Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever owed Hey Arnold! But guess what! We are finally getting are MOVIE! After all these years, Nickelodeon has finally come to their senses… err…at least partly. Release is in 2017 and I already can't wait! So on with the story!

"Bring Her Home"

'You never know how much a person truly means to you until they're gone. This was a very valuable lesson I think we all learned'

Arnold always knew Helga's family cared for her it was just hard for them to show it. It broke his heart to know Helga would never see what her family did just to get her back.

After Helga had gone missing there had been search party sent after her immediately after her parents found out, well immediately after Bob went through his angry fit, barged into class, and threatened Mr. Simmons for being so careless. Olga was quick to his rescue, though, claiming that it wasn't his fault. To everyone's surprise, she actually put the blame on herself saying how the only reason she was supposed to even come on the trip was to make sure her 'baby sister' would be safe. Not only had she failed to do so, but she had been too distracted herself and had been distracting to Mr. Simmons in the midst of her all her insistent crying. Bob, very sternly yelled at his beloved eldest daughter for the very first time. Bob never showed up at school again. In fact, Big Bob hadn't shown his face around Hillwood until the week after the discovery of Helga's clothes. Phoebe was the first person to find out about what was found in San Lorenzo, being Helga's best friend and having been very close with Olga since the incident. Phoebe then made the conscious decision to tell Gerald, knowing how he felt about the entire issue. He had the right to know.

Gerald hadn't smiled since that final day in San Lorenzo. He barely even spoke, and spent most of his time in class staring wistfully out the window or down at his hands. Everyone knew he still blamed himself for allowing the plane to leave without her and ultimately murdering his long term friend. Gerald and Helga may not have always gotten along but there were days that they really did relate rather well and days where they even had a lot of fun together. Their friendship wasn't as obvious as Arnold and himself however, if taken the time, anyone could see how well the two played off each other.

About 3 months after the discovery and endless searching, the search was off and Helga was officially declared dead. A funeral was held in her honor. It was simply beautiful. There were flowers everywhere many donated by Ms. Vietello herself and many brought by the countless members of the town including her many classmates. There were photos everywhere of all the years and a few scowling photos of her "It Girl" days. Arnold eyes fell to one specific photo. It was of the two of them after the Romeo and Juliet play. The borders had wanted some pictures, being the lovable bunch that they are. But for them, no picture would be acceptable without his leading lady by his side. 'By my side...I should have kept her by my side...my leading lady.'

After a few hours, the ceremony was over. Everyone was making their way to their cars, the faces buried in their palms. Gerald walked with Phoebe, his head nestled in her neck while hers rested on top of his. This looming sadness was exhausting for everyone but nobody felt it heavier than the one person no one would have ever expected.

"Arnold..." Arnold looked up from the object he had intertwined tightly between his fingers, to look towards his mother giving him an apologetic and forced smile. "Are you ready to go home?" She asked lightly. Arnold grimaced at the word but quickly hid it. He turned to the grave were an empty coffin was buried beneath the cold soil, only to see a certain Pataki staring motionlessly at the name written on the exquisitely crafted stone.

"No...actually mom. Could you go ahead? I think I'll just walk home if that's alright." Stella patted his should in understanding before heading off to the car, but Arnold didn't notice much. He was too focused on the large man with the stone heart looking so broken.

Arnold hesitantly walked up beside the large man. "M-Mr. Pataki?" Arnold spoke tapping the man's arm.

"What do you want kid? Can't you see I'm trying to have a moment with my daughter?" He grumbled, his voice lacking its usual impact.

Arnold looked back down at the object in his hand and gripped it tighter. "W-well...you see...h-Helga gave me something in San Lorenzo...well...she didn't really give it to me, more like she let me borrow it."

Bob perked up a little at the mention of his youngest daughter, but said nothing in hopes for the boy to continue.

Arnold simply held out the pink ribbon for the man. Arnold didn't want to be rid of it, not at all. But...he felt he didn't have the right to hold on to it, or even to just touch it. It felt too fragile, too real. Arnold looked up to see Big Bob staring at the object with a bitter fondness and reach his arm towards it. Arnold cringed at the thought of letting go, but tensed as he felt Bob's hands on his own, closing them around the ribbon.

"I appreciate it kid...Really, I do...but...if anyone deserves the right to hold on to it...well...I'd be damned if that person was me. Besides, something tells me...she would have wanted you to have it. I always felt she had a soft spot for you kid." And with that, Bob mussed with Arnold's hair and left him there with tears in his eyes. Arnold's grip tightened around the ribbon slowly clasping it closer to his heart where the renowned Helga G. Pataki would forever remain.

7 years later

'Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! He-'

Arnold groaned turning over in his bed. He hated mornings especially Mondays...especially today. Today marked the day that his parents went missing, the same parents he had found years later in an uncharted jungle with the help of his classmates and one pig-tailed little girl who had managed to escape his grasp. He groaned once more. How could he have been such an idiot? Maybe he could stay in bed today. What if he were to just stay in bed for the rest of his life? Would anyone even notice? Would they eventually stop caring and let him rot as he would like to? As he thought he deserved to…no… he had to get up. His friends would be worried…well, more worried. He had to get up so he could ease their minds and carry out his day as if he weren't crumbling slowly from inside…He had to get up…he just had to…so he could live the life she sacrificed for his happiness; a happiness, as the universe would have it, he never got. He had to get up…

…. So I can find her.

Arnold had been obsessed with the theory that Helga was still alive down in San Lorenzo, though most of his friends do not share in his optimisms. Many of his friends even found it hurtful that he even entertain the hope that they all had. But they accepted that it was something Arnold just had to do to keep himself sane, so if this was the only option, they'd oblige, at least for now. Still, Arnold knew she was out there somewhere, it was hard for him to explain, but he could feel it. And there was no way in hell he was going to just move on, when his lo-f-friend…was lost and forgotten somewhere in a foreign country. He had been working on getting a private piloting license so he could fly down to San Lorenzo and find out for himself …

Arnold slumping into the high-school and made his way to his locker. School was something Arnold seldom looked forward to. As much as he really did love and appreciate all his friends, he still really hated being away from his family for too long. He only had a full family for like eight years out of his seventeen, and with his grandparents no getting any younger, he made sure to be around as much as possible.

"Hey Buddy" Gerald greeted, plopping his weight on the locker beside his.

"Hey Gerald" Arnold answered tiredly.

"Come on! How can you be so bummed when you got the greatest friend in the world?" He asked raising his brow mischievously.

"Oh? And who might that be?"

"Why, me, of course" Gerald announced proudly. "And you want to know why?"

Arnold signed, feeling he knew where this conversation was going but decided to play along anyway, "Fine! What, dare I ask, makes you the greatest friend in the world?"

"Because this friend got you a ragging hot date this evening at Chez Paris!" he grinned.

Arnold blinked listlessly at his "friend". This wasn't the first time he had attempted to push him on some date. Okay so, maybe he didn't get out as much as the average high-school male, but he had his reasons.

Arnold shut his locker forcefully. "I'm not going." He said making his way towards his first class.

"Arnold! You have to go, man!" Gerald said in slight panic, stopping Arnold from his venture. "I know, you hate doing this –"

"Then, you'll understand when I say 'I'm not going'"

"Oh yes you are!"

"No I'm not! End of conversation!" Arnold declared, brushing him away and walking in front of him.

"…D-Do you really think this is what she would've wanted? The love of her life, wasting away his days, never finding love because he's too hung up on someone he can never have…"

Arnold froze…'low blow, Gerald… low blow'

"Don't you ever want to find happiness, Arnold? I know I do…and with Phoebe, I feel I can finally get over the incident in San Lorenzo. That's all I want for you, Buddy." He walked up behind Arnold and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Gerald? Can I ask you a question?" Arnold choked out in a small voice. The bell had already rung making the duo late for class, but they chose to pay no attention to it. They were only missing homeroom after all.

"You can ask me anything, my man."

Arnold looked toward Gerald, eyes glossy and a pained expression on his face. "Do you ever…do you ever feel guilty for wanting to be happy? Like you don't really deserve it?"

Gerald stared at his broken friend in understanding, obviously knowing where he was coming from. The tall haired boy had gone through a time of absolute depression after the funeral. He locked himself up for days, not even Timberly could get a reaction out of him. Phoebe was the one to pull him out of that dangerous state of self-blame, stating that she forgave him. Phoebe, being Helga's best friend, was hurt of course over the whole ordeal, but she didn't blame Gerald for anything. At the time, though, no one could convince him that he wasn't to blame, no therapist, no friend, not even Phoebe. Knowing this, she accepted that the only way to give him closure was to allow him to take some fault and ultimately forgive him. It may not have come from Helga G. Pataki herself, but her best friend was good enough. He didn't know if he could do the same if it had been Arnold in Helga's position, so he was grateful that he had Phoebe. "You know I have…but I haven't felt that way in a while. Sometimes the feeling does come back, though."

"I feel like that all the time…I just can't get over it like you did…" he closed his eyes tightly, trying to lessen the headache this conversation was causing him.

"…I think I loved her Gerald." The tall haired teen's eyes widened. He always assumed his best friend might have felt that way, especially considering the position he had caught Arnold in that day. He was practically smoothing the poor girl in affection. He never thought he'd actually admit it.

"I know, Bud. But I think it's time you try to move on. Or at least try to let it go just for a couple hours tonight. She's a really nice girl, Arnold. Not to mention pretty." He gave the blonde a friendly nudge. Arnold gave a light smile.

"Alright, but only this once. After tonight, don't expect me to go on anymore dates you set up."

Gerald smacked Arnold's back enthusiastically. "That's the spirit, I just know you'll love her!"

'I hate her. What the heck was Gerald thinking?! Best friend in the world, my ass!' His date came about ten minutes late, didn't even apologize just sat down and started looking at the menu, while chewing gum rather loudly. He tried making conversation, but he found out she had ear phones in and didn't hear a thing. Feeling awkward, he tapped her menu trying to get her attention. She looked up, popped her gum, and said "what?" as if it was torture to talk to him. He asked a question, trying to get to know her a little, which she sighed, rather loudly, and basically told him to stop interrogating her and that he talked too much. When he finally got her to talk, all she did was go on and on about all these dates that she's been on where the guy was soooo much better than him in basically everyway. 'Yeah, she's a real nice girl Gerald'. She had him pay for the meal, and her taxi home right before licking his cheek, yes licking! Telling him to call her and leaving. Sure she had looks and all but everything about them was wrong. She had the wrong colored hair, definitely not sunflower yellow-blonde. She didn't have icy blue eyes, and she in no way had no sign of pink or bows anywhere on her. Okay so that wasn't her fault but still!

He dug in his pocket for his key before unlocking the door to the boarding house and stepping inside.

"SURPRISE!"

Arnold jumped back with a yelp seeing all his friends surround him.

"Uh… w-what?"

"Congratulations Arnold!" Phoebe ran up to him enveloping him in one of her signature warm hugs.

"Congratulations? On what?"

Gerald came out from the crowd throwing his arm on his shoulder and showed him a card with a football-headed teen looking back at him. "On getting your flying licensee, man!" Arnold snatched it out of his hand and stared at it incredulously.

"B-but how?! I still have twenty more hours!"

"I've got my sources, but this is the real deal, brother."

"Not only that!" Rhonda declared, making her dazzling entrance. "We also got you a brand new, state of the art, nothing but the best, airplane! It's here obviously, but you get the point. You due to fly out in three days! No need to thank me!"

"My, my Rhonda!" Curly grinned flirtatiously. "How noble of you. Though I expect nothing less from my princess." He said, grabbing her waist and pulling her towards him without reluctance from the raven-haired beauty."

Arnold felt a tear run down his face. "You guys really did all this…just for me?"

"Hell no!" Sid announced from his place next to Stinky and Harold.

Arnold gave them a questioning look before Harold added, "We did this for all of us. You're not the only one who needs this Arnold. We all need to know…what really happened to her. So the found a couple strands of hair and some ripped up rags. I refuse to believe our Helga, Helga G. Pataki, the terror of p.s. 118, was bested by some jungle."

"Then what was that you said earlier, Gerald? About letting go and moving on. And what about that oh so wonderful date?" Arnold asked turning to Gerald who still had his arm around him.

"Man, you don't think I actually believe that crap. You need closure. We all do. And that girl, don't worry, she was just some friend of Eugene's from the drama department. All we told her was to take you on a date, but try not to make it too great, if you know what I mean. She was so excited when we asked. She got this really devious kind of grin on her face and said she knew just what to do. I couldn't have been that bad." Gerald stated staring at his friend for some answer. Arnold just stared back with an expressionless look on his face. "Could it?"

"You have no idea. I'll tell you about it later though and I will be getting you back for that."

"Whatever you say, Buddy."

"Also, Arnold, we are ever so sure this won't be easy. So please be just ever so careful." Lila said grabbing his hand in hers.

"Don't worry. I'm sure I'll be fine."

She gave a relieved smile, before tightening her grip just a bit. "Oh, and Arnold?"

"Yes Lila?" He asked, noticing a glint in her eyes as she stared into his.

"Bring her home."

A/N: I am soo sorry for the late update. I've been so busy with college, and doing fan art/comics for this fandom. My life has been crazy busy this past year but I never stopped thinking about this story. I hope you haven't forgotten about this. It's only going to get better from here! Not sure whose perspective I'll go to next. These last two have been mainly Arnold angst and I think it's time for something on a much lighter tone.

As Always, Tell Me What You Think!