"See you tomorrow, Allen."

"Yeah, goodnight!" Barry called out cheerfully to his co-worker as the other left, waving from his desk. Letting out a heavy sigh, Barry checked his wrist watch, noting that he was already late for dinner. By three hours.

Even being the fastest man alive, he couldn't break the habit of constantly being late. It was getting harder and harder to balance his civilian job at the lab and his duty as the Flash. Especially while hiding it all from his wife.

Pushing himself up from his desk, he shucked off his lab coat and draped it over the back of his chair for the night. Just as he was about to flick off the lights and head through the door, he felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket. A slight smile touched his lips, thinking it was Iris checking up on him.

As he flipped the phone open and pressed it to his ear, his heart stopped dead in his chest as he heard the whimper from the other end.

"U-Uncle Barry?"

"Wally? Are you okay? What's wrong?" The words let him in a breathless rush, his mind already racing a mile a minute, trying to figure out the fastest way to get to Wally. Fastest and safest.

"C-Can you come get me? M-My dad, he…I'm really scared…"

"Of course, Wally. I'll be there before you know it. Is your dad home?"

Barry tried to keep his voice calm and reassuring, even though his hands started to shake. He could be at Wally's door in exactly a minute as the Flash, but he couldn't just show up dressed like that. Nor could he just change before getting Wally, not having a car to safely drive him back in. Damn, he hated keeping this all a secret, especially when it interfered with Wally's safety.

But he had to focus and hold it together. For Wally.

"N-No, he left…"

"Good, I'm driving over right now." He cheated a little and used his powers to race to his car at top speed. "Wally, I need you to be a big boy and be careful, okay? Stay in your room if you need to."

"I w-will…" Wally's tiny voice broke with an upset hiccup.

"It'll be alright. I promise. Can you pack a bag with your pajamas?" Barry was already in his car, getting on the highway with a sharp eye out for police as he weaved in and out of traffic.

"I-I'm staying the night?" It was hard to miss the surprise and excitement in Wally's voice, making Barry smile to himself.

"Yes, I'm going to hang up so I can drive, but call back if you need me, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Barry….see you soon?"

"Faster than soon. Bye kiddo."

"Bye," Wally said quietly, hanging up the phone with a click.

Barry's foot pressed the gas pedal to the floor, coaxing more speed from the engine, a far cry from the speeds he could reach on foot. His fingers were a blur across the keys of his phone, dialing Iris' cell phone.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Mister," Iris answered on the first ring. She had obviously been waiting for any word from him; it made his stomach twist with guilt.

"I know, I'm really sorry, I am. But Wally just called me…I think his dad…" It was hard to voice what that man could have done to his own child. It was sickening to think that someone could hurt such an innocent little boy.

"Is he okay? What's going on?" Her voice took on a hard, worried tone.

"I'm not sure, but I'm going to pick him up now."

"Good! We'll figure out what to do once he's here safe. Barry if something happens to him-"

"He'll be okay, I'm almost there now. I'll be home with him soon, I promise," Barry said firmly, determined to get his nephew to safety.

"Be careful, Barry…"

"I always am, see you soon."

Flipping his phone shut with a flick of his wrist, he tossed his phone onto the passenger seat as he turned the car down the street, the tires squealing against the asphalt in protest.

By the time Barry pulled up to the house, his hands were shaking so hard, he feared he was going to vibrate right through the steering wheel. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he jumped out of the car and resisted the urge to speed up the front steps of the house.

Everything appeared normal from the outside. The porch light emitting a soft, yellow glow; nothing but the sound of crickets chirping reaching his ears. Before his knuckles even touched the door to knock, it was thrown open by a very distraught looking Mary.

"Oh! Mary, I-"

"I am so sorry. This should have never happened. I assure you everything is alright. Wally just gets...a little out of hand sometimes. You see, he has an overactive imagination," Mary tried to explain in a rush, clutching her bathrobe tightly around her.

"No really, it's okay. I completely understand," Barry forced a smile on his face, trying to appear as calm and collected as possible. No need to raise any alarm, not when he wanted to get Wally out of the house. "I was the same way as a kid."

Mary let out a tense laugh that sounded more like a dry choke, standing her ground firmly, refusing to let Barry even get a glimpse inside.

"Listen, why don't I take Wally for the weekend, that way he's out of your hair for a bit. You and Rudolph can have a nice, relaxing weekend. Iris and I need practice with kids anyway." If this approach didn't work, he wasn't above taking Wally the hard way. The Flash way.

"W-Well...," Mary hesitated for a long moment, glancing over her shoulder for a moment. "I suppose that would be okay. Just as long as he back on Sunday, I can't see why Rudolph will mind."

Before Barry could even open his mouth to speak, Wally was squirming past his mother's legs and running to Barry. Without any hesitation, he scooped the small boy up. Wally's arms were around his neck tightly, clutching to him for dear life. "See you on Sunday," Barry said as he turned from Mary, heading to the car without a second glance.