A/N 1: This story is finally ended - thank you to everyone who left me a positive review - you guys are awesome!
A/N 2: There's more Friends & How I Met Your Mother stories to come - The One at Horse Camp and The One In High School.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
(chapter title - Epilogue)
As soon as Barney and Gretchen were finished with high school, they applied to the same college and studied musical theater.
It was on their third date that Barney asked Gretchen to marry him. Of course, Gretchen said 'yes'. It was then that they discovered that Gretchen was pregnant with her and Barney's baby.
As soon as the gang found out that Barney and Gretchen were expecting, everyone helped plan both the baby shower and wedding. Gretchen asked Lily to be maid of honor and Barney asked Ted to be his best man. Both friends said 'yes'.
Everyone was now in the waiting room, waiting on the birth of Barney and Gretchen's baby girl.
Barney squeezed Gretchen's hand as Gretchen pushed with all her might.
"She's almost here - just three more big pushes" the doctor told Gretchen, smiling a bit.
Barney kissed Gretchen's forehead, "almost there, baby."
Gretchen moaned and groaned as she pushed, getting exhausted.
At last, the baby was out and crying loudly.
"Our lovely little girl is here" Barney said, kissing Gretchen's cheek.
"Our Alyssa Faith Stenson" Gretchen said, watching Barney cut the cord as a nurse cleaned, weighed and measured the baby before wrapping her in a blanket.
"I'll get these two situated in the birthing room while you go tell your friends" the nurse said.
"I don't want visitors right now - I want the two of us to bond with her first" Gretchen told Barney.
Barney nodded and kissed her forehead as he went to the waiting room while the nurse took Gretchen and Alyssa to the birthing suite.
Gretchen held Alyssa in her arms, noticing how the baby looked like both her and Barney.
Alyssa slept cuddled into her mother.
Barney entered the suite and smiled at Gretchen, "may I sit behind you?" He whispered.
Gretchen nodded, feeling Barney sit behind her, "she's absolutely perfect."
"I couldn't agree more" Barney said, watching Gretchen nurse Alyssa, "are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" Gretchen said quietly, running a finger up and down Alyssa's arm.
"When she's done, can I hold her?" Barney asked.
"Of course" Gretchen said, smiling as Barney kissed her neck.
"Answer me something" Barney said, "when we were at camp and doing the nasty, was she the result?"
"No - I thought I was pregnant after that time in the Shucked cabin, but it was a false alarm - I got my period that night" Gretchen answered, feeling Alyssa stop nursing. She propped the baby on her shoulder and gently patted her back until Emma burped, "good baby. Wanna see daddy?"
"Come here my angel" Barney said, gently taking Alyssa from Gretchen, holding her in his arms, "you're a beautiful little girl, you know that?"
Alyssa wrapped her hand around Barney's finger, closing her eyes.
"How's it going?" Gretchen asked.
"I think she's almost asleep" Barney said, "I'm gonna put her in her bassinet and let our moms know that you had Alyssa while you rest."
Gretchen nodded and felt Barney carefully get out from behind her, still holding Alyssa, "I am in love with her name."
"It was the main character of The Prom that brought us together" Barney said, placing Emma in her bassinet, gently kissing her forehead, "also, do you want her to stay with us or go to the nursery?"
"Stay here, please" Gretchen said, hearing her stomach growl.
"Okay" Barney said, "do you want to order some food?"
"Pizza from any pizza place. Cheese" Gretchen said, "and a Diet Coke."
Barney nodded, "anything for my queen."
The following day, Barney, Alyssa and Gretchen got the okay to come home.
Barney got Alyssa situated in her car seat while Gretchen got in the front seat.
Gretchen put on her seat belt when she got a text from Lily.
'Marshall, Marvin and I will be coming over later today with some food. How's my favorite family?' Lily texted.
'We're good - leaving the hospital now. We can't wait to see you guys' Gretchen replied, smiling as she felt Barney get in the driver's seat, "Lily, Marshall and Marvin are bringing food for us."
"Sounds good" Barney said, "how are you feeling?"
"I'm good, sweetie" Gretchen said.
Barney smiled and started the car, driving to the apartment above Barney's favorite bar - MacLaren's.
Once he pulled into the parking lot, Barney turned off the ignition and got Gretchen's overnight bag while Gretchen brought Alyssa's carseat into the apartment.
"SURPRISE!" Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Monica, Lily, Marshall, Ted, Robin and Joey said in unison once Barney opened the door to the apartment.
Gretchen got a screaming Alyssa out of her carseat and held her close, "shhh sweetie. It's okay. You're okay" she soothed.
Barney smiled and hugged all his friends, "guys! This is awesome!"
Lily smiled, "we wanted to do something special for you guys, like you did when Marshall and I had Marvin."
"Speaking of, where is the little guy?" Gretchen asked, sitting in a rocking chair with Alyssa.
"My mom's watching him" Marshall said.
"Speaking of kids, Ross and I have a baby girl - Emma. Ross is watching her while I'm here. She was born a week ago" Rachel said.
"Monica and I are also expecting" Chandler said.
"Phoebe and I are dating" Ted said.
"I'm the new theater teacher at the local high school" Joey said.
"And I'm also dating someone. She couldn't make it" Robin said.
Gretchen smiled, "I'm so happy for all of you."
"Thanks" the friends said in unison.
"I'm gonna order pizza and salad" Barney said, going into the nursery to order food.
Lily sat next to Gretchen, "how's she doing?"
"Now that she's calmed down, she's going well" Gretchen said, looking at Lily, "want to hold her?"
Lily nodded, "please."
Gretchen carefully placed Alyssa in Lily's arms, adjusting the blanket she was wrapped in.
"Gretchen, she's beautiful" Lily said as Marshall came over.
"Yeah, she doesn't look like Barney at all. Are you sure he's the dad?" Marshall teased.
Gretchen chuckled, "yes, I'm sure he's the dad."
Alyssa was then passed to person to person, staying asleep the whole time.
"Who's gonna take care of her when you go back to work?" Marshall asked as he took his turn holding Alyssa.
"Our moms are coming at the end of the month. My mom will stay for a couple weeks, then Barney's mom will stay for a couple weeks" Gretchen said.
Barney exited the nursery, "well, the pizza has been ordered. When it gets here, we'll go down to the bar and hang out."
"Hun, what about Alyssa?" Gretchen asked, hearing Alyssa start to fuss. She held her arms out so Marshall could place the baby in her arms, "she was born yesterday and shouldn't go anywhere she could be exposed to germs."
"You're right" Barney said, kissing Gretchen's forehead.
"There's plenty of room for all of us here" Rachel said.
Gretchen smiled, "I'm gonna put Alyssa in her nursery, then I'll come help set up chairs and the extra table."
"Okay, sweetness" Barney said, smiling at Gretchen.
Two years later
Barney and Gretchen were in the thralls of lovemaking when there was a scream from Alyssa's room.
"I'll go" Barney said, "don't go anywhere."
"I won't. Put some clothes on first" Gretchen said in between pants.
Barney playfully rolled his eyes and put his pajamas on before going to Alyssa's room, "princess, can I come in?"
"Uh huh" Alyssa's cute voice came from the other side of the door.
Barney smiled and opened the door, "mommy and I heard you scream. Are you okay?"
"The clown is in my closet again" Alyssa said from her bed, her dark hair sticking up in every direction.
"He is, is he? Doing any funny business?" Barney asked, chuckling at his own joke. He opened the closet door, poking his head in, "nope, no clown in here. I think he left" he turned his attention to Alyssa, "get some sleep, baby girl."
Alyssa nodded and looked at Barney as she got comfortable, "you sure he's gone, daddy?"
"I promise he is, honey" Barney said, tucking Alyssa in, "I love you."
"Love you too" Alyssa said, laying back down, "can you sing to me until I fall asleep?"
"Of course" Barney said, clearing his throat.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away" Barney sang. He smiled as Alyssa fell asleep. He kissed her cheek and exited the room, going back to the master bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. He took off his pajamas and got into bed, kissing every inch of Gretchen's skin.
"Mmmm" Gretchen moaned, opening her eyes.
"It was the evil clown again" Barney said, kissing Gretchen's lips.
"Mmm" Gretchen said.
Barney looked at his wife, "are you too tired to continue?"
"No - I'm good" Gretchen said, watching Barney get on top of her.
"Good" Barney said, getting on top of Gretchen, kissing her shoulders, neck and collar bone, feeling her legs and arms wrap around his torso.
The two of them made love well into the night, falling asleep in each other's arms.
The following day, Barney went to work while Gretchen stayed home with Alyssa.
"Okay, sweetie, what are we doing today?" Gretchen asked, "you've gotta take a nap at some point, so keep that in mind."
"Can we have a tea party and watch Wicked, please?" Alyssa asked.
"Wicked might be too scary for you, sweetie" Gretchen said, "but we could watch another musical, if you want."
"Okay" Alyssa said, "what was the last musical you an' daddy were in?"
"We were in Carousel, then Kinky Boots. Both of those are too mature for you" Gretchen said.
"What does 'ture' mean?" Alyssa asked cutely.
Gretchen chuckled, "mature means it's not for two-year-olds. How about we watch a Disney movie? Are you okay with that?"
"Yah. Watch Belle?" Alyssa asked.
"Yes, we can watch Beauty and the Beast. Which version?" Gretchen asked, going to Disney on the TV.
"Cartoon" Alyssa said.
"Okay. You watch Belle while I make us breakfast. Pancakes okay?" Gretchen asked.
"With chokalat chips" Alyssa said.
"You got it, sweetie" Gretchen said, going to the kitchen and made pancakes for the two of them.
Once Beauty and the Beast was over, Gretchen put Alyssa down for a nap so she could get some work done.
After Gretchen got some work done, she and Alyssa went to the park where they were meeting the other moms - Lily, Rachel, Phoebe, Monica and Robin - for a play date.
The other kids - Marvin, Emma, Addie, Samantha & Huck, Flynn and Belle - greeted Lily and Alyssa as they entered the park.
"Lissa!" Emma squealed, greeting her best friend. The girls were born a week apart and were as thick as thieves.
"Emma!" Alyssa squealed, hugging her best friend.
Rachel, Phoebe, Lily, Robin and Monica waved as Gretchen walked over.
"Hey everyone" Gretchen greeted the women as she sat down at the picnic table with the others.
"How's it going?" Rachel asked.
"Pretty good - I've missed you guys" Gretchen said.
"We've missed you too" Monica said.
"Speaking of moms, anyone know what happened to Ruby and Ian?" Robin asked, referring to the camp counselors at Theater Camp.
"Yeah, but it's super sad" Robin said, making sure none of the kids were listening, "after Ruby had her baby, both she and the baby - a little boy - suddenly died after the baby was born. Ian went into a state of madness and is in an insane asylum."
"Oh my God" the others whispered in unison while keeping an eye on their kids.
The ladies and their kids stayed at the park for another hour before all of them had to go.
"Alyssa, come on" Gretchen called.
"Coming mama" Alyssa said. She was almost to Gretchen when she tripped over a tree root and fell - hard - on her face. Alyssa let out a blood-curdling scream before she started crying.
Gretchen ran over to Alyssa and examined her, "baby, are you okay?"
Alyssa cried as she pointed at her elbow, which was bleeding.
"Let's get you home and cleaned up" Gretchen said, carefully picking up her daughter.
Alyssa sniffled, "okay mama."
Gretchen got Alyssa in the car and drove home.
After Alyssa was cleaned up and was having a snack while Gretchen made dinner, Barney came home.
"There's my two favorite girls in the entire universe" Barney said, kissing Alyssa, then went to the kitchen, kissing Gretchen's neck.
"Hello to you too" Gretchen said, "how was your day?"
"It was good. What about you two?" Barney asked, walking to where Alyssa was having her snack.
"It went well, right A?" Gretchen asked.
"Uh huh" Alyssa said, smiling at Barney.
After Alyssa was in bed, Gretchen told Barney what happened with Ruby and Ian.
Barney's smile disappeared, "what?"
"Yeah - it's so sad" Gretchen said as she exited the bathroom to put her pajamas on. She sat on the edge of the bed, tears in her eyes.
"Hey hey hey - don't cry" Barney said, holding Gretchen close, kissing her forehead.
Gretchen sighed and wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry I've been so emotional today."
"Yeah - I was gonna ask you about that" Barney said, "are you okay?"
"Yeah, my hormones have been all over the place" Gretchen said, "tomorrow, I'll take a test to make sure."
"Sounds good, sweetie" Barney said, rubbing his hands up and down Gretchen's arms.
Gretchen smiled as she turned off the lights.
A year later….
Gretchen tried getting comfortable as she, Barney and Alyssa watched a movie.
"Gretch, you okay?" Barney asked, looking at Gretchen.
"I can't get comfortable" Gretchen said, rubbing her belly.
"Is little sister coming soon?" Alyssa asked.
"She's not due for another week" Gretchen said, placing Alyssa's hand on her belly, "she's kicking."
Alyssa squealed as she felt her little sister kick.
That night, Barney and Gretchen were in bed, holding each other when Gretchen went to use the bathroom.
"Barn, call a sitter - my water broke" Gretchen said from the bathroom.
"Can't you yawn fix it? We'll call a plumber in the morning" Barney said half asleep.
"No you ding bat - the baby's coming - now!" Gretchen said.
"Oh!" Barney said, sitting up in bed. He threw some clothes on, packed Gretchen's overnight bag and called the hospital to let them know they were coming. He then called Marshall, since he, Lily and Marvin lived down the hall.
"I'll be there in two minutes" Marshall said.
"Thanks" Barney said, hanging up the phone. He went to Gretchen in the bathroom, "Marshall's on his way to watch Alyssa. Let's get you into a taxi."
Gretchen nodded, groaning in pain.
Ten minutes later, Gretchen and Barney were in a hospital room and an hour and seven minutes later, Gretchen had delivered another beautiful little girl, who was currently nursing.
"What's her name?" Barney asked.
"Sara Rose Stenson" Gretchen said.
Barney smiled, "I love it" he gently kissed Gretchen's forehead and smiled at his new little girl, "welcome to the world, Sara."
Gretchen smiled, "she's so tiny."
"She was born a week early, but is still healthy" Barney said.
Gretchen nodded and stifled a yawn, "I just wanna sleep. Can you take care of her for a little bit?"
"Of course" Barney said, carefully picking up Sara and held her in his arms after she was done nursing, "your big sister is going to love you, just like your mom and I already do."
The following morning, the family of three were given the okay to go home.
"I hope Alyssa likes her" Gretchen said as she got in the back with Sara, watching her sleep.
"I'm sure she will, love" Barney said, getting in the driver's seat once Sara was in her car seat, "ready?"
"Yup" Gretchen said quietly.
Forty five minutes later, Barney pulled into the driveway of the house his mother left him before she passed away.
The house was a one-story ranch house that was big enough for the family of four.
On one end was the nursery & Alyssa's room, in the middle was the kitchen, living room, dining room, a bathroom and the mud room. On the other end was the master bedroom and a guest room that was converted into an office for both Gretchen & Barney. There was also a washer and dryer.
Outside was an acre of land, half of which was devoted to a garden for Gretchen. The other half was a play house for the girls.
"Home sweet home" Barney said, looking in the rearview mirror at his sleeping girls. He got out of the driver's seat and opened the passenger door, carefully getting the carseat out. He kissed Gretchen's forehead, "love, we're home."
"Mkay" Gretchen mumbled as she yawned and stretched.
Alyssa stood in the doorway with Gretchen's mom, Hannah. Hannah lived two houses down and was delighted to babysit whenever Barney & Gretchen needed a break.
"Mama! Daddy!" Alyssa squealed, then lowered her voice at seeing the newborn, "hi Sara" she whispered.
"Let's go inside so we don't freeze" Barney said, leading the way inside.
"I'm gonna take a nap" Gretchen said, going to the master bedroom.
"Okay, baby" Barney said, getting Sara situated in the nursery.
"Can I hold her later, daddy?" Alyssa asked.
"Of course, sweetie" Barney said, smiling.
Later that afternoon, Barney helped Alyssa hold Sara while Hannah and Gretchen watched and took pictures of the bonding moment.
A week later….
Hannah, Barney and Gretchen worked on planning Alyssa's birthday party. It was Disney themed, with everyone coming as their favorite Disney, Marvel or Star Wars character.
The first ones to arrive were Joey and his wife Cassie. Cassie carried a carseat that held a sleeping baby in it. Joey was dressed as Darth Maul, Cassie was dressed as Jessie from Toy Story and the baby had a Joy costume on.
"Is this her?" Gretchen asked quietly, looking at the baby.
"Yup - that's Ruby Jean" Cassie said, "she was born a month ago" she looked around, "where's the birthday girl?"
"She's in her room playing while we decorate" Barney said, "you can put Ruby with Sara in the Pack-And-Play."
"Okay" Joey said, putting Ruby in the Pack-And-Play next to Sara, who was sleeping.
Next to arrive were Rachel and Emma, who were dressed as Ariel and Minnie Mouse.
"I'm so sorry to hear about you and Ross" Gretchen said, hugging her friend.
"Thanks" Rachel said.
After Rachel to arrive were Lily, Marshall and Marvin, who were dressed as Huey, Dewey & Louie. Lily and Marshall tried having another child, but Lily kept miscarrying.
"You guys look so cute!" Barney said, looking at Marvin, "you can go color with Alyssa and Emma."
"Okay uncle Barney" Marvin said, going to color with the girls.
"He's so cute" Hannah said, making cupcakes.
"I know" Gretchen said, smiling.
A short while later, Phoebe, Ted, Flynn, Belle arrived, followed by Robin, her partner Elise and their two girls - Addie and Grace.
"Now, the party can start, now that everyone's here" Barney said.
"No, we're missing Monica, Chandler and their kids" Phoebe said, helping Flynn into his Flynn Rider costume while Ted helped Belle into her Princess Leia costume.
"We're here - sorry" Monica said, arriving with her kids Samantha and Huck. Monica was dressed as Colette from Ratatouille, while the kids were dressed as Spider-Man and Remy from Ratatouille.
'Where's Chandler?' Gretchen mouthed to Monica.
'We D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D' Monica mouthed back, feeling tears in her eyes.
Gretchen walked over and hugged Monica, "I'm so sorry" she whispered in Monica's ear.
"Thanks" Monica whispered, breaking out of the hug, "anything I can do?"
"Nope - we're about to play some games" Gretchen said, smiling.
The kids played the typical party games with a Disney twist. Instead of Musical Chairs, there was Flying Carpet. Pin the tail on the donkey was replaced by Pin the Hook on Captain Hook. There was also easy Disney trivia for the kids and hard Disney trivia for the adults.
"Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Alyssa
Happy birthday to you" everyone sang to Alyssa as her chocolate cake was brought out by Barney.
Alyssa smiled as she put an apron over her yellow Belle dress so she wouldn't get it dirty. She found the three candles on the castle spire and closed her eyes. She blew out the candles in one breath, making everyone applaud.
Once the presents were opened and the cake was eaten, everyone headed home, making sure to take a goody bag.
"Can we order pizza for dinner, daddy?" Alyssa asked.
"Of course, princess" Barney said, going to order pizza.
Gretchen was in the nursery with Sara. Gretchen hummed softly as she nursed Sara, looking up when someone knocked on the door, "who is it?"
"Me" Barney said, "can I come in?"
"Of course" Gretchen said, smiling as Barney entered the nursery, "where's our eldest?"
"She's putting on her pajamas" Barney said, "I'm ordering pizza for dinner, since that's what the princess wanted. You want some?"
"Yes, please" Gretchen said, smiling as Barney closed the door behind him and walked over to her.
"How's our youngest?" Barney asked, watching Sara nurse.
"She's good" Gretchen said, feeling Barney gently kiss her neck, "hun, you might wanna keep an eye on Alyssa and order pizza. Plus, we can't have sex for six to eight weeks."
"Right" Barney said, kissing her forehead, then gently kissed Sara's closed fist. He then exited the room and went to find Alyssa, "mom's nursing Sara and I'm gonna order pizza. You doing good?"
"Uh huh" Alyssa said, "daddy, can I go see mommy?"
"Uh sure" Barney said, going to order pizza.
Alyssa went to the nursery and opened the door, "mommy, can I watch?"
Gretchen nodded and moved the nursing blanket aside so Alyssa could see her little sister.
"Does it hurt?" Alyssa asked.
"A little bit" Gretchen answered, keeping her voice low.
"Did I do that when I was a baby?" Alyssa asked.
Gretchen nodded, "yup."
"When I have kids, will I do that?" Alyssa inquired.
"If you want" Gretchen said. She felt Sara finish nursing, "I need some space, sweetie."
"Okay mama" Alyssa said, exiting the nursery.
Gretchen smiled as she burped Sara, then put her top and bra on, "good night my precious. Love you."
When Sara and Alyssa were a little older, Barney and Gretchen tried for another baby.
"You know, I'm happy with our girls" Barney said, kissing Gretchen's shoulder.
"But what about giving you a son?" Gretchen asked, looking into Barney's eyes.
"I don't care - I love our girls and I love you" Barney said, kissing her passionately.
Gretchen relaxed under Barney as he kissed her.
Barney looked over Gretchen's shoulder as they slept.
'I'm the luckiest man in the world to be married to such a wonderful woman who is the best mom to our two little girls' Barney thought to himself as he held Gretchen in his arms, n