Constants and Variables

CHAPTER 1 – Baby Steven

– If you're evil and you're on the rise, you can count on the four of us taking you down –

Peridot had always taken pride in the fact that she was the least emotional of the Crystal Gems. While the other three often let their emotions affect their actions, rarely (if ever) did Peridot do the same. Oftentimes, emotions got in the way of efficiency and effectiveness, and Peridot couldn't have that. She held both of those things in too high a regard to have them masked by stuff as stupid as anger, or sadness, or even fear. That's not to say she never felt emotions or anything. No, underneath the surface, she lived in a world of constant fear and loneliness, but she never let it show. Never. Because that would only hinder both her work and the work of the other Crystal Gems.

And yet, despite all her feelings about emotions and the like, here she was, on the eve of what she suspected would become the worst day of her long, fear-filled life, sitting at the entrance to the Gem Temple, feeling terrible. And not only that though, she had a feeling she wasn't doing a great job of hiding it.

The sound of the warp-pad a little ways behind her caught Peridot's attention. Knowing it had to have been Lapis Lazuli, Peridot quickly sat up straight and used her detached fingers to form a holopad. The screen of the holopad lit up and showed a human novel Peridot'd been recently reading.

"Greg took Rose to the hospital already, I'm assuming?" asked the familiar, sweet voice of Lapis as she sat beside Peridot.

"Yep," answered Peridot, trying to keep any trace of her inner turmoil from coming through. She used one of the fingers from her other hand to absentmindedly flip through the pages of the book on her holopad. "Not sure what the humans at the hospital will be able to do. It's not going to be like any birth they've ever seen."

"Where's Jasper?" questioned Lapis. Out of the corner of her eye, Peridot could see the blue gem turning her head this way and that, trying to look around. "She must be feeling awful."

As if she's the only one, thought Peridot, making a noise of disdain in her throat. Answering Lapis, she said, "No idea. The clod's probably causing trouble somewhere on the other side of the planet. That's what she does, after all." She could feel Lapis's glare burn a hole in the side of her head.

"Hey, don't be so mean! She's always been the closest to Rose. Can't you imagine how much pain she must be feeling?"

Peridot felt her face harden as the cauldron of boiling emotions inside of her threatened to overflow. The page-flipping she was doing became ever so slightly more erratic. "Yes, well, maybe if she didn't act as if she were the only one who cared about Rose, I might feel a little more sympathetic."

"Peridot… are… are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely," said Peridot, the words coming through partially gritted teeth. Her restraint wasn't going to last much longer. She needed to leave now before she did something she'd regret. She needed to—

Lapis placed a delicate hand on Peridot's shoulder. "Peri, tell me what's wrong?"

And that did it. It was the touch, more than the words, that opened the floodgates.

"It's just not fair!" Peridot shouted, her holopad dissolving as she threw her hands into the air. Emotions that had been stewing and festering for the past nine months, some for much longer, boiled out of her. "After everything that's happened, after everything we've been through, she's leaving because of some STUPID, INSIGNIFICANT HUMAN! THAT'S NOT FAIR! WHAT ABOUT US!? WHAT ABOUT OUR FEELINGS!?"

She paused, seeing if Lapis would respond. When no response came, she continued, albeit at a lower volume, "She's always been there for us! She showed me that I was more than a defective experiment! With her, I felt safe! For the first time in my life, I didn't need to be afraid! And now… now she's going to be gone… f-forever. And… a-and there's nothing I c-can do to st-stop it…"

And then Peridot was crying, clutching her knees to her chest. Tears streamed down her face, fogging her visor. She couldn't stop any of it, not even the sobs escaping her throat. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and heard Lapis's sobs join her own.

So there they sat, at the entrance to the Temple of the Crystal Gems, crying together. They cried and cried, deep into the night, knowing that by this time the next day, their leader and protector would be gone.

It didn't take long for almost everyone to become smitten with baby Steven. Lapis had taken a liking to him almost immediately, and Peridot, after some initial resistance, had as well not long after. The kid was just too lovable.

"He takes after his mom that way," Greg had said.

The days turned into weeks, and after about a month, a makeshift little routine had been set up. Steven lived with Greg in his van, but for a good chunk of the day, Greg would bring Steven over to the Temple so the Gems could see him. Everyone missed Rose, of course, but Steven was almost enough to fill the void she had left behind. There was only one problem, however.

Jasper.

Jasper despised Steven. She couldn't stand being anywhere near him. She had been the closest to Rose. They'd fought side-by-side in the Gem Rebellion, and Jasper had been Rose's right-hand Gem. Her general. She felt insulted by the fact that the greatest warrior and most caring person she'd ever known had been replaced by a little meatball that couldn't even walk. The fact that it had Rose's gem made it even worse.

Nothing that Lapis or Peridot said could sway Jasper. Eventually, though, both of them had finally had enough of Jasper's attitude, and they decided to take drastic measures.

"What do you mean you're leaving me here with… that!?" asked Jasper, pointing at the baby in Lapis's arms. The large, muscular Gem couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Exactly that," Lapis answered, placing the 3-month old Steven gently into his crib. She turned to face Jasper. "Peridot has pinpointed the location of another corrupted Gem and has asked me to accompany her."

"But—"

"And," Peridot interjected from the nearby Temple warp-pad, scanning her holopad, "you can't come. You need to spend time with Steven. Your idiotic attitude is negatively affecting the team."

Jasper crossed her arms, seething. "And what did Greg have to say about this?"

"He was fine with it," said Lapis, walking to the warp-pad. She stopped beside Peridot. "Mostly."

"Now, hold on! This isn't—"

The flash of the warp-pad activating cut Jasper off and forced her to look away. When she looked back, Lapis and Peridot were gone.

"GrrrrrrrrrRAGHHHHH!" Jasper shouted, kicking a rock into the Temple's wall.

At the sound of a soft giggle, she jerked her head around to see Steven's tiny head peeking out from the top of his crib. Jasper rolled her eyes and began rubbing her forehead. What was she going to do?

You could always just leave Steven here and go do your own thing, suggested a voice in Jasper's head.

But then Lapis and Peridot would be pissed, came another.

So?

And something might happen to the baby…

Pfff, why does that matter? Since when have you cared about him? He's the reason Rose is dead.

But he's part Rose…

Jasper's head jerked up, an idea forming in her head. Part… Rose? Could that mean…

In the blink of an eye, she was beside Steven's crib, looking down at him. He had fallen on his back, hands balled into fists, giving Jasper full view of the gem on his belly.

Rose's gem.

Jasper grinned, her eyes glinting. Maybe, if she forced him to retreat into the gem, he'd come back as Rose. Her grin widened. Yeah, that made sense. Sure, Lapis and Peridot would be mad, but they'd get over it quickly. After all, Rose would be back. Rose would be back!

In a flash of light, she summoned her gem weapon, the Crash helmet. The thought of possibly bringing Rose back had driven everything else from her mind. That is, until a giggle, caused by the flash of the weapons summoning, came from Steven, which caused Jasper to glance at his face and see the only thing that could've reached her at this moment; something that touched a chord somewhere deep inside of her, stopping her in her tracks.

Steven had Rose's eyes.

"I wonder how they're doing," said Lapis, worry coloring her voice as her and Peridot materialized on the Gem Temple warp-pad.

"It serves no purpose to worry so much, Lapis," replied Peridot. "Not to mention, it isn't exactly healthy."

They stepped off the warp-pad and began walking. However, they both stopped when they saw Jasper on the ground leaning against the wall of the Temple, cradling baby Steven. Both Jasper and Steven were fast asleep.

"Huh," muttered Peridot, smirking. "Looks like my plan worked. Though I didn't expect it to be this effective." She glanced at Lapis to see what she thought, but all she saw was a cute, warm smile.