Author's Note: Okay, here it is, Chapter Three. Sorry it took so long, but it's a little longer than the previous two, and some of the scenes took a while to write. It would have actually probably took me a few more days, but I got to what seemed a perfect stopping point, so I'm splitting off what would have been like the last third or fourth of this chapter into its own.

Previously: Helga started the process of moving into Sunset Arms. After getting shown to her room by Arnold's grandpa, and paying a visit to her sister Olga, Helga (and her mom) headed back home, both to grab the remaining boxes of Helga's stuff, and to finish a seemingly harmless task that Bob gave her of looking through the attic. However, as Miriam is cooking dinner, she remembers somthing important... something Helga probably shouldn't see. Heading upstairs, she discovers that she is already too late.

Previous Married... with Children Reference: This one was a quick one, but one of the dogs Gertie calls the name of is Buck. In the first ten seasons of MWC the family dog was a briard named Buck Bundy.


Chapter Three: Discovery and Fallout

Monday, August 18th, 1997

One Week Before the Start of Fifth Grade

Bob is such an idiot, Helga thought as she entered the dusty attic of her soon-to-be-former home. What am I going to find up here? He probably hopes there's something he can sell. Pulling the string, the attic filled with a dim light.

As she looked around the relatively empty attic, she spotted a grouping of boxes that were marked things like "Christmas 1966," "Spring Break 1971," and "Summer 1972." Curious, Helga went over to one of them (the spring break one) and opened it up. Inside were various mementos from said vacation, including a smaller box full of Polaroids, most of them depicting a young and happy Miriam and Bob. Weird to see they actually liked each other at one point. What the heck happened... okay this is depressing... what else is up here?

Leaving the collection of her parents' memories, she wandered around. Not much else up here... A few boxes of baby stuff that must not have sold at garage sales, a tub of Christmas lights, some Halloween decorations. One side of her brow raised at a box marked The Scientific American. What was a box of one of the nation's foremost science magazines doing up here? Olga was the only one she could think of having a subscription, but she could have probably just read the issues through the school library, and she leaned more towards the arts than the sciences.

Opening the box, her eyes were greeted with covers depicting scantily clad women and the title Big 'Uns. Gross Bob. If you really wanted no one to snoop, you should have labeled it something to do with beepers. No one would have ever gone near it.

Spotting a mostly empty shelf sitting close to one of the walls, she spied what looked like a book. Picking it up, she saw that it was a photo album.

Opening it up, she saw pictures of a young Olga, probably only a few years older than Helga is currently. All of the photos were of her with a boy. Interesting. I need to get a better look at this. If I'm lucky I'll have something to tease Olga about. Putting the album under her arm, she exited the attic, turning the lightbulb off as she went. The long past happy memories of Bob and Miriam were left to rot in the darkness.

Going down the steps, closing the attic, and entering her empty bedroom, she sat on her bed and opened up the album. With the better lighting she got a good look at Olga's mystery boyfriend, and her first thought was: What a geek. He was a lanky brunette with glasses and a big ole unibrow. What is it about Hillwood that attracts people with unibrows? Me, my dad, Harold, Katrinka, Mr. Green the butcher, that criminal creep Nick, and now this guy.

Before she moved on, she noted where there appeared to be a photo missing, as the first page had a rather obvious empty space. Going through the pages, she saw pictures of Olga going on various dates with the guy, including pictures of them dressed in formal wear, obviously about to go to some school dance or a similar event. Looking closer, she saw the smitten look they had for each other. Geez, she was really into this guy, I wonder what happened. I don't think she's ever brought him up... not that I would have listened to her if she did...

Coming to the end of the photos, she came across what appeared to be a series of love poems addressed to Olga. "Appeared" was the key word, as she couldn't actually read any of them; if she had to guess, they were in French. The signature at the bottom of each of them identified Olga's boyfriend as one Cecil Ducard. Huh. Maybe he was an exchange student. Olga once mentioned that the Junior High and High Schools tend to have one or two each year.

Flipping past the poems, she came to something that confused her. A blurry black and gray photograph marked "August 30, 1986 – 8 weeks." What am I looking at here? Flipping the page, she realized what it was.

In the next photo, marked "September 13, 1986 – 10 weeks," she saw what looked like a little human figure. These are ultrasound photos... of me? Her heart starting to beat faster, she continued flipping through the album. As the pages went by, she saw the little figure getting bigger and better defined as the dates approached her birthday. Miriam must have just put them here, as it was only half full. That has to be why these pictures are in here. Finally, she turned to a page that froze the blood in her veins.

On the left page was a picture of a very tired and very frazzled Olga lying in a hospital bed holding a little baby: her. On the right page was her birth certificate. Most of the details were as expected, but next to the words father and mother were not the names of Bob and Miriam Pataki. The spot where the father's name should have been, was blank, but next to mother was the name Olga Pataki, her sist- no. Nononononono. No! This can't be right! This must be some kind of sick joke! But Helga G. Pataki was not a dumb girl, and she knew what she held in her hands was as real as her racing heartbeat.

Olga Pataki was not Helga's sister. She was her mother.

An eternity seemed to pass as she continued to stare down at the piece of paper, when she heard her bedroom door open. Looking up, she saw her mothe- her grandmother looking at her. A volley of questions popped into her head:

Why didn't I know?

Why didn't you or Olga tell me?

Why have you been lying to me all my life?

The only vocalization she could make to these questions was a strained "Why?"

Instead of answering, Miriam simply came and sat next to her. Pulling her into a hug, they simply sat together for a few minutes.

Finally letting her granddaughter go, Miriam finally answered her. "I know you have a lot of questions. But I'm not the one to answer them. You need to talk with Olga. Let's get going."

Helga looked down at the photo album and then back at Miriam. "Okay." Putting the album in one of the boxes, they each took one and started downstairs.

As they headed for the front door, Bob walked out. "Hey Helga, did you find anything of value in the attic?" Bob asked, unaware what Helga now knew because of the task he had given her.

Sparing Helga from having to answer, Miriam replied "You should check Bob, you'll know what we should keep better than she will. Now can you go and get the last box in Helga's room?"

After Bob rejoined them, they all walked out to the car. Putting the box he was carrying in the back seat, Bob turned to Helga, rubbing his neck as he spoke. "I, uh, know we haven't had the best relationship, and I'm sorry you have to move in with your sister. But I'm only trying to secure a legacy for you with the store. How about after everything blows over we spend some quanti- I mean quality time together?"

Helga managed to respond to the man she now knew to be her grandfather with a "Sure, Bob".

Before she got in the car, Miriam asked her husband to finish cooking dinner. "Awww, Miriam, I'm busy packing! I thought you were doing it."

"Bob, it's going to be a little while before I get back. Just do it and don't argue." And with that they got in the car and left.


Having finished helping his grandpa clean up the hallway, Arnold was now sitting on the stoop reading a book. He figured he could help Helga and her mom with any boxes when she got back, and then he could give her a tour of the building.

A car pulled to a stop next to the boarding house. He recognized it as Big Bob Pataki's Lincoln Continental from the time his grandpa had gotten into a fender bender with Bob. As Miriam and Helga got out, he noticed that something seemed wrong. Her movement was stiff and her face had a neutral expression. "Uh, hey, Helga."

She seemed unusually subdued when she answered. "Oh, hi Arnold."

Unsure whether to ask what was wrong, he resorted to doing what he did best: offering assistance. "Want me to help with the boxes?"

Miriam answered. "That would be very nice Arnold."

Each one of them grabbing a box, they headed for room six. An awkward silence hung in the air as they entered Sunset Arms and went up the stairs. Once they entered her room and set down the boxes, Arnold turned to her. "Would you like the tour now?"

Helga looked at him. While she knew she had to talk to Olga now, part of her wanted to say yes, to put this off as long as possible. Most of all, though, she wanted just to crawl into the bed and forget this day ever happened. "I don't know, Arnold. I need to talk to my sis- Olga first, then I think I'll just start unpacking. Maybe tomorrow you can show me around. It's... it's been a long day."

He had never heard Helga with this tone of voice. Whenever something bugged her, it used to make her more abrasive than usual. Even recently, her temper was still relatively short, even if she wouldn't do more than chew someone out nowadays. Now, though, she just seemed kind of empty, like all of the emotion and passion had been drained from her. She wasn't even using one of her usual nicknames for him.

Still unsure what to say to this new Helga, he started walking to the door. Before he left, he spoke. "Supper will be in a couple of hours. Grandma tends to ring a triangle dinner bell when it's ready."

Her response made him uneasy. "Thanks, but I'm not really feeling hungry." Exiting the room and heading for his own, Arnold thought about how she was acting. What can I do to help? I don't like seeing her like this.

As Helga sat down on her bed and stared at the wall, Miriam sighed. "Helga, honey, you know you need to talk to Olga."

Helga looked at her grandmother with a pleading look, but Miriam wasn't moved. "You can't just ignore this. It'll be okay, I promise."

Getting up, she grabbed the photo album from the box she had put it in and walked over to door seven. She could either knock on the door and have her mothe- have Olga open it or use the key she had given her just a couple of hours ago. Instead, she hesitated. I can't do this.

But she knew she had to, so she raised her hand, and knocked on the door.

A cheery voice came from inside. "Come in little sister, the doors unlocked."

As they walked in, Olga got up from the couch, having been watching television. She rushed to Helga and gave her another suffocating hug.

"So, Baby Sister what do you want to do first? We could watch TV together or play a game... oh, I know! I could help you unpack!"

Not hearing any answer, even the usual muffled "Get off me," she pulled away and was met by Helga just staring at her with a neutral expression. Shifting her gaze to her mother, she saw an anxious look on her face.

That's when Olga noticed the photo album Helga had under her arm. The one she had been planning on going to get before her parents finished moving out early next morning. The one that Helga was definitely not supposed to see yet.

The three generations of Pataki women just stood there, looking at each other for a moment, before Olga finally spoke up. "Uh, how about we sit down."

Helga and Olga sat down, Miriam joining them after she turned off the television. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I'll start by-"

"You're my mother." Helga interrupted. It wasn't a question.

Olga sighed. She knew this day would come, but she thought she and Miriam would be breaking it to her in a controlled manner. They would have planned their responses to any questions or anything else Helga had to say. Instead, she would just have to take it a step at a time.

"Yes. I am."

"Why?"

Olga decided to start from the beginning. "Well, I was in seventh grade. Early on in the school year, I met this new foreign exchange student from France, Cecil. He was kind of nerdy, and he was constantly late, but he was sweet. We really started to-"

"Not how. Why?" Helga interrupted again, her eyebrow now scrunching up as she looked down at the table.

"W-why what?"

Helga looked towards her mother now, glaring.

"Why did you lie to me?"

"Helga, we were going to tell you, we just didn't know if-"

"Why did you ignore me?" Her voice started to rise in volume. "Abandon me to a self-centered blowhard and a drunk?" Miriam winced.

Part of a memory she thought of every day rose to the top of Olga's mind: "You're too young to be her mother, Olga."

Olga tried to talk, tried to tell her daughter why. "I-I was fourteen, and I, I couldn't-"

"You couldn't what? Couldn't let everyone know that the great Olga had made a major screwup? Made a giant mistake and how she had her mommy and daddy take care of it while she went back to her charmed life!?"

Olga was starting to tear up. "Helga, I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Even though they raised you too, I don't think you know what it was like for me! Miriam spent most of the time sleeping around the house, she'd put crap like a packet of crackers and shaving cream in my lunch if she made it at all, and on the rare cases she would drive she'd nearly get us killed!" Miriam put her head in her hands.

Olga was starting to cry now. "Helga, I-I-"

"And then there was Bob. You left me in the care of a man who couldn't remember my age, my interests, my strawberry allergy, or what he had even named me in the first place! Unless it was comparing me to you, he didn't want anything to do with me! 'There isn't a competition that you can win and bring glory to the Pataki name? I'm busy, go away.' And I had to live with that for ten years!"

"Helga-"

"Oh, but you! You got to carry on like your life was perfect. Go to college, have friends, win awards. You got to come home and have mommy and daddy act like you were God's gift to the world! You must have thought it was a great big laugh about how you made your 'little sister' be your slave when you wanted to suck up and make a big dinner for Bob and Miriam!"

Tears flowing down her cheeks, Olga sobbed out. "Helga, I-I, I love you. I've always lov-"

"Yeah, well I don't love you! You're not mother! You're not even my sister!" Helga was yelling now. "You're just the thing that has made my life a living hell! I HATE YOU!"

"HELGA THAT'S ENOUGH!" Miriam slammed her hands against the tabletop as she stood up. As she did so, Olga also got up and ran crying into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Miriam looked towards Helga, who was now glaring at the table since her mother was no longer in the room.

"Helga, I am so disappointed in you. You had no right to yell at Olga. I know you're upset, but she is your mother, and you can't just scream at her like that."

Helga continued looking at the table. "She's not my mother. You are."

Miriam sighed. "She's your mother, Helga, not me, and you need to get used to the idea that she will be filling that role from now on." She then heard her daughter's muffled wails from the bedroom. "Go to your room and stay there. I'll be in to talk to you in a little while."

Helga got up and headed to the door. Going out into the hallway, she saw Arnold standing there. "Helga, we heard yelling. Is everything okay?" She noticed that down the hall were standing a couple of the other boarders who were gazing at her and her beloved.

Genuinely angry, Helga easily and genuinely gave a response she would have given as part of her façade several months ago. "None of your stinking business Arnoldo. Go away and leave me alone."

Arnold protested as she dug in her pocket for the correct key. "Helga, please. I only want to help."

She started to unlock the door. "Take a hint, Football Head, and BUZZ OFF!" and with that she was in her room, door closed and locked behind her. Realizing she was still holding the photo album, she tossed against the wall, and sat on her bed as she waited for Miriam.


Olga was lying in bed, her wails muffled by the pillow her face was shoved into. Helga hates me and it's all my fault. She was so upset she didn't even notice her mother entering the room and sitting on the edge of the bed until a comforting hand settled on one of her arms. "I am so, so sorry Olga. I should have remembered the photo album was up in the attic and told Helga not to bother about going up there. When I saw her with it, when I knew she had found out the truth, I should have talked with her first before bringing her here, but I guess I panicked inside, and now-"

"It's not your fault. I should have told her. I should have been there for her. Now she hates me. My little girl hates me. And I, I deserve it."

"She doesn't hate you. She's just hurt and confused." She reassured her daughter. "And you don't deserve it. Everything she said about Bob and me was true. We were awful parents for Helga, and we were barely any better for you. I never should have let Bob make us lie about this. And now you're paying for the numerous mistakes we've made.

"I'm going to go and talk to Helga. I hope she'll come and try to talk with you. If she doesn't, I'd just give her space for the rest of the night and try to talk with her in the morning."

Olga stayed curled up as her mom got up, no longer wailing but still letting out sobs. Miriam started for the door before coming back to her daughter. Leaning down and giving her a hug, she said goodbye. "Bob and I will be busy the next few days, but I'll call tomorrow afternoon. I love you so much, and I promise you things will get better."

Leaving her daughter's room, she made her way to the hallway, where Arnold was standing near Helga's door, a frown on his face "Mrs. Pataki, is Helga okay? We heard yelling and she seemed really upset."

"I'm sorry about the yelling Arnold." It wasn't her place to tell Arnold why Helga was so upset, so she gave a vague answer. "She and Olga had an argument. I'm sure she's mentioned how she doesn't get along with her... her sister. I'll make sure she knows not to yell like that again."

Arnold didn't notice the pause. "I'll go and tell the other boarders that she normally isn't this angry and loud."

Miriam watched as Arnold headed downstairs. He's such a sweet boy. I really hope Helga tells him how she feels. Turning towards door six, she tried to open it. Locked.

"Helga, open the door!" Miriam said in the stern voice she usually reserved for Bob.

She heard the door being unlocked. As she stepped into the room, Helga was already back on her bed, facing away from her.

Miriam took a seat next to her granddaughter much like she had with her daughter. However, her attempt to place a comforting hand on Helga's arm was met by her pulling away and muttering "Don't touch me."

"Helga, I understand why you're upset. But why were you so angry with her. She doesn't deserve it. You were right when you said those things about us, but Olga has done nothing but love you and want the best for you all these years."

Helga turned around to look at her grandmother. "But you've been such a great mom to me these past few months. Olga wasn't even a good sister, let alone a mother."

"Helga, half a year doesn't make up for the years I was a horrible parent. Olga wanted to be the best mom she could for you, but we... we wouldn't let her..."

Helga sat up next to her grandmother and looked at her. Seeing the regret on Miriam's face, she had to know. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Olga doted on you during those first few months. Whenever she wasn't at school she would play with you. She'd change your diaper, breastfeed you-" Helga cringed at the mental image "-rock you to sleep while singing lullabies. But... once her freshman year of High School started, we pushed her to get back into her extra-curricular lessons and competitions. That didn't stop her from spending all her free time with you, watching as you first started to crawl, then as you took your first steps. She was always so quick to be with you when you fell down and started to cry."

Miriam was smiling as she remembered how her daughter had acted towards the little girl. But her smile faded as she continued. "But that all changed when you said your first words..."


June 1988

Fifteen-year-old Olga Pataki had just gotten home from her violin practice. She was trying to get to the point where she could play it in concert like she could with the piano. Walking into the family room where Bob was sitting in his favorite chair watching a boxing match on TV, she set her stuff down.

"Hi Daddy!"

"Hey there Olga! How's the best girl a father could ask for! Your violin lessons go well?"

"Yes daddy. They're going great. I hope to be good enough for a performance by the time my sophomore year starts up."

"Great! Those lessons are expensive, so it's good that they are paying off."

Just then, her mother walked into the room, carrying Olga's little baby girl in her favorite pink onesie, which she was just about to outgrow.

"Hi mommy. Hi my baby girl. Have you been good for your grandma?"

"She's been wondering where you've been, Olga." Proving Miriam's point, Helga reached out towards her mom and started babbling.

As the toddler started to squirm in her arms, Miriam put her down, where she proceeded to toddle to her mother. Olga picked her up in her arms. Mother and daughter looked at each other.

"Mommy is so happy to see you, baby. I miss you whenever I have to go out. Want to go play with some blocks?"

The little girl continued looking at her mom and started making noise. "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma."

"Yes, Helga. I'm your mommy."

"Ma-ma-ma-Mommy!"

Hearing her little girl clearly say what was her first real word, she squealed in delight and (gently) hugged her daughter to her chest.

As Miriam watched, happy for her daughter, Bob frowned. "Miriam, I think you need to talk with Olga. Olga, go into the kitchen with your mother. I'll watch the girl."

Olga looked at her parents, confused. Miriam frowned. "Does it have to be now, Bob?"

"Yeah it has to be now, Miriam! We have to get ahead of this before it becomes a problem."

"Before what becomes a problem, daddy?"

Bob beckoned to her. "Gimme the girl, Olga."

Olga gave Helga to her father. Once in his arms the little girl squirmed around unhappily.

She followed her mother to the kitchen. "Mom, what's going on."

Miriam was nervous. "Well, ah, Olga, your dad and I have been talking and we think we need to act as Helga's parents even here at home. We'll be mom and dad, and you'll be her big sister, just like how we agreed to present Helga in public."

Olga frowned. "What are you talking about mom? I'm her mother."

Miriam sighed. "You gave birth to her, yes, but you're too young to be her mother, Olga. You're fifteen. You're going to be getting busier and busier. You're already playing the piano in concert, and you say you want to play the violin as well. Plus, with all the contests you already plan to enter, you'll need time to practice. I also don't want you to spend all your free time at home. You need to get out and socialize."

"I don't care about socializing. Helga's more important. I'd happily spend all my free time with her."

"What about college? A five-year-old needs her mother around, not halfway across the country."

"I, I was going to go to a local college here in town."

"Olga, we both know you have a bright future ahead of you. Hillwood has some good community colleges, but with your academic record, you could easily be accepted to and get scholarships to even prestigious colleges like Wellington or Bennington."

Olga didn't know what to say to her mother at first, eventually mumbling out. "Why do I have to lie to my baby?"

"I know it's hard honey, but it's for the best. You went to all that trouble keeping your pregnancy a secret, and once she starts talking more, she could easily bring everything out into the open. We're worried about how the other kids and even the teachers would treat you if they knew you had had a baby. It could even affect your ability to get into a good college."

She watched as tears started to come into her daughter's eyes.

Miriam pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Olga, but it's for the best."

Separating, Olga went back into the family room, while Miriam went over to one of the cupboards. God I need a smoothie.


August 1997

"We should have told you so much sooner. It wasn't fair to you, and it wasn't fair to Olga, especially since it's obvious you know how to keep a secret." As Miriam finished her story, she thought of a question to ask her granddaughter. "You've kept your crush on Arnold a secret since you were what... seven or eight?"

"Three." Helga replied, still thinking what her grandmother had just told her.

"Three?!" Miriam gawked at the girl. "Since you were three!?" How could I have been so blind?

"Uh-huh. Since the first day of preschool."

"It was love at first sight?"

"Yeah, when I got to preschool he held his umbrella over me and complimented my bow..." A goofy grin appeared on Helga's face as she reached up to where the very same bow still sat on her head. As she did so the frown returned to her face. "I walked there myself you know. You and Bob were too busy fawning over Olga. She failed me as both a mother and a sister then and she's been failing me ever since." She turned towards her grandmother. "And you want me to stay with her? Forgive her? Even bond with her?"

Miriam frowned right back. "Helga, please, please don't blame her. It was because of Bob and I, not her, that you felt the need to go out on your own. You obviously don't remember how she acted when you got home do you?"

Helga's frown softened as she started to think. She distinctly remembers trying to get Bob and Miriam's attention and being brushed off for Olga's piano playing. She remembers the walk to school just as clearly. Her meeting Arnold felt like it could have happened yesterday. After that her memories started to get murkier and murkier: Harold eating her crackers, Arnold offering her his, her getting teased. The very last thing she remembers from that day was her putting on the bullying act she had only recently started to discard.

She conceded. "No, I guess I don't."

"When you got home she pulled you into a hug and made you promise never to go off like that again. You really upset her Helga. It was Bob's fault and mine, but she blamed herself."

"I don't remember that. She was really upset?" Helga was skeptical.

"Ask her what some of the scariest moments of her life are. I'm sure it will be on the list."

"Yeah right." Helga figured Miriam was just trying to cover for Olga. "I doubt it was as bad as when she thought she got a B plus on her report card."

"Helga, it's the truth. Do I need to go into detail?" Helga just kept glaring at her. Miriam sighed. "Fine. She had been playing piano for us..."


August 1990

Miriam had just finished getting her granddaughter ready for her first day of preschool. The little girl was dressed and ready to go. "Alright, we better get ready to leave. Preschool starts in about ten minutes."

"Mommy, what is preschool?"

"It's a place where you'll get to meet other kids your age, honey. Remember that building a few blocks away we visited the other day?" Helga nodded "That's where you're going. You'll spend time with the other kids, make friends, and then after a while I'll come and get you."

The little girl perked up at the mention of other kids. Miriam knew she had been getting lonely, especially with Olga doing more and more extracurricular activities. With Olga's senior year of High School starting in a week, it wouldn't be fair for the young girl to be stuck at home with her grandma all day.

The two went downstairs and into the kitchen. Miriam handed Helga her lunchbox, and was about to head out early, when she heard an irate voice coming from the stairs. "Miriam, where's my lucky belt? I have a big deal going on today and I can't find it!"

Walking into the foyer where her husband was, Miriam responded. "B, I don't know where your belt is. Did you check the wardrobe?"

Her response just made Bob angrier. "Of course, I checked the wardrobe! It was the first place I checked! It wasn't there Miriam! What are you trying to do, undermine me!?"

"No, Bob, I just think..." She trailed off.

"Think?! You didn't think Miriam! I need my lucky belt! It's a big day for my Beeper business and I can't be without it!"

"Bob! I don't know where your damn belt is! I got to get Helga to preschool!"

"This is more important than some dumb school thing, Miriam! This is for the future of the Pataki name! You need to find my belt and find it-"

Suddenly they heard piano music coming from the living room, distracting them from the argument. It was their daughter Olga, sitting there playing one of the many classical pieces she had memorized, and playing it well.

Bob and Miriam always loved to hear her play. As they listened to her, they became so lost in her performance that the only acknowledgement they gave the little girl who walked into the room was Bob telling her to wait a minute (and calling her the wrong name of course).

As Olga finished a short piece, she gazed over at the clock. "Oh, Mom! You and Baby Sister have to get going, she's going to be late! I'll go get her." All unaware that Helga was currently making her way several blocks over to the preschool all by herself.

As Olga got up, Miriam told her that Helga was in the kitchen. Olga made her way into the room where she expected her little girl to be, speaking as she went. "Oh, Baby Sister. I'm sorry I made you wait. Want me to go with you and mommy?"

The room was empty. "Baby Sister?"

Miriam had followed her, and seeing the worried look on her face, offered an explanation "Maybe she went back up to her room?"

Olga went up the stairs into her daughter's room. "Baby Sister, you in here?' Finding another empty room, panic started to rise in her chest. Maybe she's waiting out front. She has to be. Practically flying down the steps, Bob and Miriam watched as she threw open the door.

The stoop was empty. Rushing out into the rain she looked left and right down the street. Her little girl was nowhere in sight. "Helga!? Baby?!" Olga called out. Some passersby looked in her direction, but just kept on walking.

Rushing back into the house, she saw her mom standing there, concern creasing her brow to match the panic on her daughter's face. "I didn't see her! I, I think she wondered off on her own. We have to go out and find her!" Olga was nearly hyperventilating at this point.

"Good idea. Bob I need you to-" Miriam turned around and saw her husband on the phone, looking at a phonebook.

"...Yeah, she has blonde hair and an unibrow. Her name's... uh... Helga. Yeah. Uh-huh. Thanks." As he hung up, he turned to his wife and daughter. "Well, that solves that problem. The girl found her way to the preschool just fine."

Miriam put her hands to her chest, relieved at the news her granddaughter was safe and sound. Olga sank to her knees, feeling like a massive weight had been lifted off her.

Bob looked at the two. "C'mon, you two, stop acting so hysterical. She's fine. Brat just doesn't know she can't go wandering off on her own. Now I need help finding my belt." When neither mother nor daughter moved, he rolled his eyes and started the search himself. "Yeesh! Women!"


August 1997

"...Don't you remember one of the adults at the preschool coming and checking on you?" Miriam asked as she finished the recollection.

Helga just shrugged. "Not really. And so what, she was worried one time? Doesn't make her a good mother. What was she even playing the piano for in the first place?"

Miriam, so sure Helga would be less angry at her mother after what she'd been told, faltered. "I, I don't know... I'm sure she had a good reason."

Helga just glared at her grandmother. "Oh, I'm sure she always had a good reason as well for why she never tried to spend some time with me outside of ordering me around so we could prepare a perfect dinner for you and Bob. She probably spent more time with Lila this past year than she did with me. I wonder what little Ms. Perfect would say about her 'Big Sis' actually being a teen mom."

Miriam put her head in her hands, a headache settling behind her eyes. "Helga, as I've said, I can't speak for her, but I think she was afraid. When you were still a toddler she slipped up a few times and called you her little girl. Bob would yell at her for hours whenever that happened."

Helga rolled her eyes. "'I'm sorry I can't be a good sister or mother, Helga. I'm too afraid of the big, bad windbag. If only I had been older and your father hadn't run off back to France.' That is what happened, right? This Cecil guy is my father and he left the country with his tail between his legs when he found out he got her pregnant?"

"He is, but he doesn't know you exist. He had to go back to France a month after the school year ended, and Olga didn't find out she was pregnant until August."

"What, the over-achiever doesn't know how to write a letter?"

Miriam groaned at Helga's persistent bad attitude. "She wanted to. She wanted to so badly. Bob wouldn't let her. He yelled at her every time she tried." She sighed. "Look, if you want to know more about your father, talk to your mother. She can answer a lot of your questions."

Helga still didn't budge, literally or figuratively. "She's not my mother. She will never be my mother."

"God, you are so stubborn. You got that from your grandfather." She glanced at an old clock that was on top of the dresser. "Look, I would stay here and argue with you all night on the small chance I'd get you to go and talk with Olga, but I can't. I have to make sure Bob doesn't burn down the house trying to make dinner and I also need to finish packing."

Miriam got up and headed for the door. Before she opened it, she turned around and saw that Helga was once again curled up on the bed, facing away from her.

"I love you Helga, and Olga loves you too. Please, please, give her a chance to be your mother."

And then Miriam left. Helga laid in bed for a while. Eventually, she got up and retrieved the photo album from where she had thrown it.

Settling back on the bed and opening the album up, she took time to look at the photos of a young Olga and the teenage boy she now knew to be her father. He and Olga looked really happy together. I wonder if he and I would have gotten along? He couldn't have been a worse dad than Bob, even with being a teenager.

Not that she would probably ever get to know. Bob and Olga had screwed up any chance of that happening.

She looked at the French poetry and letters he had written to Olga. She wished she could understand what they meant, but it might as well have been hieroglyphics. A potential connection to her father, blocked off by the language barrier.

Finally, she flipped past the various ultrasound photos to that final photo of a fourteen-year-old Olga holding her newborn daughter. She looked so very tired, like she had been through hell. But Helga also noticed something she had been too shocked to notice the first time: the look on Olga's face. It was one of pure love. Love for the little, helpless creature she had just spent hours laboring to bring into the world.

Looking at her, seeing just how young she was, Helga thought maybe she had been too harsh. Maybe, maybe I could give her another chance?

But another chance could lead to more pain, more betrayal. Could Helga really put herself through that? Did Olga really deserve another chance?

As she gazed at the picture, as her emotions roiled within her, Helga didn't notice the tears that were starting to make their way down her face.


Yeah.

So the inspiration for this story came from several places. The biggest one was, of all places, Jack Nicholson's life. The famous actor grew up thinking his mother was his sister and his grandparents were his parents. Unlike Helga, he was an adult by the time he found out the truth. I also know the Disney series Andi Mack took similar inspiration for its premise, although I've never seen it.

Another one was the mere fact that Olga seems like such a wasted character in the series. Her first real episode, "Olga Comes Home," hints that she hates being Miss Perfect. Every subsequent episode she appears in, however, seems to ignore this to just make her what she initially appeared to be: a shallow, naive over-achiever. I actually have a similar problem with Lila. I mean, they give better depth to Miriam in episodes like "Road Trip" and "The Beeper Queen," and they couldn't even dive into things like her alcoholism and her unhappy marriage. They could have easily given Olga and Lila simliar depth. I'm setting out to give Olga some of that depth, and I don't just mean the fact that I made her Helga's real mother. I've hinted at the reason why she acts the way she does, especially in the second flashback.

Thanks for reading this far. I do hope to have the fourth chapter out much sooner than I did this one, especially since it's going to be a good amount shorter than this one.