-Two Weeks Later-
Pearl walked out of her room, heading upstairs to take Steven out of his crib, since he was most likely awake. She looked inside and gasped, seeing it was empty.
She rushed back down the stairs, halting in shock once she reached the lower floor. There was Amethyst sitting at the counter, helping Steven eat his oatmeal.
"Amethyst!" She exclaimed, flustered with anger and relief. "You scared me half to death!"
Amethyst looked at her, not impressed. "I've been back for six hours, P. You should really pay more attention."
Pearl scoffed. "You could have told me that you were back."
She shrugged. "Yeah, I could have, but I decided not to. Besides, I figured Steven missed me."
"At least you're not causing trouble.." Pearl muttered.
"Amethyst." Garnet walked into the kitchen. "You're back. It's good to see you again."
"Pearl sure doesn't have the same attitude." She rolled her eyes and set the now empty bowl on the counter and took Steven from his highchair, setting him on the counter and cleaning off his face.
"I went upstairs to get Steven and he wasn't in his crib. I thought someone had taken him." Pearl sighed. "But now that Amethyst is here, you really should heal your back, Garnet."
"I'll be fine." Garnet said. "It's getting better on it's own."
Pearl persisted. "But if something attacks-"
"I'll stay here with Steven if anything happens. It's mostly healed up, so if anything happens I'll be able to fight again."
"Am I still stuck on babysitting duty?" Amethyst groaned, annoyed by all the action and ass-whooping she'd be missing.
"Yes." Garnet answered. "We've been over this multiple times. Unless we absolutely cannot handle a situation without you, you stay with Steven. You have the most important job. You shouldn't be complaining."
"Yeah, okay." Amethyst set Steven on the floor and followed him to wherever he went, leaving Pearl and Garnet alone again.
Pearl set to washing the dishes, as she usually did, humming softly under her breath.
Garnet pretended to be reading a magazine at the counter, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Pearl. She was flawless and graceful in every action, and her voice, while quiet, was alluring. She seemed to keep perfect time, never faltering or missing a word. She danced as she put the dishes away in their places, delicately spinning on long, glorious legs, outstretching slender arms. She was almost like a china doll in Garnet's eyes- smooth, perfect, beautiful.
Garnet snapped herself from her daze, confused by the pounding in her heart, and the fluttering in her stomach. Her breath had gone, and she was frozen, her eyes locked on the angel before her.
"What's wrong with me?..." Her mind whispered. "Am I ill? Maybe I've caught Steven's cold... Yes, that's it. I'm just ill."
But she wasn't.
-Later That Night-
Black, shapeless monsters circled around the Gems as they stood on the sand with weapons drawn, keeping alert for the monsters. Their presences were felt, but their forms unseen, even with their precise vision.
"Reveal yourselves!" Garnet shouted. "Come out and fight!"
The waves lapped closer to them, coming further into the shore with every move, and the dark monsters gradually grew closer. The water quickly rose to waist level, and then turned to vines around their legs. The dark monsters morphed into a tall, shadowy figure. It was shaped like a person, but had no identifying characteristics. Only a head, arms, legs, and a straight torso. The figure wielded a spear-like object in his right hand. Other figures identical to him stood behind him in a circular type pattern, with their empty arms outstretched.
Wind whirled around them, blasting sand at their faces and into their eyes as they struggled to escape the vines, to no avail.
A shrill scream burst the air as the leading figure advanced, thrusting its weapon into Pearl's shoulders and abdomen to weaken her body, then proceeded to crack her gem. It stepped back and smirked, watching it's created scene of agony unfold.
"PEARL!" Garnet screamed, pulling harder on the vines. "NO!" The wind blew away her glasses, exposing her waterfalls of tears.
Pearl groaned in agony and diminished into nothing, her gem's shards falling into the sand, and being blown away by the winds.
The vines retreated, and the black figures disappeared, the water falling back to it's normal place. Garnet picked up a small shard of the gem and held it delicately in her hands, her tears falling like rain.
"My angel..." She whispered.
-
Garnet awoke in a cold sweat, her breath short. She had never had a dream like that before, on the rare instances when she even dreamed at all.
Tears lightly streamed from her eyes, her breathing racked with gentle sobs.
"Pearl..." She thought, over and over again. "Oh, Pearl..."
She eventually calmed herself, slowly drifting off into a restless, dreamless sleep.
-The Next Morning-
Garnet awoke to the sound of Steven crying and stood up, walking out of her room and up the stairs to get him out of his crib. To her surprise, no one else was awake yet, but it didn't really matter too much. She picked Steven up from his crib, and he immediately silenced, lying his head on Garnet's shoulder.
She lightly kissed his forehead. "Did you have a bad dream too, Steven?" She murmured, carrying him down the stairs.
"Mmm hmm." He said, sniffling slightly.
"You're alright now. I've got you."
He murmured slightly, closing his eyes and falling asleep again, resting peacefully, cradled in Garnet's arms.
She leaned up against the wall by the door, gently stroking his hair, his soft breath putting her at ease. Anxiety floated away, and she was at peace for a while.
-
Pearl walked out of her room, well-kept and angelic as always. She headed towards the stairs, but Garnet stopped her.
"I've already got Steven." She said.
"Oh." Pearl walked towards them. "Is he still asleep?"
Garnet nodded. "He started getting a bit fussy, and he fell asleep on me once I brought him down here."
"I can take him if you want." She offered, standing beside them.
"I've got it. No need to wake him up." She smiled a little. Pearl was always so caring, and it touched her deeply.
Steven murmured and rubbed his eyes, looking up at her. "Garnet, I'm hungwy.." His stomach made a little noise, making Garnet chuckle softly.
"You want some Cheerios?"
Steven nodded eagerly, his eyes bright. "Cheewios! Cheewios!"
Garnet laughed. "Alright, then. Cheerios for Steven." She set him in his highchair, opening the cupboard and taking out the box. She poured some on his tray, watching his little face light up.
"Yay!" He squealed, pushing a fistful of Cheerios into his mouth.
"Be careful, Steven." Garnet warned, pouring him some milk.
Pearl started to panic. "Garnet! He'll choke on those! You have to feed them to him!"
"Calm down, Pearl." She said, setting Steven's cup down beside him. "I'll keep an eye on him. He'll be just fine." She chuckled softly. "You sure love your Cheerios, don't you Steven?"