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The old barn was filled with the golden hue of late afternoon sunlight filtering through the cracks in the wooden walls, dust motes dancing lazily in the beams. It was quiet, save for the occasional creak of the barn settling and the soft cooing of a baby.
Lapis lay on her stomach on the floor, arms folded under her chin, watching with a soft, amused smile as her tiny daughter, Moonstone, valiantly attempted to crawl. The baby’s limbs wobbled like overcooked noodles as she pushed herself up on all fours, her little gem glinting on her back. Her big ocean-blue eyes were locked on her mother’s face, and she let out an excited “brrrp!” like a determined kitten.
“Look at you go” Lapis cooed gently, her voice filled with quiet wonder “You're going to take over the world soon, huh?”
Moonstone gave another joyful squeak and inched forward — only to collapse onto her belly like a tiny pancake. She blinked in surprise, then giggled, utterly delighted with herself. Lapis laughed quietly and reached forward to nuzzle her forehead.
“Oh, she’s attempting forward locomotion!” Came a too-excited, very nasal voice from behind.
Lapis groaned without looking.
Peridot had appeared at the edge of the barn loft, holding a bizarre, clunky device with beeping lights, a tiny spinning dish, and what suspiciously looked like a salad tong attachment.
Pearl stood beside her, arms crossed with a familiar look of fond exasperation “Peridot” She said, already sounding tired, “We talked about this. NO studying my baby”
“No, no, no, Pearl! This is for SCIENCE!” Peridot pointed dramatically at Moonstone “I must examine the tiny one! How else will I log her developmental milestones accurately? We could be witnessing the earliest signs of Gem-baby evolutionary advancement!”
“She’s just crawling” Lapis said flatly, not moving from her spot.
“Exactly!” Peridot was now climbing down from the loft like a frantic squirrel, her device making more urgent beeping noises with every step “That’s mobility! The first step toward chaos! Do you realize the implications?!”
“She’s crawling toward a fuzzy sock” Lapis replied dryly, watching Moonstone flop sideways and begin aggressively mouthing a balled-up wool sock from the corner of the barn “I think Earth is safe for now”
But Peridot was not listening.
She hit the ground with a triumphant “HaHA!” and approached slowly, crouched, like a predator in a poorly made nature documentary. Her eyes were wide behind her visor. Her device whirred and spun and beeped.
Moonstone paused mid-sock-slobber and blinked. Her mismatched eyes locked onto Peridot as the small green Gem scooted ever closer.
“Fascinating...” Peridot whispered, pressing a button that caused her device to shoot a tiny puff of steam “What is her preferred method of communication? Is it mostly high-pitched squeals or full-scale sonic disruption?”
Moonstone stared. Then her lip began to tremble.
“Peridot” Pearl warned “Back off!”
“She’s initiating defensive behaviour! Fascinating! Note the trembling lip. Is this an emotional response? Is she—”
Moonstone let out a high-pitched wail that shook a rake off the barn wall.
Lapis immediately sat up, gathering her daughter protectively against her chest “That’s it!” She snapped “No poking my baby with your creepy gizmo!”
“It wasn’t poking! It was gentle probing for data!”
“Peridot” Pearl said firmly, dragging her away by the back of her shirt like a misbehaving cat “She’s my baby, not a lab experiment!”
“But babies are fascinating and sticky and mysterious! How do they even work?!”
Pearl sighed as she plunked Peridot down on a hay bale “They work by being left alone and cuddled, not frightened into an interdimensional scream”
Moonstone hiccuped, still sniffling, but immediately began to calm as Lapis rocked her gently, rubbing her back and whispering soft, watery nonsense words.
“You’re okay, sweetheart” Lapis murmured, kissing her hair “Mama’s here. No more green goblins allowed”
Peridot, still holding her device like a sad, uninvited party guest, muttered “I’m not a goblin. I’m an intellectual”
Pearl shot her a look.
“A respectful intellectual” Peridot corrected quickly, placing the device on the hay like it might explode.
Moonstone let out a final sniff and then, as if sensing the tension had defused, gave a triumphant little raspberry against Lapis’s collarbone.
Pearl, watching with arms crossed, smiled faintly “Well, she’s definitely your daughter, honey"
Lapis chuckled, cuddling her tighter “Yeah. She’s got the attitude”
Peridot, who had already pulled out a notepad and was scribbling furiously, mumbled “Note: subject appears to weaponize flatulence through the mouth. Additional study required—”
Pearl promptly took the notepad and threw it over her shoulder.
And for the rest of the evening, Lapis lay on the barn floor with her daughter cuddled on her chest while Peridot sulked loudly in the corner about 'anti-science oppression', and Pearl made herself a cup of tea and cuddled her baby and wife.