Greetings, fabulous readers! Here we are at the end of this story, where all answers shall be revealed! Probably. Thanks for reading to the end, and I hope you enjoy it!

A special thanks to those who reviewed:
Kpfan72491: Thanks so much for all of your reviews! Yeah, I have no (or at least very little) shame when it comes to writing cliffhangers - but hopefully you will enjoy this chapter!
SuprSingr: Thanks for taking the time to review. When you review, you review! I just hope that 'paranoy' doesn't mean 'annoy' but that you're just being paranoid? Updates really do speed me up, because I hadn't actually written this chapter when I posted the last - big mistake. Not doing that in the future for sure! You shall see what's so important very soon! Yeah, I'm not going to actually kill them - I'm not quite that evil...besides they're way too adorable together. That George of the Jungle reference is a good idea, though... You'll find where I live and... *sweat drop* Um...what's say we just skip to the pizza part, since I'm not going to kill them?
loonytunecrazy: Thanks for reviewing! Those are good guesses, and you shall see very soon!
Thundercatroar: Running jokes for the win! I actually suffer from worst case scenario-itis, so that part was easy to write. It's a pretty important thing to him, and Helga will hopefully take it in stride :) You hope he's not...uh...no, that's not what he's going to tell her, but that's all the hints I'm giving about that. LOL Thanks so much for your reviews!
acosta perez jose ramiro: Yes, yes they did find a bear. Or the bear found them. Well, I needed some reason for why Arnold would tell her to climb a tree! haha Thanks very much, and I hope you enjoy this final chapter.

And special cyber cookies to all those who have reviewed every single chapter! Wow!

WARNING: Please, do not under any circumstances, follow the advice given below in how to defend oneself from bears if other advice exists from a more credible source. The information given below is correct as far as I know, but don't follow mine if a park ranger tells you a different way of protecting yourself. (I do not want to hear about any bear maulings in which the victim blames their circumstances on the 'moronic advice of a fanfic writer.' Actually, I'd prefer not to hear about any maulings period.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any its characters. Shocking, isn't it?

Everything was dark. Helga opened her eyes, and stared up into a dark vastness. She tried to figure out where she was, but the confusion was making her head pound. She shut her eyes again.

"Helga?"

Her eyes shot open and everything rushed back to her. The hiking, the getting lost, the yelling, the tree, the bear, Arnold. Arnold! A jolt of fear rushed through her. Did that bear get Arnold? I have to do something! In a motion that had once been as natural to her as breathing, she swung her fist upwards, desperate to do something, anything, to save Arnold. The blow plunged into something fleshy, smooth, and definitely not a bear.

Arnold fell over backwards, still cradling her head in her arms. "Oof!" Luckily, he managed to keep Helga upright, and as he sat up she was still blinking bewilderment out of her eyes. Then comprehension dawned, and her entire face flamed. "Arnold! I am so sorry!"

He chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder. "Brainy wasn't kidding – surprise does make you trigger-happy!" Seeing that she looked completely mortified, he gave her a warm smile. "It's fine, Helga. Given what just happened, I'm not surprised."

Helga pulled herself up into a sitting position and leaned against Arnold. "What happened?"

"Well, we got lost and you were not happy about it. When you started yelling, I noticed that there was a black bear coming up from behind you. I didn't think it would hurt us, but you never know, and I thought that we'd better move so that the bear wouldn't feel threatened by us. Since you were already tired and nervous, I didn't want to scare you more by telling you about the bear so I tried to get you to climb a tree without explaining why." He laughed a little, "Which I am sure made me look pretty callous."

"That was why you wanted me to climb a tree?" Helga asked tentatively, feeling more and more ridiculous as realization set in. "I'm sorry I didn't just climb it in the first place."

"I'm not." Helga shot him a perplexed look so he continued, "I was so preoccupied with getting us out of there that I forgot that climbing a tree would be the worst thing to do with a black bear. He could have followed us right up there."

"So how did he leave?"

"Actually, Helga, you're the one who saved us. The bear was getting closer when you really let me have it – your voice yelling and your arms waving all over the place. All that noise and motion scared it away – I don't know if I've ever seen a bear move so fast."

The note of wry humor that crept into the last statement did not escape Helga, and she frowned. "I don't think you've ever seen a bear move period, Football Head."

"This is true. Anyway, I was about to tell you what was going on when you saw the bear and then fainted. I'm just glad that I was able to get to you before your head hit the ground."

"I…fainted?" Arnold nodded. "Oh, wonderful – this has just been a night for embarrassment for me. Please don't tell anyone that I actually fainted."

Arnold winced. "I won't – but they already know, Helga."

"How?"

"Look where we are."

Helga peered around them. They were at the same spot they had gone to last night.

"See, that's the campsite," Arnold pointed, "and that's where we were when we saw the bear."

"That's not far away at all."

"No, which is how they heard you yelling." Arnold stated matter-of-factly. "When the guys heard you, some of them ran over to see what was wrong. They got here right after you fainted, and Brainy and Gerald helped me carry you over here."

"So, this is the place you wanted to show me?"

"Sort of."

Her face crinkled in confusion. "Then why didn't we just come with the others?"

"I thought it might be more romantic if we got here alone."

"Oh," Helga replied, feeling more guilty for yelling at him. "But why didn't you just tell me what you wanted to tell me yesterday?"

Arnold pointed one finger at the sky. "That's why."

Confused, she looked up into the dark velvet sky. After a moment, she realized that the night sky was clear for the first time that weekend. The bright orb of the moon dominated the darkness, although a few stars had ventured shyly into view. "The stars?"

Arnold nodded, and then took a deep breath. Helga noticed that he seemed very nervous as he asked, "Helga, what do you know about my parents?" His eyes held that poignant mix of grief and happiness that they always did when his parents were mentioned, and her heart went out to him.

"Just that they met in another country, came back here when you were born, and left – let you stay with your grandparents before they went on a final mission."

Arnold was an excellent person to talk to when one was troubled, he was able to coax out painful memories and secrets out of people without making them feel ill at ease. It was almost ironic, then, that he was so hesitant to talk about his own. He rarely talked about his parents – although whether to shield others from having to comfort him or not wanting to share what few memories he had, Helga had never been sure. From what his grandparents had mentioned in passing, she knew that his parents had loved their only child very much – but they had not left behind many material things for Arnold to cling to. All he had was an old journal his father had written, a picture of his football-headed mother and golden-haired father, and his blue hat. The hat was far too small to wear anymore, but Helga knew that he still carried it everywhere with him.

Arnold took another deep breath. "Well, for what I want to show you to make any sense, I need to tell you a little more." He looked away, trying to hide the moistness in his eyes from Helga. "Just let me know if I start boring you."

Helga entwined her fingers in his and gently squeezed his hand. Her voice was tender. "You won't, Arnold. Please tell me."

Arnold blinked the tears from his eyes and smiled at her. "Well, my mother loved to look at stars – my dad apparently used to joke that when she chose to become a doctor, the world had lost a brilliant astronomer. Sometimes in the evening, she would come outside with my father and they would watch the heavens together after I had fallen asleep. When they moved here, it was the first time that Mom had ever been to Washington or a big city, and my dad knew that she would miss the stars although she never told him. So the first night after they moved here, he brought her to this park and they sat in this very spot to see the stars." He smiled, a sweet but sad smile. "Apparently, she'd never seen them look so beautiful. My family would come to this park in the daytime very often – but at least once a month my parents would leave me with my grandparents for an evening and come here with a picnic basket and hot chocolate to be alone with the stars and each other. They would sit together and enjoy the beauty in the silence – when they weren't arguing about which constellations were which."

Helga smiled, "Who was usually right?"

Arnold's face lit up slightly as he laughed, "Mom. And Dad knew it – he just liked stirring her up." He stopped laughing and his voice became serious. "When I found out we were coming her, I decided that I wanted to bring you here to my parents' star-gazing spot. It's like bringing you to meet them, or at least the best way that I could." His voice shook slightly and he closed his eyes. "I guess I also wanted to see how this felt, sitting together like my parents used to. Sitting here now, I feel like we could be as happy together as they were. I know that that sounds ridiculous and corny, but I just had to – " His voice cut off.

Helga pulled gently away from him and stood up, walking towards the edge of the hill. Arnold cupped his eyes with one hand. I wanted so badly not to mess this up…but it looks like I completely weirded Helga out. He could feel his heart sinking, and he felt hollow. And then he heard her voice and looked up.

Helga was standing at the edge of the hill and had tilted her head up to look directly into the heavens. "Sir. Madam. It's a pleasure to talk to you – I only wish that I could have met you in person to say this. Thank you so much for your son. Thank you for bringing him into the world – he is a blessing to everyone he knows. He is strong, compassionate, and wise, and I know you must be proud of him. I only hope that I can make him feel as loved as he makes me feel. I think your stars are very beautiful, ma'am."

Arnold no longer felt hollow – instead he felt so full that he thought his heart would burst. He got up and quietly walked over to the woman he loved, putting his arms around her. She put her arms around him in return, and they clung together silently and watched the stars. No words were necessary.

In unspoken agreement, they turned back towards the tree and sat beneath it. Arnold held Helga close as they leaned against the trunk and gazed into the sky. There was a happy silence for a long time, until Helga placed her head on her boyfriend's shoulder and spoke, "Arnold?"

"Hmm?" Arnold dazedly replied. He had been busy thinking about how the glitter of the stars reminded him of a certain ring in a certain shop that he wanted to buy for a certain girl. Another year of saving ought to do it – I don't want it attached to debt. He quickly brushed the thoughts away, like a parent hiding their child's birthday presents when they hear them calling. He smiled, "What is it?"

Helga pointed one arm towards the stars. "I think some constellations are forming – do you know their names?"

"Sure." He gently held her wrist and guided her finger to the constellations as he named them. "That's Orion the hunter…and that's the Big Dipper…and that's –" He began chuckling.

"Which one is that? Why are you laughing?"

Arnold choked back his laughter. "That's Ursa Major."

"And how is that funny?"

"Helga, Ursa Major means "big bear." I can't believe that that bear is foolish enough to dare show its face, especially considering how you traumatized the only other bear we've seen this trip."

Helga swatted at him playfully. "Hey, that's mean!"

He grinned, "Oh, you know I love you."

Helga shrugged, although her heart was skipping. "I guess, but it never hurts to hear you say it."

Arnold took her hands in his, and she turned to him. The serious but loving look on his face made her heart pound. "I love you, Helga."

Two years of dating, and the way he said those four words still made her melt every time. She was feeling pleasantly flustered, but managed to wheeze out, "Once more?"

Arnold chuckled and then he teasingly continued, "I love you." His eyes acquired the half-lidded look Helga loved, and he raised his eyebrows. "Your turn."

Helga smiled, "I love – mmf!"

Arnold had just cut her off in the middle of her profession of love. But she couldn't have been happier about it as she leaned into the kiss.

···

"You mean, he's taking her to the same place that his parents used to go to?" Sheena sighed, clasping her hands together, "That's so romantic!"

Gerald took a long look at his girlfriend who was currently blushing guiltily and then laughed. "See, kirei, this is why we don't tell you girls this stuff. You can't keep it secret."

"Knock it off, Gerald!" Rhonda called out, "It's not like Helga wouldn't have told us anyway – oh, how terribly gallant of Arnold!"

"He's such a gentleman!"

"And a hopeless romantic."

"They just can't get past the whole Romeo and Juliet thing, can they?" Brainy interjected and everyone looked at him, puzzled. "They went out to look at stars – and Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers." He grinned shamelessly, "You can't miss the connection." They are star-crossed lovers, but luckily their story will have a happy ending. He saw Lila smile sympathetically at him, and he smiled back. And maybe someday I'll have my own.

Brainy's predictably bad pun was followed by the predictable good-natured groans, although the groans of the girls ended almost in blissful sighs. The guys watched in a mix of amusement and frustration.

Harold finished the last bite of his burger and groaned, "I hope Arnold realizes that he just raised the bar for all of us. I'm gonna kill him."

Eugene scratched his head thoughtfully, "Yeah, how are we supposed to keep up with that?"

Curly's eyes lit up as inspiration struck. "You poor fools, I have the perfect solution!" He cried, and then rushed over to the campfire. The boys stared after him for a split second and then all chased after him.

"Curly, don't do it!"

"What idiot left the fuel lying around?"

"Just give it back, Curly!"

"Never! My love shall burn for all to see!"

"Somebody stop him!"

All the boys tackling him did nothing to deter Curly's enthusiasm, and his maniacal laughter rang throughout the campsite. "HUZZAH!"

Oblivious to the scuffle taking place below them, the two star-crossed lovers stared into the peaceful heavens. Arnold slowly turned towards Helga and looked deep into her face. Her gaze caught his, mesmerizing him so that only one thought crossed his mind as he leaned in to kiss her:

Her eyes shone even more brightly than the stars above.

A/N: So here we are at the end - I hope you enjoyed it! It's great to have something completely done, but now I realize I have no more plots in my head, so it may be awhile before any more stories show up here...requests, anyone?

And now you know the 'something important' Arnold wanted to tell her - did you guess what it was? The reason he wouldn't tell her before was because the stars had been covered and he wanted that talk to go flawlessly with the stars. A lot of reviewers asked if he was proposing, and I even considered adding that part in. But in the end, I decided to stick with my original plan and imply that Arnold was working his way up to proposing to her - which may or may not have been clear. My implications tend to be vague, ha.

I will not lie, writing that exchange between Arnold and Helga about his parents made me totally tear up. I am not ashamed. I hope other people like it as much.

Thanks so much for reading, and please please review!