I've been away from fanfic for a while. I had some serious health issues, then was out of a job for a while. Found a new job, but was paying much less, so had to supplement it with part time work; didn't leave much time for writing - in fact, I feared I'd lost my ability to write. Every time I sat down to try, nothing came out. I'd despaired of ever returning to Fan Fiction.

Anyway, during that time fell in love with "Steven Universe" and its Wiki. I got the inspiration to write this story from another FanFiction author (via the Wiki), "bloomscool". In it, Steven and the Gems decide to infuse Connie with a gem. See what you think...

"How long will it take, Peridot?"

"Oh, couple thousand years, give or take," the lime-green Crystal Gem snickered.

"COUPLE THOUSAND YEARS?!" yelled Steven. He looked longingly at the location in the Kindergarten wall where Peridot had sealed Connie.

"Peridot!" Pearl angrily chided her. She knew from the research the two had done, that gem-infusing a human only took a few months.

"OK, OK!" Peridot threw up her hands in surrender, "I was kidding, geez. Connie should be ready to come out in…" she scanned the monitor that was connected to Connie's specialized injector. "...90 days, 6 hours, and...3 minutes."

"Still a long wait," Steven sighed. He was now chronologically 50 years old, although he looked to be barely an adult. His Gem stopped his aging at 18 - notwithstanding his ability to shapeshift. He did that from time to time, so as to make public appearances more normal when he went out with his wife Connie. She was in her late 40s now, and did not want to make it look like she was going out with her "son".

The three Crystal Gems walked away from Connie's spot in the newly-developed Gamma Kindergarten. Pearl and Peridot built it in Southeast Asia, where there was a large supply of gems. After the war against the Gem Homeworld was won, the Beta Kindergarten was disassembled, since it was of lesser quality.

Stepping onto the Warp Pad, Peridot, Pearl and Steven were whisked away back to the Crystal Temple. They were greeted by Jasper.

"How's Connie doing?" She asked.

"I said goodbye and kissed her before Peridot hooked her up and sealed her in," replied Steven. "She was anxious but excited at the same time. We're looking forward to being together forever, as a result of this!" He put his hands on Peridot's and Pearl's shoulders. "Thank you both, for making this happen."

Pearl placed her hand on Steven's. A tear came to her eye. "Oh, Steven, it's my - it's our pleasure!"

Peridot smiled. "Who thought we could modify Gem creation like this! Do you realize what this means? Taking an organic biological form and infusing it with Gem morphology? It's never been done before!"

"Uh, Peridot," came a voice from behind. "It has been done before."

"What? Who?" Peridot turned to see Garnet smiling. The tall Crystal Gem pointed to Steven.

"Oh…" A green blush crossed her cheeks and she rubbed the back of her head. "Well...of course," she stuttered, "I meant, no one's ever done it in Kindergarten before."

Jasper laughed heartily. She and Steven had grown close over the years, after he had healed her corruption and helped her overcome her personal animosity toward the Crystal Gems - and Steven especially.

They had even fused during the great war - "JasperUniverse" Amethyst called them, and together they were a force to be reckoned with. Their SpinDash used Steven's Shield (formerly called Rose's Shield) as a force-multiplier. Hovering in front, it turned Jasper's ball into an unbreakable juggernaut, smashing through Yellow Diamond's line of defenses. Jasper's military expertise, paired with Steven's immunity to the Gem Destabilizer meant that JasperUniverse was an unstoppable force in battles against the Homeworld defenses. They led their squad straight into Yellow Diamond's palace, forcing her to surrender.

"So how does this work anyway?" asked Jasper.

"I'm glad you asked," responded Pearl. "We…"

"It's quite simple, really," interrupted Peridot excitedly. "Being a Kindergarten technician for over 5,000 years, it was a simple matter of extrapolating the methods that Rose used to create Steven - well, not exactly of course - I mean, we didn't have to make Connie get born again!" she laughed. Pearl rolled her eyes. "Yes, well," the tall, slender Crystal Gem continued, "I was with Rose when she decided to...um...have Steven. So I did research in areas of organic biology, animal husbandry, and...and with that knowledge, helped Peridot with...those details."

"Yes, and my exhaustive studies of the earth species over the last 40 years have shown me how to meld both morphologies into one," said Peridot. "Funny...it's quite similar to the way that Steven fuses with pure Gems, except I've combined that process into the Kindergarten injector."

"We've combined it," corrected Pearl.

"And you're sure Connie's not experiencing any pain?" asked Steven.

"Oh, no!" said Pearl. "Steven, you know how I feel about Connie; I would never let her undergo such a procedure like that if it wasn't safe and pain-free. I put her into a deep sleep before we began the procedure; she's completely unconscious. When she wakes up, it will feel like she's had a long sleep."

"Except she'll be like me; half-human, half-gem."

"With all of your natural gem abilities: shape-shifting, enhanced strength, speed, durability,"

"And resistance to Anti-Gem Weaponry?" asked Jasper. "We could sure use Connie in our battles against Blue Diamond's Gem army!" Blue Diamond had escaped the war and fled Homeworld with her loyal followers. They've been battling the Crystal Gems in skirmishes ever since.

"Oh, absolutely!" said Pearl.

"What about her unique Gem powers?"

"That's the best part, isn't it Peridot?" said Garnet.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Asked Jasper inquisitively.

"I gave Connie a totally new Gem," boasted Peridot. "So in a way, I have no idea what her Gem powers will be!"

"Hmm. A bit of a gamble, don't you two think?" thought Jasper out loud.

"Perhaps. But well-thought-out gambles can offer good surprises," smiled Garnet.

"So what is this new Gem?"

"Steven, show Jasper the type of Gem you two chose for Connie," said Garnet. Steven reached into his pocket and took out a round, beautifully faceted, deep blue Gem.

"Nice!" Said Jasper. "Not a sapphire?"

"Blue Topaz," responded Steven. "It's a gemstone that's naturally found in Sri Lanka. She and I thought it appropriate, since her family's from that island."

"There weren't any Topaz crystals found in the Prime or Beta Kindergartens?" Jasper wondered.

"None at all, said Peridot. "Topaz is commonly associated with silicic igneous rocks of the granite and rhyolite type. It typically crystallizes in granitic pegmatites or in vapor cavities in rhyolite lava flows, including…"

"Too scientificy," laughed Steven. "Less big words."

Peridot gave him "the look."

"No, not in either of those," she responded dryly. I did manage to locate some topaz minerals in the vicinity of Beta Kindergarten in Facet Nine, but we're talking hundreds of miles away. So back when we were operating the Kindergartens, we weren't making any Topaz Gems. Connie will be the very first."

"Steven, you ready?"

"All set," he told Garnet. It was time to return to The Cluster. They stepped onto the Warp Pad and traveled to the site where he and Peridot had drilled a permanent hole, in Death Valley. Steven had been working with Garnet over the years, trying to find and reassemble Gem shards, in hopes of regenerating their Gem friends. They stepped into the super-engineered Gem Drill (redesigned and built years ago by Pearl) and began their descent.

Finding and reassembling Gem shards is a painstaking process, but with Steven's Empathic Telepathy powers, he's able to "speak" to The Cluster, and with Garnet's "future vision" and patient demeanor, they've actually managed over the years to rejoin dozens of Gems, thus adding to the Crystal Gem population. Steven and Garnet would find what they believed to be a potential shard, bubble it, and teleport the shard to Peridot in the new Kindergarten, who would work on piecing the shards into a complete Gem.

They arrived at The Cluster, and Steven's Gem glowed; he closed his eyes. He soon found himself floating in darkness, hearing the many seeming incoherent voices of the Gem shards speaking all at once.

The Cluster: "Hi! Oh, hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! Oh, hi!"

Steven: "Hi again! It's me, Steven."

The Cluster: "Steven! Steven! Steven!"

Steven: "I'm looking for any shards that might have been part of Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG. Can you help me?"

The Cluster: "Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG! Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG! Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG!..."

This goes on for some time. The voices echo out into the distance. Steven waits patiently. Garnet as well, sitting next to him in the Gem Drill.

Suddenly…in the distance...

The Cluster: "Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG! Me! Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG! Me! Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG! Me!"

Steven: "Where are you?"

The Shard: "Here! Here! Here!"

"Garnet!" Steven said waking up. "A shard spoke to me! It's over in this direction!" Garnet navigated the drill to the precise location. Once they arrived, Steven stepped outside and, finding the specific shard, bubbled and teleported it.

"Good job, Steven," Garnet tells him.

"I don't want to leave yet," he responded. "I have a feeling we can get more shards for this Gem."

"Very well, but don't overdo. I know this takes a lot out of you. Do you want to return to the drill?"

"No, I'll stay here by The Cluster. I think the shards aren't far." Levitating his body over The Cluster, he closed his eyes and his Gem glowed. He heard the voice again.

The Shard: "Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG! Me! Here! Here! Here!"

Steven: "Where are you?"

The Shard: "Here! Here! Here!"

He opened his eyes and saw it; right near him! Steven attempted to communicate with it directly.

Steven: "Any others? Are there others?"

"Many"

"Where"

"Not far"

"Can you show me?"

"Yes"

"Garnet! Follow me!" And holding the Shard, he levitated in the direction it was "leading" him, with Garnet following behind.

They arrived at the spot, and Steven could sense the anxiety of the shard he was holding - and the nearby shards.

Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG Gem shards: "Form!"

Steven: "I hear you! Let me help you!"

Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG Gem shards: "Have to... Want to... Need to... Must!"

Steven: "Wait! Please, not here!"

Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG Gem shards: "Steven"

Steven: "Yes, I'm Steven. Let me take you where you can form."

Facet-1A1L Cut-1HG Gem shards: "Steven" And the shards began to calm down.

"Steven!" Garnet called out, concerned.

"It's OK! I'm going to bubble these shards and teleport them to Peridot." And he proceeded to send them off. As he was doing that, he could sense relief in the shards, as if they were saying:

"Steven"

"Thank"

"You"

"Steven! Yo, Steven!" Amethyst called out in the Beach House. "Where you at, dude?"

"He isn't here, Amethyst," Pearl called back.

"I figured he'd be sleeping in, after all that work he and Garnet did in The Cluster yesterday. What's he doing? Hanging out down at the beach?"

"No, silly! Don't you know what day it is?"

"Duh! Saturday."

"No, I mean, the date."

Amethyst racked her brain, trying to think of what's special about this day. Mayor Dewey Jr's birthday? No. Labor Day? No, that's on a Monday, and it's not September. Steven's birthday? No. Then it hit her. "Oh…"

"Yes. It's Greg's birthday. Steven's at the cemetery."

"Hi, Dad, happy birthday." Steven knelt in front of his father's gravestone. "I wrote a new song. Wanna hear it?" He took out his Ukulele and played his new tune. When he was finished, he sighed. "Hope you liked it. Connie helped a bit; you know how talented she is. By the way, guess what? She's gonna become a Crystal Gem just like me! That's right! Pearl and Peridot have a process where they infuse her with a Gem. When they're done, she'll be half-Gem, half-human like I am. We'll get to be together forever!"

Steven stopped suddenly. His voice broke. "I kinda wish they'd figured out how to do that before...before you...you died." He sniffed.

"I miss you, Dad." He put his Ukulele and sat there for a good while silently.

He got up to leave and put his hand on the gravestone. Smiling a bit, he said "Well, say hi to Mom for me."

"Cool! Another Quartz?"

"Yep. Those shards that Steven brought back were the last few pieces I needed to rebuild this Gem," said Peridot. She and Amethyst were in the Gamma Kindergarten, where the regenerating Quartz Gem was "cooking" (Amethyst's word). Peridot examined the control panel connected to the injector. "Let's contact Garnet, Pearl and Steven; they'll want to see this."

"Oh, hey! Jasper's gonna want to see, too!" Said Amethyst.

"Sure, sure, bring them all," Peridot waved her hand. But don't take too long, this one'll be ready to come out in a day." Amethyst rushed back to the Crystal Temple.

"OK, she should be ready," said Peridot excitedly. The Gems all stood near the rock wall where the reconstituted Quartz Gem had been placed. Suddenly cracks in the wall began to appear, followed by a rumbling sound, with bright light shining through the cracks.

"This is it!" shouted Garnet.

A loud crash, and a fist punched out of the rockside! Then a hole broke through and a Quartz Gem stepped out. She was large and muscular, nearly as big as Jasper. She had a bright yellow gem on her left shoulder. Standing at the rockside hole, she stared at the assembled crowd quizzically.

One member of the group recognized her immediately. "Citrine!" Yelled Pearl, and rushed to embrace the new Gem.

"Pearl!" Citrine responded, and joyfully picked Pearl up. "So good to see a familiar face!" Citrine looked around. "Where the heck am I? Where's Rose?"

Well, that's the first chapter anyway. I needed some kind of a "kick" to get me back into fanfic writing. Let me know what you think. Any thoughts, corrections, please let me know!