Author's Note: I'm baaa-aack! Sorry it took so long, my old laptop died, so I had to wait to get a new one. I actually got it a few weeks back, but I've been pretty busy, so it took me awhile before I actually typed up the chapter and posted it. So, please forgive me.

Bubbles didn't return immediately to Hell. Instead she meandered around Townsville's airspace, thinking to herself. Soon, the huddled buildings thinned and gave way to manicured, green-grown lawns, and it wasn't long before she found herself just above her childhood home. She settled herself on its roof and craned her neck back to stare at the oncoming night. A few moments passed before she heard the light clatter of a window sliding open. "Blossom? Is that you?"

Bubbles peered over the edge. "No, it's me."

The Professor blinked, then scrambled out the window. He gasped a little as he lost his balance, but Bubbles grabbed his wrist and pulled him up to join her, where he clasped her into the unrelenting hug only worried parents can give. "Bubbles! I was so- where have you- how have you- what-?"

"I missed you too, Professor." She said softly.

She felt slightly guilty. Her sisters, she knew, visited when they could, but before everything with Him Bubbles had visited the Professor nearly every day. But as her stomach grew it became less and less easy to hide, and so her visits had dwindled to nothing. The Professor seemed not to have heard her, as he continued to babble, albeit in more completed sentences.

"Don't worry- I won't let anything happen to you. If He comes here, I'll… I'll…"

"Professor! Professor, it's okay, I'm fine."

"Bubbles," Professor Utonium cupped her face in his hands. "Sweetie, I know you're trying to be strong, but it's okay. You don't have to be. Not with me."

Bubbles stared at him in disbelief. "Professor, I'm not trying to be strong. I'm not, I swear. Nothing bad happened."

Professor folded his arms and studied her. "Bubbles, you know you can…"

"I know, Professor." She forced a smile. "Don't I always?"

He nodded grudgingly, but didn't seem particularly convinced. "Why don't you come inside?"

Half a cup of tea and a mug of coffee later, the two sat in silence around the kitchen table. The Professor held his empty mug up to his mouth, buying time to decide what to say. Bubbles had heard the last of it drain quite awhile ago, but didn't feel the need to rush him. In fact, she didn't feel much like talking anymore. Having to explain everything to the Professor was like aggravating a sore she had forgotten about. So they sat there.

Finally, the Professor sighed and reluctantly set down his mug. "I'm sorry, Bubbles." He said quietly.

The Blue Puff made no response. Instead she listlessly shrugged her shoulders. The Professor reached his hand across the table. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'm fine, Professor." She said tiredly.

"I don't think you are, Bubbles." He sat back and templed his fingers. "Bubbles, could you tell me why you're still with Him?"

"Huh?" Bubbles looked up from her lap.

"Just what I said. Why are you still with Him? With the baby…dead… there's really no more point in staying, is there?"

"Sure there is." Bubbles shrugged. "I mean… He…"

The Professor waited patiently for her to finish, then leaned toward her, crossing his arms. "Bubbles, I don't think you realize exactly what you're doing. I know you're… angry… with Blossom, and I can understand, but…"

There was a knock at the door. The Professor frowned, suspecting it would be exactly who he did not want to see.

"I'll get it, Professor." Bubbles said quickly, and hurried to the door.

She returned soon, walking rather stiffly, with a rather tired and uncomfortable Blossom trailing behind her. The Professor gave the Pink Puff a strained smile. "Blossom." He said, trying, and failing, to sound normal. "You know you don't have to knock."

"I know, Professor." She responded quietly.

"Why don't you join us? I could make some tea or coffee…"

"Tea is fine."

"Professor," Bubbles interrupted, "I'm sorry, but I think I should be going."

"Wait, Bubbles." The Professor lifted a hand. "Maybe we should all talk about this. Stay."

Blossom gave her father an anguished look. "No, really, Professor, it's all-"

"No, no." he interrupted, the strain in his voice now clearly audible. "I think we should… Please."

The two sisters sat down at the table, but refused to look at one another. The Professor stood, and began slowly making his way around the kitchen, taking his time in selecting a cup and a teabag, then leisurely pouring hot water over it. What could have been a five-minute process stretched to ten, then fifteen, then twenty, until finally the tea had cooled to near room temperature, and the Professor debated whether he should simply dump it down the kitchen drain and start over again. He was hesitating over the sink when, nearly inaudible, he heard;

"I'm so sorry."

"You should be."

"I am. I'm so, so sorry…"

"That doesn't fix anything."

"I know."

There was a pause. The Professor slowly tipped the teacup in his hand, trying his best to pour silently, and failing as the drainpipe gurgled and slurped away the beverage. He all but tiptoed his way back to the teapot.

"I… I don't understand." He heard Bubbles say. "Why did you do it? What good could it have done to… to…"

"I didn't think I had any other choice. It means the end of the world, when the Anti-Christ was born. I thought I told you."

"How do you know?"

"Know what?"

"Know that he's the Anti-Christ."

"He… What else could he be? The Anti-Christ is the son of Satan. Almost every Christian religion believes that."

"What about the ones that don't?"

Blossom shrugged. Bubbles continued, "How do you know that they aren't the ones that are right?"

"I didn't want to take that chance."

Bubbles clenched her fists. "You should have!" she screamed. "You couldn't know for sure, so you should have taken the risk!" Tears were competing for eye-space. "He was just a baby. Just a little baby, and you… you…"

Bubbles threw her hands over her eyes and began bawling. Blossom stared at her sister, stupefied, and clueless as to what to do. But as the Blue Puffs sobs ebbed away, Blossom said "But I didn't."

"What?" Bubbles sniffled.

"I didn't kill him."

"But… but Him said… He saw…"

"What Him saw," Blossom cut in, "was me, still bloody from the afterbirth."

Bubbles stared, then her eyes lit up. "Then…? THEN…? He's still…?"

"Yes."

"Where is he?" Bubbles nearly leapt over the table. "Blossom, where is he?"

The Pink Puff looked into her lap. "I can't tell you."

The light faded. "But…"

"Bubbles," Blossom spoke as soothingly as she could. "If Him finds that baby, it doesn't matter if he's the Anti-Christ or Jesus Christ. Him will use him to take over the world. Or worse."

"He wouldn't."

"Bubbles, He would. Just because Him hasn't attacked Townsville lately doesn't mean He's suddenly become a good guy. If He hadn't lost that bet to Buttercup, we'd still be fighting Him just like we do Mojo Jojo, and Fuzzy Lumpkin, and all the other monsters and villains. Remember? Him's still the Evilest of Evil. It doesn't matter whether He's a Father, or a lover, or anything. Him is most importantly Him."

Bubbles looked troubled, but quickly dissolved to anger. "No, He's not! You don't understand at all! Him is perfectly capable of being a decent hu… a decent ma… a decent whatever He is! I've seen it!"

"Bubbles, please! Isn't it enough? Your baby's alive, and I promise, he's in the safest place possible! Maybe you're right, maybe he's not the Anti-Christ, maybe I'm wrong, but what if I'm not?"

Bubbles was quiet. She opened her mouth, but Blossom cut her off. "Bubbles, you have to trust me. This is for the good of everyone. I don't care if you keep dating Him at this point, but please. Don't go looking for the baby."

"How do I know," Bubbles replied suspiciously, "that you're not lying now?"

"You have to trust me."

Bubbles silently warred with herself. There was nothing, nothing in this moment that she wanted more than to go out and find her child. But then… Blossom had always been the leader. She had always done her best to fight for the greater good, and truth be told, she was often right. Bubbles felt a slight chill as another thought came to mind.

"Does… Does Him know?"

Blossom nodded. "Yes. I'd thought He'd told you."

"No." So… that was it then. Him had known, for who knows how long, that the baby was alive. He hadn't said anything. Nothing. It was… strange. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why.

"I'm going home." She finally said, her brows still furrowed in thought.

Blossom nodded. "See ya."

"Bye."

Blossom watched her blond sister leave, then turned back to the Professor. "I think I'll be heading home too, Professor. Sorry."

The Professor shook his head. "That's alright, Blossom. I'll see you soon."

As she left, he glanced down at his teacup. Shrugging, he sipped it, then, making a face, poured it back down the drain.

Him hadn't even heard her come in. He just felt her softly slide into place next to Him. "You look tired." She said.

"I am."

"Why don't you get some sleep?"

"I can't."

"If… if you tell me who you're looking for, I could help. You could sleep. I'll take over for awhile."

Him looked down at her, contemplating her suggestion. His face vaguely resembled a raccoon's, with dark bags settling in under His eyes. It would take days of sleep, or at least a few pounds of makeup, to erase them. His eyes themselves seemed nearly unfocused. With a drawn out sigh, He allowed His head to drop to her shoulder. He closed His eyes. "I can't." He whispered.

Bubbles nodded sadly to herself. They sat there in silence, until Him's breathing evened out. "Him?" she said quietly. She received no response. He was asleep.

Gently she lifted the remote from His claw. She had at times wondered why He bothered using it. Nonetheless, she raised it and began flipping through channels.