Together, Connie and Steven watched a show called Under The Knife.

"Doctor, it's my daughter. There was an accident. I -" A man said.

"I know what we have to do. Nurse!" The doctor called.

"Yes, doctor?" The nurse asked.

"Prep the patient for emergency surgery. We're gonna go... under the knife."

The kids watched the show's theme come on and Steven cried out, "This show is the best! Thanks for letting me watch it here, Connie."

Connie nodded happily, "How come you can't watch the show at home?"

"We live in a van, Dad says we can't afford all the channels…" Steven sighed.

Connie felt awkward when Steven's phone rang. "That's probably my dad."

The boy picked it up and nodded. He accepted the call. "Hey Dad! … Yep… Yeah." He glanced at Connie. "I'm at Connie's house. Yep. We're just hanging out!"

His face suddenly turned sad. "Connie's mom? You already know her dad- Dad, I'm not misbehaving, you don't need to check! ...Okay, hold on."

He glanced at Connie who looked worried. "This is going to be hard since my mother gave up her physical form to make me."

"I can't tell him that!" Steven cried. They ran down the steps and saw Jasper on the couch.

"Jasper! Quick, you have to pretend to be my mom to Steven's dad!" Connie cried, shoving the phone to her. Jasper took it and coughed.

"Um… This… is Mom Universe…. Yeah. Welp, the kids are wrestling, throwing some good- Whoa! That's a great uppercut! … oh, oh no, they're bleeding… they're dead. Don't call again." Jasper then gave the phone back to Connie who looked mortified.

"I'm pretty great under pressure, aren't I?" Jasper smirked. She noticed their faces and frowned, "I did something wrong..."

"What do you mean, your dad won't let you come over? It's the midseason pre-finale of "Under the Knife"!" Connie moaned.

"Connie, my dad is really upset. He said won't let me see you again until he sees both your parents and they tell him what was going on yesterday!" Steven cried.

Connie stopped organizing her books in her confusion, "But that's impossible!"

"I know, but he wants both of our families to go out together for dinner." Steven sighed.

"It sounds so... grown up. I wonder if that fancy restaurant down the street will take reservations for-" Connie counted in her fingers. "Peridot, Jasper, Dad, Lapis—all seven of us."

"Whoa, Connie! You can't bring all of your moms!" Steven gasped.

"Why not?"

"Because I told my dad you have a Mom and and Dad, not three moms!" Steven protested.

"But none of that is true." Connie frowned. "You never told your dad about the Crystal Temps?"

"No, and I'm sorry, but it has to stay that way." Steven sighed. "If he find out I lied to him, he'll never let me hang out with you again."

That night, Doug put on a sweater and Connie paced in front of the gems.

"How am I supposed to choose just one of you to bring to dinner? You're all so... cool!" Connie moaned.

"I don't handle conversations well." Lapis groaned.

"I could talk all day if I wanted to!" Peridot cried.

"Okay, okay, okay. Let's focus. Which of you would make the best mom?" Connie asked, pacing back and forth. "Jasper, you keep us safe by scaring off the bad guys, just like a mom would… But you're a little intimidating."

"Just how I like it." Jasper smirked.

Connie walked down the line. "Peridot, you're a really smart mo-"

"Yes! And I shall enlighten Greg and Steven on why I, the great Peridot, am!" Peridot cried.

"Moving on…" Connie sighed. "Lapis! You're always worried about me, you teach me lots of stuff, you're have your sweet and sassy sides, and you don't like to talk about yourself!"

"But-" Lapis started and glanced at Peridot.

"But… you get nervous when talking to other people besides us." Connie sighed in defeat. She walked over to her dad. "Man, why did Steven have to say I have one mother instead of zero... or three?"

"We'll figure this thing out, pumpkin. We just have to put our heads together." Doug smiled.

Connie suddenly gasped. "Why didn't I think of this before? It's so obvious!" She ran to the Crystal Temps. "You can all come to dinner—all three of you, fused into one!"

"What?!" Peridot gasped.

"No!" Lapis cried. "Connie, you know I… we only fuse in deadly situations!"

"But you and Jasper would have Peridot this time!" Connie insisted. Lapis stuttered but failed to argue. She remembered that it did go smoothly with Peridot… and Jasper still cared for her safety and feelings when they fused. "It'd
be like—like I'm actually bringing my whole family!" Connie whispered.

"This is… CRAZY." Peridot cried.

"Fusion is serious magic, not a trick for dinner parties." Jasper whispered, also in a memory of Malachite and how she almost killed Peridot and Connie last time.

"I know." Connie sighed. "Then I guess this is it. I'll never get to see Steven again. I'm never going to find a best friend like him… ever again."

"We have no choice." Jasper groaned.

At Fish Stew Pizza, Greg and Steven sat outside, waiting.

"I don't want to say they might not be coming, but we've been waiting for nearly twenty minutes, stuball!" Greg sighed.

There was suddenly a rumbling and seagulls cawing. They then saw a giant woman with medium length light violet hair and indigo skin. She wore green, blue, and orange armor that was sleeveless and had stars on the knees, she had six arms and
had three pairs of eyes, one pair orange, one pair black, and one pair sea blue.

"Whoa." Greg and Steven whispered.

"Hi Steven! Hi Greg!" Connie cried, waving from the fusion's shoulder.

The woman lowered Connie and Doug.

"Thanks… darling?" Doug whispered.

"You're welcome… Doug." The fusion grunted.

"Hey, Greg, um nice to see you." Doug smiled. "This…. is my wife, Apatite."

"Hello…" Apatite struggled out.

Later during dinner, Apatite ate nearly all of the breadsticks before the pizza came out.

"Wow, I hope this place has unlimited breadsticks…" Greg whispered to his son.

Steven slowly nodded.

"So, tell me—how did you two meet?" Greg laughed.

"How did we meet? Uh…" Doug looked at Connie for help.

Steven mouthed something to her and she slowly said it out loud.

"They met… on a rollercoaster…" Connie whispered. "She was too tall to ride?"

"Yeah!" Doug laughed nervously. "I remember it like it was yesterday. Right, honey?" He touched the woman's leg and whispered, "Sorry."

Three of the woman's hand slammed Doug's face into the table. "Have some more breadsticks, dear."

"So, uh, I know what you do for a living, Doug," Greg smiled. "But what do you do, Apatite?"

Once again, Connie read off Steven's words, "My mom works on an apple farm! She uses all her arms to pick apples out of…" Connie slowly narrowed her eyes. "W-what are you saying?" She hissed.

"What was that?" Greg asked.

"Connie, help me find the restroom!" Steven suddenly cried.

"I'm sorry, but what is this… magic giant woman you brought?" Steven asked.

"It—it's my family. It's all of the Gems, fused together into one." Connie whispered. She then saw his arm was still in a cast.

"Steven… Your arm." Connie whispered.

"What about it?"

"I healed it, you don't need that cast anymore… You said you didn't care what you told your dad." Connie frowned.

"I… um…" Steven stuttered.

"All that stuff you told your dad about my family—you're just ashamed of me!" Connie cried, tears welled in her eyes.

"Connie…" Steven started. "It's not like that!"

"Whatever, let's just get the night over with!" Connie growled.

When the pizza came out, Steven was talking to Apatite.

"Connie was telling me that her mom's apple farm isn't too far away, isn't that cool?" Steven asked his dad.

"Yeah… totally true." Connie sighed.

"So, what rollercoaster were you two going on when you met?" Greg asked.

Apatite stuttered, when suddenly, she seemed to be feuding with herself.

"What are you doing?!" Apatite and Lapis's voice cried.

"I'm thinking of what to say, clod, quiet! Don't embarrass me!" Peridot said from the fusion. Another hand slapped her.

"Knock it off!" Jasper growled.

"Stop! You don't have to answer!" Connie suddenly yelled.

The fusion looked at her and started to moan. Her face cracked apart, making everyone gasp.

Apatite got up and unfused.

"Connie, thank you, thank you!" Lapis cried. "I had no idea what to say!"

"I did!" Peridot cried.

"It doesn't matter what happened." Jasper growled, picking them both up by the wrists. "We're doing this for Connie!" She threw them to the ground.

"What is going on here?! Who are they?!"Greg gasped. "Steven, d-did you see what that woman did?!" He cried, pointing to Jasper who looked ashamed. "I can't put you in danger with those… people! I never thought you would
keep something like this from me!"

Steven had tears in his eyes and he ran off. Connie gasped and ran after him.

A few minutes later, Connie found Steven at a bus stop.

"Connie, I'm so sorry. It's not that I'm ashamed of you. I was so worried that my dad would think all this magic stuff was too dangerous…. Connie, my dad and I have been closer than anything since the moment I was born… What if this breaks
that? What if he doesn't let me hang out with you anymore?" He asked. Connie felt hopeless and shook her head.

"I-I'm sorry I messed everything up. I wish there was a way we could just... hang out without having to worry about stuff." Connie sighed.

"Connie, let's just hop on a bus and live somewhere else without telling anyone!" Steven gasped.

"That's a great idea!" Connie cried.

Perfectly to their plan, a bus stopped right in front of them. They got in and ran to the back.

"Where's this bus taking us?" Steven asked.

"Wherever we end up. We'll find a way to survive. I've been reading about sustainable living." Connie smiled.

"Maybe it'll take us to a real apple farm!" Steven gasped.

"What's up with you and apples today?" Connie giggled. They suddenly heard a thumping and turned around.

"CONNIE!" Apatite yelled, running after them.

The kids screamed in horror and the fusion picked up the bus.

"You two, come out of that bus this instant!" Apatite growled.

"Okay! Just put the bus down first!" Connie cried.

Steven was getting talked to by Greg. "Stuball, are you nuts?!-"

"What were you thinking, running off with Steven like that? You could have gotten yourselves hurt!" Peridot suddenly cried.

"Or mangled in traffic!" Jasper muttered.

"Or thrown in prison!" Lapis sputtered.

"Connie, you are in very big trouble, and we have no choice but to punish you." Peridot growled.

"But-"

"No dinner for 1,000 years." Jasper said.

"What?!" Connie gasped.

"Whoa, loosen up, kiddo, we would never starve you, that was a joke," Jasper laughed. "but you will lose your book privileges... for 1,000 years."

"No! How can you do this to me?!" Connie sobbed.

"Because we love you, Connie." Doug sighed.

Connie gave a groan.

"Wow, nice joke there!" Greg laughed.

"All comedy is derived from fear, buddy." Jasper said.

"I did not know what to make of the two of—oh, uh—four of you, but I see that you are responsible parents—uh, caregivers? Guardians." Greg smiled

"So, I can still hang out with Connie?" Steven asked.

"Of course you can, stuball." Greg chuckled.

Steven ran and hugged Connie who blushed. Doug suddenly walked up and separated them. "Not on my watch."