Within Seconds // Barry Allen

Surprises

Barry spotted the small converse sticking out from one end of the couch the second he stepped into the break room. He peered over the edge of the couch. 

Parker moved the comic down an inch, enough to look over it. "Oh, hey, Allen," she said softly. 

He waited.

"Allen?!" she shouted, sitting up abruptly. Spastic, she got to her feet. "How are you here right now? I was at the Lab a few hours ago, you looked really dead..."

"I had to come see my savior," teased Barry.

Parker rolled her eyes. She rounded the couch to observe him. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Tell me what you did for me," asked Barry. 

"The night the Accelerator exploded, I was walking from my apartment to here. I left my sketchbook. I saw the lightning hit the building, then I ran here to see if you were all right," explained Parker.

"Obviously I wasn't," sighed Barry. 

Parker shot him a look, shaking her head. "No one even told me you were awake..."

Barry squinted at her. What he felt, when speaking to her, was strange. Originally, he believed Iris was the person he would be most excited to see, given his history of crushing on her. Compared to Parker, a girl he hadn't seen in years, well, Iris didn't compare. Something about speaking with her gave him a giddy feeling within himself.

Barry took a hesitant step forward. "Can I hug you?"

Parker shuffled forward, throwing her arms around his neck. 

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed, pulling away slightly. "Did I tell you that the lightning gave me powers?"

Parker

Of course, she believed him. It made sense, given the data Cisco, Caitlin, and Dr. Wells gathered throughout the nine months. Powers wasn't the exact conclusion, at first, but it was a suspicion that Barry wasn't normal. 

Parker got her first taste of his abilities mere minutes after he mentioned it to her. Across the Station, a handcuffed man reached for an officer's gun. Catching it, Barry zoomed off, and was back, literally, within seconds. 

"I..." mumbled Barry, staring at his feet in shock.  "I'll... Uh, I'll see you later, Parker."

Parker took his arm before he could step too far. "Go back to S.T.A.R. Labs. We can help you," she said quietly. 

Barry nodded and ducked out of the door.

"Hey, Parker!" called Eddie. He pointed to a witness in front of him, a woman of the recent bank robbery. 

Parker took a sketchbook and took a seat in the chair Eddie discarded. She crossed her legs, smiling politely. "Hi. I'm Parker. Detective Thawne mentioned I'm a sketch artist, right?"

"He said I should describe the man I saw at the bank," mumbled the trembling woman.

Parker gave a reassuring smile. "Great. Remember to be really descriptive for me. Whenever you're ready, ma'am."

The woman pulled the shock blanket tighter around her shoulders. With a deep sigh, she tried to remember distinctive details of the man. 

"Something like this?" asked Parker, holding the sketch up. 

"Exactly like that," she agreed.

Parker thanked the woman for her cooperation. She searched the crowded room for Joe. He was huddled with a few cops, watching a video from a witness' cell phone. She joined. 

"...the place went black and then, boom! Outside was inside. Man, it was like there was a thunderstorm in the bank," recalled the witness.

A man held his hands above his waist, as though he was creating the storm swirling within the bank. With Parker's knowledge, she knew he was. He hopped into a black Mustang and left.

"Vukuvich, suspect is driving a black Mustang, partial plate six-kilo-Charlie-three. Put out an APB," ordered Joe. 

A cop pushed her way into the circle. "Detective West, there's been a car crash. They want you on the scene. Your daughter was there."

Joe snatched his coat. Eddie was on his heels. The two sprinted out the back door of the Station. 

Parker grabbed the sketchbook and ran after them. She dove into the backseat before they could take off without her.

"What are you doing here, Parker?" asked Joe.

"I just need to touch up some things on this," said Parker. "I didn't want to wait for you to get back."

Terrified about the condition of his daughter, Joe shrugged and sped through the streets. Eddie gave him directions to the crash site.

Parker attempted to darken the jawline on her sketch. From the fast driving and lack of her seat belt, her body slid across the leather seats rather easily. When Joe slammed his foot on the brake, her head smacked into the headrest. 

Worried about Iris, the two detectives ignored Parker's hiss of pain and exited the car.Grumbling, Parker climbed out. She saw Iris in the distance, then started to walk in her direction.

Barry stormed away just before Parker reached the family. 

"Iris, good to see you're alive and well," she greeted cheerfully. She handed the paper to Joe. "Now, I think I'm going to stick around Allen. Goodbye."

Barry heard the quick tapping of Parker's sneakers against the asphalt. His head turned, giving her a glance. His walking speed increased. 

"Rude," she muttered. Parker took a chance and lunged for his hand. "Allen? Hey, dude, slow down."

"I don't wanna talk about it," he muttered, slipping his wrist from her grasp.

"I'm not asking you to," insisted Parker.

Barry continued to walk faster than her. Parker grabbed his elbow. Abruptly coming to a stop, he was caught off balance, forcing him into becoming stationary.

"I want to know if you're going to S.T.A.R. Labs. My shift starts there soon, and I'm all for preventing global warming," she said.

Barry lost the tenseness in his shoulders. "I am. I don't have a car, though. Not feeling a cab, either."

"Walking with you will suffice."

Dressed in a long sleeve shirt and jeans hadn't helped against the cold for as long as Parker thought it would. Attempting to keep warm, Parker started to skip beside Barry, generating some warmth. 

Without a word, Barry shrugged his coat from his shoulders and tossed it at her. He stared ahead at the road, hands shoved in the front pockets of his jeans. 

"He didn't believe me," said Barry quietly. He gained the courage to explain his frustration. "He didn't believe me, when I told him that Clyde Mardon created that weather."

Parker licked her lips. "Right, and who is that again?"

"The same guy that robbed the bank. He supposedly died the night I got struck, but he's not. I saw him, Parker. I talked to him. You have to believe me," he begged.

"Calm down, psycho," said Parker, chuckling. "I believe you."

"You do?"

"I do."

"Then, do you believe me when I say that I know my father did not kill my mother?"

"Depends on what evidence you have," decided Parker.

Barry's hopeless sigh was almost inaudible.

Parker casually moved closer to him. In a swift motion, she took his swinging hand in her own, their eyes meeting.

"However, I do believe that you weren't the only one affected by that storm," she added.

Much to her surprise, Barry Allen didn't pull away.