This was an idea that crossed the minds of me and my co-author after the episode of Steven Universe Future, Growing Pains. We wondered what would happen if Spencer saw him afterwards and tried to help.

This was equal parts written by both of us, so read and Enjoy!

When Greg has called her, Spencer's first thought was worry for her brother. Steven may have been older than her, but she still felt like she had to protect him, especially when it seemed that he was still more naive about some things than she was.

She had been about to head to the hospital when Greg came in, leading a drained-looking Steven behind him. Spencer opened her mouth to say something, but Greg shook his head, leading the younger Universe up the stairs to his room.

Spencer's heart ached as she noticed the lost look on her brother's face. There had to be something she could do. She went and sat on the couch, waiting for Greg to come back down and tell her Steven was okay.

Finally, he did. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he gave Spencer a soft smile. "You can go talk to him if you want. Just make sure he rests." Spencer nodded and Greg left. A few minutes later, Spencer started walking up the stairs to Steven's bedroom.

The way the house had been redesigned had Steven's bedroom on the left side and Spencer's was also upstairs but on the right side of the house. When Spencer got to the top of the stairs, she knocked on the wall as Steven's room didn't have a door. The older teen looked up, smiling slightly when he saw Spencer.

"Hey, Spence." He said.

"Mind if I come in?" Spencer asked. Steven nodded and Spencer walked over to sit beside him on his bed. "What happened? You looked so upset when Greg brought you in."

Steven sighed before finally telling Spencer what had happened at the beach with Connie. Spencer nodded at the appropriate moments, reaching over and grabbing his hand when he started tearing up again. "I don't know why my body is reacting to every little thing this way."

"Maybe it's because you've never really had the chance." Spencer pointed out. "People handle things like that differently."

"What did you do?" Steven asked. "About your dad?"

Spencer stiffened. Talking about her father was not something she was fond of. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I ran away. You know that." She stated.

"But he still haunts your dreams and even through that, you're not swelling with magical energy every time you think of it."

"Because I have never hidden how I feel." Spencer said, suddenly looking very tired. She absent-mindedly rubbed the left side of her stomach, where Steven knew the brand scar still remained. She spoke again, not really making eye contact with the older teen. "Scars, they're weird, you know. It's funny. Some are seen while others aren't. There are those that fade, or they don't." Spencer looked up at Steven again. "They may be part of something that happened in our past, or even a way that shows us how we can grow in the future. That doesn't make them any less real. Sometimes, they're even a sign that we need to just let something go and have somebody listen." She took a deep breath and began to sing.

Tears, I sense behind the mask

Pain, I remember my bruises, too

Love, I yearned for so long

Away I ran until I found you

"Spencer, please, not now," Steven said, embarrassed that Spencer was seeing him cry. "I'm alright. I just need to be alone … please."

Spencer surprised him when she moved next to him and pushed one of his hands away to give him a shoulder to cry on. Turning away, he heard Spencer say, "I know how you feel, Steven."

Steven just went silent as he continued to sniffle, feeling two arms go around his neck as he only held onto her to cry. Just letting him cry, Spencer closed her eye but didn't see the green light coming forth from her gem around him as she heard his tears.

Memories, they often play

Scars, they tell our story

Making us up who we are

Letting it out is hard to do

Closure

A feeling I never knew

A word I barely heard

A sense I battled inside

I had no one to listen

But now I do

Steven, you've got me to hear

True, I've had my problems, too

Looking back inside I know

Just know I'm here for you

Let the tears flow

Let pain reside

Words just between you and me

Together we can be

A comfort that will last

Let it go

Let it be

Just a memory

"Look, Steven," Spencer said as she finished singing, trying to get him to look at her to which he finally did with a tear streaking down his face. "Pink made some mistakes, I get that. And, what you're going through is probably different than how I …"

"I don't want to talk about her!" Steven started to yell out, but he was silenced by the aura that was coming clear from Spencer's gem, which she seemed unaware of as she locked him with a patient stare and only took a breath.

"May I continue?" She asked him, gently enough to where he only goes silent. Waiting for his nod, she said, "What I was trying to say is that I know what you're going through. Except, I never got to experience my mom, except through stories and, well … Onyx." Taking a hold of the shard bottle around her neck, Spencer sighed.

"Spence?"

Hearing the breeze outside, Spencer put a hand to her gem eye for a second as she subconsciously pulled on her bangs a bit to cover it, again, the aura still evident but muted with her sadness. "You were lucky, Steven. You had people who cared about you, still do in fact. When I was little, I thought I had one, but in reality I had no one. He blamed me for the fact that Jade was gone. And I admit, a part of it still marks me to this day … But, like you, I'm learning to how deal with it. Unlike Rose, all my mother left me was the gem on my face and, of course, my powers I obviously inherited from her. That much I understood."

Listening even further, Steven waited for Spencer to go on as she said, "Your Dad had experience with the Gems, Steven. He knew what they were, although he really knew who Rose really was. That didn't stop them from bringing you into the world. This much is true, Steven, you were a gift. With me, sometimes I wonder if my Dad was the one who …"

"You're not a mistake, Spence," Steven said, putting a hand on her shoulder in a brotherly way that made them both smile.

"I didn't say I was, but I did happen," Spencer said, crying a bit, too. "My Dad didn't understand, he was just that kind of person. He was the only father I had, until … yours." To that, Steven only smiled because he knew it was true. "And now with you and rest of the Gems, I know I have a family that cares. With you guys, I found myself most importantly. Although like you, I only first knew about my Mom through stories and moments I never even experienced. Although the Gems told me about her, Onyx was the first major person that actually knew her before she disappeared and had me. And, our bond kind of grew from there with a rocky start, because I was just learning how to trust, again."

"I know Onyx is gone," Spencer said, tearing up a bit too as she made a point though. "But through her, I felt like I had a picture of who my mother was. I never got to fully see that, and I think she knew that, too. The Nephrites told me that Jade got separated from them when the Diamonds attacked, and I guessed she survived because she was on Earth where she later met Onyx. They both explored the Earth, had contact with Rose and the Gems for a while, and then disappeared. I guess it was shortly after she left the Crystal Gems before she had me and met my Dad."

Sighing, Spencer took a moment for herself as she heard Steven said, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Spencer."

"Thanks, but it's alright," Spencer said, surprising her surrogate brother with her words. "Although I didn't have to take it, I can't change what happened. It's just a part of my story, but it did help me find the courage in myself to find kindness and understanding in others. I'll just say it once more: You got to see how much Rose loved you, as much as the rest of us and your Dad. He's your strongest confidant, I know, just like how you are mine."

Thinking for a minute about all Spencer had shared with him, Steven reached a hand up to rub at his hair as he said, "Spence?" Looking straight up at him, she listened as he continued, "If you actually want to see Jade, there is a way."

A few minutes later, they were standing before the temple doors as Steven willed his mother's gem room to open with a pink-emblem rose flash. Standing before the pink cloud-cladded room, he reached for her hand to say, "I think I asked if you wanted to do this before …"

"Yeah, I was 12," Spencer said, already showing that she was slightly nervous. "I wasn't ready."

"And, now?"

Grabbing his hand, Spencer only nodded as he walked her a few paces into the room before he stopped and heard her say, "I'm ready!"

Letting go of her hand, all he said was, "Just say you want to see her. That's all it takes …"

Seeing all of the pink in the room, Spencer knew this was the only materialistic way Steven could share this rare opportunity with her, and now it was fixing to happen even if it was for a few seconds. Twiddling her knuckles for a second, she turned to see Steven's small smile of encouragement as she turned slightly to say, "Room, I want to see my mom, please?"

Even before her request echoed more than two feet, Spencer saw a small cluster of clouds puff together to form a pale chartreuse skinned and jade-hued gem that revealed that she had a slightly longer style of hair like Spencer's. Dressed in a dark green outfit that was covered by an aqua long shawl-like dress, the apparition looked at Spencer with a kind look and a gentile smile as Spencer walked closer.

"Hello, Spencer," her mother's voice said, to which Spencer could scarcely believe as she felt tiny tears prick the edges of her eyes.

Saying nothing, Steven only watched as Spencer ran to the reflection that appeared as her mother and hugged her. Hearing a few words of indirect communication pass between them, Spencer was surprised to see Steven leave as she turned around in time to say, "Steven?"

"It's alright, Spence," Steven said, halting just inside the door as his gaze remained outside. "I'm just tired. Thanks for the talk. The room will close when you leave, that what I asked it to do. I'm going to lie down. 'Night, Spence."

"Goodnight," was the only word Spencer got to say before he left. Left with only herself in the room, she looked back towards the reflection of her mother, who came a little closer as she lowered herself to her knees and just sat down in front of Spencer's view. "Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" The green gem said, just listening and choosing to hear what she had to say.

"Mom," Spencer said, finding the word alien on her tongue. "There's a lot I know I could ask you, and I know there was a lot you didn't know. I need to ask, though … How can I help Steven?"

Quiet for a minute, the green gem only said, "The only thing I can say here is this: Look at the opportunity he's given you. He's holding a lot of things in that he doesn't know how to let out."

"How do you know that?" Spencer asked her, feeling something in her cherish this one moment that she felt as Jade wiped a hand across her daughter's gem eye, almost as if she was washing away a wayward tear.

"Because it's what you see," the green gem only said as Spencer hugged her. Returning the hug, Jade only closed her eyes as the room reflected the last reflecting second of aura from Spencer's gem as Spencer felt herself take in her mother's words.

Sitting next to her mother for a minute, Spencer thought for a minute before she quietly asked the room, "Can I see Pink Diamond, please?"

With the room dimming a little bit, Spencer patiently waited until she saw the mist in the room start to cluster together and merge into one small huge mass that towered over the single occupant in the room really, but Spencer felt a half-hearted hand on her shoulder as she looked up to see that Silver had come in to check on her.

Turning her head, Silver watched as Spencer's mom remained silent and looked up as the rose-hued reflection of Pink made her appearance with reluctant yet closed eyes. "Spence?"

Stepping forward a bit, Spencer felt the room respond to her step as Pink's eyes suddenly opened and looked down at her with silent yet emotional eyes. With a voice that sounded like a whisper, she said, "You know my son."

Not afraid, Spencer spoke up, "Yes, I do, and I know he's hurting. Tell me, did you ever think anyone would do this, what I'm doing right now?"

Remaining silent, Pink only bowed her head solemnly as Spencer saw a brief shake of head past between just the two of them.

"You did this once before, only as Rose Quartz," Spencer said, bringing it to her attention to which she only looked up with knowing eyes. "I get it. You were protecting him. Things have changed, though, and for the better. Of course, though, you already know this. In fact, you should be proud of Steven."

"I am," Pink could only say as Spencer's eyes softened, seeing the tears reflect in her eyes, rain starting to mirror and fall across the room.

"We know you are," Spencer said, bringing Silver forward, too, by the hand as they both saw beyond what the room tried to hide. Feeling a connection with the pink Gem, Spencer spoke up, saying, "Steven has done everything he can to make sure the legacy you left behind for him to live in was a peaceful one. Sure, he learned about a lot of what you tried to hide, but ... He has done things that none of us thought any of us could do. He traveled to Homeworld, made the Diamonds listen, and changed everything for the better."

"I know ..." Pink said, coming down to her knees as she connected her eyes with the two in front of her, the mist of Spencer's mom fading with the dimming of the room.

"He's needing something that you never got, and now both of you are hurting because you both share that same fear," Spencer said, seeing an instant change over the Diamond as her rose reflection turned an even more rosy-enfused glow in fear. "You gave him everything, while you received no comfort in return. Trust me when I say this, I want to do everything I can to help Steven, and I'm going to ... But I'm going to have to understand a little bit more. Your scars are important, too."

Connecting her eyes with the two gems, Pink's eyes slipped shut as Spencer surprised even herself as she ran towards the Diamond and hugged her fingers to which the Diamond shed a shimmery tear that slowly fell to the ground.

Splashing on the ground, there was an evident echo in the room as the whole room that vibrated with a familiar feeling that even reverberated out past the Earth as the Diamonds and the Crystal Gems, wherever they were, looked up from where they were and shed a single rose-hued tear each. Feeling the need for what was to come, Spencer knew that the time for healing had just begun.

Hopefully, you guys enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it! The song was written by my co-author and we're pretty proud of it!

Shoot me a review and let me know what you thought!