ANNOUNCER CONNIE DREW GREG MAHESWARAN STEVEN DREW i know you’re eager to chase the mail truck, dogcopter. but the mail truck is a decoy! good boys chase the blue car. be a good boy, dogcopter! nice work, dc! now get the bomb off the bridge, we’re almost out of time! dogcopter, no!! dogcopter! i can’t lose you! is this…what i think it is? ANNOUNCER dogcopter 6: till death do we bark: i now pronounce you man and woof! STEVEN everyone’s getting married but me. ughhh….i feel like poop. i wish the gems weren’t doing a field trip this week. i wonder if they have any reception guess not. GREG hey, steven! STEVEN hey, dad! how’s it goin’? GREG the tour’s been going great! what’s going on with you? you throw any big parties while you got the house to yourself? STEVEN yeah…heh heh. you know me… but i-i’m really glad you’re getting home tonight. i really need to talk to someone about what happened between me and connie… GREG sorry, steven! what was that? sadie and shep have been working on a new routine, you’ll never believe what they throw into the audience! hey, guess what? the tour’s been extended! STEVEN wow, that’s th-that’s great… GREG yeah, you know, you were so right about this whole manager thing steven, i love it… i can’t believe i’m touring again. oh, we’re about to head into another tunnel, you want to call me back with whatever you wanted to talk about? STEVEN i-it wasn’t important. GREG you sure? we can stop by on our way through delmarva. STEVEN no, it’s ok just, uh… fun! STEVEN guh! ugh woahh. i shouldn’t worry her ah! i-i’ll let it go to voicemail… CONNIE steven! are you there? STEVEN hey connie! what’s up? CONNIE steven! i’ve been worried about you! are you glowing? STEVEN oh! a-a-am i? glll. CONNIE what’s happening to your face!? STEVEN why? w-what’s wrong with my face? CONNIE uhhhhh….. STEVEN oh, right, the swelling… my body just keeps randomly growing, but-but it doesn’t hurt or anything. it’s fine. CONNIE how long has it been happening? STEVEN since…this morning CONNIE what do the gems think? STEVEN i can’t reach them…they’re doing a school field trip out in the widlerness. it’s nothing to worry about anyway. CONNIE you really don’t look well… maybe you should see a doctor? my mom could see you at the hospital! STEVEN i wouldn’t want to waste her time. CONNIE steven, you need to see a medical professional! STEVEN right, okay… MAHESWARAN you’re lucky i had a cancellation today, normally i’m booked up weeks in advance. CONNIE think you’ll be able to help him? even if this is some sort of “gem issue”? MAHESWARAN “gem issue” or not, you have a human body, which means we can run tests. at the very least, we can determine if you’re suffering from a “non gem” condition. CONNIE see? i’ll go wait outside. i’m sure it’ll all be fine! MAHESWARAN let’s start with your symptoms. hm….mild fever… glowing pink color to skin…hmmm…. blood pressure is….high. well… these readings are certainly… interesting. if you don’t mind me asking, who’s your gp? STEVEN gp…? MAHESWARAN you know, your general practicioner, your regular doctor? STEVEN i guess you? i’ve never been to the doctor before. MAHESWARAN you’re 16 years old and you’ve never been to the doctor?! i-it’s okay, it’s okay! i’ll have a talk with your father later. we’ll just need to run some more tests. get undressed and let’s get you into a hospital gown. STEVEN is that one of those blue things that doesn’t cover your butt? MAHESWARAN yes. now, let’s get started. MAHESWARAN so, this is a typical human skeleton. now a couple of months ago garnet, amethyst, and pearl allowed me to x-ray them for research purposes. their charts look like this: only their gems appear on a radiograph. and this…is your chart. definitely a human skeleton. there’s a clear history of numerous fractures, like here on the skull. everything is perfectly aligned… it almost looks as if the bones healed themselves the instant the injuries occurred. STEVEN that’s good, right? MAHESWARAN well…you seem to have made a series of miraculous recoveries, but that doesn’t change the fact that you experienced trauma. you’ve recovered physically, but… have you recovered mentally? STEVEN you thinkthere’s something wrong with my brain! MAHESWARAN not “wrong,” it’s that adverse childhood experiences, or childhood trauma, can have a lasting impact on how your body responds to stress. this can affect your social, emotional, and physical development. when humans are in crisis, the brain releases the hormone cortisol. your heart races, your muscles tense… i wonder if your body is reacting to a gem equivalent of cortisol… steven, do you remember anything bad in your childhood that particularly stuck with you? STEVEN i guess… i kinda freaked out when they cancelled my favorite ice cream. ….and then i got attacked by a giant bug-monster… and i got trapped in a bubble and almost drowned…. i lost control of my body and turned into a blob of cats…. i almost turned so old i died… amethyst almost died… pearl did die… garnet got destabilized right in front of me…. i woke up with a black eye, imprisoned on a space ship….. MAHESWARAN steven, this is serious! STEVEN but… that was just the early stuff...! MAHESWARAN i think all these experiences have been subjecting your body to a harmful amount of stress, and that’s affecting your ability to respond to new forms of stress in a healthy way. you’ve been dealing with genuine threats from such a young age, your body now is responding to minor threats as if your life were in danger. STEVEN but… why am i only swelling up now? MAHESWARAN stress is less harmful when we have people we trust to help us through it. maybe if… if you’re losing your supportive relationships… or if you had a recent experience that was particularly awf– STEVEN guhh! gah. grrrr. CONNIE what’s going on?! STEVEN guhh… CONNIE mom, what’s happening?! MAHESWARAN i don’t know. i just asked if he’d had any stressful experiences lately. CONNIE steven, you don’t think… STEVEN it’s not you, connie, it’s everything that happened before! MAHESWARAN what is he talking about? STEVEN you haven’t told your mom?! MAHESWARAN told me what?! STEVEN it’s not your fault. i-i think i just need you to leave. MAHESWARAN this is a medical emergency, i am not leaving! CONNIE mom, us being here is making it worse! STEVEN ahhhh! oh no! STEVEN please…just…just go! CONNIE steven! STEVEN i… can’t…be around you right now!! GREG steven! STEVEN dad? GREG i’m here! CONNIE c’mon mom, let’s give them space… MAHESWARAN right. STEVEN h-how did you know i was here? GREG connie called me about an hour ago. STEVEN connie…thank you. CONNIE yeah….i’ll be here when you’re ready. GREG steven, i’m sorry. if i’d have known i – STEVEN it’s fine, dad. you were busy, a-and i didn’t know what was going on. GREG c’mon, steven. talk to me… STEVEN i…well, i, um… i proposed to connie. GREG you what? STEVEN she said no. GREG oh, steven. STEVEN my body…it’s reacting like it’s the end of the world. i think i’ve seen the world almost end so many times now, that everything that goes wrong feels that…that extreme! i should be feeling so good these days. the earth is safe…. it’s era three… but i’m-i’m swelling up over these… third-era problems. what do i do? how do i move on from all the stuff i’ve been through? how do i live life if it always feels like i’m about to die?! GREG it’s gonna be all right, schtu-ball. i’m here for you. STEVEN i just…. i want to go home. STEVEN i guess i thought i could just follow connie to college…like if we got married, i’d know what to do with myself, but i’m the one that’s got to figure that stuff out. GREG cut yourself some slack! it’s okay to be worried and make some mistakes when you’re figuring out what to do with your life. that’s no unusual. well, the magic swlling is a little unusual, but that’s okay too! if you want to be a giant boy, we can use the car wash as a shower! STEVEN dad, your tour! i ruined your- GREG don’t worryabout me. just get some rest, kiddo. you don’t have to solve all your problems in one night. STEVEN yeah…thanks, dad.