Chapter 53- The First Hour I
A/N: I have to really apologize to everyone. It took me about 10 days to even be able to touch my fics in a real way, and then when I was finally able to emotionally write again, things got crazy with my house and the club that I am an advisor for at my school. But I am finally at peace, and I am definitely continuing all three of my stories and coming with more. That hasn't changed at all.
I actually ended up splitting this chapter in half from what I wanted it to be, and I am actually am almost finished with the second part, but this just happened to be a good place to stop, and the point I got to in editing today. I might even be able to get it up tomorrow or Friday.
And on one last note, I am debating changing the mother's name in this story. Please let me know what you think about that in the comments. You don't have to say anything else. Just a yes or no will do.
"She's so still," Robin mutters, still feeling the sense of peace from the birth being over. The experience if holding the baby is blowing everything she thought she knew about newborns out if the water. She always thought babies were loud and busy. But Brianna is lying so calmly on her chest, just breathing. It amazes her that she's finally here. It really still hasn't sunk in.
"I never knew that something so beautiful could look so gross," Barney comments.
"Barney!" she scolds. He just called the baby, the beautiful baby that she just spent the last 18 hours pushing out of her nether regions, gross.
"What?" he whines, shrugging his shoulders. She is the most beautiful thing he's ever laid eyes on, but that doesn't change the fact that she's covered in a gross coating of he doesn't even want to know what.
"Okay," Robin admits. "You're right. She does look a little gross, but she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"She really is," he sighs, stroking the side of Brianna's cheek. "Thank you."
Robin turns to stare at him in confusion. "For what?"
"For everything," he answers, looking her straight in the eyes. "For her." The raw emotion in his eyes in the way he looks at her, makes the hormones get the better of her.
"Thank you," she mumbles in return. She's getting all emotional again. She wants to blame the baby, but how could she blame something like crying on something so innocent.
"For what?" Barney questions. "I didn't do anything."
"You helped me make her," Robin replies. The fact that she feels that way makes it feels like his heart has swelled to twice its size.
"Dad? Do you want to come cut the cord?" Barney almost jumps from his place on the bed. They had been so in their own little world that they had forgotten that the nurse-midwife was still in the room.
"Uh, yeah. I'll be right back," he says, getting up from his place beside Robin and walking nervously to the foot of the bed.
The nurse hands him the most awkward looking pair of scissors he's ever seen. She guides his hands towards where to cut, and he cuts easily through the spongy tissue.
Robin tries to watch, but she can't really see what's happening, because Brianna is in the way. But she realizes that the metaphor is quite fitting. Once Barney makes the cut, Brianna will be in no way apart of her anymore. They are now two separate beings, two becoming three in their family.
Barney looks up to see her crying because of her thoughts.
"Scherbatsky? Are you crying?" he teases gently.
"No," she defends. "Shut up. I... It's..." she stutters. "She's just finally here. She's her own person now. Officially."
"Worth it?" he asks sweetly.
"Absolutely," she answers, stroking the hat on the top of Bri's head. "I can't believe that I never wanted to do that." She thinks that maybe she will regret saying that later, but for now, she means it. These first few minutes have definitely been worth it.
"What? Give birth?"
"Yeah," she sighs. "It's all still a little hard to believe. Yeah, I've had like seven months to get used to the idea, but it's still so weird to have her here."
"I know," he agrees, touching the baby's back.
"She's trying to move," Robin announces, feeling the slight movements of her head against her chest.
"She is?" Barney asks, full of joy at his baby's first development.
"Yeah," Robin grins at his enthusiasm. "Watch her head."
"She's opening her eyes," Barney adds, since he knows Robin's in a position that she can't see baby Bri's face.
"What color are they?" she asks.
"Brown."
"What?!" she shouts, slightly disturbing the baby. She's panicked now, because their baby should have blue eyes. Did they switch her? Did something go wrong?
"Kidding! I'm kidding," he chortles. "They're blue. All babies are born with blue eyes. Everyone knows that," he teases.
"I thought that was a myth," she counters.
"Does it matter?"
"Not really," she concedes. "She was going to have blue eyes no matter what. She is our daughter." He smiles at her response. Their daughter. It sounds so right. He leans down to look at Bri, to look her in the eyes for the first time.
"Hey baby girl," he says sweetly. "I know you've heard me before, but you can finally see me now. I'm your daddy." He pauses to touch her nose. "I know we just met and all, but you already mean everything to me. Everything that's mine, is yours." Robin watches the interaction, tears spilling out of her eyes at a rapidly increasing pace. "That's goes for both of you," he says, directing his speech to Robin now. "You both mean the world to me. I love you both so much. I know that seems crazy, to love her so much so-"
"Fast?" she asks, interrupting because she feels the same way.
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"I feel it too," she sighs. "I don't want to let her go. We can just stay here forever."
Barney pulls Robin in for a hug, and starts lightly brushing Brianna's head through her hat, revealing a small bit of wavy brunette hair, while Bri starts making small sucking noises.
"I guess she's got your hair," he notices.
"She does," she smiles. She always pictured her daughter with brown hair, even back when she thought she was pregnant the first time. "She's certainly never going to be a blonde like you with that dark of hair."
"That's okay," he accepts. "Brunettes have always been more beautiful to me anyway."
"Seems different from what I remember," she teases. "I remember you liking quite a few blondes in your day."
"Really?" he groans. "Do we have to do this now? I married you didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did," she teases, smirking in a way that is reserved for him.
"And I don't think you could look more beautiful than you do right now."
"Stop it, Barney," she chastises. "I'm gross. My hair is a mess, I'm covered in sweat, and I'm exhausted as hell," she rants. She feels about as gross as she possibly could. "There is no way I look beautiful."
"But you look so beautiful," he answers with that tone that she knows that he's not lying, the one that she heard in those few moments before their wedding. "You've just given me the best gift ever, and I could still have my way with you right now."
"Hey, hey, hey!" she admonishes. "None of that. One, there is no way I'm even going to let you think about being there right now, and two, we do have this little one to think about now."
"Fine," he says dejectedly. "Did it hurt as much as you thought it would though?" he asks, because he's curious. She seemed fine for the beginning of labor, but the end seemed like something else entirely. It sure seemed like the most pain he had ever seen anyone in, and he had gotten hit by a bus.
"I can tell you that I never thought it was going to feel like that." The way she implies the that, makes him instantly curious.
"Like what?"
"The people from the internet weren't lying. It did feel sort of like an orgasm at the end."
"Really?" he questions with wide eyes.
"Really."
"Wow," he chortles. When she told him about it just a few hours ago, he thought it had to be bogus. There was no way he thought it could be possible.
"Yeah, and it was worth it," she grins. "110% worth it. Even though I said I never wanted this, she is pretty damn amazing."
"Yes, she is," he sighs. "God we are sounding like Ted again."
"Speaking of Ted, do you think we won?" she asks, just remembering the fact that they are there too.
"I don't know. I'd like to think so," he announces. "We are more awesome."
"Yeah we are," she agrees, putting her hand up for a high five that he quickly returns. "Awww. She just moved her arm. She's moving, almost like she wanted her first high five."
Barney watches her a moment before adding, "Why is it the most adorable thing I've ever seen in my life?"
"I don't know," she laughs, "but you are right. Everything she does is adorable."
He turns to look at Robin, and watches her eyes droop with exhaustion.
"You look tired. Do want to rest?" he asks, hoping that she will.
"I do, but I don't want to stop watching her. Maybe later," she brushes off.
"It's okay for you to close your eyes," he insists.
"No," she says finally. "I only have to make it a little bit more. It's close. She's going to fall asleep soon, and when she does, then I can sleep too."
"Robin, don't push yourself," he warns. He hates to see her push herself like this. He wants her to be happy and healthy.
"I'm not," she insists. "Just a little bit more."
"Okay," he agrees, knowing that the strong, independent woman that he fell in love with isn't going to let him win this fight. However, if he can't win this, he certainly is going to take advantage of another situation. He reaches into his pocket, takes his phone out, and takes a picture.
"Did you really just take a picture of me like this?" she asks skeptically.
"Um, yes?" he rebukes, pretending that it's not a big deal. He knows it is. He knows how much Robin doesn't like to take a bad picture, but this is an important moment. He knows she is going to want this picture in just a few months. "I'm sorry, but you are going to want to remember this moment," he counters.
"I think not," she challenges. There is no way she is going to remember looking like this.
"You will. This is a big moment." She groans, because she doesn't want this picture. She doesn't want to remember this moment in how gross she looks. "Calm down Scherbatsky," he adds. "It's just her. Look."
He shows her the phone, and she is instantly overwhelmed.
"Awww. Just…" She is so overwhelmed that she can't control her vocal cords. She can finally see her eyes, her face, her whole body, and she's even more beautiful than she thought.
"You don't know what to say," he teases.
"No, it's so…" she pauses, trying to find the right word, "adorable. I can't see her like that from here."
"So you approve now?"
She chuckles at the thought, because he was right. It only took the picture for her to see that she needs that picture forever. It's the first picture of her daughter.
"Yeah," she concedes. "Take one of the two of us now."
He does, and he thinks that her beaming smile might actually break his phone, it's that bright.
"You know what? You should take a rest," he insists. "I'm going to go make some calls, okay?"
"Yeah," she agrees. "That sounds good." She doesn't want him to go, but at the same time, she does want him to go share the news.
"You want me to call your mom and your dad?" he asks, and she nods, because it's so much better than calling them herself. She really doesn't want to deal with them right now.
He turns and heads out the door, leaving her alone with her daughter for the first time, and she knows what she needs to do.
"Hey, baby girl," she says quietly and tenderly. "We're alone again. Your daddy just went to tell the rest of your family about you. I can't believe you are finally here." She rubs the baby's back. "I just want you to know that no matter what happens, mommy is always going to love you. Always." The tears start to run down her face, so she tries to think of something else. "I hope that I don't regret letting your uncle Marshall give you your middle name," she rambles on. "I do trust him- he's a good guy, you should know that. He's always going to help you out if you are in trouble- but at the same time, he did want to name your cousin Marvin, Hurricane. That would have been pretty bad. But I promised. Your middle name will be what your middle name will be. But you are for sure a Brianna. And I love you so much. You've made me believe in things I never believed in. You are a miracle. A miracle. I love you, my miracle."
