Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! Or anything else that probably sounds like you could make some money off of it.
Summary: Arnold can't decide which is harder: Raising a baby or figuring out his feelings for Helga.
Companion Piece to this story is called From the Dugout.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so I know majority of you guys said you'd like to see another lemon. However, one of the reviews really stood out to me. It was from Dudtheman, and they basically said I should do what's best for the chapter, whether I feel that involves a lemon or not. After writing the chapter, I felt it would've been too much to have yet another lemon so I decided to opt out. There will still be one more for this fic and ALSO, there is going to be a collection of oneshots and drabbles of various ratings that will detail Arnold and Helga's life after this story. So, there are going to be plenty of lemons in that on top of all sorts of other aspects of their life raising Henry and how that looks.
So, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Previous Chapter's Soundtrack: No Sleep Tonight by The Faders
Current Chapter's Soundtrack: FNT by Semisonic
Chapter 7:
"Of Ink and Footing the Bill"
March 25th. Mid Morning.
Arnold was almost bored out of his mind.
He sighed as he stretched his arm behind him to cradle his head. Currently, he was lounging on the living room couch, waiting for Helga and Henry to return.
Olga had taken her baby sister out to breakfast for her birthday, and Helga had taken Henry with her to act as a 'buffer' with her sister. Arnold understood, since Helga and Olga really didn't have much to talk about besides Henry anyway, but man was he bored.
Henry had just started taking steps a few days ago, and being basically a month away from his first birthday, the little tyke had become Arnold's constant companion recently.
Much to Helga's chagrin, which might also explain why she had wanted to take him with her; she missed him.
Arnold was simply enjoying the 'All About Daddy' phase his son was going through, and figured soon enough he'd be a Mama's Boy for a while.
Although, he did have the advantage of 'First Word Bragging Rights' going for him, also to Helga's chagrin considering how hard she had tried to get Henry to say 'Mama' first.
Suppressing a bored yawn, Arnold thought about this morning when he gave Henry the little pink bag to present to Helga for her gift. He had had clay molds of Henry's feet; made to accompany the hand set she had had done for him for his birthday, and she had been very pleased with the present.
A few minutes passed when Arnold heard the unmistakable voices of an enthusiastic Olga and Henry's excited babbles.
The door swung open and a flood of animals came charging inside, followed by Olga, Helga and Henry, who was pointing at the dogs and making hound dog sounds.
"That's right, Small Fry, those are doggies," Helga affirmed and Henry clapped his hands with success.
Arnold tried to seem nonchalant, even though his heart had begun to pound. This didn't always happen, which caused Arnold all sorts of frustration. It'd be much simpler to determine how he was feeling if his feelings were a little more consistent!
He mentally shook himself of his thoughts before getting up and approaching the birthday girl, "How'd breakfast go?"
Helga hummed happily, "Good. Henry had a lot of fun going out for breakfast. I realized on the way there he's never been to a restaurant before."
"Did he behave himself?" Arnold asked as he met Henry's outstretched arms for him and settled him on his hip.
"Yeah, actually. Must get his manners from you," Helga remarked with a smirk.
"Dada!" Henry chirped as he reached over to pinch Arnold's nose.
Wincing, Arnold replied, "Obviously."
Noon.
Arnold was sitting on the floor, goofing off with Henry while Helga was getting her things together before Phoebe showed up. Fortunately, Helga wasn't taking Henry for this outing as well, since after the girls finish lunch they'll be heading off to the tattoo parlor for the rest of the day.
"You're sure you'll be okay handling Henry?" Helga asked, having grown worried since her son had begun walking.
"Absolutely. Don't worry about it, and just have fun with Phoebe, okay?"
Suddenly she found herself caught taking in the scene of the two playing together, and was overwhelmed by so many feelings all at once, "Arnold, I..." I love you, was what was on the tip of her tongue, and it was becoming a regular problem. She was losing her grip when it came to keeping her feelings in check, and she mentally chastised herself for her lack of control lately.
"Uh, Helga? You were going to say something," Arnold spoke up.
"Oh, uh, just that I appreciate you watching Henry for the day. That's all."
Arnold smiled, "Of course Helga. You know I love hanging with the little guy."
A moment later and a knock came at the door. Arnold got up to let Phoebe in, but when he opened the door he peered over at Helga.
"Uh, hey Mr. and Mrs. Pataki."
Helga whirled around as Arnold opened the door wider to allow them to come in. Both Arnold and Big Bob unknowingly avoided each others eyes as they shifted uneasily where they stood. Both feeling uncomfortable with the thought of being in the same room together where Arnold shared the same bed with Big Bob's daughter.
'After all,' Arnold thought sardonically, 'it's not as if I've done numerous dirty things to his daughter just a few feet away from where he's standing. Nope, this isn't weird at all.'
Completely unaware of the awkward testosterone-induced tension, Helga blurted out, "What are you guys doing here?"
Big Bob cleared his throat, "Happy Birthday, Helga."
"Happy Birthday, sweetheart," Miriam wished as she gave Helga a brief hug.
When Big Bob handed her a card, she took it dazedly, "You...you guys remembered?"
"Of course we did, honey," Miriam replied softly, "It's not everyday your youngest turns 18 after all."
"Bigbee, Bigbee!" Henry chirped as he reached his arms up towards his 'Bigbee,' and Bob gave a small, warm smile as he lifted the towheaded infant up.
Helga's eyes widened in shock at the correct mention of her age before she turned the card over and pulled open the envelope, "Thanks for the card." However, when she opened it and read the lines, her eyes widened again and for a few moments all she could do was glance between her parents and the card with her jaw dropped. Finally, she snapped out of it and looked at Big Bob, "Wha...what is this?"
Looking a tad uncomfortable, Big Bob passed Henry over to Miriam before he replied, "Look Helga...your mom and I have been more or less putting money aside for a while now and...well, we're going to take care of paying for your schooling. We don't want you worrying about any of the costs, okay?" Though he quickly spoke up again, "But, by all means, get as many scholarships as you can."
Miriam smiled softly at her daughter as she shifted Henry in her arms, "We just want you to go forward with as much schooling as you feel you're able to do, honey. Let us take care of the finance part of it."
Helga stood there speechless for a moment before stepping forward to embrace her parents, "Thank you...thank you so much."
"You're welcome, kiddo," Big Bob replied and for a second, they had a nice family moment before Bob and Helga felt that Pataki aversion to too much PDA, and they all awkwardly broke apart.
They stood for a brief moment, not knowing what to say until they heard Stella call up from downstairs that Phoebe had arrived. After that, Helga's parents made their leave, with Helga still recovering from the shock of the visit.
Evening.
It was after 6 in the evening, and Arnold was attempting to read his book for English. However, it was proving to be difficult, since he was laying down on the bed and trying to recover from his busy day with Henry.
The almost-one-year-old had decided he did not want to take an afternoon nap, and so as the day went by the little guy was borderline a full blown terror.
Now, Henry was really an overall well-behaved baby. But, when he skipped out on sleep, that was when his Pataki colors started to show.
Thus, why he had gone down an hour early than usual.
About thirty minutes after Henry had gone down, Helga returned and looked a bit tired but otherwise happy.
Resting his book on his stomach, Arnold asked, "How was the tattoo experience?"
Helga shot him a look as she placed her bag beside the desk, "More painful than childbirth."
Arnold's eyes widened for a second before he cast her a skeptical look, "Some people might call that an exaggeration."
"I'm telling you, it sucked way worse in my book," Helga insisted before continuing, "Besides, I already hated needles to begin with."
Arnold accepted her response with a nod, "So...?"
Helga smiled as she turned out her left foot and proudly showed off Henry's initials. The letters were inked along the outer rim of her foot near her pinky toe in a looping, small script, "I took note from what you said on your birthday. Hope you don't mind."
"Hey, not at all. It's great," Arnold approved as he got up from the bed to get a better look, "So, where's this other tattoo at?"
"Oh, yeah by the way," Helga started as she tucked her hair behind her ear, "as far as anyone else is concerned, I just got the one tattoo. I had told Stella that Phoebe had taken me to a movie after lunch and the tattoo to explain why I was gone so long."
Arnold shot her a confused look, "Uh, and why wouldn't you want anyone else knowing you have another tattoo?"
As she lifted her each foot to remove the flats she was wearing, Helga replied, "Well, it isn't exactly in a place visible to people who aren't you, myself or Dr. Ross."
With his interest now piqued, Arnold raised a brow suggestively, "Helga, where is it?"
Although she blushed, Helga otherwise appeared composed as she unsnapped her jeans and tugged them and her panties down past her right hip where a gauze pad was taped against the skin.
Arnold gently placed his hands at her hips and asked, "First, and most important question: was it a guy or a girl who did this?"
Helga rolled her eyes a little, "That's the most important question?" When all Arnold did was raise his eyebrow, Helga replied, "It was a girl, Caveman."
Pleased, Arnold went on, "So, what is it Helga?"
Helga gingerly peeled off that gauze and unveiled a pink bow just on the inside of her hip hip. Feeling a bit shy, she avoided all eye contact with him, though that wasn't necessary at the moment. She could feel his eyes burning the skin where the pink ink was. Out of embarrassment, Helga began to babble an explanation, "I have wanted this tattoo since I was like, thirteen and too old to get away with wearing a pink bow all the time anymore."
Arnold looked up and saw Helga's blushing, down-turned profile and grinned, "I always did like that bow Helga. However, I like it even more now." He saw her smile and she looked up to meet his eyes for a moment, before Arnold shifted his attention back to the tattoo. Curious, he asked, "So, is it still pretty sore or can you do...stuff?"
Helga raised her brow in amusement before she linked her hands behind his neck, "I think I could be up for some stuff. You just can't be as rough as usual."
"I'll try to restrain myself," Arnold smirked before he tugged her against him and met her lips with a deep kiss.
Alright folks, just one more chapter to go before the big Two Part Finale!
LTWF247