As Ted and Victoria are about to run off together, Ted convinces Victoria that she needs to leave a note for her fiancé Klaus to give him some closure on the situation. But leaving that note is not as easy as Victoria going back to the church. Ultimately to help Victoria, Ted may have to overcome a childhood phobia. Meanwhile, Quinn, who does not have a lot of what she considers close girl friends, asks Robin and Lily to stand up for her when she and Barney get married. This request brings up the fact that Quinn has no idea that Robin and Barney used to date, which Barney has no intention of ever telling her. In fact, Barney has managed to erase all history of his and Robin's romantic past. Sleep deprived new parents Marshall and Lily, and some deep seated beliefs of Klaus' will directly and indirectly affect what happens between both Ted and Victoria, and between Barney and Quinn. Written by Huggo

The summer of 2012 would be considered the summer of love for the gang with Marshall and Lily, Ted and Victoria, Barney and Quinn, and Nick and Robin all in blissfully happy coupledom. But by the fall, one item would turn that bliss on its head: a pre-nup issued by Barney for Quinn. Although most agree that Barney's requests are on the most part unreasonable - that is except for Barney and his lawyer, Arthur Hobbs - it is a starting point for a war between the sexes, not only with the women siding with Quinn and the men siding with Barney, but also bringing up issues in each of the other three relationships. With Marshall and Lily, they begin to argue about parenting. With Ted and Victoria, they begin to argue about how to get over their jilted and jilting past, especially as Ted has invited Klaus to room with him temporarily. And with Nick and Robin, they begin to argue about Robin's quirk in the bedroom in conjunction with her news career. By the next day, one of those arguments ... Written by Huggo

After his break-up with Quinn, Barney is getting right back on his old horse with what is he calling Bangtoberfest. But he wants Bangtoberfest to be different than his old pick-ups, which may be a little more difficult than he first imagines. Meanwhile, Mickey has come to live with Lily and Marshall unexpectedly after he burns down his house. His arrival may be perfect timing for Lily and Marshall as Lily is about to go back to work, and they haven't been able to find a nanny that they can afford. However, Lily doesn't trust Mickey to be their nanny if her own upbringing is any indication of how he would look after Marvin. When they do find who they consider the perfect nanny and she them, a certain quest by one of their friends may prove to place a slight obstacle in the proceedings. And Ted and Robin end up competing about which of their current relationships is at a better place. Written by Huggo

Marshall and Lily's entire world for the past five months has been Marvin to the exclusion of all else, including their friends. Now that Mickey has taken some of the child rearing off their plate, a constantly tearful Lily and Marshall now worry about what their mortality means for little Marvin's welfare if they were to depart the world sooner than later. As they complete their will, they run into the obstacle of who they will name as Marvin's guardian. As they exhaust the list of all their living blood relatives, dismissing each for one reason or another, their thoughts turn to their three best friends, who all actively campaign for the position. That campaigning irks Marshall and Lily, who decide to choose between the three using one of Marshall's passions in life. The question becomes how much of the unusual scrutiny Barney, Robin and Ted will endure for the opportunity to be Marvin's godparent and potential guardian. Written by Huggo

After watching Ted and Victoria together, Marshall, who is trying to channel his inner goddess, and Lily believe Ted is missing all the signs that Victoria is throwing at him to move their relationship to the next level and get married. If Marshall and Lily are correct, Ted has to figure out why he and Victoria are at different places in their relationship and what that means for their long term future. Meanwhile, Barney has acquired a new real dog of a wing-man, just like himself. Robin believes that Barney's relationship with his new wing-man is Barney's cry for help in dealing with his break-up with Quinn. In Robin's effort to help Barney through his crisis, Nick comes to an understanding of where he fits in Robin's life in comparison to her closest group of friends. Written by Huggo

Nick has sustained a groin injury, which means he has to lay off sex. It's during this time that Robin, who now has to talk to him while spending time with him, realizes that he's not the brightest light in the world, and perhaps she should break up with him. Her friends are on opposite sides of whether she should do so. Barney feels she should since they are obviously not compatible. Marshall and Lily on the other hand think she should ride out the non-sex stretch and things will be back to normal between the two of them when Nick is physically well again. Lily's belief is based on her need to live through Robin vicariously. Marshall's is because Nick is the star player in his after work basketball team, and believes he will quit the team if Robin breaks up with him. One side goes to an extreme to make sure Robin does what he wants. Meanwhile, non-athletic Ted has too formed his own ream in the same basketball league, although Ted's team of architects focuses their energies on ... Written by Huggo

Marshall runs into his law school buddy Brad, who now seems to be down and out, and a bit of a deadbeat. Since he was a friend, Marshall can't help but try to help him by getting him at least a job interview at his law firm, Honeywell and Cootes. Lily and his friends don't think it's such a good idea as nice guy Marshall is already seen as being a bit of a stamp tramp - a person who provides his stamp of approval on anything and everything, which over time renders that approval meaningless - and this could prove to hurt Marshall, especially if Brad is indeed a deadbeat, and as Honeywell, who would be conducting the interview, is already hard enough on Marshall. Marshall's stamp of approval of Brad has a slightly different effect than he imagined. In the discussion of stamp tramps, the gang believes Ted is a piggyback stamper - someone who believes his stamp of approval is his own idea, but only really approves something somebody else has already approved. Ted goes on a long quest ... Written by Huggo

Marshall is appearing before the state judiciary committee, the outcome of the hearing which could well determine if he remains a lawyer. It all started with his latest and most important case to date, where the outcome would determine his future at Honeywell and Cootes. The defense lawyer in the case ended up being his once friend and law school colleague Brad, who duped Marshall by believing he was in hard times, which resulted in Marshall getting Brad an interview at Honeywell and Cootes. Alone in the firm's offices, Brad then proceeded to steal Marshall's prosecuting strategy. Brad ended up having more than Marshall's strategy on his side as the case went to trial. Meanwhile, Barney, Robin, Ted and Lily each claim that they were the most bad ass between the four when each was a teenager. And after Robin and Barney's passionate kiss, they, unspoken, have both decided to treat the incident like it never happened. Written by Huggo

With Mickey away, Marshall and Lily are happy that Ted, who is between jobs now that the GNB building is completed, can sit with baby Marvin. They regret their decision to let Ted take this job as he goes a little overboard, depriving Marshall but especially Lily the joys of being Marvin's parents. Meanwhile, Lily has noticed that Robin is acting like a giddy schoolgirl whenever she's around Barney. Confronting Robin about the issue, Lily figures out it's because now that she has broken it off with Barney, Robin wants what she can't have. Robin knows what she has to do to get Barney out of her system, and has to figure out a way to achieve her goal. In her quest, Robin doesn't notice that Barney is on a quest of his own, all starting from a seemingly innocent incident of spilling ketchup on one of his favorite ties. Written by Huggo

Ted, Marshall and Lily are happy for Barney now that he has started dating Robin's co-worker, Patrice. Despite Patrice not being an obvious match for Barney as she is the most caring person in the world, they believe his attraction to her is an over-correction from previously dating Quinn, who he did not trust. The one person not happy for Barney is Robin, who, despite stating that she is no longer in love with Barney herself, doesn't understand Barney and Patrice's pairing. Robin believes that if she can get a hold of Barney's playbook and show it to Patrice, Patrice in turn will dump Barney for seeing who he really is. Meanwhile, Marshall's mother is coming for a visit. Lily doesn't want Judy to stay with them, until they bond over a confession that Judy makes to Lily that Lily would like to help her with and that Judy doesn't want Marshall to know about yet: that she is ready to move on after Marvin's death and start dating. A further action by Judy may make Lily change her mind ... Written by Huggo

Each of the friends somewhat admit that they have who they consider a pit guy: someone who, if they had the power, would throw into a pit in their basement to banish forever, much like in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). For Ted, that person is his ex-architecture professor, Professor Vinick, who told Ted at the time that he had no talent and would never become an architect. Now that the GNB headquarters is about to open, Ted decides to invite Professor Vinick to the opening ceremonies to show him wrong. Professor Vinick's response makes Ted hold onto that grudge even harder. For Robin, that person is her co-worker, Patrice, who is now dating Barney. Robin will not however admit that Patrice is her pit guy because she still loves Barney herself. Robin has a chance to throw Patrice into her make believe pit when Robin has to fire a co-worker of her choice. For Lily and Marshall, that person is Daryl LaCorte, a colleague from Wesleyan who saw himself as their best friend after one ... Written by Huggo

The opening ceremonies of the new GNB headquarters is soon happening, and all of Ted's friends plan on being there to support him and help him celebrate his achievement. The one friend who won't be there is Barney, who admits to Ted that he is planning on asking Patrice to marry him that evening. Barney swears Ted to secrecy. Ted however feels that Robin has a right to know if only because he believes that she still loves Barney. Ted has to decide if his vow of secrecy to Barney or Robin's lifetime happiness is more important. If he does decide to tell Robin, that may signify that he himself has finally let Robin go romantically. Marshall and Lily are able to attend the ceremony as Mickey has given them an early Christmas present: twenty-four hours of consecutive babysitting service. This time will be their first extended time away from Marvin, and they are looking forward to it. Beyond attending the opening ceremonies, Marshall and Lily plan on getting down and dirty with each other.... Written by Huggo

Now that Robin and Barney have announced their engagement to their friends, Ted and Lily fight to be their primary wedding planner, the two who have very differing views of what Robin and Barney should do for the big day. During their battle, they eventually admit to the other why they want to focus their attention on this task. Despite the less than the traditional loving relationship she has with her father, Robin still wants Barney to go through the ritual of asking him for her hand in marriage, which Barney is afraid to do because of Mr. Scherbatsky's cold and unfriendly demeanor. But Robin learns that her father has gone through a transformation - at least in his own mind - the reason for such which could affect his role in the wedding. Written by Huggo

Although on the surface they are both happy about their engagement, Robin and Barney contemplate sabotaging that happiness for different reasons. Wearing an engagement ring, Robin eventually comes to the realization that the ring is making her invisible to men, and as such they don't lavish her with gifts as they used to do. She has to decide whether the ring or the free gifts and attention are more important. And although Barney says he is disgusted by Ted dating twenty year old Carly with who he only has a mutual physical attraction in common (she who is into old guys), Barney needs Ted to sleep with her if only to live through Ted vicariously. Ted, however, is thinking of breaking up with Carly without ever having slept with her unless he can find something, anything, as a common emotional ground between the two of them. Barney's need for Ted to do this act may be affected by beautiful Carly herself. And Marshall is sporting a new look as it is turning Lily's crank, but that look... Written by Huggo

Ted spots who he believes is the next love of his life on the subway, but she gets off before he can approach her. Before he can systematically track her down - which would be against the advice of Marshall and Lily - the mystery woman, whose name is Jeanette, runs into Ted. They both believe it's fate telling them that they were meant to be together. However, Marshall and Lily believe that Jeanette running into Ted was just a little too convenient, and that she may have been stalking him. This belief by Marshall and Lily leads to Robin making an admission that in her younger years, she was obsessed by someone, who she refuses to name. Barney, in turn, becomes obsessed with finding out the object of Robin's obsession. This quest leads to the gang learning another unknown phase in the life and career of Robin Sparkles. And Lily eventually also makes her own admission about her love life past. Written by Huggo

Ted latest girlfriend, Jeanette, has barricaded herself in Ted's bedroom following their break-up, which in part was prompted by Ted's friends convincing him that she's crazy, and his own realization that he didn't see a future with her. It isn't easy to get her out without her causing major destruction because of her crazed state. Beyond Ted trying to figure out how to get her to leave, his friends try to figure out if Jeanette's current behavior is all her fault. Meanwhile, Marvin is eight months old, and no one has realized that Robin has never been left alone with him, nor has she ever picked him up, which is due to fear of the unknown. When Lily leaves Marvin with Robin on an emergency, an incident happens between Robin and Marvin about which Lily would probably be quite angry. Robin decides not to tell Lily about what happened... at least not yet. Written by Huggo

A nervous Ted receives an unexpected telephone message from The Captain, his old girlfriend Zoey's wealthy ex-husband. Ted believes The Captain called to exact his revenge against him, thus he tries to avoid The Captain's follow-up call. Ted, Robin and Lily reminisce about the last time they saw The Captain a year and a half ago at an art gallery, but each remembers the evening slightly differently. As they piece together their three stories, in there may lie the real reason The Captain got back in touch with Ted, and why that evening affected one of the three so deeply. Meanwhile, Barney, who was not there that evening, tries to infiltrate himself into Ted, Robin and Lily's individual stories, while Marshall wants Ted to reconnect with The Captain on the minute possibility that Marshall will get to sail on The Captain's boat. Written by Huggo

Ted is desperate to bring a +1 to Robin and Barney's wedding, and currently has Jeanette as that +1 despite he realizing that she is crazy. Robin and Barney are so adamant that Jeanette not be Ted's +1 that Barney swears Ted to secrecy in how he is helping Ted find an alternate +1: by staging plays from his playbook, which he purportedly burned in front of Robin but in reality burned a fake book instead. If Robin finds out about the playbook, there may be no reason for Ted to have a +1 as there will be nothing for him to bring a +1 to. Meanwhile, Lily, as The Captain's new art buyer, is attending a gallery showing by an up and coming artist named Strickland Stevens. Marshall is confident that he can play the art buyer husband at functions so important to Lily's career which may not be the most obvious fit for Marshall. This gallery showing may test Marshall's actual ability in this role. Written by Huggo

It's weeks before Barney and Robin's wedding, and one of the many things they still have to decide is where to live. The one thing Robin insists is that they don't live at Barney's apartment. So it goes on the market. However, Barney doesn't want to sell it to just anyone, but someone who is worthy of what was and will always be in his heart his Fortress of Barnitude. Robin has a slightly different idea, which isn't as easy to achieve as she would like when she and others learn more and more about with what Barney has equipped his apartment. Meanwhile, Lily hasn't spent much time of late with her family because of her job with The Captain. She seems to be at his beck and call, and doesn't seem to mind. Marshall understands, until it affects a planned evening out. So, Marshall decides to cheat on Lily with someone who Lily knows. Written by Huggo

In April 2013, Ted is feeling all alone with Marshall and Lily preoccupied with their family, Robin and Barney planning their wedding, and Ted without a significant other in his life. Barney asks Ted if he would like to go see Robots Vs. Wrestlers Legends. Ted decides against it. Ted is visited by future versions of Barney and himself, who try to convince him to go or not to go with current Barney to the event. The visit by these future versions of Barney and himself, who have the knowledge of what happens in the future, eventually opens Ted's eyes to why he has really received these visits. Meanwhile, Marshall embarks on a battle with Robin as Robin has received credit at MacLaren's for a cocktail he created, while Lily vows to stay neutral in their battle. Written by Huggo

Lily and Marshall's life is in a perfect place, running like a well-oiled machine. A wrench is thrown into that machine when The Captain tells Lily that he is moving to Rome, and wants her to accompany him to continue her work as his art consultant in one of the most important art cities in the world. Lily contemplates making a unilateral decision on the matter without even telling Marshall of the offer before making that decision. Marshall's own perfect job may be only one important consideration, but Lily may have secret motives for what she decides. Meanwhile, Ted and Barney spot a woman in the bar, who Ted knows from attending the same yoga class as her. He says that she has the most redonkulous body he has ever seen, but Barney may never be able to find out as she is wearing this over-sized coat which she doesn't seem to want to take off. Barney does whatever he can to get her to remove that coat. But what will Robin think about Barney's latest mission, especially with this ... Written by Huggo

Ted and Marshall hijack Barney for what is his surprise bachelor party. The timing of their hijack leaves Robin high and dry to spend dinner alone with Loretta, to which Robin is not looking forward. Barney, who coins his party as his bro mitzvah, is quietly excited for what most men would define as one of the defining evenings of their life. However, he is skeptical that Ted and Marshall can pull off his dream bachelor party, as most men's bachelor party is like a standard evening out for Barney. But Ted and Marshall are confident that they can do his party justice, especially as they paid attention to Barney's previous description of his dream bachelor party. But will Ted and Marshall's interpretation of Barney's description match Barney's own? Written by Huggo

Robin Scherbatsky Sr. is in town. He and Barney, the son he never had, bond doing one of Barney's favorite activities, laser tag. But not all is harmonious between the father/son duo. Their bonding time leaves Robin Jr. to carry out an important task, namely finding the locket she buried near the Central Park carousel when she was a teenager, that locket which was always intended to be her something old at her wedding. Having trouble trying to find it, she also has trouble getting anyone to help her, which is important as that locket has more meaning to her than just the traditional symbolic wedding item. Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily are having trouble trying to decide what to take with them to Italy and what to throw away, so they call in the packing expert, Ted, who is so renowned for traveling through Spain for two weeks with everything he needed in only a hand's free belt satchel (i.e. fanny pack). But Ted's expertise takes a back seat for another criterion which dictates what... Written by Huggo

Robin and Barney are out for a special dinner at one of their favorite restaurants, where they want to recreate one of their favorite past experiences together. Their dinner is ruined by who they deem the most obnoxious couple they've ever met. As such, Robin and Barney's mission changes to ruining not only that couple's dinner, but their lives. Meanwhile, Marshall is in St. Cloud with Marvin to visit Judy, who has just learned that Marshall and Lily are moving to Rome. Judy threatens to do whatever subversive measure required to stop them from moving away. As Lily is on her own, she heads out to Westchester with Ted, who has finally completed the renovations on his house, the one where he wants to raise his future family with his future wife, whoever she may be. Ted informs Lily of his plans for the immediate future which does not match his purpose for that house. Written by Huggo