Disclaimer: I don't own How I Met Your Mother or Michael Bolton's song "Said I Loved You But I Lied", Let's Go To The Mall, and Sandcastles In The Sand.
Barney Stinson watched his sleeping wife. She was exhausted after her thirty-three hour labor, and had finally fallen asleep after their friends left.
One of the twins made a tiny noise, and Barney smiled. He couldn't believe he was a father.
At 5:56AM and 6:05AM, Robin had finally given birth. The doctors had been prepared to give Robin a c-section because of her stalled labor, but she had gone from regular contractions to wanting to push in ten minutes.
Robin had fallen asleep at 11:30AM. Barney was tired himself, but he was determined to stay awake for a little while longer. It was now 3:30 in the afternoon, and Barney had been awake for nearly two days straight.
Robin stirred awake, and smiled when she opened her eyes to her husband.
"Hey," she told him, still sounding tired.
"Hey, Scherbatsky," Barney told her. He still called her by her maiden name, even though she was now Robin Stinson. She used Robin Scherbatsky-Stinson for work, but Lily considered it a really long name.
"How are the girls?" Robin asked. She had been pretty out of it from the epidural when their friends had been there, and they had struggled not to make fun of her.
"Gillian and Keely are fine," Barney assured his wife. After learning that they were going to have twins, Barney and Robin had decided that they could each name a baby. One the twin was given a first name, the other parent could give the baby a middle name.
"I'm glad," Robin whispered. She had named Keely, wanting to go for an unusual name. Barney had decided to go for an equally unusual middle name, and had picked Maverick. Keely Maverick Stinson had been the first twin born. Keely seemed to be the loud twin already, while Gillian was already the quiet twin.
Barney had named Gillian. It had always been a favorite name of his, but he wouldn't admit that to his wife. He had never expected to have kids, even when he had been with Shannon. Even now, the thought of Shannon hurt him. Robin had chosen the middle name of Analise for Gillian. She had always loved the name, and thought Gillian Analise Stinson was a pretty name.
The twins were two weeks early, but totally healthy. The doctors had given them both clean bills of health.
"I love you," Barney told his wife. He couldn't believe how proud he was of her right now. She had made it through labor without an epidural for twenty-nine of the thirty-three hours of labor she had been in. Robin had started begging for the epidural after hitting hour twenty-nine.
Robin smiled. "I love you too," she replied. She couldn't believe how much she loved her husband right now.
"And I love both of you," Barney told his daughters. He had never loved someone as much as he loved Keely and Gillian.
The girls cooed, and Barney considered that an answer.
"I hope I can leave soon," Robin told her husband, yawning. She was still so tired.
"You'll probably be able to," Barney assured his wife. He knew that he and his wife would not be getting any sleep for a long time.
When Robin fell asleep again, Barney thought back to his bus accident two years earlier. His accident had led to the epiphany that made him realize he was in love with Robin Scherbatsky.
He wasn't going to admit his feelings for her, but Lily had figured it out a few days after he was discharged. Barney had been staring at Robin after she left the room, and Lily had just gasped. Marshall and Ted had been in the room with Barney, and they realized the same thing when Lily said something.
Barney really didn't want to break the Bro Code again, especially since had just gotten Ted back. It was Ted that convinced him that since he had feelings for Robin, everything was different.
He had finally admitted his feelings for Robin a few days later, after Marshall caught him staring at Robin again.
Robin had freaked for a minute, but confessed that she was in love with Barney too.
Their relationship wasn't conventional at all. They went to Vegas with their friends, James, Katie, and Robin's parents in tow. Barney's mother Regina had died when Barney had been eighteen. It had been sudden. James, then twenty, had been the one to get Barney out of his funk after Regina's death. Barney had been the first person James had told he was gay, but Barney had suspected for years anyway.
Three months after the wedding, Robin had learned she was pregnant. Barney had been surprisingly calm about his wife's pregnancy. Ted had called him Changed Barney upon hearing that.
When the couple learned they were having twins, Barney had stayed calm then. He had been excited about becoming a father, and felt even more excitement upon learning his wife was having twins.
When Robin awoke about four hours later, the adrenaline from Robin's labor and delivery finally left Barney's system. He fell asleep, and stayed asleep for awhile.
Two days later, Robin and the twins were discharged from the hospital. Ranjit took them back to Barney's apartment in his cab. Ted, Marshall, and Lily followed in another cab since Barney, Robin, Keely, and Gillian took up the space of Ranjit's back seat.
Lily, now six months pregnant, got tired rather quickly, and she and Marshall went home around 4:00. Ted, recently divorced from Stella, left at 8:00 for a date with a woman he thought was "The One."
Barney and Robin settled in for their first night home with Keely and Gillian. Robin was determined to get the girls on a schedule right away, so they did everything basically at the same time. Barney had laughed at his wife when she informed him of that six weeks earlier.
At 12:05AM, Keely woke up crying. Gillian, hearing her twin sister, began crying with her. Barney took care of Keely, while Robin took care of Gillian.
When both girls woke up again at 1:30AM, Barney took Gillian and Robin took Keely. They had agreed to switch girls every time so they wouldn't pick favorites.
When the girls woke up again at 2:45AM, Barney told his exhausted wife that he would get the twins himself. Robin, so tired from the previous two times, didn't even acknowledge her husband.
Barney managed to get Keely and Gillian to sleep on his own, and slipped back into bed with his wife. Robin made a whining nosie and went back to sleep.
When the twins woke back up at 4:00AM, both Stinsons got up to be with their daughters.
"You have to be quiet because Mommy and Daddy need their sleep," Robin whispered to Keely. She wondered how long this not-sleeping thing would continue.
"Mommy and Daddy love you so much, but we're going to go crazy without sleep," Barney informed Gillian. The little girl answered her father by cooing. Barney smiled at her.
Barney and Robin finally got out of bed at 6:30, when the twins began crying again.
"We might as well stay awake," Robin mumbled to her husband.
"What?" the extremely tired Barney asked her. He couldn't understand Robin. He didn't even know what was happening. He had changed Keely's diaper, but after that was now blurry.
"You look exhausted," a laughing Lily told her friends at noon when she, Ted, and Marshall showed up at the Stinson's apartment. Ted had just finished telling everyone about his date with the girl he had deemed "The One". Robin and Barney hadn't been able to pay attention because they were so tired.
"They woke us up nearly ever two hours," Barney explained, willing his eyes not to close. He was so tired.
"We'll take care of them for a little while," Marshall said.
"They can't go anywhere," Robin cried, getting a sudden burst of energy.
"We'll stay right here. You guys just sleep," Ted assured them.
Barney and Robin got up and slowly made their way to the bedroom.
They woke up again at 6:00PM, feeling slightly refreshed.
"This way, you'll be fine for tonight," Lily told them.
"How do you guys do that?" Ted asked them seriously. The three had had a hard time taking care of the two babies, and he didn't understand how Barney and Robin were going at it alone.
"We take turns," Robin explained, shrugging. She didn't know why Ted was freaking out. She was too tired to figure out why he was freaking out about that.
A few minutes, Ted, Marshall, and Lily finally left the Stinsons.
Robin and Barney watched TV in between taking care of Keely and Gillian.
They went to bed at 8:30PM. That's how tired Robin and Barney were.
The two were woken up at 9:35PM.
"I can't believe we're going to have to do this for months," Barney whined as he got up.
"We're not having another baby for a few years," Robin warned. She and Barney had discussed having one more baby after learning about the twins, but had decided to wait until they were ready.
"I'm right there with you," Barney muttered. He didn't even want to think about another baby right now or the thing that led to a baby's conception. He was so exhausted that he couldn't think straight. Since when did he refer to conceiving a baby as "the thing?"
When Keely and Gillian woke their parents up again at 10:55PM, Barney decided to take care of the twins. Robin reluctantly left him because she didn't feel like she could move without passing out.
"What's wrong?" Barney asked his crying daughters. He was sitting in the rocking chair that James bought for them.
His only answer was crying. Barney was too tired to smile, but he did do something else. He began to sing Said I Loved You… But I Lied to his daughters. He had always loved the song, and didn't understand why people hated Michael Bolton. He was legen-wait for it-dary.
Robin stumbled into the nursery, and smiled at her husband and daughters. She had known Barney was a softy, but he never usually sang.
Whenever Barney was in a really good mood, he sometimes sang and never realized it. Robin had caught him several times, and thought it was cute that her husband sang when he was in a good mood.
Barney realized his wife was in the room, but he paid no attention. His focus was on Keely and Gillian. He loved to sing when he was in a good mood, but never really paid attention to what he was singing. He wasn't about to tell Robin he had caught her singing Let's Go To The Mall and Sandcastles In The Sand several times. Robin didn't realize she still acted like Robin Sparkles sometimes.
After Barney was done singing, Robin helped him put the babies in their bassinets. They didn't want the girls to be in one bassinet because of cramped space. Robin had firmly declared that she wasn't going to dress the girls identically after learning she and Barney were having twin girls. Barney had agreed with his wife. He wanted Keely and Gillian to grow up with different personalities, and that included no same toys or clothes. If the girls wanted to play with the same toys, they would have to share.
A few days later, Robin and Barney had Keely and Gillian on a schedule that no one should mess with.
Robin had freaked out on Marshall when he tried to wake Gillian woke up.
On the girls' first birthday, Robin and Barney threw a small party for their daughters.
"They're so beautiful," Ted's fiancée, the one he had called "The One" informed Robin. She really loved Ted and his small group of friends.
"Thanks," Robin replied. She and Barney thought their daughters were the most beautiful babies in the world, but they weren't about to tell Marshall and Lily that because they had a daughter named Kathryn Robin Eriksen.
"You're welcome," Ted's fiancée replied.
Later that night, Robin and Barney start playing with Keely and Gillian. Barney reflects on the fact that a year ago today, he was looking forward to seeing what his daughters were life. He knows now, and is thrilled that he's gotten to know them.
Years later, when Gillian Stinson marries Alex Eriksen, Barney tells the story about the day his daughters were born.
Gillian and Keely are embarrassed, their younger sister (Devyn) makes fun of them, but Barney and Robin are completely and totally happy.
They've had a good life.
The End
I wanted to write a new HIMYM fic, but I was experiencing writer's block until today. It was going to be longer, detailing Gillian and Keely's lives throughout the years, but I decided not to. Please review, so I know what you think. I may even do a sequel detailing Gillian and Keely's lives if you want me to. It'll be focused on Barney and Robin with their daughters, and what happens before their first birthday and life after their first birthday until Gillian's wedding. It's up to you, although I may write it anyway.