"There's too many," Rose said. It was the middle of the night, several hours after a long battle for a Homeworld fort. She was sitting in a tent with tear stains on her cheeks, watching the last of the healed gems walk away.
"What do you mean?" Pearl asked, reaching over to wipe away the last of Rose's tears.
"I could keep up when there were just a few of us," Rose said. "But more and more gems are cracked in each battle. I'm worried that soon I won't be able to heal them all."
"...oh," Pearl said. "It did take half a day this time…"
"Exactly. What happens when gems start falling apart in line? What then?" Rose had no tears left to cry, but she was hunched over, shaking with silent sobs.
"Oh Rose…" Pearl wrapped her arms around Rose's neck, wishing she knew how to comfort her better.
"If only I didn't have to do it all alone…" Rose said.
Pearl suddenly stood up. "What if you didn't have to?"
"What?"
"Your tears still work when they're diluted, right?" Pearl said. "I'm not sure how far we could push that, but…"
"What are you suggesting?" Rose asked.
"What if we made some kind of fountain? Where gems can go and get healed without having to come straight to you," Pearl said. "We'll use your tears and dilute them as much as possible, and then we probably won't need to replenish it!"
"Pearl, you wonderful genius!" Rose stood up and hugged Pearl, lifting her into the air.
"Ah- it's nothing really…" Pearl said, blushing.
"Don't you dare say that, it's a great idea," Rose said. "Oh! We should ask Bismuth to build it!"
"We should," Pearl said as Rose let her down. "Why don't I go talk to Bismuth? You've had a long day already; get some rest before we need to leave."
"Ah. Right," Rose said, visibly deflating.
"...I'll see you soon," Pearl said, and left the tent.
The fountain was constructed within days, Bismuth working day and night supervising the small crew building it. Every detail had to be perfect, from the perfectly smooth basin to the massive statue of Rose in the center. Intricate, magical systems were set up to ensure that the water would constantly circulate, to ensure the healing liquid was spread throughout.
Rose returned just in time to see its completion. The fountain was filled with water; all that was left was to add the healing tears. So Rose sat on the edge of the fountain and cried for hours on end, with Pearl, Garnet, and Bismuth by her side the whole time.
It wasn't until a good century later that they installed a warp pad, along with magical plant guardians to keep any Homeworld gems out. This became one of their greatest resources throughout the rest of the war, as injured gems could simply run to the nearest warp pad and heal themselves within minutes before joining the fight once again.
The fountain was purposefully built in a secluded location, far away from all the fighting. It was high up in the mountains, surrounded by forest and steep hills on all sides. There was room for a few tents, but not much else. So the main camp remained near the center of the fighting, as always, and the fountain was a temporary retreat; nothing more.
It was a wonder that Homeworld never found the fountain. The Crystal Gems took extensive measures to ensure its security, but most (if not all) of them believed that it would be attacked some day, just like every other settlement or camp they had established.
Homeworld probably would have found it, eventually. They just ran out of time.
A/N: Sorry for missing a day! I started on a different story that ended up being a LOT more complicated than I expected and I kinda got stuck. I've set that one aside for now so I can work on building up a good buffer of content for yall.
Keep reading, keep writing, and above all, keep dreaming!
