why are we just standing here? If that's Eddie we have to get him."

Joe ordered the three to stay back and prepare a medical station just incase it was really Eddie. The three rushed back to Caitlin's medical bay, Natalie pulling an assortment of gauze and chemicals to clean any wounds as Caitlin readied an IV stand and Cisco started up the machines to check his vitals.

Natalie sighed in relief as she saw Eddie being supported by Iris and Joe, the two setting him down gently on the medical bed. Iris stood between Joe and Natalie, her eyes wet with tears as they all stood back and patiently waited as Caitlin went straight to work. The young West smiled gratefully as Caitlin nodded to her, giving her the okay that she could sit with her boyfriend.

"Your vitals are normal but you're just a little dehydrated. The IV should help with that but drink some fluids and stay off your feet, Eddie," Caitlin informed him as he smiled tiredly at them all and nodded his head.

The group turned towards the entrance of the Cortex when they heard a 'whoosh' and panting. Barry was hunched over, his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily trying to catch his breath, "He got away. He's too fast. He's always too fast." Barry looked up and the frustration on his face faded away as he stared at the group in disbelief, more importantly at the person sitting on the medical bed. "Eddie."

"We found him under the hatch in the pipeline," Cisco explained as Barry rushed forward to Iris and Eddie. He shook his head and Natalie could see the guilt he felt painted on his face, "Eddie, I'm so sorry. I thought I looked everywhere for you."

"Barry, it's okay. Sometimes you just can't see the clues.. even when they're right in front of you," Eddie said, interrupting Barry. Natalie couldn't help but notice the sad twinge in Eddie's voice and his glance at Iris but ignored it. "Well all that's important is that we're all safe and back together," Iris said as she rubbed Eddie's arm.

"Eddie, do you know why Wells took you?" Natalie asked as she stepped towards Barry and intertwined their fingers. Eddie stared at the ground and shook his head, "I don't know, he said that we were family." Natalie nodded and look at his hand, Iris's hand on top of his wanting to hold it but his palm placed firmly on his leg. Her eyes met his and in that moment she knew something had changed, the look in his eyes practically begging her not to bring it up. "He said his real name is Eobard Thawne."

"Did he say anything else?" Joe questioned, desperate for more answers. "He didn't say much, just kept working on some tube. It was.. metallic, looked futuristic. He said it was the key to getting back everything that was taken from him."

Barry shook his head and rubbed his temple with his free hand, "Key."

"I don't know I just want to go home," Eddie said. Caitlin gave him the okay and helped him off the bed and onto Iris shoulder, who supported him as she took him home. As soon as the two stepped foot out of the Cortex, an alarm started to go off from the computers, causing Cisco to go into a frenzy and mumble a string of 'no's' when he saw what it was for.

"I swear the meaning behind the 'central' in Central City means: move the central place in which all hell breaks loose everyday. We're the equivalent to Starling City, just with happy façade," Natalie mumbled as Cisco's face popped up on one of the computer screens.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Cisco said as he held out his camera so that his face was being streamed along with the item he was pointing at. "That's the tube Eddie was talking about." As Natalie focused on the item, she saw that it in fact was a glowing tube stuck on the ledge of the wall. "It's some sort of.. future power source. That's what's powering up the Particle Accelerator again."

"Can't you shut it down or something?" Natalie asked as she stared at the screen. Cisco face blanked, "Do you see a power button anywhere on this screen? Girl, this thing is from the future. If I touch or cut the wrong thing, I could bring the whole building down."

Barry covered Natalie's mouth before she could say anything back, "Alright, Cisco, how long until it's fully functional."

"The best I can tell, 36 hours."

The five were scattered around the Cortex, Caitlin by the computers, Cisco pacing, Joe leaning against the doorway, and Natalie settled on Barry's lap. The metahumans were in danger, given that the particle accelerator was restarting with them inside. The group tried to run through way they could save them, given that the original S.T.A.R. Labs team felt guilty for putting them down there.

Barry's face relaxed when he got an idea, "Lian yu."

Natalie stared at his face quizzically, "What the hell? This isn't time for Duolingo or Rosetta Stone practice."

He shook his head at her, "No, Lian Yu was the island Oliver was on. ARGUS, they built a covert prison on there. That's where Oliver places his most dangerous criminals."

"So we're going to transport the metahumans from one blacklist site to another blacklist site," Joe deadpanned. Barry's lips formed into thin line when he nodded. "Don't you think that's going to draw attention?"

Barry nodded his head again at his foster father, "Yup. And you're going to handle that."

"Don't get so cocky that whatever ideas your brain is racing through is gonna go your way, Bare," Natalie warned as she got up from Barry's lap.

"Where are you going?" Barry called from his seat as Joe stared at him waiting for him to spit out his plans. Natalie paused in the doorway and turned around, "I'm tired."

Barry frowned at her, "You can't go home yet, nobody's there. Just take a nap until we're done and I'll run you there." The young brunette clenched her jaw, wanting desperately to crawl under the covers, but obliged to her boyfriend's wishes. She trudged over to him, curling up in his lap and resting her head on his chest. A smile formed on her lips as she felt him carefully lean over to grab his jacket and rest it over her and placing a small kiss on her hair.

She bit her tongue when she heard the noise of a camera and the small giggles coming from Cisco's direction. "Dude, what are you doing?" Barry asked softly, his small chuckles vibrating against Natalie's head.

Natalie could practically see the look on Cisco's face in her mind, "You guys looked cute. Plus I totally ship Baralie."

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12 August, 2015

Hey guys, this is probably going to be the last chapter for a while, given that my sophomore year of high school is starting tomorrow. School comes first.

I will try to write chapters as best as I can in my free time. My plan is to finish this story by mid September and start the second book once season 2 of The Flash begins. Thank you for the 15k+ reads and the 1k+ votes!!!! It means so much.

My goal I to get this to 100k views by the end of 2015. So please help me reach this goal Spread the story!!

I can't believe I almost forgot to add this, but thank you to justinfinitebird and Flash_lightning23 for helping me figure out how long Eddie was missing. Helped me a lot you two!!

LillianXx