Chapter 16-The Boss
A/N- Sorry it took a while for this update. I thought that I had the next chapter written, and then realized I skipped a whole portion of the day. Then it took me a bit to make this what I wanted it to be. I hope that the rest of my updates don't take quite as long. Enjoy!
As Robin rides in the elevator of the WWN building, she can't help but ponder where her life has taken her. Here she is, on her way up to tell her boss that she is pregnant, and probably won't be back to work for the next year. The fear of his reaction is stressing her out, something that she is now supposed to be avoiding. She can't help but laugh at the irony. She was not at all stressed when she didn't know about her pregnancy. Now that she knows, however, there are so many frightening thoughts floating around in her mind.
Barney offered to call in to work to accompany her, but she wants to do this alone. She told him to go to work, but he still insisted on coming home at lunch to get her settled in. For now, she is on her own. Besides, it's not like Barney could have come to talk to her boss with her anyway. He would make her feel better right now, though, as the thought of this conversation is making her incredible nervous. She is probably going to have to give up her anchor position.
She can't help but think about the night she and Barney got back together, when she was in this exact elevator, on her way up to the roof. That night, she was expecting the worst. She was expecting to find Barney and Patrice on the roof together, but instead, what she found was beyond her wildest dreams. Now here she is again, dreading what she has to do, but maybe, like the last time, life will surprise her. Even so, she has no idea how she is going to go about breaking this news to her boss. She surmises that this is going to be the end of her career.
When the elevator door opens, her goal is to get to her boss's office as fast as possible. She has no intention of letting the rest of the office know right now, especially not Patrice. She can send them an email later, and then she won't have to be bothered with the joyous celebration. She doesn't need that on her account. Fortunately for her, her boss is right inside the door to the bullpen speaking to an intern. She approaches him quickly, hoping to draw as little attention to herself as possible.
"Mr. McLaine, can I speak to you in private for a moment?" Robin asks quietly.
"Sure, Scherbatsky, let's step into my office," he addresses her and then turns to the intern. "Rebecca, I want that report done by the end of the hour," he states firmly before doing the 180 towards his office.
As Robin follows him, she starts shaking. She is in no way looking forward to this, and is becoming more nervous by the second. She tries to take some deep breaths to calm down. Normally, she wouldn't care so much about being calm, but she wants to do this for the baby, well, needs to do this for the baby. "So what can I do for you today?" he questions, in a much calmer tone than he used with the intern less than a minute ago. She appreciates that there definitely are some benefits to her being so high on the WWN food chain. Maybe, just maybe, that fact will actually make this conversation easier. She is determined to get this over with, taking a big breath right before she speaks.
"I need to go on medical leave," she declares with a somber tone, definitely not the tone of your average woman who just found out she is pregnant. But then again, this is no normal pregnancy and she is no average woman.
"I'm sorry," Mr. McLaine responds with great compassion, expecting the worst. "Is everything alright?"
Here it goes, she thinks, the end of her career. "Actually, it's nothing serious." She is a little dumbfounded by the relief written across her boss's face. She knew that she was liked by him, but she never knew that he liked her quite that much. "I found out that I'm pregnant."
"Congratulations!" he acclaims, a smile spreading to his face. "I am so happy for the both of you."
"Wait, really?" She is genuinely shocked. She expected her boss to be angry that she wasn't going to be here.
"Of course. I am honestly surprised it didn't happen sooner." Wow, so her boss was expecting this? "You have been married over a year now," he states, as though it is the most obvious idea in the world. Of course the next logical step for most people would be starting a family. Then she sees his eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Why are you going on medical leave if you are pregnant?"
"I've been put on bed rest. I can work a few hours a day from home, but that's all," she says with a sigh. Her boss can tell that she is upset about this. She has always been extremely dedicated to this job.
"Ok," he says calmly, thinking for a moment. He wants her to know that she is indeed valued here. "So we'll put you back on research at home for as long as you are able to work, and then you can have the standard leave when the baby is born." She is stunned. That actually sounds like an amazing idea, but she just has to know if it will be forever. She knows she can't possibly go back to research forever.
"And what will I be doing when I get back?" she asks, hoping she hasn't run out of good luck today. After all, the baby she is carrying took quite a bit of it, probably a lifetime's worth.
"We might give it a few weeks, depending on how the timing works out, but we'd love to have you back at your anchor position."
"Really?" She is genuinely shocked. She never thought she would get to come back to her anchor position.
"Really. You're one of our best. We can't let you go that easy, unless of course you decide to be a stay at home mom and not to come back." Of course not, that would be ridiculous. She is going to need some time to herself once the baby comes.
"Of course not. I just never expected to have a baby and still have my career intact. Thank you," she opines, completely overjoyed with her grin stretching from ear to ear.
At that moment, her boss has an idea. "Actually, I have an assignment for you if you want it."
"An assignment?"
"Yes. Document your experiences." Huh? He can't mean what she thinks he means can he?
"Experiences of what?" she questions.
"Your pregnancy, the bed rest. Let the viewers know what is happening, how things are going. Maybe keep up a blog." He seems proud of the idea. She has no idea how to feel about this, after all, she is a very private person.
"I have to think about that. I don't know how my husband will feel about it."
"You don't have to. Just thought it might be an interesting way to keep you involved over here, at least for the time being," he adds. Thank goodness there is at least no pressure for this.
She realizes that she should probably get home now, although she feels a great relief with how this meeting went. "I do need to head home now."
"Of course. And congratulations again."
"Thanks." As she leaves his office and heads towards the elevator, she can't help but smile. She would never have imagined being this happy with the way her life turned out. Yes, she may have never wanted marriage or kids, but she wouldn't trade it now for the world.