In A Blink ➳ Barry Allen/The Flash

43.

chapter forty-three ; no alternative

_________________

Wells, or as the group had now agreed to call him by his real name, Eobard, had offered Barry the chance to go back in time to save his mom, in exchange for getting him home. The inflated feeling in her chest that had grown when she heard the chance Barry could save his mom began to deflate as she thought it over. The brunette stared at the floor, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest as she listened. Her brown eyes traveled up when she felt a hand slip around her own, holding tight and intertwining their fingers. Natalie tried to listen in, her mind zoning in and out as Professor Martin Stein had begun to use terms she couldn't comprehend. Her chest rising heavily as the thoughts raced across her mind, her name chanting every so often.

"What?" she said when she felt a slight rub at her shoulder.

Barry scrunched his eyebrows together, stepping in front of her to look her in the eyes and spoke softly, "Babe, are you okay? I called your name several times."

Natalie blinked back in surprise, the thoughts beginning to fade as she stared at what was the present, "Yeah, I'm.. fine. What were you saying.. or somebody saying?"

The speedster cleared his throat, "I uh.. So if I go back and save my mom, my dad doesn't go to prison..I never live with Joe and Iris.."

"You might never meet me, or Caitlin, or Ronnie.. or even Natalie," Cisco added. Natalie could tell the pained expression on her friend's face matched the feeling she had in her heart. He gaze returned to the floor as Professor Stein spoke, "There's no real way of knowing what your life will be."

"There's no choice here, Barry," Joe said, causing the conflicted Natalie to look up. She saw the tired cop shake his head and pick up his coat, "You have to do it. You have to change the past." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Barry stare at where Joe had left, giving him a slight nod allowing him to go after him. A ghost of a smile forming when she felt her cousin's arm wrap around her shoulders as her boyfriend left.

Caitlin smiled sadly at her, Ronnie by her side sharing the same expression, "What do you think of all this?" Natalie shook her head, "A lot of things. I'm still kind of sorting through all of it, digesting."

"Do you think he should do it?" Ronnie spoke up, looking carefully at his friend.

Her voice was quiet, the pain and confusion she felt poured into one simple answer, "No."

She let out a sigh of relief when Barry walked in, his hand wrapping around her wrist and pulling her gently away from her family. "Where are we going, Bare?"

"I want to talk to my dad about this. I need someone to tell me what to do."

~~~~~

Natalie quietly sat in Barry's lap as the two were seated in front of Henry Allen, separated by the barrier as they spoke to him through the phone at the prison. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap as Barry had one arm wrapped around her waist, the other holding the phone between their two heads so they both could hear.

"Look you're fast, I get it, but turning back time?" Henry asked in disbelief as he stared at his son and his girlfriend through the glass.

"I wouldn't be turning back time," Barry corrected, "I would be.. going back. To that night. To save her."

Natalie noticed Henry's face contort into something she couldn't quite catch, "What does Joe think?"

"He thinks I should do it."

Her eyes traveled down to her hands when Henry shared a glance with her, her heart heavy when she knew that he could see the pain she felt. She didn't want to lose Barry.