Second Chances
(Minor edit update of chapter 1 since I’m almost done with chapter 2)
Jasper and Peridot try for a second set of gemlings but it doesn’t go as smoothly the second time.
Jasper growled in irritation. Her emotions and thoughts kept twisting around and turning back in a never ending pretzel of fear and frustration. Three days was far to long and she knew it and Peridot was in no condition to even acknowledge her let alone tell her what to do to help. She was useless right now and Peridot was suffering because of it.
When Peridot let out yet another weak whimper Jasper took the nearby washcloth and dabbed the forehead of her mate. Their first pregnancy wasn't nearly as hard on Peridot as this one was. Although neither of them knew much everything had somehow gone much smoother. Well, Peridot knew a little and Jasper was clueless. Still, somehow they managed and got three amazing gemlings out of the whole ordeal in the end. So naturally when the time came where it was possible both of them were eager to have a new set on purpose this time.
They had planned out everything perfectly. All the necessary nutrients had been taken, precise timing on the mating, and ideal conditions for their own private home. Everything. So why had it all gone so wrong? Soon after Peridot's pregnancy was confirmed she started getting sick and weak. At first Peridot had assured her that it was normal. Gems as a species were basically parasites so carrying them would take a bit out on the host gem. It was the reason why they had switched over to kindergartens. That way the planet they were using would take the full burden. It was just that last time she simply was to stressed with all that was going on at the time to acknowledge it.
As the months passed Peridot got longer and longer bouts of weakness and Jasper did her best to help Peridot and even remembered to ask a question every now and again. Peridot was the closest thing to an expert on the matter. She had a little bit of training just in case something happened to a gem and went through it once before.
Peridot even gave Jasper basic medic training since at her request, she didn't want to be completely clueless and of no help this time.
Despite it not happening in over a millenia kindergartners were still taught the basics of gem pregnancy just in case. It wasn't something that was approved of, but home world wasn't about to turn down free gems. Especially with their rarity and naturally more robust nature. A “natural” gem could produce a better blueprint for the next set destined to be produced in the kindergarten. The small bits of knowledge that still remained intact was terribly outdated and barley more than a single page of information, facts, and theories but it was better than nothing. They also had all the data Peridot had methodically collected during her first pregnancy.
There was only one thing Jasper could think of that would relieve Peridot of her pain now. Steeling her resolve Jasper gently picked Peridot up from her spot on their bed and placed her on the floor. Smiling down at Peridot, Jasper stroked her badly mussed hair. “Hey, ya peb. You know I love you right?” Opening her eyes Peridot looked up at her mate from her spot on the floor confused in a rare moment of lucidity. Letting out a depressed laugh Jasper moved her hand to Peridot's chest and softly rubbed her collarbone.
“I'm sorry” Jasper watched a momentary look of horror and realization flicker across Peridot's face as she pressed down with all her might causing Peridot's form to surrender with a loud bang.
Jasper closed her eyes and took a ragged shaky breath as the dust cloud dissipated. Peridot probably wouldn't forgive her for this but at least she should still be able to reform after she had time to recuperate. Peridot had warned Jasper that a gem that was gravid was particularly hard to poof in order to protect the life of the eggs inside and would hold itself together unless the chest or head were crushed or the gem separated from the main body. It was a horrifying thing to learn when Peridot had cut her hand and had told her when she had begun to panic.
To imagine a gem losing an arm or being forced to heal slowly like an organic life form after receiving piercing damage to the chest was terrifying. Being forced to keep your form no matter the damage. It made a certain sense once Peridot explained the process of surrendering ones physical form would cause the eggs to drop prematurely and there was way no way to reintroduce them to a gems system. It was a biological necessity to have a more sturdy physicality in order to allow the eggs to properly form.
When the smoke fully cleared all that was left of her mate was her gem amongst several eggs. No, they weren’t eggs, they were duds. Discolored, ugly and gray. One well over double the size if not triple it should be and the rest far to undersized to ever produce a gemling.
Observing them Jasper sighed. “Maybe the first time really was just a fluke.”
Carefully Jasper collected the small jagged gray stones and placed them in the nest box that they had made for the eggs once they had been laid. It was easy to see why Peridot had been suck in suck a painful state after seeing them. The small ones were tiny balls of wicked spikes while the egg that was to large for Peridot to pass had kept them all jammed together. A part of her wanted to crush them in retaliation for all the pain they had caused but decided against it in the end. Peridot would probably want to see the horrid little things once she had reformed herself.
Jasper froze when she touched the oversized egg. Despite it's unhealthy gray color and odd size it sill had faint sings of life within. The shock of being dropped after getting stuck for so long somehow hadn't caused it to go inert. Rubbing her thumb over it's exterior it simply felt like a common stone. It probably just had a small bit of life by accident and wouldn't last much longer. Not wanting to abandon it Jasper took a nearby pillow and placed it in her lap making a makeshift nest for the egg and placed both it and Peridot's gem together.
Closing her eyes Jasper leaned back against the wall and waited.
