Ch 5: Sink to the Bottom
(Fountains of Wayne | Fountains of Wayne)
Lily
Lily Aldrin was having a really great day. Because after weeks, she was able to escape the testosterone-charged environment created because of Robin's absence and have some old-fashioned girly fun with her best friend. She had the idea that Robin had been dealing with some issues, but with Marvin and her own stuff, she wasn't able to reach out to her and get her to open up using her usual, intrusively-Aldrin ways. And Lily had planned to do just that when she had gone to meet Robin that day.
But she'd realised very soon after Robin had opened the door, that Robin didn't need any of that. And Lily should have known that, truly. Because some people liked that extra person to hold up the mirror while they fixed themselves up, but Robin Scherbatsky was the opposite of that. She was independent, logical and resilient. And it was exactly what made Lily envy her so much at times; well that, and her height, and her body and her – get it together, Aldrin.
Which is why when she came up to Robin's house earlier that day, expecting her to be all mopey, and found no trace of said moping, she really wasn't so surprised. And then, Lily had dropped all of her schemes and decided to just hang out and have some long overdue fun with her friend. And they were, until they found out that they'd forgotten the bag with the baby stuff at that new store.
It had all gone downhill from there.
She'd gotten herself to the accessories place in record-breaking time, only to find out that the baby bag had been 'taken for inspection' since it was 'an unsupervised object that looked marginally suspicious.' She'd huffed at the salesman, who had obviously recognised her and was now having fun at her expense. After waiting for what seemed like a year, the so-called security official of the store had emerged from the back of the store with the bag and a lengthy lecture about her carelessness.
As she snatched the bag from him grudgingly once he was done, the salesman gave her a sugary sweet smile, "Thank you, ma'am. We hope you enjoyed shopping with us." The sarcasm was so palpable, it took all of Lily's self-control to hold back her patented you-son-of-a-bitch that just begged to escape her lips.
But of course, the universe wasn't done with her yet, so as she spun around exaggeratedly, intending to storm out, her purse caught the edge of a hook protruding from one of the shelves, causing the leather to tear and the contents to tumble out when Lily took her next step towards the exit.
As she heard the loud rip of her exquisite Prada dying, Lily felt like that was the sound of her dignity being shred. She bent down to collect her things (and the broken pieces of her honour), shoved them into Marvin's baby bag and scampered out the doors before she further embarrassed herself.
Lily didn't realise then, that in all of that hullabaloo, she had ended up stuffing her phone inside the baby bag as well, where it lay wedged among Marvin's toys and her cosmetic paraphernalia as Robin tried to call her repeatedly. And so, when she returned to their coffee shop, she was extremely bummed out to find out that Robin wasn't there. Lily dug into the baby bag to retrieve her phone and her exasperation increased when she learned that Robin had left for some work-related emergency. She was glad that, at least, Robin had not left Marvin with some random stranger, knowing her repulsion towards babies.
And so, she ordered another cappuccino, grabbed a magazine from the stall at the coffee shop, and tried calling Robin to ask her how long she would take. But she didn't pick up and so Lily just continued browsing through the magazine. She was halfway into her drink when she got a call from Patrice. Cocking an eyebrow at the unexpected caller, Lily picked it up anyway, "Hey, Patrice. What's up?"
"Lily, uh, hi. I don't know if you've had the chance to speak to Robin earlier, but your kid is with me. We're at the WWN building, but if you like, I could come to wherever you are and hand him over to you," Patrice said, clearly nervous about something.
"Wait, Marvin's with you? But Robin was supposed to have him," Lily asked, "So, I take it that Robin is also at WWN?"
"No, Robin isn't here," Patrice replied in a somewhat dejected tone, "She, uh, she had to take care of something else," Patrice finished cryptically. She couldn't say for sure, but Lily thought Patrice sounded rather anxious. The fact that Robin had just palmed off her baby on someone else and then fled to do her own work didn't please Lily too much, but she would deal with her later.
"Okay. I'll come over to the WWN building, then. Give me around half an hour," Lily answered.
"Sure, no problem. See you."
"Yup, goodbye."
Exactly 37 minutes later, Lily walked into the almost empty bullpen of the WWN office to find her son happily gurgling in his pram and Patrice impatiently pacing around her desk with her phone pressed to her ear. Just as Patrice saw Lily, she fumbled to put her phone aside and rushed to take Marvin out of the pram and pass him to Lily. "Hi, Lily. Here's Marvin," Patrice said, her eyes still darting towards the phone on her desk.
"Thanks, Patrice," Lily said while smiling down to the kid. She noticed Patrice fidgeting in front of her and asked, "Hey, are you okay? You seem a little edgy."
"Yeah, uh," Patrice replied, clearing her throat, "No, actually, I'm just caught up it with a lot of work."
And just then the lift dinged and one of her colleagues walked into the bullpen. When his eyes fell on Patrice, he immediately jogged towards her and pulled her into a hug. Patrice all but sagged against him, the manic energy draining out of her.
"Hey, Patrice. How're you doing? Boss just filled me in, I heard you and Robin got into some trouble earlier tonight?" he asked, genuinely worried, making Lily's ears perk, "I'm so glad you're okay. Could've been a lot worse, you know Atwood doesn't leave any footprints in the snow," he said after ending the hug.
"Yeah, Gregory, I'm fine," Patrice told him with obvious relief.
"No, seriously, Patrice," Gregory continued, the concern still marking his features, "I heard some kid got involved in it, somehow, what's that all about?"
And suddenly Patrice seemed to realise that Lily was right there, and she had heard their conversation.
"H-hey, Greg. Look who's here to meet me," Patrice squeaked, "Lily, and her son, Marvin," she said, stressing on the words, trying to telepathically convey something to Gregory. Lily noticed Gregory's eyes widen, and just like that, the damage was done.
Lily found herself holding Marvin closer to herself and hyperventilating at the new, although vague, information. She had no clue what this Gregory guy was talking about, but her mind was still stuck on the part where Robin and Patrice had gotten into trouble. The gravitas of his voice combined with Patrice's trepidation made it clear to Lily that it wasn't a euphemism, and he was serious when he mentioned the 'could've-been-worse' bit. And there was also the detail about the kid being involved, who Lily was almost sure was Marvin, thanks to Patrice's jittery reaction. The thought was affirmed by Patrice's deer-caught-in-headlights expression when she turned around to look at Lily.
And suddenly Lily needed to get out of there. True, she didn't know the full picture, but she knew what counted: just that evening, her son had been in some form of danger, and no matter the nature or degree of it, the mother in her was extremely disturbed. So, before Patrice could offer her any kind of explanation, Lily had gathered her things and stalked out of the WWN building.
Throughout the cab ride back to her apartment, Lily hugged her son uncomfortably close to herself. The recent conversation between Patrice and her colleague kept ringing in her ears, and she needed the proximity as a reassurance that Marvin was fine. Much as Lily was curious to know what had really happened, she also wasn't sure if she would be able to handle it.
And then the detail that she'd missed presented itself like flashing neon sign in her mind – the whole reason Marvin had gotten involved in… whatever it was, was because of Robin. She had taken her infant son and walked right into the face of danger, leaving Lily with nothing but an inscrutable voicemail. And for what, a measly scoop of some story?
Lily had always known that Robin was excessively career-driven, but she'd always hoped there were lines, boundaries – priorities – that she would have. This was about her child. Seeing Robin's affectionate behaviour with Marvin earlier that evening, Lily had thought that Robin wouldn't be that callous with kids, assuming she had gotten over her dislike towards them. But she obviously hadn't, Lily realised, and the thought just hurt her, more than angering her. Because she simply could not bear the fact that her best friend had been that insensitive. A small part of her mind kept telling her she was overreacting, but Lily couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of betrayal wash over her.
Somehow reigning her tears in, Lily managed to make it to her apartment, Marvin still in her arms while she pushed the pram beside her. But the dam broke right when Marshall opened the door with his welcoming smile, and Lily crashed into him, wailing to his shirt.
If Marshall was alarmed, he tried not to show it as he gently caressed her in an attempt to calm her down. Through a string of hiccups and sniffles, Lily went on to relay the events of the evening, the panic very evident in her voice. And he listened silently as she told him how her best friend had ruined a perfectly happy day; how her best friend had compromised the safety of their son; and how her best friend might no longer be her best friend.
Barney
A few days later...
Barney Stinson was not a happy camper as he tried not to doze off in the middle of the meeting that he had been at for the past 2 hours. The steady rhythm of the unpleasantly busty woman's dull voice did not help either. And Barney couldn't help but think about how he would much rather be setting a steady rhythm elsewhere – what up! – on his bed, at his home, with his ravishing fiancée. Just thinking about his upcoming wedding left Barney grinning like a lovesick teenager.
"Uh, Mr Stinson…?" Barney finally heard the woman's voice. Given his habit of zoning out, he predicted that she must have called out to him at least 5 times before he realised.
"Anything you want to share with the head of the board?" she asked, once she was sure she had Barney's attention.
"Uh, no. No. I've got nothing for the headboard," Barney replied spontaneously. "Uh, the head of the board," he corrected himself immediately. He couldn't help that he breathed out sex puns. Once the meeting resumed its monotony, Barney's thoughts went back his soon-to-be-wife.
Despite his panic attacks and seeming almost-relapses into his Player King ways, he had always come through to realise that he really was irrevocably in love with Robin Scherbatsky. They were both terribly flawed individuals who couldn't be more perfect for each other. And once Barney was able to overcome his fear and, to some extent, denial, he was able to grasp that beautiful feeling of being settled that he had been running away from for years.
It's everything you're afraid to let yourself want, Barney smiled at the memory. Even then, many years ago, when he'd only just fallen for Robin and she was totally clueless about his feelings, Barney had inadvertently admitted it out loud that Robin was everything he'd wanted.
In many ways, they were each other's antidote, connecting on such fundamental levels that its depth scared Barney sometimes. Scared of how he would cope if he ever lost her. Robin understood that his excessive theatrics were just a way to fill the emptiness in his life. For the longest time, it had been the white noise that had kept his broken existence from completely crumbling. And eventually, it had just become a part of him. Robin had held him close one night and told him that he didn't have to feel broken anymore. That she and the gang truly loved him for who he was, at times, despite his nature. It had been a private moment between them, because, of course, it be outright blasphemous to have such a sappy breakdown in front of his other less-than-awesome friends, and Barney had greatly appreciated it.
And he, in turn, got Robin's tendency of not sharing her problems. Because to her, that was a sign of weakness, something that Robin would never stand being known to possess. And Barney suspected that it all went back to her ultimate desire of making her father proud. Robin had never been enough for him, and she feared letting others down as well. And Barney knew that those feelings of inadequacy in her, while latent most of the time, were still quite strong. So, she had to build those walls, or else people would know. And then, they would be disappointed.
But he didn't want to break her walls, he wanted her to take them down herself and let him in. And that could happen, if only Barney would put in words just how baseless her fears were – how strong she was, even when she wasn't trying to be; how she was more than just enough for him; how nothing she did would ever disappoint him; and how he was hopelessly in love with her.
But he couldn't – didn't – and so there he was, stuck in the exhaustingly boring meeting across the globe, thinking about how he should have confronted Robin about the issue she was obviously dealing with, alone, for the past few weeks.
He had wanted to bring up the topic several times when they had met, but he also knew that Robin never really revealed her issues because she needed to. She was more than capable of solving her problems herself, and had been doing that all her life. If she ever opened up, and she usually did when it came to Barney, it was because she wanted to. Because she felt comfortable enough with him to share her vulnerability, even though he never looked at it that way. Which is why he had only given her the silent support whenever he deemed necessary, and he could see from her grateful glances that she approved of his approach.
And he could see, with each visit, that Robin was getting better. Thanks to his uncanny ability of gauging female facial features, Barney knew that she hadn't been crying or openly wallowing. She'd just been kind of sullen in that thoughtful, introspective way. Like she was trying to figure something out, something personal. He was strangely sure about that. And that was another reason why he didn't pry. How could he expect her to share something she hadn't even fully understood herself. But it had been quite some time with all of that, and he really wanted to know if she was doing okay. Partly because he didn't want the emotional wounds, if any, to be festering within her and partly because, he gots to know!
With his thoughts keeping him occupied, Barney managed to get through the rest of the meeting without falling asleep. Finally, he got back to the solace of his hotel room that night and checked his phone for any texts or calls from Robin. It had been two days since they last spoke, which was justified, since they both were neck-deep in work, but Barney was disheartened that she hadn't even replied to the last message he had sent her when they had texted right after the call. He was just about to give her a call when his phone began to ring. He was surprised when he saw the caller. "Hey, Ranjit! How's my man?" Barney chirped.
"Hello, Barney. I'm good, thanks." Ranjit answered, no sign of his usual enthusiasm.
"Cool, bro," Barney said, and then cleared his throat, "So, uh, how'd you call? Did you finally get to see that hot chick who moved in opposite to your building?" he asked, trying to diffuse the tension he had sensed in Ranjit's reply.
"What, uh, no," Ranjit mumbled, clearly distracted, "I actually called to ask you how Robin was doing."
Ranjit's voice was so solemn that it instantly sobered Barney down. He knew that Ranjit was not making a general enquiry, the way people ask while making small-talk.
"Uh, yeah, she's fine," Barney said, all the jest sucked out of his voice. "Actually, I've been out on a work trip this week. Wanted to clear plate before the wedding, y'know," he added.
"Oh, you're not in New York," Ranjit whispered. "You're not with her," he said, in some sort of daze.
And now he had officially gotten Barney to start freaking out. Ranjit clearly knew something, and Barney already had an ominous feeling about it,
"Ranjit, what are you talking about? Has something happened?" Barney asked, his stomach churning with apprehension.
So, Ranjit went on to tell Barney how Robin had called him to pick her up, three nights ago, and how he had dropped her at the hospital. He did not talk much about what had happened, but Barney guessed that it was either for his own benefit, or because he really didn't know.
"I don't really know how bad it was, but she was injured," Ranjit added, "I felt bad that I couldn't stay with her, but I've been caught in my own emergency," he sighed tiredly.
Reminding himself to breath, Barney tried to form a coherent reply, "Uh, that's okay, Ranjit. I'm sure Ted or Marshall would – "
"No, she told me not to call them. Said she wanted to deal with it on her own. She sounded pretty serious, so I let it go. I thought she had already called you. But you're not even in town…" he trailed off. It didn't make any sense to Barney.
But, at that moment, it hardly mattered, because what Ranjit said next devastated him beyond anything, "She was bleeding when I got her to the hospital that night. And she might have been all alone ever since."
Barney felt like he'd been sucker punched. The image of a wounded Robin surrounded by hospital equipment, with tubes sticking out of her, began to haunt his mind and he could almost feel the bile rising in his throat.
But Ranjit was still rambling, "I mean, she was able to walk. So, I'm guessing she's going to be fine. But still, I didn't even check on – "
And before Ranjit could finish, or Barney could ask any more questions, there was a garbled sound of disarray at Ranjit's end. Barney heard an object being wheeled away and some people – probably medical professionals, considering the few words he could discern – shouting out instructions and then, the call was cut. He tried calling again, but to no success.
No, no. NO!
And Barney sat in the empty suite, the silence deafening him. He simply couldn't believe how his impossibly uninteresting day had ended. The thought of Robin in any kind of pain sent him into a state of complete panic, and not knowing exactly what had happened was killing him. But he also knew that there wasn't anything that he could do from there, and it wasn't going to help anyone if he spiralled out of control.
But there was something that he needed to do: he had to get to Robin. He had to get back to New York, stat.
Author's note: Okay, I was super nervous about the story from here onward. This is the first time Barney is really featured in the story. And in the following chapters, there are many parts that I wrote from Barney's perspective and it was stressful. That's because I wanted to make sure I didn't take away the fun part of Barney's personality while making him a little less insane and more realistic as he shows his loving and caring side. I have given it my best shot, and I sincerely hope it has worked.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story.
