It had been several months since Avery and Pearl had gotten together and their relationship was going strong. It had been, however, several days since they had seen each other, as the two had been busy with work and gem business alike. That was why Avery was in the midst of getting ready to go over to the beach house and surprise Pearl with a visit.

Little did Avery know that in the next few seconds, both his and Pearl's lives were going to be turned on their head.

*Knock, knock, knock*

Avery turned his head towards the front door. Strange, he wasn't expecting anyone at this time. Maybe, he thought with a smile, that Pearl had beaten him to the punch and was here to visit him. When he walked over to the door and opened it, though, he found that that wasn't the case.

The girl standing in the doorway looked rather shy, what with both her hands behind her back and her eyes peering towards the ground. She was relatively short, taller than Steven but smaller that Amethyst. She dressed very similarly to Pearl, with a tank top, shorts, and even a ribbon wrapped around her waist. In fact, she even looked similar to Pearl. Strikingly so, at least in the face. The most glaringly obvious connection with Pearl was her pointed nose. She looked different from Pearl, however, by the fact that she had shoulder length ebon hair and grey eyes. The most interesting thing about the girl was that she appeared to have a… gem on her forehead. It looked exactly like Pearl's

"Hello. Can I help you?" Avery asked with a polite smile, getting over the initial shock of the girl's similarities to Pearl.

"Yes, um… Are you Avery Pemberton?" The girl questioned, making eye contact with Avery.

"Yes, I am? Who might you be?" Avery inquired in turn.

"My name is Hazel, but that's not important. Do you happen to know the Crystal Gems?"

"… I do, yes. Why?"

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but just hear me out: What would you say if I was a half gem?"

"Wait, you're a half gem!? Like Steven?" Avery questioned, surprised.

"Yes, like Steven." Hazel said with a smile, apparently knowing Mr. Universe.

"Wow, that's amazing! Do the gems know about you?"

"They don't, no. That's because… well… I'm from the future." Hazel said hesitantly.

"Really? Wow. How exactly did you get back in time?"

"Wait… so you believe me?" Hazel said, voice brimming with hope.

"Hazel, once you get to know the Crystal Gems, you reside to yourself that pretty much anything can happen. Besides, Steven already told me a story about him time travelling, and I believed him."

"That's fantastic!" Said Hazel with glee. "Alright, I have one more question for you, and it's going to be very hard to believe, but I want you to trust me."

"Alright…" Avery said, becoming somewhat worried.

"… What would you say if I was yours and Pearl's daughter?"

At first, Avery slightly chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Hazel, but what I would say is…"

But then Avery began to look at her face once more.

The dark hair.

The grey eyes.

The pointed nose.

The way she dressed.

And her Gem.

Avery's heart began to beat faster and his eyes started to water. He stared at Hazel for a while, just gaping at her, until he slowly crouched down, wrapped her in a hug and said with tears running freely down his face:

"I'd believe you. Oh, Hazel…"

Hazel, in turn, wrapped her arms around Avery's neck and said whilst stroking his hair:

"It's okay, dad… It's okay."

The two stayed in this position for quite some time, until Avery finally broke away.

"I'm sorry for getting so emotional." He said. "It's just quite a bombshell to drop to know that you're going to have a daughter in the future."

"That's understandable." Hazel said with a smile.

"So, you still haven't answered a question of mine: How exactly did you get thrown back in time?"

"Oh, I was messing around with a trinket of mom's. I'm guessing its purpose was time travel, because… well, I'm standing here."

"I see." Avery said with a chuckle. His demeanor suddenly changed when Hazel brought up Pearl, though. "Wait, I have a question: Is Pearl still alive after your birth?"

Hazel began to look down to the ground in what appeared to be an even mixture of sadness and shame.

"No… She gave up her physical form to have me… I still feel responsible."

"Don't." Avery said abruptly. "Don't ever think that for a second. It's not your fault she's gone, nor is it anyone else's."

Hazel slowly looked up and began to smile.

"Thanks dad."

Avery began to chuckle and said:

"Dad, huh? I'm going to have to get used to you calling me that."

"Do you not want me to?" Hazel questioned.

"No, no, no, it's perfectly fine. I kind of like it, if I'm being honest."

"If you say so. Say, since we were talking about mom… is there any chance I can meet her?" Hazel inquired shyly.

Avery smiled sweetly at his daughter.

"Of course. I was just on my way over to her place. C'mon."

With that said, Avery and Hazel walked down to the former's car, got in and drove off towards the beach house.

Good morrow, People of Fanfiction! Sorry that this chapter:

A.) Was very short

B.) Suddenly dropped a new character/major plot point into the mix.

I just had this idea for a child subplot in my head for a while and I wanted to have an introduction for Hazel that wasn't really bogged down by any other plot points.

With that said, please leave your reviews and tell me what you think/what I can improve!