Hey, everyone. Sorry the next chapter of The Rose Quartz War's been taking so long. Life. You know how it is.

So, to tide everyone over and maybe brighten up a day or two, I've decided to compile a series of short fics I've been writing for the Jam Bomb event over on Tumblr, going on from 3/1/18 to 3/7/18(link in the summary)into one collection for your enjoyment. They aren't connected through any kind of chronology beyond all taking place after the current point in canon, but they're all based on each day's particular prompt and brimming with every variety of Connverse goodness. Cute goodness, action-packed goodness, angsty goodness-there'll be a fic for every preference.

This first one was for Day 1 of the Jam Bomb, on 3/1/18. The prompt: Slumber Party. I wrote this in the dead of night with barely any proofreading, so expect some errors. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy the first of this series of 7 fics.

:::

7pm-As Doctor Priyanka Maheswaran sat down at her desk and groaned in exasperation with the ever-increasing workload of her job at Charm City Medical, her eyes fell to the pride of her office's photo board: a picture of her husband Doug and daughter Connie, sword fighting with sticks. Every parent among the hospital staff may consider her, however correctly, "the mother hen" among them due to her strict parenting style, but even she knows the simple beauty to be found in such moments of total familial silliness. Suddenly, she is summoned to the room of a new arrival once more, and her grueling work resumes.

8:30 pm-Having returned after a liver transplant, the removal of a kidney stone, and a horrific peanut allergy, Priyanka prepares a cup of coffee, slumps into her office chair, and downs it in a single gulp. Her eyes then fall upon a more recent addition to the board: a picture of Connie and her best friend Steven, sitting side by side as they watched the snow fall. Doug took it without them looking, to Priyanka's initial chagrin. However, it *was* a pretty cute picture, and Steven was the first person Connie ever really became friends with, so…an anonymous third party stashed away the photo and took it to work while no one was home.

Given her greater open-mindedness as of late and her busy schedule, Priyanka recently agreed, rather reluctantly, to allow Connie to wait for her to pick her up at Steven's house whenever work got too busy. At this point…this could go all night. She moves to text Connie and warn her of this.

9:30 pm- Another liver transplant. And a broken jaw. And two kids who were bit by a dog that the owner was only 50% sure didn't have rabies. She isn't sure how much more of this she can take…

11 pm-Body…sore. Alertness…gone. Mental acuity…questionable.

A collapsed lung, two broken arms, a broken leg, and lacerations all over the epidermis from glass shards. In one patient. It's a miracle he's alive, slightly more so than the miracle that she didn't fall asleep and accidentally rupture an artery.

Half of the staff was gone. Priyanka couldn't leave now-they had to have some people on hand at all times, and until Doctor Gero came in for the graveyard shift at 11:30, she was stuck in this sterile, B-movie horror set of a hospital. She looks at the picture of Connie again and thinks back to her own childhood-well, those moments of it which could be called a childhood. She somehow misses it. At least during that time, there were brief moments of fun intermixed with the grueling busywork. Now it's just busywork, only replacing pen and paper school assignments with life-or-death operations upon living beings.

Maybe her spending more time with Steven and his family is a good thing, she thinks. True, from what Connie tells her, this sword training of hers can be pretty taxing, but at least her instructor remembers to let her be a kid afterwards. And she's surrounded by people who are considerate of her needs.

After drinking the last of her coffee and kicking such pessimistic thoughts out of her head, she finishes up any leftover paperwork from the day's work.

Midnight.

Having driven up to the "driveway" of Steven's beachfront home, Priyanka walks up the steps and goes up to the door. On it is a note which simply reads:

"Dear Dr. Maheswaran, the children have fallen asleep. Although we will not be present by the time you arrive, rest assured they are safe. You may come by tomorrow to pick up Connie. Sincerely, Garnet."

"P.S.: Yes, Connie did text you beforehand, but as she had done so while you were driving, I wrote this note to ensure that you got the message one way or another."

Priyanka raises an eyebrow. Connie had told her this Garnet person could see the future, but this…this is just disturbing.

She turns on her phone, which she had left off in her desk during the last few operations, to find that Connie had indeed texted her beforehand.

She takes a quick peek inside through the open window. Inside, Steven and Connie lay asleep on the floor at the foot of his bed, cuddling together as some movie or other was still playing on the television. Underneath them was the strange pink lion she had met all those months ago, allowing both of them to rest in the fluffy cushion of its mane as it stood watch and held the two in its embrace to protect them from possible danger.

Priyanka smiles slightly at the scene before walking back towards her car and leaving the two friends alone until morning.