Hi again. So I decided to go ahead and do another original story. And it's going to be set as a flashback to before Steven was born. Overall, I thought this would work well as a kind of breather chapter, and I wanted to give some more highlight into the backstory of the characters in this AU. And fair warning, this chapter will include copious amounts of everyone's favourite divisive character. So let's see how well this goes.

"I know this is probably a bit late to be asking, but are you sure about this Rose?" Greg asked.

"More sure than I have ever been about anything in my whole, entire life" Rose replied.

Together, Greg and Rose were sitting side by side in the open back of Greg's, which was parked near the edge of a tall cliffside. From this vantage point, they could see the outline of Beach City, the clear, blue ocean and the fields of the natural landscape, the beauty of all it magnified perfectly by the starry night sky. Places like these were always good for moments of reflection and reflecting was exactly what Rose and Greg were doing.

Even now, Greg himself could hardly believe what had transpired over the past few weeks and what was about to transpire in the coming months. He knew that he loved Rose more than anything, even though it felt like it had taken them an entirely to reach this point in their relationship; initially it was all just fun and games, music and playtime. But this was different. This was truly the next level. They were going to have baby.

It had already been a few weeks since they decided together to do this and by now, Rose had more or less confirmed that she was pregnant. Of course, by normal human standards, having a baby may not have been too much of cause for concern, or at least not overly so, as there would always be some degree of uncertainty and even fear involved. But in this case, since Rose happened to be a magical alien entity made of pure light, Greg couldn't help but cast some extra doubts on whether or this was even possible in the first place.

"You told me before that Gems don't have babies. So, are you sure you can….I mean how exactly do you know if…" Greg said, before trailing off, not entirely how appropriate it was to go down that road.

"I understand enough about the process to compensate with my shapeshifting." Rose explained simply, rubbing her hand gently against her belly, which was already showing the earlier signs of growth.

"Oh, you mean kinda like what Jasper does when she eats food?" Greg said, as he had often wondered exactly what did happen whenever Jasper eat something before it was finally explained to him. Although how Jasper figured out how to perfectly shapeshift a digestive system, Greg would never know, nor would he want to know.

"Yes, although I suppose this is a little more…intimate." Rose said with a blush, staring down at her belly, her eyes mesmerised by the sight of it, as she knew that a human life was slowly taking form within her.

"Wow, I still can't believe it. I'm actually going to be a father" Greg said, looking up to the sky with a strange smile, as he could hardly come to terms with that simple, yet unbelievable fact. "I mean, there were a lot of times in my life I imagined what that would feel like, being a dad. Now, it's like I'm terrified, but like a good sort of terrified, you know? It's sorta like the first time I ever went on stage. You can't really know how good you're gonna be at it until you're out and by then your fears don't seem to matter anymore"

Rose only appeared to be half listening to Greg as she was still gently rubbing her belly, keeping her eyes on it the whole time. "It's so strange. When I think about this, I don't feel scared, or nervous. I just feel…so excited, yet at the time I feel so calm and steady. I've never felt like that before. What I am doing now, it feels like it's the most important I might ever do. I can't really explain it. I just know it"

Greg's smile faltered as another much more unpleasant thought now came to his mind. The one element of the situation he didn't want to think about. "But Rose, you also said that if this does work, you won't exist anymore."

"Not in my current form, no" Rose said, heavily, turning to look at Greg. "But I will never be truly gone. I will still exist as part of our child. Even if I can't see or hear or even touch them, I will always feel this love. And that love will always be with you too, Greg"

Greg smiled back at Rose. Even if he didn't fully understand what Rose meant, he was satisfied none the less. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on the negative

"Guess I'll have to ask Vidalia for some parenting tips" Greg said, remember how he used to playfully tease her about her own role as a parent, realising the shoe will soon be on the other foot. "If babysitting taught me anything, I doubt I'll ever take my eyes off our kid for even a second"

"Don't worry" Rose said, assuring. "The Crystal Gems will be nearby. They'll help whenever you need it"

"Got to say, though, I'm glad I wasn't around when you drop the bomb to the other Crystal Gems" Greg said with a wryly smile, lying back on inside of the van, hands behind his head, feeling relatively relieved that he wasn't a part of that particular conversation. "I mean, between Jasper, Peridot and Lapis, I can't figure out who would do the most collateral damage. Least they took well enough, I guess"

"I haven't told them" Rose said, looking down at Greg

It was roughly three seconds before Greg realised what Rose had just said, before he shot upright once more. "WHAT!?" he said, gaping at Rose as though she was completely crazy. "You haven't told them yet!?"

Rose smiled at Greg weakly, quickly realising that, somehow or another, she had caused yet another problem. "I was hoping to keep it a surprise?"

Greg gave Rose a slightly admonishing look, much a like parent would look at child who had broken a well-known rule. "Rose, we talked about this" he said, and it was clear was tone he was being quite serious this time. "You can't keep people locked out of the loop like that. You have to tell them"

"I know" Rose admitted, turning away from Greg, now looking more abashed. "I just got so excited when we decided that we were really going to do this that I forgot about them. I know should be talking more to people like you said Greg, but I'm still finding it difficult. I thought they would be as excited as I was, but then I just started to worry that they may be upset. And why I thought about that, I just couldn't really bring themselves to talk to them."

"You've been through so much with all three of them, I'm sure that they'll understand. They're your friends Rose, and they'll support you no matter what. But you gotta be open with them in return. You have to be honest"

"More open. Yes" Rose said, staring off into the distance, avoiding Greg's eye. "Okay. Tonight then. I'll tell them. "

"How about we tell them together?" Greg suggested.

Rose turned to Greg with a look of surprise, but her face soon melted into an expression of happy gratitude. "Ok. Together"

Needless to say, Peridot, Lapis and Jasper's collective reactions were less than what Rose and Greg had been hoping for and everything they had been dreading. All five of them were now standing at the Warp Pad at the base of the Temple. Rose and Greg had just finished telling the three Crystal Gems of their decision to have a child and the fact that once the child is born, Rose herself will be gone. Each of the Crystal Gems were wearing a different expression, but not one of them was a happy one.

Peridot had her mouth hanging wide open, her eyes bulging out like dinner plates, her mind having gone completely blank which by extension meant she had lost her cherished ability to speak and express critical opinions. Jasper's lips were curled back in an angry snarl, her entire body shaking almost violently, and her hands balled into fists as she glared at Rose with unmistakeable anger with a mixture of betrayal. And Lapis had simply gone stock still, her eyes becoming vacant and empty, as if she was watching everything from some distant shore.

Greg cast an uneasy glance at Rose, who didn't appear to be overly concerned with the reaction from her fellow Crystal Gems. No one had yet to say anything and at this point, it was questionable if that was a good thing or not. Long moments passed before any one of the Crystal Gems finally decided to speak up. As so happens, the first responder turned out to be Peridot, who had finally managed to recover her senses.

"You two are having a BABY?!" she screeched, throwing her hands in the air, her metal digits pointing in a different direction.

"Yup" Rose said, with an almost shy looking blush on her face.

"You can't have a baby" Jasper growled a low, furious voice. "Gems don't have babies!"

"I can and I will" Rose said, with a brief, yet intense show of strength as she matched Jasper's fierce gaze with her own. Rose's expression softened as she addressed the entire group again. "Please, I don't want to see you all angry about this. You need to understand that this something I want"

"Oh, don't give me that" Jasper snapped, advancing on Rose, stopping directly in front of her. She then pointed an accusing finger at Greg. "You're only doing this because of this idiot, aren't you?! He talked you into it"

"I think you're giving me way too much credit in this" Greg said, scratching the back of his head, feeling a little uncomfortable that he had been placed in the cross hairs.

"Why would Greg need to talk me into this?" Rose said, with a sense of incredulity so innocence, she must have believed Jasper was making some kind of silly joke. "This is without a doubt the single most amazing thing I have ever done. Why else would I do it?"

Jasper let out a frustrated groan, throwing her hands up into the air, feeling like she was talking to a brick and had to resist the urge to punch it down

"Rose, Rose, let's not act rashly about this" Peridot said quickly, rushing up to Rose's side, thinking there was still a chance she could talk her out of this. "If it's excitement you want, maybe we could start with something small? Like a pet. We could get a dog, or a better version of Greg, perhaps?"

"You still think I'm Rose's pet?" Greg said with tone that was more disbelief than indignation.

"No, I thought you were our pet" Peridot replied with a tone that was more clarification than scorn.

"I have already made up my mind about this." Rose said, sounding resolute and unapologetic once again. "This is what I want"

"And what about what we want?" Jasper snapped. "We don't want you to just disappear. We're the Crystal Gems. We're supposed to stick together, all of us. And now you're just abandoning us? And for what? For some….some…". Jasper trailed off, looking too disgusted to continue.

"For life" Rose said, her face turning to joy once again. "A brand new, life with the potential to be anything it could be. How could anything be more precious than that? Isn't that the very same that we chose to fight for all those years ago?"

"But why do you have to, you know….?" Peridot asked, before falling silence again, unable to complete that sentence

"This child will be half human and half of me, but we both can't exist at the same time" Rose said, calmly, without the least bit of fear or doubt. "The only way it'll happen is if I pass my gem onto to them. "

"So where are you going to be then?" Jasper demanded.

"I'll be exactly where I am meant to be". Rose turned to face the ocean, casting her eyes over the horizon in the distance as though it stretched on for an endless eternity. "Long ago, I fell in love with this world. Everyone and everything here, has its own path, its own unique, individual experience. That's what it means to be alive. That's what it means to be a human being." Rose turned to face Jasper and Peridot, a joyous smile spread across her face.

"That's why I know this is the right path for me. Because my child will be a human being with its own remarkable experience. It will be everything that I love about this world, about Greg and the three of you. I will become the love that can be felt within my child. As long as my child can feel that love within themselves, I will continue to exist."

Peridot groaned heavily and rolled her eyes, not feeling the least bit satisfied with that explanation. "Why does answer you give have to turn into a big speech?"

"Ok, look, I know this isn't easy for anyone" Greg said, hoping that maybe he could help defuse the situation even by a small degree and feeling obligated that he should be a part of this discussion. "But the truth is that this is something Rose and I both want to do. It's not really how I imagined having a kid of my own one day, but there is no one else I'd rather do this with than Rose. And I have a responsibility as a father to see this through to the end. I mean, one thing is for sure, it's going to be one heck of a wild ride, but what isn't?"

Greg smiled at Rose and took her hand. Rose smiled back at Greg and squeezed his hand in her own. One thing remained undoubtedly sure; they were both in this thing together.

The tender mood was soon broken by the sound of laughter. A cold, sarcastic and bitter sounding laughter that was coming from Jasper.

"Well that is just spectacular isn't it?" she said with cruel sneer. "For you two that is. But what do the rest of us get out of this? Nothing! It's all about what you want, even if it means abandoning us." Jasper threw her hands up in the air, putting on another sarcastic smile. "But what's the point in complaining, am I right? You've made up your mind and now there's going back anymore. So, I guess we all just have to deal with it. Go ahead and have your human kid. That obviously means more to you than we do"

Throwing one last, angry glare in Rose's direction, Jasper turned and stormed off down the right-hand side of beach, circling around the Temple and out of sight.

"Well, at least she didn't break anything" Greg said, opting to look on the bright side. There then came a very angry yell in the distance and small earthquake shook the beach. "Never mind".

Rose frowned, appearing slightly uneasy; knew from experience that Jasper would be angry, but something about her reaction felt off this time. Rose turned to Peridot, looking at her for some kind of understanding, but she appeared equally troubled.

"This is a… significant development" Peridot said, trying to sound as professional and aloof as possible. She turned away from Rose and Greg, folding her hands behind her back. "I will need some time to evaluate how I….should respond"

With that, Peridot calmly walked off without so much as a backwards glance at Rose or Greg, moving down the beach in the opposite direction Jasper had gone.

With the two of them gone, Rose and Greg then seemed to finally take notice Lapis, who had yet to move an inch from where she had been standing nor had she spoken single word since Rose and Greg had finished explaining their decision to have a baby. Her head was lowered, a dark shadow cast over her face, covering her eyes. One might have mistaken her for a statue. In complete silence, Lapis opened out her water wings and with one flap, she flew upwards into the sky, briefly circling the air around Temple, before landing on the outstretched stone hand, sitting on it like bird perched on a tree branch.

"I'm starting to see why you weren't too keen on telling them" Greg said, dryly. He knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but he didn't think it would end this badly. He looked up at Rose, offering what her sympathy he could. "I'm sorry, Rose. If you want, I can try and talk to them myself, maybe I can-"

"No" Rose said sharply, holding a hand up to silence Greg, an act which took him by surprise. "You were right before. I have to be the one to do this. It's my responsibility. They're my responsibility"

Rose stepped forward and took a deep breath. Greg was slightly taken back; he had never seen Rose act with such authority before. Though it was a very brief, the change in demeanour almost made Greg think she was a different person, but he soon brushed it off, thinking Rose was simply trying to put on a brave face.

"Well, ok" Greg said, giving Rose a light punch on the arm. "Go get'em champ"

Rose's face softened and she smiled again at Greg, who gave her a wink and thumbs up in return. She felt herself become additional motivated by his support, which she found herself to be greatly in need of right now, as she braced herself for what she had to do next.

Having already decided who she would speak to first, Rose followed the path around the side of the beach where she Jasper standing at the edge of a rocky shore underneath the cliffside, next to a set of a large stack of boulders. Digging her fingers into one of the boulders, Jasper plucked the massive chunk of stone clean put from the ground. Balancing the rock on her shoulder, Jasper took up a stance and hurled it out over the ocean, like a pitcher throwing a baseball. Whether she was playing some kind of game or trying hit a target, it didn't seem to matter, as Jasper simply picked up the next boulder and threw it right behind the first.

Without waiting for any formal announcement, Rose approached Jasper as she hurled another boulder out the water. Jasper didn't turn to acknowledge Rose's presence.

"You know if you're not careful, you might sink another ship by doing that" Rose said causally, recalling a certain incident many years ago involving a much larger ship and a block of ice.

"How do you know I'm not aiming for one?" Jasper replied with a slight sneer, as she picked up another boulder, preparing her stance.

"You would never do something like that on purpose" Rose said kindly. Jasper scowled angrily at this complement and threw her boulder with additional ferocity, and while this one went much further its angle was off, the boulder veering much further out to the left.

"And if you were trying to, your aim still needs work" Rose said, taking the moment to indulge in a bit of snarky humour.

"What do you want, Rose?" Jasper said, begrudgingly accepting the fact that her solitude was now ruined yet still she refused to look directly at Rose as she spoke.

"Jasper, I need to talk to you" Rose said, now looking serious again.

"Guess we should do much as talking as we can while we still have the chance" Jasper shot back harshly, crossing her arms. "Pretty soon, you'll be gone, and I won't have to listen to your nagging anymore"

"That's what I need to talk to you about" Rose repeated. "When I'm gone, there's something you'll have to do for me."

Having lost whatever patience she had left, Jasper let out another angry growl, throwing up a dismissive hand at Rose and was in the process of storming off once again, before Rose called after her, almost pleading for her attention. "Jasper, please, this is important. That's why I'm asking you"

Jasper then stopped and turned around to face Rose with another angry scowl. "Oh yeah?" she scoffed. "And what could the mighty Rose Quartz possibly need from someone like me?" she asked, coldly and with deep scepticism. "You want me to water your garden? Clean out your fountain? Take some singing lessons? Huh? After everything I have already done for, what do you want from me now!?"

Rose folded her hands down to her waist and looked Jasper dead in eye, speaking with the utmost seriousness. "When I'm gone Jasper, I need you to become the leader of the Crystal Gems

Jasper's scowl dropped from her face instantly and she now looked to be nothing short of utterly gobsmacked. Of every conceivable response that Jasper had been expecting Rose to give, it was clear that that was the absolute last thing she thought she would say.

"Me?" Jasper said softly after a long moment, her mind finally absorbing the shock. All her fierce exterior had melted away and she now appeared much a like small child, full of fear and uncertainty. "The leader of…..but I'm just…"

"Jasper, I know we don't always see eye to eye on things". Rose said. She walked up to Jasper who briefly recoiled back from Rose as though intimidated, despite the obvious lack of theart. "I know we're both so different, but there's no Gem I could ever trust more than I trust you. I mean look at you!" Rose beamed brightly at Jasper, who squirmed uncomfortably under her stare, looking as Rose was actually belittling her in some way. "You're the best, strongest, most perfect Quartz soldier that was ever made. And you were made here, right on this planet. You are amazing!"

"I'm not… amazing" Jasper mumbled, looking down sand, trying to avoid Rose's beaming gaze. Rose then surprised Jasper again by taking hold of her hands and pulling them toward her chest.

"That's why I'm not afraid or worried about the future when I'm gone" Rose said, squeezing Jasper's hands tightly in her own. "Because I know you'll keep them safe. The Corrupted Gems, the Temple, the humans, Peridot and Lapis, they'll be in your hands from now on."

Jasper stared down at her own hands in astonishment, before she pulled away from Rose, shaking her head, still in disbelief. "No, I-I-I can't be. I'm…I'm not like you"

"That's a good thing." Rose said softly. She continued to stare at Jasper with those innocent and childlike eyes, which somehow could take all the fight right out of Jasper. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Jasper turned her back to Rose, unable to look in her eye any longer and not wanting to show her hesitation or weakness.

Jasper had been through this a million times before. It was always the same. No matter how much Jasper hated it or tried to argue back, Rose always somehow managed to find a way of talking her into doing these things no matter how uncomfortable or frustrating she found them. But this was different than anything Rose had asked Jasper do to before. Rose was offering her something more than just freedom or a new challenge. She was offering Jasper the chance to be her successor, to prove herself. Jasper couldn't deny that deep down, this was something she wanted this very badly. All her life, everyone has told Jasper that she was the greatest Quartz solider there ever was. And now the greatest Quartz solider ever made has just asked Jasper to take her place. Jasper could almost laugh at the irony of it.

Long minutes passed as Jasper considered what to do next, while Rose patiently for her answer, before, finally, Jasper spoke again.

"If you're serious about going through with this" she said firmly, not giving away even a hint of weakness in her voice. "Then I guess I have to be serious about going through this as well. I'll handle things when you're gone"

Rose released a piercing scream of joy that almost caused Jasper to jump out of her skin. "Oh Jasper, thank you so much!" In a blink of eye, Rose scooped Jasper up into her arms, lifting her into the air as she gave her a crushing hug, all the while oblivious to the look of embarrassment on Jasper's face before Rose set her down again.

"Take good care of Lapis." Rose said. A sudden blush appeared on Jasper's face and she immediately looked up to a quadrant of the sky. Rose gave a slight smirk. "And try to keep Peridot on a short leash"

Jasper chuckled darkly. "Maybe, I'll just feed her to the next monster we fight". Both Jasper and Rose suddenly burst out laughing, the two Gem warriors taking the opportunity to enjoy the moment of peace and companionship between them. Then in a surprising gesture of friendship, Jasper raised her arm and offered out her hand to Rose.

"Quartz soldiers?" she asked, with a slight smirk.

Rose smiled and clasped her hand in Jasper's, matching the strength of her grip; even though she was holding back a little herself, Rose never failed to be impressed with Jasper's strength. Jasper was truly the ultimate Quartz solider and more than anything, Rose was so honoured that she saw her as fellow Quartz in return. Almost nothing could make her happier.

"Quartz soldiers" Rose replied. Releasing her hand from Jasper's, Rose gave her another grateful smile. "I know you'll do what's best for everyone".

Jasper merely grunted in response and said nothing else as Rose walked down the beach, leaving her alone by the shore once again. Jasper waited until she was sure that Rose was gone, and then finally allowed herself a moment to fully embrace what had just happened. She was going to become the leader of the Crystal Gems. Rose actually trusted her to be the leader. Even now, Jasper could hardly believe it. A smile then touched her lips. Not a scowl or a sneer, but a genuine smile that looked so innocent it was almost foreign to see on her face, another reason that Jasper was grateful she alone. Jasper had never felt happier. Nor had she ever felt more terrified.

Walking along the opposite side of the beach, Rose found Peridot pacing up and down the side of the Temple, talking into her finger-screen as she always did whenever she discovered something worth documenting or when she was greatly troubled.

"This situation had taken a distressing turn" she said into her screen recorder. "Rose and Greg's courtship ritual has now reached a point where they are going to attempt to produce some kind of hybrid monstrosity. I can think of only logical two explanations for this. The first is that Greg must possess some unknown form of hypnotic power of which he has used to enthral Rose to do his bidding. The second explanation is that Rose's mind has finally snapped and she had now crossed the threshold into a newfound layer of madness the likes of which-"

Peridot abruptly stopped walking when she saw Rose was standing directly in front of her, forcing her to take a pause in her log date. Peridot then calmly side stepped around Rose and continued on as if she not been interrupted.

"The likes of which have never been seen. I knew Rose was insane from the moment we first met and yet somehow, I allowed her to beguile me with her colourful platitudes and catchy songs. Now, I'm left wondering if I made the right decision all those years ago when I joined up with her. Did I make a mistake? Has my entire life here as a Crystal Gem now become invalid? Oh, I have never felt more like an idiot. Peridot, log date."

Finished, Peridot de-activated her screen and folded her arms behind her back, staring off into space, still appearing to be in deep thought over the situation. Rose wasn't sure if she should say anything; she never once wanted to interrupt Peridot once she had begun speaking. Of course, the problem with that was that Rose wasn't never entirely sure why Peridot would stop speaking either. As it turned out Rose didn't have long to wait before Peridot spoke again.

"Rose, let me ask you something" Peridot asked, turning around to face her. "Regarding this whole….baby thing, have you given even the slightest amount of thought as to what you're doing?"

"Oh, yes! I'm thinking about it all the time" Rose said earnestly

"Right" Peridot said slowly. "And at no point in your thought process have you raised any concerns? You don't see any issue with this present course of action?"

"Well no, I don't" Rose answered with simple honesty, a bit confused by the nature of the question. "Do you?"

Peridot her left eye twitching slightly as she let out a dry, almost mirthless sounding chuckle, completely taken aback by Rose's unperturbed response.

"Well, yes!" she exclaimed. "I mean just look at the facts. You're going to give up your physical form and gem in order to give birth to a human baby. This isn't something as simple as building a Kindergarten where you can fashion any sort of Gem you want. This thing won't be a Quartz or a Ruby or Agate or any Gem of any kind. It will be an actual human being. I can't even begin to wrap my head around that"

Peridot paced up and down the beach, continuing to rail away at the absurdity of what Rose was intending to do, while Rose listened to her intently, as though Peridot was in the middle of narrating a brilliant tale.

"I mean, just think about for even one second" Peridot stressed, becoming increasingly frantic. "A human baby. A form of life that has no procedural plan or structure laid for out it to follow. They just exist and grow and develop into any of a million different possible variations. And that's just like regular humans. We are talking about a human baby that came from a Gem. There is literally no precedence for this for this situation whatsoever. You are about to do something that has never, ever been done before by any Gem throughout the history of the universe".

Peridot paused in her ramblings to glance at Rose as though she was expecting some kind of shocked reaction from her, but instead Rose just continued watching with bated anticipation, waiting for Peridot to continue. Now looking truly desperate, Peridot threw her arms out at Rose, hoping that she would understand what she was trying to say. "Even if by some sheer mathematically improbable contrivance that this all does work out, we have absolutely no idea what will happen afterwards! Anything could happen!"

Rather than be shocked or appalled by what that Peridot had just said, Rose beamed brightly, clasping her hands together, looking nothing short of ecstatic. "I know" she whispered, barely able to contain herself, tears of joy forming in her eyes. "Isn't it exciting?"

Peridot's arms dropped to her side as she stared at Rose in sheer disbelief. And it was then that Peridot finally gave in, her face slowly broke into wide, silly grin as she started giggling like a goofball, no longer able to deny the thrill of this latest, hairbrained adventure they had found themselves in.

"Yes! Yes, it is!" she squealed in delight, bounding up and down on heels. The two Gems started giggling like a pair of schoolgirls after finding a delicious piece of gossip, clasping each other's hands and dancing small little jig around on the beach.

"You're really going to have a baby!" Peridot said breathlessly, placing her hands on either side of her head as she resumed her earlier pacing, full of renewed energy and vigour as her mind was now racing at the thought of what was to come next. "Oh my stars! What should I do first? I'll need to make a good first impression. Should I get it something? Is it customary? What do babies like? What am I saying, it could like anything at all! There are no wrong answers. And if there are, I'll be the first one to find them. I am gonna make, so, sooooo many log dates about this!"

"I'm sure whatever you do, it'll be amazing, Peridot" Rose said, watching with joy as the smaller Gem looked ready to explode with excitement. Rose could never help but marvel at Peridot's endlessly passion and tenacity. Rose never thought that she would ever meet anyone who could be more excited about life on Earth than she was. And then along came Peridot, who embraced her new life here like no other Gem Rose had ever encounter before. She could listen to Peridot prattle on and on about her opinions of life and the universe for hours, but Rose soon remembered another matter she needed to discuss.

"Peridot" Rose said firmly, causing Peridot to cease her ramblings, as she turned around to face Rose again. "There is something else I need to tell you. It's about what happens to Crystal Gems after I am gone"

"Oh, I already anticipated this" Peridot said, closing her eyes with a smug expression. "And I assure you Rose that I am fully prepared to accept all the responsibilities and glory that will come with my impending succession as the new leader of the Crystal Gems"

Rose grinned sheepishly, seeing that the conversation had just taken an unfortunately awkward turn. "Actually, Jasper is going to be the leader" she said.

Peridot's eye snapped open at once and she wheeled around to Rose in disbelief. "What?! Jasper? But I'm obviously the superior candidate for leadership. I am incredibly humble"

"Yes" Rose said patiently, not seeing any reason to disagree with that bit of self-assessment. "But the reason I'm picking Jasper because I know she will do everything in her power to project all of you. But we both know Jasper can be a little…aggressive from time to time". Rose leaned closer to Peridot, her voice dropping to more of a hushed whisper, despite the fact they were quite alone. "That's why she'll need someone who can keep her from getting out of control. Someone who is level-handed. Someone who isn't afraid to speak their mind when they need to"

"Oh, oh, oh, it's me!" Peridot exclaimed loudly, throwing her arm up into the air. "We're talking about me, aren't we!"

Rose laughed and nodded happily. "That's right. When I'm gone Peridot, I'm expecting you to help Jasper anyway you can to protect the Earth and to keep trying to find a way of healing the Corrupted Gem. Even if she hates it, Jasper will need you around to tell her when she's wrong"

Rose placed her hand on Peridot's on the shoulder, as though passing on some kind of unspoken responsibility to the smaller Gem, while giving her a proud smile. Peridot said nothing, staring up at Rose with a blank expression, before her face broke into a wide grin. "Oh, I see. We're telling Jasper she'll be the leader, but we both know who's really going to be in charge". Peridot tilted her head to the side and gave a long, overdrawn wink, making absolutely sure that would go unnoticed. "See?" she said, pointing to her eye. "The wink means we're plotting against her"

Rose snorted loudly and broke into a fit of laughter, despite the fact that Peridot was obviously being quite serious.

"Oh, Peridot" she said, cupping the little Gem's chin under her hand. "You never fail to amaze me. Don't ever stop amazing everyone around you"

Peridot blushed slightly, putting on a tiny, V-shaped smile on her face, which made her look much like an adorable kitten before she recomposed herself once more.

"Well, I better go and tell our leader that she'll have my total support" Peridot said, chuckling to herself as she walked away from Rose, heading down the beach back toward the Temple. "Oh, that poor, hapless Jasper. So gullible"

Rose watched with a smile as Peridot went off to find Jasper. She was a little curious to see how that conversation was going to play out, but she didn't have time to think about that right now. By her count, that was now two down and with one to go. Luckily for Rose all she needed to do next was look up, until she found the last person she needed to speak with.

Kicking her heels off the sand, Rose launched herself up into the air, slowly floating downwards like a leaf in the wind, landing on the extended hand of the Temple. Lapis had yet to move a single inch from where she landed previously. Whether or not she had been eavesdropping on Rose's conversation with Peridot and Jasper was unknown, but it seemed unlikely, as Lapis didn't appear to be showing any interest whatsoever in the world beyond the stone hand that she was sitting on.

Without pause for any invitation, Rose took a seat right next to Lapis, who didn't look up to acknowledge Rose's presence. Rose, likewise, made no immediate attempt at conversation; instead, she turned her attention up to the sky.

"Wow, it's so beautiful tonight" she said, taking the moment to admire the starry night sky. "You know, no matter how much time I spend on this planet or where I go, I never get tired of this sky. The stars and galaxies from here are the just best view"

Lapis said nothing and just continued to stare down at her own feet with a sad expression, while Rose continued to gaze up to the sky, marvelling at it as though this was the very first time she had ever laid eyes on it.

"You know, I'm actually a little jealous" Rose said, with the same conversational tone as before. "You can fly and all I can do is float. You can go up there and get as close as you want." Rose let out a long, content sigh. "I remember how you and I would sit back and look up at the sky for hours on end. That's always been one of my favourite things to do with you Lapis."

Rose glanced at Lapis, looking hopeful that this would provoke from kind of response from her, but again, there was nothing and Lapis appeared just as disinterested as ever. Rose bit her lip, now feeling unsure of what to do next. She tried to think of what Greg might say in this situation. She knew that he would tell Rose to step talking so much about what she liked; she should be asking Lapis what's wrong, she needed to open a dialogue to understand how she was feeling. It didn't seem to be that hard, yet every time Rose tried to open her mouth, she'd relent. She had no idea talking to someone could be this hard. But Rose couldn't let that stop her. She had to do this, just like Greg had told her. All Rose had to do was ask a simple question.

"Lapis, I, um, I wanted to ask…"

"You're leaving us" Lapis said; her voice was barely audible, yet the abruptness of it was enough to stop Rose in the middle of her question. Though she was a bit caught off guard, Rose nonetheless answered Lapis in a perfectly calm manner.

"Yes, I am".

Lapis closed her eyes tightly and pressed her forehead down onto her arms, having desperately been hoping that Rose would have said something else. "Why?" she asked, her voice almost cracking.

"Because that's the only way it can be Lapis." Rose said, still as calm as ever.

"But why does it have to be that way?" In a sudden burst of movement, Lapis pulled her head up and grabbed Rose by her arms, her face flushed with anguish as she was practically shaking Rose. "Why can't you stay? Why do you have to leave? There has to be some way for you to stay! There has to be something else you can do!"

Rose stared down at Lapis with an impassive face, watching as tears began to swell up in her eyes; she was begging Rose to say that she won't disappear, to say that she would stay with by Lapis side forever and that nothing would change for them. But Rose knew the only thing she could tell Lapis was the truth.

"I'm sorry. But I can't." Rose closed her eyes and placed her hand down on her belly, just above her gemstone, knowing the precious life she was now carrying within herself. "I will see this through to the very end. No matter what"

Lapis eyes widened as that last piece of denial faded; she didn't want to believe it but there truly was no going back. She released her hands, her arms dropping lifelessly to her sides as she turned away from Rose. With nothing else to say, Lapis cast her eyes up towards the sky, but she was not looking at the stars with the same kind of wonder as Rose had done earlier. There was something else in her eyes, something desperate, something that longed for an escape. For so many years they had been trapped on this one tiny world, cut off from the rest of the universe. Every one of them was stuck on this world. Everyone that is, but Lapis. There was a way out for her. She didn't have to stay here; she didn't have to endure this torture. It would be so simple…so easy to just leave

Without even thinking about what she was doing, Lapis could feel her body beginning to tense, readying itself to move, the gemstone on her back letting out a faint glow, preparing to summon her wings. In just a few seconds, this would all be behind her.

But then everything came to halt and Lapis felt herself being pulled out from her desperation and back into reality as Rose's hand touch her on the shoulder. Lapis gasped and flinched at her touch, looking like a child who had just been caught in an act of wrongdoing, fulling expecting Rose to be angry with her, but Rose was looking at Lapis with nothing but concern.

"Lapis, please tell me what's wrong" she said, her words slow and solemnly. "Tell me….tell me how you feel"

It was a long moment before Lapis seemed to register the question, and it seemed to be an equally long time before she relaxed herself and answered.

"I'm afraid" Lapis said quietly, lowering her head, hugging her legs around her chest again.

"Of what?" Rose asked softly.

"Of what happens what you're gone. What's going to happen to me?".

"That will be up to you, Lapis." Rose answered, smiling again. "Only you can decide what'll happen to you next"

Lapis sighed, resting her forehead down on her knees, looking completely exhausted. "You don't understand. There's always this part of me that's never really at peace, always thinking, feeling that everything is going to come crashing down around me. What gave me the most comfort was knowing that you would always be there to protect me, to keep safe me in case things go wrong. Now I won't even have that anymore. "

"Oh, Lapis" Rose said, smiling. "I don't think that's true at all. I think you are so much stronger than what you give yourself credit for. I've seen what you're capable of. You can keep going"

"But what if I can't?" Lapis shut her eyes, shaking her head back and forth, becoming more and more distressed. "What if I can't keep things together by myself? What if something terrible happens? What if something happens to Peridot or Jasper? What if they get hurt and I can't handle it? What if I-"

"Why do you keep saying what if?" Rose said. She placed a gently hand on Lapis shoulder and then pointed her up to the sky. "What if you stopped doing that? What if you just looked at the sky all day long?"

Lapis pulled away from Rose, hugging her arms around her chest again. "I'm not like you Rose. I can't forget what happened to me. You can't understand how bad I feel"

Rose listened to Lapis, her words stirring something inside of her. Something that Rose spent so hard trying to forget. Something she never wanted to deal with again; her past. Just the thought of it sent a horrible shiver throughout her being, forcing her to immediately repress it. Is that what Lapis was going through right now? Was it so hard for Lapis to forget her past and focus on the here and now? How could Rose have never considered that before? She never realised that she and Lapis had something so significant in common; neither one of them could deal with their respective pasts

"Maybe you're right, maybe I don't understand" Rose admitted guilty, lowering her head as though in shame. "But the truth is…..I feel bad sometimes as well. Thinking about all of our friends who are gone. About my….our past. If I were to think about it too long, it does make me feel really terrible"

Lapis looked at Rose with some surprise, noticing the sad expression on her face, having never seen her look so disheartened before. But in a moment Rose's gloomy demeanour passed and she appeared again with the same childlike joy and excitement as always.

"But there's not a day that goes by when I'm not happy to be here. To be with you and Peridot and Jasper, Greg and all the humans. To live with such unbridled freedom. Everyday has been a different experience, I can't even count them all. I know that there were a lot of hard times for us, but we were given this chance to be happy for the first time in our lives"

Lapis listened to Rose's words, feeling a sense of renewed hope beginning to rise inside her once again, but that feeling was quickly enveloped in the same dark, cynicism that she always carried within her.

"I can't be happy" she said, turning away from Rose, tears forming in her eyes again. "All I ever do is run away. Run away and cry. I just….don't want to keep crying". Lapis broke into a quiet sob, feeling miserable and ashamed with herself. No matter how hard she tried, this always came to her. She could never run away from this. Suddenly, Lapis felt a gentle hand reach under her chin, pulling her head. Rose smiled down at water Gem with such compassion.

"Stop" she said softly, gently brushing away one of Lapis tears with her thumb. "No more tears. Smile. Smile and be happy. You can be happy here. I know you can. Remember all the good times we shared here? The reason I'm doing this is because I want my child to be able to experience all those same kinds of joys".

Rose closed her eyes and leaned in closer to Lapis, dropping her voice down to a whisper. "But the biggest thing I am looking forward to, is for my child to meet you, Lapis. Meeting you was one of the best experiences of my life"

Lapis eyes began to water, becoming overwhelmed with emotion. She tried to do as Rose had said, she tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn't help herself. Breaking into another sob, Lapis suddenly flung her arms around Rose's waist, hugging her like a child may have hugged their parent. Surprised, Rose slowly placed her arms around Lapis, returning her hug, gently rubbing her hand on her head, wanting to let her as safe and comfortable as possible. The two Gems remained like that for several minutes as Lapis quietly cried into Rose's chest until finally, she detached herself from Rose, drying her own tears, taking a few deep breaths until she appeared to have steadied herself once again.

Rose took Lapis hand in her own, giving it a firm squeeze, hoping that she had done enough to make Lapis feel better. "Oh, there's one more thing" Rose said, suddenly remembering something else. "When I'm gone Lapis, I'll need you to-"

"Look, for the last time, I don't need your advice, now get lost!"

Rose and Lapis both turned their heads down to the beach below as they heard the unmistakeable sound of Jasper getting angry, knowing full well there was only one being in existence who could aggravate her this much.

"You call that a threat?" Peridot replied, sounding unimpressed as she followed after Jasper, who was doing everything in her power to ignore the smaller Gem. "Please. If you want to strike intimidation into your subordinates, you did to put more effort into it. You sound like you're dealing with something that's not worth your time"

Jasper spun around, bringing her face directly down to Peridot's with a threatening snarl. "I swear, if you don't back off right now, I'm gonna rip those Limb Enhancers clean off!"

"Now that's more like it" Peridot said, clearly pleased with Jasper's increased show of aggression, her smug reaction only serving to make Jasper even angrier. "You see Jasper, you do have the makings of a quality leader, once the proper guidance has been applied of course. Don't worry, I will always be right here by your side telling everything you're doing wrong"

"That's it!"

Peridot let out startled yell as she ducked out of the Jasper's hand, before she took off running. "Ah, wait a second, we need to discuss how you want to administer discipline first!"

Rose and Lapis watched with not so guilty amusement as Peridot sprinted across the beach, moving as fast as she could to get away from Jasper who chased after her, neither of them making any move to intervene anytime soon.

"I need you to keep things from getting out of hand between them" Rose said to Lapis, while nudging her head down in the directions of their fellow Crystal Gems. "They'll need someone to keep them from driving each other crazy"

"What if it gets really, really funny?" Lapis asked, with an innocent smile.

"Hmm, then wait five minutes" Rose said slyly, giving Lapis a small wink. Lapis and Rose both started laughing. Without warning, Lapis embraced Rose in another tight hug. For this moment, just for this moment, Lapis knew without a doubt that she was safe, she knew everything was okay, that everything will work out for them. Just for a moment.

The moment was then timely interrupted by the sound of another scream from Peridot coming. from below, indicating that she likely had fallen into Jasper's grasp.

"I, uh, better get in there" Lapis said. She released Rose and summoned her water wings, flying down to the beach, where she promptly saved Peridot from Jasper's wrath.

From the edge of the stone hand, Rose leaned forward and lay on her belly, holding her hands under her chin as she watched the events unfold below.

Lapis was now standing on the beach with her arms crossed and wryly smile on her face, extending out her water wings in form of two giant arms to grab Jasper by her shoulders, holding back as she furiously clawed at the air inches away from Peridot, who was now sticking her tongue out and making mocking faces back at Jasper.

Rose smile warmly, feeling so very happy knowing that her three best friends were having such a good time with each other. And strangely, Rose felt very happy with herself. She felt happy that she was able to sit down and really talk to each of them, just like she had been doing with Greg for these past few months. Rose suddenly started giggling to herself, not even noticing the fact that she was already floating up into the air again.

After returning the solid ground again, Rose later found Greg sitting inside of his van, parked outside the Temple, idly tuning away at his guitar when he looked up to see her approaching.

"So how did it go?" he asked, setting his guitar down on his lab, sounding hopeful, yet still retained some minor sense of caution in case of more bad news.

"I think it well pretty well" Rose said rather modest, taking a seat inside the van next to the Greg. From the van, they watched as the three Crystal Gems were continuing their shenanigans in the distance.

Lapis laughed in delight as she circled around the air, followed closely behind by Peridot who likewise was airborne thanks to her finger-copter, while Jasper glowered at the two Gems from below, not liking to be reminded of she was the only Crystal Gem without a means of flight. Peridot was too busy snickering at the earthbound Jasper to notice a mischievous Lapis sneak up behind her and trap her rotating fingers in a bubble of water. Peridot had only enough time to register brief look of shock as she realised what had just happened, before gravity kicked in and she dropped to the ground like a stone, landing into Jasper's waiting arms. The Quartz solider let out a devilish grin as she placed Peridot into a tight headlock and proceeded to give her a very hard noogie, crushing her diamond shaped head of hair.

"Huh, look at that" Greg said, sounding pleasantly surprised as well as pleased. "Looks like their back to old selves again. You must have worked out your problems that easy"

"Yes, I said….what I needed to say to them." Rose expression then changed, appearing more sombre and guilt ridden. "You were right Greg. I was wrong not to tell them. I should have been considering how they would cope with my decision. I just…being selfish"

Greg placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, everybody is a little selfish from time to time" he said kindly. "But you still took the time to talk to your friends and work through your problems. I'm proud of you for doing that"

Rose smiled at him and placed her own hand over his. She had never thought of her life before she met Greg, and now she could hardly imagine her life without him. He always had such good and down to earth advice.

"Thank you, Greg" Rose said. "Now, I know they'll be okay. All of them. Because when I'm gone, they all have each to lean on. And I know that our child will be okay too. Because they're going to have an amazing father like you Greg"

Greg grinned broadly, trying his to hide the sudden blushing he could feel in his cheeks. "Who knows, maybe I'll have to lean on them too from time to time"

Together Rose and Greg watched as Jasper, Lapis and Peridot continued their roughhousing. Jasper had released Peridot, taking the opportunity to grab hold of Lapis by the ankle, pulling her down into a tight bear hug and refusing to let her go. Now freed and seeking revenge, Peridot clambered up onto Jasper's mane of white hair, squatted onto her broad shoulders and feverishly began to noogie her in return, although her attempts barely seemed to leave any impact on the Quartz solider as Jasper was too busy trying to keep a determined hold of Lapis who was giggling happily as she tried to free herself.

And though it was for just a fleeting moment, the human and Gem couple couldn't help but feel much like a pair of real parents watching their own kids fight and make up. It was almost something close to normal, even though just about every facet of this situation was about as far from normal as Rose was from a real Quartz. And for Greg and Rose's yet to be born son, that was probably a good thing.

And we are done. Hope you liked the chapter. Truth be told it was REALLY hard having to write from Rose's POV as it often required me to make a LOT of assumptions here. But I think I did a good job of highlting at least of Rose's relationsgip with each of the Crsyatl Gems. And for anyone who might ask about Greg, this might just be my personal headcannon, but I like to believe that Greg

And for anyone who celebrates this time of year, please have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Peace out