"You see, kids, right from the moment I met your mom, I knew I had to love this woman as much as I can for as long as I can and I can never stop loving her, not even for a second. I carried that lesson through every fight we had ... and I carried it with me when she got sick. Even then, in what can only be called the worst of times, all I could do was thank God, every God there is or every was or will be, and the whole universe and everyone else I could possibly thank, that I saw that beautiful girl on that train platform, and that I had the guts to stand up and walk up and tap her on the shoulder and open my mouth and speak."

Platform scene. Yellow umbrella. Train rushes by.

Fade to black. Silence.

"And that, kids, is how I met your Mother." [Bob Saget's voice, of course].

His voice breaks. The laugh track is turned completely off.

Grey-haired Ted is quietly contemplating the memory. Far-off stare. It's a moment of quiet reflection where Ted's life with the Mother, his one true love, is celebrated.

"I miss her too, dad."

[Insert dialog] [They're a bit worried about him.] [I'll leave the dialog to Carter & Bays.]

[Eventually...]

Kids: I didn't know you were so close to your friends before you met Mom..."

Ted, wistful: "Yeah, Teddy Westside and his gang really had the run of that town... It's been different since your mom died."

Kids: "You should go into the city soon. It would be good for you to see your old friends more often. They'd like it too."

Ted: "I should. These were really good memories, and I'm glad I get to share them with you. It's been too long."

Kids leave, joking with their dad about the length of his story.

Two framed photos are on Ted's desk. One is the picture that Tracy took of the gang in MacLaren's. He picks up the other one.

Ted leans back in his chair, smile on his face, looking at a beautiful picture of his wife.

Fade to black. End of the show.

.

"Epilogue"

Some time later. Ted, alone. A quiet, melancholy walk through the New York City night.

He walks by MacLaren's. Walks past the Bakery. Ted touches the base of the GNB building, and looks up at his skyscraper. He looks down; a plaque: "Former Site of the Arcadian Hotel".

Places where Ted remembers the mother. First kiss. Maybe play some flashbacks, maybe not. Ted's certainly having flashbacks.

Central Park. Moon reflecting off the lake. That beautiful song she strums on the ukulele starts playing.

Ted talks to the mother in the sky, just how she talked to her first love Max. "I'm caught in the past. Caught in my stories. You warned me, but I'm stuck. What do I do?"

Fade in. Ted walking through the city again, then stops. Turns and looks up. Then, and only then, you realize he's under Robin's window.

"I couldn't find a blue French horn. Everyone has them under lock and key these days. Can I still come up?"

Robin smiles from the window. She buzzes the door.

Ted pauses briefly as he grabs the doorknob. Is he ready? He looks out at the city.

A gust of wind in the leaves.

Ted Mosby walks up the stairs. The camera pans out to the NYC skyline.

Fade to black. "Da, da da, da da da da da da da da daaaaaaaa".