Sailor Moon is copyright © 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation. English Language Adaptation © 1995 DiC Entertainment
What All Need to Grow
Chapter Nine
Summer Break Ends, Back to School, and Trouble for Jayde
By the last week of summer break, all of the girls had finished their work up to the next mid-term exam. Instead of waiting to turn in homework, they all turned in their exams.
Jayde had gotten rid of her shyness by her second day as a part of their unusual family and was running her parents and family ragged. She hadn't been so happy in her life! A picnic in the park before the first day back to school, with the expectation of the fireworks show at dusk – it couldn't get any better than that. At least she hadn't expected things to go wrong again like the day at the beach.
Unfortunately, someone else had such a fate in her mind. Francis had been able to elude the police for a while, but she knew that she'd be caught eventually. Still she wanted revenge on that blonde tramp that stole Darien away from her!
She watched the lovebirds from afar. Walking in one another's arms, feeding each other lunch, Darien pushing the bimbo on a swing like the brat was a little kid – it made Francis sick to her stomach. Well, she had the solution for her stomachache. She was going to give Ms. Tsukino a slug … and she didn't mean with her fist!
Serena smiled up at her guy. Being with Darien calmed her down about the exams they all had just finished. Not that the leader of the Sailor Scouts was worried about being on the bottom of the list anymore … she was worried about being the last in their group – a feat she hadn't done yet, luckily. But, Darien took her mind off of it all.
"Still thinking about the exam?" Darien rubbed his fingers up and down her arm softly. How he loved holding her so close. But he still worried about the what-ifs – probably would the rest of their lives.
"You know me all too well, muffin. If I do bad on it, I don't know what I'll do. I remember a time when I wouldn't have cared and then whine when I failed." Serena snuggled closer to him.
Darien squeezed her shoulders as he chuckled. "And you'd toss the wadded up test at men you don't know, Meatball Head."
"Darien!"
"I'm just saying that was the best flunked test you ever did. It brought us together in the long run." Darien kissed the top of her head.
Serena sighed with a smile on her face as they came up to their friends playing with Jayde at the playground. And then the shot rang out.
Luckily the youma were all on high alert and one redirected the bullet harmlessly into a tree. But the screams and confusion panicked the place.
The police grabbed Francis and had her back in jail. But, the damage was done.
The group broke up. Jayde cuddled in her daddy's arms as they all walked out to the cars.
Once they got home Jayde thought that she was safe, but she was wrong. Ms. Koga was standing there – with several police officers.
"I have papers to take the child Jayde out of this home."
"No! Daddy, I don't want to go!" Jayde screamed as tears fell down her cheeks.
Neflyte looked over the papers. "These claim that we put Jayde in danger. Our family was not the only one with a child in that park."
"However, your family knew that one of your friends was under a death threat. That is putting the girl in direct danger." Ms. Koga snapped as she tore Jayde from Jedite's arms.
"Daddy! Mommy! I want my mommy and daddy!" Jayde screamed.
Ms. Koga got a dirty smirk on her face at that moment. "You will be going to your mother and father. They have come forward to reclaim you."
Brooke collapsed into tears as the police and Ms. Koga drove off with her daughter. Jedite barely caught her. How could have Queen Jessica been so wrong?
Jayde hadn't stopped crying since she felt her daddy's hands pull away from her. It hurt because she knew that the family she had been living with wanted her as badly as she wanted to be with them.
"Stop crying child, you'll finally be with your real parents and out of the system." Ms. Koga snapped.
Jayde sniffled until she calmed down enough to talk. "I was with my real family, but you took me away from them."
Then she broke down again. The nice Queen had promised that she would have Jedite and Brooke as her parents.
An hour later the car stopped in front of a dismal looking apartment building. "Well, now you are home."
Ms. Koga took a harsh hold on Jayde's wrist as she drug the girl up the stairs. There was no elevator and twice she saw a rat scurrying behind them. Jayde wished that she could run back home.
The bitter old woman knocked on a filthy door. The door opened a few minutes later to show an overweight lady with a grim frown permanently etched on her face.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Abe. I have come to return Jayde to your daughter and son-in-law." Ms. Koga smiled.
Mrs. Abe sneered at Jayde. "I don't need another mouth to feed!"
"Mother! This is my daughter we are talking about. Welcome home Jayde. I'm your mommy." A heavyset woman groaned as she kneeled down in front to the girl.
Jayde felt like running, but Ms. Koga still had a hard grip on her arm. "No you're not. I want to go home!"
"You are home girl. Now get in here!" A painfully thin man growled as he grabbed Jayde's arm.
The door slammed in Ms. Koga's face. For a moment she wondered if she had done right for that girl.
Jayde knew this was a place she didn't want to be. The thin man threw her on a filthy couch. "Now sit there and keep your lips shut."
"Genjo, you can't shove her around like that. We still have to go to court to get those other people out of our lives so we can keep her." The woman whimpered as she sat next to Jayde under the evil glare of Genjo.
Jayde was terrified. Genjo picked her up by her shoulders and shook Jayde hard. "Get this in your head brat, you are only here to get us money. You want to go home, then be a good girl and don't say a damn word."
With that he threw her back on the couch and sat in a nearby chair. Jayde wanted to cry, but she was too terrified. She was alone and didn't know what to do.
She wasn't sure how long she sat there. It was dark, she was cold and hungry, and she wanted to go to the bathroom. She looked up at the woman who seemed actually nice to her and whispered softly. "I need to potty."
"Okay, but we have to be quiet. Come on."
But the second they stood up, Genjo was glaring at them. "And where exactly are the two of you going?"
"She needs to go to the bathroom."
Genjo glared hard at Jayde. "You have two minutes. And then I come in and rip you out."
Jayde and the woman rushed to a closet down the hall. "Please hurry Jayde. Your daddy wasn't kidding."
"He's not my daddy and you're not my mommy! I want to go home!" Jayde broke down. She hated this place.
Genjo came out and threw the little girl against the wall. "Shut up you little brat. You are home that's your mom and I'm your dad so get over it! This isn't a musical and your richie friends aren't coming to take you back!"
"Mr. Eto, I believe that you are wrong about that." Ms. Koga snapped.
Beside her were four women Jayde knew had other faces – her special guardians from her daddy and her aunt and uncles. And then came in her aunt and uncle.
"Her daddy might not be here, but I'll bet an aunt and uncle wouldn't be a bad exception." Zoicite grinned.
Jayde squirmed hard. "Aunt Tara!"
That made the lady general want to cry. That Jayde would still remember the human name that she had chosen after only hearing it once.
Malachite too was touched by that, but also was angry with the man holding his beloved niece. "I suggest that you let Jayde go this instant."
Seeing the truth had come out in part Genjo was smart enough to not push his luck. The second she felt her feet touch the ground the little girl ran into the arms of her favorite aunt and uncle. "Aunt Tara! Uncle Ranen! Please can I go home?"
"That is why we are here angel."
Jayde cheered.
Twenty minutes later she ran into the house squealing in joy. "Mommy! Daddy! I'm home!"
"Jayde?" Brooke leapt up from couch and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Jedite put the cups of tea down and rushed from the kitchen. "Baby girl?"
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Brooke gathered up her treasured child and felt her husband's arms wrap around them both.
Instead of taking the day off, Jayde insisted on going to school. Her friends were amazed by how close she had come to being lost to them. They also were jealous that she had such a great family fighting for her.
Jayde was excited because the trial date had been moved so that if the judge agreed she would be Jedite and Brooke's legal daughter by the end of the day! In fact her family was coming to get her that afternoon to go to court!
When school let out she saw her entire family standing at the gate waiting on her! "Hi everyone! Mommy … daddy, look what I drew!"
In the rough stick person drawing were everyone who was their family in her eyes. Her parents, the Generals, Molly and her mother, the Scouts, and the Royal Couple. On the bottom of the page was written in black crayon 'My Family'.
Jedite pulled his little girl into his arms while Brooke showed the picture to the others. "We're you good today for disaster awareness day?"
"Yes daddy. Is it time to go talk to the judge?"
Jedite nodded as his wife took their daughter into her arms. Brooke was fighting hard to hold her tears back. She was still afraid, but she also knew that they would win. After all they got their daughter back. "Ready?"
Jayde smiled and nodded.
They rushed over to the courthouse.
For two hours the arguments went back and forth. It almost looked like Jayde would be with her birthparents. And then Ms. Koga was called to give her testimony. Brooke had to force herself to hope at this point.
"Ms. Koga, your early paperwork states that you felt that the child should not be permanently placed with Mr. And Mrs. Kenyan. Is that your belief now?" The judge doled out.
The family internally groaned. "No it is not. I witnessed her birth father being physically abusive to her, and both parents were neglecting the child. However, I would not have witnessed this if her foster family had not worried about her schooling and sent two of their own to give her books over to her birth family – since Mr. And Mrs. Kenya were not allowed to have contact with the child."
"Thank you Ms. Koga. Is there anyone else wishing to speak?" The judge in a glum tone of voice.
Jayde stood up at that moment. "Can I say something?"
"Well, I suppose so. What do you want to say?"
Jayde swallowed her fear and looked the judge in the eyes. "Those people I was force to go to instead of being with my mommy and daddy and all my aunts and uncles, they only wanted me for money!"
"Child can you please be a little more exact. Who is it you call you mother and father?"
Jayde smiled and pointed over to Jedite and Brooke. "They're my mommy and daddy. They came to the orphanage and picked me and said that they want me as long as I want to stay with them."
The judge was very interested in this child's testimony. "And as to your birth parents, you say they only want you for money?"
"Yes, they want to sell me to mommy and daddy."
"Thank you child. I will go to recess." The judge slammed his mallet on the desk.
Jedite pulled Jayde into his arms with a big proud smile on his face. "You did great sweetheart."
Neflyte glared with the rest of their family at the couple that had almost taken their precious Jayde away. "And if we wouldn't have paid you, what would have become of Jayde?"
"Wouldn't have any use for her." Genjo brushed off.
Jayde clutched her father tight. It took all of their combined control to keep from ripping the smug smile off of the scum's face.
Jayde's birth mother on the other hand shuttered. "Genjo, I told you that I don't want the money. I want Jayde."
"Shut up, obviously she doesn't want you."
The woman fled the courtroom after slapping Genjo across the face. He sat down with a deadly look in his eyes. Zoicite was worried, along with every other lady in the group.
An hour later the judge came back into the room. "After taking in all of the evidence and testimony, I can only make one ruling. That the child would be best served by this court if place in the custody of Mr. And Mrs. Kenya. I am certifying their adoption. From today on her name will be Jayde Kenya."
How is that for so long a wait?