I just had the idea for this story and thought I would give it a try. Would love to hear you guys' thoughts :)

Day 1

It had been three days since they had gotten that horrible phone call. Three days since any of them had joked, laughed or were able to think of anything other than what had happened.

Sitting in this booth, trying for normalcy was probably the worse thing they could be doing. But then again, he wasn't a shrink, what did he know about this stuff?

Lily and Marshall's expressions were blank, Ted's was a mix of worry and anger, and he guessed that his own face displayed something similar.

"We shouldn't do this." Barney finally voiced his concern.

"We got to do something." Ted countered.

"But this isn't a good set-up. Maybe we should go up to the apartment, have a movie night?"

"A movie night? I doubt she is in the mood for a movie." Marshall pointed out.

"She'd certainly not going to be in the mood to sit here while we pity her either." Barney said.

"I think this is good. She has been holed up in the apartment for three days now. Getting out will be good, it won't be easy but this will be a start at getting back to normalcy." Ted said.

Barney disagreed, but it might not even matter, she was already ten minutes late, maybe she wouldn't' show up at all.

She didn't, and Barney really couldn't blame her either. Lily finally went up to check on her, she never came back either.

"Lily told me yesterday that she looks horrible." Marshall finally broke the silence. Neither him nor Barney had seen Robin since that night.

"I don't think she has slept a wink since … Tuesday." Ted commented and added, "she's strong though, she will pull through."

Barney sat back and watched his bro, maybe Lily and Ted were going at this the wrong way. Maybe Robin didn't need to talk about things, maybe them behaving as if she was this fragile person was only making everything worse.

But then again, what did he know? He didn't even know Robin that well. Sure they hung out a lot at the bar, but he was usually busy chasing after girls in short skirts or tight sweaters. Ted had dated her for a year, he probably knew what she needed. And Lily was a woman, she'd must have a better sense of what was right and wrong.

Barney stayed until last call, before heading up to the apartment. He found the spare key under the door mat and unlocked the door, really hoping that Ted was asleep and wouldn't catch him…. Doing what? Sneaking in to see Robin?

He halted and squinted his eyes, this was probably the worst idea of all times. This wasn't his place. And there was a really good chance that Robin would shoot him as soon as he opened this door.

Yet, somehow he knew that this was right. That he could make this situation better, not because he was awesome or witty or anything, just because he could treat her differently.

Shit. He should just go home, he was already in over his head. He was never great at dialing with crises, and he hated feeling helpless.

Yet, Ted's words were stuck in his head, 'I don't think she has slept a wink'. He knew how to fix that, or at least he thought he knew.

Slowly he pushed the door open, the living room was dark.

"Robin? Ted? It's me, Barney." He whispered, still aware that she was probably pointing her gun at him.

He couldn't hear anything, stepped into the apartment and closed the door as silently as possible.

He almost turned around once more when he found himself standing in front of her bedroom door. He knocked as softly as possible.

No answer.

Maybe she was asleep? He should go.

But he had gotten so far, and he needed to know how she was doing. So he turned the doorknob and opened the door a few inches, whispering "Robin? It's me."

He heard her snivel, "what are you doing here?"

She sounded horrible.

"Can I come in?" He asked, silently hoping she would say no, making this easier on both of them.

Instead she turned the light on, he took it as an invitation and pushed the door open.

Robin sat on the bed, wearing sweatpants and an oversized sweater he recognized as Ted's. She wasn't wearing make-up and her hair was a mess, but what shocked Barney more than anything was the look on her face.

She didn't even resemble the strong, independent women he'd known for two years. Instead she just looked … broken.

He swallowed hard.

"What do you want?" she asked again, she had clearly been crying, maybe that's why she hadn't heard him enter the apartment.

"I…" he was speechless.

It made her cry.

He wanted to pull her into a tight hug, of course that would be a cruel endeavor.

They both were silent for a long time, trying to collect themselves.

He finally cleared his throat,

"I … I came because I hoped I could spent the night on this chair." He pointed to the chair next to the door.

"What?" she asked.

"I thought…maybe…I could guard you?" It sounded stupid when he said it out loud.

She still starred at him, puzzled.

"I could watch you while you sleep…not in a creepy way…obviously."

She was still silent and he felt the need to elaborate his plan some more.

"Ted said you haven't slept, I thought maybe it would help if you weren't alone…"

Robin managed a half smile, and Barney felt relieved that didn't flip out on him.

"That's creepy." She finally said.

Yes it was, they didn't know each other that well. Maybe he should have just told Ted to sit with her tonight. Maybe he had crossed a line coming over.

"It'd be dark, it's not like I could actually see you or anything. I would just sit here and… I don't know, protect you?"

Barney wondered what she was thinking, after all she knew him as a womanizer who would never pass an opportunity to get into a girls' pants. Not the best prerequisite for accepting this proposal.

Robin nodded, "I'd like that."

He exhaled, just now realizing that he had been holding his breath this entire time.

"Perfect, I will just sit here until you wake up, okay?" He closed the door behind him and sat down in the chair, immediately noticing how uncomfortable it was.

Robin nodded, and turned around to turn off the light.

Barney wondered whether or not she would actually be able to sleep, his presence would cause most girls not to.

"Thank you Barney." He heard her whisper.

"The best thank you would be hearing you snore all night." He countered.

She didn't answer.

He couldn't tell whether or not she had actually gone to sleep right away, but she certainly was at the break of dawn.