"Can't I go with you? Please? It sounds so cool!" Steven almost cried.

"I'm sorry Steven," Pearl said. "It's too dangerous."

"We'll be back soon," Garnet said calmly. "We'll only be gone for a little while. Be good to your father while we are gone; it shouldn't take more than a day."

As the three gems, stepped onto the warp pad, Amethyst looked back at Steven, Rose's five-year-old son. The warp pad activated and the three gems were consumed by a beam of light.

"It's strange that it's only been five years," Amethyst said quietly.

"Rose charged us with protecting him, so we can't let him put himself in danger..." Pearl said uneasily.

"Then this kid is going to have to sit quite a few of these out. This is the first mission he's seen us leave for, and look at him: he's going crazy over it!" Amethyst almost yelled.

"Both of you, relax," Garnet said. "He'll be fine with his father for a few hours. When he gets older, there will be times where he comes with us. I'd be more concerned about whether or not that gem of his works."

The other two gems nodded.

Back at the temple, Steven stared at the warp pad where the gems had disappeared.

"Be careful," he said quietly.

Greg noticed his son looking down, and smiled.

"Cheer up kid; they'll be fine."

"But they must have meant a lot to mom; what if they don't come back? Garnet said it was dangerous..." Steven almost cried.

"It's okay, they leave on mission like these, and they're safe. Your mom was one of them," Greg reassured.

Steven's eyes brightened into stars for the first time. "Really?!" he said excitedly, bouncing where he stood and waving his arms.

Greg smiled. Steven spent the rest of the day and early the next morning hearing all about his mother.

"Ohhhh...Steven! Steven, look out!"

"Pearl!" Amethyst said, clearly irritated. "Would you relax? He's doing fine!"

Steven was seven years old when the gems decided that he was ready to learn how to swim. They took him to the beach that was down by the pier.

When Steven thought back on that day, he remembered that he was wearing water wings for the first time that his father had given him when he turned five. The gems hand't gotten to teaching him how to swim, since they were usually on missions, but they didn't want to miss seeing Steven swim for the first time.

"Now, concentrate Steven," Garnet said with a smile. "Just kick your legs...yes...just like that!"

"I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" Steven yelled excitedly, paddling in circles.

Something underwater suddenly caught his foot and yanked him underwater.

"STEVEN!" the gems yelled. Garnet jumped into the water, and resurfaced a moment later. In one arm, she held up Steven, and in the other, a medium-sized crystal eel. Opal stood a few feet away where Pearl and Amethyst were standing, her bow ready.

"He's okay?" Opal said, her voice deep.

"I've got him," Garnet said, sounding almost irritated after seeing crystal shrimp in the water. Her job didn't end when she was not on missions. "Take him back up to the temple; we're done for the day."

"Aw, what? But we only just got here!" Steven whined.

"Don't argue. We'll try later...The beach is covered in crystal eels. It's too dangerous for you," Opal said.

Steven didn't argue, but later that night he wondered if he would be aloud to do more if he had kept living with his father.

Steven rubbed his arm, tears streaming out of his eyes. He was ten years old.

"It hurts so badly..." he said quietly. Pearl nodded solemnly, and kept wrapping up his arm in gauze.

"Just be glad that it wasn't worse. Why did you jump off the stairs like that?" Pearl asked fretfully.

"I didn't jump! I fell down..." Steven said, shaking his head.

Amethyst smiled. "It wasn't too bad. Are you alright Steven?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Steven replied quietly.

"Well, Garnet will be back soon, so we better get this cleaned up. Don't worry Steven; your arm will be fine," Pearl said. "Don't do that again. It's too dangerous."

Steven groaned loudly when he heard those words. This was going to be a long day.

"We're not going anywhere until we bring Steven back!" Pearl declared, clutching Steven closely.

"Relax, Pearl, you caught him. It's okay," Amethyst said.

Pearl gently put Steven down. They were standing in the Lunar Sea Spire, and he was wearing his Cheeseburger backpack for the first time.

"Steven, I want you to learn about your heritage, but you have to take this seriously! It's dangerous here!"

"You got it dude!" Steven said, winking and giving Pearl a thumbs up. Pearl sighed and kept walking. Garnet and Amethyst both looked at Steven wearily, Garnet making a mental note to watch Steven closely. This could be dangerous.

"Steven that's so thoughtful! But...we have to leave on this mission," Pearl said.

"A dangerous object has appeared in the northern hemisphere. But we'll be back soon," Garnet said.

Steven looked at the ground and sighed. "Can I come?" he asked quietly.

"No, sorry kid," Amethyst said for once. "We'll play minigolf with you later...we have to take care of this. It's too dangerous."

Steven nodded, and turned away, trying not to show any sign of being upset.

"We're sorry Steven. We'll be back soon," Pearl said.

"It's okay. See you later," Steven said with a wave of his hand.

The gems warped away, and Steven went too his video game. "Too dangerous..." he sighed quietly. He was no longer angry with hearing those words. Just tired of them.

And the time he proved them wrong...

"Pearl...Amethyst...Garnet!" Steven yelled. They were laying on the beach. "You guys! YOU GUYS!"

"Steven, get out!" Garnet yelled, summoning her gauntlets. "It's too dangerous!"

"No! I won't leave you guys to fight alone again!"

The gems turned around and stared at Steven in shock long enough to be swatted away by what looked like a giant land shark. It had a large crystal protruding from its forehead.

Steven's gem began to glow, and for the second time in his life, his shield appeared. "I won't let you kill my friends!" he yelled, and picked up his shield.

Steven raced toward the shark before throwing his shield up at the shark. The beast turned toward Steven in time to see the shield coming in its direction. The projectile swerved and smacked the gem on the beasts forehead. The gem shattered, letting off a glow of light, and the beast seemed to fade out of existence.

"Steven..." Pearl said, eyes wide open.

"Whoa..." Amethyst murmured with a grin. "Way to go Steven! Yeah!"

Garnet crossed her arms and nodded, smiling. "That's what we have been waiting for," she said to herself, so that no one else could hear.