After what felt like hours the group hug in the beach house broke up, yet the cheer was still evident. All eyes were still on Steven as if he would vanish out of thin air or the wonderful dream would end. Greg was the first to speak up, grasping his son by the shoulders.

"Steven, thank the stars you're okay! Are you hurt? Did those gems probe you or something?"

"Probe? Geez, Greg. We aren't your cheesy sci-fi movies," Amethyst cracked, "What, do you think we have little antennae hidden somewhere?"

"Hey! When you're an average car washing millionaire whose son has been abducted by sentient space rocks, you aren't that well-informed about the situation."

Garnet lowered down and lifted the distraught father back to his feet. "It's alright, Greg. We haven't been on Homeworld in thousands of years, so we aren't the foremost experts on the topic."

This got Connie flustered all over again. "So, what did they do to you? Did they torture you? Test dangerous experiments on you? Throw you in some horrific gladiator arena where you had to battle cosmic horrors for their amusement?!" Of all people, Pearl was the one who had to get her to calm down before she started hyperventilating.

"Connie, don't work yourself up over that. Clearly, Steven is unharmed. They probably just put him in some jail cell." That got Connie to breathe normally again but started up her own paranoia.

"So… just out of curiosity… I mean, to put everyone else at ease, what exactly happened to you on Homeworld?"

Steven answered with "The Diamonds put me on trial," as easily as most people would comment on the weather. Pearl did not take the news well.

"You were on trial in front of the DIAMONDS?! They would shatter you on sight! HOW?! ARE?! YOU?! STILL?! ALIIIIIIVE?!" she screamed like a banshee while shaking the half-gem by his wrinkled pink shirt. He could only respond with a shout, his voice billowing along with his garment. Garnet had to literally pry Pearl's quaking hands off his clothes to get her to stop.

"Relax, Pearl. I'm sure Steven will tell us all the story in the morning. Right now, he needs some sleep and we all need some time to readjust now that we don't have to mount a rescue mission."

As if on command, Steven let out a huge yawn as the adrenaline from his Homeworld escapades left his system. Amethyst decided to carry him up to his bed to save him the trouble of walking while Pearl and Garnet left for the temple and Greg promised Connie a ride home as they walked outside. In only a few minutes Steven was fast asleep in his favorite yellow pajamas, the gems went to their respective rooms to unwind and Connie was buckling up as Mr. Universe started up his van.

Connie was completely silent for several minutes of uneventful nighttime driving. Greg noticed how morose she was for a girl whose best friend miraculously returned from certain death and tried to raise her spirits.

"Sure is a gorgeous night, eh Connie?" he asked in the hopes of starting a conversation.

"Yeah, real pretty." Her eyes never left the window as the small expanse of Beach City passed for the grassy roads leading to the Maheswaran household.

"I bet your parents are gonna be thrilled to hear Steven's okay!"

"Yep. They were worried sick hearing about it."

Greg decided to try a more direct approach. "So, uh, do you have anything on your chest bugging you?"

"Just really tired. I want to forget all this ever happened." This was the final straw and the talking ceased for the rest of the trip. Before long they pulled up in front of Connie's house. She did give a solid thank you before exiting his van and heading to her front door.

"Sheesh. She must have something eating away at her…" he muttered to no one as he stayed parked for a few moments. "Eh, her parents are smart enough to get to the bottom of this." He then put the van back in drive and headed to his car wash for his own good night's sleep.

(Break)

All of the lights were still on at the Maheswaran house despite the late hour. Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran was sitting in one of the living room couches with a mug of coffee to keep her energy up despite her body crying out for sleep. Doug was currently running a sort of patrol around the house to calm his nerves, currently pacing in the kitchen while silently debating if he could sneak a pudding cup from the fridge while his wife was occupied. Both of them burning the midnight oil was rewarded as their beloved daughter entered through the front door. Priyanka wasted no time wrapping her arms around her daughter with all the strength she could muster from the caffeine in her system.

"Connie! I wasn't sure what time you were coming back, so I waited up for you. Any developments?"

She pulled back and noticed how dejected Connie was, setting off her maternal instincts. "Connie? Did something happen while you and the Gems were working? Are you hurt?!"

"No. Steven's back on Earth. He found his own way home," she spoke flatly.

"What?! That's… fantastic! I'm so glad this all worked out, I figured the police would be no help and…" she continued to ramble, mostly thanks to her remaining nerves and the rest of the coffee she downed in her fervor. Connie, however, quickly lost interest and started walking upstairs to her room. Before she could reach the staircase, though, she was tackled to the floor by her father.

"Connie! How did you get home by yourself? Did you all finish that spaceship already? Do I need to come into space this time?" he asked in rapid-fire succession.

"Dad?! No, it's fine! Mr. Universe drove me home and Steven's back anyway so…"

That only got Doug even more riled up. Not wanting to face another onslaught of overprotective badgering, Connie dashed up the stairs and slammed the door to her room. Mr. and Mrs. Maheswaran were puzzled by this.

"What's gotten into her? I'd have guessed her to be over the moon seeing Steven alive and well again. Did he say something to her?" Doug pondered.

Dr. Maheswaran just shrugged. "Who can say? Regardless of the case, Connie must be exhausted after all this and she could use some sleep. As could we." As the parents made their way up, however, the doctor was the one with a medical question for her spouse.

"Doug?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you know how to get my hand to stop jittering?" She held up her right hand, now shaking like a leaf, "I think that fourth cup was a mistake."

"Don't worry, your body will process it all soon. I had to build up plenty of tolerance to work the night shifts at first. Besides," he began whispering into her hair as his hand wrapped around hers to keep them steady, "We both know I'm better at keeping you up than putting you to sleep," he added with a coy grin.

Priyanka was mortified. "Doug?! Keep it down with that! Connie is in the house and probably still awake!" she said in hushed whispers, not realizing they had already passed Connie's room. The Maheswaran's two-story townhouse had a living room and kitchen take up the ground floor while the upper floor was a linear hallway with the master bedroom at the end, Connie's bedroom on the right side of the hall and her own full bathroom to the left side plus a storage closet next door.

As her parents continued to banter as they readied for bed, Connie was trying to put her still-racing mind to rest as she lay in bed still dressed in full clothes. She had a jumble of thoughts all coursing through her brain at once. After what felt like eternity, she managed to keep her eyes shut and drift off to sleep, hoping that the ringing in her ears would cease.

And that brings another chapter to a close. Will Connie's issues be addressed? What will happen with the Crystal Gems? Why does this all play out like a slice-of-life story when the prologue ended with Blue Diamond wanting Steven dead?! Tune in next time to find out!

Thank you all so much for reading! Feel free to leave a review or send in any questions or comments.