Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.

They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.

Title: "Let me be your hero"

In the last chapter of 'Let me be your hero': Once it was revealed to Helga that Arnold was her Secret Santa and that it was revealed to Arnold that she was Gertie's, he pulled her into his room. He gave her the dried daisy he had taken from her when he found out and framed it. She started crying in happiness and that led to an almost kiss between them, which they dismissed as a heat of the moment.

Nancy surprisingly told Helga that while she wasn't quite convinced yet, she had a feeling that Helga would be a good mother. On that note, Helga told her the truth behind her pregnancy, causing Nancy to perhaps think a little higher of her.

Oskar made quite the proposal to Helga, swearing that he'd steal her from Arnold once he had grown up. Arnold and Helga had quite the flirtatious conversation afterwards, but as soon as Helga was left alone, she remembered Tevin's wife's words to her the one time they had met. It hadn't helped that Helga now knew that Tevin could seek custody of Megamind once he or she was born.

Author's 1st note: So, as I promised in the beginning of the story; a roller coaster ride of emotions. You didn't think Helga would have it too easy, did you? Yes, it's a horrible situation, but I'm trying to make it light but at the same time realistic. A rape victim is never happy nor sad and angry all the time. It goes up and down. I don't know from my own experience (even if I did experience something scary once xD) but I know enough about it to know at least that :P

[As always, please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]

Chapter 25: "With a smidge of shame"

None of the teenagers inside the building called Sunset Arms slept at all throughout the night after Christmas evening. Both were far too occupied with how their Christmas had developed. While Arnold kept pondering how he should act around Helga the next morning, the girl herself were haunted by nightmares including Megamind, Tevin and his wife she had just remembered was called Helen. Words like 'home wrecker', 'slut' and 'pathetic bitch' were etched into her memory and she had almost reached the point where she believed those words once the morning enrolled. Everything was such a blur to Helga. She barely remembered anything from the last part of Christmas. The last thing she remembered was Susie and Gertie lulling her to sleep and then murmurs about how they needed to do something. She wasn't sure what Gertie and Susie had agreed upon, only that they had agreed upon something.

Helga didn't want to get out of her bed, but she also didn't want to be alone with her thoughts a second longer, so when she heard Susie knock gently on her door, asking her if she was awake, she told her that she'd be right down. She could easily imagine the smile on Susie's face since her voice afterwards had sounded so optimistic. "All right, sweetheart. Come down whenever you're ready." She had said and then Helga had heard the echoes of her footsteps outside.

It took Helga some generous amount of time to get herself downstairs though. A final "slut" shouted inside of her head had made her jump out of her bed and pulled on her night robe. She was practically jogging downstairs until she finally reached the doorframe. She leaned up against the door, hiding as she tried to think about how to act once she got inside. Deciding that it probably didn't matter how much she planned ahead, that she'd probably end up doing something different anyway, she just went in. The boarders, who had been in the middle of eating, froze instantly when they saw her. Helga hadn't even planned to do it, but she had went towards Susie and Gertie quickly, avoiding everyone's eyes doing so. Susie and Gertie instantly moved to the side and Gertie elegantly grabbed a chair and swung it in-between herself and Susie. Helga gave a quick, appreciative smile and plumbed awkwardly down onto the chair.

Everyone in the room felt uncomfortable, but it was perhaps the men that felt it the most. No one dared to say anything and mostly they feared what would happen once Arnold came down and noticed that Helga had made the choice not to sit next to him on this particular morning. When Arnold got downstairs, he looked anxious as soon as he stuck his head inside. He looked a little confused when he saw that the only empty chair was his one, but that there was no Helga sitting next to it. He walked closer to the table and looked around. Once he caught a glimpse of Helga, his heart sank. She absolutely refused to acknowledge his presence and meet his eyes.

It hurt. It really did, but Arnold decided to try not to dwell on it. He figured that perhaps it was best to leave Helga alone for now, so he sat down and began to eat. When Helga saw that, she began to eat as well. She wasn't sure why she hadn't begun yet, except for the lack of appetite, but she decided to eat for the sake of Megamind. She could feel eyes on her as she ate and at some point, she banged her fist to the table, but not too loudly. "Either say something to me or stop staring; it's making me feel like a circus freak." She stated and once everyone's eyes weren't on her anymore, she continued to eat.

It took Susie quite a while to gather enough courage to speak to Helga. "So, Helga…" she started, earning the attention of everyone in the room since they were all being so quiet. Helga didn't give a response, but did stop eating. Susie inhaled deeply. "Have you been thinking about what happened last night?" she wondered. Helga grimaced. "How could I not?" she asked a little snidely since she thought it was a stupid question. Susie noticed the sneer in her voice, but decided to overlook. "Well, have you thought about what to… do?" she probed carefully, choosing each word with care. Helga finally put her fork down and looked at Susie. "No, but by the way you're walking on eggshells around me, I'm guessing you have?"

When Helga felt Gertie's hand on her shoulder, she visibly relaxed. She didn't apologize though as she just returned to staring at her plate. "Well… yes." Susie answered, looking at Gertie. The older woman nodded encouragingly. "Gertie and I were… wondering if… you'd like to… see someone?" Susie suggested gently. Oh, God. Arnold thought fearfully as soon as he saw Helga's eyes widen in anger. She inhaled deeply though, doing her best to keep her composure. "I see people all the time." She argued, trying to reject the idea gently. "We… didn't mean regular people, Helga." Susie said gently and Helga finally snapped. "I'm not going to see some looney doctor and that's final." She stated, stood up and left the table before she did something she'd regret.

As Helga walked through the hallway, she was fuming with anger. Not with Susie, Gertie, or any of the other boarders though; but with herself. She couldn't believe what had happened last night hadn't been just another nightmare. The boarders had actually seen her having one of her panic attacks and at Christmas evening even! She just felt so embarrassed about ruining their Christmas, and Megamind's first Christmas also. And she felt like such a nut job. Screaming at them to leave her alone and to stay away, to panic by the mere sight of a male. Criminy, I'm such a basket case! She chastised herself before jumping onto her bed, face first into the pillow. I wonder… if I keep lying like this will I eventually die due to oxygen need…?

Helga groaned at the dark thought and turned over onto her back instead. She placed one of her arms over her stomach and the other over her forehead as she stared at the ceiling. All of December had been so calm, why did she have to end it with a bang of the bad kind? Well, December wasn't over exactly, but it certainly felt like it. New Year's… Oh, God, what about New Year's eve? She thought and groaned once again. She refused to ruin another evening, but New Year's eve was only a week away! How could she get back on track that fast? She felt as if she'd never be herself again at this point.

A shrink… Helga thought for a moment, but shook the thought off. No. Never again. Dr. Bliss may have been great, but she's a child psychologist and there's no way I'll find someone like her. I'm already eighteen; I can't go to her anymore… Damn! She thought angrily and sat up. Then what was she supposed to do? She couldn't just stay in her room, doing nothing to get back to who she was. What did she used to do anyway? Not mope around in her room, that's for sure, she always had something to do.

At that thought, Helga remembered her poetry. She grimaced sadly at the thought. I haven't written any poems since September the 6th… That's almost four months ago. I've never not written poetry for that long. She thought solemnly and looked towards her bag. She remembered how all of her stuff had been unpacked by Arnold, but he had left the pink books. He had probably thought they were private and didn't want to mess too much around with them. She smiled a little thankfully at the thought while she got on all fours and reached for the bag.

Once Helga had found the newest pink book, the one with actual blank pages in it, she flipped back to her latest poem. This is from when we just started this year. A few days before Tevin became a regular word in my world. She thought with a sigh. She grabbed a pencil and placed it on the blank paper. As soon as she did, she had figured her fingers would automatically dance around the paper as they usually did, but nothing happened. She frowned deeply in confusion. She had… never had to think about what to write before. It was somehow scary that her mind didn't just take over her hand as usual. Oh, God. Am I even able to write anything at all? Even if not about Arnold? She wondered and started to frantically and desperately scribbling whatever came to mind, be it good or bad. Though bad seemed to fill a lot more.

Back at the dining table just when Helga had left, Arnold had been looking slightly accusingly at Susie. "I wish you had talked with me about that idea first, Susie, I could've told you Helga would get angry. She's too proud to seek professional help!" he said a little crossly on Helga's behalf. "Well, what are we supposed to do then, Arnold?" Susie asked in a freaked out voice. "You saw her last night! If that girl doesn't need help, I don't know who does!" she added. Arnold grimaced deeply and stood up from the table. "Treating her like a lunatic will not help her!" he insisted, pushed his chair to the side and went out of the room.

It wasn't like Arnold didn't agree to the shrink idea per se, but he also had a very hard time imagining Helga accepting help like that. No, there had to be another way, though he definitely couldn't think of any. He had been about to get into his own room when he passed Helga's door. He stopped and turned around to look at it. She's probably in there… He thought and went towards the door. He lifted his hand to knock, but froze in his motion. She probably doesn't want to see me… He reminded himself, but couldn't pull his fisted hand away.

Take your hand away, Arnold. He ordered himself, but his body didn't obey. He grimaced at the display of his own hand about to knock on Helga's door, but never doing it nor giving up on the idea. What's the matter with me?! He thought angrily. I know I'm worried about her, but how will it help her to invade her personal space? I saw her last night! The way she looked at me as if I was a hunter with a gun pointed at her…

Arnold finally let his hand fall from the door and turned to leave. But… As soon as he had done that, he turned around once again, grabbing the door handle. In the end, I can't just leave her alone! He thought before opening the door abruptly. "Helga! I - - Ow!" Arnold shook his head in confusion. He placed a hand on his head where something light had hit him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Helga sitting on her bed with a sullen expression in his direction. "I wasn't aiming at you, Arnold, I was aiming at the trashcan." She explained defensively.

Arnold was still confused though, but when he bend his head to look down, he noticed a crumbled piece of paper on the floor. That's probably what hit me. What is she doing? He wondered as he crouched to the floor. Without thinking about it, he grabbed the paper and was about to unfold it. "Don't read it!" Helga said in a hostile voice. He instantly stopped all movement except lifting his head to look at her. "Throw it out in the trash where it belongs." She added and started writing once again. Arnold was very tempted to sneak a peek at it, but refrained from doing so and just threw it out as asked.

Once Arnold had done that and turned around to look in the room, he noticed a lot of crumbled pieces of paper on the floor. "What are you doing… exactly?" he asked curiously and slightly worriedly. "Remember how you've noticed that I used to write in these little pink books all the time before all this happened?" Helga asked. "Yeah?" he inquired. "Well, since all this happened, I haven't and now it seems that no matter what I try, I can't." she explained and started scribbling again.

Arnold wanted to question Helga further, but suddenly she groaned deeply. "Criminy, this sounds like something a child would write! I try to write a poem about war, because it seems like I can only write about bad things and even when I write about bad things, the writing is just horrible! Listen to this." she said, took the paper in her hand and coughed dramatically. "Hear the words I sing. War is a horrid thing. So I sing-sing-sing… ding-a-ling-a-ling." She said and then looked at him as if she couldn't believe her own words.

Arnold's hand instantly went to his mouth to conceal a very loud laugh. "Don't laugh; this is horrible! I'm not even sure if this is my words. I think I've heard them in some old British comedy show." Helga admitted sullenly, crumbled the piece of paper and threw it somewhere in the room. When she turned to look at Arnold again, he was still hunched over from trying to hold his laughter inside of him. "Go ahead; laugh. I'm pretty pathetic, I guess." She muttered with a sigh. "That's not why I'm… why I'm laughing." He said as he tried to stifle his laughter. When he finally succeeded, he smiled at her. "I think you should save that poem for a good laugh later on when all this is over."

"When will this ever be over, Arnold?" Helga asked and looked at him. He looked at her in slight confusion, but it definitely got the smile off his face. "It will, Helga." He insisted, but she shook her head. "No… I will never not be raped, Arnold. I can't count how many stories like mine I've been reading ever since it happened. Yes, some girls do get on with their lives and… are not completely broken, but even those who have been fortunate say that they're scarred for life!" she shouted. "I'm going to be like this forever, Arnold! I'm going to feel as if every male on the planet wants to hurt me for the rest of my life!"

"You are not going to be like this forever!"

"How do you know?!"

"Because you weren't this past month! You were happy through this month, Helga. I was surprised to see you like that yesterday because it had been so long! That's a step forward, Helga."

"And now I'm back to the fucking beginning! That's how it's always going to be, isn't it? One step forward, ten steps back!" Helga shouted and pulled her knees up to her chest, hiding her face behind her arms, which were holding her legs close to her. "No matter how far I get, I'll always end up back to this…" She added. Arnold shook his head at her, despite her not being able to see it. "No, Helga… It won't always be like this." he insisted and stepped forward. "How do you know?" she asked in a muffled voice, followed by a sob. "Because, Helga, you… you always bounce back! There's never been a thing you haven't bounced back from! You…" he said and took a deep breath. "You're stronger than you think. And you're still not alone in all this."

"Oh, right." Helga said and looked up at Arnold with a pair of livid eyes. "I have my hero with me." She said in a boiling voice. Arnold's eyes widened at that statement. "What?" he inquired in confusion. "You've always been the knight in shining armor to girls, Arnold. You're always the one who sweeps in and comes to the rescue, be it boy or girl for that matter." She whispered with a grimace. "… So what if I do?!" Arnold asked furiously this time around. She looked at him in surprise. "So what if I do like to help people? So what if I'm a buttinski? So what if I can't sleep during night because I worry about you and your baby? Someone has to! Because it seems to me like your pride is still standing in-between you and Megamind! You may not need a hero, Helga, but… criminy, your baby does!"

Helga was just purely stunned and it was more than a little apparent on her face. Arnold had yelled at her before, scolded her before, but never like this. He was fuming with anger for a couple of seconds, but then suddenly his eyes widened. "S-Sorry, Helga… I'm not sure what came over me. I-I… I just hate seeing you like this, and I hate feeling like if I can't do anything about it." he admitted guiltily, but when she didn't say anything, he continued speaking. "It's just… yes, I worry about you, but why must you always see it as a bad thing? What's wrong with having people care enough about you to worry and want to help you? Isn't that a - - "

"Did you…" Helga interrupted in a small voice. Arnold looked at her a little fretfully. "What?" he asked. She blinked slowly a couple of times and then looked at him curiously. "Did you… Did you just say… criminy?" she asked with her eyebrows lifted in incredulity. He blinked slowly himself a couple of times, trying to remember what the answer to her question was. Then he gave her a small lopsided smile. "I guess… living with you has been rubbing off on me?" he suggested a little lamely. "Oh, God, I have to worry about that now too?" she asked.

After a couple of seconds in silence, they started laughing. "I can't believe that's what you're reacting to!" Arnold said in disbelief, still hunching over with laugher. "Well!" Helga said, also laughing warmly. "I've never heard anyone actually say criminy besides myself and Bob before, so…! Oh, God, my belly!" she exclaimed and held her stomach. "Careful now. Don't strain Megamind too much." He warned worriedly, but he was still laughing as he sat down on the bed in front of her. "I know!" she said and looked at him with a big smile. "I know… Thank you… for worrying about Megamind that much."

"I worry about you too." Arnold pointed out. Helga blew a raspberry at him, but still smiled. "Yeah, and I'll have to live with that forever, right?" she asked him. "Yup." He responded simply and pulled his legs up on the bed, crossing them as he did so. She sighed mockingly, but gave a smile nonetheless. She looked at the floor as her smile slowly disappeared. "It's not that… that I'm highly against going to see a shrink." She finally admitted. She could feel his surprised eyes on her and she looked at him. "Shocking, huh?"

"Yeah… a bit, but that's a good thing, right?" Arnold asked. "Both yes and no… Problem is that I… I've already, uh… had a shrink, so…" Helga murmured. "Wait. What?! When?" he asked in absolute shock. She smiled at him. "See, that's the reaction I was waiting for." She said teasingly. "Helga, please." He begged her. Hearing that she had a shrink once was such a shock to him and he wasn't in the mood for her to yank his chain right now. She sighed in relinquishment and looked towards her floor again. "Remember Dr. Bliss?"

Arnold tried to recall the name, but he had to shake his head in response. "Didn't think so…" Helga said and sighed again. "Ok, back in fourth grade this child psychologist, Dr. Bliss, went to our school to look for… subjects or whatever. She caught me hitting Brainy in the face and poof, I now had consultations every Tuesday and Thursday." She explained. "How long were you seeing her?" he asked. She shrugged. "Until I was thirteen, I guess? Then I kinda… well, I kinda didn't want her help anymore."

"Why?" Arnold probed. Helga gave him a sarcastic look and he put up his hands in mock defense. "Got it. That's private." He said, but couldn't help wondering why anyhow. He did remember Helga acting very oddly around the start of their thirteenth year. She barely spoke to anyone or scowled for some months, but she eventually got back to her usual self so he had forgotten about it, but now he figured it probably had something to do with why she didn't want to see Dr. Bliss anymore as well. "So you can't ask her if she'd like to talk with you?"

"Not as a shrink at least. She's a child psychologist, Arnold, and I'm already eighteen." Helga replied with a sullen shrug. "Maybe she'll make an exception?" Arnold suggested. "Why would she?" she asked with an incredulous smile. "She was your psychologist for three to four years, Helga, it could be possible she cares about you." he said and moved his hand up in-between them. He showed a little space between his thumb and index finger. "Just a little bit." He added playfully, causing her to roll her eyes at him. "Well, maybe…" she admitted, but then frowned again. "I don't know."

"Look, Helga, all you can do right now is at least ask her. Then take it from there." Arnold pointed out. Helga didn't look at him, but simply kept gazing at the floor as she pondered what to do. She definitely didn't mind meeting Dr. Bliss again even if she was to turn her away for a consultation. If she would accept her request, it'd be even better. Dr. Bliss would definitely at least listen properly to her and she already knew Helga, so she was the best candidate for the job.

Helga finally nodded. Arnold smiled at that. "Really? You'll contact her?" he asked her. She turned to him with a half-smile. "Yeah, I'll try and find her at Hillwood Medical center… I just don't know when. I mean, she'd be at vacation now, wouldn't she? For the holidays and… New Year's eve?" she wondered. "Oh… right. So… what's the plan until then?" he asked. She sighed at that and let herself fall onto the bed. "I guess…" she started and lifted her arm to look at the pink book in her hand. "Attempting to write at least one fucking poem that doesn't stink."

"What? You don't think ding-a-ling-a-ling would be a hit?" Arnold asked mockingly, causing Helga to grab her pillow and throw it at him. "Idiot. You're not helping at all." She said, embarrassed at having written that to begin with. "I wanna help though." he replied seriously, as he placed the pillow on his lap. She didn't say anything at first. "I know…" she finally murmured and looked away. After a few seconds, her eyes widened as she felt her bed shift due to the fact that Arnold had just lied down next to her. She could feel her heart start an uncomfortable beat in her chest and while she tried to push the uncomfortable feeling away, she practically flinched when she heard him speak.

Arnold never got to say anything though because as soon as Helga had heard his voice, she sat up and gawked at him, as if waiting for him to throw a bomb at her. He just stared at her in surprise for a few seconds, his eyes as wide as teacups, but eventually he felt his heart shatter a little bit. "Sorry… I guess I got too used to be normal around you this past month, so I… No, wait, that didn't come out right. What I mean is that - - "

"I…" Helga interrupted, lifting her hand to stop Arnold from speaking any further. "I know what you meant, Arnold, and I appreciate it, but… but I need to be alone… ok?" she practically begged and let her hand fall to her lap. He knew that was what she had been about to say, but it still hurt to hear her say the actual words. He nodded and gave her the pillow before standing up. She held the pillow tightly as she heard the small click of the door when he went out. She looked down at the pillow and frowned as she remembered that it had just been against Arnold's lap and she threw it away violently.

Helga inhaled and exhaled sharply, doing her best to get a regular rhythm going to her breathing, but it didn't seem to work. She placed her hand on her stomach and started pleading with herself to relax for Megamind's fault. "Please, please, please…" she whispered frantically and let herself lie down on the bed once again. "Relax… relax… relax… God damn it; relax already!" she cried and took one last big inhale and exhaled very slowly. She continued doing so until she finally felt her body loosen up.

How can I feel like that… just because he was on my bed? Helga wondered with a gulp. This is bad. So very, very bad… She added and started caressing her stomach. "Phoebe." she responded to an unsaid question inside her own head and sat up to grab her phone, only to land on her back again once she had grabbed it. She found Phoebe's name quickly on her favorite contacts' list and put the phone on the bed next to her ear and laid her head on it.

"Hi, Helga! Merry Christmas." Phoebe greeted cheerfully on the other side of the phone. Helga smiled at the familiar happy voice. "Merry Christmas, Phoebs. How was your evening?" she asked.

"Oh, it was really fun, thank you! I got that new computer I hoped for, so I'm really happy and thankful. What about you, Helga? How was yours?"

"Oh, it was…" Helga started and took a deep breath. "It was a lot of fun, actually… Susie's cousin's son was here and he was just so cute, Phoebe, I think he really liked me. Arnold and I played with him all night and… oh, God, Phoebe, I kissed Arnold under the mistletoe."

"What?!" Phoebe shrieked happily, causing Helga to turn over to her other side to get her ear away from her phone. "Ow!" she exclaimed and turned over again to grab her phone and placed it against her ear again. "Phoebe! Do not shriek like some fan girl inside my ear!"

"Sorry, Helga, I'm just… oh, I'm so happy! How was it? What happened?"

"Oh… well, we were playing house with Oskar… Oskar's idea, of course."

"Uh-huh?"

"And Oskar was all… 'a mommy and daddy are supposed to kiss each other goodbye' and, uh…" Helga said and started to smile contently. "Gertie suddenly appeared like some ninja and dangled a mistletoe over our heads and I… I kissed Arnold on the cheek."

"Oh, Helga, that's so cute!"

"And Arnold got all flustered and kissed me on the forehead…

"Aw, Helga…"

"Phoebe, I was just so happy… I think it may have been the best kiss we've ever had and we've had a lot as children if you think about it."

"Yeah, three times if I'm counting correctly?"

"Well, four, actually, if you count the one on the hand back on Valentine's day in fourth grade."

"Oh, right!" Phoebe exclaimed with a giggle. "So, what happened after that?"

"Well, we started eating and then we opened our presents… Arnold turned out to be my Secret Santa so I got a beanie, scarf and matching gloves."

"Oh, typical Arnold to remember that you needed those."

"Exactly… that wasn't all though."

"No?" Phoebe inquired curiously, causing Helga to blush slightly. I knew calling Phoebe to tell her about this would get me in a better mood. She thought happily. "Arnold then took me to his room and gave me my daisy."

"Your daisy?"

"You know, the one he gave me back when I pretended to have amnesia?"

"Oh, the one you dried afterwards? Wait… how did he get ahold of that?"

"Turns out I hadn't dropped it on the run from Bob. He took it!"

"No way!"

"Yes way, but it was so he could frame it and give it to me as a housewarming presents."

"Oh, Helga! I'm so happy for you! Tell me… are there sparkles between you and Arnold?" Phoebe finally asked, her curiosity about to burst at this point. At that question though, Helga went quiet and that made Phoebe worry and regret her question. "Helga…? There's more, isn't there?"

Helga nodded, but then remembered that Phoebe couldn't see that. "Yeah… Uh, once Oskar and Nancy, his mom, left we were just chatting happily… Phoebe, I even think that we were flirting at that point."

"Yeah…?"

"But… But as soon as I got inside my room… it was like Helen was here and she… Oh, you remember Helen, right?"

"Yeah, Tevin's wife."

"Yeah… Well, I just remembered all the words she said to me and… and I haven't exactly told you guys what she said to me, but…" Helga could feel her heart starting to hurt once she remembered the incident again. "Oh, God, Phoebe, it was horrible! It was like relieving the whole thing again and I started crying and shaking as if I was going mental! Worst part was that they all saw me like that. Arnold saw me like that again! The breakfast was just so awkward and Susie suggested I should see a shrink! And I… And I…" Helga stopped talking to inhale deeply. Relax… she begged herself, placing a hand on her stomach. "I'm just scared, Phoebe, everything was going so well and now I'm just a basket case in their eyes! I can't even be in the same room as Arnold without thinking about Helen and Tevin and their kid!"

"Helga, what happened back then was not your fault, no matter what that woman may think! She may be just as scared as you. Think about it, her husband cheated on her. She may have trusted him and then it turned out that he was a rapist! How would you feel if that had been Arnold?"

"No way! He would never do such a horrible thing!"

"Maybe that was how she felt about Tevin as well." Phoebe stated matter-of-factly. While she wasn't cold, heartless or anything like that, Phoebe definitely was more of a logical adviser than an emotional one. Perhaps that was a good thing to Helga because she needed someone to state facts sometimes and Phoebe was perfect for that job. She sniffed and dried some tears away from her eyes. "Maybe… Maybe she was actually disappointed in him and just wanted to believe it was my fault."

"Probably." Phoebe replied and that was what she believed was the truth. "So… all that happened yesterday, but… how do you feel now?" she asked. Helga gave a big sigh, twisted her hips and laid down on her bed, her ankles hitting the bed headboard. "Hollow… sad… with a smidge of shame." She admitted and closed her eyes. "But I feel better after talking with you… Thanks, Phoebs. I hope I didn't ruin your Christmas morning?" she asked worriedly. "Never. You can always come to me, Helga, about anything in the whole wide world. Never forget that." Phoebe replied with what Helga could imagine was her usual sincere smile. As she smiled herself, she couldn't help but wonder how many times she'd feel the need to call Phoebe in the future?

Author's 2nd note: Points for you if you know what Helga referred to in her poem! It is indeed from a British comedy show, so I'm curious to see if anyone knows of it since it's a bit old Cx I'm not even sure how popular it was…?