Warning: Feces/Throw up warning. Not Graphic at all, but just in case that type of thing grosses you out (ruins a story for you) even in the slightest.
Pearl especially liked formula. It required methodical cleaning, preparing and dispersing. You had to sanitize the bottles, using water at a degree of heat that would certainly destroy any and all bacteria. Then there was making sure the right amount of boiled, sterile water was in the perfect ratio with formula powder. Too much water and Steven wouldn't receive enough nutrients and too much formula and Steven wouldn't even be able to swallow it. You had to know exactly when it expired or required dispersing. She had done it so many times in the past three months of Steven's life that she had it down to an exact and perfect science.
So that was why she was sure, absolutely so, that it must've been the formula that had made Steven so sick.
She watched him fretfully as Greg changed his diaper once again, his little limbs bunched up and shaking with his hoarse shrieks. Pearl winced at the redness of his lower region, watching as Greg wet a cloth in warm water and cleaned as gently as he could. But even the gentlest of wipes still hurt and Steven only sobbed harder, his teeny fist balling into impossibly tight fists.
"Greg…" Pearl called out, hesitating before stepping forward from the corner she had found herself in. "Perhaps we should leave him without his diaper."
"But he's might-." Greg wiggled his fingers rather dramatically and grimaced. "Again."
"The material is chafing against his skin rather terribly. Combined with the sweat, his fever and the liquefied waste-it'll only cause him more pain in the long run." Pearl whispered, laying a cool hand across Steven's pudgy belly. "I can just sit him in the tub with a towel and throw out what his stomach decides to ruin."
Greg looked from Steven, who had now calmed some with something cool against his fevered skin to the dwindling supply of diapers and wipes.
"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Greg sighed. "Do you want me to set him up, up here or down stairs?"
Pearl picked Steven up, cupping his naked bottom with a towel just in case. She loved him to pieces, but she really didn't want to be covered in excrement. "Down stairs. He likes the glow of the warp pad."
Greg lumbered down stairs heavily, even in the dimness of the night, she could tell he was exhausted. He and Pearl had been taking shifts with Steven since three am this morning. That's when the horrible symptoms had arisen-after his first bottle.
Pearl had seen Steven regurgitate the formula all the time-Greg had explained that this was normal for infant human beings. Their new digestion systems often was overwhelmed and immature. But never had Steven not been able to hold down a bottle after spitting-up once. He had reluctantly drank the first offered bottle and then had vomited four times afterwards-the fourth time producing a horrid, gagging sound that had scared Pearl to the very center of her being. Out of the all the sounds Steven made, none of them had ever sounded like this.
Humans needed food. Tinier humans required food in an ever more desperate way. She had read too many articles about what happened to infants who skipped even one bottle. She had gone to Greg, not even flinching as hot formula seeped onto her shoulders and down her back.
First the upset stomach. Then came the bowels. Steven had already ruined thirteen diapers, four onesies and a section of the couch. Greg had had to change shirts twice and Pearl had worn a permanent towel on her shoulder since noon.
Thankfully though, his fever had dropped impressively since five this afternoon. He had begun slowly drinking his formula again and was now only incredibly cranky and whiny.
Greg plunked in the tiny porcelain tub they had acquired from Greg's uncle and aunt's property downstairs. It was slightly bigger than their kitchen sink, a worn out white, and its skin laced with thin, spider web cracks. They usually only broke this out for extreme messes (it was much easier to clean) and since Steven liked the faucet of the sink so much.
"You think maybe he'll want another bath?" Greg groaned, rubbing his lower back as he straightened.
Pearl nodded but didn't speak. Steven's cries had stopped altogether and he was now only whimpering while he dozed.
They had given him a bath earlier today after his fever had gone down. Warm water to wipe away the sticky sweat that had gathered rather rudely around his diaper area and under his neck. The warm water had released the tension in his strained muscles and had led to a wonderfully, quiet and peaceful nap.
"He needs to sleep and it worked last time." Pearl whispered as she walked down the stairs. "I think that was the last bout hopefully."
"If it's not, if this continues…we're gonna have to go to the diaper." Greg moaned, rubbing his hands over his baggy eyes.
"T-the 'diaper'?"
"Shoot, I meant doctor." Greg chuckled. "My brain is kind of fried, sorry."
"You should go rest then." Pearl whispered, heading to the sink and grabbing a large, clean bucket. She placed it in the sink and began to run warm water. "You need to be at your best if there is an emergency and we must go to the doctor."
"You're right." Greg mumbled. He approached Pearl and Pearl handed him Steven. Greg kissed his little forehead, rubbing his back. "Daddy's gonna go get some well-needed sleep and you should too. Don't give Pearl any more trouble, young man. I'll be back in the morning."
Pearl carried the bucket to the tiny tub and slowly began to fill it. She had thought that it ridiculous to speak so frankly to an infant whose understanding of the human language was obsolete, but she had become quite fond of it now. Steven liked it when people spoke to him. He would open his eyes wide and stick his tongue out in concentration and curl his feet onto his stomach. She personally didn't engage in 'baby talk', as the many humans who encountered Steven did, but instead spoke to him as she normally would. Steven seemed to prefer this.
"Okay, thanks for everything again Pearl." Greg whispered, handing Steven to Pearl. "I knew he was going to be a handful, but…."
"It's fine. Neither of us knew what to really expect." Pearl shrugged. "I'm just glad I could help. Now go, rest. When Garnet and Amethyst get back, we'll know for certain if we really need to go see the doctor."
Greg nodded sleepily and bid them a good night.
Pearl really hoped they wouldn't have to go see the children's doctor. They had gone to see her once when Steven had been an even smaller infant, he had been so small and Greg had been worried (something about low birth weight-which Pearl had thought quite ridiculous since Rose's precious baby couldn't have been small. Rose simply didn't create anything small or weak).
Garnet, Pearl, and Greg had all managed to fit into a cramped examination room and watched as the doctor ran her gloved fingers over Steven's gem over and over again. She had asked much too many questions and Garnet had strongly held back the doctor's hand from touching Pearl's own gem in curiosity. Needless to say they had left quickly-Greg was worried that Garnet might punch the woman if they didn't.
She hadn't liked that woman and now she and Garnet had decided against doctor's all together. Steven thankfully had picked up the weight easily and never had any problems with milestones or such, so they hadn't need to go see any doctor since.
Pearl dipped Steven into the bath, letting him get used to the water before letting all but his gem sink into the water. She grabbed a wash cloth and let the sweet smelling soap soak into every fiber before resting it over his tummy. She washed him well, kneading the soap into his damp curls trying to rid the smell of sweat and sick from him. Steven relaxed against her hand that was holding him up and began to doze off again.
The warp pad activated and Pearl sighed in relief as Garnet and Amethyst stepped in. Amethyst was covered in an unhealthy amount of indigo dust and dirt and she looked as though she had been thrown about by whatever monster they had encountered. Garnet was unmarked and quickly crossed the room in four long strides.
"How is he?" Garnet asked, squatting next to her.
"He's doing much better." Pearl said. "His fever's gone down and Greg said it might take another bottle before he's producing solid waste again."
"He doesn't look like he's in pain anymore." Amethyst groaned, stretching her short limbs as far as they would go. She and Garnet had been brief witness to Steven's pain, he had been crying so hard that Amethyst had barely been able to stand it. Garnet had sat with him, quietly warning them whenever he was about to expel. They had only gone because some gem monster had begun rampaging and the situation demanded their attention. Garnet had gone because she had needed to go and Amethyst because Steven's pained wails were tearing apart (especially since she couldn't do anything to help him.) Garnet had made the motion to ask Pearl if she wanted to go too, but once glance at the crazed look in Pearl's eye and she had simply grabbed Amethyst and left.
"That's good." Garnet whispered, rubbing one of her fingers under Steven's chin. He gave a gurgled coo and splashed his feet contently. "He should be fine the rest of the night."
"That's good." Pearl released a large breath, all of the tension releasing from her limbs. "I'm just going to clean him up and then I'll put him to bed."
"That's good with me!" Amethyst yawned, looking impressively exhausted. "I'mma be in my room asleep in a fridge if you guys need me."
"I have to attend to the bubbles but I'll help you put him to bed." Garnet promised, resting a hand on Pearl's shoulder before hurrying back into the temple.
Pearl quickly finished Steven's bath, letting him soak a little before the water began to cool. She dabbed at his skin with their fluffiest towel, being careful not to irritate his skin any further. She rubbed lotion, massaging his tired limbs until he was practically putty in her arms.
"This will be one of the very few days young man, where I'll allow you to be without diaper-so don't get used to this. Modesty is the best policy." Pearl whispered, lifting him onto her shoulder and bringing him up to the loft. She sat down in her rocking chair and laid a fluffy blanket down on her lap. Steven wiggled and nuzzled into her blankets, happy to be warm and free of his scratchy diaper.
"I'm sorry, Steven." Pearl whispered woefully, stroking the thickening curls on top of his head. "This is all my fault. I make sure everything is so clean. You only eat formula and it's my job to make sure you eat it. I-I-I must've made a mistake-let it sit too long or didn't clean it properly."
Steven was listening, she could tell by the way he nudged her flat stomach to encourage her to continue speaking. He may not understand, but he wanted her voice. That was all she needed, because she was alone and all the horrible guilt at his pain was bubbling to the surface with an insuppressible ferocity. She had been holding it all since Greg had arrived-determined not to cry in front of him or Garnet or Amethyst.
"I always make mistakes-that's just my destiny I suppose. The doomed destiny of a defect. You're the most important and most precious being and I can't even take care of your properly. This is all my fault. All my fault." Pearl doesn't realize she'd started to cry until Steven's begun making his suckling noise. A few of her tears had fallen onto his face and on his fist, he had mistaken it for milk and now was suckling his hand.
"Y-you're hungry?" Pearl giggled, wiping at her eyes. "You so blindly trust me again? What if I cause you more pain? T-that's seems to be all I can do to the people I love. H-h-hurt them."
"Pearl!" Garnet snapped, suddenly at the top of the stairs. Pearl flinched, jostling Steven in her lap and causing him to cry out. One of his fist tightened around her tutu and pulled with all its little might as if to say: 'What're you doing Pearl? I'm sleeping here!'
"G-Garnet…" Pearl hastily wiped her eyes. How long had she been standing there?
"Pearl. Pearl." Garnet crossed the loft easily, suddenly in front of Pearl on her knees. "You're not responsible for this."
"Yes I am!" Pearl insisted, her voice shaking as she struggled to keep it quiet. "How could he contract a stomach virus if he's only ever met one other extremely healthy baby? It's through the food! And I make his food and I thought I was doing it right, bu-but-…"
"But nothing." Garnet insisted. "You may be the one to make it, but you're not always the one to handle it. We all feed Steven. Besides, Greg said that it's good Steven catch these things early."
"He was in so much pain though." Pearl whimpered.
"Pain he will forget with time." Garnet sighed, sitting up so that she hovered over them both, her large hands resting on the arms of the rocking chair. "Greg said so. Greg said that infants catch illness easy and that most of them take much longer than Steven did to recover."
Steven opened his eyes from his daze and kicked his feet into her stomach again, a tad more forceful. 'Feed me I say! Stop your blathering and fill my belly!' His feet said with each tiny nudge.
"He's hungry. That's a good thing, Pearl. Come on, I'll make the bottle with you." Garnet whispered, cradling Pearl's cheek in her hand, using her thumb to wipe the tears from one of Pearl's eyes.
Pearl nodded, smiling weakly and briefly pressing Garnet's hand into her cheek before standing. Steven easily went into Garnet's arms, he sucked on his hands and idly watched Pearl begin preparing his formula. Garnet handed her the formula powder and watched as Pearl swirled the contents of the cleaned bottle while humming.
Earlier in the day, Steven had been lackluster at eating. He had reluctantly taken the bottle but had barely ate any. Mostly just letting most of the liquid getting all over on his chest and Pearl's arms. As soon as Garnet got the bottle close enough for Steven to smell, he latched on immediately and began furiously drinking.
"Oh, slow him down Garnet, he's going to make himself sick again." Pearl fretted. Garnet took the bottle away after a few more furious gulps and lifted Steven onto her shoulder for a quick burp. She did this repeatedly until Steven had found a lazy, comfortable pace. Pearl rubbed Steven's back, happy to feel that the burning dryness of his skin had reduced to a soft warmth.
"Steven loves you too." Garnet whispered suddenly. Pearl looked up at blushed.
"He's only an infant. He has no concept of love." Pearl muttered bashfully.
"He may not know what 'love' is-the definition or the theory or the concept." Garnet said with a smile. "But he loves your voice, he pops up whenever hears it. He wanted you when his fever spiked and he only eats the formula you make. He's not mad at anybody over this either."
"Can that be called love?"
"Isn't it strange?" Garnet chuckled. "How we're so sure of who we love, but when it comes to who loves us. We're never really sure. For the longest time Ruby thought Sapphire didn't really love her, did you know that?"
"During, the before the war time?" Pearl asked, knowing the fewest of details about Garnet's-or rather Ruby and Sapphire's pasts.
"Yes. Sapphire and I aren't the best at expressing ourselves. Ruby hadn't even realized the little things Sapphire was doing were her version of love." Garnet grinned. "The little things that Steven does are his version of love. It won't be for a few more years until he'll be able to communicate this properly, but I assure you Pearl he loves you."
Pearl blushed, resting her hand on his back and turning away nervously.
Love. That had always been a tricky subject for Pearl; for all pearls really. It had been hard to accept and even harder to properly reciprocate. She had had thousands of years though to practice, with Rose, Garnet and Amethyst. So she was confident that she could say this aloud without choking (she had choked quite terribly the first time she had gathered enough to courage to say it to Rose.)
"W-w-well I-I love y-you too, Steven." She pressed a shy kiss into his forehead and didn't even mind when one of his fingers stuck itself up her nose.
A/N: AGGGGHHH! College can suck so much-do professors get together and decide to assign essays and midterms during the same week just for fun?
Anyways, sorry for the lateness. Once again, I have tons of half-finished prompts just sitting in Word waiting to be finished and I either don't have time or the inspiration to finish them. Hopefully next week though, I'll have more time to write.
Some thanks are in order, because 'Growing Up With Steven' has acquired 300+ reviews! Oh My Gosh, I love every single one of them. I have read all of them at least twice and I apologize if I hadn't had the chance to personally thank you. So if I haven't I'll say it now: THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW THEY TOTALLY MAKE MY DAY OHMYGOSH, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thanks for all the favorites and follows as well.