Sorry for the wait! Here's the next chapter. It's kinda short, but I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the month. Enjoy!

Pearl stared down at the pink gem in Connie's hands and shook her head. "No," she said. "No, no, no!" She took the gem from the girl and fell to her knees, letting out a quiet sob.

Amethyst looked over at her from the kitchen with furrowed her brows. "You okay, there, P?" She went over to her and gasped when she saw Steven's gem in Pearl's hands.

The house was silent except for the occasional quiet sob from Connie. Everyone was shocked by what had happened. They didn't know what to do. "Pearl?" Amethyst asked quietly. "He's going to be okay, right? He's a gem. He's one of us. He… He'll regenerate like we do."

Pearl just shook her head, not taking her eyes off Steven's gem. "I… I don't know, Amethyst. He's part human. He… He could be…"

She finally lifted her gaze from the pink gem when she heard the rumble of Greg's van pulling up to the house. Pearl looked to Garnet; she had always been better at talking to Greg, but she hadn't moved from the warp pad. With a heavy sigh, she gently handed Steven's gem over to Amethyst. "Take care of Steven. I'm going to tell Greg what happened."Amethyst simply nodded as she sat down next to Connie, gently cradling Steven in her hands.

Pearl wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before meeting Greg at the stairs that led up to the front door. "Hey, Pearl," the man replied in his usual cheery tone. "Are the kids around? I'm supposed to give Connie a ride back home and it's getting kinda late."

"Greg…" Pearl looked down as she searched for the words to say. "Something's happened to Steven…"

Greg instinctively reached out and grabbed the railing to brace himself, eyes going wide. "What happened? Is he okay?"

Pearl sniffled softly. "I-I don't know. He… He did it to save Connie. Greg, I'm so sorry. I should have been there to protect him, but I wasn't and-"

"Pearl," Greg said softly, reaching out to give her hand a light squeeze. "It's okay. It's not your fault." He let out a shaky breath. "He'll just regenerate, right? We'll wait until he comes back?"

"That's all we can do for now. Greg… I don't even know if he will regenerate."

"He will," he assured her. "He's my son and a gem. He'll be fine. Just believe in Steven."

Pearl nodded her head slowly, still unable to meet Greg's gaze. She stayed put as he went inside to fetch Connie and then watched as they both got into the van and drove away.

Once they were out of sight, Pearl sat down on the steps and finally allowed herself to cry. It was her fault that this had happened. She should have kept a better watch over him. She should never have left. She should have taken care of Peridot months ago. There are so many things she should have done to protect Steven, but she failed and now he might never come back. "I'm sorry," she said softly as she sobbed into her hands. "I'm so sorry, Rose."