"Are you sure that is the right place?" The little boy nodded and pointed again at the same spot. "Well… okay! Thanks for the help…" Pearl tried to remember the name of the two boys, but with no success. "It`s Peedee" Pearl turned to the blonde boy behind the counter, somehow Peedee knew that Pearl didn`t catch up with their names.

"Right! Peedee, thanks for the help." Pearl extended her hand to shake Peedee`s, and headed to the Big Donut.

As she walked by the boardwalk, Pearl started thinking about the other boy; the experience she went through with him was something terrifying, she felt the same way she felt when Rose was giving birth to Steven.

That feeling, reminded her of that dark time, when the three gems had to take care of the newborn Steven without the guide of their leader; scared, confused, angry, sad, all of those sensations that haunted Pearl on her head, tortured her until she learned how to deal with them.

Pearl sniffed, she started crying without even noticing it, that boy brought back the memories that where sealed years ago and he didn´t know how to feel about it, she wanted to hate him for it but she knew that wasn`t the way Rose would`ve wanted it.

She sat down on one of the benches that faced the ocean; she stared at the waves, heard the sound of them, and smelled the salty aroma that emanated from the beach. She sat there for some time, mourning, until someone touched her shoulder.

"Excuse me Miss." Pearl felt something heavy on her shoulder but when she turned, it was only a hand. She looked at the man standing behind her; he was tall, with brownish skin and a shaved head.

"I couldn´t notice you have been sitting here for quite a while doing nothing but stare at the ocean." Pearl sniffed again and cleared her eyes of the tears that rested on her face.

The man reached his pocket and gave the gem a handkerchief. "Thanks…" Pearl blew her nose and placed her hands on her knees. "May I know what the problem is?" The man sat down right next to the gem and looked right at her.

"You are very kind sir, but I`m afraid the problem cannot be fixed….." She placed her view once again in the ocean.

"I see…. Well, my name is Harold Smiley, but everyone calls me Mr. Smiley." The man said with a big smile and said. "I own the arcade a right here on the pier." The man pointed at the building that was on their right, but seeing that Pearl did not look away from the ocean, Mr. Smiley`s smile disappeared.

"You know….. I used to have a family, back when I moved to this city, a wife and a kid…. And both of them where beautiful, but one day…. I lost them…." Pearl turned to see the man.

"It was on the highway, we went to see my wife`s mother and…." Mr. Smiley struggled to continue, swallowed sadness and went on. "It was raining, and I lost control,"

Pearl placed her hands on her mouth and gave even more attention to the man, she stopped crying, but still felt a knot on the tip of her stomach, she wasn´t able to say anything.

"I was depressed for a couple of years and lost my smile for quite some time, I never left my house, or talked to anybody; Until one day the good people of this town helped me to get back on my feet, and since then every time someone is sad, I try to make him or her, smile once more."

Harold was not crying, but, sometimes, his voice cracked from sadness. He looked at the waves hitting the sand and continued. "One cannot deal with losses alone; he must rely on the ones around him so he can learn how to deal with the feelings that invade our heads."

Pearl could relate to him, after losing Rose, she mourned on the shoulder of her team, Garnet and Amethyst, they had to endure all of Pearl´s attitudes and moods.

Pearl would be lost without her team.

"And every time I feel like I am getting a little bit sad, I talk to my friends in the town…. But I guess I still would be nothing without….. her."

Pearl and Smiley looked together at the ocean.

"Her?" Pearl thought, but as she started making theories she was interrupted by the bald man. "So, I know Steven`s birthday tomorrow!" Pearl gasped in confusion and blushed, maybe one of the people, she told of Steven`s birthday, spilled the beans.

"How did you find out?" The gem asked nervously. "Oh! I know when its everybody`s birthdays!"

Pearl sighted in relief and said "Oh, speaking of which! I must get a present for Steven! Do you have any Idea of what kind of gift I must get?" Smiley thought for a second and suggested. "Well… Every time I give a present to someone, its usually something that I`m sure it will make that person smile!"

Pearl thought of things that made Steven smile widely, but then, she realized Steven enjoyed every single bit of life, from material objects to spending time with her and the other gems.

Even though Mr. Smiley`s suggestion was quite good, she still couldn't figure out the right gift.

Pearl noticed the business called "Big Donut" on the background and remembered she still had a destination.

"Thank you very much! You have helped me quite a lot! But could I ask for the time?" Mr. Smiley laughed and said. "Of course! It`s my pleasure!" The man looked at his watch and stated

"Its 1 o`clock."

Pearl gasped and stood up from the bench "Oh my god! I can`t believe I wasted so much time!" Pearl shook the man´s hand, but just before she started running towards the Big Donut she had to ask.

"Who is she? The woman that helped you with your problem?" Smiley laughed loudly and said "Well, she was the woman everybody knew and loved, and nobody is going to be able to forget her name…."

Pearl raised one of her eyebrows, eager to hear the name of the mysterious woman.

"Rose Quartz…"

Pearl froze, she felt her heart stopping and the knot in her stomach getting even bigger. She didn`t know that Rose spend time with the humans in this town, but that would have to wait, she still had a mission to complete.

Pearl nodded and started running to the big donut, with hopes of this being her last stop.

A/N- ugh… I`m exhausted, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really put a lot of emotional effort to it (Don`t ask) and now that it`s done, I think I´m going to take a little break (depending on how much inspiration may come to me on the next weeks) And I`m sorry that this story turned out to be a little bit of a downer, but I`m planning to have a little bit more of comedy on it, so stay tuned!

-LumbarRouge8