Author's Note: Hey you guys! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this, but I've been super busy with the Christmas one shots. Hope you're all still with me. Thank you all again for your comments, it means a lot. Hope you will continue to enjoy this story. Also, I tried my best with a certain back and forth in the beginning of this chapter, hope it is easy to visualize.

To those asking/making suggestions about the baby name: Its already planned since the beginning and there's even an early hint somewhere baout what it will be ;)

Please leave some reviews as always :)

7th Month

Iris's plan for the night was a simple one. Sweatpants, couch, Chinese takeout and a Veronica Mars marathon on Netflix. Last week has probably been the busiest of her life and she needed to relax.

Too bad fate had other plans.

She was about to open her wonderfully smelling noodles with chicken when the doorbell rang. She groaned and put her chopsticks aside. If that wasn't an emergency, she would probably shoot whoever was at the door.

"Coming." She said annoyed. When she opened the door, it naturally had to scream 'emergency'.

In front of her door was Caitlin, her hair in a messy bun, wearing slippers and what looked like one of Barry's jackets. Her eyes were red and puffy, like she cried.

"Oh my God, Caitlin!" She immediately pulled her inside. "What happened to you?" She quickly glanced at her baby bump. "Are you okay? Is she okay? Is Barry okay?"

Caitlin was still sobbing. Iris reached for a box of tissues.

"Thanks." Caitlin grabbed one and blew her nose. "The baby is fine. It's Barry."

Iris heartbeat went wild. What in God's name happened? "Is he hurt?"

"No." Caitlin sat down on Iris couch and grabbed for some of the food. "You don't mind?"

Iris shook her head. She felt lost, confused. "Caitlin, tell me what happened."

Her lips started to tremble. "He is such an idiot!"

Okay, that wasn't what Iris expected.

Barry rushed into Star Labs, where Harry and Cisco were still working on the case that bothered them for a couple of months now. The one with the metahuman that apparently could make things disappear and then disappeared himself.

"Ah, Barry." Harrison said. "We have another case of a person vanishing into thin air, you should –"

"Is she here?" He was breathless, which didn't happen very often.

Cisco put his work aside. "Who?"

"Caitlin!" He snapped, regretting it immediately. "We had a fight and she stormed off."

Cisco raised his eyebrows. "You two? A fight?" That was new. Sure they had disagreements but a full fleshed fight never happened before.

"It wasn't really a fight…more of…" he went through his hair, "I have no idea what just happened!" His phone suddenly buzzed. He picked it up with lightning speed. "Cait?"

"Nope, Iris."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed.

"She is here."

His breathed calmed down. So she was at least safe. "Thank God, I was worried. I'll come over-"

"No. She is pretty shaken. Give her some time."

With that Iris hung up, leaving Barry puzzled and unsure about what to do next. "I don't understand what's going on."

Harrison put his hand on Barry's shoulder. "Now you just feel what every man with a pregnant girlfriend goes through." He grabbed his jacket. "Cisco, get the keys."

"Where are we going?" Cisco asked. It was very unlike Harry to leave his work unfinished.

"We –"He looked back and forth between Barry and Cisco, "are going to have a drink. I think Barry could use one."

"I can't get drunk." Barry said bluntly.

Harrison shrugged. "Then we'll do it for you and you just tell us what happened."

"Harry my friend, that might be the best plan you ever had." Cisco grinned. This was going to be good.

"Thanks." Caitlin said. By now she almost finished all of Iris's food without even noticing it. "I can't deal with him right now. He made me so…so mad!" She threw one of the chopsticks around, almost hitting Iris. "Sorry."

Iris gently took the other chopstick out of her hand. "Wanna tell me what he did now?" This wasn't how her night was supposed to be, but whatever she would be there for her friend. Part of her felt honored that Caitlin choose her of all people to confide in, when Cisco would have been the natural choice.

"I don't even know how to tell…" Caitlin sighed.

Iris smiled encouraging. "Start at the beginning." It was hard to imagine that Barry of all people did something to upset her that much and part of Iris hoped that it would be a problem easy to fix.

"Okay." Caitlin said and grabbed a pillow to cuddle with.

They entered the bar, it was thankfully almost empty. They sat down on the barstools and ordered some drinks. Barry even ordered something with alcohol, at least he got the flavor even if the effect didn't kick in.

"So, what happened?" Cisco asked.

Barry looked inside of his glass, like the bottom had some secret revelation for him. "It started out really harmless."

"It always does." Harrison said.

"We wanted to spend the night at home, watching a movie…we started to make dinner."

Caitlin almost strangled that poor pillow in her arms. "We were laughing, having fun."

Iris handed her a glass of water. "Drink up, you need fluids." Caitlin seemed so stressed that Iris was a bit worried about the baby, she needed to make sure that both of them were alright.

"He was cutting the salad." She put the glass on the table. "And then it just happened."

Iris was leaning forward. She didn't want to come off as too pushy, but she was dying with curiosity.

Barry gestured around with his arms. "I just suggested that, because we have the baby on the way and we're in love and sure about our relationship, we might as well get married."

Cisco spit his drink out. "Dude, you did what?"

Barry shrugged. "I just thought it would be the right time to discuss it."

"HE PROPOSED?" Iris screamed, nearly falling of her sofa.

"No!" Caitlin leaned back in frustration, tossing the pillow away. "He suggested."

Iris hesitated for a second. This was a big deal. A huge deal. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. "I don't think I can follow."

Caitlin rubbed her swollen belly, her baby started to kick again. "He didn't propose, he suggested we could get married, you know because of the baby and because of our relationship and I just…" She made a face, like she had some kind of revelation. "And I freaked out and stormed off." She bit her lip. "Maybe I overreacted a bit."

Harry ordered a whole bottle for them. "Let me get this right, you asked her to marry you?"

Barry shook his head in desperation. "No! I mean, I don't know. I guess, but not really." He sank down on the bar in front of him. "I messed up, didn't I?"

"Well…" Harry started.

"Dude, totally." Cisco interrupted him. "She probably things you proposed because she's pregnant. Even I know that's bad." He patted Barry's back.

"Barry, may I ask you a question?" Harry said.

Barry lifted his head up. He looked like a mess. "Sure."

"Even if you didn't really propose, did you want to?"

Barry blinked. He couldn't answer that question. The conversation just came out of nowhere. He watched her preparing the food, chatting about something she just read online and it hit him, this was how it would always be. They together like that. That was how it always should be. How he wanted it to be. So he just asked her. Or didn't ask her.

He never seriously thought about marriage before. Sure there was this newspaper that told him he would marry Iris, but that was about it. Time passed and he nearly forgot about it.

After they discovered she was pregnant they discussed the topic briefly, but they weren't defined back then, now they were.

"I…I think I want to." He confessed slowly and immediately emptied his glass.

"Well…congratulations, I guess." Cisco said. This was a big deal for him as well. His best friends getting married. His eyes widened. His best friends would be parents soon. They would probably get married. "This is so exciting!"

Barry chuckled. "Don't get your hopes up, she was pretty pissed."

"Understandably." Harry muttered, earning a disapproving glance from Cisco.

Iris settled for leftover lasagna. It was the only thing she could find in her fridge that still made for a decent meal and she quickly discovered that even the smell of grilled cheese made Caitlin's stomach rebel. It was safe.

"You sure you don't want anything?" She asked out of politeness as she re-entered the living room.

Caitlin was walking along Iris's sideboard, looking at the pictures on it. There was one of Iris and her dad, a beautiful one of a smiling Eddie and one of Iris and Barry as teenagers. Caitlin picked it up. Her hand softly touched the frame. "I'm sorry." She said suddenly and put the picture away.

Iris looked up, her mouth still full of lasagna. "What?"

Caitlin walked through the room, her fingers nervously trembling. "I ambushed you and threw all my problems at you."

Iris put her food aside and waved Caitlin over to join her back on the couch. "Caitlin, I'm your friend, I'm there for you when you need to talk about your problems." She didn't understand where Caitlin was coming from. There was no need to apologize.

"I know he talked things through with you." Her eyes fell back on the picture of Iris and Barry. "You two still have your history and I didn't respect that."

Oh. So that's what she meant.

Caitlin anxiously waited for a reaction, she genuinely felt about forcing herself on Iris, making her listen to her problems with Barry when there was a slight chance she still harbored some feelings for him.

Iris however started to laugh.

"Iris?" Caitlin asked confused.

"Caitlin Snow, sometimes you can be so adorable."

Caitlin pursed her lips. Like Iris said, adorable. "Look." She took Caitlin's hands, "Yes, Barry and I have a long history, but that has nothing to do with the two of you. You are his future. He loves you and I love both of you. I'm happy for you."

Tears started to fall down Caitlin's cheek. She didn't want to cry but lately she couldn't help it. Stupid hormones.

"You can always come to me when you need someone to talk." She got up. "I have something for you. I wanted to give it to you another time, but I feel like now it's the right time." She briefly disappeared into her bedroom and came back with a gift wrapped in a shiny silver paper.

"What's that?" Caitlin asked, wiping her tears away.

Iris handed her the present with a warm smile on her face.

Caitlin slowly unwrapped it. She always took her time, she never wanted to ruin the paper, a quirk Barry always made fun of. "Iris…" She said astonished as she noticed what she held in her hands. It was a handmade red onesie with lightning bolts and snowflakes on it.

"I'm rusty, but Grandma Esther once taught me how to sew."

Caitlin felt the tears coming back. This time she didn't even try to fight them, she just let them flew. She swung her arms around Iris. "Thank you. I can't thank you enough. It's perfect. So perfect."

Iris herself was close to tears now. "You're welcome." She put her hand on Caitlin's stomach. "So is my niece."

They pulled away. Caitlin pressed the onesie against her chest, close to her heart. "Lightning and snow."

"It goes good together." Iris said with a wink.

They sat there for a while. Caitlin took her time to admire the gift for her daughter. It was such a beautiful present and the fact that it came from Iris, who had every right to feel awkward about the whole situation, made it even more meaningful.

"Can I ask you a question?" Iris asked. There was one thing that still bothered her, one thing she couldn't leave alone.

Caitlin nodded. Iris did so much for her that night, the least she could do was to answer all of her questions.

"Are you upset because Barry brought up the topic, because of everything that happened with Ronnie and you're not ready…" She paused for a second, "or are you upset because he didn't go down on one knee and asked the right question?"

Caitlin was stunned. She opened her mouth, ready to answer, until she noticed that she had no idea what the truth was anymore.

Harry played with his empty glass. They lost count on how many drinks they had ordered. "I had to propose five times to Jesse's mother before she agreed to marry me." Hiccup.

Cisco laughed. "That someone wanted to marry you at all Harry, that's the mystery." He wanted to take another sip from his glass, but Harrison took it away and emptied it. "Heeeyyy Harry, you meanie!"

Harry grinned. "I don't see a ring on your finger, Ramon."

Cisco made face. "Lisa is not the conventional kind of woman." He raised his hand to get the barkeeper's attention. "Stevie, another!" He then reached for some peanuts to throw at Harrison. "Women are weird, right?"

Barry sat in a corner, watching the two of them and checking his phone. Iris texted him a while ago that Caitlin would spend the night at her place, which was probably for the best. Still, he hated it to be apart from her. He got used to sleeping next to her pretty fast.

"Barry! Barry!" Cisco yelled, giggling. "I have a solution." He slurred the last word. "You learn Portuguese!"

"What?"

Cisco's grin grew wider. Harry just nodded approvingly in the background, hiccupping from time to time. "You learn Portuguese and then you…you see her family!" He jumped on his feet only to fall into Harrison's lap a second later. "You see her family and then you all…" He gestured around, Barry wanted to disappear, this was getting embarrassing. "You go to that damn restaurant she works in and then you tell her that you want to marry her!"

"In Portuguese!" Harry exclaimed.

"In Portuguese!" Cisco repeated. He looked around, everyone in the bar was staring at him. "Come on guys, say it with me in Portuguese!"

A few of them actually chanted along with Cisco. Some were just as drunk and others just felt sorry for him.

"I'm a genius." He said, laying his arm around Barry.

Barry sighed. He loved his powers, but he missed the days the alcohol still had some effect on him, that at least would make this whole scene a whole less painful. "You just described a scene from Love Actually."

Cisco gasped. "They stole my idea?" He ran over to Harrison. "Harry, they stole my idea!"

"Okay." Barry just grabbed both of their arms. He placed some cash on the counter. "Rest is for you Steve. I'm getting them home now."

Barry dragged them out of the bar and looked around. No one in sight. Before either of them could protest he ran.

Iris handed Caitlin a pillow and a warm blanket. "You can still share my bed if you like."

"It's fine, thank you." She snuggled under the blanket. "I have to pee a lot and the baby is kicking so much I never sleep through the night. I don't wanna keep you up."

Iris shrugged. "It's kinda nice. Having company here. We could have a pajama party."

Caitlin giggled. "Wanna play truth or dare?" She joked, before her face turned serious. "I owe you a truth anyways." She thought about Iris's question. She didn't want to answer before she wasn't completely sure in her heart that she was speaking the truth, but now she was. It was so simple really. "At first I thought that it's because of Ronnie…but it isn't." A part of her would always love Ronnie, he would always be with her, but Iris was right, Barry was her future, the one she wanted. She looked at her ring finger. "I guess I expected him to pop the question sooner or later, later probably." She confessed.

Iris was silent, she just listened.

"But that doesn't mean I haven't fantasized about it a bit." She never told anyone about this, she even had a hard time admitting it to herself. "I don't think couples need to be married to be happy and in love and raise children, but I like image of it. I…want it."

That was exactly the answer Iris expected and she was glad about it. It only proofed to her that she was right about Barry and Caitlin, those to belonged together and baby or not, they were in for the long run.

Going to the cemetery at night was a stupid idea. It was probably one of the worst ideas he ever had. There was a rustling noise behind every bush, shadows that shouldn't be there and Barry was pretty sure he even heard a crow.

There was also a lot of mist. Because obviously there had to be mist.

It felt like a scene from a horror movie, Cisco would have loved it. He however was at home, asleep and if karma had a say in things he would probably suffer the hangover of a lifetime the next day. Same went for Harrison.

Barry decided not to use his speed. For some reason he felt it would be disrespectful towards the dead.

He made his way to the grave. He knew it was empty, they had no body to bury, still he felt the need to talk to him.

He put his hand on the gravestone. Ronald Raymond. Husband. Son. Friend. Hero.

"Hey, buddy." His voice was quiet, melancholic. "I know I don't visit you often and I'm sorry." It felt weird talking to a stone, he had to admit that. "Hope you're doing okay up there." He briefly looked into the dark night sky. "You probably know what's going on down here. With me and Cait." He waited, as if he expected for someone to say something. Nothing. "The thing is, I know how much she loved you and always will and I'm sorry that your life together was taken from you." Pause. "We're having a little girl and I bet she will be as beautiful as her mother." He kneed down next to the stone. "You probably know that too." He clenched his fist. "The thing is, I want to ask her to marry me. Make it official. I love her, so much. But I want you to know that I'm not trying to replace you. I just want to make her happy." He stood up again. "I don't know what I'm doing here. I just think I needed to tell you and ask you if that's okay with you." Nothing but silence. "I hope that means yes." He smiled sadly. "We miss you. All of us do."

Joe woke up very early in the morning. He heard a noise, coming from the attic. No one had been on the attic for year, they just kept their junk there.

He reached for his gun. If that was a thief he chose the wrong house. He got out of bed and slowly made his way upstairs.

There was definitely a person.

He calmed his breath. "Police! Freeze!" He yelled, his gun drawn, ready to shoot if necessary.

His gun was taken from him before he even noticed.

"Geez, Joe. You need to be careful." Barry stood in front of him, circles under his eyes. He looked like he didn't sleep at all.

"Barry?" He asked irritated. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Barry wiped the dusk from some old boxes. "Searching for something." He coughed as he opened one.

"I can see that." Joe crossed his arms. "You realize it is six in the morning, right?"

Barry made a small noise that could have been a yes. Joe took his gun back. That boy had the strangest ideas. "I could have shot you."

Barry's head disappeared inside a box. "Said it yourself, I heal fast." He said nonchalant. "Found it!"

Joe moved closer. Now he was curious what all the fuzz was about. Barry held a small black velvety box in his hand.

Joe's eyes widened. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah." Barry couldn't take his eyes away from the box. "I haven't seen it in ages." He said more to himself than to Joe. His fingers went over the soft velvet.

"So, you really want to…?" Joe put his hand on Barry's shoulder. He should have seen this coming and yet it surprised him. The attic. Barry and Iris used to play hide and seek there, much to Joe's dismay. They loved that place as children.

"Yeah." Barry answered. "Nothing in my life had ever felt so right."

Joe stared at him. His son. He could see the little boy who used to hide behind all these boxes right in front of him. He blinked and the boy transformed into a man, holding only one little box, that would change his life yet again.

Joe placed his hand over Barry's. "Your mother would have wanted this." He said.

Barry rubbed his eyes. "Just dust." He lied.

Joe chuckled. "Come down, I'll make you some breakfast."

When Barry entered the apartment Caitlin was already sitting on the sofa. "Hey." He said. She offered him a small smile.

He sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry!" They said at the same time.

"What?" That confused Barry. "I know why I'm sorry, but you have nothing to apologize for."

She shook her head. "I overreacted and for that I'm sorry." Her voice soft and sincere.

He took her hand, playing with her fingers. "If I hadn't been an insensitive jerk there would've been no reason to overreact." He looked right into her eyes. She was so beautiful, so understanding, so full of love. "Sometimes I just talk without thinking about it."

"I know." She kissed his hand. "And I actually adore that about you."

He smiled, before turning serious again. "This whole topic can't be easy for you, I'm so sorry."

Caitlin leaned back, she glanced at the shelf at the other side of the room, where she kept a picture of Ronnie. "I thought if I ever get married it would be forever. After everything we've seen I think that maybe in some parallel universe there is a Caitlin happily married to Ronnie." She put her hand on his cheek and started gently to caress it. "But this Caitlin right here, she wants to be to be with this Barry."

"Caitlin…"

She wasn't finished just yet. "We can't linger on what ifs forever and dwell on the past. You are my future." She took his hand on her belly. "She is our future. Ronnie will always have a place in my heart, but I also know he'd want me to be happy and you make me so happy." A tear was running down her cheek. Again with the tears.

Barry wanted to pinch himself. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have this amazing woman by his side. "That sounds weird coming from me, but is it all moving too fast for you? I mean we didn't plan the baby, but I understand if marriage might be too much." He went through his hair, trying to find the right words. "We're not together that long. This is all very...-"

"It was a progress in the making since we first met." She interrupted him. "I mean we both had feelings for each other, subconsciously as they might have been they were there."

"Pushed away by circumstances." He agreed. "Huh, we are so against any tradition or convention." He laughed.

She shrugged. "Nothing in our lives is normal, so why trying to fit into any normalcy all of sudden?"

"I'm so glad you said that." He reached into his pocket and got the velvet box out. "Because otherwise that would be very awkward right now."

Her hands started to shake, her heart beat faster. "Barry." She breathed.

He took her hand again and opened the box. Inside was a shiny ring, white gold, with a small, simple stone on the top. "It belonged to my mom."

Again with the stupid tears. "Barry…." She said again. She didn't expect this. As much as she had wished for it, she was convinced they would simply talk it out and put the topic aside for as long as possible.

And yet here he was, with a ring. His mother's ring.

"Caitlin, I love you."

"I love you, too."

"And I know I messed this one up the first time, but uhm –"He got off the sofa and kneed down in front of her. "I hope you give me another chance to do this right."

She nodded, not able anymore to speak.

"I'm not asking you this because you're pregnant, I want to you to know that."

"I do." Her voice cracked.

"I love you." He said again. "I love your kindness. I love it when bite your lower lip when something upsets you. I love that you sing along to every song you hear and never hit a right note. I love it when you get excited about blood samples. I love it when you yell at Cisco and me for being childish. I love it how you never give up. I love it how you save wrapping paper. I love it when you start to quote Gilmore Girls in your sleep –"

Now she had to laugh.

"I love it that you make me a better person. That you give so much and never ask for anything in return. But here I am, promising you to give everything that I have. Caitlin Snow, will you marry me?"

That were the most beautiful word she had ever heard. She hoped her voice didn't completely leave her. "Yes." She finally answered. "Yes, yes, yes and a million times yes."

His hands were shaking as he put the ring on her finger. A perfect fit.

She wrapped her arms around him. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

He kissed her passionately.

"Dr. Caitlin Allen." She whispered into his ear, "has a very nice ring to it."

Iris doorbell rang late that night. She hoped it wasn't another crisis. She had to work overtime and as much as she loved it to help her friends out, even she ran out of energy once in a while.

"Coming." She said without any form of enthusiasm in her voice.

When she opened the door, no one was there. Instead she found a food box from her favorite Chinese Restaurant on her doormat. She picked it up and went inside.

It smelled delicious.

When she opened the menu a little card fell out.

"Thank you for everything. Love, Caitlin. P.S check your phone." It said.

Iris raised an eyebrow and fished her cell phone out of her handbag. She switched it on vibrate when she got home and didn't notice any messages coming in.

"A picture?" She muttered to herself. As she opened it, the face of a smiling Caitlin with Barry in the background popped up. She was glad they made up and everything seemed fine again. Then she studied the picture closer. Caitlin was holding her hand into the camera.

"What the…?"

She zoomed in. There was a ring on Caitlin's finger. An Engagement Ring.

Iris tossed her phone on to the sofa and started to jump around, making the most inhuman noises.

She reached for her phone again and dialed Caitlin's number. Relaxing be damned.