Disclaimer: DC Comics/Warner Bros. Entertainment owns these characters. No profit of any kind is being made by this story. This is strictly for my own amusement.

A/N: Alright readers, this will be the last chapter. When I began this story months ago, Barry telling Iris how he feels was uppermost in my mind; hence the title of my story. So, she knows; Iris finally knows how he feels. He made me cry; it was so emotional. Everyone knows what Barry was feeling, but what was going through Iris's mind? I'm sure it's been written, but here's my take. Then later, we'll jump into the future. Next month, I'll be joining the Porn Battle challenge to write one shots, and Barry/Iris is definitely on my list. Follow me if you want to catch those. Keep reading and I hope you enjoy this last chapter. Read on! :D

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Chapter 9: Stay in My Arms

The West house, nearly two months later:

Since Barry's heartfelt confession on Christmas Eve, Iris had thought of nothing else. Barry was hurting, really hurting and honestly, she wasn't much better. Oh, he put on a brave face when they would run into each other, but the pain behind his forced smile broke her heart. She had to take the pain away; and maybe it would help her as well. Nothing was more important than for them to heal, not her meetings with Flash, her blog, her job offers, or even Eddie. It was crucial that they cleared the air between them. Avoiding each other at Jitters, at the station, and even when he visited the house, it was awkward and uncomfortable.

She couldn't bring Eddie over to the house, and she refused to tell him about Barry's feelings. It was between Barry and her and if Eddie knew how he felt, then even more tension would crop up at the station. They worked together and she didn't want to interfere with that.

Although Barry had given his blessing, sort of, she felt guilty because moving in with Eddie had been a horrible mistake. She was hiding the truth from him. She had moved her blog to another website under an assumed name and she removed her photo as well. Once she graduated and started her job, she would move it again. But writing about Flash was passion she would not give up; she couldn't do it, but that wasn't her only lie.

She still felt guilty about her silence during Barry's confession, and now months later, he probably won't speak to her at all, and she wouldn't blame him. Pulling her courage around her, she called him again. It usually went to voice mail and this time was no different.

"Barry; are you there? It's me." Moments later she left a message. "Please call me; we need to talk." A moment then, "I understand why you didn't tell me how you felt. Please just, call me Ok?" She hung up.

Running through town, halfway to STAR Labs, Barry stopped and listened to Iris's voice mail. Don't do it; don't go see her. The few times that they had seen each other, time stopped and they just stood there staring at the other; neither saying a word.

It was time; they couldn't go on like this; not like this. He missed her so much, so, he called her back. They would meet at the house. He changed into his street clothes. But instead of using his key; he decided to knock. What else would change; he didn't know. Should he return the key? He visited Joe of course, but being at the house, there were just too many memories, and when Iris would come over, the awkwardness was palpable.

She opened the door. "Bear, why didn't you use your key?"

He came inside, not looking at her. "It didn't feel right somehow."

"I see," she said. She watched him walk over to the fireplace.

Looking at the photos, of course, he remembered the night he confessed his feelings. "Why did you want to see me?"

She came closer. "Bear, I know what you're thinking," she began. He interrupted her.

"Stop calling me that," he snapped and immediately regretted it. He loved the nickname. "I'm sorry."

She came closer. "It's alright. I meant what I said that I did understand why you didn't tell me, but, look at me Bear, I'm glad you did."

His head came up at that. "You are?"

"Yeah, I am; here let's sit down for a minute."

He was still. "Iris, I don't know … I don't have anything else to say." He paused. "I love you. I do and I can't change the way I feel." He stared into her eyes. "Believe me, I've tried and tried not to love you, but I can't." She was silent. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Bear, stop apologizing for how you feel," she murmured and tried not to get upset.

He closed his eyes. "I don't want your pity. Just let me go; it's better if we," he couldn't finish.

She stiffened. "You mean, not see each other anymore? Barry, we've tried for months now, but it hasn't worked. I miss you. We have to find a way to," she hesitated.

"Go back to the way things were; I can't do that, Iris. I'm done pretending."

She crossed her arms suddenly very upset. "Well, you acted for years that you didn't love me. Why was it so important that you tell me? What changed? Something must have happened to change your mind." He was silent. "You owe me the truth."

Now he was getting upset. "The truth; you want the truth?"

"Yes, tell me the truth."

He began to walk. Should I tell her I'm the Flash? No, it won't change anything.

She waited. "I'm listening."

"It was my Father," he finally admitted it.

"When was this?" Iris asked. They usually talked about his visits to see his Dad, but apparently not anymore.

He came closer. "Iris, I found a man in the yellow suit. No, he found me."

"Barry; that's wonderful news, but why didn't you tell me?" She knew how much this meant to him and he needed to know that she was happy for him. She impulsively gave him a hug. Startled at first, then he pulled her close. She closed her eyes knowing these hugs wouldn't happen again; if at all. She awkwardly pulled away. "I'm sorry; I guess I shouldn't do that anymore."

"No; it's Ok." He'd missed their hugs. "Well, once we caught him, he didn't give us any answers; why he killed my Mom. Then we fought but he got away. We've been searching for him since then, but no luck. That night, I felt so horrible not being able to help my Dad that I went to the prison to tell him about the man in the yellow suit then he set me straight on some things."

She frowned. "What things?"

"Mostly about my life since that night and that I shouldn't let the man in a yellow suit take anything more from our family. But that's when he mentioned you." He paused as he stared at her. "He knows, Iris; he knows that I love you."

She understood. "So you talked about me." It was a statement.

"We talked about a lot of things but yeah, mostly about you."

Iris shook her head, but she wasn't that surprised. "When you first told me how you felt, I was upset and terrified."

Confused, he asked, "Why would you be afraid?"

"For the same reasons you were afraid; that we would lose this, and we did, just as you predicted." She walked over to the fireplace and touched a photograph on the mantel.

They truly were on the same page. "I don't think we truly lost it," he said and walked over to her. Standing right behind her, he so wanted to reach out and touch her. She glanced at him over her shoulder and it reminded her of Flash when they first talked. It was so strange, but the feelings were there; she couldn't deny it. But why would she think of him now? Then her heart began to pound. His heart was beating triple time. He then whispered her name on a sigh, "Iris, I know you feel it; don't you?" She was silent; he felt encouraged.

She closed her eyes. He dared to touch her shoulder; she turned to him. He raised her chin, leaned down, eyes closed, and then he kissed her deeply. He clutched her to him tightly. Her arms circled his shoulders. She ran her fingers through his hair. Barry deepened the kiss. His kisses thrilled and excited her, but she needed to think. With a strength she didn't realize she had, she pushed him away but only a little. She slowly opened her eyes and stared at him trying to see the truth.

"What is it?" He whispered then bowed his head afraid she would kick him out for kissing her and never speak to him again.

"It's nothing, I just." She was so confused. She touched her forehead.

He helped her to sit down. "I guess you're still upset?" He sat beside her.

"Yes, I am, Bear, very upset about a lot of things. And now all this talk about the man in yellow, I just; I just don't want you to shut me out, like before Ok?"

"Iris, I promise to keep you informed of the man in yellow, and no more secrets."

She stared at him closely. If he does keep her informed, then she would be closer to Flash. And maybe he'll slip up and sooner or later, he will, and then he'll have no choice but to tell her the truth. "Oh, Bear, I believe you; I do."

Relieved, he whispered, "But you never said why you were so upset after I told you how I felt. For a moment, I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"Oh, Barry; that will never happen." She turned from him and reached for a photograph on the side table. "I remember this picture. You finished college and came home for good. I'll never forget it. We celebrated with wine; well, a lot of wine and," she hesitated.

He wondered where she was going with this story. "I remember the wine and our late night talk that evening."

"We fell asleep on the sofa and Dad found us the next morning. I remember waking up and the way he looked at me was odd."

"I don't remember it," he said.

"You were still asleep. He seemed upset, so I explained that we just had too much to drink and fell asleep."

"He didn't believe you?"

"At first he didn't, and that's when I realized that I had to be more careful when we were alone because … because of my feelings."

He swallowed. "Iris?"

"You probably don't remember, but we kissed that night … a lot, but nothing happened," she urgently replied when he glanced at her in shock.

He closed his eyes and leaned back on the pillows. "Oh, God, what Joe must have thought," he murmured. He was turning red.

"Barry, you're blushing?" She giggled then reached out to touch his chest. "Don't worry; it will never happen again."

He smiled at her glowing face. "It's not funny." He touched her hand over his chest. "But you're right; we have nothing to worry about. I've sworn off intoxicating liquors; we're safe."

Their hearts were beating strongly now. "I don't think we are," she whispered and leaned into him.

"I don't believe so either," he murmured and then they closed their eyes, but just before the lips met, her cell phone rang. "Don't answer that," he whispered and tried to kiss her again.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "It's Eddie." She answered the call. "Hey, Babe, what is it? Yes, alright, I'll meet you there in an hour." She hung up.

Barry stood up and put some distance between them. "Iris, I," he couldn't finish.

She came over to him and put her arms around him from behind. "I'll move out."

He closed his eyes then turned to her. "Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure; I made my decision weeks ago," she whispered and shook her hand at him. She touched his cheek. "After you left me that night, I sat there crying for what felt like hours, and I was mad, Bear, not at you, never at you, but at myself."

"But I don't understand," he said.

"I saw it, but I refused to let myself go there, but I understand now. I didn't want anything to change either." At his apparent confusion, she took his hand. "All during your speech about not telling me all of those times that you had the chance but didn't. I remembered all of those moments as well. It was so clear to me. I cried when you confessed because I knew that all of those times, I had the same chance, but didn't." He squeezed her hand. "The truth has set us free, Bear. You wanted me to know and I wanted you to know as well; it's as simple as that. But you had the courage to say it and I'm so happy that you did." Her eyes watered.

He touched her cheek. "You're amazing and I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said and smiled at him.

He pulled her close, her head on his chest. They stood that way just to hold each other for a good while. They kissed a few times but held their feelings in check. She attempted to leave his arms but he stopped her. "Don't move; stay," he whispered as he stroked and smoothed her hair.

A little later, she walked him to the door. He stood there waiting for something. Then she reached up to touch his chest. "After I move back home, we'll talk again." He looked unsure. "I won't change my mind."

"I just don't want you to regret anything," he said genuinely worried.

"Barry, what can I say that will make you believe me?"

He shrugged. "Just tell me you love me."

She smiled understanding. "I love you, Barry."

He pulled her close. "Say it again," he whispered eyes shining.

"I love you," she said then pulled his head down and kissed him over and over. Minutes later, she had to force him to leave. "Goodnight Bear."

He touched her cheek not wanting to leave her. "Goodnight Iris."

Then he was gone.

~o~o~

Four years after that fateful night, Central City Medical Center:

Iris was in labor about to deliver twins, a boy, and a girl. They had found out a few months ago. She was eight months along, which was a real long pregnancy for twins. There truly weren't any concerns. Well, if you didn't count Barry's altered DNA and whether their children would inherit his speed genes; no problems at all. Dr. Wells seemed pretty confident that they would indeed turn out exactly like their father in that respect.

Iris didn't know what to think. How would she catch them if they ran away from her? If she put a leash of them, people would stare at her as if she had lost her mind. Oh my lord. She was so worried about her children.

Barry reassured her as only he could by making light of their strange situation. He smoothed her hair away from her forehead with a damp cloth. "Honey, you know kids; they won't run away, at least not until their teenagers."

She narrowed her eyes. "That is not helping, Barry. You truly should not tease a woman in labor. You could lose something important." She squeezed his hand and he winced at the pain.

"Sorry honey." He gave her some ice in apology. She accepted it with a look that sent chills down his spine.

Now, six hours later, Iris was pushing her firstborn into the world. It was a boy, and of course, the name was already chosen. His name would be: 'Donald 'Don' Allen.'

"You're doing okay, Mrs. Allen. It shouldn't be long now, just relax for a few minutes, and your daughter will be born shortly," Dr. Wells instructed.

Iris tried to relax then he gave her some more ice. He wiped her forehead with a wet cloth. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"No … not in the … past hour," Iris replied and tried to smile.

"I love you, Mrs. Allen."

"That's Mrs. West-Allen, thank you," she quipped and grinned at his expression.

He shook his head at her then leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"This is it, Mrs. Allen, now give me one more push. That's it."

Minutes later, their daughter made her way into the world, weighing in at five pounds and ten ounces, only slighter smaller than her brother, but she didn't cry, not at first. Her Mother lay thoroughly and utterly exhausted but extremely eager to see her children. It took a little time to check them both up.

"Doctor …?" Barry asked, becoming concerned. Then, Don started to cry, more like a wail. He was not happy.

Relieved, Iris and Barry smiled at the sound. "Wow, talk about lungs on that one," Iris commented.

"Humm, I wonder where he got that from," Barry teased.

She grinned. "From you, probably," Iris teased right back.

The nurse brought him over and handed him to his Mother.

"Oh, Bear, he's here," Iris said and then she kissed his little head. "So much hair."

"Now that's from me," he said, extremely proud of his son's head of hair.

Iris shook her head. "Here, your Father wants to hold you." She handed him to her husband. "Just hold him in the crook of your arm, that's it."

Barry held him close to his chest and smiled at his beautiful son. "I have a son," he whispered, eyes watering. He leaned over and kissed his wife again. "Thank you, Iris," he whispered.

"You're welcome," she whispered eyes watering.

A few minutes later, the nurse brought over their daughter. After letting out a wail, she had quieted down. She was so beautiful. Iris stared at her daughter in awe. She kissed her little head.

"Almost done now, Mrs. Allen," Dr. Wells stated.

"She's Ok, isn't she?" Barry asked.

"Yes, but we will check them further. Their lungs are healthy, so that's a definite sign. We'll assess them carefully. It won't take long."

They were both intensely glad to hear that. Once in her room, and surrounded by immediate family and friends: Her Father, Oliver, Felicity, Caitlin, Ronnie, and Cisco, but Dr. Wells explained that their children wouldn't be brought down until later that night.

Disappointed to hear that, but their children were remarkable. They had to be sure that their unique make-up would not be comprised. It meant that they were able to not only breathe on their own, meaning their heart rhythms would not affect their health, but there were a lot of health issues to be considered. They understood, of course.

Much later that night, Barry felt that Iris needed to rest. Their family and friends could visit the babies in the nursery though the newborn window. Everyone left them alone, then Iris awakened hours later, and saw her husband in a chair. "Barry?"

"I'm awake," he said and came over to her. "Do you need anything?"

"Just my children, but where are they?" She sat up and looked around but didn't see them.

"Dr. Wells stopped by a little while ago. They needed to keep them in the nursery a little while longer," he sadly replied.

Her eyes filled with tears at those words. "But what's wrong? I want to see them, please, I need to see them," she exclaimed becoming distraught.

"Alright, let me go get you a wheelchair. Stay put until I get back."

A few minutes later, he came back with a chair. He helped her with her robe then brought her to the nursery. Dr. Wells was with them. Donald and Dawn were not with the other babies but off to one side in special incubators.

Iris grabbed her husband's arm. "Please, we need to know what's happening. Please Barry."

"Alright, we'll go in." Heart pounding and seriously concerned. He knocked on the side door. The nurse knew who he was. "Dr. Wells, is anything wrong?" Barry asked as he wheeled Iris over to the incubators.

"No, they're doing OK. We didn't want to take any chances. We wanted to wait just to be sure they could breathe on their own. Everything checked out: hearing, eyesight, muscles, hearts, lungs, everything appears to be working fine." The nurses removed each of them from the incubators, wrapped them up tight and handed Donald to Barry and Dawn to Iris. Little baby blue and pink hats covered their little heads.

"Hey, sweetie, you gave us a scare, but you're going to be alright." Iris glanced at the doctor. "Thank you," Iris said.

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Wells." Barry paused as he watched his wife holding their daughter. She never looked more beautiful.

"Are you sure they're alright?" She asked Dr. Wells.

"Yes, you can take them home tomorrow," he replied.

"Tomorrow?" Iris and Barry asked at the same time.

"Yes, tomorrow." Dr. Wells smiled at them.

Complete and utter joy filled their expressions. Barry leaned down and kissed his wife sweetly. "I love you, Iris."

"I love you, too." No more words were necessary.

The end!

~o~o~

Song Inspiration: I Have Nothing, Whitney Houston.

A/N: Awww, here's my smile of utter joy. I so loved writing this story. I wanted to thank all my readers for leaving reviews, for chatting with me, for the kudos and favorites. I'm thrilled with the response to this story. I'm also thrilled with WestAllen and how the writers are taking their time to flesh out these characters. I know it will take a while, but I'll be watching! Thank you for reading. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!