Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.
A Trip Through Time
Chapter 31: This is OUR Future Part 3
With Kiara
Kiara Johanssen has just gotten off the phone. She had called her best friend Andy to check and see how he and his family was holding up and thankfully, nothing too crazy seems to have happened.
Relatively speaking that is.
The Asian-African girl soon went to her mother's home laboratory and saw that both versions of her mother were both engrossed with that they are doing.
Investigating...
Young Phoebe had been excited to see the home laboratory, as she has always wanted something like this. She spent a good deal of time geeking out over the equipment, but right now, she was calm and ready to investigate the matter at hand.
Young Phoebe however, was still impressed with the computer system here.
"This technology is incredibly efficient for making calculations..." Young Phoebe said as she typed at a computer with her older counterpart who nodded in agreement.
"Yes, it certainly cuts down on work time, especially when Akiko was a baby..."The mother said with a chuckle.
Don't get Phoebe wrong, she loved both her daughters but they are polar opposites, especially compared to their behavior at certain ages.
Kiara was such a a calm, easy baby. Heck, she barely even cried to the point where Phoebe was worried and took her to the doctor, all to find out that Kiara just had a quiet personality. Meanwhile, Akiko or rather Kiki was the opposite, always crying, being stubborn about taking naps and only liked it when Gerald held her. Kiki is also very energetic and excitable, while Kiara was more calm and quiet at her age.
She still loves both of them equally and emphatically.
Mrs. Gerald Johanssen shook her head. Now wasn't the time for reminiscing, especially when her children's lives could be in jeopardy.
"Based on these calculations I have a theory..." Younger Phoebe said turning away facing her older self.
"What is it, Phoebe?..."Kiara asked, since she is very much a part of this situation.
"You don't have to give details for the sake of the timeline..."She said to her older self and her future daughter.
Older Phoebe nodded curious where her past self was going with this.
"We've been here for a brief time and in that time, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary? Anything in the slightest?..." Young Phoebe asked.
"Aside from the fact that pre-teen versions of my parents have become my house guests, not much..."Kiara shrugged.
Older Phoebe thought about it and there was nothing really out of the ordinary. True, she saw her elderly neighbor in the grocery store on Sunday, wearing a kilt and a Hawaiian shirt buying oranges but that was normal for him.
"Nothing that we aren't used to..." older Phoebe admitted.
"Very fascinating..." Young Phoebe said.
"What do you think any of this means, Phoebe?...'Kiara asked.
"I am still not completely sure, and this sound a little farfetch but no more than what we have already seen..."Young Phoebe started.
Her older self, being her, just figured out what she is trying to say.
"You don't suppose-
"Do either of you recall reading the theories of Doctor Stephen Everett?..."She questioned and her future self and daughter looked surprised.
Meanwhile
With Andy
Andy finished his phone conversation with Kiara and walked back to his room.
He saw Arnold was on his bed, still eating the sandwich that is serving as his late lunch.
"Hey..where did you go?..."Arnold asked.
"No place, I just had to talk with Kiara for a bit..."Andy said as he sat in a nearby chair.
Both continued eating some of the left over sandwiches that Mrs. Shortman had made before.
"So...what do you think of mom's egg salad sandwich?..."Andy asked his younger dad, who took the final bite.
"It's actually really good...I never really took Helga as a cook..."Arnold admitted.
"That's nothing..."Andy said, knowing that his mom is a great cook and his younger dad was in for a surprise tonight...
"Do I get a hint?" Arnold asked.
"Can't... it's a surprise." Andy said with a knowing smile.
Andy's stomach rumbled just imagining all of the delicious food that his mom could be making in the kitchen Helga Shortman always went above and beyond when guests were over
Even if those guests were younger versions of herself and her husband.
Yeah, no matter how weird that sounded, Andy's stomach rumbled, just thinking about it, but he was getting weird looks from Arnold.
"You okay?..."Arnold asked and Andy snapped out of it
"I'm fine...I'm fine..." he said embarrassed with a light blush painting his cheeks.
"So...uh...how are you holding up?..."Andy asked.
Arnold knew what he meant.
"Well, aside from being 25 years away from home, I am doing good..."Arnold said and Andy looked surprised.
"Really?..." Andy asked.
"I figured you'd have lost your mind by now..."He said.
Arnold sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
"I'm trying not to. For all I know, if I do anything too extreme, it might change everything and my future ends up being old and alone..." Arnold said.
"I see. Well, no worries. We won't let that happen..." Andy assured and Arnold cracked a smile at that.
"Meantime, why don't we-"
Suddenly, they heard the sound of a thump happening outside. Arnold was alarmed while Andy flinched.
"What was that?..."Arnold asked and Andy looked nervous.
"Uh..Megan must be making a racket in her room again...I'll go tell her to keep it down..."Andy said in a hesitant sort of way as he ran out.
Arnold raised a brow at his sudden departure before shrugging.
"He really is something else..."Arnold thought in amusement.
Arnold was a little happy about how his son would be but was iffy on his future with Helga. Did she really like him? What did he feel for her?
He always did know that he cares about her..but...
"This is so confusing..."He sighed as he stared at the ceiling, waiting for Andy to come back.
He would try and figure things out with Helga later.
Meanwhile
Helga was once again in Megan's room, just finishing eating the sandwich that Andy had given her, calming down her stomach.
"That hit the spot...'She said as Megan then tried to get her attention.
"Great, now we can go back to playing..."Megan said eagerly.
Helga sighed, realizing that she is right back where she started.
However, when Megan placed her juice box on the table, she accidentally spilled it on her play table, causing a little mess.
"Uh oh..."Megan said.
Helga saw this as a potential escape.
"Don't worry...I'll go get some paper towels or something..."Helga said to her future daughter, who nodded.
Once she was out of that super girly, kiddie room, she sighed.
"She's cute, but she can be as bossy as me...heh..."Helga thought in mild amusement.
She went downstairs to look for the paper towels and the most logical place would be in the kitchen.
However, she soon saw something that caught her eye.
It's baby Henry who was in his little play pen. Since her future self is in the kitchen that is a few feet away, the baby was here.
Despite her desire for something to eat, the pigtailed blonde who walked over the the play pen to see the little baby was gnawing on a little teddy bear.
He stopped when he noticed her and started giggling and babbling happily.
"Ga...ga...blee..."Baby Henry cooed out as he raised his little hand, as if trying to wave at her.
Helga usually tried to be tough as nails and not let herself get caught up by cute things, but still, she felt herself giving in at the sight of her future baby son.
"Hey there..."She said as she saw the baby smile at her, showing off about 4 little teeth in his otherwise gummy smile.
It made her feel a strange warmth inside of her. However, before she could do or say anything, Megan started calling from upstairs.
"Little mommy...did you get the paper towels yet?..."Megan called and Helga sighed.
"I'm on it..."Helga called back, before smiling in amusement.
She turned to the baby, who was still looking at her with those beautiful green eyes that are identical to her beloved's.
"It's been a slice Henry but I got to go help your sister..."Helga said, as if the infant could understand her.
"Ba...da...ga...ehhh..."He let out.
"You can say that again..."She chuckled as she soon went to the kitchen.
However, she saw something that once again made her question if she was awake or not. Helga watched amazed as her future self, Mrs. Shortman, was in the middle of making dinner.
She was actually moving around, actually looking like she knew what she was doing. The only person Helga has seen cook like this was her sister. Heck, before this adventure, the last time she saw her sister, she was trying to escape from her, to get out of cooking with her.
Now, she is seeing her older self cooking and she seems not to hate doing it.
Helga was overjoyed on her future with Arnold, being married to him and having a family but she still wondered how she got such a girly daughter and how she became so...domesticated?
Yeah, that's the word: Domesticated.
"I still can't believe that this is me...it's so weird..."She couldn't help but think.
Helga was silent, and Mrs. Shortman was busy making some mash potatoes, her back was turned, seemingly not noticing her.
"You know it's rude to stare..."her older self said Helga blushed.
"How...how did you know I was here?..."Helga asked.
"I could hear you talking to Henry in the other room..."She said, and the child Helga blushed again.
"So, anything you need?..."She asked.
"Uh..yeah...some paper towels..."Helga said.
"Megan spilled something again, didn't she?..."Mrs. Shortman guessed and her younger self nodded.
The woman soon went to get the item and handed it to her younger self.
"Here..this should do it..."She said as she handed the paper towels to her younger self.
She did notice that her younger self seemed to have something on her mind, judging from the look on her face.
"What's wrong?..." Mrs. Shortman older self asked.
"I'm still... uh..." Helga found herself unable to ask her question.
"What? Come on, speak up..."She encouraged.
"How did I... become...you?..."Helga asked.
Mrs. Shortman blinked, before she chuckled. She realized what this is about.
"Puberty..." Adult Helga joked.
"No! I mean... how did I become so... like a mom but not like...our mom?...'She worded carefully.
Adult Helga smiled.
"Without giving too much away, let's just say you do some maturing...it also helps to have someone like our beloved helping us out..." Mrs. Shortman said as they both blushed at that.
She then went to go tend to her mash potatoes, turning them off once they were up to her standards.
"So, any more questions?..."Mrs. Shortman asked, more like a joke than anything.
"Actually...yeah..."Helga started.
"What is it?..."Mrs. Shortman asked.
"It's just...you're cooking, this place looks like it is well kept and I don't think Mr. Shortman did it all by himself and you are openly hugging and kissing people...I just..."Helga paused.
"What?..."Mrs. Shortman asked, wondering where she is going with this.
"When do I become soft?..."Helga asked and her future self looked surprised upon hearing that.
"Soft am I? I think I'll show my past self how 'soft' I am"..."Mrs. Shortman thought to herself.
She turned off the stove, covered the food that was already made and then turned to her younger self, ho had a quizzing look on her face.
"Follow me.." Mrs. Shortman ordered.
Helga was curious but did as she said. She followed her older self to what looked to be a home gym. Mrs. Shortman then walked over to a punching bag.
"Okay, what is going on here?..."Helga thought.
She saw her future self punch the bag so hard, knocking it off the hook and sending it flying into the wall. Helga's jaw dropped and Mrs. Shortman grinned, running her hand over her knuckles.
"Three kids later and old Betsy still's got it..."Mrs. Shortman said, smirking.
Her younger self then walked over the punching bag. It must have weighed about 100 pounds or so. She looked at it, then at her future self.
She only had this to say.
"That...
"Was...
"AWESOME!..."She exclaimed loudly, while her future self just shrugged modestly.
"It's no big deal it...plus, pays to have a black belt for a grandmother-in-law..." Mrs. Shortman chuckled as she walked over to her younger self.
"I like taking care of my family but it doesn't make me soft..heck, being a good parents takes A LOT of strength, especially with kids like mine..."Mrs. Shortman said as she then rose a fist.
"But I love it and just what you saw happened with Sheck, I'll can still kick some butt...especially if they try and mess with my kids..."She said, looking determined.
Helga gave an impressed whistle.
"But serious...how'd you get to be so... not like Mom?..."She had to ask.
Adult Helga was about to answer, but hesitated. Helga found it odd.
"Uh..."
"What's wrong... uh, Helga?..." Helga asked her adult self.
Adult Helga was unsure how to answer, so she decided to leave a certain fact out.
"Let's just say you'll find a better role model..."Mrs. Shortman said.
Young Helga raised a brow at that, she had more questions but she knows that she can't ask them.
Mrs. Shortman looked at her younger self, wondering if it would be a risk to the timeline to teach her younger self some moves. She was a brawler for a long time, without any formal training until she got into a fight with Wolfgang that ended with the dirt-bag running off with his tail between his legs and her with a black eye
It might help Helga to know a thing or two about fighting especially when San Lorenzo happened.
However, Phoebe's warning came to her mind and she knew that she can't risk anything. After all, even the smallest change could put her poor little babies lives in jeopardy.
Nothing is worth that...
Young Helga noticed her expression but before she could ask, Megan suddenly appeared.
"There you are...what's taking so long?..."Megan asked, sounding impatient.
"Sorry, baby...mommy and Helga were just talking..."The mother said to her daughter.
"And I got sidetracked by your little brother..." Helga said.
"He's cute, isn't he?..." Megan said before aiming her thumb at herself.
"So am I!..."She said with a pout that her mother found adorable.
Adult Helga smiled and shook her head. Young Helga just sighed in some annoyance.
"I'm coming..."She said and the kid's attitude soon became happy again.
"Goody..."She said as she grabbed her by the hand to drag her for more play time.
"Play nice and go easy on her..."Mrs. Shortman said, though her younger self wondered who she was really talking to.
With Arnold
The original football headed child had just gotten out of the bathroom, having needed to attend to some business.
Andy still hadn't come back yet. He was curious and went to look for him, but Nature started to call.
"Maybe he's already back in his room..."He thought.
He was about to go back to Andy's room, only to hear something in a nearby room.
It sounded like his future self.
"Huh?..."Arnold questioned as he curiously looked inside and saw that his future self was once again on the phone, no doubt talking to someone who was concern over what happened.
"The kids are alright...I assure you...yes, Sheck is back in custody...no...don't bother...Helga already knocked his teeth out..."Mr. Shorman said.
His back was turn to him, so he didn't see his younger self yet.
"No...NO! You don't have to do that..Why not? Uh...it's not necessary, the kids are alright and you guys don't need to cut your trip short...do I sound nervous? No...I..I am just touched...but as I said, you guys don't have to, you were already going to come back next week, you can see the kids then...why not now?...Well...uh...you see..."Mr. Shortman then turned around and saw his younger self.
"Uh...hi..."Arnold said.
"I'll call you guys back.."He said as he quickly hung up.
"How long have you been standing there?..."Mr. Shortman asked, looking nervous.
"About minute...who was that on the phone?..."Arnold asked.
"No one for you to concern yourself with..."Mr. Shortman said and Arnold raised a brow at that.
He then realized the room he was in, it looked like a home office, with a computer, a big book shelf and he saw some diploma's on the wall. The future held more for him than he originally thought. Arnold then noticed a certain photo on his adult self's desk that was face down.
"Is there something you need?..."He asked but then notice what the kid is looking at.
"Oh, hey, Mr. Shortman?" Arnold reaches for the photo. "This thing is-"
Mr. Shortman then placed his hand on the frame, keeping the younger version from flipping it up. He then gave him a stern look before sighing.
"I should have put it away, but I hate not looking at my favorite picture as a kid..."He muttered.
"What kind of picture?" Arnold asked before a thought came to him. "Is it about... our pa-"
"We both know I can't answer that..."He said quickly.
Arnold was confused. He knew that time travel was touchy but what is so bad about asking about that?
Mr. Shortman then got another call and he sighed.
"Look, Arnold...I know that you have questions, but we already talked about this..look, let's just say that time can be a funny thing but things will work out and leave it at that..."He said as he ushered his younger self out of his office.
Arnold soon found himself out in the hall, even more confused that before.
"Things will work out?..." Arnold said in disbelief.
Time travel was too much.
The future Arnold nodded.
The two stood there in the office, they really didn't know what to say next. The cell phone rung again as the older Arnold sighed.
"Listen, Arnold, can you give me a moment? It's future adult stuff..." Mr. Shortman said as he gestured for Arnold to leave.
Once he was out, he closed the door. Mr. Shortman sighed as he answered the phone...quietly.
"Hey..."He said.
His younger self was by himself in the hall, still confused.
What did Mr. Shortman mean by 'everything would work out?..."Arnold thought.
Did that mean they found out what happened to his parents? Did it have to do with the journal?
'No! Stop it...don't torture yourself! Don't ask questions you can't get the answer for ..." Arnold thought.
He can't give into temptations again? Last time that happened, he got kidnapped by Sheck.
Besides, what if trying to discover the answer to what happened to his parents now could lead to Andy, Megan and Henry not being born? Or Jamaica and Canada going to war? Or...or...or who knew with time travel?!
Arnold was starting to get a headache again. He decided to go back to Andy's room and try to calm down, however he was not looking where he was going he bumped into someone
"Ouf!"
"Ah"
"ARNOLD?!..." Helga excmailed, before she, out of habit, got up and said this familiar phrase.
"Watch where you are going, Football Head!..."She snapped.
Arnold blinked as he realized what must have happened.
"Uh...sorry about that Helga.."Arnold said as he got up.
"Criminy! It's one thing out in the streets, but indoors..."Helga muttered under her breath.
"Sorry, I...was on my way back to Andy's room but...I guess I have a lot on my mind..."Arnold said.
"Wait, why are you here?..."Arnold asked.
"I..I just needed a break from playing with Megan..."Helga sighed.
"Why a break?" Arnold asked.
"She's... a bit of a handful... Helga said. "A bit is saying too much. More like a lot..."She muttered
"What are you talking about? Megan is really sweet and cute..."Arnold said and Helga rolled her eyes with an amused grin.
"Seems you already have a soft spot for her..."Helga said in amusement.
"You're the one who played tea party with her..."Arnold pointed out, Helga sent him an angry look and Arnold chuckled.
"Don't worry, I know...don't tell anybody..."He said, already guessing what she was going to say.
"You better not or else..."Helga said as she raised her fist, Arnold just sent her a half lidded smile, the same one that made her weak at the knees.
"Whatever you say, Helga..."Arnold said in amusement.
"Darn right, whatever I say..."Helga said, with her arms crossed but she wasn't actually angry with him.
She, in fact, was swooning at the mere sight of him.
"Oh Arnold..."She sighed internally.
Arnold giggled. Helga soon lost her scowl and actually giggled along. Once it was over, there was an awkward silence.
The girl looked at Arnold. She wondered if she should be straight about her feelings for the boy.
So... should I tell him now?.."She thought.
Arnold snapped out of his thoughts to feel Helga's gaze. The two kids stopped in silence and stared at on another. Helga opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Before either could say anything, they both heard a loud thud coming from the next room.
"What was that?..."Helga questioned.
Arnold was curious and went to investigate.
They did hear a familiar voice in there.
"Come on, you gotta stay quiet for a week..."The hushed voice said.
"Is that Andy?..."Arnold questioned.
Helga, being impatient, opened the door and they soon saw their future son in front of some closet, but he flinched.
"A-Arnold...Helga...What are you guys doing here?..."Andy asked hesitantly.
"What's in the closet?..."Helga asked.
"N-nothing..."Andy stuttered.
"Arf! Arf!..."
That was suddenly heard.
"Did I just hear barking?..."Arnold questioned and Andy sighed.
"Okay, I'm busted..."He said as he revealed Pepper to them.
"Arnold, Helga...meet Pepper...Pepper meet Arnold and Helga..." Andy introduced.
Pepper got out of Andy's arms and investigated the strange humans who smelled exactly like the older humans. Being a dog, Pepper didn't exactly understand or care to understand the laws of time travel. He just wanted to make friends with the nice smelling humans.
"Arf...arf"
"I know what you guys are thinking..."Andy started.
"How did that mutt get here?..."Young Helga asked, in a silent rage.
Arnold had nothing to say. He was just as surprised as Helga.
"Do your parents know? The older ones, I mean?..."Arnold asked and Andy shook his head.
"I was going to tell them...my older parents...later...but with this whole time travel thing...I...Look, please...just don't mention this to my older parents. I promise I will tell them...when the time is right..."Andy said.
"Arf! Arf!..." yipped the dog.
"And that time is now..." Helga snarked with a smirk.
"Or it will be," Arnold said in agreement, until a thought came to him.
"Wait..didn't your parents already see Pepper earlier?..." Arnold asked.
He was pretty sure he remembered Pepper coming in during their big talk with everyone's parents.
"Yeah I remember that too..." Helga said, absentmindedly scratching the puppy behind the ears while Pepper was on his belly. His tail wagging against the floor and his tongue out panting happily.
Andy groaned, how did he forget his parents were probably waiting to talk to him when the living time capsules returned home?
"They think he is still at the Boarding house...and I sort of might have snuck him into the car while you they were busy with you guys..."Andy confessed.
"Andy! Can you come down here for a moment?..."The voice of Mrs. Shortman called.
"Uh...Coming, mom..."Andy said.
"Here.. keep an eye on him..."He said as he handed the pooch to Helga.
"Hey, I don't want him..."Helga shouted but Andy already ran out.
Helga looked annoyed while Arnold looked amused.
"Criminy!..."Helga complained as she placed Pepper down.
"Well, Pepper is kind of cute..."Arnold said.
"Always the softie, Arnold...I just hope I don't have to do all of the disciplining in the future..."Helga quipped.
Arnold looked at her and she blushed, realizing what she just said. She then remember what she wanted to talk to him about.
She decided to go for it...
"So... Football Head? Arnoldo?..."Helga started.
"Yeah?..."Arnold said.
"Listen, about..about this future... our future..."Helga started, flushing and looking very shy now.
Arnold couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Is...is this it? Is she confessing again?..."Arnold thought as he gulped.
Did she REALLY feelings for him now? Arnold became flushed from the thought and backed away for a moment.
He did tell Helga that she could tell him when she was ready...he just didn't expect her to be ready now!
"Oh man..."He thought, trying to mentally prepare himself.
Helga noticed his hesitance and decided to change the subject.
"This is...unbelievable right?..." Helga now started to talk normally again. "I mean this can't be set in stone. So...don't get any funny ideas football head..."Helga said as she pointed at him in false anger.
Arnold blinked, before he smiled. He was both mildly disappointed and somewhat relieved.
"Whatever you say, Helga..."He repeated.
Helga did however look frustrated.
"Darn it...why do I keep chickening out?..."Helga thought, frustrated.
Arnold figured she was still unsure about thing and decided to try and ease her mind.
"Remember what I said Helga...I can wait...you can tell me when you are ready if you want..."Arnold said.
Helga looked at him with wide eyes. Arnold sighed, he couldn't handle a confession right now.
Arnold then noticed that Pepper was back in the closet, sniffing at something.
"What is it, boy?...'Arnold asked as he noticed what the dog found.
"What's that?..."Helga questioned as Arnold picked it up.
"Scrapbooks?...'Arnold questioned as he pulled one out and it read in big, bright blue letters "Andy" along with a "1"
"There are more here, football head…'Helga said, thought about 5 of them are pink, and the one she pulled out read "Megan along with a "1"".
Once they opened, all the saw was a bunch of baby pictures, cutesy stickers and decorations and they both saw that the babies looked a lot like….
"It's a scrap book about the kids…"Arnold said as he noticed that the baby boy in the scrapbook had a football shaped head and blue eyes.
It's Andy as a baby...and the other one is Megan too, since she had the same pink bow on her little head.
"Well I'll be…"Helga said as she saw slightly younger versions of themselves in the picture with their kids.
They saw pictures of Andy and Megan as new born babies, along with copies of their birth certificates, pictures in infant costumes for Halloween, holiday pictures and a bunch more baby pictures that were cute to parents but totally embarrassing to the kid that the baby in the pic eventually grows up to be.
" I don't get why Andy has more books then Megan does…'Helga questioned, getting a weird feeling about it.
"I think I get it…think about it….Andy is 9 and he has nine books, and Megan is 5 and she only has five…it's books based on each year of their age…'Arnold theorized.
Helga blinked as she realized this and smiled. She is just glad it wasn't what she feared. The last thing she ever wanted to think is the possibility that she might grow up to play favorites like her own parents did to her. Sure, Megan said that she doesn't but she wanted to be sure that she isn't like that.
Andy, Megan and Henry didn't deserve that.
"Got to admit, they are kind of cute…for babies…'Helga admitted and it made Arnold smiled warmly when she said that.
It was then that Andy decided to walk into the room.
"Hey…Arnold…Helga… mom says that dinner will be ready in-
Andy paused when he stepped back into the room and he saw the scrap books in each of their child parent's hands…and needless to say, he reacted kind of…
"AH!...'Andy yelled as his whole face suddenly turned red, much to the surprise of young Arnold and Helga.
"Andy, what's the matter?...'Arnold asked in concern for his future kid, who looked like he was about to pass away.
"Where the heck that you get those?.."Andy said looking absolutely flustered.
"They were in the closet..."Helga said as Andy grabbed the scrap book from her hand and looked embarrassed.
"Oh man...I knew I forgot where I put them..."Andy sighed.
"Forgot?...'Arnold questioned.
"Andy, was that you?..."Mr. Shortman's voice was heard and it was getting closer.
" Criminy! What's with all of the screaming?.."Mrs. Shortman's voice was also heard.
"Oh no, my folks...please...don't say anything about Pepper, they'll never let me keep him at this time...please..."Andy begged them.
He then made Pepper side underneath a guest bed.
Just in time for the adults to come in.
"Is everything okay in here?.."Mr. Shortman asked.
What is going on in here?..."Mrs. Shortman said as she came in, with Henry in her arms.
Her husband also came in, with Megan right behind him.
"There you are..."Megan said.
"Uh...hey..."Helga said hesitantly.
She and Arnold wondered if they should mention the dog. Nah, she wasn't a snitch and she won't have to deal with it for 25 years anyway.
"Is something wrong here?.."Mr. Shortman.
"Nothing's wrong..." Andy lied.
The boy didn't want his parents to find out about Pepper, but he really didn't want them seeing the books. But it was too late.
Megan than saw the scrapbooks in their younger parents hands and on the floor.
"Hey, Mommy! Daddy! Look at what the little you found..."Megan pointed.
"What, Meggie Pie?..."Mr. Shortman asked
They than noticed the scrap books on the floor.
"Well, I'll be…I have been looking everywhere for these…"Adult Helga said as she picked up some scrapbooks.
"Where were they?..." Adult Arnold wondered out loud.
"It seems forever since we last saw them..."He said.
"Oh Arnold, remember this...it's Andy's first Fourth of July..." Mrs. Shortman asked cooing at a picture of a baby Andy dressed like a member of the continental army who was shrunk in the wash , on the shoulder of an equally dressed up Arnold and a continental Helga next to him.
Arnold smiled nostalgically looking at the picture.
"Like it was yesterday..."Mr. Shortman said.
"I know..." adult Helga said as she picked up a book and pointed to another picture
"Remember the time Andy found that family of squirrels on the backyard?..."She said.
"How could I forget..."Her husband chuckled.
"How about the time Megan tried to dye her hair and she tested it out on Andy first-"
"MOM! DAD! YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME!..."Andy shouted in embarrassment as he covered his face with his hands. He did not want a trip down memory lane.
It was bad enough his parents found them but now his younger parents found them. For all he knows, they'd probably make sure those embarrassing photos happened or record everything
"Okay, it's official...becoming embarrassing parents are a biological thing, like getting liver spots...'Young Helga snickered, while Young Arnold tried hard not to laugh.
"Young Arnold and Helga laughed at the situation. They felt sorry for their future son, but none of them could hold in their laughter. Within seconds, Helga rolled on the floor holding her gut while Arnold had trouble standing up.
"It's not funny!..."Andy exclaimed.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Andy..."Young Arnold said with difficulty due to his lauging, while Helga just kept laughing as loud as she could. Megan joined in while his older parents chuckled a little.
Adult Helga wiped a tear from her eye as she remembered dinner.
"Well, enough walking down memory lane...come on...dinner is ready..."Mrs. Shortman said to everyone.
"Dinner?..."They said.
Everyone soon left the room to go have dinner together. However, no one noticed Pepper crawled from under the guest bed sniffing around. The smell of food was prominent in the air and the little dog was hungry as he walked past the door.
Uh oh!
-To be continued-
Next time on A Trip Through Time
A Not-So Typical Family Dinner
A/N(1): Special thanks to NeoMark, 61394, BeConfuzzled Writer and Invader Johnny for helping out with some scenes and ideas. Bless you all :)
A/N(2): I dedicate this chapter to my friends, my family and my Love for God. :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Invader Johnny: You got that right...
The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i: :D
Kimagure Bijin: You're welcome :)
Nep2uune: It takes place before TJM, so yeah.
InuKagForever22: Thank you :)
Guest: I am sorry for the long wait. I have quite a few projects left to do.
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)