DISCLAIMER: Kitty is Marvel’s, and Baby Rachel might as well be. I’m not making money off of this. Don’t sue.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: This story takes place in my series, but it reads perfectly fine on its own. For those who do read my series, it happens just before Requiem.

"Hey Ray." Kitty whispered as she sat down in the chair next to Ray’s "crib", which was actually a converted sock drawer until they could get the real thing during their next trip to the mainland. "What’s up?" The sleeping infant gave no response to the question, and Kitty had expected none. She merely smiled as Ray snored softly, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. For a long moment, Kitty just sat there, watching, not knowing exactly why she was there in the first place.

That’s a lie, she thought to herself. She knew exactly why she was there – she wanted to be with her friend. But the child sleeping next to her was not her friend, time travelling and alternate realities be damned. This was not the same person Kitty had grown so close to as an X-Man and later as a founding member of Excalibur. Nor would she be that person when she grew up.

Kitty wiped a tear from her eye at the memory of her dead friend. Though Kitty knew that Rachel had lived after her trip to the future, and that she had thrived as the founder of the Askani, it still hurt. No matter how she sliced it, Kitty couldn’t get past the idea that Rachel had been used by time. Twisted and abused by it, as if she were nothing more than a tool for destiny to use as it saw fit.

Time.

As silly as it sounded, Kitty had come to see time as an enemy of sorts. It brought from the future nothing but visions of doom and despair, planting seeds of doubt and hopelessness in their hearts. Sure, they all said that seeing the future gave them precious knowledge needed to prevent catastrophe. Her first adventure as an X-Man itself was proof of this, when her future self had come to prevent the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly. By saving the day as they always did, they’d won, or at least that was what they had thought at the time.

But every subsequent vision of the future since then has been full of misery and death, not the hope they’d expected. So, had they really won at all? It was a shame to think that, of all the futures they’d seen, Bishop’s was the most optimistic. It may have been a world recovering from the aftermath of a genetic civil war, full of mostly ruins, but it was also a world of growing order and law and coexistence. The government may have been corrupt, the economy fragile, and religion a fractured thing, but it was a society nonetheless. Was that all they had to hope for? Were they forced to fight for the lesser of a dozen evils? Was their entire struggle so pointless and wasted?

Kitty shook her head suddenly, coming back to reality. That was, ultimately, what she was so worried about. What sort of future was in store for the child she once knew? Could they dare to hope that she would have a better life, especially after all the tragedy they’d endured? Kitty clasped her hands together, and bowed her head.

She hadn’t prayed in what felt like years. No, she hadn’t renounced her faith or anything that extreme, she’d just… forgotten about it. As if it was something she could put down when she didn’t need it. But, despite the dormancy of her faith for however long it had been, she felt the need to reawaken it. With so little hope left in the world – in her heart – she turned to the source of hope she’d had since she was a child.

It didn’t take long. It was a simple prayer, asking that Ray be given something to hope for in her life, nothing more and nothing less. Nevertheless, that simple act made Kitty feel better. Even if there was no guarantee of the answer to her prayer being yes or no, Kitty had done something about her fears and it felt good. Kitty felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest, letting her breathe easy at long last.

With a content smile, Kitty brushed a finger along Ray’s cheek, letting a feeling of warmth flow through her. Ray stirred at the touch, and opened her eyes to look into Kitty’s. She rolled over on her back, sticking her arms out in an obvious request. Indulgently, Kitty picked up the infant, bracing her against her hip. Kitty laughed out loud as a giggling Ray grabbed Kitty’s nose, pinching it in her tiny hand. Kitty phased her nose, letting the hand slip away. She unphased once the hand was clear, and Rachel grabbed it again. It was a small, personal, game that the two had developed since Ray’s arrival, and they both enjoyed it immensely.

Though Ray wasn’t the Rachel that Kitty had known, it was clear that the two were developing a friendship all their own. And, deep down, Kitty was all the happier because of it. Just because Ray had been born didn’t mean that Rachel had to be forgotten. It was a second chance, pure and simple, and it would just take a little getting used to.

"Y’know, Ray, one of these days you’re gonna have to remind me to tell you about your Auntie Rachel..."