A/N: Finally a new chapter. This chapter may seem like the end, but alas it is not.

Disclaimer: I do not hold the rights to the characters. Characters belong to the creators and everyone else involved in How I Met Your Mother.

Robin named the players on the Canucks in the taxi to keep her mind off of Barney. If she acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, maybe if she preoccupied her mind, she wouldn't worry about what she was going to say to him.

Zack Kassian, she counted, Andrew Gordon,

What if I make it worse?

Daniel Sedin,

How could I ever help him?

Andrew Alberts,

He's going to cry.

Alexander Edler,

I'll just end up yelling at him.

Keith Ballard, Robert Luongo,

I have to talk to him. He's my friend.

Cory Schneider, Dan Hamhuis, Cam Barker, she counted quicker as the voice inside her head began to scream what could go wrong. Jason Garrison, Derek Roy, Steven Pinizzotto...

"That'll be $32.75," she heard a gruff voice say, breaking her methodical chanting inside her head. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She smiled and reached into her purse to find the money.

Suddenly she found herself standing outside of Barney's apartment building, wishing more than anything to melt into the sidewalk. People of all sorts rushed past her, busied with their own problems, ignorant of the woman dreading taking just a few steps forward. The sky opened up, along with a flurry of umbrellas. Thorny points poked at her as people moved out of her way. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted an unusually bright yellow umbrella disappear around a corner. The small flash of sun on an otherwise grey day pushed her forward.

She took the stairs to give her more time. She gritted her teeth, pushing her legs through the agony of walking up so many flights. She was doing this for Barney, the man who helped her through so many hard times, the man who made her laugh, the man who loved her. Finally, she reached his floor, swinging open the heavy concrete door and marching to his door.

It opened just before her hand landed upon its exterior, startling her enough to make her jump. Barney emerged, equally surprised at her appearance. His eyes grew wide, and he subconsciously tugged down on the arm of his coat.

"Oh...hey Robin, what are you doing here?" He laughed nervously, standing in the doorway, blocking the interior of his dark apartment. Robin's mouth grew dry. Her stomach filled with bubbles, popping painfully against the walls of her abdomen. She just stared at the man, taking in the endless dark circles under his eyes, the deepness of the lines on his face, and the deflated way in which he held his posture. He shifted uncomfortably in her gaze. "Listen, I really gotta get somewhere so..." he trailed off, trying to hurry her along. Robin made a grunting noise, trying to force words up her throat and failing. He sensed her purpose and sighed. "Everything's fine okay? It was a one time thing," he said flippantly, trying to get her off his back. She grimaced at his tone, and he double backed.

"Barney..." she started. He took her shoulders.

"Look, I've never told anyone this, but I've dealt with this before, when I was a teenager. I know how to deal with it. Don't worry about me," he said reassuringly. "I gotta go visit my mom, wanna split a cab? I think her house is halfway to your apartment," he said, quickly changing the subject. She smiled.

They sat quietly in the back of a dirty taxi. Barney read messages on his phone from work, something about an international crisis of some sort. His brow furrowed as he typed furiously with his perfectly manicured fingers.

Robin thought back to what Barney said about dealing with the issue before when he was a kid. She thought back to her own teenage years as a carefree teen pop star and others' lives. She was riding around with the windows down in her friend's cars while Barney was at home. He was really smart, and he went to Yale, so he must have been a good student. She frowned a little picturing a little Barney cooped up in his room doing homework while she hung out in malls with Tiffany.

She would never admit it, but she was glad Barney was so in control of himself. He saved her from having to struggle through a heart to heart. Barney winced as she grabbed his arm to rest her head on his shoulder, her nails dug painfully into the healing cuts.