"Helga, please be okay." Arnold whispered, examining his love's body. He noticed her chest rising. "She's still breathing."

"I found an entry wound." Sid motioned to her left shoulder, which was covered with blood. "We're going to need Curly to check on her. I can't tell if the bullet hit an artery."

"Where is he?" Arnold asked, looking around the block.

"I think he went to get her stuff. There he is." Curly came outside carrying two boxes.

"Sorry it took so long. I saw her go down and I went to get some medical supplies."

"How did you get them so quickly?" Sid asked.

"The infirmary was close and it was unlocked. Can you move out of the way?" Arnold and Sid obliged, while Curly inspected the wound. He looked at them.

"How bad is it?" Arnold asked.

"The good news is it didn't hit her aorta, which is the largest artery in the body."

"And the bad news?" Sid inquired.

"The bullet broke apart from the impact. I'm going to have to fish out the fragments. Luckily, it doesn't appear that any of the fragments are deep so it may not that tedious of a surgery. Right now, we need to get out of here so I can work on her."

"Curly, what are her chances of surviving?" Arnold wondered anxiously.

Curly pushed is glasses up. "The longer we wait, the less chance she has," he said.

"Then we better move."

Sid and Arnold carefully lifted Helga and moved her into the back of one of the Gestapo's trucks while Curly handled the boxes, which now also carried the guns. Curly and Sid sat in front while Arnold stayed in the back with Helga. He applied pressure on the wound with a towel to slow the bleeding.

Despite it being dark in the back, Arnold was able to find Helga's hair and he stroked her hair. His fingers found her bow. Arnold pulled it out of her hair and placed in his pocket for safekeeping. Tears started to fill his eyes. I'm so sorry, Helga, he thought. I should have taken better care of you. I should have tried to find a different way to get you out. I shouldn't have listened to Curly. His body stiffened at this realization. Curly. He's the one who pushed doing this plan. He didn't even dare think of anything else. It's his fault Helga could die. And if it wasn't for the fact he could save her, I would want nothing to do with him.

The truck managed to clear security from the prison and they were on their way back to Sid's. Once they arrived, Curly assisted Arnold in bringing Helga inside while Sid opened the door for them. They placed Helga on the kitchen table. Sid grabbed the boxes they would need and brought those inside. While Curly began prepping for surgery, Sid went to hide the stolen vehicle so if anyone starts searching for it, they won't search the house first. Arnold stood in the kitchen, still applying pressure to Helga's wound. He didn't know what else to do, so he awaited Curly's instructions.

"Have you had any experience with surgery?" Curly asked Arnold.

"N-no, I don't," he replied bitterly.

"Well, if you don't mind waiting outside the kitchen, I think that would be best."

Arnold frowned. "What the hell am I supposed to do? I feel kind of useless not doing anything to help her."

"You can do some packing for our clothes," Curly suggested as he began to cut Helga's dress off. "Since we have a car now we won't need to wear all those layers. And don't forget to leave some clothing out for Helga."

"So I'm to be the damn housekeeper?" Arnold asked harshly, trying to keep his eyes off of Helga's exposed injury.

Curly looked at the peeved blonde. "Arnold," he said calmly, "I know you're upset about Helga. And I'm well aware you blame me for her predicament. I don't blame you at all. But understand that I had checked every option of getting her out. Every little thing. The biggest thing was if we tried walking her out the door, we all would have been caught. At least in what we did, the guards expect her to be dead. And it's more believable since her blood is in the straw. No one is going to suspect that she was involved. Now, if you don't mind, I need to start surgery."

Arnold stumbled out of the kitchen without saying another word. His mind was so focused on what Curly just said that he almost ran into Sid, who was to assist in the surgery. Arnold collapsed on the couch. He pulled Helga's bow from his pocket. It was a bit dirty and had specks of blood on it. He held it close to his chest.

Curly is right. Any other way there would have been a manhunt for her. At least they will think she's dead. Arnold choked at this thought. She can't die. Not her. Not the girl who sacrificed so much to save everyone.

"C'mon, Helga," he whispered. "Don't let them get you, and I promise never to leave you again."

Arnold kissed the bow and put it back in his pocket. He went to his cot and changed his shirt. He pulled aside a set of clothes for the next day. Mindlessly he placed his clothes into a box, folding them meticulously. Then he went upstairs and did the same for Sid and Curly. He was unsure if they wanted different clothes but he set some aside just in case.

When he finished, Arnold went to the box that contained Helga's clothes. He looked through the container to find the perfect outfit for her to wear when she wakes up. He was pulling out a piece of clothing when he heard a metal clank. Arnold looked down to see a heart shaped trinket on a chain on the ground. He picked it up and observed it. When he turned it, he was met with his sixteen year old self. Why does Helga have a picture of me? How did she get a picture of me? He opened the locket and read the inscription.

Arnold my soul, you are always in my heart.
Love,
Helga G. Pataki

Arnold gazed at it in awe. For at least three years Helga has loved him. How did I not know this?

"Hey, Arnold," Sid said, coming into the room. Arnold quickly closed the locket and placed it in his pocket. He looked at Sid, who appeared drained and had dark circles under his eyes. He too had removed the Gestapo uniform.

"What's going on?" Arnold asked anxiously.

"We were able to remove all the bullet fragments from her body. Curly is sewing her up right now."

"Is she okay?" Arnold's eyes widened with hope.

Sid smiled softly. "She's breathing, but she hasn't woken up yet. We'll need to keep an eye on her to see if her condition changes through the night."

Arnold sighed as he lowered his head. "So, she's not safe yet."

"I'm afraid not."

Arnold sunk into a chair. "I'm not going to be able to handle if she dies. She can't die. I'd be lost without her."

"I know you're scared, but this isn't like you," Sid said, sitting next to Arnold. "What happened to Mr. Brightside?"

"He's come face to face with Mr. Reality and lost," Arnold answered sullenly.

"You can't think like that. What would Helga do if she heard you talking like this?"

Arnold chuckled softly. "She would probably slap me for acting like this and tell me to 'get it together bucko'."

"That's Helga, all right. Look, she needs you to be positive right now. That's the Arnold she fell in love with when you guys were little, and that's the Arnold she always depended on."

"What are you talking about?" Arnold asked curiously. "Helga's loved me since we were kids?"

"You didn't know?" Sid asked. Arnold shook his head. "Stinky was right. You are dense."

"What?" Arnold asked, dumbfounded. "What does Stinky have to do with this?"

Sid sighed. "A few years before Helga and Phoebe moved here, I had a talk with Stinky. He mentioned Helga and that he liked her. However, there was this guy that she liked. Stinky didn't mention the name. I told him to try and go for it, and he said he would. The next time I called him, he said that Helga was visibly upset. He asked what was wrong, and that was when she told him everything. That she was in love with this other guy ever since he held an umbrella over her head and complimented her on her bow."

Arnold pulled out the bow and locket. "It was the first time we met," he said, his eyes focused on the two objects. "All this time, and I never knew."

"From what I gather," Sid began, "you and Phoebe are the only ones who have shown her any kindness, no matter how she acted. No one cared but you two. And right now, she needs that more than ever. I think it can help her."

"Well," Arnold began, "somebody needs to be the optimist, and it might as well be me." He smiled at Sid and walked to Helga's clothes. He dug through until he found the dress he was looking for. "This one is what she will wear when she wakes." He displayed a pink, wool, long sleeved dress.

"It screams Helga," Curly said from the entryway of the room. "I finished stitching her up. Her vitals are stable for now, but she's still hasn't woken up."

"I see you took off your uniform as well," Arnold observed.

"I may have use for it later," he said. "I moved her to her bed downstairs if you want to see her."

Arnold wasted no time in heading down to see his beloved. He stood in the doorway and gazed upon her. She had a man's shirt over her body, covering it and the wound. Curly must have put it on her when he finished. The left side of her face was now covered in bruises. Arnold walked to the bed and sat on the edge.

"Helga, what happened to you?" he wondered, looking at her. "Who dared to touch your face? Was it Wolfgang?" He paused. "If it was, then you don't need to worry about him anymore. I killed him. Can you believe that? Your goody two shoes Arnold killed a man. But it was worth it."

He chuckled. "I'd do anything for you. I hope you see that. And I hope you can forgive me for leaving you years ago." He sniffed, rubbing his eyes. "But really I hope you can forgive me for being so stupid. I should have known about your feelings for me years ago. I'm sorry you had to feel hide your love for me. But I swear, you will never have to do that again. You just need to wake up, Helga. Please, wake up," he pleaded.

Arnold took Helga's bow and put it on her head. He then clasped her locket around her neck. "I love you, Helga." He softly kissed her lips, and then her forehead. "From now on, I'm going to protect you. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you ever again." Arnold squeezed her hand. "All you need to do is wake up, and we will get out of here. We will move to Sweden. We will be free from all of this. We'll be free to love each other for the rest of our lives." Arnold shifted so he was lying next to her. He began to play with her golden locks, staring at her beauty, and longing to see her sapphire blue eyes.

Creak

Arnold bolted up from the strange noise. He looked around the room in search of the noise. His vision was blurred. He must have fallen asleep. Arnold began to rub his eyes when he felt pressure on his other hand. He looked down at his hand. In it was another hand, but it was small and delicate. His glance moved upwards to meet a pair of ocean blue eyes looking back at him.

"Helga?"

"Hey, Football Head."

A/N: Yes, she is alive. I know I put everyone through an emotional roller coaster through this and it was crazy, but we're still not done. Stay tuned to find out if everyone makes it to Sweden.

On a side note, I had contemplated on having Helga die and see how it affects the group, and there may be a possibility I will write an alternate ending to this story that looks into that, but I'm not 100% sure on that right now.