Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!

Title: More Loyal Than a Trained Dog

Summary: A gem nursemaid isn't exactly something you see everyday, but Vidalia couldn't be in more capable hands when she finds out she's pregnant with her first child. Amethyst is determined to be a good friend, even as things start falling apart back at the temple.

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Sueanoi- Thanks! =)

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Amethyst's fingers closed around the warm plastic of Vidalia's butterfly clip, blinking away the memories as though they were a simple daydream.

But it's not. It was real.

Even still, she can't find the urge to regret those days. The words she said, yes, but not the days themselves. Without the heartbreak, they wouldn't have Steven. Amethyst couldn't imagine never knowing Steven.

With a sigh, she set the hair clip aside and sat up. Stretching, she quietly picked her way across the room, opening her door to the main house. They wouldn't have a house either. No Steven, and no house.

(And no being treated as a semi-equal, but she cant trust that respect. It's a fleeting, silly thing; like her.)

She found Steven in a half-doze on the couch, and made a quick detour to the kitchen before greeting him.

"Warm milk." She stated, shoving the glass in his face. "That's what people do when they're trying to get sleepy, right?"

Steven eyed it skeptically. "It looks more like hot milk to me."

"Hey, it's not bubblin' that much." Still, she set it on the table anyway. "What's up?"

He shook his head, knees pulled up to his chin. "Bad dream."

"Yeah." She says, hopping up. "Me too."

"Really?"

"Yup. Buncha old junk. You?"

"Pearl and Garnet." He mumbles.

"The fight?"

Steven shrugs.

"S'cool. I get it. Musta been scary for you, seeing those guys go at it."

"It was scarier for you, I bet." He clutches at her arm, eyes soft yet all knowing. So much like Rose, but not. He's Steven. Rose is dead. "You've known them for thousands of years."

Amethyst hesitates. The option to admit her true feelings is always there, with her Little Man, but that's not fair. He's practically just been born, and he's already coping with dead moms and magic and alien invasions. Her problems are like fleas compared to all of that; tiny, and capable of being crushed.

"That ain't that long. Not really. Not for us."

Steven accepts this, but she can tell he doesn't really like it. "Amethyst, you don't think we'll ever fight like that, do you? I mean, you or Pearl or Garnet, that mad at me?"

He's not pulling his punches. It tugs at her nonexistent heartstrings. "Nobody's perfect, dude." She whispers, biting her lip. "But I hope not."

(There's so many ways that would end terribly. Steven has his shield and bubble, so he could fend her off, but she'd still hurt him. She'd still lose his trust. She'd still lose her place as a Crystal Gem, because that is not the actions of a Crystal Gem.)

(She doesn't want to think about this. It makes her entire existence shudder; betraying something this important.)

Unwilling to let this stand, Amethyst takes a hold of his shoulders and grins as wide as she can. "Let's build a fort."

His eyes lit up. He really is a hatchling. Or baby. Amethyst isn't sure if a newly-made gem has a term attached to it. "Can we?"

"Of course we can! Who's gonna stop us?"

So they built a cushion fort. Amethyst sees the irony in building a human wall to deflect alien-related thoughts, but doesn't find it particularly funny. Steven curls up beside her and snuggles close.

"Amethyst?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad Pearl and Garnet made up."

"Me too, dude. Me too."

He was snoring within a few minutes. Amethyst felt proud of herself for even something as simple as this; she was terrible at emotional things.

She presses a kiss to his forehead, then reared back as though struck, rubbing her face on her arm with a sour look. "Eww! How does Garnet do that all the time?"

She spat a bit, then curled up, her hair acting as a blanket. Amethyst watched him a few moments, eyes half-lidded, before closing her eyes.

"Wouldn't you know it, dude? I was right."

Author's Note: The epilogue! -Gasps of shock- Would've thunk it? It actually happened!

Amethyst is a loyal quartz soldier, and the episode title "Steven Vs. Amethyst." certainly sounds like a doozy, so why not?

...Man, was I lazy about writing this.

See ya'll around, fandom. Especially with the "In Too Deep" event looming on the horizon.

-Mandaree1