A/N Well, here we are for the next phase of our favorite couple's journey through life. If you've stumbled across this story and have not yet read its prequel story "A Slice of Life", I highly suggest that you go check it out before continuing on. A whole lot of life happened in that story and you really do need the background from it to have this story make sense. For those of you that HAVE read Slice, welcome back! I have a lot planned for this story and I'm sure it's going to be another roller coaster ride of emotions! A lot has changed in the last three years, some good and some not so good, but that's life, right? Life isn't always the proverbial bowl of cherries. One thing I do want to point out is that I know in real life it would take much longer for Phoebe to go through her residency and everything else that it takes to finally become a doctor, but I've decided to pull some artistic license here and cut the girl a break, letting her fast track it straight to doctor , I'm just going to say this once and let it be good for the whole story, I own no rights to anything related to Hey Arnold or Thomas and Friends. Also, any train facts that pop up throughout this story are all thanks to Metalheadrailfan and his vast knowledge of anything rail related. And now I am happy to finally be saying once again, please enjoy …

As Time Goes By

Chapter 1

Three Years Later …..

Phillip's face is illuminated by the bright rays of light that come streaming in through the panes of the skylight that hangs above him. He shields his eyes with his arm as he lets out a deep yawn. As his mind transitions from deep sleep to wakefulness, he remembers what day it is and bolts upright in his bed, startling a sleeping Agnes as he does so. He looks at the calendar that hangs on the wall above what used to be his father's desk. With a rush of adrenaline now coursing through his veins, he jumps out of bed and runs to the calendar. Crawling up on a chair, he grabs the red marker that he has been using to countdown the days until his big birthday party, and adds a thick 'X' across the fifth square of the month.

"Won, tooo, tree, for, fibe." He says as he counts off the red marks that he's so painstakingly made. He stands back, admiring his handiwork before letting his eyes trail up to the picture that sits at the top of the calendar. The bright face of Thomas looks out at him with a smile which signifies that today is going to be a great day indeed.

Throwing the marker on his desk, he runs to his bedroom door and rushes down the stairs that lead to the second floor of the boarding house. He is followed closely by Agnes as he makes a beeline for his parent's room with only one thing on his mind.

"Mommee! Daddee!" He yells as he gives a jump, landing unceremoniously between the two sleeping adults. He climbs onto his father, straddling his chest as he holds his face in his hands and gives his head a shake. "Daddee! It's here! My birfday is here! Come on, wake up!"

Arnold's arms come up and wrap around his son as he slowly opens his eyes. He looks into the boy's green eyes and gives him a big smile. "Well, good morning to you too, Phillip. What's this I hear about it being someone's birthday?"

Phillip points a finger towards himself. "It's not sumone's birfday, it's MY birfday!

There is movement on the other side of the bed as Helga slowly rolls from her side and onto her back. She takes the pillow she was using to support her growing stomach and places it behind her as she sits up. "Criminy, what's with all the racket, I'm trying to sleep here you know."

Phillip slides off of his father's chest and crawls over to his mother. He gives her tummy a quick kiss, whispering a quiet "good morning baby" to the fetus that lays resting within before giving her a big hug. "Mommee, it's time to get up so we can get ready for my birfday."

Helga feigns ignorance as she furrows her brow. "What? Who's got a birthday today? Not me, is it yours, Arnold?"

Playing along, Arnold shakes his head. "Nope, my birthday isn't for a couple of more days. Maybe it's Agnes's birthday perhaps?"

Phillip begins to giggle as he tries once again to get his point across to his parents. "Noooo, its myyyy birfday!"

"Ohhhhh, Arnold says as he grabs his son, throwing him onto his back and giving him a tickle. "It's YOUR birthday!"

Helga shakes her head at the two and gives a little chuckle. "I swear, I don't know which one of you is the child and which ones the adult sometimes. Come on, Phillip, let's go downstairs and I'll make you my patented Shortman birthday breakfast."

"Oh boy!" Phillip yells as he jumps off the bed, "Peanut butter pamcakes! My favorite!"

He chats happily with his mother while they exit the bedroom, leaving Arnold to smile as he lays back down. He doesn't lay there long before he hears Helga yelling from the hallway. "Don't go falling back to sleep, Buck-o, there's a lot of work to be done today!"

With a roll of his eyes, Arnold pushes himself up and swings his legs over the side of the bed. "Yes, dear." He yells while slipping his feet into a pair of worn slippers.

As he leaves the bedroom he glances across the hall towards the closed door of Phillip's old nursery. His heart gives a momentary clench when he thinks about the room and how, due to a tragic twist of fate, it's stood empty for the last two and a half years.

He allows himself one last moment of grief before setting his mind to happier thoughts. He thinks about what his grandmother used to say to him when things would get him down, to always look up and remember to count your blessings and be happy for all that you do have.

Wanting to keep his sorrow to himself, he puts on a happy smile as he enters the kitchen. He stands in the doorway and watches the scene before him. Helga stands at the kitchen counter, a chair has been pulled up in order to allow Phillip to stand next to her. She watches carefully as the boy dumps a cup of pancake mix into a bowl, the powdery mixture billowing up and covering his face in a fine dusting of mix. He giggles as he waves a hand in front of his face, shooing away the powder that lingers in the air.

Helga takes two eggs and cracks them into a cup. She hands it to Phillip and he tips it over the pancake mix, counting as each yolk hits its mark. "Won, Toooo!" He says through a smile.

Helga nods her head in approval. "Very good, Phillip. That's two eggs. Now what do we need to add?"

Phillip thinks about this for a second before opening his eyes wide. "Milk! We need to add milk!"

Helga hands her son a measuring cup filled with milk. "Right! Okay, once you add it, give it a good stir, but be careful not to spill any."

Phillip adds the milk then takes the whisk his mother is holding out for him. His actions are a little jerky, which causes some of the batter to fling out of the bowl. He giggles when a few rogue drops of the mixture hit Helga in the face.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" She says, giving her son a fake scowl.

Arnold finds it hard to continue to stay quiet and Helga turns when she hears laughter coming from behind her. She wipes her face with a paper towel, speaking to him as he walks towards her. "And just what are you laughing at?"

He takes the towel from her and wipes up a bit of stray batter that she's missed before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Don't think of it as laughing AT you, think of it more as laughing WITH you."

He takes on a more serious expression as he places a hand on her extended belly. "Have you taken your blood pressure yet?"

There is a quick falter in her expression as she turns her attention back towards Phillip. "No, I'll do it when I'm done here."

Arnold opens his mouth to argue but she raises a spatula she's picked up, quieting him. Her eyes momentarily shift to their son before darting back towards him. She addresses him slowly, "It's okay, Arnold, I will do it when I'm done."

Knowing better than to press Helga any further, he turns his attention to Phillip. "Say, that batter looks pretty good there Philly Boy."

Delighted by his father's praise, Phillip wears a big smile as he continues to stir the batter. "Mommee helped me add the 'gree de ents and now I'm stirring them up!"

Wanting to help move things along, Helga takes the wisk from Phillip and helps him down from the chair. Picking up the bowl of batter, she gives it a quick stir, breaking up the lumps until it is smooth and pourable. "Okay, Phillip, why don't you keep your daddy company at the table while I cook these up."

Arnold watches her back as she stands at the stove pouring batter onto a hot griddle. She gives a yawn and he worries that despite what she says, she hasn't been sleeping well. Getting up, he slowly walks up next to her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she turns to look at him. He can see the worry in her eyes and he does his best to give her a reassuring smile. Taking the spatula from her he places a chaste kiss to her cheek. "Here, let me take care of this. You go relax and sit with Phillip."

The corners of her mouth pull up into a hint of a smile and she relinquishes the spatula to her husband. She searches his eyes, looking for that eternal optimism that he's so well-known for. He smiles sweetly at her, knowing full well what's on her mind. "It's going to be okay." He says, giving her the reassurance she needs.

Without saying anything she nods in agreement and turns her attention to their son who sits happily playing with one of his toy trains. She goes into mommy mode and grabs a jar of peanut butter out of the cupboard before joining him at the table. "Can't have peanut butter pancakes without the peanut butter, right Phillip?"

Phillip looks up, recognizing the bright red and blue of the jar's label. "Mmmmm, I can't wait! Hurry up daddee, I'm hannnngry!"

Helga's eyes widen at Phillip's choice of words. "What did you say, you're what?"

Phillip points his thumb at himself. "I'm hang-er-ee!"

Helga narrows her eyes at the boy, she already knows the answer to her question, but asks it anyway. "Where did you learn an expression like that?"

"From Daddee. He says that's what you say when you're reeeeally hungry!"

Helga turns to look at her husband's back, noticing the bounce in his shoulders as he tries to cover up his laughter. "Oh he does, does he?"

Arnold turns and gives her an innocent expression. "What? That's a perfectly valid expression, look it up online."

She tries to chastise him even though she knows it will do no good. "You know how I feel about teaching our son slang. He's still building his vocabulary, we need to be teaching him the correct way to say things."

Arnold walks over to the table, placing down a plate piled high with fresh pancakes. He gives his wife a chuckle. "Heh, that's just the English major in you talking. Don't worry so much, there's no harm in Phillip learning a bit of slang here and there."

Helga places a couple of pancakes on a plastic Thomas plate, spreading a good amount of peanut butter on them before cutting them up into bite sized pieces. She drizzles the bits with syrup and places the plate down in front of Phillip, much to his delight. "Well, you just be careful with the words you use in front of him, especially when you're with Geraldo. I know how you two talk when you're together."

Arnold runs a finger across his chest in the shape of an 'X'. "Okay, no more slang in front of Phillip, I promise."

She gives him a dubious look as she cuts into her own stack of pancakes and wonders just how long that promise will last.

xxxxx

Helga messes with her seatbelt as she sits in the passenger seat of the old Packard, waiting for Arnold to finish up strapping Phillip into his car seat. She looks at the time on her phone and gives an annoyed huff. "Will you hurry up, Arnoldo, we're going to be late for our own party!"

"Keep your shirt on." Arnold shoots back while backing himself out of the car's back seat. Slipping behind the steering wheel, he gives Helga a smile. "Heh, this is a switch, usually it's me telling you to get a move on."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get this car in gear and let's get going. We still need to make sure everything is set up and good to go before the guests start arriving at the train museum."

Arnold gives her a smug look. "Don't worry, I've got this." He says before glancing at the warning light on the Packard's dashboard. "Uh oh."

Helga narrows her eyes at him. "Uh oh, what? What's wrong?"

Arnold speaks through a nervous giggle. "Oh, uh, well, it seems that I forgot to stop for gas on my way home from work yesterday and now the warning light says the tank is on empty."

"What!" Helga yells back. "Arnold, you know that shoddy gas gauge you had installed doesn't work, and that that stupid light doesn't come on until the tank is running on fumes."

"I know, it's okay, I'm sure we have enough gas to make it to the station on the corner."

"Well let's hope so, cause I'm certainly in no shape to waddle down Vine Street while schlepping a gas can behind me."

Arnold gives a little giggle at her words. "Don't worry, Helga, no one's going to be schlepping anything, see, we made it to the station with gas to spare."

No sooner do the words leave Arnold's mouth when the car sputters to a stop in front of the gas pump. Helga looks at Arnold without saying anything, his face is red with embarrassment as he exits the car.

xxxxx

The rest of the trip goes by without further incident, and before too long they find themselves in the parking lot of the Hillwood Train Museum. Phillip kicks his feet in excitement when he sees the familiar building. It's become a favorite pass time of Arnold and Phillip to stop by and wander the various trains that sit displayed for exhibit, so when the question of what to do for Phillip's fourth birthday came about the obvious answer was to hold it at the museum.

They step inside the main lobby and Phillip immediately makes his way to where a display has been set up, depicting an area of Hillwood where the local train lines pass through. In the center of the display stands the museum itself, the neighboring train yard is displayed next to it. Behind the two buildings run several tracks that connect to a switch track that is used when changing a train from one track to another. From there the tracks head off through varying areas of countryside. The museum changes the model trains out periodically, so it is always a new adventure every time the two Shortman men stop by for a visit.

Arnold joins his son while Helga deals with making sure the room they've reserved is set up and ready to go. Once she's satisfied that everything is in order, she makes her way over to the display.

She stands next to Arnold and can't help but to smile at the childlike expression that sits on his face. "Criminy, Arnold, I can't remember the last time you drooled over me like you do these trains."

Arnold turns to look at her through a lecherous leer. He places a hand on her pregnant belly and smiles. "Oh yeah? Well I remember. It was about six months ago I'd say."

Helga gives him a playful nudge as her eyes dart towards Phillip. "Arnold! Don't say stuff like that in front of Phillip."

Arnold gives a shrug of his shoulders. "Heh, I doubt he's even listening, are you Phillip?"

Phillip briefly tears his eyes away from the moving trains to look at his dad. "What, Daddee?"

Arnold reaches out to ruffle up the boy's hair. "Nothing Philly, I was just joking with your mom."

Phillip gives him a smile and turns back to the display. "Okay, Daddee."

The three continue to watch the trains as they go about their never ending journey when Helga hears a familiar voice call out to her. "Hey Helga, we're here."

Helga turns to greet their friends. She pulls Phoebe into a warm embrace. "Phoebe! You made it!"

"Yes, I was fortunate enough to find someone to take my place in the ER at the last minute."

Gerald joins Arnold and Phillip at the display, greeting his friend with their usual fist bump. "Arnold, my man, of course we'd find you over here by the model train display."

Phillip looks up from the trains to give Gerald a wide smile. "Uncle Gewold!"

He runs over letting Gerald scoop him up in his arms. "So, how's the big birthday boy? What are you now, ten? Twelve?"

Phillip lets out an amused giggle and holds up four fingers. "No Uncle Gewold, I'm for!"

Gerald opens his eyes wide. "Four? Are you sure, cause I can swear you were only three yesterday."

Phillip nods his head. "Yes Uncle Gewold, I'm not tree no more, I'm for!"

Helga motions for the guys to follow her and Phoebe. "Alright you chuckle heads, it's time to head over to the party room before all the other guests start arriving."

The group heads down a small hallway to a room that is used specifically for children's parties. One half of the room is set up with several tables and chairs, and decorated with brightly colored balloons and streamers. The table covers and paper place settings all sport the images of Thomas and his friends. In the middle of the main table sits a large birthday cake. A set of train tracks adorn the cake, on top of which sits four train shaped candles.

The other half of the room is used as a play area that consists of a ball pit, a six foot tall climbing wall, a small indoor bounce house, an elaborate wooden train table and a craft area that is overseen by one of the museum employees.

The three guys head off in the direction of the train table, giving Helga and Phoebe some alone time before the other guests start to arrive. They sit at one of the tables, watching the boys as they play. Phoebe studies Helga's face, noticing the bags that sit heavy under her eyes. There is a hint of concern in her voice when she speaks. "So, Helga, how have you been feeling these past couple of weeks?"

Helga knows where this is leading and she is quick to put her friend's mind at ease. "I'm doing well, Phoebe, there's no need for worry."

Phoebe gives her a doubtful look. "Your words may say that, but the bags under your eyes tell me something differently. Are you sure you're telling me the truth? How's your blood pressure been?"

"I just took it before we left and it was perfect, right where it should be. Listen, Pheebs, I know what's at stake here and believe me, I'm playing everything by the book. Doctor Johnson isn't taking any chances and has me coming in every two weeks, I take my blood pressure four times a day and Arnold monitors everything I eat." Helga's voice starts to quiver as she continues. "I'm doing everything I can, Pheebs, I promise."

Phoebe reaches out to Helga, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "I believe you, Helga, honest I do. I just can't help but to worry. I would hate to see you and Arnold have to go through what you did last time."

The hurt in Helga's eyes is evident as she speaks through a raised voice. "How do you think I feel, Phoebe? I don't ever want to go through what I did again." She regains hold of herself, placing her hands on her stomach before continuing. "You have to believe me when I say I will NEVER let anything happen that will bring harm to our daughter. I swear I am doing everything in my power to make sure of it."

"Okay, Helga, I believe you. I'll let it drop, but you have to promise that the very second you suspect anything is wrong you'll contact either me or Dr. Johnson, okay?"

Helga gives her friend a soft smile. "Okay, Pheebs, I promise."

Their conversation is interrupted when the sound of Big Bob's voice precedes him down the hallway. Helga gives Phoebe a roll of her eyes. "Well, Pheebs, I guess that's our que to get this party started."

A/N I know, I know, you probably have a lot of questions in regards to what's gone on over the last three years. If you'll be patient, I promise that everything will be answered in due time as this tale unfolds, and everyone's story will be told. I hope you've enjoyed what will hopefully become the first of many chapters. If so, let me know in the reviews. Oh, and once again, welcome back!