+PinkPearl AU

The van screeched to a stop in front of a... house? It looked like a standard American home with a smaller front yard and a concrete paveway to a garage. It was also getting dark, so that was all Rose could make out at the time. With little lights operating around the home, it seemed dusty, unkempt, and not really well taken care of in terms of housekeeping.

“This is the place.” Greg checked the name card with an address scribbled at the back. The card information was barely readable, but it said "Dr. Dewey, the only doctor in Beach City, for now!"

From shotgun, Rose saw a skinny human man coming out from under the garage door with a folded-up wheelchair. The man got to Rose's side of the door and unfolded the chair.

He unlocked the door as Rose stifled a scream, not at the newcomer, but at the pain of labor. The pain was getting worse.

Greg was already outside of the passenger seat, getting ready to catch her if she fell off.

After some certain assurances that Rose was nowhere near falling off, the man wanted Rose to get onto the little wheely contraption, so she wouldn’t have to walk to the operating room. It wasn’t easy, but the two humans managed to get her in the wheelchair. It was designed for normal human-sized patients, so it was a bit snug for a pregnant Rose.

As Rose was pushed towards the now open garage, she turned to the skinny man with prespiration on her forehead. "W-who are you?"

The young man pushing her wheelchair introduced himself. “I’m the future Mayor of Beach City! But for now, I am your Dr. Dewey.”

They pushed the pregnant woman into the garage. The space in the garage was filled with dim lighting as a single light bulb pulsed in the middle of the room. Under the flickering lightbulb was a hospital bed along with pieces of equipment for childbirth. The surroundings of the bed were pitch black until the doctor turned on the big lights, which showed the normal garage setting along with various tools and woodwork scattered around the edges.

“Easy does it.” Dewey said as they both lifted Rose onto the bed.

Rose was heaving, sweating, and panting as the contractions got more and more severe. She was offered ice chips, but she didn’t think she should have any.

Dr. Dewey turned away and grabbed a book on obstetricians and delivering babies. He checked something on the opened page and asked Greg. "How far along are we? Time wise."

“Uh, 5 minutes apart? Darn it, I don’t have a watch!”

The doctor flipped through the pages until he found something. “Okay don’t worry, I just need to see how dilated the cervix is to see if we’re ready.”

He set Rose’s ankles on a metal holder each and went under to check the dilation. “8 centimeters. We’re halfway there, just need it to reach 10 centimeters and we’re good to go!”

He left the room to get some more equipment and sterilizers. The gem in labor was left on the bed with the soon-to-be father.

Another contraction, but this time Rose heard a faint humming from somewhere, somewhere close by. She looked up to her gem on top of her belly. The sound, she thought, that’s where it's coming from. As the contraction got to its peak, a barely noticeable glow can be seen in the gem. It faded right after the pain went away.

“Rose, are you doing okay?” Greg asked, noticing her jerky movements and pained expressions from being in labor. “You sure you don’t want some ice chips? They say any water or liquid can be very dangerous to women in labor, at least that’s what Vidalia said.”

She shook her head, “I don’t think getting hydrated over icicles would take the spiking and torturous pain away.”

Greg looked stumped; he didn’t know what else to do than just…wait. He was gonna buy some snacks for her, but Vidalia also said food was strictly forbidden. Something about the anesthesia numbing the muscle that blocks substances from going into the lungs. From what Pearl explained on the gem anatomy, gems do not have any of the human organs, like, at all. But better be safe than sorry. There’s a bag of painkillers from the drugstore, but he doubted any of it was going to help a non-human being. Maybe talking could take her mind off the pain. “I know I may have asked this before, like, maybe a few dozen times, but do you... regret anything?”

“Oh Greg,” She gritted her teeth and sighed, “I regret a lot of the things I’ve done, but I’ll never regret knowing you and giving birth to this child. You’ve opened my eyes to so many blindspots and I am forever grateful to have you as a part of my life.”

Here comes the big question, Greg thought. “I know we never talked about this but, what do you think’s gonna happen to you after the baby comes?”

“I…” She winced at the next contraction and groaned. She was struggling, that’s for sure, but she’s strong. “I honestly don’t know, Greg. Maybe I’ll be inside my gem and actually get to be a part of the baby’s life. Or maybe I’ll just cease to exist, no conscience or anything at all.”

Both possibilities filled Greg with a huge sense of dread. He was silent for a while until Rose uttered more. Her voice was straining, “But I know, that whatever happens, the baby will be in good hands. I see no better protector and guide than the father of the child himself.”

After what Rose said, Greg felt incredibly touched that he wanted to go in for one last kiss until a door slammed open.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Dr. Dewey came back with a more professional obstetrician look. He wore a mask, rubber gloves, and an overcoat over his shirt. “I couldn’t help but overhear that…” He turned to Rose on the bed, his eyes full of concern. “-you might not survive this birth?”

Greg looked down and scratched the back of his head. “It’s…complicated.”

“Nonono, its alright. No need to explain. I’m just not sure how things might turn out with a single parent. Especially if it’s the dad.”

He grabbed a nearby chair, turned it around, and sat on it backwards. “I’m a single parent myself.”

Greg and Rose glanced at each other for a brief moment, unsure what to do with that information, before turning back to Dewey. They both responded, “Okayy?”

Dewey took out his wallet and showed a string of small sized photos of a baby. “My son, Buck, just turned 4 years old and things aren’t really going great between us.”

Greg took the string of pictures for him and Rose to see. Rose was sweating bullets from the pain, but she was able to identify a newborn baby on first few pictures. A happy baby infact, swaddled by a woman and giggling by the looks of it. The next few pictures degraded to pictures of the boy growing up, but the smile slowly shrinks off and a grim frown was seen at the four-year old at the bottom of the pictures.

Rose knew it might be a touchy subject, but she asked anyway. “What happened to the mother who gave birth to him?”

Dewey, still on the backward chair, turned uncomfortably to the side and away from the two. “She… it’s complicated too. The most important thing is that Buck, our son, requires a bit more love and patience than what I could offer.”   

He looked so down, so depressed, so lost as a father. “I’m one of the lucky single dads that’s capable of taking care of a kid. I’m a doctor, sort of, and a soon-to-be mayor of this town. But you Greg? You’re barely an adult. How do you think you’re gonna take care of a kid without his mother around?”

More dread and panic seeped out of Greg as he seemed to have lost his grasp of his confidence. He sighed in an exhuasted tone, “Oh boy…”

Dewey, realized what he just said, cursed himself and tried to take back what he said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to undermine your competence. I’m sure you’re gonna be a great single parent. I heard you work at It’s A Wash, that car wash gig right? Sure hope the minimum wage from that job can put food on the table and a roof over your heads. Although, the town has been quiet lately, not a lot of tourists coming over to Delmarva for their summers and all that. And I doubt you’ll be making much with barely half of the town citizens owning vehicles in need of washing-”

As the doctor further delved into the current and possibly future states of the town’s economy, Greg was having a not-so-jolly time imaging how he might end up as a street hobo searching for food from the garbage cans while the kid ends up sick and malnourished because he doesn’t have the money for any food or the local doctor. And if worse comes to worse, he’ll have to give the baby up for adoption just so the kid can have a chance at a good life and he’ll end up as the worst father to ever-

Rose's screams of pain woke both Greg and Dewey from their respective trances. As she huffed and struggled to breath, she reached for Greg’s hand and pulled him close. “Greg? Greg listen to me!” She smushed his face in her palms and realized he had tears all over his cheeks. “The gems will be right there with you. They’ll help in any way they can. You’re not doing this alone, remember? You have the gems, and I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to help.”

“Y-you think?” Greg’s voice cracked as warmth spread on his face.

“Of course.” Rose responded. Unfortunately, their tender moment was cut short by another contraction, this time worse than ever. It was so severe that she had to let go and grip the bed side handles for support.

On certain and rare occasions, Rose had witnessed the beautiful births of humans since the Paleolithic period (cavemen ages). The births since then had been getting more hygienic and less messy as science and technology went by. Every single attempt at birth that she witnessed was a riot, and truly a miraculous scene to witness. The mothers screamed for bloody murder as the tiny weeping humans emerged from their under caverns. She had always admired them for being able to do that, to be able to produce another living being unlike a gem would. She never thought there would be a turn where she was the one on a birthing bed.

Dewey took another look at the dilated cervix, “Okayy that’s definitely ten centimeters, looks like we’re ready.”

He sat back at the end of the birthing table and hesitated.

“Wait wait, I think I’m supposed to do something else.” He quickly flipped through the book and read out loud, “When the cervix is appropriately dilated, the doctor must be ready at the foot of the bed and follow the proper procedures. A rhythm must be followed for the procedure to go as smoothly as possible. Alright, a pattern! I remember those!”

He turned back to the mother in pain and got ready at the foot of the bed, “Ok Rose, get ready to push!”

Rose was heaving, panting, and giving everything she’s got. This, she thought, was one of the most challenging things she’s ever done, that includes fighting off her own at the rebellion or poofing all those corrupted gems.

She forced herself to open her eyes and turn at Greg, the human that gave her the best gift a human could ever offer, a human experience. She held onto his hand, gently and not putting all her pain and strength into it. Greg took her hand, sensing the energy draining from her hard labor. “I love you, Greg. Thank you for everything and take good care of the gems for me.”

The sound of the humming gem echoed all over the garage as it grew a bright pink hue. From the gem, the pink glow expanded to the entire figure. As the figure grew brighter and brighter, Rose’s form levitated a few inches off the bed but not higher than Dewey’s head.

The glow went supernova as the lights in the room dimmed in comparison. The pink flash seeped through the windows and the cracks of the walls as if the room was not able to contain any more of the light and a nuclear blast was set in motion.

Everything went so bright the humans could barely keep their eyes open. Greg struggled but he managed to peer through his narrow vision just in time to see a baby suspended mid-air.

The baby was barely the size of a melon. Hints of dark, curly hair sprouted from the head. He noticed Rose's gem was now on the baby stomach where the belly button should be.

For a brief moment, the glowing newborn was floating above the bed. The glow came to a dim as the baby descends onto Greg's streched out arms. He winced at the touch of his skin, redden and slightly burned from the ultra light blast. He took a quick glance at Dewey, who’s skin was also reddened from the exposure. He didn’t look like he was in pain any more than he was in shock.

Greg took a good look at his child with sorrowful tears from his goodbye. He knew this moment was coming, losing the love of his life, but he had to be strong for the both of them. He shed them away, cooed the newborn child, and whispered, "Hey there little guy,” he tried to clear the water out of his eyes, “*sniff* welcome to Earth.”

.

.

.

(A/N: Imma keep this short. Thank you everyone for your patience and reading this fanfiction. It's been a while since I began writing Rose's journey since meeting Greg. I really hope my take on Rose's journey/end was on par with most of you guys' idea of what went down before Steven was born. Also apologies for the lack of Coral content, there was just so much I could write in this fanfiction with her as the main protagonist. Most of the chapters beforehand should be enough to encapsulate her entire character to you guys, the readers. So I hope you can forgive me for doing a far tangent into my takes of Rose's decision of the desire to change and all that.

Again, hope you enjoyed what you read and thanks for reading!)

Outcuts (Writings that didn't fit the narrative but felt it would be a waste for them to be deleted.) Part 1

Recently, Rose had been borrowing a video camera and taping herself for the unborn baby. She knew she could never talk to them directly, so she thought a great way for the baby to know their mother was through taped videos. She talked to them about the life on Earth and how bringing the kid to life was the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

Part 2

…Overgrown brambles. Look at them, they’re a mess without her guidance. Directionless, pathetic, clinging, things. It’s going to be ok Garnet!

Rose’s most precious sanctuary (extracted from the episode, “An Indirect Kiss”)

(Pearl the left brain – the rational thought, cautious, planning, logic/ Coral the right brain – Emotional thought, creative arts, imagination, adventurous/fun) each side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body, so idk how much this would make sense.)

Part 3

Oh this is exciting! I have a kid myself ya know. Named him Buck, so you know, there'd be more bucks coming my way. chuckled nervously. (A/N: wanted to have direct and easy conversations going but seems a bit inappropriate for the situation.)

Anyways, good thing you're both gonna be here when the kid comes. Its been a real head scratcher raising the kid on my own.

Ya dont say? Greg comments while he caught Rose's eyes.

The horror of single parenting

Where's the little guy anyway? He's not home is he?

Oh nonono, we couldnt have him here while a kid is being born! It would traumatize him well into his 50s! He's uh, playing with the other kids in the neighborhood, probably.

Is uh, everything ok between you two?

Well, its been hard since his mom left. Hes been asking questions abt her that I cant really answer.

None of their gemstones were damaged or cracked, but they were merely struggling to hold onto their forms together before they had to retreat into their gems. It was like holding on to the base of a hot kettle and the more they held on to it, the more it burned. They had to let go of the kettle when they could soon, or else their hands couldn’t take the heat much longer.

The gems were at their last stop, the Healing Spring, which was also one of Rose’s gardens. At the center of the garden was Rose’s fountain, overflowing with her healing lachrymal essence in a peaceful shade of pink hue. The healing paradise was one of the clan’s most crucial sanctuaries, especially during the rebellion. Sure, they could get the healing tears from Rose, but it’s not practical to depend on their leader every time a gem was damaged. That’s why there is a haven for wounded gems to heal themselves whenever it was needed.

It was another beautiful day in the spring. The healing substance in the fountain was working just fine along with the watering systems on the nearby greenery. Despite the healing tears at an arms’ reach, the gems knew it wouldn’t help much with their situation.

The gems sat around the edge of the fountain and admired its beauty. There were five Rose statues decorating the fountain. Four of them were life-sized sitting at the middle of each side of the square. A gigantic statue of Rose stood in the middle of the fountain, where the healing tears streamed from the closed eyelids, acting as the water dispersion. And finally into the water reservoir where the tears were stored. The running healing substance rippled through the surface where the reflections of the five gems were disrupted.

“As you all know,” Rose was sat on the edge of the spring, with her midsection so enlarged she could be giving birth any moment. “This is one of our most precious sanctuaries ever since it was constructed during the rebellion. I may not be able to bring any more healing tears to you in the future, but in times of incredible need, you can always visit here for a breather or two.”

The gems nodded with gloomy expressions as they were fully aware of the implications of what she said.

“Promise me,” Rose implored, “That you’ll look after this safe space and take good care of them.”

The gems had their minds wondered elsewhere, but Rose took their silence as their agreed undertaking. She was very pleased as she believed the sanctuary and her garden would be very well taken care of and guided by her fellow gems.

Right after they left, rose petals bunched up and clogged the chambers. With the healing tears cut off to the fountain, the water slowly evaporated and dried up. Angry vines and other brambles started to surround the sanctuary, covering every inch of the garden and spring, desperately looking for a single drop of their master’s lachrymal essence to survive…

The once bright and hopeful sanctuary, only days after the gems’ departure, was transformed into a dangerous, dark, and dreadful maze filled with wild, directionless, and unguided brambles. The only source of light was from a skylight that shot down onto Rose’s fountain, hoping for their master’s return.

-

Today was the “Due date” predicted by Garnet. Rose stood in the middle of her room while the gems gathered outside of the temple cave. She wanted to say her final goodbyes with them one at a time.

Garnet was the first to enter the pink-clouded room. She stood right in front of her as she held onto Rose's hands. The pink gem turned over to the fusion’s palms and examined the two gems attached. The dark red gems gleamed as if the two individual gems were trying to bid farewell to the being who made them possible.

“Bounded by love.” She began while holding up her hands, “Garnet, I want you to take over this clan, lead this team, and protect this planet under my name. I also want you to be strong, not just for me and the gems, but for yourself too. We would never have made it this far without you. And I know, whatever the future holds, whatever comes in your way, you’ll do just fine with the gems at your side.

Garnet took a moment and swiped her sunglasses away, revealing three very watery eyes struggling with their tears. “It has been an incredible honor fighting alongside you and this clan.”

The two gems embraced one another, with Garnet on her toes and the abnormally enlarged midsection, they shared one last hug until it was time.

After the fusion left, the small purple gem with her thick, fluffy hair so long it reached to the floor, peeked into the room from the door.

For this goodbye, Rose was sat on the pink clouds while encouraging Amethyst to do the same. The small gem, now on all fours, was sulking her way in. She promptly collapsed, face first, right at the foot of the pregnant lady.

The depressed gem muttered something incomprehensive, but it sounded like “I don’t want to say goodbye.”

Rose couldn’t help but giggle at the playful sight of the earth gem despite the situation. “Oh my sweet, pure earth gem.” She said as she lifted her up by the arms, revealing a shielded expression from the depressing goodbye. As she pulled her into a hug, her guarded expression was softened into a quivering one just as a few moments ago. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened here. Don’t listen to what anyone says about the kindergarten. It’s your home, it’s where you came from. You might not be especially proud of that place because of its history, but you can’t define yourself solely of your place of origin either.”

She pulled her away from the hug and held her up like a soccerball. She did one of her favorite games with her: tossing her as high as she can till her laughs uncontrollably. As the goal was achieved, Rose continued while holding her like a little baby and bopping her nose. “You’re my fun, charming, and adorable Amethyst. No one can take that away from you, even when I’m gone. Be yourself, and be proud, okay?”

With her spirits lifted, literally and mentally, Amethyst went in for another hug before it was time.

The pearls were both called into the room after Amethyst got out. They were not expecting to be called at the same time, but they didn’t want to disregard/dismiss her last wish.

As both pearls got close to Rose, she motioned them both for their hands. Pearl held onto Rose’s left hand while Coral held her right hand.

She remembered an encounter with an old neurobiologist who explained to Rose the human brain. The human brains apparently can be split into two sides and contributes to different functions of the brain. The left side of the brain conjures logical and rational thought, contributing to something like a mathmatical intelligence. The right side of the brain, however, offers creative aspects of the human experience, such as art, imagination, and being fun in general. It can never be sure if the mind of a gem works the same way as a human’s brain. But one thing is for sure. The two of them, together, will be able to deal with any situation thrown at them.

“My pearls,” She said as she kneeled down to be on the same level and pulled them closer. “You two have been a part of my journey for so long, that it seems impossible to see how far you two have come. Pearl, you’re our strong logician and the best strategist I could ever ask for. I know you’ll be able to come up the best ideas for any obstacles to come. Coral, you’re creative, energetic, and you have always known how to make me happy, even in my worse emotional states. After everything I’ve done, you’ve both stuck with me all this time. You’re both caring, loyal, faithful, and the best friends a gem could ever ask for. And I want you to know, there is nothing in this universe that will make me forget either of you. The relationship between us will always hold a very special place in my gem.”

For a moment, there was only silence. Rose faced both pearls and found them both trying to contain themselves as best as they can. Rapid sniffles can be heard from Coral.

Was it something she said?

After some silent sobbing from each of them, Pearl was the first to pick herself up but struggled to speak, “I- We’ll miss you, Rose. We’ll miss you more than you could ever imagine.” Said Pearl while Coral nodded next to her.

Rose gently pulled both pearls into a hug.  Just as both pearls were done sobbing on the shoulders of their leader, Rose pulled them away and stood up. “It’s almost time. Gather the rest of the gems will you Pearl? I’ll be out in a minute.”

The white pearl took a shaky breath, but she didn’t deny her final request as a leader.

Coral stayed behind, knowing it was her last chance to talk to the reason of her existence. She whispered closely to her, “Rose, you won’t have to worry about us. We’ll take great care of everything.” She patted her big hands for assurance.

“I know you will.” Tears began to form at the edge of her vision once more. She wiped them off with the back of her hand and got up. “Come on, let’s go.”

The duo walked out of the temple to see Pearl with Garnet and Amethyst by her side. The gems were starting to prespire as the struggle of maintaining their forms was on the edge. They just had to hold it until they saw her off.

From a distance, they noticed Greg who was taking great interest in the van’s digital clock. He looked up just in time to see the gems’ final goodbye to Rose. "…I have faith in you. All of you."

KER-SPLASH

Oh, and just what Garnet’s predicted, her water broke just in time. Some type of liquid was streaming down her thighs and into a small puddle between her feet. While the other gems looked confused, Pearl looked disgusted and slightly mortified. She tried to not look paler than she already was. “Uh, Rose? I believe there is amniotic fluid coming out of your bottom, ergo your water broke.”

“Congratulations Rose!” Coral forced out a smile. “You’re in labor!”

Greg, who saw everything, rushed into scene. “Ohhhkayy, 7.21pm. Garnet’s timing was impeccable. Come on Rose let’s get you to the van.” He said as he helped her to the van. The rest of the gems followed in pursuit.

As they scuttled towards the van, there was a certain level of pain taking over Rose’s abdominal area.

“Oh wow.” Rose took a moment to register the pain. “That is an incredible pain for labour. Oh! It’s gone. I think it comes and goes every few minutes. Do all pregnant women experience this, Greg?” She asked as they got out of the beach. Her expression shifted between astonishment and pain as the contractions come and go.

“Y-yea, I guess.” He kept his eyes to the van. They’re almost there.

“Do the males experience this too?”

“Uh no us guys don’t-”

“Then why aren’t the women here worshipped for enduring this exruciating pain and labor to another lifeform?” Rose asked as Greg got her up the van. He rushed to driver’s seat, got up, and turned the ignition. The van didn’t start, so Greg tried again and again while muttering anxiously, “Come on, come on…”

Just as Rose was having the contractions, she realized the gems were just outside the passenger’s seat. Coral being the closest to the door while the rest of the gems stood back, looking very uneasy. She rolled down the window to bid her final goodbye to everyone. The engine finally roared to life after the dozenth attempt. “Finally!” Greg exhaled in reflief, “Alright, I know a guy who might be able to help us. Hang tight Rose!”

Before the van zoomed out of sight, Rose reminded the gems outside of the window. “Take care of yourselves and take good care of each other.”

With that said and done, the van sped into the town.

The gems, still teary-eyed, turned and carried each other back to the temple. They couldn’t take it anymore as one by one, different clouds of smoke went off, followed by the clinks of five gemstones.

End of Part 2

(A/N: I like to think that Rose didn't mean for the fountain to be empty and deserted like how it was when it was first introduced. Since the gems have known about the healing spring, I'm guessing they didn't do a good job at looking after it since they were occupied with Rose's final moments with them.

As for Rose's individual goodbyes, I had fun writing up the possible farewells for each gem Rose had prepared. Of course she would bring up the best aspects of the gems while preparing them for the worst send off in the world. Not to dismiss their feelings or anything, but to have their last moments with her to be the best moments.

Also, if you guys took note of the foreseened water breaking, it took place at 7.21pm. In military time its 19:21, and if you replace the numbers with the alphabet in its place, you'll know why its that specific hour and minute.

Lastly, the gems' forms being unstable and poofing at the end of Rose's departure had been a thing since the episode: Three Gems and A Baby. If you didn't know, all three gems had distinct looking forms before and after Steven was born, indicating the retreating into their gems and reforming with completely new forms.

Normally, a pregnant couple would be having visits with a gynecologist or an obstetrician. But Greg figured it might not be a good idea to have Rose on the local news with the front pages screaming, “HYBRID ALIEN CHILD FOUND PREGNATED BY IMMORTAL ALIEN!” So, to minimize the risks of Rose or the baby getting whisked off to a lab for experiments, they figured to keep things on the down-low until the birth. This meant going to zero doctors for any of the pregnancy checks. Even getting an ultrasound might not be such a good idea with the local clinic.

It also meant not knowing what gender the baby was until he or she was born. Fortunately, neither Greg nor Rose cared too much about the sex of the baby. It also kept things exciting until the baby was finally born.

It was a week before the baby’s birth. Greg and Rose had been busy prepping for the arrival of the baby. They had been closely studying how Vidalia looked after the now toddler sour cream. She also gave her own pointers and experience of the newborn experience by feeding him, changing his diaper, and generally making sure he was out of harm’s way. The single mother was a great source of information, cuz now Greg knew where to get all those baby stuff without costing him his van. Vidalia also found a list of pre-birth activities for parents to try out. She had them listed out herself when she found out she was pregnant but didn’t get through the first few items on the list. One of them was a video recording for the unborn kid to see.

It was a day at the beach. Rose and Greg were doing their favorite thing at the waters: Getting sand between their toes. But today is a different beach day, today is a beach day with a video camera.

Rose had this idea to film their day at the beach for the unborn baby so they’ll get to know their mother, even if it’s a short five minute video of her rambling at the beach. She held up an old video camera they borrowed from Vidalia. After some briefing by Greg on the simple but also ancient form of audio-visual capturing technology, she got the hang of it rather quickly.

For most of the day, Greg wasn’t even aware that Rose was recording with the tiny audio-visual capturing device. Rose also didn’t want to alert him that could likely make the day weird and unnatural. She was able to secretly record a bunch of beautiful little moments like the beauty of the gem temple (in its original, non-beach house version), the peaceful waves, and Greg’s interactions with the seagulls (or the same one). She recorded a few more but ultimately was found out by Greg.

Greg peeked into the gallery and found various close up and far away shots of the beach, the waves, and the sea. “Wow, looks like you’ve been busy while I took a nap.”

“And speaking of napping…” Rose pressed a left arrow button and went through the gallery. She found that clip of Greg waking up from his nap. She giggled and teased him when he realised what it was. “Here’s a recording of you getting startled by that seagull.”

Squak

Agh! Wha! Who- *heavy panting* (Rose giggled uncontrollably while Greg looked at her, confused.)

(Hopefully, this goes without saying that these are screenshots of an episode and that I owe none of these.)

The reliving of the incredibly hectic moment made Greg furrow his eyebrows and face somehow.

Greg noticed his receding hairline and turned away in slight embarassment, “Hehe, yea, I remember that pretty well.” He said while patting his dangerously balding head.

She pointed the camera towards the beach again to proceed with her recording, but Greg had a little skit in his mind. While Rose was filming the glistering sea, Greg got into frame and crab-walked into the focus, making Rose giggle and lose focus on the scenery. “Hehe, what are you doing?”

“Making this fun than it already is.” He replied while crabwalking from the other side of the frame.

After that, they filmed a bunch of other schenanigans that involved more goofy scenes and some rare interactions with the local white sea birds (seagulls). The filming was a lot of fun until-

“Oh wait! I have an idea.” She turned the camera to focus on Greg, startled by the sudden attention. The camera zoomed in and focused on Greg. “Let’s record ourselves for the baby! We’ll do little introductions so they’ll get to know us better when they get to see it!”

She pressed record and prompted a very nervous-looking Greg. “Come on,” Her voice was very gentle as well as very encouraging.

“Sorry, getting a little stage fright here.”

“Tell us about yourself.”

“My name is…Greg. Nono wait this is all wrong!”

Rose paused the recording and set the camera down, “What is it Greg?”

“I thought of an idea, wait here a sec.” He ran off and came back with a guitar and a pair of sunglasses. “Alright, I wanna look cool for the baby, so I’ll pose on that rock with the guitar like im on stage or something. We can even do some kind of transition thing, here, let me show you which buttons to press.”

Rose resumed filming at the sand until Greg shouted his cue, “Okay… now!”

Rose panned the frame up to Greg with a guitar in hand. “They call me…*strumstrum* Mr Universe! Get ready baby! You’re gonna have the coolest dad in this side of the cosmos!” Dododododdododdo (Air guitar). “Press the button Rose!”

“Oh!” She pressed a button but it was a wave of light shining across the screen. “Is it this one?”

Greg, being pretty far away from the camera, wasn’t sure. “Uhh, maybe?”

“What about this one?” Upon pressing, a star shaped outro frame transitioned from the outer frame into the middle of the frame, which ceased the recording. “I think I did it!”

“Alright! Let’s see the video!” Greg prodded over with the guitar strapped to his body and investigated the recording. “Hmm, hows about we do another take?”

Take 2

“They call me…*strumstrum* Mr Universe! Get ready baby! You’re gonna have the coolest dad in this side of the cosmos!” Dododododdododdo (Air guitar)

“I press it now right?” Rose asked.

“Do it!” Just as Greg said it, his foot slipped off the rock and had him fell on his butt. For an even more entertaining scene, a seagull landed on the tip of his guitar like it was all an orchstrated act.

Greg, embarrassed from the fall, faced Rose and asked, “Can we cut that part out?”

Rose, trying really hard to hold in her giggles, said, “Nono, its perfect.”

-

The video camera was depleted most of its battery, but the couple didn’t really take note of it.

The camera started recording again and the screen showed Greg sitting on the beach with a seagull nearby. Rose giggled as she recalled how the seagull had been an intrusion at the last recording. “Heh, maybe it’ll help you with your intro this time.”

While Rose recorded what she wanted to say to Steven and Nora, the video was aimed at Greg and the seagulls he befriended. She didn’t mean to be filming them while she was talking to the baby, but it felt right if she was talking about the beauty of the planet and its living beings.

 “Norah, we can’t both exist. I am going to become half of you. And when you love yourself, that’s me, loving you and loving being you. You’re going to be extraordinary. You’re going to be a human being.”

Greg, from a distance, seemed to have something in his hand that he was going to share. Seeing how excited he was, her eyes lit up with the same level of ecstacy before ending the recording.

“Take good care of them Nora.” Rose ended the recording with the star outro, making the zoom sound as Nora’s recording came to an end.  

“Rose,” Greg came over to her with what seemed to be a rock on his hand, “Check out this cool rock I found in the sand.”

On the palm of his hand was a simple white rock that had been in the erosion process for a while. Rose noticed the smooth texture of the rock while also spotting tiny holes that were not visible to the human eye. There was something familiar about the rock tho, something Rose didn’t notice at the first glance.

“If you turn it around, you’ll notice it looks awfully familiar…” Greg teased while Rose was still trying to decipher the rock puzzle.

It took her a while, but the rock was beginning to look like a deformed shape of the number 2. “Is it… because it looks like a bird?”

“Not just any bird!” He handed her the artifact. “It looks exactly like the seagull that scared the living daylight out of me!”

Upon closer inspection, Rose noticed the resemblance between the rock and the aforementioned seagull friend. Her starry eyes and ecstatic gleam showed how, once again, everything on this beautiful planet can surprise her even after residing longer than any living being on Earth.

*Beep beep, beep beep*

As the pink lady was further admiring the incredible parallel between the rock and its live counterpart, who was squeaking and picking at the sand, there was a quick but brief beeping sound coming from the video camera right next to her. However, she was too entranced with the rock in hand to take note.

Greg picked up the device to see what the fuss was about. There was a pulsing red battery symbol and a box of text was shown on the screen.

Warning: Battery lower than 10%, please plug in.

“Huh, that’s not good.” Greg turned to Rose with the low-battery display. “Hey uh, Rose? The battery is almost gone. I think its time we head back to Vidalia’s for that charger.”

Rose, now broken from the seagull-rock trance, was not following. “It’s almost gone? Oh dear, is it dying? I can heal it with my tears!”

“Nono, no.” Greg put a stop to it before Rose could think of anything upsetting. “It just needs power from the charger port at Vidalia’s house. We can come back another time.”

“Oh uhm, about that.” Rose explained how she planned to guide the gems in the next few days until the expected birth date. “There’s still a lot of things for us to cover. There might not be another time for another beach day.”

Greg didn’t want to interrupt her time with important gem stuff, so he decided on a better idea. “Why don’t we just stay a bit longer? We don’t have to get it charged right away. The recordings will still be there when we get it charged.”

“Really? Oh that’s wonderful Greg! Don’t worry, I just have one more thing to record. I just finished my message to Nora. I’ll need a bit of time to document what I want to say to Steven. After that, we can head back to revive this little fella if it ever dies out.”

The soon to be father checked the battery on the video recorder. “Alrighty, looks like there’s still enough juice for one more video.” He gave a thumbs up before he handed back the camera and continued, “So you’re really committed to this whole Steven or Nora thing huh?”

“Well of course.” Rose responded, “Those are the two names we’ve narrowed down, weren’t they? We’ll know which name we’ll use when the baby’s born.”

“Will do. Guess I’ll leave you to your messages.” Greg, being a considerate boyfriend, gave Rose her space, plopped onto the sand a few feet further away, and stared into the waters with his new seagull companions.

After Rose ended her recording to Steven, she went up to Greg for a little kiss on the beach. But when she returned with Greg, she couldn’t turn the device back on.

“Guess it finally ran out of juice.” Greg commented. “Come on, let’s head back and charge this bad boy!”

As the pregnant couple walked back to the van, Rose asked Greg if he could edit the film and create two separate tapes for Steven and Nora. The order of the video should go by sceneries, shenanigans, and then the message.

Greg was hauling almost all the beach equipment on his left shoulder. He was doing his best to adjust everything, so nothing falls off. He contemplated and asked, “Even the embarassing ones?”

“They’re not embarrassing! They’re perfect just as they are!”

“Okay sure, we can watch the final product after tonight together. But, here's a head-scratcher,” He reached for her left hand with his free right hand and turned her towards him, “How will you know which tape to keep for the baby?”

“Oh that’s easy!” Rose grinned at the question. “I’ll ask her when the time is right.”

That… doesn’t really clear things up much. For a moment, Greg was very confused.

“Ask who?” He took a moment to register and remembered, “Oh right, Garnet. Sees the future and all.”

Rose giggled and nodded. It was too early for anything to be solidified, so Rose wouldn’t be consulting the fusion anytime soon. She just needed enough time for her to put everything in their place.

End of part 1

(A/N: It's me, hi. Tbh my drafts for this chapter started last year but as I've mentioned in the previous post, life stuff happened. I went for my master degree in the capital city, while also working part-time at a nearby cafe.

It took some time to research on what Rose said to both Steven and Nora in the tapes. But I also couldn't just repeat everything she said into one single fic, that would be too much to read. So I briefly touched on what Rose wanted to say and focused more on the in-betweens as well as the before and after recordings.

I have also been studying on literature that introduces the different stylistic tools for emphasizing certain points or scenes in a piece of writing or a movie. I won't be listing out every single one of them here, but one brief analysis I can offer is the scene where Rose points the camera at Greg and the seagulls while talking to Steven and Nora. It's the perfect use of Imagery, which conveys the tone of the speech in a calming, peaceful manner. You can't think its a random scene to be paired with Rose's speech about the beauty of human life. Think about it, why else would she be talking about the beauty of Earth while also capturing the visuals of the different inhabitants of the planet. The purpose of this scene is to illustrate and emphasize the uniqueness and distinctive experiences of the different living beings. (With the examples and descriptions provided by Rose.)

But anyways, I've been studying on the importance and relevance of certain writings and now I can't read much without overthinking "Why did they have to write it this way? What possible implications or meanings they are trying to emphasize?" It's basically what I've been dealing with most in this chapter writing process.

Hope I didn't bore you guys with my brief analysis. Anyone here with an interest in language or literature might be able to power through what I've written but this kind of thing isn't for everyone to enjoy.

“And the news is?” Pearl prompted, hoping the fusion would just let the cat out of the bag.

“I don’t know.” The fusion grinned. “I did not see anything beyond that. I like to keep things… mysterious. Don’t want to peek too much and ruin the surprise. Speaking of which, she’ll be here right about… now.”

Right on cue, Rose appeared holding hands with Greg next to her. She looked so happy compared to how she was before. She also looked different from the gems. Sure she was still in the same form from the day she left, but something was off, especially to Pearl.

Halfway at the beach, Rose noticed the little gathering at the end. She gleamed at the fusion’s future vision as it was just what she hoped for. “Gather around my gems.”

As she got closer to everyone, the gems finally noticed the abnormal size of Rose’s abdominal area, her belly. Everything was there, her gem, her dress, her star-cut hole around her gem, except underneath all that is a swollen belly. It was as if she swallowed an entire watermelon on a dare.

Pearl was the first to speak, “Uhh, Rose, would you mind telling us what’s going on with your… midsection?”

Coral noticed Amethyst slowly creeping towards Rose. She was in awe as her hand gently touched the swollen stomach. As her hand rested right below the gem, she felt something… moving inside.

“Woahhh, did you eat a raccoon? There’s something moving in there.” She reached her hand out and tried to feel it again, but Coral grabbed her and dragged her back.

“Rose, what’s going on?” The pink gem asked.

Everyone had their eyes on Rose, the fearless leader of the Crystal gem rebellion. They followed her, trusted her. They left their fates to the infamous Rose Quartz, the gem who started it all. They all changed for her one way or another. And now, they are gonna face the biggest change of all.

“My gems, I have amazing news to share. Greg and I have been going out for a few months now. And since then, I have had the best time in my entire existence. Remember how we all talked about humans experiencing change throughout their life? Well, this was my chance to have that. In a few months, I will get to experience that change.”

She took a deep breath and announced the biggest news in all gem kind. “My wonderful gems, I am pregnant. The baby will be due in the next month or so.”

A wave of shock went through the gems, the pink pearl looked especially torned. Her mind raced wildly as she tried to figure out how it came to be. She wasn’t sure what to feel with that information! Concern? Anger? Sadness? None of them made sense! Neither she or the other gems were prepared for this!

A split second of silence passed until she was the first to break out a nervous smile. “Congratulations! That’s so… wonderful!” But she didn’t hide her true tone very well as her voice cracked after every other word. “Isn’t this exciting? We’re gonna have a mini–Rose to play with every day!”

“What do you mean you’re pregnant?” Pearl was not happy, confused, but definitely not happy. “Are you having a baby?”

She turned her gaze to the human. “Are you having HIS baby? I can’t believe this. Rose! How could you do something so irresponsible!?”

“No…” Garnet uttered after seeing more. “Y-you can’t…”

The fusion’s shade vanished and showed three terrified eyes of the colors blue, red, and purple. Tears were ready to broke out of any of them any minute.

Out of all the gems, Pearl and Garnet were not as elated as the announcer. They looked hurt, mortified even. The fear of losing their beloved leader was so strong that it never crossed their minds on how happy she was. Amethyst didn’t seem like she understood most of it. She was mostly torned seeing the split emotions of the group. Coral, on the other hand, was trying to act happy, despite how dreadful the news was.

“Greg, how could you do this to her?” Pearl demanded, raising her voice. “Do you have any idea what you have caused? Gems can only have one form, so if Rose has to give birth, she’ll-”

“Cease to exist.” Greg finished. “Yeah, Rose kinda told me all about that before we started trying.”

“And you’re ok with that?”

“Of course, I’m not, but what kind of boyfriend would I be if I deny her the one wish she has?”

“A reasonable one!” Pearl snapped, going feral and ready to pounce. Dating him was one thing, but doing that to her was just unforgivable!

Rose had to cut between Pearl and Greg before any pouncing could happen. “My gems, please don’t be upset with him. I was the one who wanted this.”

Garnet was trying her best not to fall apart. She took off her shades, revealing her bitter yet terrified three eyes. “You can’t have a baby! You can’t leave us! You’re the leader of this rebellion! We're supposed to protect this planet together.” Three streams of tears rolled down her cheeks as she begged and pleaded.

“What will this team become without you?” Pearl demanded; her loud voice cracked with terror!

“What is this rebellion going to do without you?” She demanded again, but not as loud as before.

“What are we going to do without you?” She questioned loud enough to hear but ending it with a whisper. 

“What am I going to do without you?” Her voice faded as she was trying her best to hold herself while buckling in the sand.

“M- Pearl, please calm down.” Rose tried to take her hand, but Pearl swatted them away in anger.

“Nonononono! You can’t leave like this! I- You- can’t-” She struggled for the right words, but she couldn’t think of any. For the first time in forever, Pearl was at loss for words. She wanted to convince her it was a bad idea. She wanted to scream at that filthy human who did this to her. She wanted to beg her to stay and not go through with her plan. But she couldn’t do any of that.

She failed her. She failed to stop the pregnancy. She failed to protect her. She failed to save her.

She felt tongue-tied and helpless. There’s nothing she can do. She’s never felt this terrified before. There had always been close calls on missions and rebellion acts, but they were always capable of ending it by winning. But now, there’s no winning for her or anyone after the baby comes.

“Pearl, please-” Coral urged her to calm down, but Pearl was not doing so well. She turned to face the white pearl and saw water seeping off her tear ducts. Her eyes were dashing left and right as Coral got closer. The terrifying renegade pearl quivered and backed away.

Tears shone as the pearl turned away and flee. She ran into the dark night, leaving Coral reaching out to her. She witnessed her running until the midnight darkness consumed her. And just like that, she was gone with a trail that only proved of anyone passing by.

“Oh my,” Rose called out to her. “Pearl, come back!”

But her response was nothing from the night.

Before she could chase after her, Coral side-stepped in front of her. “Nono, Rose you’re carrying a child. You are in no condition for a chase. I’ll go get her.”

Rose hesitated and turned to the rest before landing her gaze on her worrisome boyfriend. “Okay,” She agreed, “But please hurry back, we have to talk about this.”

-

A ray of pink light from Coral’s gem was cast on the sand. She lost Pearl and her footprints on the sand were her only hope of ever finding her. She wandered around the shore, silently hoping her sister didn’t cross into the deep dark sea. Coral’s not the best when it came to underwater navigation.

Thankfully, the tracks didn’t lead into the water. Although it did seem like she was tempted to do just that. The footprints can be seen lingering and hovering at the edge of the shore until it led to another direction of the beach.

The track led her to the farthest stone hand from the temple. She noticed a dim glow coming from the half-buried stone palm. 

There she was, with her uncontrolled tears and legs hugging to her chest. Her leg warmers were coming down from all the running. The tears dripped off her face one by one into the now wet patch of sand. She tried her best to not make a pep because she knew about her own ugly cry when she was sad. She must have been crying for a while because all that was left was the sound of faint whimperings.

Seeing her in this state, Coral realized this was the most vulnerable state she had been in since the day they met.

She dimmed her gem to match her glow. She sat down right next to her in silence. Pearl paid no attention to her fellow sister. But Coral’s not gonna pressure her to talk. When she’s ready to talk, she’ll talk.

The duo sat under the beautiful night sky. Hundreds of tiny stars dotted the dark curtain along with dark patches they assumed were clouds. The nights at Delmarva never really stood out compared to the nights in Alaska or Iceland, especially during the summer season. Other planets may have greater sights than anything on Earth really. But it was a peaceful night overall, just what the gems needed.

Pearl sighed and cupped her face with her palms. “What was she thinking? Trying to bring human life to this planet at the cost of her own?”

Still, Coral didn’t respond. She knew someone just needed to vent and let things out.

“How could she?” Pearl scowled. “How could she go back on everything they worked so hard on?” She thought about all their adventures together. Their time as diamond and servant. Their bond as partners in crime. Their accomplishments on the greatest thing to happen to all gem kind. She was offered freedom, but now she felt trapped.

More tears were filling up. The pearl tried to wipe the tears off her face, but more just kept coming. “I just *sniff* I can’t imagine a world without her. How can I? She's my entire world and in a few weeks she'll be gone.”

“I get it,” Coral admitted, doodling little circles on the sand. “I’m scared too."

Pearl looked up and noticed the teary-eyed Coral, but her expression hardened right after. “Then what was with the smile and the “Congratulations”?” She snapped and broke down again, weeping. “How can you be scared AND happy for her? Don’t you have any idea what’s gonna happen if she goes through with this?”

The thing was, she did. Of course, she did. Why else would Rose try so hard to avoid them all those months and make it into a cruel surprise? Why else would anyone be ok before they even started trying?

“You know, I don’t always understand her decisions.” She drew two figures on the sand with a stick. One was a tall stick figure with puffy hair while the other one was a smaller figure with hair buns. “Sometimes I never do and just go along with whatever she wanted. She could have said she wanted to float and get lost in the deep, dark space and I wouldn’t know how to say no.”

Pearl thought about it and turned with a look of fear. “She didn’t exactly say that did she?”

“Oh heavens no! Otherwise, I would be stranded somewhere in space.” She giggled at the idea. But laughter quickly faded off as they return to their situation.

“She’s just so wonderful and kind and unbelievable.” Pearl went on about all the things that made Rose Rose. Her loving and motherly personality, her incredible show of empathy, her search for beauty in everything, and her show of everyone, including her, as equals. She was truly a gem like no other. “I just, don’t know how to live on a planet where she’s not here. You and I have been following her from the moment we came out of our shells. Aren’t you afraid of what to do after she’s gone?”

That was the first question that popped into her mind after the announcement. She didn’t even try to answer. She saw how weary Rose was and just wanted to make her happy again.

“We’ll just keep on doing the thing we’ve been doing. Protecting the planet we all love.” She claimed with much certainty, despite the huge loss ahead. “But before we can do any of that, we have to at least try to be okay with it. It’s the least we can do now that Rose will be gone in a few weeks.”

The idea of losing her on such short notice was pure torture. But they have to power through this, for her. “We can’t change her mind, it is too late for that. What we can do is be there for her in the next month, and promise we’ll look after the baby when it is here.” Coral suggested.

Pearl was tired. She thought she knew what she was getting into when Rose really fell in love with a human but turned out she was wrong. “How are we going to get through this?” She asked with a broken spirit.

“I honestly have no idea.” Coral’s smile wavered. “But no matter what happens, we're still a team. You still have Garnet, Amethyst, and me. You're not going through this alone. We're all in this together.” Coral tried for a smile, but it ended up a frown. She was trying her best to see the silver lining, but all she could see was a dark, scary future without the light of their lives.

The two pearls embraced. Coral's arms were over Pearl's shoulders and Pearl's arms were on her back. They were attempting to hug the sadness out of each other. But as tight as they hugged and sniffled, the feeling didn’t go away. Not after a hug, not after a long time.

"Everything is going to be ok. It has to.” Coral said, but she didn’t sound too confident. It sounded like she needed the reassurance more than anyone. “No matter what happens, you'll still have the team. You’ll still have me-”

“And we'll still have each other.” Pearl finished up.

The two let go after what felt like hours of hugging and crying on each other’s shoulders. "Come on, let's head back,” Coral suggested. “We don’t want to worry them too much.”

She reached her hand out to the white pearl. Pearl took hold of her outstretched hand and got up with ease. She loosened her grasp and dropped her hand. The two walked back from where they came. And this time, they were ready.

Or were they?

Chapter end.

(A/N: Some of you guys who watched 'The Great Divide" on repeat numerous times might notice how the story here is a bit different from the animatic. Ex. The scene's ending was just Pearl and Coral hugging, and Pearl feels better and took the lead in going back. But for my scene, I had Coral took the lead in going back instead.

Btw, here's an additional scene that didnt made it into the story. Think of it as an extended writing that didn't work with the tone atm.

Anyways, I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I had writing this. The next chapter is gonna be the last of the Pre-steven series. Please <3 or consider reblogging so more fans can read it too!

(Additional scene of Rose explaining pregnancy to Amethyst)

Amethyst was still stuck on the announcement. “Pregnant? What’s that?” She turned to the gems, but none of them heard her.

“It means she’s having a baby of her own.” Greg explained, “It’s how humans are made. When a couple love each other very much, their love creates an entirely new being! We love each other so much that we-”

“She looks like that lady Vidalia was before her baby showed up.” Amethyst noted.

“That’s right Amethyst!” Rose was relieved to hear her say that. “Its just like how you came! It’s like I’m the… kindergarten, and the baby is the gem. The baby inside me gets nourished and grows until its ready to come out! Except I can only make one baby instead of dozens.

“Ohh ok I get it!” Amethyst turned her puzzled look to the other gems. “Why’s no one saying anything?”

Garnet made a horrified gasped after a quick peek into the future. “…because there’s more…”

“There is.” Rose proceeded. “After this, all of you and Greg will have more amazing adventures ahead. And sadly, I will not be joining you all.”

“Why not?” The purple gem asked, “You can always come with us missions and stuff after the baby comes.”

“Amethyst, that’s the thing…” Pearl uncovered her mouth and finally spoke, realizing the dangerous truth. “We gems can only have one physical form, so if Rose is giving birth to another being, then that means…”