After four days of little rest and food, Greg finally snapped. "I knew these missions were too dangerous! I knew I shouldn't have let him go on them. I thought you were all responsible enough to not let anything happen to him!" Greg scoured at the floor, not even sorry for what he'd just said. He was angry, he was hurt, he was upset. He was, in fact, grieving. He'd resigned himself to the fact that Steven might never be back. That this gem might be all he had left of Rose, of his son, of his family. The worst part was that he partially blamed himself too. He never should have let Steven do something so dangerous. He was his father, and what kind of dad let his son get killed by a monster?
"Greg, you need to rest." Pearl placed an affectionate, almost motherly hand, on his back. "Sometimes it can take awhile for a gem to regenerate. Not taking care of yourself won't bring him back any faster. Regeneration can take weeks. You can't keep going on like this." She tried not to let it show how much his words had hurt. The gems had done nothing but blame themselves since the incident. They didn't need a reminder of how they had failed, or how much they had hurt Greg.
The human gave an exasperated sigh, laying back across the bed, his legs still hanging from the edge. He did feel exhausted, drained emotionally, physically, and mentally. He really could use a rest. But he was reluctant to let the Crystal Gems watch over the Rose Quartz gem, after they'd failed to protect Steven's human body.
Pearl didn't mention that Steven might not know HOW to regenerate. But he was a strong, smart boy. He'd figure it out... if it was possible. If there was even some piece of him left. She couldn't let Greg give up hope. Steven had said she took two whole weeks to regenerate, and that was for a simply sword through the torso. Steven had received much more damage-the incident flashed again in Pearl's mind, and she had to quickly turn away from Greg to hide her fearful tears.
She began to head back down the steps the Rose Quartz gem pressed to her chest. But her departure did not go unnoticed by Greg, even in his weakened state.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" He excalimed as he bolted upright.
Pearl tried to brush away the moisture on her face, as she turned to him. She had to be strong for him. "You need rest and food. Steven will be safe in the temple while you recover. You won't bring him back any faster by causing yourself physical harm." she said, matter-of-factly.
Greg looked like he was about to speak up and argue, but seemed to think better of it. His vision was becoming clouded and blurry, and he had to admit to himself that he was reaching his limit. He was still extremely worried about Steven, but he also knew that Pearl was right about taking a break.
Maybe she was telling the truth, too, and Steven would assuradely be back. After all, the Crystal Gems knew a lot more about being a gem than he did. All he know about was being human, and when humans died they were gone for good. But Steven handn't died. He had just... gone away. Greg had seen it happen to Amethyst before, but she usually came back in a matter of minutes. Not even knowing if Steven could regenerate was killer.
He crawled under the covers of the bed that normally belonged to Steven. It was weird, sleeping here and not in his van. But he wanted to be nearby in case anything happened regarding Steven. He wished he was like the gems, and didn't have to sleep or eat or rest. But his wishful thinking did not come true, and soon Greg was fast asleep, snoring away the afternoon, his dreams full of his little boy.
