Within Seconds: Flashpoint Edition

First Thing's First

Returning to the spot in time where his mother was destined to die wasn't difficult. Now, he knew exactly what he had to do. So, he stopped the Reverse-Flash. He smacked the knife from his hand and knocked his enemy unconscious. He looked to his hysterical mother. 

Nora Allen sobbed a desperate, "No," when he did so. 

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he told her, then continued to repeat it until she calmed down. "You're safe now."

Then, time passed around him. Years went by, memories that he would never know or live, until he came to a stop in the present-day of the timeline where his mother survived. 

In his childhood home, he stood, dressed in his Flash suit. He was quick to run to his bedroom and change. Then, he padded carefully down the steps in search of his parents. 

"Lasagna or hamburgers?" he heard his mother asking. 

"Whatever you want, dear," his father replied. 

"Henry, you always let me pick."

"Because I am a gentlemen, Nora."

In the kitchen stood his mother and father, arguing over what to eat for dinner. They had aged respectfully. It didn't matter to Barry, because those were his parents. They were alive. 

He sprinted to them and  threw an arm tightly around each of his parents. Both of them laughed gleefully as they tried to stay standing. They didn't receive the chance to comfortably embrace their lovely son back. One tight squeeze was enough, in his eyes, for the moment. 

"What's that for?" laughed Nora. 

"I missed you so much, Mom," he sighed. 

"You saw me this morning," said his mother, confused. 

Henry tapped his son on his forehead. "Are you doin' okay, slugger?" 

"I'm fine. Great, actually," assured Barry, nodding enthusiastically. "I do have something I need to do. I'll be back as soon as possible, I just... I have to find someone, first. Do you guys have a computer?"

"Laptop's on the kitchen table," said his father. 

Barry squeezed in between them. He shuffled inside his old childhood home, taking a minute to reminisce in the feeling of being home, before his mission continued. 

A simple Google search of her name didn't do much good. Barry received a couple of false Facebook profiles. He searched their elementary school, then their middle school. It wasn't until he typed in her name and the name of their high school when luck finally aligned with him. 

What he found confused him to no end. In their senior yearbook, he discovered a photo of him and Parker. His lips were pressed against her cheek. She was giggling. In her hands, she held a sign with cursive red letters boldly printed along it. 

"'Couple most likely to get married,'" breathed Barry. 

It made no sense to him. In his timeline, he and Parker hadn't dated until after the Particle Accelerator Explosion. They rarely spoke through school. In this timeline, they had been together before. They were voted most likely to get married. Simultaneously, his heart shattered and swelled. He yearned to know what had happened between them. 

"Mom! Dad!" he yelled. 

Nora appeared in the doorway. "You rang?"

When he uttered his wife's name, discomfort was an emotion that very quickly surrounded his mother. She fidgeted. She met her son's eyes, though she was saddened by the name. 

"Mom?" asked Barry curiously. 

"You haven't said her name in years, Bar," admitted his mother. 

"Why?"

"You know why..."

"Refresh my memory."

Nora inhaled a soft breath. She watched her son, his eagerness to remember the girl that wronged him. She was close to divulging into it once more. But, her memories of the night she left returned, and she shook her head. 

"No,my beautiful boy. I can't. I don't want to relive that experience," she said. 

"Mom," said Barry desperately.

"I'm sorry."

Barry scoffed. "Can you... Can you at least tell me where to find her? Do you know?"

"I..."

"Mom," begged Barry. "Please. I need to see her."

Nora pushed her glasses onto her head, wiping the bridge of her nose. Shaking her head in disappointment with herself, and what she was about to do, she exhaled a defeated sigh. 

"Mom?" asked Barry hopefully. 

"I don't know where to find her. I do know somewhere she frequently goes, however," said Nora. 

"That's more than fine," agreed Barry. 

Nora opened the desk drawer beside her. She scribbled down an address on a slip of notebook paper, then slid it across the table to her son. She frowned when she saw his eyes light up. 

"Barry, just..."

"Yeah?" asked Barry, though he wasn't entirely focused on his mother. 

"Be careful, okay? I don't want her to break your heart again..."