Thanks to those who have read & reviewed - this chapter is HEAVY greens flashbacks - main story plot continues in the next chapter but I felt some insight to things that have occurred in the large gap of time was necessary. So apologies if you're eager for main plot line, it will properly resume in the next chapter..


But it's never good/Never turns out as it should


Brick placed his cell phone down on the kitchen worktop, struggling to hide the accomplished smile on his face. "Well, that's work taken care of."

"Taken care of? What do you mean by – Rosie, honey, can you just wait till I've laid everything out? It's not going anywhere, and everyone will be here soon." Blossom said, being interrupted by Rosalie. Today was her day off, and she'd invited her sisters and their families over to catch up. It'd been awhile since all six of them had no work on the same day, so she'd invited them over and was preparing a small buffet of finger foods for everyone to snack on. But Rosie just couldn't stop herself from thieving some, her little hands had been reaching up from beneath the worktop, snatching carrot sticks as Blossom was cutting them up.

"I mean it's taken care of. I'm part timing with immediate effect. Which also means you don't have to ask one of your sisters or your Dad to look after the kids next week. So all's well." Brick said, coming up behind Blossom now and pinching a carrot stick himself. She flapped her hands at them both.

"Go on, they'll be here soon, god you're all so impatient." She chastised.

"No, just hungry!" Rosie replied, bouncing on invisible stepping stones mid air. Blossom watched her wistfully, remembering being that small and carefree.

"Why don't you go see if you can tear your brother away from his bedroom? So he can actually socialise with his family." Blossom asked Rosie, who jetted off, leaving a baby pink streak in her wake. She turned to face her partner then. "It was really that easy to fix it up with work?"

"Yup. I told you, they don't want me to leave. I told them I worked less or I left. They're sorting it out for me. Let's just say my assistants have got a hell of a lot more work to do. And I'll be doing the odd bit at home in my office."

Blossom frowned slightly at the mention of Brick's assistants. He only ever hired men now, after what happened all those years ago. "I'm sure Rory and the others can handle it."

"They'll have to. While I get to chill at home with the kids." Brick said, looking smug at the idea of it. The less time he spent at in that high rise the better.

"Hmm," Blossom commented. "You let me know just how much relaxing you're doing once you are looking after them more."

"I told you, they're fine with me. It's because I'm more chilled out than you are."

The loud sounds of their children arguing filled the house then, Blossom only arched an eyebrow at her partner. "You go sort this, they're fine with you, remember?"

Brick rolled his eyes, hovering out of the room and up the stairs.

He opened his son's bedroom to see both his children stood with their faces inches apart, shouting hotheadedly at each other.

"Enough! Stop with the yelling! What's the hell's wrong? You were only asked to come and get him to come downstairs, how on earth could you turn that into a shouting match?" He yelled, his stern voice silencing them both for a few seconds.

Blinking, they both proceeded to shout their complaints about the other. Brick ran a hand through his red hair, sighing. "One at a time! Blake, you go first."

"Why does he get to go first?!" Rosalie whined, and Brick shushed her.

"Here I am, in my room, reading innocently, and she comes barging in WITHOUT KNOCKING first, and tells me I've got to come downstairs. Before I can even respond in anyway she grabbed my book and threw it across the hall!" Blake explained, clearly outraged. "Look how ruffled my book is! She could have ripped it! And I've lost what page I was on!"

"You weren't listening! Daddy, he didn't listen! He never listens when he has a book! Which is always, so he never ever listens!" Rosie jibed, glaring at her older brother. "Cos he's so boooooooooring!"

"Rosie, there's no need for you to be so –" He stopped, hearing the doorbell ring. "Look, why don't you go get the door? Cousin Bonnie and Bridget are here, I can hear them outside."

Rosie's face lit up and with a cheer, she zoomed out of the room to get the door.

Blake sighed, shaking his head. "She's so obnoxious at times. And you didn't even tell her off. Which is why she's increasingly obnoxious."

"Don't call your sister obnoxious. She's just a little heavy handed. I'll deal with her later. Come on, come down and socialise, or I'll tell everyone she kicked your ass." Brick said, taking his book from his hands and putting it down on his bedside table.

Blake frowned, reaching to scoop his book back up, but Brick beat him to it. "She didn't even touch me - it was my book that took the damage! Anyway, everyone? Who's everyone?"

Brick sighed. "Everyone, everyone. Your aunts and uncles and cousins. They're all coming over today, your Mom told you yesterday. Jeez, you don't listen do you?"

"I may sometimes be a little engrossed in my books... It doesn't help that you always talk to me when I'm reading!" Blake pointed out, to which his father gave him a flat, unimpressed stare.

"You're always reading, so when are we supposed to talk to you?" He questioned the young boy.

He shrugged lightly. "When I'm not."

Brick couldn't help but crack a brief smile.

"Also, it's hypocritical of you to tell me to socialise when you dodge doing it yourself." Blake reasoned as they floated downstairs.

"Hush." Brick replied shortly, knowing on some level he was probably right.

Rosie had let Bubbles, Boomer, Bonnie and Bridget in, and they'd congregated in the kitchen, where everyone greeted each other. Blossom finally let people begin to tuck in on the little buffet she'd laid out on the dining table, and busied herself getting drinks for everyone.

Boomer and Brick cracked open a can of beer each, Bridget and Rosie disappeared into the lounge in a flurry of giggles, the pair of them the best of friends, and Bonnie and Blake sat down to get something to eat, Bubbles helping her sister out in the kitchen.

"No book today nerdpants?" Bonnie asked her bookworm cousin, who gave her a moody look back.

"It's been confiscated." Blake huffed in reply. Bonnie giggled, smiling at her Dad, who was giving his nephew a warm smile.

"You should get this kid an e-reader." Boomer half suggested half joked.

"We wouldn't ever see him if we did that." Blossom answered.

"At least you're confiscating books off of him. It could be worse." Bubbles defended.

"That's true. It's not a bad thing anyway, I read all the time when I was your age. In fact, I do a lot of reading still now." Blossom said, giving her son a reassuring look. "Don't you listen to them, it's only because they both know you could outwit them."

Blake smiled smugly.

"Hey, the majority of that wit he inherited from me." Brick reasoned.

"No, half from Mom and half from all the books I read." Blake replied smartly.

The doorbell went, and Blake hopped off his seat. "I'll get it."

He opened the door to allow Buttercup, Butch and their brood inside. As soon as Jay stepped in he was swarmed by one pink and two blue flashes of light.

"Jayyyyyy!" Bonnie, Bridget and Rosie cried, piling onto him and hugging him.

Jay squeezed them back, before pulling them roughly off. "Why is it that no matter where I go, I'm always being dog piled by little girls?"

"Can't help being such a lady's man. Enjoy it, own it." Butch replied, shutting the front door behind him.

"I wouldn't mind if they weren't little girls I'm related to." Jay complained as they showered him with affection some more.

Buttercup was too busy shepherding the triplets inside to notice her son was still covered in her nieces.

Three flashes of green began whizzing around the kitchen; food went flying into the air, as did crockery and cutlery. Bubbles and Blossom took cover, so did Brick and Boomer.

"The triplets are here." Bubbles chorused to Blossom, who winced in reply.

"I hope they don't break too much this time."

Butch had slid past the chaos his children had caused, ducking down and grabbing a beer, sidling into a seat next to Boomer.

"Ivy! Emerald! Olive! Get your tiny booties on the ground right now! What have I told you about flying around like a swarm of locusts! There's a time and a place! Put that down! Olive, I mean it!" Buttercup yelled. After some giggling, they landed in a line, looking as angelic as ever.

Bubbles squealed, diving down and hugging them. "Cuuuuute!"

Buttercup scoffed. "Please, demons aren't cute."

Boomer opened his eyes, the sight of his relaxed green brother next to him making him jump. "Is it over?"

"For now, for now." Butch reassured him, patting his arm.

"Oh come on, yeah they're hard work," Bubbles said, cuddling up to them all still in her arms. "But could you imagine life without them?"

Buttercup watched her blonde sister hugging her three naughty triplets and sighed blissfully (though rather grudgingly). "No, I guess not."

About 3 years previous…

"So," Butch said, coughing and clearing his throat for the fourth time in one attempt at a sentence. "You know when we were talking the other night? About, kids and stuff?"

Buttercup flew over the back of the sofa, landing next to Butch with a bowl full of popcorn, which miraculously didn't explode out of its bowl. "Yeah?" The word came out of her mouth slowly, as she could tell by the weird way Butch was acting that this was a conversation he was trying to begin delicately, which put her on guard a little.

"Well, you know you said you probably didn't want to have anymore?" Butch pressed, and watched her mouth form a thin line.

"Yeah?" She repeated; beginning to predict what conversation they were about to have.

"So did you really mean that? Or was that just like, a flippant remark?"

She turned to observe him. He looked a little agitated and sweaty. Nervous, even.

Buttercup turned her gaze back on the old horror film they were watching and shrugged. "I guess so. Kids were never something I saw myself having a bunch of. If any, but life happens doesn't it."

"And you think two is a bunch?" Butch asked, diving his hand into the bowl on Buttercup's lap and grabbing a fistful of popcorn. He didn't really want any; his stomach was churning. It was more for something to do, to make him seem more relaxed then he felt.

"No, I just know one is enough to handle. And I guess I just like things how they are. I love things the way they are. And I don't want to, I dunno, complicate it." She said with a short shrug.

"How would it complicate it? I don't see how one more would make life so much harder." Butch said, peeking down at her quick to see what expression she held on her face. Well, she didn't look mad, so surely he was doing okay so far...

"Butch, don't take this the wrong way but, I'm just not sure you could handle another child. Or more, a baby." Buttercup said, turning to face him again.

"What?!" Butch cried indignantly. "How can you even, I haven't –" He spluttered, so Buttercup interrupted before he could say what she knew he was going to say.

"I know none of it was exactly your doing, but you missed out on all the newborn baby bits, the toddler bits - you've come back just in time for the pre teen and full teen bits, which I can only imagine are hell on earth. It's not easy." Buttercup admitted. "Babies, they're so demanding. Jay was almost 9 when you moved in. It's a different level of care. And while I'm not for one minute saying you couldn't do it, I just think comparing the 2 years you've been here with me and Jay being proper 'full time Dad', it's different to a baby."

"I know that - but I don't care. It's because I missed out on all those bits of my son's life that I want to have another kid. Cos I could have - should have been there back then. I can do it. We can do it." Butch said, turning round to face her now. "If my brothers can do it, if Boomer can do it, I can do it! I want to do it."

Buttercup blinked in surprise at how determined he sounded. Her stomach had twisted at the reminder of what he had missed out on, guilt ever present. It felt like that would never go away. "Butch, I understand how missing out on so much of Jay's life is going to make you feel that way - and I'm sorry -"

"I didn't start this conversation for an apology for all that Buttercup, I know you're sorry. And it's not all on you." He interrupted her.

"Well, I'm still sorry... But, it's not easy! Jay is 11 years old now, and he's getting less kid-like everyday. We're heading into uncharted teen territory and you wanna throw a newborn into the mix?!"

"Yes! Jay'd be fine, I bet he'd love a little brother or sister!" Butch defended, so Buttercup tried to change tact.

"Butch, we're not getting any younger –"

He interrupted her. "Oh shut up, we're fucking 32 -"

"I'm almost 33!"

"Your sisters have just had kids! Age is nothing in this, okay? We're still perfectly young to have another kid. And we're fucking super powered okay! Which makes us better anyway. There are no excuses other than you just don't want to." Butch said, giving her a speculative look. "So if thats what it is, you just need to tell me."

There was a pause, in which they both stared at each other in a challenging way.

"So, do you just not want to have anymore? Like, plain and simply? That's it?" Butch broke the silence first.

"I'll think about it." Buttercup said after a minute's consideration.

Butch's face broke into a smile, and he lunged forward and pulled Buttercup into his arms tightly.

"Hey hey, that wasn't a yes! That was an I'll-think-about-it!" Buttercup said, trying to remove Butch's death grip. But for Butch, it was as good as a yes.


Three or so months passed. The conversation came up again once or twice, but Butch tried not to push it, hoping she'd fully come around by herself.

She had said she would think about it. And Buttercup had thought about it. She had. She still wasn't sure how she felt but she was trying to consider Butch's feelings in it all.

But fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, the decision was taken from her hands.

Buttercup woke up with a start one morning. She felt odd. Different. But she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Her stomach felt strange - and that's what had woken her up - it had almost felt like swishy little flutters in her belly.

Not like butterflies, or even gas - the only thing she could compare it to was being pregnant - baby kicks.

But it couldn't be that! She wasn't pregnant. She was on birth control pills. And they used condoms. They were very careful - particularly Buttercup considering she knew Butch wanted more kids.

She brushed it off and went about her day as normal. After work, she left to pick up Jay from school, then the pair headed off to Malphs to grab a few groceries; he'd ask to go to the magazine racks to pick out a skating mag. The boy had become obsessed with boarding almost overnight, so once they'd filled the shopping cart Buttercup had relented and followed him over.

While he perused, Buttercup had glanced over at the celebrity gossip magazines uninterestedly.

She hadn't even been surprised when she'd seen her face on the cover of a more local one. It wasn't uncommon for her and her sisters to be the victims of paparazzi, they were well known figures around these parts. Her sisters were on the cover of a couple of others, under the headline 'Puff's banish baby bod's in 5 easy steps'. Buttercup rolled her eyes. She grabbed the magazine with her on it, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

It read: 'PREGNANT PUFF?' Buttercup Utonium spotted out and about around Townsville sporting a suspiciously round looking tummy. Could baby number 2 be on the way? Looks like she's caught baby fever from her sisters, who recently had their second children.' There was a picture of her in a clothes store, glancing through a rack of clothes in a tight black top and cargo pants, a slight concave look about her abdomen.

Buttercup was furious. She grabbed a copy, flicking to the main article, looking at numerous pictures of her out and about, some including Butch or her sisters, all with a big red circle around her stomach.

"Motherfuckers!" She cried, outraged. But it got worse. It wasn't the only mag that'd done a story similar. There were two others. She took a copy of each of them.

"Jay, come on, we're paying then we're leaving!" She yelled to him.

"But I haven't even –" Jay began to complain, then looked up and saw her expression. He knew that face, he knew better than to argue with that face. He grabbed a skate magazine at random.

"Okay, let's go." He mumbled.


Buttercup slammed the magazines down on the kitchen counter. "Have you fucking seen these?" She exclaimed.

Butch peered down at them, a smirk erupting over his face instantly. "What the fuck?"

"Don't fucking laugh it's not funny! Who do they think they are making up a story about me apparently being pregnant?! I swear, they'll buy any old shit these days."

Butch chuckled, taking a closer look at one. "You are looking slamming in these photos though."

"That's besides the point!" Buttercup replied. She looked down at her stomach. "I haven't even put on any weight… Have I? Okay, maybe a little bit. But what's it to them? I'll be fucking fat if I wanna be."

Butch laughed again. "You couldn't be fat if you tried, you've got too much muscle on you. Plus, fitness is literally your job. Maybe you should take a test?"

"I don't need to take a test, I'm not pregnant! Some trashy mag saying I'm pregnant doesn't mean I need to take a test! I just need to pig out less that's all. I've just been so fucking hungry all the time." She paused momentarily, looking mildly horrified. Butch cranked a brow at her.

"What?"

"N-nothing. Nothing. It's just the nerve of those guys! It's so fucking rude." Buttercup complained, trying to not look like she was internally starting to freak out a bit.

"Yeah well, they're fucking vultures aren't they? They've got no concern for manners if they think they've got a story on their hands. When was your last period?" He queried, and she froze for a moment, thinking.

"It was… It was - oh I don't know the exact date off the top of my head. I'm not some kind of calendar we don't always know when that was off by heart you know." Buttercup replied irritably.

Butch put his hands up defensively. "Okay grouchy."

"I'm not grouchy! I'm just irritated and tired - shit!" She hissed, realising she'd just added yet another telltale sign on. Tired. Always hungry. Slightly rounder tummy. Irritable as hell. What the hell was going on?!

"Why don't you just go take a test, just to put your mind at ease? I think we've got some in the cabinet, for a just-in-case situation like this." Butch suggested, and suddenly she looked defiant.

"I don't need to take a test, I'm not pregnant!" She insisted.

He shrugged. "Well, a test is the only sure fire way to know."

"You just want me to take a test because you want me to be pregnant!" The green puff accused.

He looked at her like she was slightly crazy. "Sweetie I'd love it if you were pregnant but I'm not telling you to take one cos of that. I just suggested it so you'd know for definite."

"It just - it doesn't make any sense!" She cried and he shrugged, not knowing what to say to her - not knowing what she wanted him to say, after all, he wasn't psychic.

"Maybe I should just take a test. I think we do have some upstairs.. Oh my god I swear to god Butch - if you've gotten me pregnant!" Buttercup pointed an accusatory finger at Butch. He raised his hands in self defence once more.

"Don't look at me! I wear a condom and you take your birth control pills!" He yelped.

With a withered sigh, she headed towards the bathroom to find out for sure.


Her hands were shaking as she reached for a pregnancy test from the back of the cabinet in the bathroom. She couldn't be pregnant. She couldn't be. Oh god what would she do if she was?! Butch would be over the moon if she was. At least she didn't need to worry about him freaking out over it. She'd be the only one freaking out.

She took the test then laid it on the edge of the sink, waiting for the three minutes to pass. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she cocked her head to the side, examining her stomach. It did look a little swollen. Nah, it just had to have been that she was eating too much and not working out enough to make up for it. She couldn't be pregnant again. Like Butch said, she'd been taking her birth control. Hadn't she?

She opened the cabinet once more, retrieving the small polka dot purse she stored her birth control pills in. Unzipping it, she pulled all the pill blisters out to look through them. There were several empty ones from past months that she hadn't yet thrown in the trash. They were all empty - she had been taking them.

So surely she couldn't be pregnant? Turning, she picked up the test. It had only been 1 or 2 minutes so it likely wouldn't have the result yet - but she quickly found she was wrong. Staring up at her was a very vibrant positive test result.

Slowly, she lowered herself onto the closed lid of the toilet, staring at the positive test. Positive. She was pregnant.

There was a light knock at the door. "So what's the verdict?"

Buttercup didn't respond, still staring at the test in her hands. Butch opened the door to check in on her. "Buttercup? Everything okay?"

"I'm pregnant."

Butch's eyes bugged. "Seriously?"

Slowly, she handed him the test. He stared down at it in shock.

"Shit. You're pregnant! Are you okay?" Butch asked. She looked shell shocked. He was trying to keep his cool - inside he was ecstatic.

"Yeah. Just. I mean - how could this have happened? I've been taking my birth control pills?!" She asked and Butch didn't know what to tell her.

"I, I don't know. How far gone are you?" He asked, and she shrugged.

"I have no idea. I better call my gyno and get an appointment or something." Buttercup murmured, her voice lacklustre, the shock still setting in.

He frowned, noting how conflicted she looked. "Buttercup, it's going to be okay. I know you didn't want this but, I promise it's gunna be okay."

She looked up at him. "I don't know if I necessarily didn't want this, I just didn't expect it to happen unintentionally - again."

"You don't need to worry or panic okay. I'm not going anywhere.. I'm gunna be here every step of the way." He'd approached her now, clutching at her hands. She knew he was comparing things to how it was when she found out she was expecting Jay. And they were broken up. And he'd left town.

She knew it was different to how it was back then. They'd been together for over two years and he'd been there the whole time, showing no signs of cold feet and running away. She knew he'd be there.

"I know that. I know." Buttercup said, looking up at him. "You look like you're struggling so bad not to smile like an idiot."

A big smile did grace his features then. "I'm trying not to do too much celebrating while you process this."

She smirked at him as he pulled her against him and held her tightly.


Buttercup and Butch walked into the maternity wing of Townsville General hospital, and Buttercup thanked her lucky stars her sister didn't work there at the moment - that would have been fun to begin explaining. She also hoped they weren't being followed by any paparazzi; the local papers would go wild, especially after the ridiculous gossip magazine articles already circulating.

At Buttercup's request, her doctor had sent her for an early sonogram, to date her pregnancy and check that everything was okay. Within 20 minutes of arriving, Buttercup was laying on her back on a hospital bed with her stomach on show. Butch was sat beside her, looking a little nervous and out of his depth. The sonographer squirted some gel onto Buttercup's stomach.

"So how far gone have you calculated you are?" The doctor asked as he began to guide the doppler along her tummy, black waves and shapes blurring across the screen as the doctor gathered his bearings.

"Honestly I have no idea." Buttercup said. "I've been taking my birth control pills still and I can't say I've noticed any missed periods or whatever.. Is that a problem, the fact I've been taking my birth control pills still while I was pregnant?"

"It shouldn't be. But we can check on the baby now just to be sure, but it's very rare to cause any long term complications, so I wouldn't worry. Especially if you stopped taking them as soon as you found out." The sonographer replied, and Buttercup nodded that she did. "So zero indication of how many weeks you could be at all?"

"Not really... I guess you could say I have form for this. I was 4 months gone when I found out I was pregnant with our son. And I barely looked pregnant when we found out either. But, I do feel like I'm getting a bit bigger already right now.. It was one of the things that made me think I could be expecting." Buttercup explained as she watched the screen while the doctor searched around on her abdomen.

"Okay, well let's see what we can find." The doctor said absentmindedly as he searched around, eyes glued to his computer screen in concentration.

At least 5 minutes of tense silence passed, and neither Butch nor Buttercup had seen a clear image of their growing child. Every now and then Buttercup thought she could make out a head, or a limb, but then he'd move the doppler and it'd disappear. Butch had absolutely no idea what he was seeing but he knew he was getting increasingly confused at how long this was taking and how little they'd seen or been told. The sonographer was concentrating deeply, and it wasn't until Buttercup grabbed ahold of Butch's hand and flashed him a look of concern that he spoke up.

"Is everything okay doc? I don't know a thing about this stuff but you're really rushing around in there… Could you pause it on the baby a second?" Butch said, confused. He'd never been to an ultrasound scan before - he didn't really know how it all worked, but he thought he'd at least let them see the tiny baby on the screen.

The sonographer suddenly realised himself that he'd been focusing so hard, he hadn't spoken for several minutes, and when he looked up at the two super powered beings he could see worry etched on their faces.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! How unprofessional of me, I was getting a little too engrossed. It's just that -" He paused. "I'm just going to get my colleague to take a look first, just so I can confirm this… If you'll just excuse me for 2 seconds." He got up off his stool and left the room, both Buttercup and Butch watching him go.

Their faces fell. "What's going on?" Butch asked, and Buttercup swallowed hard, shaking her head.

"I don't know, but that can't be good." Buttercup answered darkly. "They never did that at Jay's scans.. No one left the room to confirm anything… Also saw him kicking around in there within minutes of them beginning the scan. Like literally, put it on my stomach, moved it a bit and there he was."

"Oh." Butch murmured, swallowing hard.

The sonographer returned with an older woman, who smiled warmly at the two of them as she took a seat in the original sonographers seat. "Hello there, I'm Dr. Summers. I'm a senior sonographer, is it okay if I just take a look?"

"Sure," Buttercup said, her voice a little more forceful than intended. "If something's wrong though, can you just tell us please?"

The female sonographer heaped the cool gel into a pile again in the centre of Buttercup's toned stomach with the doppler, then pressed hard, the black and white images appearing on the screen again for everyone to see. She concentrated as she pressed in certain areas, pausing every now and then and then moving it slightly. Butch watched it intently, trying to pick up on any little shape that could resemble a baby, but he had no idea what he was even looking at.

"I'm sorry for the silence, it just takes a lot of concentration - I can assure you though that nothing is wrong. We just wanted to get a clear picture of what we're seeing here. Tell me Miss. Utonium, were you on any kind of fertility drugs prior to conceiving?" The sonographer asked, pulling the doppler off Buttercup's tummy, the black and white images on the screen disappearing too, and then putting it back in a different spot.

"No..." Buttercup cranked a brow at her, baffled. "Why? Why are you asking that?"

"Well, Dr. Oswald called me in here to confirm what he thought he found, and Dr. Oswald, I can see exactly the same: three sacs, and three heartbeats, and three babies." The doctor said, switching the 4D setting on, picking up a different doppler wand and placing it on her stomach once more. She turned the screen so they could see it in 4D.

The monitor went an orangey colour, and sure enough, three tiny little baby shaped blobs were wriggling around in their separate sacs. All had little arms, legs, tiny little hands and kicking feet. You could make out their heads and little spots where their eyes and facial features were developing.

There was another tense silence, as Buttercup felt like she was going to be sick at the sight of three babies. Three babies in her tummy! Three.

"I would say you were about 12 weeks gone. They are fraternal triplets, or Trizygotic triplets, which means they are three separate eggs that were fertilized by three separate sperms. In other words, they're three separate people, with their own amniotic sacs, placentas, and looks, they aren't identical." The sonographer began to explain, but it was white noise to Buttercup and Butch, they'd just been told they were having not one child, but three, all at once.

The sonographer paused the screen on the 4D image of the three babies, and got up from his seat. "Do you mind if I call in our two medical students? We don't get many cases of naturally conceived triplets."

Neither Buttercup nor Butch even looked at her, they were both staring at the screen still, mouths hanging open slightly.

"Err, we'll give you a minute."

When the doctors left, Butch and Buttercup looked at each other with shock. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry." Buttercup mumbled, looking at the screen with wide eyes. "Three babies. Three babies! You couldn't just knock me up with one!" She screeched, turning to hit Butch on the arm.

"Hey, calm down, this wasn't my doing! Well, it sorta was but not intentionally! Be careful will you, think of the babies!" Butch cried, trying not to laugh.

"Three. Three fucking babies, just, just walking around inside me. Oh god. Oh, and when they come out is it just gunna be like a fucking log flume?!" Buttercup exclaimed. "All three just shooting out one after the other?!"

"I dunno." Butch muttered, holding back his smile as he stared at the screen in awe. "Holy shit. Three fucking babies. Oh man look at them! They look like little aliens."

"They're not aliens Butch! They're fucking triplets. Three children, all in one go. Do I look like a fucking hotel to you?"

Butch couldn't hold his laughter back this time.

"She said you're 12 weeks. That's like 3 months isn't it?" He asked, his brow knitting as he thought deeply.

"Yeah.. Why, what's that face for?" Buttercup asked - Butch suddenly appeared guilty.

"Nothing nothing.. I just - I think I know when this happened." He murmured a little sheepishly.

Her eyes widened in shock. "What?! What do you mean? When?"

"Do you remember like, 3 or so months ago, when we dropped Jay to Mitch's for the weekend, and we decided to go out for once, and we went to that new biker bar in Little Tokyo? And we got like, stupidly wasted?" Butch asked her gingerly, and she nodded slowly. "And we ended up doing it in the toilets at the bar...?"

She gasped. "Oh my god, yes I remember. We were so hammered. Didn't we go home and basically just carry on having sex?"

He nodded. "And then just about died of a hangover the day after? Yeah, I kinda had a memory of that night a couple days later - and I remembered the condom was broken one of the times we did it, when I took it off." He admitted, looking guilty.

"Seriously?!" She exclaimed and he nodded weakly. "What the fuck Butch why didn't you tell me?!"

"It was like days after that I had some kind of post hangover flashback and it was way too late for the morning after pill - I knew you'd be mad so I just kept quiet - you're also on the pill so I assumed that would cover it anyway! And then when nothing come of it I just kind of figured you hadn't fallen pregnant from it anyway so it probably didn't matter…" Butch confessed.

"But clearly I did!" She barked, indicating the paused screen of the sonogram. "Threefold!"

"I'm sorry! I was just so fucking drunk - so were you! It was a good night…" He added, and she whacked him on the arm, trying not to smirk at him.

"Well I hope it was worth it because clearly this is what happens when we have unprotected sex - Jay, and fucking triplets." Buttercup replied, looking back at the screen, half awed half horrified.

Butch exhaled slowly. "Triplets. Fuck."


Telling everyone was almost as much fun as finding out. Their siblings had of course been over the moon for them - but they had also found it hilarious. Butch and Buttercup had heard every joke or comment possible, particular about it running in the family.

Jay had been convinced it was a joke, it took him a little while to catch on that they wouldn't ever make a joke about something like this, they were both terrified as it was.

The Professor and Kelly had been ecstatic, that would bring their total of grandchildren up to eight, and they just loved grandchildren, as they got to give them back to their parents when the visit was over.

As the months passed by, and Buttercup's stomach began to swell, Blossom, Brick, Boomer and Bubbles began to feel a little sorry for their brother and sister at what was about to come, so they planned a trip out just the six of them before Butch and Buttercup's family basically doubled in size.

It was nowhere near the end of the world; it was three beautiful children, and something to be cherished.

So one night that Buttercup was feeling up to it, they left the kids with the Professor and Kelly overnight, and went to a classy bar to sit down and real-talk on kids.

All six of them stood along the bar, ordering their drinks. Blossom was watching her drink being made keenly - a habit she'd developed since what had happened to her. As they waited to be served, Buttercup felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Oh wow, aren't you glowing!" The stranger cried, gesturing Buttercup's bump.

"No, that's just sweat." Buttercup answered flatly.

The woman laughed nervously then tried to change the subject. "Congratulations - you must be due any day now!"

"I'm only five months pregnant." Buttercup spat, crossing her arms above her bump. The woman began to stutter, trying to think of the best way to right this, but Buttercup spoke before she could. "Move it along before I eat you."

The woman hopped away, wincing. Buttercup glared as the others chuckled lightly at her.

"Buttercup, why don't you come find a table with me, before you do eat someone." Blossom said, her drink in her hand as she linked her arm through her sisters.

There was a table free tucked up the corner, big enough for all six to sit around (even Buttercup, who at 21 weeks pregnant was about the size Bubbles was at full term). When they'd all got their drinks (a soda for Buttercup, Blossom and Bubbles, first one pregnant, second two breastfeeding still), conversation steered itself toward the triplets and the aftermath of the triplets. And of course, the gender of the triplets, which Butch and Buttercup had just recently found out.

"It just had to be three girls, didn't it? It's three girls, and they're all going to be nightmares, just like I was." Buttercup guessed, looking weary at the thought. "The Professor always hoped one day I'd have a daughter just like me."

"They might not all be like you." Bubbles mused, to which Buttercup gave her a stony look. "One or two of them might be nice."

"I am nice!" Buttercup defended.

"You just threatened to eat that woman!" Boomer cried.

"Well, why go up to a pregnant lady and guess when they're going to give birth? Your best bet when it comes to pregnant women is to just not try and start a conversation." Buttercup replied.

Blossom nodded. "I agree. Strangers always seem to say the wrong things."

Brick nodded, smiling at a memory. "Remember when you were pregnant with Rosie, and that old lady asked if you were still breastfeeding Blake, who was 2 at the time, bear in mind, because your boobs were so huge. 'He must be very hungry.'"

Blossom gave Brick a displeased glance, folding her arms over her chest. "Leave me alone, I'm still breastfeeding Rosie now!"

"I know." Brick grinned, eyeing her chest and receiving a light punch on the arm from Blossom. "That is one good thing about post baby bodies."

"Yeah," Boomer agreed. "Giant boobies." He said, gesturing to Blossom and Bubbles' milk filled breasts.

Blossom and Bubbles gave their partner's irritated glances.

"But there was an awful lot you didn't consider when you decided to not mention that broken condom to Buttercup." Brick said to his brother, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Like what?" Butch asked, swigging his bottle of beer.

"Like how little sex you'll have after she's had them three." Brick said, pointing at Buttercup's huge bump.

"Or how little sex you'll want! They aren't the prettiest of sights after a baby. And you're always so tired all the time when they're little." Boomer added.

Bubbles and Blossom looked at their partners in shock.

"Excuse me!" Bubbles cried. "But you said I was glowing after I had Bridget!"

"You were honey, you were! I just mean like, you know, you're all, bleeding, and dribbling milk, and –"

Bubbles let a shrill gasp of outrage escape her mouth.

"Even though they're being complete assholes, they are right." Buttercup said. "You remember what I looked like a few days after having Jay right? You think Jay stretched my stomach out? It's going to look like a fucking deflated balloon when these three are done with it. I'm going to have to work out so damn hard."

Butch felt a tap on his shoulder then, and they all turned to see Mitch standing there.

"I can vouch for that." He said, giving Buttercup a cheeky glance, who glared lightly at him back. It was always so awkward running into the ex, especially when the ex had been around for the birth of your current boyfriend's son.

"Yeah?" Butch said. "Well no one asked you."

Before Mitch could turn to walk away, wondering why he bothered, his date joined his side, letting out a squeal of delight. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the puff-ruff squad. What's the matter, has there been a break-in down here or something?" Princess cried, as she handed Mitch a beer.

Buttercup grimaced at the sight of her ex boyfriend's new flame, the most irritating woman that inhabited the planet, Princess Morbucks.

"Oh, hi Princess." Blossom said, forcing a pleasantness to her voice. "It's been years, I don't think I've seen you since high school."

"No," Princess said, an obvious tone to her voice. "I saw you at that medical conference a year or so ago, at one of Daddy's hotels. I happened to be staying there that weekend and you were there too."

"Oh, I must have blocked that out." Blossom replied smoothly, the sweetest, most genuine smile on her face.

Princess frowned deeply at her. Her expression changed completely when she looked at Brick, who was sitting beside the pink puff. "Brick, hi! How are you? I've not seen you in so long! Not since -"

"I'm fine thanks Princess." Brick interrupted her, grabbing his drink and gulping it down. Blossom eyed him curiously but didn't ask. Princess had had a thing for him throughout high school; Blossom guessed the memories were coming screaming back to him. Something like that anyway.

She then turned her gaze to Buttercup, examining her large stomach with a disgusted expression.

"Oh yes, of course, he's shoved a whole litter up there hasn't he? How bestial. Wow, imagine the state your body's going to be in when they come out? My body hasn't been savaged or ruined by any children. Unlike you three, I don't have a stretch mark in sight." Princess bragged.

Buttercup was digging her nails into her palms so hard she was almost drawing blood. Mitch tried to persuade his girlfriend to move along but she ignored him.

"Neither do we. I guess super skin doesn't leave stretch marks." Bubbles said with a shrug.

"Well, still." Princess said, still trying to gain one up on them, for no apparent reason. "They always say you're never the same down there after don't they? Me however, is a different story, huh Mitchie?"

Mitch looked a little embarrassed by his girlfriend's bragging, he didn't exactly want bad blood with Buttercup and her family, it wasn't what he bargained on happening when he'd spotted them all out.

"Yeah, we aren't getting any younger though, am I right? Tell me, Princess, have you started naming your eggs yet?" Buttercup asked. She brought her hand up and tapped her wrist. "Tick tock, Princess, tick tock. We're not getting any younger."

Princess glared, seizing a hold of Mitch's arm. "Let's get the hell out of here." A friendly smile fixed onto her face as she glanced at Brick before turning away. "Bye Brick." He ignored her.

The six sniggered as Princess and Mitch left.

"That girl is unbelievable." Bubbles cried.

"She hasn't changed one bit." Blossom added.

"Who the hell starts bragging about how tight their tutu is? I mean please, if high school is anything to go by, it's probably like tossing a hotdog down an alleyway." Buttercup muttered, and the others laughed.

"She did get around." Bubbles agreed. "But not Boomer and me. He's my only one." She'd put an arm around her husband and kissed his cheek tenderly.

"Your magic number being 1 is not exactly something to brag about Boom." Butch said, to which Brick snickered along with.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I know what my number is." Boomer replied; Butch rolled his eyes.

"I think it's sweet." Blossom said.

"What's wrong with having a low number?" Buttercup asked Butch, giving him a ruffled glance. "Mine is only 2. You and Mitch."

"So is mine." Blossom said, then paused. "Well, kind of." She didn't like to count Jeremy. "Hey," she said, turning to face Brick. "I don't think we ever had this conversation when we got back together, what's your 'magic number'?"

Brick suddenly looked a little hot under the collar and grabbed his beer, taking a long swig. "We never had that conversation because you don't need to know that." He muttered.

Blossom looked surprised. "It's a lot isn't it!"

"No." He said, still looking rumbled. "So Butch," He changed the subject a bit. "Do you even know your number or is Boomer right?"

"Hey, we're talking about your number right now bro." Butch replied, winking. Brick glared at his brother, thanking him mentally (and sarcastically) for having his back.

"Yes." Blossom replied, arching a brow at him. "Come on, spill! It can't be that high? How much sex could you have had in three years?!"

"I dunno, it's probably like, 8." Brick said, watching Blossom's eyes widen. "See, you didn't really want to know did you?!"

"Hey I didn't even say anything! It's just a lot more than I expected!" Blossom said, then paused. "I know about 2 of them. Carla, and me. But who were the other 6?"

"Just, women. I was single, it was allowed! What can I say, I'm an attractive guy. But hey, none of my numbers are your sisters so -"

Boomer interrupted him quickly before that topic could get brought up, noticing the stormy look Blossom had given Brick as soon as he'd mentioned his brother. The subject of Blossom and Butch's fling was always one that brought tension to the group.

"Wasn't there that maid?" He said, and Brick shook his head slowly at his brother, fire in his eyes. Boomer didn't catch the warning and carried on speaking anyway. "The one you used to hire to clean yours and Butch's apartment."

Butch laughed. "Oh yeah! The maid. I remember her. She was damn -" Buttercup had flashed him an unimpressed stare. "Good at cleaning."

Blossom turned to look at her partner. "You used to hire a maid to clean our old apartment? That place was tiny!"

"That's the bit you're annoyed about?!" He exclaimed and she smirked at him. "It was one time and we never hired her again afterwards.. It was too awkward."

"Oh god I just thought of someone worse than our maid!" Butch cried, and Brick glared at him darkly.

"Butch don't you fucking dare." Brick growled, but it was no use. Everyone had to know now.

"It was kind of my fault, to be honest." Butch conceded, as Brick continued to threaten him if he told them who he was talking about.

"Who was it Butch? And how could Brick sleeping with someone be your fault?" Blossom asked curiously. It had to be someone really embarrassing for it to elicit such a reaction from Brick.

"Yeah you've gotta tell us now!" Bubbles urged.

"It was years ago. Before Brick and Blossom got back together, before Buttercup and I got back together. Brick and I were both handsome young bachelors. There was this woman I met at a bar." Butch began to explain, ignoring the fury emanating off his redheaded brother as he told the story.

"Figures." Buttercup inputted, but Butch continued.

"We hit it off and she agreed to a date with me but her friend had been dumped recently and she was trying to get her back out there. So she said she'd go on a date with me if I brought someone along for her friend. Which I did. Brick."

Brick sighed deeply. "I fucking hate you." He murmured. Blossom glanced at him curiously, before urging Butch to continue.

"Because he was single at the time. We both were. So we get to the restaurant. Brick's all pissy with me cos he didn't want to go. I'd lied and said I'd met her friend and she was nice and attractive and he should try and get back out there too - but I actually didn't know the first thing about this woman or the woman she was bringing along with her." Butch continued.

"Who was the friend?" Blossom pressed, and Brick covered his face in his hands.

"Princess Morbucks. This woman arrives with Princess."

"No way!" Boomer gasped. "You slept with Princess?!"

Brick hadn't removed his hands from his face. "It was one night. One horrendous night."

"Oh my god Brick, how could you not tell me you slept with Princess when we were broken up?!" Blossom questioned, a chastising tone to her voice.

"I didn't want ANYONE knowing I slept with Princess fucking Morbucks! The entire night was fucking awful. And made worse when Butch ditched me, leaving me with Princess!"

"I didn't ditch you, my date and I left early -" Butch tried to defend but Brick interrupted him.

"Because she made it obvious she would have sex with you if you left."

"Which she did." Butch grinned, as Buttercup rolled her eyes at him. "But the rest is on you man."

"How on earth did that end up happening?" Blossom queried. She wasn't mad - they weren't together, and she fully realised Brick likely slept with other people during that time. She was just astounded to learn Princess was one of them.

"Butch left me his credit card to get the bill. Which I did. And a few bottles of the restaurant's most expensive champagne. I don't remember the ins and outs of it. I just know I drank a lot of champagne and I woke up with her in bed next to me. She was ushered out very quickly and I regret it with every fibre of my being." Brick muttered, shamefaced.

"Wow, that is just shocking. I am shocked and appalled." Boomer cried, and Brick rolled his eyes.

"You're not mad are you? I mean, we weren't together -" Brick said, turning to Blossom, who shook her head.

"Of course I'm not mad, it was years ago! It is something you could have mentioned to me though. You really were lost without me huh?" Blossom said, a disappointed smirk gracing her features.

He smiled a small smile back. "Like I said, I didn't want anyone knowing. Butch only knows because we lived together and he witnessed me kicking her out the morning after."

"So wait," Boomer said, mentally trying to figure something out. "Brick has slept with Princess, and Blossom. Mitch has slept with Princess, and Buttercup, and Butch has slept with pretty much everyone going?"

"Sounds about right." Buttercup said, Butch looking mildly offended. "8 isn't that many." She added, semi defending Brick. "Butch's is WAY higher, I'm sure. And neither is 4." Her comment was aimed at Blossom, who's eyes widened at her sister at her words.

Buttercup bit her bottom lip, her jade eyes also widening as she realised her mistake. "I mean 3. Not 4. 3? Or 4? Oh shit."

"Buttercup! Stop talking!" Blossom hissed, and Brick turned to his girlfriend with prying eyes.

"4? Hang on, there's 4 now?" He asked bluntly.

"I'm sorry!" Buttercup cried. "I get confused about what you include and don't… And I'm all pregnant - baby brain…" She lamely attempted to defend herself.

Blossom sighed in resignation, looking a little guilty. "Seeing as you told me about Princess. 3 willingly… 1 not. So, yes. My number is technically 4."

"So, me, Butch -"

"And some guy she met at a medical seminar like a year after you cheated on her with Carla." Bubbles said.

Brick's crimson eyes widened as he looked at Blossom.

"We were single! And it only happened because Buttercup was encouraging me to get back out there and try and move on. It was awful anyway. I went back to my hotel room afterwards and just cried and raided the mini bar." Blossom mumbled, pushing her hair from her face and hoping she wasn't blushing with embarrassment too much. Brick asked her why she went back to her hotel room and cried. "Because he was the first person I slept with that wasn't you. And I had thought you would be the only one I'd ever sleep with."

Brick looked sympathetic for a moment but then the third person she went on to sleep with came to mind. His brother. "Guessing that sadness disappeared when Butch got his claws in - or did you cry after sleeping with my brother too?"

Blossom flashed him an irritated look, and Butch rolled his eyes, but Brick was smirking.

"She did actually." Butch said, unhelpfully.

"Don't worry I did too after the first time as well." Buttercup assured her sister, who giggled at her.

"Oh come on! That's not true!" Butch cried, outraged.


"Hi," Blossom said, peeking her head through her front door. "Come in."

She opened the door wider, and Buttercup could see Rosalie on all fours, charging into Blossom's leg, trying to get past her to escape out the front door. Blossom had only opened it a crack at first to try and contain her daughter.

Buttercup sidled her inhuman bump inside, heading straight for the living room. Damn, she needed to sit down. She was 33 weeks gone now, and not the size of one house, but two, possibly three small terraced houses.

Blossom bent down, scooping Rosie up into her arms and followed her sister through into the lounge. She put Rosie back in front of the television, but the moment her little butt hit the floor she got on all fours again and scurried back towards the door.

Blossom sighed. "Man she is hard work. I forgot how hard it is to keep an eye on them once they start crawling."

"Urgh don't." Buttercup complained. "I'm going to have three all doing it at the same time. You know, when I think about it like that, I could actually cry a little."

Blossom returned with Rosie and shut the living room door. Blake, who Buttercup hadn't even noticed at first as he was so quiet, was sitting on the sofa reading a colourful book, he barely looked up to greet his Aunt.

"I can't believe he's reading already." Buttercup said. "Jay certainly wasn't. But then, he barely reads now."

"Well, I thought the earlier I taught him the better." Blossom shrugged, as Rosalie got to the door and began bashing her little fists against it, whinging her complaints aloud. Blossom scooped her up again before she could bust a hole in her door.

"But he's 3!" Buttercup cried.

"He seems to really enjoy it." Blossom shrugged again, putting Rosie down in front of the TV again. "So how are you feeling? How did your appointment go?"

Rosie was captivated by the programme that had just started, so had stopped trying to venture out of the house; Blossom could sit down and talk with her sister.

"Erm, well. It went good and it went not so good." Buttercup said, bobbing her head from side to side.

"What was not so good?" Blossom asked, worrying for her three nieces in her sister's tummy.

"Well, the good is that they're all doing fine. Doc said he was amazed they were still inside me at 33 weeks, some women have gone into labour by now. He also said they're showing no signs of coming anytime soon. But, well the thing he's concerned about is delivering them. When you had Blake and Rosie, do you remember the doctors talking to you about C sections not being a possibility for us?" Buttercup asked.

"Yeah," Blossom nodded. "Because they can't get through our skin, well, they've not found a metal that can yet anyway. The most they can do is use Antidote X in a real emergency situation, but then that brings a greater risk to us."

"Yeah, exactly. They said the same when I had Jay, and the same to you with Rosie and Blake, and they would have told Bubbles that with Bonnie and Bridget too. I wasn't majorly concerned when they told me that with Jay. I was kinda cocky about it and I just figured I'd be able to do it no sweat. But well, with a multiple birth, especially triplets, natural births are a lot less common, and a lot less safe."

Blossom nodded, her brow furrowing. "Yes, most women have a planned C section with multiples." Blossom began to guess what her sister was going to say. "But, a lot of women do give birth naturally too. More than you would think."

"Well, I can't have a C section. I have to deliver them naturally. And like you say, it does happen. They told us about loads of cases where women have naturally given birth to triplets, one after the other and all have been fine. And I'm okay with that, that doesn't, you know, bother me or anything." She paused, looking down at her huge, wiggling bump. "But, he told me there's also been rare cases where one has been delivered naturally, then the others have become distressed so they've had to send them for an emergency C section. And if that was to happen to me, well there wouldn't be a whole lot we could do. The doctor basically told us to prepare for the idea of potentially losing one. Or two. Or all three, if things really went wrong. I just, I don't know what I'd do if that happened."

Blossom took a hold of her sister's hand tightly. Buttercup let her.

"I know I've bitched and moaned and damn near shit myself at the idea of three babies all at once. But I don't think I could handle losing any of them." She added in a small voice.

"Of course not. It's a scary situation. And all you can do is continue to rest until the big day comes along, and then when it does, you'll know you'll be able to do it. Of course you'll be able to do it." Blossom reassured her.

"You think?" Buttercup asked, struggling to hide the doubt and fear she was feeling.

"I know. Of course you will. Because you're Buttercup, and there isn't anything you can't take on." Blossom smiled.

Buttercup smiled back at her. "Thanks Bloss. I'll do the best I can."

"You'll do great." Blossom promised her.

"There was something else I wanted to ask you." Buttercup said, shifting uncomfortably.

"What's that?"

"Would you be in the delivery room with me, at the birth? Butch is obviously going to be there but, well I don't expect him to be able to keep it together much - he's pretty brand new to births. And his first experience of it is going to be three babies in one go; the poor bastard. Things could really, really go wrong, for all of us, and well, you're so level headed and you're also a doctor. You're really good at speaking for me when I can't. Normally it's because I'm too angry, but this time it'll be cos I'll be in too much pain and whatever, I think having you there would be handy. For me and for Butch." Buttercup mumbled.

Blossom smiled, hugging her sister tightly. "I would be honoured. Oh Buttercup, you're such a sweetie."

"Oh shut up, it's these hormones dammit!"


"Okay," Jay cried, as he knelt beside his father. "This is officially the freakiest thing I've ever seen!"

"I know right! It's like there's little aliens in there trying to bust out or something!" Butch agreed as he stroked Buttercup's tummy again. She giggled as she watched her son and boyfriend freaking out about the shapes the babies were throwing in her tummy. It was huge, and it was contorting and wobbling around as the babies stretched and wiggled in her womb.

"They're not aliens dummy! They're your kids!" Buttercup replied, but she was smiling.

"Look at that, look at that – whoa! Did you see that!" Butch cried, to which Jay laughed and agreed excitedly.

"That was the biggest one yet! I thought she was gunna break out!" Jay gasped.

Buttercup laughed. "I think you two are exciting them."

"I can't believe they're not here yet!" Butch said impatiently.

"Yeah, when will they be here?" Jay asked, jumping into the air with excitement.

"I dunno, soon. Sooner rather than later or I think my uterus is going to explode." Buttercup said, shifting on the sofa and pulling her t shirt down her top. It was a little fruitless, it didn't cover her vast tummy, filled with babies.

"I need a cup of coffee." Buttercup mumbled, as she began to attempt sitting up. "God I'm so fed up of this decaf crap."

"You can have the straight stuff again soon." Butch said, extending a hand to help her up. As Buttercup took it, she felt a tight, sharp pain across her stomach. A very familiar pain, she'd suffered contractions before, in fact, she'd been suffering from lighter ones the past few weeks, but this one, this was a real one.

Her face had tensed as the pain had shot through her, and Butch had immediately asked if she was okay. Before she had the chance to answer, another one happened straight away.

"Are you okay?" Butch asked again. Buttercup managed to reply.

"I think I'm contracting." She grunted.

Butch sat her back down again. "Jay, go grab her bags. Get yours too, we'll have to drop you at the Professor's."

"Butch, they might not have even properly started - shit! I don't need to go right awa –" Buttercup began but a couple of contractions interrupted her. "Fuck I forgot what son's of bitches these things are!"

"Yeah we do! You're high risk remember? We're going down there now. I'll call them on the way." Butch said as Jay threw Buttercup's hospital bags to him, he caught them and put them under his arms.

"We'll have to take the car, I can't fly." Buttercup said. "Call Blossom, don't forget to call Blossom!"

"I will, I will. Come on, let's get going."


When Blossom finally arrived at the delivery room, Buttercup and Butch both sighed with relief.

"Thank god you're here!" Buttercup cried, latching onto her hand when she was in reaching distance. "We thought you were going to miss it."

"Is it moving along quickly?" Blossom asked, placing a large black suitcase down under Buttercup's bed.

"What's that?" Butch asked, confused. It looked oddly familiar.

"Oh nothing. Just in case of an emergency." Blossom said. Butch was a little puzzled. That looked suspiciously like a case of Chemical X.

"Yeah, the doctor said I was like, 8, 9 centimetres last time he came in. It's going so fast, it took forever with Jay." Buttercup said, breathing sharply as pain took over every few seconds.

"I know, I remember. Second babies can be quicker. I know my labour with Rosie was. I went into the hospital at 3.15pm, she was here by 4.05pm. It's okay though, it means the worst will be over quickly. Then the real fun begins." Blossom reassured, taking a damp cloth off the bedside and dabbing at her sister's head.

Buttercup was so glad she'd asked Blossom to be there. She had a calming effect on Buttercup at times, her very presence made her feel a little more at ease. If Blossom was there, everything would be okay.

Both sisters glanced back at Butch, who was pacing up and down, his brow wrinkled in worry.

"How's he fairing?" Blossom asked in a hushed whisper.

"Hmm." Buttercup said, enjoying the gap in contractions. "Not great. It's so weird seeing him look this frightened. I'm not sure I've ever seen him look this scared before."

"It's because he's worried. He's probably feeling a little out of his depth as well. It's okay; everything will be fine. And if I have to, I'll make him pull himself together." Blossom said, giving Butch a flat glance.

Within an hour it was all systems go. The room was filled with doctors and midwives, and three infant warmers to transport the babies onto to check they were all okay. It was a given that the triplets would more than likely need neonatal care, most multiples were a little underweight, so they needed to be ready to provide what care they needed.

Blossom was at one side holding a hand, Butch was at the other, feigning to have his cool kept, but failing pretty miserably. Twenty minutes passed, and Buttercup had delivered the first baby girl. Butch was in a state of utter amazement - he'd never seen a baby being born before, let alone his own child, having missed Jay's birth.

She immediately screeched the house down, a brilliant sign. A midwife declared the time, and that it was a girl, and she was taken over to an infant warmer to be cleared up and check all her vitals were okay.

Buttercup and Butch looked on in concern, it was only Buttercup squeezing Butch's hand hard that made him look down at his girlfriend. "Go check she's okay." Buttercup instructed, as she gathered her strength. After double checking with Blossom, who nodded, signalling she'd stay with Buttercup, Butch headed over to the infant warmer, where the baby lay wailing, a couple of midwives surrounding her.

Buttercup was also being surrounded, midwives and obstetricians were checking the position of the next baby, who would be along any moment now.

Butch looked at the baby, that was tiny, but not as teeny as he had imagined them to be. She had jet black hair, and when she glanced up at him with dark green eyes, the same forest green as his own, his heart melted just that little bit. "Hello little lady." He said, taking a hold of her hand, and she squeezed it with such strength. "I'm your Daddy." He said, almost as if he was convincing himself of that too. "Is everything okay with her?" He asked a doctor, who nodded.

"She's absolutely perfect." She assured him. "A decent weight too!"

Butch smiled, one down, two more to go. He wanted to stay and hold her, but then Blossom called him over, so he zipped back to her side, taking Buttercup's hand.

"Don't I get a little longer to rest then that?!" Buttercup asked, exhausted already.

"I'm afraid not, this middle baby is coming now. And then, so will the third. But then you can rest." The doctor delivering the babies promised her. Buttercup nodded, as she squeezed Blossom and Butch's hands and pushed.

This baby was quicker, 15 minutes later and the second baby had been delivered. Another girl, just as predicted. This baby too wailed as she felt her first hit of air filling her lungs. Just as before, Buttercup told Butch to check on their young one, and he did, while Blossom stayed with Buttercup.

Butch looked down at the baby, she looked confused and bewildered as she was rubbed down and her airways checked. She peered up at Butch with light green eyes the spit of her mothers and Butch felt a stab of affection for the beautiful little baby. "You have your mama's eyes baby girl." He told her. "Buttercup, she looks just like you!" Butch cried.

"Buttercup, are you ready to push again? This is the last time now okay? You can rest after this, you've done so, so well!" The doctor praised her.

"No," Buttercup said, shaking her head and wiping her bangs, which were stuck together with sweat out of her face. "No, I can't do this. I can't do it again I just can't." She cried, pure exhaustion taking over.

Blossom wiped her forehead with a damp cloth. "Of course you can Buttercup. Don't be ridiculous. You can do this; you've faced worse than this! You've already delivered two, you can do one more easy!"

"No, no I can't! I'm too tired!" Buttercup cried, her voice cracking.

"Buttercup!" Blossom barked. "You don't exactly have a choice right now!"

"All right Blossom, chill out, she's fucking in labor okay! She's just squeezed two babies out!" Butch snapped, not liking Blossom's tone.

"Yes, exactly! She needs to deliver this last baby girl or you could lose her! We're running out of time. You can do it. Of course you can do it. Now isn't the time to get too scared and chicken out." Blossom asked, a taunting tone.

"Scared?!" Buttercup cried, sputtering. "I'm not scared. I'm not scared of nothing."

"No?" Blossom asked.

"No! Of course I'm not!" Buttercup cried.

"You sure look scared." Blossom said casually.

"I am not scared!" Buttercup cried, some of the usual defiance back to her voice.

"Then prove it." Blossom provoked. Butch finally caught on to what she was doing. She knew her sister well.

"Fine! I will! Let's do this!" She declared, taking ahold of Blossom and Butch's hand one last time.

This baby however, took a little longer. So long, that Buttercup began to doubt that she could do this once again. 35 minutes later, and the last baby girl was born into the world.

But there was no deafening cry. Instead, a deafening silence. Panic surged through Buttercup, Butch and Blossom, as the doctors suddenly crowded around the baby, who was taken over to the infant warmer immediately. The mechanism was turned on, and the midwives and doctors began to rub the baby down. Tubes were stuck down her throat, and Blossom felt another stab of worry when a few minutes passed and there was still no cry.

No one spoke, no one dared. Buttercup felt herself crumbling, like she was slowly ebbing away. There was no cry. Why was there no cry? Was her last baby girl gone? Her head fell back against the pillow in despair and she felt tears leaking down her face. She couldn't bring herself to look at Butch, but he was holding her hand so tightly it almost hurt. She'd said she couldn't do it and she'd been right. She'd done it wrong, she'd not been strong enough, and her little girl had paid the ultimate price, it was all her fault –

Her pained thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of piercing cries filling the room. The cry was different to the ones they'd already heard, and Buttercup quickly realised this was because it was a different person crying. It was the third baby, the youngest triplet.

"She's okay." Blossom had hissed; her voice laced in emotion. Buttercup glanced up at her sister in disbelief. Blossom, hovering in the air slightly, craned her neck to see the third triplet. "She's okay Buttercup!" Blossom said again, squeezing Buttercup's hand. Buttercup noticed the tears threatening to spill down her sister's cheeks. She'd thought she was gone too.

Butch had gone over to look at the youngest baby girl as soon as she'd been born and whisked away to the warmer, cranking his head so he could see but still stay with Buttercup. He'd exhaled with relief when she'd started crying - he didn't realise he'd even been holding his breath. The green ruff noticed her eyes were the spit of her older brother's in colour. She was breathing fine now, and blinking around curiously as she was wrapped in a blanket.

"She's fine." Butch had breathed. "Oh thank god, she's okay."

Half the doctors had turned to Buttercup now, helping her deliver the last placenta and making sure she was okay.

"Look at them! Fucking look at them Blossom!" Butch cried. "They're here! Do you think we can hold them in a minute? I don't even know which one to hold first. Blossom, do you think – Blossom? What's wrong?"

Blossom wasn't listening to Butch; she was too busy watching Buttercup. She'd been fine one moment. The doctors had obviously been confident she was okay, they'd all taken a step back to let her meet her babies. But Buttercup had suddenly looked out of it. Her eyes had crossed slightly, and she looked confused and dizzy. When Blossom looked down at the bed sheet, it was covered in blood. It had been covered in a lot from the deliveries but they'd taken that away and placed a fresh one down, but Buttercup had almost bled through the new one.

Blossom's medical mind went into overdrive. 'PPH. Postpartum Haemorrhage. She's lost too much blood,' she thought frantically.

"She's haemorrhaging." Blossom cried, and once again everyone in the room jumped into action. They were attempting to shove IV drips into Buttercup's arm to no avail, and someone had left to grab some antibiotics.

Buttercup was going in and out of consciousness. Butch had shoved through, taking ahold of Buttercups clammy, limp hand. "Buttercup! Buttercup, please be okay, please be okay! Shit - Blossom what's happening?!"

Blossom was too busy fiddling with the black suitcase under the bed. "Blossom? Blossom what the hell are you doing?! Is she - is she dying here?!" Butch bellowed.

"Just give me a second Butch –" Blossom called up to him.

"No, not in a second, now Blossom! You're a doctor, do something!" Butch yelped.

Blossom appeared beside him with a large syringe filled with a thick black liquid.

"I am doing something!" She snapped at him. "Get out of the way. All of you; let me through!" Blossom cried, barging through them all. She seized Buttercup's arm dropped a tiny amount of Antidote X onto it, before promptly plunging the needle to the syringe into it. She slowly pushed down, letting the liquid enter her body.

"The Professor was afraid this might happen. Any normal person could be sent down to theatre and stabilized. But the quickest way for someone like us to get better is," Blossom paused, the syringe empty.

"Chemical X." Butch finished for her, and Blossom nodded.

All the doctors had backed off, allowing Blossom to take over, this had been discussed prior to Blossom's arrival with the team set to deliver the babies, the Professor had insisted it was a must, and rightly so.

"Now what?" Butch asked.

"We wait." Blossom said, dropping the syringe into the suitcase.

And slowly but surely, Buttercup stirred. Blossom glanced under the sheet over Buttercup's legs. The bleeding was stopping. Blossom sighed with relief. Suddenly Buttercup threw her legs away from Blossom, shielding her dignity. "Hey, what the fuck, don't look up my sheet!" Buttercup cried irritably, her voice heavy with exhaustion.

Butch grabbed ahold of her and held her close, and Blossom chuckled, sighing again. "I've never been so glad to hear you snap at me."


"Butch, you're still shaking! Calm down, it's all over now, we're all okay." Buttercup said reassuringly, squeezing Butch's hand.

"I know, I know.. But Buttercup, I thought we'd lost a baby girl, then I nearly lost you." Butch said, placing a kiss along her hand. "It was scary as fuck. I mean imagine I lost you and a baby all because I didn't mention the fact a condom broke one time..."

She chuckled at the ridiculous way his brain worked. "Like I said, I'm here. It'll take something more dramatic than some blood loss to finish me off, anyway." Buttercup reassured.

"You reckon?" Butch asked, smirking. "Seriously though, if it weren't for Blossom, and the Professor insisting she bring some Chemical X, you'd probably be a goner."

Buttercup smiled. "Nahh. I'd still be here. But I'll be sure to thank Blossom and the Professor anyway. But for now, these little tooties need a name each." Buttercup said, positively beaming down at the three baby girls on her lap. "I still can't believe they weigh exactly 6lbs each." Buttercup mused. "I was lugging around 18lbs and the rest for months on end."

"My girl bakes em good." Butch said, kissing the top of her head. "I kind of picked a name for the first one, the oldest one." Butch mumbled, his lips still pressed against Buttercup's hair. "If you like it too, of course."

"Yeah? What's that?" She asked.

"Well, she's got my eyes hasn't she? Her eyes, they're like two emeralds. So, I figured we could call her Emerald?"

Buttercup had been cringing, awaiting a terrible name that wasn't actually a name, but was pleasantly surprised. "Emerald. Emerald, I don't hate that. In fact, I kind of like it. Emerald. Hey little Emerald. That's your name sweetie! Okay, what about the other two?"

"Didn't you pick a name you liked?" Butch asked.

Buttercup nodded. "Yeah, it was Olive." She hummed, looking at the two remaining babies. "I think she looks like an Olive." She said, pointing to the little girl with the jade green eyes like her mother.

"Yeah? Emerald, Olive, and, hmm, who are you?" Butch asked.

Blossom had come back in then, carrying a tray of buttered toast and an orange juice box each. She greeted them, glancing down at the triplets laid out on Buttercup's lap.

"We're just naming them." Buttercup explained.

"Who is who so far?" Blossom asked.

"This is Emerald, and this is Olive. But, we're not sure about this baby girl yet." Buttercup explained. "I'm thinking it should be another name that makes you think of the word 'green'. Emerald and Olive makes me think of green. What do you think?"

"Hmm." Blossom mused, looking down at her. "What about Ivy? That makes me think of like, lush greenery or a tropical paradise." Blossom suggested.

Buttercup and Butch looked down at the youngest baby girl. "Emerald, Olive and Ivy."

Butch nodded. "I think that's the one."

"Hello my baby girls." Buttercup smiled, passing Emerald to Butch, and Ivy to Blossom, holding onto Olive herself. "Uh, I'm so glad you're out of me you have no idea!"


"How on earth you are managing to breastfeed all three I will never know." Bubbles said, watching Buttercup tandem nurse Olive and Ivy, Bubbles had Emerald in her arms, feeding her a bottle of expressed milk.

Buttercup shrugged, focusing on the TV. "They've gotta eat." She shrugged. "And I'm producing so much fucking milk it's unreal."

"You must spend half your life pumping off breast milk." Blossom mused, as she scooped Rosalie up into her arms, she'd just toddled over and thrust her chubby arms in the air, indicating she wanted picking up. Blake, Bonnie and Bridget were watching TV, the boys were in the kitchen.

Butch was resting his head against the counter as him, his brothers and his son sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. He was nursing a mug of coffee, and he looked up at his brothers in a zombie like state.

"I haven't slept for weeks." He muttered.

Jay grinned, slurping his juice box. "I've slept like a baby. Hey, why do they say that, these babies don't sleep like ever?"

"It's a cruel oxymoron." Brick smiled.

"When does this get better?" Butch asked his brothers desperately, dragging his hands through his hair. "Seriously. When?!"

Boomer shrugged. "All depends on the kid."

"Yeah, Blake slept like a dream right from the beginning. He still sleeps well now. But Rosie's still keeping us up, I don't think she's ever slept through and she's 1." Brick said. Butch wilted at the thought of a year of this.

"Bonnie sleeps through. She has been for a couple of years. Bridget has us up occasionally. I would say on average it gets better around a year old."

"A year? Really? I'm not gunna sleep for a year?!" Butch exclaimed, shocked.

"Fraid' so." Brick grinned, loving seeing his brother going through this.

"Bet you regret that drunken night at the biker bar now huh?" Boomer sniggered. "Learn from your Mom and Dad Jay, heavy drinking leads to this."

Jay laughed at his Uncle, then glanced through to the living room. "Is Mom done in there yet?" He complained. "I wanna watch TV."

"No," Butch said, glancing through. "Daisy the cow is probably gunna be milking for at least a good 10 more minutes."

"I heard that!" Buttercup called through.


"Buttercup? Are you listening?" Blossom said, calling her sister's name for the second time. She shook her head, breaking out of her trip down memory lane.

"Huh?" She asked, feeling little hands grabbing a hold of her t shirt, and looking down to see Olive signalling she wanted to be picked up. Buttercup obliged.

"I said, so you're going back to work?" Blossom repeated herself, fixing the triplets and her children and nephew and nieces a drink each.

"Yeah I am, Butch is going to be a stay at home dad." Buttercup replied, struggling to hide the smirk from creeping up her lips.

"That's great - and odd timing, Brick is going part time too. He'll be watching the kids more often, we had our latest nanny storm out last night." Blossom said.

"What did she do this time?" Buttercup asked, smirking at her middle name sake niece. She absolutely loved that Blossom had an unruly daughter. It was fun to watch.

Rosalie picked food off the table daintily; Blossom told them all she froze the poor woman's bag, again.

Rosalie smiled innocently. "I didn't like her - she was a bad, bad lady."

"She was a nice lady. And even if you didn't like her, that doesn't mean you ruin her stuff! Plus, I've told you more than once about using your super powers inappropriately. You only use them like that in… In?" Blossom asked.

"In an emergency." Blake and Rosie droned together.

"Right, in an emergency. Bad guy breaks through the window? Emergency, freeze em up good. Disliking the nanny? Not an emergency." Blossom lectured. Blake rolled his eyes, and Rosie mouthed 'Blah blah blah' as Blossom's back was turned.

Bubbles and Buttercup couldn't help but giggle.

"But Daddy always said to use inin-shi-tive, to deal with things I don't like. So I did." Rosalie explained innocently.

"Initiative?" Blossom asked, widening her eyes at Brick.

He shrugged, his expression saying 'don't blame me'.

"Well, I wanted the nanny gone, so I took inin-shi-tive. She's gone now." Rosie smiled. "Seems like a good thing to me."

"What an enterprising little lady." Boomer smiled.

"I'm really looking forward to both of you attempting to tackle being stay at home dads." Bubbles grinned. Buttercup and Blossom gave her knowing looks.

"Oh aren't we all." Blossom said, cocking a brow.


r&r (: