Pulling away from the ponytailed brunette, the older Gem asked "Hey, Bayley?"

"Hmm? What is it, Aunt Naomi?" Bayley asked.

"Well," the older Gem began before swallowing a bit. "When your uncle Jimmy finally gets here, we have something to tell you. And ...something to show you."

Greetings, and welcome to the newest chapter of 'Bayley's Universe'! My apologies for being fairly late with this update...family stuff got in my way, but I've managed to get some time to myself, so hopefully, I'll be able to get more work done on this arc.

Now, just as a recap of what happened last time, looks Jimmy and Naomi both had talks about led to their separation (or, as Naomi told it to Bayley, their break-up). But, it seems like they may want to try to work things out. Will this go according to plan? Read on to find out, my dolls, and I hope you all enjoy. =)

"Something to tell me? Something to show me? What is it? Is it something Gem-related?" Bayley asked, starting to feel curious about this.

"You could say that," Naomi began as a light laugh escaped her. "Now, what I'm going to tell you is about an ability that me and your uncle know how to do."

"Really? What is it what is it what is it?" Bayley eagerly asked.

Laughing a bit at the ponytailed brunette's eager line of questions, Naomi began "Well. Don't tell your Uncle Jimmy I told you this, but it's a special fighting method that the two of us discovered long ago. It's called Fusion."

…

"OK. So you know what you're going to say to Naomi when we get to the house?" Dean asked the Gem with him as they made their way up the hill.

"I'm gonna tell Naomi that I'm sorry for pushing her into having the talk with Bayley so soon," Jimmy began.

"And?" Dean waved his hand, as if he was saying "Go on."

"And I plan to be a bit more responsive to hearing Naomi out when it comes to stuff like this. I just ...I never thought I was rushing her into telling Bayley about us being a Fusion."

"Well, think about it from Bayley's perspective. She's still at the age where learning something big like the fact that the guy that's basically like a dad to her is a Fusion of the Gems she sees as her aunt and uncle would probably blow her mind more than it should."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Jimmy said with a laugh. "I guess now the big question is will Naomi hear me out when I say that I don't mind waiting a bit longer to tell baby girl our big secret."

"Don't worry, man," Dean said, giving the brunette Gem a reassuring pat on the back. "Just tell her that me and you had a talk about your Fusion troubles and I'm sure she'll understand."

"You make that sound so easy. But, I guess you're right," Jimmy said as the pair walked up the short flight of stairs. "I can only hope Naomi'll hear me out."

"Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough," Dean said before opening the front door.

…

"Wow, Aunt Naomi. Fusion sounds like such a cool way to help with dealing with Gem monsters. Do you think that's something I'll be able to do some day?" Bayley asked, still feeling amazed by what the older Gem had been telling her.

"I'm sure you will, boo," Naomi said, smiling at the ponytailed brunette's enthusiasm. Her talk about Fusion with Bayley had actually gone pretty well, much better than she had anticipated. She had done her best to keep the secret she and Jimmy had hidden, so now, all she had to do was wait for the Gem in question to come back. 'Hopefully, he's managed to blow off some steam and he's calmed down. I'd hate to have another fight with him.'

Keeping in an excited squeal, Bayley began to ask "So, just how is it that you and Uncle Jimmy even learned about Fusion in the first place? Was it something that another Gem you guys know taught you?"

"Well, ...actually-" Naomi began.

"It's a secret, baby girl," a voice from the door interrupted.

Turning to see who it was, Bayley said "Uncle Jimmy!" before leaping up from her seat and going to give the brunette Gem a hug.

Laughing a bit, Jimmy said "Good to see you too, baby girl."

Pulling away from the older Gem, Bayley asked "What happened between you and Aunt Naomi? Why'd you guys have a fight? Is there anything I can do to help you two feel better?"

"Actually, this is something that me and your Aunt Naomi need to talk about by ourselves," Jimmy said, casting a look over to the still seated Gem.

"I'm guessing you managed to calm down out there?" Naomi asked.

"You could say that. Just blew off some steam," Jimmy said with a shrug.

Sensing the tension between the two, Seth suggested "Perhaps you two would like to have a walk and talk about what's on your minds? It could probably help you both sort things out."

"Ooh, I think that's a great idea," Bayley chirped. Looking between first Jimmy and then Naomi, who had since stood, the ponytailed brunette said "Now, I don't exactly know what happened between you two. But, whatever it is, it sounds like something you two need to talk about with each other. So, I say go with Seth's idea and take a walk and just talk about what's wrong. Because, whatever it is, ...I don't like it if it made you two get so mad at each other."

They both knew it. Jimmy and Naomi both knew that their fight was something that Bayley wasn't going to be happy hearing about. So, sharing a look after hearing the ponytailed brunette agree with Seth's idea, Naomi went to join Jimmy at the door.

"Oh, Bayley, we're so sorry to have upset you," Naomi said.

"She's right, baby girl," Jimmy agreed while he watched Naomi give Bayley a hug. "Our fight was pretty stupid the more I think about it. I think a walk might be just what we need."

"That's great," Bayley smiled before giving both Gems a hug. "I hope you guys's walk goes well."

"I'm sure it will, baby girl. I'm sure it will," Jimmy said before he softly took hold of Naomi's right hand in his left and then felt a soft squeeze from the Gem he would always see as his better half.

Aww, isn't all of this great? Looks like Jimmy and Naomi are going to talk to each other about what caused their break-up. Hopefully, they'll be able to get things sorted out so that they can make up and work to bring Roman back. Until then, don't forget to RR please. =)

(Now, the more I've read over this, I think this chapter'll end the 'Split Together' arc. I'm not too sure yet, though...)

(Stay safe and healthy out there, lovelies. *sends love and good vibes out to you all*)