snowgirl098, littleblackneko, and scissorhands101, you guys rock. Thank you so much for your reviews. I'm just fleshing out the details on my next story and I should (hopefully) have it started by the end of the week or so. Also, if you guys have any ideas that you'd like to see me give a try, let me know! Inbox me or leave it in a review.

Ps – pushed myself to have this up before tonight's episode so I can fan-fic out on the cliff hanger (unless I've already called it… then onto other ideas). Wish I'd have gotten it up earlier (stupid work).

Topaz-b

Pps - i miss writing this story already! i'll have to start my next one pretty soon to fill the void.

ppps - Written after season 6 finale. i'm hoping i nailed everthing but the lily thing!

Ted looked at the woman who'd just called him an asshole.

"Excuse me?"

"You're the asshole!" She laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Emma."

"Ted." He said, taking her outstretched hand. "Now why am I an asshole?"

"You were at this party I was at a few years ago, a St. Patrick's day party. You were loud and you got into that fight. And you almost ran over my friend at one point when you bumped into her. My friends and I have been calling you the asshole ever since." She smiled. Ted didn't know what to make of her, she was all dark hair, eyes, and smile. "Then," She said, bursting into a laugh. "You were in my economics class that one time, god that was funny."

"Ok… first time is valid, but why does me trying to teach the wrong class mean?"

"Oh, you know." She said. "When you left we were all whispering, what an asshole." He looked down at her, noticing the dimple in her left cheek. "Your first class though, right?"

"Yeah was it that obvious?"

"Only to the naked eye." She smiled again. She had the most gorgeous smile.

"But you look too old to be a student." Ted froze. "Oh god that came out wrong."

"Totally." She said, but she laughed again. "I get it though. I'm just going back to finish a degree. Get some more experience under my belt, you know."

"Totally." Ted mirrored her words, staring dumbfounded at her as she continued to talk.

Emma invited Ted to the stool beside her at the open bar, to continue their conversation. His friends caught up in the flurry of pictures and showcase that was Barney and Robin, he decided they could survive without him for a little while.

He sat next to her, the easy questions fleeing his head as he looked at her.

"Do you ever do more than stare?" Emma said to him after a few minutes of silence. She laughed as he snapped out of it.

"Sorry, I was" he slowed again.

"Of course you did." She laughed. She reached for her drink, and started to tell him about the art class she'd just started.

"Apparently, when you paint a robot instead of a person during a class dedicated to the human body, they get a bit annoyed."

"What? Robots are awesome." Ted laughed, taking a drink of his beer.

"I know right." She was tapping out a rhythm on the table top now.

"Am I boring you?"

"No it's a music thing."

"Music thing?"

"Yeah." She smiled again. "You know. My prophecy is almost complete. My fingers on the pulse." She sang, tapping along to the beat as his mouth dropped open.

"The unicorns?"

"Sure was." She leaned in suddenly. "You have really pretty eyes."

"Thank you." He said. "So what are you doing here."

"Favor for a friend from school. This is her brother's shindig. We're filling in a spot." The band's singer climbed back onstage.

"We're?"

"Yeah didn't I tell you?" She stood and stretched. "I'm in the band."

"Oh cool." Ted said, realizing he hadn't actually looked up on stage.

"Yeah, I play the bass." His mouth dropped open again as she climbed onstage.

Barney and Robin were holding each other as the headed to the door of the ballroom, smiling and waving at their guests. They'd spent the last half an hour arguing over where to go on the honeymoon, and had come back laughing and counting the bench in the ladies powder room as "One".

They hugged each of their friends closely, Robin giving Lily an extra hard one, and Barney whispering "Thank you" to Marshall. Ted was preoccupied again, but not extremely as Barney and Robin headed out to the limo, asking him to follow.

"Ted, you're going to have to wingman it alone." Barney said, reaching into the limo. "And so I bestow onto you this, the pocket playbook!" He handed it over. It was a written in Barney's handwriting, already a little dog-eared from where he figured Barney had flipped through a few times. "Its like having your own little piece of awesome in your pocket. And by awesome, I mean me." He held up his hand, and Ted gave him a high five that turned into a hug. "Thank you so much Ted."

"Of course Barney."

"Ok Ted, hug me before I cry." Robin said, holding out her arms. "I'm going to miss living with you." She held him close to her, any leftover feelings from the other night forgotten and fleeting. "I'll take care of Barney now, don't worry."

"Wait worry?" Barney asked as Robin released him. "Why would Ted worry."

"It was supposed to be a touching moment Barney."

"Oh I'll give you a touching moment." He grabbed Robin and pushed her into the limo, closing the door behind him. Ted could've sworn he heard him calling out "number two" as he drove off.

He stood there, watching the limo fade into the distance, a weird mixture of happiness and jealousy filling him. The put his hands in his pocket, and contemplated his next move.

There was a crack of thunder as the clouds opened up for the second time that day. Ted continued standing on the sidewalk, lost in thought.

A flash of yellow above his head, the rain ceasing falling on him, and he looked up to see an umbrella. His gaze went slowly down the pole to the hand that was connected to it. He moved form the hand over to the smile that Emma was giving him.

"Want to hear a weird story?"