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In the last few years, Iris West-Allen had been chained to a lot of things; a wooden box, a pole, a chair, a door, and her own bed but that’s another story. However, in all her wildest dreams, she never expected to confined to a gurney. She had been unconscious moments before and was jolted away by the pain of a sharp object being inserted into her arm. She bit her tongue profusely, fighting back the urge to scream as she avoided making eye contact with the man staring down at her.
This wasn’t their first meeting; in fact, that day is one she remembers quite well. Barry had been out on patrol for about three hours. She’d finished her day at The Citizen and was waiting to walk home with him. It’s become a sort of ritual for them since they lost Nora. The walk is always a good time to tell each other how they’re really feeling. To talk about how much they miss her and to reminisce about all that could have been.
Iris waved Cisco goodbye and was about to head out to the parking lot when suddenly Caitlin walked into the cortex. The first thing Iris noticed was that she was smiling, which was rare. The second thing Iris (couldn’t help) but notice was the tall Indian man laughing beside her. Now, Iris West-Allen was a married woman, and she loved her husband immensely, but she wasn’t blind, and she knew a fine man when she saw one. And that was a fine man, who made no attempt to hide the fact that he knew he was fine, which meant that she already disliked him.
“Iris…Cisco, I’d like you to meet Ramsey Rosso! We’re old friends and colleagues. He happened to be in town, so I invited him over. I hope you guys don’t mind?” said Caitlin.
“Girl, I don’t mind at all, I’m just tryna figure out how you married Ronnie when you knew he existed. You are one handsome dude, my friend - Cisco Ramon, nice to meet you.”
Caitlin glared jokingly at Cisco, mumbling something about why she decided to be friends with him in the first place.
Ramsey beamed, “Nice to meet you too Cisco.... nice hair, and thank you for the compliment. Caitlin tells me that you’ve been working on a prototype for a molecular separator, I’d love to see it sometime if you don’t mind?”
“Sure thing man,” Cisco replied as he began walking backward out of the room holding up his hands in the shape of a heart over his head.
Iris couldn’t help but giggle, as she did Ramsey turned toward her smiling wide.
“You have such a beautiful laugh. I’m assuming you must be the famous Iris West. Caitlin’s told me so much about you it’s an honor” he says as he takes her hand and kisses it.
Iris blushes “You’re sweet, but it’s actually Iris West-Allen (with emphasis on the Allen). If you’ll excuse me, I have to go Barry( my husband) is probably waiting for me. He gets impatient very quickly.
“He does,” Barry says as he walks into the Cortex and leans against the entrance while eyeing Ramsey suspiciously.
“I didn’t mean to impose... even if I’d never met your husband I could tell you two are quite the happy couple,” Ramsey says turning towards Barry and placing his hands in his pockets.
Iris looks puzzled.
“The band of her wedding ring is made of Californium… the most expensive metal in the world. Barry must’ve gone to great lengths to get it to you as it’s highly radioactive, one has to work quickly in order to get what they want out of it. But I’m sure he’s already an expert at that… being a man of science, after all. We know how to spot a rare jewel when we see one. Don’t you agree Mr.Allen?
Barry says nothing.
Surprisingly it’s Caitlin who cuts the tension “Well would you look at the time, I haven’t eaten all day, we should go grab a bite. You guys are welcome to join us if you’d like?”
“We’re fine thanks. And by the way, don’t forget to turn the lights off before you guys leave. Although I can more than afford it, I’d rather we not run up the electric bill for my lab. If we get one more notice at to the loft, I swear we’re moving” Barry laughs but without humor. “Anyways, let’s go home, Iris. Have a good night, Cait! ... Mr. Rosso”
Iris is snapped out of the memory by a low chuckle
“So Iris West.. emphasis on the Allen, Do you mind telling me that last time you got bloodwork done? It seems you’re a bit… jumpy.