One could say that the Barney Stinson in this universe is a lucky guy.

Instead of taking him to the Museum of Natural History as promised, Jerome backtracks all of a sudden and takes him to the zoo. The blue T-rex is left standing in peace. And Barney gets a childhood much more complete than his other selves are having in other worlds—he has a father.

When he turns sixteen, Loretta finally caves and lets him join cross-country tours with Jerome and the bands he manage, on the condition that he call or write to her every week. Dutiful son that he is, he complies unfailingly.

Being on tour is a dream come true. They eat in diners, jam on the bus, show off magic tricks (in the Stinsons' case), he gets to watch acts ranging from horrible to mediocre and meet all kinds of girls. And he doesn't even need to committ to any of them.

On the fourth year he joins in, Jerome suddenly announces that they are heading to Canada. Of all places!

'There's a rising demand to American music there,' he explains.

And so they cross the border into Canada.

XXX

The show has just finished. There were a couple of bizzare acts that went before and after the band, others that were good and still others that were memorable enough. Barney is seated backstage waiting for Jerome to wrap up his talk with some producers, practicing his card tricks. Not that he needs too. He's already awesome at all of them.

But then he hears a faint sound, sort of like the kind of sniffling accompanied by a girl crying. Barney freezes and listens carefully. Curiously, he gets up to trace where the sound is coming from. He finds himself deeper backstage, walking towards a small room where the sound seems to be coming from.

The girl is on the floor hugging her knees. He recognizes her, or rather, her outfit. Her layers of denim, blindingly colorful accessories and overdone, curly, hairsprayed hair. Onstage, she burst with energy and reminded him of the cheesy eightees, and 'Let's Go to the Mall' is still stuck in his head.

He clears his throat at the doorway. 'Um, hey. Good show back there.'

She raises her head, eyes puffy, nose pink. With the back of her hand, she wipes the tears away from her eyes.

'Thanks.'

'I'm Barney. My dad manages The Haters.'

'Oh. I'm Robin.'

'I know.'

And then her lip is quivering and she starts crying again. During his twenty years of existence, Barney Stinson has learned a lot of tricks, but one he can't seem to master is what to do when a girl starts crying. Panicking, he comes in and sits down on the floor next to her.

'What's wrong?'

She gives off a sound which is a cross between a laugh and a cry. 'My boyfriend broke up with me. Just now. He's a bass player in the other band, The Foreskins.'

'I bet he's an idiot.' He thinks her accent is adorable.

'What makes you say that?'

'Well, for starters, you're cute.' He grins, relaxing as Robin smiles too. 'Your song's way too catchy. And what kind of name is The Foreskins? Seriously. He kept missing notes too. So yeah, I'm pretty sure you win this one, Sparkles.'

'I guess.'

He holds out his deck of cards. 'Want to see a magic trick? Here. Pick a card. Don't show it to me. Now, remember what it is in case it shows up again, much later.'

'Okay.' She puts it back on top. 'So, Barney, right?'

'Barney Stinson. Proud American.'

'How old are you, eh?'

'Twenty.'

'Sixteen.'

'Shouldn't you be in school?'

'I have a tutor. Shouldn't you be in college?'

'Summer break.'

'But that's only a week!'

He just stares at her, puzzled, then shrugs. 'So how long will you be performing here? My dad's band stays put for three more days.'

'I'm leaving tonight, actually.'

'That's too bad.' He pauses, glancing at her, wondering if she will start crying again. Please don't, he thinks. 'So, this boyfriend of yours—is he still around?'

'I think he's with his band out back. Why?'

He stands and pulls her up. 'Come on. I'll show you another trick.'

Simon and his bandmates are out by their van loading some equipment and drinking beer. Pressing a finger against his lips, Barney leaves Robin hidden behind a wall and sneaks up closer to the van. While the band moves to the back to check that their equipment is complete, he crouches low and approaches the front and, with his magical hands, sets one of their banners lying on the ground on fire. Then he runs quickly back to safety.

'How did you do that?' she asks in amazement.

He winks. 'A magician never reveals his secrets.'

And they watch as Simon accidentally steps over the burning cloth, lighting his pants on fire too. His bandmates rush forward in panic, yelling, as Simon drops and rolls on the ground frantically. They pour bottles of water over the fire, cursing and blaming and shoving each other. It's hilarious.

'He screams like a girl,' Barney tells her, glancing sideways. She's barely holding a laugh back.

Later on back in her dressing room, they play Battleship with a set she brings with her wherever she travels. They each win a game (he has never met a girl who could play as well as him, who could foil all his practiced cheats so easily). They are about to play a tiebreaker game when he hears Jerome calling him. Hesitantly, he gets up.

'My dad's calling me,' he says apologetically. 'It was nice meeting you.'

'Thanks. For what you did.' She looks up at him, a wide smile on her face.

'No problem.'

He stands there wondering if they will ever meet again. But he remembers he is twenty, and she is sixteen, still a kid, and while he has dated women younger and older than him, this one just feels different. Sixteen. He feels a protective streak coming out, assuring himself it would only freak her out if he asked for her number or address. And besides—she lives in a completely different country. Nothing would come out of it.

'Hey, Robin.'

'Yeah?'

'After I leave, check your purse. The pink one there.'

'Why?'

'You'll see.'

'It won't burst into flames, will it?'

He catches the glint in her eye and grins. 'Maybe. Just look, okay?'

'I will.'

Then he walks away, every step deliberate and slow. And he doesn't know why, but he feels like he is losing her even though they've only just met.

XXX

Eight years later, she is having coffee and catching up on some reading for work when a barista puts a hot drink down on her table.

'I didn't order that,' she insists.

The barista smiles. 'It's paid for. The gentleman over there only wants your autograph in return.'

She is dumbfounded. 'My autograph?'

Robin stands up and approaches the guy the barista pointed at. 'Um, excuse me—'

When he turns around, it takes her a about a second to recognize who he is. Barney Stinson. His blonde hair, once a bit long and curly, is now cut short and professionally. He's wearing an expensive-looking suit and a bemused, knowing expression, and she smiles, remembering what he did for her all those years ago.

'You should know my autograph's pretty worthless now,' she tells him.

'I'm still a huge fan. It's not worthless to me.'

'Well, then you're one of the few still existing.'

'Why'd you quit?'

'Second single bummed.'

'Sandcastles in the Sand? Really? I thought it was, you know, funny.'

'Funny, in a lame, trying-too hard way maybe.' She shakes her head. 'Wait, how'd you know about Sandcastles in the Sand? It was only released after we met.'

He seems a little embarassed, but quickly recovers his composure. 'I came across it on the internet. Some guy posted the music video of it.'

'Oh, god. . .My humiliation is public and global now.'

'It wasn't that bad.'

She stares at him.

'Okay, maybe it was kind of that bad. But look at you now, right? No more accent, no more blonde frizzy stuff all over, no more eighties clothes. You look awesome.'

'So do you,' she says, fingering his lapels. 'The suit suits you.'

'Oh, I know.'

She shakes her head, masking a smile with a roll of the eyes.

They spend the rest of the late afternoon talking. She tells him about finding a jack of hearts in her purse after he left, about Simon coming back a few days later to apologize and get back together ('I said he could go to hell') and coming to the States a few years back. In turn, he tells her about his dive into the corporate world as opposed to travelling and playing the violin like he once said he wanted to do. There's a wistfulness in his tone she can relate to.

Her lost childhood, his put-away dreams.

So much has changed, she thinks. Somewhere along the way, the giddy, gullible and ultra-girly teenager grew up. Put away the performing, the lights, the singing and did the one thing she always wanted to but never thought she could—leave home.

She can hardly believe she and Robin Sparkles are the same people, that Barney even recognized her in the first place.

Her phone rings, just as he is returning from the men's room. Work is calling. And now it is her turn to leave.

She stands, he starts.

'It's work. I have to go.'

'Oh.' She tries not to think about his disappointed tone.

'Yeah. Thanks for the coffee.'

'I still don't have your autograph.'

She laughs. 'How could I forget? My biggest fan.' She takes out a pen and signs her name on a napkin.

'You could also put your number down.'

'I thought you'd never ask, Stinson.'

And he does call, three days later while she is in the shower. She jumps out, shampoo still in her hair, dogs crowding around her wet legs, to say yes when he asks her out to dinner.

Please review! I appreciated all those who took time to comment and hash out ideas. I'll definitely follow up on those :)