Chapter One

"Hey, Lapis!" greeted Peridot as she walked into the barn the two gems lived in together. "There's a new season of Camp Pining Hearts out!" Peridot waved the DVD disc of the new episodes in the blue gem's face. The latter wrinkled her nose and pushed the DVD out of her face to get a better look.

"Um, cool. Hey, I was kinda, sorta, in the middle of something, so..." Lapis trailed off, looking at Peridot meaningfully.

"What were you in the middle of?" asked the short green gem, knitting her eyebrows.

"Cleaning. You should see how dirty this barn floor actually is. Actually, don't. It's disgusting," replied Lapis. She waved her hand at a nearby bucket of cleaning solution and maneuvered it with her hydrokinesis powers to spread itself on the floor and scrub at the stubborn layer of dirt and grime.

"So... do you... want to watch?" asked Peridot awkwardly as Lapis controlled the floating cleaning solution so it splashed back into the bucket.

"Uh, I guess. This floor is seriously disgusting," said Lapis with a little grin. She summoned her water wings and took Peridot by the shoulders. Together they flew up to their favorite place to watch Camp Pining Hearts: the truck that had been stuck into the barn and converted into a cozy viewing area. Lapis plopped Peridot down onto the floor of the truck, then gracefully sat herself as her water wings disappeared. Peridot slid the disc into the DVD player and switched on the TV.

The opening theme of Camp Pining Hearts blared on as the two gems got settled among the various pillows and cushions.

"Aww, another flashback episode?" said Peridot in annoyance as the show began. "I'm tired of seeing the characters as these tiny, strange looking infants in those... what are they called... puffy white baby pants?"

"You mean diapers?" chuckled Lapis, snorting a bit as she laughed.

"Goo. Gah goo gahhhhh!" screamed the baby on-screen.

"But yeah, I totally agree with you. There's way too many baby episodes. Strangely." said Lapis, crossing one leg over the other. "There's something about it, though..."

"You...stole...my blankie!" yelled the baby in Camp Pining Hearts.

"What do you mean?" Peridot paused the show and looked at the blue gem next to her.

"I mean, I'm glad we're here together, but...it gets lonely sometimes. That's why we tried with the corn. And that obviously didn't work. And we do have Pumpkin, but... I don't know. He can't exactly talk to us or anything." explained Lapis.

"So, what does that have to do with Camp Pining Hearts?" asked Peridot, still confused.

"Well, even though the babies can be a pain in the neck for the adults, they do make life more interesting..." said Lapis with a sigh.

"So we should plant more seeds and grow humans instead of corn?" inquired Peridot, even more befuddled then before.

"Well, I don't think that's how it works..." said Lapis.

"I've thought about that too. It does get lonely around here sometimes," said Peridot, shifting spots on her seat. "It would be nice to have a little...um, infant thing, to give us some company."

"Yeah, but how do we get one?" asked Lapis. "I'm actually not that sure."

"Uh...plant them?" guessed Peridot with a shrug.

"I'm pretty sure that's not it. Maybe we could ask Steven." suggested Lapis.

"Wait! We need to finish this CPH episode first!" cried Peridot, grabbing Lapis's skirt before the latter could fly away.

oooOOOooo

"So, how exactly could we get a...baby?" Lapis asked as she sat on the beige couch in the gem temple. Steven thought before answering.

"Well, you could have it yourself, but I'm not sure that would work, like my mom... oh, you could adopt a baby!" he said, snapping his fingers as he came up with the answer.

"OK, well, where could we adopt one?" asked Lapis. Peridot, sitting beside her, kicked her legs in excitement.

"Um...the orphanage, I guess," answered Steven.

"When can we go?" demanded Peridot quickly.

oooOOOooo

"And you're looking to adopt a young child?" inquired the woman behind the orphanage counter.

"Um, yes, we are." responded Lapis. Peridot gave a vigorous nod. The woman stared at her computer screen for a bit, then spoke.

"There will be a fee to adopt, as we need money to keep this orphanage facility running."

"How much is this fee?" asked Peridot, looking at the woman.

"About $1,000," replied the woman. Lapis and Peridot's eyes widened.

"I don't think we can afford that..." uttered Lapis, her voice sounding sad.

"Then I'm sorry, but you cannot adopt a child," repeated the woman. Lapis sighed and put a hand over her face. Peridot looked devastated and a bit angry. In a split second, Lapis stood up straight again.

"OK. Thank you for your time." She grabbed Peridot by the wrist, and half-led, half-dragged her out the door. Once outside, she summoned her water wings and held Peridot by the arms. As she took off, her expression hardened into one of rage.

"We were so close!" she ranted to no one in particular as she flapped her wings almost viciously. "And we seriously have to pay a fee? All this for some company when we could just ask Steven over!" She shook her head angrily.

"Uh, Lapis, you're squeezing my wrists awfully tight. It kind of hurts," Peridot called from below. Lapis grumbled and loosened her grip a small amount.

"Look, Lapis. It's not over. We'll find another way," added Peridot.

"Yeah, we will. What was the other way Steven said there was to get a baby?" said Lapis.

"To have it yourself?" remembered Peridot.

"Then we're going to figure out how to do that and we're going to get this baby!" said Lapis in determination. "I'm so sure of this!"

oooOOOooo

"Yeah, I'm not so sure of this." said Lapis, looking unamused. "This is creepy now that I know about it."

"Well, this is how babies are made..." said Steven, blushing.

"I am not doing this." said Lapis, pointing at the diagram of a cartoon pregnant woman. "Human body systems are so weird...and gross."

"How does the baby even get in there?" asked Peridot. Steven blushed even darker.

"Uhhh. That's, uh, a topic for another time," he said awkwardly. "Well, there's really no other way to have a baby unless you adopt."

"Which we can't do." sighed Lapis. "I guess we don't really need this baby. Just an idea..." She looked extremely sad. Peridot did as well.

"I'm really sorry, guys. I was looking forward to being a kind-of-sort-of-uncle," comforted Steven.

"Come on, Peridot. Back to the barn, I guess." Lapis said gloomily. "Bye, Steven. Thanks for your help."

oooOOOooo

Late that night, long after Lapis had fallen asleep, Peridot creeped out of the barn. Standing on a spare piece of scrap metal, she levitated the metal upwards like an elevator to the truck where they watched Camp Pining Hearts. She quietly stepped off the metal and onto the truck. She took a seat, staring up at the seemingly endless sky of stars. As Garnet had pointed out when she first started living in the barn, a sparkling clump of brighter stars was identifiable as Homeworld Galaxy.

As Peridot looked at each shining star, one stood out in particular: it moved. A shooting star. Peridot followed it with her eyes. She remembered what Steven had often said when he noticed a shooting star in the night sky.

Make a wish!

She continued following the star with her gaze as she formulated exactly the right words in her head.

I wish that Lapis and I could have a baby like we want. I wish Lapis would stop being so sad, because it makes me sad when she's sad. Anyway, I wish to not be lonely anymore. I wish this baby would make a little family. And I wish everything would turn out OK.

Satisfied, she let out a sad little sigh as she recalled the recent events. She hoped her wish would be sufficient enough to create a little family as well as a little happiness.

A/N: Well! There it is. I think it moves a bit too fast and it's too short for my liking, but it gets the point across. This story might end up great, or horrible. Let's find out! Please favorite, follow, and review if you liked it. I really appreciate all favorites and reviews! Thanks! Bye for now.