Cheryl sat in the armchair in the corner of the room, watching the girl sleep. She'd been there for nearly twelve hours, and had hardly even stirred, but she didn't mind. She'd been trying to read, but couldn't focus, all her attention spent on Connie. It was quite rare to find anyone like her around the area; most runaways she'd encountered had panicked and ran away on first glance, and she was grateful Connie hadn't been like that.

Connie slowly sat up, blinking her vision into focus. She took in the surroundings of the unfamiliar room, the memories slowly coming back to her. She glanced over in Cheryl's direction, slightly surprised that she'd been watching her.

Cheryl smiled warmly. "I see you've slept well."

Connie nodded. "Thank you again for letting me stay the night, miss."

"Call me Cheryl." She insisted. "And it's no trouble at all. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."

"The authorities are probably looking for me." She admitted, looking away from the other woman in shame.

"Have you committed a crime?" Cheryl asked calmly.

"No. I ran away from home."

"Then you can stay here with me for awhile. I really wouldn't mind it."

"I really shouldn't... Wouldn't you get in trouble with the law if they found me here?"

"I shouldn't think so... Where did you come from?"

"Beach City."

"That's about an hour away... I don't think the word would reach here. But, just in case, we should probably cut your hair. Just as an extra caution."

She nodded her head in agreement.

-Present Day-

"Connie?" Cheryl asked. "You're spacing out again..."

"I'm sorry.." Connie looked down at the floor. "I don't mean to."

"We need to have a talk." She said gently. "I have to stay late tonight, so we can talk over hot chocolate once your shift is over." She checked her watch. "Which is in five minutes. Alright?"

"Yes, ma'am." Connie nodded and quickly finished mopping the floor, then put her supplies away and came back out to the counter.

"Go ahead and pick a spot. I'll be there in a few minutes." Cheryl turned away and strode back into the kitchen, leaving Connie alone in the empty diner.

Sighing faintly, she chose a seat by the window, watching blankly as the rain fell. She allowed her mind to wander, wondering what Steven was up to. It was nearing nine o' clock, so he was probably reading, or asleep. A fresh wave of pain hit her as she remembered the time she'd spent with him in Rose's room, reenacting scenes from their favorite stories, and creating memories. Lost in thought, she was numb to the tears sliding down her cheeks, and hardly noticed as Cheryl took her seat across from her.

"What's the matter, Connie?" Cheryl gently rested her hand on Connie's wrist, and looked her in the eye.

"I miss him..." Connie whispered, averting her gaze away from Cheryl.

"Who?"

"Steven..." She choked, struggling to maintain her composure. "He was my only friend, and now I'm not allowed to see him. So I left home."

Cheryl nodded in understanding. "Did you tell him that you were running away?"

She nodded. "I did... He was the last person I talked to before I left."

"What did you say to him?"

"I told him that my mom said I couldn't see him anymore, and that I was running away."

"Anything else?"

"I kissed him."

Cheryl raised her eyebrows. "He must be a pretty special friend, then."

Connie nodded sorrowfully. "He was my only friend. When I was younger, we moved around a lot, and I never really made any friends before I met Steven... He was pretty much all that I had."

"Why didn't your mother want you seeing him?"

"It's complicated... His sister and her girlfriend came out publicly, and there were riots, and somebody threw a rock at my head, and then she said I couldn't see him, even though she knew how happy he made me."

Cheryl nodded in understanding. "Does talking about it help, Connie?"

"A little bit... It still hurts, though.." She confessed.

"Eventually, you'll move on." She said. "You might not necessarily stop loving him, but it'll start to not hurt quite as much as time goes on."

"How long will it take?"

"That, I can't answer. Each and every heartbreak is different, and so is each and every person. Sometimes it happens in a day, other times a month."

Connie nodded. "I see." She looked down, avoiding her gaze.

She smiled reassuringly and stood up. "I've gotta close up. It was nice talking to you." She took both of the empty cups and carried them off with her.

After watching her leave, Connie stood up, grabbing a napkin and wiping up the rings the cups had left on the table, throwing it away on her way out the door. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, her mind fuzzy with thoughts.

Could Cheryl really be right?

Peridot watched her upgraded Robonoids as they disassembled the old control panels and busted down the ancient walls, opening the hidden room and widening the space. The cave-like room was dark, but the machinery that would be added in shortly would help to illuminate it. It was large enough to fit all the necessary equipment, as well as a handful of people, but still small enough that nothing could slip past her gaze, which would be useful.

The control room was still unreachable from the ground, which would protect it from invaders, but it was visible from the air if you were close enough, which posed a small risk.

But, if she were to be invaded, she would be ready to take them down.

The robonoids carried in the new computers and set them up as Peridot commanded, and upon it's completion, it looked similar to a pod; exit to the left, controls in the front, and storage space in the back.

Now all that was left to do was plan.