The girl groaned softly as she opened her eyes, lifting her arm above her eyes to shield her from the light, breathing a silent sigh of relief upon seeing her gem was covered.

"You're awake." Connie smiled softly, looking down at her. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

"My head.." She murmured. "And everywhere else." She chuckled faintly, looking up at the girl and lowering her arm. "But I'll be fine. Thank you.."

"Of course." Connie beckoned for Steven to come over, and he knelt down beside her, the other gems standing behind them.

"What's your name?" Steven asked. "I'm Steven, and this is Connie, Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst." He said, pointing to each person as he said their name.

"I'm Julianna." She responded with a small smile. She slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, looking up at the others, panicking internally, but not letting it show. These were the Crystal Gems- the traitors that Peridot had warned her of so many years ago.

But how bad could they really be if they had saved her life?

A voice interrupted her thoughts. "What happened to you?" Garnet asked, wrapping her arms around Pearl gently.

"She was attacked by Centipeetles," Steven responded, in case she didn't remember. "And she fell and hit her head on some rocks."

"Yeah," Julianna agreed. "Steven's right."

Garnet nodded. "Should we call your parents?"

"I don't exactly have 'parents'." She looked away from them and towards the floor.

"I'm sorry to hear that..." Pearl said, frowning slightly.

"It's fine..."

"Should we bring you home?" Garnet looked down at the girl. She looked to be a few years older than Steven and Connie.

"I don't have a home... I kinda just... wander. Like a nomad."

"You could stay here." Amethyst offered.

Julianna shook her head. "No, that's okay. I've already gotten in the way enough.."

"It'd be okay. Until you found a place." Amethyst persisted. She saw something in Julianna. Something special. And she couldn't bring herself to let her go out on the streets.

"I'm not really looking for a place... I'll be fine, really."

"Just until your injuries heal up."

Julianna bit her tongue in thought. Amethyst likely wouldn't back down, but it was so risky... "If you insist..."

"It'll be no trouble, really." Pearl cut in. "You would just have to share a room with Amethyst... Unfortunate as that is.."

Julianna chuckled softly. "I'm sure it'll be alright."

Amethyst showed Julianna around her room, trying to keep herself from staring at her. She truly was magnificent, even if she didn't realize it. Her long hair, bright, grey eyes, pale radiant skin... Everything about her was truly amazing. She had her flaws, her imperfections, as did anyone else. But that only made her all the more perfect in Amethyst's vision.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" Julianna asked quietly.

"You can take my bed, and I can just take the floor or something." She answered.

"I don't want to make you sleep on the floor, Amethyst..."

"There's enough room for us both if you don't mind sharing.."

"Not at all." She blushed faintly, hoping she wouldn't notice. She hadn't actually slept in thousands of years, and she'd forgotten how it'd felt.

"You okay there?" Amethyst waved her hand in front of her face. "You're spacing out."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You should probably get some sleep. You look beat."

"Gee, thanks," Julianna muttered sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant! I-"

"I'm just kidding, Amethyst. I know."

Amethyst chuckled and playfully punched her shoulder. "Dork."

Julianna laughed and shoved her, making her fall on the bed. She shrieked as Amethyst grabbed her arm and pulled her down with her, landing on her abdomen.

"Guess you really fell for me, hmm?"

She scoffed lightly and rolled off of Amethyst. "You wish."

Amethyst just laughed. "You will eventually."

"Don't get too cocky." She yawned softly, turning on her side. "Goodnight."

Julianna drifted off to sleep, something she hadn't done in thousands of years. The darkness of Amethyst's room enveloped her, the sound of her soft breath putting her at ease. She reveled in the moment, not knowing when it'd happen again. A cold breeze came in through the windows, and she moved closer to Amethyst, gently curling into her side, smiling in her sleep at her warmth as she laid her head against her shoulder. She murmured softly as Amethyst wrapped her arms around her, further shielding her from the cold.

The young gem had no idea where she was as she opened her eyes, finding herself lying on a cold, marble floor. The room was seemingly empty, except for her, and an odd machine behind her head. She tried to stand, her small legs wobbling. She lasted about a second before she fell down, and she cried out in frustration and pain.

Peridot, having heard her cry, came into the room, a small smirk etched on her green lips. Her creation was finally complete.

"Look at you." She mused, gently lifting the girl up onto her feet, helping her balance. She was about the height of a human child two years of age, as were all newly born gems.

"Mama?" The little gem murmured, reaching her hand upwards towards Peridot.

"I'm not your mother." She stated. "You haven't got one." She observed her condition, biting her lip and squinting in thought. "I'm just your mentor."

The girl frowned slightly but nodded.

"Hmm... What do I call you?" Peridot wondered. She had to give her a human name, just another measure of ownership over the life she had created. She thought for a moment, watching closely as the young gem toddled around, trying to learn to walk. She gently grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her. "Don't fall." She warned. She pondered the situation a moment, then decided on a name.

"I think I'll call you Julianna."

Warm teardrops plinked against Amethyst's arm, bringing her out of her slumber. "Julianna." She murmured, shaking her shoulders gently. She didn't respond, so she gently smacked her cheek.

"Julianna, wake up."

"What?" She murmured, looking over at Amethyst.

"You were crying..."

"It must've just been a bad dream.." Julianna looked away from her, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I think it's more than that..."

"No," she lied. "Just the dream." Truthfully, she missed Peridot more than anything. But how could she tell Amethyst that without revealing her identity?

Amethyst examined her, not entirely believing it. "You can tell me if something's bothering you.."

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I promise." She adjusted her position, turning her back to Amethyst, staring out the window, and trying to contain herself.

"Will she ever find me?"

Pearl and Garnet lay awake, curled up together and listening to Amethyst and Julianna's conversation through the wall.

"What do you think happened, Garnet?" Pearl mused.

"I'm not sure." She answered. "But she did just get attacked. Don't worry about it. Amethyst will be there for her."

"But Amethyst is incredibly irresponsible." Pearl groaned.

Garnet chuckled lowly. "Maybe so. But not near as much as she used to be... Steven really changed her."

"He changed all of us..." Pearl looked down at the floor. "Rose especially..."

Garnet nodded and hugged her tighter. "Rose might be gone, but Steven brought us closer together. We're all a family now."