It was the next day, and the gems spent most of the morning in their rooms in the Temple. In the afternoon though, they all emerged around the same time, and Greg came over so they could discuss where to go from here.

"I could always stay up in Steven's room for a bit to help out, but I don't want to intrude." Greg said while making himself a sandwich with whatever was left in the fridge from before the accident. "You probably don't even need me around anymore, you guys can just all get back to fighting 'gem crime' and stuff."

"Oh Greg, but I want you here." Rose was shocked that he thought she wouldn't want him around.

"It wouldn't be so bad, would it?" This time fourteen years ago, Pearl would've never said that. Even though things were weird now with Rose being back, Pearl & Greg had figured things out prior to everything. So it was nice to know that even to some extent, Greg felt welcomed by the 'warrior' gem.

"Where is he? Where's Steven?" Connie barged through the door, Rose's sword on her back.

"My sword, you have it." Was all Rose could say. She didn't know who this girl was or why she had her sword.

Connie's phone fell out of her hand and onto the floor, as she stood in disbelief. Lion walked through the door and his eyes grew wide. He ran over to Rose, who bent down and hugged him tight. "My lion, you are safe."

Connie was beginning to connect the dots. She looked at the painting above her, then back at the mysterious gem. "Wait, are you-?"

"Connie, this is Rose. Rose, meet Connie. Steven's best friend." Pearl was holding back tears. As exciting as this was, Pearl also had to explain that Steven wasn't coming back. "Steven's gem...the rose quartz...well, Rose came back instead of Steven."

"No, no that can't be. How can he just poof like that? He's a human, he can't do that!"

"We didn't know what Steven could or couldn't do. He's the first of his kind." Garnet calmly spoke. As hard as it was for the gems to welcome Rose back, Connie had only ever known Steven. That was Sapphire's rational at least; Ruby thought it was harder for the gems because they had known Rose for thousands of years before Steven had come along, but agree to disagree.

"You were Steven's best friend? I thought the people from the donut shop were?"

"Rose, humans sometimes...rank their friends. Like a gem hierarchy, but for friendships," Amethyst was trying to explain this in the most simplest terms. "Connie and Steven 'ranked' each other at the top."

"How-how did this happen? When did this happen? Is he going to come back?" Connie's eyes filled with tears, as Lion made his way over to her. She cried into his mane, and Rose wrapped her arms around the small girl.

"Some things happen that are out of our control. What I do know is that you seem to care a lot about Steven, and so do I. Let's focus on that." Rose guided Connie outside and they sat together on the beach while Rose rubbed Connie's back to calm her down. Connie closed her eyes for a moment and began to sing, softly and slowly.

"Here comes a thought that might alarm me

What someone said and how it harmed me

Something I did that failed to be charming

Things that I said are suddenly swarming

And, oh, I'm losing sight, I'm losing touch

All these little things seem to matter so much

That they confuse me

That I might lose me

Take a moment, remind yourself

To take a moment and find yourself

Take a moment and ask yourself

If this is how we fall apart

But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay

I've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear

I'm here, I'm here, I'm here."

"That was a beautiful song, my dear." Rose spoke softly, giving Connie a chance to gather her thoughts.

Connie took a deep breath. "Steven changed me. He gave me a reason to have fun, he was my first friend. He gave me the experience of being with him side by side in combat, and together dancing as one as Stevonnie. They're the reason he's gone, I'm the reason he's gone."

"Steven wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this. You two seem to have had amazing experiences together, and you must keep those close to your heart. Just because Steven's gone doesn't mean the magic is. Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst welcomed you in for life, not just for Steven. You need to look after them, and they'll look after you too."

"Steven really wanted to meet you. He talked about you all the time."
"I'm glad I got to meet his best friend today, you are something special, my Connie."


Later that night, after Connie had fallen asleep on the couch, Rose sat with Lion under the stars.

"Thank you for looking after him this whole time, and Connie too." Lion nuzzled Rose when he heard her say that. "I needed to make sure he stayed safe, that I stayed safe."

Lion looked up at Rose and roared at the sky. "I know Lion, I need to tell them all, but not just yet. I'm not ready…"