"So, for the next seven months after all of that, Natalya's pregnancy was going pretty well. And, then...then came the month that brought about Nattie bringing her baby into the world." But, as Seth said this, he couldn't help the way his voice seemed to catch.

*deep breath in* *deep breath out* OK. Here we are, at the end of the 'The Story of Natalya' arc. Now, like I said at the end of the last chapter, this chapter is gonna be a bit of a feels-puncher because... ...Well, I'll just let you groovy folks read on below, and be the judge of all this yourselves. I hope you all enjoy, my loves. =)

Both Bayley and Sasha had taken notice of this, and both Gems began to have differing feelings settle over them: Bayley began to feel a bit hesitant to listen to anymore of the story because she didn't like where this was going. And, Sasha...Sasha had long since figured out how Seth's story was going to end, so she sat in silence as the two-toned Gem continued.

Swallowing around a lump that seemed to form in her throat, Bayley managed to get out "S-S-Seth? Y-You can go on. Wh-What happened when it came time for Natalya to deliver her baby?"

Taking a slightly shaky breath in before letting it out, Seth managed to find it in himself to continue. "Well, ..."

...

Thirteen Years Earlier

Natalya's nine months of pregnancy had been quite the roller coaster ride for her, her fellow Gems, and Tyson. In between her showing many of the traits that were common in most human female pregnancies, the doctor's appointments, and having to stay on the sidelines while Seth, Dean, and Roman handled fighting Gem beasts, Natalya eagerly looked forward to the day when she'd be bringing her child into the world. She had even gotten some pretty nice presents from Aksana that would help with the baby in clothes, pacifiers, a few toys, and bottles.

Lying in bed beside Natalya in his apartment one night, Tyson couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he watched the Gem play her ocarina for their baby. For as excited as Natalya was for the birth of their child, Tyson felt equally excited as he was ready to meet a life that he had a hand in helping to create. It was all so exciting to the brunette as he was feeling ready to be the best dad he could be for his child.

"I can't believe I only have another week to go until I give birth. Even though Aksana told me it's going to hurt a lot, I don't care. I'm just...excited," Natalya smiled, setting her ocarina down as she moved a hand in circles across her stomach.

"I can tell. And, don't worry, Nattie. I'll be right there with you when your delivery day comes," Tyson smiled.

"Thanks, Tyson. You have just been so great through all of this, and...I'm glad that I'll be able to raise a child with you," Natalya smiled back before leaning in and catching Tyson's lips in a kiss that the brunette returned as he pulled his girlfriend close to him.

Meanwhile, back in the house of the Gems, Seth was reading through a book that was filled with tips for new parents while, with Roman's help, Dean was putting together the crib that Natalya's baby would sleep in when it was born. All of this had been quite the learning experience for the three Gems, and...despite their earlier worrying, they were all quite excited to meet the child that Natalya would give birth to soon.

...However, when the date of Natalya's delivery would come, everyone would soon learn why there had never been any known instances of female Gems giving birth to children.

Two Weeks Later

Natalya couldn't help the scream that seemingly got ripped from her as she felt another wave of pain wash through her. Aksana had warned her that delivering her baby was going to be quite painful, but...Natalya didn't think it was going to hurt this bad. And this was coming from one of the few people that had fought creatures that could deal some pretty wicked damage, too. Why, she could actually remember one time she was fighting a Gem vulture with Dean and had gotten lifted up into the sky by the bird, only to get dropped back down to the ground by it. Honestly, the pain she felt after landing hard on the ground was nothing compared to this.

"You're doing fine, Nattie, you're doing fine," Tyson soothed as he sat beside the Gem in her home. Seeing as how Natalya wasn't exactly human, Tyson felt that a home birth would've been the best option, so as not to rouse the curiosity of any of the doctors in the local hospital. Besides, the couple had after their child's birth to take the baby to a hospital to have it checked out by doctors.

"I-I-AAH!-I'm really doubting that right now, Tyson!" Natalya barely managed to get out over the waves of pain that came with her contractions. Tears rolling down her cheeks, Natalya asked "How much longer is this going to last?"

"Um, it-it shouldn't be too much longer, Nattie," Seth answered from where he was sitting and keeping a check on Natalya's opening, doing his best to remember what came with delivering human babies from what he had read on the "computer". "Um... OK. I think now you should try to start pushing. That way, you can help your baby get out."

Nodding, Natalya did as Seth said and began to push in her bid to start delivering her child. Her grip tightening on the sides of the table she was lying on, the female Gem pushed, in spite of the rocking waves of contraction pains that seemed to rocket up her body. With each push, with each breath she took in and let out, Natalya could feel her baby moving, which was backed up by Seth saying that he could see the baby's head after some time. ...But, what she couldn't bring herself to mention to any of the men gathered around her was that she was feeling her energy leaving her in waves...and not like when she'd feel tired after fighting Gem beasts.

Seth had been keeping an eye on the progress of Natalya's birth and when he could finally see the baby's head, the two-toned Gem excitedly looked up and said "OK, Natalya! It's almost here! Just a little bit more, and your baby will be here."

Tiredly nodding her head, Natalya pushed a few more times before her final-and most painful yet-contraction rocketed through her as she could only yell out through the intense pain she was currently feeling before lying down on the table, breathing in and out quickly in a bid to get her breath back.

Pulling the baby fully out of Natalya after her pushing, Seth gasped before saying "Natalya. Tyson. Congratulations. Your child...is a girl."

A girl. Hearing Seth say this greatly surprised Tyson, as he never would've guessed his first child brought into the world would be his first daughter. Covering his mouth as a few tears slipped down his cheeks, Tyson would've had a huge smile on his face at that moment...had it not been for things not seeming quite right.

"Seth? What's wrong with the baby? Why isn't...why isn't she crying?" Tyson asked, immediately beginning to feel worried.

"I-I-I don't know, Tyson," Seth responded, his own worry climbing dangerously high. From what the two-toned Gem could see, the baby girl seemed okay. But, upon a closer look, he could see that she wasn't breathing nor was she crying; and, after finding one of her pulse points, he couldn't feel a pulse either. "Oh no. Oh no no no no no."

"What, Seth? What is it?!" Tyson asked, not liking the sounds coming from Seth at all.

"The baby, she... I don't think she fully made it," Seth looked over to the brunette, his eyes beginning to swim with unshed tears. "Tyson, I'm so sorry."

Hearing these words come from Seth had Tyson feeling like he just got gutted. After all of the hours of labor Natalya just went through, the brunette didn't want to believe that the female Gem went through all of that...just for their daughter to arrive stillborn. Tyson was almost set to say something when he heard Natalya behind him.

"Seth? Can I...can I see my daughter?" the female Gem weakly asked.

"Natalya? A-are you sure?" Tyson asked, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "Our daughter didn't make it. Doesn't that make you feel upset?"

"It...it does, Tyson. But, don't worry. I think I know how I can fix this," Natalya said. "But, first, ...I need you to go get Dean and Roman and tell them to come in here."

Nodding, Tyson got up from his seat beside Natalya, and, planting a kiss on the Gem's sweat-covered forehead, headed outside to fetch the two she wanted.

With Tyson gone, Seth looked to Natalya as he held her daughter to him. "Nattie. What did you mean...when you said you think you can fix this?"

Letting out a weak laugh, Natalya sniffled before beginning to tell Seth her plan. "I'm going to give up my life, and give it to my daughter."

"Give up your life? Natalya, are you...are you sure you can even do that?" Seth asked, a few of his tears already rolling down his cheeks.

"I can," Natalya nodded. "If you take my Gem out of me...and implant it into my daughter's navel where it was in me, ...then, she'll be able to live, and I..."

It was at this point Natalya and Seth were rejoined by Tyson, Dean, and Roman, who had all overheard the end part of the female Gem's plan. While it was something that had all three men feeling particularly saddened, no one was showing their pain more than Tyson, who was not being shy about letting the others see him crying.

Walking over to rejoin his girlfriend, Tyson said "Tell me what you just said isn't so. Tell me that there's another way you can save our daughter."

"This is...the only way I can think of, Tyson," Natalya said. Slowly raising a hand to cup the side of Tyson's face, Natalya reassured "Don't worry, my love. I won't truly be gone. I'll still be alive in our daughter. Please don't forget that."

"I won't, Natalya. I won't," Tyson said around sobs as he placed his hand over Natalya's.

Smiling at hearing her boyfriend say this, Natalya then turned her attention to Seth, Dean, and Roman. "Guys. Keep in mind...what I just told Tyson. My daughter is a part of me, ...and she'll always carry a piece of me with her. I want you three to raise her to see the great beauty of this world, ...to let her know friendship and love, ...and to help her defend what it is that we love about this planet so much."

Seth couldn't bring himself to say anything as sobs had fully taken over him at what Natalya-their friend, trusted leader, and comrade-was saying, and Dean was fighting his hardest not to cry, but failed as tears rolled down his cheeks and he kept clenching and unclenching his fist. The only one of the Gem trio that could manage to say anything was Roman, and even he had a few tears rolling down his face.

"Don't worry, Nattie. We'll...we'll do our best to help raise your daughter," Roman finally managed to get out. "...And, you can believe that."

Smiling at Roman having said this and seeing Seth and Dean give her nods of agreement with what Roman said, Natalya closed her eyes let a few tears of her own fall, even as Tyson leaned down and planted one last kiss on her lips.

Pulling away from Natalya, Tyson could just tell that the female Gem was no longer with them. Squeezing his eyes closed, the brunette could only let his tears silently fall as he mourned the loss of the first woman he ever truly loved while Seth and the others went to work doing what Natalya told them to do about hopefully bringing his daughter to life. He had just wiped his eyes when he heard the sounds of a baby's cries. Opening his eyes, Tyson looked up to see a surprised Seth, Dean, and Roman all looking down at his daughter, who was now crying and lying on a towel in the area where Natalya's body was, the Gem that he remembered seeing in Natalya's belly button now sitting in his daughter's belly button. Managing to find his words, Tyson breathed out "Oh my god. That actually worked."

"It did," Seth nodded as he wiped his eyes. "Go on, Tyson. Hold your daughter."

He only needed to be told once as, wrapping the infant up in the towel, Tyson picked his daughter up and, after moving the towel away from her face, allowed himself to look down at the now lightly snoring baby: Her skin had a lightly tanned tone to it, her eyes were closed, and dark brown hair that seemed to stick up a bit on her head. Letting out a bit of a laugh, Tyson looked to the others and said "She's beautiful. She's perfect" as a few tears rolled down his face.

"That's so great to hear, Tyson," Seth said, a smile on his face in spite of the tears that were still streaming down his face.

"So, what do we call the little one?" Dean asked. "What's the name of the newest member of our family?"

"Well," Tyson sniffled before continuing. "We weren't sure about letting her take my last name since that would end up driving my family nuts, so we let her take the last name of the doctor that was such a huge help to us during Nattie's pregnancy, Martinez. And, as for her first and middle names, we decided on Bayley Rose."

"Bayley Rose Martinez," Roman repeated. His lips turning up into a smile, Roman said "I like it. It's a cute name for the little one."

"It is, isn't it?" Tyson smiled over at the brunette Gem. Looking back down at his daughter, Tyson smoothed down his daughter's hair as he said "Welcome to the world, Bayley Rose" and then planted a kiss on the infant's head, which he saw got the baby to smile in spite of her eyes still being closed.

...

Present Day

"And, that... That about wraps up the story of Natalya," Seth finished, tears rolling down his face at this point. Looking over to the couch that Bayley and Sasha were on, the two-toned Gem could see similar reactions on the faces of both Gems in that they were both crying, Bayley's sobs being a bit more vocal than Sasha's. "Bayley, I... I'm so sorry for telling you this. I wanted to wait until you were older and could take hearing it. Please, ...please don't be upset."

Wiping at her eyes, Bayley answered "No, no, Seth. I'm not sad. ...If anything, I feel happy that I finally got to hear it."

"Hearing that made you feel happy?" Sasha asked, wiping away her own tears. "I don't quite follow, Bayley."

"Well, I think it's because...I finally know more about, well, me," Bayley said, a slight smile on her face. "For as long as I've been alive, I've always wondered about my parents and why I never saw or met them. Now that I know all of this, ...I just feel happy...if not a bit left behind."

"I'm glad that you feel happy after hearing the story, Bayley," Seth smiled as he wiped his face. "I'm sure Natalya-well, your mom would love that you were happy to learn about her."

"I was. It's even cooler that I have a dad, too," Bayley brought up Tyson. "Say, what happened to Tys-my dad after I was born? Does he still live here in the city?"

"He...does, sort of," Seth said. "With his wrestling school, he often travels around the country with Antonio, visiting other schools and helping with students there. When he can, he comes back here, but...he hasn't been around in a few years. I'm guessing that means that his work has kept him fairly tied up with other schools."

"Oh, I see," Bayley nodded. "Well, I hope he comes back home soon. I can't wait to meet him so that he can see how much his daughter's grown."

"And I'm sure he'd be happy to see how much you've grown, too," Seth smiled. "After all, when he was here and he was raising you, he always talked about wanting to see you grow up to be a wonderful young lady. And, I think that's already happened."

"Aww, thanks, Seth," Bayley hopped up from the couch and gave Seth a hug. Holding up the ocarina, Bayley asked "If it's okay with you and the others, would it be okay if I kept this in my room? Just so that I can have something to remind me of Mom around."

"Of-of course, Bayley," Seth said, smiling as a stray tear rolled down his cheek. "Just promise me you'll keep it out of harm's way."

"I will," Bayley nodded. "Thanks again, Seth!" Giving Seth one last hug, Bayley headed upstairs to her "bedroom", a smile on her face as she held what was such an important reminder of her mom close to her.

Back downstairs, Sasha looked over to Seth and smiled. "You know? That was pretty nice of you, Seth."

"It was no big deal. Like I told Bayley, we wanted to wait until she was old enough to really understand, so I'm just happy that storytime went over well," Seth said, a sense of relief washing over him. "It just feels like a load off of me to have finally told her."

"I can see that. And, in my opinion, ...I think you did a great job telling Bayley about Natalya. Even though I wasn't here during her time with Tyson, I'm sure they both would be pleased with how you told their daughter about their relationship," Sasha reassured with a smile.

"I'm sure they would. In fact, I know they would," Seth sat back and closed his eyes, a proud smile crossing his face over having finally told Bayley one of the biggest secrets that he and the others had been keeping from her...and for having finally told Bayley about the family she never got to know, but still very much had.

...*sniffles as I wipe my eyes* ...I really should do something about those infernal onion-cutting ninjas that always seem to be around when I'm either writing, reading, watching, or listening to something that gets me in my feels. Those sneaky devils always make me tear up! ...*coughs* Anywho! I hope you all enjoyed the end of the 'The Story of Natalya' arc of Bayley's Universe. It was pretty fun working with delving into the backstory of Natalya (who is my Rose Quartz here), and showing just why it is that she has the reputation that she has among the Gems and why talking about her can be hard for Seth and the others to do at times. After having heard Seth's story, Bayley now knows about who her parents really are and hopes to meet her dad Tyson (who I plan to let appear in a future arc, along with Antonio, Aksana, and Claudio...just not sure when yet...=3). And Sasha (who was still in the brooch around when Natalya was with Tyson since her Gem was cracked), now knowing why Natalya isn't around anymore, feels that Seth did great in telling Bayley about her parents. Just...SO MANY FEELS HERE! ...*coughs again* Anywho (again)! I hope you guys have all enjoyed this chapter, along with the Natalya backstory arc. Don't forget to R&R please, and I'll see you guys in the next arc...which I hope to start soon. =)

(*insert shiki94 apology here* To anyone that got owies in their feels, shiki is sorry (T_T)!)

(*insert shiki94 rambling here* ...Note to self: Next time I get ready to work on a new chapter of this, don't watch the newest Steven Universe beforehand. ...Seriously. I watched the newest episode before I began to work on this Friday, and...the onion-cutting ninjas struck again while I was watching it. It was still a great episode, though. (^^,) )