What's this? A non-Ted/Tracy fic? Gasp! I know, I know... But I had a hankering to explore Tracy and Barney's friendship; out of all of Tracy's meet-ups with the gang (excluding her meeting Ted at the station, of course), theirs was the one that touched me the most. It is also quite pro-Swarkles (with hints of T/T, natch), and a scene that, in my opinion, changes the course of Robin and Barney's marriage. Enjoy!
ETA: I was originally toying with the idea of adding a little scene at the end where Barney picks Robin up at the airport, but refrained since this story was simply about Tracy and Barney's friendship. But then I got a reader comment asking about such a scene, and I thought, "Why not?" I don't normally write Barney and Robin, so I'm not sure if I have the characters down pat... But to my Swarkles sistren: this is for you!
2015
Barney stepped out of the cab and paid the driver with a generous tip; he knew the inconvenience of driving an hour out of the city. He often thought he should just bite the bullet and finally get his driver's license, but with cabs, Ranjit on-call, and all his favourite places being within walking distance of his apartment, there really was no need.
He and Robin only recently started coming up to Westchester fairly regularly. Penny was born five months earlier, and Ted and Tracy had only officially moved into the house the previous month. Despite the boxes that still lingered around the place, they had made it into a home fairly quickly, and were happy to have the gang over as often as possible.
Robin was presently out of town for work. She had gotten her promotion the previous year as a global correspondent for WWN, and she was often traveling for work. The thrill of seeing the world excited them both at first, and Barney more often than not joined her on her trips. This time around, while she was in Dublin for a few days, they both agreed it was probably best he stay behind in New York.
They both had a few things to think through.
So Barney decided to stop by Westchester. The apartment was lonely, and Barney had a lot on his mind. He figured he'd stop by and see a friendly face.
He slowly walked up to the front door and rang the bell. He waited a couple of minutes before the door swung open revealing Tracy, holding Penny in her arms, a towel draped across her shoulder, covering the baby's face. He was clearly interrupting her while she was breastfeeding.
"Hey, Barney!" she said, surprised but happy to see him. "What are you doing here?"
"Sorry. Guess I came at a bad time?" he asked, even as she ushered him into the house and closed the door behind him.
"Not at all! I'm almost done, don't worry," she assured him. They walked into the living room, Tracy settling into the sofa chair, and Barney sitting down on the couch.
"Do you want a drink?" she asked him.
"I'll get it," he said, getting back up and walking over to the nearby bar cart, pouring himself a glass of scotch.
"So, what brings you to our neck of the woods?" she asked him, adjusting Penny in her arms. Her tone wasn't suspicious, but curious; she knew something was up with him. "Isn't Robin flying in from Dublin tonight?"
"Yeah, but she'll take a cab home..." he trailed off, sitting back down. "Where's Ted?"
"He went to an Art Deco exhibit in the city after class," she explained. "He should be back soon. And I had my once-yearly KFC craving so he's bringing some fried chicken for dinner. Wanna join us?"
"No, it's alright," he said, taking a long sip of his drink. After a pause, he spoke up again: "I actually came to talk to you."
"You ok?" she asked softly, her wide eyes concerned.
Barney shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure how to begin, what to tell her. His marriage was on shaky ground, and he wanted some advice on how to fix it, if it was even fixable. Tracy set him straight once before; he hoped she could do it again.
Before he could open his mouth, Tracy pulled Penny from underneath the towel, done feeding her. Penny's little head popped out and Barney couldn't help but smile; she was pretty darned cute.
Tracy noticed his look. "Does Uncle Barney want to burp her?" she asked him.
He gave her a pointed look. "In this suit? Please."
Tracy rolled her eyes. She buttoned up her shirt underneath the towel she had draped over her shoulder and, once decently covered up, she threw it at Barney. "There."
"No need for discretion, Tracy. We're all friends here!" he joked, in the flirty and friendly manner he still liked to bug Tracy and Lily with on occasion. He put down his scotch and tossed the towel over his shoulder. "The Barnman likes the lactating boobs."
"You're walking a fine line, Stinson," she warned him teasingly, getting up and handing the baby over to him. "What would Robin say if she heard you talking like this?"
"She wouldn't give a damn," he muttered, bringing Penny to his chest and proceeding to gently rub her back.
"What did you say?" she asked him.
Barney sighed. "I said Robin wouldn't care what I do or say."
"She's your wife," Tracy pointed out matter-of-factly. "Of course she cares."
"Yeah, well, the wife and I are kinda having problems," he admitted softly.
Tracy's eyes widened. "Oh, man," she said. "Um, ok. I need to head to the washroom for a sec, but when I come back, we are talking about this!"
She quickly exited the living room, leaving Barney alone with Penny. He continued to rub the baby's back in a soothing circular motion, and Penny let out a tiny belch rather quickly. Barney laughed and pulled her away from him, looking down at the mess she left behind. He was very grateful for the towel that separated the spit-up from his suit.
He looked back at the baby, who was looking up at him with her wide eyes, which she clearly got from Tracy. (The little frown on her face was obviously all Ted.) "Hey, Penny Lane," he said softly. He was glad that Ted and Tracy had agreed to the middle name he had suggested; they had vetoed his original idea that all the Eriksen and Mosby kids have Wait-for-it as a middle name, but they loved the sound of Penelope Lane Mosby.
"How about we switch places, huh?" he continued, not one to use baby talk, but speaking to the baby in regular, person-to-person speak. "I'll sleep, eat, crap and suck on boobs all day, and you can deal with my marriage. How does that sound?"
All Penny did was gurgle and finally show an adorable, gummy smile. "Yeah, alright," he conceded. "You just stick with being a baby. Stay away from the real world for as long as possible, kiddo. Being an adult isn't all it's cracked up to be."
Tracy arrived back and sat next to Barney on the couch, taking Penny back into her arms.
"So, what is it, Barney?" she asked him kindly, Barney grateful for her eagerness to help. He knew he could've probably talked to his bros, or maybe even confided in Lily, but he knew he could talk to Tracy without being judged. Even when he first met her, and she didn't know him, she was able to see right through him, see the scared man he was behind the pick-up lines and all that bravado. He knew could let his guard down with her.
So he poured it all out.
"We've just been fighting a lot," he admitted. "Being away from New York all the time is hard, and all our fights seem to start up whenever a new trip opportunity pops up or, worse, once we're already there. Things used to get better once we got back to the city, but now, even that isn't keeping us from arguing all the time. And we've... actually been talking about separating." Admitting those words out loud made his heart ache, the same way his chest hurt when Robin recently told him that maybe they should probably spend some time apart.
Tracy listened attentively. "And is the fighting really all about the travel, or something more than that?" she asked him knowingly.
"Why would it be anything else?" he asked her.
Tracy smiled sadly. "Because I think anyone who has so many opportunities to travel with their spouse would be ecstatic about it," she explained. "And you clearly aren't. What happens when you guys are away? What do you guys do?"
"Well, Robin is in the field the whole time, and I just stay in the hotel trying to work on my blog," he said.
"Ah." That was all Tracy said. And it sounded kind of judgmental.
"What is it?" Barney asked, desperate and kind of annoyed. "Because I came here hoping to get your judgment-free thoughts on my situation. And if you can't..." He looked down at Penny, and realized he was talking a bit too loud and aggressively. "Sorry."
Tracy reached a gentle hand to Barney's shoulder. "Barney, you know you can trust me," she assured him with that soothing, friendly tone that she always had, that compelled people to talk to her and open up to her. The whole gang was privy to it at one time or another, as were random strangers. "It wasn't meant to be judgmental. But don't think I won't hesitate to ever tell you when you're being a jackass."
Barney smirked. "You think I'm being a jackass?"
Tracy smiled. "I need more intel on your situation before I can confirm that," she told him. "But what I am seeing is that you're feeling lost in your career, and you're taking it out on Robin."
Barney's mouth hung open. How the hell did she do that, finding the root of the problem before he even knew about it?
"What! No! How?" he sputtered. "That is..."
"Pretty accurate?" she deduced with an arch of her eyebrow.
Thinking it further, Tracy was right. After he had brought down GNB shortly after their wedding, Barney was unemployed but feeling good about himself. And when Robin got her promotion and the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world, they were both elated. Barney didn't have a job, so following Robin around seemed like a dream come true. And it was! He'd enjoy the time off, sleeping in as Robin went out to cover a story, spending some time in the spa, and then waiting for Robin in their hotel room, welcome her back with a grin on his lips, and not much else on. It was a blissful time.
But then the honeymoon phase was over. The trips continued, more and more frequently, and Barney got bored just hanging around alone in his hotel room. He missed going into work, missed having something to do. So he decided to focus on his blog full-time, maybe make some money off of it, even though he and his wife weren't struggling financially in the slightest. But with shoddy wi-fi connections and also being away from New York, the cultural epicenter that his blog mostly focused on, his work just got harder and harder to give his 100%.
"Yeah," he admitted quietly, and sighed.
"So, why do you go with her on all these trips?" she asked him. "Why not stay in New York, focus on your blog and other things, while she travels?"
Wasn't it obvious? "The thought of being away from her for days and weeks at a time is just inconceivable. So I tag along."
"So, you can't stand the thought of being away from Robin for a week, and yet you're seriously considering divorce, which means you'll likely never see her ever again?" Tracy asked him incredulously.
Barney shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Why do you have to point out the logical, Tracy?"
"Because someone has to," she told him pointedly, rocking a sleepy Penny in her arms. "Barney, you have to do something about this before you start resenting her and her career."
"I would never!" Barney exclaimed.
"You better not," she said, pointing a finger at him. "Because you know how hard your wife worked to get this far in her career. And she would always say how supportive you were."
Barney's eyes softened. "She did?"
Tracy nodded her head. "You know, Robin told me once, back when I first met her, that you were a special guy. When other men didn't love her unconditionally—whether her career, her aggressive personality, or the fact that she didn't want kids always became an issue—you were the only one who loved her for all she was and all she wasn't. You need to show her you're still that guy."
Barney's heart swelled. God, he loved her. Of course he loved her. He always told her how much he adored her independent spirit, how much of a badass she was, and that she didn't need to be some helpless, needy chick for him to love her. She was perfect as she was. She still is, he thought.
"I am that guy. And I do love her," he said, looking up at Tracy. "But is that enough to stop all the fighting we've been doing?"
Tracy sighed. "Listen, Barney. I'm not a relationship expert; I've only been in three in my lifetime, and Ted and I are still learning, especially when it comes to being parents. But after losing Max, I've realized that bringing unnecessary drama into a relationship is just not worth it—life's short. Sure, everyone comes with baggage and couples fight, of course, but you and Robin are contemplating splitting up over something that can likely be fixed if you just sit and talk it out. It may sound cheesy, and maybe I've watched too many romantic comedies, but love can fix this."
"You sure?" he asked timidly. Barney was scared. He didn't want to pour his heart out, desperate to save his marriage, only to still have it blow up in his face.
She gave him a knowing smile. "Barney, what did you tell me when we first met?"
He paused in thought for a few seconds. "Target acquired?" he asked.
Tracy laughed heartily. "No, you idiot. Afterwards, on the bus bench, regarding Robin."
Barney smiled, remembering that game-changing night. "That I regretted giving up on her, on us, and not giving our relationship a real chance," he said.
"So don't you want to give your marriage a real chance, too?" she asked him softly.
Barney's eyes widened, taking her words in, letting them wash over him. He and Robin had been through a lot to make it to the end of the aisle, he knew, both of them being at their worst together and apart, before they could be their best selves as a couple. It took a lot of time and heartache and effort; was he ready to let it all fall through his fingers, just like that?
"I do," he whispered to himself. He then looked at Tracy. "I do. I... can't lose her. Not again."
Tracy beamed. "Atta boy," she said. "It'll take some work, but I know you guys will find a solution—and divorce isn't it."
Barney leaned over and wrapped his arms around Tracy, careful not to squish Penny between them. "Thank you, Tracy. This kick in the ass is what I needed."
"That's what I'm here for: advice and ass-kickings," she joked.
Barney smiled. "And I am grateful for that, and so much more," he said in earnest. He was truly glad that Ted found Tracy. Not only that he loved seeing his best bro ridiculously happy, but having Tracy in their lives was something he couldn't do without. She had become a great friend to the whole gang, and very much like family. Plus, she played an integral part in him getting Robin to be his wife and also, he now hoped against hope, in her staying his wife.
Right then, they heard the front door open. "I'm home!" called Ted from the entryway. "Got your chicken! Let's eat, get Penny to bed, so I can get you to bed—" He appeared in the living and spotted his friend. "Oh, Barney, hey! What are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to get Tracy's advice on something," he said. Ted just nodded understandingly. He never really questioned Barney's friendship with Tracy.
"Cool," he said, walking over to his fiancée and daughter. He kissed Tracy on the lips. "Hey, baby," he murmured. He then kissed Penny's fuzzy head. "Hey, actual baby." He dropped the bucket of chicken on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa chair. "Wanna stay for dinner, bro?"
"Nah. I've got to get going and pick up Robin at the airport. Her flight lands in an hour," he said. Tracy smiled approvingly at that. "Although, do you have some paper board and a marker? I want to make a sign for when Robin makes it to the arrivals gate."
Ted scoffed. "Do I?" He then went on excitedly: "I've got matte, glossy, foam, white, coloured, neon. Oh, I even have tri-fold poster boards! And don't get me started on my marker selection! What do you need?"
Barney rolled his eyes. "Bro, could you just... not be so lame? Just a plain white board and a black marker, for the love of..."
"Got it!" Ted said, jumping off of the couch and running to the study.
Tracy looked at Barney. "Just don't write anything dirty. There are likely going to be children at the airport," she warned him teasingly.
Barney smirked. "I can't make such promises."
Ted was now back in the living room, normal white poster board and black marker in-hand. Barney stood up and took the items from his friend gratefully, slipping the marker in his inside jacket pocket, and tucked the rolled-up paper under his arm. "Thanks, man."
"No prob! So, we're still up for Bro's Night Out on Friday?" Ted asked him, taking Penny from Tracy's arms.
"I'll take a raincheck," Barney told him, as they all walked towards the entryway. "I have a date with my wife that night."
Ted smiled knowingly, looking down at Tracy, and then back at his friend. "Got it, buddy," he said. "Next time."
Barney nodded, and opened the front door. He turned back and looked at Tracy. "Thanks again, Bus Bench Girl."
"Anytime, Diaper Man," she said softly, slipping an arm around Ted's waist. "Now go get your girl."
Barney nodded and exited the house, gently shutting the door behind him.
Ted sighed, looked down at the baby, and then over at Tracy. "Think they'll be ok?" he asked.
She looked up at him, wrapped her other arm around his waist, and smiled. "They'll be fine," she said confidently. She then squeezed his middle. "C'mon, pooh bear: let's go eat."
Barney was waiting in the arrivals area at JFK, nabbing a good spot by the railings right by the passenger exit doors.
He was eager to see Robin, excited even. Before he spoke with Tracy, he was dreading her arrival, worried about what she'd tell him when she got home: "I'm done." "It's over." "I'm moving out." "I don't love you anymore." All those scenarios scared the hell out him.
But now he was feeling confident, with a renewed sense of hope. His marriage can be saved. He knew following Robin around like a puppy across the globe, being in one another's faces all the time and him blaming her for the fact that he couldn't get his blog up off ground, wasn't who he was; it wasn't who they were.
She loved his independence as much as he loved hers. And he had lost his sense of identity. Being married wasn't the reason for this; heck no. They just forgot how to be individuals within their couple. And if Barney took the time to focus on his own needs and his own projects, he knew he'd be a better, more supportive husband. And not the mess he was presently.
He waited anxiously for Robin, holding up his sign, which he was sure she couldn't miss. The older lady next to him gave him a disapproving look and shook her head. Barney just shrugged his shoulders; the sign was for Robin's eyes only.
I've been a jerk.
I promise to support you more.
(And not only in bed—what up!)
I love you. Let's fix this.
He waited as people started to come through the exit doors. Couples, families, business people... And then he spotted her. She was dressed casually—blue jeans, canvas sneakers, a gray t-shirt and a black cardigan—but looked beautiful. A bit tired, which was normal after a six-hour flight, without any makeup on, but she still looked flawless. She had her duffle bag tossed over her shoulder, and was pulling her rolling suitcase behind her. She didn't spot him, as she was looking down at her phone, texting.
Barney felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He whipped it out, and saw that Robin was in fact texting him: Landed. See you soon.
He smiled to himself. He loved that she was still letting him know where she was at, even in the middle of their marital problems. Robin never checked in with people. She wasn't the type to inform friends, family or lovers of her whereabouts; and he never asked her to. But it was under her own volition, after they got married, that she would text Barney anytime she landed in a new city, arrived somewhere safely, or that she made it home and was waiting for him. In the two and a half years they'd been married, they were doing their best at doing what married people did. Checking in was one of them.
Communicating, however, was something that they clearly still had to work on.
He looked up from his phone to see that Robin was standing still as passengers walked around her. She had spotted him and his sign, and was just staring at him with a soft look on her face.
Barney gave her a sheepish smile. He probably looked pathetic with his sign and his disheveled suit, but he didn't care. He'd gladly make himself look like a pitiful schmuck—much like Ted and Marshall when it came to love—if it meant he could save his marriage to Robin.
She slowly walked up to him, now barely a foot apart, the metal barrier separating them.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey," he said. "How was your flight?"
"Uneventful," she admitted. "Tried to take a nap. Didn't work."
Barney nodded. "Listen, Robin..." He paused, the sentences he had constructed in his head now all jumbled up, and he could only hope that the words would come out of his mouth clearly and the way he wanted them to. "I'm so sorry for how I've been acting, making all this traveling you've been doing out to be more of a problem than it actually is."
"Barney, I—" she began.
He held up his hand. "Please," he begged gently. "Let me finish. I really need to say this."
Robin nodded her head.
"You married this cool, confident and awesome guy two years ago." Robin couldn't help but smile and chuckle at that. "And that's not who I've been lately, and I'm sorry about that. I don't like the guy I've become. I'm aimless, needy... and jealous. Of you. You're jetting off, circling the globe, doing what you've always wanted to do, and I am just so proud of you. So damn proud. Which is why I hate feeling like this; something needs to change."
He saw Robin flinch. "How so?" she asked quietly.
Barney smiled. "Nothing drastic," he assured her. "I just think I need to be that guy again. So I'm going to stop following you around all the time; you need to work, and I should focus on something of mine, too. Find another job, or just come up with a game plan for my blog and finally move forward with it. I can't bear the thought of being away from you when you're away for work, but I think staying behind in New York will be best for our marriage. And that means, when I do occasionally join you, we can actually enjoy ourselves. Because we used to have fun."
Robin grinned. "We did used to have fun," she agreed. "Remember Belize?"
Barney smiled back. "Mmm," he murmured approvingly. "Remember Caracas?"
Robin laughed lightly. "Remember our hotel room in Athens?" she asked wistfully.
"I do," he said softly. "And I want to remember the awesome times. And not the time we fought in Lyon, or the time I stormed out of our room in Rio, or the night I made you cry in Istanbul." His heart hurt as he recalled that moment.
"Yeah, I'm not too fond of those moments either," Robin said soberly.
"I'll be a better husband this way," he promised, reaching a hand out for hers, finally touching her after a week apart. "I think not being in each other's faces all the time will help; every couple needs their alone time and their own things. And when you come home from wherever, I'll be waiting for you, so happy to see you. In more ways that one."
"We are pretty good at the 'Welcome Home' sex," Robin admitted, grinning wickedly. "But, Barney, I have a role in this, too. I should be able to balance work and our marriage better, and pay more attention to you. I'll work on that."
Barney smiled, and shook his head. "I appreciate that, but this is all on me. But what we should do is talk more. We've always been crappy at communicating; I think we finally need to work on that. Maybe we need to get some tips from the others."
Robin reached out and smoothed down a wrinkled lapel. "Nah, I think we've got this," she told him.
"So divorce is off the table?" Barney asked hopefully.
"It was never on the table, babe," she assured him. "But I know something—or someone—who will be."
Barney's eyes widened approvingly. "Robin," he growled. "I love it when you tempt me with kitchen table sex. Because I am hungry and am ready to eat."
"Double-entendre five!" said Robin happily, lifting a hand up. Barney dropped his poster board to the ground and gleefully pressed his palm to hers.
"God, I love you, Scherbatsky," Barney said, intertwining his fingers with hers.
He let go of her hands and effortlessly hopped over the barricade, getting a disapproving look from a nearby airport security guard. Barney shrugged his shoulders; he'd gotten into way worse trouble with airport security before. And right then, he just wanted to kiss is wife.
Barney moved his hands to Robin's waist, grabbing her hips roughly, not hesitating as he pressed his lips to hers, his tongue separating her lips and forcing itself through. She responded in kind, moaning sweetly as her tongue happily tangled with his, her arms now wrapped around his neck. They hadn't kissed like this in months, where they could just feel the love and the passion pouring through. And Barney missed it terribly.
He pulled away first, Robin letting out a moan in protest. He pressed his forehead to hers and gazed into her eyes. "Let's go home," he said. She nodded.
Barney picked up his sign and rolled it up, handing it over to Robin. He took her bag and tossed it over his shoulder, and then grabbed the handle of her suitcase, their fingers grazing. They began to leave the airport, his right hand instinctively reaching for her left, and Barney—for the first time in a long time—felt that good things were finally ahead for him and Robin. Their marriage would survive this small bump in the road. He would work on himself and become the spouse Robin deserved, and they would once again be the awesome couple they used to be.
And he was right.