'How I Met Your Mother' has faced quite a bit of turnaround in the last few weeks, not only culminating in a surprise proposal from mid-season finale "The Final Page," but also from the eleventh-hour news that the cast had very likely agreed to stay on for an additional ninth season. With a new wedding to plot and an additional season to map out, where will Robin and Barney head next when the series picks up in 2013? Show-runners Carter Bays and Craig Thomas reveal what's to come inside!

Barney and Robin might have gotten back together, and even engaged, but the latest lovebirds of 'How I Met Your Mother' aren't completely out of the woods just yet. Not only do the pair have plenty of challenges in store for their proposal's aftermath, but series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas may have to shift a few things around given the recent (near) confirmation of a ninth season.

In addition to Barney needing to secure the permission of Robin's terrifying father Robin Sr. (Ray Wise), potential moves and the likely eventual inclusion of Robin's previously unseen mother, Barney and Robin will have to face a number of changes to their lifestyle to make it work.  Says Bays to TVLine:

They haven’t changed who they are as people. There’s more to [commitment] than putting on a ring and being engaged. [There's] the fact that this is it for [Barney]. He’s got to hang up his spurs and go off the range. No more one-night stands for Barney. He loves Robin enough that it’s worth it, but we’ll see him grapple with that.

There are some fun, little changes that they’re going to have to make to their personalities and how they operate. And that’s not going to be easy necessarily. Like with all things that are worthwhile, it’s a lot of work. But ultimately, they’ll be better people because of it.

Though it may seem a ways off, Bays also points out that Barney's desire for kids could come to clash with Robin's own views on children, especially given her infertility. "That’s an issue that’s going to have to come up," says the executive producer. "It’s going to have be a part of what they talk about."

'How I Met Your Mother' season 8 returns on January 14 with "Band or DJ?" but what say you? Are you happy to have Barney and Robin back together, come what may? How might the ninth season affect the pacing? Give us your predictions in the comments!

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