Chapter Two
Cas woke as the sun was setting, glad for the first time all month that she had quit her job. It took her a few minutes of watching her room darken to realize why she was still in bed as the sun was going down. She hadn't jumped. Instead, she had met someone, who she might classify as a friend, but she wasn't sure yet. Most of her friendships didn't last past a week, at the longest. They usually said she unnerved them. She stretched her arms above her head and found her way out of the twisted blankets to walk towards the bathroom, shedding her remaining clothes as she went. She took a quick shower, emerging into the cool room, shivering at the chilly air. She decided jeans and a long sleeved sweater would be better for tonights outing than shorts, and hunted through her drawers for them quickly, her hair dripping down her back until it met the towel.
Finally, as eight o'clock rolled around, she was dressed, her hair curled back nicely, and she had even worn makeup for the bar visit, though she usually didn't like the stuff much. She grabbed her phone and house key from her nightstand where she had left them the night before, and left the apartment. Summer wasn't quite over yet, but the nights were growing colder and colder. Soon she would have to wear a jacket out of the house. But she would delay that as much as possible. She probably could have brought Barney's suit jacket to return it to him, but she didn't want him to have to carry it around all night. And a little part of her wanted to have an excuse to see him again after today. It was warmer tonight than the previous night, and the air was almost completely still, which Cas was glad about since she had actually taken the time to style her hair that day and wind would have completely ruined it. MacLaren's was only two buildings over from her apartment, so it took her less than a minute to get there. Cas arrived before Barney did, so she found a seat at the end of the bar and ordered a beer, then settled in to wait in a seat that faced the door. Barney arrived when she was halfway through her first beer and she had just started to think he had forgotten, wearing a suit and a grin. He glanced around the bar twice before frowning and looking at his phone. She supposed that she must have looked a little different with her hair down and wearing nicer clothes, but she thought he would recognize her. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and waited for it to ring, since he looked to be calling her. He ordered a drink from the bartender and found a place to lean against the counter, two chairs away from her. She was trying to suppress her laughter as he held his phone to his ear and hers began to ring.
"Hello," She said, answering the phone with a smile. He turned toward her when he heard her speak and raised an eyebrow.
"You look… different," he said, and she nearly blushed as he looked her over.
"Yeah well I thought it was a little cold out for shorts tonight," she said, tucking her phone back into her pocket.
"It was a little cold for shorts last night too," he said, rolling his eyes and coming over to lean against the counter near her. They both took a moment to look around the bar, then Barney grinned. "Target acquired," he said, his eyes falling on a brown haired girl sitting alone at a table in the middle of the bar. Cas rolled her eyes and leaned against the counter to watch from her chair. Barney walked over to the girl and sat down, talking. Cas couldn't hear what he was saying, but within ten minutes he was walking back over to her, waving a napkin and grinning.
"That actually worked?" Cas asked, rolling her eyes as he tore up the napkin with the girls phone number on it.
"Yep. She was waiting for a blind date," he said, still holding his glass of whatever he was drinking.
"That doesn't count," Cas said, frowning as she watched the girl leaving the bar with a last smile towards Barney.
"You didn't make conditions in the challenge, so yes it does," he argued, still smiling. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her drink as he went off to use the restroom. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice how much time had passed until Barney came back, grinning, and towing another person behind him.
"This," Barney said, jerking the two of them to a stop in front of her, "is Ted, my new best friend. I'm teaching him how to live."
"That's nice," she said, rolling her eyes, but she couldn't keep herself from smiling a little.
"Haaaave you met Ted?" Barney asked, then walked away, pushing Ted towards her. She rolled her eyes.
"Yes I have, you just introduced us five seconds ago," she called after him. He shook his head as he retreated to the other side of the bar. Cas and Ted looked at each other for a couple seconds, not really knowing what to say.
"I'm Cas," she said, holding out her hand. He smiled and shook it.
"Ted," he replied. "I'm actually here with friends… did you want to sit with us?" He nodded his head at a booth nearby where two other people sat, talking.
"Sure," she said, shrugging. She glanced back at Barney, but he was already chatting up another girl, so she followed Ted to the booth and sat beside him.
"Guys, this is Cas. Cas, this is Marshall and Lily," Ted said. Cas gave them a little wave as they both said hi.
"So, how do you know Ted?" Lily asked, sipping her beer. Cas glanced at Ted, not really knowing what to say.
"That guy over there introduced us," Ted said, pointing in the general direction of Barney. "He said he is my new best friend and will teach me how to live." Ted rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, that's my fault probably. I told him he is charismatic enough that that line would probably work on someone," Cas said, looking down at her cup. They all laughed.
"I think charismatic is the wrong word. I'd use eccentric," Ted said.
"That is probably more accurate," Cas said, nodding.
"So, Cas, what do you do?" Marshall asked when the conversation fell into a lull.
"I'm a Psychologist," she said, smiling.
"Oh that's cool," he said, and Lily and Ted nodded in agreement.
"What about you guys?" She asked, not really sure what else to say.
"I'm an architect," Ted said, almost puffing his chest out in pride. Cas covered her smile with a hand.
"I teach kindergarden," Lily said, smiling.
"I'm in law school," Marshall said. "And I really should be studying right now, I have a huge test on Monday."
"Oh come on, it's only ten," Ted complained as Marshall and Lily both slid out of the booth.
"It was nice meeting you," Cas said, smiling at them. They seemed like nice people.
"You too," Lily said, finishing off the beer in her mug as she stood. "We will have to hang out again sometime," she said, then turned and winked at Ted who rolled his eyes. Cas looked away, sure she wasn't supposed to have seen that.
"Sooo," Ted began, turning to face her in the booth. Before he could continue, Barney slid into the bench across from them, grinning.
"Hey," he said to Cas, then turned to Ted. "So Ted, I found the perfect girl for you, she's over there," he nodded toward a booth on the other side of the room. Ted turned to look at the girl he had nodded to, as did Cas. She was reading a book, and her dark hair kept falling into her eyes, and she kept brushing it back.
"Why is she perfect?" Ted asked skeptically, turning back to Barney.
"Look at her! She's totally boring. Who comes to a bar on a Friday night to read a book alone in a booth? Go talk to her," Barney said. Cas laughed.
"She's probably waiting for someone," she said, shaking her head. "The book is a way to keep other people from approaching her.
"Nah, she's not looking at the door when new people come in, and she's been here for half an hour. If she's waiting for someone, she knows they aren't going to show up," Barney said, watching the girl again. "Plus she's like a four, they are always desperate." Cas rolled her eyes.
"No thanks," Ted said, sipping his drink. Barney huffed and turned back to him, then frowned.
"I thought I told you to lose the goatee?" He said, glaring now.
"Yeah you did… ten minutes ago," Ted nodded.
"Well why isn't it gone yet?" Barney asked, frowning. Cas shook her head and smiled as they launched into an argument. For just meeting Ted today, Barney had a lot of opinions about his life.
Cas sat through their argument as it turned from facial hair to hot girls to jobs to clothes and then back to facial hair without saying anything before deciding that she was done with the night. She yawned, then stood and stretched her arms out in front of her.
"Well I'm going home," she said to the two men who were still arguing. Both of them lifted a hand to wave farewell without stopping the argument. She rolled her eyes and left the building, turning right to walk to her apartment.
"Wait, Cas," she heard someone call from behind her and turned to see Barney coming up the steps from the bar.
"What?" She asked as he approached.
"I just... Uh," he rubbed the back of his neck and she raised an eyebrow.
"You want to make sure I'm not jumping off any buildings tonight?" She asked, trying not to smile.
"I just wanted to make sure you're okay today," he said grinning.
"I'm fine. Stop worrying," she said, smiling.
"I'll walk you home if you want," he said, falling into step beside her. She shrugged and they walked in silence for about thirty seconds.
"Okay thanks," she said, coming to a stop at the base of the next set of stairs.
"You live here?" He asked, looking up at the building, then back to the bar.
"Yep. Number 202. That's my window," she said, pointing at the window to the right of the front door. There was a business in the bottom of the building, just like the bar, but it was a weird "psychic" place she had never been to. The bottom of her window came to just above her head when she stood on the street, so she always left the curtains closed to prevent people on the street from looking in. Her bed was positioned just under the window, so at night after she turned out the lights she could just barely see the stars, if the night was clear.
"Want to go back to the bar tomorrow night?" He asked, glancing down at her.
"You don't need to keep inviting me places to make sure I'm still alive you know," she said, resisting the urge to laugh.
"I know," he said, shrugging. "But we are going to be friends, so we should probably hang out." She looked him over, one eyebrow raised.
"Fine, friends," she said, nodding. She walked up the five steps to her front door and pulled out the key to unlock it.
"Nine?" He asked from the bottom of the steps.
"Sure, it's a date," she said, pulling open the door and turning to look at him.
"No it's not," he said, but he was smiling.
"I know," she said, then walked the rest of the way into the building, letting the door fall shut behind her.
88888
The next few months seemed to fly by. Barney invited her to the bar every night the first week until she got into the habit of going and he stopped having to call her. She just knew that if she went to MacLaren's around nine, either Barney, Ted, Lily, or Marshall would be there. She had gotten to know all of them quite well, since she saw them almost every day now. She had acquired all of their phone numbers for one reason or another, helped Barney pick out girls they thought Ted would like, and even, a few times, played wingman to Barney. She thought his stunts to get women to go home with him were usually ridiculous, but it was fun to act like someone she wasn't, whether that was someone who had slept with Barney in the past and would 'accidentally run into him and pretend to want him back to make him more appealing' or someone like his personal assistant because he was an 'actor,' 'musician,' or 'someone famous for something.'
She might have felt bad for helping him lie to girls, but honestly, if they were desperate enough to go home with him at the end of the night, that was their problem.
She thought the main reason she stuck around with the group was because none of them really lied, not about big things anyway. If one of them asked an embarrassing question, the others usually just answered it honestly, though sometimes the truth was disguised by making the answer sound sarcastic, or not telling all of it. She thought they were funny. She usually stayed quiet at their gatherings, only speaking up when someone spoke directly to her, but they all seemed to like her, so she was content to stay quiet. And she made extra sure not to point out when they were lying. She didn't want them to think she was a freak.
"I'll get the next round," Cas said as Barney stood to go up to the bar. Being a girl, it was a to easier for her to get drinks than it was for Barney or Ted to. She thought it was funny, Barney thought it was unfair, since, as he was always saying, hot guys should be served just as fast as hot girls.
"Hey Barney, you see that girl over there?" She heard Ted ask, and turned to look where he was looking. She hadn't even heard him come up behind her.
"Oh yeah, you just know she likes it dirty," Barney said. "Go say hi." Cas shook her head and grabbed three of the drinks, then nudged Barney to get the other two as Ted turned back to them in protest. She had just made it to the table when she heard Barney say "Hi. Haaaave you met Ted?"
"Thanks Cas," Lily said, pulling her drink toward her as Barney set down the last one, having left Ted's drink on the bar for him.
"So who's the girl?" Marshall asked, watching Ted talk to the girl he had seen across the room.
"Dunno," Barney shrugged, taking a sip of his scotch. Cas never drank anything stronger than beer. She was not a pleasant drunk, and she usually got drunk super easily, so getting tipsy off beer was as far as she went on their nightly bar visits.
"Jerk," they heard the woman say a few minutes later, and they turned in time to see her throw her drink in his face. Cas noticed her smile back at him though as she walked away and was confused for only a moment before Ted came back over to them.
"Denied," Barney said mockingly.
"Nope," Ted said, settling back into his chair. "We are going out for dinner tomorrow night." They all laughed at Barney's surprised look as Ted used a napkin to wipe off the remains of the drink from his face.
"So, who is she?" Lily asked, watching Ted with a raised eyebrow.
"Robin Scherbatsky, she's a news reporter," Ted said, smiling.
"Oh, I've seen her before. She does those not important pieces on animals doing weird things right?" Cas asked, looking back at the woman in the corner booth. "I thought she looked a little familiar."
"Yeah that's her," Ted said. He then launched into making a plan for dinner the next night, listening to what Lily said while ignoring Barney's suggestions.
Cas zoned out for about ten minutes, slowly sipping her beer while ignoring the four of them making dinner plans.
"You got engaged?" Barney asked loudly, drawing her back to the present. Cas looked back to Lily and Marshall in surprise.
"You did? Congratulations!" She said, grinning. They did look really happy together.
"No no no, not congratulations. Marriage is the most horrible thing you can do!" Barney said loudly, acting panicked. Cas laughed, and took another sip of her beer.
The next evening, Cas and the others were sitting around a table in the bar, listening to Ted tell them about his night with Robin. The whole story sounded really romantic, which she was beginning to see was just Ted's way of doing things.
"You should have kissed her," she chimed in, and the others nodded in agreement.
"No way, I didn't get the signal," Ted said, shaking his head. The others proceeded to mock him, and then randomly, Barney turned to Marshall and kissed him. Cas burst out laughing as Marshall tried to tell Lily that he hadn't been giving Barney the signal.
"You should have kissed her," the bartender said after he brought another drink out to them, which set the table to laughing again.
"I should have kissed her," he repeated, frowning. "I'm going to her house." He said, standing up.
"Ted, it's after midnight, you can't," Lily said, watching him. Cas finished off her drink right as Lily grabbed her wrist and dragged her up. "We're coming with you," she said, pulling Marshall up as well. They started toward the door, Barney finally following them too. The five of them squeezed into a cab together and were off to Robin's apartment. Cas was squeezed in the back seat between Barney and Marshall, with Lily against the door and Ted in the front seat. She was quiet the whole ride, only laughing when Ted ran out of a building holding a blue french horn and yelling to go, then sitting in silence as Robin let Ted into the building. She ignored the casual conversation between the others until Lily got out to use the bathroom.
"I'll come with," Cas said, making Marshall get out of the car to let her out too. The two girls walked to the bodega and found the bathrooms pretty quickly.
"So, how did you meet Barney? I don't think I ever asked," Lily said as she straightened her clothes in the mirror as Cas washed her hands.
"Oh, I met him at a party. In the Empire State Building," Cas said, not looking up.
"Oh that's cool, what was the party for?" Lily asked, now messing with her hair.
"I dunno, I wasn't actually there for the party, I was just sneaking through the party because I wanted to go up to the observation deck after hours. The security in that place is so lax. Barney followed me up and we started talking and then we decided to go to the bar later. And now we are friends," she said, smiling as she tossed her paper towels into the trash and the two girls left the bathroom.
"Well that's cool," Lily said as they left the building and headed back to the cab. As they approached, they could hear Marshall talking to Barney about Lily and how he wasn't scared at all to marry her. Cas smiled as the couple kissed through the open cab window, then climbed in, sitting in the front seat this time.
"Yep. Cool," Cas repeated, tucking her hands into her pockets. They decided to leave about twenty minutes later, assuming Ted would be staying longer.
"What?" The whole table cried out in surprise as they listened to Ted tell them about the night.
"You told her you loved her?" Lily asked, her mouth hanging open.
"I know, I know, it was stupid," Ted said, shaking his head mournfully. "And then we shook hands, and I said something about being a good hand-shaker, and then I left," he said, then looked up at the silent table. "What?"
"That was the signal!" Lily said. "You should have kissed her!"
"That was the signal," the cab driver who had joined them for a drink, said.
"Whatever, you guys weren't there," Ted said as Marshall popped the cork out of a champagne bottle and poured them all cups, then turned to face to Lily.
"To my fiancee," he said, holding his cup up.
"To the future," Lily said, smiling.
"To one hell of a night!" the cab driver, Ranjit said, holding his cup up.
Cas left the group a couple minutes later, saying she needed to get some sleep, though really she just wanted to go home and curl up on her couch and watch a movie. Something quiet, without people.
"Cas," the now familiar voice drew her to a stop just as she reached the top of the bar's steps.
"Yeah Barney?" She asked, turning to look at him. He had stopped at the bottom of the stairs and was looking up at her.
"Are you okay?" He asked, not looking away from her.
"I'm fine," she said, smiling. He had been doing this at least twice a week since they had met. She though it was nice of him, a little way of letting her know she was cared about.
"Okay, just checking," he said, then turned and disappeared back into the bar. She smiled the rest of the way home.
The next evening, Cas went down to the bar early, because she was bored of sitting at home.
"Cas!" Lily called from behind her just as she was opening the bar door.
"Hey," Cas said, waiting for Lily to catch up.
"No Marshall tonight?" Cas asked as they walked up to the bar.
"No, he has to study tonight," Lily said. They ordered their drinks then turned to make their way to their usual booth.
"Hey, isn't that Robin?" Cas asked, happening to glance toward the next person coming in the door. Lily turned around and grinned.
"Robin!" She called, waving to the woman who looked startled. Robin got a drink from the bar, then came over to sit in the empty booth seat Lily and Cas had left for her.
"We're Ted's friends," Cas explained since Robin looked confused.
"We recognized you from the news," Lily said, holding her hand out to shake. "I'm Lily, this is Cas."
"Oh, okay, I was wondering if we had met and I just forgot," she said, smiling as she returned Lily's handshake. "It's nice to meet you. So... Ted's friends huh?"
"Yep. And speaking of Ted, what do we think of him?" Lily asked, jumping straight to the point.
"Ted's… something else," Robin said, laughing. "He comes on a little strong."
"But that's part of his charm," Lily said, nudging Cas to agree. She just nodded.
"Oh, totally. I mean, he's sweet, he's charming, he's just looking for something a little bit more serious than I am," Robin said, shrugging. "I mean the most I can handle right now is something casual." She took another sip of her drink and the others followed her example. "This just stays between us, right?" Robin asked, looking between the two girls.
"Are you kidding?" Lily asked, grinning. "This flapper is Fort Knox," she finished. Cas just nodded in agreement.
"Robin!" Ted said as he, Barney and Marshall approached the table.
"Hey," Robin said, looking up at Ted as the others slid into the booth or grabbed a chair.
"Look who we ran into," Lily said, gesturing to Robin.
"Since when do you guys know each other?" Ted asked, sitting on a chair at the end of the table.
"Uh... since about," she began then pointed to the top of her glass, "here." Cas and Lily laughed. "Lily recognized me from the news and-" she stopped talking as Marshall and Lily began to make out beside Cas, who scooted over to the very edge of the seat. "Hello, Sailor!" Robin finished, laughing.
"They just got engaged," Ted said as a way of explanation.
"Ah. Well, I should get back to the station. See you guys," she said, standing up and finishing off her drink. Marshall raised a hand in farewell without stopping the kiss with Lily and Cas laughed again, waving as well.
"Nice seeing you, Ted." Robin said, smiling at him.
"Yeah, you too," Ted said, then turned to watch her leave. Cas stood and sat on the bench Robin had just vacated as Barney walked over with a pitcher of beer and set it on the table.
"Damn it." Ted said when she was out of the building.
"What?" Lily asked, finally surfacing.
"I'm in love with her," Ted said, still staring at the door, his face sad. Barney smacked the back of his head, drawing his attention away from the door as he sat next to Cas in the empty place at the table.
"No! As your sponsor I will not let you relapse," Barney said, pouring himself a mug of beer. "You blew it, it's over, move on."
"I don't know!" Ted said, glancing back at the door again as though expecting Robin to come back in. "I just have this feeling. She's the future Mrs. Ted Mosby." Lily let out a half squeak half snort, then covered her mouth. Cas had to stop herself from laughing.
"Lily, you squeaked?" Ted asked, looking back to the table. Lily just shook her head. "She said something about me didn't she? Come on, spill it, Red." Cas was full out laughing now as Lily spilled the entire story immediately, ending with an 'oops' as she told him she had promised not to tell.
"She wants casual. Okay, I'll be casual," Ted said, frowning. "I'm gonna be a mushroom cloud of casual. You know why? Cause it's a game! I wanted to skip to the end and do the 'happily ever after' thing but you don't get there unless you play the game."
"So you're gonna ask her out?" Marshall asked to clarify.
"Yeah," Ted began, then paused. "No! I can't ask her out, because if I ask her out I'm asking her out. So how do I ask her out, without asking her out?" They all sat in silence for a moment, trying to figure out if Ted had just made any sense.
"Did you guys get high?" Lily asked, breaking the silence. Cas let out a little laugh.
"I got it! I don't ask her out…" Ted began, smiling. "I invite her to our party next Friday."
"We're having a party next Friday?" Marshall asked, looking over at Lily. Lily just shrugged, letting him know she didn't know any more than he did.
"We are now-Casual," Ted said, leaning back in his chair as though he had just come to the perfect solution.
"Yeah, cuz nothing says "Casual" like inviting a hundred people over just to mack on one girl" Barney said sarcastically. "Oh, and Lily, that's my leg." He said, turning to the red head.
"You waited five minutes to tell me that?" Lily asked incredulously, sitting straighter in her seat.
"Alright... so call her up!" Marshall said, and Cas turned back to the others.
"No. Calling's not casual!" Ted said, thinking again. "I just gotta bump into her somewhere. If only I knew her schedule I could arrange a 'chance' encounter." Cas laughed at that.
"That's great, Ted," Cas said. "You'll be the most 'casual' stalker ever." They all laughed at that.
Cas left a few minutes after that when Lily and Marshall left as well.
When she got home she quickly shed her clothes, replacing them with pajamas, then went to the bathroom to scrub her makeup off. She had been wearing it almost every day now, since she went out almost every night. Finally, when she was ready for bed, she curled up on the couch and grabbed the book she was reading so she would have something to do until she was tired enough to sleep.
She woke to her phone ringing around eight in the morning.
"Hello," she said after clearing her throat so she wouldn't sound tired. She didn't recognize the number.
"Hello, this is Mary Swanson from Columbia University, I'm looking for Cassie Reynolds?" The woman said, and Cas sat up fast.
"Speaking," she said, doing her best to sound professional.
"Hi, I'm calling you regarding the résumé you sent in last week. As it turns out, we do have an opening for a school psychologist and we would like to interview you on Monday," the woman said, and Cas grinned.
"That sounds great," she said, running a hand through her hair to get it off her face. "What time would you like me to come in?"
"Nine o'clock," the woman said.
"That's perfect," Cas said, sweeping her legs off the bed to stand and nearly falling over when her foot got caught in the blanket.
"Great. Come to the registration office first thing and they can direct you to the University President's office," she said.
"Alright. Thank you so much," Cas said as she caught her balance again and said goodbye to the woman on the phone then hung up. She stood there grinning like an idiot for a second, then put her hands on her hips and looked around the room. What now? She didn't feel like making breakfast, and she wasn't really hungry, but there wasn't much else to do. With a sigh she twisted her hair up into a messy bun and started walking across the floor. Before she could reach the kitchen, the door buzzer rang, then rang again and again as though someone were frantically pushing the button. She pushed the button to let whoever it was in, and opened her apartment door as they came inside.
"Barney?" She asked, frowning as he came up the stairs. He hadn't been here before, but she must have told him the number and forgotten. She closed the door behind him.
"Can you do me a huge favor?" He asked, not even looking around her apartment.
"At eight in the morning?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "You usually wait until the evening to need a wingman."
"Not that. Look, this is going to sound weird, but can you pretend to be my fiancee for like, fifteen minutes?" He asked, then looked her over and frowned. "Did I wake you up?"
"No," she said, "and shouldn't you be at work?" She asked, then shook her head. "Why do you need a fiancé for fifteen minutes?"
"Well, my mom's in the hospital," he began, then paused. "And it doesn't look like she's going to make it," he continued, then stopped at the look of horror on Cas's face. "She always wanted to see me get married, so can you just visit her and pretend we are getting married?" Cas just nodded, a worried look on her face.
"Are you okay?" She asked, looking him over.
"Eh," he said, shrugging, but not answering. "Come on, get dressed," he said, gesturing toward the rest of the apartment.
"Of course," she said, turning back to the room. "Uh, you can sit, I'll just be a minute," she didn't wait to see if he sat, but rushed to find a pair of slacks and a blouse, then hurried to the bathroom. She stripped off her pajama shorts and tank top, pulling the other clothes on and trying to brush her teeth at the same time, then she brushed her hair and twisted it back into a neater bun, and brushed on some quick makeup. She was out in the living room again within five minutes, and walked over to drop her pajamas on her bed and grab her key, phone and wallet.
"Let's go," she said, nodding to the door.
"Why do you live in such a little apartment?" He asked as she locked the door behind her.
"I like it," she said, shrugging. "Plus I haven't had a job for three months."
"Really?" He asked, holding up a hand to call a cab over. He gave the cab driver the address as they settled int he back seat.
"Yeah, I quit my last one right before I met you," she said, shrugging as the cab pulled back into traffic.
"I could find something for you at GNB if you want," he said, looking out the window. He sounded like he wasn't concerned about his mother at all, but Cas noticed that his knuckles were white as he clenched his fists.
"No thanks," she said. "And what is it you do there, you've ever said," she asked, continuing the conversation to try to distract him.
"Please," he said, flapping a hand at her. "Here's fine," he said to the cabbie, and they climbed out onto the sidewalk in front of the hospital. Barney led her past the front desk and through the hallways to an elevator, then through more hallways, finally coming to a stop outside a door.
"Oh, here," he said, grabbing her left hand. He lifted it for a second, and she felt a band of cool metal on her finger. She looked down as he released it and couldn't help but smile. Then Barney pushed the door open and grabbed her hand to pull her through. He tried to release her hand as they approached the bed, but she held on.
"Mom," he said softly. The woman didn't look much like Barney. Her hair was bright red and very curly. She opened her eyes and smiled up at Barney and Cas could see that she had the same bright blue eyes as Barney did. She smiled.
"Mom, this is Betty. We're engaged!" Barney said, letting go of Cas's hand to wrap his arm around her waist. Cas shot him one little glare at the name, then turned back to the woman on the bed.
"Hi Mrs. Stinson, it's so nice to finally meet you," Cas said, and let the older woman grab her hands.
"You see, Mom?" Barney said, smiling as he leaned over the bed. "I found someone who makes me happy, just as you wished."
"It's beautiful," she said, smiling weakly and closing her eyes again. "I wish I could stay for the grandchildren." Cas's eyes widened and she glanced at Barney who raised an eyebrow and cocked his head a little, as though telling her to go with it.
"I'm pregnant!" Cas said, grinning. The woman opened her eyes again and smiled widely.
"That's great dear," she said softly.
"We'll let you sleep now mom, I'll be back later," Barney said, and the woman released Cas's hands and closed her eyes again, a smile on her face. The two of them left the room and didn't speak until they were back in the lobby.
"Great job, I think she bought it," Barney said as they flagged a cab back to her apartment again.
"Barney, are you really okay?" Cas asked as the car pulled up.
"I'm fine," he said, but she could tell he was lying. No one was fine when their mother was in the hospital, so she let the lie slide and didn't say anything until they pulled up to her apartment. "Did you want to stay here today?" She asked, as she climbed out of the car. He shrugged. "We can watch Die Hard, I just got it on DVD." She smiled as he began to climb out of the cab too.
"Alright fine," he said, then paid the driver and followed her up the steps to her apartment. She kicked off her shoes by the door and left it open for him to come inside. He closed the door and shrugged out of his suit jacket, then sat on the couch as she found the DVD and started the movie. She curled up against the arm of the couch as the movie began, leaving plenty of room for Barney to sit comfortably at the other end of the couch. He didn't say anything through the movie. Or through Die Hard 2. Or 3. Finally she stood and stretched.
"You want to get some lunch? It's like two and I haven't eaten today," she said, then looked over at him. He had fallen asleep, his head against the back of the couch. She smiled and went over to her bed to get a throw blanket to cover him up, then she sat down and picked up her book, starting where she had left off the previous night. It was half past six when Barney's phone started ringing. Cas had taken a shower, made her bed, and eaten a bagel by then, and had turned the light on to continue reading on the other end of the couch. She looked up as his phone began to ring. He had set it on the arm of the couch, but he didn't look like he was waking up so she reached over to look at the screen. It was Ted, so she answered it.
"Barney Stinson's phone," she said, pretending to be formal.
"Oh, hi Cas, so I may have changed the party to tonight instead of next week, will you be there?" Ted asked, sounding sheepish. It took her a minute to figure out what he was talking about, and then she rolled her eyes. She glanced back at Barney, only to jump in surprise to see that he was awake, and that she was much closer to him than she had though. She leaned back, before speaking.
"Ted's party is now tonight, wanna go?" She asked, covering the receiver with one hand. He shrugged.
"Sure," she told Ted. "We'll be there."
"Great, thanks, its at eight, bye," he said, then hung up the phone. She shook her head as she handed Barney's phone back to him.
"Ted's party is at eight," she said as Barney put the phone back into his pocket. "It's almost seven now. You slept for a while."
"Oops," he said, standing up.
"It's fine, you probably needed it," she said. "When's the last time you slept? You've been looking tired for weeks.
"I sleep enough, don't try to parent me," he said, running a hand over his hair. She shrugged, turning back to her book. "Can you not tell anyone? You know, about my mom and stuff?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Sure, I won't say anything," she said, smiling up at him. He smiled back, but it looked halfhearted. She frowned and stood too. "Look, I know you aren't the touchy-feely kind of person, but can I give you a hug, please," she said, looking at him. He nodded, and she stepped forward to wrap her arms around his middle and rest the side of her face against his shoulder. It took him a minute, but he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back. She smiled against his shoulder and stroked his back with one hand, then pulled away.
"Thanks," he said, then cleared his throat and tucked his hands into his pocket. "Where's my jacket?" he asked looking at the couch where he had left it. She had moved it after he had fallen asleep so it wouldn't fall on the floor.
"It's on the desk chair. With the other one I stole from you months ago," she said, grinning. "I forgot to give it back."
"I was wondering where that went," he said, walking across the room. He was lying, she could tell. He had known where it was and just never asked for it back. She smiled.
"Let me grab a sweater and we can go over to Ted and Marshall's," she called as she walked behind the partition that cut off her bed and dresser from the rest of the room. She hunted through the drawers for one, then, after finding one, she shrugged it on and walked back to the living room. Barney was still at the desk, looking over something.
"Whats this?" He asked, turning the paper back to her. She stared at it for a second, then realized what it was.
"Oh, that was my, uh, suicide note, from when I went to the balcony," she said, taking it from him and crumpling it up, then stuffing it into her pocket. He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
"Let's go," she said, walking to the door. He followed silently, and she could feel him watching the back of her head.
"Can I ask you something?" He asked as they reached the street.
"Later," she said, knowing what he wanted to know. She had written about being able to know lies from truth in that letter. She let out a breath when he didn't continue, and turned up the steps to Ted and Marshall's apartment. He was silent all the way up to the apartment, and headed to the kitchen for a beer as soon as he came in. They were still early so no one else was there yet besides Lily and Marshall, both sitting on the couch.
"Hey guys," Cas said, sitting in an empty chair. Barney came back into the room and handed her a beer, then sat in the empty space on the couch.
"Hey," Lily said, smiling. Just then Ted came in, carrying a paper bag full of chips and another full of dip. He set both down in the kitchen, then came back to the living room.
"So, Gatsby, what are you gonna do when Robin shows up?" Marshall asked, looking over at Ted.
"Okay, I got it all planned out," he said, leaning forward, his face eager. "She steps through the door, and where's Ted? Not eagerly waiting by the door. Nah I'm across the room at my drafting table showing some foxy young thing all my cool architecture stuff." He gestured behind them to his desk. "So Robin strolls over and I casually give her one of these, "Hey, what's up?" She says, "Hey, nice place etcetera, etcetera". And then I say, "Well make yourself at home," and I casually return to my conversation. Then, an hour later, "Oh, you're still here?" I say like I don't really care, but it's a nice surprise. And then very casually, "Wanna see the roof?"
"The roof," Marshall and Lily say at the same time, nodding in approval.
"Get her up to the roof and the roof takes care of the rest," Ted said, smiling.
"What's so special about the roof?" Barney asked, his face obviously doubting Ted's plan.
"Oh, the moon, the stars, the shimmering skyline," Lily explained. "You can't not fall in love on that roof."
"We do it up there sometimes," Marshall added and Cas laughed. People had started to arrive by then and the front door was left open.
"Solid plan, my little friend," Barney said, surprising Cas. She had thought he wouldn't like the plan, because usually he said no to all Ted's plans just to mess with him.
"We're the same height," Ted said, frowning.
"But may I suggest one little modification?" Barney continued, not listening to Ted. "That foxy young thing you were chatting up, take her up to the roof and have sex with her! Crazy monkey-style."
"That's not the plan," Ted said, rolling his eyes.
"Should be the plan, I mean look at her. Ted, look at her. She's smoking'!" Barney said, gesturing to the empty air by his desk. Cas smothered another laugh.
"Yeah, but she's not Robin," Ted said, shaking his head.
"Exactly!" Barney said, smirking. "Ted, let's rap. Statistic, at every New York party there's always a girl who has no idea whose party she's at. She knows no one you know, and you will never see her again. Do you see," he paused. "Where I'm going," he paused again, using his hands to make his point. "Hu-with this?"
"Barney, I don't wanna say-" Ted began, but was cut off. By this time quite a few people had arrived, and their little group had moved to stand near the door.
"Aargh!" Barney said, cutting Ted off. He mimed pulling down a scope and looking around the room. "Scoping, beep, scoping, beep!"
"Man you're a dork," Lily said, and they laughed.
"Beep, beep, beep, beep. Target acquired!" Barney said, looking at a blond woman who looked like she was there alone. "And now it's time we play a little game I like to call 'Haaaave You Met Ted?'"
"No, come on not this," Ted complained as Barney drew him across the room. Barney tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hi! Have you met Ted?" He asked, pushing Ted forward.
"No," the woman said, smiling politely.
"Hi," Ted said.
"Hi," she replied.
"Do you know Marshall? Lily? Cas?" Barney asked, gesturing to their little group.
"No," she said, and smiled.
"Hmm, do you know anyone at this party?" Barney asked.
"I work with Carlos," she said.
"Excuse me," Barney said, drawing Ted back to the group. "Anyone know a Carlos?" They all said no or shook their heads. "On a silver platter! 'Bone' appetite!" He said to Ted, who rolled his eyes.
"I don't think so," he said, shaking his head.
"Your loss, her gain," Barney said, straightening his tie and going back over to the girl. "Excuse me, can I show you the roof? It's magical up there!" He put a hand on her shoulder to guide her toward the window.
"Sure," the woman said, smiling at him.
"Whoa-whoa-Hey hey. I got that roof reserved!" Ted said, coming towards them,
"Dude, Robin's not coming," Barney said over his shoulder.
"Hey, she's goanna show up," he said. Barney ignored him and led the girl up the fire escape. "She'll show up," he said to the others who all just nodded.
"Let me know how it goes," Cas said, finishing off her beer. "I need to cut out early tonight, sorry guys," she said, heading toward the door.
"Bye," she heard them call, then she walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind her. It wasn't late, barely past nine, but she really didn't want to be around people much longer. It wasn't until she got home that she realized she was still wearing the ring Barney had given her. She grinned. It would have been hard to explain if someone had noticed it. She took it off and found an old ring box in her dresser, then put it inside so she wouldn't lose it.
When she woke up the next day, she had a text saying "the party continues tonight!" from Ted. She groaned. She really wasn't in the mood to party. She hadn't slept well last night, and she was starting to develop a headache.
"Sorry, I can't make it, I have things to do today," she texted back, then jumped up to take a shower. She didn't really have much to do today. She had to find something nice to wear to her interview on Monday. She had a few dressy outfits, but she wanted to make sure she had the perfect one, which meant a little shopping. She thought about calling Lily to go with her, but the little red head was too energetic for Cas to handle today. She sat on her bed, her hair wrapped in a towel, just wearing her bra and underwear, staring down at her phone. She could call Robin… the woman had given Cas her number when her and Lily had run into her and had a drink the other day, but she wasn't sure if the other woman would have time to go shopping, or if she even liked shopping. Her phone was at her ear, ringing, before she had really made up her mind.
"Hello?" Robin answered.
"Uh, hey Robin, this is Cas, we met the other day, I was with Lily…" Cas said, then trailed off, feeling like an idiot.
"Oh yeah, hey, whats up?" Robin asked, and Cas sighed.
"This is going to sound really weird, but I have a job interview on Monday, and I have no idea what to wear to it… I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping with me? I'm really bad at picking out professional looking outfits," she tried to explain. To her relief, Robin laughed.
"Sure, but I work at one, can it be before then?" Robin asked, and Cas smiled.
"Sure, I'm free right now, where should we go?" She asked. Robin gave her the address of a boutique store she liked, then hung up the phone. Cas grinned as she threw on jeans and a blouse, then went to blow dry her hair and put on a little makeup. She had discovered over the last couple months that she actually liked wearing makeup, and taking the time to do her hair. It made her feel more confident, to look nice. She let her blonde hair fall down her back naturally today, instead of putting it up like she usually did.
She met Robin in front of the store and they both went inside after saying hello.
"Thanks for helping me," Cas said as they looked through the women's business suits on the racks. "Lily's a little too hyper for me to deal with today, and I don't have any other female friends," she said, taking a dark blue ensemble off the rack to look at it more closely.
"No problem. I feel like I haven't had time to do anything but work since I moved here. I haven't had time to meet anyone, and I haven't been shopping in ages," Robin said, draping an outfit over her arm for Cas to try on.
"Oh, no skirts," she said, seeing what Robin had picked. "Just something with slacks would be good. I don't like skirts. Not for business things anyway," she said. Robin nodded and hung the outfit back up, picking another one instead. When they had four or five things for her, they went back to the dressing rooms, Robin going back out to look at clothes while Cas tried on the ones she had.
"Hey Robin?" She asked, coming out of the dressing room, wearing one of the outfits Robin had picked. It was a dark gray suit that fit her decently. "Does this look okay? It's the one I liked the best," she said as Robin came over to look.
"Yeah, I like it, you just need a white blouse or something to go underneath and it's perfect," Robin said, smiling.
"Great," Cas said, going back to change out of it. A few minutes later she left the dressing room with the suit she wanted draped over her arm, to see Robin waiting for her.
"Hey, I got called in to work early. I'm so sorry," Robin said, frowning worriedly.
"Hey, no problem, we found an outfit anyway," Cas said, grinning. "Thanks for coming with me. I'll see you later."
"Bye!" Robin said, hurrying from the shop. Cas paid for her things, adding a pair of nice dress shoes to the pile, then left, taking the subway back to her apartment.
That night around seven, her door buzzer went off again. After stripping off the jeans and blouse she had worn out that day, she hadn't bothered to put more clothes on, she had settled onto her couch and started reading in her underwear and a camisole. She jumped up and buzzed the door.
"Hello?" She asked through the intercom.
"It's Barney," he replied. She rolled her eyes and buzzed the door, then ran to grab her pajama shorts from her bed and pull them on, then she pulled on a sweater over her thin shirt just as he opened the door and came in.
"Aren't you going to the party?" He asked, seeing her pajamas.
"Not tonight," she said, shaking her head. "I've had a headache all day and I don't really want to be around a ton of people right now," she said, settling back into the couch. He let out an over dramatic sigh.
"You are so boring," he said.
"Yep," she replied, picking up her book again. She smiled as he let out another sigh.
"Fine," he said, "but you will be missing out."
"Call me if anything interesting happens," she said, not looking up.
"Fine," he said, plopping down onto her couch and picking up the tv remote. She ignored him as he scanned through the channels, finally picking a National Geographic documentary on elk, something she never would have thought he would watch. They sat in silence for about half an hour.
"Did you come over here for anything in particular?" She asked as the time for the party to start grew nearer.
"No," he said, but she could tell he was lying. "Well, yeah, actually. Your note…" he trailed off. She shut her book and turned to look at him.
"What about it?" She asked, wanting him to say it.
"You can… know when someone is lying or not?" He asked, not looking at her.
"Yep," she said.
"And you've never been wrong?" He asked again, still watching the tv.
"Nope," she said, turning on her folded legs to face him. He glanced at her.
"That… is pretty awesome," he said, and she grinned. He looked over at her and she sighed.
"Oh go on and try it, I know you want to," she said, rolling her eyes. The first thing anyone did when they found out was try to lie convincingly to her.
"My birthday is March second," he said, looking at her.
"Lie," she said, her smile growing. He was taking this a lot better than other people she had told.
"July 8th," he said.
"Lie."
"December-"
"Lie. Come on."
"July 23rd," he said.
"True," she grinned.
"How does that work?" He asked, turning to face her now. "You should stand behind girls I talk to and tell me if they are lying."
"First, no, I'm not doing that," she said, rolling her eyes. "Second, I have no idea how it works, it just does." He nodded.
"Weird," he said, then grinned and stood.
"That's me," she said, opening her book again. "I'll see you tomorrow, probably," she said, her eyes on the page.
"Probably?" He asked, and she looked up again, one eyebrow raised.
"Yes. I might get hit by a bus before tomorrow," she said. He frowned. "I'm kidding. I'm just not sure that I'll be up for going to the bar tomorrow. I think I'm getting a cold."
"Ha ha," he said sarcastically, then shook his head. She frowned.
"Sorry, I won't joke about dying anymore," she said, wondering if that was the problem. He shrugged, then smiled, opening his mouth again, but instead of speaking, he just closed it and shook his head.
"Bye," he said, walking toward the door.
"Bye," she said as it fell shut behind him.
She went to sleep pretty early that night, worn out from having not slept well the night before. She spent the next day cleaning. She wasn't sure how her apartment could get so dusty and need vacuuming every week, but it did. She had just settled in to finish her book when the door buzzer rang again. She buzzed the door open and sat back down, assuming, correctly, that it was Barney again.
"So, the party continues tonight," Barney said, opening her door.
"No thanks," she said, returning to her book. She only had one chapter left.
"I agree, it's Sunday night, no one's gonna go to that," Barney said, turning on the tv as he sat down again.
"You didn't take your jacket," she said, pointing to the desk chair where his suit jacket still hung.
"I didn't want to leave it at Ted's," he said, shrugging. They fell into silence for a while. It only took her fifteen minutes to finish the chapter.
"So Robin didn't show up last night either?" Cas asked, setting her book on the table by the couch.
"Nope," Barney said, shrugging. "And there's this crazy chick who keeps talking to me and she keeps showing up even though no one knows who she is." Cas shook her head and smiled.
"That's Karma, for lying to her in the first place," she said.
"Who said anything about lying?" He asked, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay I may have lied a little. But she should learn how to take a hint."
"Good luck with that," she said, laughing. "It's almost eight, shouldn't you be going?" He groaned and stood.
"You sure you don't want to come? There will be less people there than before," he said, pausing by the door to put his shoes back on.
"No thanks. Maybe tomorrow night," she said, smiling.
"Okay fine, bye," he said, then shut the door behind him. Cas sighed and sat back down on the couch, leaning her head back. She was roused almost an hour later by her phone letting her know she got a text.
"Bar in ten, just the gang," Barney had sent her. She smiled and stood to find some clothes. Obviously the last party hadn't worked out either. She locked her door behind her and made her way to the bar, arriving just as they all sat down at the booth, a pitcher of beer on the table in front of them. She wandered over, taking a seat next to Barney on the bench he shared with Robin.
"That's just a recipe for disaster. They work together!" Barney said, gesturing towards a couple making out at the bar.
"You jealous?" Ted asked, a smirk on his face.
"Oh please, What does Carlos have that I don't?" He asked, gesturing to himself.
"A date tonight?" Robin said, causing everyone around the table to laugh.
"Oh, rewind, play it again," Lily said. Robin made the sound like a tape rewinding.
"A date tonight?" She repeated, and everyone laughed again.
"I don't think I like her," Barney said, in a joking tone. Cas could tell he was lying. Robin was an instant fit with the group.
The subject changed to a paper Marshall was writing, then Ted got up to get beer, Robin following. Cas couldn't see what was happening, but within moments, Robin returned to the table and Ted was chatting up another girl at the bar.
"Damn, he moves fast," Cas muttered, watching as Ted and the girl left the bar together. She noticed Ted glance back at Robin once before he left, and she saw Robin smile at him. Yeah, Ted still wasn't done going after Robin. She could tell from the look in his eyes. She turned back to the table and began to pay attention to the conversation again.
"Well, I better go write that paper," Marshall said, moving to stand. Lily stood too, and the two of them left the bar, leaving Barney and Cas there alone.
"I better go too," Cas said. "I have a job interview in the morning."
"Where at?" Barney asked, finishing off his beer as well.
"Columbia University. They have an opening for a school psychologist," she said. She wasn't sure if she would like working through the school, the pay was less than working at her own place, but she would take it if the job was offered.
"Nice, college girls," Barney said, smirking as he nodded. Cas rolled her eyes.
"I'm not hooking you up with college girls," she said, he sighed dramatically.
"Fine, how about that girl?" He asked, pointing over her shoulder to a blond at the bar.
"Okay fine, but I'm leaving after that," she said, finishing her own beer. "What's the play?"
"We can just do 'Have you met Barney?'. I didn't have a play for tonight," Barney said walking next to Cas. They stopped beside the girl and Cas tapped her shoulder.
"Hi, have you met Barney?" She asked, then turned and walked away, grabbing her jacket on the way out of the bar. She was smiling as she walked home. She had never had this many friends before. She really liked all of them, and they seemed to like her too. Her life was getting back on track now.