Jen tries to contact ReGenesis, hoping that they might return some years back. Being a toddler actress isn’t what she hoped. To her disappointment, however, she gets a very curt response, informing her that she doesn’t have enough money to go back to an older age. She’s stuck, at least until she earns a decent amount of money from her job.
Before ReGenesis can hang up, Gideon takes the phone from Jen and goes into a different room. Jen sits on the floor of the living room, waiting for him to come back. Eventually, she gets bored and turns on the TV. She’s halfway through a cartoon when Gideon comes back with an enormous smile on his face.
“Good news, Jenny,” he coos. Jen removes her thumb from her mouth; she had been sucking on it without meaning to again.
“No call me that,” she says shortly.
“I can call you whatever I want, actually,” Gideon says. “After all, I am your father.” Jen’s eyes widen.
“What?”
“Since I’ve been taking care of you twenty-four/seven, I knew I needed a firmer role in your life. So I asked ReGenesis how much it would cost to adopt you. They said they’d waive the fee, as long as I promised to keep you from using their services.” Jen’s eyes boggle.
“What?!” she shrieks. “I stuck widdle?”
“Now, now,” Gideon says gently, “you can still add years to yourself. Once you’ve turned eighteen and are thus a legal adult. The process is expensive, so you probably wouldn’t be able to afford it until then, anyways.”
“But-” Jen tries. Gideon comes over and pops a pacifier into her mouth. He checks her diaper.
“You need a change.” Gideon carries Jen to the room he’d set up as a nursery for Jen, lays her on the changing table, and proceeds to change her diaper. He pokes Jen’s nose playfully. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you. I’ve always wanted a daughter.”
Jen lays there during the diaper change, dreading what Gideon means by “taking care of” her.