Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for the review.

I definitely wanted to portray Bob and Helga having a much more stable relationship in this story, than what they had on the show. Bob was not the best of fathers, but there were episodes that showed that he truly did love Helga.

And yes, Arnold was one of the first people that showed Helga kindness and compassion, and such an act meant so much to Helga, more than I think Arnold would ever know.

Chapter 24: POV of Arnold

Arnold glared at his report for his internship, on some ancient Egyptian artifacts, under the bright light. It was three in the morning, and he had already written four pages.

But dear GOD, was he tired. He had to get it done though, as it had to be in by eight in the morning.

Five hours left. Awesome!

He got up from his chair and decided to make himself a cup of coffee. He could sleep after he got his work in, but for now, he had to grin and bear it.

Well, he would bear it, but he sure as hell wasn't grinning.

Thank god Helga had prepared a pot for him before she went to bed.

Speaking of Helga, his thoughts had been stuck on everything that had happened within the past five years.

To this very day, even now, he would let out a slight chuckle at how they ended up together. All it took was a secret monologue, him walking in on it, and Helga stammering like no tomorrow.

True, it wasn't how either of them believed it would have happened, but it happened.

Actually, Arnold never thought he would end up with Helga. Before she confessed to him (she really had no choice at that time, denying it would have been downright silly), he was still hung up on Lila (1). Several times had she said there was a chance for them, and several times he followed her, like a lovesick puppy.

And then, then Arnold got tired of waiting for Lila. Truth be told, if you had asked him why he hung on for so long, he would have shrugged his shoulders and muttered that he had no clue. Maybe it was hope, maybe it was denial.

Arnold did not end up with Lila, the girl everyone loved. The girl every teacher favored. The girl who had perfect hair, perfect teeth and perfect clothes. She was smart and kind as well. Seriously, what guy wouldn't like Lila?

Instead, he ended up with Helga. The girl who bullied him back in the fourth grade. The girl who shot spitballs at him in class. The girl who could probably go toe to toe with Wolfgang (2), if she wanted to. Sure, he probably would have beaten the crap out of her, but that did not mean Helga would have gone down without a fight. Sure, she avoided him at all costs, but Arnold knew Helga would have thrown down, if she had to.

Would she have one? Probably not. Wolfgang was huge, but she would have gotten in a punch or two.

Yes, Arnold ended up with Helga. Fate really did have such a sense of humor.

But, he honestly could not have been happier. As she grew, Helga not only improved in looks, but in maturity as well. Actually, she was always pretty mature for her age, but she got even better with time.

In truth, after he started dating Helga, Arnold began thinking that he and Lila probably would never have worked out. He liked her, sure, but that was about it. After he had given up on her, he didn't really make any effort to talk to her. He even thought there was something about her that was…superficial, to say the least (3).

Helga, however, Helga was real. With Helga, what you saw was what you got. She was rough around the ages and nowhere near dainty like. She didn't obsess with making herself look good, nor did she ever feel the need to change who she was, or her appearance, to fit in with the crowd.

To Arnold, that was pretty amazing.

They had an amazing relationship. Sure, they had their fights and whatnot, but what couple didn't? He pissed her off sometimes, and she pissed him off sometimes, but they always managed to work through it.

And then, he proposed to her. It took him five years to realize he wanted her for a wife, that she was the one he wanted to grow old with. What started out as uncertainty, and "let's just see where it goes," turned into visions of little feet running around the house, and him and Helga growing old together.

He didn't even tell her that he was planning to propose. Sure, they talked about marriage, Helga was the one who usually brought it up. His answer was always "eventually, perhaps," and "I know, Helga, but, I'm just not ready."

God, did those answers drive her crazy.

He knew she loved him, oh did she love him. However, he was not about to take advantage of that love. She loves me, so she'll wait as long as I want/need her to, was not acceptable.

Not to mention, it would have been completely unfair to Helga. In fact, Arnold had seen it happen to some of the guys back in college. They showered their girlfriends with sweet words like, "marriage and wife." They'd say pretty sentences like, "I can see you as my wife," but in reality? It was all talk. Nothing more than a man who talked the talk but didn't have the balls to walk the walk, and eventually the woman they were with at the time grew tired of their man's bullshit and packed up, leaving that sucker in the dust. No use in staying with a man who says he wants to marry you, but in reality, he's just saying that so you'll stay with him.

Arnold never wanted to be that kind of a man. He believed that if you were going to say something as serious as wanting to marry your girlfriend, then you should keep your word.

Eventually, Helga dropped all talk of marriage, which was perfect for him. He wanted her to be as surprised as possible, when he got down on one knee.

He even picked out the ring all by himself. It took him weeks to find the perfect one, but he found it. Sure, he was still making payments on it, but to him, that didn't matter. The moment he saw the ring, he knew it belonged to Helga. One could even say that it made been made specifically for her.

To Arnold, their relationship couldn't have been more perfect. Ok, so there was no such thing as a perfect relationship, but to him, it was perfect.

Notes:

One: I didn't want to make up a whole different character, so the first person that came to mind was Lila.

Two: Wolfgang was one of the fifth grade bullies who tormented the fourth graders. According to the Hey Arnold wiki, Wolfgang was created when Toran Caudell, who played Arnold in seasons one and two, couldn't play Arnold anymore because his voice was changing.

Three: I don't know why, but there was always something about Lila, that personally, struck me as being fake Maybe it was the way she talked. I don't know, but she's my least favorite character. She's not a bad person, but there's just something about her that seems rather superficial.

I mean, hey, I knew that girl had problems when she chose Arnie over Arnold. That episode should have been called, "Are You Kidding Me, Lila?!"

Also, I am a firm believer in you should never pressure anyone, man or woman, into a marriage that they don't want, or aren't ready for. However, I do think saying you want to marry someone is very serious and should, in my honest opinion, never be said unless you mean it for sure. If you're not ready for marriage, or don't want to get married, then you need to be honest with the person you are with. It's not fair to them if you're stringing them along. And in my opinion, telling someone that you'll marry them, when in reality you're just saying that to get them to stay with you, is a pretty crappy thing to do to someone.