Garnet stood in Steven's bedroom. Her arms were crossed as she stared at his bed. Her visor betrayed no emotion. The only way you could tell she was in emotional turmoil was the occasional flicker of her form. She was surprised that she stayed together through all of this. Yes, she was strong, but even Pearl's trickery made her fall apart once. How Steven's near inevitable demise hadn't torn her fusion apart is beyond her… almost. Every last ounce of her willpower was being used to hold herself together. Her love for Steven was the only thing strong enough to keep her whole. She laughed to herself. That thought reminded her of a story Steven had told her once. In the story Garnet had to fight the evil Ringo with the help of her friends Hoppy and Hopper. In the end Garnet only defeated Ringo because of her immense love for Steven. This small chuckle turned back to a stern expression almost instantaneously. She was reminded of an ominous truth. In order to save Steven she had to be fused. In order to save Steven she had to be together. So she stayed that way. Barely held together with tape and glue.

Amethyst appeared out of her room with a smile on her face. Garnet turned to look at her and was astonished. How could amethyst be smiling at a time like this?! Especially after the last thing she said to Steven; that he was essentially a pawn in Rose's story.

Amethyst was unaware of Garnet's presence in Steven's bedroom as she walked into the kitchen. Amethyst began to hum and started pulling things out of the cupboards. 'What on Earth is she doing?' Garnet thought. The ingredients Amethyst pulled seemed to be for… a cake?

Amethyst glanced up towards Steven's bedroom and made eye contact with Garnet. Garnet still had her arms crossed with her stern expression.

Amethyst froze, "I'm… uh… I'm just…"

Garnet stomped her foot and stood up straight. She cleared her throat and stared at Amethyst intently, " Whatever it is you're doing… I want in."

…

Now that Pearl had time to calm down she stood up and made her way to the warp pad. She wanted to talk to and hang out with Steven. She was determined to make what little time he had left memorable.

Pearl hugged herself as she stood on the warp pad and debated whether or not she should go back. She inhaled deeply. She knew that when she saw Steven she would be overcome with emotion, but she won't run this time. She will accept what the world has thrown at her, even though she's not happy about it.

Pearl knows that Garnet doesn't want to see her right now. Garnet doesn't like to be around her in times of crisis. She always gets anxious and asks Garnet an overwhelming number of questions, then gets mad when Garnet doesn't give her definitive answers. She knows that Garnet can't know the answer, but she can't help it.

A small smile slid across Pearl's face as she remembered all of the times Garnet has helped her. Even on this very battlefield Garnet used her future vision to save countless lives. Why was going back even a question for her? Of course she was going back! She had a loving family that she needs and that needs her.

Pearl warped to the temple and the first thing she saw was Amethyst covered in flour, Garnet with a huge smile, and Steven, with raw egg in his hair, laughing hysterically. She grinned and approached the group.

Steven saw her and exclaimed, "Pearl you're back!" He sprinted towards her and gave her a hug.

"Yes, and I'm very glad to see you." Pearl replied as she bent down to hug him back.

After they finished hugging, Pearl picked a few pieces of egg shell out of Steven's hair. He noticed and started trying to help her.

"What happened?"

"Garnet and Amethyst were baking when I got here and they said I could help. It started out fine, but things got a little crazy," Steven snickered.

"Yeah! It was all like BOOM! And then it was like POW!" Amethyst gesticulated wildly. Pearl smiled at Amethyst's over-the-top explanation.

"Well, what was this," Pearl waved to the mess that used to be a clean kitchen, "supposed to be?"

"A cake!" Steven jumped up and down. "With lots of frosting and sprinkles and candles and…" Steven turned to Garnet, "Can it have maple syrup?"

"Of course, Steven," Garnet responded with a slight nod and grin.

"And maple syrup!" Steven finished exuberantly.

"That sounds delightful!" Pearl clapped her hands.

She discreetly looked up at Garnet and Amethyst, who were no longer smiling. Amethyst gave Pearl a wink and Garnet nodded inconspicuously. They wanted to give Steven the best last days of his life and she understood.

She lowered her gaze back onto Steven. "Mind if I help?"

"No!" Steven answered as if she were crazy, "Of course you can help. Why would I mind?"

As Pearl and Steven approached the others there was a knock at the door. It was Connie! Steven made a beeline from where he stood to the screen door. He swung it open.

"Hey! How are you?" Steven inquired, even though he was more curious as to why she was here. This was such an odd time to decide to visit.

"I'm good. How're you?"

"Great actually! We were just making a cake." Steven stepped aside so he wouldn't obscure her vision. Connie saw the mess in the kitchen and smiled, 'That's some cake,' she thought.

"Woah, are you guys still working on it?" She only asked this because she was interested in joining them. Garnet had texted her on Steven's phone early this morning when Steven was off talking to his dad. She told her that today would be a good day to come hang out with Steven because things would only get worse from here on in. She gladly obliged and came over after a while.

"Definitely, we've barely got any of if finished," Steven laughed at the irony. How could there be such a huge mess when there's hardly anything done?! "You can join us if you'd like."

"Thank you, Steven, I'd love to," Connie replied kindly. "You're quite the gentleman," She then curtsied.

"The pleasure is all mine," Steven bowed.

They looked at each other and giggled. Connie never failed to make Steven laugh and the contrary held true as well. They made their way over to the gems and began cooking. It was messy and unorganized, which irritated Pearl, but it was fun nonetheless. The remainder of the morning and part of the afternoon went on like this. They finished their cake, then played board games and sang karaoke. Everyone was having a wonderful time. It's a shame that all good things must come to an end.

A/N: Thank you all for sticking with me through this rough patch. I'm hoping to start writing and producing more content for you all. I can't begin to explain how much I love each and every one of you. For inspiration I read back through the reviews and some messages that were sent to me and you guys couldn't have been more caring and supportive. Thank you and stay fabulous. Until the next chapter, bye!