From the television, the channel fifty two reporter was speaking. The news was barely ever on at S.T.A.R. Labs, which is why when Parker entered, she tuned into the reporter's words, guessing it was important.
"..yesterday's surprise broadcast from a Star City vigilante, who is calling himself the Green Arrow, has spawned a massive outcry of both support and..."
"Catchy," Caitlin interrupted.
"I hate when they put a color in their name," Cisco muttered.
Entering the Cortex, Barry greeted the team with a monotonous, "Yo."
Passing by Parker, who sat at the desk of computers, he kissed the top of her head. She patted his cheek.
"So, the sample you gave us-- not sand. Definitely human cells," Cisco said.
Barry nodded. "Yeah, I know.."
"I hate to say it, but I think this Earth-2 theory is starting to make sense," Cisco said.
Barry frowned.
"What, you think Jay is lying about Sand Demon?" Iris asked.
"I don't know. That's my point. I'm not gonna just believe some guy that walks in here, and says a few things that sorta check out," Barry said.
"Sorta?" Cisco repeated. "He was right about Zoom."
"We don't even know anything about Zoom. What is Zoom? Is Zoom real? Right now, Zoom is a story around a campfire," Barry said. He turned to Martin, who was standing near Parker. "I mean, have you discovered a breach yet?"
"Not yet, but we know how to now," Martin said.
Barry looked at Caitlin. "Have you found one thing to suggest that Jay is a speedster? Is the Speed Force even in his system?"
Although Caitlin wanted to believe Jay's story, the Team's safety came first. Hesitantly, she said, "It doesn't appear to be, no."
"We are scientists," Barry said, then pointed to Iris, "You are a journalist." He turned to the remaining girl in the room. Faltering at her job description, he skipped over her.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, Parker muttered, "Thanks, baby."
"We test, we prove, we report-- that's what we do. Right now, nobody here wants to do any of that, except me."
"Jay's telling the truth," Parker argued.
"Why?" Barry asked, spinning to face her. He was annoyed with her ease about the whole situation. "Why do you believe him so easily? What makes you so sure?"
"The answer you're looking for--quite possibly the only one you need-- is right in front of your face," Parker said cleverly, for the winged hat was still sitting proudly on her head. "Do you know why you're missing it?"
Barry hadn't, but Iris definitely caught Parker's reference. "Can we have the room?" she asked the others.
Parker stayed sitting. "I don't care if you wanted me out."
"I didn't," Iris said.
"Great," Barry grumbled. "When you two finally make up, it's to team up on me."
"That's not what this is," Parker disagreed.
"Barry, the you that I grew up with, the you that is my best friend, the you that became the Flash.. I haven't seen that you in a very long time," Iris stated.
Barry shrugged his shoulders. "A lot's changed."
"Yeah, it sure has," Parker agreed.
"You've learned to not trust people," Iris observed. "What is it about Jay that you don't like?"
"I don't know."
"It's because he reminds you of Wells," Parker said slowly.
Barry's eyes moved from the floor, bouncing between Iris and Parker, anger evident in everything about him while he spoke. "I trusted that man. For months, we all did. And you know what? Eddie's dead. Ronnie's dead. And a whole lot of other people in this city are dead, because we trusted him. I'm not going to let us make that mistake again."
Parker offered Barry a reassuring smile as his eyes landed on her. "This life is a game of chance, Barry.. And deep down, I know you understand that not everyone is Harrison Wells."
"You defeated him because you trusted in people," Iris said.
"In us," Parker said.
"This team that you have here, they'll follow your lead, they'll do what you say," Iris continued.
Parker tilted her head. "Well, if it's not stupid, yes."
"But if they think that you don't believe in them.. It won't be long before they don't believe in you."
Leaving Barry by himself to think about their words, Iris and Parker exited the building together in absolute silence.
Parker returned within twenty minutes, having only stopped at the nearest Big Belly Burger to feed herself and Jay. She thought it was a perfect opportunity to bond with the older man.
Turns out, it was. Sitting on opposite sides of his containment cell, the two shared a meal of fast food, giggling about everything under the sun.
They were starting to become friends, which was an equally good and bad thing. Although, Parker hadn't thought that far ahead when she befriended the other speedster.
Skidding around the corner, Barry started to utter Jay's name, until he saw Parker, and his forehead creased. "Park? What are you doing down here?"
"Feeding my new friend," Parker said casually.
Getting to his feet, Jay nodded at Barry. "Finally come to your senses?"
Barry moved to stand beside Parker, who remained sitting, slurping her strawberry shake and looking up at her boyfriend.
"Sand Demon kidnapped a police officer," Barry said.
"Joe?" she asked.
"Patty," he corrected.
"Well, shit," Parker said, a smile lighting up her face. "Guess who we need now.."
"I need you to help us save her, before something happens," Barry begged Jay.
"Guess you're gonna have to trust me now, huh, kid?" Jay asked.
Barry smirked. "Let him out, Park."
Together, the three gathered Cisco, Martin, and Caitlin in the Cortex. Directly outside lingered Joe, mentally beating himself up for allowing Patty to get kidnapped.
"We're looking for any structure that promotes humidity," Jay announced. "Greenhouses, grow rooms, anything of the sort. His body will literally start to fall apart if he becomes dehydrated."
"Like dry sand," Cisco said.
"Sand Demon always attacks on two fronts. He create a diversion, then strikes when you're distracted."
"Okay, what do we do?" Barry asked.
"Use your speed," Parker said without a thought. "Ha. I knew that answer. Points to me."
"Use your speed to get to him before the distraction can happen," Jay elaborated, trying to hide his smile from Parker's comment.
"How do I stop somebody who can slip through my fingers?" Barry asked.
"The way I never could," said Jay. "With lightning."
"Whoa! Are you about to pull a Zeus right now?" Cisco asked excitedly.
"What are you talking about?" Iris asked.
"Barry's gonna hurl lightning from the energy he creates when he runs," Jay predicted.
"Because lightning plus sand equals--"
"Glass!" Parker shouted. Caitlin raised her eyebrow. "Sorry, I got excited. Let's do this, bitches."
Barry changed into his suit, then guided Jay to the garage, where they spent the time it took for the team to find Sand Demon's location.
However, the one thing the team was supposed to do, they couldn't.
"I've searched all the vacant buildings in Central City. None of them fit the description we need," Caitlin said.
"I've looked at any draw upticks on the electrical grid. Nothing out of the norm, I'm afraid," Martin said.
"We gotta do whatever it takes," Cisco sighed. A wave of remembrance hit him, and he scurried from his seat, shouting, "I'll be back!"
Parker slid her chair to the farthest computer on the desk, checking in on the security camera she had monitoring the garage.
Barry was running in a circle, leaving a streak of red behind him. He stopped, tossed his arm out, and successfully missed Girder with the lightning. Jay shook his head, motioning for Barry to approach him.
Parker watched them speak with a hand over her heart. That's what Barry deserved all along-- a speedster who could teach him the correct ways of the force.
"So," Parker said loudly, catching Caitlin's attention. "You think Jay's cute, huh?"
Flustered by the question, Caitlin bumped into the medical bed, succeeding in dropping her papers.
"As far as I know, Jay's single," Parker said, nodding her head approvingly. "Come on. I know you have to think he's cute."
"I.. I--" Caitlin was almost there, and Parker would have gotten an answer, if the four missing men hadn't chosen to make an appearance.
"Parker," Jay said solemnly.
Her face lit up happily from the previous conversation, she looked at Jay, expecting good news. Seeing his grimace, her face dropped in a second's time. She knew what that look meant.
Jay moved to the open area of the Cortex, standing in a circle with the other team members.
Parker was the last person needed to complete the circle. All eyes were on her pouting face. Crushing her heart with every step closer to Jay, she dragged her feet, trying to hold off the parting for as long as possible.
"Barry, you now will understand that the reason I believed Jay was because of this," Parker explained. She tapped the hat with her finger. "The way he looked at it when he first saw it.."
"It's the way you look at Barry," Jay said under his breath to her.
"With annoyance?" she whispered back.
"I was going to say with admiration, but annoyance has been a look frequent look to him lately," Jay said. "Sorry, finish your speech."
Parker's eyes looked at the brim above her brow. Giving an elongated sigh, she removed the hat from her head, adjusting it in her hands.
Granting her the time to say a silent goodbye, Jay said, "It was my father's. He wore it during the War of the America's.."
"Did you just say War of the America's?" Cisco asked.
Parker met Jay's inviting eyes. Sharing a smile, he bent his knees, she stood on her tip toes, and placed the hat on his head.
As he tilted the brim down, Parker smiled. "Yeah. That looks like a Flash to me."
"Well, you sure you wanna do this, Flash?" Barry wondered.
"Let's see what you're made out of.. Flash," Jay said.
The exchanged was followed by the two slapping their hands together, which had Parker looking upon the two with joy.
"Team Gallen forever," she said dreamily.
I'm never very good with details, as all of this was a while ago for me, but something I'll always remember is Parker's reaction when she saw Jay in his Flash suit.
All she received was a brief glance through the security footage before they left, but it was all she needed to have her in shock about how beautiful the costume was.
Repeatedly, she told the team to never tell Barry about how much better she liked Jay's costume.
Once she recovered, Parker sat beside Cisco at the computer desk. The two computers they were on showed silent security footage of the warehouse, from two different angles.
Patty was tied to a chair in the center of the warehouse. Sand Demon paced in front of her, the two sharing a heated conversation, that ended as soon as Jay arrived.
Turning his attention to the speedster from his world, Sand Demon quickly understood Jay had no use of his powers. Punch after punch, Jay stood tall. The lucky guy got one successful punch at Sand Demon.
"Slick's distracted," Cisco said. "Barry, go!"
Barry ran into the scene. In one blink, Patty was freed, causing the bomb to explode.
Sand Demon stood unaffected, as he absorbed the explosion.
Jay, Patty, and Barry went flying through the air, all three hitting the ground rather roughly.
"Jay?" Caitlin asked.
"Barry!" Cisco called.
"Team Gallen!" Parker gasped.
"Patty's alive," Barry answered through the earpiece. "And Team Gallen remains intact."
Seconds after Jay got back on his feet, Sand Demon used sand to stretch his arm to Jay's throat, wrapping his hand around it.
Shoving her face in between Cisco and Parker, Iris said, "Barry, you have to do something now."
"No shit, Iris, hush," Parker said, waving the girl out of her bubble.
Without a thought, Barry started to run. A few seconds of laps caused the lightning circle to occur, and not long after, Barry quit running. Letting out a scream, he rotated his entire body with the shot, aiming it at the target.
Into the air went Sand Demon, hit by the lightning. When he hit the ground, pieces of his glass body shattered.
For a few seconds, Parker watched the screen, baffled at the scene she watched. Then, she laughed, clapping proudly. "That's my man, guys, I'm dating him!"
"We know," Cisco muttered.
Once Jay and Barry returned, the first thing Parker had done was drag Barry into the hallway for some privacy.
"Park, what are you--" Barry stopped talking, his inquiry replaced with groans, as Parker ripped off his mask.
A few seconds later, he wasn't complaining, because Parker was hungrily kissing him.
Although Barry wanted her, he was acutely aware of their surroundings. "Whoa, whoa, breathe, Park."
"Hurry up and say your goodbyes to everyone," Parker said, lightly panting. "Be sure to thank Jay for being patient with your behavior."
"I will, I will," Barry insisted. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, bringing their foreheads to touch. "And thank you for being patient with me. Not just for this. For all of it, the whole six months.."
"Parker Appreciation Day should happen very, very soon," she teased.
She separated from him, walking towards the garage. "You better be home in record time."
"It's cuddle night. I would never miss that," Barry agreed.
Parker hit the button for the elevator. Deciding he wasn't finished, Barry zipped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Hey, Park?" he whispered in her ear.
Instead of speaking, Parker closed her eyes, absorbing the bliss she felt when in his arms. She made a mumble of acknowledgment.
"I love you."