Peridot paced back and forth on the porch of the beach house. After Twoie had collapsed from his breakdown, the gems decided it was best to return to their home. She sighed as she looked at the primitive little tape recorder in her hand. Twoie had given it to her a little before they had gone to the moonbase. After a couple of moments of indecision, she pressed the record button.

"Log Date. 7 1 1 2. I can't believe the events that have taken place!" She quickened her pacing and anxiously moved her free hand around in the air. "Not only did I disobey orders and go against Yellow Diamond's wishes, thus becoming a traitorous clod, but the Twoie has also become stricken with what the Steven refers to as a 'fever.' Apparently, Steven and Twoie have never fallen susceptible to earthen sicknesses. As such, this situation is a cause for great concern." The green gem sighed and peered into the house via the window. She could see the gems pacing in the living room.

"Fevers are characterized by an increase in body temperature, chills, sweating, a feeling of coldness, coughs, sneezes, exhaustion, pain in the nose and throat, and a loss in appetite. It is a mixture of disgusting and horrifying." She returned to her pacing. "Why are humans so fragile? I don't like knowing that the Twoie is capable of experiencing such a phenomenon. Steven doesn't know much about it, and neither do the gems, but he assured me he knows someone who can help." She scanned the beach for the clunky van that she remembered seeing in the past.

"Steven called his father in the hopes that the adult human could care for Twoie. Even though humans are familiar with the treatment of 'fever,' I am concerned about the ability of such a primitive species in regards to adequately caring for my… friend." Peridot stared at the tape in disgust before she curled up outside the door and let out a frustrated scream. "I'm protecting a planet I was once trying to destroy! I used to follow every order. Every rule! Now I'm a traitor. A rebel! A Crystal Gem!" She slammed her fists against the wooden boards. "And one of the main reasons I betrayed my Diamond-. Why I betrayed Homeworld-! He is lying unconscious in a bed with a sickness that he shouldn't have been able to contract, and who knows how it's affecting him!"

She started giggling as she stared out into the sky. It was early morning, and the sun was still rising. Almost taunting her that she should be happy. But she couldn't. Not right now. Peridot jumped as the door opened up behind her. Her worries increased as she saw the state of the young kid who stepped out. Steven looked absolutely horrible. His hair was messy, his eyes were red, and there were dark bags underneath them.

He was having a hard time dealing with the knowledge that Twoie was still having deprecating thoughts and struggling with the gems. The boy sat down next to her and rested his head on her shoulder. "Peridot, am I a bad friend?"

She turned to him, wide-eyed at his question. "Why would you think that? You and Twoie are the reason I betrayed everything for the earth. You two showed me that there are things I've never considered. Things that are worth protecting."

Steven sniffled and clenched his eyes shut. "But I knew Twoie was struggling and I didn't do anything. I tried getting him to talk to me once, and I knew he wasn't okay, yet I never addressed it again. I didn't tell anyone either. What kind of brother does that?"

Peridot watched as a van careened onto the sand and headed their way. "I think it's okay to make mistakes." She stood up and helped Steven stand up as well. "I made a lot of mistakes before I decided to betray my Diamond and Homeworld. Twoie forgave me every time. He'll forgive you too." The newest member of the Crystal Gems gave him a sad smile. "Let's grab a notepad. I want to record the proper method of treating these 'fevers.'"

"Greg has informed us of the correct methods of treatment for Twoie's fever." Peridot quietly spoke into her recorder, doing her best not to wake Steven. Greg had left to stock the beach house with food from the grocery store. The gems were inside the temple doing who knows what and Steven… He'd fallen asleep a little after Greg had laid a cool cloth on Twoie's forehead and made sure he was comfortable. She wasn't surprised, honestly. Steven had been awake since last night, watching over his older brother. Now that there wasn't much he could do, he had finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

"As the only one in the bedroom, I have taken on the duty of caretaker for Twoie until such a time that Greg returns or Steven wakes up. I don't expect either event to happen for a while, though. Thus, I will perform this role to the best of my ability." She gently removed the washcloth from Twoie's face and dipped it in the cold bowl of water at Steven's bedside table. After wringing it out, she placed it back on his head.

"Twoie has yet to awaken since he became unconscious last night. Greg has informed me that he will call in outside help if he does not awaken sometime today." Peridot pressed the stop button on the recorder. That was something she had not considered. What if Twoie did not wake up? Would that mean his condition was critical? Would he perish, like all of the other life forms that perished under the rule of the Diamond Authority? The technician had never questioned her Diamonds before. She was struck with horror at the thought of other life forms, possibly in her same position, watching as their friends' lives were extinguished by the empire.

She clutched the recorder tightly in her hand. If he died, was it her fault? Although Twoie was not with the gems or Steven when they first arrived on Earth, he had been around when she had trapped them in the old spaceship and when she kidnapped Steven. Did she contribute to his breakdown? Peridot growled and hurled the recorder at the wall. It clattered to the floor, and she flinched, quickly turning to Steven. The kid was still asleep. She sighed in relief.

Peridot scooped up the recorder and inspected it. Slight dent. The green gem set it down on the TV. If she had contributed to it, then at least she was making up for it now, right? Yes! She was caring for him in his time of need. That made her glare at the temple door. The gems contributed to his breakdown just as much, if not more so, than she did. What was he yelling when he collapsed? That they kept switching their attitudes with him? In that case, why were they secluding themselves in their rooms while Twoie needed them?

Mind made up, she quietly walked over to the temple door and knocked on it. "Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl. Why are you in there and not watching over the Twoie?" She whisper-yelled at them as she knocked again.

Finally, the door glowed, and Pearl stepped out. "Peridot? Do you need anything? Is Twoie alright?"

Peridot scowled at her and pointed at the young man in question. "Why are you all hiding when Twoie is sick? This weird back-and-forth act of caring is why he broke down in the first place!"

Pearl nervously twisted her ribbon in her hands. "I don't know how to care for sick humans! I didn't even know he could get sick! What use am I right now if Greg and Steven have the situation handled? Besides, I don't even know if he wants to see me right now. He was so upset; I don't want to make his condition worse by stressing him out when he wakes up."

Peridot hummed in thought. "If Steven was mad at you but got sick, would you be waiting for him?"

Pearl raised a brow and stared at her. "Of course, I would! I'd want him to know… I… cared…" She frowned as her words tapered off. "You're right. We should be out here waiting for him." Pearl gave Peridot a grateful look. "Why don't we go check on Twoie? I'm sure he'd enjoy the company." Peridot cackled triumphantly as she led the way to Steven's bed.

Garnet and Amethyst were quietly chatting downstairs with Greg in the light of the bright afternoon sun. Pearl, Steven, and Peridot were sitting around Twoie in Steven's bedroom. "Pearl, why have you guys been treating Twoie so badly?"

Pearl flinched at Steven's question. "W-well, the truth is… I guess I keep forgetting that he's you from the future, and so I sometimes criticize him for doing things I think are dangerous to us."

Peridot slammed her hands down on the bed. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S FROM THE FUTURE?"

Pearl covered her mouth with her hands. "I-I mean… Ah- actually-!"

Steven sighed and scooted closer to Peridot. "Keeping secrets is how we got here in the first place. Peridot, Twoie is actually me from the future. He came here by accident and got stuck here when the mystical gem artifact that brought him here broke. That's why he always seems like he knows what to do. He's lived this all before."

She opened her mouth and shut it several times without saying a word. "That… explains a lot." She began pacing beside the bed. "So if Twoie is older you from the future, and he arrived in this world, then that means he was aware that I would kidnap you. Then he was also aware that I wanted to try to trick you guys when we were in that room, which is why he tried to block me by sitting off to the side. And why he explained everything after the robot competition and set up the electricity in the barn! And tried to stop me at the kindergarten, and tried to talk to me about your reaction at the moonbase and got me hooked on Camp Pining Hearts! And- and let me keep the communicator! Because he was from the future this whole time, and so he changed things for a better timeline?"

Steven and Pearl exchanged a look as Peridot rambled about Twoie's actions. "Yeah! He was trying to make everything better! Like befriending you earlier and helping you understand earth better."

She whipped around and faced them. Her face had scrunched into a mix of anger and betrayal. "So he just used me then? He played with my feelings so that things would turn out the way he wanted them to?"

Steven shook his head. "I told you before Peridot, Twoie really cares about you. He told me before that you're one of his best friends in the future. That's why he wanted to help you earlier. He knew you'd have a hard time adjusting, and he hoped to make it easier for you."

Peridot sagged in relief. "Okay! Okay." She sat back down on the bed. "I don't comprehend why he tried so hard to make me happy, but I respect his efforts. He's done more for me than any gem has before. And sure, I consider you a 'friend,' Steven, but there's something different about Twoie." She thought about their late-night conversations when the gems were done building for the night, and Steven was asleep. Twoie usually stayed up later than his brother every night and often got up earlier. He'd help her with the drill or just teach her about the earth and earth customs. He seemed like he was on… a similar lightwave as her. Like he understood her.

Movement from the bed interrupted her chain of thoughts. Twoie had shifted slightly, and his eyelids were scrunched. "Twoie? Are you waking up?" Steven placed a hand on his brother's arm and gently shook it.

The eldest brother's eyes fluttered open, and he blinked in confusion at his surroundings. "W-where are-. Is this the house?"

Steven felt tears well up in his eyes as he threw himself at his brother. "Twoie! Thank goodness! You've been sleeping for hours, and you're sick, and we were so worried!"

Steven's shout alerted the rest of the family downstairs, and they hastened up the stairs. "Son! I'm so glad you're awake! You really worried us!" Greg sighed in relief as he hugged his eldest son.

Twoie broke it as he slowly propped himself up and jumped slightly when the washcloth fell from his face to his lap. "What?"

Peridot stepped forward. "You had the fever, Twoie, so Greg advised us to keep the cold washcloth on your head."

Twoie stared at her in confusion. "But I've never been sick before…"

Garnet took over the conversation. "We believe it was due to your exhaustion. You've been very busy helping us with the drill, and recent events have probably strained you further. We brought you back to the beach house because it is a more comfortable environment than the barn. In regards to gem missions, you're to remain here until your health improves. Just focus on regaining your strength for now."

Peridot watched as Twoie's confusion morphed into poorly concealed annoyance. "Right. Well, thanks for bringing me back." He turned to his father with a more relaxed smile, but the irritation was still slightly present in his tone. "Thanks for coming over, dad, but I'm fine. I'm sure it was just exhaustion. I'm going to go back to bed." He laid back down and turned so that his back faced everyone. Steven reached his hand out, but Greg shook his head.

"Alright, have a good rest, Twoie. If you need me, just call." He bid goodbye to Steven and headed back for the van. Something about needing the earth currency? That would require more research in the future. Peridot sighed once she broke out of her thoughts, at the sad look on Steven's face.

She looked around, though, as the gems made their way back downstairs. "Hey, Steven!" The boy in question turned to face her. "Why don't you show me some of your schoolwork. Twoie said something about biology textbooks and worksheets? Maybe there'll be something informative in there about human illnesses." Steven smiled in excitement at her idea and jumped to the living room to grab his textbook. As he rifled through his school supplies, Peridot glanced back at Twoie. She noticed it while he was sitting up. It was probably from last night's chase, but she was surprised it hadn't healed. She couldn't recall the word for it, though. It was on the tip of her tongue. Steven had referred to it awhile ago… "Steven, what was the word for the discoloration of the skin that occurs from an injury?"

Steven looked at her in surprise as he pulled out the correct book. "You mean a bruise? What made you think of that?"

Peridot balled one hand into a fist and lightly smacked it onto her palm. "That's it! I noticed that Twoie had a bruise on his hand when he woke up, and I was surprised that it hadn't healed yet."

Steven stiffened and ran to the side of the bed, book forgotten. Twoie was still sleeping on his side, but his right arm was outside of the blanket. There on the side of his wrist and partially hidden by the comforter was a dark purplish-pink splotch.