In a Heartbeat ~Barry Allen~

Boom goes the Accelerator

"Barry, it's concerning how excited you are for this." Iris exclaimed.

"I'm not that excited." He rencountered, looking around the exhibit. "Look thats him!"

Piper raised her eyebrows, feeling more comfortable to do so. Things weren't as silent and awkward with Iris around.

"Fine. Maybe I'm a little excited. Can you blame me? The Particle Accelerator is a scientific breakthrough!" Barry explained. "Right Piper?"

"Yup."

"Nerds." Iris scoffed jokingly. Before the three could say anymore, a round of applause echoed through the room.

Piper watched intently as Dr. Wells introduced himself and the particle accelerator.

Before the second applause ended, Piper heard Iris shout "no!"

She quickly whipped around. "My laptop! It has my presentation!"

Barry and Piper broke out into a run, Iris right behind them and chased the guy down an alley.

Barry just turned the corner when he was whacked with the said laptop bag.

The boy swung at Piper, but Piper ducked. Talk about reflexes that I don't have. Piper turned to Barry.

"Barry are you okay?" Piper asked, watching the boy's every move. "Hey kid, you don't have to do this, alright? Just give us back our friend's bag and we'll call it even. Okay?"

They boy hesitated but Piper knew what was going to happen. He shoved the bag into Barry's stomach, and when Piper turned to see if Barry was okay, he hit the bag onto Piper's back, causing her to fall and scrape her forehead. The boy then quickly ran away.

"Barry! Piper!" Iris called helping Barry stand up. "Are you guys okay?"

"Just peachy." Piper replied, applying pressure to her scrape.

"Oh my gosh, your bleeding." Iris said, trying to get a closer look at the scrape.

"I'm fine. Really, just go!" Piper said, pointing towards the way the boy went.

The boy kept running and jumped over the fence. He was stopped by a blond cop. "Freeze." He started. "Or do you want to find out the hard way your not faster than a bullet."

Christ, thought Piper.

.

The station was bustling by the time Piper, Barry, and Iris got there.

Barry put a napkin up to his bleeding nose, while Piper cleaned her forehead, trying to keep calm.

"Aw, look at you guys, cleaning yourselves up together." Iris gushed.

"Ya, we're bleeding together, how romantic." Piper replied, sarcasm laced throughout the words.

Iris decided to ignore her. "Who is that guy and what is he so proud of?" Iris said, checking out Piper's forehead.

"He caught a mugger. Big whoop." Piper continued.

"Right?" Replied Iris, glad to have someone who was on the same page as her.

"He's a transfer from Keystone. Started a few weeks ago." Barry answered. "Eddie Thawne."

"Who does he think he is?" Piper finished, scrunching up the blood sodden tissue. He was standing by the mural, smiling widely as an officer patted him on the back.

"Oh, that's detective pretty boy." Iris said, her eyes glued to Eddie.

Barry's eyebrows shot up while Piper snorted.

"That's what my dad calls him. Said he actually keeps score when it comes to arrests." Iris rolled her eyes. "He is pretty though."

If Barry was jealous, he didn't show it.

"I have to go. I'll see you guy later." Iris said walking towards the exit. Piper and Barry waved goodbye.

"I'm gonna go work on some new evidence for Joe. I'll see you around." Barry smiled.

Piper said her goodbyes, and walked towards the exit, more than happy to get out of there. The drizzle had become more storm liked She sped up when she saw lightning strike.

She had just walked into the lobby of her apartment when a loud crash exploded down the street.

"Holy shit!" She muttered, before her heart dropped into her stomach.

The crash came from the police station.

.

Piper raced up the stairs, her hair dripping wet in her face.

She remembered that the forensics lab was in the corner of the building behind and industrial door. Take Your Kid To Work Day did come in handy after all.

"Barry!" Piper gasped as she flung open the door.

He was sprawled on the ground, shelves of chemicals shattered on the floor, papers strewn across the floor.

She sunk down beside him, brushing wet hair off of his forehead. "Christ, please don't be dead."

Piper was starting to panic. Her throat felt clogged, tears starting to well up.

"Barry you're going to be fine."

Piper pulled out her phone and dialled 911. She didn't even wait for the person to speak.

"My friend. He was struck by lightning! Please help him!" Piper cried, staring at Barry's limp body.

"Okay, stay calm m'am. Whereabouts are you?"

"Police station, forensics lab." She breathed.

"We're on our way." The the phone cut off, leaving Barry alone with Piper.

Piper felt so useless. She knelt next to Barry, her hands cradling his face. By now, she was soaked to the bone.

Finally, the paramedics rushed in, Putting Barry on a stretcher and wheeling him out. Piper tried to follow but a paramedic stopped her.

"We need you to go home. We'll take good care of him I promise." She said. Piper nodded.

Yeah right. That's not happening. Piper thought. She called Iris.

"Hel-?"

"It's Barry. I came back to grab my phone and he was struck by lightning. The paramedics have him now, he's going to the hospital."

The line was silent.

"Iris? You there?"

"Yeah. I am. I'm on my way to the hospital. Piper please go home. I'll keep you updated, I promise."

"But-"

"Piper please. You done all you could. Go home and rest."

"Can't I come with you?"

"They'll probably only allow family. Don't worry about it Piper." Hearing how distressed Iris sound, Piper decided not to argue.

"Bye." She said sadly. 

Piper couldn't help but feel devastated. 

"Only allow family." Iris had said.

Piper didn't really know who her family was anymore.