The Long Way Home(Doctor Who/Steven Universe crossover)

Home Again

Pearl felt her thin body relax, as the TARDIS regained control. Yet, there was still a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, a feeling that was not so calming. The Doctor, meanwhile, was letting his mind race as he danced around the controls again, about to take her home.
"Alright, Pearl," he proclaimed with confidence, "we are almost ready to make the trip back to your world. Just be ready, because I'm going to need you to link with the telepathic circuits again."
The Doctor looked to his companion and saw that she was sitting in a chair away from the control panel area. She was completely quite and didn't even look at him.
"Hey, Pearl," the Doctor called out, this time getting her attention. "You're not feeling too guilty about that Quartz are you?"
"No, it's just...the Earth-it's destroyed." Pearl didn't show much emotion in her answer. No shock or sadness or disgust. She just said it as if it were a simple fact.
"A version of Earth," the Doctor replied. "Well, at least now you know a new thing about the great big universe. The more you know they say."
Pearl didn't say anything.
"I know I shouldn't have to say this," the Doctor added slowly, after letting out a big sigh. "In fact, when was the last time I said this to anyone? I'm sorry...sorry you had to get dragged into all of that time-space hopping business kicking and screaming."

"No, no, don't be sorry," Pearl cut in quickly. "I mean, the experience hasn't been all bad...".

The Doctor remained silent, giving her another trademark hard glare.

"Okay, this was the most terrifying, unpleasant experience of my life", Pearl added skittishly. Just then, Pearl felt the feeling in her skull spill out into a simple question. "What's it like? Just traveling through space and time-nothing to hold you down?"

At first, the Doctor remained quiet, his focus kept solely on the TARDIS' controls. But then he spoke. Pearl could not hear him give any emotion. He just sounded as if he were thinking about something that was partly hazy.

"It's something," the Doctor muttered. "Fight a monster here and there, have tea with an alien or two and occasionally just sit back and watch some solar systems combust." He paused. Pearl waited for him to say something, but the old man just stared intently at the core of his TARDIS. Pearl looked down at her hands, mulling over what else to say, when she was startled by the Doctor, who was suddenly right up in her face and pulling her to the console again.

"Well, enough wasting time. The TARDIS is taking us a few moments after I "abducted" you. Now I just need you to give it the exact landing spot."

Once again, Pearl jammed her fingers into the glowing telepathic circuits (which still felt just as unpleasant to the touch as before) and tried to concentrate.
"Remember, focus on what matters," the Doctor stressed to her slowly.
Pearl strained her eyes shut in concentration.
"Try harder Pearl! Think about your friends. Think about Steven...about the Earth...they need you and they need you now."
Pearl could feel the TARDIS' humming surge through her as the distinctive wheezing sound of its engine fired up. It only took a few seconds. Then the Doctor told Pearl to open her eyes.

Pearl made a run for the TARDIS doors, only this time not in a panic. What she saw outside was the white sand and the rolling waves of a beach. Her eyes trailed up along the rocky ridge to her left and just around corner stood the warm, friendly sight of a giant, stone woman. Pearl wanted to drop to her knees, kissing the sand and weeping. She didn't do any of that. She just turned around and faced the Doctor who had just stepped out of the TARDIS himself.
"Well?", he asked politely as he could.
"Home. I'm home," Pearl said quietly trying her hardest not to sob.
The Doctor didn't show any emotion, or at least not that Pearl could see amongst the heavy bruise on his forehead and his swelling cheek where Star Quartz had swung her mighty boot.
"Pearl don't try to hold back", he grumbled. "I won't judge. Just take it all in."
Pearl let the droplets of the days weight roll of her stunned face, never thinking she would have ever been so glad to be on Earth-or at least this Earth.
"Well, I suppose you'll be resting up to heal those bruises of yours," murmured Pearl, once she had a few seconds of silence.
The Doctor brought his hand to his face and flinched the moment he touched his forehead. Pearl felt herself jump a bit when he yelped and then Pearl suddenly remembered her strange feeling and now knew she had one more thing to ask him.
"Does it ever hurt less?"
"The bruise?", the Doctor said puzzled. "Well, seeing as how I just got it that seems unlikely. We time lords aren't like-"
"No, I mean the memories..."

The Doctor stayed silent for a solid five seconds.
"I'm sorry you had to see the Earth crumbling before your eyes, not a pleasant experience I know," he said softly.
"No, not just that," Pearl broke in. The Doctor proceeded carefully with almost a sad shake of his head but the same harsh, passionate look he always bore.
"Pearl don't worry about me. I've been through much worse. But I'll say it again, it gets easier when you know you have something to come back to," he said as he gently stroked the frame of the TARDIS.
"Someone should probably worry about you, though", he added. "Here I am with a bruise on my face and a crazy blue box on my back and there you are, taking back this one planet from a colony of bureaucratic warmongers twice without breaking a sweat. If anyone you should be more used to this space travel thing than I am it's you," Pearl felt herself blush, a small smile appearing as she stuck out her hand.
"I think I can stomach that handshake now. It was... my pleasure to assist."

Pearl could swear the Doctor was still looking at her as she left him with that small meeting of hands and carefully crossed around the ridge. She felt her walk turn into a run as she got closer to the temple. And right on cue, Steven was there on the balcony, his nervousness turning to excitement when he spotted her. Pearl felt a great leap in her chest as the small hybrid tightly hugged her, followed closely by Garnet and Amethyst. It was a comfort that Pearl had not felt in so long.
"Where have you been, P?", Amethyst yelled between excited gasps.
"My future vision...couldn't find you anywhere," Garnet said gently and tenderly. "How did you get back?"
"Is that blue thing that hit us still here?", Steven piped up with concern.
"Well, it's all kind of a long story," Pearl began slowly, before her voice began to rise with enthusiasm. "I think I know someone who can explain it better than I can." Pearl tore herself away from the ferocious group hug and ran back down the beach the others following suit. But when Pearl had stopped at the corner of the rock ridge, she saw nothing. Just flat sand with no trace of a big blue box anywhere.
"Pearl?", Steven asked with concern as the taller Gem stood perfectly still, looking like someone she knew had just disappeared before her own eyes. When she turned around, however, she was smiling warmly and said with a hand on Steven's shoulder, "Well, I'll try to explain it later, but the important thing is that I'm here now."
----------------------------------------------
The TARDIS buzzed with that old familiar spark, as the Doctor crouched down over a pile of papers in one of the ships deeper rooms. The old girl had knocked a few things out of place on the bumpy ride through time. As the Doctor sorted the papers onto a shelf before him, he noticed something peculiar. Between an old Shakespeare playscript and an early sketch of the Mona Lisa was a photograph, of two young faces- one of them having belonged to him and another to a lady he had not seen in a long time. Swallowing hard, the Doctor trudged back to the control panel of the TARDIS. As he reached for the nearest lever with one hand, he gingerly perched the photo against the dashboard with his other sparing a small vague smile to the female of the picture.
You have to admit, I'm getting a little better. He thought to the woman as if a new kind of light had returned to the TARDIS. Then again, I suppose that's just being stubborn, eh, Rose?

And we come to the end of this tale, at long last. I seriously was not expecting this to get as strong a reception as it did. But I can't thank you enough for all the votes and reviews you've left. To spare you any more sappy-ness I'll make this brief: thanks to people like you I've decided to try and branch out more on Wattpad. I don't know if I'll be writing any more fanfics and I don't know if you'll like my newer works, but just know that you people are what made me want to see through this crazy idea no matter what. Until next time, keep watching the skies and your TVs...the Doctor is out there.