Chapter 11

Protective Custody

"Now why don't you start by telling me the first thing you can remember about that night? What were you doing just before the moment when Bubbles got hurt?"

"We were playing." Buttercup and Blossom both readily answered in their separate interviews.

"You were playing? What game were you playing?"

"We were playing as ourselves, the Powerpuff Girls, but indoors and without using our superpowers." Blossom said.

"We usually just run around the room with our arms held out and stuff to pretend like we're flying." Buttercup said. "Then we dress up as different characters, like the bad guys, or the monsters or ourselves to stop whatever evil we think up to stop."

"That night we were all wearing capes. Towel capes, that is. And we were all naked too. The Professor was making us a bath in the other room."

"The Professor was in the other room? Which room was he in, sweetie?"

"The bathroom." Both girls identically said.

"And you said that while you were all playing, he was making you girls a bath?"

"That's right."

"So who was there to see when Bubbles hurt herself that night?"

"Only us!" That was why they were here now, right? They were the 'witnesses' and they were the ones who were needed to share the story.

"So what happened next as you were playing? Tell me everything."

"Well this time Bubbles got to play as me, 'Blossom'. She got to answer the hotline and she said that Mojo Jojo had snuck into a movie theater without paying first."

Officer Jones fought hard to hide his smile, finding this particular form of creative play quite cute and imaginative. But he couldn't let his feelings show too strongly so he remained neutral.

"So after she answered the hotline, then what happened, Blossom?"

The pink Puff began to smile as this was starting to be fun. She wasn't telling any tall tales but she was enjoying being a storyteller for once. This time she didn't try to tell it by making herself the center of attention. She only told the "bare facts", something that all three girls had tried and partially failed to do with the Mayor back when Mojo tried to kidnap him for ransom.

"She told us 'Let's go, girls! Townsville's in trouble!'." said Buttercup. "Then we started to fly and at first we were all just running around on the floor."

"It was our typical V-formation," Blossom said. "But then we all got the idea to start jumping on the bed."

"She saw her beanbag on the floor at one point, and then she got the idea to start jumping off the bed onto that instead."

Carley nodded her head. "And what did that beanbag look like, Buttercup?"

Buttercup didn't sweat this question and answered it simply. "It was blue and it was round."

But when Blossom was asked this question, she got a little caught up in the minutiae of details. "Can you describe what that beanbag looked like for me, Blossom?"

"Yeah. It was blue and it was round—wait, no! It wasn't completely round! It was more like... lumpy! And it sagged when you sat in it." She found herself getting nervous and trying to tell the officer everything. "I-It was filled with beads too... um," Her mouth went dry. "Hey, can I start over?"

"Sure sweetheart. Whatever you think is best."

"Okay." Blossom calmed herself down, trying to get her story straight. "It was blue, round, not entirely round but kind of lumpy, it sagged when you sat on it and it was filled with beads, okay?"

"Okay." Officer Jones nodded, taking notes. "Where was it located?"

"Right near the bed." Blossom answered, less worked up than before.

"It was near the bed," Buttercup continued. "And she leapt right on it. The first time she was safe. We all did the same thing after her on our own beanbags."

"Okay." Carley said, also taking notes.

"Then the last time she did it, she jumped REALLY high and her legs were spread apart REALLY wide."

"And you said that you were all naked during this part, right?"

"Right." Blossom confirmed.

"You all had no form of clothing on at all? Not even underwear?"

"No sir."

"So what happened after that?"

"She came down really hard, right between her private parts." Buttercup spread her legs apart and patted down at the area in between her lap, giving her interviewer Carley a visual demonstration. "God, that looked like it hurt. Her eyes opened so wide."

"And then she started bleeding..." Blossom grimaced. "And it was really, really bad."

"How bad was she bleeding?" Officer Jones asked.

"Enough to get it all over the beanbag and the carpet. She was screaming really loud too."

"Like the worst scream I've ever heard." Buttercup shuddered.

"And when your sister screamed, then what happened?"

"I cried out 'Oh God!' and Buttercup yelled-"

"-'Professor! Come quick! Bubbles is bleeding!' And she really was, man. She really was."

"How did that make you feel, Buttercup?"

"Scared." She admitted. "I've never felt like that before. I was too scared to even get close. And that's funny, you know? Because I punch people in the face and make them bleed like that a lot, but it hits different when it's your sister. It just hits different then..."

"What did the Professor do when you called for him?"

"He came into the room right away!" Blossom said, eager to cast her father in a positive light. "And he told us to put some clothes on and to get his car keys as soon as he saw Bubbles. He told us we were going to the emergency room."

"I didn't even check to see if I had my stuff on backwards!" Buttercup said. "I was just in such a hurry to help my sister, I didn't bother checking."

"Now while you were changing into your clothes, were you still in your bedroom or out of your bedroom?"

"Out of our bedroom." Blossom said. "Actually, I messed up! See, we got the keys first from downstairs and then we came back up to get our clothes on!"

"Okay, I see. So did you see any of what the Professor was doing while you were trying to find his keys?"

"No sir. But it definitely wasn't anything bad!" Blossom quickly added. "He was only trying to help. He put a towel in between her legs to stop the bleeding."

"Okay."

"Once we got some clothes in, Professor carried Bubbles bridle-style in his arms like this," Buttercup demonstrated. "And we all got into the car to drive ourselves to the hospital."

That was pretty much the end of the story and so far the girls had figured they had done everything well. They told it exactly how it happened and tried to share as many details as possible while also remaining truthful. It all seemed good and there were only a few clarifications needed.

"Now Blossom, do you know if there was any kind of object in addition to the beanbag that Bubbles could have fell on?"

"Object?"

"Yes, something foreign or sharp, like a toy or anything."

"Uh, no." Blossom said, pretty sure that there was nothing but not 100% sure. She didn't see anything though. "I never saw anything, sir!"

"Alright."

"Now let's repeat this story all over again just to make sure we have it right." Carley said, going over her notes and summarizing everything Buttercup had just told her to make sure she hadn't made any mistakes or left anything out.

"-and then your dad carried your sister bridal style into the car and drove you all to the hospital tonight, right?"

"Right!" Blossom said, smiling at the man.

"Okay, that seems like everything then. You've shared a lot of details with me today young lady and I thank you for your time as well as your effort." The one thing he couldn't thank her for was any of her actual content. That would be too biased and could sway a potential hearing.

"Sweet!" Buttercup did a fist-pump, finding this whole thing quite easy. Looks like they were worried for nothing. Everything would be just fine.

"Well, not that we're finished with our little interview today, what do you want to do?"

"Get a bite to eat!" Buttercup said readily. "I've worked up an appetite!"

"Well I'm sure Chuck will be able to take you girls somewhere where you can get yourselves a bite to eat. Take care of yourself, Buttercup!"

Both girls left their separate interviews feeling very proud of themselves. That hadn't been hard at all and they were sure they would soon be able to join their sister and their father back at the hospital without any further complications.

"So I heard that one of you girls was feeling pretty hungry." Chuck said when he had the two reunited with him again, both of them walking out of the Child Advocacy Center to head back to the Townsville's main hospital.

"Actually, we both are!" Blossom said. "So can we both get something to eat?"

"You sure can." The man offered. "How about a Happy Meal from McDonalds?"

"Yay!" It wasn't often they got any fast food from their dad so they would sure to savor this opportunity with the officer.

Bubbles was now currently in the operating room. She had somebody else there to hold her hand while she was on the table and there were stickers now attached to her chest for monitoring her heart.

"Okay Bubbles, now don't you know how you usually take a deep breath to blow up a balloon?" A nurse in green scrubs said, situating the mask over her face now.

"Yes." The girl replied timidly.

"Can you take a deep breath for me now?"

"Yes."

So she did, and the medicine entered into her system fast. It wasn't long before Bubbles's eyelids fluttered shut for sleep and the nurse who was holding her hand started to stroke her forehead.

"That's a good girl." She said, and the rest was a blur to the blue Puff.

"Now you said that there was a beanbag mainly involved in the accident, sir?" An officer who was still inside the hospital questioning the Professor asked.

"Yes, that's right. It was a beanbag that started it all." The man sighed.

"Would you mind if we obtained a search warrant and you consented to us searching that part of that house and seizing that beanbag for possible evidence?"

"Not at all, sir." The Professor said, though he knew that would mean he'd probably have to find a hotel to sleep in tonight. "I'd sign whatever forms you have willingly for that. Giving you voluntary consent to enter my home."

"Do you have house keys we can borrow temporarily?"

"Yes, I do." The Professor fished them out of his pocket and handed them over freely.

There was also something else that needed to happen until this investigation had finally reached its conclusion. "Sir, are you also aware that your children will have to remain under protective custody until this investigation is over?"

The Professor's eyes widened then. His girls couldn't go home with him? "Wha... you mean just Bubbles, right?"

"No, I mean all of your children. Buttercup and Blossom too. It's an emergency situation and they'd only be under a temporary hold until things are sorted out, but due to the graveness of the allegations and the findings, until we have confirmation that your daughters are not in danger remaining with you, they'll have to remain within CPS custody."

The Professor quietly despaired. As if things couldn't get worse! At least when it came to himself, his mother didn't actually have to deal with the heartbreak of having her little boy removed into CPS custody!

The man's mouth went dry. His heart nearly stopped. "I... I..."

"Professor, they're not going into foster care, if that's what you're thinking."

"They're not?" Oh, that was a relief if there ever was one! The girls wouldn't do well at all in a stranger's home. "Oh good! I don't think the girls would be able to handle that if it came to that..."

"What we can do for now is have them stay with one another in the hospital, at least until we get some possible word of results for tomorrow. That is unless you have any relatives, grandparents, or remaining close family members we can have the girls stay with instead?"

Unfortunately he did not. "No, I'm afraid not, officer. All my family members are rather... unavailable at the moment. It's why I created the girls in the first place. So I could have a family again of my own."

The officer sighed, understanding what a rough situation this all was. "Well, I understand that, and we'll do our best to explain things to the girls. You can also bring them some things from home if you like, just to keep them occupied."

The man allowed himself to wear a tiny smile. "That would be wonderful, officer. Thank you so much." But he worried for the girls. This was not the type of news he knew they wanted to hear...

Their Happy Meal consisted of a single cheeseburger, a packet of apple slices, a yogurt, a milk (chocolate for Buttercup, strawberry for Blossom), chicken nuggets and a mascot toy.

"Ha! I've got the Hamburglar!" Buttercup said, showing off the pint-sized burglar in the black-and-white shirt and pants, red cape, wide-rimmed hat, and black gloves. He was a favorite with kids around the world.

"Not bad," Blossom said, expressing approval at this find. "But I've got Birdie the Early Bird, you know!" This character was a yellow female bird with a pink jumpsuit, flyer cap, and scarf.

"Great, another egghead. Fitting for someone like you."

"Hey, I'll have you know that she was one of the first female characters introduced in those commercials!"

"I also heard she's a clumsy flyer." Buttercup said smugly. "So does that mean the same also goes for you?"

"Please! I'm the best flyer there is!"

"Alright girls, settle down now." Officer Jones chuckled. "Don't you want to finish your meal you've got there."

"Oh right!" They almost forgot they were supposed to be hungry!

Now that they felt they had nothing to worry about, eating came easy. In fact, they bragged about the results of the interview.

"So how did your interview go, Blossom?"

"Oh, it was really good! I gave up lots of information, didn't I Officer Jones?"

"You did a very good job." The man said without revealing too much of his opinion.

"And I only told the truth!"

"Yeah, me too!" Buttercup bragged. "I mean, it was like so easy! I barely even had to worry at all."

"Yep, piece of cake. I barely even broke a sweat in there!" Of course Blossom had been slightly lying. She had burst out into tears at one point and had a brief moment of nervousness where she worked to get her story straight. But other than that, she felt like she had done just fine.

"Man," Buttercup said, stretching herself out in her chair. "I can't wait to get back home. I'd rather sleep in a real bed."

"Yeah, me too. I sure hope Bubbles get better in her bed."

"Yeah, hospital beds aren't too bad, but you can't beat ones from home."

Chuck turned his head and grimaced a bit, wondering what the other members of the child protection team would have to say about that. There was a 50/50 chance they could go home with their father tonight and another 50/50 chance that they would have to stay with the department under an Emergency Care Order of temporary protection, at least until the investigation was finished.

Unfortunately for them all, the answer to that ended up being the latter.

"Why can't we go home with our dad?!" Blossom asked the officer in a panic.

Chuck struggled to explain this in a way that she could possibly understand. He really hated having to do this, but it was all according to protocol. "You can't go home with your dad because you'll be spending the night with your sister here in the hospital instead."

"Can the Professor stay with us?" Blossom asked hopefully.

Chuck sadly shook his head. "No honey, I'm afraid he can't. Not right now."

"Why is this happening?" Buttercup demanded.

"Just think of it like a sleepover, girls!" The Professor told them brightly, trying to make this less of a bitter pill for the two of them to swallow. Even if on the inside he was absolutely dying inside. "You get to spend the whole night with your sister in this lovely hospital, and then when you wake up in the morning you'll have a healthy breakfast, a chance to play, and you'll even have a little TV in your rooms for you girls to watch cartoons in! It'll be fun, Girls, I promise."

"A sleepover in a hospital?" Buttercup wasn't buying it. She didn't sound too thrilled at the prospect.

"I know it's not ideal but it's the way it has to be for now."

"And after that, then we'll be able to come home?"

Bigby didn't want to lie to her. That was all dependent on what their investigation turned up as far as evidence of possible maltreatment of the children. "We'll see, Buttercup, okay?" That was the best he could give to her. He didn't want to lie and he didn't want to give her false hope.

"But what did we do wrong?! We did everything we were supposed to do back there!" Blossom was getting very upset again and this time she made no effort to hide her frustrated tears.

"Baby, you didn't do anything wrong, okay?" The Professor desperately tried to reassure her, holding on to her shoulders. "This isn't happening because it's a punishment."

"This isn't fair!" Buttercup shouted, stamping her foot as she began to enter full-blown tantrum mode.

The Professor shifted his attention to her. "I know it isn't fair sweetie but it can always be worse."

"Oh really? How? How can it possibly be any worse than it already is?!" Buttercup didn't want to accept this. She kept shaking her head in blatant denial of the current situation. "You said that everything would be okay as long as we told the truth! Well, we told the truth and we still can't go home with you! Why? Why, Professor?!"

"Well, it's better than staying at some stranger's house, right?"

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Buttercup asked in agitation.

Right. She didn't understand the system or the possibility of foster care. Luckily for them all, that didn't need to be the case. At least not right now.

"It means that you'll be there with your sister and you'll be there when she recovers. Bubbles is going to need you for that and I need you girls to be good while you're in here."

"Has all this been happening because we haven't been being good?" Buttercup questioned.

He couldn't get that idea out of her head fast enough. "Absolutely not! You've been wonderful, Buttercup. Both of you girls have been perfectly well-behaved! Like I said, this isn't a punishment. It's just to keep you safe. I need you to continue being good just like you've been doing before. You're my perfect little angels, remember? I know you won't cause any trouble..."

Buttercup looked down with bitterness but eventually she accepted these conditions... as long as they were temporary. "Alright, Professor. We'll do what you want."

"Thank you, sweetheart." He kissed her on the forehead, then addressed both of his sulking children now. "This isn't so bad. The officers are even letting me bring in some stuff from home for you to play with while you're in here, okay?"

"Now what would you like?" The man asked gently, holding his children on either side of his lap.

Buttercup and Blossom didn't look happy about this at all but after taking some time to mope, they finally acquiesced to his demands.

"Can you bring me my Etch-A-Sketch?" Blossom asked quietly, her head and eyes down in shame.

"Sure honey." The Professor granted her, then he looked to his other daughter. "And you, Buttercup?"

"Can you bring me my punching bag?" The girl muttered, growling out her words a bit.

She'd asked to have an outlet but the Professor told her that there likely wouldn't be enough room. "I don't think there's a place to hang it, sweetheart. Can you think of something else?"

"My blanket?" Buttercup asked childishly, allowing herself to be vulnerable as she asked for comfort instead. "Oh, and can you bring my Hunchback doll too? And my little bouncy ball?"

"Of course I can, sweetie. I'll bring some more of your toys too."

The Professor took a moment to wipe a stray tear of Blossom's with his thumb as she cried while he silently struggled not to do the same thing himself. "Now before I go, can I get a hug from you lovely girls?"

They gave him the same amount of love that they did the last time, perhaps even more now that they knew they wouldn't be going with him, at least not for now.

"I love you girls so very much, okay?"

"We love you too, Professor." The two of them muttered, trying not to break down and turn into sobbing wrecks.

"I'm going to see if the officers will let me talk to Bubbles too before I leave, okay? That way she knows about the little sleepover too."

At least with Bubbles, it might be a little easier for him to convince her that that was what it truly was. She was so innocent about the world still that maybe he could just about pull it off.

The intraoperative inspection during the surgery didn't reveal anything remarkable as far as the anal sphincter or the vagina. Bubbles didn't need any further repair beyond the tears and the abrasions the original nurse who'd started it all had already found. There were no further signs of damage. No further signs of mishandling.

The child woke up in the recovery room in a foggy state of mind.

"Wha... wha' happened?"

"Welcome back, sleepyhead."

A hand reached out to stroke her forehead again.

"I'm ready for the surgery now..." Bubbles said sleepily.

She received a chuckle for this. "It's already over, sweetheart."

Her tired eyes widened a bit. "It is? But I only felt like I fell asleep for a second."

"What did I tell you? The wonders of anesthesia. Now all you have to do is recover."

"We usually don't allow this for cases like this-"

"Sir, please. I just want to tell her what's happening so she won't feel scared." The Professor begged imploringly. He was nearly to the point of wringing his hands out in front of them. "I won't tell her anything beyond that, I promise! You won't have to worry about any 'coaching' from me or anything nefarious like that. I would never do that!"

The two men in blue seemed to think this over very carefully before they both came to a decision. "Alright. But you can't be alone in the room with her."

That was more than good enough for the scientist. He wouldn't squander this vital opportunity.

...

"Bubbles, sweetie."

"Professor?" The girl saw a blurry image of her father only with two other spots of blue on either side of him. Police officers?

"I have a surprise for you, honey." She could see the smile on his face was really, really big. But it looked forced somehow. Somehow too big.

"What is it?" The child asked groggily, still under the effects of the lingering anesthesia.

"You get to have a fun sleepover here!"

"A sleepover?" That almost seemed to sober her up a bit. A sleepover in a hospital setting sounded strange.

"At least until you can recover, yes."

"Will you stay with me, Professor?"

"Unfortunately sweetie, I can't. I have to go back home. But I can bring up some toys for you if you want. Whatever you want while you're here."

"Oh, okay. I'm fine with Octi right now." She snuggled up to the toy she still had with her in her arms now.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll be fine, Professor."

"Okay, sweetie. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay. And Professor?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

She thought she could see tears behind his seemingly happy expression then.

"I love you too, sweetie. So, so much. I... I have to go now, alright?"

"Alright." She was none the wiser and went back to sleep.

He couldn't even touch her or give her a good night's kiss goodbye.

The officers led him out of the room and told him that they would also have to lead him out of the building, simply because it was protocol.

"This stinks! We've both gotta stay in this stupid hospital until some jerks tell us we can finally go back home!"

Buttercup was still lamenting their fate as she was being set into her bed for the night. Luckily for her, she could at least share a room with Blossom, a girl who was looking at her with great sadness right about now.

"Or maybe even a judge." Blossom said with a tear rolling down her cheek, thinking of the worst-case scenario.

"This just isn't right..."

The staff member on-duty tucking them in showed sadness too. "Everything will be alright, girls. Now, are you all tucked in?"

"Yes ma'am." The kids answered politely, even though they were still both so miserable.

"Alright then. Sleep tight."

Though that would be hard to do with all the fluorescent lights, the outside chattering, and the patients still coming in and out of the building.