To say that Peridot was a bit nervous would be an understatement. To be more accurate, she would take a stab in the dark and call this feeling an overwhelming sense of crippling anxiety.

Peridot and Amethyst sat in Yellow Diamond's office. There was originally only one chair in front of YD's desk, so Amethyst and Peridot had to grab one from the kitchen. In hindsight, Peridot would have rather stayed standing. At least that would give her a quick escape route if things were to go south with this meeting. Yellow Diamond sat at the other side of her desk, her hands on her desk, folded over one another as she studied her daughter's girlfriend.

Amethyst, unlike Peridot, was acting fairly lax in this situation. She looked around the room, seemingly surprised that it was so barren. With Peridot's description of how YD liked to live extravagantly, Amethyst expected her study, of all places, to be the most decorated with little knick knacks and antiques. Was there a reason for the room to be so bare? She would have to ask later. Or would that be rude for Amethyst to do? She didn't really have any idea of what was rude or not in the real world.

"You're awfully quiet." Yellow Diamond commented. Peridot didn't know whether to take this as a good or bad sign that her mother spoke first, but she didn't have time to think as Amethyst responded almost immediately.

"Yeah, sorry." Amethyst apologized. She just decided to treat this like any other conversation. "I, uh... feel kinda awkward about not really covering myself up for you."

YD shook her head. "It's nothing to apologize for. You don't have anything I haven't seen before."

"Well I figured that, but you know..." Amethyst rubbed the back of her head. "...I already told Peri, but I never really got the concept of modesty during my life, in my line of work, you know? I wanna change that. Of course because I'm in an actual relationship, but I also kinda wanna turn my life around."

Yellow Diamond listened intently to Amethyst's words. Normally, she wouldn't have given a second thought to anything a prostitute had to say to her, but Peridot had spoken so highly of this woman that she was inclined to give her a chance. And, honestly, YD was glad she did. She smiled.

"I'm glad you're starting to turn your life around." YD said. "And I'm glad that my daughter has played some part in your, ah... rehabilitation, for lack of a better word."

"Oh yeah, I owe everything to her." As Amethyst said this, she absentmindedly took Peridot's hand in hers. "I mean, there's bound to be a few snags, but we're sure to make it work."

"I don't doubt that. I'm sorry to say that I overheard one of those little snags. It sounds like you've had a pretty rough life."

Amethyst shrugged. "I wouldn't really call it rough. I mean, I loved what I did, even if some of it was a bit degrading. When I dumped my pimp, it was pretty smooth sailing for me."

"Was it really, though?" YD asked, leaning forward. "I wanted to ask you about your hair. Did you dye it?"

"I did, yeah." Amethyst ran her free hand through her hair, examining it. "Should be washing out soon, though. It's been a while."

"When did you dye it?"

"Since I started whoring and got my first pay." Amethyst responded, twirling her hair in her fingers, thinking. "I think a few months ago. Almost half a year."

"I was wondering why it was white." Peridot commented. She squeezed Amethyst's hand gently. "Honestly, I thought it was because you were stressed out."

Amethyst laughed. "Stressed? Babe, you know me. I'm never stressed."

"Well I'm not a doctor, but it's possible." YD said. "From what I've heard about you, Amethyst, you've fended for yourself for a long time before your previous occupation. When did you leave the orphanage?"

"When I was sixteen, I think." Amethyst responded. "I travelled for a couple of years before I got to New York. Hitching rides, hopping on train cars, staying the night at strangers's if I paint their fence or cut their grass; you know, that kinda stuff."

"You can't have been very well fed doing that." YD said with a concerned tone of voice. "How did you come across food, or water, or even sleep when you couldn't find a place to stay?"

"I slept on some grass, usually." Amethyst replied, as if she were talking about a Sunday stroll. "Sometimes I'd find a little box to sleep in with another homeless person. I woke up with bugs in my hair sometimes, but I always washed them out in a river, or someone's water hose if they let me use it. As for food, I didn't really eat much. A few berries, mushrooms, an occasional meal from a nice family." She looked down at her stomach, patting it with a chuckle. "I could stand to lose a few pounds, though."

YD shook her head. "I'm no doctor, but if anything, you need to eat more if you want to lose weight."

"You're right. You're not a doctor." Amethyst of course didn't mean what she said in an incredulous way, but she didn't see how she could possibly lose weight by eating more food.

"She's right." Peridot said, and Amethyst gave her girlfriend a disbelieving look. Before Amethyst could question her, Peridot continued. "If you're really worried about your figure, you need to get your three healthy meals a day. Or five small meals. Eating so little ruins your metabolism and makes your body store fat to keep you from starving to death."

"So your saying I do look fat." Amethyst asked, smirking. Peridot furiously shook her head.

"No, Ame, you know you're beautiful to me!"

"I know, babe, I know." Amethyst said, bringing Peridot's hand to her lips in a small kiss. "Honestly though, you sound like a walking, talking Wikipedia."

"There's no shame in being smart." Peridot took her hand away from Amethyst's and crossed her arms, but smiled nonetheless. "If it wasn't for that, I would've never met my mom."

Peridot and Amethyst looked at Yellow Diamon expecting to see a smiling and bashful mother. They expected YD to be modest, claiming that she was just lucky enough to climb to the top of a multi million dollar company to be able to adopt a daughter she loved so dearly. But the couple's expectant looks of happiness turned into that of horror at what they saw. Yellow Diamond, with her hand covering her mouth and eyes wide, had blood seeping from her mouth and passed her fingers.

"...mom?"

YD stood from her seat, clutching at her chest with her free hand as she fell into a coughing fit. Small drops of blood fell on her desk and her bathrobe. Though in small numbers, this terrified Peridot. She quickly stood from her dining chair, knocking it over as she ran to her mother's side.

"Oh god, Amethyst, call an ambulance!" Peridot yelled hysterically, feeling tears sting at her eyes. She placed a hand on YD's back, not sure what to do. Her terror only grew as her mother's back convulsed in rhythm to her coughing. "No, fuck that, go get Jasper!"

Amethyst didn't move. She stared wide eyed, practically frigid, gripping the arms of her chair tightly. Of course she would have moved, but only if Yellow Diamond hadn't been shaking her head the whole time Peridot was making demands.

"N-no..." YD said between coughs, which were becoming less frequent, and less bloody. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine!" Peridot argued. "You're coughing up blood! Fucking blood!"

"It's... it's just my blood pressure." YD explained. That didn't really calm Peridot down.

"If you're blood pressure is high enough to cough up blood, then you need to go to the hospital!"

"I said no!" YD yelled, standing up straight as she looked down at Peridot, who flinched. YD sighed, reaching to open her desk drawer for a box of tissues that lay within. "Sweetie, I'm fine." She said, taking a tissue to clean her mouth and her hands. "I've had high blood pressure to begin with. The same thing happened after I got off my flight to Italy. Going up and down from a mile in the air will do that to me."

"B-but you've been on trips before and you never- "

"Because I never let you see me like that." YD quickly interrupted, placed a hand on Peridot's shoulder after throwing the bloody, balled up tissue back in the drawer. "I was afraid you would overreact, and look at what just happened."

"Of course I'd overreact, you had blood coming out of your mouth!" Peridot yelled. Her fists were balled and her face contorted in fear and rage.

"But I'm fine." YD repeated, sighing as she returned to her seat. She placed her hand against her forehead. "Why don't you go outside, get some fresh air? You could use it after I scared you like that. I'm sorry, sweetie."

"I-it's fine, but..." Peridot paused, sniffing and wiping her eyes with the palm of her hand. "Just tell me what's up next time, okay? You scared me to death."

"Holy shit." Amethyst finally found her voice, putting a hand over her chest and taking a deep breath. "Talk about drama."

"Please, this barely qualifies." YD scoffed. She leaned back in her chair, sighing. "A little scare like this would be nothing to what you felt last week, I'm sure." She said, addressing Peridot.

"I don't care about that." Peridot replied quietly, gripping her arm. "I thought I was losing you. Recovering from that was hard, but I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"I'm fine." YD repeated again. She was getting tired of being worried over. "Honestly, there's no need to worry about me. I'm in perfect health. Now please, do yourself a favor and go outside. Take a walk, maybe tell Jasper and Lapis that I've returned. Where are they, anyway?" YD asked in realization. "I didn't see Lapis around. She should be working on her morning routine by now."

"Oh they're a thing now." Amethyst answered, not quite as affected as her girlfriend was by YD's coughing. "You know, dating."

"I see." YD didn't seem surprised at all. In fact, one could even assume that she had suspected this. "I'll have to make sure they understand that employee relationships must abide by certain rules. Peridot." She looked to her daughter, who's eyes were red from crying. "Please go get Jasper and Lapis for me. The fresh air will do you some good. I don't want to repeat myself again."

Peridot nodded, but hesitated to leave the room. "O-okay, but- "

"I'd also like to speak to Amethyst alone." YD interrupted.

Peridot bit her lip. She didn't know what to do. She was just terrified a few seconds ago, then relieved, and now she wanted to stay with her mother in case of a relapse. But if she didn't do as her mother said and actually go outside to get a little breathing room for herself, her hair would eventually turn as white as Amethyst's. Peridot was pulled from her thoughts when Amethyst's hand slipped into hers. The ex-prostitute had stood from her chair to stand beside her girlfriend to offer some comfort.

"Seriously, if your mom says she's fine, then she's fine." Amethyst tried to reassure. "And I'll be fine too. You go and get a little alone time okay?"

"...alright." Peridot finally relented with a sigh. Amethyst smiled and kissed her girlfriend's cheek.

"Good, now get your ass out of here. And say hi to Lapis and Jasper for me."

Peridot smirked, feeling a bit more at ease. "Sure. I'll make sure they know you're free for a booty call."

"The sex wasn't so bad that you're pushing me on other people, was it?"

YD cleared her throat, catching the couple's attention. "I'd appreciate it greatly if you didn't talk about your risque life in front of me. Or in public. Or in front of anyone whatsoever."

"Yeah yeah, I get it." Amethyst said as Peridot kissed her cheek one more time before heading from the room. Amethyst put her fingers to her head in a salute. "Scout's honor, I won't talk about how your daughter is such a good fuck in front of you or anyone else."

YD crossed her arms, pouting. "I'm tempted to have you kicked out of my house, you know."

"But you won't." Amethyst sat down in her chair and reached down to bring Peridot's chair back to a standing position. "I'm way too charming."

YD nodded in agreement. "I do admit, you have a certain charisma to you. It's a little frightening and relieving."

Amethyst cocked her head. "How so?"

"Well as far as I know, you've been incredibly lucky in your travels." YD explained. "You must have visited hundreds of home, dozens of towns and cities, and not once did someone try to take advantage of you?"

"Well if they wanted to, I never gave 'em a chance. I never really thought about it, though. Only experience I had with someone trying to rape me was my old pimp."

"Give me a name and I can have him arrested for you." YD suggested, but Amethyst shook her head.

"That's sweet of you, but my police friend Garnet already took him down. Dunno where Marty is, but I hope he's rotting."

"Oh, that man." YD said in realization. "Jasper wouldn't stop complaining about he tried to pay her for sex. Or that he thought she was a man."

"Yeah, the guy's a real dick. I don't know why my friend Vidalia got with him in the first place. So glad she dumped him."

"Who's she with now?"

"Some fisherman dude named YellowTail." Amethyst chuckled. "You know, it's kinda weird. Your name is Yellow, my friend's boyfriend is named Yellowtail. Oh, and get this!" Amethyst paused, the laughter rising in her. She rubbed her eye with the palm of her hand. "She and Marty had a kid, and you know what? They named him SourCream!" Amethyst hit her hand on the arm of her chair as if she had just told the most hilarious joke in the world. And, in Yellow Diamond's opinion, it wasn't that bad.

YD chuckled along with Amethyst's laughter, keeping herself composed more easily than her guest. When the laughter finally died down YD sighed. "Oh wow... I wonder what she'll name her second child, if she has one. Vidalia is a type of onion, so maybe that?"

"I don't think V would be that obvious." Amethyst said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I mean, first SourCream, then Onion? That's like the flavor of the freaking chips. Sour cream and Onion."

"Maybe she'll pick a good name. I'm personally hoping for Onion."

"I like you, Miss D." Amethyst crossed her legs, resting her head in her hand. "I already told Peri this, but if we weren't together, I'd totally fuck you if you wanted."

"Well I'm certainly flattered." YD had the faintest hint of a rosy blush rise to her cheeks. "As you said though, you are in a relationship. But who knows..." YD licked her lips, pulling at the top of her bathrobe. "...maybe we can make something work. My daughter wouldn't have to know."

"Is this a test?" Amethyst asked with a nervous chuckle. Was she seriously being solicited for sex by her girlfriend's mother? "Cuz, uh... I honestly hope this is a test."

YD chuckled, running her hand through her hair. "Yes, this is a test. You really think I'd want you to cheat on my daughter for my own pleasure?"

Amethyst sighed in relief, uncrossing her legs as she relaxed in her chair. "Sorry. I mean, I've never been in a relationship until a bit more than a week ago. You get a lot of misleading shit from T.V sitcoms."

"I can't argue with you there." YD chuckled and stood from her chair. "I think I'm going to go to bed and sleep off this jet lag. It was nice meeting you Amethyst. My daughter is in good hands." She held out her hand, which Amethyst took to shake.

"Thanks. I mean, I don't have a job, I used to be a prostitute, and I've lived my life as a hobo for the past couple of years till I got to New York, but at least I'm emotionally stable."

"I am now weighing other options." YD said, though her smirk kept the mood joyful. They're hands came apart, and Amethyst put her hands behind her head.

"Well, since you're gonna head to bed and all, I'm gonna go find Peri."

"Sounds good to me." YD tugged at the sash of her bathrobe, tightening it. "Maybe you can help Jasper and Lapis calm her down. Actually, you can try calming all of them down. My employees must have been told about me by now."

"What, are they afraid of you or something?" Amethyst asked as she watched her girlfriend's mother walk to her door. YD stopped in the door way and turned to answer Amethyst.

"Oh, not at all. If Peridot's told them about my little... condition, I'd imagine that being afraid is furthest from their minds. I'd imagine they're more along the lines of seething rage."

"I'M GONNA RIP HER FUCKING HEAD OFF AND SHIT DOWN HER GIRAFFE NECK!"

Peridot's knuckles were white as she gripped the sides of the chair she sat in. The fear that ran through her as she watched Jasper's uncontrolable anger, pounding her fist against the kitchen table with every other word. Of course, this fear was nowhere near how terrified she was when her mother was coughing up blood. Ironically, that was precisely what Jasper was so mad about.

Peridot, Jasper, and Lapis were in the kitchen of the Diamond Estate Guest House. It's significantly smaller than the kitchen of the actual mansion, but an impressive size nonetheless. The yellowish beige walls echoed Jasper's yells quite nicely. Lapis paced back and forth behind Jasper, rubbing her fingers against her temples. Both of them wore practically nothing. Lapis only wore Jasper's orange muscle tank top, which was three sizes too large for Lapis and threatened to fall down her shoulders, and Jasper wore a white sports bra with black boxer shorts.

"Y-you know..." Peridot started timidly. "She said she was fine."

"That's not the point!" Jasper's voice had quieted down a notch or two, but her anger still raged on as her fist pounded against the table. Peridot was starting to make a bet in her head on which would break first: the table, or Jasper's hand. "She never told us! Even when I picked that bitch up from the air port before, she never did that. Was she hiding it all this time?!"

"Well I don't wanna be Captain Obvious, but if you never knew until now, then..." Peridot trailed off, wincing as some skin on one of Jasper's knuckles flew broke, leaving drops of blood on the table. She looked passed Jasper to Lapis, who still paced. She couldn't get a grasp on exactly how her friend felt. "Lapis, Jasper's hand is bleeding."

Lapis paused in her pacing to look at the small blood puddle forming on the table, twice the size of Jasper's knuckle. She sighed and continued pacing. "Jasper honey, please stop punching the table."

"Just. One. More!" Jasper said. On the final word, her fist met the table with such intensity that it left a dent in the fine finish of the wooden surface. The bigger than average woman finally succumbed to pain, bending forward and resting her head on the table as she clenched her injured hand with her healthy one. "Ah, fuck!"

"I'll uh... grab a first aid kit." Peridot went to stand from her chair. Lapis wasn't having any of it though, turning her head to face her friend and speaking with a slightly raised tone of voice.

"Stay where you are. I'll get the kit."

Peridot didn't want to argue. She returned to he seated position and waited patiently as Lapis left the kitchen to look for the first aid kit. It was most likely in the bathroom. In this short interval, Peridot didn't dare utter a word. She stayed silent as Jasper ran water over her hand in the sink to clear the blood away for Lapis to clean in. They both ignored the blood on the table, deciding to clean it later. Silently, Lapis came back into the room carrying a plastic box with a red cross on it. It was assumed to be filled with bandages and disinfectant. The only sound following Lapis' administrations was the occasional hiss of pain that came from Jasper.

Peridot didn't think that Jasper would have such a reaction. She honestly didn't think the driver cared about Yellow Diamond at all. This made Peridot realize that she really knew next to nothing about her bigger friend.

Peridot knew that Lapis had run away from her home because her father was abusive toward her. The maid made her way to YD's mansion, sneaking passed the old security, and demanded a job. YD was so impressed that she allowed Lapis to be her made. But Peridot had absolutely know idea where Jasper even came from. She had just appeared out of nowhere, a couple of years older than Peridot and Lapis, already trained on how to drive a limo and where to drive to when needed. Back then, Peridot had just rolled with the situation; but now, she found a question biting at the tip of her tongue.

"Jasper?" Peridot asked.

"What is it?" Came a hoarse reply, Jasper's voice having been torn with all of her yelling.

Peridot bit her lip, hesitating before speaking her mind. "I uh... you never told me how you came to work for my mother, did you?"

"No, I didn't."

"Well do you think you could tell me? If you don't mind, of course."

Jasper didn't answer. Either her voice was too shot that she couldn't talk anymore, or it was that she didn't want to. She could have easily shaken her head no, but since she didn't, Peridot continued to wait.

Lapis sighed, having finished cleaning Jaspers wound with disinfectant and began wrapping her hand in bandages. "I can tell her, if you want me to."

Peridot was a little jealous that Jasper had told Lapis about how she became a driver for Yellow Diamond, but she rationalized that they were romantically involved. It was only natural that Jasper would tell Lapis her little secret. Jasper again stayed quiet, but she nodded her head. Lapis sighed again, and dropped the second biggest bomb Peridot had experienced that day.

"Yellow Diamond had a sister."

Author's Note:

FINALLY! I'm SO SO sorry for the long wait! It took me forever until I was finally comfortable with the length of the chapter and how it ended. Because like I said many times before, I don't make any rough drafts; I make it all up on the spot. I told you it would come out before Halloween though!

Most of you may already know who YD's sister is based on context clues, but I hope that it's a surprise to some of you at least. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message or look me up on tumblr at 0zerotolerence "dot" tumblr "dot" com. You know what to do with the "dots."

The next story to have a chapter coming out is Pearl's Rejuvenation. As always, so long for now.