A/N: I hate the way the show treated the Mother. It felt like she was just someone to have the kids Ted wanted until Robin was ready to marry him, so this is my attempt to correct that. I own nothing you recognize.
Ted was floored. He couldn't believe that Lily had left Marshall. They had been together since the first week of college. He had kept his enthusiasm about his relationship with Robin in check while Marshall had mourned Lily's departure. He'd tried to be there for him, but finally he had to go to work, so he called in reinforcements.
Randi Ericksen showed up at exactly 8:30 a.m. "That bitch!" she exclaimed when he opened the door.
He held up his hands to stop her, but halfway agreed with her. "I wouldn't," he warned stepping aside to let her in. "Where's Devon?"
"At work. So where is Marshall?"
"Well, he's not asleep on the foot of Ted's bed," Robin said, appearing from the bathroom. "Oh, wait. Yes, he is."
Randi shot a disbelieving look at Ted before turning back to Robin. "Hi," she said, acidly. "We haven't met. I'm Marshall's sister. Who are you?"
"That's right." Ted replied. "Randi, this is Robin. Robin, this is Randi Eriksen."
"Oh, so you're Robin," Randi said. "Nice to meet you." The tone of her voice belying the words.
"Same here," Robin shot back.
After a few awkward moments, Ted clapped his hands together. "Alright. Well, Robin and I have to get to work. Just call if you need anything." He handed Robin her jacket and picked up his own. He stopped at the doorway.
"Hey, Randi?"
"Yeah?" She walked over to the door.
"Marshall's really taking this hard. Try not to give him too much hell about it, okay?"
"And just how much hell should I give my brother who just lost his fiancee after 6 years together?" She grinned.
"I think you'll give just the right amount," Ted shot back. "Just don't call Lily a bitch. In fact, I wouldn't even mention Lily."
"Got it. Hey, Ted, thanks for looking out for him." Randi pulled him into a hug. "He's lucky to have a friend like you."
"No problem," he replied, hugging her back.
"Marshall has a sister?" Robin asked as they stepped out on to the street.
Ted nodded. "She's usually pretty sweet. She and Lily just have... a few issues. I took her to her senior prom."
"You dated your best friend's sister?" She smirked.
"Well, her jackass of a boyfriend stood her up to go nintendo or something. Marshall and I were there on a school break and all Marshall was going to do was mope around because Lily in France, so I figured why not?"
"What happened to the boyfriend?"
"They made up the next morning and she eventually married the jerk," he replied. "They live on the upper east side. Turns out, he made a fortune creating video games."