A/N: Hello everyone, I am back with chapter twenty of this story. Here, the gems talk about Steven and their own follies.
Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe
It was seemingly another day at the barn. Peridot and Lapis where going through the motions waiting for any update on Steven's conditions. Pumpkin could sense something was wrong, but couldn't improve their moods. Lapis was seated on top of the barn when Peridot joined her.
"Hey Lapis." began Peridot.
"Hello." replied a gloomy Lapis.
"How are you holding up?" asked Peridot.
Lapis shot the other gem a dirty look.
"You're really asking me that." answered Lapis.
"I'm sorry." replied Peridot hurt.
Lapis groaned knowing she had been the one who hurt Peridot.
"I'm sorry." sighed Lapis.
Peridot gave the water gem a surprised look.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm just frustrated right now." explained Lapis.
"I understand." said Peridot compassionately.
The two hugged for a minute.
"It's just...so hard." said Lapis distressed.
Peridot let go of her lover.
"I know." agreed Peridot.
"I feel so useless." sighed Lapis.
"I know exactly how you feel." said Peridot.
Lapis let out a sigh.
"Steven has done so much for me..." began Lapis.
Lapis trailed off, unable to finish.
"Like I said to Steven, I feel the same." shrugged Peridot.
"He is something special." chuckled Lapis.
"Yeah." chuckled Peridot.
"I just feel so useless." sighed Lapis.
"How so?" asked Peridot.
"Steven is hurt and we can't do a thing about it." answered Lapis.
"I know what you mean." replied Peridot.
"I hate feeling so helpless." continued Lapis.
"Well there's nothing we can do." sighed Peridot.
"No!" exclaimed Lapis, slamming her fist.
Peridot was taken aback by this emotional outburst.
"I was helpless in that mirror, I was helpless as your prisoner and I was helpless as Malachite!" cried Lapis loudly.
Lapis jumped to her feet.
"Lap..." began Peridot.
"I refuse to be helpless now!" declared Lapis.
Peridot threw her arms over her head.
"You're scaring me!" cried Peridot worried.
Lapis saw the terror in Peridot's eyes and suddenly felt guilty.
"I'm sorry Peridot." said Lapis.
Lapis sat back down.
"It's fine." said Peridot relieved.
Removing her hands from over her head.
"You know all we can do is be there for Steven." noted Peridot.
"How do stop feeling so helpless?" asked Lapis.
"Simple. You're not helpless." answered Peridot.
"Explain." requested Lapis.
"By being there for Steven you're letting him know he's not alone. That's really important. Frankly, it's probably the single best ting you can do for him right now" explained Peridot.
Lapis thought for a minute.
"Thanks Peridot." said Lapis.
Meanwhile, the Crystal Gems where having a clandestine meeting. The three of them needed to talk about the ongoing events. However, they also needed to find a place where Steven wouldn't overhear them. Thus, the three of them agreed to met on the cliff over the temple. Garnet arrived first followed by Pearl. Amethyst arrived last and Pearl did not scold her for her tardiness due to the seriousness of the situation. With all three here, the meeting could begin.
"So...where should we begin?" asked Pearl.
"This was your idea so why don't you start." answered Amethyst.
Pearl nodded her head.
"I think we are partially responsible for this." began Pearl.
"What?!" asked Amethyst surprised.
"Let me explain." said Pearl.
"Right, because I wasn't strict like you." huffed Amethyst.
"I am not saying that." replied Pearl.
Amethyst calmed down a bit.
"Okay." said Amethyst.
"Remember, Steven did bring up us comparing him to Rose." continued Pearl.
"I don't follow." said Amethyst.
"Steven has always been trying to measure up to his mother." explained Garnet.
"Exactly. He's been trying to live up to her." added Pearl.
"That's totally our fault." sighed Amethyst.
"Yes. it's all of our faults." said Pearl.
"We knew Rose for centuries." noted Garnet.
"I guess it was naturally to compare Steven to him." mused Pearl.
"Even if it was hurting him." concluded Amethyst.
The three gems shared a guilty glance.
"Man, we screwed up big time." said Amethyst.
"Yes, we did." said Pearl.
Pearl rubbed her face.
"Don't blame yourself, Pearl." said Garnet.
"Why shouldn't I?" asked Pearl.
"Because we're all to blame." answered Garnet.
"I was so close to Rose." sighed Pearl.
"We all where." noted Amethyst.
"Yes, but she meant the world to me." replied Pearl.
Pearl took a deep breath.
"I had romantic feelings toward Rose." confessed Pearl.
"Well duh." laughed Amethyst.
"It was obvious." admitted Pearl.
"Yeah." agreed Garnet.
"I hated Greg and I was the one most vocally opposed to Rose having a child if she would lose her life. I was so opposed to Steven even existing." said Pearl guilty.
"I hated losing Rose too. She was the one who took me in and gave me a place to be after being on my own." said Amethyst.
"I was torn up by it as well. I wanted to be strong for you." said Garnet.
A thought suddenly came to Pearl.
"Did you see Rose giving up her life with your future vision?" asked Pearl.
"I saw many possibilities." answered Garnet.
Pearl gave Garnet a suspicious look.
"That was one of them." confessed Garnet.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" asked Pearl astounded.
"I fell apart when I saw this possibility. Ruby and Sapphire couldn't handle it." answered Garnet, holding herself.
Pearl and Amethyst froze up hearing this.
"I was worried how you would take it." said Garnet.
"I understand." replied Pearl.
"Yeah. Totally." added Amethyst.
"That was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made." said Garnet.
"I understand." said Pearl.
"Rose made me feel like I belonged somewhere. I hated the thought of losing her. I stopped hanging out with Greg and isolated myself." confessed Amethyst.
"My stars. Look at how foolish where we." said Pearl.
"You can say that again." sighed Amethyst.
"We missed Rose so much and we began to project her onto Steven." said Garnet.
"He must have felt like he was always second to her." said Pearl guilty.
Pearl covered her mouth in horror.
"Like he we wanted Rose more than him." added Amethyst.
Pearl knew if she was human she'd be vomiting right now.
"We had never raised a child before." noted Garnet.
"That's no excuse!" cried Pearl, racked with guilt.
"I know." replied Garnet.
All three gems where drowning in their guilt.
"We should have left him with Greg." said Pearl sadly.
"You insisted we take him in." noted Amethyst.
"Because he needed training." countered Pearl.
"We cannot obsess with that past!" declared Garnet.
Pearl and Amethyst gave Garnet their full attention.
"We all made mistakes. I saw this coming and didn't warn anyone." said Garnet.
"Is that true?" asked Amethyst surprised.
"Yes. You where with Peridot and Lapis so you didn't hear." answered Pearl.
"Time does not stop or go backwards. It only goes forward." stated Garnet.
"So we should focus on the future." deduced Pearl.
"Exactly." confirmed Garnet.
"What do we do?" asked Amethyst.
"First, we owe Steven an apology for our mistakes." answered Pearl.
Garnet nodded her head in confirmation.
"Then we should move forward." said Garnet.
"What if...he doesn't forgive us? asked Amethyst worried.
"He will." answered Garnet.
"Future vision." guessed Amethyst.
"It's who he is." replied Garnet.
Connie Maheshwaran was struggling to return to her daily life. She returned to school seemingly so she would not fall behind in her studies. However, the real reason was she was hoping to take her mind off Steven. Unfortunately, this proved fruitless as Steven as the only thing she could think of. Her grades where slipping as a result, but her parents understood knowing what she was going through. On this day she returned home, only to find her parents on the couch.
"Connie, please come her." requested Doug.
"We need to talk." added Priyanka.
Connie walked over and sat down between her parents.
"Should you be working?" asked Connie.
"Doctor Gero agreed to cover for me if I cover his extra weekend shifts." answered Priyanka.
"I didn't have work." confessed Doug.
"Connie, your teacher called." began Priyanka.
"Why did she call?" asked Connie.
"You got a 'B' on your last test. It's unusual for you so she wanted to know if something was wrong." answered Doug.
"I see." replied Connie, worried.
"We told them you're worried about a friend who is going through a though time and she offered her sympathy." explained Doug.
"I"m sorry. I'll try to focus." said Connie.
"We don't care about that." said Priyanka.
"Never thought I'd hear that from mom." thought Connie.
"We're worried." said Priyanka concerned.
Connie blinked at this.
"Both of us know you've got a lot to deal with." said Doug.
"I feel like Atlas." said Connie, with a sad chuckle.
"We're your parents and we love you. We'll always be here." continued Priyanka.
"So...do you want to talk?" asked Doug.
"Yes." answered Connie.
Connie quickly filled in her parents.
"That's everything." sighed Connie.
"That poor boy." gasped Priyanka.
"How is he doing?" asked Doug concerned.
"He's struggling." answered Connie sadly.
"This is out of our element. But, you need to be there. We will find a way to work your school schedule around it." said Priyanka.
"Are you actually suggesting I miss school?" asked Connie surprised.
"No necessarily. However, the circumstances here are...extenuating." answered Priyanka.
Connie felt some relief in this
"We love you unconditionally and if you ever need us, we'll be here for you." said Doug.
Connie embraced her parents.
"Thank you." said Connie sobbing with joy.
A/N: That is where we'll end this chapter. Next time, we begin moving to the end. Please review