Fallout
May 28, 1745
Arnold sat at the high top alone, staring at the table. He was in fog. Everything around him seemed to be muffled, muted. He didn't know what to do anymore. He needed help, and he knew of only one person to turn to in this situation.
"Hey, Arnold."
He raised his head. "Hi Phoebe. Thank you for coming."
She smiled weakly at him. He had bags under his eyes, and they were rimmed red as though he had been crying. His posture was slumped. He looked defeated and broken. Phoebe's heart went out to him as she sat down.
"Have you heard from Helga at all?" he asked softly.
She nodded. "I haven't heard much. She won't tell me what happened, but she said she's okay. She just wants to be alone."
Arnold sighed, his eyes becoming fixed on the table. "I don't know what happened. Everything was great, we were happy. Then she has a huge meltdown at the office in front of everyone and says we're not in a relationship." He finally looked at Phoebe. She could see the sadness that hung in them. "Then at the Union dinner, when Wittenburg thanked her for saving his life, she looked like she wanted to die. She left, and I tried to follow her but… she just wouldn't talk to me. I'm pretty sure she dumped me." He looked down at the table and slumped a little further forward.
Phoebe reached out and put a hand on his arm. "It's not your fault, Arnold. Helga puts on that brave front, but she's very insecure. She's been ignored by her family basically her whole life. The only thing she has that makes her feel valued is her career. She's worked hard at it and cultivated a certain reputation, a persona that's not exactly who she really is. And when that reputation is in danger, she goes back to being angry and pushing everyone away. She tries to instill fear. It's how she protects herself from getting hurt. In a way, it's unsurprising she would fall back onto what she's used to instead of this still very new relationship she has with you."
"I get that. But I just want her to understand how much she means to me."
"Helga can handle physical danger very well. But emotional danger is a different story." Phoebe sat back and looked at him. "Did you two ever kiss?"
Arnold looked at her, surprised. "Uh, no. We haven't gotten that far. That's kind of a third date thing for me. And we didn't get to date number three."
Phoebe shook her head. "Most guys are looking to get in a girl's pants by date three, and you're worried about being too aggressive with a kiss?"
Arnold blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I didn't want to seem too forward…"
"Arnold, you two were attached at the hip for two weeks before you even started dating. You hit the third date before you even went on your first one. You're trying to be a gentleman, but you're just sending mixed signals in the process."
Arnold let out a frustrated groan. "I know. I should have been more… open, I guess? More obvious with how I felt. But when we were spending time together while I was on leave, I still didn't know how I felt. It was confusing."
She regarded him curiously. "Do you know how you feel about her now?"
He nodded. "I… I love her, Pheobe."
Phoebe smiled broadly. "Then you should tell her that."
He threw his hands up in frustration. "Ugh. I'd like to. But she won't answer the phone or my texts. She didn't answer the door when I went over there today." His whole body seemed to deflate in defeat. "She doesn't want to speak to me."
Phoebe shook her head. "That's not exactly true. I know Helga pretty well. She probably feels worse about what she said to you than anything you may have done to her. She's feeling worthless right now, undeserving."
"So how do I get her to talk to me? I know at work she'll just find a way to avoid me, and she'd probably be right to do it. We can't exactly talk about something like this in the office without it becoming a huge mess."
Phoebe thought for a moment. "Well, she's on light duty for a while, right? What does that entail?"
Arnold shrugged. "They basically put her where ever they can. Communications, security details, some of the less strenuous special details that most guys don't want to work, like community days and…" He trailed off. Phoebe could see him working something out in his mind. A smile slowly spread across his face.
"I've got an idea." He stood up to leave. "I have to run so I can figure this whole thing out. I don't mean to abandon you…"
Phoebe smiled at him. "I'll text Gerald. He'll come meet me, I'm sure. Go. Find a way to fix things with Helga. Despite the problems, I think you two will be phenomenal together."
Arnold placed a hand on Phoebe's shoulder and smiled. "Thank you, Phoebe. For everything." He wrapped her in a hug.
Phoebe laughed. "Easy, you don't want Gerald to think you're getting fresh. Now go make the silly blond smile."
"I hope I can."
A/N: The finale (of a sort) approaches! But, you know, not really.
The consensus seems to be to keep it one story, so that's what I'm going to do for now. To everyone that reviewed the last chapter, thank you so much for your input. It was a bigger response than I expected.
