[A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter's a bit shorter than the first one. I expect chapter lengths to fluctuate in length. But I'm laying the groundwork for later drama so I hope this chapter tickles your fancy!]

Present Day

The cafeteria was crowded this time of day. Families visiting their loved ones and getting a bite to eat, doctors coming off of a late shift, some getting ready to start one. Some people were joyous, others melancholy, while some had the faint stain of tears that had run down their cheeks.

Helga sat at a round table off to the edge of the room with a book in hand and a folder set in front of her. Her large purse sat at her feet, slightly under her chair, as she buried her nose in her book.

There was a family to her left – a man, woman, and child. The child was in a hospital gown and had not a single hair atop his head. Helga periodically peered over the top of her book to watch the family. They were talking and smiling but she was aware of their somber situation.

Helga's eyes shimmered with the threat of tears that never fell as she set her book aside and tentatively opened the folder in front of her. Her list was inside and behind it, an old newspaper article with a picture of several overturned and destroyed vehicles on a highway.

SEVEN KILLED IN FATAL CRASH

Helga already knew the names by heart as her finger grazed along the print. She quickly shut the folder and blinked her eyes furiously, taking a deep breath and shielding her face with her book. After several quiet, shuddering breaths, she looked over to the family again. The mom had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair that was pulled back in a half ponytail. She was wearing a simple blouse and well-kept straight leg jeans with a worn pair of tan boots. Her coat lay haphazardly behind her across the back of the chair. The dad was equally as casual with a dark blue sweater and khaki colored slacks. The little boy couldn't have been more than nine years old. She remembered that age.

. . . . . . . .

Flashback - 7 Years Ago - The Summer After Graduation

"Helga, please stop reading that!" Olga exclaimed desperately as she snatched the newspaper away from her younger sister.

Helga growled, her speech not completely having returned. "Give back!" She forced angrily, her face still crumpling with despair.

"No," Olga whimpered. "Y-you need to stop beating yourself up," She paused, glancing at the article and sighing as she looked up to the ceiling. "Just focus on getting better, please, baby sister…"

Helga's scowl faltered and she could do nothing to hold back the tears that flooded her eyes and slid down her face.

"Oh," Olga immediately rushed over to Helga and gathered her in a hug as the fiery young girl fell weak in her sister's arms. Her shoulders shook with the force of her cries and without words, she could only wail and scream and cry. She was trapped in this broken body. Trapped with herself and that was the worst place to be right now.

. . . . . . . .

Present Day

Later that day Helga was in her kitchen making a cup of tea. She poured the hot water into her mug and watched and waited for it to steep. The sound of her phone ringing made her jump but she made no moves to answer it. Her boss knew she wasn't going to be in today—she'd already called him this morning and said so. He didn't really mind considering it was the day before Christmas vacation and she'd been putting in so many long hours – how could he complain?

When the voicemail finally picked up, Helga listened as she stirred sugar into her cup.

"Hi Helga," Olga's sweet voice filled the apartment. "I'm just calling to check on you, sweetie," She paused. "I really hope you'll come home for Christmas this year. We really miss you and I'd love for you to meet your niece. I sent you the picture she took with Santa a couple weeks ago – I hope you got it!" She paused again. "Anyway… talk soon… I love you,"

Helga walked over to the couch and sat down, careful not to spill the hot tea on herself. Her folder was lying open on the cushion next to her with the list on top. Several names were highlighted and/or crossed off but one name kept drawing her attention. She sipped her tea as she studied Rich's name.

After a moment's thought, she sat her cup down on the coffee table and grabbed her cell phone as she flipped back a couple pages in the list. She punched numbers into her phone and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hi, thank you for calling The Klondike Meat Company. My name is Phyllis. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?" A woman answered in a flawless voice fit for customer service.

"Olga Pataki," Helga answered bitterly.

"Well, Ms. Pataki," The woman said kindly. "How can I be of service today?"

Helga stood up from the couch, pacing back and forth as she spoke heatedly. "Yes, I ordered a case of chicken and beef from your company and the beef is obviously old as shit and I see you didn't bother to put the chicken breasts I ordered in with the package. Do you think 'variety' means 'only thighs'?"

"I'm very sorry to hear this, ma'am," Phyllis said patiently.

"You're very sorry to hear this," Helga mimicked in a snide tone. "Good for you!" She remarked as she turned back to the couch, reading from the list as the woman spoke.

"We're committed to quality assurance here at the Klondike Meat Company and I—"

Helga cut her off. "Do you have a family, Phyllis?"

The woman seemed startled by the question, "Uh, I'm not –"

"How would they feel about their mother or wife, or whoever you are, participating in an organization that sends people bullshit products, hmm?" Helga barely paused before she added, "Would this be their first time being disappointed in you?"

"Ma'am –"

"We've all done shit, right?" Helga said wildly. "What have you done, Phyllis? Is this it? Are you gonna get mad now? C'mon, say what you wanna say, Phyllis!"

"Th-thank you for calling the Klondike Meat Company. H-have a good day, Ms. Pataki," Phyllis said and hung up the phone.

Helga threw her phone into the couch cushions and immediately erupted into sobs, quickly wiping under her eyes so that she could see. Outside her window it had begun to snow, coating the city in a blanket of white as wind whipped the flakes around in the sky. Helga plopped down on the couch and looked at her list.

Phyllis Carson

Cirrhosis

Liver Failure

History of Alcoholism

Ineligible for National Donor Registry

. . . . . . . .

Present Day

"Man, it's cold," Arnold commented, shivering as he and Lila stepped inside their apartment.

"Yeah, it is," Lila responded plainly.

"Do you want me to take your—" Arnold said as he moved to help Lila with her coat but she was already slipping out of it. He watched as she hung the coat up on a hook by the front door and he did the same.

It was half past 1 am and they'd just returned home from Rhonda's New Year's Eve party. Another year had slipped right on by. The party had been nice, not that that was any surprise – Rhonda always threw the best events. Lila had even been social – Arnold barely recognized her. At home she was a stranger and it'd been that way since long before his mistake. He couldn't figure out what was going through her head on the occasions she'd be sitting across from him but completely in her own world. But at the party, she'd laughed, she'd danced. She socialized with everyone and it'd been a good time. There were quite a few points when it was almost as if he could see glimmers of the old Lila. He would've scarcely known he was spending time with his wife.

But the magic was over. Maybe it'd been the alcohol bringing her out of her shell. Maybe it was the fact that she was spending time with people other than him for a change.

They both got ready for bed separately, with barely a word between them other than 'pass the toothpaste'. They each crawled into bed and Lila immediately turned on her side, away from Arnold as he lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He rested one arm beneath his head as the other rested on his bare chest. He didn't make a move to cuddle with her or kiss goodnight. They were long past that and though she still confused and fascinated him, he was done trying. He was tired of being rejected and ignored. It was that sentiment that had gotten him into trouble in the first place – even though Lila had never known, it was something that ate at him. He was a good guy. Good guys didn't do stuff like that and the secret gnawed at him.

Something Rhonda had said that night stayed with him, making him nervous. But as the night had gone on and everything seemed to be fine, he'd relaxed. Still, he wondered if Rhonda somehow knew.

"You gotta keep an eye on the 'nice' guys," She'd remarked to Lila, nudging him as she did so.

It had to be a coincidence. There was no way Rhonda could know unless Lila knew and there was no way Lila could know. Or could she?

. . . . . . . .

Flashback – 4 Months Ago

"I swear, these interns shouldn't be given network access anymore," The new girl, Katie, had said to Arnold as they sat at a couple of desks in a computer lab. Arnold's supervisor had hired the two of them out to the office above them to get rid of viruses from forty computers in one of the office's labs.

Arnold laughed as he worked, glancing over at the woman across from him. "Yeah, well, I don't think they'd be able to get much done without it,"

"You think they do in the first place?" Katie scoffed, laughing as her chocolate brown hair bobbed on her shoulders.

Arnold grinned and shrugged, focusing on the computer screen.

"26 down, 14 to go," Katie sighed as she pushed away from her desk, the wheels of her chair rolling along the linoleum floor.

Arnold clicked a button and watched as a taskbar indicated how long he'd need to wait as the computer sifted through corrupted files. Katie walked over and half sat on the edge of his desk, supporting part of her weight with a foot on the floor.

"How much longer?" She asked quietly, looking back and forth between Arnold and the screen which she couldn't see well due to the angle at which she was sitting.

"It says fifteen minutes," Arnold sighed. It was already nine pm and even though they were getting paid overtime, he would've liked to have gone home when everyone else did. "I guess I could get started on the next PC while I wait for this one," He said, starting to stand up.

"Or…" Katie said suggestively, moving off of the table and taking a tentative step toward him. "Well…" She reached out and let her hand gently graze his forearm. She smirked when the hairs stood on end.

Arnold froze, shocked by Katie's unexpected approach. She took that as an opportunity and closed the distance between them, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him closer, her lips crashing against his as her other hand roamed his back.

So many conflicting emotions surged inside of Arnold. He and Lila had barely spoken in a long time and every time he tried to do something with her – flirt with her, touch her, even kiss her – she'd pushed him away time and time again. They hadn't been intimate in several months and she never wanted to spend time with him. Yes, this was wrong – but it felt so good. For the first time in a long time he felt human again. He felt wanted.

Arnold pulled his lips away, breathless, though Katie still had her arms wrapped around him. He willed himself to ignore the feeling of her breasts pressed up against his chest or the heat stirring in his stomach. "I-I, we shouldn't –" He said, cut off by soft kisses along his jawline. "This…" Trailing down his neck. "It's not…" She pecked his lips and his will faltered. He pulled her flush against him and returned her kisses with fervor. Their hands wandered for only a minute or so before she reached for his belt.

"What if someone comes?" Arnold panted into her ear.

"I'm counting on it," She whispered suggestively and Arnold picked her up and laid her across one of the desks.

. . . .

Arnold left abruptly after that.

"I'll go in in early tomorrow and finish the rest of the computers," He said to himself as he walked briskly through Hillwood's streets. "Shit, I can't believe I did that," He groaned, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

What is wrong with me? He thought to himself as he walked. He'd left his car in the lot, opting for a walk home to clear his head. I broke the most solemn vow I've ever made and with someone I've barely known for two months! Never again. Never again. He groaned inwardly. Fuck… what am I gonna do? How am I gonna explain myself? Can I explain myself? This isn't me. I don't DO things like this. I'm not a cheater! I'm not! Ughhh…

Arnold continued to beat himself up on the way home. When he finally got back to the apartment, Lila was already asleep in their bed. Wallowing in his private shame, Arnold quietly crawled into bed, softly kissing Lila's exposed shoulder, and turned over to go to sleep.

. . . . . . . .

Present Day

Could Lila have found out and told Rhonda? Wouldn't someone say something to him if that was the case? Why hadn't he just been honest about it when it happened? He was scared and ashamed but he knew better. If any friend had come to him in the same situation, he would've told them to be honest with their significant other. Why couldn't he take his own advice? It'd always been this way. He was better at dealing with other people's problems than dealing with his own.

Arnold cast one last look at his sleeping wife and with a restless sigh, tried to fall asleep.

. . . . . . . .

Present Day

Arnold awoke on the morning of January 6th to find the space in the bed next to him empty. He stretched, yawning as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. As he began to wake up, he sighed into his pillow. It was his anniversary and he wasn't even sure how he felt about that anymore. That thought alone concerned him because it was a pesky little demon taunting him and making him re-think his marriage. Had this all been a mistake? He'd always thought he and Lila were perfect for each other.

He rolled out of bed and clambered off to their master bathroom to pee and brush his teeth. Once he finished in the bathroom, he came out and was immediately startled by Lila sitting on the couch, facing him and staring.

Arnold jumped and Lila smirked. "Sorry if I startled you," She said nonchalantly as Arnold trudged into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.

"Happy anniversary," He said half-heartedly, her view of him blocked by a wall, as he started the coffee maker.

"I think we should do something different this year," Lila said smoothly, appearing in the doorway of the kitchen and Arnold leaned against the counter, another yawn escaping him.

"Yeah?" He asked. While her talking to him for this long was unusual and at one point in time he may have been grateful, even hopeful, he couldn't muster the energy and it wasn't because he was tired.

"Yeah," Lila nodded and approached him, hooking her arm through his and looking up at him. "I know you haven't been happy," She said quietly.

This caught Arnold's attention and his eyes widened. "Lila, I—" He immediately turned to her, unintentionally loosening her arm from his. "I thought you—"

"It's okay, Arnold," She waved him off but met his gaze. "I think we need some time to think. We both have to admit things have been difficult for quite a while," She looked at him knowingly and he managed a defeated nod. "Why don't you go take a walk today and think about things? Think about what you want from us and we'll talk about it tonight, okay?"

Arnold nodded again and poured himself a cup of coffee, his brow furrowed in thought as Lila left the kitchen.

. . . . . . . .

It was a little past noon when Arnold was making his way back to the apartment he shared with Lila. He was bundled in a warm winter coat, a hat, scarf, and gloves as his boots trudged through the snow. He carefully avoided patches of ice on the sidewalk as a blustery winter wind picked up snow and threw it into his face.

He'd been walking around for the better part of two hours, thinking about his relationship with Lila and everything that had happened between them over the years. It was hard to believe that things had changed so much and he found himself teetering between nostalgia for the past and apathy toward the present.

He'd passed by Helga's old brownstone at one point and had stopped to think. Her parents still lived there though he seldom saw them. He wondered how Helga was doing and memories of talking to her out on her stoop flooded his mind. He remembered walking around with her on Thanksgiving when they were kids and they'd both been having a pretty crappy day. He wished he could talk to her about what was going on – she'd somehow always managed to help pick him up when he was down – but he knew it was best if he didn't directly approach her. He still wasn't sure how to talk to her. The last he'd heard was that she'd moved to a different city and she barely even talked to Phoebe anymore – that's what Gerald had told him last time they talked, anyway. If she wouldn't talk to Phoebe, he was doubtful that she'd give him the time of day if he tried.

Arnold soon realized he'd been standing across the street staring at Helga's old house for twenty minutes and resumed his walk back to the apartment. The longer he thought about everything, the more things started to become clear. Lila obviously knew that something was wrong. He knew something was wrong. The alarming thing was that as he was supposed to be walking around thinking about his relationship with Lila and what he wanted from it, he was instead contemplating his nostalgia and wondering about Helga.

Maybe this was a sign. Maybe he and Lila couldn't come back from whatever downward spiral they'd started years ago. Maybe they weren't supposed to be together in the first place? Arnold sighed at the thought. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do from here – this had been his world for so long and even if he wasn't happy in it, he wasn't sure what else to do. But he had to admit that it was over – whatever spark had existed between them had fizzled out and there was nothing left. He cared about Lila and didn't want to hurt her but they didn't even have a relationship anymore. And if neither of them was happy, what was the point in trying to make this work anymore?

Arnold trudged up the steps to his apartment with a heavy heart. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation but it had to happen. It should've happened a long time ago, especially after what had happened with Katie. If anything, that should've been a wake-up call.

"I'm back," Arnold called out as he stepped into the apartment. He hung his coat up on the hook and as soon as he turned around, his breath caught in his throat. The coffee table, with its decorative glass design was shattered and broken. Papers and books were strewn across the floor that had once sat neatly on the desk. "Lila?!" Arnold called out as he tossed his hat and gloves to the floor and hurried to the bedroom. The window leading to the fire escape was open with a large hole broken through and glass shards all over the floor beneath it. "What the hell?" Arnold uttered, his pulse quickening as he ran through the apartment looking for his wife to no avail.

Lila was gone.

[A/N: There you have it! Where's Lila? What's going on with Helga? Stay tuned to find out and please review! :)]