He sighed at that as she continued to collect the finest daisies, roses, and such. Even now, the girls continued to just call him by his title. His biggest regret was that they had never gotten in the habit of calling him "Dad," "Daddy," or even "Father."

Bubbles soon had all that she needed.

The Professor watched as she headed back inside to find a vase for her latest bouquet. Soon he was left alone with the elements and his thoughts. "Where has all the time gone?" he wondered.

There was a photo album nearby.

The Professor took it up and flipped back to the beginning. There some of him and Mojo. The few where he could actually get that ape to sit still long enough. But the vast majority were of the girls throughout their lives.

As he could note, they'd skipped the infancy period.

He knew how critical that period was in a person's life, and yet his girls had turned out quite alright. Still, he could not help but wish he could have cared for them in that fashion.

At that moment, the girls came in from their respective activities and gathered together again. Even now, most of their time was spent in each other's company.

As Blossom looked over her essay, she said "Hey, guys, did you notice the Professor seemed a little... bothered by something?"

"I don't know," Buttercup said. "He's just like he's always been."