AN: thank you to those of you that read and reviewed by first fanfic! :) So this new one takes place in the far future. After they get married and all that good stuff.

And I don't own Hey Arnold!

Arnold's arms hung limply at his sides. His right hand clinched tight around a bouquet of yellow daisies. He took a deep breath and coughed as the smell of bleach and alcohol overwhelmed his nose. For how much longer could he keep this up, really? The painful visits to the hospital that consisted of Arnold arranging flowers on the bed side table and ending with a tearful good bye to the wall. The doctors insisted she could hear him and recognize his voice but every time he opened his mouth, Arnold felt foolish. He didn't even have the heart to bring Franny anymore. Not that she really wanted to come visit in the first place.

He knew he had to make a decision. Now. Why did Helga have to leave him with such a heavy burden? The choice he had to make was bigger than he wanted to admit. Screw the deadline, damn it! he thought. The young man's heart stayed on the first floor of the hospital as the elevator climbed upwards. He rubbed the back of his neck while the door opened to reveal his floor. Arnold swallowed hard. How could this have been thrust in my hands? The doors closed once again and he randomly pressed the buttons to each floor, as if he were going to play elevator races with Gerald for the last time. He would ride the elevator until he was good and ready to face the doctors. He would ride it until he knew how to explain things to Franny. As the elevator began to move once more, Arnold sunk to the floor and leaned his head against the wall. He would ride it until he was ready to face the love of his life. This should not have been placed on me. He placed the flowers on his knees, closed his eyes, and let his mind wander.

Arnold had always thought Helga was a fascinating creature. No. Not was. She is. He corrected himself. She is certainly too complex for one person to handle alone. One of the first things he spotted about her was how… aware she seemed about the rest of the world. He certainly did not have a firm grip on reality at the age of three and it seemed odd to the little boy that someone could look so sad; as though she had seen and felt things she shouldn't have. That first day of preschool, it seemed to the boy that little Helga had had more than her fair share of toddler troubles. The only thought the football headed kid was thinking at the time was to cheer up this mud splattered girl. Who walks in the rain? he thought to himself. She'll get sick. He out stretched his umbrella with the smile; little did he know that Helga would need him for more than to get out of the rain. Even then, Arnold knew there was more to Helga than the bully that tormented the preschoolers. He knew it! He had seen her nice and shy outside in the rain and he didn't understand why she had jumped on top of that boy. At that point, young Arnold was utterly confused. What had happened to the girl with the pink bow?

I shouldn't have given her my crackers. She's acting mean…

Little Arnold turned to the sound of laughter in the corner. There was a little girl wearing glasses and a blue sweater sitting on the floor, hiding her face. A taller girl in pig tails and a red top had a finger pointed jeeringly at the smaller girl.

"You're a four eyes!" the girl in red laughed, her pigtails flapping on her head. "A geek!"

"Shut up Rhonda or you'll have a taste of Old Betsy, too!" Helga jumped in front of the quivering girl and pressed her nose into Rhonda's.

"Leave her alone geek bait!"

With that, Rhonda had strutted away with her head held high. Helga sat down next to Pheobe. "Don't worry" she said with a smirk, "they're a bunch of losers with paste for brains." She turned her head almost completely around and looked Arnold square in the eye. Arnold had to gasp; Helga's big blue eyes were full of anger. Helga had stuck out her tongue at him and blew him the grossest raspberry she could muster.

"Mr. Shortman?" Arnold was called back to reality by a nurse. The young man looked up in a at Helga's nurse in a daze. He hadn't even realized the moment the elevator door had opened.

"Hello, Lydia." He whispered so low she probably didn't hear.

"The doctor. She ready for you," Nurse Lydia said in a heavy Mexican accent. She outstretched her hand toward Arnold. He took it and almost got dizzy from the rush of blood to his head as he stood up. The kind nurse put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's time." She took him by the arm and led him off the elevator. She took the flowers out of Arnold's hand. She could see that he could hardly put on foot in front of the other. The walk to the doctor's office seemed endless. The fluorescent lights overhead where making Arnold see spots on the floor.

They finally arrived at the end of the hallway to the doctor's private office. Who many times has she delivered bad news to families in that room? Does it get any easier with practice?

"Go. Inside." Lydia gave him a soft push on the back as she sung open the door and slipped away.

Arnold stepped inside the tiny room and tried to compose himself.

"Hello, Arnold," said the doctor with a weak smile.

Arnold 'scratched' at his eye as he said with a breaking voice:

"Hello, Pheobe."

*This would only be the first chapter so i would like to know what you all think and I'll keep writing chapters :) Thanks!