Hi guys! I'm soooo sorry that it took me forever to finally upload the next chapter! But hey, it's really long to make up for that, so... I'll try to write a bit more often now *fingers crossed*

Chapter 4: Date Night

The next morning, Iris was back at her desk at CCPN. She was currently contemplating what issue she should tackle for her next article (while also mentally going through a list with everything she still had to prepare for tonight's date with Barry) when all of a sudden, a plate with a Danish was shoved right in front of her face -

"Not a bad job with that story on those real estate frauds, West," Iris's mentor, Mason Bridge, said, expectantly looking at Iris and the pastry he was offering to her.

"Um, thanks," she replied mystified, blindly accepting the dish in front of her – Mason wasn't exactly big on giving compliments (or sharing any sort of food). In fact, just a month ago he had completely dismissed any of Iris's attempts to get some sort of advice from her assigned mentor, snidely pointing out that any idiot with a laptop could write a blog. It had taken a lot of persistence and hard work on her side to finally be in her mentor's good graces.

Iris eyed the pastry skeptically: "So you just came by for an almost-compliment and a Danish?"

"Actually," Mason admitted while conspiratorially leaning forward and producing a folder he had been holding onto with his other hand, "I'm currently working on something that might interest you."

"Oh, okay," Iris replied, pleasantly surprised that the senior journalist was willing to let her in on one of his investigations, "shoot."

"You see," Mason started, pulling out a photograph from the file he had brought along, "I have noticed that Simon Stagg has been AWOL for some time now..."

"So?" Iris commented, raising a quizzical eyebrow, before examining the picture she'd been given. "He's never been one to appear at many social events or otherwise... He's always been more of a recluse, right?"

"Never like this. I've been digging deeper, contacting assistants as well as board members of Stagg Industries... Nobody has seen or heard from Mr. Stagg for more than 4 months now."

Iris's eyes widened with realization: "Oh." She drew her chair nearer to her mentor, handing him back the photo.

"'Oh', indeed." Mason agreed, putting the photo back into the file and pulling out another, "and all my trails lead to one person: Dr. Harrison Wells."

"Harrison Wells?" Iris echoed hollowly, the weird feeling she'd had whenever she was around said scientist reemerging once again.

"Yeah," Mason confirmed, "he was the last person to meet with Mr. Stagg, in addition to other quite shady implication."

Iris had a sinking feeling in her stomach. The worst thing of all was, that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to completely disregard Mason's suspicions.

Still, Iris came to the scientist's defense – after all, he had provided his facility and know-how to help out her nephew for the past three weeks:

"But why would Dr. Wells do that? I mean, obviously the launch of the particle accelerator was not a good choice of action, but he seems to really want to redeem himself – he and his team took good care of my boyfriend when he had suffered an injury from the explosion of the particle accelerator and for the past three weeks, they helped in any way possible when my nephew was in a coma due to a lightning strike. I have come to know the people that work there. They are good people, Mason."

"Well, I'm not saying that anyone else at S.T.A.R. Labs is involved in Simon Stagg's disappearance. Maybe they aren't aware of their boss's wrongdoings or they are good actors.

-But it's not just Stagg. I mean, don't tell me that after all that time you apparently spent over at S.T.A.R. Labs, you didn't notice anything fishy happening there?"

Again, Iris felt queasy, though this time because she did know what was going on at the research facility. She had witnessed the workings of the crime-fighting unit stationed there first-hand.

"Fishy in what way exactly?" she asked tentatively, worried about how much Mason had already found out (after all, this man had won the Pulitzer Prize for his amazing investigative journalistic work. Twice.)

"Well, for once – what are they doing there now that they are basically without funding and most of their staff?" – Iris couldn't help but remember asking herself the same question when she had tried to find out more about Barry and S.T.A.R. Labs – "And what about these silent acts of benevolence you just told me about? Wouldn't exactly this kind of thing help them regain the public's trust again?"

"I don't know – maybe they first want to figure out how exactly they can help the public before drawing attention back to S.T.A.R. Labs? It's not like there wouldn't be plenty of people eager to pick apart every single deed done by them... But I get where you're coming from," Iris admitted, an idea forming in her head how she could protect Team Flash's base of operations from discovery, "I could try to find out: interview the staff, find out what their specific plans for the future are – maybe even snoop around the place if there is something off about their answers..."

Iris's answer seemed to surprise her mentor: "You would be willing to investigate your little group of friends?"

"I stand by my statement that they are good people," Iris repeated, thinking of how devotedly Cisco and Caitlin had taken care of Wally. But thinking of Wally and her uneasy feeling whenever she was around Dr. Wells, also made it easier for Iris to commit herself to Mason's cause, "But admittedly I haven't known them for long and if there is anything unlawful" – aside from vigilantism, Iris added silently in her mind – "going on, I want to know. I need to know."

"Alright, West," Mason said, clearly impressed, "maybe I did underestimate your 'gumption' after all."

Iris couldn't help but smile. The relationship with her mentor certainly had come a long way since his dismissive demeanor at the very beginning at her stubborn determination to prove her journalistic worth.

"Maybe," she echoed while accepting the thick folder Mason handed over to her. He gave her an approving nod, before leaving Iris to study the file.


When Iris got home from work, the young journalist was still reeling from the accumulation of incriminating leads Mason had gathered on Dr. Wells. She didn't get a chance to dwell on it today though, because she had tons of desserts to prepare for her date with Barry (and Iris knew that if she sat down at home to conduct her own investigation, she would never be able to pry herself away from her research – it probably could wait for one more day).

Iris was still in the kitchen, cutting up some fruit for a fruit salad (to assuage the guilty conscience of a whole dinner only consisting of brownies, mousse au chocolat and muffins), when her dad and Wally returned from S.T.A.R. Labs.

"Hey, you two," Iris greeted the pair, "how was your day?"

This simple question was enough to get Wally started: He told his aunt about his new training exercises, poked fun at the look on his grandpa's face when he had watched his grandson run for the very first time (Joe just stood there, shaking his head in disbelief, like he could not wrap his mind around this even now) and excitedly showed Iris the protein bars Cisco and Caitlin had given him ("Because I use up much more energy now", the 8-year-old explained precociously, while his eyes were flitting nervously back and forth between his aunt and the baked goods before him). The young speedster went on, talking about Barry dropping by during his lunch time and the realization of Team S.T.A.R. Labs that the young speedster's biggest issue was staying still and concealing his powers, rather than working on them. Which in turn elicited a bunch of complaints about these new 'training exercises' Team Flash had come up with for the 8-year-old: building houses of cards, playing mikado and jenga...-

"It's the wooorst," Wally declared dramatically, snatching a piece of brownie from the box Iris just had put them into.

Despite making use of his powers, Wally still wasn't fast enough for Iris not to notice.

"Hey, those are not for you!" Iris chided the boy, who in turn gave her his best puppy dog eyes:

"Um... Did I mention that I use up much more energy now? I need fuel! "

Iris couldn't help the chuckle escaping her lips at this clumsy excuse:

"Fine. You can lick out the empty bowls… if you promise me that you will work on your homework your Mom sent earlier."

Wally scrunched up his nose at the mention of 'homework' but agreed to the proposed deal nonetheless. In a matter of seconds, the bowls were licked clean, so Iris barely had any work to do when washing the dirty dishes. The young woman quickly got ready for her date, double-checked if she had packed the keys to Jitters, and ruffled her nephew's hair one more time (who was now bent over his homework dutifully, brows furrowed and shoulders slumped in misery). She then said good-bye to her dad and Wally, before picking up the various boxes, carefully balancing the ridiculous amount of desserts (and fruit salad).


Iris parked right in front of Jitters so she wouldn't have to walk too far while carrying all these bowls and boxes. She was positively giddy when she unlocked the door. Maybe it was the chocolate she had snacked on while preparing the different kinds of desserts (and, unsurprisingly, most of the desserts Iris had made included chocolate in some form), maybe it was the familiar feeling of being alone in the coffee shop once again after all these crazy weeks... Maybe it was the anticipation of having another, proper date with Barry (or whatever qualified as 'proper' when you were dating a superhero). Anyway, Iris couldn't help herself but be excited. She hauled the boxes with food inside, setting them down on the counter. With a smile, she discovered a small note Tracy had left behind (under a plate with cronuts, Iris's favorite dish to order at the coffee shop). Iris's former colleague wished her a fun date (of which she hoped to hear about soon in great detail, the barista had added, complete with a winky-face). Iris rolled her eyes in fond annoyance – throughout her entire time at Jitters, Tracy had never stopped pointing out cute guys to Iris, sometimes even purposely serving other customers so Iris would have to take the orders from "the hotties". It was only natural that Tracy would want to know everything about the guy who had finally managed to sweep Iris off her feet.

Shaking her head at the other girl's incorrigibleness, Iris pocketed the note and began arranging the food. While doing so, her gaze wandered to the special's board above, getting caught on the brand-new special. Her lips curved into a smile.


Meanwhile at the West house, Wally was still struggling to get his homework done (a process which was considerably slowed down due to the boy's inability to concentrate on it for more than five minutes instead of letting his eyes wander about the room and sighing pitifully while doing so). Suddenly the phone rang, providing a real diversion from the current math problem Wally was so desperate to ignore.

"You keep on working on your homework; don't think I don't see what you're doing there," Joe said while heading for the phone, familiar with his grandson's penchant for distracting himself from his school work.

Begrudgingly, Wally returned his attention to his math problem. Still, the boy couldn't help but notice that his grandpa was not happy with the call he had received.

And indeed, Joe had any reason to be displeased. Captain Singh just had told him that he was desperately needed at the precinct. As it was already fairly late and Joe had no way of knowing how long he was going to stay over at the police station, he couldn't exactly bring Wally with him to work. Of course he could call Iris, who would return home immediately if she had to, but Joe knew how much his baby girl had been looking forward to her date with Barry and all the work she had put into it; he did not have the heart to ruin that evening for her. But now that Wally was having powers (a concept the detective still had to come to terms with), Joe didn't really feel comfortable leaving the boy alone nor asking their neighbor, Mrs Johnson (who had occasionally looked after his grandson before), to keep an eye on Wally.

Aimlessly looking through the contacts on the phone, Joe stumbled across the number of 'Dr. Caitlin Snow' (who had given her private number to the Wests while Wally was in his coma , assuring them that they could call her "at any time"). This wasn't a medical emergency, but Joe had noticed the genuine interest the doctor had shown in her new patient and figured he could at least give it a try.

His call was picked up immediately and after a short explanation of his problem, Caitlin was quick to assure Joe that it was no problem at all. She only asked if she could bring Cisco along (who apparently was over at the doctor's house for a movie night).

Having seen both the doctor and engineer taking good care of his grandson just this morning, Joe was more than fine with that, said his good-bye and hung up.

Twenty minutes later, the door bell rang and Joe and Wally were greeted by Caitlin and Cisco with a chipper "hi Detective West, hey Wally."

Joe let the two scientists in, thanking them sincerely for coming over. He quickly informed them where they could find some pizza money (Wally's face brightened up considerably) and when Wally's curfew was (the boy's expression grew slightly sullen). Then, ruffling his grandson's hair and reminding the boy to "be good" and thanking the two scientists once more, the detective hurried off to the precinct.

"Soo... this is gonna be fun," Cisco said humorously, breaking the awkward tension which had hung over the three Joe had left-behind.

Wally eyed the engineer suspiciously: "We are not gonna play any more games to train my ability to stay still, are we?"

"Nah... I've brought you something else to expand upon your education-" Cisco was interrupted by Wally groaning, still fed-up from doing weeks-worth of homework the past afternoon.

The engineer continued with a wide grin, pulling out something from his messenger bag: "Time you finally watch 'The Incredibles'."

The young speedster's face brightened instantaneously.


About fifteen minutes after the arranged time for their date, Barry finally zipped into Jitters, hair disheveled and hands full.

"I am so sorry! I was just about to leave work when Captain Singh demanded a specific file on his desk tonight and on my way here there was some maniac-driver who almost knocked over some old lady crossing the street – why is it always some little old lady? – anyways, I'm so sorry. And I got you a flower," the speedster added apologetically, holding out a slightly rumpled red rose.

Iris accepted the flower with a bright smile and a kiss.

"It's okay. Gave me more time to set up dinner. Because it's so nice outside, I thought we could dine up on the rooftop – it always was my favorite place at Jitters," Iris said, while leading Barry up the stairs, carefully navigating him so he wouldn't see the board with specials, so it would be a surprise for later.

When they arrived at the rooftop they were met with a beautifully set up picnic, with tea candles and twinkle lights illuminating the scene.

"Wow," was all Barry could say, "wow."

Iris smiled brightly: "This is such a nice spot, right? I used to hang out here all the time after work."

"It is really beautiful," Barry agreed, "And you did an amazing job setting this whole thing up."

Iris blushed, flattered, "thanks." She snuck an arm around Barry's waist, hugging him close: "I'm glad we finally made date night happen again. I missed that."

"Me too," Barry agreed, pressing a kiss on the top of Iris's head.

The journalist closed her eyes for a brief moment, relishing in the gesture. When she opened them again to look up at Barry, there was that familiar glint of mischief in them: "So, are you going to save me from my impending doom a.k.a chocolate coma?"

"Depends," Barry said teasingly.

"On what?"

"How good that 'heavenly' coffee of yours really is."


"So what do you think of this educational film?" Cisco asked, turning off the tv and cutting off the jazzy theme song of the DVD menu, "Cool?"

"Super cool!" Wally agreed. Despite his enthusiastic reply, the boy couldn't completely mask the yawn he was stifling.

"But now you really should get ready for bed," Caitlin said, whose watchful eye did not miss the tiredness the young speedster tried so hard to cover up.

"Awww," Wally bemoaned, putting on his best puppy dog pout in an attempt to change Caitlin's mind.

He did not succeed.

"Sorry," Caitlin apologized, looking sympathetic, "but you really have to get enough sleep; your body still has to adjust to your new powers and changed metabolism. That sort of thing requires a lot of energy. Besides," the doctor added, smiling, "I don't think your grandpa would allow us to look after you anymore if he came back from work and you were still up... And that would be a shame, wouldn't it be?"

That was enough to make the 8-year-old admit his defeat. Yawning once more, he climbed up the stairs to change into his pajamas.

"Impressive," Cisco commented from his position on the couch, munching on some peanuts, "though I'm afraid you just spoiled our chance of earning us the honorary title of 'cool aunt' and 'uncle' respectively."

Caitlin just rolled her eyes: "With Barry being a superhero and Iris working as an investigative reporter, trying to fulfill her nephew's every wish, I think those titles are pretty much taken, Cisco."

"Still," the engineer pouted, shifting slightly to make space for his friend on the couch," you totally should have let him stay up with us – it would have increased my chance of getting to be the 'cool uncle'!"

Caitlin rolled her eyes and sat down next to Cisco, taking a handful of peanuts: "I wasn't aware that I had to look after two children."


Barry and Iris were lying stretched out on their picnic blanket, both completely stuffed and content.

"If only we could see the stars, then this night would be perfect," Iris sighed, her head comfortably resting on Barry's chest.

"One of the side effects of light pollution," Barry sighed, absentmindedly playing with Iris's hair, "it's called 'Sky glow'. Light in the city that is directed or reflected upwards via surfaces then is scattered by the atmosphere and directed back to the ground, making it look like there is a glowing dome over the city. It was recently estimated that one third of the world's population could no longer see the Milky Way, among them 80% of Americans and 60% of Europeans."

Iris chuckles "Only you could turn a simple observation about a lack of stars into a real downer – all with the power of science."

The forensic scientist blushed: "I didn't mean to-"

Fondly shaking her head, Iris propped herself up to cut him off with a kiss. "It's okay. Cutest nerd that I know, remember?"


So, I hope this was worth the long wait ^^;

Please let me know how you liked this chapter :)