Chapter 11

A month later

Robin and Barney were taking the night off, they had asked Lily and Marshall to babysit as Genevieve and Katie had left a couple of days ago, heading back to Canada. Hence the reason why Lily was currently trying to calm down Arlo, who had just woken up. So, Lily called out to Marshall to get a bottle ready for Arlo, and then she checked his nappy and changed quickly while holding her breath.

"Man, I am pretty sure that smell is going to linger in my clothes," said Lily walking into the kitchen, handing Arlo to Marshall.

"That bad?"

"Atomically bad!"

"Aww mister Arlo, did you dookie in your nappy?" Marshall tickled Arlo.

Arlo stopped crying for a moment and focused on the finger that was tickling him, he instantly held onto Marshall's finger. Lily couldn't help but smile as she watched her husband play with their godson, she could feel her ovaries quivering. After Arlo had been born, the two of them would come over to play with Arlo and catch up with Barney and Robin. It was only last week they had been discussing the idea of them having a baby. Marshall was more than ready to start a family, but there was still something that was holding Lily back, she wasn't sure what it was.

Truthfully, she couldn't believe how much Robin and Barney had changed in the past month. Even with Genevieve and Katie here to help Barney still rushed home at the end of the day. The new parents rarely joined them at McLaren's, instead, they would join them at Barney's place and the group would spend the evening talking and playing whatever weird game that Marshall had thought up. Even for this evening, Robin had created lists of instructions for the care of Arlo, even though Lily and Marshall were pretty familiar with his routine.

She quickly checked the temperature of the milk before taking Arlo back into her arms to feed him. The three of them headed back to the TV room, where they watched one of their favourite movies Mrs. Doubtfire. As Arlo drank his milk, his eyes started to close, he tried to fight the sleep but soon the sleep won, and the bottle slipped out his mouth. Lily held Arlo up, to burp him, Arlo let out a small burp in his sleep before bringing up his milk all over Lily's trousers.

"EW EW. Marshall, take Arlo back to his cot. I have to clean up. Man, these clothes are going to the dry cleaners tomorrow."

Laughing Marshall took Arlo from Lily and tucked him in his cot. Marshall couldn't help but think about how much Arlo had changed within the past month. Arlo was the perfect mixture of Robin and Barney, he had Barney's blond hair, and Robin's chocolatey brown eyes and the rest of his features were a perfect mix.

Robin and Barney arrived back within a few minutes of them putting Arlo to bed, so instead of having sex in one of the guest rooms, Marshall and Lily caught up with their friends. That's when Lily finally asked the question that had been bugging her since she saw it in Arlo's nursery. She walked with Robin to Arlo's room, while Marshall and Barney were discussing an account that they were working on. "OK, I have to ask that teddy bear holding the mini–Empire State Building, Ted sent that right?"

"Yeah, he sent that a couple of days ago, along with a baby book."

"Is that it? No apology or anything else?"

Robin shook her head, as she kissed her baby boy on the crown of his head and turned on the night light which spun the planets around his room. As the two friends walked out, Robin said, "He wrote that he wanted to meet up next time he is in the city. I know why he lashed out the last time, I get it, I do. We don't need an apology; we need him to understand we are happy."

"I get it, Robin. Marshall and I are heading down to him tomorrow. We will talk to him," promised Lily.

/-/-/

2 Weeks Later

A sharp piercing cry, crackled through the baby monitor, "It's your turn" called Robin from the ensuite.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got him."

She could imagine him waving his hands in indifference, Barney loved spending time with his son. Once he got used to holding a baby, Barney was there at every moment, cradling Arlo to his chest. Neither of them could complain as Arlo was the easiest baby in the world, he only cried when he was hungry, wet, bored, and wanted to be held. Arlo truly had Barney and her wrapped around his little finger. But now Barney was back at work, so he tried to spend as much time as he could with Arlo while he was at home. Robin was still on maternity leave for another six months.

Over the monitor, she could hear, "Geez kid, I haven't seen this much poop in my life." Robin couldn't help but snicker, it was true their kid did poop a lot. Knowing that Barney would bring Arlo down, she instead used the time to make sure that the diaper bag was ready. Today Arlo was going to get his shots and her six-week postnatal checkup.

After getting a bagel, they headed to the doctor's office, Barney signed them in, while Robin sat in the corner of the waiting room cradling a sleeping Arlo. As soon as Barney sat down, he instantly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, stroking the top of Arlo's crown.

"Robin Scherbatsky and Arlo Stinson" called out a nurse. Hearing their names, Robin quickly lays Arlo in his stroller and heads to the nurse while Barney shoulders the diaper bag and follows them.

"Good morning, Dr Bell is ready for you, just follow me".

They followed the nurse to Dr Bell's office, where the doctor was waiting for them holding a clipboard. "Good morning, if it isn't my cutest patient."

"Aww, I knew you liked me" smirked Barney walking in from behind Robin.

Doctor Bell just laughed and asked, "How are things going? How have you been feeling since Arlo's birth?"

"Things have been great, the first couple of weeks were the hardest. Now I think we have gotten into the swing of things," shrugged Robin. Despite being terrified of babies, once she held her son for the first time she fell in love. There was nothing that she wouldn't do for her baby, it helped that Arlo was an easy-going baby and that she had such a great support system in Barney, her mum and sister, Lily, and Marshall. "My emotions have been all over the place, to be honest. But Barney has been great."

"It's good to hear that you are settling into a routine. Postpartum emotions can be intense, it's great that you have support. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need support," cautioned Dr Bell. "Now, let's get you checked out. And then we get Arlo's vaccinations done." It wasn't long before the doctor announced that she was healed and that everything looked okay. Barney of course asked if they could have sex, looking very excited once the doctor confirmed that they could have sex.

While the doctor examined her, Arlo had woken up and was content sitting in Barney's arms. Now it was time for Arlo's examination, the doctor checked his reflexes, weight, and heart rate. The nurse suggested that Robin should breastfeed Arlo as it would be more comforting and could help with the pain. Together the nurse and Dr Bell administered the vaccines.

"There we go, all done" sang the nurse gently rubbing Arlo's arm.

"Right, we will give you a few minutes," said Dr Bell, as she and the nurse left the room.

After a few moments, Arlo latched off, so Barney took Arlo. As Robin sorted herself out, she could hear Barney whispering and murmuring to Arlo, comforting, and praising him for being so brave.

/-/-/

Marshall knocked on Barney's door, "Hey, man you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go. Where are we headed?" Barney asked, before sneezing.

"I am craving for Shinjitsu" came Marshall's automatic reply, Barney smirked at hearing Marshall's reply. The two of them headed to Shinjitsu, grabbing a cab.

Once the two of them had ordered their food, Marshall watched the chef start setting up the food, as he glanced at Barney who was looking at his phone. "How is Arlo? How is Robin coping with you being back to work?"

Barney smiled, "Oh he is doing great. He is holding his head up now; he is growing so quickly. Robin seems to be okay; she has a good routine with Arlo now so that helps. But I think it's time you tell me what's going on, what did you want to talk about?"

Marshall watched the chef fry the onions; he didn't want to have this conversation with Barney, however, Lily insisted that he have this conversation with him. "Barney, you know that we went down to see Ted, right?"

"Yeah, I heard something like that."

"You are even going to ask?"

"No, Marshall I don't care what's happening in Ted's life. I know he is your best friend, but we are not friends anymore," stated Barney calmly.

"I know that your friendship with Ted is at a weird point, anyway I am not getting involved between the two of you. I just thought that you should know that Ted is thinking about moving back to the city."

"I thought Stella would never agree to that?" muttered Barney.

"Things between Stella and Ted are not great. Ted is finding it hard to find a job, he is struggling with creating a relationship with Lucy. Anyway, things have gotten to the point where both Stella and Ted are thinking about having a trial separation," Marshall said grimly.

Barney wasn't sure what to do with that information, "Ah I see. But why are you telling me all this?"

Marshall was about to explain when their food was handed over to them, thanking the chef. Once they were left alone, he said, "I am not asking for you to do anything. I just thought that you had the right to know. Also, I am pretty sure he will be staying with us for a bit seeing as he got rid of his apartment."

Barney nodded that did make sense, he also got the quiet message that Marshall was trying to tell him, Ted won't be able to help himself. He would want to see and talk to Robin, and while Ted tolerated him, no one could deny that Ted loved Robin. Barney just knew that if Stella and Ted separated, Ted would want to know where Robin was in her relationship with him and want to repair his friendship with Robin. Barney thanked Marshall, but they continued to talk about anything and everything but Ted.

/-/-/

One Month Later

Robin woke up to the smell of pancakes, getting out of bed, she went to check on Arlo only to find the nursery empty. Knowing that Barney had Arlo, she headed to the bathroom. in the kitchen, Barney made a small stack of pancakes and drowned it in maple syrup, he knew without a doubt that Robin had forgotten what day it was. When he heard the bedroom door close, he took Arlo in his arms and turned to face the door.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" he waved Arlo's arm, at a very surprised Roin.

Robin was so surprised; she couldn't believe she had forgotten her birthday. She surged forward and took her baby boy into her arms, kissing him all over his face. She felt Barney wrap his arms around the two of them, she looked up at him and kissed him on the lips, Thanking him for the surprise.

"Come on eat up, gorgeous" Barney moved so she could see her favourite meal waiting for her. Barney took Arlo so that she could have her breakfast. "After you have had your pancakes. You need to go get ready for the day," Barney said as he slowly jiggled Arlo.

"Why?" mumbled Robin, with a mouthful of pancakes in her mouth.

Barney ignored her question and headed off to get Arlo and himself ready for the day. Once Robin had her breakfast she tidied up in the kitchen, just then there was a knock on the door. Confused Robin headed to the door, it was way too early for Lily and Marshall to come over. Opening the door, "SURPRISE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" standing in front of her were her mum and baby sister.

"What on earth are you doing here?" laughed Robin as she was pulled into a hug.

"Barney invited us down for your birthday," explained Katie as the three of them walked into the apartment leaving their bags by the main door.

"Now where is my grandbaby?" asked Genevieve looking around the room.

"Right here" said Barney walking into the room, Genevieve instantly walked over, and Barney handed Arlo over to his grandmother. "It's good to see you guys, how was your flight?"

"It was great," Genevieve said as she played with her grandson, Katie had gone over to greet her nephew.

While sidled up next to Barney and lay her head on his shoulder, "You did this for? Thank you so much Barney!" she cupped his cheek and kissed him deeply. The small group sat there for a while catching up, while Genevieve and Katie played with Arlo.

"Right, Robin you need to get ready. Genevieve and Katie, you can use the guest bathroom and freshen up," instructed Barney, the three women nodded and headed off in different directions. While Barney sorted a few things for the day.

Barney had set up a surprise day for Robin's birthday, while he would be taking care of Arlo and taking him for his baby class. Robin, Genevieve, and Katie were sent by Barney to the Five Leaves where they would be having lunch, Barney had given Katie his card and the plan for the rest of the day.

After brunch, the three of them headed to Fifth Avenue where they shopped to their heart's content, Robin bought a fabulous new dress, it was a full-length georgette, sparkly navy dress. Then Katie guided them to the Mandarin Hotel where Barney had booked them a room, and he had also set up appointments at the amazing spa that the hotel has. The three Scherbatsky women were pampered, Robin had an Aroma stone therapy, which helped her to relax her muscles, and she had the most intense, and zen-like facial and baby wrap therapies.

Afterwards, the three of them headed to the room, where they found Barney and Arlo relaxing. Robin picked up Arlo and held him close, as much as she enjoyed her day with her mum and sister, she couldn't help but miss her baby boy. She was used to spending the whole day with him, taking him to his baby classes, putting him down for his naps, usually, her whole day revolved around him.

"Right, we should go," announced Genevieve, coming forward to take Arlo from Robin.

"What? Why?"

"Well, me and your sister are on babysitting duty while you and Barney enjoy the rest of your birthday. Robin kissed Arlo on the forehead before handing him over to her mum and hugged her sister and mum goodbye, closing the door behind them.

Leaning against the door, she looked at Barney, "You did all of this for me?"

"It's your birthday," shrugged Barney, as lay down on the bed.

Robin went over and lay down next to him, wrapping her arms around him and her head lay next to his, "This has been the best birthday. Today made me realise something, it's something that I have felt for a very long time, but I didn't know how to say it. I love you, Barney," she whispered throwing a leg over his and kissing him deeply as she grounded herself against him.

"I" kiss "Love" kiss "You" kiss "Too" Barney gasped as he lay open-mouthed kisses along her neck. Robin pulled even closer to him and moaned loudly before biting Barney's shoulder. They spent the rest of the night in that room, ordering room service when they finally got hungry before Barney ensured that Robin would remember this night for the rest of her life.