….

PHOEBE:

….

She sat in the toilet holding her breath and staring hard at the pregnancy test in her hand.

She was praying for a negative.

Her and Paul had broken up two weeks ago, so having a baby with him now would be more than a little awkward to say the least. Especially as he had gone back to his wife, whom Phoebe hadn't known about til she showed up at her house screaming abuse at her. Phoebe had called the police, and they came and talked Paul's wife from leaving, and Phoebe had her issued with a trespass notice.

Paul had come around later that day claiming he didn't love her, he loved Phoebe and was going to leave his wife for her.

Phoebe had told him where to go, and what to do when he got there, slammed the door in his face and spent the whole weekend after that crying and eating junk food. She didn't leave the house, and her work colleague had come around to try and cheer her up.

"He's a waste of space anyway," she told her. "Don't even shed another tear over him. He's gone back to his wife and the silly cow took him back. He's her problem now."

Phoebe agreed with her. She then informed her parents that the wonderful man she had spent the better part of the year dating would not be coming. She didn't tell them the full story, but just that it hadn't worked out.

"Oh, sweetie, what a shame," her mom had said sympathetically.

A week before she was due to head back to Hillwood for Christmas, she had seen pictures of Helga and a co-star splashed all over the gossip magazines.

"HOMEWREAKER PATAKI!" "CHEATING SCANDEL" and all sorts of other such headlines.

She had tried to get hold of Helga, but her phone was off. She could relate well to what Helga was going through. Phoebe had put up with weeks of Paul's wife's friend's ringing her up and harassing her, or coming to her place of work to abuse her and call her all sorts of names in front of patients. They had defaced her property as well.

Phoebe was considering not coming back. She could find work easily enough back in Hillwood. She had been looking.

"Come on, come on," she whispered. So far, only one line. Growling she put it on the windowsill, flushed the toilet, washed her hands and went and made a coffee. When she finished she went back and looked at the test.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you GOD!" she yelled at the top of her voice, jumping around like a loon. Still only one line, and this was her third test in a week.

She wasn't pregnant!

…...

GERALD:

…..

He turned off his mic. He'd gotten the job as a DJ for the local radio station on his University campus. He had work experience behind the camera as well, on the campus news show. He was well liked, and had an internship at a bigger station coming up. But first, home to Hillwood for Christmas. He'd already been home two days, when he saw the paper with pictures of Arnold and Helga leaving a resturant on the front of it.

"Oh, isn't that the girl who used to pick on you boys in school?" Jamie O had asked.

Gerald had nodded. Out of all of the old class, Helga had, strangely enough, become the most successful. And it hadn't sat well with everyone.

Rhonda had been absolutely livid.

"I cant believe her of all people becoming famous," she complained snootily. "And for what?"

"She's said to be one of the best actress's in the business," Eugene had said. "Everyone is wanting her to star in their films. She's big money."

Rhonda had continued to wax outrage at the whole turn of events. Lila was quietly pleased to see everything work out well for Helga, and had even exchanged letters now and then, but not often. Helga was always on the move and always changing her email address, and they'd lost contact.

It would be nice to catch up though, now that she was in Hillwood.

Gerald sighed and looked at his phone. He had missed a call from Arnold. He sent him a quick text message, asking if it was alright to stop by the boarding house that night to catch up. Twenty minutes later he got a text back saying he looked forward to it.

Gerald smiled. He wondered if Arnold had heard anything from Phoebe.

…

PHOEBE

…..

Phoebe and her mother sat in her old childhood room and talked. Her father had gone out to do some last minute Christmas shopping.

"So he was married?" her mother asked, shocked.

Phoebe nodded, causing the tears in her eyes to roll down her cheeks.

"Oh my word!" her mother exclaimed. "And you didn't know?"

"Not until she showed up ranting and raving," Phoebe told her. "Please don't tell Dad."

"Of course not, dear," she said, wrapping her arms around her lightly sobbing daughters shoulders. "Sounds like your little friend, Helga, is having a similar problem."

"I know. I'm waiting to hear from her. I know she is back in Hillwood, but I changed my number and I couldn't get it to her."

"Well, rumor has it your other little friend Arnold has been in touch," her mother informed her. "Maybe he has a way to contact her?"

Phoebe grimaced. She wasn't one hundred percent sold on the idea of contacting Arnold, in case that put her in contact with Gerald. She still felt a tug of guilt whenever she thought back to how it all ended between the two of them. It had been a great big misunderstanding, but after all was said and done, they had called it quits. They just couldn't get past the supposed betrayal.

"Maybe when your older and wiser, you guys will figure it out," Helga had said at the time, while staring off into the distance with her "Arnold" face on. It always surprised Phoebe how wise Helga was with everyone else's relationships, but so completely hopeless with her own.

Her mother was right, though. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to drop by and see Arnold and get Helga's details.

…..

GERALD

….

"Wow, man, just wow," Gerald said, sitting back. "How did I miss all this?"

Arnold shrugged. "It happens."

"So the grandparents aren't gonna come after him or anything?" he asked.

"Legally they can't," Arnold said, watching his son play with his trains.

"That sucks for him," Gerald said. "Not that they sounded like prizes or anything."

Again, Arnold just shrugged. Gerald felt like a lousy friend. It wasn't like he had deliberately lost contact with Arnold, but between University, working, and Frat and friends, the contact just dwindled to the obligation "Happy Birthday / Holidays" emails. Sounded like Arnold had had a hard time, and really could have done with Gerald by his side. No wonder the guy was back here.

There was a knock on the door, and Suzie rushed to answer it.

"Arnold?" she called in. "There's a young woman here to see you. Phoebe?"

Gerald's eyes went wide. He watched as Arnold got up to go and greet her, then as he brought her into the living room. Gerald's heart stopped beating for a moment. Phoebe had always managed to take his breath away. To cover it up, he would always go into suave mode. But not this time. So long apart had rendered him powerless and thoughtless at the sight of her.

"Hello Gerald," she said awkwardly.

"Hey," he said.

"So, uh, Helga's contact details, right?" Arnold asked, looking to Phoebe. "I'll just go get my phone. Which is on my room. Now."

Gerald resisted the urge to smile and laugh. He knew for a fact that Arnold had his phone in his pocket.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Good. And you?" she replied with.

"Yeah, yeah, good," he answered.

Silence descended and Phoebe took to looking around the room, which had been decorated for Christmas. After a few more minutes Arnold came back with a slip of paper, which he handed to Phoebe.

"Here," he said.

"Thankyou," she said quietly, taking the paper from him.

"Will we see you at Rhonda's Christmas party?" Gerald asked.

"I'm not sure at this time," Phoebe said. "I'll see. Thank you very much, Arnold."

She turned and Arnold followed, who looked back at Gerald curiously, then let her out.

"What was that?" Arnold demanded, coming back in.

"What was what?" Gerald asked, trying to act like nothing awkward had happened.

"You know what," Arnold said. "What happened between you two?"

Gerald sighed.

"Come on, Gerald, I filled you in. your turn."

"We had a misunderstanding a few years back. After Uni started," he admitted.

"What happened?" Arnold asked.

"I heard she was seeing someone, and accused her, and she had heard I had been sneaking around behind her back and she accused me, and it was all a big mess, that ended in us deciding to quit before we ended up hating each other," Gerald told him.

"Okay."

"It's a really long story, Arnold, and don't you have a date with a celebrity tonight?" he asked, trying to throw Arnold off.

"Oh, right," he said, jumping off the couch. Gerald watched as he stood there a moment. "So I guess I'll see you at Rhonda's party then?"

"Yes, indeed you will," Gerald said, getting up himself. "I can let myself out."

Arnold just nodded.

Gerald sighed and walked out the door to see Phoebe standing a few houses down turning almost in circles like she was lost or something.

"Phoebe?" Gerald asked. He watched as she jumped, and slipped in the snow to land on her bum. He rushed over and offered her a hand. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, I was just debating with myself," she said. She looked up into his eyes and his heart melted.

'Man, I'm like a chick or something,' he thought, smiling.

"Want to go get a hot chocolate or something?" he asked.

Phoebe smiled. "I'd like that."

…..

PHOEBE

…

Phoebe was debating wether or not to go back to the boarding house and maybe attempt conversation with Gerald.

"No, I can't," she said, turning away again. "But then . . ."

"Phoebe?" she heard a voice ask suddenly. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't heard anyone come up behind her! She jumped and turned and, to her humiliation, slipped and fell on her bum.

Oh God, Gerald! She though. Of all the people for her to slip over in front of!

He came over and offered her a hand up. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, I was just debating with myself," she confessed. They were silent as she looked into his eyes and . . . Oh, no, not again! How could she fall back in love with him so fast! She could feel it.

"Want to get a hot chocolate or something?" he asked warmly, his beautiful brown eyes softening.

"I'd like that," she said, smiling. 'And a lot more!' she thought silently.

God, but he was sexy! And all the memories of their time shared together were starting to creep out of the basement of her memory bank, and threatening to run amok.

"Slaucen's does more than just ice cream these days. Had to expand to survive the winter month's, I guess," he told her.

She just nodded. Every fibre in her being was screaming with desire. What was wrong with her? It wasn't like she had been deprived of male attention.

'No, just Gerald's,' the little girl in her whispered. 'He's all you ever wanted, Phoebe, admit it!' a voice, that sounded strangely like Helga yelled in her mind.

….

GERALD

…

Waking up the next morning Gerald smiled. It had been a wonderful evening the night before, that ended perfectly.

And by perfectly, he meant Phoebe in his arms, to his bed, where she still lay fast asleep. He leaned on his side and watched her sleep, pushing back a strand of hair from her face.

Perfect.

…

PHOEBE

….

She had finally gotten up, had a shower and breakfast with Gerald, and gotten hold of Helga, who was delighted to hear from her. Helga had sent a car over to pick her up.

"No best friend of mine is walking through this second ice age!" Helga declared.

Now she was sitting in the back of a limo, being whisked to the apartment where Helga was staying.

And what an apartment! Helga had done incredibly well for herself, and Phoebe couldn't have been more proud.

When she arrived she was hugged so hard, she heard her spine crack.

"Argh! I've missed you so much!" Helga gushed, kissing Phoebe's cheek. Phoebe laughed and hugged Helga back. "Come in, come on, here have a drink!"

Phoebe took a sip. Champaign? This early? Helga had some cheese and crackers laid out on the coffee table.

"So, tell me all about last night!" she demanded, sitting on the couch and curling her legs under her bum, and looking all expectant.

"I should be asking you about Arnold!" Phoebe cried. Helga waved her hand.

"A friend doing another friend a favour," she said dismissively. "Tell me, tell me, tell me! And what happened to that doctor you were dating?"

"He was a married man," Phoebe told her. "I found out only when his wife showed up on my doorstep abusing me."

Helga's mouth dropped open.

"Oh my God! Are you serious?" she asked, shocked.

"What about you?" Phoebe asked.

"Some idiot wanting to get rich quick, told a fib to a tabloid and used photo's of us kissing from the film. His camp aren't going to deny anything. The publicity is just too good!"

"Oh. That sucks," Phoebe said. Helga shrugged.

"Part and parcel," she said. "So? Gerald?"

"Oh, yeah, uh, I bumped into him yesterday at the Boarding House, when I was getting your details off Arnold, and then I left, but was debating with myself over wether I should go back, when he popped up behind me, said my name, I turned and fell. Both literally and figuratively," Phoebe told her. "Oh, Helga, I'm in love with him all over again!"

Helga sighed.

"You were never out of love with him, Pheebs," she told her oldest and dearest friend.

"I suppose not," Phoebe admitted. "It was just so complicated."

"Everything is," Helga said.