I don't own HIMYM and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Warning: Cancer
Author's Note: Pretty sure that the Mother dying is a red herring, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head.
Hearing the news from the doctor felt surreal. Ted felt like he was underwater as he drove his wife home. They sat in silence as tears flowed down her pale cheeks. She hadn't been feeling well for a while – they suspected another pregnancy at first, then the flu when the tests came back negative – and then started suspecting the worst when she continued to decline. But cancer? That was the last thing either of them had imagined or wanted to happen. And the diagnosis was grim – the doctor had told them flat out that it didn't look good. "It'll be okay," Ted assured his wife, even as his voice cracked. He had to look on the positive side. She was a fighter – his wife would fight this. He knew she could.
"You don't know that." She was optimistic, but in the face of this? She wasn't sure she could be.
"Yeah, I do. I love you, and you will fight this bitch of a disease. We have two kids depending on us. Don't you fucking dare give up now." Ted couldn't lose her – he just couldn't.
She had to smile at his endless amounts of optimism. "I won't. I'll fight to the end." It was going to be hard, but she refused to give up.
When they got home, it was a little awkward to be around the kids – Penny and Luke could tell something was wrong, but they weren't sure what. Their parents weren't ready to break the news to them yet so they kept it from their children. Ted and his wife realized that was a bad idea, but they couldn't ruin their babies' innocence. It hurt too much to do that to them.
Their friends knew something was wrong and like Ted and his wife, they feared the worst. So they all met up for dinner's at Marshall and Lily's (neither Ted nor his wife wanted to ruin MacLaren's) to break the horrific news to them. All of them avoided the subject at first until Lily couldn't take it anymore. "What did the doctor say?"
They all waited in anticipation and nervousness. Ted and his wife exchanged knowing, sad glances. Ted was the first to speak up. "It's bad, guys. She has cancer and we're not sure if she's going to make it."
None of them had expected to hear this devastating news. Everyone sat in silence for about ten minutes before someone finally dared to say something. Lily was the first to react – she cried out and clapped a hand over her mouth in shock before bursting into tears. She stood up and pulled her friends in for a hug. "We'll be there every step of the way. You need us, we got it," she assured them.
Robin nodded. "Don't hesitate to give us a call. We'll help as much as we can." She couldn't believe this was happening.
Marshall joined the hug. "Any time you need help, call. You two don't have to go through this by ourselves."
"I'm really sorry you guys." Barney wished there was some way he could fix this. He was pulled in for the hug, and the six of them wept together. Once they finally pulled themselves together, the girls sat down together to map out a plan for the foreseeable future. "You don't have to worry about a thing." Lily and Robin would make sure of that (as would Marshall and Barney).
"Thanks. We really appreciate this." Ted's wife knew how close the group was – she had been a part of it for years – but she didn't realize how they banded together during a crisis. She was in a little bit of shock.
Ted took some time off work to care for his wife, and drove her back and forth between home and chemo and radiation. On the days he couldn't do it because Penny and Luke needed his help, the others stepped in.
"We should go up to Farhampton again. I want to visit one last time before I day," she murmured one night, after having a very bad day.
Ted's eyes snapped open and he stared at her. "Please don't talk that way. But yeah, we can go. I want to clear it with your oncologist first, of course, but it's our place. You should see it." He didn't want to address the real reason why. It hurt too much.
"Okay, good." She closed her eyes and went to sleep, but her husband was wide awake now. Ted's mind was racing and he couldn't shut it off. He was terrified of losing her, of how the kids would handle it if their mother died. They all knew how bad this was, but it was surprising how badly this was affecting her whole system. She was in bed early most nights, and neither Penny nor Luke understood what was going on – no one had told them yet. It seemed like it'd make the entire situation more real if the kids knew.
After they got the okay by the oncologist and before they headed up to Farhampton, Ted and his wife finally sat their children down to tell them the truth. He tried to get through the speech without falling apart – he had to be strong for his family. Fortunately for him, she took charge of the conversation.
"You know how Daddy and I have been hiding something from you?"
Penny nodded. "Yes. What's wrong?" The perceptive nine year old couldn't figure out what was going on, and it was bothering her. She didn't understand why her parents were lying.
She took a deep breath and was proud that her voice didn't crack. "Well…," she trailed off, unable to continue.
Ted took charge. "Mommy's really sick – she has cancer. We didn't want to scare you so that's why we didn't tell you."
"That's why Uncle Marshall and Aunt Lily and Aunt Robin and Uncle Barney have been with us more!" Their seven year old son picked up on that surprisingly quickly.
Penny was terrified – one of her best friend's aunts had died from cancer. "Are you going to die?" She didn't want her mom to go to Heaven yet. She needed her!
She closed her eyes. "I might, baby girl. But I don't want you two to worry about me dying, okay? I'm fighting for all three of you. I love you both more than you can ever imagine."
Penny and Luke flung themselves at their mother and gently hugged her. They both climbed up onto her lap. "Love you, Mommy" whispered Luke.
"Love you too. We'll help out," Penny promised.
Ted had to duck out of the room and ended up falling apart in the laundry room. He couldn't deal with this. How were his children handling this better than he was? Was it their innocence they had been trying so hard to protect? He wasn't sure. Fuck, this was hard. He wasn't sure how he was staying upright when all he wanted to do was break down, but he had to keep going like this. His wife deserved all his support and he was damn well going to give it to her.
She wasn't faring very well either – she hated how horrible she felt, and just wanted the constant pain to end. But she meant it when she said she was going to fight to survive for her husband and children. She'd tried her best to stay alive for them.
Ted hated himself for nearly losing it when his wife brought up mothers not being there for their daughters' wedding. How was he supposed to be strong when he could barely even handle the little things? "You'll make it to Penny's wedding. I am absolutely certain of that."
His wife tried to beam at him, but failed. "I admire your optimism, Ted. I aspire to be the way you are sometimes. And I am going to make it to Penny and Luke's weddings – there are no doubts about that."
The trip to Farhampton helped them out in a lot of ways. When they returned home, their renewed energy spurred her to fight even harder.
Ted's wife started to lose her hair only a few days after they came back. This time, she cried when it started to wash down the drain. "Damn it!" she screamed as she threw the bottle of conditioner.
When Ted found her, he pulled in for a hug. "You're okay. Just let it out, baby. Let it go."
And she did. For the first time in weeks, his wife cried out tears of frustration, pain, and fear. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry because you needed this. It is not a weakness or whatever you think it is." But Ted was more determined to ever to be strong – she needed that support from him. He couldn't afford a meltdown. It wouldn't be right.
Lily and Robin went with her to get a wig. "You'll look pretty fucking amazing," Robin told her.
Lily agreed with that sentiment. "She's right. We're going to make sure you're the prettiest girl in the room."
"I really appreciate all your help." If she died, she knew that Lily and Robin would help Ted with the kids. He wouldn't ever have to parent them alone.
"You're welcome." Robin was just glad she could help and wasn't useless (although she definitely still felt like it).
When Robin got home that night, a worried Barney encouraged their daughter to comfort her mother. "I figured you needed the comfort," he explained.
"Thanks. You always know just what to do. And thank you too, little one." After sending her off to bed, Robin collapsed in her husband's arms and cried.
He rocked her back and forth and rubbed her back to calm her down. "She's bad, isn't she?"
Robin nodded. "She's so frail and sick – I've never seen anybody look like this before, Barney. I could barely stand to be in the same room as her. This is hard, and I'm not sure how Ted is even staying this strong."
Barney sighed. "I have a feeling he's going to lose it soon – he's being way too calm about everything."
Unfortunately, he was right. Ted's wife got really sick and had to be hospitalized less than three days later, in the middle of the night. Marshall and Lily swooped in to care for Penny and Luke and kept them at their house.
Ted went back and forth between the hospital and his friends' house – he didn't want to uproot the kids – every day. Marshall worried he would crack soon, and that the fall-out was going to be monumental.
Robin and Lily were keeping all of the kids busy downstairs when it happened. Barney innocently asked how Ted's wife was. "Something's wrong," Barney told Marshall.
Marshall agreed. "I think this is it."
And Ted finally crumbled. His knees buckled, but Marshall and Barney rushed to his side and kept him standing. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore! I want to be strong for her, but I don't know how. It hurts, and I might lose my wife. I cannot do this."
"You shouldn't have been trying to do it alone. That's why we're here," Barney gently chided.
"You can't let things build like this – it's not healthy." Marshall was glad he had finally erupted – this had been a long time coming for Ted.
Ted pulled his two best friends in for a hug and neither protested. "I love you guys."
"We love you too, Ted." Barney patted him on the shoulder.
It took Ted a long time to pull himself together, but he did. When he showed up at the hospital, his red eyes and blotchy face gave him away. His wife's heart broke. "Oh, Poor Bear. You finally lost it, huh?"
He nodded. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize. I've been a mess myself." She patted the bed, and her husband reluctantly laid down next to her.
She was discharged from the hospital a few days later. With renewed energy and focus, she continued to fight the cancer.
A few weeks later, Ted's wife was given excellent news by the doctor. "Congratulations, Mrs. Mosby. You're in remission."
She laughed in disbelief. "Really?"
"Really. You fought it and won. This isn't the end of the battle, of course, but I'm confident that you will be healthy again."
She turned to her husband and the two happily kissed.
The whole group had a party to celebrate the cancer going into remission. A few got drunk (Ted's wife passed) and cried, but they mostly listened to music and told funny stories.
And Ted's wife did get to see her daughter get married and start a family of her own. The cancer had stayed in remission. She and Ted had managed to make it through a horrible, terrifying situation and were stronger than they had been before. They could get through any crisis together.