Barney declares February 13th as a new holiday "Desperation Day" in which single women throw themselves at men in fear of being alone on Valentine's Day. Robin and her single friends from work are at the bar that night in an effort to prove they don't care about the upcoming holiday. Barney finds himself quite taken with Robin's friend Nora. Thanks to Robin, she forfeits her role in his laser tag tournament the next day, and sends Nora to join him which results in Barney having a date on Valentine's Day after all. Meanwhile, Marshall is still in Minnesota consoling his mom. Lily misses him and decides to go to Minnesota to surprise him for Valentine's Day, which they have not spent apart since they met. Lily is surprised to find Marshall has reverted to childlike behavior having his Mom wait on him hand and foot. He refuses to leave with Lily and is driving his mother crazy. Meanwhile, Ted and Zoey's relationship starts to get more serious and an overwhelmed Ted shows up in Minnesota. He and Marshall realize they are both running away, too scared to face reality. With all flights cancelled, they drive back to NY together just in time for Valentine's Day.
