A/N: This fanfic is set ten years after the series finale, (This is set in 2040) and in this specific fanfic, Ted and Robin never got back together in the finale. I do not own any of How I Met Your Mother or its characters.

It had been ten years since Barney and Robin even glanced at each other, let alone hang out for an entire night together with their three closest friends, one in particular being an extremely nosy redhead who doesn't give up on finding her way into other people's business. The night would be anything but ordinary, but that wasn't the point. Both Robin and Barney came out of hibernation to support Ted for what had been another heart-wrenching tragedy that occurred just one week ago.

It happened so quickly, and not a single soul saw it coming. Penny was so young, and she didn't deserve what she got.

She had come to visit her father after her sophomore year of college. She hadn't seen him since Christmas, and there was only three weeks until school started back up again.

She was driving down the highway —roughly 15 minutes away from Westchester— in the extreme dark when she noticed a pair of bright lights looming closer to her. She started to panic, until she realized there was nothing that could be done. She had tried to pull her car over and out of his way, but he was driving too fast, and she hadn't seen him quick enough.

After the cars had collided, Penny was still able to call 911 through her cell phone. She also called her father, who came almost immediately to her aid. He rode with her in the ambulance, and talked her through everything. There was blood everywhere, and from numerous different locations. Yet again not much could be done to help. But they tried their best, and refused to give up. Neither did Ted. And neither did she.

They pulled into the hospital in the nick of time, and hope sprang into Ted's chest. He fully believed that his daughter would be safe.

It wasn't until she came out of surgery that Ted learned his daughter hadn't been able to pull through. She was pronounced dead at 5:37 that morning.

Ted, surprised by the sudden turn of events, was devastated to say the least. He had hitched a ride home from Marshall and Lily (his car was still in the spot where it happened) and locked himself in his house.

Up until tonight, he hadn't let anyone come inside, except for Luke. He hadn't spoken to anyone, and hadn't tried to move on. He spent his days looking at old photo albums and watching home videos from when they were kids.

Such an emotional person with a sensitive heart, the gang knew that they had to go visit him, or who knows what he would've done.

Barney and Robin, stepping up to Ted's door at the same time, accidentally interlocking fingertips whilst trying to ring his doorbell simultaneously. "So...I don't really know what to say here. How's it going? I know that's probably the most broad question to ask, but it's a start, isn't it?" Barney asked Robin.

Hearing his voice after all this time took Robin by surprise. She hadn't heard his laugh, any of his lame catchphrases, and she hadn't gotten disgusted about his numerous conquests in so long. While they were separated, it didn't seem like she missed him that much, but now that they were here together, she didn't want to have to leave and go back to being alone in her studio apartment and to a job where no one knows her name, and no one bothers to learn it either.

Thinking about him again made her totally forget about his question. "Things have been alright," She started, then sighed. "If we're being honest, life sucks. I haven't gone on a date in six years, no one at work likes me, and I haven't gone to a bar in ages."

Hearing how bad Robin was doing made Barney feel slightly sympathetic. As long as he had known her, she never needed reassurance from anyone that she was awesome. And she was. Seeing her back there with all this chaos going on, especially with Ellie's mom, it was nice to have a friend by his side. Even if they hadn't spoken since the divorce. There was so much that she didn't know, with his job, his apartment; everything had fallen apart since she left his life. Nothing before or since had made him sadder.

Seeing her frown and red, puffy eyes, Barney took her by the shoulders, and ever so gently shook her. "Hey, you're Robin freaking Sparkles! If people don't get you for the insane person you are, then they don't deserve to. And who knows, if you don't like where you are, there's always room for one more at our booth."

Barney requesting her to come back and be a part of their lives again made Robin feel something she hadn't felt in a long time. She felt...wanted. Nobody in her office or apartment building would care if she packed up her things and left; they probably wouldn't even notice she was gone.

"How about we start with a simple visit? I can come for a couple days, and if I enjoy hanging out with all you after all this time, maybe I could consider coming back full-time."

Right as the slightest smile started to creep up on Barney's face, a brown-haired, six-foot tall, midwestern man answered the door with a whisper and a frown. "Hey guys, thanks for coming. Lily and I are trying to make a quick dinner, Ted's on the couch, in front of the fire, and he could probably use some comforting. He's in a bad place. I think he might be worse than last time."

Silence fell over the trio as they processed what Marshall had just said. They all remembered what happened last time. He was so far below rock bottom that it couldn't even be seen. Ted didn't leave his room for two months; Marshall and Lily would constantly be staying at his house, bringing him food, and helping him survive, for the most part. Barney had come by a couple times, trying to get him psyched up, but nothing he tried ever worked. Robin came by once, and seeing her there was the only thing that made his eyes have the glimpse of a sparkle, but she hadn't come back since.

As Barney and Robin crossed over Ted's threshold, unaware of what was going to happen, they walked in together.

END OF CHAPTER 1