Just as a heads up, there are some graphic parts of this chapter that may make some people a bit squeamish. I will label where it begins and where it ends.
The whole atmosphere of the illuminated beach house was so thick with concern, and Steven's helpless grunting and moaning only added fuel to the fire. Dr. Maheswaran walked up the stairs to his room, shaking off her jitters about seeing a pink lion sleeping on the couch. Connie assured her mom that Lion was tame and friendly, but her logical mind could only take so much.
The gems surrounded the bed; they moved out of the way to let her through. Steven was on his side facing the window. He was curled up so tight into the fetal position that he resembled that koala alien from that Hawaiian movie. He was sweating, taking shallow breaths, and was extremely pale for his complexion. She noticed that his navel was glowing.
Before she examined him she reached into her black bag, took out and put on her white doctor coat, rubber gloves and headband with a little flashlight attached to it.
"When did these symptoms start occurring?" she asked as she knelt down on the side of the bed.
Lapis tried to keep the edge out of her voice as she said, "It just started ten minutes ago. I was watching him and suddenly he awoke with a start and grabbed his gem. Then he screamed in pain! When I asked him what was wrong, he said that it felt like something was squeezing his body."
"Hmmm…severe abdominal cramping" she said to herself as she pulled out her stethoscope.
"What are you going to do to him?!" inquired Pearl.
Dr. Maheswaran sighed in exasperation. She realized that she couldn't properly do her job if she had to stop every ten seconds and explain what she was doing. That's why they had waiting rooms. Point blank she said to the gems, "I know you're not going to like this, but I need you four to wait outside. I can't properly examine him if you question my every move. You'll get stressed, which in turn stresses the patient and myself. And that's when mistakes can occur."
But Pearl was having none of it. "Absolutely n-"
"We understand" Garnet said cutting her off.
"Garnet, I'm not abandoning him again! And why can Greg stay here?" she asked.
"Well…from what I observed, you four aren't human and Mr. Universe is. So it stands to reason that he would know a bit more about human biology than you four do. Plus, I need someone level headed and he'll have to serve as my nurse" she explained.
Before Pearl could take that as an insult and refute her untrue assumption, Garnet grabbed her shoulder and said, "Let's go" ending the trivial argument.
Once the gems were outside, Dr. Maheswaran said, "Okay, we'll have to get him to uncurl so I can check his heart rate and breathing. Connie -"
"I'm not leaving" she stated although a little harsher than intended.
"I wasn't going to ask you to leave. If you and Steven are as close as I think you are, I think you can help him relax. I need you to be his rock. Can you handle it?" she asked.
Connie understood the implications. Trying to be strong for someone who was clearly in pain wouldn't be easy, but she wouldn't let him down.
Dr. Maheswaran motioned for her to approach him. "Steven…" she hesitantly said, but the only response she received was more moaning. "Steven, it's me…Connie"
Steven slowly opened his eyes and turned over onto his back. "C-Connie…HRGH" he gasped as another wave of pain hit his tiny frame.
"Steven!" Connie shouted.
"Connie! Remember, we have to keep our emotions in check" her mother reminded her. It seemed that Greg needed that reminder as well because he wiped tears out of his eyes and grabbed one of his son's hands.
"It's gonna be alright, bud. You're going to be okay. Dr. Maheswaran is going to check you out and make you better" Although he didn't say it, Dr. Maheswaran picked up the implication of his tone as if he was asking, "Right?"
"I'll do my best" she said as she put on her stethoscope. She put the end of it between her hands to warm it up some.
Connie went over to the other side of the bed and rubbed Steven's curly hair, just to let him know she was here. "Steven…my mom needs to check your heart. Can you lay out straight for me, please?" Connie said with a quiver in her voice.
He nodded, although it looked like every move he made was tortuous to him.
Dr. Maheswaran immediately unbuttoned his night shirt and put the warm stethoscope to the left side of his chest. She gasped and immediately chided herself. Rookie response. Unfortunately it didn't go unnoticed.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Greg.
"His heart rate is dangerously high" she said as she grabbed the hand the Greg was holding. After holding his wrist for a minute she concluded, "190/150"
"What?! He could have a heart attack or stroke!" exclaimed Greg.
"I know. Truthfully, if this has been going on for ten minutes, it's a miracle he didn't die sooner." she replied. Connie was on the verge on breaking down, she couldn't stand the thought of Steven dying in front of her. "And that's not all. Look" Greg and Connie carefully looked at his body. It was twitching and his belly was becoming enlarged.
"What's going on?!" they asked.
Dr. Maheswaran took out a device that looked like an old school Gameboy advance, just bigger. She held it over the swelled area and pressed as sequence of buttons. Soon, thin rays of blue lights scanned over the area.
"This is a portable body scanner. It allows me to see inside a patients' body. And thanks to medical advancements, there is no radiation. It's purely electrons which are produced naturally in our bodies, so there won't be any side effects except a tingling sensation" she said before Greg could ask. Connie came over and all of them looked at the image. "This is highly unusual. It appears as though all of the impurities in Steven's body are being drawn to his abdominal cavity…his stomach" she simplified. "It's almost as if his body is resetting itself. But what's disturbing is the amount of scarred tissue. What happened to him?"
Before Greg could answer, Steven's gem went dark. She looked at the image and said, "Oh no…Greg! We need a trash bag right now! Connie, help me hold him up!"
(Here's where it starts):
Greg sprinted down the stairs while Connie and her mom held Steven upright. As soon as they did that, Steven could feel all the toxic substance rise up through his esophagus. He kept his mouth closed because his dad didn't bring the bag yet.
"Hurry up!" she said.
"I'm sorry! Here!" Greg held the opened black bag near his son's chin.
Once he knew it was safe, he immediately expelled the first wave of the horrible substance out of his mouth.
"Blood…its blood! Why is it black?!" asked Greg.
"It's not just blood. It's also waste by-products, scarred tissue, saturated fats, and any other substance that his body deems foreign. That's why his blood pressure was so high. Normally it takes three days for our bodies to create new blood through our bone marrow, he was replenishing his whole blood supply in the course of minutes" she explained as a second wave hit. You had to admire her professionalism in this situation. Years of experience made her immune to most situations.
The sloshing sound of the toxic blood mixture hitting the plastic bag made Connie want to retch, but she had to keep it together. The convulsions were so painful that Steven was weeping and coughing between each expulsion. Connie rubbed circles on his back to ease his coughing fit. But the scene became too much, she couldn't hold it in anymore. She started to cry along with him, she felt his anguish and it broke her heart. She always saw him as this happy-go lucky kid and seeing him in this state killed her.
But she wasn't the only one affected.
The gems could hear their young ward's cries outside the beach house. Amethyst covered her ears so she wouldn't hear that disgusting sound of his vomit hitting the bag. "I'll never eat again" she thought to herself.
Pearl watched through the screen door. With every scream that erupted from his throat, it decreased the color in her already pale skin and her building anxiety resulted in rapid breathing. She tried to be strong, but after a particularly sickening discharge where red nasal mucous expelled itself as well, that was the nail in the coffin. She fainted and Garnet caught her in her quivering arms.
The fusion was having a hard time keeping herself together, literally. She ground her teeth and slightly shook her head to try and shut off the raging turmoil pounding within her head. When she retreated to her room to meditate, she actually un-fused back into Ruby and Sapphire because Ruby was so stressed and angry at the situation. The only reason they fused back together was because of Steven; he needed someone to be strong for him, but it seemed like that role had been filled by his best friend.
"No more…please…no more" Lapis pleaded internally as she held her knees to her chest. She couldn't stand this and the ocean reacted to her emotions. The waves became choppy and crept higher past the natural shoreline.
Then, the vomiting stopped. All that remained was Steven's painful cries through his raw throat.
(That's the end of it)
Garnet, Amethyst and Lapis looked through the window and saw Lion as calm as ever, as if he knew this had to happen. But what really broke them was seeing Steven. His chest had some of that substance on it and he was wailing like a newborn baby.
"Steven…what have I done?" Garnet thought to herself. A guilty conscious is the bane of every leader's existence. She knew it was a difficult choice to follow Steven's battle plan and deal with all the repercussions, but there was no turning back now.
Picking up on her leader's distress, Amethyst said, "Hey G, don't beat yourself over this. In hindsight, you made the right call. Jasper got beat, we're all here, and at least we know Steven can heal himself. So it's different than what we're used to, that's nothing new. It's Steven, you never know what's gonna happen with that little guy. But I know this…he always makes things better."
Garnet and smiled and said, "Thank you" There could be no more room for regret, what's done is done and they're all together. All they can do now is wait.
Steven's cries were whimpers now; the pain wasn't all the way gone but at least it wasn't excruciating. Greg tied the bag up and carried it downstairs.
Dr. Maheswaran scanned his body again and sighed in relief. "It's over. His body completed the purification process."
"But mom…he looks skinnier" Connie worriedly observed.
Greg came upstairs in time to hear her explanation, "That kind of rushed process takes a lot of energy. It's likely his gem was the catalyst to provide that initial energy wave to begin the purification, but now that it's depleted, his reserve fat cells are providing the energy needed for his recovery process. Greg, can you clean him up please? He's dehydrated and I'm going to set up an IV for him."
Greg carefully picked up his son and carried him to the bathroom. "Steven, buddy can you sit for me?" He nodded and Greg carefully sat him on the closed toilet lid. He slouched forward a little but still kept upright. Greg ran some warm bath water and then proceeded to take his pjs off.
"Dad…" he said between his hushed cries. "It hurts…so much"
"I know, buddy. But it's all over now. You're body's all fixed up. Once you're strong enough, I'll take you to Fun Land and we'll spend the whole day together."
"But…Mr. Smiley banned me…from all the rides"
"Trust me son, after what you did for this city and everyone in it, I'll make sure he gives you front of the line passes for the rest of your life" his dad assured.
Steven smiled at that and it warmed Greg's heart. He tested the water with his elbow to make sure it wasn't too hot and carefully put his son in the tub. He began to wash away all evidence of his horrible ordeal.
"I understand now…why mom asked me to do that…" he said to himself but Greg picked up on it.
"Yea…no parent wants to see their child suffer. I mean, I wish I could take your place and not have you go through any of this. But it's like I say, if every pork chop were perfect we wouldn't have hot dogs. And I never had any doubt that you would be something extraordinary, just like your mother said."
"Mh hmm…I must be one very tasty hot dog"
Greg chuckled and said, "Yea…with all the fixins'" Steven laughed a little but still grimaced in pain.
"Alright bud, I'm gonna get you some clothes. Do you think you can dry yourself off?" He nodded and Greg helped him out the tub. He wrapped him up in a star-patterned towel and went out to get him some fresh pjs.
But he didn't have to go very far. Connie was right outside the bathroom with a neatly folded set of pjs.
"H-here you are, Mr. Universe" she said slightly blushing. She never went through a boy's wardrobe before, but she wanted to help, no matter how small.
Greg smiled and took the clothes from her. "Thank you Connie. You've been a big help" he said as he ruffled her hair. She returned the smile, then went back up to her mom. Steven heard what Connie did and blushed a little himself.
Once he was all dry, Greg helped him get dressed in his signature star pj shirt and boxer bottoms. "C'mon bud, you're long overdue for some sleep" he said as he picked him up and cradled him to his chest.
They exited the bathroom and walked up the stairs. The gems were waiting for them as well as Connie and her mom. Greg placed his son in the bed on his back. Everyone stood back to give Dr. Maheswaran some room so she could properly administer the electrolyte infused IV. Pearl nearly fainted again when she saw the needle enter into his left arm.
"That'll stay in his arm for a half hour, considering how fast his body replaced his whole blood supply it shouldn't take long for him to be fully hydrated" she explained.
Everyone nodded and Garnet said, "Thank you."
"Yea, I take back what I said about doctors, you're alright" said Amethyst.
Dr. Maheswaran smiled, but noticed that Pearl and Lapis were still staring at the sleeping boy. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. I apologize for how I came across earlier, I'm quite certain you know just as much if not more about human biology."
"But you looked like you knew what you were doing." Lapis said.
"Truth be told, all I did was take educated guesses and kept everyone calm. I have no idea how gem physiology works. But once I saw the similarities, everything fell into place. Connie and I'll will spend the night so I can monitor him. It's just safer that way and you know we're all about safety. However, I must request that your pet Lion sleep outside…please?"
Lion heard that and went out the door. He sensed that another explanation was about to come up and he didn't want to be in the middle of another yelling match.
Greg and the gems put the couch back together and moved the living room table out of the way. Then Pearl materialized an ornate, wooden frame bed out of her gem.
"Whoa…" Connie said with diamonds in her eyes. Her mom was equally impressed.
"Yes, well. Amethyst does have some taste" she managed to joke even though her cheeks were as blue as Lapis.
"What?! You took this from my room?! And you always complain about me taking your stuff?!" Amethyst berated.
"I hate to interrupt" Dr. Maheswaran said "but I have a pressing matter to discuss with all of you. While scanning Steven's body I saw large amounts of dead tissue, specifically pieces of blood vessels. What happened to him?"
The gems were not thrilled to repeat this story again, but Garnet took a deep breath and explained what happened. When she was done, Dr. Maheswaran's calm poise broke as she stared at them wide-eyed in shock.
Connie wasn't so easily stunned into silence. "How could let that happen to him?! You guys can punch a giant robot into goop but you couldn't take on an already defeated gem?!" Tears were streaming down her face, her hands were balled into fists. Steven had always raved about how awesome the gems were, but this…after everything he went through…it diminished her respect for them tremendously.
"Look, we get it! We royally screwed up okay?! We don't need it thrown back in our faces every time we talk about it!" Amethyst shouted, but immediately caught herself when she realized she shouted at Steven's best friend.
"It…wasn't their fault…" Steven's strained voice called everyone to attention. They all went back to his room to listen to what he had to say.
"It was mine…I decided to go up…against Jasper…"
"But why?" Connie asked.
"The same reason why you wanted to come here." Dr. Maheswaran said. "You were prepared to run all the way to his house, ignoring all the blatantly obvious dangers, to make sure he was okay. And lest we forget that they did everything they could think of to heal him, even asking us for help." Connie looked back at the gems and suddenly regretted her outburst.
Steven started to cry again.
"Steven, what wrong?!" asked Pearl.
"…I wish I was stronger…" he whispered. "I stood up to Jasper…because I wanted to be brave like you guys. But what happens? All I do is get beat up! I don't know how to use my powers, and I'll never be a real crystal gem because I'm not strong like mom!" Steven covered his eyes with his free arm as the river of tears streamed down his face.
Everyone was stunned. He had been so strong for them, he was the glue that held them together. But this moment made the gems realize he was first and foremost a child. An exceptional and insightful child, but a child nonetheless. A child that so desperately wanted to make them proud. He pushed all his insecurities aside for them, because he loved them. If it wasn't for that IV, everyone would've embraced him. So instead, they embraced him with their words.
"Steven, you're right…you're not Rose and you'll never be. You are you. And I wouldn't have it any other way" said Pearl with tears in her eyes.
"Yeah, bud! I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was when you came back. That you cared so much about us…about someone like me…" Amethyst added.
"Steven, we know that you're strong, but it's okay to feel weak. We know that it was hard for you to admit this, but you shouldn't be ashamed. In fact, I'm very proud of you. You faced your biggest fear which was trying to meet "our" expectations. But I want you to listen to me, the only thing we expect of you is for you to continue being yourself. The loving boy that's eager to learn and enjoy every day to the fullest by shining a light wherever you go" Garnet said through a cracked voice.
"Steven…I…you're here and…" Lapis couldn't find the words to express her gratitude towards him. She hoped in time that her actions would speak for her.
Greg just smiled at him, with tears flooding his beard.
"Steven, remember what I said? You don't need any powers to be with me. I'll still be your friend, no matter what" Connie said and they both blushed.
"Steven, we will always love you" they all said in unison.
Then he smiled a genuine smile. A heavy burden had been lifted off of him. Even his gem regained it lustrous aura and bathed everyone in a soothing light. "Thanks you guys…" he said as he drifted off to his much needed rest.
Everyone just stared at him, enjoying his gem glow.
Dr. Maheswaran proceeded to remove the IV and said, "It's been a long night. Everyone should get some rest before I have to deal with a number of extreme exhaustion cases."
Greg and Connie nodded but Pearl said, "We'll be okay doctor. Gems don't need sleep. We'll watch over him and get you if anything happens."
Dr. Maheswaran let out a yawn before nodding in agreement. Both she and her daughter got into the bed downstairs while Greg turned out the lights before going out to his van.
The gems all sat around his bed. His gem illuminated the area.
Pearl looked up at the portrait of Rose and whispered, "Thank you Rose, for your son." Garnet and Amethyst thought the exact same thing.
Lapis disdained anything related to the crystal gems, but she figured Rose couldn't be all that bad if she gave them Steven. And they all vowed to make sure that this love would never be snuffed out. There's just no limit to how powerful it can be.
Now I can say for sure that Steven is fully healed. And they're right, love is a powerful thing. Powerful enough to reform a certain gem perhaps? Stay tuned.
Thanks for the favorites, followers, reviews and basically waiting for me guys, it means a lot. I'll try to limit the number of cliff hangers, but no promises ;)
Also let me know if I can improve on any of the medical terminology or practices. All I know is basic anatomy
But just as a heads up, now that summer's around the corner things will be picking up at my job. Which is great for me, more money in my pocket for school but not so great for free writing time. I'll try to update at least once a week, but if I can't I swear that I haven't forgotten this story or you guys. Thanks so much for understanding and continue to let me know how I'm doing.
Steven Universe belongs to Rebecca Sugar and Cartoon Network, the only thing I own are my imaginative capabilities.
