Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!

Title: More Loyal Than A Trained Dog

Summary: A gem nursemaid isn't exactly something you see everyday, but Vidalia couldn't be in more capable hands when she finds out she's pregnant with her first child. Amethyst is determined to be a good friend, even as things start falling apart back at the temple.

...

"Hey. Did I ever get around to teaching you how to hotwire a car?"

Amethyst had to think about that one. Vidalia had been teaching her things- both illegal and legal- for quite a while now, so she had to make sure a lesson hadn't somehow managed to slip her mind. It hadn't. "Nope."

"Really? That needs to be fixed. Like, immediately." She popped her gum, but there wasn't as much vigor in it as there normally would have been. Her entire persona seemed a bit off today, if she were being honest with herself. She looked- no, felt- anxious, but Amethyst didn't have a clue as to why. "But, before we go off on this little adventure- do you know how to drive?"

Good question. Greg had taken her to the outback to show her the basics- Pearl and Rose could drive, but human laws tended to change quick, so they'd needed refreshers-, just like he had for all of the gems (and, yes, she had tried to sneak into the back to watch the fur fly between him and Pearl. Greg had kicked her out, looking vaguely annoyed, but Pearl seemed amused, so it was worth it), and she knew how everything worked, but she wasn't sure if it all added up to safe, legal, driving. It had, however, given her a taste for engine oil. "...Sorta?"

Vidalia didn't look all that surprised. "I'm driving."

She choose a little red pickup truck. Whose it was, Amethyst didn't know. The door was unlocked, but no one ever really thought to lock stuff up in Beach City anyway. Not in the middle of fall, with no tourists in sight.

One quick hot wiring crash course later, they were driving out of town. Much like the owner of the truck, she didn't know where they were going, exactly, but trusted her friend's judgement. The look on Vidalia's face made her bite her tongue.

"Couldn't we, like, get in big trouble for this?" She asks instead, leaning her chin on the arm she'd propped up on the armrest. Vidalia visibly pauses, then shrugs.

"Scared to get a little down and dirty?"

"Hardly." She scoffed. "I just don't think Greg's gonna be too happy if he has to pick us up from the police station." Then, as an afterthought that wasn't really an afterthought; "Again."

"That sounds like Greg's problem to me." She retorted, then paused. "Do Garnet and Pearl know about-"

"No." Not if she could help it, anyway.

"Ah."

"Well, I mean, Garnet probably does. Rose would find it super cool, but she hasn't mentioned it, so I'm gonna take that as a no. Pearl definitely doesn't. Greg promised he'd keep that on the down low so long as we didn't do it again."

"You gotta hate blackmail." Vidalia says calmly, but her leg is jumpy. Amethyst wonders if that's a safe thing, since the movement probably isn't helping her keep the car's speed steady. "Don't worry. They already know who took the truck; everybody knows us, after all. We'll leave 'em an apology note. Those suckers won't even call the cops."

She stares out the window for the rest of the trip.

Amethyst doesn't bother to read the sign on their way in, but she knows where they're at. At least, she does vaguely. She knows a hospital-thingy when she see one. Or an offshoot thereof.

The waiting room was bare save for the receptionists desk and rows of plastic chairs. Amethyst sat down next to a table of magazines and started to flip through one whilst her friend talked to the lady at the front counter.

"Okay." Vidalia said as she sat down, placing her balled up fists on her knees. She sounded nervous. "I'm actually doing this."

"Doing what?"

"They can check for sure." Amethyst gave her a blank look. Vidalia elaborated. "Remember what we talked about the other day? About me and Marty?"

It clicked. That whole 'birth' talk she'd been given a couple of weeks ago. That whole talk about how she might be going to give birth that had occurred soon after. "Oh. They can check for that?"

Vidalia gave her a curious look and nodded. "Yeah, but this joint is making me nervous. This whole thing is making me nervous. I need something to do with my hands. Wait a second." She lunged for her purse- something she hardly, is ever, lugged around- and began digging through it. "I have brushes, and you have hair."

"Ugh, Vidalia." She wines. "I hate having my hair messed with."

"I know, I know. Just... please?"

Vidalia never said please. She never got worried, either. Entirely convinced she should be concerned, Amethyst turns her back to her and flips the page.

She grits her teeth and bears the onslaught of the dreaded brush with as much humor as she could conjure up. It wasn't that she never brushed or washed her hair- it was one of the few things she kept clean, honestly- it was just one of those things. She'd never liked having other people mess with it.

Amethyst scoffs at the picture of a woman in a tiny black dress and holds it over her head. "Who in their right mind would wear that?"

A pause. "A woman dressed to kill."

"Or be killed." She grumbled, lowering the magazine. "If someone walked onto a battlefield like that, they'd be obliterated. It's just not good battle-wear."

Nor is her own outfit, if she were being honest with herself, but that's different. Vidalia either doesn't know that or doesn't comment on it. "Oh, she's going to battle, all right. Just not the kind you're thinkin' of."

A nurse stepped into the room and called Vidalia's name. She stood, taking a second to make sure her ponytail wouldn't fall apart with a satisfied nod. "Thanks for that. Oh, wait! I almost forgot."

Digging through her purse, the tall woman pulls out a cheap yellow plastic butterfly clip and pulls her bangs away from their usual place over her eye. "There. So you can read better."

"Thanks."

"Yup. See you in a few... I hope."


Vidalia takes more than a few. She's gone for the better part of an hour.

Amethyst doesn't expect anything less. Hospitals are really busy places, or so she hears, and her friend has always been good about being late. Fashionably late, she calls it. She didn't know fashion went beyond clothes.

People come and people go, but Amethyst hardly notices them. One man, whom she could only assume was here for a friend, nudged his buddy, pointed at her, and said something. They both laughed.

Feeling surprisingly self-conscious, she flushes and violently yanked the hairclip out, stashing it into her pocket. She goes back to reading, bangs hindering more than helping her.

Vidalia comes out of the back area, face blank. She grabs her arm. "Come'on. Let's go for a drive."


Vidalia is even quieter during the ride back, something Amethyst hadn't thought was possible. She gently pulled the hair-tie out and stashed it in the other woman's purse without a word. Pearl would never let her hear the end of it if she found out she was willing to let a human mess with her hair but not her.

Eventually she pulled off the road and killed the engine, climbing out stiffly. Amethyst watched her walk around the side, pull down the bed, and sit on it before following.

Amethyst personally didn't like trucks, but that probably had something to do with being short. She crawled onto the back with some difficulty and swung her legs.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really."

"Okay."

"I'm pregnant."

"Cool."

"Not cool!" She snapped. Amethyst flinches back. "I'm too young for a kid!"

"Uh, Vidalia? Humans are too young, period."

"Well, some of us don't live for eternity." She crossed her arms irritably. She snorts.

"Don't kid yourself. I'll be lucky to make it to seven thousand, if that, with my luck. What's ten years to a human, anyway?"

"It's a long time, Amethyst. I'm supposed to get older, grow wiser. All that crud we laugh about. What kind of mom could I even be?"

"Uh, a cool one?"

"I'd rather have a steady and boring parent over a careless and 'cool' one." She glances at her. "What about you? Don't gems raise their young?"

Amethyst hands tense, but otherwise she pulled off a nonchalant look. "Gems don't give birth."

"Then how do you-"

"It's complicated." Not really. But she doesn't want to talk about it. "You learn to look out for yourself pretty quick."

"Well, heck. Compared to all that, I'd be mom of the year."

Amethyst grins and put a hand on her leg. She'd go for the shoulder, but reaching that high gives her cramps after awhile. "Hey, don't worry about it. At least, this way, you can grow up together, right? I dunno. I mean, if I was a human kid, I'd want a mom who didn't know all the answers. Somebody who'd grow up and make mistakes with me. It'd be cool."

The taller woman flashes her a small grin and glances at her knees. "Oh, man. Dude. I don't even know how to cook."

"Is that important?"

"No kid 'a mine is growing up on fast food."

"Okay." She says calmly, thinking through what little she honestly knows about humans. "Don't they have... classes? For this kinda thing?"

"Yup. Gonna have to start going to 'em. You game?"

Amethyst knew the answer before she even thought to ask. "Always."

At the end of the night, she still has the hairclip in her pocket. She never quite gets around to giving it back.

Author's Note: Hello, Steven Universe fandom! You never can quite seem to get rid of me. =)

I admit, the only proof I have that Amethyst doesn't like having her hair messed with is that she tells Steven not to mess with her hair when they're spying on the communication hub, but it's a cute headcanon nonetheless.

Amethyst has no problem with dresses, by the way. She's just trying to get Vidalia to laugh.

I've actually had this written up for awhile now; just never bothered to type it up.

Also, I'm on tumblr now! (only one warning per fandom, I promise. You won't see this in any other of my Steven Universe stories). Got any questions, or just want to say hey, but don't have the fanfic account? I'm at mandareeboo .tumblr. com (no spaces). Everybody's welcome!