A/N – sorry for the late update, I've been extremely busy and I haven't had time. Hope you enjoy this chapter though, and thank you for the lovely reviews x

PANIC

A rush of doctors and nurses soon entered the room and Barney was gradually guided out. His mind was in total disruption and flashes of scenarios flew through his mind. He turned around to see Marshall and Ted there, with looks of apprehension in their eyes.

"Barney..." Ted started, looking at his best friend with worry. He stopped as he realised he had no idea what to say. The three of them stood for a while in silence, sharing glances of fear.

"I should call Lily," Marshall said, reaching for his phone in his pocket. From the hospital room Barney could hear the sound of the machines beeping and the sound of muffled voices.

"All clear!" Barney heard a female doctor say, before the sound of an AED shocking Robin back to life. Barney's heart was in his mouth as he heard the doctors shouting commands at each other. It didn't seem real, none of this seemed real. Panic washed over him as he realised this was it, this was life or death.

"She's on her way," Marshall said, forcing a half-hearted smile. Barney nodded, not completely listening.

"Barney, can we do anything to help you?" he finished, noticing the fear in Barney's expression.

"I need to sit down," he gasped, reaching for the chair that was next to him. Ted went to fetch Barney a cup of coffee to sober him up and he sat, still imagining every situation possible in his mind.

Once more, time seemed to drag on forever. Every movement of a doctor made Barney flinch, thinking it was someone to give him news on his fiancé. It shouldn't take that long for her to pull through, should it? He thought, noticing the time showing on his watch. Why isn't anyone telling me anything?

"Marshall!" Lily's voice caught Barney's attention. She bounded towards her husband and hugged him, her eyes damp with tears, and then she did the same to Ted. She turned to face Barney and smiled sadly, walking over to him. Everyone was here now; the four people Robin loved the most. Surely that was all she needed for her to pull through? I guess all they needed to do was wait. Eventually though, a doctor appeared in the hallway.

"Are you here for Robin Scherbatsky?" he asked.

"Y...yes," Barney managed to croak.

"It's good news, we were able to stabilize her and she is now back to the way she was before," the doctor smiled. As the words were said Barney felt a rush of relief wash over him. Despite the amount of alcohol that was in his system, he felt more sober than he had felt in a long time. He heard Lily sigh beside him, and he knew it was a sigh of relief also.

"Thank you, doctor," Barney said. This time his words were solid and strong, like he finally had the hope he had searched for since the minute he heard Robin was in the hospital, "would I be able to go see her?"

"Yes, sir," the doctor smiled with friendliness.

"I don't know how many times I've been in this room in the past few weeks," Barney managed to laugh; unable to count the endless times he had entered and exited that hospital room. Every time he felt the same emotion – fear. But this time he had hope and faith that she would wake up.

"I'm sorry, Robin. I really am. I'm sorry that I shouted at you and I'm sorry if I made you..." he trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud, "You have to promise me you'll never do that to me again, Scherbatsky. You scared the shit out of me." For the one-millionth time he sat down in the lonely chair that was placed by Robin's bed and he looked down on her. He should have still been drunk, very, very drunk, but the news that his fiancé had almost died had sobered him up. Well, that and the ridiculous amount of coffee that Ted had tried to forced down him.

"I miss you so much, I'm going out of my mind," he whispered, afraid that if he said the words too loudly he would realise how out of character he sounded. He held her hand so tight he could feel her engagement ring dig into his skin, hard enough to make a light mark yet he didn't care. He wanted to hold her hand forever, or until she woke up at least.

"You'll wake up...I know you will," he said, really trying to believe it. He was glad he was feeling stronger and he was so happy she was stable again, but he couldn't shift the feeling of fear that was still buried deep inside him. It suddenly occurred to him that he still hadn't said those three words that he had wanted to say for so long.

"I love you," he said out loud, wondering how on earth Barney Stinson got to that situation. It was crazy, really. Never in a million years would he have thought he would be in a hospital room, holding his fiancé's hand, telling her he loved her. Marriage was never an option for Barney; love was never really an option for Barney. Well, it wasn't before he knew his true feelings for Robin. Before Robin. He couldn't even imagine his life without her right at that moment; it seemed too surreal to think about.

"I love you, Robin, and it kills me to see you laid here. I just need you to wake up," he continued, noticing how many times he had told her that, how many times he had told her to wake up but she hadn't moved an inch. Then, almost like a miracle, he felt a slight twitch of her finger. His heart started to beat faster, faster than when he had been told she was in hospital, faster than when she had crashed, faster than ever before.

"Robin..." he whispered again. And there it was again, a soft, slight movement of her hand. Slowly, her beautiful eyes began to open.

"Robin...you're awake," he felt a smile grow upon his face as she looked into his eyes and he felt her hand squeeze his. She was still too weak to speak, but Barney didn't mind.

"You wouldn't believe how many times I've hoped you'd open those eyes, Robin. You wouldn't believe!" he said, still smiling with joy, "I better go get a doctor though." He kissed his fiancé's hand and rushed out to tell everyone she was awake. He got the attention of a doctor and hurried to tell his friends.

"She's awake, she's awake, guys," he announced, his smile seeming to get bigger and bigger by the minute.

"What? Oh my God," Lily stood up and rushed towards Barney. All four of them ran towards the entrance of Robin's room and looked in. She was awake, she was finally awake. The same doctor from before was altering things on her machine next to her and writing things on a clipboard.

"She looks so beautiful," Lily smiled, tears again forming in her eyes. Barney knocked on the door and walked in.

"Mr Stinson, come in," the doctor grinned.