Jess gets jealous when Winston joins her troubled-youth handbell quartet and instantly becomes a natural. Meanwhile Nick and Schmidt engage in class warfare when the toilet breaks and they each have their own idea of how to get it fixed.

When Schmidt's plans for his 29th birthday fall apart, Jess takes charge and enlists the help of her school's party hungry vice-principal. Meanwhile, Nick begrudgingly has his first date at Schmidt's party with a beautiful lawyer who harbors a secret, and the gang wonders who placed a 50 dollar bill in the douchebag jar.

A nervous Jess invites Russell to spend the weekend at the loft, and her fears are amplified when he gets along better with the guys than she hoped. Meanwhile, Winston begins work at a sports radio station, but quickly finds out his boss is more of a shock jock, and Nick tries to make an invention from his "Idea Notebook" into a reality.

When the gang attempts to juggle multiple holiday parties in one night, Jess tries to avoid a remorseful Sam, Nick tries to keep up with a sexually adventurous Angie and Winston panics when he gets a cranberry stuck in his ear.

When a death occurs in Nick's family, Jess, Schmidt and Winston travel with Nick to the Windy City to help him with the funeral preparations and meet his boisterous family members, including his mom, Bonnie; his younger brother, Jamie; and his Boston cousin, Bobby.

Thinking Schmidt has chosen to be with Cece, Jess and Nick invite him to go on a double date with them. Nick is caught between loyalty to his friend and loyalty to his girlfriend when he finds out a shocking secret. Meanwhile, Winston promises to get the foursome a table at an ultra-exclusive restaurant that doesn’t take reservations.

Jess panics when her sister, Abby decides to stay in Los Angeles and sets her eyes on one of the loftmates. Meanwhile, Winston procrastinates about checking his test results for the LAPD entrance exam

Jess and Nick invite the gang along with them on a cruise they booked while still together as a couple.

Reagan challenges Nick and Winston's indecisiveness when she says she will sleep with only one of them; while looking at wedding venues with Cece, Schmidt runs into his college frenemy, Benjamin.

Schmidt makes a last ditch effort to convince Cece's mom to come to their wedding, but in doing so, he might miss the special day himself.

Jess tries anything and everything to get her mind off of Nick, who returns from his summer in New Orleans sooner than anticipated. Meanwhile, Schmidt and Cece struggle in the search for their first home and Winston deals with having a long-distance relationship with Aly.

Jess avoids her feelings for Nick by taking care of her dad in Portland. While attending a work party with Reagan, Nick panics that they really don't know each other. Meanwhile, Aly prepares to meet Winston's mom for the first time, as Winston admits he hasn't told her they are cops.