Author's Notes:

1. okay, you're probably thinking - "RFD - why write another story when you literally don't finish aNyThInG? well. I wish I had a better answer besides that I really just wanted to. I've had this idea in the my head for weeks and I tried to ignore it to work on other things and it just demanded to be written, so there's that.

2. a big old thanks to my fellow writers e350, CoreyWW and CaptainJZH who all helped me get my bearings on how to write a human AU. please check out their works if you haven't already!

3. to reiterate something mentioned in the tags: this story will not be unnecessarily graphic. It will, however, be thorough in its explanation of medical treatments in hospitals in the 1950s, and some of the content discussed in these methods involve non-consensual, sometimes cruel behavior displayed those in power positions onto patients. there will not be lots of blood, and there won't be gross amounts of gore - just, if accounts of abuse and mistreatment make you uncomfortable, please proceed with caution.

4. lastly, and importantly, please bare in mind that the perspectives on sexism, racism, political dissent and other controversial topics explored in this fic are just my attempt to represent the time period, not to demonstrate my own opinions.

Outskirts of Dover, Delaware. 1947.

Early July. Approximately 10 AM.

Pearl considered herself a lot of things - she was meticulously organized, an unparalleled fencer, and someone who could never say no to another strong cup of coffee, she never said no to another strong cup of coffee, and she was an unparalleled fencer, if she were to name a few.

Right now, she considered herself frustrated. The next cubicle over, John's radio was turned up far beyond a reasonable level to be in a shared space.

"...overrode President Truman's veto vote today, and voted the Taft-Hartley Labor Bill into law. The vote was 68 to 25. The new law provides the federal government the power to halt all emergency strikes for at least 80 days. Additionally, this Taft-Hartley law bans closed shops, and amends existing laws further restrict union activities…"

Much to Pearl's chagrin, she knew there were only two options. Let it continue and turn into an inevitable headache, or ask him to turn it down and have him roll his eyes, maybe apologize for hurting her delicate ears.

She grit her teeth, wishing she had her foil right about now. He might not be so keen to call her delicate-anything if he were standing on the other end of her sword.

Pearl had been told more than a few times to go back to domestic life now that the war ended. She wasn't needed to do a man's job anymore. In order to placate her desire to violently throttle anyone who said such things to her, Pearl opted for silent protests. As such, she made small efforts to remind those around her that she was anything but fragile. Subtle things, like her unassuming clothes - pants, always pants - and her standard black car. Her minimalistic display of belongings on her desk, or her barely-styled hair. She remembered exactly what she told her stylist.

Something that says... Go away, I'm not available. I'm married to my job.

It was true enough. Pearl hadn't "gone out" in almost six years, and if she kept things up, hopefully it would stay that way.

Ever since her S.O. passed away, Pearl did little else but work. Sometimes, Amethyst would warn her that she was going to give herself an ulcer, but Pearl dismissed the joke for what it was - laughable. She owed her whole life up to that point to Rose; it didn't matter if she was alive or not, Pearl would not stop working towards her goal.

Advancements in technology means advancements in peace.

It was Rose's belief, and now, it was Pearl's, too.

On a day-to-day basis, that equated to sitting at a desk on the 12th floor of a massive engineering firm, a few miles outside Dover, usually helping to design robotics requested by various sources, depending on from where the grant funding was coming. The project she'd been working on for the past four years happened to be a licensed product of the U.S. government, and being a reservist herself, Pearl felt a particular twinge of pride to work for the firm.

Her engineering degree sat proudly in the box beneath her desk, where she rested her feet during the 10- or 12-hour work days; she didn't have room for such unnecessary trophies on her desk. The cubicle was modest, and so she used every square inch of surface to the most efficacious means she could. A calendar; a cup containing pencils, a ruler, a protractor and a compass; her laminated name tag; stapler; a large grid workbook with two smaller scaled versions to match. Additionally ,she had three separate stacks of papers occupying the remaining surfaces, and she had just enough room left over in front of her to eat her lunch or sign for a delivery.

On that day in particular, Pearl was doodling, but she was also already feeling that headache coming on. She'd never been much of one for calling off work, tempted though she was - like she needed another reason for her colleagues to look down their noses at her. Needless to say, her department was almost entirely male, with the exception of herself and the other quiet woman, stationed at the end of the row of cubicles. Pearl liked her well enough - she was short, with rather striking blonde hair, and she seemed to only have a wardrobe consisting of plain green jumpers that she wore, summer or winter, and unassuming black pants. Peridot was a few years younger than everyone else on the staff, but her talent was inarguable; she just understood robotics unlike anyone Pearl had ever met.

Just as Pearl had started to formulate the perfect telling-off for John so she could peacefully return to work, a voice nearly frightened her out of her skin.

"Hey, P!"

Pearl grabbed at her heart, thundering in her chest as she swiveled in her chair.

"Amethyst, I told you not to sneak up on me like that. Ever. Please."

Her friend merely cackled, tucking her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. Pearl tried not to notice how flattering it looked on her.

"Geez, lighten up. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering if you're ready to go?"

A blank expression spread on her face, and Pearl blinked down at her calendar.

Amethyst leaned forward slightly when she did not answer. "...Or, maybe I should say, I came here to see if you remembered what we're doing today?"

Pearl chewed her bottom lip. While she certainly did not appreciate Amethyst's smug expression, she clearly had not written anything down for the smugness of her friend's tone, but she indeed had nothing written down.

"Of course I remember," Pearl answered evenly, pointing her chin slightly. "Although, I wouldn't say no to a reminder…"

At that, Amethyst rolled her eyes and hopped backwards onto Pearl's desk, turning her perfect stacks of papers into a mountain of disorder. The engineer fumed silently, straightening them instead of yelling at her friend like she wanted to - best not draw extra attention at the moment.

"Remember? C'mon. You agreed to come help Rubes and Sapphire on this 'facility check' if they got really swamped?"

"Oh… oh no," Pearl smacked her palm to her forehead, dragging it down over her eyes. "I didn't - they thought I was serious? I was just… I was joking!"

A dubious eyebrow challenged her claim. "But... jokes are supposed to be funny."

"W-well! I didn't even plan, I didn't ask my boss… I can't, Amethyst. I'm sorry."

"Hey, no skin off my nose," she replied with a dismissive wave. "It's Rubes and Saph that said these things always go faster if they've got more reps from the company on their side. It'll be easy. All you gotta do is go in, poke a few machines, say everything is up and in running order, and we'll be done!"

Pearl deadpanned. "You have no idea what I do for a living, do you?"

"Not even a little bit. But hey. It'll be fun, a day out of the office. That's gotta count for something, right?"

Pearl tapped her fingers along the desk anxiously. "Oh, I don't know… I don't care for spontaneity." She wrinkled her nose, like she'd spoken a distasteful word.

"Maybe… maybe you could just tell them I'm sorry and that I can't go?" Pearl asked, sounding hopeful.

The facility worker pursed her lips. "Hey, I'm not a messenger - you can get Jamie to do that."

Pearl allowed a tiny groan to escape her. "He's the postal worker, Amethyst, not an errand boy."

"Same difference."

"No," Pearl let out a dry laugh. "It's really not. But, that's not important, is it? If they're waiting, I'd better go find Doug and see if he'll let me take this afternoon."

Standing from her seat, Pearl adjusted her button-down to make sure it hadn't wrinkled from her sitting position. She glanced over the "walls" of the cubicles, which were really more pathetically like baby gates, and spotted her boss towards the end of the next row, speaking to someone. She took a deep breath and crossed the length of the office in just a few paces.

"Excuse me, Mr. Maheswaran?" Pearl began politely.

The man smiled warmly and nodded. "Oh, hello, Pearl. Everything alright?"

Seated at the actual desk, her colleague Marty pulled a sneer as she approached. Pearl made sure to return the gesture.

Turning her attention to her supervisor, she gave Doug a warm smile. She was glad he was her immediate supervisor, because he was the most tolerable of all them. His faults really had more to do with his scatterbrained and generally impressionable nature than anything morally or ethically ambiguous.

"Um, yes, all's well. I just wanted to check with you - so sorry I didn't ask sooner - but I realized I committed to helping H.E.H down on 5 with a facility check today. It was sort of a misunderstanding - I offered to help casually. I didn't really expect them to take me up on the offer, but now it seems they're expecting someone in our department to help…"

He cocked his head to one side, considering Pearl's story. "Hmm. Well… how are your deadlines coming on the new channeling system? Think you'll still be ready to present next week?"

"Absolutely."

The man shrugged. "Then I have no problem with it. Plus, it's a pretty beautiful day - not a bad one to do some out-and-about work, right?"

"Right," Pearl agreed with a appreciative nod.

She already started to turn away when Marty's voice cut into her like rusty knives. "Hey, why don't you take 'Dot with you? You can make it a girl's day."

"I don't think she would like you calling her that," Pearl replied quietly. "It's sort of a family nickname, I think."

"Ah, now, Marty's got the team spirit thing corporate is going on about!"

"We are corporate, sir," Pearl reminded him.

He didn't seem phased by that, instead gesturing excitedly. "Sure, sure. But go ahead - take Peridot with you. It'll be a good team building activity for you both, plus it'll help her get acquainted with the H.E.H folks."

As if on cue, a blonde head of pointed hair popped up above the walls. "Did someone say my name?"

"Uh, thank you, sir." Pearl said briskly, turning away. She caught eyes with Peridot as she went back towards her desk, motioning for the young engineer to follow.

"Peri!" Amethyst beamed as soon as they returned, jumping off the desk to give her a hug. Pearl frowned; she didn't know the two were that close. "Sup, dude?"

"Hello, Amethyst," she greeted, giving her a firm pat-pat before stepping into the now-cramped confines of Pearl's cubicle. She straightened her glasses owlishly. "Nothing is up. Although I've almost finished my new model for the TS1-E350 Ion Stabilizer. Oh, I'm so excited to test it!"

Pearl pursed her lips, half a mind ready to ask how the heck she designed something like that so quickly, but thought better of it. Peridot had the raw talent that Pearl lacked, but she made up for it in effort and experience.

At least, she liked to think so.

"Whatever that means," Amethyst said with a shrug. "So, will you be ready to go in like, 15 minutes? I think Rubes is getting their car now."

Pearl pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ugh. Just how long is this going to take?"

Amethyst pulled out a notebook from inside her breast pocket and flicked it open. "Uh, Saph's wrote something down… Leaving the station at 11:30 - don't be late, there won't be another 'til late afternoon. Guess we're the taking train. Hmm."

Peridot practically squealed, and Pearl had to shush her when some of the men began to look their way.

"I love trains!" She said, bouncing on her toes. "That's why I got into engineering in the first place. Oh, stars, this is going to be so exciting!"

"I'll bring my lunch with me then…" Pearl stood back up and motioned to the stairs. "I'll meet you all in the parking lot in a few minutes."

Peridot and Amethyst quickly set off in the opposite direction, and Pearl felt herself scowl immediately as she walked to the break room. At least she wouldn't have to listen to John's blaring radio any longer - that was something, right? She snatched her egg salad sandwich from the shelve and pocketed an apple, debating on whether or not she should bring her hat. It was something of Rose's she'd found, long after they'd said their goodbyes, and she loved to wear it on special days. The fact that she'd brought it along at all was a miracle in itself, as she hadn't even worn it in that day. It was just sitting in the passenger seat of her car.

Well, if it was going to be a girl's day, she might as well play the part.

Pearl set a quick pace to the stairwell, only to find a person on the other side of the door. He stepped a foot in front of her, blocking the path.

"Yes, Martin?" She made no effort to hide her distaste, and using his full name was something that never failed to get a rise from the man.

"Mart-y, sweetheart," he reminded her, brows drawing together momentarily in annoyance. It was replaced rather quickly with what Pearl thought looked to be nausea, but was probably intended to be suave. "But hey, listen, Pearly. if you need a hand out there, don't hesitate to call us back here at the office. I'll make sure you're well taken care of."

"Oh, you will?" She rested a hand against her chest, feigning flattery. "I'm so glad."

She punctuated her statement by promptly stomping her shoe against his toes with all the force she could muster, making him yelp and double-over.

"I'll be sure to do that, Martin."

The trip to the station was short and uneventful - they were meeting Sapphire and Ruby there, so Pearl volunteered to drive since she wanted to get her hat from the car anyways. It was warm, summer proper slipping away but still gracing Delaware with some lovely days. A light breeze swept the exposed tracks, and Pearl held the corner of her cap to keep it from being blown off.

"The trains are running late," Sapphire said by way of greeting. She and Ruby had approached them from behind, and Pearl gave them both swift hugs.

"It's nice to see you both," she said honestly. "This is Peridot, she works on 12th with me. She was volunteered to be brought along for a girl's day."

Ruby stomped a foot, mostly in jest. "Ugh, that is so typical for your floor. Sorry 'bout that, Peridot. Did you get the low-down on what we're doing today?"

"More or less, I think." She tapped her chin before answering. "As I understand it, you're the psychologist dispatched to check the health of the patients, and you're the risk assessment representative that's supposed to make sure the 'wigs aren't investing in things that aren't worth the liability… right?"

"Yes." Sapphire offered her a small smile. "And I really appreciate you and Pearl coming to help with this. It'll be a quick visit, I promise. I've been checking this hospital for years, and it's always just about perfect."

"Oh, it's a hospital?" Amethyst asked, and they all paused as the slight whistle of the train began to denote its approach.

Ruby rubbed her neck. "Yeah… sorry about that. I know you're not a fan of them, Amethyst. But you don't even have to come inside, we'll take care of that part. If you guys just hang around outside the building, say you're looking at 'wiring' and all that, we'll take care of the hard part."

Pearl frowned down at her ticket, realizing her palms hand become sweaty. She was nervous. Why… why was she nervous?

"I'm glad we can help," she said abruptly, trying to snap herself out of it. She'd never had a problem with hospitals, this was just a routine check. "I honestly didn't even know the company managed outside medical facilities."

"You'd be surprised how much reach Diamond Industries has…" Ruby commented thoughtfully. "Incidentally, I don't think they have any holdings on any sort of gemstones in the market."

That earned a laugh out of all of them, and Pearl was sure to grasp both the ticket and her hat firmly against the train as it bellowed into the station.

"Dibs on the window seat!" Amethyst called, running forward and practically leaping over the tracks when the train grinded to a halt. No one was fighting her on it, but there was a shared sense of her enthusiasm. Maybe today could be fun - she liked these people, and she was working, and Doug was right - it was beautiful outside.

For all the beauty Delaware's capital city had been, this small town… what was it, Beach City? With a quick glance at her ticket, Pearl verified that it was - yes - Beach City. Not a very imaginative name, but she couldn't complain. The landscape was beautiful, and the state hospital occupied the opposite side of the town from the shore. The view from the higher floors must have been breathtaking probably picturesque, as even at midday from the ground level, Pearl found the horizon stunning. Soft blue skies against heavy dark seas, swaying endlessly in the coastal air. It was so fresh here. Everything felt so alive, and any lingering regrets she'd had for coming along immediately vanished.

The town was a simple settlement, but clearly, not one designed for tourism. They had to stop a few miles short of the actual city, as the nearest stop only passed through Ocean Town. For the obvious reason of convenience, that made the latter a much more popular destination spot for those visiting the coast.

If anything, that only made the short trip in a cramped car all the more worth it. The city was quiet but for crying gulls, the low thrum of noise that was the ocean, playing softly beneath a crisp overture brought by the wind and the hum of the hospital.

According to the map Ruby had shared with them during the trip, the city was essentially laid out as a paved rectangle, with beach and ocean from coast to coast. A large, pretty hill sectioned off the eastern part of the town, and it was equipped with decommissioned lighthouse that seemed to pierce the clouds. The hospital grounds occupied the central part of the city, occupying several blocks. There were a few modest homes along the western edge, from which they arrived, and Sapphire informed her that's where most of the medical staff lived. But other than that, it was just the large hospital and surrounding grounds.

What a small life, out here. Just you, your patients and the sea.

Pearl made a mental note to speak to someone when she got back about how to start saving for retirement.

Their cab delivered them to the front gates of the institution, accessorized with a wrought iron sign: Delaware State Hospital.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, but Sapphire assured them that someone would always meet her at the gate.

"Let's just give them a minute - we're actually running a bit early."

A mumbled agreement came from the group, and Pearl took the opportunity to study the pathway up to what must be the main facility. It was cobblestoned and decently maintained, and the grass appeared to be recently mowed, albeit a bit unevenly. These people were doctors, not landscapers.

"Ugh, these places just weird me out. It's like death just sticks to the place."

With a bite to her tone, Peridot replied, "Great, now that's all I can think about. Thank you, Amethyst."

"Misery loves company," she said with a weak chuckle.

"Color me surprised, Ames," Ruby said, crossing her arms."For a facilities gal, you're not as tough as I would've guessed."

"Hey," she snapped back, "getting into crawl spaces and collecting mold samples for you nerds and checking electrical wiring is all stuff I can handle. I just happen to hate hospitals, okay? Can't I just have this one thing?"

Sapphire calmly intervened before the situation could escalate further. "Now, now, that's enough. Ruby didn't mean to be offensive. You don't have to come inside the facility, Amethyst. I'll go in with Ruby, and we'll need at least Pearl or Peridot to come with us. One of you can stay here with her. "

Slyly, just as she finished speaking, Ruby snapped up her thin wrist and planted kisses all over her fingers.

Sapphire blushed so severely she practically seemed blue in the face, and Pearl felt embarrassed on her behalf.

"R-Ruby! Not here! We said never while working!" She brusquely fixed her hair and tried to keep her eyes down, refusing to look towards the others.

Sending a wink towards the onlookers, Ruby danced a few fingers on her shoulder. "Sorry Sapphy," she whispered. "Sometimes I forget myself around you."

"Ruby!" She covered her face with her hands, and Pearl had to let slip a quick chucklelaugh. If not for Sapphire's embarrassment, then certainly for Peridot's. She'd only just met the two today, and this? It wasn't exactly a well kept secret that Ruby and Sapphire were partners, in more ways than one, but it was still rather rare to see public displays of affection like that.

Unconsciously, her hand moved to her hat again, running her finger along the edge.

"H-Hello? Sapphire, is that you?"

A voice beyond the gates startled them, and a bumbly-looking man in a white coat was puttering their way.

"Hello, Dr. Straumburg! Wonderful to see you, as always."

"Ah, Sapphire. Always a pleasure, of course. And greetings to you too, Ruby. Now these are all faces I haven't seen before." He gestured towards Pearl and the others.

Pearl felt her hand twitch towards a military salute, but thankfully, she'd been able to break that habit.

"Very nice to meet you, doctor. My name is Pearl, and this is Peridot. We're engineers with D.I." She extended a hand, which he accepted with a polite nod.

"Hey, Amethyst here. Facilities. Sooo… a little bit of everything."

Straumburg laughed at that, peeling the gates open the rest of the way and beckoning them inside. "Oh, my brother works in facilities at another ward like this one. Always keeps him busy."

"Mhmm, definitely." Amethyst answered off-handedly. She made easy conversation with the man all the way up to the front of the building, which presented Pearl with the perfect opportunity to inspect what exactly she was getting herself into.

In truth, there wasn't much to it. Their arrival was anticlimactic. It sort of reminded Pearl of an overly large lecture hall from her time as a University student. The building was red brick from grass to roof, with pale shingles that were weather-worn, but otherwise well-maintained. Several of the windows were open, though, she couldn't really pick up on anything over Amethyst and Dr. Straumberg's chatter.

They stopped at a stone stoop that led up to the front doors. "Welp, Doc, it's been nice. Your brother sounds like a treat. But I'm good out here."

He frowned, glancing at Sapphire before responding. "Oh. I thought - did you not want to inspect the facilities? I assumed that's why you were here..."

Ruby made a face that Pearl almost laughed at. She could practically hear the unspoken words - say something you dingbat!

To Amethyst's apparent relief, Peridot cleared her throat. "Yes, uh, actually. Amethyst you mentioned wanting to check the… the wiring around the grounds! Yes, that was it - you wanted to, uh…"

She shot Pearl a beseeching look, evidently running thin on her lie.

"Up to code," Pearl blurted. "Amethyst was going to check that things were up to code. I'll stay out here and give her hand, why don't you all go on ahead?"

That seemed to ease Dr. Straumberg's doubts, and he buried his hands in the front of his white coat.

"Oh, great, sounds like we'll just do a quick divide-and-conquer then. Sapphire, Ruby, and - Peridot, yes? Why don't you come with me. I'll show you the indoor facilities. And then you both are welcome to come inside whenever you're finished out here. The grounds run from the front gate to the perimeter walls - it's a whole safety thing with the patients, you know. But feel free to look around, and the main power comes from the smaller building in the Northeast corner, so that might be the best place to start."

Sapphire had already taken the steps leading up to the front door, smiling back to the doctor, apparently eager to get to work.

Pearl watched the others slide through the double-doors, catching a glimpse of plain checkered tiles and nondescript blue painted walls. Truthfully, the whole place seemed painfully boring - she really did not blame Ruby or Sapphire for asking to bring them along to speed things up.

Now midday proper, the heat was starting to feel a bit more intense, but the ocean breeze helped to keep her cool as she and Amethyst wandered their way towards the designated spot to start their made-up inspection.

Letting out a low exhale, Pearl decided that she really wasn't in any rush, and Amethyst seemed to be in just as relaxed a mood - now that her friend seemed certain she wouldn't have to go inside the hospital, she'd calmed down considerably. Just one of those irrational fears, Pearl supposed - everyone had them.

After idly standing around the whirring generators, labouring away inside the structure, Pearl and Amethyst stepped back out into the courtyard. Amethyst at least had experience in this sort of thing, and she was certain it wouldn't take longer than an hour to actually inspect the wiring.

(For good measure, her friend noted that she did do a cursory level-check since they were there; everything appeared to be just fine).

"I guess let's just… walk around the outside of the building, look for wires or whatever." The facility worker said with a shrug. "We can split up or stick together. Honestly, this place seems right as a ninepence though."

"Alright," Pearl said in wistful agreement, feeling about the same. She could already tell she would not find anything wrong here, and as a result felt rather unmotivated to continue looking. A tiny selfish part of her wished she had brought her sketchbook. The circus clouds and pitched blue skies would make for a wonderful picture. Maybe not great for work, but it would be something stimulating to do.

Frowning, she patted around in her pockets, and an excited thrill ran through her. Oh, by the luck of the stars, she did have something. It was only a pocket-sized notebook she used to jot down ideas that came to her at odd-times, and she usually just left it at her desk, but some swift brush of good fortune had compelled her to tuck it in her pocket before leaving. She hadn't even remembered doing so.

Without wanting to abandon her responsibilities entirely, fabricated though they were, Pearl decided to set a leisurely pace and drift towards the front gate - it had the only unobstructed view of the ocean from the ground - and continue to look around for any out-of-place wires or exposed electrical outlets… that was a thing, right?

She stopped just short of running into the brass, and rested a hand on the metal. It was warm under the sun's influence, but not so hot that it burned - Pearl found the feeling surprisingly therapeutic.

After several seconds, by the time the metal began to chill in her hand, she tapped her breast pocket and pulled out her pen. The sight before her was striking, one she seldom had the opportunity to appreciate with how heavily she threw herself into her work. She tried to absorb the memory, something she could revisit when John played his radio too loud or Marty acted in his usual disgusting way.

Her mind must have wandered too far, as she began twirling her pen absently, to the point where she lost her grip and dropped it. Muttering to herself, she bent at the waist to retrieve it, and the ocean breeze tickled her neck.

Well, it was more like a gust, really. Her hat flew off in the sudden rush of wind, slipping right through the bars in the gate.

"No!" Pearl cried, feeling the color drain from her face. She clawed through the gates, watching her hat be carried down by the sands. "N-No! That was Ros- ugh!"

She stopped struggling like a fool and wrenched the gate open, running out after it. If it got swept up in the sea, it could be gone forever.

Breathing raggedly, she stopped at the edge of the coast, ignoring the gritty feeling of sand sticking to her legs. Her eyes scanned the waters, imagining the worst, hoping not to spot the last memory she had of Rose be doused in the unforgiving waters of the sea. "Oh, oh, please, where did it - please… no, no, no! It can't be gone!"

She grabbed her head with both hands, not caring for the moment how absolutely crazy she probably looked, feeling the panic rise in her chest. It was crushing her lungs, making it impossible to breath properly, and the sand made moving her legs unnecessarily difficult, and god, where did it go?!

After a few minutes of fruitless searching, Pearl sank to her knees and held her face in her hands. She cursed herself for being so stupid - why did she bring the hat with her anyways? To spite some stupid men she worked with, one of her acts of defiance that they would never see anyways?

That hat was priceless, precious, and now, it was gone.

Crying would do her no good now, and she didn't have the sorrow in her right anyways. She just sat there, listless and disappointed, crushed by guilt and memories.

"Umm… s'cuse me," a small voice said behind her. "Is this… um…?"

A small, pitiful glimmer of hope seized her heart and she turned around, and there, unbelievably, was her hat. It hadn't been lost, it had been found.

"Oh - oh, yes! Yes, that's mine, thank you, thank you," she took it from the hands of whoever had found it and hugged it tightly to her chest, breathing in shuddering sighs of relief.

Pearl took several moments to regain her bearings, eyes closed and clutching desperately to the gift, she eventually refocused on who had saved her.

She assumed the voice was small because it was just someone soft-spoken, like her. Naturally, Pearl was shocked to find a child, open-mouthed staring at her, wearing a dress and a concerned frown. She wasn't entirely sure if it was a boy or a girl, as the dress and faded pink color suggested the latter, but their face and overall grime indicated the former.

"T-Thank you, little, uh, child. This is a very special thing and I thought I lost it. Thank you for returning it."

After several seconds, Pearl's words seemed to register and the tiny face broke into a shy smile.

"Welcome!"

Brushing herself off, Pearl stood up to full height and smiled kindly to the child. She looked around their immediate area and didn't see any adults.

"What's your name? I don't see your parents around here."

The child bit their lip, tucking their arms up into their dress. "Umm… w-well," they looked at Pearl's feet anxiously, and she had a weird sense of guilt bubble in her stomach that she couldn't explain.

"Well… um, not… not 'pposed to talk to strangers. Sorry… I should go, bye!" They waved enthusiastically before turning away, setting a quick pace towards the Eastern end of the beach.

She reached a hand out to stop the child, but hesitated. It wasn't really Pearl's affair, where his or her parents might be. She'd gotten her hat back, and the child was certainly right; she was a stranger. Clearly, someone was teaching them basic social safety skills, and it wouldn't really be right for her to challenge that.

So why, Pearl asked herself, did she have a sinking feeling, deep in her chest? Why did it feel like her lungs ached to yell for him to stop, to come back? What was it about the quiet seaside that made her hairs stand on end, that her time in the military and her many long years of fencing - her instincts - were telling her something about this wasn't right.

"Stop it," she shook her head, putting the hat back on her head, firmly this time. "That's all over. This is just a silly facility check - don't get spooked out now."

The self-declared reassurances helped her to refocus - surely, Amethyst's own fears were starting to give her the same skepticism towards hospitals. She too was feeling rather anxious to leave.

By the time she stepped foot back on solid pavement, Pearl felt herself release a content exhale. The child was probably back with his parents right now, and she would be with Amethyst again, who would tell her some sort of inappropriate joke, probably.

"W-wait! Lady!"

She spun around so suddenly, Pearl gmade herself dizzy. When had her nerves become drawn that tight?

An uneven plodding of footsteps trailed up to her from the sand, and she stared blankly down at the child.

"I-I'm sorry! I promise, I didn't mean it, but I just forgot… this fell out of your thing…" They were panting by the time they stopped, and they clutched a small piece of paper above their head.

Pearl reddened upon recognizing the note. It was the other part of the present Rose had left her, tucked in the lining inside. She'd been so confused and relieved by the child returning her hat she hadn't even thought to make sure it was there.

"Oh, oh my. Thank you. Now you've helped me not just once, but twice! You're a hero, you know." She smiled and bent down slightly, trying to seem approachable, but frankly she had no idea how to relate to anyone younger than twenty.

The child stared at her quizzically but did not respond, head tilted to one side.

"Um, I still didn't get your name, my little hero. You don't have to tell me if you don't want, but I'm Pearl." She paused. "Talking to some strangers can be really bad and dangerous. But we're not strangers now that you know who I am, right?"

At that, the child seemed to grow puzzled. An overly-intense scowl appeared on their features as they considered Pearl's explanation, which must have been deemed acceptable.

With a smile so pure it reminded her of sunshine, the child waved wildly with one hand.

"Okay… Yeah!" They bounced up and down on their heels. "Hi Pearl! I'm Steven!"

Pearl felt her own face crack into a grin. "Oh, Steven? That's a good name."

The compliment seemed to suit him just fine, because his cheeks turned pink and he sort of swiveled in place, almost bashfully.

"I like it," he admitted, before scrunching his nose and adding, "But a lot of people just call me Pink. I don't like that as much."

Frowning, Pearl looked over the dress he was wearing to realize - yes, indeed, it was just a massive t-shirt.

"Well, pink is a very pretty color. One of my favorites, in fact," she mused. "I'll stick to calling you Steven, if it's all the same to you."

He crossed his arms, grinning in earnest. "'Kay! I'll stick to calling you Pearl, too."