Rex lets out a quiet bark of laughter. "I suppose you could see it that way. We do have an understanding."
And it's true - he doesn't know that anyone else would understand Martin as well as he does. They may be better at taking care of him, well-equipped to help him rehabilitate and figure out his place here, equipped to knowing how to live a civilian life and what resources are available for a kid like Martin, but they don't have that same, bone-deep understanding that they were made for a purpose only to have that purpose taken from them. There is a sense of aimlessness that comes with that, a certain loss of identity. Rex understands what that's like because he feels it, knows that Martin feels it too.
But understanding someone doesn't mean that you should be their primary guardian.
"But look at it this way: I've never dealt with a child for more than a minute or so at a time before coming here." And even then, it had been simple things - instructing them where to go, asking where to find their guardians, inquiring as to their health or whether or not they needed something to eat, nothing that he wouldn't have also asked of an adult. He supposes there's Ahsoka, but she's hardly a child. The girl's his commanding officer, for heaven's sake. "That I was able to simply..." Adopt? No. That's not the right word, no matter how many times Andy refers to them as a family. "Pick him up off the street without so much as a background check isn't what I'd call a good thing."
He crosses his arms. "That said, he's here now. I've no interest in handing over primary guardianship to anyone else."
no subject
And it's true - he doesn't know that anyone else would understand Martin as well as he does. They may be better at taking care of him, well-equipped to help him rehabilitate and figure out his place here, equipped to knowing how to live a civilian life and what resources are available for a kid like Martin, but they don't have that same, bone-deep understanding that they were made for a purpose only to have that purpose taken from them. There is a sense of aimlessness that comes with that, a certain loss of identity. Rex understands what that's like because he feels it, knows that Martin feels it too.
But understanding someone doesn't mean that you should be their primary guardian.
"But look at it this way: I've never dealt with a child for more than a minute or so at a time before coming here." And even then, it had been simple things - instructing them where to go, asking where to find their guardians, inquiring as to their health or whether or not they needed something to eat, nothing that he wouldn't have also asked of an adult. He supposes there's Ahsoka, but she's hardly a child. The girl's his commanding officer, for heaven's sake. "That I was able to simply..." Adopt? No. That's not the right word, no matter how many times Andy refers to them as a family. "Pick him up off the street without so much as a background check isn't what I'd call a good thing."
He crosses his arms. "That said, he's here now. I've no interest in handing over primary guardianship to anyone else."