Spelling errors in this chapter are mostly intentional.
"I-I'm sorry about your shirt.." Pearl murmured, sniffling and rubbing her eyes.
"No problem." Garnet smiled slightly, glad that Pearl was feeling a little better.
"I'm going to put Steven to bed." She carefully picked him and his bear up off the carpet near the counter where Garnet had set him, seeing that he was already asleep. She tip-toed up the stairs and laid him in his crib, gently kissing his forehead.
"Goodnight, Steven.." She murmured, closing the door most of the way and went off to her bedroom.
-Two Years Later-
Pearl stood in the kitchen, packing all of Steven's bottles into a cardboard box, as he no longer needed them.
"Our little baby's growing up, hmm?" Garnet said, helping make sure all the bottles were collected.
Pearl nodded sadly. "It's all happened so fast, Garnet... How is he already two?"
"Years can start to feel like weeks once you've lived for several thousand..." She chuckled slightly, glancing out the window, watching Steven play with Amethyst.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right... But still..."
"What do you think we should do with all of these bottles?" Garnet asked, closing and taping the boxes.
"I guess we should keep them in the attic... Steven will probably have children of his own someday..."
Pearl responded, labeling the boxes with permanent marker.
"Pearw!" Steven shrieked, running up to her and hugging her legs. "Up! Up!"
Pearl chuckled and picked him up, resting him on her hip. "Hello, Steven."
"Amethwyst can turn into a ball!" He announced, his eyes and starry wide in excitement.
"I saw that." She smiled down at him.
"Can you do that?!"
"I don't shape-shift, Steven."
"Okay." He started to fidget, and Pearl let him down, chuckling softly as he ran back outside to Amethyst. Much to her surprise, Amethyst had proven herself to be a good babysitter for Steven over the years, and they trusted her alone with him.
"Amethwst!" Steven squealed, running across the sand towards her. "I wanna go swimming!"
Amethyst shifted back to her normal self. "You'll have to ask Pearl. I don't know where your life jacket is." She picked him up and carried him back to the house. "Pearl, where's Steven's swimming stuff?"
"In his bedroom, where it always is. Top dresser drawer."
She nodded and headed upstairs, helping Steven into his swimsuit and life jacket. She tossed a towel over her shoulder and carried him back down, setting him down by the door.
Steven ran out towards the water, giggling and squealing in delight as the water splashed his legs. Amethyst sat in the sand beside him, flicking droplets of water at him.
"Hey!" Steven exclaimed.
"What?" Amethyst asked innocently. "I didn't do anything..."
Steven giggled and splashed water towards Amethyst, ducking and squealing when she retaliated, then went onto playing with the mud.
She glanced away for a moment, looking up at the sky. The clouds were dark with rain, but as long as it didn't storm, she figured they'd be okay.
Watermelon Tourmaline swam towards them, keeping itself hidden below the waves. It saw that Amethyst was distracted and took it's chance, swimming up to Steven and taking his arm in it's mouth.
Steven laughed and squealed. "Fishy!" He shouted gleefully, unaware of any danger.
Amethyst looked over towards him. "What's so fu-" She gasped in horror. "STEVEN!" She pulled him away from Watermelon Tourmaline, wincing as it's spines dug into her shoulder, piercing her skin.
Pearl and Garnet ran out of the house.
"STEVEN!" Pearl shouted, taking him from Amethyst's arms and bringing him into the house, running up the stairs and setting him in his crib, watching the fight through the second floor window.
Amethyst drew her whip and lashed at the creature. "GET BACK!" She shouted, lashing it repeatedly across the face.
Watermelon Tourmaline roared, turning and jabbing Amethyst with it's spines.
Garnet launched her gauntlets at it, but it's spines deflected and crashed into her abdomen. She crashed into the sand and skidded backwards toward the house, lightly thunking her head on the wall as she stopped.
"Garnet!" Pearl yelled, running through the house towards the door.
"No! Stay inside with Steven!" She ordered. "I'll be okay!" She reattached her gauntlets and launched herself into the air, ignoring the pain in her spine as she charged downwards towards it. The spines deflected her once again, and Garnet was sent flying into the ocean. Watermelon Tourmaline then turned it's focus toward Amethyst, blasting her backwards into the sand.
Amethyst coughed and screamed. "Pearl! Help!"
"I can't leave Steven alone!" Pearl shouted. "You'll have to take him down on your own!"
Amethyst spit sand out of her mouth. "Throw your spear through the window! We have to pop the fish!"
"Steven could get hurt!" She protested, her heart pounding and breath heavy with panic.
"Just do it! Can't you shield him?!" Amethyst ran back towards him, lashing with no result. "Hurry!"
"A-Alright!" She summoned her spear and hurtled it through the window, and making sure no glass shards hit Steven, just a split second before Amethyst jumped into it's path. "AMETHYST! LOOK OUT!" She ran out of the house, but she was too late.
The spear sliced through Amethyst's stomach, going all the way through her, then popping and destroying Watermelon Tourmaline, it's gem landing in the sand.
"AMETHYST!" Pearl quickly knelt down beside her. "I-I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. "I-I didn't mean to hit you!"
Amethyst coughed. "I'll be fine, P. I'll just regenerate, and I'll be all better again." She groaned, her blood spilling out onto the sand.
Pearl just continued to cry, choking out her apologies over and over again, burying her face in her hands.
"Pearl... It's gonna be fine. It was just an accident. Don't worry about me. I'll be back, okay?" Her human form diminished into dust, and her gem lay on the sand, glimmering in the pale light of the setting sun.
Pearl bubbled the Watermelon Tourmaline and sent it away, picking Amethyst's gem up and carried her inside, setting it delicately on the counter and leading against it, burying her face in her hands. She knew Amethyst would come back, but that didn't stop her guilt. She was still responsible.
Steven pulled off his life jacket and slipped out of his crib, carefully making his way downstairs.
"Pearw?" He asked. "Why are you cwying? Where's Amethwst and Garnet?"
Pearl picked him up. "Amethyst got hurt, Steven. And I don't know where Garnet is."
Steven wiped her tears away. "Amethwst and Garnet wiww be okay. Don't cwy."
She hugged him tightly. "Oh, Steven..." She murmured, sniffling slightly.
"Pearw, I'm hungwy." Steven said, wrapping his arms around her neck.
"Alright. I'll get you some food." She sat him down in his high chair and buckled him in, taking a jar of applesauce out of the cupboard and opening it, getting out a spoon. She pulled out a stool and sat across from him, dipping the spoon in the jar.
"I wanna do it mysewf!" Steven protested.
"Alright." Pearl handed him the spoon. "Just don't make a mess, okay?"
Steven nodded and ate his applesauce, just barely managing not to make a mess.
Garnet walked in through the doorway, dripping wet.
"Garnet!" Steven squealed, waving his spoon in the air.
Pearl grabbed a towel from the cabinet and handed it to Garnet.
"Thanks... Where's Amethyst?"
Pearl's eyes watered. "A-Amethyst... Has to regenerate..." She choked. "A-And it's my fault."
"She'll be okay, Pearl." Garnet reassured her, resting her arm gently on her shoulders. "This stuff happens to her all the time."
"Yes, but I've never been responsible for it! I feel so awful..."
"She's okay, Pearl. She'll be back, and everything will be alright again."
"I know..." She murmured. "A-Are you okay? You got launched pretty far..."
"I think my spine's messed up from hitting the sand, but I'll be okay."
"You should probably regenerate... It's only going to get worse."
"I'll be okay. It wouldn't be good to leave you alone, in case something happens."
"It's not worth risking your health... If your spine doesn't get fixed your body could be badly damaged." She lifted Steven up out of his highchair and set him on the floor.
Garnet shook her head. "What if something attacks us again? What'll happen to Steven if no one's here with him?"
"We can bring him to Greg." Pearl answered.
"Greg lives in a van, Pearl. That's not safe for him. Me staying here is the only option. Just until Amethyst regenerates. Then I'll go."
"Alright..." Pearl relented. "Just don't hurt yourself anymore than you already have. No heavy lifting, and don't lie on your back."
Garnet nodded. "I won't. You'd better put him to bed. He's getting fussy. And get him out of those wet clothes. He'll get sick."
Steven sneezed loudly, wiping his face with the back of his hand.
"Too late for that.." Pearl muttered, picking him up and carrying him to his room. "Goodnight, Garnet."
"Goodnight, Pearl." Garnet walked off to her room, putting the towel in the laundry basket on her way.
"Let's get you out of those wet clothes." Pearl murmured, pulling a pair of pajamas out of Steven's dresser. She changed him into his pajamas and laid him down, laying the blanket over him and handing him his teddy bear.
"Goodnight, Steven."