"Fine…" She breathed. She really didn't want to go to his house like this, but it was the only choice she had… She had seen the determination in his eyes and heard the plea in his words.

He smiled and hugged her and a voice in her head whispered "Its okay now…"

Arnold and Helga had waited for the rain to lighten up, and took their chance to make a run for the boarding house with their items and groceries in tow. It was now 5:30 AM and everybody was awake getting ready for their days to start, when Arnold and Helga burst through the front door soaking wet.

"Oh Arnold! You're alright! Phew. Had me scared Shortman- Hey… Who's your lady friend?" Grandpa asked curiously. Pookie, Miles, Stella and Himself had been worried when he didn't come home last night, but decided he had gone to Gerald's for the night since it was raining. They hadn't expected him to bring home a girl, but knew better than to assume he had done anything with her. Arnold was a gentleman after all.

"Hey Grandpa… Uh, do you think we could talk in the living room… Away from all the boarders?" He asked. Arnold was nervous, but only because he didn't want people to poke and pry at Helga, she had already been through enough. He knew his family would be willing to help, especially when they heard what had happened.

"Sure Shortman and…" he motioned waiting for Helga to tell him her name..

"Helga" Arnold clarified before she could.

"Okay. You and Helga go ahead and get comfy in the living room, I'll go let the boarders know not to pry in on our conversation, and go wake up your parents."

"Actually Grandpa, I wanted to take Helga up to my room first so she could change out of her wet clothes, and once she was done I could change and then we could talk." Arnold held up his arms to show his Grandpa how soaked they were from the rain. Since Phil knew he could trust Arnold, he agreed and went to talk to the boarders, while Arnold and Helga went upstairs to change.

When Arnold and Helga came back downstairs, they were both dry in Arnold's Pajama pants and teal shirts. Arnold had to give Helga a teal jacket of his so she could cover the bruises on her body until it came time to reveal them to Arnold's family.

Phil, Pookie, Miles and Stella walked in anticipating the talk they were going to have with them. "Ah! Eleanor! How are you dear? Taking care of Roosevelt or stopping by on presidential matters?" Pookie exclaimed excitedly.

"Not now, Crazy old bat." Phil scolded the woman, thinking her words didn't have a bit of sense behind them. "So Shortman, mind filling us in?"

"Uh… You remember Helga, and how she has grown up with me… " Arnold was nervous and Phil could see it. He had known full and well who Helga was and had a feeling as to where this conversation was going. Inwardly smirking, he was actually happy to see him helping Helga. "Helga's family is having issues… and… She isn't safe at her house… and we were wondering if you'd be able to make a deal with her so she could live here with us…"

Miles smiled kindly "Well Arnold, I'm not opposed to the idea of her being here and she is more than welcome to stay, but id like to know specifically what about her house isn't safe?"

Helga looked down shamefully and Arnold stared at her with a heavy heart, deciding who would say it. Arnold began… "Helga…"

"Well…" Helga said still looking at the ground, cutting Arnold off. "My dad has been beating me for the past 5 years… I got off work tonight and came home 5 minutes late and he began beating me… and almost killed me… I blacked out and since he was drunk he ran outside but when I woke up, I ran and hid in Mighty Pete. Next thing I know, Arnold shows up and we talked." Helga was now fighting back tears as she took off the jacket and began to show Arnold's family her bruises on her arms to prove she wasn't lying. There on her milky white skin was dark embedded bruises nearly covering her. She lifted the pj legs and showed more bruises and cuts on her legs, then lifted the bottom of her shirt to show bruises on her stomach, and finally lifted her neck to show them the dark hand print on her neck. She was embarrassed, but they had to know she was actually being beaten.

Gasps were heard every time she lifted a piece of fabric from her body. "Sweetheart…" Stella said "You're covered from head to toe… NO. This simply won't do. Miles, call the police, now." Stella stated firmly and she wrapped Helga in a hug. Helga began to cry. She hated feeling so vulnerable, but she was so happy someone cared. She just didn't want to be a burden to them.

Miles called the police and almost half an hour later they showed up. Helga told them her story and was photographed in a bedroom to show her bruising.

Miles and Stella called the school and they dismissed Arnold and Helga for the next two days. Helga was allowed to sleep in Arnold's room since there were no spare bedrooms available, and they were told that once Bob was at the station and the house was cleared they would be notified so they could get her belongings from the Pataki Residence.

Arnold took Helga upstairs and told her she could sleep on his bed. She had refused, but after a bit of convincing, she was sound asleep in Arnold's bed. Arnold, being a gentleman, took the couch Gerald would sleep on.

At some point, Arnold woke up to crying. He opened his eyes and noticed Helga was rolling in her sleep, and was crying. He ran over to her and heard her scream.

"No. Please. Stop." Helga flew up from her sleep in a frenzy and began to cry. She was having a terrible nightmare. She suddenly felt someone hugging her and looked up to see Arnold. She quietly hugged him back and continued to cry.

"Hey" he spoke gently "Its okay. It's me Arnold. Im here." He sat down and pulled her into his lap, hugging her closely, trying to comfort her. He never imagined Helga could cry. He never imagined Helga would hug him. Hell, he never imagined he would help Helga so much and in less than 12 hours- yet here she sat crying in his arms, in his bedroom on his bed, and hugging him tightly. He rubbed her back in an attempt to make her calm down and sat with his back against the pillows on his bed, still holding her tightly. He didn't understand his sudden need to want to protect Helga, but he knew he didn't want to leave her side, especially right now.

After sitting there for a little while, he realized her crying had stopped and that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He really didn't want to wake her up, and if he was being truthfully honest, he didn't want to leave her alone. He decided to scoot down and lay beside her and go back to sleep. If anybody asked, he would explain what happened and if she asked, he would tell her she just looked so comfy and he didn't want to wake her.

Before Arnold let sleep over take him once more, he looked beside him to see Helga sleeping soundly in his arms and felt the sudden urge to kiss her forehead. He decided against it, thinking she would kill him and decided it wasn't his place to. He didn't know why he suddenly felt all these weird urges around Helga but decided he would do his best to ignore them. As sleep began to over take him, a little voice in his head whispered "you know why…" and with that, Arnold fell asleep.