In no time at all, Friday night had arrived and it was time for Barney to get ready for his date.

"Hop, bop, ba-de, hop, pop a doo..." He scatted as he combed his hair with a fish skeleton. "Hop pop, ba dap, ba dee-dee do!"

"Hey Barney!" Fred banged on the door. "You coming out there or not? I gotta get in there!"

"Just a minute, Fred." Barney fixed his hair with snail slime. "You can't rush perfection."

"That is so wrong." remarked the snail as he saw Barney use his slime as gel.

After a little while, Barney had finally finished getting dressed and spruced up for his saucy rendezvous.

"How do I look, Fred?" Barney asked him. "I mean, I want her to know that I'm an all-around swell guy, but not just some average Joe. I mean, look at her! She's probably a ten and way out of my league."

"Be careful, kid." said Baby Puss. "She'll only break your heart."

"Why don't you pipe down, fuzz ball?" Fred said to the cat. "Listen Barney, if you want this woman, you gotta be smooth, stern, and let her know you mean business! The way I see it, men run things in a relationship!"

"Gee Fred, that sounds kinda mean." Barney said. "Shouldn't I just be myself?"

"Barn, when you're dating a babe, the last thing you wanna be is yourself." Fred remarked. "So, that's why I'm coming with you to make sure you don't screw it up."

"How are you going to do that, Fred?" asked Barney.

"Easy!" Fred rubbed his hands.

"This ain't gonna end well." Baby Puss deadpanned.

Meanwhile at the RV, Betty was primping her makeup for her date. She picked up a lipstick tube and colored her lips. Then, she picked up a fluffy chinchilla and puffed her face with powder.

"And for this, I went to college?" remarked the chinchilla.

"Betty, are you ready for your date?" Wilma asked her.

"Not really, Wilma." Betty said. "To tell you the truth, I'm really nervous."

"Oh Betty, don't be so hard on yourself." Wilma put her hand on Betty's shoulder. "It's only your first date."

"Probably my last one, too." Betty sighed. "What if Barney doesn't like me? What if he thinks I'm just some bimbo or just some troglodyte with a bow?"

"Betty Jean McBricker!" Wilma waved her finger at her. "You're a beautiful, talented, smart young woman! Okay, maybe not smart, but you're beautiful and talented, nonetheless and any man who cannot see that isn't worthy of your time! You're going on that date and letting that Barney guy know who you really are!"

"Okay, but how can I do that?" asked Betty. "What if I forget who I am?"

"Don't worry, Betty." Wilma advised her friend. "If that boy gives you flack, drop him like a hot potato!"

Barney and Betty went to a restaurant called, Chez Rockmore for their date. Unbeknownst to Betty, Fred was in the bushes as part of his plan to help Barney with the date. Fred had a hummingbird on his shoulder.

"Okay Barney, just repeat everything that the bug tells you." Fred whispered. "Whatever comes out of his mouth will be from me."

"Got it Fred!" Barney gave a thumbs up. "But how is that tiny hummingbird going to hear you from so far away?"

"I may be small of stature, but I have great hearing." said the hummingbird.

"Yep." Fred nodded. "He will hear everything I say and repeat back to you, so you can repeat it to Betty."

"Barney, are you coming?" asked Betty.

"Sure Betty." Barney called out. "You really think this'll work, Fred?"

"Of course, Barney." Fred said. "Nothing can go wrong."

The bird flew onto Barney's shoulder as he lead Betty into the bistro.

"Okay Barney, break a leg!" Fred went back into the bushes.

Barney and Betty went into the restaurant, sat at an outdoor table and looked at the menus.

"Check this out, Barney." Betty pointed to an item on the menu. "Aged beef."

"Boy, where did they get that, an old folks home for cows?" Barney chuckled.

Betty giggled at Barney's little joke. Outside, Fred hid in the bushes and whispered to the bird.

"Betty, to me, you're more beautiful than all the nuts and berries of the forest." Fred whispered to the bird.

The bird whispered into Barney's ear.

"Betty, to me, a nut like you should be buried in the forest." Barney misheard the bird.

"What?" Betty raised an eyebrow.

"Gee, you really messed up that one, doofus." Fred mumbled.

The bird whispered what Fred said into Barney's ear, believing it to be advice.

"Gee, you really messed up that one, doofus." Barney repeated.

"Did you just call me a doofus?" Betty asked.

"No, no, no, no!" Barney shook his head. "What I meant to say was, we'll, uh..."

While Barney struggled to fix what he said, a fly started buzzing right around Fred.

"Beat it, ya stupid insect!" Fred tried to shoo the fly away.

"Beat it, ya stupid insect." Barney parroted what Fred said.

"Barney Rubble, how dare you say such a thing to me?" Betty gasped. "I thought you were a gentlemen!"

Fred then saw a man pushing a cart with balloons on it.

"Say, those are some really balloons over there." Fred wondered as he saw them. "Maybe I'll let Dino play with them later."

"...maybe I'll let Dino play with them later?" Barney parroted to Betty.

"WHAT?!" Betty screamed.

Betty cracked her knuckles and sent Barney flying right into the bushes, where he landed onto Fred's stomach.

"I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?" He deadpanned.

Back at the trailer, the pets were watching television together.

"Dino, this show is lame." Baby Puss said. "Find something in Fred and Barney's video library."

Dino picked up a set of video stone tablets and handed them to Baby Puss.

Baby Puss read the covers. "The Rhyolites, the Pterosaur Family, the Honeymoonstones, the Granite Family? They're just reusing the same premise over and over again! What kind of sellout studio does that?"

Just then, Fred and Barney came back into the house from Barney's date. They sat right down on the couch beside the pets.

"Honk, honk!" Hoppy honked as he hopped to Barney's side.

"No Hoppy, it didn't go so well." Barney said. "In fact, it went pretty awful. Thanks a lot, Fred. I can't believe I ever thought you knew how to talk to women!"

"Hey, I was just distracted, that's all." Fred defended himself. "Not my fault you take things so literally."

"Now I'll never see Betty again." Barney sighed. "It was over before it even began."

"Don't feel bad, Barney." Fred put his hand on Barney's shoulder. "There will be other women."

"Not like Betty." Barney sighed. "She's one in a bazillion to me."

"Well, I'm no expert on romance, but from what I've learned from watching Opal Winfrey's daytime talk show, it's that if you wanna win your girl back, you've gotta run after her and let her know you mean business." The record player bird advised. "In other words, go back to your woman and explain what really happened."

"Say, that's not a bad idea!" Barney exclaimed. "I'm gonna go win her back!"

Barney then quickly ran outside to go apologize to Betty.

"Hey, how come you never help me with my problems?" Fred asked the bird.

"I'm a record player, not a miracle worker." said the bird.

Meanwhile, Betty hadn't stopped crying and whining since coming back from her date.

"Betty, you haven't stopped crying and whining since you came back from your date." Wilma said as she held Betty in her arms.

"Men are all dirt!" Betty screamed and continued sobbing. "I thought I had finally found a nice guy, but he's just like everyone else!"

"That guy just wasn't right for now, Betty." Wilma said. "You'll find someone, just not that guy."

Just then, someone knocked at the door.

"Someone's at the door, I'll go get it." Wilma walked to the door.

Wilma opened the door and saw Barney at the front.

"Um, is Betty home?" Barney asked Wilma. "I need to talk to her."

"Betty, there's someone here to see you." Wilma said. "I'm gonna go shower now."

Betty tearfully walked to the door and saw Barney with flowers.

"Barney Rubble! I thought I said I never wanted to see you again!" She angrily sobbed. "Beat it!"

"Betty, just let me explain..." Barney tried to speak up.

Betty didn't want to hear any of Barney's excuses and was about to slam the door in his face, when he stopped the door from closing with his bare foot.

"Listen Betty, I'm really sorry." Barney apologized.

"No, no, no, I'm the sorry one!" Betty retorted. "I'm sorry I ever thought you were a good person in the first place!"

"Betty listen, that wasn't the real me back there." Barney explained. "I really wanted you to like me and for the date to go really well, but I didn't think you'd like me, so I thought saying certain things to you and acting like a big shot would make you want to be with me. I just felt like I wasn't good enough for you as I was. You're just so beautiful and amazing, and I'm just plain old Barney Rubble."

Betty looked deep into Barney's round, black circular eyes, and her heart melted. She believed he was telling the truth, so she leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Barney smiled and turned slightly to go.

"Barney, wait." She stopped him.

"Yes, Betty?" Barney turned around.

Betty smiled. "There is a movie playing at the theater tomorrow and I was wondering if you'd want to..."

"Join you?" Barney cut her off.

"Yeah." Betty blushed. "Then maybe-"

"Go dancing?" Barney asked her.

Betty smiled and nodded.

Author's Note:

Well, looks like Barney and Betty are back on track! But will their love evolve? Stay tuned!