We're back again folks, continuing our journey into the twisted reality time paradox in which our pal Brainy has created for us. What, oh what, will come out this time?

And I want to assure you all, that neither Arnold or Helga cheat on their spouses. Yes, they are subconsciously in love with each other, as we've seen in the previous instalments, and have growing chemistry galore, but I want to assure you all that they don't each on their respective spouses. What's going to happen? You'll see!

For now, there WILL be chemistry. OwO

So, sit back and enjoy the ride.

This story is dedicated to my awesome buddy One Fine Wire who has been a tremendous help to me. :) :D And also dedicated to all of you who take the time to read this and my other stories, so thank you!

There are a couple of Silent Hill 4: The Room references in here. See if you can find them. :D

XXX

It had been a few months since the rather tragic turn of events had taken place. The too-soon passing of little baby Francesca Marie Shortman-McDougal was still to that day three months later a tragic time in their lives. Her funeral was held, and her memory was honoured as it should have been. The tragedy still continued to loom over their heads, but the much-needed closure and memorial keepsakes helped to make it all right. As much as it could be, of course.

Brainy, who had since completed the program and had become a doctor at the hospital now, was now Dr. Brian Williams, and was working under Stella's wing a lot more often. Because of that, she offered little updates on how Arnold and Ruth were doing, and even Helga sometimes would call them to check on them and offer them anything they needed. Stella didn't reveal too much, which Brainy of course understood, but was glad to know that things were...as well as could be, in a way. The two of them were still distraught over the loss of their daughter, and were unsure if they were ready to conceive again. Ruth went back to her job at the hairdresser, and Arnold continued teaching. They weren't sunshine and rainbows, but they were doing a bit better since the tragic night.

Brainy did casually enquire how their marriage was doing, considering how Stella had mentioned that it could lead to the downfall of their marriage, and was curious to know if things were going to be okay or not.

"Honestly Brian, I couldn't say for sure. I have a feeling there's a lot of rocks and rifts between them in that sense, but they do care about each other and are trying to get through everything somehow. Whatever does happen, well...Miles and I will be there for them every step of the way. They have been to marital counseling with our own Dr. Bartlett here, and he's helped them a lot, but they're still seeing where things will go and what they can do." She'd said.

Brainy let the information sink in, and although even he didn't know what to expect, wished them the best none the less. He still felt responsible for this, his own selfish desires were what brought this on, and he knew it more than ever. He just wondered what was going to happen next.

His answer came when Stella just now invited him and Helga to join her (Stella), Miles, Arnold and Ruth for dinner the next evening.

"Are you sure Dr. Short-...sorry, Stella?" Brainy asked in surprise. "We wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense, Brian!" Stella waved it off. "We want you two to come. In fact, it was Arnold and Ruth who suggested it, they wanted to really thank you for everything you two have done for them. And well, I definitely wanted to invite you both along for the same reasons. This is a little pick-me-up for them anyway, and I know they'd be thrilled if you two came along."

And I wonder why. Brainy thought. "We'd be happy to come. I'll just run it by Helga when I get home, and we'll call you either tonight or tomorrow."

"Great! We have reservations for Chez Paris tomorrow night at 7:30." Stella informed him. "That being said, you ready to get to work, Brian?" She grinned at him and patted his back. "Or should I say...Dr. Williams?"

Brainy grinned, hanging his stethoscope around his neck. "Sounds good, Stella."

Chez Paris. Absolutely ironic. The place where Arnold and Helga had had their first date, despite that Arnold didn't even know that Cecile was Helga all along. Chez Pierre, right across from Chez Paris, was the place where Arnold's then-crush on Ruth had ended. It was that night at Chez Paris that Arnold had fallen in love with the Cecile imposter, when really, he had fallen in love with Helga. She had shown her true colours to him, being herself, despite that she was hiding under a disguise. And even when he found out she was an imposter, he was still enchanted by her.

And now, the next evening, they would all be going there. The one place where Arnold realized that love at first sight did exist. The one place where he fell in love with her and didn't realize who she was until so much later. It was also the same place where she, Arnold, Gerald and Phoebe had gone there for dinner when really the tickets Helga had won were for Chez Pierre.

"Where else am I going to find a girl who dresses up as my pen pal just to get a date with me?" Arnold had said.

Brainy knew the answer to that one all too well.

XXX

"Sooooooooo! They want us to join 'em for dinner, huh?" Helga queried with a smile after Brainy had told her the news. "Sounds like a plan to me! It's been a while since I'd been to Chez Paris."

Brainy nearly felt a stab of both guilt and mild jealousy, only to realize that she was referring to the fact that sometimes her associates and boss would sometimes take her and some of her colleagues out to Chez Paris for dinner sometimes. He had taken her to Chez Pierre one time, since he knew that he couldn't take her to Chez Paris, it would be too much. But now, they were going. Together, and with Arnold actually present.

"Yeah, it'll be fun." Brainy finally said. "The reservation is for 7:30 tomorrow, I'll have to take the evening off, but it shouldn't be a problem, I'll be able to get Dr. Jensen to replace me, and then I can work overtime this week."

"Great! Then it's a triple date." Helga giggled, and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm gonna go shower now. Care to join me?"

Would he ever! But he recalled how awkward and strange he felt the first time they had actually made love, just three months ago. Seeing a naked woman for real and not just from his pseudo memories was a foreign sight to him, especially when he was both used to her nine-ten year old body and not seeing any sign of the no-no parts or any exposed areas. Helga was puzzled at how awkward and surprised he seemed, as if it were his first time ever. And in a matter of speaking, it was.

But, since then, he pulled through and got used to it. Despite that even now it still overwhelmed and even scared his ten-year-old brain, but it was a lot easier now. He felt privileged to do this with such a beautiful woman with a very nice body, with Helga of all people. But there was also one more problem. And that was the obvious fact of what he had done to obtain this, and what prices had to be paid to get to it. So at times it was hard to escape and let it all come out, because all he could think of was how wrong this was. Wrong in about five different ways.

So, Brainy just shook his head. "Nah, I have a lot of work to do. Maybe next time, there's always tomorrow, when we have to instigate the preparation process."

"Whatever you say, B-rye." Helga kissed him sweetly and then went down to the bedroom.

He smiled after her, and then went to his office to get some work done.

It was then that his phone rang. But he didn't recognize the number, which puzzled him. Maybe it was a patient? No, a patient would be told to call his work phone, and this was his home phone.

Still, he sat at his desk and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Dr. Brian Williams?" Came a male voice.

Puzzled, Brainy shifted the phone to his other ear. "Yes, this is he."

"I am Troy McDougal, I believe you were associated with my daughter, Ruth? And you have tried to contact us?"

Yeah, I only tried contacting you four months ago, you jerk. Brainy wanted to say, but he maintained his professional approach. "I did, Mr. McDougal. It was concerning your daughter and the results of her delivery."

"I do apologize, Williams. Gretchen and I were quite busy with our hectic schedules and had no time to get back to you. Stella has gotten through to us, and told us to call you as well." Troy murmured, sounding condescending.

"I see. Then I suppose you know of how your granddaughter had sadly been a stillborn. I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr. McDougal."

"Don't even say such foolish things, Williams. It's all the same. If not for that foolish teacher my daughter married, we would have our wonderful grandchild to one day become my successor."

Brainy wasn't a violent person, especially when he'd dealt with Helga's fist most of his life, but he wanted to reach through the phone and punch this guy square in the face. How he could say such things was beyond him. This isn't about you, you high and mighty corporate jerk. You weren't there when your daughter needed you, and instead you pass the blame on Arnold when he was nowhere near at fault for Francesca's unfortunate death. "With all due respect Mr. McDougal, the death of Francesca was nobody's fault. It was complications within the womb and the birth itself, since-"

"I rather tire of the fact that you think you're so smart because you're a doctor, Williams." Troy said nastily on the other line. "Good day."

Click.

Brainy stared at the phone, and then placed it back on its cradle. "Good day to you too, asshole." It didn't even occur to him that he had actually used a swear word. He just couldn't believe the gull Ruth's father had to behave in such a way. This was such a calamity.

"Brian!" Helga called from the other room. "Did you buy the fruit blend shampoo like I asked? I can't find it."

That's the shampoo Arnold always used...not that she knows that. Brainy thought, and called back to his wife. "Yes, it's in the hallway closet!"

"Okay, thanks!"

"You're welcome!"

Leaning back in his chair, the platinum-blonde man took off his glasses and rubbed his face, looking at the ceiling, before sitting up straight and leaning over his desk, dangling his glasses in his hand. Brainy felt so unsure of what to do about everything happening. Moreover, what was going to come to happen? How would things turn out in the future? No one knew that for sure, he certainly didn't.

Look at yourself, Brainy. You've become such a selfish moron. He could hear the voice of his nine-year-old self say at the back of his mind. You were just fine, you know. You were happy for them, and more than willing to move on and let Helga be happy. Now look at her.

But she is happy. I'd know it if she wasn't.

No, she's not. Not entirely. She does have a good life with you and she cares about you very much. But she loves Arnold, you know.

I do know that. But she won't suffer, I know she won't.

Maybe she won't suffer entirely, but he's her true love whether she knows it or not. She's going to live the rest of her life here, with an empty void in her heart. A void only Arnold can fill. You know he and Ruth will end up divorcing. He's not happy with her. Don't you want his happiness too?

Of course I do. I would never wish for him to have an unhappy life. Ever.

You're doing that by being married to Helga. He never knew what it was like to be in love. He never knew what kind of woman he truly wants and needs. He never knew that Helga is in fact the perfect woman for him. He'll never find another woman like her, ever.

I can't just divorce Helga and wait for Arnold to divorce Ruth for that reason. It doesn't work that way.

I never said you should do that. But you can do the right thing.

"Oh God." Brainy sighed, palming his face. "Having an argument with myself about all of this..."

"Did you say something, honey?" Helga asked as she poked her head in, having been walking by on her way back to the master bathroom.

Brainy smiled and put his glasses back on. "No, Helga. I was thinking out loud." Big time. Big time thinking out loud.

XXX

It was the fateful night at Chez Paris, having dinner with Miles, Stella, Arnold and Ruth. Brainy wasn't sure if he'd been looking forward to it, because he knew all too well that it would be a very pleasant evening and would probably go very well, or if he was dreading it considering the circumstances at hand. But of course, he knew they had to go through with it. It would be rude and pretty sad to suddenly drop out of it. And he certainly couldn't now.

They had just arrived, and met with the Shortman family at the table for six they had reserved, all dressed in their best. Arnold was wearing a simple but still formal suit with a bright blue necktie, and still of course left his hair unruly as always. Ruth looked lovely in a golden cocktail dress, which did well to flatter and compliment her body, despite that she was still some ways off from losing the post-pregnancy weight, and had her hair up in a bun with two chopsticks holding it. Stella had on an elegant lime green dress, and a couple of gold and silver accessories, with some simple makeup. Miles, like his son, wore a casual yet formal suit, only his was dark gray while Arnold's was black, and his necktie was black and white like piano keys. Brainy himself was in a white dress shirt, a black vest, and dark pants, along with a red tie. Helga had teased him about looking like one of the waiters of the place, to which he just laughed at. Helga was lovely in a pink short-sleeved dress that went to her knees, a golden chain belt around her waist, along with an ivory spangle bracelet on each wrist, with her long blonde hair set down in waves and light layers along her shoulders and down her back, with some light makeup.

Much to Brainy's mild surprise, the seating arrangement had had Helga at one end of the table, he was next to her, and next to him was Stella. Arnold sat across from Helga, Ruth was next to him, and Miles was next to her.

Everything was going just fine, despite that Brainy sometimes silently kept an eye on his wife and Arnold, who sometimes made small talk with each other, but were sometimes glancing away from each other shyly. It wasn't until Arnold was telling her (and anyone who was listening) a funny story about how Ruth's father, Troy, had actually tried to sue him and his family, as well as the hospital because of the death of Francesca. It wasn't funny in THAT sense, but what was hilarious was that the McDougal's lawyer found it to be a ridiculous case of nothing but pettiness and to mention the fact that a stillborn baby was nobody's fault. The funny part of it did break the ice and got everyone at the table laughing, at least!

"Oh, I can just see that phone call!" Helga laughed, and held her hand to the side of her face in a phone pantomime. "'Hello lawyer, I have to sue my son-in-law, his family and the hospital because my granddaughter was a stillborn and it was all his fault. ...Hello? Hello?' I bet you his lawyer was laughing his head off!"

Ruth giggled at that, and Arnold laughed heartily at Helga's humour. "That's pretty much what happened." He remarked.

Brainy was glad to see them smiling and laughing, even after everything that had occurred a few months ago, and even before and now. Still, he couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety as Arnold now looked toward Helga fondly with a smile as he managed to stop laughing, while she was practically beaming at him before she went on to talk about a funny situation that had occurred one time while she was waiting for a court case to come back into session. He listened to her every word, his green eyes clear and attentive, proving to Brainy that he was still the great listener.

"-And then Paul went over to Vince, and just flat out said 'Hey Vinny, I'm sorry that you couldn't keep your personal opinion of me outside the workplace where it belongs. And by the way, I'm married.' That was the best comeback ever!"

"Helga that's just so awful!" Arnold couldn't keep from laughing. "Amazing how Paul was so professional but still offering a big slap to Vince's face like that!"

"I know!" Helga broke into a fit of giggles and took a sip of her soda to calm herself a bit. She wasn't much of an alcoholic drinker, even though she did like her fair share of alcoholic drinks, but usually opted for something like soda or juice. But she wanted to be the designated driver that evening, anyway. "It was just so damn hilarious."

"Actually, now that I think about it, we once had a pretty terrible teacher back at school, her name was Velma Rubinstein, and she was a cold, hard, bitter lady and she hated teaching, and just knew how to treat children like dirt and have no respect for their intelligence." Arnold recalled, and made a face. "Horrible woman. I couldn't stand to be in the same room as her for five minutes."

"I remember her." Ruth chimed in, grimacing. "I had to bring my niece, or rather, my cousin's daughter, who goes to P.S. 118 in my cousin's place because she had a last minute emergency to attend to at the hospital, and my niece, her name is Phyllis, had Miss Rubinstein at the time. She was a horrid woman, and I didn't like the way she spoke to me or Phyllis. Like Arnold said, she had no respect for her or any of the intelligence that her students had. And her hair was horrible, just horrible, as if she hadn't maintained it in months." She turned to Brainy then. "My cousin, Dr. Katherine Loomis, actually works at the Hillwood Hospital. She's a surgeon and a paediatrician. Have you met her?"

"Yes!" Brainy said, and nodded. "Stella and I worked with her last week, actually, when she had to perform a biopsy and needed some extra help because she was new to that form of medical work. Very nice woman, she was a pleasure to work with."

"Small world! That's pretty neat." Helga remarked with a grin, before turning back to Ruth and Arnold. "Man, that woman sounds like quite a bitch! ...Excuse my language. No wait, I don't think I'm sorry."

Arnold laughed. "It's okay, even that word is way too good for her. Velma was in her early thirties, and just downright hateful. And on top of that, she was a religious fanatatic. Did you ever see the movie adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist?"

Helga eagerly nodded. "Of course! And I've read the original short story, too. I think I get where you're going with this. She reminded you of Mrs. Carmody, didn't she?"

"Oh yeah, she was Mrs. Carmody in the flesh. Anyway, so one time Velma was talking badly about one of our newer teachers at the time, Eileen Galvin. She moved here from Maine, and she had just started teaching, and was transferred here to P.S. 118. She's a very nice woman and an excellent teacher, and also is great with kids. Velma didn't like her one bit just because she wasn't Christian, and also because everyone liked her a lot more."

"Talk about bitchy vanity." Helga grimaced, and ushered her plate aside, propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her folded hands. "How'd Eileen react to it all?"

"Eileen isn't a confrontational person, but she did often ask Velma to stop acting like that toward her while they were at work. So this one day, Velma was in the teacher's lounge, ranting to the school secretary about Eileen and how she was an blasphemous Atheist and other nonsensical stuff. Then she stooped to a whole new low when she said that Eileen's boyfriend, who's name is Henry, deserved someone better and was a stupid idiot for dating her, and just talking badly about him, too. Well, what she didn't know was that Eileen was in the doorway of the room and heard everything she said. Well, she went right over to Velma and said 'You can talk trash about me all you like, Miss Rubinstein, but don't you dare talk about my boyfriend like that. You are being rude and derogatory, and here I thought you would at least try to be professional about your attitude toward me when we're at work, but I guess I was wrong.' And then the secretary told the principal, and well, needless to say, Velma was fired less than a week later. Not just for that, but like I said, for being a horrible teacher."

"Ohhhh burn!" Helga whooped, and laughed. "Well I'm sure glad Eileen put that witch in her place, she sure deserved it! I'm sure now she'll think twice before talking about a person's loved one like that, don't you think?" She then paused a moment, as if remembering something. "Wait a minute! Henry...he wouldn't happen to be Henry Townshend, would he?"

Arnold looked surprised and nodded. "Yeah, the same! You know him?"

Finishing her soda, Helga nodded vigorously. "You bet! He had photographic evidence of the Walter Sullivan case I had to help work on two months ago, and I met with him a few times to look over the evidence he had. Very nice man, and on the quiet and shy side. Did you ever meet him?"

"A couple of times, I met him when I was in the parking lot at school, and he was coming to pick up Eileen, and he asked me where she was, so I told him, and we got a little acquainted before he went to find her. You're right, he's a nice guy and is a bit shy and introspective more of a listener than a speaker, but a nice fellow."

"A listener, eh? Kind of like you, hmm?" Helga said in a teasing manner, a playful smirk on her face, but her eyes were smiling as she touched Arnold's hand in a friendly way.

Brainy could have sworn there was a spark between them on the brief but affectionate contact. They were getting closer, weren't they?

"You can say that, I guess." Arnold shrugged, and smiled at her, patting her hand in return. "Brian is the listening type too, you know."

"Well, yeah." Brainy shrugged, pushing everything aside yet again for the sake of their good evening. "As a kid I didn't talk much, I'm not sure if you remember, I was always the quiet type. Then as I got older, I just pretty much developed and became more talkative and sociable, but I've still got a quietness streak." He winked playfully at Helga, who grinned and giggled.

"Could've fooled me, chatter box!" Stella elbowed Brainy playfully.

Brainy just smiled and nodded, turning over to Ruth as she asked him a question.

Despite everything in between, he was actually having a pleasant evening with them. Even if it was a little hard to watch the intense chemistry between his wife and the man she unknowingly was in love with. He had a feeling that they were going to be a lot closer after this evening, for sure.

XXX

The Silent Hill 4: The Room references were the names of the main protagonist of the game, Henry Townshend, a principle character and soon your ally, Eileen Galvin, and the antagonist, Walter Sullivan. Walter was also briefly mentioned in an article back in Silent Hill 2.