He was late. He was so late. Two hours, fifty three minutes, and six seconds late. He had gotten the third call then- the first two hadn’t come through because the signal had been too weak where they were- and couldn’t get to the warp pad quick enough. Filled with regret, he wished he had brought Lion along. If he had, the fluffy pink cat could have warped them to Connie, and he wouldn’t be worried about missing the birth of their first child.
Running now, he could only focus on the next step that would lead them closer to the warp pad, closer to the hospital, closer to Connie, and closer to their little bundle of joy. Hopefully, he made it there before they did. Oh, how he regretted coming on this stupid mission with the due date so close, but it was important.
“Come on guys, we gotta hurry! I can’t miss the birth of my first kid!”
“Ugh, calm down Steven! You may not have short legs anymore, but I still do, and I can only run so fast!” He turned back to Amethyst, watching her try to keep up. Garnet stopped before he did, and the fusion was quick to scoop up the shortest Crystal Gem. She was positioned on her shoulders, and the fusion was quick to catch back up to him and Pearl, who was almost beating him in their not-really-but-almost race to the warp pad.
“Oh, I knew this was a bad idea! We shouldn’t have came out here!” Upon hearing his guardian’s words, he couldn’t help but agree. It was a stupid thing to do, but they hadn’t meant to be out here this long. He wasn’t even really sure what happened, but they were much farther out than they were supposed to be.
“Pearl, Steven, don’t worry. We’ll get there in time.” With Garnet’s reassuring words floating through his head, he felt so much better. He was still worried about Connie, and the little bundle of joy, but they were getting close to the warp pad now, and it wouldn’t be much longer before he could see her, and hold her hand while she brought the little life into the world.
It had taken three hours and seventeen minutes before they had made it to the hospital. At first, the staff had been freaked out. It wasn’t everyday a pink lion appeared in the lobby with four people on it’s back. Steven was actually surprised that the big cat had been able to hold them all, but it had only been for a short jump before they were there, so maybe it wasn’t that much of a big deal for the lion. It wasn’t seeming to complain, anyways.
Moments after arriving, they were pointed in the direction of the delivery room. Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst weren’t allowed inside because they weren’t actually family, but Steven was allowed to see the woman he loved so much and be by her side. The doctors didn’t even try to hold him back. When he entered the room, screaming filled the air. Even after so much running, he still found it in himself to run to her side.
“St-Steven!” Connie yelped, and a nurse wiped sweat off her brow. He knew she was in great pain, but also knew he couldn’t help. He hated it, but grabbed her hand and held it close.
“I’m here Connie. I made it, I’m here.” His voice seemed to relax her, and she squeezed his hand tightly, making sure he was real. “God, I love you so much, and I’m so sorry it took me so long to get here.”
“Yo-you’re here n-now, and that’s wh-what matters.”