A/N: Hello again, everyone! It's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure the state of things lately has thrown more off than just updates. This one was intended to be short and sweet but quickly got out of hand because scenes just kept dropping in one after the other. I had to rewrite a couple of parts when new ideas popped up.
Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter and let it take you to a different place for a little while. In case you're interested, I made an extremely soft retcon of chapter one (edited 6/7/2020) recently, so you can go check that out after this one.
What shenanigans are our heroes going to get up to this chapter? Read on to find out.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters you are familiar with or dialogue that you recognize. I just utilize it for my purposes.
Chapter 25 – Special Delivery
"And you're positive that Cisco and the others can't do the stream without you?" The exasperation in Kara's voice was evident as she stared at her speedster fiancé via his reflection in the mirror, the man flashing around the loft collecting last minute items as she worked her red sun earrings in.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but yes. Winn and Cisco could normally handle it no problem if it was just them, but we finally convinced Oliver to come back on after the Battlezone debacle." He tucked away a headset and then shouldered his messenger bag. "And you know those two are terrified of him. It'd be different if we weren't recording in the same room – that way there'd be at least 600 miles between Tweedles Dee and Dum and Captain Death-By-Sharp-Pointy-Objects." He gave her a grin. "Plus, he's been on edge ever since Nyssa went into a hormonal frenzy after your Elseworlds flip-flop. He swears she's gone into overdrive."
Kara grimaced turning to face him. "Yeah…that's why I haven't asked her to come with me. I love the woman to death but I don't want another department store hostage situation because she's convinced her long dead father's spies – who are actually now her spies and have been for years – are trying to kill her because the floor worker's smile was too 'genuine.' Poor kid needed EMS and counseling afterward." She shuddered at the memory and scowled at her phone. "And everyone else is busy working. Can you believe that?"
"Not everyone is on maternity leave, babe," Barry said, a laugh in his voice. He grabbed her hips and pulled her close. Leaning his forehead against hers. "Please be careful while you're out, okay? Per your sister and Caitlin's orders you are not to do any heavy lifting or get involved in overly stressful situations."
"I know. I know." Kara huffed rolling her eyes. "They've only been blowing my phone up for the past two months. I mean I get it! No need to run up my Rao-damned phone bill – that shit's expensive! I mean why the fu –"
Barry kissed her mid rant, enjoying the surprised moan that followed as well as the sigh of contentment that came after. He took a moment to revel in the feel of Kara's lips on his, love welling in his heart at the fact he knew he would never tire of holding, kissing, or loving the woman in his arms.
He brushed a hand over the pronounced bulge that was her belly and was flooded with even more love and a hearty dose of absolute adoration, this time for the miracle that resided within. Their little girl would be arriving any day now and as scared as both of them were, Barry couldn't deny the fact that he was beyond excited to raise a child with Kara.
Pulling away, he offered her another smile and felt his heart skip a beat when she answered it with one of her own.
"You sure I can't convince you to just say screw it to both our plans and the three of us stay in and watch a movie?"
Kara giggled and kissed his cheek. "As much as the prospect of more cuddle time on the couch with you appeals to me, I need to get out of this place! I feel like I've been stuck in the here for weeks! I think I'm getting cabin fever!"
Kissing her forehead, Barry chuckled. "Okay, okay. You go enjoy your day out. I'll be running interference – by which I mean preventing the untimely death of – for our two favorite techies. Call me if you need me and I'll –"
"So help me, Barry Allen, if you're going to say 'I'll be there in a flash' I'm never going to let you watch a musical in this house again! Especially ones that involve corny tags and plot convenient lyrics!"
Barry pouted with a whine looking like a kicked puppy.
She flicked his nose playfully. "Don't look at me like that. You know you've been overusing that line ever since our second run-in with Music Meister and that creepy watch party he made us all suffer through. An alternate reality where we were but weren't the main characters and were forced to go through a series of events that all but pushed us together only to come out at the other end somehow okay with the rest of the shit in our lives? Including you and Iris all lovey-dovey and me forgiving Mon-El for being a selfish prick. I mean I still don't even know who the hell Mon-El is!"
"Yeah, that was a trip. Although I have to say I think I would've preferred that plot line to the one we got. It seemed a lot easier to follow." Barry shuddered. "I'll never get over Eliza propositioning me, even if it wasn't reality. I haven't been able to look her in the eye since."
Kara snorted. "Believe me, we've all noticed. But I find it absolutely hilarious."
"That makes one of us."
"Just be glad I haven't told anyone else about that. I imagine the field day Ollie and Cisco would have with that would be entertaining, to say the least."
"That's one word for it," Barry groused. He pecked her lips again. "Okay, no more talk of darkness. I need to get over to STAR and you need to get started on your Treat Yo Self day. I'll see you later."
"Mmhm. See you later. Oh! If you get any suspicious texts about ridiculously large sums of money being withdrawn from our account, it's just me. Got it?" She smirked when he sighed, though it quickly turned into a chuckle.
"Got it." Not for the first time he was glad that both their salaries had gotten a substantial bump in the last year. Kara's thanks to the move from personal assistant to investigative reporter and his from becoming – funnily enough – a successful YouTube streamer.
Mad props to Cisco, Winn, and Felicity's brainchild of a channel and bringing him along for the ride. Technical difficulties weren't a thing when you had three genius-level technicians and a speedster to follow instructions.
Unable to resist, he swooped in for one last kiss. "I love you – both of you – and I'll see you tonight."
"We love you too."
Then he was gone in a flash.
"Okay, little one," Kara said under her breath, a hand on her belly so people didn't think she was crazy. "Where do you think we should go, huh? I don't think I can stand to look at shoes that aren't flat, slip on, and have a non-memory foam interior, so I'll have to nix Fancy Footwear this time. You don't seem to enjoy the smells of Sofa, Shower, and Somewhere Close which is a real shame since I absolutely love that place but have no desire to start vomiting all over everything and everyone."
She tapped her chin in thought as she started to walk, several more stores going by as she continued to absently mumble to herself. "Uh…we could try looking for new clothes! There's a couple of other stores: New Army which has something for the whole family; Suburban Clothiers though I think we'll hold off on that until I can actually fit into something other than maternity wear; then of course there's always the Chinese restaurant nearby, can't go wrong with that."
A kick on her bladder reinforced that decision.
"Hey, none of that! You're the reason I can't have any potstickers without them coming right back up deconstructed. And I've come to terms with that." Oddly enough, the next kick felt like one of disbelief. "…I've mostly come to terms with that. But we talked about this kicking business, kir kruvuzh."
Then a display in the window caught her eye and they flew open wide.
"Pretty…" Gaze flicking up, she took note of the store itself – a jewelry store called Bling, Rings, and Pretty Things – and then returned her focus to the collection of valuables in front of her. "I think it's time mommy got some new bling! Maybe we can convince your uncles to work their red sun magic into the season's latest fancy schmancy, huh?"
Several quick bumps against her belly – something that had both Barry and Kara thinking their daughter might follow her speedster heritage – signaled agreement and so, with a spring in her step, the happy Kryptonian skipped inside.
Almost the instant she crossed the threshold she was greeted by a chorus of different voices all offering a variance on the standard welcome. Her eyes immediately tried to take everything in: shiny things, sparkly things, gold things, silver things, rings, necklaces, bracelets, it all pulled her attention left, right, and center.
"I'm not normally one for extravagance, baby girl, but I think I can make an exception today!" Kara started to move toward the back of the store – where the largest and most eye-catching display was situated – someone shoved her roughly to the side. She would have stumbled into one of the display cases if she hadn't been caught by one of the floor workers.
"Are you okay, ma'am?"
Kara took a moment to lament the fact that she was no longer 'miss' automatically – did that mean she was getting old?! – and then gave the younger woman a smile. "Yes. Thank you." She glowered after the tall figure and saw it was a man dressed in black who was currently leaned over a spread of diamonds and muttering darkly under his breath. "Some people are just…rude."
"Mhmm. He'd better be looking for a last-minute anniversary gift," the employee agreed, shaking her head. "Here's to him still getting a tongue-lashing."
That got a laugh from Kara and she grinned. "I'll hope for that."
"If you need any help just let me know!"
"Thanks."
Turning her attention back to her original point of interest, Kara noted the easiest path would, unfortunately, take her past Mr. Grumpy. Heaving a sigh of resignation, the Kryptonian once more made for the back of the store. As she drew closer, her currently human ears picked up a series of monosyllabic words and grunts that struck her as oddly familiar.
As Kara stepped around him, he stood up and abruptly spun around.
"Mick?!"
"Skirt!"
"What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I asked you first! And why did you almost knock me into the display case?" Kara asked heatedly, scowling at the bald ex-criminal who'd put his phone away and was giving her an annoyed look.
He growled. "You're not supposed to be here."
Kara blinked momentarily stunned at the declaration. "…This is a public place, Mick. I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to be here."
"Well you shouldn't be here."
"Excuse me?" She could feel her irritation rising again.
"You should leave. Now."
She was glaring at the man now and wishing she'd left her earrings at home. "You do not get to just pop up out of nowhere and tell me what to do, Mick Rory! This is the first day in a long time I've been able to get out and just enjoy myself! Why are you even here?!"
"Hmm…"
The absurdity of the situation struck Kara as she waited for an adequate response she knew wouldn't come. Mick Rory was completely out of place in his all black ensemble, standing awkwardly in the store whose occupants were made up predominantly of women, his eyes darting from side to side, ever-present scowl on his face.
And then it struck her all at once. In fact, the realization was so abrupt she dared to liken it to the lightning that had given Barry his powers.
"Mick Rory, are you pulling a job right now?!"
"…No."
At that moment, the front doors burst open and four masked men carrying guns barged in, weapons scanning the inhabitants.
Mick grimaced as the heat of Kara's glare zeroed in on him. "…Yes."
"Everyone down on the ground! Now!" Barked the lead gunman as he gestured to his backup to spread out. "No sudden moves and nobody has to get shot, understand? We ain't here for you – we're here for the money and the merchandise."
It was Kara's turn to growl this time and she did so through gritted teeth, ignoring the cramp in her belly. "Mick…"
He growled in response.
"Hey, Mick, what the hell, man? Get blondie on the ground and then get started on breaking into the backroom! We're burning daylight," ordered gunman number one, drawing a scowl from the pyromaniac.
"Oh no," Kara said, glaring at the Legend and practically daring him to move. "I am practically ready to pop, and it takes me too damn long to get back up again once I'm down. I will break your hand if you try and make me, Mick! And then I'll tell Sara and make sure she breaks your other four limbs!"
Random gunman number three – who'd finished making his rounds – came to a halt beside Mick. "Whoa, wait a minute. You know this chick, Rory?"
"No," Mick bit out, scowling at man.
"Yes," Kara answered at the same time, fed up with all the bullshit. "He does."
Mick closed his eyes in frustration and groaned.
"Well, well, well! Now that is an interesting development, isn't it, boys?" Turning to the other three criminals, the main man motioned at them with his gun. "Looks like our boy Mick here is trying to pull a fast one. That true, Micky? You and the blonde running your own job to try and screw us over? Whatever happened to loyalty? Huh? Crew before screw!"
Kara felt her eye twitch as she clenched her hands into fists, doing her best to keep her temper in check. She wasn't invincible right now and no matter how much the man's words made her want to vomit – preferably on said man – she knew she had to keep it together. Briefly her argument with Barry during the initial Music Meister debacle came to mind and it only steeled her resolve. Still, if the man said one more thing…
"Listen, he knows me, but he had no idea I would be here today. I had no idea I would be here today!" He pointed the gun at her and her heart start to speed up. Holding up her hands placatingly trying to will the man to lower his weapon, Kara continued. "I was just here to shop around a little and –"
He slapped her across the face with a vicious backhand. "Shut up! I didn't say you could fucking talk."
Even Mick's eyes widened slightly at that.
"Why I oughta…" Kara snarled ready to pounce on the man and beat the snot out of him. Mick's hand on her shoulder was – thankfully – enough to stop her, though she was practically foaming at the mouth, eyes blazing and livid. She bit her lip as another cramp gripped her.
"Hey!" One of the gunmen called from the back room. "I've got the vault open! We're in business!"
"Fantastic!" Grinning, Kara's assailant called the two others in their group. "You guys get over here and tie these two up and then toss them into the truck. I'd kill them right now, but I think the boss'll want to deal with Rory on his own after he tried to screw us over. And Preggo…well, I'm guessing someone is gonna be willing to pay whatever we want to get her back." He grabbed her chin and turned her face from side to side. "It's like a double score."
Kara bit him.
"GAH! God dammit! Bitch!" He hissed and examined his hand, wincing at the broken skin and the rapid flow of blood now running down his arm. He went to slap her again but this time, Mick caught his hand before he could.
"That's enough. You gonna tie us up or keep talking?"
"Okay, gentlemen, are we ready to get this show on the road?"
Oliver felt his eye twitch at Cisco's question. STAR Labs' resident master-of-tech (when Harry wasn't around because then that title was up for debate – and Harry was, if nothing else, vocal in the belief that he was superior – and things usually got out of hand when that happened) had been asking that same question every minute on the minute for the last thirty minutes. And the answer was always the same.
"We're waiting on you, Cisco!"
That was followed by a plethora of muttered curses as the vibe meta ran around gathering everything he needed from the oddest places around the lab. Strangely, he never seemed to find all of it because, inevitably, he was scrambling around again the next time he asked the question.
This time, however, he'd managed to grab the last bit of equipment necessary. Plugging in the headset jack, Cisco shot a thumbs up to the rest of the room – all of whom had long since booted up their systems, opened the game, logged in, and were glaring at him pointedly.
"How is it," Oliver began, his annoyance obvious. "That the least tech savvy individual in this building – on our combined teams no less – was able to get everything set up before you, Cisco? What was it you said about me last time? 'Useless hunk of man meat,' and 'Cro-Magnon,' I think were the words you chose. And now, here we are several weeks later, and you can't seem to get your shit together!" He turned to Barry and Winn. "Are we streaming this? Can we show the proclaimed 'masses' that you say watch your channel exactly what dear Mr. Ramon is like behind the scenes?"
Winn arched an eyebrow. "He really did a number on you last time, didn't he?"
"If you thought it was funny watching it, you should have been here," Barry said with a snort. "It was the first time Nyssa wasn't around to reign him in. I'm pretty sure Cisco still has nightmares."
"There will be absolutely no maiming this time!" Cisco cried, tucked safely behind his monitor – on the opposite side of the room and behind a wall of plexiglass. "I wasn't able to sit down for a week after you stuck me with your damn throwing darts!"
Oliver's satisfied smirk spoke volumes.
"Laugh it up, Bow Boy! We'll see if you're still this cocky once we get into the game."
Barry raised an eyebrow. "You realize we're playing on the same team, right?"
"That didn't stop me last time…"
"You said your ass has recovered, right?" Oliver asked nonchalantly.
Cisco flinched.
Winn snorted and glanced at his watch. "Okay, boys. It's time to get this show on the road! Our public awaits!"
They sat down at their desks and logged in, headsets coming to rest over their ears as BattleZone loaded up. Across the room, rapid typing could be heard as Cisco got the live stream ready to go, the occasional snort escaping as he took in the chat that had been up for the last ten minutes.
"Well, some people don't have any patience. Good thing Papa Cisco is here to alleviate the impatient masses!"
"Please don't ever call yourself that again." Oliver grimaced, holding the bridge of his nose while he tried to rid himself of that particular moniker.
Choosing to ignore the archer, Cisco clicked through a few more notifications before he gave the room a thumbs up. "And we are going live in three, two, one…BOOYAH! GOOOOOD day ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to today's stream. It's your boy, Cisco 'Good Vibes' Ramon also known as the ChaosRanger. We are coming to you live from the Lab of STAR Labs and we are going to be getting into some BattleZone. With me we've got the BlurredAvenger himself, everyone's favorite master speed runner, Barry Allen, the sniping legend Wrath'nSilence also known as Winn 'Boom Headshot' Schott and…the temperamental Star City resident himself, OriginalQuackery –"
"I hate you, Cisco."
"—Oliver Queen!"
A veritable deluge of pings filled the air as the chat practically exploded, the excitement of the viewers at Oliver's presence palpable. It seemed his last visit was well remembered and some of the more diehard viewers were recapping his exploits in bursts of text, hashtags, and emojis to answer the questions of the newer recruits to the STAR Labs stream.
"Hey everybody!" Barry said, waving into his webcam and offering a grin. "We're gonna get that dub-yah today! I can feel it!"
Winn gave a blasé waggle of his eyebrows, the calm demeanor a stark contrast to his normally exuberant personality. He pointed a finger at his webcam, pretended to pull the trigger, and blew away the imaginary smoke. "Hey."
"Oh my God." Their guest archer face-palmed hard enough for the slap of skin on skin to be audible over his mic. When he pulled his hand away there was an angry red splotch on his forehead and a brand-new scowl darkening his features. "Let's just get into a match – I need to kill something."
"So," Kara said trying to ease the painful silence that permeated the slightly too small for two people holding cell she shared with the ever-surly Mick Rory. "Any new Rebecca Silver novels in the works?"
Mick growled.
"Sara and Ava have been talking about your hiatus non-stop in book club, which we can still do because our Techno-Nerds managed to set up a space/time FaceTime app." She fiddled with Cisco's Christmas present – a pair of gloves he repeatedly lauded as the best piece of tech ever to leave STAR Labs.
So far.
"Anyway, the running theory is your writer's block is the result of boinking and leaving your high school prom date. Is that true?"
Another growl although this one came with an edge of irritation.
Undeterred, Kara continued. "I mean, I know it was your, what? Twentieth or twenty-fifth reunion and you normally play it pretty fast and loose when it comes to relationships, but you're going to have to suck it up and get back to writing, Mick. You owe it to Rebecca Silver's adoring and impatiently waiting fans. You wouldn't want to lose your spot as the year's up and coming young adult novelist, right?" She snorted. "Not to that sequel prequel quadrilogy about vampires, elves, aliens, and stereotypical 'chosen ones' a reasonably fair amount of time in the future on a neighboring planet not quite so close…yet not nearly as far as we all thought."
If looks could generate heat vision for beings other than Kryptonians, Mick would have burned a hole clear through their cell and out into the wilderness. "That series is garbage and so is the pretentious little prick who wrote it! Who writes their first novel at fifteen?!"
"Okay. Consider that button pushed," Kara said to herself as she watched the mostly reformed criminal begin ranting to himself. "And I've now lost the only available source of conversation that won't make me look crazy when everyone watches the tapes after they rescue us." She sent a glower at the camera in the corner of the room, its red light taunting her. "Creepy bastards."
And then she felt a sudden bout of weakness course through her body along with a burning pain that she hadn't felt since the Elseworlds incident. She slumped heavily against the wall, her breath coming in short, rapid gasps. Though it felt like it weighed a literal ton – a normally insignificant weight – Kara managed to lift her hand just enough to confirm her worst fear.
Every vein in her arm was alight with the sickly green glow of Kryptonite.
Mick, who had still been grousing in the corner, caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. Concerned, his gaze narrowed and levered himself up and moved toward her. "Skirt?"
Kara started to shake as the influence of the irradiated mineral delved deeper and deeper into her body, making it difficult for her to make herself move how she wanted. It took her a lot longer than she cared to admit getting a response out of her mouth. "I-I…think…Kr-Krypto…nite. C..close."
Growling angrily, the thief tapped at his ear, and started talking. "Snart. We've got a problem."
"Snart?" Kara whispered weakly, her vision blurring around the edges. She looked around trying to find the parka-clad man, her hazy mind struggling to reconcile the fact that she was pretty sure there had only been two occupants of their makeshift cell five minutes ago. "He…h-here?"
Noise from outside the small room prompted a sharp look from Mick, who immediately took off his jacket and draped it around the weakened Kryptonian to hide her increasingly brightening state. "Keep your face turned away, Skirt. I'll handle these idiots."
Before she could say anything – not that she would've been able to articulate anything at the moment – the door was opened unceremoniously, two of the thugs from out front waltzing in with not a care in the world.
"Well, Mick, I have to say that I'm a little underwhelmed with the famed 'Snart-Rory' criminal duo. Word on the street was the two of you were quite the pair when it came to crime: bee and ee's, armed robbery, arson, prison breaks." Lead thug said waving one hand while the other stayed at his side, a black attaché case in his grip. "Pretty much everything up to, but not including, murder. So, when I saw you were looking for a crew to run with on a job here in Central, I figured it would be a done deal. Lo and behold, the legendary Mick Rory falls prey to a pretty face."
Kara moaned from beneath Mick's jacket.
"Trouble in paradise?"
If she got out of this situation, Kara vowed she was going to make the man's life a living hell in whatever prison he got sent to. The growl from Mick meant he would probably be right there alongside her.
Maybe she could get him to change some stuff in the timeline…
When the man made to move toward her, Heat Wave blocked his path. "I wouldn't."
"Oh, you wouldn't, huh? And why is that?"
Mick didn't miss a beat. "She's pregnant. The stress…sent her into labor."
It was like both thugs had swallowed a bug…if both thugs had seen the bug, realized the bug was flying toward them, understood they couldn't do anything to change the path of the bug, forgotten they could adjust their own course to dodge the bug, opened their mouths to scream in protest at the bug, and had the bug hit the back of their throats. Their expressions morphed to disgust, and they immediately backed away.
"Well…shit. I ain't gonna be stuck dealing with that. We'll leave that in your capable hands, eh, Micky?" He gestured his partner to the door and smirked. "For the record, the cops haven't been called and there hasn't been a sighting of the Flash all day. After we lock you two in here – and give the good people outside an incentive to leave you like that – it'll all be up to you to deliver blondie's baby! Good luck!"
With a mock salute, the attaché case carrying thug followed his cohort out the door and shut it, the ominous sound of the locks clicking into place filling the empty room.
Kara moaned again, though this time it was in annoyance. "Where the hell did they get Kryptonite?! And how did you know I was going into labor?"
Mick's eyes widened as he spun around to stare at the blonde, a look of horror on his face.
"Oh, do not tell me you guessed!"
"You're trash, Cisco! You are literal human trash! Do you understand me?!" Oliver roared as he attempted to get his downed avatar to safety, the figure crawling pathetically across the dirt street.
Cisco, a manic grin on his face, merely shrugged. "I told you I was going to bring the car around to pick you up, dude."
"YOU RAN ME OVER!"
"From my perspective you ran into me."
Barry and Winn, still alive and carrying the team while Oliver's animosity for Cisco grew and the archer's eye twitched uncontrollably, snorted into their mics. Despite not wanting an exact repeat of the last time Oliver had been on, they had anticipated another blow up – particularly as the leader of Team Arrow had repeatedly tried, and failed, to kill Cisco's avatar multiple times already – and had prepared accordingly.
Still, this content was gold.
"You little shit. At least come pick me up! I will not lose this game because you're a serial team-killer."
"Whine, whine, whine. That's all I hear."
Oliver cracked his knuckles and attempted to heave a calming breath as he watched the man responsible for his current predicament get out of the car and start reviving him.
"Dude! I think you dented my car!"
"I'm going to dent your head if you don't shut up and get me up already!"
"Okay, okay! Geez, so impatient. So violent. And you were mayor of a city?"
"Trust me, looking after an entire city was nowhere near as aggravating as trying to deal with you."
As they took pot-shots at a team a little over five hundred meters away, Barry and Winn could only marvel at the fact they'd managed to make it into the top fifteen.
*Ding!*
Mid contraction, Kara looked down into her purse at the fancy new gloves that Cisco had given her as an early Christmas present – the vibe meta too ecstatic to wait the extra day before handing them out to everyone – that had lit up the interior. Truth be told, the only reason the Kryptonian even had them was thanks to her pregnancy doing some weird things to her body heat and her fingers protesting the biting cold front Central City was currently experiencing.
Pulling them on, she felt the vibrations that followed the audible alert.
Along the palm of one gloved hand scrolled a notification – though Kara took a moment to admire the kind of mental and technological acuity it must have taken Cisco to put them together – and her jaw dropped as she read the words in front of her.
YouTube alert STAR Labs Gaming – "'Redemption or Self-Destruction? First Place or Bust!' BattleZone Live Stream w/ special guest Oliver Queen!"
All her ire at the current situation suddenly found a new target and focused solely on Barry.
Or rather, on his absence.
With her free hand, she dove back into her purse in search of the instruction manual Cicso had provided. Finding it, she flipped the booklet open and found the page pertaining to phone calls. That had to be something the genius techie would include with his invention – at least she hoped. She'd often found that most of Cisco's explanation regarding new tech was given in the moment – seconds before a fight, mid-fight whilst taking a beating, at the very last moment – but this time, she was happy to discover the necessary instructions in the first few pages.
The fact that Barry didn't answer his phone for the next half an hour put a bit of a damper on the discovery though.
"I have been calling…for thirty minutes!" Kara's irate voice nearly deafened him the moment he answered the call. "Where the hell have you been?!"
Despite every instinct devoted to self-preservation he had currently screaming at him to not be an idiot and answer the question, the speedster was a little slow on the uptake. "Uh, I'm streaming with the guys, babe. You know that. Why? What's up?"
"I have been denied my 'Treat Yo Self' day by running into Mick Rory, slapped around by some two-bit thug, locked in the vault of the jewelry store I was in, somehow managed to find kryptonite, and am now in labor!" She growled as another painful contraction hit, slamming her open palm into the floor. "In a vault. With Mick. With my fiancé nowhere in sight!"
Barry's impression of a fish out of water would have impressed her had they been in any other situation.
"Uh..."
"Uhh…"
Looking at his phone, the CSI found that he had twenty-seven missed calls, thirteen strongly worded texts suggesting what would happen to him if he didn't answer, and five profanity laden extra texts that he never would have believed could possibly leave his loving, happy, normally innocent fiancée.
It read more like the threatening texts he'd received from Alex when they had started dating.
"Barry! Shots from the right! Two twenty-six!" Winn called out, while focusing fire on the team pushing them from the opposite direction. "I've got my hands full with a team on our six."
Meanwhile, Oliver and Cisco were in their own firefight.
"Stop moving, dammit! How am I supposed to hit anything if I can't see five feet in front of me?!" Cisco howled, his shots going every direction but the one he needed as Oliver flew the helicopter erratically.
"Don't tell me how to fly, Mr. I-Carved-You-Up-In-The-Rotors-Five-Seconds-Into-The-Drop! At least you're still alive!"
"But we're being shot at, you idiot!" The vibe meta slapped his hand on the desk. "At least I didn't put us in unnecessary danger!"
"I'm just following your fine example, oh fearless leader!" Oliver growled as he missed yet another rooftop enemy. "But they're not cooperating with me and staying still!"
Back at Barry's desk, the speedster had ceased all movement and was simply staring wide-eyed at his screen. None of the images were being processed – his avatar coming under fire completely lost on him – as, for the first time since becoming a speedster, his brain was struggling to catch up.
"Barry! Crawl to me so I can pick you up! Crawl to me!"
"Barry! Did you hear what I said?! I'm in fucking labor!"
"They're moving in on us, Barry! Get your shit together before you bleed out!"
"GAAAH! Barry! Where are you?!"
"Barry!"
"BARRY!"
"Barry!"
"BARRY!"
BOOM!
"HOW?! HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO BLOW US BOTH UP, CISCO?!"
Cisco's maniacal laughter was the only answer the red-faced archer received. It quickly shifted to a squeal of terror as the bigger man leapt up from his desk, yanked the keyboard out of the hard drive, and, wielding it like one of the swords he and Nyssa trained with, tore after the shrieking meta human, game forgotten.
Everything was quiet for a moment before Kara, still on the phone in the stunned speedster's hand, screamed.
"BARRY ALLEN!
"BARRY ALLEN!"
Mick recoiled even further back into the wall behind him, wishing once again that he was anywhere else right now, and watched the currently human-strength Kryptonian's rage grow as yet another contraction hit.
"I swear to Rao if I deliver your baby in the bleak mid-fucking-winter, trapped in a vaultby a bunch of douchebag criminals – who have absolutely no powers or any special technology and only have the advantage because I chose to wear my red-sun earrings and they happened to find a suitcase full of kryptonite – and you didn't pick up your phone because you all are streaming yourselves playing a stupid, Rao damned video game, I will never let you anywhere near me again!" Kara growled into the mic hidden within the gloves.
If the moron wasn't currently streaming with her fiancé, she would've gotten him one hell of a Christmas present.
"In fact," she continued, gathering steam. "If the first person aside from me who sees our daughter is Mick fucking Rory, I'm going to shove the ring up your ass and squeeze until I've reversed the process and turned the diamond back into fucking coal!"
A beat.
"And don't tell me that's impossible because I will make it happen!" Another shooting pain lanced through her. "The contractions are five minutes apart, you bastard, and she's moving fast! So, for once in your life, don't show up late!"
She heard a muffled thud as Barry fell out of his seat bringing his webcam and set up crashing down to the floor along with him. She watched as he regained his footing and moved around frantically.
"Guys! Guys! We've got to go! I've got to go!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Guys! Guys! We've got to go! I've got to go!"
"What?" Winn's exasperated voice made his displeasure clear. "Why? We were just – ah, dammit! That's me dead too."
"Yeah. What gives, Barry? OW!" Barry could wasn't sure if the crack he heard was Oliver finally catching up to Cisco or Kara somehow managing to circumvent her red sun earrings and crashing through the wall.
Oliver emerged from around the corner, keyboard at his side and missing several keys, a satisfied look on his face. "What's going on, Barry?"
Picking himself up off the floor, Barry started running back and forth, eyes still wide and panicked as he tore around the lab gathering the go-bag he and Kara had prepped earlier that month. Caitlin had been the only one not to make fun of them for it, citing their propensity to get into trouble at the most inopportune moments as a good reason for the precaution.
"I…I've got to…we've,"he stomped one foot impatiently. "We have a Code Yellow! Like, now! And Kara's in labor!"
"Son of a bitch!"
"Son of a bitch!"
"Son of a bitch!"
There was a mad scramble as the other three men all followed his example and started running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, Winn even going so far as to shout out a hurried apology to whoever happened to be watching the stream, and ran out of the room.
Barry, in his last few seconds before speeding off to rescue his fiancée, picked up his webcam and gave a shaky grin.
"Uh…sorry about this, folks! But I've got my beautiful almost-wife to save from the clutches of labor pains…by getting her to the hospital ASAP! I'll see if I can't wrangle the AoP squad together again soon and give the stream another shot, but, until then, keep on running and keep things blurry!"
Mick grunted.
"GRRRAAAAAHHH! WHERE IS THAT BASTARD FIANCE OF MINE?!"
Mick grunted again.
"You're just not a conversationalist, are you?"
Grunt.
"I can't believe I'm stuck here with you while in labor."
Grunt.
"I'm going to GAAAH!"
Grunt.
"Fuck you, Mick Rory."
There was a ruckus outside, a chorus of screams, shouts and – alarmingly – gunfire that silenced Kara. Then it was quiet until the sound of footsteps coming toward them hit their ears, the blonde curling into a ball, tension obvious in every muscle. The door opened and a familiar figure strolled in lazily, a brow arched as he took in the two captives.
"Well, I have to say I never expected to find the future Mrs. Flash caught up in the middle of a heist. Much less our heist."
Leonard Snart looked, for all intents and purposes, completely at ease despite the blood spattered all over his normally flawless parka. In his hand he held a black case and, for a second, Kara thought it was the same one from earlier. But, when the bright green veins, burning sensation and crippling fatigue characteristic of nearby kryptonite failed to appear, she guessed she'd been mistaken.
"Oh, it's exactly what you think it is, Kara dear. Only my case has better lining." He gave her a wink and then turned to Mick. "The coast is clear for now. I managed to cool down those other idiots, so if you want to get out, now's your chance. I'll get this one to the hospital before baby SuperFlash arrives."
Mick grunted, nodded at Snart and Kara, and then left.
That prompted an annoyed snort from the Kryptonian.
"Not a big talker, our Mick," Snart said with a grin. He offered her a hand and pulled her up when she accepted. "Come on, I've got the getaway car out front. Of course, we could always just call in the Waverider if you don't want to deal with the hassle of the hospital."
Another contraction hit and Kara seriously considered the offer, confident that Gideon's advanced technology would make the entire process easier. She gave Snart a laugh but shook her head. "It would serve Barry right, that's for sure. But the plan was either CC General or National City Medical. So, CC General it is."
"As the lady wishes."
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Barry cursed as he tried and failed to get a hold of any and everyone he possibly could. He'd realized almost immediately after he had taken off that he had absolutely no idea where Kara was.
There were plenty of jewelry stores in Central City. Out of all the types of crimes the Flash had been credited with stopping during his tenure as a superhero, robberies involving wearable precious stones, gems, and metals were substantially more prevalent than any other. He had a sneaking suspicion the criminally oriented in town could be diagnosed with Magpie Syndrome. Either way, he needed to find his fiancée because he really did not want to miss their daughter's birth.
Or be subject to Kara's diamond to coal threat.
"Barry, you need to calm down." Oliver's voice prompted from over his comm trying to help the younger man find his center before something bad happened. "Freaking out is not going to help Kara."
"Well, no one is answering their fucking phones, Oliver! How am I supposed to stay calm when my fiancée – my pregnant fiancée mind you – is involved in a jewelry store robbery?! Do you know what that kind of stress could do to her at this point in the pregnancy?"
"I – "
Barry cut him off. "It could kickstart labor, Oliver! It has kick started labor!" He let out an uncharacteristic scream of frustration as he weaved through traffic. "Kara's one of the strongest people I've ever met, but everything I've read and every movie I've ever seen shows me that labor pains are in a completely different league of their own. Add to that the baby has been taking a lot more of the solar radiation this last month and she chose to wear her red sun earrings today…it's not going to be pretty."
"Didn't she say Mick was with her?"
"Oliver, I like Mick. I really do. He's done a great job as a part of the Legends and he and Snart have come a long way from the crooks they used to be. But…it's Mick Rory." The last bit was said in a tone that suggested that was enough of an explanation. "Odds are he's involved in the heist somehow."
"Hm. That's fair, I guess. Sara did mention something about he and Snart financing their whole operation." He paused. "I think the name Scrooge McDuck came up once or twice."
His HUD – an addition Cisco had added to his cowl after he'd introduced the new facemasks to all the other members of Team Legendary SuperFlarrow that consisted of mini drop down screens over Barry's eyes – pinged with an incoming call notification and he sighed in relief when he saw Kara's picture pop up.
"Thank God! Kara's calling. I'll get back to you as soon as I figure out where she is."
"Got it. Don't lose your head, Barry. You'll get there in time."
"Thanks Ollie. I mean it."
Oliver grunted acknowledgement before clearing the line.
Tapping the sensor that rested within the lightning bolts over his ears, Barry answered. "Kara! Sweetheart, where are you? I'm on my way, but I have no idea where you are!"
"Easy Flash. We wouldn't want you to get into an accident because you were distracted, now would we?"
"Snart?!"
"Got it in one."
"Why do you have Kara's phone? Where is she?" Despite knowing Leonard Snart was a friend and ally, the fact the man was calling from his fiancée's phone did little to set his mind at ease and implied that Kara couldn't do it herself.
"Relax. She's safe. We're pulling up to the CC General now. Just didn't want to run the risk of her crushing her phone mid-contraction."
Barry blinked and nearly ran face-first into a group of pedestrians crossing the street. "Doesn't she – "
"Have her earrings in? Yes. But have you ever seen the damage a woman in labor can do to her lover's hand? I'd hazard a guess and say you'd rather not run the risk one of her contractions triggers a freak spasm where she gets her powers back."
"…You would be correct. But that's what the earrings are designed for."
"Yes, well, it seems whether or not she has them is a moot point: they've asked her to remove all jewelry."
"Ah."
"Eloquent as always, eh, Flash?"
Ignoring the barb, Barry rounded another corner. "…How is she?"
In a moment of complete sincerity, Snart answered. "She wants you here. I'm pretty sure the tears aren't from the pain – yet."
Both men were silent for a moment before a muffled voice in the background caught Barry's attention. He couldn't make out what was being said but, as he came to a stop outside the hospital, he heard Snart's response as he retracted his suit into the ring.
"Oh, no! I'm not the father. Just a friend. What? Blood on my jacket? No, I don't need scrubs! I'm not going in, woman!"
Running in to the receiving area and dodging a few more people, Barry finally laid eyes on Kara and felt the suffocating weight that had encompassed him back at STAR finally relent, and he could breath again.
Her blonde hair was askew and limp – a sharp contrast from the effortless curls she'd worn that morning – with several strands sticking to her sweaty forehead and there was a nasty looking bruise on her cheek that sent fury lancing through him. Her clothes were disheveled, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the small spatter of blood along her shirt collar. Coming back to her face, the distraught look she wore tore at his heart as he saw tears falling freely. Somehow, she still managed to take his breath away.
Kara was gripping Snart's hand like a lifeline and, glancing at the man, Barry noted with amusement the pained twist of his lips as the former villain attempted to fight off one overly insistent nurse while another helped Kara into a wheelchair.
"I already told you that I'm not going in there! I have it on good authority that –"
"You really don't want to support your wife through this? I'm pretty sure she'd appreciate –"
"She's not my wife!"
"Does that mean you're the one who hit her, then?"
"W-what?! No! I'm the one that got her to the hospital so she wouldn't be giving birth in the back of a jewelry store!"
"Mhm. That's what they all say."
"Really? 'That's what they all say?' That's the best you can come up with?"
"If the shoe fits."
Seeing that both Snart and the nurse were about ready to throw down, and Kara looked seconds away from completely falling apart, Barry darted over, sliding to his knees at her side grabbing the hand that wasn't crushing Snart's.
"Hey! Hey, sweetheart, I'm here! I'm right here. I made it!"
Joy and relief – tempered, of course, by pain – flooded Kara's eyes as she saw Barry, a shaky smile blossoming on her lips.
"Barry! Oh, Rao, Barry!" She sobbed openly now closing her eyes, and feeling her courage return as he took her hand. "You're here! You're here!"
He knew he was crying and that there was a whole waiting room full of people who were privy to their moment but, kneeling there staring into Kara's glistening eyes, the speedster couldn't care less.
He felt himself falling in love with her all over again.
"Yeah, babe. I'm here. Sorry for being late."
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's okay. Don't care. You're here. Don't leave me."
"Never," Barry said pulling away just enough to kiss her lips and then bring their foreheads together. "I promise."
Barry managed to text Oliver while he was putting on his scrubs and asked the archer to let everyone know the situation.
As was the norm, Oliver was already ten steps ahead of him, having gotten in touch with all pertinent parties. His phone was still struggling to catch up with the sudden influx of text messages and calls he'd received literal seconds after his own message went out. Even as he was responding to the speedster – well, trying to at any rate – Oliver found himself victim to constant interruptions, and all with different iterations of the same sentence.
"On my way."
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" He growled, once again missing the 'Send' button as another text – this time from Cisco, the little prick – popped up and caused the screen to shift. He stabbed furiously at the button for a few seconds before he gave it up as a bad job, his resulting scowl enough to send the few loitering smokers in front of the hospital fleeing in the other direction. "At this rate it'll be faster for me to wait for him to come out into the waiting room."
Entering through the sliding doors, Oliver was a little surprised to see Cisco, Caitlin, and Winn already present. Looking back down at his phone, he read the meta's text.
"Dude! Been here 4ever! Where u at? Thought u were Barry's friend!"
He hadn't even been in the hospital for more than five seconds and already he could feel his eye twitching with his hands not far behind as one sought the bow that wasn't there, and the other longing to reach for the absent quiver, all in a concerted effort to kill Cisco Ramon.
"Dude! You took your sweet-ass time!" shouted the greatest annoyance in Oliver's life from clear across the room as he stood up. "I thought Barry was the one late to everything."
Oliver was pretty sure the grunt he gave morphed into an irate growl before it even left his throat.
Caitlin picked up on the archer's growing anger and smacked Cisco's arm, pulling him back down into his seat. "Calm down, Cisco! You're the one who didn't offer to vibe him here from STAR. Although why you brought Winn but not Oliver is still a little confusing. No offense, babe." She offered her boyfriend a loving smile.
"None taken. I knew what you meant. Cisco can be a dick."
"Hey!"
Brushing a hand roughly through his hair to help calm his nerves, Oliver jumped when he felt fingers thread with his own, though he settled immediately at the familiar voice at his side.
"Breathe, Beloved. I know you want to kill him, but I would say Cisco got his comeuppance when you caught him with the keyboard during your stream earlier." Nyssa looked pointedly at Vibe. "Would you not agree, Cisco?"
Cisco nodded obediently. "Yes ma'am."
"Good. Besides, now is not the time for your juvenile squabbles." This time she glanced at Oliver – her eyes watering and seeming to shimmer – until her husband sighed and nodded. "It is a happy occasion – our family is growing."
"Amen to that!"
Turning, the group saw Joe, Cecile, Iris, and Eddie, both males with their CCPD badges still around their necks, walking up to them.
Iris picked up where her dad had left off. "Any news? Is Kara okay? Has Barry passed out yet?"
The last comment worked as intended and got a laugh from the group, dissolving the rest of the tension between Oliver and Cisco.
Caitlin, ever the doctor, answered Iris' questions. "We haven't heard too much so far, though I do know that, as of our last inquiry, Barry is still standing. With everything I've gathered from Winn and Cisco, the stress of the robbery and subsequent hostage situation managed to induce labor."
"Say that again," Joe cut in, his eyes going wide along with all the other new arrivals. "Kara was involved in a robbery and a hostage situation? I thought she'd hung up the cape until further notice!"
"She did! She has!" Caitlin reassured him, hands up to placate the concerned detective. "This was an honest to God coincidence."
Oliver nodded. "It's true. Barry said she wanted to get out of the apartment for a bit today and have a, uh, 'Treat Yourself Day' I think was the phrase."
As one, the entire group corrected him.
"Treat Yo Self."
He blinked.
"And people think I'm out of touch with pop culture."
Acting in tandem once again, though this time including Oliver, the group spun around to see Leonard Snart leaning against the wall by the entrance, smirk on his face.
"Snart!"
"Would it bother you people that much for a simple 'hello?'"
Joe stepped toward him, hand instinctively reaching for his gun while Eddie mirrored him from Snart's other side. "What are you doing here, Snart? We gave you a pass when you said you were leaving the city a couple of years ago, but that came with the caveat –"
"– that I stay out of the city. I remember, Detective. But I think you'll agree when I say that today's jaunt through my old stomping grounds was beneficial to us all." He lifted an eyebrow at Caitlin. "What was it you said, Frosty? 'An honest to God coincidence?'"
That brought both cops up short and drew more than a few perplexed looks.
"You're saying that…you saved Kara?" Iris asked, incredulous.
She wasn't alone in her skepticism, as Cisco sent a suspicious glare at Captain Cold. "You really expect us to believe that you, of all people, stopped a robbery turned hostage situation?"
"Well, I can take credit for stopping the robbery, but it was really Mick that saved our dear Ms. Danvers' life. At least that's what I was able to decipher from his angry grumblings when I spoke to him a little while ago." Snart shrugged with a smile, sarcasm dripping from his next words. "You're welcome."
"No way. I don't buy it." Joe pulled out his handcuffs. "You're probably the one who planned the whole damn thing in the fist place. Then, when you realized you'd gotten Kara mixed up, tried to salvage the situation and lie your way out. Turn around and put your hands behind your back. I'm placing you under arrest."
With a sigh of annoyance and roll of his eyes, Snart complied, turning away from the advancing cop.
"Honestly, Detective, do you really think if I was responsible for the crime that I would blatantly flaunt myself in front of two CCPD officers instead of catching the first train out of here? Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"You came back to town. Can't be too far off the mark."
It had been an hour's worth of screaming – along more obscenities from his Kryptonian than he thought she even knew – and Kara breaking Barry's hand before the most beautiful sound in the world filled the room.
Their daughter was here.
Crying and squirming and doing her best to be the most difficult baby she could be for the nurses as she screamed her tiny lungs out. Once she'd been sufficiently wrangled, the tiny, messy being was passed gently into Kara's arms.
"Here you go, mommy. We'll give you and daddy a few minutes before we take her to get cleaned up."
Barry and Kara were oblivious to everything else as they stared down at their newborn daughter, taking in the tiny face, hands, feet, and even tinier fingers and toes. Even as she continued to squirm against her mother's breast, looking for all the world like she was trying to find the most comfortable position, the superhero couple were absolutely enraptured.
"You did it, Kara," Barry whispered reverently, brushing a thumb gently over a pudgy cheek. "You did it."
The exhausted blonde sniffed and shook her head. "We did it, Barry. We made this perfect, amazing, beautiful thing."
"Well, I was mostly talking about delivering her, but thanks for the shout-out." He laughed when she bumped her head against his shoulder, eyes never leaving their child, and kissed the top of her head.
"Ass."
A full-fledged laugh escaped him at that. "Let the record show that it was Kara Danvers who introduced our daughter to her first swear word in the hospital room moments after her birth, and not Oliver Queen in the midst of a panic-induced babysitting gig gone wrong."
This time her head bump was more of a headbutt and nearly sent the speedster tumbling out of his chair, his reflexes the only thing saving him from crashing into the cart of medical equipment nearby.
"I mean, what swear word? I didn't hear a swear word!"
"That's right. I knew you were a smart one." He didn't miss the teasing tone or the grin on her lips.
They fell silent again as they simply watched their daughter finally find a position she was comfortable with, snuggling instinctively toward warmth and food, though the way her breathing settled into a slow and steady rhythm revealed she was only looking to sleep.
"God, Kara! She's…she's just…wow." Barry found himself getting choked up, tears filling his eyes. "We did this, huh?"
"Mhmm. That we did. You want to hold her before the nurse comes back?"
"Duh."
Slowly, so as not to disturb their slumbering newborn, they managed to navigate the exchange. As she yielded her hold, Kara quietly reminded him on a few points.
"Just like we practiced, babe. Mind her head. Make sure to support her neck. Cradle her to your chest. Hand up from her bottom and…yeah, there you go. You've got it." Her eyes sparkled as she watched Barry hold his daughter for the first time.
He was utterly hypnotized.
"Shotgun being the cool parent," he mumbled absently, eyes soft as he gazed down at the tiny human being in his arms.
Kara snorted. "Well, someone's going to have to keep her in line. She's obviously got daddy wrapped around her finger already. Daddy's girl through and through."
"Don't be jelly!" He started rocking slightly from side to side. "I'm pretty sure she's going to be the first baby in history who absolutely adores both her parents. When she has 'Bring a Parent to School Day' this little one is going to make sure we can both come. Mark my words."
"What about the paper on who she admires?" Kara asked with a laugh, leaning back into her pillows.
"Mommy and Daddy."
"What she wants to be when she grows up?"
"Superhero."
"Favorite superhero?"
"Supergirl and Flash."
"Day job?"
"Investigative CSI Reporter."
"That's not a thing."
"It could be. You don't know what the future holds!"
"Fair point."
A knock on the door drew their attention away from the baby for the first time. Two nurses entered the room, one coming over to take their daughter and the other standing at the door with an anxious look on her face.
"Uh, Mr. Allen? Do you happen to know the names Winn, Cisco, Mick, and Snart?"
Barry, after handing off the littlest Allen, looked at Kara before turning back to the nurse. "Uh, yeah. Why?"
"Well, the group that I assume is waiting for you is making quite the scene out front. There are two CCPD officers intent on arresting the man who brought Ms. Danvers in, although he is remarkably calm and flippant about the whole thing."
"Oh boy," Barry sighed, running a hand down his face. "I'd better get out there and break things up."
Kara nodded. "Yeah, you should. It'd be a shame if the memory of the day of our daughter's birth is marred by everyone's longstanding grudge with Mick and Snart. But, can you tell them I want to see them? I still owe them a thanks."
"Of course. You're not the only one." He pressed a kiss to her lips. "I'll be right back."
He followed the nurse out of the room and down the long hallway toward the waiting room. Turning the last corner and opening the door, he saw Joe getting ready to cuff Snart with Eddie at his side while everyone else watched.
"Joe! Stop!"
"Joe! Stop!" Barry's voice cut through the waiting area with the finesse of a bulldozer, snapping their group out of the almost hypnotic spell Snart's arrest seemed to cast.
"Ah, my savior cometh." Snart said, his smile back on his face and pompous as all hell. "You really do like showing up at the last minute, don't you, Allen?"
Barry shook his head in exasperation but relieved the Legend from the handcuffs anyway. He looked at Joe. "I'm assuming he told you he was the one to get Kara out of the shitstorm her shopping day turned into?" When his adoptive father nodded, the speedster continued. "Yeah, he's telling the truth. If it wasn't for Snart, I'd be greeting my daughter in the vault at Bling, Rings, and Pretty Things right now."
That seemed to do the trick as suddenly, every single person in the room was in his personal bubble, questions flying from their mouths faster than even he could follow.
"She's here?"
"What does she look like?"
"How's Kara?"
"When does Uncle Cisco get to hold his niece?"
"Were there any complications with the birth?"
"Is she a healthy baby girl?"
"When can we see her?"
"I get to see my grandbaby first!'
"Congratulations, Barry."
"Mazel tov."
Barry held up his hands. "Whoa! Easy people! You'll all be allowed in once Kara's had a chance to rest a little and compose herself and they've cleaned up the little one." He smiled and it was one that lit up his face like none of them had ever seen before. "But everything went fine, and they are both doing well. I don't think I've ever heard a baby cry as loudly as she did when she finally decided to make her appearance."
When hugs and pats on the back were exchanged and the excitement dulled to a mild hum of whispers, Barry turned to Snart, who had retreated back to his original spot on the wall.
"She wants to see you. And Mick."
"Well, Micky's in the wind. He never was any good with social interaction and being locked up with Kara seems to have been his limit for the day." He pushed off the wall. "But I'll stop in to say hi. That is, if Grandpa Joe and Charlie over there will allow it."
Indeed, both cops were still giving the ex-con the stink eye despite being engaged in their own conversations.
"Don't worry about them. By the end of the night, the only thing they'll be angry about is that you got to talk with Kara before they did."
"Well," Snart said with a grin. "Lead the way then."
"So, let me get this straight," Kara said from her bed, Barry's hand in hers as she looked at the ex-con with raised brows. "You and Mick were running that job…for me?"
Snart cocked an eyebrow. "I know it's hard to believe, but we are men of honor. You're welcome." He inclined his head. "Besides, if there's one thing that we've had to adjust to since joining up with the Legends, it's learning how to play as a team and, consequently, protecting said team."
"Protecting," Kara muttered thoughtfully before her focus sharpened. "Wait! How did you know there was kryptonite there? As far as we knew, Oliver was the only one with kryptonite on this earth."
Snart shrugged. "Perks of being a Legend. We're privy to events that take place all throughout the timeline."
"That's it? That's all you're going to give us?" Barry asked, upset on Kara's behalf.
"It's really all you need to know, Flash. I think it's safe to say you know the kinds of consequences revealing anything else or changing too much can have on the timeline, right?" The pointed look he sent the speedster's way shut down the retort already at the tip of his tongue.
"Why was getting the kryptonite okay then?" Kara asked, curious.
Snart smirked. "Well, who's to say we don't manipulate things in our favor every now and then?"
Barry pouted while Kara laughed.
"Consider it a wedding gift."
He turned back to the table and grabbed the briefcase he'd liberated from the other criminals. Facing her once more, he clicked free a small latch on the center of the case that she hadn't seen before and slid open what looked to be a viewing window.
Through the glass, a set of jewels could be seen – a necklace, a pair of extravagant earrings, and a rather gaudy ring along with a few other elegantly cut stones. At first glance, they would appear to be emeralds to anyone else, but the eerily familiar green glow had Kara leaning away from the briefcase and into Barry.
"The kryptonite," the CSI breathed, gawking at the case.
Snart nodded, slipping the slide shut. "Gideon tipped us off when it first popped up a couple of weeks ago. Mick and I put out some feelers and got word back of a shipment of exotic jewels coming into town a couple of weeks ago through some of our old contacts. The phrase "glowing green rocks" was thrown around a few too many times to be a coincidence for our liking, so we filled a few…conveniently vacant spots on the crew."
"By 'conveniently' you mean…" Barry started before Snart interrupted.
"They met an unfortunate end before the planning phase even got started, yes." The dangerous grin on the ex-thief's face sent a shiver down the CSI's spine. "I filled in as the brains and Mick went as the muscle to get the rocks. It was never about the jewels, just getting these," he hefted the case. "Off the street."
Walking toward them, he set the case on the floor at the foot of Kara's bed. "Like I said back in the vault, this thing's lead-lined so you don't have to worry about any side effects. It's yours to do with as you please, Ms. Danvers soon-to-be-Allen. Special delivery. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood time-traveling misfits!"
As he reached the doorway, Kara's voice stopped him.
"Why?"
He turned back to the couple and grinned. "I told you; we protect our own. Especially if they're carrying the future of the team."
And then he was gone.
Both Barry and Kara could only stare at the empty doorway in shock, neither able to fully comprehend the exchange. Glancing down at the briefcase, the Kryptonian blinked away tears.
"That…that was really nice."
Barry laughed softly dropping a kiss on her forehead. "I always suspected Snart had a soft side. Though I never thought I'd be alive to see it in person." He stood up and picked up the case. "I'm gonna run this over to the DEO, see if J'onn and Alex can't – uh oh."
"What?"
"I…don't think Oliver texted your sister. Or your mother."
"Well it sucks to be you then, huh? You better hope Alex is in a forgiving mood."
She blinked and he was gone.
Almost immediately after he left, there was a knock on the door. Looking up, Kara saw one of the nurses from earlier standing there, holding a pink wrapped bundle in her arms.
"Hello Mama. Someone's ready to see you again." Slowly, the nurse handed the half-Kryptonian baby off to her mother, the bedridden blonde smiling widely at her daughter's sleeping face. "Where's Dad?"
"He had to step out for a moment to make a call. He's got some family that couldn't get here tonight that wanted a play-by-play as soon as he was free." She gently brushed a finger along her baby's cheek. "Hey baby girl. Mommy's so happy to see you again."
Smiling, the nurse took her leave. "I'll leave you to it then. If you need anything, just hit the call button. I'm on duty for a few more hours yet, okay?"
"Thank you," Kara said quietly with a nod, though her attention was focused solely on the tiny being in her arms.
All was quiet in the room, the soft sound of the newborn's breathing as she slept, mouth open and a small dribble of drool running down her chin, being the only noise to break the silence. Though she would deny it to her dying day, Kara was very much aware that she herself was, to put it lightly, an ungraceful sleeper. She grinned at the discovery – it looked like her daughter would be following in her footsteps.
Taking in every inch of the small face resting in the crook of her elbow, Kara was pleased to see a beautiful blend of both Barry and her features. She had her father's nose and Kara's rounded face and beneath those closed eyelids, Barry's entrancing green eyes.
"You are so beautiful, kir kyn. Beautiful and precious. And I can't wait for you to discover everything this world has to offer." She smiled softly when her daughter gave a sleepy yawn, mouth opening wide to accommodate. "There is so much to see and do that even if you spent your whole life searching, you'd probably still only be scratching the surface. You'll need to be careful, precious girl – the world can be dangerous and scary. Some of the most wondrous things can be frightening and the ways of the world and the people who inhabit it cruel. But, do you wanna know something, baby girl? Something that gets overlooked a lot of the time is that life…life is messy. But that's what makes it beautiful."
Pressing a kiss to her tiny forehead, Kara held her baby close. Her mind flashed to Mick and Snart's good deed and she couldn't stop the quiet laugh that bubbled up in her chest. "People can be good and nice and surprise you every single day. Sure, they'll make mistakes – you will too – but that's okay, kir kruvuzh. That's how we learn and grow. And your daddy and I will be there every step of the way."
"You know, seeing the two of you together like this? If I was Harry Potter, I'm pretty sure I could cast the most powerful Patronus in the world."
Looking up for the first time since she'd received her daughter, Kara gave her fiancé a beatific smile, one that, despite her exhaustion, made him weak in the knees. "You certainly took your time, Flash."
"Well, your sister wasn't exactly pleased that you somehow managed to deliver her niece in record time. Also, the fact that nobody told her you were in a hostage situation until after you were out of it didn't sit too well." He shrugged as he walked to her side, kissing her forehead and turning his glance to their daughter. "She gave me quite an earful before demanding I bring her with me."
Kara raised her eyebrows. "Alex is here?"
"Yup. Your mom, too."
"Let me guess: Alex encouraged you to pick her up?"
"Your sister can be very convincing when she's got a gun to your head."
"What?!"
Barry put a finger to her lips to remind her of the sleeping babe in her arms, laughing. "Relax she didn't shoot me. Besides, it's not like they're the only ones here."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we were live streaming when you called, and I may have put the phone on speaker in order to keep playing – we were in a tight spot at the time." He saw the horror dawning on her face. "And, despite what some members of our group think – I am referring to Harry, J'onn, and Joe specifically – people do actually watch. Namely, the rest of our group."
"Oh, Rao…" If she could bury her face in her hands, she would have. Instead, she opted to turn into Barry's side with a groan of embarrassment. "How many people were watching?"
Brushing a hand through her hair, Barry shrugged. "Only a couple thousand."
Kara slumped defeated. "I'm never going on again."
"Don't say that." He was laughing even as he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "If anything, I think you bumped the number of views through the roof!" She giggled despite herself and Barry sat down with a grin.
They fell into a peaceful silence, both parents content to watch their daughter and bask in the amazing feeling that they had brought this perfect being into existence.
"I still can't believe it, you know?" Barry asked after a moment, unknowingly mimicking Kara's earlier actions as he brushed his fingers along his daughter's cheek. "We did this."
Kara hummed, a smile on her lips. "It's pretty crazy, right? We're parents, Barry. Parents! This is our little girl – our kyr kruvuzh!"
Barry started to smile but blinked as something occurred to him. "Kara…we're horrible parents! Already!"
"W-what?! What are you talking about, Barry?"
"We haven't given her a name yet!"
"Oh, Rao! You're right! We are horrible parents!"
Both superheroes stared at each other in panic as their lack of preparation set in. Almost as if she could sense her parents' distress, the littlest Kryptonian currently in existence stirred, face scrunched up in adorable discontent as her sleep was disturbed. They sucked in a breath, faces scrunched up to try and minimize any chance of waking their baby. When she merely snuggled deeper into Kara's breast, they let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
"That was close," Barry said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I can't imagine that would've gone well."
"Especially if she takes after me," Kara agreed, thumb brushing soothingly along a swaddled arm.
Sighing, Barry crossed his arms. "Okay, what are we thinking for names? Just throwing it out there…I kind of want to name her after my mom."
Kara smiled. "Nora? I like that."
"Really? Just like that?"
"Can I get the middle name?"
"Of course!"
"Alexandra."
Barry grinned with a chuckle. "Your sister is going to freak. You know that, right?"
"Well, we already decided Ollie and Nyssa are the godparents so I'm hoping this will soften the blow for dear Aunt Alex." Kara shook her head. "After things with Sam didn't work out, she could certainly use a reminder of how much we love her."
Taking her hand, Barry gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You don't do things by halves, do you?"
"Nope!"
He kissed the top of her head, then turned his eyes back to their daughter. "Nora Alexandra Zor-El Allen."
"Hmm. It's perfect. She's perfect."
"That she is," Barry said. He felt his heart swell with love for the tiny being in Kara's arms and the amazing woman herself. Truthfully, he didn't think he'd ever felt so happy in his life as he did in this moment.
"Welcome to the world, baby girl."
Translation: kir kruvuzh – little miracle (roughly)
A/N: There you go, ladies and gentlemen! Baby SuperFlash has finally arrived on the scene in what has got to be one of the more fun chapters I've written lately. I absolutely love writing these characters and keeping them going while we wait for their return. Oliver and Cisco's antagonistic relationship amuses me so much.
As I mentioned in the updated author's note at the end of chapter one, and will repost here, I know the world is a crazy place right now – in particular the good old U.S. of A. – and that to some of you, reading or writing fanfiction is an escape from what's going on. I know it is for me. Just remember to love each other whenever you can, speak out against injustice when you see it, and take care of yourselves.
Stay safe out there – please.
-HakushoRurouni