Chapter 54- The First Hour II


A/N: Part two! Things went really well today! I hope the next week goes as well as today went!


"Hey mom," Barney says quietly into his cell phone. He's right outside the door to Robin's room and he's really not supposed to use his phone in here, but he doesn't want to go too far away from his new little family.

"Hi Wuv-Wuv!" Loretta greats happily. "What's the news?"

"I'm a dad."

"Awww honey!" she squeals. "I'm so proud of you. How are they doing?"

"Just fine."

"When can grandma stop by for a visit?" she prods.

"Ummm, later tonight I guess?" he answers, running his hand through his hair. Really, he doesn't want to deal with anyone tonight. Marshall and Lily, maybe, but no family. He wants to keep her all to himself right now. Plus he's exhausted, and Robin even more so. It would make sense to just have the night to themselves. "No, actually," he corrects, "give us until tomorrow morning. We didn't really get much sleep last night, and visiting hours are over at seven anyway." He may have lied about that. They really go to nine, but this way, it's not him denying her the chance to see her grandchild tonight.

"Okay. I guess I'll wait to see my first real grandchild," she scorns.

"Mom-" he tries to say to change her attitude. She's her third grandchild, not the first. Just because Eli and Sadie are adopted doesn't make them any less her grandchildren.

"It's okay. I'll survive," she whines, trying to get him to change his mind. He's not going to let her guilt trip change his mind though.

"She still won't be a day old yet," he argues, hoping she comes to her senses. "I promise. First thing tomorrow."

"I'll be there. Bye Barney"

"Bye mom."

Well, that's one down, he thinks as he tries to decide who to call next. The only one he is really excited to call is Lily, and now he realizes that he probably should have called her and Marshall first. Well, what's done is done, so all he can do is call them now. Then they can get a head start to the hospital.

"Hey Lil!"

"Good news?" she asks excitedly. She had been waiting all day to hear from anyone.

"Good news. I'm a dad."

"Congratulations Barney," she coos, so happy that she and Marshall are no longer alone in parenthood. Plus, it's so amazing to think about how far the two of them had come. They are parents, and she feels partially responsible for them getting to this place. "Robin doing well?"

"Yeah, they both are. You two coming later?" he asks quickly.

"I think so. Are you sure you want us to come already?" she asks. She remembers what it was like when she had Marvin, and while it was nice to have them there, she did just want to rest.

"Of course, you are our family. I'll see you when you get here." He's ready to hang up when he hears his name.

"Barney-" Lily utters sullenly. She doesn't want to tell him about what she knows, but at the same time, he really should know that they may not be the only ones having a baby today.

"Yeah?"

"Before you go, I just thought maybe you should know-" she says nervously.

"What?" he asks quickly, because what she has to say can't be as important as getting back to Robin.

"Ted and-" He realizes what she wants to tell him and why she needs to. He quickly interrupts her.

"Are at the hospital?" he finishes. "Yeah I know. He sent me a text and I stupidly looked at it. It stressed the hell out of Robin."

"I'm sorry, Barney," she sympathizes.

"It's fine. Did you hear anything from him?" he asks. Not that he really wants to know, because in a way, it's better to not know, then to know that they have lost. If he doesn't know yet, he can still convince himself that they won. Denial can be a beautiful thing sometimes.

"Nope. I've heard nothing," she answers. "As far as I know, you are the first."

"Good," he mutters. "Good."

"See you soon, Barney."

"Yeah, see you soon," he sighs.

He feels slightly upset again. They aren't alone here, and it bothers him. He glances back in the door, but he can't quite see Robin and the baby. He hopes that she is resting. He looks back to the phone to find his dad's number, so that he can get this over with and go back in there to his girls.

"Hey dad."

"Hey! How's my favorite family doing? One bigger yet?" Jerry asks, excited for the news.

"Actually, yeah, she's here."

"Oh goodness! My first grandchild!" Hearing his dad's voice makes Barney happy again. He's so giddy, and completely unlike Loretta in attitude. "How's Robin doing?"

"Everyone's great. I can't talk long. I just wanted to let you know."

"That's okay Barney," Jerry answers, and Barney is so happy that he won't have to argue with another parent, especially since he knows that a certain Scherbatsky is probably going to be a handful to deal with. "Is it okay if Cheryl and I stop by tomorrow? I don't want to overwhelm you."

"That sounds great dad." He sighs at the thought. At least someone understands what it's like to want some time alone. "Thanks."


"Are you doing okay, Robin?"

She opens her eyes to see the nurse-midwife standing at the bottom of the bed. She's not sure if she had been asleep or not, but it almost felt like it. She quickly glances at Brianna, just to make sure she is still there, and notices her moving again. Bri's chubby arms are flailing, and she's still making the sucking sounds she was earlier.

"I think so?"

"Any other contractions?" the nurse asks as she pushes on Robin's stomach. She winces in pain. It hurts, it really hurts, more than she ever thought it would. Not as much as labor, but still. She is supposed to be done with the pain. She has the baby. In a way, she almost feels like a science experiment gone wrong.

"No, why?" she answers through the pain.

"The placenta." She completely forgot about that part. A part of her wishes that Barney would be in here right now, but at the same time, she knows how he is with this kind of stuff, and it would probably be better if he wasn't. "I'm going to need you to push."

"You have got to be kidding me," she mutters under her breath. She can't imagine even trying to push right now. Her body is still so weak, and frankly, she's grateful that all she had to do for the past ten minutes- or however long it's really been- is lie here and hold the baby. "What about the baby?"

"She can stay right where she is. I just need you to give a little bit of a push."


"Mr. Scherbatsky?" Barney utters quickly into the phone. Sure, Robin had made up with her dad, and he supported her in that, but there was still something about the man that rubbed him the wrong way. He would forge a relationship for her, but there was no reason that this phone call had to last any longer than possible.

"Yes, son. What can I do for you today? Are you finally deciding to tell me that my granddaughter was born a few weeks ago?" he implies. Barney rolls his eyes at his ignorance. The man had some nerve to even suggest such a thing. "I thought that you had been hiding from me."

"She was actually just born sir."

"But her due date was two weeks ago. What do you mean she's just having the baby now?"

"She was born a few minutes ago. Robin wanted me to call. You can stop by tomorrow."

"I will be by tonight." Barney emits a loud sigh, not wanting to do this yet again. Not that he didn't see this coming from eighty-three miles away.

"Visiting hours are going to be over by the time that they get moved to a real room. You can come any time tomorrow," Barney corrects, lying yet again, but trying to be diplomatic, all for Robin's sake. He hangs up the phone, knowing he will probably regret it in the morning, but he doesn't care. His patience has been worn thin, and he hopes that for Robin's sake, her father decides to take his advice and stay away for the evening. He wants Robin to have the night to herself and just their close friends.

The last call he makes is to Robin's mom. He doesn't even get the opportunity to say hello before she starts the conversation.

"Oh, hello Barney. I take it you are calling because my precious granddaughter has finally arrived?"

"Yes, she has," he says happily. He may never get along with her father, but ever since he met Robin's mother, he actually found he kind of liked the woman, despite the things that Robin told him about her. He may never forgive her completely either for Robin's childhood, but at least she tried to atone for her mistakes and made an effort to be involved now.

"And everyone is healthy?"

"Yes."

"Put Robin on the phone, I want to send my congratulations to her directly."

"I'm actually not in the room with her," he answers meekly, feeling that he may get an earful about why he shouldn't be in the hall talking on the phone.

"What are you doing on the phone with me?" she shouts encouragingly. "Get back in there! This is the worst part of labor!"

"But the baby-"

"Go, Barney," she interrupts. "I'm hanging up. Get back in there right now!"


He walks back in at exactly the wrong time, just to see the worst and most disgusting part of labor. Thankfully for him, the door to the bathroom is right next to him, and he makes it inside just in time to spew his guts out in the toilet.

She would have been grossed out herself, because she's never been a fan of the sight of blood, but the thought of Barney needing to hurl because of her just makes her laugh. Maybe she can blame it on being so tired and hormonal.

"What's so funny?" he snarls, coming out of the suite's bathroom. He is not amused. "There's nothing funny." To him, this is about as amusing as them all calling him Swarley.

"Yes it is," she teases. "You were totally grossed out."

"You weren't there!" he exclaims, trying to defend himself.

"Ummm, I'm pretty sure it came out of me," she argues. It wasn't that much prettier on her end either. She decides that maybe it's not the best idea to tell him that some women choose to eat that.

"Hmpf," he exhales in protest.

"Come here," she chuckles. "I'm sorry."

"No you aren't," he whines, before looking at Bri.

"Did you move her?" he asks curiously, and completely changing his attitude upon noticing that she is no longer at the same spot she was when he left the room.

"No, she did that on her own. How did the phone calls go?"

"Well your mom was the one to convince me to come back in when I did," he answers woefully.

"She has always had impeccable timing," she laughs.

"And your dad and my mom both thought they had to come tonight, but other than that, it went well."

"Did you talk to Lily?"

"I did. She hasn't heard anything from Ted yet, so we should be the first."

Robin sighs and closes her eyes. They both sit in contented silence for a minute, Robin resting and Barney watching his daughter make the most adorable suckling face, until the nurse interrupts them.

"The doctor will be back in in a few minutes to stitch you up, and then once she feeds for the first time, we will weigh her and do what we need to with her."

"Stitch me up?" Robin questions, starting to panic.

"You had a slight bit of tearing. One or two stitches will do. I'm just going to give you a local anesthetic," the nurse says calmly. Robin really isn't excited, especially as she watches the nurse get everything ready, and she notices how big the needle is. She may be used to giving herself an injection every day, but this is a whole new level of needle. "While I am working, is there anything you don't want us to do with the baby? Eye drops? Bath?"

"We didn't really talk about it," Robin responds before turning to ask Barney, "What do you think?"

"As long as it's what's normally done, I think it's fine," he answers and Robin nods in agreement.

Barney holds her hand in support as the nurse completes the injection. He doesn't look, because there is only one thing he wants to see go in that area, and a needle is not one of them. He watches Bri instead, and she slobbers all over Robin's nipple. He can't help but find Robin's subsequent giggle adorable, even if it shakes her body, making the whole process take longer.

"Sorry. That tickled," she says.

"I'll go get the doctor," the nurse says before walking out of the room.


A minute after the doctor finally leaves, is when Brianna decides to latch for the first time. And. It. Hurts.

It seems the pain just keeps happening. Hurt is a new word in her vocabulary. Sure, it is worth it, but she just wants the pain to stop so she can go to sleep.

"Is it supposed to hurt this much?" she asks the nurse.

"No. You might be a little bit sore, but it shouldn't hurt."

"It definitely hurts," Robin answers.

"She's not latched right," the nurse comments, finally coming over to see what is wrong.

"And how do I fix that?" Robin asks sarcastically. It's like they expect her to know everything. She can certainly tell that her exhaustion is starting to make her cranky.

"First, you need to teach her how to do it. Everyone thinks that babies know what to do. They have an idea, but they don't know how to properly do it."

"And how do I do that?" Her patience is wearing thin.

"Reach under her lips and then turn her mouth away. Then cup your breast in a U shape and brush her cheek."

She does what the nurse says, and it does help, but it's still not the easiest thing in the world.

"It still hurts a bit."

"I've been told that lying back helps, but it hasn't been proven. And don't worry. It takes most new moms and babies a week or two to get the hang of it. We'll keep an eye on it for the next day."

It's the strangest feeling to Robin. She's had the sensation of having her nipples sucked on before, but she can feel something going out of her now. It's another one of those moments that crosses the line almost too far between sexual and entirely non-sexual.

At that moment, Barney realizes that while he used to think the idea of breast feeding was hot, it's really not what he thought it was. Viewing it from this angle, it being his wife and his newborn daughter, it's taken on a whole new meaning. It's actually kind of sweet, except for the fact that Robin is visibly in pain. He doesn't want her to be in pain anymore. Hasn't the day been enough for her already?


After twenty minutes, the nurse is finally happy with the amount that Brianna has eaten. She picks the baby up off of Robin, and carries her to the far side of the room, where another nurse is waiting to help check her vitals.

"You still doing okay?" Barney asks Robin once Bri is out of their sight.

"Yeah. I'm just tired. I'm ready to go to sleep now."

"Take a nap. You deserve it." He pulls her into a hug from his spot on the bed next to her. "I love you so damn much Scherbatsky."

"I love you too."

"Okay dad, are you ready to hold her?" the nurse asks. She's holding Brianna who now has a diaper added to her lone wardrobe of a hat. He sits down on the recliner next to the bed, and looks up to a very tired, but smiling Robin. He doesn't know what he did to deserve all of this, but he's so thankful for the opportunity.

He loosens his tie and unbuttons his shirt, while the nurse slips Brianna underneath.

"Your suit grew a lump," Robin teases sweetly from the bed.

"Shut up," he counters.

He concentrates on holding the baby, and before he knows it, he finds one of his girls sleeping peacefully on the bed, and the other on his chest.

His life couldn't be more perfect.