[Hey guys! Again, this chapter isn't long as I'd prefer BUT hey, I'm updating quickly right? Thanks so much for reading and to those who reviewed, you're awesome! I so appreciate the support and trust me, all of your questions and wants WILL be answered but we have a long road ahead of us :) I'm hoping you'll enjoy watching things unfold. Believe me, I am all about AXH but that doesn't mean I can't throw in some drama in the meantime, right? Hehe!

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. If you're confused about anything, I'll try to explain it better in the next chapter and also, are the time descriptions clear? Present time, they're coming out of winter but there are a lot of flashbacks and I just want to make sure it's clear what happened when. If there's any way I can explain it better, let me know!

I hope you guys are liking the fic so far. I know it's pretty involved but I don't think you'll be disappointed when the pieces finally come together!]

Present Day

Arnold left his lawyer's office still feeling concerned but slightly hopeful. Gerald, being the social networker he was, had made a few phone calls and found a lawyer that specialized in difficult criminal cases. He was an associate of one of the medical malpractice lawyers who worked out of Phoebe's hospital and he, luckily, was based out of Hillwood.

Arnold stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked down the sidewalk back to Brainy's apartment. Today was a mild day that hinted at spring's impending resurgence. His lawyer, Calvin Montgomery, had advised Arnold that, given the amount of circumstantial evidence, the police were probably going to focus on him as a prime suspect at this point. However, they wouldn't be able to officially charge and arrest him until they found a body or a murder weapon. In the meantime, he'd talked to Arnold about making appearances on the news (since Rhonda had already opened the floodgates to paparazzi wondering about this missing girl and the strange circumstances surrounding her disappearance). Many people in town already knew Lila and thought highly of her so word spread quickly when the possibly of something happening to her became known. The idea was to keep the public opinion of Arnold high and to try and figure out alternative explanations for Lila's disappearance. While Arnold felt somewhat confident that most people (aside from their crazy neighbor, Jenny) knew Arnold was a good guy, he had no idea what could have happened to Lila or where she could be and knowing all that blood on the kitchen floor came from her left a heavy, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Arnold finally got to the main entrance to Brainy's apartment building and walked inside.

"Hey," He said as he came in, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it up on one of the hooks by the door.

Brainy was lounging on the couch with his laptop in his lap. He hadn't gone in to work today because of a nasty cold which left him sounding like his younger self – wheezy and congested. "Hi," Came his nasally response.

Arnold walked over to the dining room table where he'd left his computer and sat down. He checked on Helga but her there didn't seem to be anything new saved to her computer and her desktop was empty.

"You need to get rid of that," Brainy called over in a strained voice. "If the police take your computer, they're gonna find out you've been hacking into Helga's and that's gonna incriminate you,"

Arnold sighed, "Yeah, I know,"

"I still think you should just talk to her," Brainy advised.

"I want to," Arnold said softly, turning around in his chair to face Brainy who was sitting on the other side of the room. "I just don't know what I'd say,"

"You need to let your guilt about what happened go," Brainy said, closing his laptop. "It's been years. Your wife is missing and might be dead-" Arnold flinched at that but Brainy continued, "—you're their one and only suspect and yet, here you are snooping into Helga Pataki's life. Don't you find that a bit odd?"

Arnold let out a deep sigh. "I guess," He shrugged.

"Whether you want to admit it or not, you have unfinished business with that woman and you need to deal with it," Brainy said.

"Unfinished business?" Arnold repeated with a chuckle.

"Yes," Brainy emphasized. "Unfinished business. Look at yourself! You just came home from a meeting with your criminal defense lawyer and the first thing you do is check on what Helga is doing!" He sat his laptop down next to him.

Arnold sighed. "Yeah, you're right,"

"I know you feel guilty because you crashed into her when the accident happened," Brainy said gently. "But you need to stop stalking her—" Arnold made an offended facial expression. "Yes, this is basically stalking. Trust me, I know. But you need to stop watching what she's doing from afar and trying to help her that way and just talk to her. Ask how she's doing. Let her know you're around. Let her know you're sorry. She deserves at least that much,"

"You're right," Arnold nodded solemnly and sighed. "You're right, I will,"

"And of course," Brainy added. "You need to cover your ass before the cops get a warrant to confiscate your computer,"

"Duly noted,"

. . . . . . . .

Flashback – The Summer Before Ninth Grade

"Which way to Lila Sawyer's room, please?" Young Rhonda inquired at the nurse's station of the hospital.

"Third door on your left past the water fountain, hun," An stout, older woman with greying hair replied. "Be prepared – she's not really talking to anyone,"

"I understand," Rhonda said politely, nodding. "Thank you," And with that she set off down the hallway. She approached Lila's door cautiously, peering in to see that the light was off and there was a TV hanging from the opposite wall that Lila seemed to be watching, or at least facing. Rhonda gently tapped on the doorframe. "Mind if I come in?"

Lila slowly moved, only turning her head but not completely so there was no eye contact. Rhonda took that as an invitation and entered.

"My word," she gasped, her voice low, when she saw Lila's face. She'd thought that Lila would have healed more since the attack happened a few days prior but she looked just as gruesome as if it had happened an hour ago. Her face was clean and there was no fresh blood but everything was swollen and bruised to a deep shade of purple.

Lila pursed her lips, her gaze set as she turned back to the TV. Rhonda followed her gaze as she prepared her words.

"So," She breathed, trying to bring her voice back up to its normal tone. "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here?"

Lila didn't respond. Her eyes remained glassy and fixed on the TV and her breaths remained slow with a slight grimace as though that simple movement hurt a great deal.

"I was actually talking to my mother last night," Rhonda continued, unfazed. "She told me something interesting about you… and about your mother,"

That got Lila's attention and she slowly turned her head to face Rhonda. The eye contact made Rhonda feel surprisingly comfortable. It was like she could feel Lila's pain simply by looking into her eyes and that made her uneasy. She averted her gaze momentarily to get her thoughts back on track.

"What is it?" Lila prodded.

"Well," Rhonda responded. "Apparently my mother and your mother were great friends when they were our age,"

Lila nodded thoughtfully, taking in this new piece of information. "Wow…"

"Yeah," Rhonda agreed. A quiet fell over them as both girls were not sure where to take the conversation next. "So," Rhonda broke the silence after a few moments. "Do they know anything yet about the creep who did this to you?"

Lila glowered and Rhonda thought in retrospect it might have been best to not comment on Lila's situation. "I'm sorry," she said. "I can um, I can leave you alone if you want?"

Lila's face softened and she sighed. "No, you can stay," Rhonda brightened and pulled a chair over to Lila's bed. "Did your mom tell you anything else about my mom? How did they know each other?"

. . . . . . . .

Present Day

Helga and Rich had spent the last ten minutes digging through the rest of the boxes of Marguerite's belongings but they hadn't found much else that seemed hopeful. Over the past few days, Helga hadn't been quite sure how to feel around Rich. Since his abrupt confession the other night, she found herself wondering if the crush he'd mentioned hadn't quite ended after high school or if it was resurfacing at the very least. He'd mostly gone back to normal in terms of their interactions but something was a little off. He seemed to be giving her a bit more space than he had before and there was an indescribable awkwardness in the room when they were together.

They were sitting in the living area with several items from the boxes on the table in front of them. One of which was Marguerite's diary.

"What about these numbers?" Helga inquired thoughtfully after the two had been quiet for some time. "Do you have any idea what they're for?"

"Um, no," Rich replied, stirring from his thoughts. "Sorry,"

Helga studied the numbers. "What about phone extensions? Maybe they're extension numbers?"

Rich shrugged. "Maybe. But the police checked that, I think. Concordia University's extension starts with a 3 but when they dialed the numbers, the names didn't match,"

"Hmmph," Helga sighed, disappointed. Quiet fell over them again but this time, Helga stole glances at Rich. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt with light grey sweatpants and his brown hair fell messily over the frames of his glasses. She was suddenly aware of how much she liked the scent of his cologne.

Rich read aloud, mostly to himself, which caused Helga to jump slightly and break her of her thoughts. "Magda 30112; Sara 32016; BJ 32027; Li 31208; Mari 32018… this has to mean something,"

Helga shrugged and Rich turned to look at her. "Hey um, I'm sorry if I made things awkward the other day," He admitted. "I don't know why I said that or what purpose it was supposed to serve,"

"I-It's fine," Helga responded and mentally cursed herself for stammering.

"I do want you to know, though," Rich said, looking at her with the utmost seriousness. "If anything is wrong or something's bothering you… if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know,"

Helga nodded. "There isn't anything you can do, but thanks,"

Rich inwardly sighed at that but accepted it. "Well, whatever it is," He quipped. "I'm sure it's no match for Ms. Helga G. Pataki,"

Helga scoffed. That's where you're wrong, bucko.

"What?" Rich asked, noticing the dejected look on her face.

"Nothing," Helga replied quickly, shaking her head.

"No, I can tell it isn't 'nothing'," Rich said stubbornly. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, just… forget it, alright?" Helga said, her voice small as she leaned forward and reached for a photo album. "Let's get back to work,"

"Wait, no," Rich said, reaching out and placing a hand on Helga's which, to her surprise, sent a jolt of electricity through her. "You're upset,"

"Look, can we move on, please?" Helga said and though she didn't cry, Rich noticed her eyes becoming glassier. She looked at him, half-knowing that in itself was a mistake. She saw the concerned look in his eyes and was still very aware that he hadn't let go of her hand yet. She all but completely lost it at that moment. How many times had Arnold looked at her with just such an expression and she always pushed him away? Telling him to leave her alone and to mind his own business when all she'd ever really wanted was to completely fall back into his comfort like a safety net. To allow someone to care about her and help her and see into the vulnerable, broken pieces of her and trust that person to try and help put them back together. She'd pushed Arnold away when he'd been one of the few people in her life willing and wanting to get close enough to help her and it was all in spite of herself because she'd wanted that connection so desperately. And as she sat on the couch with Rich, her hand in his and that same pleading, concerned expression being directed at her, she couldn't help but feel conflicted. On one hand, she felt guilty, as if by accepting Rich's compassion or anything more would be a betrayal of Arnold, yet on the other hand, she wondered if she'd be a complete, miserable fool to keep pushing people away. "I…" She finally spoke and Rich listened intently. "I don't deserve this,"

Rich quirked an eyebrow. "Deserve what?"

"This!" Helga exclaimed and this time her eyes started to water. "Your comfort and concern and you're holding my hand and all of this!" She pulled her hand away.

"Helga, if something is wrong, of course you deserve compassion," Rich said gently but Helga shook her head vehemently.

"No, I don't," She said sternly but her face began to crumple. "I don't,"

As the first tears began to fall from Helga's eyes, Rich immediately pulled her into a hug. The sudden feeling of someone's arms around her, holding her tight and in such a protective fashion, completely broke down the rest of Helga's defenses and she sobbed into his shoulder. She couldn't tell him what was wrong but maybe, for now, this was okay. As she began to calm down, Rich slowly pulled away to look her in the eyes.

"Don't think so little of yourself," Rich gently admonished, wiping a tear from Helga's cheek with his thumb. "Not many people would be willing to travel hours away from home to help an old man find his missing relative. You're quite exceptional and you deserve to feel that way,"

A few more tears fell when Helga heard that but she didn't argue. She let him hug her and wipe her tears and when he kissed her softly on the forehead, she didn't mind one bit.