The door slams with an angry crash behind her as she storms into the men's restroom, heart thumping. "Barney, what the HELL?" She screams at him.

He's sat on the floor, back against the wall in every sense, knees bent, staring into the distance. He's continually flexing the fingers of one hand, the other shielding the knuckles but not quite touching them. He doesn't react, either to her voice or the door.

"Barney, look at me!" Robin screeches, her fury over-riding any sense of self preservation or thought that, after what she'd just seen him do, it might not be a wise idea to come in here and confront him. He's drunk, he's out of control and she's in here alone with him. Still he won't (or can't) look at her but he balls his fingers back into a fist, an echo of what was.

"I'm trying to help you!" The words explode out of her and end with a sob and she realises she is shaking, the shock-wave of adrenalin finally having burst within her. "If you can't even help me out here… You don't deserve… Christ!" Seeing that she's getting nowhere, she turns right around and leaves him to it. She saw the confusion and betrayal in Lily's eyes when she followed Ted to the bathroom and at the time she'd only been acting on instinct. Now she can make the more sensible decision; decide where her loyalties lie.

She gets about three steps before she changes her mind.

This time, the door opens with a whisper not a bang. He's still sitting there but this time his head is bowed. He could have passed out, but she knows better.

He looks pathetic. He's lost his suit jacket and his tie and the front of his shirt is soaking wet. He doesn't look like a threat. He doesn't look strong. But Robin's always seen that there's something small and ferocious in him, something with teeth. He could have fought Ted off if he'd wanted to, she knew that. Ted probably did too. Robin nodded - Ted was a braver man than she'd ever suspected.

Robin knows that there's more to this than she realised but that doesn't stop her worrying about Barney. She's watched him deteriorate before her eyes after his accident in the summer, watched his behaviour shift subtly, slowly, over the months until she hardly recognises him.

"Get up," She said. No reaction, but she didn't expect any. "Get up and I'll help you out. I don't expect you'll be able to make it across the bar right now."

He frowns. She crosses her arms, determined. Slowly he tries to stand. He's shaky, not at all steady on his feet and she moves in to help him.

His heart is beating wildly, she can feel it through the thin cotton of his wet shirt where she supports him. At any other time, this would be funny. This would be something they could joke about a few days afterwards in the bar, maybe for years afterwards. Right now, Robin wonders if they'll ever joke again.

*--*--*

The five of them are laughing in the bar and there's nothing different from the usual except that Barney's bought all the drinks. Robin doesn't think that any of the others have noticed because Wendy keeps them coming with her usual low-key sensitivity. But Robin notices how loud he is and how he's outpacing her by two or three shots to one. He's drinking scotch, neat. Doubles. Everybody else is drinking beer.

Her fingers itch for a cigarette and she gives him the usual signal, eyebrow wiggle, finger waggle, but he misses it. Not slipping out for a quick cigarette puts her on edge a little. But then Marshall says something cute and funny and it distracts her.

Later, at the bar, Barney is making out with some bimbo and it's ikky and over-done. It seems crass, even for him, but typical of his recent behaviour.

Robin turns her back on him and talks to Ted. She's good at listening to his lame work worries. Anything is better than spooking herself when everyone else seems to be having such a great time.

*--*--*

Barney's not heavy and he doesn't lean on her or grope her. He looks and feels like a wounded animal but she's still conscious of those teeth. She gets Barney into his apartment and on to his bed and has his shirt off before she realises how it might look. A hand snakes out, around the back of her neck, and before she knows it she's drawn into a clumsy kiss.

Angry again, she pulls back, swatting him across the chest. "Barney, NO!" She says, in the same voice she used to use on her dogs. He reacts the same, visibly recoiling, his eyes large and sorrowful as if he knows he's done something wrong but doesn't know why. After all, he's only acting on instinct.

Like an animal.

"This isn't about sex," She explains, between gritted teeth. "Oh man, this so isn't about sex. After-" She swallows hard. "How you can even think about it?" Her lip curls and she doesn't notice that she's not talking as she mentally fills in his side of the conversation; his excuses. "Barney, I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

He looks up at her, mute.

"You're okay?" It isn't a question. She doesn't really want to know the answer. Well, she knows the answer. Of course he isn't freakin' okay! But he's drunk, dull eyed and uncommunicative. Not the best time to have this conversation.

Still…

"What was that all about?" She looks at him, imploring him.

He frowns again, almost as though he's stuck somewhere, inside. He can't even tell her that he can't tell her.

"I think the others'll hate me for this. For looking after you…" She said, the guilt eating away at her. She feels a buzz in her jeans pocket and fishes out her phone, leaving him there on the bed as she walks through into his kitchen.

It's Ted.

"Yep?" She answers. In the pause before he says anything, she feels like he's judging her.

*--*--*

Marshall staggers back, clutching his nose, blood covering his fingers and gushing quickly over his chin.

Barney's expression is one of focussed hatred, even as his shoulder follows the swing and he almost over-balances for the force of it.

Everyone freezes for a moment. The shock is too great to really take it in.

Robin's the only one to see Barney's face immediately after. The mania fades in a second, followed by an instant realisation, sickening, but he shrugs it off and launches himself at Marshall again, almost for effect.

Ted wrestles him to the ground while Lily runs to Marshall, screaming and crying and landing a good kick at Barney's ribs before Robin hauls her off.

Ted drags Barney across the floor while Marshall is left trembling and trying to stop some very un-manly tears. "You hit him, you bastard!" Lily yells, unnecessarily. It's not as if everyone didn't see it.

Robin's trying to hold on to Lily as Ted hauls Barney towards the bathroom and Carl vaults the bar like an athlete, like, a minute too late to actually do anything.

Barney punched Marshall. In the face. For no reason. For no reason at all that she could see.

What the HELL?