AN: Hi guys! So, this is it. I'd thought of taking this fic longer, but what I'm thinking could happen is that I'll make a separate fic like a continuation of this storyline if I feel like revisiting it. But that'll be later on, as I have a Ness fic to write (and maybe a new Finchel one). Hope you enjoy, here's Chapter 12!

There had been no news. Barney had been pacing the hospital floor for what felt like a whole day. Lily had tried to calm him down, but her attempts were met with short-tempered shouts of 'You don't understand!'. He had dark purple bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep, and though he hadn't eaten for hours, he didn't feel hungry; he couldn't eat a thing. It was mid-morning, Barney guessed, because the sunlight shot through the glass windows, hitting his eyes. He had told his friends to leave, as he felt they should go home, but nevertheless, they stayed by his side. He could hear Ted speaking to Martha on the phone behind him.

"Yeah, we don't really know what's going on, but it doesn't look too great... It's okay, you need to go to work... Okay, see you after. Love you. Bye." said Ted, his voice hoarse. Barney considered his best friend's words. 'It doesn't look too great.' - the understatement of the century. Barney's son had been taken to a place unknown to him, and his wife was fighting for her life. He couldn't help either of him; it made him feel completely futile.

"Mr Stinson?" a woman's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Is she okay?" he said quickly.
"It's unclear at the moment, but I thought maybe you'd like to go and visit your son..." Barney paused before answering. He didn't feel like seeing anyone, but his son needed him. He was close to losing his mother; he couldn't lose his father too. Barney nodded, clearing his throat before following the kind-looking nurse down the corridor.

-Swarkles-

He was perfect. Barney hadn't truly realized or appreciated how incredible his son was when he was born. But now, as he stared at the adorable blue-eyed baby in front of him, he knew that he loved him more than he thought was ever possible. Barney noticed his nose properly - recognizing it as Robin's, and his dimples too. He tried to hold back tears as Joshua reminded him of the struggle his wife was going through. The nurse murmured an excuse before leaving both father and son alone.

"Hello, Joshua. Now, I'm not sure if you know me yet; we haven't had much of a chance to bond." Barney laughed nervously. "But, I'm your daddy. I just know we're going to have so much fun when we get home... We can go to the park, and maybe when you're a little older, we can play baseball... Or, you know, ballet, whatever you want to do, I'm cool with that." Barney could feel the water rising in his eyes as he spoke the next few sentences. "And your mom's gonna be there too. Right now, she's fighting, but she's strong. Your mommy is so strong, Josh. I see a lot of her in you, already, you know. You fought your way into this world, and you survived. I just know that your mom is going to do the same thing, because she's a fighter just like you. And, and, when you bring home someone you love, your mom and I are gonna tease you and embarrass you, but you'll secretly love it, because you'll love him or her enough to ignore us."

"I hope you marry someone like your mother, Josh, because she's the best kind of woman there is. She's wonderful, you know; she's put up with me for all these years. Even though she might not admit it, when she truly loves someone, she really loves them. I hope you find someone who loves you just like I love you and your mom. And then, when your mom and I are all old and wrinkled, you can come visit us with your kids, who will be amazing. I just know that your life is going to be special, because you have so many people that are going to love you. That includes your Aunt Lily, and Uncle Ted and Uncle Marshall, and Grandma and Grandpa. But, your mom and I..." he drew in a breath. "We'll love you the most. Hang in there, son, everything's going to work out. Love you, buddy."

Barney couldn't contain any more; he had to be by himself for a while. The tears ran down his face now, and thinking about his son living without a mother broke his heart. He needed to sleep, but he couldn't. He wouldn't sleep until he knew his wife was okay; no matter how long it would take.

-Swarkles-

It was an hour later that Barney received news of his wife. He had been ripping his paper coffee cup into hundreds of tiny pieces for a while, as his friends continued to support him from the other side of the hallway. He hadn't stopped crying since his visit to Joshua, and by the time the nurse showed up, Barney had almost given up on any hope of getting news. He heard the footsteps on the cold, hard floor before hearing anything. He bolted upright, wiping the tears of the bittersweet day away quickly. Barney looked up at the nurse expectantly.
"Uh, we have news regarding your wife, Mr Stinson."

Barney almost ignored her, as he was so busy concentrating on the thought that had just struck him. In his mind, he pictured Joshua sitting on his shoulders, laughing. He pictured what he would do when Josh went to prom with his date, and he saw himself taking pictures eagerly. He saw no one else with him. He realized that if his wife was indeed dead, he would have to raise Josh alone, and that was a thought that troubled him. But, as he looked to his left, he saw Lily, Marshall, Ted, and even Martha sit up expectantly. He wouldn't be alone. Joshua would have a family whether or not Robin was alive, and although Barney felt sick at the thought of losing his wife, he assured himself that he would not be going through this alone. It gave him a fragment of comfort in the horrendous situation.

Before the nurse spoke again, Barney inhaled. He considered putting his hands over his ears - if she doesn't tell me my wife is dead, it means she isn't dead yet. The thought repeated in his head like a mantra of denial, and he knew it was stupid. He knew that his wife could already be dead, despite what the nurse would say. The damage might have already been done. He had to approach this like a grown up; he was a father now, and he had to deal with this. He braced himself, and for a few seconds, his whole body tensed up as he clenched his eyes shut. He felt a hand grip his, and knew it was Lily's. She held onto it so tight that he knew she was as anxious for this as he was. He might be losing a wife, but Lily was possibly losing a best friend too.

"The doctors and surgeons have been trying to stop the bleeding for hours, as you know. At approximately nine thirty-two this morning..." Barney flinched at the time. The time of Robin's death. "Robin regained consciousness, and we were able to pronounce her condition as stable."
Barney felt a yelp escape his mouth. "She's okay?"
"Yes, Mr Stinson, she is okay."

The first thing Barney did was grab Lily, whose hand was still on his, and hug her close. Soon, the others joined in, all five of them sobbing with pure joy. The next thing Barney did was run. He ran down the corridor towards Robin's room, wanting, needing to be with her in that moment. He skidded around the corner before almost collapsing into her room, and there she was. She looked a little tired and worse for wear, but Barney was so overcome with joy that he just kissed her. He cupped her face, passionately pressing his lips against hers, as she reciprocated just as passionate.

"I love you, Barney." she said, eyes full of tears.
"I love you too, and please don't ever do that to me again!" he chuckled, kissing her again. The gang tumbled into the room a few moments later, exchanging hugs and tearing up with Robin. Barney had thought he was out of tears, but he had been proven wrong. He stroked his beautiful, extraordinary wife's hair as she cried both happy and exhausted tears. Soon, a nurse entered the room.
"We thought he should be with his parents..." As both Robin and Barney turned to see her, they saw that she was pushing their son into the room in a little cot. The sound of pure glee Robin made by seeing her son was a sound Barney would surely remember forever.

Robin picked her son up out of his crib, and stared lovingly into his beautiful eyes.
"He has your eyes." she exclaimed, laughing through the tears breathlessly.
"Yeah, but look at his nose, that's all you, baby." Barney added.
Her son overwhelmed Robin. "Barney, how is it that we actually created this person?" she asked.
"I know; it's unbelievable." he agreed.
"Hey, Joshua," Robin cooed. "I'm your mom... Yes... Ooh, I can tell that I'm going to love having you around, yes I can... Oh, and this is your daddy..."
"Actually, uh, we've been introduced." chuckled Barney.

And there, in that little hospital room, began their little miracle's life; their new life as parents. They couldn't wait.

Epilogue

"Mom, Dad, that's enough pictures, seriously!" exclaimed Joshua as the camera flashed again.
"Josh, it's your prom, we need pictures of this!" explained Robin as she took another shot of her son and his beautiful girlfriend, Leia, in their finery. It had been around sixteen years since the day of Josh's birth, and both Robin and Barney felt old as they stared at their son, though they were only forty-nine and fifty-two.

"Josh, just humour your mother, okay, she just wants to show the pictures to everyone to show them how awesome our son is!" Barney added, standing behind his wife.
Josh groaned. "One more picture, that's it."
"Oh, wait," Robin stated. "You need one with your little sister! Barney, would you go get her?"
Barney nodded, before appearing moments later with a brown-haired nine year old in tow. "Lizzie also wants a picture with Leia, by the way." he told his wife.

After Josh's turbulent birth, Barney and Robin had agreed not to have any more children. But, when Josh was around four, they changed their minds, and began a plan to adopt. When they met Lizzie, they knew she would fit in perfectly with the family. She had somehow developed Barney's humour, using the words 'legendary' and 'awesome' more than any child her age. But, she was beautiful, and she was theirs, even if not biologically.

Robin took two more photos before letting her son and his date relax. Lizzie was playing with Hanna's hair, and was happily occupied. Robin turned to her husband.
"You know, if someone had told me back in 2005 than in 25 years, I'd be married to you with two kids, I probably would have laughed. A lot."
"Gee, thanks." Barney grinned.
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah," Barney smiled. "They grew up so fast. We did good though, right, Scherbatsky?" Though Robin had been 'Stinson' for 17 years, the old nickname had still stuck around.
"Yeah, we really did."

And with that, the doorbell rang. Marvin Eriksen's tall figure walked through the door, his parents practically tiny behind him, followed by Ted and his wife. Shortly after Joshua was born, Ted had proposed to Martha, and they had married half a year later. After a year of marriage, their daughter had been born, followed by their son, two years daughter was in the school year below Joshua, and the two had become fast friends.

Ted had his own camera, however, to take photos of the memorable occasion. "Okay, Robin, are you done taking photos of our kids, because I want a photo of Josh and my Leia to go in my wallet!" he exclaimed. Leia groaned.
"Dad, Robin just took a ton of photos, just use hers!" she sighed. Josh chuckled at his girlfriend's attitude towards Ted, whom had been a very prominent figure in his life.
Marvin, being two years older than Joshua, was now in college, studying Architecture, much to Ted's delight. He, after inheriting his father's cool car, was driving the kids to their prom. "Guys, time to go!" he stated, as they all started to get up. As Marvin, Lizzie(who insisted on joining them on the car journey) Leia and Josh got into the car, their parents gathered at the door to wave them off.

"You know, Barney, Josh better treat my Leia right tonight and respect her!" Ted joked.
"Ted, he learned from the master," Barney said, pointing at his self. "He knows all the smooth moves for prom, how to dance, what to say..."
"He also learned to respect women from his mother." added Robin. "Don't worry Ted, your daughter's in safe hands."
Marshall laughed. "D'you think that in like twenty or thirty years, our kids are all going to meet up to watch their children go to prom?"
"I hope so." said Lily. "I'm proud of them, though, they're all really great kids."
"I feel like we all raised them, even though they weren't all our kids." Ted added.
"Yeah, it's like we were all their parents from time to time. We raised them together." said Robin.
"Well, this is great, but does anyone else really want a drink or is it just me?" chuckled Barney. As they all retreated from the door to go to the kitchen, Robin placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

She exhaled. "I love you, Barney Stinson."
"I love you too."
"You know, everyone's distracted by the booze in the kitchen, and all the kids are out... You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I'm thinking you have exactly two minutes to run upstairs and take your clothes off."
"You know, me too. Seems like we're really perfect for each other, huh?" smiled Robin.
"Yeah, we really are." Barney grinned. "One minute fifty seconds remaining!"

Robin ran upstairs, giggling the whole way. It had been an amazing 17 years, and she knew the next 17 would be just as amazing, because she had the love of her life right by her side.