Chapter Text
Laying on her stomach, feet crossed over her back a young girl perhaps seven or eight scribbles on a piece of paper. She’s alone in a small but neat apartment. A click at the door has the girl jump up, making the beads at the ends of her braid clack together, “Mom, Dad! Finally you’re back!”. With a tired smile her mother replies, “I’m sorry Jayla, things got… complicated at the hospital,”. Jayla looks between her mother and her father’s faces, both have an anxious, even scared expression she’s never seen before. “Is there something wrong with the baby?” She asks, her gaze settling on the soft bump of her mom’s belly. Her mother just shakes her head, hand unconsciously going to cover her stomach. Jayla’s father lets out a deep sigh saying, “Jayla, right now isn’t the time to talk about it,”. Confused and a bit mad at being so causally brushed off she huffs to her room.
Once in her room she quickly goes to the intercom system by her door, tapping a few buttons she turns on the microphone for the front door. Just able to make out her parents' hushed conversation in the living room. “Gai-ah we’re going to have to tell her,” Jayla’s father says. There’s a muffled noise that follows and it takes Jayla a few moments to realize her mother is crying. Ear hovering by the intercom speaker she hardly breathes waiting to hear more. “Darrel, I can’t break her heart yet, she’s so excited to be a big sister-“ the sentence is cut off by another sob, “It’s not fair, we’ve been trying again for so long and they can just take our baby away! Because of what some kriffing health test markers? Why not take one of the Sawyer’s kids? Force knows they have more than they can keep proper track of,”. At this outburst Jayla begins to feel a buzzing numbness starting in her cheeks and spreading across her whole face. Whose taking our baby? She can barely comprehend it. Dully she hears her father hushing her mother, “You don’t mean that, besides you heard what the hospital said, the First Order determined this was the most efficient and fair way of conscription. Think about the positives, the baby will be well looked after and have the honor of protecting the galaxy when they grow up,”.
“But their our child and we don’t know that for sure, I’ve heard rumors,”.
“Stop, you know how dangerous rumors can be,” the hard edge to her father’s voice sends a chill through Jayla even in her room. The next sounds she hears are of feet clattering off and another door clicking shut.
Jayla glanced around her room, eyes catching on the crib on the far side. Around it were all of her drawings she had been making to welcome the new baby. The baby they apparently weren’t going to keep. Needing answers she gingerly stepped out of her room. Both her parents had left the living room, but her father was in the adjoining kitchen preparing dinner like nothing had happened. Coming up to the counter she stood by a stool hesitating to sit down. “What's happening daddy?” finally bursts out of her.
Pausing while grabbing a pan, her father glances at his bedroom door where the sound of soft sobbing can still be heard.
“Our family has been chosen for a great honor,” he sounds like he's choosing his words carefully, “the First Order has made a mandate for all expecting human parents to go through some tests and if the markers are right the baby will be immediately enrolled as a future protector of the galaxy in the ranks of the First Order,”.
Jayla scrunches her nose, “So the baby will have to go to some special classes?”.
Her dad shakes his head, “No. The baby will be sent to a special place to be taught right from the start,”.
“But they'll come home for the weekends and holidays right? Like Hallie, she goes to school on Coruscant but comes back for breaks,” Jayla insists.
“I'm afraid not, the First Order doesn't want distractions so the baby won't be coming home,” he replies.
“Won't we even get to see our baby when they're born?” Jayla cries.
“Technically they aren't our baby anymore, they officially belong to the First Order to raise as they see fit,” he explains.
“But that's my new sibling! Why does the order get to keep them?” Jayla asks, nearly shouting now.
“Shush, child! We don't question the First Order. They are protecting us from the chaos and crime of the galaxy and while we may not understand all their methods we must trust their process,” he shakes the pan at her face.
The buzzing feeling is back in Jayla’s face, but now it's spreading to her whole body. Turning abruptly she runs back to her room and crashes on her bed. Tears leak onto her blankets, but when she looks up she sees the crib surrounded by her decorations. Anger rising she stalks over to the papers. Tearing them down, shredding the careful drawings and when that's not enough she starts attacking the crib itself. What's the point of a crib if nobody is coming to sleep in it?
Eventually her anger begins to subside, and as she looks at the mess she's made, all that's left is a terrible feeling of hopelessness. Because while it felt good to do something, she is powerless to change anything. Defeated, she crawls back into bed where her parents don't even disturb her for dinner.
The next few months are quiet and strained. As her parents keep going back to the hospital for more tests, her mother becomes more and more disconnected from reality. Neighbors congratulated them in public, but Jayla caught some pitying glances when they turned to leave. At home they didn't talk much, her father trying to ignore her mother's distant stares and nobody talked about the growing baby bump anymore.
A few weeks after they had come home empty handed, one night Jayla’s mother just walked out the front door and never came back.
Her father made some effort to find her, but Jayla often wondered if he really tried. Their relationship grew strained and when she was old enough Jayla left to strike out on her own as well.