It was cracked. Not badly, not as drastic as when Amethyst started to fall apart and talking backwards and stuff, but more like when she first got it. Teeny, barely anything to worry about.

But Dipper's skin was already looking paler than usual. His eyes were zoning out, jaw hanging loose and filling up with saliva as if the part of his brain that swallows on instinct had stopped working. Usually, his blue-grey porcelain-like color tone reminded Steven of Pearl - pastel and graceful, like the gentle colors of the wind before it formed together into a destructive hurricane.

But now all it brought to mind was 'zombie'. Half dead. Faint. Not good.

"Oh, we need to fix this," Mabel gulped, eyes bulging and shiny. Her hands couldn't stop moving, even though all her fussing and probing was probably doing more harm than good. "Grunkle Stan! We need to get Grunkle Stan. He'd know what to do, right?"

She twisted her hands into the collar edge of Steven's tee and shook him roughly. "RIGHT?"

"Wait a minute. Calm down Mabel!" Steven gasped for breath, holding up an index finger. Mabel seemed to realise what she was doing and sheepishly dropped on onto his stomach. Her hands wringed together nervously, tangling into a tight, constricted ball. "Oof!"

"Sorry."

He sighed and climbed to his feet determinedly. "Mabel, I can help! I have," pause for dramatic effect, "healing powers."

A slightly awkward moment of silence, wherein Steven's hands were still up in the position he stopped in to try and illustrate his talent, and the other two were staring at him blankly.

"You do, do - you do, Steffs?" Dipper blurted suddenly. "Sorry, mean. I mean..."

Steven nodded enthusiastically. "I do! Here -" he stopped, hesitated. "Um, bit of a warning, this might be a little... Weird."

"How weird, we-weird how?" Dipper stuttered. His left eye scrunched closed, voice coming out strained as his teeth gritted in effort.

Rather than answering, Steven hastily swallowed back the lump of uncertainty down his throat, and licked his palm. He stared at his glob of spit and tried to not think about Lapis Lazuli.

He touched his hand to Dipper's gem and felt it mend.

"There," he smiled. Feeling eyes on him, Steven looked up to see both Dipper and Mabel staring at him with open mouths. "Wha -"

"THANK YOU!" she screeched, and sort of tackle-hugged him across the chest. "Oh literally-sweet-gummy-koala-gods THANK YOU! Steven, you're a life saver!"

"Wow," Dipper sat back on his haunches, dumbstruck. "Just - Wow."

"What?" he whined. "Doesn't your grand-uncle Stan just does the same thing?"

"Yeah, but he has to start up all of this science majiger-doo-hickey," Mabel twisted her fingers together to make her point. Her eyes were moist and starry, "and it takes up a lot of time. He doesn't just, you know."

"Lick and slap," Dipper laughed. He was looking at Steven with a weirdly fond expression though, gentle and relaxed. Steven got the impression he wasn't one to trust people easily. He gained an embarrassed flush when he realized he was one of the few that were included in that small circle.

"Well, whatever," he glanced at Mabel and averted his eyes then, hand coming to the back of his neck. "I-i-it's not special or anything. Let's just, go back, huh?"

"Definitely," she whooped. They all stood, Mabel and Dipper's battle clothes changing back with a flourish. Steven breathed a sigh of awe as he watched their skin turn back to normal human tan. As one, they smile at each other and turn their backs to the new clearing in the woods, walking towards the Mystery Shack and the safety of civilization once again.

Something had changed within their little group. An easier feeling of trust, maybe. A stronger understanding of each other's capabilities. Solid respect. All of the above, sure, and a little simple friendship.