Disclaimer - I own nothing of How I Met Your Mother. I only belong to my original characters and the plot. I also don't own any of the rights to the songs or theater scenes I use in the story. 'Nuff said.
Italics are thoughts, text messages, song lyrics and flashbacks.
A/N: I kept having very vivid dreams about this story, so that's where it came from. I will update Love Songs for Everyone and the One at Horse Camp - just having some writer's block. This is my 204th story!
A/N 2: TRIGGER WARNING - LOTS OF SEX, SOME S.A. & THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
A/N 3: Each chapter is a title of a Broadway song I like.
A/N 4: I don't own any of the songs or segments of plays that I use in this story.
Summary: AU: Present day. Barney and his girlfriend, Sara, in high school. A group of girls forms a pregnancy pact, which includes Sara. The girls back out of the pact at the last minute, but Sara gets pregnant. Barney is there for both Sara and her unborn baby when no one else is. Five chapter story.
Rating: M
Genre: Drama/Hurt/Comfort
CHAPTER ONE
(chapter title - Getting To Know You)
Sara Collins sat in her History class, feeling her boyfriend, Barney Stinson, behind her. She brushed her dark hair over her shoulder as she and the other 17 students in the class took their History quiz.
When class ended, the teacher told the students their homework and when it was due.
Barney smiled at Sara and kissed her cheek, "where are you off to next?"
"Theater" Sara said, going to her locker to put her morning books away and grabbed her afternoon books, "what about you?"
"Calculus" Barney said, rolling his eyes, "I'll see you at lunch. I love you."
"Love you, too" Sara said, kissing Barney's cheek and watched him head to the math wing as she headed to the theater wing.
At lunch, Sara, Barney, Marshall, Lily, Ted and Robin sat at their usual table, talking and laughing.
Sara and Barney actually met through Ted - Sara and Ted had dated their freshman year before breaking up. After the right amount of time, Barney asked Sara out at their sophomore Prom. Sara agreed and they've been together ever since.
Now, the two of them were juniors and other than doing homework and at school, spent every hour together.
After school, Sara went to soccer practice after changing into a Sailor Moon T-shirt and shorts, along with her shin guards, socks and tennis shoes. She put her hair back in a ponytail as she stepped onto the soccer field.
Barney did homework on the bleachers as he watched Sara and her teammates run drills. He had loved her since the first moment he laid eyes on her….
Barney Stinson watched his best friend Ted Mosby with his girlfriend, Sara Collins. Even though Barney was standing a ways away, he could tell they were arguing.
"You know what? We're through!" Sara yelled at Ted, storming in one direction.
"Right. Okay!" Ted said, going in the other direction.
Barney looked from friend to friend. He went to Ted, "dude, what happened?"
"She found out I was cheating on her. We argued about it, which ended us breaking up" Ted said, "I don't deserve a girl like her."
Barney saw Sara after school, shooting soccer balls into the goal. He could hear Green Day's song 21 Guns playing from Sara's cell phone.
Sara cried as she shot balls into the goal, hearing the lyrics to her favorite Green Day song.
"When you're at the end of the road
And you lost all sense of control
And your thoughts have taken their toll
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
Your faith walks on broken glass
And the hangover doesn't pass
Nothing's ever built to last
You're in ruins" Billie Joe Armstrong sang, backed by his band mates.
Once Sara had enough kicking balls into the goal, she sat on the bleachers and had a good cry.
Barney made his way closer to her, "hey. I'm sorry about what happened between you and Ted. Do you need a shoulder to cry on?"
Sara nodded, cuddling into Barney. She cried, letting him rub her back and stroke her hair.
"Shhh, I'm here for you now" Barney said, holding her close.
Sara cuddled into Barney. She finished crying and wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry about that."
"It's okay" Barney said, "can I do or get you anything?"
"Can I have a hug?" Sara asked.
"Ask and you shall receive" Barney said, wrapping Sara in a hug.
I can't believe that was last year - time flew by so fast Barney thought to himself, watching Sara on the soccer field.
Practice was over and the girls went to shower. Barney knew for a fact that there was a unisex bathroom not far from the girls' changing room.
Sara headed inside and squealed as Barney pulled her to the unisex bathroom, locking the door behind him.
"I want you" Barney whispered, looking into Sara's eyes.
"I want you, too" Sara said, looking at Barney.
Barney kissed Sara passionately as he took off her shirt and bra, squeezing her breasts in his hands as Sara took off Barney's shirt.
Sara kissed him passionately as she took off her shoes, shin guards and socks. She looked at Barney, "you can undress me, if you want."
"Same with you" Barney said, standing in his jeans.
Sara unzipped and unbuttoned Barney's jeans, pulling them down, along with his boxers.
Barney kissed Sara's collar bone as he yanked down her shorts and underwear, fingering her roughly.
Sara whimpered as she guided them to the shower area, feeling goosebumps on every inch of her body as she and Barney kissed.
Barney turned on the shower as he kissed Sara's body, running his fingers over her skin, loving how smooth and flawless it was.
Sara washed her hair as she felt Barney wash her skin, closing her eyes as he kissed her collarbone, lips, forehead, cheeks, breasts and clavicle. He fingered her with his left hand while his right squeezed both of her breasts.
"Softly, deftly, music shall surround you
Feel it, hear it, closing in around you
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness which you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the of the music of the night
Let your mind start a journey
Through a strange new world
Leave all thoughts of the world
You knew before
Let your soul take you
Where you long to be
Only then can you belong to me
Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation
Let the dream begin
Let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night
You alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night" Barney sang in Sara's ear as he washed her body erotically.
After their steamy shower, Sara got dressed in her street clothes and caught the bus home.
Barney smiled as his mom's car pulled up.
At home, Sara made dinner for herself, since her dad - Maximus Collins - was at work and wouldn't be home for a while.
Sara's mom, Lenore died shortly after Sara was born.
It didn't help Max that Sara looked exactly like her late mother - she had her dark hair and chocolate brown eyes, along with her fair skin.
Max was African-American and many people thought that he was either Sara's foster dad or that he adopted Sara.
Sara loved her dad, but hated when he worked late. They lived in a seedy part of town and lots of dangerous things went down. Last week, there had been a shooting a few houses down from Sara's and a month ago there was a drug bust.
Max was a lawyer, but dealt with Real Estate Law. He also worked with a few lawyers in his firm on Pro Bono work - providing free services to those that needed it the most, such as the disabled, immigrants or people in the LGBTQ community.
As Sara worked on her homework as her spaghetti cooked, she received a text notification.
Hey baby - gonna be later than usual. I'll see you this weekend for your soccer game. Love you Max texted.
See you later, dad. Love you Sara replied. She looked at the clock and smiled - Barney would still be awake.
Barney was doing homework when his phone dinged with 4 texts from Sara. He opened the texts and smiled - she had sent him four pictures of her - one topless pic, one pic from the waist down and two nude pics.
Very nice Barney replied. He went to his room and sent her some nude pics of himself.
Sara cleaned up the kitchen and went to her bedroom which was in the basement. She gathered her things for a shower and took a shower before getting into bed and put on the musical Newsies. She only saw the opening scene before going to bed.
At soccer practice the following day, Sara and four of her teammates - Hannah, Addison and Madison - stood talking in the locker room as they got ready for practice.
"Hey girls - I have an idea" Madison Green said as she changed into her soccer outfit.
"What?" Addison Green asked, putting her hair into a braid. The girls were twins and were pretty close - they did everything together.
"I'm listening" Hannah Rockwell said, putting her Captain America shirt on.
"What if the four of us did a pregnancy pact?" Madison suggested.
Sara laced up her shoes, listening nearby. She knew Hannah because they were lab partners in science. Madison and Addison were quite unpredictable - they got all the girls last year to shave their heads for World Cancer Day. Sara had just worn a bald cap, since she was in a show and couldn't shave her head.
Besides playing soccer, Sara was involved with theater and often got the lead in the fall musical. She had played Sharpay in High School Musical and Lauren in Kinky Boots. She was also planning on auditioning for the fall musical, whatever it was.
Since she was an avid theater nerd, her dad often scored tickets to the performing arts center downtown that had the touring shows come through. Sara had seen eight different shows there - Wicked, Mamma Mia, Man of La Mancha, Newsies, Suffs, Six, Hamilton & The Lion King. She had gotten shirts, magnets, buttons, pins and stickers from each show as a keepsake.
"How does that work?" Hannah asked, putting her dark hair into a ponytail.
"We make a pact that we have sex with our boyfriends and get pregnant - we'll raise our kids together" Madison said.
"I dunno - I'm saving for college and babies are really expensive" Sara said, "plus, I'm waiting to have a baby until after college and I get a steady job."
"Okay, obviously Miss Boring is out. What about you two?" Addison asked.
"Wouldn't our parents kill us if they knew what was going on?" Hannah asked.
"Try to hide it from them" Madison said.
"I can't - that's going behind our parents' backs. Plus, my mom died after I was born" Sara said, adjusting her shin guards and ponytail, "plus, if we get pregnant, we can't play soccer or anything physical. We also have to watch what we eat."
"I hate to say it, but Sara's right" Addison said, looking at her friend.
"Let's get to practice before Coach kills us" Madison said, leading the way out of the locker room.
As Sara came onto the field, she looked at the bleachers and saw Barney doing homework. She waved at him as she and her teammates did warm ups and drills.
After practice, Sara and her teammates showered before going their own ways.
As Sara did homework when she got home, she thought about the pact. She would talk with Barney about it the next time they slept together.
Sara slept, her thoughts drifting to the pact. She knew raising kids was hard - she often babysat for families in the neighborhood. She knew that having a baby would be completely different.
On Saturday, Sara got ready for her soccer game. She and the girls put their street clothes in their lockers and changed into their soccer uniforms - black shorts and a maroon shirt with the name of the school on the front and their numbers on the back in white letters. Sara's number was 7, since it was her lucky number.
The girls also wore black shin guards and soccer socks, along with their soccer shoes.
Sara put her hair in a ponytail and put on her lucky headband, which would keep the sweat and hair off her face.
As the girls went onto the soccer field, cheers and conversations filled the air. The spectators cheered as each team came onto the field and started doing drills and warm ups before the game.
Sara looked around and smiled as she saw her dad, Barney and Barney's mom Loretta sitting on the bleachers.
The referee blew her whistle for the game to begin.
Sara and her other teammates took to the soccer field and played fiercely.
By the time the game was over, Sara's team had won - 4-0.
The teams and coaches told each other 'good game', shaking each other's hands or high five each other.
Coach took her winning team aside and said some encouraging words to her girls.
Sara grabbed her soccer stuff and water bottle before going back to the locker room to change into her street clothes.
Hannah, Addison and Madison joined Sara in the locker room, along with the rest of the team.
"Have you guys talked to your boyfriends yet about having sex?" Madison asked, keeping her voice low.
"Barney and I have already had sex - twice" Sara said, changing into her street clothes.
"It only takes four times to get pregnant" Addison said, "you guys use protection?"
Sara nodded, "every time."
"The fourth time you guys do, don't. That's when we'll do the pact" Madison said.
"Wait - have you guys had sex yet?" Sara asked her friends.
All of them nodded and told each other how many times - Addison and her boyfriend had sex three times, Madison and her boyfriend had sex twice and Hannah and her boyfriend had sex three times.
"So, Sara, Hannah and I need to have it one more time to get pregnant. There's a party coming up - all of us should go, along with our boyfriends. We can hook up and hopefully get pregnant together" Addison said.
"I'll see if Keith and I can do it at the party" Madison said.
"We should come up with a name for ourselves" Sara said, "it should be something simple."
"What about our initials - MASH?" Hannah suggested.
All the girls agreed and left the locker room, talking happily with each other.
That night, Sara and Max had pizza from the local pizza place.
"Hey dad, can I talk to you about something?" Sara asked as she did dishes after they ate.
"Sure honey. What's up?" Max asked.
"I'm not sure how to begin - it's kinda personal" Sara said.
"We already had the birds and the bees talk, so that's out of the way" Max said, smiling.
"My friends - Addison, Madison and Hannah - started a pact to get pregnant. I don't know if any of us will do it or not - certainly not me. But just for giggles, if I did get pregnant, what would happen?" Sara asked, afraid to look Max in the eye.
"Well, we would sit down and talk about your options and I would say how disappointed I am in you that you didn't wait until after college. I would also ground you for nine months. I would also castrate Barney" Max said.
Sara looked at Max, "please tell me your joking about that last part."
"I kind of am, but honey, you know that having a baby is a big responsibility. It's not like a cat or a dog, where you leave me to do the dirty work while you play with it" Max said.
"If I got pregnant, would you still love me?" Sara asked, feeling tears in her eyes.
Max pulled Sara into a hug as they sat on the couch in the living room, "of course I would still love you, sweetie. Nothing would change that."
Sara lifted her glasses and wiped the tears out of her eyes, "really?"
"Yes, really. You should shower and get your pajamas on, then we'll watch whatever you want for a while" Max said.
"Can we try Doctor Who?" Sara asked, referring to one of her favorite TV shows.
Aside from theater and soccer, Sara also had volunteered at a local horseback riding stable and earned enough money to buy a horse.
The horse was a big grey Thoroughbred gelding named Doubt. Sara could tell that Doubt had been abused, so she had changed it to Doctor Who, in memory of her favorite TV show.
"Which Doctor are we on now?" Max asked.
"Fifteen" Sara said, "Ncuti Gatwa - you know him from Sex Education and the Barbie Movie."
"Got it. Which episode are we starting on?" Max asked.
"We'll start with Space Babies, even though it's my least favorite episode of his" Sara said, "let me shower real quick, then we'll watch it."
"Okay sweetie. Do you mind if I watch the news and do a few work things while you're showering?" Max inquired.
"Not at all. Do you mind if I take the car tomorrow and go to the stable to ride Doctor Who?" Sara asked.
"Actually, I have a work thing all day. Can you either get an Uber or take the bus?" Max asked.
"Or you could get me a car for my birthday" Sara said.
"We'll talk about it later" Max said.
"My birthday's on Halloween, so we have six months to talk about it" Sara said. She kissed Max's cheek and went to her bedroom in the basement to get her pajamas before heading to the bathroom.
After taking a 20 minute shower, Sara put on her pajamas and went to the living room where Max was.
Max was on a work call and was trying to get off it as he found Disney Plus and turned on Doctor Who, pausing the TV.
Sara quickly put her dirty clothes in her hamper and went back upstairs, grabbing her T.A.R.D.I.S. blanket on the way back up.
After Sara and Max watched three episodes of Doctor Who, Sara went to her room to get some sleep.
As Sara drifted off to sleep, she dreamt of her life after high school, wondering what the future held for her.