Gem Sick Day
"I still don't understand how this could happen," Pearl said, looking through the bathroom cabinet. "Peridot is a gem. Gems can't get sick."
"Maybe it's some kinda...mysterious magic sickness!" Steven exclaimed. "Like uhhh... Gem..." Steven hummed in thought, trying to finish the name of his made up sickness.
Pearl sighed and continued looking through the cabinet, finding a bottle of children's medicine and not much else. "I guess this'll have to do..." She said softly, moving past him and heading to the small bundle of blankets on the couch.
"Gemronavirus!" Steven exclaimed.
"What?" Pearl asked, turning back to him.
"Is that what Peridot has?" Steven asked.
"I..." She quickly went silent. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with this. Peridot was a pain to deal with on a good day, but a sick Peridot? That sounded like hell on earth. Combined with a rambunctious child and whatever chaotic hell Amethyst would cause with her antics... Pearl didn't know what to do. She stared at Steven's curious face, trying to think of something to say.
'If I just agree with him, maybe they'll leave me alone until I get a handle on this situation,' Pearl thought to herself. She smiled and nodded silently.
"You're absolutely correct, Steven," she said sweetly. "Peridot has a deadly Gem sickness-"
"WHAT?!" Peridot screamed, launching out of her blanket bundle.
"And I need to quarantine her. Which mean Garnet, Amethyst, and you especially, need to leave. Your gem combined with your fragile human body makes you twice as susceptible to catching this deadly virus."
"Wait, seriously?" Amethyst asked, pausing her kitchen raid.
"I'M GOING TO DIE?!"
"Yes, seriously," Pearl said, ignoring Peridot's screeching. "Grab some essentials and leave as quickly as possible."
"Shouldn't you leave too?" Steven asked.
"Umm, Pearls, like myself... Are naturally immune to this...virus," Pearl said, giving a shakey smile.
"Lucky!" Amethyst said, rushing over to the temple. "Give me five minutes to grab some stuff!"
"Me too!" Steven rushed upstairs, starting to pack his cheeseburger backpack with some clothes and things to keep them entertained.
"ANSWER ME!" Peridot screamed.
"Calm down, Peridot," Pearl said, rubbing her temples. "You're not going to die. You'll be fine. Now lay down before you exhaust yourself."
"BUT YOU SAID-"
"I said, calm down!" Pearl yelled back. She glared at the small gem, who just gave a weak look back. Peridot was slouching and trembling, barely able to stand. Her skin seemed pale and kinda sweaty. Well, it would be sweaty if Gems could sweat. "You're going to exhaust yourself so please lay down. Maybe with less blankets."
Peridot grumbled and flopped on the couch. "Mm. 'Kay. But not because you told me too..." She curled up under a thin blanket and wiped her raw nose on it. Pearl, meanwhile, shuddered in disgust and went to the kitchen to find some soup. It helps humans when they're sick, maybe it'll help Gems too. She found a small can and read the instructions as she lit the stove. "Steven? Are you almost ready?"
"Yeah! Just a sec!" He called from his loft.
"Are you actually packing essentials or just what looks nice?" She called back.
"Uhh.... What's essentials?"
"Oy vey..." Pearl mumbled. "Three changes of clothes, two pairs of pajamas, and toiletries! Which is a hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and bodywash!"
"Ok!"
"QUIET, CRYSTAL CLODS!" Peridot screeched.
Garnet and Amethyst both came out of the temple with their essentials (mainly old food for Amethyst) and quickly evacuated with Steven. And now the house was left with a sick gem, a stuffy feeling in the air, and something that just smelled wrong.
Pearl tried to ignore the gagging feeling in her throat as she brought the food over to Peridot. "Alright, let's get this over with..."
"Are you going to poison me?" Peridot said.
"No, I'm trying to help you get better," Pearl said, getting a dose of the liquid medicine. She shuddered slightly at the thick medication. "Alright. Take this. It should help."
"Absolutely not!" She said, backing into the couch. "That smells terrible!"
"That's the soup. This is medicine. Medicine helps when a human is sick," Pearl explained.
"And I'm a Gem! Are you dense?!" Peridot yelled.
"I know, but since we don't know what this is then we have to start from what I can only assume is the beginning. Now take this!" She launched forward, pinning Peridot to the couch and fighting the barrage of slaps and hits that the smaller Gem began to give.
"You are not putting that poison in me!" Peridot screamed, trying to get away.
"It's not poison now take! It! Al-rea-dy!" She forced Peridot's mouth open and pushed the spoon inside, quickly forcing the medicine down her throat. She sighed and pulled away while Peridot covering her mouth, looking like she would throw up.
"Was that so hard?" Pearl asked, picking up the bowl of questionable soup. "Now drink this. It might help."
Peridot looked at the bowl, then at Pearl, and the bowl again before shaking her head wildly.
Pearl groaned loudly. "Now I have to feed you too?!" She tried to force her to eat, but as soon as the first drink passed down her throat, she pushed Pearl away and threw up what little she had in her body onto the floor. She kneeled over her little disgusting puddle while she continued to gag and dry heave, tears forming in her eyes. And Pearl laid disgusted on the floor, covered in warm and very bad smelling, oddly chunky soup.
"Ummm..." Came a voice from the door. Pearl looked over and saw Greg, just looking confused at the whole situation. "Is Steven here?"
"No, he... He left with Garnet and Amethyst." She stood up and shook off the gunk as best as she could. "Peridot got sick and I don't know how. And I now I don't know what to do to help and-"
"Pearl, these are expired." Greg handed her the bottle of medicine and can of soup. Both had expired a couple years ago, just like he said. "How did you not notice?"
"I-I.. I don't..." Pearl just stared at the bottles while Peridot started her screeching and yelling once more, about how the "Crystal Clods" were poisoning her and making her weak and other such nonsense. "I don't know. I might be a little...out of it. So much has been going on and I'm trying to take care of all of it..."
"You're probably stressed. You just need to calm down," Greg said. "You said Peridot was sick, right? Do you know what she has? Her symptoms?"
"Well, she has a fever and a cough, runny nose... She's fatigued, and her outbursts certainly aren't helping..." Pearl hummed in thought, trying to think of everything else. "She's been complaining about aches and pains, and her head hurts. Specifically in her gem area."
"Well, that sounds a lot like the flu," Greg said. "She'll probably be fine."
"Yes but I don't understand! Gems don't get sick and now she has a human illness!" Pearl said. "I don't understand how this is possible!"
"It might affect the sentient part of her gem?" Greg offered.
"I don't know. I..." Pearl let out a heavy sigh, quickly going silent as Peridot continued her screaming. She quickly got sick of it and turned back to her. "EITHER STOP SCREAMING OR I WILL POUR MORE OF THAT MEDICINE DOWN YOUR THROAT!"
Peridot quickly stopped and plopped onto the couch, staring at her.
"Wow... You're really stressed. Go clean yourself up. I'll go get some more medicine. And maybe some food too. Does Peridot eat like Amethyst?" Greg asked ask he started to leave.
"I don't know..." She sighed and walked over to the temple, opening her door and entering the calm confines of her room. She cleaned herself off in the water, watching the gunk run down to Amethyst's room. She sat there for a few minutes, trying to calm herself down. Why was she so stressed in the first place?
Reluctantly, she stood up from the water and left her room, coming back to find Peridot in the exact place she left her, sitting on the couch and staring at the temple door.
"Are you...feeling alright?" Pearl asked, carefully walking into the main part of the house. Peridot just glared and went back into her blanket bundle.
As the two waited for Greg to come back, Pearl cleaned up the mess and sanitized the area as best she could. She had to take care of Peridot first and foremost. She couldn't get to focused on her cleaning. Thankfully, it wasn't long until Greg had come back with his arms full of supplies.
"I got a couple different kinds of medicine and some dry foods in case she wants to eat," Greg said, setting their loot on the counter. "Oh! And I got a case of soup in the van!" He ran back out and brought back a twelve-pack of canned soup. "This should be more than enough."
Pearl clasped her hands together and smiled. "Thank you so much, Greg. I wish I could help you locate Steven, but they didn't tell me where they were going."
"It's alright. I'm sure I can find him. I hope thing go well." Greg smiled and started to leave. He paused in the door and turned back. "Pearl?"
"Yes?" She asked, a little worried.
"You got this," he said, giving her a thumbs up. "Just remember what you did when you took care of Steven. Bye." He finally left, leaving a silent Pearl standing in the middle of the room.
"When I took care of Steven....?" She said to herself, quickly going through memories almost forgotten.
☆☆☆☆
"I don't wanna!!" Steven yelled, pushing away the shotglass of medicine as tears formed. "It's icky!!" The 8 year old stayed out too long in the snow without a jacket (he put it on his snowman because the snowman was cold.)
"Steven, you need to take the medicine if you want to get better," Garnet said calmly.
"No! I don't wannaaaaaaa!" He yelled.
Pearl watched from the sidelines, seeing the two bicker with no end in sight. She gave a small sigh and grabbed a box of cookies from the cabinet. "Let me try, Garnet. I think I know what to do."
Garnet silently handed over the medicine, backing away to watch.
"Now Steven, I know you don't want to take this icky, icky medicine, but you need it to get better. So if you take it now, you'll get a cookie." She held up a fairly big chocolate chunk cookie. "Does that sound good?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" He said excitedly.
"Alright! Medicine first," she said, handing over the medicine cup. "If you plug your nose, it'll-" Pearl didn't get a chance to explain. Steven gulped down the medicine in the blink of an eye and made grabby hands at the cookie. Pearl just gave a slight chuckle and handed it over. "Once you finish, you need to take a cold shower to help the fever and eat some real food, ok?"
"Mhm!" The young boy gave a thumbs up and did a happy little dance as he ate the "sweet" treat.
"Isn't sugar bad for sick people?" Amethyst asked, giving a confused expression.
Pearl kneeled in front of her and whispered, "It's sugar-free."
☆☆☆☆
"Of course. How could I forget?" Pearl said to herself. She quickly gathered up the medicine and some toast in case Peridot wanted to eat. She sat down beside the blanket bundle, putting on a genuine smile.
"Peridot, I want to apologize," she said gently. "I was very rude and harsh to you for reasons that are not your fault. I should not have acted like that. I really, truly want to help."
Peridot hid further in her blanket bundle and growled.
"Please, Peridot," she begged. "Please trust me. I just want to help."
Peridot nuzzled in deeper.
"If you take the medicine, I'll let you have this," she said, showing her a plate of toast. "It's brioche bread, so it's very sweet."
Peridot poked her head out more. "Will it taste bad?"
"The medicine? Maybe. Medicine doesn't have a pleasant taste, but that's to be expected. But it won't taste as bad as before, because this isn't expired."
Peridot growled softly.
"Please? If you take it, you can have the toast," she said sweetly, holding out the plate.
Peridot snatched the medicine and took it, swallowing and shuddering, but thankfully she didn't look like throwing up. Pearl smiled and held out the plate of toast for her to take.
Peridot looked suspicious at the food, poking it a little to see if there was anything wrong with it. She sniffed the air, and sniffed it again to see if there was any bad smells. Eventually, she took a piece of bread and took a small bite. She swallowed what she had eaten, but shook her head. "I don't really want to eat," she said, setting the toast back on the plate.
"Alright. I'll save it for Amethyst." Pearl stood up and went to the kitchen, gently setting the plate on the counter and getting a cold, wet rag. She wrung out a little water and went back over to Peridot. "I know you must be feeling really warm, especially with all those blanket. This should help you cool off."
Peridot had snuggled back into the bundle while Pearl was gone and glared at her. She really didn't want to get out.
"Just let me do a little bit, ok? If you don't like it, then you can go back into the bundle, ok?" Pearl said, holding out her hand.
Peridot carefully pushed one arm out and let Pearl wipe it down. She began to moan softly with relief, finally being able to cool down from all that heat. Pearl finished wiping down both arms, neck and face before stopping close to her gem. She was a little worried. Would this aggravate her gem or make it worse? Or maybe this would relieve her "Gemronavirus" for good. Pearl decided to take that chance and gently touched the gem with the wet rag.
Peridot moaned loudly in relief, almost turning to mush in Pearl's lap as she wiped her forehead. "Oh my stars..."
"I told you this would help you feel better," Pearl said with a gentle smirk, pulling Peridot closer. She held the rag over her gem and waited silently as she calmed down.
"Alright," Pearl said after a few minutes. "I'm going to get this wet again and find something to attach it to your gem, ok? Then you're going to rest."
Peridot mumbled something and scooted away, pushing her blanket bundle to the floor and picking out one the cover up with. She leaned back on the couch and watched Pearl as she wet a different rag. "Can we watch something? I'm getting bored."
"Sure. Let me finish what I'm doing first." Pearl grabbed the wet rag and sweatband, carefully placing it over Peridot's gem and tying it a little to make site it didn't move. "Is this alright?"
"Mhm." Peridot smiled and snuggled into the fluffy blanket.
Pearl smiled back and quickly grabbed Steven's TV. 'I'm sure he won't mind,' Pearl thought to herself as she set it up in front of the couch. She grabbed the remote and started to flip through channels, waiting for Peridot to find something interesting.
"Wait!" Peridot said, making Pearl stop on a sports channel. "Go back!"
Pearl did as she was told and stopped on a cartoon, listening to the childish theme play. "Galatic Guardians?"
"Yeah. It looks interesting," Peridot said as she snuggled into Pearl.
Pearl watched the theme play before seeing the episode title.
Season 3, Episode 4:
And that was all that Pearl needed to shut off the TV.
"Hey!" Peridot squeaked.
"You are not starting a new show right in the middle. Just give me a minute," Pearl said, standing up and getting the tablet on the kitchen counter. She went to a free movie website and ignored the disgusting ads in search of the first Galactic Guardians season. "Ah-ha! Found it!" She sat back on the couch and pulled Peridot into her lap, starting the first episode for her.
☆•☆•☆
A few days later, Peridot was better and the rest of the Crystal Gems were able to come back, with a new mattress and couch in tow. They arrived on the beach to see Pearl and Peridot around a bonfire, talking excitedly to themselves.
"Hey, guys," Steven said once he got close enough. "Why did we need to buy a new mattress and couch?"
"Oh! Well, once Peridot got better I had to clean and sanitize the house and everything in it to get rid of the leftover bacteria," Pearl explained. "And I couldn't sanitize the couch or mattress-"
"So we burned them!" Peridot interrupted. "And now we can have a sunset bonfire like the Season 2 finale!"
"The what?" Amethyst asked, dropping the mattress so she could sit on it.
"Peridot and I found a new show to watch while she was sick," Pearl explained. "It's called the Galatic Guardians, and it's about the young human girls with supernatural abilities-"
"And their universe is falling apart!" Peridot interrupted. "Literally! It's held together by the Universal Orb which is starting to die and now anyone can just take it and rule the universe!"
"The Universal Orb was originally held by the Goddess of the Galaxies, Queen Nova," Pearl explained. "She was killed and the Orb was left without a holder, but it was feeding off her life force to live. Thankfully, things were safe for a while but her life force is now dying and anyone can take the Orb!"
"Which is hidden is the Palace of the Cosmos, but no one knows where it is!" Peridot said.
"So everyone, good and evil, is trying to find the Palace to take the Orb and be the new ruler," Pearl cut back in. "And legends say that only the descendant of Queen Nova herself can hold the Orb and rule the galaxies with peace and tranquility."
"So the Galatic Guardians are trying to find her heir! And get their crew together," Peridot said.
"Yes, I should've clarified. The Guardians are the chosen warriors of each God, some coming from various different planets so they're not completely human, but the Guardians sole purpose are to protect Queen Nova-"
"Well, they obviously failed," Garnet said, somewhat invested in this story.
"Yes. They did," Pearl giggled. "But now, they have to find Nova's heir and take her to the Orb so she can rule."
"What happens if they don't find the heir?" Steven asked.
"Then someone else will take the Orb and plunge the universe into chaos!" Peridot said.
"Sounds kinda dumb," Amethyst said offhandedly.
"Dumb?" Pearl said, sounding offended. "Is the Blackhole Society, the largest evil organization in the universe, dumb to you?"
"Is the Fevistal of the Sun dumb to you?" Peridot asked with a glare.
"Is the Hidden Palace of the Cosmos dumb?" Pearl cut back in.
"Is Noel Vanta and her mentor, Aria McArthur dumb?" Peridot said.
"Is the Starlit Slaughter dumb?!" Pearl cut back in once more.
"Is the Lunar Festival dumb?!" Peridot, again.
"The Canopy Forest, home of the God of Nature?!"
"The Neverending River, home to the Goddes of Water?!"
"The Cloud Castle?!"
"The Sun Palace?!"
"Rebek'ca Flame?!"
"Aquata Blue?!"
"Nierra Sanel?!"
"IS THAT ALL DUMB TO YOU?!" Pearl and Peridot shouted in unison.
Amethyst stared for a few moments. "Yes," she said calmly.
Both gems looked like they were going to blow a fuse. "I am going to go get the marshmallows," Pearl stated, standing up and swiftly walking away.
"Sleep with one eye open," Peridot growled.
A minute of tense silence slowly flowed into a light conversation, talking about the short adventures the three went on without Pearl and Peridot. The evening was filled with gentle laughs and light-hearted banter, talking the evening away while the fire died out and the sun started to set. Garnet eventually left to set up the mattress and couch and Steven had to follow because he was getting tired, and there was no way in hell Amethyst was staying with "The Galatic Psychos" so she quickly ran inside. And then it was Pearl and Peridot silently watching the red embers of the dead fire.
"Umm, I'm sorry again," Pearl said, breaking the comfortable silence they had created. "About how I acted before."
"Oh. Well..." Peridot said, trying to think of what to say.
"People usually say 'I accept your apology' or 'I forgive you' if they aren't mad about what happened and they want to move past it," Pearl explained.
"Then I accept your apology," Peridot said. "Do you mind telling me why you acted like that?"
"Well, I was stressed out. And I wrongly took it out on you."
"Why are you stressed?" Peridot asked.
"I guess...because things are a little hectic right now, and..."
"And you're trying to take over for your former leader," Peridot finished.
"Yes. Rose Quartz..." Pearl smiled to herself, thinking of their fond memories.
"She must've mattered a lot to you..." Peridot reached over and held her hand.
"She did. She meant... She meant the world to me. And now that she's gone, and Gems are after us again..." Pearl sighed softly and held her head in her hands.
"Am I supposed to say I'm sorry?" Peridot asked. "I think I'm supposed but I'm not sure it's my fault."
Pearl gave a weak smile. "Most humans say they're sorry even if it's not their fault. They say it as a way to sympathize with the other person."
"Ok. I'm sorry, Pearl," she said, moving a little closer.
"It's ok. We'll survive." She pulled Peridot close. "I had fun the past three days."
"Me too! The show was really fun, and I didn't think cleaning was fun either but it was really fun with you!" Peridot said excitedly.
"Great."
"Can we do it again? The 'hanging out' and stuff?" Peridot asked as she buzzed with excitement.
"Absolutely. Let's put some sand on the embers and finish Season 3. Season 4 is airing in a couple weeks."
"WOOOOOOOOOOO!"