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Dependents	By : DancingBear Category: +G through L > Hey, Arnold! Views: 6520 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold, nor any of the characters. I do not, and will not make any money from this story. (Original creator: Craig Bartlett)

Chapter List
- 1-Dependents
- 2-Lean
- 3-Steep
- 4-Long
- 5-Hold
- 6-Slouch
- 7-Arch
- 8-Turn
- 9-Fall
- 10-Drop
- 11-Gift
- 12-Balk
- 13-Spill
- 14-Pay
- 15-Scrap
- 16-Warm
- 17-Sink
- 18-Stoke
- 4
- 5
- 6
"Muuuum!" Helga spun around, flustered, a peanut-butter smeared knife brandished in her hand. Nina's round face stared up at her, anxious. "Where's my green ribbon?"

Helga couldn't help but smile, Nina was trying so hard to look pretty for her first day of school. "I think it's tied to Lucy's basket, remember?"

Nina didn't even reply, but raced off, her socked feet sliding over the smooth floor. Helga considered telling her to slow down, lest she break her face on the corner of the table or something, but telling her off wouldn't help the morning be any less hectic.

"Need a hand with anything?" Arnold slung his bag down on the breakfast table and peered over Helga's shoulder.

Helga glanced around the kitchen. "No, thanks… I think I have everything sorted."

He chuckled. "You know your shirt's inside out, yeah?"

Helga looked down, sure enough, raw seams showed at her side. "Well, fuck." She sighed, slapping the peanut butter down onto the bread with a grimace. Arnold laughed again… stupid little twerp was always laughing about something, sometimes she thought he was broken, that he has a switch somewhere that was stuck on happy.

"Morning Helga." Rose appeared from nowhere. I should go get my hearing checked. People always seemed to be sneaking up on her in this place.

"Morning!" Helga tried her best to sound cheerful. Having the both of them there, with their perpetual chirpiness, made her feel like a real life Oscar The Grouch, who happened to be Nina's latest favourite TV character. "There's coffee in the pot."

Rose beamed, of course… "Thanks, but I should get going, I have to swing past home on the way to work."

"Alrighty, see you, Rose."

"Bye, Helga… walk me to the door, Arnold?"

Helga didn't have to be watching them to know what the scene behind her looked like. He'd have that moony look on his face, his eyes heavy-lidded, that smile on his lips… "Sure." His voice was low, he was probably sliding his fingers around hers, following her out to the front door, where they'd make out for five minutes before she finally left.

Lucky bitch.

She slammed the slices of bread together and cut them in half with a vicious carve of the bread knife (diagonally, of course). Her ears pricked up as the front door shut. Gone already? Rose must really have been in a hurry. What's to bet they spent too long having morning sex. Helga sighed… she tried to be angry, but she just felt harried.

Rose was one of those people who looked amazing first thing in the morning… they'd bumped into each other in the hall enough times for Helga to know. Helga, with her scraggly hair, in her ratty old pyjamas, which hid the stretch marks on her belly, her less-than-perfect boobs… whereas Rose wandered round in one of Arnold's long T shirts, her hair looking perfectly tousled, her obviously bra-less tits bouncing… Helga tried so hard to hate her, but she was old enough to know she was just hopelessly, seethingly jealous…

"Am I still taking you guys in?" Arnold was leaning against the doorframe, watching her pack Nina's lunch.

"Uh, if you want to…" Helga couldn't meet his eye, she already hated herself for her spiteful thoughts.

She jammed the sandwiches into Nina's dinosaur lunch box, checking one last time that there was enough food for the day before she clicked it shut. She shoved the lunchbox into Nina's favourite Star Wars backpack, which was hanging over the back of one of the chairs, and dashed upstairs to put her top on properly.

"Hey, Helga!" Amy poked her head out from her bedroom. "Nina's first day today, yeah?"

"If we ever manage to make it out the front door." Helga rolled her eyes dramatically. She preferred Amy's company to Rose's… Amy was a lot more, flawed, she didn't make Helga feel so inadequate. That, and Amy had the filthiest mind ever after she'd downed a couple of drinks. She sometimes even rendered Greg speechless… and Greg was a total pervert.

"Cool, just lemme put some pants on, and I'll come take some shots, OK?"

Oh god, photographs. Helga had completely forgotten. Sure, she wanted pictures of Nina on her first day, but she just knew she would be pressured into stepping in front of the lens. Still… she couldn't say no, could she? "Yeah, we'll be here a few more minutes." She made her way back down the stairs.

"I can't do it!"

Uh-oh. Nina's voice had that high, tremulous sound to it… she was getting freaked out. Helga dashed into the kitchen, but she needn't have worried, Arnold was already to the rescue, as always.

Am I PMS-ing or what? What's my fucking problem today?

"It's OK, don't worry about it." Arnold was sitting on the floor in front Nina's outstretched leg, his fingers deftly tying her shoelaces into perfect bunny-ears.

"But I know how to tie my shoes!" Nina looked distraught, her eyes trained on Arnolds face, one hand balled into a fist, the other tugging furiously at one of Lucy's moth-eaten ears. She wanted to be perfect for her first day, she was a big girl now, and big girls knew how to tie their shoelaces.

Arnold finished the second shoe and let her foot go, patting the top of her foot comfortingly. "Sometimes people just forget things, when they're excited or nervous, or scared." His voice was so low, so… soothing. Helga sighed. This morning hadn't been the biggest success so far, and it wasn't fair on Nina… this was her day.

"Hey Button, find your ribbon?" Helga moved across the kitchen and crouched down, dropping back on her heels to get face-to-face with her daughter.

Nina nodded, nod nod, her eyes large, her mouth open slightly.

"Want me to put your hair up?"

Nod nod.

"Did you bring your hairbrush?"

Nod. She pointed to where it lay on the breakfast table.

Helga loved doing Nina's hair. It was so fine, so soft… it felt like kitten fur, or duck down, under her fingers.

"Another coffee?" Arnold moved around the kitchen, made himself some toast.

"That would be great, thanks."

He put the mug down by her elbow and sat in the chair facing Nina. "Did you know that your mum used to wear a ribbon in her hair, too?"

Nod nod.

He smiled. "Do you know what colour it was?"

Nod, "Pink." Her voice was quiet, timid. She's scared.

Arnold's smile grew wider. "Yep! She wore that ribbon till we were in high school."

He looked up, met her gaze. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Her stomach flipped. Why does he do this to me?

"How old's high school?" Nina looked entranced, the thought of wearing the same ribbon for years had her mesmerised.

"Thirteen."

Nina didn't have an answer to that, she just gaped. As far as she was concerned, to be thirteen years old was to attain a god-like status.

"Did you know that your mum, and me, and Phoebe, and a whole bunch of other people, have been friends since our very first day of pre-school?"

Helga snorted, we were hardly friends. But the other two ignored her. "So… today could be a really exciting day for you… you might meet your best friend in the whole world, that you'll be best friends with till you're really, really old."

"Old like you and Mummy?" Nina's eyes were so wide her eyes brows almost touched her hairline.

Helga could see Arnold's chin wobble as he tried to contain his laughter. He leaned right forward, his elbows on his knees, and put on his most serious silly face. "Older."

She thought about that for a minute, sitting perfectly still while Helga tried to match Arnold's bow-tying perfection. Eh, good enough.She patted Nina on the head. "All done, Sweetheart."

Nina twisted around in her seat to look up at her. "Is Phoebe your best friend, Mummy?" She had a deeply thoughtful look on her face.Fuck she's cute… how did I have such a beautiful, amazing child?

She nodded. "She sure is."

"Can you have more than one best friend?" Her little eyebrows were drawn together in thought.

"I think so."

"Is Arnold your best friend too?"

Behind Nina, Arnold chuckled. Helga tried not to stammer… what the hell am I supposed to say to that? "Uh… he's a very good friend, yes."

"But not your best friend?"

"Uh…" Helga glanced up at him, lost for words. OK, so she might be clever, but she has lots to learn about social niceties.

"My best friend's called Gerald." Arnold stepped in, his eyes all crinkled up with laughter. "He doesn't live in Hillwood anymore though."

Nod nod. "Do you miss him?"

"Very much."

"Photos!" Helga could have kissed Amy for such a timely interruption… although a few seconds earlier would have been appreciated. In her trademark whirlwind style she breezed through the kitchen and flung open the outside door. "Outside, the light's better out there." She demanded. Nina obeyed, with Lucy at her heels.

Helga and Arnold stood in the doorway, their shoulders brushing up against each other as they watched Amy pose Nina around the back yard. She teased and joked and giggled, and ended up having Nina so hyped up she was jumping up and down with excitement. Well, at least she's not near tears anymore. Helga mused, wondering how she'd get the little bundle of exhilaration strapped into her seat.

"Mummy!" Nina reached out her arms. "Photo!"

How can I resist that? She trudged out into the yard, conscious that she wasn't wearing make up, that she probably looked like a zombie.

Nina grasped her hand, grinned at the camera while Amy snapped away. "Stand on one foot!" the little girl commanded. Helga complied. "Do Spock fingers!" Helga complied. "Make Chewbacca noises!" Helga tried, but her lack of Wookie prowess had Nina glaring.

"Arnold's Chewbacca is better than yours." She stated, in that painfully blunt way kids had. Helga still laughed though, she did kinda sound like a cat being strangled when she tried to Wookie it up. "Arnold!" Nina held out her hand to him. Oh god… more playing Happy Families. She didn't know where to look.

"At your service, 'mam." He didn't hesitate to step out onto the grass. She took his hand. Helga started to slink off, but Nina caught her. "No, Mum, you stay too." She grabbed their legs, pushed and pulled them into position until they were flanking her, all facing the camera. "Chewbacca noises!" She crowed, and made high little rumblings as Amy took the photos, her face beet red with laughing.

"Lift me!" Helga's heart cramped up when Nina turned to face Arnold at that demand… leaving a momentary hole in her chest where her heartbeat should have been… that was the first time Nina had actively chosen someone else over her Mum… She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Arnold raised an eyebrow at her as he lifted Nina up, smiling a lop-sided, apologetic smile. "And Mum come here." Nina was so hyped up she was yelling, her squeaky little voice bouncing around the yard. She leaned over and hooked her skinny arm around Helga's neck, and grinned at the camera. "Say CHEESE!" her breath was coming fast as her innocent little actions tugged Helga into an entirely uncomfortable situation.

"Cheese!" They parroted, as Amy snapped the last few shots.

"I think I got everything I need." Amy let her camera dangle from the strap round her neck as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "Jesus, that was funny… Chewbacca noises! I am so doing that next time Jack and I… uh…" she trailed off, realising just in time that she was standing next to a five year old kid.

"Is it school time yet?" Nina bounced around their legs, back to thinking that school was a great adventure, instead of a scary trial.

"It is!" Helga hooked Nina's bag off the chair. "Have you got your jumper?"

Nina ran from the room and returned three seconds later, her Superman jumper clutches her arms. It would look pretty silly with her green dress and mary-janes, but Helga normally let Nina wear what she wanted.

Arnold twirled his keys on his finger. "All set?"

Nod nod. Helga gulped down the last of her coffee, now lukewarm.

"Lets go!" He laughed as Nina gave Lucy a kiss goodbye and ran to the front door, waiting, almost quivering with anticipation, for the adults to pick up all their gear and come down the hallway. "Is her seat in my car?" Arnold asked as he hoisted his bag over his shoulder.

"Uh, yeah… I think so. I don't think I took it out after we went shopping."

He just smiled, and for the millionth time that morning, Helga wished that these fleeting moments of domestic bliss were more permanent.

…

"Here." Arnold pushed a handkerchief into her hand. "You OK?"

Helga nodded, humiliated. "Thanks. Sorry, just…" she sniffed "Just keep going. I'll be fine."

Arnold pulled back into traffic. "Big day, huh?" he was using that same tone of voice on her, the low one, the one that said so much without words… that he understood, that it was OK to be scared or sad or confused, or whatever you happened to be feeling. Helga wanted to slap him… she didn't want to be pitied and molly coddled. She sighed…

"It's pathetic, I know…"

"… It's not pathetic!" Arnold's voice was incredulous, "It's… it's awesome, and… scary." He paused, she could feel him glancing at her as he drove, but she kept her eyes on her knees. She felt so stupid, snivelling away just because her little girl had skipped away, happy as Larry with her new teacher, giving Helga the most perfunctory of goodbye hugs… "Helga… I think it's awesome that you care." Arnold's voice, soft as it was, still surprised her, she had so quickly become lost in thought.

She took a deep breath, shook herself. "I'm sorry about your hanky, Arnold, I'll…"

"… Hey, Helga, listen for a second?" He smiled, taking the sting out of his words, taking the instinctive fight out of her. "You're afantastic mum…" he glanced at her again, still smiling that little half smile of his. "I don't know if you know it or not, but you are. I'm really… uh… I'm proud of you. Nina's a great girl, and you can take the credit for that." He sighed, swallowed, like he didn't quite know what he should say. "I just… it's just not pathetic, OK?"

Helga blinked, felt a tear slip onto her cheek. She dabbed at it roughly with Arnold's hanky. "OK." She conceded. Maybe he had a point. She studied the square of fabric in her hands, it was old, soft with a thousand washes, the blue border faded to grey. It was exactly the kind of handkerchief she'd expect him to have. Hell, she wasn't even surprised that he had a hanky on him in the first place. It reminded her of his worn flannel shirts and his threadbare towels hanging in the bathroom.

Oh God. He made her ache sometimes. She had no idea what to do in the face of such genuine kindness.

"You OK?" He asked, his hand snaked out and patted her knee quickly before returning to the wheel.

"Yeah… I'm… I'm OK." She sighed.

She had always been a pretty good liar.
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Dependents