Okay, this chapter is a little different than the last ones, I wanted to go a little more deepers with Barney and Ted's conversation because I think that Barney would be the one who gets Ted to either remember Tracy or not so I decided that Ted's memory is really, really bad. His memories of Tracy is just not there at all, I think Barney could snap him out of this thinking of his especially since he's on the edge of ready to snap himself. Ted is just not in a good place right now, the gang knows that, even Barney but he's tired and wants this to come to an end.
It's a difficult situation but the gang is there for Ted but he's just really not who he is right now. I also went into more detail in telling why Ted thinks he's married to Robin, which was hinted at in chapter 1 and with Ted wearing his wedding ring which is why he thinks his wife is Robin because she's been living with him for a while and pretending to be married to him to not have him freak out. But, thing change here in this part 1 of 2. This isn't the end yet, I'm still not sure how many chapters this story will have but for now I might go 10 chapters but still not sure how many chapters I will do to end the story.
Although, this is sort of heading towards the end of the story it's just not the end yet. This chapter is a bit more longer but I wanted this to be layered with the second half so I hope you all like where this story is and where it's going. I will include flashbacks as I mentioned in the chapter after the next one, in fact the whole chapter will be a flashback chapter to the years that Tracy was still alive and well. But, enjoy!
"We aren't in 2005? I'm not married to Robin? If I'm not married to Robin why do I have this ring on my finger?"
Barney and Ted had been talking for 45 minutes, it started out light with Barney mostly talking about his womanizing/single days but slowly Barney started to drift a little towards other things during the first 20 minutes of this conversation. He started to talk about the past, as was the plan because since Ted is living in 2005, he thinks this way will get him to understand and realize what year they really are in and what life Ted is really living. So, far it has been going well. Since, Barney sat down and started talking in the same pattern as Robin and Marshall had done already, Barney talked about how his life back then (he didn't add the 'back then' part to the conversation) but he talked about being single and lonely at that time in his life. The conversation started to drift slightly after this part of the conversation but Ted didn't remember anything as of this moment.
Then, Barney had this idea to change it a little more. The plan was to continue what the others had already done, talk about the old days, when Marshall & Lily got engaged, when they met Robin and when Barney was at his highest level of his womanizing/single days. But, there was no reaction from Ted so Barney realized something in that moment and started to talk about the time when he fell in love with Robin.
"So, I don't know if you'd remember this but do you remember when I told you that I had these feelings for Robin and you gave me your blessing to tell her about those feelings?" Of, course he didn't need his permission to go after Robin he just felt at the time that he didn't want to lose Ted's friendship again if he had a problem with him and Robin together, he didn't go to ask for Ted's permission if anything he wouldn't ask permission from Ted he would ask Robin but since Robin already knew he had feelings for her, the only permission he needed was from her when she confirmed to him that she did have feelings for him.
"Um, not really. Was that after or before I married Robin?" The after was a weird thing to say Barney thought but he replied.
"It was after you broke up, a couple years after to be exact. I had previously been in love with her for a year but never told her about having those feelings for her. One day, I had gone to you to ask you if it would be okay if I went after Robin and told her about my feelings. She, overheard me talking to you and found out about those feelings before I even had the chance to tell her myself." Barney looked down and smiled to himself remembering that moment like it was yesterday. Which to Ted it kind of was yesterday.
"Wait. We broke up?" Ted asked, confused because he thought he was married to Robin.
"Yes. You broke up after a year of dating in 2006, a year after you met her." Ted's expression changed quickly after this realization hit his mind, flashbacks in his mind started to come to him but he didn't say anything after his expression changed from a smile to a frown of sadness.
"But, we got back together shortly after that?" Ted, questions trying to remember if he and Robin had gotten back together at anytime after they broke up in 2006. Nothing, comes to mind and his expression changes back to being confused.
"No. Ted, you never got back together after you broke up you both went your separate ways. She went to Argentina and you were trying to get back to your single life. Robin came back from her trip to Argentina and you kept sleeping around, kind of like I did." He wanted to stay clear of talking about his single life because his life now is so much better but he had to explain to Ted that he and Robin broke up and what happened after that point in his life. Ted, is more confused about why he and Robin broke up but thinks they got back together.
"Wait, you aren't single and womanizing anymore?" Ted asked lifting an eyebrow wondering how Barney decided to stop being single.
"No. I haven't been for years now." And, this changes Ted's expression from confused to a realization.
"You, womanizer Barney Stinson are no longer single?" Ted's even more confused but interested in finding out who got Barney Stinson to stop playing around and settle down.
"Yeah, well that's a long story. But, let me continue with what I was saying." Barney said, wanting to change this conversation back to what he was talking about before it changed.
"Anyway, in 2009 I had these feelings for Robin, I ask you if it would be okay if I told her said feelings, she found out before I even told her, after that, no okay before that you had gotten into an accident then I got into an accident causing our lives to change completely." Ted raises an eyebrow again, confused about this time and not remembering what accidents he and Barney were in.
"After you and Robin broke up, Robin and I, now it wasn't soon after you broke up but it was months after you broke up. We, slept together." Ted's expression changed from interested to mad in a second the moment Barney told him that he and Robin slept together.
"Wait, you slept with my wife?" Again, Ted's memory is also slipping back and forth from the years that are talked about and what Barney had just told him, which was about Ted and Robin's only breakup. Barney said they broke up but never got back together after that. But, Ted's mind is so weak that it doesn't fully grasp the reminder of Barney previously telling him that.
"Ted, you never got back together with Robin after you broke up in 2006. You, became friends. But, good friends more like sister/brother type bond that was purely platonic." Ted's face changed again back to sad but he still doesn't remember anything after this point.
"Okay, so you did breakup but you both moved on. You both found other things, things that made you both happy but it took sometime for that happiness to happen. About, a year after you did breakup, Robin and I had kind of a bonding moment after she had gone through another heartbreaking experience with her ex boyfriend from when she was a teenager. He was a jerk, that was putting it lightly. He came for a visit, she started to see him again and then he dumped her again. We, Robin and I after I had cheered her up after her ex dumped her again, went back to her apartment to watch a video. If you remember, Robin was a teenage pop star in Canada named Robin Sparkles." Ted, nods his head remembering that Robin did have that secret when they were dating. He remembers fighting over it, but making up after it got revealed.
"So, Robin and I watched a video, another Robin Sparkles video. For, about a half hour then she kissed me unexpectedly."
"Wait, you and Robin kissed?" Ted, asks and once again his expression changes to mad again.
"We did more than just kiss." Barney, will never forget that night because it was the night that changed everything for them. Robin wouldn't change that night either, it's something they had talked about that summer they were sneaking around. Man, that summer was such a blast. Best summer ever.
Barney would have smiled and kind of gloated a bit over the fact that he and Robin slept together but because this isn't the time for gloating or to rub it in Ted's face even more. He decided not to go there and continued with his recapped story of his story with Robin.
"You-You slept with her?" Ted asked like it was a question because to him this is an eye opener. He wanted to straggle Barney for hitting on his wife. Again, Ted's mind slips back to Robin being his wife but she isn't so Barney realized something else.
"I did. But, it was a spur of the moment type thing. She kissed me and we just didn't want the kiss to stop. We slept together that night." Barney feels bad that he slept with Robin, all over again he feels terrible about that night but neither him or Robin would ever forget or regret that night because it brought them together in ways that neither of them knew would become from meeting each other and not wanting commitment and relationships.
"WHAT?!" Ted's temper grew and his anger got the better of him and things changed right from this moment.
The other three came running into the living room when they heard Ted shout 'what' yelling to see if everything's okay.
"Is everything alright in here?" Robin ask, seeing Ted looking really mad at Barney and Barney being frightened about Ted's anger.
"I'm going to kill you. You slept with my wife?" Robin, confused looked from Ted, to Barney, then back at Ted trying to make out what Ted just said.
"Okay, what happened?" Robin asks, confused trying to hold back Ted from killing Barney.
"We were talking about us watching your Sandcastles video and sleeping together. He still thinks you two are married, so he got upset over us sleeping together." Barney explained, standing near Marshall who looks like he was in pain seeing his friend acting like this is heartbreaking. He can't watch this but needs to stay here if things go even more wrong.
"Oh, okay." Robin, looked at Barney raising an eyebrow and looking mad. It wasn't Barney's fault that this outburst happened, he just stuck to the plan and this was the plan. To talk about the old days when Barney was single, part of those days were when he slept with Robin and fell in love with her and that's what Barney was trying to get Ted to remember but all Ted does is goes back to thinking he and Robin are married.
"Ted, sit down we need to all talk to you." The plan didn't end up working so now they are all going to stop talking in these patterns and talk to Ted normally to try to end this for good because they are all tired, emotional and ready for this to end.
Ted, sits down when Robin tells him to, the gang all sat around, with Marshall sitting in the red chair, Lily sitting on the loveseat couch next to the red chair, Barney sat next to Lily and Robin sits down next to Ted on the couch.
"You, slept with Barney. You cheated on me." Ted starts, still angry and looking for answers to why Robin and Barney slept together when he thinks he's married to her.
"I didn't cheat on you. We weren't together when Barney and I slept together. We aren't married, Ted." Robin tries to tell him trying to calm him down by putting her hand on his knee.
"What, how could you say that of course we are. I married you only a year ago." And, that's when they all had a moment of realization and now realizes that Ted thinks he's in 2007 and that he and Robin got married instead of breaking up.
"No, Ted we aren't. I'm married to Barney." And, that's when Ted's own expression changed to shocked and sad realizing that he and Robin aren't married and she is in fact married to Barney.
"What? How could you be married to him when we are married?" Ted, pointed at his hand with his wedding ring on it. Robin looks down at his hand and she puts the hand that was on his knee on his left hand smiling sadly at him, she then continues to try to snap Ted out of this thinking that they are married.
"Okay, Ted again we aren't married. This ring, it's your ring from your marriage to Tracy." The mention of Tracy turns Ted's expression again from shocked and sad to confused again.
"This, ring." Robin points out the ring on her left finger which she had put on when she was in the kitchen waiting to see if Barney can change Ted's memory.
She looks at Barney, smiles lightly then "Barney and I are married, we have been for 10 years." Robin tells him causing Ted to look from Robin, to Barney, to Marshall and Lily back to Robin. Realizing for the first time that he and Robin aren't married which once again changed his expression to sadness and awareness.
"But, how can you two be married when you never had a relationship." That's when Robin goes into the bigger stuff that they had been delaying for the sake of Ted's reaction and feelings. But, they now realize that Ted is really fragile and his mind is overlapping with too much information that's why he keeps going back to him and Robin being married when they aren't.
"We did have a relationship, it started because of my video, I showed him my Sandcastles In The Sand music video, which he was looking for that day, we went back to my apartment and watched it. Soon, we slept together, then Barney had feelings for me, I had feelings for him and then we did have a relationship. We were seeing each other in secret, for an entire summer in 2009, years after we broke up. We, dated for six month then broke up, we were devastated over the breakup so much so that a couple of years later we slept together. We had not stopped loving each other after we broke up, so a year after we slept together we got married. We fell in love and never stopped. Then, we got engaged and we did get married." She says smiling at Barney who smiled back knowing that she does love him and he loves her and they are happy together being a family.
"Wow, that's a lot of information to take in." Ted, confused and still trying to figure out what's exactly is going on right now. He still hasn't remembered anything of Tracy.
"Yeah, I know but we did go through some stuff, we got divorced but shortly after realized we gave up too quickly and it was all because of Tracy." That's when they start to change the story to talk about Tracy but a poor sad Ted is still not remembering anything of his life with Tracy, yet.