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Winter had arrived at Beach City in full earnest. The ground outside thoroughly caked with mounds of glistening fresh fallen snow that piled taller and taller with each passing minute. The howling winds blowing more snow hard enough it flew nearly sideways through the air. The light of the sun rendered a dim gray color from the clouds. Within the temple, such a dull, flat light was the only kind that kept it from being engulfed in complete darkness.
For most of the morning, all was still, until a bright pillar of light erupted from the Temple Warp Pad. From it, five figures emerged, the first to step off was Steven, scrambling to remove the tattered remains of his winter coat, shivering from the feeling of cold air that lingered throughout his body. He exhaled, watching his breath pass through his mouth. From behind, Rose and Pearl followed suit, Amethyst following close behind. Garnet, meanwhile, elected to remain on the Warp Pad, waiting patiently for the others before they returned to the similarly frozen landscape they had been trekking across.
“Oh Steven, you really should be more careful when we go out on missions. I know you’ve come a long way on your training, so you should know to watch yourself!” Pearl lectured, sounding understandably concerned.
“But Pearl!-” Steven whined, his efforts to free himself from his ruined coat causing the filling within it to spill across the floor.
“I’m with Pearl here, sweetie, you can’t always expect us to protect you!” Rose doted, folding her hands together.
Amethyst crossed her arms behind the back of her head, calmly walking towards the vicinity of the fridge, “Yeah dude, that gem mutant we’re after did a number on your coat there, you’re lucky that’s all it got!”
Rose sighed, a forlorn look creeped across her face, “Ugh, I can’t believe Yellow and Blue would do something so cruel to those poor gems… all because of-” Pearl rushed to Rose’s side, placing one hand on her shoulder while using the other to grasp her hand, stroking it with her thumb to comfort her. “Rose, please, none of us knew they would stoop so low. Don’t worry, the sooner Steven goes to grab a new coat, the sooner we-”
“A-achoo!” The sudden noise broke Pearl’s concentration while Rose covered her mouth with her hand in surprise. Both looked to see Steven, snot dripping freely from his nose, which now began to appear red and irritated.
“Oh, that had better not be what I think it is!” Pearl stated in a scolding manner, placing her hands on her hips.
Rose approached Steven, kneeling down on one knee to get a closer look, “C’mere sweetie, let me have a look at you.” She placed the back of her hand on Steven’s forehead, which seemed to radiate with heat, far more than she knew a healthy human should, “Oh my stars, you’re burning up! Steven, you can’t go out like this!”
“But Mom!-” Steven groaned, his act of holding on that syllable spurring a coughing fit. Rose crossed her arms and huffed, “But nothing! You are not going on mission with a cold!”
Amethyst returned from the fridge, holding what could only be described as an insane hodgepodge of Fishstew pizza, leftover Chinese takeout, and flavored tortilla chips slathered in nacho cheese. As she quickly scarfed down this culinary disaster, she turned to face Rose, “Say, can’t you just use your healing tears or something?” she asked, shrugging her shoulders and licking her fingers.
“If only I could, dear.” Rose sighed, gently lifting Steven up off the floor, cradling him in her arms, “But I’m afraid that is no longer an option. That power was when I had Steven’s gem. But now that I’m truly a Quartz, it and many other former talents of mine are inaccessible to me.”
“Looks like one of us is going to have to stay and watch Steven while we continue our search.” Garnet asserted, adjusting her visor.
“Oh! I can stay! You three go on ahead. I’ll keep an eye on Steven.” Rose chirped, facing Garnet. The fusion said nothing, only glaring at Rose. She grew nervous of Garnet’s stoic silence until finally Pearl spoke, “I’m not sure about that, Rose.” Pearl said, trying not to sound rude, “You’ve never had to take care of him while he was sick, maybe I can-”
“No, really, I can do it!” Rose tried to reassure her, “I’ve watched you take care of him through his gem, you can trust me, I promise.”
“I’ll leave it to Steven.” Garnet bluntly stated, ignoring Rose’s protests. They each turned their attention to the half-gem boy while he still laid in Rose’s arms. Pearl approached him slowly, “Steven, baby, do you want your mother to look after you while we’re gone?” Without a word, Steven shifted his position to face the others, his face flush as his nose and cheeks turned a distinctive shade of pinkish red. He held out his arm, giving a thumbs up before collapsing in his mother’s grasp.
“Whoa dude, that’s a pretty nasty bug you caught there.” Amethyst said, her brow furrowing.
Pearl grumbled at Amethyst’s comments, turning her gaze back to Rose and Steven. She gave Steven a quick kiss on the forehead, returning to Garnet’s side on the Warp Pad, “Oh, Steven, you just relax and get some rest today, we won’t be gone too long.” Pearl said. “Yeah man, take it easy. Love ya!” Amethyst cried before the three vanished in a flash of blinding light. Rose gently put Steven down, “Alright, you get cleaned up and changed now. That might help you feel better.”
Steven nodded and lumbered slowly to the closet door, shuffling through its contents before emerging with a pair of yellow pajamas and turning around to enter the shower. She watched him drag his feet towards the bathroom and rubbing his forehead, which was likely in pain due to his sinuses being clogged.
Rose loathed to see him so miserable. She decided to try her hand at brewing tea, thinking that it would help with the pain in his throat. Though she had never made it herself, she had witnessed Pearl do so through Steven’s gem so often she could recall from memory. She filled the kettle with water and placed it on the stove, waiting for it to boil.
“Just leave your cloths outside the door, Steven, I’ll get them.” Rose hollered over her shoulder. Steven complied, tossing his clothes just outside the bathroom doorway before carefully closing it. Rose sighed while she stared out the window, watching the dazzling display of white flakes zip across the sky. Though she found the sight to be beautiful, as with all the sights and sounds of Earth’s seasons, her thoughts shifted to Greg. She hoped he would not be out in such frigid weather. She remembered during their first year together, he tried to camp outside of the temple to await her return from a mission. She arrived to see him shivering and wrapped in a blanket. Rose had profusely apologized and allowed him stay in her room through the winter.
As she heard the sound of running water through the bathroom door, she bent down and reached into Steven’s pant pocket, fishing out his cell phone to contact Greg. She meticulously parsed out each key to form a message to text to him, ‘Greg, this is Rose, please tell me you’re alright, I miss you.’ It said before she sent it. She retrieved the rest of Steven’s cloths and placed them in a bundle by the door, carrying Steven’s phone back to the kitchen counter to await his response.
She pondered on Garnet’s silence, did she not trust her? ‘Perhaps’, she reasoned. She took the truth of who she used to be very hard. It was any wonder why they all didn’t take the painting of her that sat above the front door and burn it on the beach that night. She knew it would be the least of what she deserved. She shook her head, Steven had told her before such self-deprecation was counter intuitive to her desire to be there for her family. ‘Even if she doesn’t trust me now’ she thought, ‘I can gain back her trust.’
She cared so deeply for her family, both gems and humans. With all that clouded her mind, she hoped her redemption could come from acting as the guardian she imagined she would be for Steven. Though she was unsure whether or not she was carrying out this wish as well as she had initially hoped. She could tell in the few months since she had first talked to Steven that he was happy to be with her. She allowed a smile to sneak past her lips.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a buzzing noise that rumbled on the hard surface of the counter. She lifted Steven’s phone to her face, seeing there was a new message from Greg. She hastily tapped it, revealing a photo of Greg in the company of other humans. Rose recognized the others as his friend Vidalia and her family, smiling and sitting around a table. Below the image was a message, ‘Hi honey! Tell Steven I’m sorry I can’t make it tonight because of the snow. Garnet wanted me to feed Cat Steven while you guys were out, I love you!’
Rose raised an eyebrow in confusion before she felt something brush against her leg. Startled, she looked down to see a calico kitten lean against her, purring its heart out in bliss. Rose’s eyes glistened with excitement and glee as she looked at the kitten. She recognized it as the one Garnet had adopted from a litter of kittens she and Steven had found. The cat looked up to stare at Rose with it piercing blue eye, the right eye remaining shut with a scar over the eyelid. Instinctively, Rose lifted the animal off the ground and held it in her arms. It continued to purr and nuzzle its face into her arm until Rose gently set it down on the counter.
After a brief search, Rose had found the cat’s bowl and food, placing it beside Cat Steven while she watched it nibble away at its meal. The kettle whistled with steam, the sound piercing the calm serenity of the Temple. Rose diligently readied two mugs with packets of tea and poured the hot liquid into each. By the time she had finished, Steven had exited the bathroom. The steam from the shower pouring out all at once, billowing upwards towards the ceiling. Steven was now dressed in his pajamas, a white towel wrapped around his head to dry his hair. Though his features still showed symptoms of his cold, they lit up with excitement upon seeing the mug of tea she laid out for him.
“Here, I have something for you that might help your throat aside from that medicine.” Rose said, “I just got a message from Greg, I’m afraid he won’t make it tonight. He had to stay at a friend’s home for the night.” Steven sighed, his smile melting away, “Well, at least Dad has somewhere to stay…” he said, carefully sipping his beverage. Rose’s brow furrowed once again as she saw the forlorn look Steven had moments ago, “Steven, are you okay? You can tell me.” She pleaded.
He looked down at his mug and sighed, “Oh Mom, I’m sorry. I wanted our first big mission together to be special…” he said, his voice muddled by his congestion. Rose smiled, placing her mug down and circling the counter to wrap him in a warm hug, “Oh sweetheart, you have nothing to apologize for. Getting to spend time with you is always a treat.” She reassured, giving him a kiss on his cheek.
Steven smiled back, “Thanks, Mom.” He said, leaning into her side. While he still held his drink, Rose gently lifted him into her arms and carried him to his bed. “We could watch some television together.” She suggested, reaching for the remote and carefully taking a seat at the foot of Steven’s bed. She wrapped both she and her son in a large, thick comforter. Steven curled up into her lap, laying his head just beside her chest. With one click, the television flashed to life, the channel set to the local news.
“-and it looks like today is looking like a good day to find something to do indoors for folks in Beach City this afternoon, as it looks like the forecast is predicting another foot or two of snow to come by the end of the weekend! Seems you folks just can’t catch a break!” the weatherman cheerfully exclaimed.
“Looks like it’s going to be a while before this lets up.” Steven stated. Rose nodded in agreement. She looked down to see Steven, who was slightly obscured by a few locks of her hair. He tried to blow them away to no avail, “Um… Mom, your hair is blocking the TV a bit…” he said, sounding slightly embarrassed. Rose giggled, “Oh? Does it help if I… do this?” she said, reaching back behind her head and flipping her hair in front of her. Steven quickly became engulfed in a mess of hot pink colored curls that brushed against his face, causing him to giggle uncontrollably.
“Mom! You’re burying me in your curls! Your hair’s making me ticklish!” he pleaded. Rose lifted him to her face, giving a mock gasp of surprise, “You? Ticklish? Where?” she said sarcastically, setting him on her lap once more, “Is it maybe… here!?” Rose teased, tilting her head and letting her hair droop down by his face again. “Mom, no! Stop! I give up!” Steven said between spurts of laughter. Their merriment was quickly cut short as Steven’s laughter spurred a coughing fit. His cough echoed through the house, the sound deep and dry.
Rose frantically clutched Steven by her side, reaching to the floor to grasp his tea. Steven took quick sips while massaging his throat. “Oh, Steven, I’m so sorry you don’t feel well. I’m trying my best to make you comfortable and help you feel better.” She said, her feelings of doubt nagging her at the back of her mind until finally she asked, “I’m… doing everything right, aren’t I?” Steven took a swig of his tea and cleared his throat before looking up to face her once more, “You’re doing great, Mom.” He reassured.
Rose could feel her eyes well up with tears as she felt a surge of maternal pride, “You are just the sweetest thing.” She said, ruffling Steven’s hair. The dull light of day later faded into the cool icy blue of night, the only light present being the faint glow of the television screen. Steven had long dozed off to sleep in Rose’s arms while she continued to watch the television alone, hoping there would be news of fairer weather to come.
Sadly, it seemed even after the initial torrent of snow, it would remain much too cold for anyone to leave their homes safely without it being cleared. Rose sighed, she would have loved to share this moment with Greg. She looked down to see Steven, still peacefully asleep. After only a few months following her ‘return’ she still found herself in disbelief, the idea that she could be here, truly be here and have this interaction with her child.
She remembered a time when she had witnessed humans rear their children. How long it had taken for her to realize that the larger, stronger ones had been small and helpless at one time. She had seen them display a type of love and affection that she herself had never seen before with any being. She yearned to grasp an understanding of such compassion. She smiled, knowing now how it felt as she saw her own child. ‘My child’ she thought, the words still sounding so strange and profound to her. This being, this person who was so unique and unlike anything that had come before was made by her and Greg. A piece of themselves went into this life, but it wasn’t entirely her and it wasn’t entirely him. She recalled Garnet likening it to Fusion. A comparison that, Rose felt, wasn’t entirely inaccurate. What he thought, what he’d do, she had felt remorse over thinking she’d never have the chance to watch him grow.
Little did she know that she would see him grow up through his gem. Though her physical form was relinquished to give him life, her mind and memories persisted. Without the knowledge of anyone else, she bore witness to her son’s actions, unknowingly confiding in his most personal secrets. She at first felt this was a wondrous and unexpected blessing, until she realized that she could not directly reach out to him. And while she was happy watching his growth, the things he heard, the truths that were revealed about her before their meeting, she feared he would soon be a child no more. ‘You have only yourself to blame.’ She thought to herself, ‘you decided your privacy was more important than your son.’
She shook her head once more, trying to distract herself from these terrible thoughts. Every day felt like a struggle to keep her head above the surface, to not be swallowed by her own thoughts and failures. She remembered a time when she was graced with seemingly boundless optimism. She recalled when she was so much more jubilant and excitable, especially when she first came to Earth and chose to be Rose forever. And there were indeed times when that energetic soul would bubble to the surface. But now… now she simply felt… tired. Tired and worn out as though she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders.
She was exuberant to be able to be with her child, to have a chance to reconcile with her loved ones. But she feared that energy, that sense of restlessness had been muddled down by her past transgressions. She tried not to let the others see. She feared they would mistake her melancholy for apathy. And she loathed to trouble her poor son further with her woes. She felt she was already on shaky ground with them, no matter how happy they said they were to have her again. She feared her stay may somehow obstruct their goals to better themselves, maybe they were better off without her…
She clung more tightly to Steven. ‘No… I have to be here for him at least.’ She said to herself, ‘I owe my baby that much.’ She remembered when she had first started her colony, how she believed she had been creating life from nothing. When she thought she would perish upon Steven’s birth, she felt she was finally giving truth to that lie.
She knew there were others who could have been better parents, more deserving to be called ‘mother’ by him. She couldn’t describe how truly touched she felt knowing after everything, Steven still wanted to have her stay. She recalled the first time they exchanged words, she had become so convinced that Steven would berate her for all he had suffered through. But he still cared about her, enough to promise to help ease her mind with the burdens of her past. She knew her new Quartz gem was a blessing, a second chance to hopefully make things right.
Finally, she felt it was time to lay Steven down to rest, wrapping him in his bedsheet and gently laying him down. Rose stayed by his side, placing a hand on Steven’s head and stroking his forehead with her thumb to caress him back to sleep as he stirred. Soon, an eruption of light surged forth from the warp pad once more, Pearl and Amethyst appeared and walked towards Steven’s bed.
“Hello? Steven?” Pearl said, calling to him. Rose placed her index finger over her lips, “Shhh… He’s asleep, any luck?” she asked. Pearl sighed, “I’m afraid not, Garnet said she wanted to stay behind and continue tracking it. How’s Steven?”
“He’ll be fine. Maybe when he’s feeling better we could catch up with Garnet.” Rose reassured, turning to see him quietly snoring in his bed. Pearl looked to see him and grinned, “Oh, look at him.” She said, “It seems like he’s all tired out. That’s good, he seemed pretty restless this morning.”
“He was excited to go on a mission with me.” Rose said, sounding slightly remorseful, “He was upset that he fell ill before we could catch that gem mutant.” Pearl sighed, “He really cares about you, you know. You’re his mother after all.” Rose smiled, “I wasn’t the one who was so adamant on watching him every night.” She teased. Pearl’s face radiated from its normal milky white to a shade of baby blue as she blushed, “Y-you were there for that?” she asked frantically, her tone a confusing mix of pride and embarrassment. Rose placed a hand over her mouth to restrain her giggling. “Well, I suppose Amethyst and I had best continue our search, we only wanted to check and see how you two are holding up.” Pearl said.
“Good luck, My Pearl, please stay safe.” Rose pleaded. Pearl called for Amethyst to join her on the warp pad, the later groaning at having to leave before eating again until begrudgingly choosing to comply. In an instant, the duo vanished once more into the warp stream. Rose yawned, though gems did not need to sleep, they were certainly capable of feeling tired. She quietly made her way up the steps to Steven’s bed and made herself comfortable beside him. She hoped if he fell asleep close to her that it would help to speed his recovery. As her mind drifted to sleep, she wondered if this was something human mothers often did for their children.
By the time Rose had opened her eyes once more, the room of the temple was illuminated by the gray-filtered sunlight from outside. She took a moment to look out the window. Though now the wind had died down, the snowfall was still as persistent as ever. The sunlight glistened off of the undisturbed piles of snow, gleaming as bright as stars in the night sky.
She turned back to check on Steven, still fast asleep and as flush as the day before. She had decided it would be best to not wake him now, in the hopes that rest would hasten his recovery. However, he soon moaned and stirred before turning to face Rose, a smile growing across his face, “’Morning, Mom.”
“Good morning, Steven.” Rose said cheerfully, “Are you feeling any better?” Steven stood up, stretching his arms out and yawning, “I don’t think so.” He said. Rose sighed, lifting him slowly off the bed and into her arms, “Oh, my poor baby…” she jokingly said, “Well, I guess I get to spend another day with you.”
“Yeah.” Steven said. Rose felt Steven nearly dozing off again in her arms before his breathing started to become raspy. Sweat ran down the side of his face as he fell into yet another coughing spell. Rose dashed down the steps, searching for Steven’s medicine. “Mom…” Steven said between coughs.
Rose paid little attention to Steven’s words as she searched around the house for the small bottle, “Don’t worry, Steven, we’ll get your medicine, that should help.” She said, panicking.
“Mom, I don’t think it’s going to be enough.” Steven retorted, coughing into his hand. Rose looked to Steven, frozen in horror as she saw specks of crimson liquid exit his throat and land onto his hand. She had never seen Steven this sick before, and thus had no basis for what she could do to help him. She vaguely recalled helping humans with all manner of illnesses throughout her time on Earth. But then, she had healing powers. When a human came to her sick, a few tears or a kiss would be all they needed. With that power gone she herself couldn’t help Steven.
She tried to think of other options, gently setting Steven on the couch and pacing as she went over each one that came to mind. Could she get her Lion companion to take Steven to a hospital? No, she didn’t know if any doctors would know how to care for him, or where her animal partner had wandered to for the winter. Could she contact the other gems? Pearl was smart, smarter than her, she would know what to do. Rose rushed to find Steven’s phone, desperately trying to reach out to Pearl’s own. Without even ringing, an electronic voice stated it was a phone whose voicemail had not been set up and dropped her call.
She threw Steven’s phone and grabbed fistfuls of her hair in frustration and stress. She cried, the pressure starting to get to her as she felt totally helpless. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t heal him, the only thing they could go to…
She stopped. Realizing she had all but forgotten about her fountain. Before Steven had mastered his healing powers, the other gems reactivated the fountain to heal Amethyst’s gem. The spring water from that place worked exactly like her healing tears and could save her son. Even with this harsh winter she could thaw the ice encasing the spring with only a handful of fire salts. She looked to Steven again, his eyes closed as he wheezed between coughing fits.
“Steven, where is your other coat?” Rose said frantically. Steven weakly looked up to meet her gaze, “Don’t… know…” was all he could say. Rose thought for a moment as she rushed to the cabinet to fetch the fire salts stored within. As she did so, she rushed to pull off Steven’s bedsheet, “No coat… how’re… you going… to keep me warm?” Steven asked. “I have an idea.” She said. When Rose returned, she wrapped Steven in a bundle with the bedsheet and left a bit of fabric at each end, letting him hang on her back and peeking just over her shoulder. Finally she tied a knot at each end of the bundle in front of her. “Have a feeling… you just like holding me…” Steven jokingly suggested, his voice weak.
“What’s wrong with that, sweetheart?” Rose retorted. She got on all fours and focused on her gem. She tried to think of a form that would help keep Steven warm, but be strong enough to carry him through the frozen torrent to the fountain. She placed the bag of fire salts in her mouth as her body began to glow. Her fingers grew into long claws that scrapped against the floor, her body becoming bulkier and larger. As the light died down, in Rose’s place stood a lumbering grizzly, her shorter hair still pink as ever, its new length still faintly displaying the slightest hint of Rose’s curls.
She made her way to the warp pad and set course for her fountain. Once she had arrived, it was as she had expected. The howling wind blowing into her face, hurting her eyes while flecks of snow clung to her fur. She pushed on against the wind, made easier by her increased bulk. She knew it would be sometime before she would reach the fountain. Hopefully, not too long to save her poor child.
As she marched forward, burying her paws into the fresh fallen snow, her ear twitched upon hearing a sound. She could all but barely hear it over the howl of the wind blowing against her, a faint, raspy breathing of someone or something in pain. She looked over her shoulder, thinking Steven to be the most likely source, but right away, she could tell her son was not the source of this noise.
She decided whatever it was could wait until after she had helped her son. The noise persisted through her trek across the maelstrom, she heard it grow louder with every step she took. Though she was disturbed by its persistence, she pushed on for Steven’s sake.
Finally it revealed itself to her through the haze of the blowing snow. The figure that stood before Rose sported a disheveled, gangly, build. Its body a multi-colored patchwork of deep blues, reds, and yellows while rib-like protrusions jutted from either side of its torso. It’s long, slender arms, despite its impressive stature, reached so far they touched the ground, ending in grotesquely large hands that showed long, bony fingers. One the subject of hands, what Rose initially thought were antlers or horns on the top of its head were in reality another pair of hands, the fingers outstretched and possessing broken, putrid nails. Its face bore the likeness of a humanoid, but its muzzle had been stretched out beyond proportion, its mouth exposing a large row of teeth on either jaw.
To Rose, it looked as though it had a wicked Cheshire grin. It glared at Rose with small, sunken, beady eyes like dots, its stare piercing through hers as though it glared into the very essence of her being. It shambled forward with its double jointed legs. Its mouth hung ajar as it gave a noise akin to a pained whimper. Rose recognized this beast as the gem mutant she and the others had been tracking just the day before.
Rose did not know how it had reached her fountain, or why, neither did she care at the moment. Her top priority was Steven’s safety, if she could get to the fountain she could help him and be free to deal with the monster. She charged forward, trying to flank passed the beast and reach her destination. She darted past the gem mutant with blinding speed before she felt her body begin to leave the ground. The gem mutant hurled her away with all its might, forcing Rose to hit the ground with a loud thud.
She scrambled to her feet, looking over her shoulder to see Steven missing. She looked around frantically until she finally found Steven unconscious, having landed in a bed of fresh snow. She rushed forward to him desperately before she felt something knock her back down once more. She looked up to the gem mutant towering over Steven. Its rib protrusions twitching to life as they extended outwards and closed in on Steven, its torso opening to revealing mess of jagged teeth strewn vertically along its body, gaping open.
As she watched the beast approach her son, time seemingly slowed to a crawl all around her. ‘I failed him’ she told herself, ‘I couldn’t do it.’ She broke down from the growing sense of helplessness that consumed her. Is this truly it? Her last chance to prove herself torn asunder by a monster of the other Diamonds’ making? ‘Would the other gems disown her?’ she thought, ‘would Greg even be able to speak to me again?’ She tried to keep herself from snapping under the stress of it all. ‘Is this my testament as a mother? That I was too scared to protect the one person who still believed in me? That was still willing to show me love and decency?’ She growled, ‘NO!’ she protested, ‘I will not let this monster hurt MY STEVEN!’
The entire world seemed to recede into an all encroaching darkness, the only thing present being her, Steven, and the gem mutant. She felt a surge of energy rush into her chest. Gritting her teeth, she charged forward, tackling the monster to the ground, watching it rile in pain and confusion. She roared, the sound echoing all around her. The gem mutant straightened its posture in an attempt to use its height to intimidate Rose and scare her off. But she was not deterred, she stood up on her hind paws, baring her teeth before slamming her front paws back to the ground.
The gem mutant tried to bypass her as Rose stepped between it and Steven, reaching past her to take him. But Rose would not allow it. She charged forward, shoving the beast into the ground, letting loose a flurry of swipes from her claws. The beast wailed in pain and pushed back to gain just a bit of distance. But Rose refused to let it leave, she would not let this monster simply run off after trying to eat her child and just scurry away like a feckless coward. She would show him it would never be able to threaten her child, not now, not ever!
The gem mutant opened its mouth again, Rose rushing in, the beast’s teeth becoming engulfed with large tufts of pink hair and she dug her claws into its sides and mauled at its face. Finally, she gained the upper hand, flinging it with her mouth. It landed face first and continued to writhe in pain as Rose charged forward, dragging it along the ground by its leg. She scraped her claws along the length of the monster’s back and held it down with her size and bulk. She lifted it once more with her mouth and violently shook it like a dog with a rope toy, repeatedly thrashing it against the ground as it tried to fight back or flee. It squealed in pain, but the sound seemed to only make Rose bite harder as its cries of agony rang in her ears. Finally, as it laid still, its form dissipated in a puff of smoke. Its misshapen and bulbous gemstone sinking into the snow. Rose felt she had no time to recover the gem, rushing to Steven’s side.
“Steven!?” she said, frantically lifting him up from the snow where he laid unresponsive. ‘No… please’ she pleaded, ‘not him… not my baby…’ She grunted as she held him close to her, cradling him in her arms in a desperate attempt to warm him up. As she silently wept, she felt Steven begin to squirm and shuffle in her arms. “M-mom?” He said, shivering, “So… cold.” He said. She clung to him with her front paw as she lumbered towards the fountain, “It’s going to be okay sweetie.” Rose tried to reassure, “I’ll do everything I can to make it all better, I promise!”
In moments, the two had finally made it to Rose’s Fountain. As she had suspected, the water that normally flow freely had been frozen stiff. Luckily, she had accounted for this and remembered…
Rose was hit with a sudden realization. She had held the bag of fire salts in her mouth before the gem mutant attacked. But she did not recall having it during her bout with the monster. ‘That bag could be anywhere back there’ she thought. She looked down to Steven once more. She knew she could not simply leave him, even for a brief search. Between the gem mutant and the freezing cold temperatures, he’d never make it. If she tried to carry him with her, he’d slow her down. She needed more time, time she didn’t have.
‘I have to try.’ She thought, ‘I have to help my son.’ Exhausted, she reverted to her original humanoid form. She held Steven tight as she stood up, “Stay awake, sweetheart. I need you to be strong for me…” she said, trying to sound stoic and calm.
“Rose.” Said a calm, familiar voice. Rose turned her gaze to the source, instinctively clinging to her child. Immediately, she recognized who her the visitor was, “Garnet? How did you… oh, of course.” She realized, Garnet tapping the side of her visor, “Please, I don’t have any fire salts to thaw my Fountain! I don’t have any other options, I don’t know how long Steven has…” Rose said, her panicked state riling her up as tears welled in her eyes.
“Shhh, Rose, calm down. It’s going to be okay.” Garnet reassured. Carefully, the fusion placed her right hand over the thick sheet of ice, her touch creating steam that soon released the spring from its frozen prison until water once again flowed unabated. The warm air radiating from the Fountain rushed outward in all directions, melting the surrounding snow.
Rose carefully placed Steven into the water, holding him so as to keep his head above the surface. The water of the spring seemed to sparkle and shine as Steven groaned, “Mom… Garnet?” he said. Though he still sounded tired, she could tell that the healing properties of the Fountain had worked even when used in such an unorthodox manner.
“We’re here, sweetheart! You’re going to be alright!” Rose exclaimed. She gently lifted him from the water and held him tight. He shivered slightly, “I’m okay, Mom. I’m just a little cold…” he said. “I’ll keep you warm until you get home, baby.” Rose reassured. Before long, the three had returned to the Temple. Steven rushed to grab a spare blanket to keep himself warm while Garnet had lit the fireplace by the couch. The warmth of the fire provided Steven with comfort as he sat on the edge of the couch and snugly in Rose’s lap, Garnet sitting right beside her. “Thank you for helping Steven.” Rose said, “I… I just wanted to help him. I was so scared when his condition got worse, I wanted to show you all that you could trust me with him…”
“You did the best you could. I had seen all possibilities eventually lead to you taking Steven to the Fountain and I wanted to help him if I could.” Garnet reassured, her visor glimmering as she adjusted it, “… I wasn’t quite expecting the Bear.” She said with a grin.
Rose looked away and blushed slightly with embarrassment, “I... guess I got a little carried away…” she said sheepishly. “You did fine, Rose. We had a lot to learn as well when we took over as Steven’s guardians. We made our fair share of mistakes, but we always tried our best.”
“Garnet?” Rose asked timidly, the fusion turned her head to face her, “Thank you for saving our baby…” Garnet grinned, “I thought it was only fair after you fed Cat Steven.” She said jokingly, Cat Steven curling up on Garnet’s lap as it began to purr. Suddenly, the warp pad hummed once more as Pearl and Amethyst reappeared, the later once again approaching the fridge. “Oh, hello Garnet!” Pearl chirped, “How was Steven today?”
“Steven was fine.” Garnet calmly stated, “His condition had worsened, but it was nothing Rose and I couldn’t handle.” Pearl’s expression turned to that of panic as she frantically inspected Steven, “Oh, you poor thing, see? This is what happens when you’re stuck in the cold without a coat for too long!” she said, scolding him.
Steven chuckled, “I’m okay, Pearl. I’m just a little tired now.” He said, his eyelids drooping. Rose cradled him in her arms as he gently dozed off. “I tried to call you earlier today.” Rose said, “I got so scared when you didn’t answer.”
Pearl sighed, appearing remorseful, “I hadn’t even realized someone tried to call me.” She said. Amethyst followed close behind, holding another culinary monstrosity in her hands. “Oh, look at him. So peaceful. He seems quite comfortable around you.” Pearl said. Rose grinned as she felt another well of pride surge over her, “It would seem so.” She looked down to see her son. His eyelids fluttering as leaned into her for warmth.
Rose looked around her, Pearl knelt to her side, keeping close watch of Steven, a faint smile appearing as she watched him rest, “If it’s alright with you, Rose. I think we should stay and help you keep watch over our baby…” Amethyst, now having scarfed down the last of her meal sat upon the coffee table. “Ya know, in case he gets sick again…” the small Quartz said. Garnet sat by her side with a smile on her face as Cat Steven purred on her lap. “Of course.” Rose said, “Not a problem.” ‘I suppose as long as I’m here to take care of you.’ She thought, ‘I won’t need to do it alone.’