Hey y'all! So I'm finally getting around to posting something for the HIMYM ficathon! Sorry about my absence on the site; my laptop's been broken, so I'm currently writing this on my phone. I've had this short story in my head for a while, and have been meaning to post it as a new chapter on Tales from the Fortress, but when BeneathTheUmbrella asked me to participate in the ficathon, I thought this would be a good submission! Hope you guys enjoy!
Barney opened the door to his mother's house, guiding his wife inside. They were there to drop their four month old daughter, Emily, off with Loretta before heading to Italy for two weeks to celebrate their anniversary.
As soon as they entered the house, Loretta, along with Sam, James, and Tom, swarmed Robin and the baby, cooing and making faces at the little girl, who watched them with wide eyes and a smile on her face. Barney chuckled at the sight. He and Robin had started to grow accustomed to being ignored, as all of their family and friends devoted their attention to their newborn.
Robin, on the other hand, was beaming as her in-laws greeted her daughter. She had quickly fallen into her role as a mother after finding out that she was pregnant following extensive fertility treatments. She and Barney had decided to have a baby just a few years after they got married, yet struggled emotionally against the fact that they had been told that conceiving was near impossible. They had opted in to fertility treatments after a specialist told them that, although the odds were still slim, Robin had a chance of becoming pregnant. Robin had given birth to their daughter, Emily Claire Stinson, in January of that year, and the couple could not have been more proud.
After a quick conversation with Loretta and Sam, Barney glanced at his watch, realizing that they only had a few hours before their flight left. "Robin, we should get going," he whispered.
Robin's smile dropped. "Go... Right. We're leaving."
"Yep. Don't want to miss our flight."
Loretta reached for her granddaughter. "Just hand me the little angel, and you can be on your way."
"Right. Hand her over. To you. So we can leave."
Barney eyed his wife suspiciously. He had heard from Tracy and Lily how hard it was to leave your child for the first time, he just didn't expect that Robin would react the way she was (They had decided that they were too awesome to be clingy.).
Robin was still holding Emmy. "Okay... Just going to hand her over so we can leave her here. Whe we leave the country."
Barney reached over to place a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Come on Robin, let's..."
He stopped. Robin was clutching Emmy to her chest, tears in her eyes. Emily was unfazed, smiling at her daddy.
"Robin, I know this is hard, but it's going to happen eventually."
James stepped forward. "You know, Robin, we can set up a schedule to Skype every night, maybe even twice a day. Trust me, once you get to Italy, you'll feel much better."
"I know," Robin sobbed. "It just sucks now."
Barney wrapped his arms around his girls. "Give Miss Em a goodbye kiss. We gotta catch our flight."
He stepped back as Robin placed a kiss on Emily's head, but still wouldn't let go. He gently pulled their baby out of Robin's arms, then handed her to his mother.
"Bye, Em. Be good for Mimi, okay?" Emily giggled and kicked her feet at her parents. After a quick goodbye to the rest of the family, Barney found himself pulling a nearly hysterical Robin out the door. He laughed as he pulled her into a hug.
"Thought you were too awesome to cry."
"Shut up," Robin muttered, hitting him softly on the chest. He chuckled and pulled her towards the waiting taxi.
Two weeks later, they opened the door of Loretta's house to find their baby girl grinning and reaching for them. Robin immediately pulled her into her arms and didn't put her down for the rest of the night.