Legends Never Die

Chapter Ten

Lily
"What the damn hell?" I cried incredulously as I took in my surroundings. Ellie shrugged helplessly. "I didn't really know how to explain this to you," she explained, gesturing towards the hopeless (and smelly) Robin. I nodded slowly and patted her shoulder. "You go finish unpacking. I got it from hear."
I gingerly approached my distraught friend. "Where's the poop, Robin?" I asked jokingly, reminiscing about the last time I'd used that phrase as I surveyed the unpleasant scene.
She didn't laugh. Rather, she bowed her head. "How the hell am I supposed to do this, Lil?" She questioned angrily. "The kid's been here for, what, thirty minutes? I'm already screwing it up!" She whimpered. "You and Marshall... and Ted... you all made it look so easy. But I can't even keep company under the age of fifteen. How can I raise a child?"
I smiled softly. "I never said it was easy, Sparkles," I pointed out. "It's not. It's really, really tough. But, ya know what? It's worth it. I love my kids more than I ever knew I could."
Robin rolled her eyes. "But I never wanted kids," she snapped. "I didn't ask for this, you know. This isn't me deciding to love someone unconditionally and give up my life. It's being forced on me." She glared into space. "Dammit, Barney," she hissed.
I smacked her shoulder. "You know what? Maybe you don't have a choice. But that doesn't give you some sort of get-out-of-jail-free card. You don't get to decide to not treat Ellie like your own, and you sure as hell don't just get to choose to not love her." I let out an exasperated exhale. "Life is gonna screw you over, Scherbatsky. It's time to decide what you're going to do about it."
I got up and began to march towards the door.
"Uh, Lil?" Robin asked in a strained voice. "I still need help cleaning this up..."
I sighed deeply before turning on my heel. "Right..."