Very brief note: This story is a sequel to two one-shots I've written listed in this same series: Bad Girl Brushstrokes and Why Don't You Hate Me? (Why Don't You Hate Me? being the one most closely connected with this story). While it is not entirely necessary to read those first in order to enjoy this story, it will clarify Greg's relationship with some of the other characters so check them out if you want to see prior events.

Greg had started to fear whenever Steven fell asleep, because whenever his newborn son did, his thoughts always drifted back to Rose.

After a few hours of fussiness, Steven had finally gone to sleep in Greg's arms. Greg got up from the couch, walked across the floor of the storage unit, and gently laid Steven in the crib Vidalia had given him. Then he walked back to the couch, took a deep breath, and rested his face in his hands.

The storage unit was not an ideal nursery, especially with the stacks of boxes and junk everywhere, but it worked well enough for now while the weather was warm and he could still keep the shutters open. This setup was better than the van, at least. Greg hadn't gone back to the van since Steven was born. It suddenly felt emptier than before.

He was afraid to go back to the temple as well. Not for his sake, but for the Gems. Steven's birth ... Rose's death ... had not been a good experience for them.

Especially Pearl. Pearl hadn't even stayed to see it happen; after speaking with Rose privately, she had run off with tears in her eyes. Greg hadn't seen her since. That was a week ago. He was worried about all the Gems, but especially her. Ever since the night Pearl had broken down in front of him when she found out what would happen to Rose when Steven was born, Greg had dreaded how she would react. He wished he could at least talk to her now, to make sure she was alright. It might have made him feel better as well, especially since he felt Pearl was the one who would most understand how he felt ...

But Pearl wasn't there. And neither was Rose. Aside from the napping Steven, he was alone.

Greg wasn't sure what to do now that Steven was asleep. He didn't feel like eating. Greg couldn't even remember the last time he ate. He supposed he should feel hungry, but just thinking about food made him feel nauseous. He didn't feel like napping either, despite how irregular his sleep had been since Steven was born. There was a TV in front of the couch and dozens of old Lil' Butler tapes that normally made him feel better when he'd watch them with Amethyst, but the thought of watching them alone now made him feel ill. He didn't feel like doing anything.

Greg glanced over at Steven, gently snoozing. He couldn't see it with Steven's onesie on, but he thought about the pink Gem, Rose's Gem, on his belly. He wondered if she was aware of what was going on, if she was still around on some level. That was how Rose always put it, anyway; that Steven would be her, a better her than she could ever be. And Steven was the most beautiful baby Greg had ever seen. He was everything he could have ever hoped for in a son. He loved him, dearly.

But he could still feel Rose's absence. He still missed her.

His eyes started to sting, but no tears came. Greg hadn't cried since it happened. He felt like he just COULD cry and get it over with, he might feel a little better ... but he couldn't.

Suddenly, Greg heard a voice he thought he recognized.

"Mr. Universe?"

"Huh? Garnet, that you?" Greg said. Greg twisted around the couch to look towards the open shutters.

But when he turned around, it wasn't Garnet. In fact, Greg wasn't sure who it was. It was a very short girl with blue skin in an elegant dress. She had long curly hair that covered her face. He couldn't even see her eyes.

"No," the girl said, stoically. "Just half."

"Wha- oh ..." Greg rubbed his eyes. "Oh, right. Right. Sorry ... you're um-"

"Sapphire, yes."

"Right. Nice to ... meet you in person, I guess?"

Sapphire gave a polite nod but said nothing. She didn't walk into the storage unit so much as she seemed to float without her feet touching the floor.

This is bad, Greg thought. He had known Garnet was a fusion, but he had never actually seen either of the Gems that composed her before. Rose had always said they only separated in the most extreme circumstances. After Steven was born, Garnet seemed to be the only one holding it together, strong and quiet like she always was. But if she had split up, clearly she wasn't taking it as well as Greg hoped.

But then again ... how could any of them take Rose's absence well?

Sapphire stopped in front of Steven's crib, but said nothing. After lingering for a moment, she wordlessly drifted towards a pile of stacked boxes in the corner.

Finding the silence uncomfortable, Greg spoke up.

"You uh ... you holding up alright, Sapphire?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "I'm getting the diapers."

"Oh um ... well, Steven's kind of asleep right-"

Steven let out a small whine and shifted uncomfortably under his blanket. He didn't fully wake up, but even after a few days, Greg already knew stirring like that meant it only a matter of time.

"... oh," Greg said. He laughed nervously. "Boy, that uh ... that whole seeing-into-the-future thing must come in handy, huh?"

"Yes," Sapphire said. Before Greg could say where the diapers were, Sapphire pulled out the small pink diaper bag from the box of junk. She placed it on the floor next to the crib and floated in place, watching Steven.

"So ... how's your um ... your better half?" Greg risked asking.

"Ruby is fine," Sapphire said. "She apparently needed some time to herself." There was a brief pause. "Without me."

"Oh." Greg grimaced. "And you're ... you're alright with that?"

"Yes," Sapphire said.

Despite being hot outside, Greg suddenly felt the storage shed get colder. Greg hugged his shoulders.

Greg had a feeling he should not press that subject any further so he quickly switched gears.

"Um ... well, what about the others?" Greg asked. "Have you-"

"Seen Pearl?" Sapphire said. "No."

Greg opened his mouth to speak, but Sapphire interrupted.

"And I'm not certain where she might be or how she's doing. Possible futures regarding her are ... varied."

Greg closed his mouth. He sighed. He was really worried about Pearl. Knowing what he was going through, he didn't even want to think how it must be for her ... or what she might do.

"What about Amethyst?" Greg asked.

Strangely, Sapphire hesitated.

"She is ..." Sapphire cleared her throat awkwardly. "She is handling herself. In her own way."

Greg frowned. Amethyst was someone else he was concerned about. He hadn't spoken to her since Steven was born. After it happened, she was quiet like she always was when something bothered her. She hadn't come to hang out like before. He had to admit, not having Amethyst around made all of this even harder.

"I see," Greg said. "M-maybe I should go talk to her or-"

"No!" Sapphire shouted, suddenly overcome with emotion not present seconds before.

Steven started to cry. Sapphire twisted her head towards him.

"Oh dear," Sapphire said, her voice still shaky. "That wasn't supposed to happen yet."

Greg stared at her, bewildered by her reaction. Sapphire picked up Steven from the crib, gently rocking her in her thin arms.

"Umm, I can handle that if you want," Greg said.

"No, I want to." Sapphire said. She frowned as she added, "She ... would have wanted to me to help."

Greg swallowed.

"... Yeah ..." Greg said, trying to hide his emotion.

Sapphire carried Steven to the couch with the diaper bag. Without a word, she started to change Steven's diaper.

After she was done, Greg asked, "So is there um ... is there some reason you don't want me to talk to Amethyst?"

Sapphire said nothing for a moment. She cradled Steven in one arm as she brushed the hair from face with the other. Greg was stunned to see she only had one massive eye (which Greg only then realized made sense since Garnet had three). He could also see Sapphire was far more expressive than she sounded; she was clearly uneasy, her gaze glued to the floor.

"It just ... might not be the best idea right now ..." Sapphire said.

"Can you be more specific?" Greg asked.

Sapphire glanced up at Greg, then looked away.

"I'd rather not," Sapphire said. "Simply ... take my word for it. Please."

Greg stared at her. If Sapphire was anything like Garnet and she was actually concerned about something, she must have a good reason. He really didn't like the idea of not talking to Amethyst, but he didn't want to risk accidentally hurting her either.

"Okay, okay," Greg said. "I'll ... I'll give her some time, if you really think that's best."

Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief. She brushed her hair back so her eye was hidden once again.

"Thank you," said Sapphire. She gently rocked Steven, who cooed in response. "I can watch him so you have some time to rest, Mr. Universe."

Greg laughed nervously.

"That's sweet, but you really don't have to. I'm totally fine, really, I'm-"

"Mr. Universe," Sapphire said, "I don't need future vision to know that's not true."

Greg said nothing. It was true, he was still reeling from everything, but caring for Steven was the only thing keeping him sane. Maybe if he could talk to Amethyst or Pearl, he'd feel more open to taking a break, but since he couldn't do that, it wasn't as if he had any other friends to talk to. He was about to tell Sapphire no when she spoke again.

"You're wrong," she said.

"Uh ... what?" Greg said.

"You were about to say you didn't need a break because you did not have any friends aside from us to speak to. You're wrong. I'll insist watching Steven anyway, you go for a walk, then you remember Vidalia is your friend too and you meant to thank her for the baby clothes and crib she gave you anyway. And then you go see her and you feel a little better."

Greg blinked.

"Oh ... oh yeah, I did mean to do that," Greg said. He chuckled. "Wow ... y-yeah, I guess maybe that would be a good idea. Thanks for helping me just, you know, skip all that a little."

Sapphire gave a tiny smile.

"I do what I can," she said.

Greg took a deep breath. He took Steven from Sapphire's arms and held him up.

"Okay kiddo, Dad's gonna let you have fun with your aunt Sapphire for a bit," Greg said. He held him in his arms and gave him a gentle hug. "You be a good little man, okay?"

Steven cooed. Greg smiled and handed him back to Sapphire.

"Thanks," he said as he started to walk out of the storage shed.

"Mr. Universe?" Sapphire said.

He turned around.

"Yeah?" Greg said.

Sapphire paused.

"You're a good father, Mr. Universe," Sapphire said carefully. "I know that ... that she would be proud of you."

The mention of Rose sent a sharp pain in his heart, but despite that, he managed to smile.

"I ... I really hope so, Sapphire," said Greg as he turned to walk outside. "I really hope so."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" shouted Ruby as she punched the rocks along the outside of the temple. Her entire body felt like magma and she could the sand under her feet turn to tiny shards of glass from the heat. The rocks splintered and broke easily with each punch, but did nothing to make her feel better.

Ruby longed for the days when her problems could be solved by punching things.

As if Rose being gone wasn't hard enough, as if coming to grips with that wasn't hard enough, Ruby had to go and mess up like she always did. She was the one who had to get all emotional and cause Garnet to unravel.

And when Sapphire didn't understand why because she hadn't seen it coming with future vision, Ruby refused to explain because she didn't want to upset her. Which OF COURSE made Sapphire upset anyway, then Ruby got mad at herself and lashed out and ...

Ruby smashed her fist against the cliff-face once again.

Why do I have to be so stupid? she thought. If she just wasn't so dumb, if she could just get things right, if she could just handle the pressure like someone as tough of her should have been able to, there wouldn't have been a problem.

"Yo Ruby?"

Ruby twisted around to see Amethyst standing behind her. Her new form's long white hair dangled in front of her face, one eye hidden beneath it. Amethyst blinked, then gave a smile.

"You uh ... you alright?" Amethyst said.

Ruby palmed her face with one hand. And here was another problem Ruby didn't want to think about ...

"Yes ... I'm fine ..." Ruby lied. She gave Amethyst a hard look. "Are you?"

Amethyst paused, then folded her arms.

"Pfft, yeah," she said casually. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Because Rose is dead and you're acting like nothing is wrong, thought Ruby. And it's obviously just an act. And when I was part of Garnet, I saw ALL the bad things that might happen later and I STILL can't think of anything to do to stop it because I'm a freaking idiot and-

Amethyst frowned. Her voice suddenly took a darker edge.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Amethyst said.

Ruby frowned and looked down at the sand.

"... I'm not looking at anything," Ruby said. She hated this. Sapphire was the one who always knew what to say, but even as Garnet, neither of them knew quite how to handle knowing what Amethyst was doing ... what she might do later.

"Look," Amethyst said carefully, "If you wanna say something, just say something."

Ruby sighed.

"... so where were you all day?" asked Ruby, as if she didn't already know.

Amethyst hesitated.

"I ..." she started in a low voice, then chuckled. "Just, you know, hangin' with Vidalia, that's all." She shrugged. "Why?"

"You're lying," Ruby said before she could stop herself.

Amethyst's eyes narrowed.

"... I'm not lying," whispered Amethyst.

Ruby just stared at her. Suddenly, Amethyst raised her voice.

"Stop looking at me like that!" said Amethyst. "Jeez, I just wanted to see if you were alright and this is how I get treated?! What's your problem?!"

Ruby clenched her fist. Her feet grew hot and she could feel more glass forming in the sand at her feet.

"What's MY problem?!" Ruby shouted. "What about you?! You're the one acting like nothing's wrong!"

Amethyst clenched her teeth and shouted.

"How is it YOUR business how I'm feeling or what I'm doing or HOW I'M HANDLING ANY OF THIS?! MAYBE YOU ALL ARE THE ONES WITH THE PROBLEM!"

Ruby was about to scream back but before she could, Amethyst turned around and started to walk away.

"Where are you going now?!" Ruby shouted.

"Out," Amethyst said.

"You know, if Garnet was here, you'd never talk to her like this!"

Amethyst stopped in her tracks and twirled around with a glare.

"News flash! GARNET'S NOT HERE!" screamed Amethyst. "And neither is Pearl!" She turned around and kept walking. In a whisper, she added, "And neither is Rose ..."

Ruby held out her hand, searching for something to say ... but ultimately said nothing as Amethyst left.

Great, she thought bitterly. Perfect. That was so helpful, Ruby. Way to be a hero.

Ruby stared back at the rocks she had been punching, cracked and marked with holes the shape of her fist. She pulled her arm back, preparing for another strike, before she just sighed.

This wasn't helping. Even though Ruby hadn't felt like talking when Sapphire and her first became undone, she knew she had to. It wasn't going to be a fun conversation, but they had to have it. Ruby couldn't deal with this all herself, especially after being a fusion for so long.

She needed Sapphire.

"So ... are you okay?" Vidalia asked after Greg sat down with her at the kitchen table in her trailer.

Greg looked up at Vidalia. Her hair was messy and she hadn't put on her makeup. Greg felt guilty for coming unannounced, not giving Vidalia any time to get ready, but she said it was no big deal and insisted he come in anyway.

Vidalia stared at him, uncharacteristically serious.

"I'm ... good," Greg said, trying to smile.

Vidalia did not break her gaze. Greg's fake grin dropped within seconds. He rubbed his temple.

"I'm not good," Greg said.

Vidalia leaned back in her chair, frowning.

"Yeah ..." Vidalia said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Greg said.

Greg knew Vidalia was being nice, but hearing someone else say they were sorry for Rose's death made his heart sink. No one else had anything to apologize for; it was nobody's fault what happened.

Nobody's fault but his.

Vidalia cleared her throat.

"I mean," Vidalia said, "I can't even begin to understand what it must be like going through that, but I know how hard it is being a parent alone so ..." She shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "I just want you to know if you need anything at all, I'm here for you."

Greg gave a sad smile.

"Thanks," Greg said. "It's actually really nice to hear someone say that. It's been ... kind of a lonely week."

Vidalia glanced down for a moment, then looked back up.

"You um ... you wouldn't happen to know how Amethyst is doing, would you?" she asked.

"I ... I was told it might be a good idea to give her space." Greg raised an eyebrow. "You haven't heard from her?"

Vidalia shook her head.

"No ... not at all," she said. "I was pretty worried, to be honest. She's ..." Vidalia touched her shoulder. "She might not act like it, but she's really sensitive, you know?"

Greg nodded.

"Yeah, I know," said Greg.

And I'm supposed to intentionally avoid her, Greg thought, adding yet another reason to feel like garbage. He couldn't help but wonder why Sapphire didn't want him to talk to Amethyst. What could be so bad about that?

"Mommy, mommy!"

Greg looked up as little Sour Cream ran in, holding a grey portable game console over his head. His white hair was frizzy and he had a bright smile on his tiny face. It was crazy; Greg remembered the day he was born and now he was four years old.

Greg was amazed by how fast Vidalia was able to switch gears. As soon as she saw Sour Cream, a smile popped on her face. No one would have been able to tell she was worried just moments before.

"What is it, sweet pea?" she said sweetly.

Sour Cream beamed up at her. He held the portable game in front of him.

"Look, look," he said.

He flipped a switch on the console and there was a chime. Sour Cream giggled, then turned the switch off and back on again.

"It's like 'moo-sic,'" Sour Cream said.

"You are so right, it sure is!" Vidalia said.

Sour Cream excitedly turned the console off and on, off and on ... and then the third time it turned on, the chime distorted and tiny whiffs of smoke came from the screen.

Sour Cream's eyes got wide and he bit his lip. He grimaced, clearly about to cry.

"Aww, don't cry, little man," Vidalia said. She gently took the console from his hands and turned it off. "Mommy fix, okay?"

Sour Cream sniffed and nodded.

Vidalia grinned.

"Why don't you run back to your room for a bit while Mommy finishes talking with the nice man, okay sweet pea?"

Sour Cream glanced at Greg, then nodded before running down the hall.

Vidalia chuckled, then looked at the game console.

"Thank God I found a box of these things at a yard sale," she whispered. "This is like the eighth one he's gone through."

Greg chuckled.

"Wow ... you make it seem so easy," Greg said.

"What? Lying to children?" Vidalia said with a laugh.

Greg shook his head.

"No, I mean being a good parent," Greg said. He scratched at the table with one finger. "I'm always freaked out I'm going to do permanent damage or something."

The corner of Vidalia's mouth curved up.

"He's a week old, Greg," she said. "What kind of damage do you think you've done?"

Greg frowned and lowered his head.

"You mean besides making it so he doesn't have a mom anymore?" he said, his stomach souring the second the words left his lips.

Vidalia's smile faded.

"Greg ... what happened wasn't your fault," she said. "You have to believe that."

Except it's directly my fault and I knew exactly what was going to happen, Greg thought silently. Rose had told him. He knew from the start what was going to happen. Rose told him it was what she wanted, that she wasn't going to die ... at least not really. She told him a thousand times she knew he'd be the best father in the world and she couldn't have asked for anyone better to have a child with. She told him he wouldn't have anything to feel guilty about. And she had that twinkle in her eyes that Greg loved and he knew she truly meant every single word.

He should have felt okay. He should have been able to accept it. So why couldn't he? Why did all of Rose's words, the ones that comforted him before, just make him feel a thousand times worse now?

"Greg?"

Greg flicked his eyes up to Vidalia. He hadn't realized how lost in thought he had been.

"Yes?" he said softly.

"I know you'll be a good father, Greg," Vidalia said. "There's no doubt in my mind. You've always been like the nicest guy in the world. That's not what I'm worried about." She paused. "What I am worried about it making sure you're alright. If you want to take care of Steven right, you have to take good care of yourself too. I know it's gonna be hard to do that, but you have to." Vidalia brushed her long blond bangs. "You understand?"

Greg sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I do," said Greg.

"You know what might make you feel a little better?"

"No, what?" he asked.

"Taking a shower," she said. Vidalia pinched her nose. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you kinda smell like Amethyst after she plays in garbage."

Despite everything, Greg actually laughed at that.

"Is there a right way to take that?" he said.

Vidalia shrugged. Greg grinned and shook his head.

"Maybe that is a good idea," he said.

Vidalia smiled.

He remembered what Sapphire said would happen when he left the storage unit and was glad she was right; seeing Vidalia did make feel a little better. Not as much as he would have liked, but a little better. And at this point, Greg would take what he could get.

Future vision, Sapphire realized, was an invaluable asset in caring for children.

Steven cried in her arms again. Sapphire knew he couldn't be hungry and his diaper had already been changed. She gently rocked him, but to no avail.

"Ssh, it's alright, Steven," Sapphire said. "This will only take a second."

She shut her eye and focused. The noise of the present drifted away. Even with her eyes closed, she saw clearly-

-Sapphire breathed anxiously as Steven's cry echoed on the walls of the storage unit. She put him down in the crib and brushed her hair aside, trying to get herself together ... but the second she did, Steven smiled and giggled. She stared at him, perplexed. Steven gave a toothless smile and reached his tiny hand towards Sapphire's face, towards her eye-

Sapphire opened her eye, her attention refocused on present. Steven was still crying in her arms. She smiled faintly.

"Ah," she said. "Simple enough."

She cradled Steven in one hand then brushed her curly hair aside, revealing her large eye. Sure enough, Steven giggled and smiled.

Sapphire wondered how humans cared for newborns without future vision. She could hardly imagine it. If she didn't have that ability, this experience would be far less pleasant.

Getting a flash of inspiration, Sapphire brushed her hair back down to cover her again.

"Where's Sapphi?" Sapphire asked softly before pulling her hair up and smiling. "Here I am."

Steven giggled sweetly like it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. His tiny hands clasped together like he was trying to clap but didn't know how.

Steven looked past Sapphire and grinned even wider. He cooed and pointed behind Sapphire. She twisted around and saw Ruby was there, standing underneath the open shutters.

Ruby grimaced and scratched the back of her neck.

"Um ... hey," Ruby said.

"Ruby ..." Sapphire said.

Ruby took a breath, then gave Sapphire a serious look.

"We need to talk," Ruby said.

"Yes," Sapphire said. She looked down at Steven, who was staring back up with wide, curious eyes. "Steven, Sapphire's going to talk with your auntie Ruby for a minute, okay?"

Sapphire floated over the crib and gently placed Steven inside it. She pulled the tiny blanket over him. He didn't make a peep, as if he understood Sapphire completely.

Ruby approached the crib and peered over the edge. She cleared her throat.

"He seems ... cute," Ruby said.

"Yes," Sapphire said.

Steven smiled at both of the Gems.

Ruby paused, then sighed.

"Kinda makes me feel like garbage for feeling bad about ... everything," Ruby said.

Sapphire stared at her. Ruby stepped away from the crib and Sapphire followed. They walked to the far end of the storage shed, hopefully out of earshot of the child.

Ruby stopped and took another deep breath. Sapphire could tell with a glance she was doing everything she could to remain calm.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said softly.

"It's alright," Sapphire said. "I cannot blame you for feeling upset over Rose. It's natural. I was sad as well. Needing some time alone to deal with it all is only-"

Ruby frowned, then turned away silently.

"What is it?" Sapphire asked.

Ruby sighed, then rubbed her temple.

"Rose wasn't the reason I wanted to defuse," Ruby admitted. A second later, she groaned and added, "I mean, she is, but that's not the whole reason."

Sapphire floated over and touched Ruby's shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Sapphire asked. "Please. I ... I only want to help."

"I know you do, Sapphi. It's just-" Ruby clenched her fist and groaned angrily. "Ugh! I'm such an idiot!"

"You're not an idiot," Sapphire said.

"Yes, I am! I can't even put into words how I'm feeling!"

Sapphire saw how distressed Ruby was and shook her head.

"You don't have to," Sapphire said. She closed her eye. "Just give me a moment."

"What?" Ruby said, confused.

Sapphire focused and saw-

-Ruby stared at Sapphire, her eyes suddenly wide. Her voice took a harsh edge as she yelled "Are you seriously trying to use future vision to skip this?"-

"Are you seriously trying to use future vision to skip this?!" Ruby yelled.

"What?" Sapphire said. The present catching up to her vision so closely sounded like a disorienting echo.

"You were!" Ruby said. She twisted away from Sapphire's grip on her shoulder. "I know you were!"

"What? No," Sapphire said. "I just- you were having a hard time getting your thoughts together. I thought seeing ahead a bit might spare you the trouble."

Ruby rolled her eyes and turned her back to Sapphire. She raised her hands in the air.

"'Spare me the trouble?'" Ruby said sarcastically. The storage unit started to heat up, matching Ruby's temper. Ruby glared back at Sapphire. "Maybe I don't want it to be that easy! Maybe I want to deal with this instead of skipping to the ending!"

Sapphire flinched. She honestly hadn't even considered that. Using future vision was so natural to her, to Garnet, that it was almost foreign to think of a situation where someone might not want to use it.

"I-I'm sorry," Sapphire said. "I-"

"I mean, maybe that's not the best way to use future vision, you know?!" Ruby said. Her arms were at her sides, shaking from anger. "Maybe there are ... I dunno, better things we could be doing with future vision instead of just looking ahead whenever it's too inconvenient to look at the present!"

Sapphire glared. This wasn't like Ruby at all. She was never this harsh to Sapphire. A cold chill ran through the room.

"Why are you getting so upset at me?" Sapphire said, raising her voice. "What does future vision even have to do with this?!"

Ruby let out a growl and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"EVERYTHING!" she shouted. "Future vision has everything to do with why I'm upset! And it's not you I'm mad at!"

"What are you talking about?!" Sapphire said. "You're not making any-"

Ruby's eyes were almost bulging out when she shouted.

"GARNET SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STOP THIS, OKAY?!"

Sapphire stood in stunned silence.

"What?" Sapphire whispered.

Ruby's eyes flicked to the ground. Her voice began to crack.

"She should have! She saw everything coming and still couldn't find a way to stop it! She should have been able to save Rose!" Ruby paused, then pointed to herself with her thumb. Her eyes filled with moisture. "I should have been able to save Rose!"

Sapphire didn't know what to say. She had known Ruby was upset, but this entire time, Sapphire thought it was simply because she was upset with Rose giving up her physical form. She hadn't considered there might have been more to it than that. Knowing that she had misunderstood the emotions of the Gem she cared about more than anything else made her chest sink.

"Ruby ..." Sapphire said, choosing her words carefully. "I know this may be hard to accept, but this was Rose's choice. She told us herself. She wasn't in some peril she needed to be saved from. There wasn't anything more we could have done."

"Are you kidding?" Ruby shouted. "Of course there was more we could have done! We could see the future! We knew she'd want to do this before she even had the idea!" Ruby clenched her fist. "I should have been able to do something! I could have argued better! I could have found the right thing to say! I could have ... I dunno, I could have thrown Greg into the ocean, I COULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING!"

"Ruby, this wasn't Greg's fault either-"

"I know! I'm not saying I'd actually do that! I'm just ..." Ruby ran her hands across her face and sighed. "I'm just saying. I could have done more. I could have found the right thing to do."

Ruby's voice cracked even more as she started to pace around.

"I don't get it," Ruby said. "I'm supposed to be stronger than this! I should be able to stop bad things from happening, and it seems like no matter how hard I try, I can't fix everything! Even after five THOUSAND years of being part of Garnet, I still haven't gotten any better at it! I hate this! I ..." Tears dripped down Ruby's face that immediately turned into steam from her body heat. "I hate knowing every bad thing that could happen to everyone we care about and not being smart or strong or ... good enough to save them ..."

Sapphire was speechless. She had no idea Ruby had felt this way. How could she not have known this? They had been fused together, they had been of one mind, how could Sapphire only realize this now? How could she not have known future vision was hurting Ruby so much? That she was hurting Ruby so much?

"Ruby, future vision is useful but ... there's no way to stop every tragedy from occurring," Sapphire said. "There's only so much we can do. You didn't do anything wrong."

Ruby shook her head.

"No, we've changed the future so many times, there had to be a way ..." Ruby clutched at her hair. "I just couldn't figure it out! And then after Rose died, all we could see was everything bad that could happen to Greg and Amethyst and Pearl and I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP ANY OF THAT EITHER! It's relentless!"

Sapphire felt a lump in her throat. She wouldn't admit it, but those visions were ones she had difficulty with as well. She had been trying to keep herself busy because if she let mind drift back to it, she would see-

-Amethyst and Greg were in the storage shed in front of the TV, the credits to Lil' Butler on screen. Greg stood with tears streaming down his face. Amethyst was equally distressed, her eyes filled with concern. Her eyes flicked to the floor, deep in thought, before she looked up and asked Greg to turn around-

Sapphire touched her forehead, refusing to see what happened next. She had already seen it once; she already knew that potential future went downhill quickly. But before she could stop herself, she saw-

-Pearl was on a grassy platform high in the sky in an ancient Gem location. Her feet were halfway over the edge. She looked down. She was so high up she couldn't even see the ground. Her eyes were wet. She just kept staring downward-

Sapphire closed her eye tightly. She stopped herself from seeing more. It was so easy to get lost in potential futures. Throughout her life, Sapphire had to learn to control it, tune it out when she had to. She'd had practice. She was able to handle her power without it getting to her.

But Ruby hadn't had that experience. No wonder she felt that way. Sapphire cursed herself. How could she have been so blind?

"I ... I'm so sorry, Ruby," Sapphire said. "I didn't realize future vision was such a burden for you. It's ..." Sapphire paused. "This is my fault."

Ruby's expression changed immediately. Her eyes soften and she put her hands up in protest.

"What? No! I didn't mean it like that!" Ruby said. "I mean, yeah, future vision was kinda getting to me a little, but it's not your fault! The whole reason I didn't want to talk about this at first was because I didn't want you to feel that way. I mean, if you weren't there with me, future vision would have driven me nuts a long time ago!"

Sapphire's eye stung.

"If I wasn't there with you, you wouldn't see the future period!" Sapphire said.

Ruby cringed.

"T-that's besides the point," Ruby stammered. "Come on, please don't be like that. I don't want you to feel bad, okay?! I don't want you to think I hated being Garnet or anything!"

"You just said you hate seeing the future!"

"Well ... sometimes I do! But I don't hate being Garnet and I don't hate you! I just-" Ruby clutched her hair with one hand and lowered her voice. "I just wanted some time to deal with this, alright? This is my problem. I didn't want to worry you with it."

Sapphire said nothing. How could she not be worried? She found out her ability had put Ruby in tremendous pain for the longest time. She couldn't help but feel guilty.

Before either one of them could say anything else, Steven began to cry. Sapphire saw him laying in the crib, staring at them as he screamed. In the heat of the argument, Sapphire had nearly forgotten he was there. She hoped they weren't loud enough for him to hear that entire argument. Even if he couldn't understand it, Sapphire felt horrible for fighting around Rose's child.

"I'll handle this," Sapphire said stoically as she floated to Steven's crib. "Greg should be back any minute now."

"H-hey, wait," Ruby said behind her. "Can ... can I help?"

"You can do whatever you want," Sapphire said without turning around. She gently reached down and picked Steven up. She rocked him in her arms, but he still cried.

Sapphire finally looked back at Ruby. Ruby's eyes were wide, her anger completely gone.

"A-are you mad at me?" Ruby said. "If you are, I'm sorry!"

"No," Sapphire said truthfully. "I'm not mad at you."

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

Sapphire hesitated. She thought about everything Ruby had said, all the things she should have sensed before now, all the pain her power had put Ruby through, all those emotions she would never have had to feel if they never formed Garnet ...

"No," Sapphire said. "I'm not."

Amethyst approached the mirror she had stashed away, hidden in the rocks on this secluded corner of the beach. It was a large rectangular mirror, old and tarnished, but still intact. It was a miracle it hadn't broken when she pulled it from the piles of garbage in her room.

She looked into the mirror, seeing her short, stubby self. The one eye not hidden by her long white hair stared back at her. She sighed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this, this is so pathetic," Amethyst muttered. She couldn't believe today had gotten to her so badly she had to come back again, especially after nearly spending the entire afternoon there already. But Ruby had made her so angry, had stared at her like she was such a freak that she couldn't help it.

But Amethyst couldn't even really blame Ruby. After all, she was a freak. No one normal would need to do this to feel better.

She closed her eyes and focused. She could feel her physical construct fill with light and shift. It was almost second nature to her after doing it so often, especially this past week.

When Amethyst opened her eyes and looked in the mirror, Rose stared back at her.

Not exactly Rose, of course. It wasn't a perfect recreation. Her skin was still purple and her hair was still white. Amethyst's Gem was still on her chest instead of her stomach. But aside from that, it was almost flawless. Rose's eyes, her face, her body's shape ...

It was almost like she was still there.

Amethyst smiled, the reflection of her Rose form smiled back at her.

"H-hey Rose," Amethyst said awkwardly. She rubbed her shoulder. "I ... I missed you ..."

Next time ... Chapter Two: Amethyst