I need to prepare myself for the possibility that Robin might not be the bride, even though I think there are quiet a few signs pointing towards her being his bride but you never know, so I thought of a scenario that I would want to see if Robin is really not the bride. I'm aware that it's extremely cliché but I couldn't help myself. :-) Enjoy!


Chapter One

She'd thought she could do it. She'd thought she could convince everyone including herself that she didn't care. Well, she couldn't convince herself anymore. Her hands were shaking even though she repeatedly had balled them into fists and pressed them against her thighs, hoping that she wouldn't ruin her dress by doing so. It didn't work. She felt her breath quicken and feared that she would start hyperventilating any second.

Why now? Why now when it was too late to do anything?

Robin shook her head, forcing herself to take in deep and slow breaths. She needed to calm down. She didn't have any feelings for Barney anymore. Not beyond friendship anyway.

But why was she freaking out then?

Robin pinched her nose with her fingers, still trying to avoid a panic attack by slowing down her breathing. She slumped down into a chair putting her head between her knees when dark spots suddenly appeared in her vision.

What was wrong with her?

But Robin knew what was wrong with her though she tried desperately to convince herself otherwise. She was not still in love with Barney. She was not sitting in a church where he would get married in a few minutes, realizing that the man she was in love with would marry another woman. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be true. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead and she wiped it away with trembling fingers.

She was really a mess. She had pushed him away two years ago and broke his heart. She had seen it in his eyes. The hurt, the defeat. He'd moved on. Really moved on. Robin felt the urge to hit her head against the wall. She had rejected him and now she was sitting here, being a pathetic mess and it hit her like a freight train. She couldn't believe how she could have been so stupid, how she could push the one man who was able to make her truly happy away.

Robin's vision blurred with tears. She'd lost him the moment she'd shaken her head to tell him that she'd chosen Kevin. He had given her his heart and she'd driven a stake through it. Pressing her eyes together so that the tears couldn't fall, she gritted her teeth until her jaw hurt. Her epiphany had come too late. Taking in a shuddering breath, she tried to regain her composure. She needed to walk out of the room in a few minutes. In a few minutes she would have to watch Barney promising another woman that he would love her for the rest of his life.

Suddenly the door sprang open and Ted rushed into the room, startling Robin and she jumped up from the chair. "Everything is okay with the groom and bride. Everyone is reassured and ready to go. Sarah actually asked for me to make sure that Barney didn't run." Ted chuckled but his smile dropped when he saw Robin flinch out of the corner of his eyes.

"Is everything alright, Robin? You look a little pale." When Ted looked at her more closely, he could see the turmoil and a telltale shimmer in her eyes. Something was definitely wrong. "Robin?"

Robin raised her hand defensively when Ted stepped closer. She didn't want him to comfort her. She didn't want to tell him anything. "I'm fine. It's just a little stuffy in here."

Ted furrowed his eyes in suspicion. There was nothing wrong with the air in here and he took in a deep breath, voicing the one thing that came to his mind. "Is it Barney?"

"What about Barney?" Robin asked. "You've just told me that everything is okay."

"No, no." Ted replied. "Nothing is wrong with Barney but you are trying to distract me."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Are you in love with him?" Ted asked cautiously.

"Who? Barney?" Robin laughed out loud but it sounded shrill and fake. "Of course I love him, Ted. As a friend. Nothing more."

"Are you sure?"

"What's with all these questions, Ted?" Robin asked annoyed, hoping that he would just drop it. "I'm happy for him."

"It was just a feeling. But if everything is alright we should go and take our places in the church."

"Sure. Lead the way."

~B&R~

Robin was kneading her fingers, her knee moving up and down in a staccato tempo that made Lily dizzy. Lily put one hand on Robin's knee to stop the movement and one over her hands, looking worried at her best friend.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Lily."

"You don't look like you're fine." Lily insisted.

"But I am, Lily. Why shouldn't I? One of my best friends is going to marry the woman he loves!"

"Robin, are you sure ..."

"Lily!" Robin wrapped her fingers around Lily's hand and squeezed tightly. "Don't!"

Lily's brows furrowed in confusion for a few seconds, and Robin could see the exact moment her friend realized why she was so agitated. Robin could feel her flinch, and she only shook her head, telling Lily silently to let it go.

But Lily's mind already raced a mile a minute, contemplating all the possibilities how she could stop the wedding or at least cause some scene to postpone it so that she would get a chance to talk to Robin and to Barney.

Robin's agitated state could only mean one thing. She was still in love with Barney and Lily couldn't let Barney getting married when she wasn't one hundred percent certain that he had no feelings for Robin anymore.

Her gaze shot to Ted and he raised his eyebrows in question when his eyes fell on Lily and Robin. Lily's shocked expression and her gaze going back and forth between Robin and Barney only confirmed his suspicions.

Robin had lied. She was still in love with Barney. His eyes went back to Barney who was standing beside him looking down the aisle watching his bride coming towards him. Ted could see it deep in his eyes. It hadn't been the normal jitters before a wedding when Barney had asked him if he had made the right choice. Deep down his best friend was still in love with Robin and Ted couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it before.

They both had lied to him over and over again. Maybe to protect their hearts from breaking again, maybe because they had been too scared to try again. But he should have seen it. One of them should have seen it sooner. But neither Marshall, nor Lily, nor he did see it. They had really believed that Barney was happy with Sarah and that Robin was happy for him.

Sarah had reached the altar and was standing beside Barney now, the priest beginning with the ceremony and they were running out of time.

Ted looked back at his friends in the first row and he saw Robin's pained expression, saw the urge to run in her eyes and suddenly she broke eye contact with him and slipped out of the bench into the side corridor, hurrying towards the exit on tiptoes so that the heels of her shoes wouldn't make a sound on the tiled floor of the church. She was almost at the door when the priest announced the question that he was sure had prompted Robin to flee.

"If any of you has reasons why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Robin froze at the door when silence fell over the church. If she would open the door now everyone would look at her and she didn't want to draw any attention to herself. It was just too obvious for everyone who knew Barney and her why she was running and the last one she wanted to realize that she was leaving was the groom himself.

The seconds ticked by and Ted knew that the priest would continue with the ceremony any moment and he suddenly couldn't stop himself from saying the words that shouldn't have come over his lips.

"I have a reason."


Well, I think it would be very HIMYM-y if they would go down that road and in my opinion would totally fit Barney's character. I have no idea how long this story is going to be. It's up to my muse. :-)

So ... tell me what you think and hit the button below.