Authors note: The second part of my story takes place a few weeks after the engagement announcement. Please tell me what you think. Again, I apologize for possible language mistakes! Enjoy :)

Robin had avoided the gang as much as she could. Although she had been drunk when she decided to let Barney go, the decision was stuck in her head even after having experienced the worst hangover ever. She knew it was the right thing to do. Only Marshall knew about her breakdown and in the night of the engagement she had forced him to promise not to tell anyone about what he had heard and seen in the last hours. She vaguely remembered telling him she would use one of her guns if he ever told anyone. Maybe she had even said it loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear, just in case, you never knew. Maybe Carl the bartender truly was a vampire and was hand in glove with that bitch Quinn. Strippers and vampires were both creatures of the night. Quinn should never find out how vulnerable Robin had been just because of her.

She tried to concentrate on work, but even though she often spent more that 14 hours at her desk, working harder than she'd ever worked before and achieving great results, she couldn't bring herself to feeling happy about the success. After work she often ended up at the shooting range or in the Hooser Hut. She missed Canada. She had always been sure that New York was her home for years now, but all of the sudden, she felt terribly alone in the city.

Everyone in the gang had their own business to deal with at the moment. Marshall and Lily were constantly exhausted and tried to get used to being parents. Ted and Victoria struggled with their rekindled love. Robin had only seen them a few times (the first time she met Victoria was extremely weird, especially because of Ted's nervous attempts to make conversation) but it was obvious that the „Victoria-left-Klaus-at-the-altar-without-leaving-a-note" issue clouded their hopes of an amazing future together. Barney and Quinn had a wedding to plan and with the two of them both being stubborn, there was a lot of tension preprogrammed.

Five weeks after the engagement announcement, Lily organised a girl's night. Actually it was more of a girl's day, because Lily didn't want to stay away from the baby in the evening. Marshall was in charge of Marvin and had ordered Barney and Ted to help him. At first Lily called them every five minutes in panic, but after a while she was convinced that Ted's appartment was a save place for a baby and that the three guys were capable of taking care of Marvin.

Robin had hoped that the girl's day only included Lily and her, but of course Quinn and Victoria were invited too. Robin was deliberately late. When she opened the door to Lily's and Marshall's appartment, her worst nightmare seemed to have become reality. Lily, Quinn and Victoria sat on the couch with freshly painted toe-nails being surrounded by tons of bridal magazines.

„Robin!" Victoria smiled at her in excitement „We're planning a wedding today! Isn't that wonderful? Remember the last time when we planned Lily's wedding? I would have never thought that it would be Barney to get married next, back then."

Quinn laughed whole-heartedly. „It takes a lot of effort and skills to turn him into a man who wants to get married. Thank God, he has met me. I'm just the woman for that hard case." She grinned „Challenge completed!" Robin let out a half laugh, half snort. It was going to be a long afternoon...

Four hours later Robin's head was about to explode. After an endless discussion about the flower arrangements, they switched over to talking about the location, the guests, the honeymoon destination, the right place to buy a bridal gown. Victoria was excitedly planning a god knows how many levels high wedding cake. Robin was quiet most of the time and only advised Quinn not to marry in a mall, because, you know, there was this friend in Canada who had married way too young and her wedding had taken place in a mall. She was divorced now.

The rest of the time she was staring to the ground, trying to blind out the talks about the wedding of the man she loved to another woman. When Lily opened a new bridal magazine and giggled „Let's search for some bridal lingerie!" Robin stood up. „I need some fresh air for a moment. I have a terrible headache. I – I'll just get some air on the roof." Her voice was shaking and Lily looked at her worried. „Do you want me to come with you?" „Thanks, but no, I am perfectly able to get up there alone." Robin replied, more harshly than she had intended to. She hurried out of the room, up the fire escape.

The second she could breathe freely again, she regretted being unfriendly to Lily. Her best friend really annoyed her at the moment. She seemed to have forotten Barney's and Robin's history and she had to walk around blind and deaf not to notice that something was wrong with Robin.

A minute later someone came after her and Robin prepared to tell Lily she was sorry, when, to her utter amazement, she saw Quinn struggeling with the ladder and her murderous high heels. „Hey Quinn" she addressed the other woman as kind as she could. „Do you need some space from these crazy wedding planners down there, too?" Robin faked a laugh. Quinn just stood there and observed her. Robin shifted from one foot to another uncomfortably, because she didn't know what to say. Finally Quinn replied: „Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it? Lily is awesome. Both of them are really into it. What about you? You don't seem so happy today." Robin thought about what to tell her. The truth would be devastating. „I'm just not a big fan of planning a wedding. I know it's untypical for a girl." Quinn stepped closer. „No, I don't think it's untypical for a girl to hate planning the wedding of the man she loves to another woman."

Did Quinn read her mind? „E-excuse me?" Robin asked weakly. „Oh, come on, Robin, I'm a girl too." Quinn answered sharply. „It's so obvious that you are in love with Barney, I've noticed months ago. You should have taken the chance when he was single. But now, and let me be clear about that, he's mine. And I won't let you get in my way. I know how to play that game, I have a long experience with fighting off rivals, I'm a stripper. And if you don't back off, I'll destroy you." Robin stared at her in disbelief. „Quinn, I never intended to..." Quinn cut her off. „Barney is in love with me. I will be the one in the white dress, and don't you dare to interfere!" Robin started to get angry. „Why do you sound like you're trying to convince yourself?" she asked bluntly. Quinn went red in anger. She walked towards Robin until only millimeters of space were between them. „I have nothing to worry about. I have already won. We are engaged and you are going to stand next to me and smile and say amen to everything I want, because I'm the bride. And you are just a pathetic friend of my husband-to-be." Robin's jaw dropped. Barney had obviously never told Quinn about their past relationship. Quinn didn't use the term „ex-girlfriend". For one second, Robin wanted to tell her. But she kept her mouth shut and turned away. Her plan was to let Barney go, so why fight? Quinn took a deep breath, shot a dangerous glance at Robin and disappeared.

Robin's head was swirling. She really needed to get used to the plan of letting Barney go, because deep down, she still wanted to fight. It was wrong to want it, but Quinn had provocated her. She wished she had a gun somewhere to let off steam. Actually she had admitted to herself that she liked Quinn. Quinn was funny and after all, she and Barney matched. She had said these words to herself for several days now, but at the moment she couldn't even remember why she had thought of Quinn as anything else but the bitch she was.

It was getting dark and cold now but Robin didn't bother. She lit a cigarette and leaned against the balustrade. She wished she had taken her jacket with her but she wouldn't go down to get it. She wouldn't come down until Quinn was gone. She was standing there alone for a while, thinking about her fight with Quinn when a voice made her flinch. „He, Scherbatsky, what on earth are you doing up here?" Barney. Not now. She had planned on seeing him in a group, when she was prepared to see him. „Show him everything is alright between the two of you" she thought to herself. „I'm escaping the white and puffy bridal madness down there. What's your excuse?" she replied, her voice slightly shaking. „Same here" Barney said, rolling his eyes. „We're just not made for that crap. Who cares about flowers and the number of guests? The main question is if there is enough time for a quickie in the bathroom. What up?" Robin ignored his lifted arm and slowly repeated: „Yeah, we're just not made for this crap."

He observed her for a second and then changed subject. „What the hell are you smoking there? A cigarette? Pah, you are in company of the Barnacle!" Although she was protesting he put out her cigarette. „Watch out!" he exclaimed dramatically and out of nothing, a cigar appeared in his hand. Barney's love for magic tricks seemed to increase. „You mind if we share? I've got only one left, Ted smoked the rest while babysitting Marvin. His nerves are on edge." He lit the cigar, took a deep drag and handed it over to Robin. An awkward pause followed. The cigar calmed Robin down. „Poor Ted. He has a rough time at the moment. Let's hope he can find some joy in doing all that girly wedding stuff." Barney turned to her and grinned.

„Oh I'm sure he will be a great help for Quinn to go mad over flower arrangements. If this was our wedding, we would just sit back and relax while Ted had the whole thing planned out in no time." Robin gulped and reached for the cigar. She managed a smile and replied: „If this was our wedding, everybody would freak out except for the two of us. We're just way too awesome to bother with that crap." She tried to pass it as a joke although her heart suffered by the thought of „their wedding". Barney made a step towards her, grabbed the cigar once again and smiled. It was the Robin-smile and she had troubles breathing in correctly. „If this was our wedding, I would freak out, because you're awesome … -ly famous now and then everyone would find out about my marriage and that would cause a national crisis for all the single women out there." Robin couldn't help but smile back. Awesome -ly famous? He was just irresistable when he was smiling like that. For a moment her world seemed to be complete again.

Then ever-annoying inner Robin set off the alarm bells. The plan was „Get over him" not „Start flirting with the strippers fiancé". She cleared her throat, stepped back and changed subject.

„So, what are you guys already doing here?" Barney blinked and then looked at her exhausted. „Turns out we're not capable of calming Marvin down." He went along with the sudden change of subject. „Actually, Marshall slept in the minute he sat down on Ted's sofa and Ted totally freaked out about the idea of having to take care of the baby without him. And I – well, dealing with screaming babies is definitely not my greatest ability. I think I would go mad if I had one myself. I mean, what are they doing all the time? Babies are weird. Children are a challenge that won't ever be completed, because they stick around forever, you know. But Barney Stinson always completes his challenges. Always. Besides, dads are not awesome. Not at all!"

Once again she couldn't help herself. She was in such a vulnerable place at the moment and Barney always caught her off guard. She was already on the edge of tearing up.

„I can't have a baby."