A/N: Woo finally an update. Sorry it's short. I feel like this is where it should cut off.
Marshall ran up the steps to his apartment to tell Lily what happened. He swung open the door and skidded on the wet floor as he zoomed around the place, looking for his wife.
"Lily!" He called, hoping she would appear. A disgruntled Lily stepped out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. She spit into a cup.
"What Marshall?" She groaned. He grabbed her shoulders.
"Barney, there's pills and stuff at his house. There's something really wrong with him," he said quickly, losing his composure. She gestured for him to sit down on their couch.
"Honey, are you sure there was something at Barney's house?" She asked. "Because last time you thought you saw something at Barney's house it turned out to be the shadow of a coat rack on the wall," she said knowingly. Marshall scowled.
"Hey, I swear it looked just like the Loch Ness monster!" He countered. "But yes, i'm sure. I accidentally knocked everything onto the ground," he said, staring down at the floor. She rubbed his back soothingly.
"Tell me what you saw baby," she asked quietly. Marshall began.
"Well first he was all unkempt. His place was a mess, and his hair has started to grow out. It's all curly and not gelled back. Then, when we were saying where we would be in life the next time we watched the trilogy, he sounded just like Ted, bitter about how he won't get anywhere in life. Finally, I went in his bathroom to take a call, and I saw all these bottles for all these problems," he finished, breathing hard from the memory of it all. Lily's brows knitted tightly. She chewed on her lip and brushed Marshall's back quickly.
"I'll go talk to him," she decided, standing up. Marshall raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, right now?" he asked, bewildered.
"I care about him. I want to make sure he's okay. I can't let him destroy himself," she grabbed her purse, stepping out the door.
She dug around in her bag, searching for her spare key, finding it at the bottom next to a pack of old gum. She smirked as she spotted the playboy bunny keychain, typical Barney.
Quietly unlocking the door, Lily tiptoed in the man's apartment, taking in the chaos. Mostly papers stuck to every surface. Some photos of the gang lie here or there. She tried to get a look at what they said but couldn't make sense of most of it. A tattered old shoebox caught her eye.
She squatted to examine its contents, brushing aside a decade of dust. There were a couple certificates of achievement in it. Barney was valedictorian at his high school apparently, and he also won a state science fair. A picture showed Barney with a group of boys at MIT. Lily smiled, she never knew Barney was smart like this. He never showed his intellectual side. Another picture was a class picture from grade school. She giggled. A chubby little Stinson stood in the front row, shorter than the rest of his class. Blue eyes stared out from coke bottle glasses while a halo of curly blonde hair stuck out off his head. She set the box aside and set back to her original purpose, finding Barney.
He wasn't in the kitchen or the living room, and although she did not want to see where he took his conquests, she checked his room. The bed was made and untouched. However, a light spilt out from in the bathroom, suggesting a patron. She walked over to it, the sound of sobbing growing louder as she did so. Her knuckles rapped the door three times, no answer. The sobbing choked off inside. She slowly pushed it open, making it creak under her hand. Barney sat in the tub filled with water, knees drawn up to his chin. Marshall was right, his hair had grown longer, becoming more like it was when he was a boy. He looked over at Lily, eyes red, willing her to go away but too cowardly to reject her help. She moved to his side.
"Oh Barney," she began, brushing his hair as he buried his face in his knees. He hugged his knees, drawing attention to the dark purple bruises on his knuckles and split skin. She dipped a finger into the water, feeling the frigid temperature of it. It was then she noticed that he was shivering. "Sweetie, come out of the water, you're freezing," she pleaded, but he shook his head no. Blood dripped from skin into the water, deepening its already rosy color. Her eyes avoided the cuts along his arms and legs, locking on his eyes. Despite his condition, she swore she saw love in those pools of blue.
Barney's core temperature dropped, increasing his shivering. Lily tried to coax him into getting out of the water. So many times she had wondered what he would look like naked, what was it about him that enticed so many women, but now that he was, she couldn't look at him. She studied his face, seeing the red in his eyes and tears on his cheeks. It dawned on her.
"Robin," she said. Barney looked up at her, blinking a couple times.
"Yes," he replied.