Chapter 2: Given Away With a Lifelong Promise
The weeks that followed were incredibly hard on Goten, what with planning the funeral and trying to get back on his feet. He was in no condition to take care of an infant. His mother saw this and took care of the girl for the first three weeks of her life. After that, Goten felt that he was ready to care for his own child.
One morning, Trunks came over to check up on his friend.
"She looks like her. Doesn't she, Trunks?" Goten asked, watching the girl play.
"With the exception of two things. One, she has your dad's eyes. Two. The tail. That she got from you." Trunks said, earning a smile from Goten. "So, you never told anyone. What's her name?"
Goten's shoulders flopped down as he turned towards Trunks. "Ya know, with all that's been going on I forgot to name her."
"Oh, that's good, genius!"
"I've been busy!"
"What have you been calling her?!"
"Kid."
Trunks slapped his forehead. "Well, what did Paris want to call her?"
Goten thought for a moment. "She had two names picked out.
"Let's hear 'em."
"Roxanne and Aya."
"Dude. She is so not a Roxanne."
"Aya." Goten mumbled softly to himself. He could see she wasn't a Roxanne as well. "Aya it is then." He said, getting up to get her birth certificate.
While filling it out, he came across something scribbled on it.
"Midi-chlorians, 4000?" He read aloud to himself. "Hey Trunks? You know what this means?"
"How would I know?"
"I think I'm gonna call the doctor. Ask him." Goten said, picking up the phone. After a quick conversation with the doctor, he hung up.
"So what's it mean?" Trunks asked.
"He says it means she qualifies to be trained as a Jedi. He said anything over 1000 qualifies, but her readings were abnormally high. He told me it would be wise to consider giving her up to bring her to Jedi Temple."
"You're not gonna do it, are you?"
Goten rubbed the back of his head. "I... I don't know. I need time to think about it."
"You take all the time you need. I gotta run. Catch ya later."
"Yea. Later." Goten said, not really paying attention.
* * * Three months later * * *
"I just don't think I was ready to be a parent, Gohan."
"Well, there is another option." Gohan said. The phone conversation with his brother wasn't going in favor of his niece. Goten was taking care of her, but felt he couldn't adequately care for the girl by himself.
"Which would be?"
"You could give her to the Jedi." There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. "Hello? Goten? Did you hear me?"
"Yea. Yea, I heard you. Look, I gotta go. I think I hear Aya crying. I'll see you later." Goten said quickly, hanging up the phone before his brother could get another word in.
* * * Two months later * * *
"I know you're all wondering why I asked you all to come here." Goten said, after his family and friends had all assembled in his living room.
"Son, is something wrong?" Goku asked his youngest son.
Goten sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Then, he looked up and spoke. "I can't keep her."
A series of "what"s, "why"s and "how come"s ran through the small crowd.
"I can't care for her like I could if Paris was still alive!" Goten exclaimed.
Goku walked up and put a hand on his shoulder. "I want you to look me in the eye, and tell me how hard you've thought about this." He said gently.
Goten looked into his father's eyes. Trunks was right. Aya had the same eyes. "Dad, I've thought about it night and day since the doctor made it an option five months ago. I've weigh pros and cons time and time again. I've looked at it from every angle I could think of. All of them say that this is the best choice. As her father, I feel this is the best thing I can do for her."
Goku let go. "That's all I wanted to know." He said softly.
Goten sighed again as he spoke to the crowd once more. "I'm taking her to Jedi Temple tomorrow morning."
* * * Jedi Temple, the next morning * * *
Rex sighed. He couldn't help it. He was bored. At 24, he should have been helping his master debate with Council. Not stuck on "door duty" for the fifth time in two weeks. His thoughts were interrupted when the door slid open.
A man had come in from outside carrying a child.
Rex stood up. "May I help you, sir?" He knew he was older than this man, but he had to be polite.
"Uh... yea. I'd like my daughter to be trained as a Jedi."
"May I see her birth certificate?"
"Yea. Just let me get it out." Goten said, struggling to retrieve the document. "If you could hold her for a minute, I'd appreciate it."
"Sure." Rex said, taking the child.
As he did, he felt like electric charges were passing from him to the child. In an instant, Rex felt as though he and the girl were one. One person in two people, sharing the same psychic wavelength.
Goten handed Rex the birth certificate. As he examined it, his eyes widened slightly at the midi-chlorian count.
Rex nodded. "All right. We'll take her."
"Promise me something." Goten begged.
Rex looked in his eyes. Normally he hated the word "promise", but there was something about this girl. "What?"
"Promise me she'll be taken care of."
"I promise..." Rex looked at the girl, already asleep in his arms. "I promise to take care of her, look after her, and love her as long as I live."
"Thank you." Goten said quietly. "That means a lot." He said as he started to cry.
"Might I ask a question?" Rex asked, giving in to his natural curiosity.
"Go ahead." Goten replied, looking at his daughter.
"Where's her mother?" As the words left his mouth, he regretted saying it.
"She... she died. In childbirth." He said, his voice cracking slightly.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's not my place." Rex said quickly.
"No. It's okay. You didn't know." He then took Aya from Rex and held her one last time. "Well, I can't stay forever." He kissed her forehead. "Bye, kiddo." He said and handed her back to Rex. "Take care of her." With that, he started walking backwards towards the door.
"Would you like to leave your address? She'll visit every now and again." Rex offered.
Goten shook his head. "Tell her she's an orphan." He said before one last long look. Then, he ran out the door, tears streaming down his face.