AN: Sometimes I get inspired to write certain fics even if it's not that popular so this was the case with this one. I hope those who read it enjoy it.

Chapter Two

The girls had been important to Utonium since he had wanted to create them and had found the science to do just that. He didn't consider them as experiments or commodities. They were his children, his three daughters. He really had thought that he had lost all three of them but there was a chance that he could get them back. He would never let anyone hurt them again.

He sat on the floor next to the bathroom with his arms around his knees. He couldn't help doing so. He had drawn a bath and tested the water and provided fresh towels and he hoped that soon Bubbles would join him. She was in too much shock to explain much and he'd help her through that before they could start discussing where her sisters might be. She had to be taken care of and he loved her.

He closed his eyes before hearing a click from the bathroom and the nine-year-old floated over to him. She landed in front of him, her body wrapped up in a towel. She looked at him and Utonium let his legs stretch out to the side before he knelt facing her. "Are you all right, sweetheart?" he asked as he saw her worried expression.

"I…I think so," Bubbles replied and Utonium lifted her chin doing a full examination of the parts of her body not wrapped up in the towel. She was so much older than she had been. She had spent more years away from him than with him but she had come back to him. "I don't…I don't know…" she said sadly.

Utonium took the chance to kiss her forehead. "It'll be okay," he tried to promise her. "I'm here. I'll take care of you. I won't let anyone hurt you even if it costs me my life."

Bubbles nervously shifted and looked away from him, sadness in her eyes. The professor drew closer, turning so he could see the expression on her face. Her depression came from the loss of her sisters, he knew that much. Hopefully they would be able to find them together. "Professor," Bubbles squeaked as she looked at the ground and Utonium wished she would look directly at him with those gorgeous blue eyes. "Can you…can I…" she struggled.

Utonium placed a comforting hand on her back, noticing how much she had grown these past four years. "It's okay," he tried to comfort her. "You can say whatever you want to say, there's no judgment. You know that I love you, right? You're my little girl, one of them at least."

Bubbles bowed her head, "You might not want it," she said and Utonium paused. What could she possibly say that he wouldn't want? He had already had some struggles years ago with sleep walking and most of what he did was buy them toys. "It's…it's selfish…"

"Darling," Utonium whispered wanting to take Bubbles into his arms and embrace her closely. He didn't know why she had found a connection here instead of to Blossom and Buttercup but she had come back home, she had come back somewhere she knew was safe. "I love you. I'll help you with whatever you need so tell me, there's very little that I won't help you wi -"

"Professor," Bubbles said before turning to look at him. He nodded in response. "Can I call you Dad?" she asked and Utonium's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that to be what she was scared of doing. Sure, they had always called him Professor before and he had accepted that but he had secretly hoped that one day he would be called Dad or Daddy or even Father.

"Of course," he smiled to her. He felt relief when Bubbles flew into his arms but was alarmed at her crying. He stood up as he held her. She really was just a child, powers and all. He felt her grab to him and even though she was much older and heavier, he wouldn't let her go. She was home. She was finally home and maybe the others would be home soon as well. "Anything else that I can help with?" he asked her and Bubbles shook her head.

"I'm sleepy," she said as she let her head rest on the professor's shoulders. "Dad…" she said and felt the way that name seemed to link her to the professor, "I want to go to bed."

"I haven't changed the room, your old bedroom," Utonium told her, "each time I thought about it, I would get too upset. If you need to put some things away then I can grab you boxes. I just ask that you don't throw any of your sisters things away," he said and Bubbles nodded silently. Utonium kissed her forehead again.

"I'll find you some more clothes soon, we can go shopping tomorrow," he promised her before carrying her over to the bed. It seemed so much smaller as he tucked her in. He stepped away from her, still gazing at her affectionately. "Do you want me to leave the nightlight on for you?" he asked and Bubbles nodded before shivering. Utonium walked over to her and gently let his hand run over his head. "It will all be better in the morning," he tried to assure her before turning the nightlight on and the main light off and leaving. "I love you," he told her before closing the door.

"I love you too," Bubbles whispered before she fell asleep not realizing that the professor was watching her for a full ten minutes before going back to his own room.

…

…

Utonium could see the girls under the glass with the chemical X removed from their bodies. He stood with his arms stretched against the glass protectively before feeling something tugging him but he didn't want to leave them. "It's going to be okay, girls," he tried to reassure them but he felt that it was already over. "I love you," he whispered.

"We love you too," the girls said in unison and Utonium realized how sick they were. How they were being destroyed right in front of him. He couldn't protect him. He couldn't hear the words of the false Powerpuff Girls. He only saw his daughters struggling to even survive.

Soon he felt that the fakes were letting him go and then he saw the glass lift. He could reach them. He still had time to reach them. "Get out," the fakes warned him, "before it's too late."

Utonium rushed forwards, scooping the girls up all at one time as he ran away from the lab. He started to cry as he held them but he could already tell that he had lost them. He hadn't protected them. It had been his role as their father to ensure their safety. They were not safe. "I'll protect you, no one will hurt you. Please wake up," he said but the girls were limp in his arms.

Sobs ran through his body, weakening him. They weren't waking up. They didn't have the chemical X that they needed. He had lost them. He sobbed even harder. He hadn't been able to protect those most precious to him. He hadn't been able to save his family, his daughters.

"Dad," he heard a faint voice say and he stared at the girls. Was he imagining it? He had heard them speak. "Da—ad?" the voice said again.

…..

…

Utonium opened his eyes and saw Bubbles standing at the doorway, she was clutching her wrist nervously. Pushing himself into a seated position, Utonium looked directly over at the young girl and noticed the tears in her eyes. "Bubbles," he said as he got out of the bed and walked over to her, pressing her head into his body as he held her. "What is it, sweetheart?" he asked and Bubbles shivered.

"Can I sleep with you?" she asked and the professor paused before nodding. He lifted the covers for her before getting into the other side of the bed.

"Of course. Did you have a bad dream?" he asked his daughter and Bubbles nodded not wanting to talk about the painful screams she had heard from her sisters and how she hadn't known it was a dream until she had woken up in a cold sweat.

"The worst," she told him and felt the professor holding her close. "Thanks, Dad" she whispered and Utonium nodded. He would protect her. Right now she was his only daughter that he knew of. He wouldn't let her suffer ever again.

End of Chapter Two

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