Things hadn't been the same since Jewel's birth. The Maheswaran-Universe parents felt like they were walking on eggshells with their third child. She was smaller than her siblings by a long shot, and both were extremely worried about how the aging process would work for Jewel. Would she age normally? Extremely slowly? Not at all? And would she live forever? These were the questions that rolled around in their heads constantly.

Connie was still at home. After news of the baby and how it "died" and came back, she was given a three months leave from work that she desperately needed. She needed the time with her husband and other children to try and help her mental state fluctuate back to normal.

But nothing was normal about having a pink baby.

Nothing was normal about watching her 24/7, just to make sure she was still breathing. Holding her in the corner of the room in the rocking chair, just...staring. Which is exactly what her husband did. He'd barely left the room in the week of their daughter's birth, and he'd only slept maybe 30 minutes altogether in the entire week.

She stood in the doorway, noticing the dark circles under his eyes as he rocked her, a loving look in his eyes that also had pools of fear swimming inside them, dark and full of worry.

She sighed. "Steven...honey come to bed. She's okay…" Her tone was almost begging territory, she could hardly take seeing him like this anymore.

At first he didn't answer her, only tilting his head upwards to look at her with a dazed and exhausted look, his normally fluffy hair a complete scruffy mess from not showering. Sometimes she had come in and even seen him instinctively form a bubble around himself and the baby. He was a wreck.

"I...I can't leave her, Connie...what if she needs me...what if she stops breathing again…" He stroked his infant's face, who cooed and nuzzled into her father's warm arms.

"S-she's fine, honey. You saved her, she's okay now...I need to nurse her…"

Like usual, he reluctantly handed their daughter over so his wife could breastfeed, just rocking in the rocking chair. The room was silent except for some suckling noises from Jewel, and Steven finally broke the silence.

"What if my powers wear off...what if the tears just...stop working…?"

Connie looked over at her husband sadly. She had never seen him so broken…"Honey...we both know it won't wear off. She'll live for a long long time…"

Steven only cringed at that. Yes, she would live a long time. She would outlive her future romantic partner and maybe even her own children and grandchildren. Would she grow to hate him? Or blame him for her being stuck in time? What if she stayed a baby for twenty years or something?

So many questions, so little answers.

Connie set a hand on her husband's shoulder, giving him a sympathetic and loving look. "Steven...why don't you go see Stevie and Comet? They miss you...they ask me all the time where Daddy is and I have to keep saying he's with the baby…"

The tired father felt guilty at that, but he wasn't ready to see his two older children quite yet. He was so focused on protecting his infant...and the other two kids hadn't even seen their sister yet…

"I...I can't. Not yet."

"They miss you so badly...surely it wouldn't hurt to go see them later today?"

He thought about it for a moment, reminding himself of how much he loved his older daughter and son. They were four and two now...yet it felt like only yesterday they were babies themselves. He missed them…

"Alright...I'll go see them. I miss the-"

Jewel's cries stopped both parents, who quickly tended to her. She needed a diaper change, which Connie handed off to her husband as he gestured for her to give him the baby. Bringing his infant to the changing table, he yawned and proceeded to clean her up.

Only for his fingernail to accidentally scrape her leg.

The pink baby screamed, clearly upset from even this tiny little touch. She wailed loudly, which caused both parents to immediately shush her, only to be stopped in their tracks.

She was glowing pink.

Steven's eyes were especially wide as he frantically tried to calm his daughter, only for one of her wails to cause a small sonic knockback, pushing both parents away with a gust of power. Connie noticed her husband shaking, and quickly took over and held her daughter to calm her, finally beginning to soothe her as Jewel stopped glowing. The shocked mother looked over at her husband, who was shaking slightly and breathing a bit heavily.

"She has my Pink abilities…"

"She just...glowed pink. That doesn't mean-"

"When is the only time you've ever seen me go pink, Connie?!"

Connie gulped, knowing full well when. When he had his horrific meltdown nine years ago. If their daughter had inherited the strange and powerful bursts of power from Pink Diamond herself, then they were really in trouble. None of their other kids had shown signs of having powers yet, but if their week old daughter was already showing signs of power…

They were in trouble.

Steven was practically hyperventilating, tugging at his hair. "She's like me...oh no, no she's like me...she's going to have powers and not be able to control them and-"

Connie set her baby down into her crib, trying to tend to her husband who was quite frankly panicking at this point.

"Shhh...babe, listen to me. It's going to be alright...we just don't understand what she has quite yet. Surely she can't have all your Diamond powers you had problems with as a teenager, she doesn't have a gem. Let's just...calm down here."

Steven nodded, trying to calm himself for the sake of his wife, leaning his cheek against her hand as she cupped his face lovingly.

"It'll be alright...maybe this was a one time thing…"

…

Jewel was by far the most destructive child they'd ever had. Her powerful outbursts kept getting worse and worse, cracking walls and mirrors with her screams when she was genuinely upset. Because of this, Steven kept a 24 hour watch on her even heavier than he was doing before, doing his best to keep his pink daughter happy so she didn't destroy more things. Because of this, both parents were extremely stressed, and it was beginning to get harder and harder to take care of all three children. Due to the circumstances, Steven reluctantly called his father and asked if he could take Stevie and Comet for a few days with the gems, which he of course agreed to immediately.

The house felt very strange without the laughter and constant footsteps of their two older children. But they found themselves in the nursery near-constantly, keeping an eye on their youngest child.

Connie found herself begging her husband once again to just please go to bed, but he continued to refuse. It wasn't until his wife had genuine tears in her eyes that he realized he needed to be there for her, not just their baby.

Steven stumbled to bed with his wife after moving the crib to their room, flopping down next to her and wrapping his arms around her lovingly.

Connie smiled softly, humming in content as she played with her husband's hair. "I missed you...I missed us…"

"I missed you too, baby...I'm so sorry I haven't been around…"

Connie kissed his cheek, nuzzling against him. "Things have been crazy lately...but I'm so glad you're back in bed with me…"

The love starved couple kissed each other tenderly, arms wrapped around each other. Kissing quickly led to making out, and making out led to some soft intimate touches that sent shivers down both of their spines.

"Connie…"

"Steven…"

Steven reached over past his wife to where their nightstand was, opening the drawer and moving his hand around looking for a specific item only to feel nothing but an empty box. They were out of protection.

"Shit…"

Connie rubbed her husband's back, trying to soothe him. "Maybe if you pull out-"

"No...I don't want to take the risk of getting you pregnant again…"

Connie sat up at that. "That doesn't sound like you...you've always wanted a big family."

Steven sighed, sitting up and rubbing his face with his cupped hands. "Things...have changed. Especially with Jewel's birth and powers. I've been thinking…"

Connie set a hand on her husband's shoulder as he stopped. "Thinking about what, honey…?"

"About...not having any more children."

"You mean...ever?"

"...yes."

…

After a long conversation between the two parents, it was decided that they would have no more children after Jewel. The risk of having another sick child was too much, and Steven still had PTSD from holding and reviving Jewel. It was agreed that Steven would undergo a vasectomy, and the Maheswaran-Universe family was officially going to stop growing.

After the vasectomy, Steven and Connie brought Stevie and Comet back home to the house to meet their sister. Steven was finally getting some sleep after his operation, so Connie was the one to introduce them. Stevie absolutely fell in love with her new sister, while Comet wondered what the big deal was.

But laying in bed, tears dripping onto his pillow, Steven grieved at the realization that he and Connie would never have another child. The risk was just too high, and they were already blessed with three beautiful children.

It would just take a while to grieve the harsh reality that his dream of having a huge family was over.

...

Not my proudest chapter and I'm sorry for that. I just haven't been feeling that great. I hope you guys all enjoy though, I'm going to try and get the next chapter done soon, I think this one was just a challenge for me to write. Leave a review and let me know how you guys like it!