A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the reviews and support. You are all so awesome…

What? Don't give me that look like you were about to give up on this story. I updated didn't I?

Everyone in the room, including Butch looked puzzled. "Did you just say Bubbles is okay?" The Professor asked, too worn out from looking for his lost daughter to even begin to hope he had heard the nurse correctly.

"Yes, you are the family of Bubbles Utonium, right? I was told to come to this room."

"Are you sure you have the right girl? Bubbles has been missing for over a week now," Blossom said. If this was some sort of joke it wasn't funny. What were the chances that Bubbles would just turn up in the hospital?

"What's with you guys?" Buttercup asked, struggling to get out of the bed. "It can't hurt to look."

"You're not going anywhere young lady," The professor said, gently pushing her back.

"You're barely strong enough to sit up. You need rest." Blossom added.

"Are you kidding me? I need to see my sister!" Buttercup attempted to get up again, but was held in place by Butch this time.

"Listen to them BC," Butch urged. He didn't want to see her hurt anymore, especially because of him.

Buttercup noticeably calmed down.

"If it is her," the Professor said as he and Blossom walked toward the door with the nurse. "We'll bring her to you as soon as we can."

They left, leaving her and Butch in the room alone.

"You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?" Buttercup asked Butch.

He looked at her. Her expression was emotionless. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. "No," was all he could say.

Buttercup's eyes filled with tears. Butch quickly covered her eyes. "What are you doing?" Buttercup yelled at him, trying to shove him off.

"It looked like you were going to cry. I couldn't let that happen," Butch said. The truth was, he was scared to see her cry. It was hard enough to look and not want to touch her, but if she cried in front of him, it might break him down completely.

"You think covering my eyes will keep me from crying? And who said I was going to cry in the first place?"

Butch smiled. "It worked."

"I…" Buttercup realized she wasn't crying, for a moment she wasn't even thinking about her troubles. Butch did this too easily. It was so nice to just be with him and not worry about anything else going on in her life. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she had never wanted to be with someone so badly before.

…

The room wasn't far from Buttercup's. Blossom and her father were skeptical. What would be behind the door when they opened it? Maybe only a girl who looked like Bubbles or a bunch of people laughing. Suddenly it dawned on Blossom that it could be Bubbles' body.

"Excuse me," Blossom said to the nurse, unable to keep her worries inside. "You did say she was healthy right?"

"She's perfectly fine," the nurse assured her. "Right through here." She opened a heavy door.

Sitting on the bed with short hair and a red baseball cap was her sister. Someone was talking to her, but it didn't matter who else was in the room or that her hair was cut off. It was really her and she was okay.

"Bubbles!" Blossom and her father shouted, running into Bubbles' arms. "We missed you so much!"

Bubbles cried as she hugged her father and sister. When they finally let her go, her father continued to hold her hand and just stare at her while Blossom began inspecting her up and down.

"She's had a full checkup. She's fine, besides her voice."

Blossom was so absorbed in Bubbles, it took her a minute to register that the person talking was Brick. She looked at him, hatless and slightly disheveled.

"You found her. Thank you." Blossom continued to look at Bubbles, as if looking away even for a moment would cause her to disappear. "I was so worried I would never see her alive again. I don't know how to thank you." Brick smiled in response, knowing exactly how Blossom would thank him.

"He's not the only one you should thank."

Blossom turned her head to see Mrs. Jojo; owner of the Jojo Corporation surrounded by a handful of camera men.

"Mrs. Jojo, what an honor to finally meet you," Blossom said with a small bow. "You are as beautiful as you are kind."

Pricilla smiled at the girl. At least she knew her courtesies.

"Are you responsible for my daughter's return?" The professor asked Pricilla.

Pricilla scrutinized the man. He had a lab coat on and looked as if he hadn't slept in days, or bathed for that matter. "I'd say I played a main role."

"Then you forever have my deepest gratitude, but I would like a moment alone with my daughters." The professor looked meaningfully at the small crowd that had gathered in the hospital room.

Pricilla nodded. "Of course you do, but before that I must tell you something."

Brick looked worried. He thought it would be better to give the family some time, but his mother wasn't the type to wait for these things. It was his fault after all.

"It took a lot to get your daughter back. By that I mean mostly money, I won't burden you with the number, but it was no small investment. I wish to see Bubbles stay safe and the best way to do that is for her to come live with me for a while," she looked like she wanted to say something else, but thought better of it. "Well, we should give the family some time together." She gave Bubbles a look before leaving with her son and the camera men.

The Professor tossed around the thoughts in his head. Why did Mrs. Jojo care so much about Bubbles? She was even asking to let Bubbles live with her. This was insane, but he couldn't think about that now. He turned to Bubbles once he could no longer hear Mrs. Jojo's footsteps. "You must have been so scared, how are you sweetie?" He hugged his daughter again while Blossom sat at the end of Bubbles' bed.

Bubbles moved her mouth, she wanted to answer her father and tell them how much she missed them, but nothing came out. She tried again, but nothing.

"She's lost her voice, like before," Blossom declared. She remembered what the doctor said last time this happened. They should try not to remind her of the trauma, she'll talk when she's ready.

Bubbles looked around the room, searching.

"We should focus on what's happening now. We just got back together. Are we really going to let her stay with Mrs. Jojo?" Blossom asked, worried for her sister. Again Bubbles searched the room, too distracted to think about what her sister was saying.

"Of course not, Bubbles is my daughter. She belongs with her family. It's preposterous that Mrs. Jojo would even suggest something like this. What is she thinking?"

"I know I…" Bubbles couldn't take it anymore. She crossed the bed to where Blossom was sitting and placed her hand on her mouth. Blossom was shocked into silence, as Bubbles tried desperately to make them understand why she was so distracted.

It was the Professor who finally got it. "She must want to see Buttercup."

Bubbles sighed in relief. "We didn't want to worry you," Blossom said, holding her sister's hand. "Buttercup is in another hospital room. She's recovering from hypothermia. As soon as the doctor says you're well enough to leave, we'll go see her."

"We should talk about what Mrs. Jojo said." As the Professor was about to go further into the conversation, a doctor walked into the room.

"Ah, sorry to interrupt, you must be Bubbles' father. Pleasure to meet you Mr. Utonium." The doctor shook the Professor's hand and smiled. "We did a full checkup on Bubbles per the request of Mr. Jojo. She is in perfect health. The problem with her voice appears to be a psychological problem, probably due to some mental trauma. Now you may be unfamiliar…"

"She's been through this before. We understand what to do," Blossom said, wanting to save her sister the pain of going through this talk again.

The doctor paused in her speech. "You mean she's been through something like this before?" She shook her head and scribbled some notes.

"Now hold on, this was only once before and the situation was completely out of my control," the Professor tied to explain himself, worried about the way the doctor was writing the notes.

"She was fine and very happy until now," Blossom added, realizing her mistake.

The doctor closed her notebook. "I'm afraid I can't release Bubbles into your custody."

"What?" The Professor gasped. "This is absurd! She needs her family right now."

"Her safety is our number one concern. I can't allow you to leave this room with her. Please make arrangements for her to stay with a family member or friend. She'll be released when they come to pick her up." Before anyone could reply the doctor closed her notebook, turned and left the room.

Blossom stood there trembling. "This is all my fault," she said, clutching her hair. "Why did I say that? What have I done?" Tears sprang to her eyes.

Bubbles wrapped her arms around her sister. She couldn't speak so she wanted to do something to comfort her. "This isn't your fault," her father said soothingly.

"But Bubbles is going to be taken away from us." Blossom shook even more at the thought. She felt so weak. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. It felt like everything was closing in on her.

"They have to do an investigation first. Once they see how well she's been treated, they will let her come live with us again." Honestly, the Professor was just as worried, but he had to be strong for his daughters. He had to assure them that everything was going to be alright.

…

"Where are they!" Buttercup said in frustration. She had been staring at the door for the past half hour, waiting for her dad and Blossom to return with Bubbles. What if they're having a good time reuniting and forgot all about her?

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Butch said from the chair next to her.

Buttercup flopped back in her bed. It tugged on her IV, but she didn't mind. "Do you think she's alright?" Buttercup asked. She hated how small her voice sounded when she said it.

"I hope so. To be honest, I have my own reasons for wanting to see her."

Buttercup's heart stopped for a second. Could Butch have fallen for Bubbles? She is cute and nice and definitely girly. Maybe she's his type. Could she be the real reason Butch didn't want to be with her anymore? "Why's that?" She asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

"I think she may know what happened to Boomer."

"What do you mean?" Buttercup asked, confused. "Blossom told me that Boomer was out of town."

"My mom and brother have been trying to get me to believe the same thing, but something isn't right. Boomer has only texted me once since he's left and he won't answer my calls. This isn't like him." Butch looked up at Buttercup. "I need you to help me figure out what's going on."

"Me?" Buttercup asked surprised. She thought she would be the last person Butch would ask for help. Buttercup watched Butch as he sat there waiting for her reply and realized how worried he looked. He was going through the same emotions she had been going through for the past week. He wanted to know where his brother went. He probably doesn't care who he asks for help from.

"I know it's a lot to ask, especially since I couldn't help you with your sister…"

"Of course I'll help," Buttercup interrupted. "But what can I do?" She didn't have access to a bunch of money like Butch and she was no detective.

"You can start by asking your sister."

Just then a nurse walked in with a stretcher. "Did someone request emergency transportation?"

Buttercup looked at Butch. He shrugged. "I might have made a call while you were sulking."

"I don't even have the words to thank you." Buttercup grabbed Butch for a quick hug.

"Let's go see your sister," he said with a smile on his face.

…

"What about Cousin Eddie?" Blossom asked Bubbles. She vigorously shook her head. Eddie lived on the other side of the country. There was no way she was going to be that far from her family.

"The neighbor has always been so kind to us."

"You mean Tabitha and her nine kids?"

"Only five live with her…"

Bubbles tuned out her father and sister. They shouldn't be having this conversation without Buttercup. She tried and tried to tell them, but the words wouldn't come out.

"What do you think Bubbles?" The professor asked, noticing that she hadn't responded for a while.

Bubbles screamed in her mind that she wanted to see Buttercup.

"What?" Blossom asked, she had heard the faintest squeak.

Bubbles brightened. She tried again and the squeak was louder.

"Keep trying Bubbles," her dad encouraged.

"Buttercup!" Bubbles yelled. To her great joy it actually came out of her mouth.

Blossom hugged her sister. "I thought it would be days before I heard your voice again."

The professor looked solemnly at his daughters. "We can't leave this room, but your right Buttercup needs to be here."

"I'll go get her," Bubbles got up and bounded to the door.

"Wait Bubbles, if you leave, you could get dad in a lot of trouble," Blossom shouted, trying to get to Bubbles before she opened the door.

"I can deal with what happens. I need to make sure she's ok." Bubbles opened the door and came face to face with Buttercup.

"Bubbles!" Buttercup yelled.

"Buttercup!" Bubbles yelled. She let Butch roll her in the room so she could give her a proper hug.
"I was so worried," Bubbles said, crying into her sister's shoulder.

"You were worried about me? I wasn't the one missing for months." Buttercup replied. She was so relieved to see her sister again.

"It wasn't even two weeks," Bubbles said, finally ending the hug and trying to act brave in front of her sister.

"Felt like months and what happened to your hair?" Buttercup asked, just noticing her sister's chopped locks.

"It wasn't by choice," Bubbles fingered her short hair under Brick's hat. "It was a disguise."

"I guess I'm not the sister with the shortest hair anymore."

Bubbles was about to reply when she realized Butch was standing right there. He would find out Buttercup's secret. "Uh by sister she means, wait I mean he…"

Butch laughed, "It's alright Bubbles, I know."

"Know what?" Blossom asked, confused.

Butch was about to respond when his phone lit up with a text message from Brick. "I should get going,"

Buttercup's face reddened for a moment. "Thanks Butch," she said quickly before she changed her mind.

"Just hurry up and get better," he turned to Bubbles. "I'm glad you're okay." Butch quickly left the room, leaving the family to talk about the most important matter.

"So is anyone going to explain why Butch had to bring me here? Why didn't you come for me like you promised?" She looked between Blossom and her father.

Blossom sighed. "We all would have come to see you, but we were forbidden from leaving the room with Bubbles."

"I'm fine but…"

"They think she isn't safe with dad," Blossom interrupted. She tightened her fists. "It's all my fault, if I hadn't of opened my big mouth," She fought back tears.

The professor placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "The doctor isn't wrong for acting this way. I lost my job for my own selfish reasons and now I can't even afford to get you girls cell phones for emergencies like this."

The self-blame was infectious, even Buttercup wasn't immune. "We wouldn't need those phones if I could be more responsible. I'm the whole reason she was there in the first place."

Bubbles grew frustrated. "Stop it everyone, the only people responsible for my kidnapping were my kidnappers. Now that everyone is here we can talk about where I'm going to stay during the investigation."

Everyone fell silent for a moment. The professor smiled at his daughter. "Bubbles is right. It's not helping sitting here and feeling sorry for ourselves. It's late and I'm sure Bubbles wants to sleep in a real bed tonight." He sat on the edge of Bubbles' bed closest to Buttercup and waited for the other two sisters to join him. "Bubbles, since you're talking now, do you have any ideas for who you would like to stay with?"

Bubbles kicked her dangling legs in thought. She remembered what Mrs. Jojo had told her not long ago.

…

"Stay here, the nurse is coming back in a little bit."

Bubbles nodded and watched as Brick left through the hospital room door. It wasn't long before she heard the door knob turn and in walked in Boomer's mother, Mrs. Jojo. She was dressed in a sharp business suit as always. Bubbles looked at her, questions burning in her eyes. What was she doing here? Bubbles saw Brick re-enter the room behind his mother, an apology in his expression.

Pricilla spoke. "Glad to see you're well, Bubbles."

'No you're not,' Bubbles thought. The last time she had seen Mrs. Jojo she was insulting her every chance she could get.

Brick, sensing the tension in Bubbles, decided to explain. "She helped find you; she's the reason why you're sitting here now instead of in that room."

Bubbles furred her brows. Why would Mrs. Jojo help her? She thought she hated her. She was the reason Boomer fired her. What was going on?

Mrs. Jojo spoke up again. "I know you're probably confused, I wasn't always very nice to you."

'You were never nice to me,' Bubbles thought bitterly.

"You helped me to find my son, for that I'm grateful."

Bubbles looked to Brick now. Hadn't he left Boomer alone in the room?

"As you may have noticed Boomer isn't here with us. I need your help to get him back. For you, they wanted a large sum of money, but for Boomer they want complete secrecy." Pricilla sat on the bed so that she was eye to eye with Bubbles. "No telling anyone anything. You saw no one, you can't recognize any voice, you don't remember where they took you and Boomer was never even there."

Bubbles eyes widened in disbelief. They wanted to cover the whole thing up. How were they supposed to get justice for her kidnapping if she couldn't help the police at all?

Almost as if she read her mind, Brick added. "I know it's a lot to ask, but if you care about Boomer as I suspect you do, you will do this for him."

Bubbles looked down, unsure of what to do.

"That's not all," Mrs. Jojo said from beside her. "Keep this secret and I will groom you to be Boomer's bride."

Bubbles gaze quickly met Mrs. Jojo's. Was she serious?

"Boomer is the heir to one of the largest fortunes in the country. Under normal circumstances, there would be no chance for you and him. Come live with me and learn to be a proper wife to a CEO and you can have Boomer."

It was like a dream come true, only Boomer didn't want her. He wanted Blossom. She couldn't force him to be with her.

"He'll have a choice," Brick said to reassure her. "But your chances to be with him will be much better."

'This was for the best,' Bubbles told herself. She nodded in agreement.

Pricilla produced a document from her purse. "It's a contract. It says that as long as you remain silent you get Boomer and everything that goes with it. If you talk to anyone about the details of your kidnapping and not only do you put Boomer's life in danger, but you completely lose our family's support. Do you understand?"

Bubbles nodded. Did she really even have a choice? Mrs. Jojo produced a fine black pen and handed it to Bubbles. She bit her lip, feeling like she was signing her life away. Bubbles quickly signed the paper and gave the pen back. Did she make the right decision?

Pricilla put the document back into her purse. "You must find a way to make your family agree to you coming to live with us." She tapped her purse where the document rested. "It's in the contract." Mrs. Jojo turned to sit on the opposite end of the room.

"With this contract you have saved Boomer. Thank you."

…

Bubbles took a deep breath, preparing for the consequences of her next statement. "I want to stay with Mrs. Jojo."

Her family looked at her, confused. The Professor spoke up, "I know she rescued you from your kidnappers, but you barely know her."

"I think she may have her own reasons for wanting you to go live with her," Blossom added. If her son was any indication, than all she really cared about were money, power and reputation. She didn't want to see her sister be used by the Jojo's.

"Besides, she has three boys living with her. I don't think that's the best situation."

Their father nodded vigorously in agreement.

Bubbles had to keep trying. "She has the only place close enough to you all, big enough so I won't be a burden and safe enough with the kidnappers still out there."

Blossom thought about it. Logically it made the most sense. "Bubbles is right again."

"I'm still not sure about this, but if it's what you want," The Professor added, squeezing Bubbles' hand.

Buttercup stared at Blossom and her father, surprised they would agree to something like this, but being that she didn't have any better ideas she silently acquiesced.

…

Boomer sank to the floor, staring at the door Bubbles and Brick just left through. He was a mix of confused, angry, sad, and relieved. Why had Brick come for Bubbles and not for him? What was the connection? Boomer stared at the drawing pad Bubbles left on the floor next to a pile of blonde hair. He walked over to the other end of the room to pick it up. Her drawings were simple yet beautiful, as he flipped through he recognized a few of the people, some were of Blossom and another girl he assumed was her other sister, some of men he hadn't met and some were… this was him, Boomer realized. The drawing was painfully detailed, the sadness in his eyes almost brought about tears. He flipped the page to see another drawing of him, a happy one this time. It was amazing how it instantly took him back to the exact moment in time she had drawn this. He turned the page again, another drawing of him and another and another. He dropped the book, it was filled with drawings of him. She must have been thinking about him the whole time. He longed to see her again and wondered how long it would be.

After about an hour had passed Boomer slammed a fist into the shackle around his leg. What if Brick wasn't planning on coming back? He would have Blossom to himself, but what about Bubbles? Who would she have? Boomer shook his head. That was a long time ago. Bubbles would never have that kind of power over him again. No one would.

Another hour went by, or was it? There wasn't a clock in the room so Boomer just guessed. Usually someone would come with dinner by now, yet no one came. He didn't even here the normal shuffling of feet outside. For all he knew everyone left and he was all alone. Maybe Brick had somehow poisoned the bunch of them and they lay dead just outside the door. Or maybe they had gone after him and Bubbles and they were on their way back with her right now. His heart leapt a bit at the last crazy thought. She had only been gone a few hours, yet he missed her like crazy. "Brick better be taking good care of her," Boomer said to himself.

A few more hours past, or were they minutes? Boomer couldn't tell anymore. His stomach rumbled angrily at him. Where was everyone? He looked toward the door. Now that Bubbles was gone his chain was just long enough to reach the handle, but what was the point? It was locked anyway. Curious, Boomer stood up and walked to the door, turning the handle and to his surprise opening the door.

He stared into the familiar hall, a bathroom to his left, another door to his right and most notable no guard in sight. Boomer started pounding on the open door. "Heeeeelllooooo," he called, but no response. Why had they left him alone? He pulled at his shackle, unable to walk further than the door. The only thing between him and his freedom was that damn shackle.

Boomer thought for a moment. If he found a saw he could hack his leg off like in that movie. Boomer chuckled to himself. That was a stupid idea. Well if he waited long enough, eventually he'd get so thin that he could slip is foot right out of there, but that would take weeks and he'd probably die of thirst before he got to that point.

…

Brick rolled to a stop in front of a small abandoned house. He had long since sent the guards home. Now the only person inside was Boomer, chained to the wall. He kept a small bottle of chloroform on him just in case Boomer had somehow figured out he was behind the kidnappings. Before opening the door, Brick heard a loud crash and a scream. What was Boomer doing in there?

Brick rushed inside to see Boomer hanging from his foot from the top of the canopy bed. Boomer crossed his arms as he swung slightly from side to side. "Took you long enough, I almost killed myself trying to get this thing off."

Brick shook his head and sighed as he released his brother from his binds. Boomer fell softly to the bed below him. "Where is Bubbles? Is she with you?"

"She is at the hospital," Brick replied, quickly walking out the door. Boomer barely had time to grab Bubbles' drawing pad before following.

"What do you mean? Is she alright? I want to see her."

"Trust me you'll have plenty of time with her later. Right now we're going to see mother."

A/N: I loved reading your answers to my last question. They actually gave me some good ideas while I was in my gigantic writers block. Thanks again everyone!