Hey, everyone. Mystery Critic here back with a new chapter of Gift Of A Rose. I hope none of you cried with the last chapter. I cried while writing it, and I hope if anyone got heart-wrenched, you come back for more. Anywho, this chapter will be quite the shocker for everyone. I do not own Steven Universe, nor any of the rights affiliated with it. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, sit back and enjoy chapter four of Gift Of A Rose.

Chapter 4

Connie's P.O.V

I'm pushed out of the way by Steven as a sword I didn't see slams into his chest instead of him. My whole world goes blank, and all I can think about is destroying the pearl that just ran my beloved Steven through. In pure rage, I charge at the Pearl, swinging wildly and angrily, surprising her. She swings at my head and I duck down, swinging my sword up, cutting her form in half. She poofs and her gem falls to the ground, but it's not good enough for me. I start slamming my foot down on the pearl repeatedly, blind rage compelling me. I slam my foot down one more time, hearing the satisfying crunch of the gem shattering, forever ending her life.

I turn my attention back to Steven and run toward him as fast as I can. I drop to my knees next to him, all the blood pouring from his chest onto his knees terrifying me.

"Steven!" I scream.

"Guys, what are you looking at?" Steven says, opening his eyes. He looks down and sees the blood pouring out of his chest, then back up at me and falls to his knees.

"GARNET, AMETHYST, PEARL!" I scream hysterically.

"GET OVER HERE! STEVEN GOT HURT!"

They start running over, all of them snapping out of the trance of seeing Steven dying. He falls down onto his back, the sword popping out of his chest and falling to the ground beside him.

"I guess I don't poof after all…" He says, coughing weakly as Pearl starts trying to stop the bleeding.

"Steven, don't talk!" Pearl says frantically.

"Steven, don't go!" I scream, my hysteria getting worse. Everything but Steven slips from my mind as I grab him and pull him close.

"Please don't leave me! I love you, Steven! Please don't die!"

I kiss him again and again, hoping something will make us fuse so he might survive. He pushes Pearl away and looks at her.

"It's too late, Pearl." He says, coughing again. He looks over at Garnet.

"Tell my dad I love him. He's the best dad anyone could have. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, I'm glad you guys raised me. I know my mom wasn't around, but I don't think she could have done a better job than you. Connie, you're the best girlfriend anyone could ever have. I promised I would cherish what I have with you, and I will, even if this is it for me. I love you more than anything, Connie. I love you all more than anything…"

"Steven, don't talk like that!" I scream frantically.

"Baby, please don't go!"

"I'm glad I got to have this life, no matter how short it is. Because I got to meet all of you, and be with all of you. I'm happy, because I got to have the best time with all of you. The best part about this, I finally get to see mom. Goodbye, everyone. I love you…" He says as he closes his eyes, passing away.

"STEVEN!" My mind and heart shatter as I see him go. He goes limp in my arms and I scream, my cries of anguish echoing. Garnet tries to pick him up, but I knock her hands away.

"Don't touch him! He's not gone! He can't be gone! He just can't be…"

"Connie, look at me." Garnet says. I look up at her to see tears flowing freely from all three of her eyes.

"He's gone, Connie. He's not coming back, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"Don't you even care?!" I snap at her, looking to see Pearl sobbing and holding Amethyst, who is holding back tears as she stares at his lifeless body.

"Of course I care, Connie…" She says, obviously broken inside.

"But we need to get him covered up. We don't want anyone else seeing him like this."

I look down at him and feel Garnet pick us both of us up, but I don't care as my eyes stay on my dead soul mate. She starts walking and I hear my mom call my name. I turn and see her running down the beach, and it only makes me cry more. My mom stops in front of Garnet and sees my holding Steven.

"Oh, Connie…" She says, tears coming to her eyes.

"Baby, I'm so sorry…"

"Why are you crying, Mom?" I ask, not letting go of Steven. I feel her hug me and whisper in my ear.

"Because I know you loved him and you're hurting. Also… I've come to think of him as a son of my own."

I cry even harder as Garnet starts walking again, and I turn to see Greg running down the beach.

"Is everything o-" His sentence was cut short as he sees me sobbing. His eyes go wide and he drops to his knees, tears flowing down his face.

"No… It's not him… It can't be… Tell me that's not my son!"

Amethyst runs up to him and hugs him tightly, her tears finally running free. He pushes her away gently and stands up, walking over to us slowly, his knees shaking with every step. He stops in front of Garnet and he sees my love dead in my arms.

"STEVEN, NO!" He screams, shaking him in my arms.

"STEVEN, YOU WAKE UP RIGHT NOW! WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

"Greg, stop!" Garnet snaps, Pearl and Amethyst pulling him back.

"He's gone!"

"He can't be! He's supposed to poof and heal in his gem!" He screams, trying in vain to get out of Amethyst and Pearl's grips.

"He's part gem, he should be able to heal!"

"But he isn't going to heal, Greg!" Pearl sobs.

"You're making this so much more painful than this is supposed to be!"

"Shut up!" He snaps at her, yanking his arms out of their grips and storming up to Garnet.

"You were supposed to protect him! All of you! You swore to Rose that you would protect him!"

"DO YOU THINK WE DON'T FEEL BAD?!" Amethyst snapped back.

"WE ALL FUCKING LOVED HIM! ALL THREE OF US LOVED HIM LIKE HE WAS OUR FAMILY!"

"BUT HE WASN'T!" He screamed.

"HE WAS MY SON! I HELPED HIM BE HERE! NONE OF YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ME RIGHT NOW!"

"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I scream at the top of my lungs, causing everyone to stare at me.

"We all loved him, and he loved us all back. None of us know what it's like for Greg right now, but Greg is the only one who knows how I feel right now. I've lost my soul mate, my one true love, and right now, I want to be dead with him right now. It's my fault he's dead because I wasn't watching for a second weapon. He lost his life protecting mine, and none of you feel as bad as I feel right now! So all of you shut up and let's get him inside."

Everyone stops talking and Garnet starts walking again, carrying us up the steps of the beach house. Pearl opens the door and Garnet walks in, laying Steven and me on the couch gently.

"We'll leave you alone to mourn him, Connie." Garnet said, turning to get everyone out.

"Wait, no!" Greg says.

"I'm not leaving my son!"

"Greg, you know how much Ruby and Sapphire love each other." Garnet says, wiping her tears away.

"Imagine if one of them lost the other, they would want to be alone with their passed soul mate. As I recall, after Rose died to bring Steven into the world, you ran away. You stayed away for over a month. You know how Connie feels, so let her mourn the loss of her soul mate."

He sighs dejectedly and nods, leaving the house with everyone else. Once they're gone and the door closes, I look back down at Steven and start crying again, laying my forehead on his. After an unmeasurable amount of time, I look at the clock and see I've been here for hours. I look back down at him and see him lying motionlessly in my arms.

"I'm never moving on, Steven…" I say emotionlessly. I kiss his head gently, afraid I might break him if I'm not careful.

"I will never stop loving you, and I'm sorry you died because of me. I love you…"

I kiss his lips ever so softly, my mind going blank as I'm lost in our final kiss. I see a flash of light through my closed eyes, and they snap open to see his gem glowing pink.

"EVERYONE, GET IN HERE!" I scream, and they burst into the house just in time to see his body turn into light and retreat into his gem. After what seems like an eternity of silence, I break the silence.

"What just happened…"

"He retreated into his gem to heal…" Pearl says, amazement in her voice.

"I… I think he's going to be okay…"

My head snaps back towards to the pink quartz in my hands. Garnet hands me a pillow and I place the gem of my love onto it delicately. I sit up straight and hold the pillow in my lap, staring down at the gem and not moving.

"I'll set up the guest beds." Pearl says, walking off. Garnet picks me up and carries me upstairs, placing me on Steven's bed.

"You stay here with Steven." She says, placing a kiss on my head.

"Let us know if anything happens."

"I will… I say slowly.

"Garnet?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you able to see anything?"

"No." She says with a sigh after a few moments.

"For the first time, I'm not able to see anything regarding Steven's future. I don't know if that means he's going to be okay but different, or if he's not coming back. That scares me, Connie. I don't like not being able to see. It's all up to Steven whether or not he comes back, now."

She walks off and I look back down at the gem on the pillow in my lap and I look up to see my mom's hand on my shoulder.

"Your father and I are staying here with you, okay?"

I nod and hug her, smiling sadly as she does the same, walking away. I turn my attention back to the gem and for the next few days, I barely eat, I don't sleep, and I only talk to answer whether or not there's been any change. Everyone in the town came by and mourned the loss of their favorite person, leaving flowers, food, and cards. After eight days, I get up to use the bathroom, only to see the gem start glowing. I rush back by it and yell for everyone to come. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Greg rush up instantly, seeing the gem glowing.

"He's coming back!" I say, crying tears of joy.

"He's coming back to us!"

The gem starts taking form and once it solidifies, there's a flash of bright pink light that I shoot through to hug my love. When the light clears, I feel someone much too big to be my Steven, and I look up to see the woman in the picture above the door downstairs. She looks down at me, then back at everyone else, then at her hands.

"Rose?" Greg says, everyone in the room shocked into oblivion.

Well, everyone. That was chapter four. I got goosebumps while writing it, and I hope everyone who reads it likes it. As usual, read, review, and get me more fans. I'll see you all next time for chapter five, where things get really interesting. This is Mystery Critic, signing off.