Well I got started and couldn't stop! Here is the final chapter. Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback and comments. You guys are the best! Stay tuned for more WestAllen action, kind of a continuation of this one. (What is that, a sequel?)Enjoy! :)

Chapter 6

Saved By The Flash

Heroes Come in Many Colors

By Iris West

If working on this blog has taught me anything, it's that there are many different types of heroes. Some are easy to spot and hail as the hero they are. Others are more difficult to recognize. A few are never even called a hero at all. No matter their status, one fact remains: All of them in one way or another deal with the darkness in life so they can help others. They risk everything. Some become so immersed in darkness that it becomes hard to see the way out. Others will bear scars for life. But they do it to bring others hope, life, and safety. They inspire me and I hope they inspire you.

Heroes can inspire the people they serve and the others who aspire to be like them. They can help us all want to do good and be better. But we need to do the same. Maybe a hero only needs someone to believe in them to be the hero they really are. It's our job to give them hope in return for everything they give us.

It's also our job to thank our heroes for the difficult job they do. I'd like to thank all heroes everywhere. Those who are still working in darkness to bring others light.

The ones who may not be called a hero. Those who have given everything, including their lives. Those lost too soon.

We won't forget you for your sacrifice. You continue to inspire us, even in death.

We owe it to the heroes we still have to rally around them and support them. I hope you will join me.

Barry sat back in the computer chair and stared at the screen. There was a lump in his throat he couldn't quite swallow, and tears in his eyes that hadn't quite fallen. He now understood why Caitlin hadn't let him near the computer all day, then sat him down in front of it on her way out with a gentle but knowing smile.

Words couldn't express the gratitude he felt. Iris had been so careful not to reveal anything vital, but had still managed to say everything he needed to hear. She always got him in a way no one else did, even when she didn't even know it was him she was talking to. He half-laughed to himself. God, she was perfect.

He glanced over at his suit on its dummy. He had intended to never again visit Iris as The Flash. But her support of Oliver meant the world to him, and it would be wrong not to thank her for it. One last time couldn't hurt…

It took him two seconds to make up his mind, and even less time to change into his suit.

What did take time were the laps he ran around the city as he waited for night to fall.

Iris was really hoping The Flash still read her blog at all. She had caught herself hoping to be swept to the roof the moment after she pushed the send button on her article. But that had been last night. Granted, she had been at home, but she still found herself wishing it.

She was working the late shift tonight though, which was a good thing. She cleared the tables and stopped at the security camera monitor between each one. Nothing. She washed dishes, checking every few plates. She wiped the tables down, refreshing her rag far more than needed so she could pass the monitor one more time. With two tables to go, she checked again.

And there he was. His back was to the camera, but he wasn't quite in the far corner this time around. That was a hopeful sign.

Now that she knew he was there, she took a few moments to calm down and get her plan together. This is not about attraction, she told herself firmly. This is about a hero who needs hope. She wasn't going to let her feelings get in the way of supporting The Flash. He deserved that much. She exhaled slowly and tried to stop her hands shaking. It felt like the weight of a city was riding on this. Breathe, breathe.

She stopped at the glass door again and peeked through, trying to gauge his mood. He wasn't completely still. He shifted his weight back and forth as he waited. But his shoulders still looked like they carried a lot of weight. Hopefully that would lift in time, as the pain of The Arrow's death faded a bit. And maybe with a little help from a friend. She hoped. She breathed deep one last time and pushed open the door.

He turned to face her as she walked towards him, his face in shadow. She stopped a reasonable distance away, knowing if she moved too close he'd just dart to another location.

"Hey." She smiled at him. "I was hoping you'd come."

The Flash nodded. He looked serious. His voice warbled, same as ever. "I read your latest blog article. It…I…just wanted to say thank you. What you wrote about The Arrow meant a lot to me."

She nodded too. "I'm glad. I meant every word. I did a lot more research on him, and he really was a hero. And a good friend."

The Flash swallowed. "Thank you." He looked away for a moment, and then looked back at her as if for the last time. "I should go now."

Iris looked at him. He still looked stiff and awkward. "Flash. Anytime you want to talk, you can talk to me. Stop by any time. I mean it."

In a blink, The Flash was over by the door to the stairs, clearly prepared to leave. She was left standing alone in the middle of the roof. She spun around. "Thank you, but I don't think your boyfriend or his task force would appreciate that. Goodbye Iris."

"Wait!" Iris spoke as fast as she could, sure any second she'd be speaking to thin air. "I have a problem and I really need your help."

The Flash hesitated. Then, with a sigh that clearly said it was against his better judgment, he waited for her to speak.

Iris assessed the distance between them. They were at least 20 feet apart. She wanted him closer to say what she wanted to say, but was pretty sure running up to him was a bad approach. The memory of their first rooftop conversation floated back. An idea struck that she wasn't even sure would work. Her heart pounding, she turned around so her back was to him and spoke over her shoulder. She willed him to come closer as she talked softly.

"Look, I have this friend; and he had something terrible happen to him a few weeks ago. He's been trying to help the city. He can do these impossible things. He was helping and got really messed up. And the police are hunting him…and people turned from him. And then his friend died. And now, it's like he's lost his faith. But I believe in him and I think this city needs him."

The Flash's careful reserve dropped as he listened to Iris. It was a good thing her back was to him. His emotions crashed inside him as he listened with eyes wide and mouth open. He approached her, drawn by an invisible magnetic force. If ever he had a case of the feels, this was it. He felt like his chest was going to burst. Before he knew it, he was standing right behind her, just like the first time. She knew it too, and just like then the urge to turn around was too much. She turned and looked at him. He barely remembered to put his head down. She whispered the same words she'd said before.

"Help me save my friend."

The Flash gulped and blinked his eyes rapidly. He couldn't contain the smile that broke free as he lifted his already vibrating face and completed it.

"Now he's a lucky guy."

They both laughed softly, and he ducked his head down in order to stop vibrating his face. It put too much of a wall between them, and he'd rather have his head down and be closer. She seemed to understand and didn't press the issue.

"Flash. Please don't stop talking to me. With your friend gone you need that more than ever."

He thought for a moment and replied, "What about Eddie and his task force?"

She was ready for that. "Eddie is a grown man and can make his own decisions. But so can I. I don't want to hurt him, but he just doesn't understand the good you do. I won't leave you alone in this."

He nodded, his head still down. It occurred to him that the honorable thing to do would be to tell her that he was fine and had other people to talk with him. But he wasn't sure she'd believe it, and he knew he didn't.

"Okay. Thank you."

"Yeah." She smiled.

Maybe he was high on emotion, or maybe he just couldn't resist the opportunity. Probably both. Head still down, The Flash said "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Iris replied.

"You said you and your friend weren't on the same page anymore. Are you guys…any closer to being on the same page?"

Iris sighed. "My friend and I are really complicated right now. But he's so important to me, and I'm still worried about him. We'll have to see how that goes."

The Flash nodded. It was actually better than he had hoped for. "He's still a lucky guy."

Iris thought of Barry and smiled. "Yeah. Hey, do I get a question?"

The Flash warily answered. "Within reason. There are some things I can't say."

Iris looked at him. "When your friend told you he thought you could inspire, did he say anything else?"

The Flash nodded again. "He told me that he thought the- that I was the way I was for a reason. That I was chosen. I don't know if I believe that."

Iris smiled. "I do. I definitely do."

The Flash smiled at the ground, but his smile was so wide she could still see it.

After Iris had gone back downstairs and The Flash had departed Jitters, both still had some thinking to do.

Iris went back down to Jitters and found herself staring at the front door. The door Barry had walked in the day he awoke from his coma. She remembered the pure joy that had exploded inside her at seeing her best friend awake again, something she had never thought would happen. It was a miracle he had returned to her. The nine months he'd been absent had been some of the worst of her life.

The impossible had happened. Her friend had come back to her. If that didn't inspire hope, she didn't know what did.

Hiding from what he'd told her was just driving them apart, which she didn't want, and hurting him, which she also didn't want. If she could handle the crazy strangeness that was her feelings for The Flash she could handle her best friend having feelings for her. It was time to confront it and make things better. She had no idea what it would ultimately lead to, and what it meant for her relationship with Barry or Eddie, but she was ready to move forward.

And for the first time, she actually felt hopeful about it.

Barry left one rooftop and started looking for another one, the highest he could find. He raced up the side of the building, remembering his first days with his new powers, and running all the way to Starling City to get advice from the one man who might understand. The one man he wouldn't have known at all if an impossibly strong thief hadn't ripped the door off Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences with his bare hands.

He stood on the top of the building, next to a waving flag, and thought back to that first conversation with Oliver. He thought of the hope that Oliver had given him, and the hope Iris had given him tonight.

He looked up at the night sky and wished Oliver well, wherever he was. One last memory drifted through his mind, but this time it brought comfort.

"You can be better. Because you can inspire people in a way that I never could - watching over your city like a guardian angel...making a difference...saving people...in a flash."

Barry smiled at the stars. "Thank you Oliver," he said softly. "Thank you for everything."

This work is now finished, as indicated by the completed status in the listing. I don't know why I am getting comments asking me to finish it. It is finished, this is the end of the story. The sequel mentioned above is my story Behind the Mask. If you would like to read the continuation to this story please read Behind the Mask. Sorry for any confusion! Thank you! :)