Author's Notes: Sorry this is short. I want to split these sections up.

Chapter 2

Accidents Happen

The Professor gave the darkest glare he ever had yet to the rest of the crowd, just daring them to try to say anything else that would get them into trouble. Buttercup and Blossom mimicked him, also flashing some pretty mean glares that were pretty effective considering that they came from two baby-faced five-year-old children.

"Now if anyone else has got something to say," Buttercup warned them. "I'd be more than happy to raise those medical bills you're already gonna get from being seen here!"

"Settle down, Buttercup." Her father warned her, giving her a pat around her stomach as he held her. "I'm sure there will be no more disruptions while we're here."

And to their credit, there were not. That crazy lady from earlier started muttering angrily to herself but it was better than loudly yelling out accusations like she had been before, and thankfully the staff got her out of there to treat one of her own ailments that she had supposedly been in here for. Apparently her foot was going through the stages of necrosis from flesh-eating bacteria. He'd almost feel bad for her if she hadn't made him so angry.

Other people either hunkered down with a "not my business" kind of reaction which was fine with the Professor as it really wasn't, while others carried quietly distressed looks on their faces, some wiping tears from their eyes at what they thought Bubbles had suffered through. There were soft murmurs of "Poor kid" and "Jesus Christ."

The little boy from earlier had a final statement. "I sure hope Bubbles will be okay."

"Me too, honey." His mother said softly, holding him on her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Me too."

"Hey, real talk, pal." A more reasonable man who hadn't moved at all from his seat to the left of the Professor said supportively. "I really hope your daughter ends up alright. I've got kids of my own and I know how accidents like that can happen."

Professor breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could say he had ONE ally in this whole awful mess. Someone who actually understood.

"It's scary. I go out of my way to protect the Girls, even with their superpowers, and incidents like this still happen. One of these days, these girls is going to be the death of me."

The man chuckled good-naturedly before ultimately expressing his agreement with this sentiment. "God, I hear that! My little Angie took a soccer ball to the face today and she's got a shiner the size of a softball." He revealed the shy little girl to him now and she still had her soccer uniform with shorts on. She smiled up at the scientist even with a missing tooth and a sizable black eye.

Buttercup and Blossom expressed their sympathy for her, wincing at the swelling. "Ooh!"

He chuckled again at the kids' reactions.

"I'm here to make sure she don't got a concussion, but so far she seems pretty alert so I ain't too worried. Still though, these kids WILL put you into an early grave. They just find a way to get into so much stuff!"

The Professor certainly had experience with that. As a kid, he could remember doing all sorts of boneheaded things that got him hurt all the time. There was one incident in particular that almost got his parents into some serious trouble, even though the source of his "bruises" had been so innocent at the time...

"Don't worry about that lady back there. She's uh, she's homeless. Probably been through a lot. I just feel sad for her honestly. Try not to think of her in too bad of a light."

Homeless, huh? A life out in the streets exposed to any and everything didn't sound good at all. Maybe she really had had a hard time of it up until now. The Professor allowed a small smidgeon of sympathy for the woman.

"Mr. Utonium!" A male E.R. worker called to him from the back. "You can come back here with your daughter if you'd like! It's usually less stressful for children to be examined if they have a parent with them."

The Professor didn't have a single objection to this and practically leaped at the opportunity to be by his daughter's side as she had this very delicate "problem" taken care of. He knew she would need all the comfort and reassurance she could get.

He didn't hesitate in taking his children with him too. Having her fellow sisters with her would probably help Bubbles immensely too.