I don't own HIMYM and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: The only way I can accept that finale is if I believe Barney and Robin end up in a Perry Cox/Jordan Sullivan-like relationship (also one of my favorite OTPs).
This is also my last fix-it fic. I've run out of ideas trying to fix that mess, but I hope you've enjoyed!
After they locked eyes as Ted and Tracy exchanged vows, Barney and Robin decided to talk in a corner booth at MacLaren's, where the reception was being held. Lily forced the girls to move over to the other side of the booth so she could spy on them (hopefully they wouldn't notice). She felt encouraged by the random laughter that occasionally echoed from their booth and how much they didn't drink (something that surprised her, but she figured they didn't want to be drunk for this, no matter how much they felt like it).
"I miss you," Barney admitted once the conversation started to wind down. His life hadn't been the same since the trip to Argentina that end his whole world (and wow, that sounded overdramatic).
She looked down at the table. "I miss you too." Robin was lonely, and it seemed as if their friends had moved on without her. It sucked.
He had to ask. "Are you seeing anybody?"
"No. You?"
"The only girl in my life – besides Lily, Tracy, my mother, and various nieces, of course – is Ellie. Her mother, Leah, isn't involved in her life so it's just me. And you probably don't want to be stuck with a kid that's not yours. I don't blame you for feeling that way." He wouldn't force her to do anything if she didn't want to. And even though Ellie was still young enough that she didn't really understand, he didn't want her getting hurt. And Barney didn't think he could handle losing Robin again.
Robin was a little wary of getting involved with her ex-husband again. And yes, she'd admit she was worried about Ellie. "I'd like to meet her. Are we really doing this? Is trying again going to be a good idea?"
Barney smiled at his ex-wife. "I still love you – never really stopped, actually. One night stands never have been fulfilling nor will they ever be. I've been a mess since we divorced, and Ellie actually grounded me again. You know how we realized that we let fear ruin us? Well, we've already lived through our worst fears. I know we won't fuck it up this time. And of course you can meet Ellie. Maybe another day, though, since she's with my mom right now."
"I still love you too, you idiot. That's why it hurt so much to come back to New York. Staying away was my best option but it didn't really help."
Barney looked past her for a second. "Okay, Lily's spying on us, and I'm pretty sure Ted and Tracy are about to make their third kid. You want to get out of here?"
"Sure. But is it okay if we don't have sex tonight?" She wasn't ready to sleep with him again.
He nodded. "Of course it is." Barney put his hand on her back and followed her out of the bar.
True to their world, Barney and Robin took things really slow. She met Ellie for the first time only two days later. The baby eyed her warily, but handed over a toy. "Thank you, Ellie."
Barney watched them with a grin on his face. "You two seem to be getting along pretty well."
"She looks just like you. Damn." Robin liked this side of her ex-husband. Kids really brought out Barney's soft-side. He had acted like this with Marvin and Daisy (probably Penny and Luke, too), but it was different with his daughter. Probably because she was his own.
"Surprised me too. You look great tonight."
She snorted. "Going from talking about your daughter to hitting on me. I am not surprised." But Robin found she was happy with Barney – the happiest she had been in a long time. She wished she had pulled her head out of her ass sooner.
Barney looked up at her seriously. "Is it okay if I kiss you?"
"Yes, but wait a quick second." Robin handed Ellie's toy back to her, thankful the baby was in her playpen, and put her arms around Barney. They made out for a few seconds before they were interrupted by the baby squealing, clearly annoyed that no one was paying attention to her.
Laughing, they pulled apart. "That's probably going to happen a lot," he warned.
"Well, it's the cutest interruption to ever happen to me, so I'll forgive her," she acquiesced.
Robin had to leave New York again only a week later, but she and Barney kept in touch in a multitude of ways. She and Ellie "talked" via Skype a few times, which was always an adventure.
When Robin came home a month later, she was shocked when Barney and Ellie met her at the airport. She figured she'd get a cab and go to his place to see him before heading back to her apartment. "What are you doing here?"
Barney shrugged. "We wanted to see you. Ellie misses Aunt Robin." Sure enough, the baby was holding her arms out, and Robin picked her up.
"I missed both of you too. It's nice to see you." Robin leaned over and kissed her, the baby protesting the entire time.
Robin's travel slowed down a little over the next few years, and when Tracy got sick, she took a permanent position in New York to be there for her friends. That's when she and Barney decided to move in together. "You're staying at my place ninety percent of the time anyway so it makes sense."
"We're getting doggies, right?" Ellie looked so hopeful that Barney and Robin had to hide their snickers.
"Of course we are. We have your daddy wrapped around our little fingers. He'll give us anything he wants."
The four year old looked pleased by that and skipped off to go play in her room. "Bye!" she called on the way out.
"You two really know how to get what you want." Barney pushed her hair back and kissed her. "Love you."
"Love you too." And that settled that. Robin moved in a few days later with Marshall and Lily's help (both weren't surprised by the news, even though the reunited couple had been trying to keep their relationship a secret).
They discussed remarriage, but decided against it because their relationship was fine the way it was. "I don't want to possibly ruin us again by throwing marriage into the mix. It didn't work for us, but we can still be together," he explained.
She actually agreed with him. "We're fine the way we are. We don't need legal documents to prove we love each other. And not everyone has to marry. I'm glad we're on the same page." She lie down and put her face in his lap.
Barney started to rub them. "You think Tracy's going to be okay?" Her cancer was getting progressively worse, and it was scaring all of them. He and Robin and Marshall and Lily had the kids more often than they ever had before since Ted and Tracy were otherwise occupied.
Robin didn't know how to answer. "I hope so, but I'm scared. I think we all are. Tracy's the most positive person we know – besides Ted and Patrice – and look at how frail she is. I'm not sure how Ted's going to deal with it if she dies."
"Same here. But we won't let him fall apart." Barney refused to let that happen. They could hopefully prevent Ted from hitting rock bottom if the worst happened.
And the worst did happen. Tracy went downhill fast and died only three weeks later. Ted was out of it during the funeral, and a worried Marshall and Lily took charge of Penny and Luke's care. Barney and Robin agreed to share the burden with them for the foreseeable future.
They were all relieved when Ted pulled out of his grief six months later and started focusing on the kids again. It was pretty hard to give Penny and Luke back, but the adults promised them weekend visits whenever possible.
"Are you going to die like Aunt Tracy?" a worried Ellie asked when they were eating dinner one eat.
Barney choked on the roll he was eating while Robin froze. "Sweetheart, Aunt Tracy was very sick. Aunt Robin and I are healthy right now." He couldn't tell her the truth and end her innocence, although it had already been shattered in the wake of Tracy's illness.
She took charge. "Ellie, sometimes adults – and even kids – get sick like Aunt Tracy did. I can't promise that nothing is going to happen to us, but we are going to try our very best to always be there for you. We promise that we aren't planning on going anywhere soon if we can help it."
That seemed to satisfy her and she went back to eating dinner. "Thanks," he whispered.
"You're welcome." Robin loathed cancer and how Tracy's death had nearly broken the group in the aftermath. Marshall's dad's death had been nothing next to Tracy's in the long run, which was so wrong she couldn't even comprehend it.
Barney and Robin's relationship continued to improve over the following years, and their happiness had increased tenfold by 2030. Ellie had started referring to Robin as "Mom" (she cried the first time it happened, but she'd later deny it) and the three of them had five awesome dogs that sometimes drove them crazy. They were okay with that, though.
"Our life's pretty great, isn't he?" Barney asked as he stroked her back. They were lying on the couch and watching a movie.
"If you weren't gross," Ellie mumbled. She backed off when Barney and Robin stopped for a second to stare at her.
"You're lucky we're not like Aunt Lily and Uncle Marshall, kiddo." They were still going strong, and Robin was honestly surprised there hadn't been a fourth surprise baby. But a vasectomy and Lily's career taking off had prevented that from happening, and life was going pretty well for them.
"Good point," Ellie conceded. She went back to petting one of the dogs and watching the movie she picked out.
Barney and Robin still couldn't be married, but that was perfectly fine with them. Being in a stable, happily unmarried relationship worked for them.