Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from How I Met Your Mother, just the story.

A/n: This is the morning after. I'm concentrating on Robin and Marshall, but I'm shaping the story so that I can include the other characters as well. More to come pending on your reactions, so please review! ;)

Chapter 2

Marshall quickly got up and went straight to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. He looked up at himself in the mirror. What the fuck? I did bad. This. Is. Bad. He went back in the bedroom to find Robin still asleep and started gathering his clothes, frantically putting on one piece at a time. He pondered for a moment if he should wake her up before he left, but since he had no idea what to say to her he decided it'd be better if he just left her a note. He looked around for a notepad and pen and saw them on the night stand. As he reached for them, he tripped over Robin's and his shoes and almost broke the lamp on the table. The noise woke Robin immediately.

She opened her eyes directly at Marshall and saw him putting gently back on the night stand the lamp, trying not to wake her up. She smiled thinking that it was sweet of him. Then she took in the full picture and saw that he was half-dressed and noticed him trying to put on the remainder of his clothes in a hurry. It dawned on her; he was trying to sneak out.

She cleared her throat and rose an eyebrow at him as soon as he turned around to meet her eyes. "Mornin'. Going somewhere?"

-"Uh, yeah. I gotta go, I have a shitload of missed calls and messages and Lily must be freaking out. She probably called the police and filed a Missing Person's Report or something, you know?", he said chuckling nervously. Robin wasn't amused at his attempt to make a joke but she smiled either way. "You know, I never pegged you for the sneaking out type. That's kind of cold, Marshall. I mean... aren't we gonna talk about this?"

Marshall finally finished getting dressed and he was checking out his phone trying to read the many messages. He heard Robin and agreed that leaving without saying anything wasn't the best way to go, but he was more concerned about getting home and talking to his wife. He nodded at Robin's comment, "Well, I really don't think there's anything to talk about. I mean, we got shit faced, we slept together, it was a huge mistake and now we have to figure out how to cover our asses. We'll manage."

Robin was shocked. She tried to process what he said, but everything in that sentence seemed so wrong. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She was just laying there, naked under the sheet propped up on her elbow. Marshall looked at her and saw the hurt in her face. He felt horrible just then. This wasn't just some chick, this was Robin. He sat on the bed and grabbed Robin's hand. "Look, Robin, I'm sorry. I know we have to talk about this, and we will. It's just, right now I have to go home and talk to Lily. You get that, right?"

She sighed and nodded. She really did get it, but she didn't like it. They needed to figure this out, they needed to talk it out. But she understood. "What will you say to her?"

Marshall dropped his head down in defeat. "I have no idea." He grabbed his face with his hands and took a deep breath, "I am so screwed right now."

Robin saw her friend in pain and decided maybe she could help. After all, this was as much her fault as it was his. "Look, what if I call her? I'll call her right now and tell her that we got so wasted last night that you had to spend the night. And that your phone was silent. She'll believe it, Marshall. It'll be okay."

-"You can do that? You'd do that for me?", he asked in disbelief and she nodded. "Robin, you're awesome and thank you for trying to help, but I don't know if I can let you do that. I know how much your friendship with Lily means to you."

-"Marshall, yes it means a lot to me. But so does yours. And if I can help you right now, why shouldn't I? Besides, what other options do we have?"

He agreed to let Robin make the call and she did. Robin explained everything like she had planned and Lily was a little upset because she had been worried, but bought everything which made them feel even more guilty. Yet, Marshall was relieved. He let out a deep breath and thanked Robin again.

-"So, do you want some breakfast? I told Lily you were still out of it so you still have some time. If you want, that is."

-"Nah, I think I should head home now." Marshall walked to the door and opened it. He turned around before leaving and kissed Robin's cheek. "Thanks Robin. You're a real bro.", he stepped out and shut the door.

Robin looked down and sighed. She rested her back against the door for a moment and whispered to herself "Yeah... a bro. Great." Just then she heard a knock on the door. She leaped in excitement and opened it eagerly. "Oh, hi Barney..."

-"What up, Scherbatsky?! I brought you some bagels. Where's the cream cheese?", he said as he made his way inside and to the kitchen, not waiting for an invitation.

Robin rolled her eyes thinking how disappointed she was that it wasn't Marshall coming back, but she smiled as she saw her friend grabbing a filter and some water to make coffee. She thought about how nice it was to have a friend there at the moment, she didn't particularly feel like being alone. She sat on one of the stools at the counter and watched Barney as he prepared the bagels.

-"Hey, I saw Marshall leaving. Don't tell me these are your second bagels of the day."

Robin's eyes widened and she was a little nervous now. "Uh, no. He just... had to crash last night. We hit the tequila a little too hard."

-"Oh! You got your drink on! I would've stayed longer if I'd have known.", he shrugged. Suddenly, he looked at her. He hadn't realized she had no clothes on, she was wrapped in a white sheet. Whaaat? He looked over at the couch and it was neat. Cushions perfectly arranged, no sheets, no pillows... no sign of anybody having slept in it at all. Without saying anything he slowly went over to Robin's bedroom. He hadn't even reached the door before she realized... Damn it, I'm fucking naked! Oh, shit... the bed! "Barney! Wait!", she shouted and leapt out of the stool. But it was too late.

He was standing right at the entrance of the bedroom, looking at the messy bed with a confused and perplexed look on his face. He looked at her with that same look, examining her head to toe and looked back at the bed in disbelief. And just when he managed to open his mouth to say something, he saw a condom wrapper in the floor beside the bed. He gasped, completely in shock. He looked at her horrified for a second, and then stormed past her. Robin was mortified. "Wait, Barney, please! Don't leave, please!"

He reached for the front door and looked at her one last time before leaving. "How could you?", he said with sad eyes and a tone just above a whisper. Robin's eyes watered and she could only manage to say "Please... don't tell Lily. Please don't tell anyone, Barney. I'm begging you." He scoffed and shook his head, "Don't worry. I won't.".

As soon as the door slammed behind him, Robin's tears began running down her face. She leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor crying. How could she?