Catalyst (probably not going to update anymore, don't watch the show anymore)

Chapter 46

            I waited excitedly in Joe's house for Barry to come home with his dad from prison. Everyone was here: Caitlin, Cisco, Joe, Iris, Professor Stein, Clarissa, and me.

I've only met Henry once before now, and that was when the Trickster had taken him from Iron Heights to try and trap Barry.

The front door opened, and Barry and Henry walked in. "Welcome home!" we all shouted in unison. Henry was beside himself, and the first thing he did inside was hug Joe.

Barry approached me, and I threw my arms around his neck happily and kissed his cheek. Henry was in a barrage of hugs from everybody, but Barry called out to his father, "Dad, come here for a second."

Henry walked up to Barry and I; Barry had his arm around my waist proudly as I smiled. "Dad," Barry grinned, "This is Finn, my girlfriend. You met her once at Star-Labs."

"Ah," Henry smiled, "so you're the infamous Finn Barry never stops talking about."
I blushed bashfully, "I guess so." I looked up at Barry, "You tell your dad about me?"

Henry grinned, "You wouldn't believe how much he talks about you. It gets to the point where I have to remind him we have limited time to talk and I want to hear about him. Not that I don't love hearing about you."

"I get it," I laughed, "He's a sweet-heart."

Henry smiled happily, "You're a part of the Allen-family now, so I guess that means you deserve a hug." He held his arms wide open, and I leaned in for a loving hug from my future father-in-law.

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Cake was eaten, champagne and wine was drunk, and I gave Henry Barry and I's gift: a check for a hundred thousand dollars and a picture of his future grandkids. Henry was beyond himself with my generosity, but I insisted that he keep the money.

"Gather around, everyone, please," Stein announced by tapping on his champagne glass, "Looking at all of you, thinking of how far we've all come, and remembering those who are no longer with us. I'm reminded of a Hebrew word used during times of graduation, Kadima. It means...forward." Stein held up his glass and said, "Kadima."

Everyone went around the room saying forward, but when it came to be my turn, I held up my glass and smiled, "Kadima."

Henry, Barry, and I all clinked glasses together for good luck.

Henry took a sip from his glass, but had difficulty swallowing the alcohol; he walked into the dining room where nobody was, and Barry followed him. "You good?" Barry asked, placing his hand on Henry's back.

"Yeah," Henry chuckled, "Stuff goes to your head after being away from your for fourteen years."

Barry smiled, "I bet," and then suggested, "Well, look, I was thinking that after Finn and I move into our new house, maybe you could stay in a guest bedroom with us. Iris had been doing some research on how to get your medical license back so you could start your practice up again, or Finn could hire you at Star-Labs because she totally would love to?" Henry's smile faded. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"It's a party," Henry tried to ignore the conversation, "Come on, we can talk about all this tomorrow."

"Talk about what?" Barry asked, confused.

Henry sighed, "Barry..."

Barry interrupted, "Are you not planning on sticking around?"

"Okay," Henry huffed, "Okay, do you think...Can you be all that you are becoming with me here?"

Barry whispered, "You're the only family that I have left."

Henry looked over at me as I talked with Cisco, "Well that's not really true. Aren't you going to have another family with a special someone in there? She needs your help too, Barry," Henry placed his hands on Barry's shoulders, "When you need me, I will be here. But right now, Central City doesn't need you to be Henry Allen's son; it needs you to be the Flash." He smiled proudly, "My kid...the superhero."

"I have to go," Henry said sadly, "I need you to tell me that it's okay."

Barry's eyes darted to me, and he started thinking about all the adventures we would have together, rebuilding each other on the inside, always being there for one another, and how much we loved one another.

He nodded, and Henry took him into a tight hug.

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I waited for Barry to come out of the elevator at Star-Labs, and when he did, I smiled, "Hey."

"Hey," he responded back.

"Did your dad get off okay?" I asked kindly.

Barry huffed, "Yeah. I just dropped him at the train station."

I looked at him with loving eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly, "Because if you're not, that's fine too."

"I don't know," Barry shrugged, "It just feels like every time I win I still lose."

"Well," I smiled, and pulled the large, metal key to the city out of my back pocket and held it up to Barry's face, "This isn't so bad."

He took it from my hand, smiling. "No," he grinned, "It's not bad. It's pretty cool."

We laughed. "It's really cool," I giggled, "come on."

Barry and I walked into the Cortex, and now Caitlin had come back from Mercury Labs. "Hey," she greeted us, and we replied back the same.

Cisco smirked, "Hey, guess what? I added a little upgrade to your suit."

Our eyes darted over to the Flash suit, and now it had a white and yellow emblem on the center of the chest. "It's just like the one from the future newspaper," I laughed, marveling at how much I liked the new suit.

"I was thinking," Cisco smirked, "You know, we shouldn't fear the future anymore, right?"

Barry placed his arm around my waist. "No," he smiled, "and it'll be here faster than we think."

Martin reveled, "I say, I like it. The lightning definitely pops more against the white."

Caitlin added, "And, Star-Labs is now safer than ever. Increased security and surveillance cameras all are being controlled from Finn's office."

"Recoded, double fire-walled, electronic lock system," Cisco added, "Nothing is getting through here without us knowing."

I laughed, "So people can't just walk in here whenever they wanted to anymore?"

"Exactly," Cisco nodded.

Then, a shadowy figure walked into the Cortex, and I exclaimed, "God damn it!"

Joe pulled his handgun from his holster, aimed at the figure, and stated, "Stay where you are."

"Who are you?" Barry asked, placing me behind him for protection.

The figure explained in a deep voice, "You don't know me, but I know you...Barry Allen." He started walking closer to us.

Joe threatened him, "Take one more step and it'll be the last thing you do. The man asked you a question. Who the hell are you?"

He walked into the light, and I could see he was a tall, build man with ash brown hair that was parted down the center. "My name is Jay Garrick," he explained, "and your world is in danger."