There are some things you just don't do to your best friend. You don't leave him stranded alone at a bar in the West Village to fight a crowd of drunken frat boys. You don't screen his calls after he has been sick for two weeks, even if you're in the midst of a Farrelly brothers marathon. You don't give his Radiohead ticket to a girl you met last night at the laundry mat just because she smiled at you, especially when he got up at 6 a.m. and waited with you in the freezing rain for prime seats. You don't hit on his little sister that finally turned 18 after two long years of quiet yearning. And most of all, you don't hook up with the woman he dated for more than a year and truly believed was the love of his life.

Barney Stinson had no intention of falling in love with his best friend's girl, but somewhere between a game of laser tag in designer suits and getting hit by a bus, he had fallen completely for the breathtaking brunette news anchor. With her quirky sense of humor and Canadian accent, she was everything he had never thought he would want but exactly what he needed. She was his equal in every way. For a long time, he had never thought he would find anyone as good as him, but she was almost better actually. She was intelligent and savvy on a million topics, could drink and curse like a sailor, loved to smoke the occasional cigar in an upscale lounge and was actually capable of hanging with the guys. She was ballsy enough to do pretty much any dare in exchange for money, even if it meant doing it on live television during the evening news.

But there was another side to Robin that he had also fallen in love with, too. There was the softer version of her that she rarely let anyone see. She liked to pretend that she was outgoing and fun-loving, and she is those things. She's also pure with the way she giggles like a little girl every time she laughs. She takes care of the people that matter to her, like the way she tried to cheer him up with their day of laser tag or watched over him when he was sick. There are times when she can be incredibly vulnerable, which probably explains how they ended up making out on her couch after she broke up with Simon. She's even a little nerdy with her terribly embarrassing history as a Canadian pop superstar, teased hair and stonewashed denim.

There were a million things to love about Robin, but the fact that he knew these things didn't make it alright. He had almost lost Ted after he had slept with Robin, and it had been one of the hardest things Barney had ever been through. The last thing on his mind that fateful morning waking up was how it could potentially destroy a friendship he valued above all others. He could only think about how amazing it was that they had found themselves in that place and how long it would be before Robin would call him a mistake. It was only later, in the backseat of a car, did he realize the ramifications the one-night stand would have on his life. In one fell swoop, he had managed to lose his best friend and the girl that he was falling for.

Ted eventually forgave him after realizing that he had risked his life just to find out of if he was okay. Given the chance, Barney knew that he would make the same mistake all over again and end up unconscious on that pavement. It was worth it if it meant having his best friend in his life. It was also worth the way the slow realization came over him when he realized that he was in love with Robin as he lay their in the hospital bed. Lily and Marshall had joked that he had seen money and suits and breasts when he had nearly died, but they had no clue the images that had flashed in his mind. How could they? They would never understand.

The truth was that Barney had seen the same images in that moment that had ran through his mind millions of times when he couldn't fall asleep late at night when he was in bed alone. He thought about the way she cheekily cocked her eyebrows one night when they were all at MacLaren's, telling Ted why they all didn't like one of his many flings. There was the way she had pulled on his tie when he was kissing her on her couch. He loved that she didn't care what she looked like at the gym, even if it made her look like a lesbian prison guard as Lily so lovingly pointed out. It was small moments really, things that he doubted anyone else would remember. However, those were the things that he remembered, those were the things that kept him hanging on.

After two long weeks in the hospital, Barney was still hanging on those thoughts to help him through the lonely nights alone there. His friends tried to stop by as much as they could. Lily had even came up with a schedule to make sure that someone was there nearly all the time during visiting hours, but nine o'clock would eventually would come and Marshall or Lily or Robin or Ted would wander off to go meet up with the others at their favorite pub. Barney hated those moments the most because the quiet gave him too much time to think and too little noise to drown out the nagging thoughts in the back of his brain. However, unbeknownst to anyone but him, he also coveted that time just after midnight when the nurses would change shifts and someone would slip through his door to sit and watch over him.

Robin had started coming by after that first night when Marshall and Lily had headed back to their slanted apartment to get some sleep. She had left with them too, making some excuse about needing to finish research for a story the next night. Hours later, she had crept into his dark room and sat silently by his bed while he slept. When she accidentally hit her knee against the nightstand, he was jarred from his fitful rest to find her gazing down at him tenderly. Neither of them said anything about it, then or since. They never discussed her late night visits and rarely spoke during them. It was just enough to be together.

However, those nightly visits were about to come to an end because Barney was finally coming home from the hospital today. His friends were coming to pick him up in a few minutes, and he couldn't wait to be home. He had tried to tell them that he would just hire a private nurse to come take care of him, but they had insisted that someone be with him at all times. He still wasn't sure who was going to take him home. With his different appendages still wrapped in white casts, it wasn't like he could really take himself. As he glanced down at the different artwork his friends had decorated his body canvas with, he remembered not for the first time how lucky he is.

"Well, Mr. Stinson, it looks like this is where we part ways," announced Sheila, a spunky nurse in her mid-50s that had taken a particular liking to Barney during his stay in the hospital. He admired the way she said exactly what was on her mind, much like he did. She'd also come to like his friends, especially Robin, she was quick to point out. "I believe that your friend is waiting outside in the hall. Why don't we get you loaded up in your wheel chair so that you can get out of here?"

Barney nodded his head eagerly as a pair of orderlies came in to help him. "So, who is it?" he whispered to Sheila as she helped him adjust the footrests on his new chair. The nurse shrugged her shoulders and told him that he would just have to wait and see. He started to whine like a child, hoping to break her down, but she wasn't having any of it. She quickly put him in his place. "Well, Sheila, you've been awesome, and as you know, I don't take that word lightly."

The nurse laughed as she dismissed the men from the room and started to push Barney through the doorway. Barney couldn't believe how excited he was to see who had come to pick him up. It's not like it was that big of a deal. He figured that it would be Ted now that he had the extra room in his apartment. It'd be hard to maneuver his wheelchair in Lily and Marshall's place. Robin worked nights, so she wouldn't be able to help him. Ted could at least work from home and had a spacious elevator that could accommodate all of Barney's new baggage. It had to be Ted.

Yet, as he rounded the corner, he felt his heart drop through his feet when he saw her standing there, hands resting on jutted hips. She was dressed in the same sleek black suit she had worn the night of laser tag with a box of cigars tucked under one arm and a bottle Johnnie Walker in the other hand. "It's not exactly roses or anything, but I figure it will make those pain meds a hell of a lot more fun," she deadpanned as Sheila brought him to a stop in front of her.

Barney grinned at her, still surprised to see her standing there. "I can't believe it's you," he retorted sheepishly, instantly kicking himself for sounding like a lovelorn adolescent with a crush on the girl who sits in front of him in math class. "I mean, I can't believe you'd do this for me. You work nights, so I just figured you all would stick Ted with me."

Robin tilted her head slightly and smiled genuinely. "We played Rock Paper Scissors, and I lost," she joked. "Actually, with Ted and Stella newly engaged and Lily and Marshall having that monstrosity of an apartment, I kind of got stuck with you. Besides, we can't have you rolling downhill in their apartment and running into the doors. You already almost broke your brain once."

He wanted to laugh at her bad attempt at a joke, but he was still in awe of the fact that she had showed up for him today. "It's not too late for me to hire a nurse," he attempted, hoping that she wouldn't agree. "I don't want to put you out, Robin. Between work and the dogs, I know you're too busy."

"Actually, I'm not," she assured him, coming around behind his wheelchair to push him outside where a cab was waiting to take them back to her apartment. "I took off the next two weeks to take care of you. I had a lot of vacation days that I never used, so it'll be paid. And the dogs are actually on their way home to Canada to live with my parents. My sister came down a few days ago to pick them up. Some guy just bought out my building and told us that we had to get rid of any pets. I guess it'll be better for them since they'll have more ground to run around on…"

Barney tried to listen as Robin rambled about her pets and their farm back home, but all he could focus on was on the fact that he was going to spend the next two weeks with her nonstop. She always rambled when she was nervous while he became eerily silent. Their extreme reactions at that moment illustrated just how anxious they were both feeling. The hot summer air hit his face all at once as they exited the hospital and waited for the cabbie to load his bags into the trunk. Then, with the help of one of the orderlies, he managed to crawl into backseat while Robin his wheelchair away. "This will be a lot easier when you are on crutches," she smiled as she slid into the seat next to him. "Everyone is waiting at my place to help you get settled in."

"Why didn't they just come with you?"

"I wanted to come alone."

"What?" he asked. "Why?"

Robin looked at him for a long moment before shrugging. "Just because."

"Robin, come on, why?"

"Barney, there's no reason. You just got out of the hospital, and we have plenty of time for you to ask me paranoid questions."

Barney watched as she turned her head to stare out the window. It was clear that she was hiding something, and whatever it was clearly bothered her. Timidly, he reached out and tilted her chin to bring her wavering eyes to his. He could see unshed tears dwelling just below the surface as he slid his other hand into hers. "Please, tell me."

"I think I'm pregnant."