Everything that happened next seemed unreal to Steven, like it was just a nightmare. He felt like the weeping boy struggling to type the emergency number on his phone with his shivering fingers wasn't really him. When the paramedics asked him about his identity and how exactly Greg passed out, he answered mechanically, sometimes not even able to formulate proper sentences. In the ambulance he couldn't do anything other than holding his father's hand as tightly as he could: even the loud siren sounded muffled to his ears.

The sight of the hospital, though, dragged him out of his aloofness. He had really bad memories of this place: the only time he had to visit it, Connie and him had been confronted with dangerous mutant Gems. And even if this time they were no more monsters, Steven was always wishing he'd never had to come back to this horrible place: he was hoping his healing powers would be enough to prevent anyone he loved from having to go there.

But this time, his powers didn't work. He actually tried: his first action, even before calling for help, had been applying his healing saliva on his father's chest... in vain. Maybe Greg was right: his problem might not be a real injury or disease. But what was it then? Steven didn't know much about medicine, and was astonished to discover that there were some things that Rose Quartz's power couldn't cure. Could a doctor really do more than him in this case?

The hospital was even worse from the inside: the emergency department was the most depressing place Steven had ever seen. The pale gray walls, the cool colored tiles, the neon lights, the smell of household products... everything there was making the boy uneasy. He walked past several victims of a traffic accident covered in blood, a sick man vomiting in a bucket, and a crying family, trying as hard as he could not to look at any of them. Patients and nurses were forming a dense crowd, so loud it was giving him a headache.

An old nurse with kind eyes walked up to Steven and explained that his father needed to get surgery as quickly as possible, and that the rest of his family had been called and would arrive soon. The boy just nodded apathetically, then followed the woman who led him into an empty waiting room and, after assuring him he would get more information soon, left him alone.

Steven tried as hard as he could not to cry again. He was both desperate and angry: angry at Greg for not telling him he wasn't feeling good, angry at himself for not noticing something was wrong, angry at the Gems for neglecting his dad, angry at the doctors for not allowing him to stay by his side. He knew this anger was pointless and that's why he didn't let it out, neither on the paramedics, nor on this old nurse, nor even in this empty room where nobody could hear him... but it was still here. After a while though it went away, replaced by a horrible pain.

Why if they can't save him? He wondered. Why if dad... died?

The thought of him losing his last real parent was unbearable, but it quickly took over his mind, driving away everything else. Steven curled up in a ball on his chair, burying his head into his crossed arms, and waited, counting each minute with the apprehension of hearing the nurse return and tell him his worst fears had come true.

But the next voice he heard was not the old woman's.

"Steven!"

The boy raised his head and froze. At the room's entrance the three Crystal Gems were staring at him, visibly worried. Pearl was the first to rush towards him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Are you okay?!" she screamed in an alarmed tone "We came as fast as we could!"

Steven didn't answer. Torn between his negative feelings and his relief to not be alone anymore, he didn't really know if he wanted to push the Gem away, or rather hug her back.

Amethyst took a few hesitant steps forward. She didn't have her usual joyous, carefree attitude: she looked mortified, and Steven noticed her eyelids were bloated, indicating she had cried.

"What's... what's the matter with Greg?" she asked, her voice shaking a bit.

"I don't know yet" the boy replied, sniffling "They told me he had to get surgery, and I had to wait here until they give me news."

"It will be okay Steven" Garnet assured in her usual neutral tone "your father will be just fine."

Steven looked at her: her visor was masking her three eyes, hiding her expression, but he noticed her jaw clenching slightly. Suddenly realizing something he frowned, pulled away from Pearl's embrace, jumped from his chair and walked up to the fusion.

"Garnet," he asked in a cold tone that didn't sound like him "why couldn't you predict this?"

"Steven..."

"Why couldn't you predict that my dad was going to be sick?!" he shouted in anger. "You can see everything! And he wasn't feeling well for weeks! Why is this a surprise for everybody? Why do we have to be in this hospital in the first place? We could have avoided all of this! Now I don't even know if he's going to die or not! Did you decide to not care about him just because he's a human?! Did you think your future vision was too precious to waste it on an insignificant being such as my father?!"

Amethyst's eyes widened in horror. Pearl pressed her hands against her mouth.

Garnet shuddered but didn't manage to formulate any answer, or to get rid of her stoic stance.

"WHY?!" he yelled "Why didn't you do anything? Why couldn't any of you do anything?! Why..."

He dropped on his knees and lowered his head so much his hair was brushing against the floor. A great silence fell in the room before Steven could finish his sentence, whimpering:

"Why couldn't I do anything?"

Steven then burst into tears. Pearl and Amethyst knelt down beside him and both put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're right Steven," Garnet stated in a slightly guilty tone. "I wasn't focusing on Greg lately because we had many threats to face: I was mostly afraid for you, I used my power on you to make sure you would be safe, and that's how we were able to get you back when you got thrown into space with the Ruby. I would never have thought that out of everyone of us, your father would be the one in danger."

She crouched to reach the boy's height, and removed her glasses. Steven could see the sincerity and regret in her eyes.

"That doesn't mean I don't care about him." she continued "I know how important he is to you, we all do. Besides we swore to protect humanity, and he's part of it. I hope you can forgive me."

Steven got up and threw himself into Garnet's arms. She returned the hug tenderly.

"I'm not mad at you Garnet" the boy said feebly "I'm not really mad at any of you guys. But I'm so scared... this is all my fault... If only I applied that brake correctly..."

"It's not your fault Steven." Pearl assured softly "This isn't anyone's fault: it's just a succession of... unfortunate coincidences. Don't worry too much, I'm sure everything will be okay."

"Yeah, Greg is a tough man" Amethyst added, patting Steven's back "he'll get over it!"

"For now," Garnet concluded, putting her visor back "you need to relax. Stressing out will not help your father recover."

She stood up, carrying Steven in her arms, and went up to a chair before sitting down, resting him on her lap. Without saying anything, the other two Gems sat by her sides and Pearl gently stroked the boy's hair with her hand. Soothed by this caress and tired from the anger and sorrow he just experienced, Steven felt his body relax, his mind drift away and, after a few minutes, he fell asleep.

"Where am I?"

Everything was dark. He couldn't even see his own hands. There was no sound except his footsteps, resonating like he was in a large, empty room.

Suddenly a bright light appeared, blinding him for a moment. After a few seconds Steven's eyes got used to the luminosity and he tried to figure out where the light was coming from.

It was a screen. A huge cinema screen, entirely white. Its clarity revealed two big velvet armchairs in front of it ; the boy approached them carefully.

"This is probably a dream." he thought.

Steven knew that although the majority of his dreams could be as absurd and pointless as normal people's, some of them actually contained important messages and even helped him resolve conflicts. He also sometimes wondered if his mother, who was still part of him, was using some of his dreams to communicate with him. For all of these reasons he was always extremely vigilant every time he knew he was dreaming, to not miss any essential clue.

As he was getting close to the chairs, Steven noticed a broad silhouette seated in one of them.

"Steven?" it called.

"Dad!"

Greg got up, his arms open, and his son ran towards him. As they were sharing a long hug, Steven closed his eyes and thought. That wasn't the first time he was interacting with someone he knew in a dream: he had already managed to communicate with Lapis Lazuli, and to help Kiki, one of the daughters of the Pizza family. If his father and him could reunite in a dream, that probably meant he was still alive.

"Oh dad, I was soooo worried!" he whimpered "I thought you were... you were..."

"There there buddy, I'm alright!" Greg replied softly "I regained consciousness in the hospital, but a few minutes only: they told me they had to put me to sleep for the surgery. I didn't know you could dream during an operation."

"It's not an ordinary dream: this happened to me before. We actually met in the same dream. Right now I'm sleeping too!"

"That's... part of the stuff you can do? Oh boy, I could really use a complete list of your powers."

Father and son broke the hug and both sat on the armchairs, staring at the white screen in front of them.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Greg remarked in a cheerful tone "We have a movie theater just for us!"

"Yes, but there's nothing on the screen." Steven observed, a bit confused "That's strange."

"Didn't you tell me you wanted to see the latest Lonely Blade movie? Maybe if we both focus we can make it appear... with an imaginary pop corn bucket!"

"Dad, this is serious! When I have this kind of dream, it's always for a reason. There must be a problem we have to solve."

But there was a difference. When Steven was communicating with Lapis Lazuli she was really afraid: Malachite's presence was tangible, threatening, the atmosphere was tense and creepy. It was the same thing with Kiki Pizza: they had to fight grotesque, terrifying monsters made from pizza ingredients. But here, there was nothing scary or dangerous: nothing besides this screen, two seats, and the silence.

Steven took a look at his father: no doubt he was feeling uncomfortable. Greg never liked getting involved in magic phenomenons, mainly because he knew he couldn't do anything. He was just a human after all, and Steven thought that after everything he already got through, bothering him with more problems wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.

"Forget it, you're right" the boy finally said, smiling. "Maybe this dream just exists for us to spend more time together. Let's see if we can put a good movie on this screen!"

"No, wait."

Greg scratched his head then took a deep breath, finding the courage to speak again.

"Look, I know you think all of this magic stuff scares me, and that's a bit true... okay, that's totally true. But I also know what you're doing as a Crystal Gem is important. If this dream is hiding something you have to discover what it is, and if you need it... even if I'm not sure I'll be of much use... I'll always try to help you."

A great silence fell between them. Steven felt a lump in his throat: only now did he realize how much he needed to hear these words, and he knew the fact that they were in a dream wasn't making them any less sincere. He put a hand on his father's arm.

"Thanks dad." he said.

Greg looked at him affectionately, then asked:

"So, what should we do? How are we supposed to solve this magic mystery?"

Steven pondered for a moment.

"There's nothing in this room" he finally answered "besides the screen and the chairs. How about you search them? Meanwhile I'll try to make this screen display a picture or something."

"Alright."

Greg stood up and started inspecting the armchairs as Steven was focusing.

"Show me what you've got for me" the boy thought.

The screen showed no reaction.

"Come on, what do you want to tell me?" he insisted mentally "Why did you bring me here? What's supposed to be on this screen? Is there a threat?"

But the screen stayed white. Steven clenched his fists, contracted all of his muscles and concentrated so hard he got a headache.

"A threat" he muttered "A threat..."

From whom could it come from? Jasper, or Bismuth? Impossible, they were both bubbled in the temple, totally harmless. The Diamonds? There was no reason for them to attack again: they weren't even considering the remaining Crystal Gems a serious menace. Steven thought about his other friends: Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, Connie... was one of them in danger? If that was the case he would have seen one of them, not his father.

His father... Steven stopped briefly on this thought, but shook his head. He already tried to cure him and didn't succeed. Furthermore, Greg was a human, and not a fighter: he represented no threat for their enemies, and there was no reason for anyone to try to attack him.

Still, he was the one sharing his dream. But why would he need his son to enter his mind? After all his heart was the problem, not his head... Right?

"Hey Steven! I think I found something!"

Steven came back to reality. Greg's voice was coming from behind the screen ; the boy joined him there.

"Check this out."

The man was pointing at an old looking wooden chest. Steven examined it: it was very similar to the chest he had found in Lion's mane, which he never succeeded to open, to his frustration, because of the missing key. But this one was different: it had no lock, just a latch that could easily be pulled. The boy felt his heart racing when he realized he could easily discover its content and, maybe, the meaning of this dream.

Steven opened the latch, put his hands on the chest's cover...

"Steven?"

Garnet's voice pulled him from his dream. He took a few seconds to emerge.

"Steven, the doctor is here." Pearl whispered.

The boy looked up: a woman in a white coat with a tanned complexion and long, grizzled brown hair was standing at the room's entrance. Steven recognized her easily.

"Dr. Maheswaran?"

"Hello Steven." the woman replied "When I saw your father's name on the emergency admissions list I insisted on taking charge of him. I thought it would be easier for you."

Steven left Garnet's lap and walked up to the doctor. Priyanka Maheswaran was looking much less strict and intimidating than usual; her eyes were filled with compassion and she leaned slightly towards him before announcing with a calm voice:

"Your father is totally out of danger for now. He came early enough for us to perform surgery on him without any trouble. There won't be any complication."

Steven felt a huge weight lifted off his chest. His euphoria was so intense that he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He turned around to look at the Gems: Amethyst was exulting, Garnet nodded with a smile, and even Pearl let out a slight sigh of relief.

Steven spontaneously rushed to the doctor and hugged her legs. The woman froze in surprise.

"Thank you Dr Maheswaran!" he exclaimed, looking up to her with thankful eyes. "Thank you so much!"

"No need for familiarity" she answered in a stern tone "I'm just doing my job."

The boy stepped backwards, then asked:

"So, what did he have? Why did he need surgery? Can we see him?"

"I'll explain everything. My office will be a better place to talk, please follow me."

Steven and the Gems followed the woman through crowded hallways until they reached a door with a sign saying 'Priyanka Maheswaran, M.D.'. The doctor opened it and gestured everyone to come in before entering the room herself.

The office was much more welcoming that everything else Steven had seen in the hospital: the walls were painted in a warm orange, and the whole room was decorated with potted plants and framed pictures (he recognized his best friend Connie in some of them). In the center was a beautiful mahogany desk: the doctor sat behind it and Steven sat in front of her, in a leather seat. After a short silence, the woman folded her hands and began speaking.

"Your father" she explained "had a myocardial infarction. Do you know what it is?"

Steven shook his head no. He didn't have much knowledge in human anatomy: for an obvious reason the Gems couldn't exactly teach him on the subject.

"The human heart is supplied by three arteries giving it the oxygen and nutrients it needs to keep beating. But sometimes one of these arteries gets clogged, and the blood can't flow through a part of the heart. That part ends up being... damaged. That's what we call a heart attack."

The boy took the time to reflect about this new information. He was starting to understand why his healing powers didn't work: obviously the word 'damaged' she used was an understatement for something more... permanent.

"So we operated to unclog the artery" the doctor continued "and we put a stent: it's a little tube keeping the vessel open, so the blood can flow correctly."

"I understand." Steven replied "But why did my dad had this problem in the first place? Why would an artery get clogged like that?"

Priyanka sighed.

"We're getting to the hard part." she declared "The surgery alone won't fix everything: if nothing changes, it's very likely your father will have more heart attacks in the future, and more serious ones."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Steven, is that the artery was blocked by an atheroma. It's an accumulation of... fat, to put it simply."

"Oh..."

"That means the true reason behind this heart attack is a unhealthy lifestyle. Bad eating habits, not enough physical exercise..."

"Yeah" Amethyst approved "Greg did let himself go lately."

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded.

"What? It's the truth, you think he's been cooking healthy meals in his van? And I can't remember the last time I saw him lift a dumb-bell!"

"The thing is" the doctor interrupted "if he doesn't want his condition to get worse he'll have to be on a severe diet. And it's the family's responsibility to make sure he commits."

"Don't worry ma'am" Steven assured "I'll do everything to prevent my dad from coming back to the hospital!"

The woman nodded, then took a sheet of paper and started scribbling. With her free hand she typed something on her computer's keyboard and a humming noise came out of large printer on her right.

"Mister Universe's treatment is composed of an anticoagulant and a vasodilator: you will get all the details in the prescription I'm writing. Also I'm printing recommendations on his diet to make your task easier."

She signed the prescription, got up, retrieved the documents from the printer and stapled them. At this moment a few knocks could be heard on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened: it was the old nurse Steven had seen earlier.

"Mister Universe just awakened, Doctor Maheswaran." she announced.

"Oh, perfect, you can visit him now" the doctor declared. "Henrietta, would you guide his family to his room?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to leave you for now, I have other patients to take care of. You can take your father home tomorrow in the morning, Steven. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, yes" the boy assured "Thanks a lot, Doctor Maheswaran. Huh... Tell Connie I say hi."

"I will." the woman replied, smiling "Ah, don't forget about the documents. And don't hesitate to contact me if you need."

She handed the documents. Pearl took them and scanned them thoroughly as the group left the office and went through less crowded hallways, led by the nurse.

"Er, Garnet?"

"Yes Pearl."

"Can you read that word right here?"

The fusion peered at the line her friend was pointing out on the prescription, then answered:

"Nitroglycerin."

"Oh, I see..." Pearl said "Well, if there's one thing that hasn't changed over the centuries, it's the doctors' illegible handwriting. Thankfully the rest is printed."

After a moment the nurse stopped in front of one of the doors in a long row.

"This is his room." she explained "But you won't have much time to see him: the visiting time is almost over. I'll came back to tell you when you need to leave."

She then left them alone. Steven turned to the Gems.

"Guys," he asked, a bit embarrassed "are you okay with me seeing him alone first? I'll tell you when you can come."

"We don't mind at all Steven." Garnet answered "Take all the time you need. We'll be waiting here."

Amethyst pouted but didn't add anything. Steven cast his friends a grateful look, then entered the room.

The sight was much less impressive than he expected. There was no huge beeping machine, no bunch of drips and weird tubes, no mask tied to a respirator. The boy thought that Under the Knife, a satiric medical show he liked to watch with Connie, may had forced an exaggerated view of the hospital world into his head.

Greg was seated in his bed, his back held up by a pillow, smiling to his son. He was looking a bit tired but way better than this morning.

"Hey Stew-ball." he called. "Glad to see you again!"

"Me too dad. How do you feel?"

"Quite good. The pain is gone, for the first time in several days."

"You should have told us you weren't feeling well. You scared me so much! Even the Gems were worried."

"You were already worrying about too many things, Steven. I didn't want to give you another unnecessary burden."

"You're not an unnecessary burden!"

Greg just shrugged.

"No, seriously dad!" Steven insisted. "This is not what I think. This is not what they think either. You're important to me, more important than every magical mission in the world!"

The man sighed.

That accident, that dream he had, and this moment he spent reflecting while waiting for his son to visit, had had unexpected consequences: Greg had realized that his current life, despite being peaceful, simple and seemingly perfect for someone like him, might have less pleasant aspects he deliberately ignored for too long. For the first time in his life he had questions to ask and doubts to raise. He wasn't exactly sure of what he wanted, everything was confused in his head, there were just seeds of a new thought, the thought that things couldn't keep going the way there were. That he didn't want them to.

Greg was sure his son meant it when he said he was important to him. Still, he felt like he wasn't deserving all the love and admiration Steven was showing him day after day. Maybe he had always felt that way, after all ; maybe approaching death only made him realize that fact.

Whatever, this is not the right time or place to talk about this. And my son is not the right person either.

"Okay, I believe you buddy" Greg finally said "I'm sorry for not telling you, and for scaring you."

"It's fine dad, I forgive you."

A room stayed silent for a few seconds, then Steven swayed back and forth on his feet, hesitating.

"Huh... I asked the Gems to wait outside so I can talk to you alone..." he said after a moment "about that dream..."

"Oh, yeah." Greg replied "It's not that I didn't believe you back then, but I was waiting for you to tell me about it 'for real'. So we really shared the same dream?"

"Yup. Too bad we didn't have the time to look inside that chest. I'm sure it was important... hey, wait! Maybe we actually can see it!"

"How?"

"Simple, we have to meet in another dream! Tonight when we will go to sleep, we will get in this cinema again and we'll continue our investigation!"

"Are you sure it can work twice?" Greg asked.

"Absolutely, I did it before! I came back several times in Kiki Pizza's dreams. She had sister issues... Jenny was keeping asking her favors and... whatever, that's not important! I think I'm sent into this kind of dreams to solve a problem. And since we don't even know what the problem is yet, I'm sure we'll see this chest again!"

Greg was listening to his son carefully. He didn't exactly understand everything, but he couldn't help but wonder if all of this had anything to do with the weird new thoughts coming through his head. He felt his curiosity growing, knowing that tonight, maybe, he would be able to figure some things out.

"Okay Steven." he approved "I'm eager to know what this is all about too."

"Great! Alright, I'll go get the Gems now."

Steven ran across the room, opened the door and gestured the Gems to come in.

"Hello guys!" Greg greeted "Nice of you to come by."

Garnet got straight to the point:

"Greg" she announced "The three of us decided that you will stay with us until you've fully recovered."

"Really?" Steven asked, his eyes glimmering with joy "Awesome!"

"Recovered?" Greg questioned in a confused tone "I've already recovered! The pain is gone, everything's okay!"

"That's not entirely true." Pearl objected, her eyes browsing the prescription she was still holding "Doctor Maheswaran informed us that you needed a severe diet. And according to what is written here she prescribed you a treatment for an angina pectoris! When were you planning to tell us?"

"Ah, you know, it wasn't a very big angina pectoris... huh... until a few fays ago?"

Greg felt a few drops of sweat on his forehead.

"You could have died, dude!" Amethyst exclaimed in a reproachful tone "Believe me, we're keeping an eye on you from now on. Also, what? Aren't you happy to live with us?"

"Yes, yes I am, I'm always happy to spend more time with my son. But a severe diet? Really?"

His voice was pleading, but Garnet's answer was final:

"Yes. We'll make sure everything goes right. We'll come for you tomorrow in the morning."

She then turned to her fellow Gems and Steven:

"The nurse is about to get in there and tell us we have to leave. We should go now. Goodnight, Greg."

"See ya, G!" Amethyst said "And sleep tight!"

"Yeah, sweet dreams, dad." Steven added.

He then winked at his father. Greg winked back.

As the four left the room they came face to face with the old nurse.

"Oh my goodness!" she said with a big smile "Just as I was about to enter and tell you that you had to leave. What an amusing coincidence!"