Hopefully, someone is still reading this and will be happy to see an update. I'm sorry for the long wait, but those of you who read my stories should be getting used to that. I do so appreciate your patience with me. I also apologize for the spelling errors. There are probably more than normal. The spell check on my laptop is now telling me that every single word is misspelled. I don't think my spelling is quite that bad. I'll figure out something, but too busy and tired to do so right now. Things are getting crazy at work.

Also, I apologize for factual errors. I do research when I'm writing about things that I'm not really familiar with. My search history would probably raise eyebrows of those who know me. Sometimes, though, I fall short, either by thinking I know more than I do or by giving up when the information becomes too technical. However, I have no problem when those errors are pointed out to me. New knowledge is always good.

Enough rambling. Story time. I really hope you enjoy.

Alternative 10

Robin moved back against the wall, watching anxiously as the medical personnel checked Barney over. She watched his reactions as the doctors had him make various movements, asked questions, and checked his vitals.

It wasn't long before his eyes started drooping again and she could tell he was tiring. She stepped over and lay a hand on the arm of the man in charge.

"I think he needs a break," she told him quietly.

He looked at her, then at his patient. He nodded, then started waving people out. When the room was nearly empty, he leaned close to her, telling her that he'd like to speak to her. She replied that she'd be happy to, as soon as Barney was asleep again.

He nodded his agreement, then slipped out, leaving her alone with Barney once more. She settled next to him on the bed, his hand resing in hers as she lightly stroked his cheek.

"Hot," he mumbled.

Her brow wrinkled with concern, she reached up to feel his forehead.

"You're hot? Do you have a fever?"

He shook his head, grinning. "No fever. My wife is hot."

"You're such an idiot," she told him, shaking her head as she grinned back.

She waited until he fell asleep again, then continued watching him for a while. Finally, she eased her hand out of his and placed a light kiss on his forehead before slipping out of the room to find Dr. Compton at the nursing station.

He escorted her over to to a cozy seating area just as Ted and Lily walked in.

"Is every okay?" he asked. His face showing concern, he looked back and forth between Robin and the doctor. Moving to her side, he draped an arm around her shoulder. Lily moved to her other side and took her hand.

"He woke up," she told them.

"That's great!" Ted exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her in an enthusiastic hug.

Lily picked up on her subdued response.

"Robin? It IS great, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," she reassured them. "It's what we've been waiting for, right Dr. Compton?"

He nodded.

"But?" she added.

"There are some concerns," he confirmed. "His reactions are a bit slow. Some muscle weakness. Slurring and hesitation in his speech."

"Considering he just woke up after being in a coma for several weeks, is that unexpected?" Lily asked.

The doctor shook his head. "It's not."

Everyone sighed with relief.

"It's just some things that we want to keep an eye on. It's going to be several days before we we can really determine how much of it is residual from the coma and how much is due to the injury itself," he told them.

"You mean brain damage?" Ted queried.

"Traumatic brain injury," the doctor clarified. "But even that determination covers a broad range of effects from very minor to quite major."

"So, basically, you're saying that you may know better in a few days," Robin stated.

He sighed. "Maybe. Brain injuries are proving to be quite unpredictable. Assessing the effects is usually an ongoing process. Sometimes day to day."

He waited until they nodded understanding, then spoke to Robin. "Actually, Mrs. Stinson, you can help us with that."

"How?"

"You were able to observe while we were checking him over. Since you probably know him better than anyone, was there anything you noticed that was different about him? Anything that we should be aware of?"

"The things you mentioned," she told him. "The halting speech. The confusion."

He nodded, making notes. "Anything else?"

She took a deep breath. "His memory."

"His memory?" Lily and Ted spoke at the same time.

"What do you mean?" the doctor asked.

"He made a comment about being in the hospital because of something that happened on our honeymoon," she told him.

"I'm guessing that wasn't recently?"

She shook her head. "Eleven years ago."

He gazed at her for a moment before making another note. "I see."

"What do you see?" Lily asked.

"Nothing, really," he admitted with a sigh, "Again, it could be shock or confusion from just waking up, or it could be from the injury itself. Even if it is due to the injury, it could be a very short term issue or it could be more long term."

"Or permanent?"

"Or permanent," he agreed.

Robin took a deep breath,. "What do we do? Do we tell him everything or do we wait?"

"There is support for either course of action," he told them. "Personally, I'd prefer to give it a little time to see what he recalls on his own. At least a few days. He's going to have a whole lot to deal with right now. However, it's your call, Mrs. Stinson."

"I think waiting is probably best," she commented, looking at the others.

They nodded their agreement.

Over the next few days, Barney underwent numerous tests and had more and longer periods of wakefulness. His speech was much clearer, though the hesitations remained as he sometimes had to search for the right words. The others took turns keeping him company.

When the weekend rolled around, Lily, Marshall, Ted, and Robin gathered in his room. Tracy had taken the kids to spend some time at the park.

Robin noticed Barney watching the others chat, a puzzled look on his face.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"How long was I out?"

She shrugged. "A few weeks."

"That's all?"

"That's all," Ted called from his seat, laughing. "Did it seem longer to you, 'cause it sure did to us."

Barney continued studying them. "No, not really. It's just..."

"What?" Lily probed.

He leaned close to Robin. "They got OLD!" he whispered loudly.

"Hey!" Lily protested.

"Mostly Marshall and Ted," he told her, "But the boobs are getting a bit saggy there, Lil."

"You try nursing three Eriksen kids," she groused.

"Three?"

"Yeah," Robin replied. "They've got three. You were out for about a month, but you seem to have forgotten a few years."

"It's not 2013," he stated.

"No," Marshall confimed. "It's 2024."

Barney settled back in the bed, his brow creased in thought. Robin watched the emotions playing across his face as he struggled to reconcile the new bit of information.

"What about me?" she finally asked him with a small smile.

He turned to look at her.

"You said they got old," she reminded him. "What about me?"

"You got hotter," he told her. When she rolled her eyes, he grinned. "True story."

After several moments, the smile slipped away and he reached up to stoke her cheek. "Your eyes."

"Yeah. I know," she said. "The lines. The bags."

He shook his head. "The pain. The regrets."

She turned her head, unable to hold his gaze.

"I hope I didn't put that there," he whispered.

Reaching up, the placed her hand over his. "Life put it there," she told him. "Time." Shrugging, she soflty kissed his hand, then turned to look at the others.

"I'll bet Lily might just happen to have some picutres of those Eriksen kids," she commented, looking to change the subject.

"I do," the red-head replied. She pulled out her tablet and started swiping through photos as she crossed over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You remember Marvin, of course," she said, showing him a shot of the sturdy 12 year old.

"Who?" Barney asked.

"What?"

"Gotcha!" he grinned. "Of course I remember Marvin Waitforit."

Giving him a brief glare, Lily switched to another picture.

"This is Daisy. I had just found out she was on the way on your wedding weekend," she reminded him.

He nodded.

"And this is Violet. She came along three years later," she said, flicking through a few more pictures.

After studying pictures for a few minutes, he looked up.

"So, Teddy boy. You ever find 'the one'?" he asked, the quotes clear in his question.

"I did," he answered with a broad smile. "Another great discovery made on your wedding weekend."

"Wait. Don't tell me." Barney held up his hand. "The bass player?"

"You remember Tracy?" Robin asked, a touch of excitement in her voice.

"Just as her," he replied. "Not as his Missus. But I called it, didn't I? I said she'd be perfect for him."

"And she is," Ted answered.

"How many rugrats do you have? Ten? Twelve?"

"Two," he told him, pulling up pictures on his phone as he stepped close to the bed. "Penny and Luke."

He proudly showed off pictures of his family, launching into a detailed account of his relationship with Tracy. Fortunately, Marshall cut him off before he got too far into it.

"You don't need to give him the whole eleven years right now," reminded him.

"Yeah, wait until I fall asleep again. Or need to fall asleep again," Barney told him. "I could just imagine this story going on for years."

With an isulted huff, Ted put his phone away and stepped away from the bed. His pique was short lived, though, He moved in close again when Lily started flipping through more photos.

"These were from the cookout at our place a couple of months back," Ted told him.

"Cute kids," Barney commented, focusing on a group picture. "I guess you were probably working?" he asked, glancing at Robin.

"Probably," she said. She wasn't sure when the event had happened, but there was a good chance that she had probably been doing so.

"One question, though."

The others looked at him, waiting.

"Who's the blonde girl?" he asked, pointing to Ellie in the group shot.

The others shared a glance, then looked to Robin. Before she could respond, he continued.

"And why is her picture sitting on my bedside table?"

Silence stretched out for several moments before Robin cleared her throat.

"That's Ellie," she told him.

"Ellie?"

"Eleanor Loretta Stinson," she clarified. "Your daughter."

His eyes widened in shock. "My what?"

"Your daughter," Lily repeated, as Robin handed him the picture that she had placed on the table next to his bed.

"I have a daughter?"

Robin sat next to him on the bed as his fingers traced her smiling features. "Yeah, you do. She's four years old and is her daddy's girl."

"A daughter," he whispered to himself. He suddenly looked up. "Is she adopted or was she one of those unexpected surprises?"

"Surprise," the others all answered as one.

"Extremely unexpected," Marshall clarified.

He turned his attention back to the photo. The longer he looked at it, the more upset his expression became. His eyes filled and Robin took his hand in hers.

"Talk to me, Barney."

"I have a daughter," he spat out, "And I don't even remember her. How could I forget that I have a daughter? What kind of father forgets his own child?"

Lily scooted onto the bed on his other side.

"One who suffered a severe brain injury," she told him, gently stroking his arm. "It's not like you intentionally walked out on her."

"I should remember something that important," he protested. "She's part of me. I shouldn't be able to forget that."

They could all see him becoming more and more upset, the rhythm on his heart monitor becoming more rapid. They started wondering if they should call the nurse.

"Three deep breaths," Robin told him softly.

He looked at her.

"In," she said, and they all breathed in.

"And out."

Everyone exhaled.

"In."

"And out."

"One more in."

"And out."

He let his head fall back on the pillow, eyes closed.

"Better?" Ted asked.

After several beats, Barney opened his eyes and looked at him. "Oddly enough, yes."

"Works every time," the other man confirmed.

"Where is she now? Can I see her?" He stopped himself. "They probably won't let her in here, will they?" he asked.

"Tracy and Judy have all the kids at the park right now," Robin told him. "They're petty lenient about visitors. She came in here to visit before we took her home."

He snapped to attention. "She was in the hospital? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Ted assured him. "Or will be."

"She was in the car with you when you had the wreck," Robin explained. "She was a little banged up. Took a pretty bad bump on the head. They kept her here for observation, mostly."

"But she's okay now?"

"She still has some scrapes and bruises and a broken arm, but she's healing quickly."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"She wants to come see you, but since the accident, she's a little nervous about riding in a car," she explained to him. "We've had a cab driver come around every day to help with that. We started by sitting in the back for a few minutes and worked up from there. We made it around the block twice this morning, so she should be ready for the ride pretty soon."

"Of course, now that you're awake enough, we can arrange some face time on the phone or laptop," Marshall suggested.

"That sounds good," Barney said, looking back at the photo. The longer he looked at it, the broader his smile became.

"I have a daughter," he said to himself. "I have a daughter," he repeated, looking up at the others.

"Yeah, you do," Ted smiled back at him.

"I'll bet she's totally legendary, isn't she? Of course she is," he answered his own question. "How could she not be? She's a Stinson-Scherbatsky! Or is she s Scherbatsky-Stinson?"

He looked to Robin.

She shook her head. "Actually, she's just a Stinson. She's not"

"Right," he interrupted. "Keep it simple. Scherbatsky is an awesome name, but it's a mouthful for a kid and even more so when you combine it with Stinson. And to have to write all that on her papers when she starts to school..."

"Actually, Barney," she tried again.

His gaze had returned to the photo. "I don't know why I even asked if she was adopted. She's a perfect combination of the two of us. The hair is mine. The eyes are somewhere between yours and mine. That smile, though, is definitely yours."

He smiled at her happily and wrapped his arm around her. "We have a daughter, Robin. A wonderful, beautiful, perfect dauther."

"Barney."

Just then, there was a tap at the door and it swung open. A couple of orderlies walked in and Barney grinned at them.

"Sam and Clyde!"

"Hey, Barney," they greeted him.

"I have a daughter," he told them, holding up the photo.

"Cute kid," Sam told him, leaning in for a look. "Looks like her mom," he added, looking at Robin.

"Sorry to butt in, but Dr. Sahir wants to get some more pictures of your head," Clyde told them.

Barney sighed. "They're always wanting more pictures," he told the gang. "I guess that's the price I pay for being so awesome."

"Guess so," Marshall said, watching the two swiftly rearranging machinery.

Clyde looked at the group. "The doctor has ordered several scans, so it will probably be a while."

"We'll wait," Robin told him.

"Nah," Barney said with a wave. "I'll probably just sleep when they get me back. Go home and spend some time with our daughter."

"Um..."

"And tell her I love her and we'll do that face time thing soon," he added as they rolled him out the door and down the hall.

When the door closed, Lily turned on Robin.

"You lied to him," she hissed.

"I did no such thing," the brunette countered. "I told him that Ellie was his daughter. I never said anything about being her mother. He assumed."

"Of course he did. It's a natural assumption to make. She's his daughter. You're his wife. You should have made it clear from the start."

"I wasn't thinking about what he would think. I was just worrying about Barney and his reaction," she replied defensively.

"You have to tell him the truth."

"I will. When it's time."

"When he gets back from his tests," Lily insisted.

"I don't thinks that's such a good idea." Before the other woman could protest, she continued. "You saw how upset he got when he found out about Ellie. He was devastated."

"At first, but he got past it pretty quickly."

Robin shook her head, disagreeing. "It may seem like it, but it's an act. You know Barney." She looked around at the others. "He has an image to maintain. He's not going to lay his feelings out for everyone to see, even his best friends. He's going to bury it, pretend like everything is just fine."

"That's true," Marshall agreed.

"If I tell him that I'm not Ellie's mother, he's going to have a whole lot of questions. Who is she? Where is she? What happened to us? Some things I don't know the answers to and some I just don't know how to explain. It's likely to upset him again and I really don't think that would be a good thing for him right now. He's already dealing with so much."

She could see Lily considering.

"She thinks I'm her mother. I'm still not entirely sure why, but she does. And Barney does. Is that really such a horrible thing? In the past month, I've probably spent more time with her than her mother has her whole life, from what I understand."

"Also true," Ted spoke.

"But it's not true and lies always come back to bite you in the end," the red head protested.

"I know. And I'll tell him. But I don't know that it's best for him to unload all this on him right now," she said softly. She crossed the room to take Lily's hand. "Right now, I think we need to focus on what's best for Barney. He needs to be focused on healing, not on all this confusion."

"I think she has a good point," Marshall said, wrapping his arm around his wife. "I think he needs some time to deal with one thing before getting hit with something else."

Finally, she nodded. "You're right. I'll go along with it. For now." While her words were ones of agreement, her tone held a warning.

"For now," the others agreed.

That's it for now. Thank you for taking the time to read. I'd love to know what you thought. I'm hoping the next chapter won't take so long to get out, but I always hope that and it rarely works out that way. Working on too many things maybe, but my mind won't let me drop anything in progress as long as I'm still getting responses. I have so much written in my head, but getting it out is much more time consuming.