Hi, sorry I took so long to update but I've been busy with college stuff. Hope the chapter makes up for it! Here Pearl explains were little Gems come from and we get to see my ideas on Gem reproduction. If anything doesn't make sense just leave a comment and I'll try to clear any doubts.

"So, she didn't say anything else?"

Steven shaked has head no at Amethyst's question, both young Gems sitting on the kitchen counter. It had been a few hours since Garnet had taken Pearl into the Temple during which Amethyst returned, allowing Steven to explain the situation like Garnett told him to.

Needless to say, the Kindergarten quartz was not satisfied with the fusion's secrecy but she didn't dare to look for them for fear of angering Garnet. So, she chose to wait with Steven for her to come out with news of Pearl's condition. This was not an easy thing for Amethyst to do as she hated waiting and was really worried about Pearl (not that she'll openly admit it). The same could be said about Steven, who sat next to her with worry and fear present in his eyes. The situation couldn't be easy on him as he saw Pearl as the mother he never knew, and being a child made this especially hard on him.

Not wanting to see her little buddy in such a funk, Amethyst tried to reassure him. "Hey, don't worry Steven. I'm sure Pearl is gonna be fine." She didn't actually think that but if lying made Steven feel better, then she'll do it. Unfortunately, Steven wasn't by false promises so his worried expression didn't waver as he looked at Amethyst.

"You didn't see her, Amethyst. She looked so sick and her skin was paler than usual. W-What if she never gets better?" the fear increased in his gaze and showed in his voice. "What if she poofs a never returns? Or she turns into a monster and we have to bubble her?"

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, little man! Pearl isn't turning into a monster. That's not how corruption works, at least, not the way Pearl, Garnet and Rose described it."

"But what if it's some weird form of corruption that's not very common?" Amethyst didn't know how to respond to that but she luckily didn't have for the Temple Gate opened and Garnet and Pearl walked out.

"Pearl!" exclaimed Steven, jumping of his seat to tackle the white Gem in a hug. "You're ok!"

"Of course I am, Steven," Pearl said as she caressed his head fondly.

"Are you sure?" asked Amethyst from her seat. "The way Steven described it, you weren't doing to hot, he even though you were gonna turn into a monster."

"It wasn't corruption," Garnet finally spoke. "Nor it was some illness. Pearl was simply experiencing symptoms of something wonderful."

This had Steven confused. "What do you mean?"

The older Gems motioned for the younger ones to sit on the couch. Once all Gems were seated, Pearl began to explain... or at least trying to as she opened and closed her mouth several times like she was lost for words. Finally she just sighed and motioned for Garnet to begin explaining.

"Pearl is carrying my geodes."

Amethyst gasped in shock, looking between Garnet and Pearl. "Seriously?" she asked in case it might be some prank. But both of them looked completely serious and besides, pranks were more of Amethyst's style. "Wow," she sat back, her shock fading but still present. "So you guys are...?"

"Yes," confirmed Pearl.

Steven was still very confused as the words' meaning made no sense in his mind. "Guys, I don't understand. What are geodes and why's Pearl carrying them if they belong to Garnet?" To his further confusion Pearl began to blush deeply, her face very blue.

"W-Well Steven geodes are-"

"They're Gem eggs and out pop baby gems!" butted in Amethyst.

"They are not eggs, Amethyst!" Pearl snapped, forgetting her embarrassment.

"Ok, so they're kinda like eggs-"

"No they're not!"

"They kinda are." interjected Garnet, thus, ending the argument.

"Wait, so this means that Pearl is gonna have Garnet's babies?" A smile came to his face as stars appeared on his eyes and he hugged Garnet and Pearl. "Congratulations!" His expression then returned to confusion when he realized some things weren't adding up. "Wait," he pulled away. "I thought Garnet was the embodiment of Ruby and Sapphire's love and she said that three was a crowd?"

Garnet had seen the question coming and had an answer to it. "Yes, but while I do represent the affection my components have for each other I'm still my own person with my own feelings. Ruby and Sapphire understand that so my relationship with Pearl doesn't get in the way of theirs."

"Oh. But how can you have Garnet's babies if you're both girls? And you told me Gems are created in the Kindergarten and come out fully grown?"

This time Pearl explained, having become more comfortable with the theme. "Well Steven, to answer your second question, not all Gems are created in Kindergartens. Those are mostly for certain mass produced Gems like Quartzes like Amethyst or Peridots while Pearls like me are made in factories. For the first one, I need to explain a bit of Gem anatomy." Her gem glowed and projected a hologram of a faceless Gem. "As you already know, our bodies are projections created by our Gems which are our actual bodies. While these constructs resemble a female human's body and we use female pronouns, Gems don't have a concept of gender and our forms are capable of siring young and carrying them." The hologram focused on the Gem's crotch, showing the geode-sack's opening and the un-sheathed tentacle.

"So... you guys have both boy parts and girl parts?" he asked hesitantly, trying to understand the explanation.

"Not quite," the holographic gem became translucent, showing how it looked inside. "Our reproductive system is very different from that of any Earth creature. The geodes are originally formed in our Gems during a period known as a heat cycle, during the geodes are transferred to the geode-sack where they can be fertilized by another Gem during coitus." Now, Pearl would normally be very embarrassed about telling Steven such information, but since this was very similar to human reproduction and Greg had already had that talk with Steven, she was confident he'll understand. "If the geodes are successfully inseminated, they'll develop within the carrier's sack for about five months after which the carrier lays them." She explained as the holographic image showed the Gem swelling with the geodes and then Pearl dismissed the hologram. "Was this clear enough for you?"

"Yeah, I think I understand." He nodded. "But if Gems can have babies, how come you use Kindergartens?"

"Homeworld designed this breeding mechanism as an experimental alternative to Kindergartens. It was dropped since the mating cycles were inconsistent and varied on each Gem. Also, the infant Gems, Gemlings, that resulted were much more propense to deviate from Homeworld's strict social system. Since it would have been too much work alter Gems' codes to eliminate render Gems infertile, the Homeworld made intercourse taboo except for high-ranking Gems and none could be in heat during it."

"Ok, I get it." His eyes suddenly widened as he realized something. "Wait, are you saying Gems have sex too?!"

"Well duh!" Amethyst laughed at his outburst. "How do you think Greg and Rose made you?"

"Amethyst!" Pearl screeched while Amethyst cackled and even Garnet found the comment amusing, smiling a bit. Steven for his part was really flushed and he looked like he wanted to hide someplace.

"Uh, I-I think I'm gonna visit Dad and tell him the good news! Congratulations again!" he hastily got up the couch and rushed out the door.

Pearl just sighed and rubbed her temples while shooting the purple Gem a glare. "I can't believe you said that, Amethyst!"

"What? It's true and you know it!" She had stopped laughing but was still smiling broadly. "Anyway, I'm still happy for both of you."

"Thank you, Amethyst." said Garnet sincerely. "We appreciate your support."

"So, what's the plan? Now, that we know Pearl's preggo, what are we gonna do about it?"

Garnet was silent a few moments before she spoke. "I can't see far enough to know if they'll hatch once Pearl lays them but if they do, we'll obviously keep them." She looked at the other too seriously. "Pearl is one month along so it'll be four more months before she lays them." She spoke directly to Pearl. "You'll have to take it easy on missions from now on less we have of repeat of today."

Pearl looked slightly offended and was about to tell Garnet that she was more than capable of going to missions but relented and just sighed as she knew Garnet was right. "There's still some more things we need to discuss but we'll wait until Steven returns since he needs to hear them too. There're a lot of preparations we must do and that'll take everybody's collaboration." Pearl was honestly very nervous at the whole prospect and even with Steven's and Amethyst's help, it was still going to be a lot of work.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Garnet taking her hand and she looked up at her mate's heterochromatic eyes as Garnet had dismissed her visor. "Hey, don't worry. We'll do this together and everything will turn out fine." The larger Gem said encouragingly, giving Pearl a soft smile.

Pearl returned the smile, her worried diminishing and leaned up to lock her lips with Garnet's. Amethyst awkwardly got up from the couch and headed to her room, muttering about how gross they were and left them to their privacy.

Hope you like the chapter! I'll try to update my other story soon and not take too long between updates but I still need to do my college work so they are not solid promises. Until next time folks!