Chapter 28- Home
A/N: So readers! My hometown was mentioned in Coming Back! Now if only they would have gotten the roads right! There isn't really an I-94 there...oh well! Also, sorry for the late update. My husband- ImperiumLaw- not kidding there, and I are trying to buy a house, so I spent one day writing a whole bunch of emails, when I normally work on this.
He feels like an idiot on his flight home. A week later and the feeling still isn't going away. He feels horrible about leaving her home alone. Every time he talked to her she sounded miserable. At least he was finally on his way home, and he would be able to see her soon. It was a long week of stressful and tense negotiations for him. Not to mention that he was distracted the whole week by missing her.
It doesn't help his nerves that he lied to her about coming home, though. He wanted to surprise her, so he said maybe he would be done Friday, but in reality he was on his way to the airport. He is ready to be home, but most of all, he doesn't want to miss the doctor appointment. Today they could find out the sex of the baby. He didn't realize how excited he was to find out, until he thought he might miss it. He just hopes that she isn't too mad at him, and that he can make up the last week to her in some way.
He thinks the adorable stuffed animal he found in the Seoul airport will be helpful, but he knows it won't be enough. Still, he wants to do more for her. It's been awhile since they have done anything special, and after the week she's had, she deserves something special. He needs to make it up to her. It's going to take some planning, but he thinks he can make it work. It's going to come with a price too, but she deserves it.
At least he is finally getting to come home today. He can't believe how much he has missed her in these past few days. Yes, he always missed her when he was on a business trip, but this time seemed like he missed her even more than usual. Maybe it was because he was worried about her the whole time. Maybe it is because this time there is a baby. Maybe the baby makes him want to be around her even more.
He really hopes that the rest of the gang has taken good care of her this week. It seemed like each time they talked, there was more wrong than she was letting on, but between her bedtime, and his meetings, there wasn't all that much time to talk.
He feels right now like he could lock himself in with her for the next few days and never come out, that is how much he misses her. He doesn't care if that means sitting around in bed with her, giving her a massage or two. He wants to do it for her because he missed her.
It almost scares him how Ted-like he has become recently. They seem to be always waxing some poetic sentiment to each other lately. At least Robin seems to have an excuse, he thinks. She has hormones running through her, making her completely unlike herself. Maybe, just maybe, she is rubbing off on him.
The good news is now that he is on the plane, he should get home just in time for the doctor appointment.
When he gets home at 1pm New York time – it's 2 am in Pyongyang- , he walks back to the bedroom to surprise her. He slowly opens the door, ready to surprise her, but he finds her curled in a ball, with his pillow between her legs, sound asleep. He doesn't want to disturb her, but now that she is here in front of him, he wants to do nothing more than take her in his arms and fall asleep next to her. Why not? It's been a long day for him already, and there is still a bit of time until her doctor appointment. He has time for a quick nap.
He quietly sets his phone alarm for an hour, kicks of his shoes and strips off his suit. He slowly lifts the covers and slides into the bed. He pulls himself close to her, and puts his arm around her. He breathes in the scent of her shampoo as he settles in and falls asleep. God he's missed her. He hasn't slept well this week, and now, he falls asleep just minutes after pulling her close.
She fell asleep because she was upset. Of course this was the doctor appointment that Barney was going to miss. The most important doctor appointment of her pregnancy. She doesn't want to find out without him, and it makes her incredibly sad. They have been looking forward to this so much. As she wakes up, she realizes how well she just slept, because she couldn't have been asleep for more than a half hour. She is comfortable and cozy, and feels like she finally slept. She hasn't slept much at all since he's been gone, but now his arm draped around her makes her feel so comfortable. It takes her a few minutes of blissful unawareness to realize that he isn't supposed to be there. She jumps up, immediately excited, startling him awake in the process.
"Barney!"
"Hey," he says sleepily.
"You're here? When… when did you?" she asks with the biggest smile plastered across her face.
"About a half hour ago. I wanted to surprise you," he whispers sweetly. She seems so overjoyed, and it makes him feel comfortable and happy for the first time since he left last week.
"I can't believe you're really here," she babbles, barely able to contain her emotions.
"I am. I wanted to be home for today. I missed you so much," he says while pulling her into a hug.
"I missed you too," she mumbles into his shoulder.
"I can't believe how much you've grown in a week," he tells her as he pulls away. He hadn't noticed right away, but her bump had definitely expanded in the past week. He hadn't noticed the bump growing before, but being away from her for that long really showed him just how much changes in a week.
"I feel like I haven't grown at all," she says dejectedly. "I feel like this week was a waste."
"I couldn't have been that bad. I mean, look at what you did this week," he says while putting his hand on the bump. "It is absolutely amazing that you can do this. You spent the week growing our baby. All of the weeks in my life have nothing on your week."
"Thanks, but it was still horrible," she grumbles, remembering all of the annoyances she had with the four members of the gang this week.
"What happened?" he asks. Yes, he was gone, but he still doesn't understand how it could have been that bad.
"They were driving me nuts. It just isn't the same not having you here. They just didn't get that I am still a person, not a child. It was like being under suicide watch," she complains.
"I'm so sorry. I want to make it up to you starting with- " he finishes with a dramatic pause while he starts digging through his bag.
"Barney, you don't have to do that," she bemoans.
"Wait-for-it," she rolls her eyes. "This," he says as he pulls out the large-eyed green stuffed creature.
"Barney," she sighs, smiling at him and the new stuffed animal he bought for the baby.
"I saw it in the airport, and I couldn't resist. It's a popular children's character in Korea."
"Thank you," she says with tears welling up in her eyes. "You didn't have to."
"Yes, I did. I feel terrible about leaving, and like I said, this is just the start. I have more planned," he teases.
"More?" she questions curiously.
"Yep, but first, I think we have a doctor appointment to get to."
"Yeah, I think we do."
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Stinson. Are we ready for the ultrasound?" the technician asks on her way into the room.
"I think so," Robin answers, already dressed in the gown and sitting on the table.
"Alright then, let's get started."
Robin braces herself for the cool gel yet again. It doesn't matter how many times she has an ultrasound, she is still never quite ready for it.
As the doctor starts the exam, Barney can't help but be amazed by the screen. They made that thing on the screen, that tiny baby inside of Robin. Sometimes, it is still hard for him to believe that he is going to be a dad. Kids weren't part of the plan. They were never part of her plan, his plan, or their plan together, but somehow, it seems right. Every time he sees that screen, he just feels like it was always supposed to be, because with their DNA, that baby is going to be amazing.
The technician takes her time looking over the baby, stopping to push buttons on the machine every so often.
"Everything looks great, and everything seems to be developing properly. Are you planning on finding out the sex of the baby?" the technician asks.
"Uhh…" Barney stutters. He thought so, but it has been such a long time since they talked about it.
"Well, we haven't gotten to talk about it for sure," Robin answers.
"Are you possibly interested?"
"I think so," Barney says.
"Okay, then. I can write it down on a card for you, you can take it home and open it when you are ready," the technician states.
"That sounds great," Robin responds. She does want to know, but even if they were sure, Barney is still exhausted, and that alone would ruin the moment.
Barney nods his head in agreement. He wants to know too, but even if they had talked about it, he was still so jet lagged that the moment just wouldn't be the same.
"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up," a disgruntled Lily growls from the couch.
"Oh shit. I guess I should have called," Robin defends.
"Ya think?" Lily asks sarcastically.
"Yeah," Robin mumbles.
"Good to see you too, Lily," Barney chides as he pushes his way into the apartment. "What's up?"
"What's in your hand?" Lily questions.
"Something from the doctor?" Robin answers questioningly, wondering if she should be telling Lily anything in this mood.
"Like the sex of the baby?" Lily probes.
"Yes," Barney answers.
"Gimme!" Lily exclaims as she grabs the envelope out of Robin's hand.
"Hey!" Robin shouts.
Lily rips open the envelope. "Ooooooo!" she squeals as she stuffs the envelope in her pocket.
"Hey! Not fair!" Robin whines. "What is it?"
"Well you didn't tell me that Barney was home, and I remember a certain two people doing the exact same thing to me and Marshall," Lily explains. "Payback is a bitch guys. See ya later!" She exclaims as she heads out of their apartment.
"Damnit Lily!" Robin screams.
"Well, I guess we aren't finding out tonight," Barney sighs.
"Yeah, I was hoping to open it during dinner," Robin answers disappointedly.
"And I had the perfect dinner planned too," Barney says dejectedly.
"I thought we would just hang out tonight an order something simple," Robin replies. "You've got to be tired. You've been up for like a day now."
"I can't go to bed until I make it up to you," Barney explains.
"Can you make it up to me tomorrow night?" Robin asks. "I would much rather have it be a quiet night. Besides, you need sleep. You look exhausted."
"But..." he whines. She gives him her best mother look. That one that says I know best, you need to listen, and I'm not going to put up with your shit. He falls for it every time, because she always knows what's best for him. It's a quality that is going to make her a great mom.
"Okay. Fine." He gives in. "I have to call Guy to move everything till tomorrow."
"Thanks," she gives him a small smile.
"Robin, are you ready?" Barney shouts to the bedroom as soon as the living room is ready. It had already been quite a day, but he is looking forward to this surprise the most.
After he had gotten Guy 'the guy' guy to change his plans, he went to bed almost immediately to sleep off the jet lag. Trips to the other side of the world were always exhausting, but even his awesomeness didn't make him immune to the jet lag. The doctor appointment made it even worse, because while he was excited, he wasn't able to sleep when he arrived home.
Today, though, was to be all about her, and so far, he had succeeded. He started off today by making Robin her favorite pancakes, complete with her favorite syrup. She loved them, and ate most of them. He wouldn't be surprised if she gained five pounds just from the pancakes alone. Not that he cared, though. She would still be as sexy as ever to him. Besides, the kid is destined to love pancakes. After all, he or she, damn it Lily, is bound to love pancakes. It is half Canadian. Okay. Maybe it would be five-eighths Canadian, as much as he hates to admit it, but in this case, that just further proves his point.
He then spent the rest of the morning hanging in bed with her, watching a few movies. She told him how happy she was just to have him by her side.
By the afternoon, he had to start getting things ready. He made sure that the people from the restaurant were able to set up. He rearranged some of the furniture to make room for the set up. He waited for delivery of the dress that he ordered for her. He kept an eye on her to make sure she didn't find out about the plans. So far, all had gone off without a hitch. All he is waiting for now is for her to be ready.
He turns the corner of the transformed living room into the hallway. He heads straight into the bedroom, and stops dead in his tracks when he sees her sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Wow," he mumbles. "You look amazing."
She is still a knock out as she smiles back at the compliment, even with her rounding out midsection. The royal blue dress fits her perfectly, the silk skirt flowing down perfectly down over the bump, the black waistband accentuating her breasts, and the lace neckline and sleeves showing the perfect mix of sexy cleavage and modesty. She's skipped the stilettos in favor of a pair of ballet flats, but it doesn't bother him. He can still see plenty of her sexy long legs, and it probably is the best idea to skip the heels with the bed rest and the baby.
"Are you ready for the surprise?" he asks her.
"Absolutely," she affirms. "Show me the way Stinson."
He takes her arm and leads her out to the living room.
"Hello Madame. Can I show you and the gentleman to your table?" the finely dress waiter asks.
"What is this?" she turns around to ask Barney.
"Well, I figured that we normally go out to dinner when I get home from a business trip, but that is off the table, so I decided I would have dinner come to you." He can see that she is stunned speechless.
"I don't even know what to say. Thank you Barney."
"I would do this everyday for you, because what you are doing for me is just astounding." He just can't help but love the way the words light up her face. "Now let's sit down so that we can eat, because it smells amazing."
"Yes. It really does."
9/25/14
What a week it has been. First, my lovely husband was planning his surprise trip home when I last wrote. I woke up from a nap on Friday afternoon to find him lying next to me. I had no idea that he was even finished with his work, let alone already back home. Best of all, he made it just in time for one of the most important doctor appointments of my pregnancy.
Because of my medical condition, I am getting more ultrasounds than a normal pregnancy, but this is the one that most women are excited for. This was the ultrasound where we find out the baby's sex. We had the technician write it down, because we still hadn't fully decided if we wanted to know yet. Plus, with his jet lag and my week without him, neither of us were in a state of mind to make a decision at that point.
The problem is, we still haven't found out yet. When we got home, one of our friends was waiting, and she was mad because we hadn't told her that my husband was home. So she stole the envelope, and refused to tell us. It may have been payback for when we stole her card when we found out our nephew was a boy. Oooops! I don't want to call the doctor and just ask, but we really want to know. Hopefully, they will tell us soon.
The best news is the baby is developing just fine! It is healthy, which at this point, is all I could ask for.
On another note, my husband insisted he had to make it up to me for being gone so long. He ended up getting one of the chefs from one my favorite restaurants to make a meal for us at home. It was so sweet. I told him many times that he didn't need to make it up to me, but he insisted. I've missed just spending a meal together, where he didn't have to do all the work. Plus, he rented me an amazing dress to make it even more special of a night. It was the perfect end to a long week of being alone.
