Chapter 2- Orpheus and Eurydice

Warning: Contains tragedy.

If anyone who knew Barney Stinson was told that he hugged Victoria when he found out that she and Ted were engaged, then they would shake their head in disbelief. But the next day, in McLaren's Bar, that's exactly what happened.

"I-I'm so proud!" Barney said through tears of joy, as he pulled Victoria in for an awkward hug. She slowly patted his back, worrying that something was seriously wrong.

"You, sister, are going to make Ted wear a suit!" Barney sobbed. "For a whole day, that will last until the day he's put in the ground!"

Ted sighed bemused. Typical, Barney Stinson. To think that Barney could be remotely turning into a true romantic.

At least Lily and Marshal's reaction was more socially acceptable.

"Congratulations, bro!" Marshal said. "Finally, it's about time!"

"I'm so happy for you, guys!" Lily cried. "Don't forget how we helped you to get here, all right?"

Ted just nodded and let Victoria hug and thank them, without reminding them that their hopelessly creepy session didn't help him or Victoria one bit.

"Hey," Ted murmured to Barney, as Victoria and Lily went to order some drinks and Marshal excused himself to go to the bathroom. "I thought you'd tell me that I was making a mistake, or at least make that strangled grimace you do."

To his surprise, Barney didn't correct him; he just let out a grim whispered laugh.

"You know what Ted? I think you've trusted your gut and done this, so I'm proud of you," Barney said, looking down. "Tell me, do you trust and love her?"

"Yes."

"Does she feel the same?"

Ted nodded.

"Then I hope you and Victoria have a great life ahead of you," Barney croaked. "You two are meant for each other, so don't mess that up."

"What happened to you?" Ted asked, worried about the tear about to manifest itself in his friend's eye.

"Quinn happened," Barney replied simply.

"I'm so sorry," Ted said remorsefully. "It was insensitive of us to-"

"Ted, please, leave your touchy-feely-warmy-lovie-dovie to your future wife," Barney scoffed. "But don't run what you have to the ground like Quinn and I did."

"OK," agreed Ted.

"Good, now here comes Scherbatsky!" Barney laughed, regaining his brashness.

Robin was now walking through the door, as Marshal returned.

"Ooooh Robin!" grinned Lily, taking the brunette Canadian's hands and dragging her to their booth. "Guess what?"

"What?" Robin smiled, watching Ted and Victoria hold hands and twitch excitedly.

"We got engaged!" cried Victoria. "Last night!"

For a moment Robin looked stunned before quickly fanning herself with her hands and wiping her eyes. "Oh my God, w-wow! T-that's g-great!" she stammered and quickly hugged them in a swift embrace, before excusing herself to the bathroom to dry her make up.

"Hey, guys, you should come round ours again tonight," Marshal invited. "For couples horror movie night." Lily nodded in assent.

"Oh, we'd love to but can't tonight," Ted replied.

"Because we've got tickets to see a play tonight," Victoria said.

"Which play?"

"Orpheus and Eurydice!" Ted beamed. "The classic Greek epic!"

That evening, in the theatre, Ted and Victoria settled in their seats for the tragic legend. It was an interesting story about Orpheus, having returned from his journey with Jason and the Argonauts where his skill with the lyre proved vital in drowning out the haunting cry of the harpies, which saved the lives of the whole crew and stopped them from crashing. After the search for the Golden Fleece and the restoration of Jason to the rightful place on the throne, he fell deeply in love with Eurydice. She was everything that he could hope for- loving, kind, loyal and true. They settled into a blissful married life, which was a relief after Orpheus' time of being under constant danger from harpies, warrior priestesses, dragons and vengeful kings. But that wasn't to last; Eurydice was bitten by a viper, and she was killed.

Orpheus was very distraught; in his grief, he would play the most heartbreaking melodies on his lyre. The Greek gods were moved to tears and agreed to let him petition Hades to release Eurydice's soul from the Underworld. Orpheus travelled to the dark realm and pleaded with Hades to release Eurydice, he just wanted her back in his life for she didn't deserve to die, not like this. Orpheus was the first person to melt Hades' heart with his lyre. So Hades agreed to give Eurydice another chance on a strict condition: Orpheus was to lead her out, and under no circumstances was he to look back until they were both safely out of the Underworld.

Orpheus was overjoyed at the apparent leniency of these ways that he forgot about the requirement for them to both be out of the Underworld. Excitedly, once he was out, he looked back, only to see Eurydice's face full of horror for a moment, before she vanished into thin air- gone forever.

The theatre was full of people sobbing quietly, as the red curtains fell and the audience rose for a standing ovation.

Ted's insides welled up, his eyes wanting to let the tears out; Victoria was clapping, cheering and crying. Ted gave a grim smile, before pulling her in for an embrace and touching her forehead with his. He didn't know why, but his heart began suddenly racing much faster, like it was running from something, and it sort of scared him a little bit.

It's probably nothing, Mosby, he assured himself. Just comfort Victoria, she wants you to. Doesn't she look so pretty and delicate when she cries?

Stop being happy that your fiancèe in tears! He stroked her back and kissed her forehead, while Victoria cuddled him leisurely.

That's right, it's gonna be a great night!

Stop it!

The men were laughing and joking in McLaren's while the women had gone to shop for some pies. It seemed like any other day, albeit quiet where Carl, the bar manager had to throw out a customer for binging and puking twice- except Future Ted could say for absolute certain that it was anything but any other day.

Ted's phone began ringing, as Victoria was calling him. He excused himself from the booth and answered.

"Hey!" he grinned.

"Hey! Listen, me and the girls are looking at two equally delicious and savoury pies and we can't decide which one to buy. Want to come to our rescue?"

Ted laughed. "Yeah, sure, where are you now?" Much as he loved talking to Marshal and Barney about mud wrestling in the Phillipines, he needed to go to Victoria's "aid"; they were at that stage again, but he didn't mind one bit.

"We're outside Persephone's Pastry, do you know where that is?" Victoria said.

"Yeah, sure that's a great place, almost as great as yours!" Ted grinned. "But yeah, that's only five minutes from McLarens so-"

"Oh, my God!" she cried suddenly. "I'll call you back! Look out!"

"Victoria?" Ted exclaimed down the speaker, flaring with panic, and he was right to. "Victoria!"

"What do you think of that?" Robin said, as she looked into the heavenly white window display of Persephone's, beyond which a plumpish but curvy middle aged woman with red hair was sharing a joke with a customer.

In the display were two pies that stood out- one was a sweetcorn and cheese flavoured one, while the other was a roasted chicken and apple one. Both were coated in dreamy tomato sauce, making their mouths water.

After talking and discoursing for a few minutes, they were still undecided.

"Well, we could always ask Ted," Lily suggested. "Seeing as he loves pies so much that he'll pick one in a jiffy! But please hurry up, because I need to change Marvin, like now!" Lily motioned to the little baby that was strapped to her front, on the verge of tears.

Victoria called Ted and asked him to come and meet him, but her attention shifted like a click of the fingers.

She heard it first, but the blazing engine and skidding of a sports car screeched at her ears. Travelling further, to Robin's utter surprise, Victoria scouted a long stretch of road where a red car, with the decoration of snakes baptised in fire came swerving through, like the driver was either drunk or suicidal. Time seemed to freeze at it snaked from side to side, bundling through at a rapid pace.

"Oh, my God!" Victoria gasped.

"Victoria, what's going on?" Robin demanded.

In the middle of the road was a little boy, only about five, his brown hair flopping over his eyebrows, but tears flashing down his face, as he frantically looked around for someone, yet no adult came. But a boy racer was coming hurtling across the main road, right at the boy, yet no adult seemed to come and take him out of harms way.

"I'll call you back!" she snapped to Ted. She was already on the edge of the sidewalk.

"Look out!" Victoria screamed at the boy.

"VICTORIA!" Lily was shouting after her.

Victoria dropped her handbag and phone, lunging forwards to push this boy out of harms way. She felt her hand shove him, or drag him, to the other end of the road, but the next second was no more than a flash and a blur, as the whole road gasped and cried out.

"Victoria!" Ted called down the speaker, but there was no answer.

"Ted, what's going on, is everything OK?" Marshal asked, but Ted was already bolting out of McLaren's as fast as his legs could carry him, Marshal and Barney following.

It took him a few minutes to reach Persephone's, a stitch piercing his side, but that was nothing. He barged through a crowd, finally finding Robin and Lily, who were biting their fingers in anxiety.

"Where's Victoria?" Ted demanded. "Where is Victoria?" He heart refused to accept what the nagging thought that answered that.

"Ted, I'm so sorry, but there's nothing you can do for her!" Robin sobbed, trying to lead him away, but Ted barged past and ran to the road where another crowd was gathering.

There was a little boy being consoled by his mother, a middle aged man pacing around nervously, as a red sports car, with fire snakes that encircled it, lay as if it were a dog about to be put down. But there was a woman who lay sprawled on the ground.

Ted's heart skipped a beat as he rushed to her side. "Victoria! No, no, no!" She was barely conscious, her right side and head was bleeding heavily, and she was whimpering in pain. However, she smiled groggily when the man she loved knelt beside her and held her hand.

"Hey, Victoria, it'll be OK," Ted promised, knowing that it was empty. It'll be OK!"

"I am so sorry, I really am!" the boy racer, who was half-bald and olive skinned said, shaking. "I only had a few, I had no idea... is there anything I can do?"

"You've done more than enough!" Ted roared. "Someone call 911, don't just stand there!"

"Ted!" Victoria choked pleadingly.

"I'm sorry," Ted said, kissing her hand, as hot tears formed behind his eyes.

"I'm scared... I can't feel my legs..." Victoria wept. "Or my right arm; I can't feel you!" The words pierced his heart like a deadly arrow, as he quickly switched to holding her left hand, the one that she would be able to feel with.

The next few moments passed in a blur, with Marshal and a paramedic pulling Ted away, so that Victoria could be hoisted on a stretcher and into an ambulance.

Ted insisted that they let him ride with her, so they let him come supervised by the chief paramedic. For the whole journey Ted felt like breaking down, unable to truly accept what could be happening, even though the oxygen mask and the saline drip were proof enough that it was.

At the hospital, the boy and his mother met with Ted and asked him to pass on their thanks and prayers to Victoria, the brave woman, his Victoria. His friends met him in the waiting room after Victoria was taken into surgery.

They were trying really hard to cheer him up, comfort him and keep him company; however, his body and mind felt too drained, unable to respond with more than a couple of words while his empty shell lay still. He felt really bad, his friends probably thought that they were upsetting him by their presence.

"Listen, I think you seem to need some space," Lily said. "I'm going to take Marvin home, but I'll drop by later, OK?"

Ted nodded vaguely.

Eventually, Dr Fielding, a bald African-American in turquoise scrubs came through, his face sullen and eyes beckoning Ted.

"Mr Mosby?"

Ted rose and approached him nervously. "I-is she all right?"

"She pulled through," Dr Fielding said, leading Ted towards the double doors at the end of the corridor.

Ted sighed with relief.

"But she's lost way too much blood," Dr Fielding informed.

"B-but you can fix that, can't you?" Ted enquired. "I-I mean, she j-just needs a blood transfusion, right? I can give her some, I could donate if the bank is short!"

"Mr Mosby, I'm afraid it's gone way past that," Fielding lamented. "Victoria's had too much internal bleeding, spinal, nervous and organ damage. I am truly... very sorry."

Ted found himself shaking.

"But she will like to see you; I could show you to her."

Ted nodded and followed him through the double doors, scared at what to expect or what he might see. He was led to an Intensive Care Unit, where he could see Victoria with her eyes closed and breathing heavy. The heart monitor that she was connected to counted down her beats like a timer.

"I'll give you two some time alone," Fielding said. "I am very sorry, Mr Mosby."

Ted entered the unit prompting Victoria to flicker a wistful smile, prompting him to realise that this may be the last few times that he would see that smile, and that thought crushed him.

"I am so sorry!" he croaked, reaching over to hold her hand as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Don't be," Victoria replied softly. "Why don't you... go down... to the Underworld, maybe impress them with your piano?"

Ted chuckled; still she was making him smile, even here and now. "I'll let you piggy-back on me." He kissed her warm forehead and rested his own against hers before closing his eyes and feeling her living and breathing self. His lifelong treasure.

"The boy and his mother want to thank you."

"Really? That's really... nice..."

"I'm going to find the piece of scum who did this!" Ted hissed tearfully. "I'm going to make sure he pays and rots in-!"

"Ted!" coughed Victoria. "No!" she burst into a fit of coughs, heart monitor rapidly wailing like a siren.

Ted flushed with embarrassment, realising what he had done and pulled back. "God, no,Victoria, I'm sorry!" He took a deep breath and stroked her hair and hand until her coughing settled down.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I was sure that we had the rest of our lives before us... me and you, my lifelong treasure. My life finally made sense, and then this happened- it's just so wrong!" Hot tears were falling from his cheeks, his eyes blazed with anger and sorrow.

"No, it is wrong," Victoria said. "But these past few months with you... have been the happiest for me! I want you to be happy, Ted. No... please listen... to me... I don't want you to become like that boy racer... miserable... angry... and bitter... empty.

"You'll have to let me go one day... and love again... I want you to," she continued, smiling, yet her blue eyes were flooding. Her voice was becoming more and more quiet, like the whisper of the last wind. "Ted, don't you dare forget... who you are... and don't forget... your friends." With that, Victoria Crown smiled and squeezed Ted's hand, one last time- a moment that ended too soon, as her grip slackened and her face tilted to the side. The heart monitor flatlined like a echo; Victoria's soul had ascended, but it was Ted who felt like a ghost with no meaning. He had seemingly run out of tears to cry with.

Victoria Crown was buried near a graveyard close to her old apartment, at Turner House Road. Marshal, Lily, Robin, Barney and Nick had accompanied Ted to her funeral, where they all got the chance to say goodbye, as they stood over her grave under a maple tree that would bless her with its sweetness, like she had done in life.

"A great girl," Robin said. "One of a kind."

"A great person," Lily concurred.

"An amazing sweetheart, with an even bigger heart," Ted croaked, with a painful smile, speaking a little louder than he had been over the past few days.

Marshal handed them each a bottle of Coke and raised his to the sky. "To Victoria."

"To Victoria!" they all toasted and drank.

"Guys, do you mind if I stay alone for a minute?" Ted requested. Barney patted him on the shoulder and turned away, followed by Nick.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked uncomfortably.

"Yes, please," Ted said.

Lily nodded and turned, followed then by Robin, and finally Marshal, who swallowed, as he nodded to him.

"I'll be waiting for you in the cafe near here, take as long as you need," Marshal said.

Ted nodded. After they had gone, he dropped to his knees and let out a weakened sigh, struggling to cope with his numbness that pumped in his blood.

How was he supposed to go on now? Everytime he would see blue eyes, a cute smile, brown hair or sweet tasting cake he would be reminded of the woman he had loved, no still loves, but couldn't. In the painful quietness of the cemetery, he lay down a single buttercup flower at the grave; Victoria would have loved how it radiated its yellow glow.

Epilogue

"Kids, tragedy is inevitable in everyone's life, and it's OK to cry, vent and feel sad, no matter what anyone says. It's what makes us human. But we also have to realise the strength to let the past go with dignity, that doesn't mean we forget, we should never forget, but that doesn't mean we should always live or exist in the pain: we have to let go, even if it feels like your world is ending and there is nothing you can do to manage the pain, as I felt that day.

In the words of Amanda McBroom: "Just remember that in the winter far beneath the bitter snow, lies a seed that with the Sun's love in the Spring becomes the Rose."

Funny as it may seem, the seed was sowed on that very day; a petite dark haired woman approached me after I had been there for a very long time, but my reddened eyes stopped me from getting a good enough look at her face.

She asked me if I was all right, and offered me some baby blue lilacs for Victoria's grave, which I felt really grateful for. She asked me whether I would like to walk with her to my car, taxi, bus or wherever, as it was about to rain and she had an umbrella with her. I could see that it was a bright yellow.

I politely declined and thanked her; the moment when she spoke to me eased the deafening silence of the graveyard and it felt like a warm hot water bottle to a nasty bruise.

For some reason, I didn't feel like the lilacs, despite their immense beauty and serenity, were Victoria's thing; she was more of a rose person (after buttercups), so after leaving one, I took the rest of them home and watered them in my plant pot, and they grew brilliantly, and filled my house with their sweet fragrance, in more than one way.

I would see Lilac-girl again, many many moons later and, ironically, I would offer her a lilac from the lapel of my jacket as I asked her to dance at a friend's wedding, which she joyfully accepted. Just as well that, I wouldn't recognise her until many months after I had met her, which may be part of the reason that I felt like I had met her before, and I felt regenerated, hopeful, even safe around her. I have no regrets whatsoever, for falling for Victoria, for finding Lilac-girl and learning how to feel happiness again, like the strong rejuvenated skin, blood and flesh after recovering from a wound.

You're right kids, on the dark and sorrowful day, your Mother met me, but I was not to meet her for quite some time, but the seed to this flower had been sown!"

Author's Note: Thank you so much for having a read, that really was an emotionally charged and challenging fan-fic to write, especially since I know that I raced over some scenes. But I hope you liked the ending, especially Victoria's ending rather than what happened in the TV show, and the little yellow umbrella at the end.

Please leave a review, and thanks for reading!