AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story doesn't really have a place in a certain season. I enjoy watching the show, but haven't been able to watch episodes in order except for season 1. I've seen other episodes, placed randomly on the television guide. My details may not be up-to-date with the current episodes, but that shouldn't be an issue for you, because I wrote the story for me.

2030

Kids, television these days isn't what it used to be. Back then, we had characters that we loved and wanted to be like. Episodes had real story lines. But today, it's all 'reality' shows. And as scripted as they might be, they can't beat the shows your uncles Marshall and Barney, aunts Lily and Robin, and I used to watch. Back in 2010, we actually met one of our favorite TV actresses.

2010

It was a lazy summer night. Business at MacLaren's was somewhat slower than usual. We were seated at our normal table. Your uncle Barney was at the bar, hitting on some woman. Your uncle Marshall was in the bathroom. Aunt Lily and Aunt Robin were talking about something that I wasn't paying attention to, and I was trying to signal to a waitress that we were ready to order food.

At that moment, I got a text from Marshall. It said he wanted me to meet him back by the jukebox. Deciding that mine was a lost cause with the waitress, I went. When I got back to the jukebox, Marshall was bouncing from one foot to the other.

"Forget where the bathroom is?" I asked.

"Dude, look over there."

I looked in the direction he was pointing. "What am I looking for?"

"Not what. Who."

"Okay, who am-" At that moment, someone caught my eye. "Oh, my God. Is that-?"

"I think so."

"What's she doing here?"

"No idea."

"Have you talked to her? I mean, are we sure it's her?"

"I didn't want to scare her off."

"Maybe we could get Barney to-"

"Dude, I just said I didn't want to scare her off."

I laughed slightly and noticed I was doing the same bouncing thing Marshall was. And my bladder was empty.

"Okay, okay. What do we do? Do we go talk to her?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, she's a person, just like us." Marshall said. Then he looked at me, slight fear in his eyes. "Right?"

"Well, she's not a robot." I said. Then I took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go."

With that, Marshall and I walked towards her table. When we got there, we just kind of stood there, staring. She was oblivious, staring into her drink. But she must have sensed our presence, because a few seconds later, she looked up at us.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi," I said. "My name's Ted, and this is Marshall."

"Nice to meet you." she said. Her voice sounded just like it did on TV. I was almost one hundred percent certain it was her.

"I don't want to bother you, and I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but-"

"I'm not interested."

"What?"

"Look, you two seem like nice guys, but I don't want to sleep with you."

"I'm married." Marshall said.

She smiled at him. "Congratulations, man."

"And I wasn't asking to have sex with you." I said. "I just wanted to ask if you were Amy Kinser, from L.A. Detectives."

"Yeah, that's me."

Marshall and I looked at each other in shock. One of our favorite actresses from one of our favorite shows was sitting in our favorite bar.

"We are such huge fans of the show." I said.

"You're kidding."

"Why would we be kidding?" Marshall asked.

Amy propped her head up on her hand. "Just my luck," she said to her drink. "I come to the least-crowded bar in the city with the lowest ratings and stillmanage to find fans."