Hi again everyone, I'm back with the next chapter that I had been looking forward to writing so went through a few re-writes on this one. I hope you enjoy it.

Hey Arnold: A New Frontier

Chapter 10

Arnold set Helga's leg in a make shift splint and then secured their position as academy survival training dictated. Helga let out a wince of pain as she tried to sit herself up against the dirt wall, Arnold reached out to her "You need help Helga?" he asked concerned. She brushed away his hand, "Like you care about me football head, I know what you think of me." Arnold sat back letting out a sigh, "You really think I don't like you?" He thought back to all their time back in the academy and on his ship. "I bullied you every step of the way through the academy so why should I expect genuine compassion." He replied shocked, "Helga I don't hate you, I never have." She rolled her eyes, "Of course Mr. Perfect hates no one, always a peaceful solution to everything."

Arnold realizing they weren't going anywhere anytime soon asked, "Do you have something on your mind Helga?" "Permission to speak freely sir?" she said with a biting sarcasm. "Please do commander." He could feel tensions rising, knowing he was partly to blame for Helga being dragged from her ship to his for this mission. "You dragged us out here for a forsaken quest to find your parents onto this planet and what have we encountered? Wild pirates demanding some kind of relic who are willing to kill us to get it. You're asking your crew to put their lives on the line for two people that…" she trailed off.

He let out a sigh, "I know this mission was to find them and I know the odds are slim, but I have to find them. If I had to I would have just commandeered a shuttle to come out here." Helga blinked at hearing that, "They really must be something to risk your life over,' she noted looking down now at the ground. "Don't you care about your parents Helga?" he asked softly. "I guess technically I do, but I had a hard life growing up." "On a colony near Cardassian space?" he enquired. She looked up sharply as he held up his hands in defense. "It's in your Starfleet record." She just kept her scowl,

"Well like it's any of your business football head, but yeah I was there, I grew up on Salva II before it was turned over those bloody Cardassians, and even then my parents never really cared for me. All that attention went to my older sister Olga who left the colony at an early age to join Starfleet. I, on the other hand was left to rot on that planet till we had to leave. We moved to the colony in the Obrom system…" she trailed off again as Arnold looked on shocked.

"I'm sorry Helga, no one should have to face those kind of horrors." She started to tear up a bit as the shields she established were starting to collapse. The Obrom system had been occupied by Jem'Hadar forces during the Dominion War, and too this day three-hundred colonists are unaccounted for presumably still captive in the Gamma Quadrant. "Were... your… parents?" he said not fully sure how to ask, she just nodded a no head shake.

"Well at least they are ok." He waited to see if she would add anything more but she went silent, the memories of the event must have been too much. No wonder she put a tough front. She must have not want to put herself in that position again to open her heart Arnold thought to himself. They sat there for a while longer before Arnold broke the silence. "Well to some degree at least you knew your parents, I didn't know mine." He said in a low tone as Helga looked up a bit at him curiously now.

"Wait so this whole time?" He nodded, "They were presumed lost by Starfleet twenty years ago. I grew up with my grandparents in a boarding home in Hillwood City. I would often see the other kids with their parents and part of me never felt complete. I know my story doesn't compare to yours but…" he trailed off again but now he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Helga a little closer now comforting him patting him softly and he rested a hand on hers glad that he could open up to someone in such a way. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with feelings for his former bully. Looking into her eyes, he wondered why he never fully realized how beautiful she was. He figured to himself that the shields she put up for so long kept him from seeing her for the woman she was.

He didn't even feel himself close the gap when he found his lips within close proximity to hers. He started to press his lips against hers, but hesitated till he felt her push forward against him giving him the encouragement to proceed with a full kiss. Some sweat from their faces had seeped into the kiss, but it didn't matter as both were lost in the utter bliss of the moment. What was seconds felt like hours to Helga as her wildest dream came true for her, the love of her life was kissing her as she felt the outside world fade away and only focused on him alone.

Then suddenly a rustling sound broke them out of their trance as they turned sharply to the noise to see Gerald coming into view at the top of the hole. "You two okay down..." Gerald stopped mid sentence as he looked down seeing them nearly cuddling in the hole, "If you two want some alone time I can come back" he teased his friend and captain.

Arnold just about shot up to attention, "That won't be necessary Gerald, can you find anything to help us out of here?" Helga stayed seated rubbing her arms not sure what to feel now that she was torn from heaven. "Yeah sure, hold on," Gerald replied walking off looking for anything he could use to help Arnold and Helga. A few moments later Gerald returned with some make shift rope and tossed it down. "Helga you go first," Arnold instructed helping ease Helga safely onto the rope. Gerald strained to lift Helga from the hole but he somehow managed it and brought her up and eased her against a nearby tree so she could rest.

Gerald made it back to the hole to help Arnold, it took a little longer lifting Arnold out of the hole. "Almost there... almost..." He let out a few strained grunts as he freed Arnold from the hole and onto solid ground. Arnold patted Gerald on the shoulder "Thanks man." Gerald was breathing heavily from the workout of lifting his crew mates and smiled at his friend, "Any time man." Then something caught Gerald's attention as he looked up past Arnold. Becoming curious Arnold turned and saw a group of people before them, but the sunset obscured their features.

Then someone came up from behind them, a man who didn't seem to be like the rest. "Starfleet?" he asked excitedly as he came to Arnold noticing his command pips. "Captain it's so good to see someone from the Federation." Arnold was taken aback as he saw the man in front of him had to be his father. "What's the matter captain you seem speechless?" Arnold could only manage to utter a single word, "Dad?..."

Well well well, it seems he finally found who he was looking forward but not after having an intimate moment with Helga. This one thing that stood out in how I wanted to tell this store was so have Helga raised on a colony near Cardassian space as she reminded me so much of Ensign Ro who was also rough around the edges but had a good heart.

See you in the next chapter.