Chapter 60- Snippets of Parenthood I
A/N: I'm sorry it's been a ridiculously long time since I've updated, but a full time teaching job, a part time coaching job, and owning a home don't really leave much time and brain power for writing. But, two chapters (one for this, one for I'll tell you my sins) in two days?! I'm impressed with myself. Here's to more coming for the rest of the summer!
On another note, I've decided to structure this a bit differently than the rest of the story. I'm going to be speeding up through time, seeing how they react with parenting, so that hopefully, I can get back to being in real time with the story! I have written ten of these little bits with little prompts that I had. Four of them are in this chapter, five will be in the next, and the last turned melded into a larger story line that I had already planned. So as long as I get some computer time over the next few days, they should be up soon! I hope you enjoy!
Robin finds herself awake one morning, without the prompting of a crying baby.
"Huh," she mumbles to herself, after slowly waking up on her own. She hadn't woken up like this since before Bri was born. It was almost unsettling, especially since Barney isn't in the room. But she figures he is just with the baby.
She pulls herself out of bed to check the nursery. It's a short trip down the hallway, but she can see before she ever exits the bedroom that the nursery door is standing wide open. She knows she hadn't left it like that after the last feeding.
When she glances in the door, she finds the room empty, just as she had grown to suspect.
She continues on, because she knows they can't be gone.
When she does find them, though, a tear starts to form in her eye, because she realizes just how sweet the scene in front of her is. She looks down at Barney, lying on his back, and on top of his chest is Brianna. It's one of the sweetest things she's ever seen, and she realizes, it's hers.
She dashes back towards the bedroom, as quietly as she can, because she needs her phone. There is no way that she is letting this moment go. Especially when she can show it to everyone she knows. She knows for a fact that Tracy and Lily will go wild over it, Ted and Marshall even more so. It's the great Barney Stinson transformed. Barney in a dad moment is never what she expected when she met him, and especially when she got to know him. But Barney with a baby is something that needs to be preserved for the record books.
It's been three days since he's been back at work, and already he's exhausted. This morning, like most mornings recently, has left him in a delirious state. He finds it strange: he used to do so well pulling all-nighters. He's not sure if it's the culmination of the nights, or the fact that he's getting older.
Needless to say, he spends most of the morning in a sleep-walking like state. He's awake, but barely. He's planning on grabbing some strong coffee on the way to work, and a few cases of red bull on the way home, because he certainly can't go on like this.
It's in this state that he rams his foot straight into the dresser. He emits a yelp, and to his chagrin not only wakes Robin, who looks even more exhausted than himself, but the baby as well. He mutters a string of curses at himself as Robin stares at him, a bit of anger in her eyes. He holds in a breath until she falls back down onto the bed with a sigh, closing her eyes and seemingly going back to sleep.
Yet within seconds, she's sitting up and reaching for the baby, pulling her own to her chest. She looks to Barney, gives him a once over, and sighs.
"Your tie is on backwards," she chuckles.
"What?"
"Your tie. It's on backwards."
He glances down, and sure enough, there is the tag, plain as day in the front. Needless to say, he couldn't have been gladder at the moment that he woke her up. A backwards tie? That would have been super embarrassing.
It had been one of those long nights; very little sleep, and a very, very cranky little girl. Yet, the night was over, and just as the sun had peaked over the horizon, an exhausted Brianna had fallen asleep in the baby wrap. This, of course, meant that Robin wasn't going back to bed any time soon.
Then again, neither was Barney. He would have to leave for work within the hour.
So they decided to join each other for their morning breakfast, a ritual that had not happened since August.
Barney pours himself a bowl of cereal, as Robin makes her way to the fridge. She just gets the milk and orange juice in her hand, as she hears the pop and hiss of a can opening.
She whips around, just in time to see him pouring the remainder of the can of Red Bull over his Frosted Flakes.
"Gross!" she exclaims, her face twisting up in contortion.
"Says the woman who poured beer on her cereal every Saturday morning for a year," Barney retorts. "If you can do it with beer, I can do it with Red bull."
"Damn it," she mutters under her breath. He's got a point.
"Point taken," she reluctantly replies.
"Besides, I've been doing it every day since I went back to work. It's the only way I make it through the morning."
"Does it at least taste good?" she asks.
"Not one bit."
The moment he steps off the elevator, he knows something's wrong. He can hear the strong piercing cries echoing down the hall. The walk to his apartment fills him with guilt. One, for all the people he's ever cursed because a crying baby inconvenienced him, and two, for leaving Robin alone with this. But he can't help it. He needs all of Robin's leave time to finish up his projects. Still, he feels guilty getting up every morning and walking out the door.
He finally fishes out his keys; unlocking the door and making his way inside. He can instantly see that Robin is a sight for sore eyes; her hair standing in different directions, her eyes as red and puffy as the baby's. She's pacing the dining room kitchen area, burp cloth over her shoulder, rubbing the back of the wailing infant cradled there.
"You look like you've had a rough day," he comments, hoping that he can help her in some way.
"You think?" she glares, and he glares right back. "Sorry," she quickly apologizes. "I didn't mean to snap. It's just... She's been crying since noon."
"It's fine, I get it," he answers, rubbing her shoulders. "I'm sorry you had a rough day. I'm sorry I'm not here more. Do you want me to take her?"
"Sure," she replies with a small smile.
"Go sit down and relax," he insists.
"With a crying baby?" she questions with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe," he answers with a shrug. "How about taking a shower?"
"Okay," she agrees. She hands over Brianna and the burp cloth. He takes her and positions her similarly to Robin, while Robin disappears back the hall.
"Alright. Come here baby girl," he coos. "Daddy missed you." Bri starts to cry louder. "What's wrong baby? Shhhh. Shhh," he tries to soothe.
He bounces her, and praises whatever heavenly body there is out there, that Robin handed him the burp cloth. Although, the small amount of spit up can't entirely explain her all-day discomfort.
He walks and bounces, walks and bounces. Until suddenly, it seems as though the cries start to taper off. And he's left with a quietly slumbering baby.
"It's quiet," Robin mumbles, reappearing from the bedroom.
"It is," he says happily, expecting her to be joyous. Yet, the look on her faces makes her seem like she is far from.
"You've been home for fifteen minutes," she says snidely.
"Exactly," he brags.
She bursts into tears, leaving Barney confused.
"What's wrong?" he asks, rushing to her side. "I thought-"
"That I'd be happy?" she snaps. "That you could do something that I couldn't in an entire afternoon? Is that what you thought?"
"Robin, I'm sorry," he stresses. He didn't mean for any of this to upset her.
"It's real clear that one of us is the better parent here," she laments. "Maybe I should just go back to work tomorrow."
"Robin, come on," he interjects. "You are a wonderful mother."
"Yeah, I can't even get my own daughter not to cry. That's mother of the year material right there," she says, her voice dripping in sarcasm.
"She was sick," he explains. "Thank god for the burp cloth, cause she puked all over it while you were gone," he says jokingly in an attempt to lighten to mood.
"I'm going to bed," she sighs. "There are bottles in the freezer."
"Robin-" he pleads. He doesn't want her to run off like this. She doesn't need to.
"I just can't do today anymore," she mumbles, as she turns and walks away.
He watches her go in stunned silence. It's a reaction he's never seen before. He's never seen her just give up like that. He sighs, looking down at Brianna. At least one of them is happy.
"Looks like it's just you and me again today, babe."
3/27/15
Parenting. Parenting is hard. Harder than I ever imagined it would be even when I didn't want children, and not wanting children was most of my life. Those of you that are parents know how hard it is. You put your life aside for your child, because you love them. There is nothing you wouldn't do. Even when they cry for hours and hours without stopping. You try to get them to stop, but they won't. But you keep trying, because that's what they need you to do, even if you are tired and sad.
Somehow, I'm still going. I don't think I've ever been this tired, or this emotional, but I'm trying my best to keep going. I know I'll make it, but it's going to be a long hard road to get there.