A/N: Review Responses!

excentricaluli: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it and will have more chapters out as soon as I can! :)

If I Could Begin To Be: Thanks! I try.

ali2331: Thank you!

Thundercatlost: Haha, thanks. I've been trying really hard to keep them in character, it's pretty difficult. What I do is imagine the character's voices in my head, saying the dialogue, and I write their lines accordingly. I'm excited to write this as well! By the way, I read your story and I really enjoyed it! :D

Chapter 4

Lapis and Peridot walked next to each other, the shorter gem carrying Pumpkin like a baby. Good practice, she figured. She would have to hold their real baby at some point. She glanced over at Lapis, who didn't notice Peridot staring. Lapis's stomach was still flat, so no one could have guessed she was pregnant yet at first glance. Perfect. Their plan would work.

oooOOOooo

The couple strolled up the sandy beach towards the gem temple. Today they would be revealing what they had been hiding for a while: the child.

Peridot peeked at Lapis again, who looked tired more tired than she ever had before.

"Are you OK, Lapis?" she asked, concerned. Pumpkin gave a worried whimper from Peridot's arms. Upon Lapis's sigh, the short green gem averted her eyes from her partner quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit... tired," Lapis answered. "The whole fatigue thing is hitting me hard, I guess." She stared off into the ocean as they walked up to the little wooden house built in the temple's stone arms. Peridot was about to knock on the door, but it burst open seemingly of its own accord before she could.

"They're here!" shouted a familiar childlike voice. Steven dashed outside to greet them. He wrapped his arms around Peridot in a tight embrace that left the latter gasping for breath. He turned and was about to do the same to Lapis, but she held an arm out hurriedly to stop him.

"I, um, can't take hugs at the moment," she blurted swiftly, giving Steven a pat on the head. Peridot noticed her cheeks had blushed a deep blue when she practically scurried inside to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

When Peridot entered the house, she immediately saw Lapis sitting on the couch looking extremely embarrassed. Pearl approached the two to welcome them.

"Hello, Peridot! Hello, Lapis! What brings you here so late?" she asked. Peridot noticed she had her spear out, and she held it at her side with the bottom of the shaft resting on the ground.

"Steven invited us, but there were some... minor complications getting here." Minor complications being someone was too tired to walk properly, she thought. Not that I hold it against her. "What's with the spear?" Peridot inquired, gesturing at said weapon. Pearl looked at it, then smiled.

"Oh, this? Garnet, Amethyst and I just got back from a mission. Steven stayed home waiting for you to get here," answered Pearl as her spear disappeared in a burst of light. Peridot looked over at where Lapis was sitting, looking a bit queasy. Steven plopped on the couch next to the blue gem with a grin. With the sudden bounce of the couch, Lapis clutched her stomach. She looked at Steven awkwardly.

"Um, can I maybe... use your bathroom?" she asked, her face getting greener by the second. Steven nodded, confused. Lapis rushed into the bathroom with a slam of the door. Peridot looked at the bathroom door worriedly.

"Is she OK?" asked Steven. "She looked really sick." Peridot thought for a moment, desperately trying to think of an answer that wouldn't give away their surprise.

"Yeah, she just ate some...rotten...scrambled eggs...?" she fibbed. Steven nodded like he understood, but Peridot could tell he didn't believe her.

When Lapis emerged from the bathroom, wiping her mouth, Peridot briskly pulled her aside.

"Lapis, were you throwing up again?" she asked with concern. Lapis didn't meet her eyes.

"No..." She tried lying. Peridot rolled her eyes.

"I'm too smart for that." Peridot tried again to make eye contact with Lapis, who looked off to one side.

"Fine, I was. But please stop worrying about me!" said Lapis as she crossed her arms over her chest. She glanced at Peridot, and for a split second their eyes finally met. Peridot read the misery in Lapis's eyes, mixed together with some fear and a lot of pain.

"But how can I stop worrying if you won't stop being sick?" she asked her partner, who turned away so she was facing the wall.

"Is everything OK here?" questioned Steven, approaching the pair. Upon seeing their looks, he obviously regretted his decision. "Uh, did I walk in at the wrong time?"

Peridot sighed and then spoke.

"Lapis and I have something to announce."

oooOOOooo

Lapis, Peridot, Steven, and the other three Crystal Gems sat together in the front room. Lapis, Steven, and Pearl sat on the couch, Garnet and Amethyst sat on the floor nearby, and Peridot stood next to where Lapis was sitting. Lapis slowly stood up beside Peridot.

"We...have an announcement..." declared Peridot.

"Yeah, we know." Amethyst shoved an entire foot-long sub sandwich down her throat, then licked the sauce off her fingers.

"You know already?" said Peridot in shock. "Well, then why are we even doing this whole thing to tell you?!" She began to pace around the room, clutching her triangular hair.

"No, no, we know you have an announcement," chuckled Amethyst. Peridot's stiff shoulders relaxed and she stopped in her tracks.

"Oh." She brushed her hands together as if wiping dust off of them. "I knew that."

"Well, anyway, it's really important to us and I hope it will be to you, too," added Lapis. Peridot elbowed her arm gently. "I mean, WE hope that." Pumpkin barked and hopped up to sit next to Steven on the couch.

"So our big announcement is..." Peridot looked around.

"Dude, just tell us already!" said Amethyst impatiently.

"Lapis is pregnant!" declared Peridot with a huge grin. Lapis beamed as well. The rest of the group looked shocked. Finally Steven broke the silence.

"I'm gonna be a kind-of-sort-of-uncle after all!" he exclaimed with a wide smile. He reached over and hugged them both. "I'm so happy for you guys!"

"So, not to be rude, but how did you..." Pearl asked, trailing off.

"I wished on a star," Peridot said matter-of-factly. Amethyst burst out laughing.

"What? You can't wish on a star and have a baby!" she chuckled. Peridot blushed.

"Well- I did!" she defended. Amethyst wiped away a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye.

"OK, OK, I get it!" she laughed, but Peridot heard the amusement in her voice. Steven was busy examining Lapis's stomach. Lapis laughed as Steven tickled her midsection.

"So when's the due date?" he asked, looking up at her. He saw her eyes widen.

"Um..." She thought for a bit. "I don't know. How do I figure that out?"

"Well, you have to go to the doctor, get a whole checkup, that kind of thing," answered Steven.

"I'm not doing that," Lapis remarked stubbornly and crossed her arms. She rubbed her stomach gently. "I can probably guess about when the baby will come." Steven nodded.

"I can't wait to be a kind-of-sort-of-uncle!" he said with a grin. "Have you thought of any names yet?" At this, Lapis was once again baffled by the question.

"Um, not yet. We only found out about the baby about a week ago." She took a seat on the couch and Steven promptly sat next to her. Amongst the noise from the others as Peridot talked excitedly to the Crystal Gems, Lapis and Steven just sat in silence. He was out of questions to ask and she was out of things to discuss. They were both in deep thought.

"Are you going to live?" When Lapis heard this, she looked over at Steven. He was staring at her with his shiny dark eyes, and she recognized sadness in them. Sighing, she tried to formulate an answer in her head and failed.

"Steven..." She caught the depressed expression on his face and felt as if he had transferred some of his sadness to her. "Peridot and I already discussed this. I... I really don't know." She looked awkwardly down at her feet.

"This is why I said I thought this wouldn't work earlier," Steven replied. "This is gonna be my mom all over again!" He buried his head in his hands, and Lapis immediately wished she had lied to spare him the grief.

"Listen, Steven." She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You saved me from being trapped in that mirror, and I can't just let you down. I'm gonna find a way to have this baby and live to tell about it!" Steven looked up hopefully.

"Really?"

"Really!" All the former fear and uncertainty disappeared and gave way to a new confidence. "I think there has to be a way to do it."

oooOOOooo

"I got it, I got it!" shouted Steven, running to hit the volleyball. It soared back over the net towards the Crystal Gems. Amethyst slid on the sand to stop the ball from hitting the ground, and bopped it over to the other side. Peridot lunged forward and smacked the ball over the net. Every time the ball flew toward Lapis's side of the net, she got more and more nervous for her baby and what would happen if she got hit by the ball.

Pearl hit the ball almost delicately, and it soared over to the other side. Lapis glanced up, and it was headed straight for her. With a squeak of surprise, she hopped out of harm's way. Steven leaped over to hit the ball back. Embarrassed, Lapis smoothed her dress.

"I think I should sit this game out," she declared, walking off the court. Steven watched her leave sadly. As he stared, the ball came down next to him and landed on the court.

"Point us!" yelled Amethyst from the other side of the court. Ignoring this, Steven and Peridot ran over to check on Lapis.

"Are you forfeiting?" Amethyst shrieked after them.

"Lapis, what's wrong?" asked Peridot worriedly. She sat down next to Lapis, who buried her head in her hands. Peridot groaned.

"I despise it when you put your head in your hands like that. You're not acting all moody and irritable again, are you?" she asked, looking at her partner with an annoyed expression on her face. Lapis gave a little snort of laughter and looked up. There was a smudge on her face.

"No, no! I got mud on my face," she chuckled, wiping away the smudge. Peridot smiled at her own mistake. She helped Lapis off the ground and followed her inside the house. Steven trailed behind the pair. Garnet carried the ball inside as Pearl and Amethyst folded up the net and put it away.

"I'm really sorry I ruined the volleyball game," Lapis apologized as they walked in.

"No, it's fine. You didn't ruin it," Peridot replied, smiling. "Maybe someday we can play another game, with the baby." At this, Lapis grinned.

"Maybe so." She rubbed her stomach softly. "Maybe so."

A/N: Yay, another chapter! And now the Crystal Gems know about the new baby as well! I might be biased because I wrote it, but I thought Steven's reaction was pretty cute. I'm sorry I didn't have much of the Crystal Gems in this chapter, I will try to include them more in future chapters. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review if you enjoyed! See you next chapter!