And here's chapter two of the story. This one is longer so it kinda took more time to think up and write I hope you enjoy it.
A month later saw Steven on his bedroom loft, watching an episode of Crying Breakfast Friends. As the sweet and sad cartoon ended, the Gate to the Temple opened and Pearl slowly walked out holding her head in her hands, as if in pain. The boy was about to greet her but noticed her pained posture and instead asked. "Pearl?"
Pearl, startled, looked up at him blearily but smiled in an attempt to look normal. "Oh, hi Steven, do you need anything?"
He shook his head. "Are you ok, Pearl? You look a little sick."
"I'm perfectly fine, Steven." She took another step but stumbled slightly, holding her Gem.
"Pearl!" he hoped to his feet to assist her.
"Steven, it's nothing, really." She tried insisting but he didn't believe her.
"Stop lying!" he snapped, surprising her. "I know you don't want me to worry but I do, Pearl! I worry because I care about you a lot." As he finished his tirade, Pearl felt a stab of guilt piercing her. "Please tell me what's wrong."
"Oh, Steven." She knelt down in front of him. "Thanks for caring but it's nothing, really. I just have a minor ache in my gem that will fade soon." When he didn't look convinced, she added. "Tell you what, if the pain gets worst I'll go to Rose's Fountain."
"Promise?" he asked with big, teary eyes. Pearl chuckled.
"Promise." It was then that the Gate opened again, this time allowing Garnet to exit.
"Pearl, Steven," she called. "There's a corrupted Gem at the Battlefield and we must poof it."
The other two nodded and Pearl stood up. "Where's Amethyst?" she asked, inquiring about the short Gem's whereabouts.
"She's at her human friend's house again." said Garnet, already standing on the warp pad. "We won't need her help so it's not an issue."
"She's spending alot of time there, if you ask me," Pointed out Pearl as she and Steven stood next to Garnet.
"In think is great that Amethyst is having fun!" interjected Steven and Pearl said no more as they warped.
They soon arrived at the Battlefield and immediately noticed the signs of a Gem Monster. Large furrows marked the ground as strawberries lay crushed with many of the weapons were disturbed from their normal resting spots. Garnet silently signaled for them to follow her as she guided the trio towards the monster's location.
As they walked, Pearl felt her gem ache getting slowly intensify, her gem pounding as nausea hit her. She did her best to ignore it and move on forward, knowing that she needed to be prepared for when they encountered the Gem.
They didn't wait long as suddenly the corrupted beast appeared on their path and roared. This monster had the form of a huge six-legged red bear with four eyes, a scorpion tail and a bright red Gem on its chest. The Crystal Gems summoned their weapons as it roared again and lunged for them.
The Gems jumped away (with Garnet grabbing Steven), causing the Bear-pion to stumble due to momentum. Seeing the chance Garnet and Pearl leap for it, the fusion smashing her gauntlets on its head as Pearl stabbed its back. The beast roared in pain and swung its tail to stab Pearl back. Pearl dodged but stumbled off the Bear-pion's back and landed on her feet, gracefully.
She was about to leap again when a sudden pulse of pain from her gem, causing her to gasp and stagger. Her hand reached up to try rubbing the pain away but she pulled it back sharply at the burning heat it emitted. Another pulse in her gem made her whimper, her spear vanishing due to lost concentration.
"Pearl, watch out!" warned Steven as the Bear-pion swung one of its paws toward the dazed gem. Pearl couldn't react in time but luckily, she was saved at the last second when Garnet grabbed her, the paw crashing into the ground where Pearl had been moments ago. The fusion lowered her mate on the ground behind a few of the largest weapons, away from the monster's view.
"Are you alright?" she asked concerned.
"Y-Yeah," Pearl nodded as the pain faded away. Garnet frowned and was about to press further when a shrill cry stopped both their hearts.
"GUYS!"
Remembering Steven, they frantically glanced back at the fight and saw him cornered by the Bear-pion, using his shield to block its stinger's stabs. "STEVEN!" They shouted in panic and once again charged at the beast, Pearl stabbing it with a spear as Garnet punched it away. While the fusion pummeled the Bear-pion, Pearl rushed to Steven.
"Steven, are you ok?" she asked frantically. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No," answered the boy. "I managed to summon my shield in time."
"Oh good, well then, let's go help Garnet and-" the pain returned suddenly with much more force than before and she let out a pained gasp as her hands flew to her head. She swayed in place as her Gem pounded mercilessly and the last thing she registered was her temperature skyrocket before everything went dark.
"Pearl!" exclaimed the young boy in horror as he watched his mother figure sway in pain the collapse in an unmoving heap. He knelt beside her and shaked her prone body, calling "Wake up!" in an attempt to wake her. Seeing that it wasn't working, Steven looked at where Garnet was still fighting the Bear-pion and yelled. "Garnet! Pearl fell down and she won't wake up!"
These news prompted the fusion to finish the beast and with a mighty smashing of her gauntlets, the Bear-pion was reduced to just a Gem that Garnet immediately bubbled. Once the bubble was sent to the temple, Garnet raced to where Pearl lay and sat down beside the young boy. "What happened?" she asked trying to sound calm but in reality she was freaking out.
"I don't know!" wailed the distraught boy. "She was checking up on me and then she grabbed her gem before fainting! I knew there was something wrong with her! Before coming on the mission Pearl told me that her gem hurt." Steven looked at Garnet with tears in his eyes and snot leaking of his nose. "Garnet, what's wrong with her? I-Is this what happens to gems before becoming corrupted? Is Pearl gonna turn into a monster?"
"No," said Garnet. "This doesn't look anything like Gem corruption." Garnet gazed down at Pearl and gently placed her right hand on her burning gem. She was momentarily surprised at the intense heat but didn't show it and instead let the metaphorical gears turn in her mind. 'There's something familiar in all this. I have seen this before, or at least, Ruby and Sapphire have.' She searched through her memories and the memories of her components for the answer when an almost forgotten memory belonging to her red side hit her. 'It can't be!' mentally exclaimed Garnet, hidden eyes widening. 'There must be some mistake! Pearl cannot be ...' a vision flashed before her and her eyes widened even more.
"Garnet!" Steven's call snapped her out of her vision. He had watched with slight concern as his role model suddenly froze, as if in shock. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing, Steven," she carefully picked up Pearl bridal style and turned to the hybrid. "I have an idea of what's wrong with Pearl but I'm gonna need to take her back to the Temple to check her better. If what I think is true then she's not sick."
This confused Steven greatly. If Pearl wasn't sick then what was wrong with her? Nervertheless, he followed the fusion back toward the war pad and returned home. Garnet immediately headed for the Gate but looked back at Steven. "Stay here. I'm gonna need privacy to check up on her. If Amethyst comes back, tell her what happened." When he nodded, Garnet activated her door and entered the Burning Room. Taking one of the tunnels, she quickly arrived at hers and Pearl's secret bedroom.
Normally this room was used mostly for rather salacious actions between her and her mate but its privacy was beneficial for her to check up on the unconscious gem in her arms. Gently, she lowered Pearl on the soft bed and rested her head on a soft pillow. Once Pearl was comfortable, she set to work and gently untied the pale gem's sash from around her then slowly lifted her shirt. Almost immediately she noticed something; Pearl's normally flat abdomen had a small bulge rising from it. With shaky fingers, Garnet gently palpated it and what she felt made her eyes widen yet again. She retracted her hand and covered Pearl's stomach again. 'It's true! I saw the possibility but I never...'
She shook her head and concentrated on the present. Pearl's skin was burning and if she didn't cool her down, they'll be disastrous consequences to face. Gently, she pressed her right palm to Pearl's heated gem, not flinching due to her heat resistance, and channeled Sapphire's cold influence through it.
The effects were immediate and Pearl's body temperature decreased back to normal. Her eyes began to flutter a few moments later and she woke up soon after. Groaning, she turned and let noticing Garnet, she gave her a smile. "Hey."
"Hey." Garnet helped her sit up and headed to the point. "Why didn't you tell me your gem was hurting before going on the mission?"
Pearl looked away in shame. "Steven told you?" At the fusion's nod she sighed. "I'm sorry, I thought it was nothing more than cluttering in my gem and didn't want to worry you over nothing."
It was Garnet's turn sigh. "Pearl, it's not cluttering in your gem that caused this." This made Pearl finally look at her. The words where at the tip of Garnet's tongue but the fusion found herself struggling to say them. Finally, she managed to utter what them. "You're carrying geodes."
Pearl's eyes widened the size of saucers and her mouth was agape as she tried to process this words. Subconsciously, her hands went to her flat stomach and held onto it in a protective manner. "B-But how?" she stuttered. "How could this happen?"
"You're approximately one month along," explained the fusion calmly. "It corresponds with your heat and our mating session."
"But pearls can't breed! The Authority said-"
"It wouldn't be the first time that the Authority was mistaken about a gem's capabilities." Pearl couldn't deny that as the Rebellion had demonstrated that gems could do more than what they caste dictated, she herself was proof of it.
A sudden feeling of dread came to Pearl as the actual realization hit her. She was carrying Garnet's geodes. There were tiny lives developing within her that she will have to care for and raise. She wasn't ready for this! She wasn't ready to be a mother! She began hyperventilating and her breathing become more erratic. She was snapped out of her freak out by Garnet shaking her shoulder. "Hey, hey, calm down Pearl."
Pearl looked at her mate then rested her head on Garnet's shoulder, trembling. "Oh Garnet, I don't know what to do! I'm not ready to be a mother."
"Aren't you?" Garnet held her close as she cried softly. "You have taken care of Steven since he was very young. I know you are more than prepared for this."
"You really think so?" asked Pearl, looking up at Garnet. Garnet smiled.
"I know so. Besides, you have me, Steven and Amethyst to help you out with it."
Pearl finally smiled. "You're right. This won't be easy but I'm not gonna do it alone." She sighed softly. "I have no idea how we are gonna explain this to Steven and Amethyst."
"Don't worry, they'll understand. In fact, I think Steven will be very happy to be a big brother." Smirking suddenly, Garnet began to lightly kiss Pearl's neck. "Before we do that, how about we celebrate the fact that we'll be parents?"
Pearl's grin mirrored Garnet. "Oh certainly," And she allowed herself to be pushed into the bed.
Originally, I was gonna include in this chapter the part where they tell Steven and Amethyst the news and explain to Steven how gem reproduction works but I wanted to finish this so I ended it here. Next time, The Classroom Gems: Gem Reproduction!