Chapter 4

A week later:

Barney made sure that his mom was comfortable and that the nurses knew that he was heading out for the night and that they knew to call if anything happened, before he headed out to meet the gang at McLaren's.

It had been a week since the gang had found out about his mom, he had also taken a sabbatical from his job. He had also emailed both Agent Grant and Davis to inform them of the situation and that he won't be able to get them more information. A few days later Agent Grant had turned up at his place, he had come to inform Barney that they had collected enough evidence against Altrucell and were planning to shut down and arrest the key figures. Barney has quietly joked that it was a good thing that he was on sabbatical, he couldn't believe after so many years, Altrucell was finally going to pay.

But for now, he couldn't wait to see his friends, they had been in touch via text but the only person that he had seen in person was Robin, but even then, they barely spoke.

"Hey guys" he greeted the group as he slid into the booth, next to Robin. "Hey" the group chorused back.

"How are you doing?" asked Marshall, "How is your mom, doing?"

"I am ok, my mom on the other hand had a major seizure two days ago that caused two of the needles to pull out of her hand" Barney said warily, "The doctors think she hasn't got too long left now."

"Oh no" "I am so sorry, Barney"

Suddenly he felt Robin take his hand in hers, under the table, when he glanced at her he could see that her attention was on Lily.

"By the way, congratulations on getting Stella to agree to marry you" smirked Barney, slightly raising the glass that Wendy the waitress had placed in front of him. The group spent the rest of the night catching up with each other and their plans for the summer and how Marshall was coping with unemployment.

/-/-/

Robin was sitting in the makeup chair, feeling absolutely nauseous, and smell of the make artist coffee was not helping. Robin took a deep breathe, just as Mike walked in with a tuna sandwich, causing a wave of nausea to it her like a tidal wave. Robin lurched up and ran to the bathroom to throw up.

"Oh wow" Sandy exclaimed behind her, having followed Robin, she held back Robin's hair as she continued to throw up.

Finally, having finished throwing up, Robin sat back, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, taking the bottle of water that Sandy was holding out for her.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Sandy asked offhandedly.

"What? No…. no"

"Are you sure? You have been avoiding coffee and you gag anytime the smell of coffee hit you."

Robin thought about what Sandy was saying and she couldn't remember when she last has her period last, she did feel sick when she smelt certain things around her and her breasts had been really tender, painful recently. Just the other night she had to tell Barney not to touch them, "Oh my god" she whispered, slowly caressing her stomach.

After washing her hands, and washing out her mouth. She asked Sandy not to say anything until she got it confirmed, Sandy agreed. She then helped Robin get ready for the news.

Later that night, before heading to Ted's place, Robin first went to the pharmacy to pick up some pregnancy tests, once she paid for them, she stuffed them to the bottom of her bag. After that she headed to Ted's place, she found the whole gang minus Barney but Stella had also joined them for the night. Lily had decided that this was the perfect time to celebrate Ted and Stella's engagement. Declining the glass of wine that Stella was holding out for her, Robin instead grabbed a beer, so she could at least pretend to sip on it for the rest of the night.

After having eaten the pasta dish that Lily had made, surprisingly the dish hadn't made her sick to her stomach. The group decided to play a game of poker, they turned on the tv for background noise. Lily was currently winning when the news came on that, grabbed all their attention.

"The senior partners of Altrucell have been arrested by the FBI". The whole group stopped playing and turned their attention to the news.

"Do you think Barney knows?", this was the question on everyone's mind, but only Ted asked it. However, there was no way of knowing what was going on, until Barney got in touch.

/-/-/

Later that night as she heading home, all she could do was wonder if she really was pregnant and should she tell Barney. In her mind she knew that Barney had every right to know about the baby. In the end she decided the best thing to do was go home and take the test. If she is pregnant, then she would tell Barney about the pregnancy and together they would see what the next step is.

In her musing, she didn't even realise that the cab was parking in front of her building. Once she got to her place, she took the test out of the bottom of her bag and headed to the bathroom. After she had peed in to the cup, she dipped the test into the cup before putting them to the side, seeing as most of the boxes said results would be shown in 5 mins. Then she washed her hands and closed the lid to the toilet and sat down, waiting for the results.

Five minutes later, she looked down at the pregnancy tests, two of the tests said positive, however one said negative. Before she could think about what the next step would be, she could here someone knocking on her door. So, she quickly threw the test in the bin and headed to her main door, to find Barney standing there.

He looked absolutely stressed out, and like he hadn't slept in the past few days. Without saying a word Barney strode forward and pulled her in for a kiss, he slowly unbuttoned her top without breaking their kiss. She could feel him hardening against her belly. She pulled away to take a breath, and pulled his t-shirt off while he unhooked her bra.

However, before things could go any further, they were interrupted by his phone ringing. Barney threw her an apologetic look as he answered his phone, "Stinson."

Robin watched as Barney's face fell, and the colour of his face paled, without even wondering she knew that the phone call was about his mom. So, she started to get dressed again, while he continued at listen to the nurse on the other end of the phone. Once she was dressed, Barney wrapped up his phone call with a, "I will be there soon."

She went down to call a cab, while Barney sorted himself out before he came down. A few minutes later she was waiting in the cab when Barney got in next to her, he gave the driver the address for the hospital. Then he kissed her on the temple, in thanks.

"What's happened?" she quietly asked him.

"She had massive cardiac arrest; she is gone. Robin, my mom is dead."

Robin instantly took Barney's hand in hers and gripped as tight as possible trying to give as much strength as could. They both knew in their hearts that this was something that he made been preparing for weeks. Barney always made sure that he said good bye to his mom before he left her for the night making sure to whisper that he loved her.

Barney and she rushed to the ward where Loretta's room was, there a nurse waiting for them. The first thing Barney did was go to his mom. He held he hand and brought his head close to hers, he quietly whispered his goodbyes, his thanks and his love for her. Nearly half an hour later Barney pulled away from his mom, and wiped his tears with the back of his hand. Robin took a hold of his hand and pulled him to a hug, she knew there was nothing that she could say that would help him with his loss.

Slowly, he pulled away from her and went over to the nurse who had stepped out to give them some privacy. While he went to speak to the nurse and the doctor, Robin went over to Loretta and sat with her so that she wasn't on her own. Once Barney finished up with the doctor, he came a sat down on the edge of the bed, he took a hold of Robin's hand and the two of them sat there for who knows how long.