"And we try to keep our spirits high. But they flag and they wave when the truck pulls up out front in the light spring rain, and they sag like withering flowers. Let the good times roll on through these first few desperate hours."

Sam slowly regained her consciousness. At first she thought that death was just an eternity of blackness and silence. But as she began to hear those familiar lyrics, she started to think that there was more to it. Her eyes opened and were met with a wooden roof above her. She was confused, frightened even, but she felt Iggy next to her. That small bear that helped keep her together all these years. Her best friend. She squeezed him close to her. She started slowly looking around, her eyes drawn to the source of the music she loved so much. What she saw confused her further. There was a small purple gnome like being sitting in front of the tape deck that was playing the music. Beyond her were two other strangely colored beings and a small child. They all looked like they were deep in conversation until eye contact was made with the green one who was the only figure that was actually facing her direction.

"Samantha Lynch is awake." Peridot said casually. Immediately everybody turned to look at her. This was not a good thing for Sam to see, because she assumed she was about to be attacked. She sat up in the bed and started frantically searching for her box cutter and finding nothing. But a soothing, albeit slightly raspy voice rang out. "Hey, relax. We aren't going to hurt you, nobody wants to do anything to you. Just take it easy, you've been through a lot." It was the purple one with the white tank top. Sam stared at her, becoming aware of how quickly she was breathing. After a few silent minutes Sam finally spoke.

"So… Am I dead? Is this… Y'know, the place you go?" Peridot spoke up again. "No, Samantha Lynch, you are currently situated in a barn belonging to Greg Universe, and by extension, your savior, Steven Universe." She gestured to the small boy who was staring at her with very sad eyes. Steven, as she had learned was his name, stood up and ran over to her. He leapt through the air and onto the bed and just started hugging her. This made Sam very uneasy, but she didn't stop him. She actually put an arm around him. It was then that she noticed the large red stain on her wrist and the scar underneath it. "Oh… Yeah…" was all she could get out before she put her other arm around Steven. She no longer questioned the hug, instead welcoming it, resting her head on top of Steven's.

"Your love is like a cyclone in a swamp, and the weather's getting warmer." That line caught Amethyst off guard. That whole song did. It made her think of Pearl and Garnet. How their relationship had started to turn sour. But she shook her head. No time for being miserable now. Someone else was already doing that right in front of her.

"You've been out for about 4 hours," Amethyst began, as the tape deck started singing something about houses in disrepair and fabulous prizes. "Steven saw you at the Big Donut. He wanted to bring you a box of donuts, but he found you covered in your own blood in an alley. He healed you before you were gone completely, so you passed out instead of away."

Sam let go of Steven and held up a hand. "Wait, what do you mean he healed me? Did he have a first aid kit handy or something?" Steven finally let go of Sam. "Uhm…" he began. "Have you ever heard of gems?" Sam nodded slowly. "I think so? They're just a myth though, a conspiracy or something." Steven shook his head and showed his naval gem. Sam stared at it in awe before looking to the others. Amethyst smiled and pulled her tank top down slightly to reveal her quartz crystal. Peridot merely pointed at her forehead and Lapis turned around and showed off her teardrop on her back.

"I speak in smoke signals and you answer in code. The fuse will have to run out sometime. Something here will eventually have to explode, have to explode." The tape had continued on as the gems explained to Sam the details of gems and their powers. She wasn't entirely convinced she was still alive, but it didn't matter. She was enjoying herself. These strangers were showing off for her. Steven had his shield and bubble, Peridot was ecstatic to show off her metal powers, Amethyst shapeshifted into an owl and flew around the barn, and Lapis spread her water wings and chased the purple owl around the barn. For the first time in years, a smile crept across the face of Samantha Lynch.

"It's just Sam, by the way," she explained to Peridot who continued to call her by her full first and last name up until just now. "Er, alright. Sam it is," said the green gem. "As enjoyable as this has been, Sam, I think we deserve some answers. If only so we may be able to further aid you." Lapis did not like the way Peridot phrased that. "Ugh, Peridot, you can't just force her to do that. If she wants to talk, she can, but don't make her feel obligated to do anything." Peridot looked upset. "Lapis, calm down, I wasn't trying to hurt her feelings, I was merely suggesting that Sam tell us all she can so we can help her. That's what all of this is for, right? Or are you just going to fly off the handle for no good reason yet again? You know, a trademark Lazuli temper tantrum." Lapis glared at Peridot menacingly, but Peridot glared right back. Amethyst stood up and walked over next to Peridot, saying "Come on you two, knock it off, not now." Sam didn't want anything to start, so she started talking.

"Both of you are right. Peridot, was it? I should explain. You've all treated me with more compassion than I've received since I was 12. The least I could do is tell you what brought me here. And you, uh… never told me your name…" Lapis looked over and flatly just said "I'm Lapis Lazuli." Sam smiled. "That's a pretty name. Lapis, you were right too. As helpful as you've all been, it's very uncomfortable for me to talk about what happened. I'm not quite sure I even remember all the details. I'm so hungry, I'm not even sure I would be able to tell everything."

Steven interjected, "Oh right! I went grocery shopping! Guys, if she wants to talk, why not do it over some dinner! I got some grocery store rotisserie chicken! Come on, let's dig in before it gets cold! Well… Colder anyway." The other gems appeared to ease up some at that notion. Sam stumbled out of bed, but Amethyst rushed over to help her in her weakened state.

"It's ok, fam, I got you. Just lean on me, you'll be better in no time." Sam did as she was instructed and after walking a few feet over to a table that Steven had set up, she was sat down in front of a plate of chicken breast with white bread and a bottle of water. Some would argue that it's not a very good meal, but to Sam, it was a feast. She immediately dug in, forgoing all manners she may have learned about when she was younger. The other gems sat around her, though only Steven would eat with her with his own plate.

As she finished, she sat back, satisfied. "That was absolutely delicious… Thank you all so much. I've never been treated like this by anybody… And by aliens no less! It's all so surreal. You sure this isn't Heaven?" Her joke seemed kind of dark. The gems frowned, except Amethyst who cracked a smile. "Not Heaven," Amethyst said, "but Beach City is the next best thing. Especially when you roll with the Crystal Gems." Sam was grinning with something she hadn't felt in quite some time; excitement for the future.

"What will I do when I don't have you? When I finally get what I deserve?" the tape continued to play. Sam finally realized what was playing. "Hey… Hey, this is my tape!" Amethyst frowned. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone through your stuff, but you were out cold and I thought that maybe your music would-" Sam cut her off. "Amethyst, it's ok. Really. I just didn't think anybody else liked The Mountain Goats. John Darnielle doesn't have a voice for everyone." Amethyst smiled, relieved that there were no hard feelings, but then looked puzzled. "Wait, how did you know my name? Nobody said it since you woke up…" Sam shrugged. "Call it a hunch. I mean with the exception of Steven, you're all named after your gems. You're purple, just like your gem, but a pale kind of purple. So you struck me as an amethyst. Looks like I was right." Sam had helped herself to another plate of chicken before walking over to the tape deck. Amethyst followed as the other gems talked with each other.

"How does he do it?" Amethyst asked. "How does he write things like this? It's so raw, so real…" Sam chuckled slightly. "I wish I knew. Maybe then I would have my own albums out. Maybe I wouldn't be homeless. But it's good, isn't it? It's like he sings what you've felt but never had the words to express it." Amethyst nodded, unable to help but draw comparisons between what was being sung and her relationship with the other gems back at the temple.

"Speaking of expressing things," Sam said as the tape ended, "I think I'm ready to go over everything. Come on, we can talk about music later. I owe everyone here an explanation. It's going to hurt, but if you guys are going to be my first real friends, I think this is a good start. That is, of course, if you uhm… think of me as a friend… I certainly think that way of all of you..." Amethyst stared at her for a minute. Sam was basically asking permission to be friends with all of them. A smile slowly crept across Amethyst's face when she realized this. She nodded once and they both walked over to join Steven, Peridot, and Lapis to start telling the story of how Sam got to Beach City.