Chapter 23- Challenge Accepted

A/N: I want to thank everyone that reviewed, but I really wasn't expecting so much negativity about the last chapter, but then I realized that everyone had a point, and then this chapter was born. None of them take Barney and Robin seriously, but I don't think that they do in the show right now either.

Barney returns from Marshall and Lily's later that night slightly drunk and still really pissed. What the guys had said really hurt him more than he thought. Watching Field of Dreams and drinking the scotch helped, but he is still in a sour mood, now, hours later.

He walks in the apartment and sets down his keys and wallet like usual, worried about how Robin is going to react to him being drunk. It's a first for him to even worry about being drunk, but he has no desire to upset her right now. The night was already bad enough as it was. He slowly starts to make his way back to the bedroom when he hears her crying. He stops caring about her reaction and rushes to her side.

"Robin? What's wrong?" he asks, completely undisturbed by the thought that she might be mad at him. Her tears make that all go out the window. Not that they haven't always, but the baby makes the feeling stronger. Now he has two people to protect and worry about.

"Oh, it's just something that Lily and Tracy said tonight. It's stupid," she responds, trying to blow it off.

"No. It's not stupid. When you say it's stupid, that means it's something. What is it?"

She sighs and laughs cynically before continuing. "They were just making fun of us not being able to have sex. I shouldn't have let it bother me. I guess it's the hormones, but it just bothered me." He sighs and pulls her closer. He didn't even consider that the girls might have had the same reaction. Why is is that no one believes in them? Is it really that ridiculous?

"It's ok that it bothered you. It bothered me too," he whispers into her ear.

"What do you mean?" she questions, pushing him away a little big. She can smell the scotch on him, and it is making her nauseous.

"The guys weren't much better," he retorts, still angry over the whole thing.

"I take it that's why you smell like you downed an entire bottle of scotch?"

"Yes," he responds guiltily. He feels terrible now. He shouldn't have drunk the whole bottle. He shouldn't have drunk any of the bottle. He's a father now, and he needs to start acting like one.

Robin can see the guilt on his face and feels terrible. There is no reason that he shouldn't be able to drink. It's what they used to do. Just because she is pregnant, does mean that he should have to stop drinking.

"I'm sorry, it's just the smell isn't making me feel well."

"So you're not mad?" Barney questions timidly.

"No. I don't have a reason to be mad. You are home when we said you should be. I didn't say you couldn't drink, and frankly I don't blame you. I would join you right now if I could, but I am pretty sure this baby has already had enough alcohol for a lifetime."

"So it's fine?" he asks again, still not quite believing her.

"Yes, Barney, it's ok. Just because I can't drink doesn't mean that you can't. Just don't overdo it, because I can't take care of you if you get too drunk. Besides, one of us has to stay sane around here."

A small smile turns up the corners of his lips once he realizes that she really is cool with it. It might not be sex, but at least it's something. She smiles back at him, and sighs once more.

"I just don't get why no one believes in us," she whines. She is still bitter about the way Tracy and Lily laughed earlier.

"I don't know. I believe in us though."

"You do?"

"Yes, I mean, this hasn't been that bad. I'm not going to say that not having sex with you for the next six months isn't going to be a challenge, but it will be worth it. It's already been a week, and I'm not going to say I haven't missed you, but there is nothing that I wouldn't do to make sure you both are safe. I love you, and I love him or her already. We can do this. I don't care what they think." Robin giggles. "What?"

"You said it's going to be a challenge."

"Well then, it can be our challenge, and you know, there is no challenge that I can't win. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"

Robin laughs and shakes her head. Typical Barney. "Yes, challenge accepted," she says, leaning over to give him a kiss. He is her challenge accepting idiot.

8/21/14

So readers, another week has gone by. I am now 14 weeks pregnant. They baby is now about the size of a lemon, although judging by the size of my stomach, I would assume something much bigger is in there. But the baby is sucking it's thumb and moving it's toes, which when you think of how small it actually is, is quite impressive.

One difficulty that I discovered being on bed rest, is the fact that I won't get to go shopping, a fact discovered when I had nothing that fit me to wear to my doctor appointment this week. Fortunately, I have a very observant husband, who realized that I was going to need maternity clothes before I did, and arranged a stop at a boutique that just happened to have a space for me to sit, while being helped out by others. It was shopping without all the downsides of tired feet. I got to spend the afternoon sitting in the store, while others brought things to me. I may have had my shopaholic best friend in jealous tears over the fact that I was the one that got to go on a shopping spree, but I finally have some clothes that fit me now.

There is also something else that I never knew about bed rest. There are so many more things to bed rest than just staying in bed all day. It sounds like it would be the world's greatest thing, but it's not. It's rather boring staying in bed all day. There are also so many more things that are off limits, such as showering and sex. I am only allowed to be on my feet for 20 minutes a day, which may seem like a lot, but when you consider walking to the bathroom takes up a full minute, it is really not a long time.

But, everything is going as scheduled, and now all of our families know about the great news. My husband and I are what our friends call a non-traditional couple. We really didn't like any of the cutesy ideas out there for sharing the news, but decided on this simple picture to share the news.

And with that, I will see you all next week.

A/N: This is the beginning of the new format I am planning on using from now on. Hopefully there will be one chapter for a week until the birth, with each one ending with her blog entry.