- While Ted struggles with an unorthodox architecture project, Robin finds out that Barney is in love with her, and Marshall threatens to take a long-considered leap from the roof to a neighboring building.
- It's approaching Ted's thirty-first birthday, and he's at a desperate time in his professional life. He refuses to take the job as an architecture professor since he sees that as a failure of not being an actual architect. So he takes the only design job offered to him: to design a restaurant, a rib joint, in the shape of a cowboy hat. For three solid days, this job is the focus of his life to the exclusion of all else including celebrating his birthday (much to his friends' chagrin, they who planned a surprise party for him on the rooftop). But Lily's pet goat throws a small wrench into Ted's life. Up on the roof, Marshall is contemplating making the literal six or seven foot horizontal leap to the roof of the adjacent building (where there is an inviting hot tub), missing which would mean falling several stories to the ground. Although he's thought about doing it for years, he seems closer now to doing it than ever. And Barney thinks that he's in love with Robin and plans on telling her so, until Robin pulls a "Mosby" on him.—Huggo
- Future Ted (Bob Saget) describes the evening of his 31st birthday. Over the previous 3 days, Ted had been working hard to design the hat-shaped rib restaurant introduced in "Right Place, Right Time". As he pulls an all-night effort in an attempt to win his firm a contract, Marshall attempts to lure Ted to the roof for a surprise 31st birthday party (which Ted waves off because he thinks Marshall would never schedule two surprise parties, 2 years in a row.. Marshall had thrown a surprise party at Ted's 30th birthday as well on which day Ted had the big fight with Barney and broke up his friendship with him.). Barney asks for Ted's blessing to pursue Robin, using an obvious analogy (Barney likes a double breasted Canadian suit that Ted had worn earlier, but found that it wasn't a good fit. Barney has an eye on that suit now) involving a suit.
Disappointed at his inability to throw a good party, Marshall stands on the ledge of the roof, ready to jump from their apartment roof to the neighboring building's roof (beautifully furnished with a hot tub), about seven feet away. A flashback shows Marshall's attempts over the last years to get the courage to jump. Lily tries to dissuade him by (falsely) claiming that she is pregnant, resulting in Marshall saying that he noticed Lily gaining weight, and Lily storming off afterwards.
Downstairs, while Ted is hard at work, the goat scuttles through the apartment (the one that Lily brought home from her kindergarten class). Ted calls Lily, anxious and annoyed at its presence. After he repeatedly takes a wash-cloth away from the animal, the goat mauls Ted, and he is sent to the hospital. The reports show that he had no serious injuries and he was released. Ted rushes for his client presentation. Finally, when he shows up to his restaurant design meeting, his clients decide to go with Swedish avant-garde architecture collective Sven, instead of him. They chose the same T-Rex building that Sven had pitched to the Goliath National Bank.
Meanwhile, Barney has decided to confess his feelings for Robin, but before he can say anything, she says that she loves him. He quickly reacts by saying they should just be friends, and picks up a random girl at the party. Lily then tells him that Robin overheard his suit analogy with Ted, and was worried about what to do. After discussing it with Lily and Marshall (who reveal they had known for months), Robin decides to "Mosby" Barney, telling him she loves him right away, just like Ted did.
Barney discovers the truth, gets disappointed, and confronts Robin at the hospital. She admits to "Mosbying" him, but then tries to do it again, until the two confess their complicated feelings for each other and kiss. After this, they decide to discuss it later.
Finally, back in the apartment, Ted laments his situation, and Lily tells him to stop chasing something that is not working, and let the universe take over for a bit. She says that Architecture is killing Ted and in turn killing them. Lily planned on being a famous artist, Marshall wanted to be an environmental lawyer and Robin planned on being a TV reporter, but none of them made it. Life happened. When Lily tells him that maybe he should just take 'the leap' and do what the world seems to want him to do, Ted accepts the professor job at the University. Marshall takes the advice literally, and leaps from the roof to the other building, followed by the rest of the gang.
The episode ends with Ted, now Professor Mosby, in front of a class of students. Future Ted tells his children that despite being the year where he was left at the altar, knocked out by a crazed bartender, fired and attacked by a goat, it was the best year of his life. It was all worth it, because not only did it lead him into the best job he ever had but it also began him on the journey that would lead him to his future wife... as Future Ted reveals that one of the students in the class is the love of his life, his wife
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