"The position for holding this creature is awkward," Peridot complained, "It's very squishy and will not stop moving, no matter how much I command it to do otherwise."
Connie chuckled slightly as she watched the small green gem hold her and Steven's daughter for the first time. While the Crystal Gems had been ecstatic about the new baby(after they were assured that no one would have to give up their form for the baby to be born), the former homeworlders were less than enthused. For the majority of her pregnancy, Jasper, Lapis, and Peridot had been utterly confused by the whole situation. She couldn't exactly blame them, as they probably had little to no knowledge of how other species reproduce. Lapis fell in love with the little one soon enough, but Jasper and Peridot could care less about the whole thing. Neither of them had a proper introduction until now.
"Looks like she already has a bit of a rebellious streak in her. I wonder where THAT came from," Steven commented. Connie rolled her eyes at that.
"If it inherited that, then I still don't understand why it didn't gain either of your levels of intellect," Peridot commented, "It can't even form proper words!" The baby then decided to squeal and gurgle as if to prove Peridot's point.
"She's just a baby, Peridot," Connie explained, "I've told you babies aren't born with that kind of knowledge. They have to learn over time."
"How inefficient…" Peridot commented. The baby continued to babble at her as she reached one of her tiny arms up towards peridot's visor. "I really don't understand why you haven't evolved past that yet," she continued, avoiding the small hand reaching up towards her.
Steven shrugged. "I guess that's not what nature intended," he said, "but if you ask me, I don't see what the problem is. A blank slate means unlimited potential, right?"
"Hmmm…" She tapped her chin for a second before nodding. A small smile began to play on her face as an idea came to mind. Peridot then handed the tiny child back to her mother. The baby squealed and reached its arms out as she did so. "Thank for this...experience, Steven. Connie. It was interesting to say the least," she stated in her usual monotone.
"No problem, Peridot. If you ever want to spend time with her again, just let us know ok?" Steven said with a smile. "Now," he said turning to the baby lying in her mother's arms, "It's about time we put you down for a nap." He tickled under her chin, causing the child to giggle before letting out a sleepy yawn.
"Actually," Peridot started, "If I may, I would like to help with this…"nap" process."
Connie and Steven exchanged a look of confusion. "Alright," Connie said, "What would you like to help with?" A smirk stretched across the green gem's face.
….
"Now," Peridot addressed the human infant being held in one of her arms. It was swaddled up in a blanket and leaning on her shoulder. "I understand that your biological predecessors have a common practice of reading you a "fairy-tale" before you go into stasis," she continued as she searched for a book among the many heavy texts lining the book shelf. "Honestly, I feel it is a wasted opportunity, as Connie has told me at this age you are at your most receptive," she griped. The baby stopped sucking its thumb momentarily to yawn again. Peridot smiled as she found the book she was looking for and pulled it from the shelf.
"While I cannot fully understand the meaning behind that noise, I'm going to assume you were agreeing with me," she said walking over to the rocking chair and sitting herself down. The book sat in her lap while the baby rested in the crook of her arm. "That is why I decided that this time, you should get something with a little more substance," she announced with a proud grin as she cracked open the heavy text. The baby sucked its thumb as it looked down at the pictureless book with curiosity. "We'll start with one of my favorite subjects: Quantum Physics!" she said excitedly, "Alright, how about something simple first, like the String Theory."
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